Chapter 70 Not A Braggart
"――No way, why are you naked?!?!"
Garon Gasterk, the leader of ≪Iron Wall Alliance≫, let out a shout as he gazed up at the fully nude man leaping high into the air.
Nord, the unique individual capable of unleashing Disaster-level destruction on his own.
As guardians, the members of ≪Iron Wall Alliance≫ were confident in their knowledge of Nord's power.
After all, they were a party of 6 shield-based Jobs, which was inferior in terms of attack power, yet they had managed to clear not only the 35th floor but also the 40th.
When their clan had cleared the 35th floor in the past, Aaron, Logan, and Io had instantly defeated Nord, but Garon's party didn't have the firepower to do so. In fact, they couldn't even deal a significant amount of damage initially and gain an advantage in the subsequent battle.
However, despite that, Garon's party had still managed to defeat Nord and clear the 35th floor on their own.
That was equivalent to saying they had defeated the "Strongest Guardian" Nord, known for being unbeatable in a fair fight, with their genuine abilities.
That was why Garon's party accurately understood the extent of Nord's abnormal power.
Like a storm that filled the entire Snowfield Floor, Nord's lightning-fast movements and aerial combat capabilities were on full display as he counterattacked, eventually forcing Nord into a defensive position and pinning him down.
It was unbelievable to think that this was the same human being they had known, with a combat ability that was on a completely different dimension.
Thanks to Aaron Gale, their strategy had been progressing smoothly so far.
It was surprising to see him engaged in intense combat while being completely naked, but――――anyway!!
From now on, it was time for the second phase of the Nord subjugation strategy. They would be entering full-scale restraint mode.
For that, the task assigned to Garon's party was to hold Nord in place.
The time limit was mere tens of seconds.
Just tens of seconds, a short time that wouldn't even fill a minute. But it was clear how difficult that would be without needing to be said.
"Ugh, I'm so frustrated!! ――But!!"
Garon tore his gaze away from Aaron, who had jumped high into the air, and looked at Nord, who was surrounded by 12 shielders, including himself.
Somehow, he regained his composure and focused on the battle.
Even if he call it a siege, it's just a circle with a diameter of 60-70 meters (≈197-230 feet) centered around Nord. Of course, there's a distance between them, so it's a loose encirclement. Breaking through this seems easy, and especially for Nord, who was an unique individual...
"You think you can take us down first!"
Nord doesn't even consider breaking through their encirclement, and instead, thinks of them as annoying little insects to be swatted away.
After Garon and the others surrounded Nord, Aaron unleashed his final attack, a massive black spear that pierced Nord and the ground. But it was destroyed by the enormous lightning power that Nord possessed.
Immediately after, Nord slammed his right fist onto the ground.
A massive amount of magical energy surged out from his fist, pouring into the ground, and spread out in a large circle, engulfing the surrounding Garon and the others.
Thunder Magic――[Thunder Grove]
The phenomenon where lightning rises from the ground to the sky is called a "Thunder Tree".
The thick lightning pillar stretches towards the sky, branching out into countless smaller ones, resembling a tree.
Imagine a forest of lightning trees, with Nord at its center, standing tall like many giant pillars. This is what we call Thunder magic [Thunder Grove]. Most explorers wouldn't stand a chance and would get swallowed up by the lightning tree's trunk, leaving them breathless.
And, the lightning that rose high into the air might even attack Aaron in the sky.
But――,
"That's underestimating us too much...!!"
Shield Warrior Skill――[Aura Armor]
Shield Warrior Skill――[Magic Absorb]
Shield Warrior Skill――[Magic Resist]
Shield Warrior Skill――[Reflection Shield]
Garon and the 12 shielders simultaneously switched skills without any signal.
If it were the ≪Iron Wall Alliance≫, who are familiar with Nord's fighting style, they might be able to predict the next magic he would use based on his movements. But the others don't have that experience. Nevertheless, their movements were like a single, cohesive organism.
The countless lightning trees that shot out from the ground didn't grow branches from their trunks, and instead curved their trajectories. The lightning bolts converged equally onto the 12 shielders, without causing any harm to the surroundings.
――Not only that, but a part of the lightning bolts that targeted the 12 shielders was reflected back to Nord, the caster, due to the effect of [Reflection Shield].
Naturally, Nord, who had gained resistance to lightning with [Thunder Cloak], was unharmed. However, the shock of having his own attack partially reflected back was immense.
"――――!?"
And after the intense lightning subsided, the unharmed shielders appeared.
Nord's eyes widened in surprise, revealing his astonishment.
The [Thunder Grove] was a higher-tier area-of-effect magic than [Thunderclap]. It was unthinkable that they could withstand it without a scratch. In fact, even with the exceptional defensive capabilities of the shielders――all of whom were Expert Explorers――it was not a power that could be withstood without a scratch. Not even with their abilities.
