Chapter 544: Swan Prince

544. Swan Prince (3)

Oliver was briefly unable to use black magic due to the strange statue’s prayers.

Hundreds of welded arms created a massive fist that descended on Oliver’s head.

A deadly strike aimed at exploiting the gap.

The enormous fist, with its overwhelming weight, pressed down the air, pinning everyone’s feet beneath it. No one could run, they could only look up at the fist.

While everyone was shocked, Oliver clenched his left hand into a fist.

Someone murmured.

“No way…”

Despite their doubts, they were right—Oliver, unable to use black magic, thrust his left fist skyward.

━━━━━━━━━!!!!!

Fist collided with fist.

An indescribable roar echoed, and a tsunami-like shockwave spread out, tearing flesh and bone fragments in all directions.

Amazingly, the shattered flesh and broken bones didn’t belong to Oliver.

Instead, they came from the massive fist that had struck down, with Oliver standing proudly in the midst of its shattered remains.

“······.”

Strength, size, weight—all things considered, the sight of this scene didn’t make sense. Everyone silently stared at Oliver.

It was incomprehensible how a giant’s fist could shatter against a frail warlock’s bare fist.

However, no matter how much they questioned it, the reality before them didn’t change.

Oliver, who couldn’t use black magic, remained unscathed, while only the giant fist was destroyed.

“······.”

No one could say a word, all were in shock. Not just those watching, even the Swan Prince, who was Oliver’s opponent.

His usual poker face wavered.

It was understandable.

He had neutralized Oliver’s greatest weapon, black magic, for several seconds, and precisely timed a surprise attack. And yet, Oliver had overcome it with nothing but his bare body. It didn’t make any sense.

But, it had clearly happened.

The Swan Prince was flustered, but he soon regained his composure and ordered the Monster Bird to attack Oliver.

Following the summoner’s command, the Monster Bird moved its giant body and prepared to charge at Oliver.

Thump! Thump! The ground roared. Just then, Oliver pointed to the sky.

“······?”

[Black Rods]

As soon as Oliver spoke, a massive rod formed from pent-up emotions and dropped onto the Monster Bird’s head.

Thunk!!

The giant rod was actually the Quarterstaff that had been sent flying earlier.

The Quarterstaff had absorbed emotions as it flew through the sky, growing in size.

Since the sky was part of the Verdant Forest’s domain, this was possible.

When the massive rod collided with the Monster Bird, a circular shockwave erupted, piercing through the creature, shattering its body.

The scene looked just like someone had been impaled on a pole, causing the Swan Prince to be stunned.

Then again, breaking a giant fist with his bare body and preparing such an unexpected counterattack was enough to do that.

But it wasn’t over yet.

[Thunderstrike]

As Oliver chanted, lightning crackled in the ominous sky over the Verdant Forest. The bolt swam through the clouds like a serpent, then plunged down onto the Black Rod, radiating intense light and heat.

KRAKOOOOOM!!!

Oliver had exercised control over the forest, using knowledge imparted by the Princess of the Verdant Forest.

When the massive black lightning struck, the emotions coiled around the Quarterstaff reacted like gunpowder, triggering a massive explosion.

The thunderbolt was followed by a massive blast.

The blinding light and scorching heat scorched the earth, incinerating not just the Monster Bird but also the enormous gate it had emerged from.

Damage beyond repair.

Naturally, everyone assumed that the Swan Prince wouldn’t have survived either. There was no trace of him left.

While everyone was figuring out what happened, Oliver folded space within the Verdant Forest to chase after the Swan Prince, who was fleeing in the distance.

Amazingly, the Swan Prince had survived the powerful lightning strike.

Not only did he endure, but he also assessed the situation calmly. He realized he couldn’t win against Oliver with his own power and retreated swiftly before the aftermath of the attack could subside.

Truly, impressive.

However, Oliver caught sight of the fleeing Swan Prince through the Warlock’s Eye and folded space within the Verdant Forest to close in on him.

“······!”

The sight of Oliver’s moves shocked everyone watching, including the Swan Prince.

The Swan Prince, now panicking, swung a blade of flesh to fend off the rapidly advancing Oliver.

The Swan Prince’s attack was extremely menacing, but it was fundamentally a crude technique driven by unusual movements and brute force, making it easier to counter than expected.

While preparing black magic with one hand, Oliver dodged every strike of the Swan Prince and closed in on him in an instant, activating his spell.

[Sealing Spell]

As Oliver chanted, he drove the refined black magic from his hand into the Swan Prince’s chest.

With barnacle-like ice crystals sprouting on the Swan Prince’s torso, Oliver quickly dodged another attack and widened the distance.

As soon as he created distance, the ice crystals started spreading over the Swan Prince’s body, who displayed a puzzled expression.

The ice was certainly cold, but it wasn’t as powerful as expected.

Though confused by this unknown black magic, the Swan Prince attempted to retreat.

Stagger.

“······?!”

As he tried to move again, the Swan Prince realized something was wrong.

His energy was draining at an incredible speed.

This was the property of the Sealing Spell. Unlike the Devouring Fire that indiscriminately consumed everything to recklessly grow, this spell precisely absorbed the Swan Prince’s life force, freezing it.

The ice was made with reference to Devouring Fire’s reckless expansion and uncontrollable power.

Of course, it wasn’t as powerful as Devouring Fire, but that didn’t mean it was useless.

Although it lacked the extensive range and firepower of Devouring Fire, it made up for it with precision and persistence. For some, it could be even more effective.

For example, in the present scenario where the Swan Prince, now drained of energy, knelt down on one knee.

Though he received immense life force through the Thistle Crown, it vanished as fuel for Sealing Spell before he could even use it.

Like pouring water into a bottomless tub.

