Chapter 180

Kanzaki Rei had always maintained an extremely conservative estimate of this world’s upper limits.

At least, until he truly encountered an undisputed strongest opponent of the same tier, he treated Izparut as the ceiling for all other geniuses.

If he ever faced someone whose strength he couldn’t clearly read—

He would default to assuming they were equal to Izparut.

That way, he’d never grow careless. Never stumble into a fatal miscalculation.

Arrogance—the belief that one could defeat anything—was the fastest way to get slapped back to reality.

And yet...

So far, no one he had seen had truly impressed him.

No one had delivered that moment of genuine astonishment.

Kanzaki Rei hovered in midair.

On his left and right stood two Continent-Sinking–class undead, guarding him at close range.

Casually, he began organizing his storage bags.

Trash items went into one bag.

Combat techniques, magic tomes, and various books into another.

Pure corpses had their own dedicated storage.

Potions, scrolls, ritual materials, sacrificial components, forging resources, enchantment materials—all grouped together.

Equipment? Stored separately.

Below him, the battlefield was absolute chaos.

Light clashed in every color imaginable. Blood misted into the sky. The entire scene had devolved into utter disorder.

Suddenly—

A warning surged through his perception.

A figure, moving at extreme speed, bypassed the swarm of undead entirely and lunged straight at him!

Fast.

So fast it rivaled even Kanzaki Rei’s own maximum speed.

But—

Step.

The shield-bearing undead at his side moved instantly.

Dong—!

The incoming dagger, meant to slice Kanzaki Rei’s body, instead struck the shield in a bizarre deflection.

And in that same instant—

A frost-forged spear pierced straight through the attacker’s chest.

「Permafrost Piercing Spear」「Bone-Freezing Core Shatter (Tier 4) · Iceflow Style — Third Form: Shattering Ice Blossom (LV: 301)」

Boom!

Ice crystals erupted from within his body, blooming into a dazzling frost flower that detonated outward!

Spear technique. Ice magic. Ice-based martial skill.

Even if he specialized purely in ice—

Kanzaki Rei would still rank among the strongest adventurers.

A single strike.

Instant kill.

Without pause, he extended his hand again.

The ice spear vanished, replaced by a staff of pure radiant light.

He raised it.

「Source · Forbidden Light Magic · Judgment of All Sins」

BOOM!

This time—

Not thirty-six beams.

But under the amplification of Source Magic, one hundred and forty-four pillars of light descended from the heavens!

His left hand rose as well.

A banner materialized in his grasp.

Radiance flooded the battlefield.

Every undead unit began to glow—

Holy.

Sacred.

Even as creatures of death, they now carried divine brilliance.

Below—

Sword techniques erupted in a storm.

「Hundred Ghost Slashes」「Instant Draw Slash」「Sword Heart: Crystal Clarity」「Flash Sever」

Dozens of perfected sword techniques flowed seamlessly.

The Reincarnation Sword Saint, eyes closed, unleashed strike after strike with flawless mastery.

And yet—

The Swiftkill Phantom was too fast.

It attacked from seven or eight directions at once, as if existing in multiple places simultaneously.

Clang!

Still, the Sword Saint held firm.

His defense was airtight—

And he was even pressing forward, intent on counter-killing the phantom.

Continent-Sinking–class undead excelled at large-scale destruction.

But in pure single-target combat, they were slightly lacking.

Even so—

They still far surpassed Nation-Destroying–class entities.

Before the phantom could fully overwhelm him—

A roar descended from the sky.

A colossal floating head opened its mouth—

And unleashed a soul-shattering sonic wave at the Sword Saint.

Elsewhere—

Shumi had already looted everything from the golden-bodied bald warrior.

Her expression was complicated as she stared upward.

"That kid..."

That same child she met when she first entered.

But why... was he here?

And those two unfathomable undead flanking him—

Her mind struggled to process it.

"Are... all these undead... his summons?"

It had to be.

They were clearly prioritizing protecting him above all else.

"What exactly... are you, nya...?"

And more importantly—

What was happening right now?

Why had so many black coffins appeared?

Why were there suddenly so many resurrected corpses?

Weren’t there only supposed to be three?

Shumi slowly backed away, choosing not to engage.

The Sword Saint did the same.

Eventually, the remaining survivors—six in total—regrouped together.

"What... is going on?" one man asked.

The Sword Saint sheathed his blade, though his hand remained firmly on the hilt.

"Who knows."

"...Does anyone recognize that kid?"

They exchanged glances.

Shumi’s ears twitched.

"He’s... from the Secret Sea, nya. I ran into him earlier. That’s all I know."

"Secret Sea?"

"No wonder we’ve never heard of him."

"He probably stole a Moon Sigil to get in."

Given his strength...

That seemed entirely plausible.

"So what now?"

"We can’t leave... Let’s observe for now."

The enemies were finite.

At least—for now.

The battle was brutal beyond words.

