“A solution?” Lara blinked hard and searched the crater carefully. She saw Zich. Lara had seen Zich many times before, and although it was mostly negative, she held quite strong feelings for him. There was no way she mistook him, especially with his tree branch-like sword that proved his identity. However, Zich was really all she saw inside the crater. The ‘solution’ that everyone had been expecting seemed to be nowhere in sight, but the giant crater that formed with Zich’s arrival gave her hope.

“What kind of solution?” 

Zich and his companions kept this so-called ‘solution’ tightly sealed amongst themselves. It was the same for Hans. Hans simply hinted that he had an inkling of what this solution might be, but he didn’t explain it. Unlike the others, Lara didn’t have many suspicions about this solution, mainly because she had a lot of faith in Hans. However, she was also curious and since this solution was now in action and wasn’t a secret anymore, she finally asked the question again. 

Lara wondered what this solution could be. Was it a way to easily suppress the monster? Was it a strong artifact that could make large craters? Perhaps, it could be something completely different from everything she had thought of. She thought whatever the solution was, there was no need for her to be surprised. But when Hans told her the answer, Lara immediately blurted, “What?”

“I said, Sir Zich is the solution.”

Lara blinked hard. She stared at Zich once and turned back to Hans. 

“Mr. Zich?” Lara asked again.

“Yes, Sir Zich.” 

“How could Mr. Zich be the solution?”

“It’s simple.” Hans’ next words were even more unbelievable. “Sir Zich can just beat them all.”

“…What?” Lara doubted her own ears, thinking she might have heard wrong. However, Hans reassured her that her ear was fine.

“All of this would be solved if Sir Zich just defeated them all,” Hans said.

Defeat them all? Did Hans truly mean that Zich was going to fight the army of monsters by himself? ‘Impossible...’ Lara felt disappointed at this irresponsible response. She was aware of how outstanding Zich’s skills were as she had witnessed them multiple times in battle, but it was not to the point that he could handle this enormous army of monsters by himself. If he possessed such skills in the first place, he should’ve displayed them in their previous monster invasions.

“I know what you are thinking,” Hans said. Perhaps, prickled by the sharp gazes that Lara shot at him, Hans scratched his cheeks and said, “I won’t tell you to believe…” Then, he pointed at Zich and added, “Since Sir Zich will prove it soon anyways.” 

As Hans finished his sentence, the monsters that had stopped moving from the sudden explosion resumed their activities again.

Bang! One of the hydras stretched out its large legs. Unbefitting of its size, it quickly sprinted toward Zich. Its nine heads screeched individual sounds and appeared especially freakish, but in contrast, Zich hardly moved. He simply turned around and stared at the hydra. Zich appeared like a flicker of fire in front of a wind. His death appeared imminent, as the hydra might crush him with its large body or melt him down by piercing its poisonous fangs. Yet, Zich leisurely raised his Windur and swung it down. 

Slice! Sharp cutting noises rang across the surroundings, and the hydra coming forth was sliced in half. The hydra was still running across the ground ferociously and its nine heads continued to scream with their teeth showing, but it was clear that it would not exist for long. Baaam! Its bottom fell first and then its torso fell to the ground and rolled. The hydra’s heads were still alive and baring their fangs, but even this didn’t last long.

Slice! Slice! Slice! There were three consecutive slicing sounds this time. As it dragged its torso with its several heads, the hydra’s movements stopped. Thump! The sliced hydra necks were torn into pieces and fell into a hot bath of blood. Zich simply glanced at this and turned his body. The hydra died and could no longer reveal its bloodlust.

Kuaaaah!

Kyaaaaah!

Perhaps, the monsters were threatened by the hydra’s vain death or were enraged by the human standing right in the center. Leaving all others behind, they all began to dash toward Zich. It was quite a spectacle to see numerous monsters and dozens of high-level monsters rush toward one human. Of course, it probably was a terrifying sight for the person of interest. Yet, what happened next blew everyone’s minds completely.

Spark! A basilisk’s eye shone and shot out petrification light. In response, Zich held Windur horizontally and swung it.

Slice! The light literally sliced in half and turned the monsters advancing forward from the opposite side into rocks. Zich was completely unaffected. 

Bam! The basilisk’s body fell and rolled on the ground strengthless. Its body had been sliced horizontally in a long line. The thin and long cut on it showcased its painful death. Zich began officially moving. He infused a great amount of mana into Windur and swung it.

