Chương 353: Reaching One's Limits
The duo were huffing and puffing despite having plenty of mana to spare, thanks to the Mana Pool Connection. Lyra was taking the pills Will had afforded him and used them to replenish his energy, which, in turn, replenished his energy reserves.
Although the duo had plenty of mana, their mental and soul energies were rapidly diminishing. The use of concepts was spiritually draining, especially at the beginning when one was still learning how to apply them. To make matters worse, each of the duo had performed actions that drained their mental energy further.
Achilles' mental energy reserves were stretched taut because of the number of True Strikes he had to perform. Truth was a power that required a great amount of mental energy reserves to sustain.
Lyra, on the other hand, had his worries as he was still simultaneously maintaining four large-scale spells that had a spiritual nature. Metalos Surge also required him to control floating swords telepathically, which was also quite draining on the druid.
Thus, it made sense that the duo were at their wits' end. They were gasping for breath, not because they had run out of air, but because breathing helped with circulating energy. This was why the ability to act as a conduit for World Energy was referred to as Breath.
Lyra only had two pills remaining. He took one and reserved the other for later. He replenished the Mana Pool and allowed Achilles to benefit as well. The duo needed every moment to replenish their strength.
...
"I can't believe it. They actually made it this far and are applying concepts so well."
"Lisa, I don't think these fellows are independent cultivators. They must have someone quite knowledgeable in the theory and application of concepts. Since Peerless Dao Master has a connection to the All-Father and the Odinson, there is a chance that they were instructed by high-level masters with stations no less than our own."
Giselle and Lisa's exchange met with approval from Sophia and Alison as well. They firmly believed that Achilles, Will, and Lyra had been instructed by old monsters that belonged to a Middle World tier power. The quartet of ladies were already imagining a group of powerful elders carefully training these three from young. They assumed that countless resources and elixirs had been consumed by the trio to achieve what they had achieved.
In actuality, only Will had consumed earth-shattering elixirs that elevated his abilities. From the modified pill he had been given by Wodin that elevated his vessels to the Yin Seed, he had been given by The King of Titans [1], giving him a yin-type constitution. Although he had consumed high-quality medicines, he had only taken a few, as there was a limit to how strong one can be due to resources, while medicines also left a minute amount of unwanted materials that had to be detoxified over time.
Achilles and Lyra had indeed received instruction, but not from whom they expected. Achilles had received instruction from Merlin who gained a plethora of experience from passing through the Gate of Strength [2], while Lyra had gained some tutelage from Woodsy in terms of theory and spell application.
Woodsy's gains from the Gate of Knowledge [2] were particularly useful for mage-type classes. Even though she had a warrior class, Woodsy was a specialist capable of casting spells as well thanks to the nature of her class.
Although Achilles and Lyra had only received one day's worth of instructions, it gave them plenty of impetus to surpass their limits. The knowledge and experience of Woodsy and Merlin benefited the duo greatly, allowing them to avoid making errors. The duo were also taught high-level skills to assist in their endeavours. Woodsy taught Lyra Parallel Casting [3] and Delayed Casting, while Merlin taught Achilles how to fight multiple opponents and how to execute True Strikes.
It is not extreme to say that without guidance, Lyra and Achilles would not have been able to defeat the 1st wave. Will had not been involved in this tutelage but it had been discussed by the deities during the meeting held after the tournament.
Thanks to help from his teammates and the deities, Will was able to strengthen his allies along with himself. Although Will had been silent the entire time, he approved of what he was witnessing and was quite pleased.
On the other hand, the Frozen Asgard Ladies above had ghastly expressions. The reason was that a few moments earlier, Lisa had reminded everyone about a crucial bit of information that they had temporarily overlooked, "Everyone, don't forget. The strongest one hasn't done anything yet."
There was no doubt in the Ladies' minds that Will was the greatest fighter there. But he had not shown an extreme level of strength against Sophia. All he had done was use a few concepts minimally and Open Doors. The fact that he had permanently dealt with Fafnir's poison and his potential identity as a Solitary Sword Sovereign were causes for concern, but he was still manageable. Now, however, the scope of the situation had changed.
Lyra and Achilles had not even opened any Doors and were still fighting in their base states. Granted, they had buffs and an advantageous environment, but they were still in their normal states. Will was obviously the leader of the group, thus it only stood to reason that his battle power would be greater.
Giselle had intended to only interfere once Will, Lyra, and Achilles were properly fatigued and distracted by the banshees, but now she was worried about how much Will could be a variable. Will's unknown strength was of great concern.
Giselle was also wondering what he was doing as he meditated. From time to time his body released odd mental energy fluctuations and revealed hints of concepts here and there, but she could not make out what he was doing.
"There is no way he would meditate for no reason on such a pivotal battlefield. What is he doing?" Giselle kept her thoughts to herself as she tried to figure out what Will was doing, but her attempts were futile.
As Giselle and the other ladies pondered on this matter, the man in question himself revealed a smile. This was the first time he had done anything besides smile since the waves began. While the ladies wondered what he was wondering about, a horrible scream assailed their senses.
The ladies cut off the connection their ears had with their minds, as the scream carried a horrendous spiritual attack with it. As they were not the targets, they were not badly affected.
After the scream, hundreds of Devastated Banshees exited the poisonous miasma covering the frozen riverbank. The deadly aura they exuded seemed to warp the space around them as chills escaped their bodies further lowering the already freezing temperatures in the surroundings.
Unlike in previous waves, this wave of banshees was slow and took their time to approach, almost as if they wanted to overwhelm their opponents with the momentum they were building up.
Lyra and Achilles had been affected by the earlier scream. Lyra was especially burdened as his Parallel Casting was constantly active. He clutched his head and screamed in agony as he struggled to fight the illusions plaguing his mind.
Achilles did not fare better and also knelt on the ground. He did not scream, however, and instead, hit the ground with the hilt of his sword, releasing a wave of Truth that spread into the surrounding. Truth was the antithesis of invasive abilities and allowed the duo to temporarily regain full control of their bodies. Nevertheless, the duo were still frightened by what had just occurred.
Achilles looked at his companion warily and said, "Was that the Agonized Banshee?"
Immediately after, Achilles turned his attention to the miasma as a giant silhouette appeared from within. It was a humanoid a hundred meters tall and dozens of feet wide. It was a behemoth of a creature, capable of blotting out the skies with a hand if it were close enough. The wave of banshees moving ahead of it made it seem as if the Devastated Banshees were subjects paving the way for their king!
Lyra gazed at the incoming behemoth and smiled wryly, "That was a close call, I almost lost control over my magic. We have no way of dealing with that thing when it comes."
Lyra felt weak in the knees and at a loss. He was still human and felt fear just like anyone else. His mind, soul, and body were at their limits. Thankfully, a firm hand and familiar voice gave him and Achilles strength with only a single sentence.
"You did your job; now it's time for me to do mine."
SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO 
theonionjunktion
theonionjunktion [1] Will was given an Extreme Yin Seed by the King of Titans in the Chapter titled Extreme Yin.
[2] Woodsy and Merlin gained access to the Gates of Knowledge and Strength in a chapter titled Make Your Choice!
[3] Parallel Casting is the ability to cast multiple spells at once.
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