Chapter 187: The End of the Battle
Aldrian unleashed a slash that covered the entire battlefield—a strike he named Slash of the Vanguard, as it would pave the way for his own series of sword techniques. After developing a few techniques, he realized he needed to arrange them in a specific order. The Slash of the Vanguard would serve as the opening strike in his yet-unnamed series of sword movements, and ending with The Slash of the End—just as he envisioned.
However, at this moment, the Slash of the Vanguard proved to be devastating for the devil army, as this single attack alone could bring about their end. Once Aldrian completed his slash, the arc of energy stretched across his entire line of sight, traveling at more than three times the speed of sound. The swing of his blade sliced through the air itself, cutting it before reaching the charging devils army who attempted to advance toward him.
The giant Black Rock Snake could only watch the incoming energy slash. As an Emperor-stage beast with developed intelligence, he sensed the immense power within this attack. But because he was charging forward at full speed, he couldn’t halt in time. The devastating energy slash split his massive body horizontally from mouth to tail, killing him instantly.
In the moments before his death, the Black Rock Snake was gripped by shock at the sudden turn of events, unable to comprehend how this young man could unleash such a powerful attack. Initially, he had fixated on the young man, sensing he was the strongest here, especially as he floated above the battlefield. Acting on instinct, the snake had dashed toward Aldrian. As a beast that can grew stronger by devouring others, it was natural for him to target the strongest opponent.
He didn’t even have time for regret as his body was split in two, and the slash continued its path, flying toward the devils behind him. The energy of the slash destroyed all incoming attacks aimed at Aldrian and cleaved through the bodies of the devils. The slash severed various body parts—many were decapitated, others split from the upper body or the belly, and for the luckier ones, it only took their lower halves.
The devil’s commander, seeing the incoming slash, managed to dodge by a split second, but both of his legs, from the upper thighs down, were still struck. Blood splattered everywhere as he fell to the ground, grunting in agony from the loss of his legs. The slash energy continued its path, forming a crescent moon shape as it swept across the battlefield, killing all the devils charging toward the town. Fortunately, the Rivas family’s soldiers never broke their defensive line to charge into the devils, so the attack only claimed the lives of the enemy forces.
Behind the devils’ rear line lay a vast grassland, and beyond that, a forest stretching toward the horizon. The slash flew in that direction, heading toward the horizon until it disappeared from Aldrian’s sight. However, he knew the slash’s energy would dissipate somewhere between the initial border of the Doria Empire and the devil territory, based on his estimation.
The people who witnessed the execution could only widen their eyes in silence. They had just seen the darkness of despair, but suddenly the battle ended with a quiet stillness, leaving only a small number of devils who could be easily dealt with by the Rivas family’s forces. Even the remains of the devils’ wyverns, who had observed the strike, began to retreat north, intent on reporting the situation. Amid the scattered corpses across the battlefield, sounds of pain-filled grunts could be heard. Not all of the devils had died instantly from Aldrian’s slash; some had only been struck in non-fatal limbs, like their legs.
However, witnessing this display of power, some soldiers began to question Aldrian’s actions. "If you have such power, why not unleash it from the start to avoid unnecessary casualties?" Some felt anger toward Aldrian, frustrated that he had held back despite his obvious strength.