The ground trembled in response to his call. Massive roots erupted from the earth, wrapping around Nythralis' coils, forcing the serpent to release its hold. Vines and thorns lashed out, binding the beast's body and slowing its movements.
Arkanos, free from its grip, rolled to his feet. His breathing was ragged, sweat dripping from his brow, but his grip on the sword remained firm.
'That was a close call…'
'System, enhance all my stats by 80 points.'
[Understood.]
[Enhancing...]
For a moment, his muscles bulged, but then they returned to normal. He felt the capabilities of his body rise slightly.
With a powerful leap, he launched himself at the serpent, holy sword raised. Time seemed to slow as he descended, the sword crackling with divine energy.
The blade struck, carving through Nythralis' thick scales and sinking deep into its flesh. A flash of golden light erupted from the wound, burning the serpent from within.
Nythralis thrashed violently, its body writhing in pain as black blood poured from the gash.
Arkanos ran on the pinned serpent, dragging his sword along as it tore through its flesh, pausing and splashing multiple times. His breath came out like steam from his body as he seemed to heat up.
The serpent, now desperate, lashed out wildly. Its tail whipped toward Arkanos once again, catching him across the chest. The impact sent him flying, hurling through the air like a ragdoll, his body crashing into a nearby rock with a massive boom. The rock exploded, dust billowing into the air as rocks were sent flying all around.
Pain exploded across his back, and for a moment, everything went white. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as he struggled to his feet, the world spinning around him.
And for some moments...
He remained still...
With the crash came a sudden silence. The troops were left frozen; that same attack had instantly ended many of them before, turning them into a pile of flesh and blood from a single hit.
Certainly, the emperor couldn't have survived.
"By the gods! He's been hit!"
"No one could survive that…"
"Is the emperor... still alive?"
"He stood against that monster, and now..."
"Keep your ground! We can't lose hope!"
While the others hoped, knight captain Seraphine looked devastated, her eyes widened with shock as she gazed at where he landed, frozen, as if eagerly hoping he would emerge from such an attack unscathed.
"No!" Seraphine's voice cracked with panic, her eyes wide as she reached out. "My liege!"
She struggled against the hold of the Head Priestess. "Let me go! He needs me!"
Her face twisted with fear, tears glistening in her eyes as she stared. "Please... please, stand up…"
The Head Priestess's grip tightened on Seraphine's arm, her own face pale. "If the emperor has fallen, we may need to begin planning our retr—"
"By the light of the heavens, granted to me by the goddess who oversees justice and purity, grant me the power to smite this beast!"
A voice suddenly echoed from the dust, causing the hearts of the troops and the knight captain to feel a surge of hope, relief, and shock.
[The loyalty of your troops has increased by 5%]
[Notice: you have obtained a Pawn-tier title: Cheater of Death.]
[Title effects: the chances of you dying from a killing blow are reduced by 5%]
The troops were in awe.
"Did you hear that? The emperor... he's alive!"
"By the gods, he's still standing! How is that possible?"
"Death has no hold on him! Look, he's rising!"
The Head Priestess, stunned, released her grip on Seraphine. "Impossible… The light of the goddess truly protects him."
She closed her eyes briefly, a prayer on her lips. "We've witnessed a miracle today... The emperor couldn't be claimed by death."
Seraphine gasped, her eyes filling with tears of relief. "My liege… you're still here!"
She struggled to catch her breath. "I knew you wouldn't fall... You never do..."
She then called out, "Crush that beast, my liege!"
Arkanos strode forward from the dust, the holy sword pulsing in his hand, glowing brighter than ever before.
Nythralis' eyes widened in shock as it said, "Impossible... How are you still standing?"
"And your body… you have gotten far stronger than you were a moment ago…"
"What sort of sorcery is this?"
Arkanos simply smiled, raising his sword as he pointed it at the pinned serpent. "It's the grace of the heavens, serpent. You wouldn't understand it."
In his mind, Arkanos' thoughts raced.
'I'm glad I acted in time and upgraded my stats again when I did. I would have definitely been swiss cheese by now.' At the split second before the tail hit him, he had upgraded all his stats by 200 points, making him far sturdier and thus able to survive the attack.
'But I'm glad it worked. Now going all the way will seem more believable.' Up until now, Arkanos had been putting on a show. With all the upgrade points at his disposal, he could have easily powered up and ended Nythralis in an instant, but he wouldn't have earned enough loyalty from his troops that way.
Following the system's suggestion, he had to show he was a leader worth following. 'Defeat Nythralis elegantly.' It was obvious he had to display how strong he was, but he also had to show he was a leader worth following.
So, he had to show his struggle and perseverance, and then, toward the end, they could close his little show with a powerful, shiny attack. It always worked.
"I believe it's time we bring our little dance to a close, creature of darkness," Arkanos said with a smile as he took on a battle stance.
For a mythical creature of such stature, Nythralis was certainly not a beast to be taken lightly. It was ruthless and powerful, a creature fairy tales would paint as a fearless force of nature.
Nythralis knew that as well, and it took pride in its existence, despite its fall from grace.
And as such, it did not expect a creature such as itself to feel what it was feeling right now. The emotion was new to it, but it was almost certain what it was.
It was fear... raw and suffocating fear.
It tried to beg for its life, "N-no, please, I beg of you, spare my life."