So, there must be a reason why they were able to make the impossible possible.
That reason was Garon Gasterk's ability.
Garon's Job was the shielder-type Unique Job, 'Legion Knight'.
Its characteristics were quite unusual, and it exhibited its greatest power during "group battles with the same system Jobs".
Before dividing into 4 groups, Garon had used 2 skills on all the shielders.
The 'Legion Knight' unique skill――[Command Link]
The 'Legion Knight' unique skill――[Skill Connect]
[Command Link] had the effect of forcing the activation of skills on casters, as well as greatly enhancing their communication abilities. This allowed the 12 shielders to move as one entity, like a single living being, under Garon's silent command.
And [Skill Connect] had a "side effect" where, when those under its influence used the same skill, it would strengthen that skill.
It was due to the strengthened shielder skills that Garon and the others were able to withstand Nord's attack.
Only having Shielder Jobs in the party, becoming one of Necronia's top explorers wasn't just a boast.
So, it wasn't going to end just by withstanding attacks.
"Everyone!!"
Garon shouted loudly, his massive shield at the ready, his voice reaching all his comrades.
At the same time, due to the [Command Link] effect, everyone simultaneously activated new skills in addition to the already activated ones.
Shielder Skill――[Rampart]
Originally, it was a skill that created a massive aura wall like a castle wall. Strengthened by the secondary effect of [Skill Connect], a gigantic aura wall emerged in front of Garon and his team, its height surpassing even Nord's.
Next, Garon used the original ability of [Skill Connect].
That ability was to merge identical skills.
To combine multiple identical skills into one.
Union Skill――[Titan Hand]
The aura wall extended horizontally, merging with the other walls. What was born was a cylindrical structure composed of curved surfaces. A massive aura cage that trapped Nord.
"Charge forwarddd!!"
Shouting, they advanced with all their might.
As the 12 Shielders moved forward in perfect sync, the cylindrical cage surrounding Nord began to shrink. The aura released as it shrank made the cage even thicker and stronger.
"――――――!!"
On the other hand, Nord wouldn't just sit and wait for the walls closing in from all directions.
Since multiple people were creating this, they understood that if even one person or one part was lacking, this cage would easily collapse.
With their freed bodies, they charged forward.
With [Thunder Cloak]'s focused right fist, Nord dynamically punched the wall. The impact resonated through the aura wall, releasing a dazzling flash of lightning.
As a whole, even a strong barrier can be destroyed if an attack is concentrated on one point, and the damage would be borne by only one Shield Knight due to their position. Not even a Shield Knight can withstand the full-power attack of the Special Body, Nord. Nord's attack has enough power to destroy a cylindrical barrier, and it would indeed be destroyed.
However――if the opponent isn't Garon Gasterk.
The 'Legion Knight' unique skill――[Damage Sharing]
The moment Nord punched the cylindrical barrier with a lightning-infused fist, Garon activated the skill.
It's a special skill that can only be used in a Union Skill activation state――where the auras of allies are combined. By connecting their auras, the skill disperses the enemy's attack――impact, destructive power, magic attacks――among allies.
Even an attack that can destroy the barrier by concentrating on one point would become "just a bit strong" if dispersed throughout the entire barrier.
Garon and the others endured. They endured――,
"―――――――――――!!!"
They stepped forward.
The cylindrical barrier shrunk.
And, as if a mythological giant, capable of treating even Nord like a child, grasped Nord's hand, rendering it immobile, the aura's cylindrical barrier restrained him.
"―――――――――――!!!"
The restrained Nord let out a loud, wild roar.He twisted his body. He released an enormous amount of lightning from his entire body. Yet, the cylindrical barrier didn't even budge.
Garon and the others gritted their teeth, pushed their shields to the limit, and managed to restrain the enormous Nord, which was a feat beyond their physical capabilities.
However, this wouldn't last long.
Activating multiple skills simultaneously would create a massive aura barrier. No matter how skilled an Expert Explorer they were, their magical energy would be depleted at an alarming rate.
So, completing the restraint of Nord would have to wait until later.
The longest time in Garon's life had passed.
(Damn, that was reckless! My arm is heavy! The shield is being pushed back!! The decrease in magical energy is too fast, and it's making me feel awful!! Ugh, we won't last more than a few seconds at this rate!! Aaron, how much longer―――!?)
After restraining Nord with the cylindrical barrier, about 10 seconds had passed.
It's about time Garon and the others reached their limits.
――Bang!! And then.
A shockwave, like a meteor crashing down, ran through the entire area with Nord at the center of the cylindrical space.
This wasn't an attack from Nord or anything.
Garon definitely saw it with his own eyes――something black falling at high speed.
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