Any Reincarnation Corpse that survived the initial onslaught immediately unleashed its ultimate techniques, Source Magic, or assassination arts.

Every single one of them had been a powerhouse in life.

At the very least—

They had comprehended Source.

They had mastered Ultimate Techniques.

But—

It wasn’t enough.

Continent-Sinking–class undead clashed head-on with ultimate-technique warriors—

And utterly crushed them.

Elsewhere—

Seven or eight Nation-Destroying–class undead surrounded a single Source Mage, relentlessly attacking.

Lightning.

Soulfire.

Close-range assaults.

Relentless pressure.

If the gap in strength was massive, numbers meant nothing.

But if strength was equal—or even slightly higher—

And numbers were greater?

Then it became a massacre.

Five minutes.

That was all it took.

Nearly all the corpses from the coffins had been annihilated.

Only three remained.

Slash—!

A black blur streaked across the battlefield.

The Reincarnation Sword Saint’s body was severed in half.

Only his left arm remained—

Still gripping his sword.

He stood at the center of the battlefield, resolute, facing the Swiftkill Phantom.

Kanzaki Rei looked down at him.

"You’re acting like some last-stand protagonist."

At that moment—

A third Continent-Sinking–class undead joined the fight.

Clad in pitch-black armor, radiating absolute indestructibility.

A massive serrated greatsword in its grasp.

Step.

Second step—

It was already in front of the Sword Saint.

The blade descended.

CLANG!

The Sword Saint raised his weapon, blocking with everything he had.

At the same time—

The phantom struck.

Sword winds exploded sideways—

But from above, another soul-shattering roar descended.

And in that instant—

A surge of extreme danger exploded in Kanzaki Rei’s perception.

He stepped back immediately.

SHING—!

Countless sword lights erupted—

BOOM!

The earth was carved into endless ravines.

Even the Tier 6 Nation-Destroying and King-class undead were shredded to pieces.

「Sever · Cosmic Sword Radiance」

In a single instant—

All three Continent-Sinking–class undead were heavily wounded.

Thousands of fine sword rays shattered against the barrier before fading.

Kanzaki Rei had already retreated behind the restriction field.

Not worth taking that head-on.

That counterattack—

Had been aimed directly at him.

If he hadn’t dodged—

He might have been seriously injured.

Or worse.

Clang!

The very next moment—

The Sword Saint was torn apart by the Swiftkill Phantom.

On another battlefield—

The silver twin-tailed mage finally completed her Source Magic.

「Tier 5 Source Magic · All Elements as One」

She raised her staff.

Everything—

All elements in the battlefield—

Rose into the sky under her command.

Source Magic reflected one’s understanding.

Different minds, different power.

In Kanzaki Rei’s eyes—

All elements became one.

They surged upward—

Filling the entire dome beneath the barrier.

She specialized in multi-element fusion.

A fundamental discipline for Tier 5 mages.

All elements gathered above her.

"The Seventh Forbidden Magic... Element."

"Elemental Genesis."

She swung her staff.

The sky collapsed downward.

A multicolored beam spread outward—

BOOM—

Everything it touched—

Was decomposed into its most fundamental elements.

The beam expanded.

Three hundred kilometers.

Then stopped.

When the light faded—

A massive cylindrical void remained.

And the silver-haired mage—

Was gone.

Kanzaki Rei assessed his losses.

Five Tier 6 Nation-Destroying undead destroyed.

But he had withdrawn his Continent-Sinking units in time.

No losses there.

That spell had a massive wind-up.

And afterward—

It self-destructed along with the caster.

"Seventh Forbidden Magic..."

"One of the earliest forbidden spells?"

Only one enemy remained.

Kanzaki Rei sent eight Continent-Sinking–class undead simultaneously.

Two seconds later—

A violent surge erupted.

The undead were heavily damaged—

But moments later, a descending pillar of light finished the enemy off.

All enemies eliminated.

Roughly two to three hundred in total.

Kanzaki Rei slowly descended.

Still dangerous.

Every single one had a final trump card.

Close combat against someone like the Sword Saint...

Would’ve been troublesome.

And that last desperate counterattack—

One mistake, and it could’ve turned fatal.

"Hmm... I wonder if Luluwe is stronger than that Sword Saint..."

"Could she break through Continent-Sinking defense?"

Fighting her would be troublesome.

Not impossible—

Just annoying.

He landed beside the Sword Saint’s corpse.

Restrictions covered the body.

Cannot leave the area.

Cannot be taken.

Cannot be controlled.

Plenty of them.

These reincarnation corpses had no souls.

Which meant—

They couldn’t be turned into undead.

Kanzaki Rei removed every restriction.

Stored the corpse.

Better safe than sorry.

Who knew if it might "reanimate" again?

He had no intention of eating that kind of attack from behind.

He moved swiftly across the battlefield.

His undead gathered corpses from all directions.

The six survivors huddled together.

Watching him collect everything—

They swallowed hard.

So many powerful corpses...

How many treasures would that amount to?