Bamm! The monsters flew away at Windur’s explosive mana, and there was not a single monster in its range that was unscathed. Monsters that were cut at least into five parts rained down like hail. 

Bam! Bamm! Bammm! Like wiping a dark blot with a clean towel, monsters that filled the battlefield disappeared into chunks with each piercing scream. After wiping away the blots, bright red blood replaced them

Kuahhh! Zich had been slaughtering the monsters without mercy, and a titan stopped him; its enormous and muscular arms swung towards Zich, and he swung Windur at the titan in response. 

Bamm! The titan’s arm exploded; the arm’s tough skin, muscle, and the overpowering strength that came with it looked fragile, like a cracked egg on the ground.

The titan also seemed shocked that a small human had destroyed its arms as it blankly looked at its shoulder letting out streams of blood.

Slice. A red line appeared on the titan’s body.

Pierce! The diagonal line split open and the titan’s body was ripped apart.

Thud! As expected of its large size, even though only the titan’s upper body fell, an extremely loud sound rang in the air. However, Zich no longer paid any attention to it as his sharp eyes were already scanning the other monsters.

Kuaaaah! Keuhhhh!

Was it because the Pyramid of Vengeful Souls was controlling them? Or was it because of the monster’s natural violent characteristics? Even though the monsters saw Zich decimate so many monsters, they didn’t lose their ferocity in the slightest and rushed toward Zich with bloodthirst. However, the monsters’ actions were like a moth flying to a flame.

*    *    *

“Ms. Browning, I told you that he’ll soon prove it.” Hans sounded prideful, but Lara had no leisure to reply to his words. While opening her eyes wide, she was thinking if the scene in front of her was real or not until her head hurt. However, as the explosive sound rang in her ear, the monster’s blood that scattered in the air and the shockwaves pressing into her skin forced her to face reality.

Lara asked, “Uh, what happened?” She sounded slightly shocked as she clutched onto the edge of Hans’ clothes and asked for an answer, “I knew that Mr. Zich was strong, but it was not to this extent!” Zich’s strength could not be explained as just strong. It felt like she was watching a legendary force from ancient stories that successfully hunted and defeated a dragon that destroyed an army in a matter of moments. Even while she was asking Hans, she clearly saw Zich jump off and rip apart a behemoth rushing towards him like a bouncy ball that children played with. 

“Hmm, I don’t know exactly either but…” Hans began thinking of how much he should relay to Lara, but there was nothing much to hide about Zich’s current situation. ‘Sir Zich doesn’t seem to have any intentions of hiding that strength in the first place.’

“The amount of mana that Sir Zich possesses is more than what people can even imagine. Sir Zich hasn’t been able to awaken all that mana for now, but if he satisfies a specific condition, he can use all that mana.”

“So are you saying that the sight in front of us is when he can use all of his mana?”

“Yes.”

Lara went back to looking at Zich fight. Zich was now facing a titan, behemoth, and basilisk all together and slicing them up. 

“Even if he can use all of his mana, is it possible to become so proficient at using all of his mana so fast?” 

“Well, the only explanation for that is that Sir Zich is a genius.” Hans shrugged his shoulders. 

Lara wanted to ask how that even made sense, but she swallowed her words as there was clear evidence in front of her. Lara naturally became curious. “What is that condition?” 

However, Hans firmly shook his head. “I cannot reveal that information.”

The information about Clowon’s ruins and the trees were secrets that only the party shared. Even though Hans trusted Lara as a good person, this was a completely different matter. Lara also accepted his reply. A method that allowed one to awaken all the mana inside one’s body—it was a skill that she had never heard about. Considering the usefulness of that skill, it was natural that they didn’t want to share it with others. Thus, Lara asked a different question: “Why didn’t you reveal that this was the solution?”

If the soldiers knew about this astounding solution beforehand, they wouldn’t have begun the fight with such uncertainty, and in a way, Lara thought that they could have decreased the damage received by at least a little bit. However, when Hans asked a question in return, she had no choice but to also explain his explanations.

“Would you have believed it?”

“…That’s also true.” Lara easily nodded in agreement. After this, their conversation stopped, and they quietly watched Zich rip apart the monsters. There were a couple of monsters that rushed towards them, but they easily defeated them. Zich had already killed most of the high-level monsters. Pialu’s soldiers were also pushing back the monsters, and the battle was reaching the end.