Probably due to that, the life force supplied by the Thistle Crown started to weaken.

This could mean two things—either the resources needed for regeneration were depleted, or the one supplying the life force refused to continue.

It wasn’t surprising. The resources required for regeneration weren’t infinite.

As the support dwindled, the Swan Prince, who had maintained composure even when lightning struck him, began to falter. He tried to shake off the ice clinging to his body, causing injuries in the process.

Desperate thrashing that bordered on self-harm. But the barnacle-like ice crystals regenerated just as quickly as they were broken off.

It was the result of choosing tenacity over the firepower of Devouring Fire.

While the Swan Prince was distracted by the Sealing Spell, Oliver launched an attack on him, using flesh, ribs, and skulls that resembled a bombardment.

[Finger Gun]

[Bone Bullet]

[Rib Spear]

[Skull Bomb]

The black magic used by the Puppet in the past in the Contaminated Zone showed impressive firepower, considering the ingredients used, causing massive damage to the Swan Prince.

His already dwindling life force was rapidly depleted.

“······!”

The Swan Prince’s life force provided by the Thistle Crown was gradually reaching its limit, and the once composed prince was overcome by rising panic and fear.

His blurred judgment led to even greater panic, and eventually, he drove the flesh blade into the ground of the Verdant Forest.

Stab!

Originally, the plan was to stab the Princess, the root and foundation of the Verdant Forest, to absorb the entire forest in one go, ensuring she wouldn’t escape.

However, faced with the unexpected variable named Oliver, the Swan Prince hastily decided to absorb even a portion of the forest.

There was a risk that the absorbed area might disappear, allowing the Princess to escape. But the Swan Prince judged that this loss was worth it given Oliver’s threat.

After all, staying passive would only lead to certain defeat.

The Swan Prince determined that the only way to win was by absorbing a portion of the Verdant Forest’s power and using its overwhelming force to crush Oliver instantly.

With this mindset, the Swan Prince tried his best to absorb the Verdant Forest, but he noticed something was wrong.

The flesh blade wasn’t absorbing anything.

A weapon crafted with the knowledge of demons.

It defied the Swan Prince’s understanding.

In that moment, the Swan Prince looked up and locked eyes with Oliver.

He realized that the anomalous being had pressed his left hand to the ground at the exact moment when the blade pierced the Verdant Forest.

The Swan Prince instinctively understood what Oliver was doing.

At the same time the Swan Prince attempted to absorb the forest, Oliver exerted influence over it to disrupt the process.

The Swan Prince’s poker face cracked as he silently questioned how this was possible.

Interpreting the emotions, Oliver responded.

“The Princess of the Verdant Forest taught me. I can now exercise control over the forest.”

It was true. During the shadow puppet show shown by the Princess of the Verdant Forest, Oliver had learned knowledge about the forest.

That was how he had summoned the enormous Thunderstrike from the sky without any preparation.

The Swan Prince’s mask cracked further at the unbelievable truth, and Oliver spoke one more sentence.

“Thanks to her, I can even do this.”

Oliver, who had been blocking the absorption of the flesh blade with a spell, reactivated it, changing its form from defense to offense.

Not only did he block the blade’s attempt to devour, but he also used it to infiltrate.

The Swan Prince tried to pull the blade out in panic, but it wouldn’t budge, as Oliver now used the Verdant Forest to invade the blade from within.

Oliver used the Verdant Forest as a medium to retrieve and pull out all the people the flesh blade had absorbed.

The proof was the masses of flesh rising from the Verdant Forest’s earth, with even the terribly wounded Red Hood among them.

“······!!!”

The Swan Prince let out a silent scream, as if he had trespassed on something forbidden, and charged at Oliver with a shattered poker face.

But the Swan Prince, already nearly drained of life force, was casually struck by a shockwave from Oliver, sending him flying far away.

The Swan Prince flew like an empty can.

After pulling out the hundreds of people absorbed by the flesh blade, Oliver slowly stood up.

Since they had been absorbed by a blade crafted through demonic knowledge, the people who emerged all showed side effects, such as vomiting, dizziness, panic, and fainting, unable to stand on their own.

A few of them, either stronger or more resilient, remained conscious and stared at Oliver, who had rescued them.

For example, Red Hood and two large men with pig heads, likely apprentices of the Flesh Cook, as well as a heavily scarred warlock.

Oliver briefly observed them before walking towards the distant Swan Prince.

Due to the effects of the Sealing Spell, the Swan Prince had already become significantly weakened, with barnacle-like ice crystals encasing him, making movement difficult.

In other words, the Swan Prince’s life force was nearly depleted.

‘The black hand above his head is gone. The black magic aura from the Thistle Crown has also disappeared.’

Oliver looked at the top of the Swan Prince’s head, thinking.

The Princess of the Swan Sect, leader of the Swan Sect, was said to power her prince candidate through the Thistle Crown, but it seemed she had withdrawn her support.

She must have judged that continuing to provide aid wouldn’t yield any benefits.

Realizing this, the Swan Prince bore a face full of despair, like a child abandoned at an orphanage.

He looked just like a child discarded by their parents.

Oliver coldly looked at him, contemplating whether or not to tear off the Thistle Crown.

While it would have been safer to remove it in case the Princess of the Swan Sect sent power later, doing so would reduce its value as research material.

No matter how much he thought about it, it seemed that the black hand was tied to the Thistle Crown.

Oliver silently pondered, with hundreds of spectators watching him fight including those newly emerged from the flesh blade.

They were all captivated by his bizarre and overwhelming presence.

Finally, after some time, Oliver made a decision and reached out toward the Swan Prince.

As Oliver’s hand slowly extended toward the trembling Swan Prince,

Tap.

Someone grabbed Oliver’s hand.

It was the Puppet.