"Forcing back?!"

Kyuku Zuzu let out a furious roar, voice booming like thunder.

To think that a human, faced with the combined strength of three lizardman tribes and their strongest champions, would say that the worst-case scenario was simply being pushed back.

"You arrogant fool!"

Lyle didn't bother with a response. He simply lifted his arm.

Whoosh!

The blazing Seraph he had summoned earlier, wings glowing like molten gold, flapped once and shot forward with terrifying speed toward the approaching lizardman ranks.

"Leave that one to me!" Kyuku Zuzu shouted, legs coiling before he launched forward like a fired arrow.

"So… only one summoned creature? Playing it safe, huh?" Shasuryu Shasha narrowed his eyes, then turned to the priest-elders behind him. "Prepare yourselves!"

"Leave the rest to us," one of the priests replied solemnly.

"Don't let that human escape. I'll watch for any second summon," Shasuryu growled, lifting his heavy greatsword, the weight of responsibility clear in his stance.

Crusch Lulu nodded silently, gathering mana at her fingertips.

As Shasuryu charged toward Lyle, over three hundred lizardman warriors followed, the earth trembling under their collective rush.

Clearly, they intended to end this in one decisive strike.

Lyle let out a low chuckle.

"Quite the crowd."

"Facing this many at once, even the most confident man can't cover every angle. And I'm a spellcaster, not a melee brute," he muttered. Then he turned to the mind-controlled priest beside him. "Cast the spell."

The lizardman priest raised his hands and chanted, "Wind Manipulation!"

A gust spell from the divine school, Tier Two. While more support-oriented, it allowed direct control over airflow.

Whirrr!

Wind swirled rapidly between the priest's hands.

Lyle flicked his sleeve. A small vial appeared in his hand, which he casually tossed into the swirling wind.

Shatter!

The bottle exploded mid-air, releasing a fine dust that mixed with the wind.

"Now," Lyle said coldly.

The priest thrust his arms forward. A surge of wind burst out, carrying the powder far ahead toward the advancing lizardmen.

"Again," Lyle instructed.

The priest repeated the casting, one gale after another, dispersing the powder farther and wider.

The dust wasn't just any powder. It was a concoction Lyle brewed from what remained of his hanging spider venom sacs and paralytic herbs he had scavenged from the Dragon Tusk tribe. The result: a potent anesthetic powder, mildly toxic but highly effective.

Lizardmen were naturally resistant to poisons, so Lyle hadn't bothered with lethal toxins. Paralysis was the goal.

A sharp, pungent wind swept over the battlefield.

At the front, Shasuryu's expression twisted. He shouted, "Hold your breath! All of you, now!"

The frontline lizardmen complied instantly. But those in the rear weren't so quick. Many inhaled the tainted air before realizing the danger.

Their bodies began to numb, movement slowed, and formation broke into chaos.

"Cheap tricks won't save you!" Shasuryu snapped, covering his nose and mouth. But he didn't even need to give the order.

The priest class behind him was already casting restoration spells, trying to purge the toxins from their affected warriors.

Shasuryu led the remaining able-bodied warriors forward.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the field--

Kyuku Zuzu, encased in his iconic White Dragonbone Armor, had engaged the fiery Seraph.

Crash!

The angel's sword crashed down like a meteor, striking Kyuku's chestplate with a blaze of sparks. The lizardman chieftain staggered back several steps but grinned broadly. The armor held. He lunged again.

Relying on the armor's power, Kyuku began a brutal brawl, dragging the fire Seraph into a head-on melee.

Then--

Whip!

Several thick vines lashed out from the rear.

"Entangling Roots!"

"Entangling Roots!"

"Entangling—!"

The angel had no time to evade. The vines wrapped around its limbs, locking it in place.

Smash!

Kyuku soared upward and came crashing down, claws slashing. The impact shattered one of the Seraph's wings.

"Y-You finish it!" he barked toward the other warriors, then bolted toward Lyle with renewed ferocity.

Lyle narrowed his eyes.

"As I thought. The Flame angel's too predictable against prepared enemies."

He glanced down at his sleeve. A new scroll slipped into his left hand.

"Well then…"

"It's time you witnessed my real power."

Both Kyuku and Shasuryu, charging headlong, paused in their steps.

Rumble!

A radiant light blossomed in the sky.

A new angel descended, nearly twice the size of the flame angel. A luminous figure over three meters tall, its very presence distorted the air with divine pressure.

The battlefield went still.

Lizardman warriors froze mid-step. Even the most hardened among them faltered.

Only Lyle's voice cut through the silence.

"Tier Four Summon – Principality."

Unlike the previous three tiers, which allowed only one summon type, Tier Four spellcasters could summon two kinds of angels: the Vigilance Angel, focused on defense, and the Principality, a spear-wielding destroyer.

This was the latter.

She was slimmer than her defensive counterpart, armed not with shield and mace, but a long, slender staff shaped like a spear.

"You know," Lyle said casually, "you're the first enemies to ever see this spell in action."

His tone was relaxed, but his meaning was sharp.

Back when he was weaker, he'd never risk using this summon. The defense-oriented Vigilance Angel had always been the safer bet.

But now, the fire Seraph wasn't enough.

Panic rippled through the priest ranks. What little composure they had dissolved.

"Tier Four... what even is that?" a younger lizardman mumbled in fear.

No one answered.

Very few knew enough about magic to even grasp what they were looking at. Those who did were too terrified to speak.

Crusch Lulu, hidden behind a straw barricade, went pale.

"Tier Four magic… why would such a powerful human even come here…"

Her voice trembled.

Then--

"I see now!" Shasuryu suddenly bellowed, breaking the tension.

"So this was your trump card all along. I'll admit… it's beyond anything I imagined."

He drew a deep breath. His guess, and his brother's, had been right.

This man had a trump card, and not just any trump card. A Tier Four spellcaster.

The worst possible scenario had become reality.

Shasuryu had asked the tribe's old high priest about this possibility once.

The answer?

If you face a Tier Four spellcaster… run. It isn't cowardice. It's intelligence. Only fools fight such monsters.

But now--

"We have no choice left!"

He slammed his sword into the earth, the sound echoing like a war drum through every heart on the field.

"Fear means nothing! Terror is meaningless! If we don't kill this human, we die! This isn't about retreat anymore…"

"This is war!"

A furious roar erupted from the lizardmen.

The priests no longer hesitated. Their eyes gleamed with murderous resolve.

"RAAAAHHH!!"

"KILL!!"

"DON'T LET THAT ANGEL ESCAPE!"

"If he summons a second one, we're finished!" a priest screamed in panic.

Lyle raised an eyebrow, glancing briefly toward the sky.

Strange… he thought he sensed magical fluctuation up there.

But there was no time to dwell.

"Holy Lance!"

The Principality raised her spear-staff. A blinding ray of divine light surged forth.

BOOM!

The priest who had shouted was obliterated instantly, the beam slicing through him and five others like paper.

Flash!

The angel's wings flared. In an instant, she was face-to-face with Shasuryu.

"Strike of Purity!"

The spear-staff came down with immense force.

Shasuryu's eyes widened. He barely raised his greatsword in time.

"Lower Tier – Arm Strengthen!" Crusch Lulu chanted from behind.

BOOM!

The ground shattered beneath him as the impact hurled Shasuryu backward like a ragdoll, crashing into a squad of warriors with a cascade of screams.

"Holy Lance!" the angel cried again.

The beam swept forward, blasting through seven more warriors, their bodies torn apart in an instant.