Luke and the others did not slow down even for a moment, and their figures cut through the sky like streaks of light as they chased after Aaron, Ethan, Han, and Hale.

The distance between them kept shrinking, and the pressure behind them grew heavier with every second, as if a storm was about to swallow everything.

Aaron glanced back once, and his expression turned grim because he could clearly feel Luke closing in on him.

"Damn it," he muttered, and then he suddenly stopped mid-air.

He had no choice.If he kept running, they would all be caught in a worse position.

"I’ll hold them," Aaron said quickly while turning around, and his aura surged once again as he prepared to face Luke directly.

At the same time, another figure broke away from the enemy side.

The Orc Divine Knight.

His massive body moved forward with terrifying speed, and his presence alone made the air feel heavier as he intercepted Ethan, Han, and Hale.

"You three... stay," the Orc said with a grin, and his voice carried arrogance and excitement.

Ethan felt a chill run down his spine, but he did not step back.

The next moment, the Orc moved.

BOOOOM!

A single strike landed, and the space itself seemed to crack under the force, while Ethan, Han, and Hale were all pushed back violently. Their bodies were thrown across the air, and the shock traveled through their bones like a heavy hammer.

"...This bastard..." Han gritted his teeth as he steadied himself.

Hale wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and looked at the Orc with a tense expression.

"He’s too strong..."

The Orc laughed loudly, and his voice echoed across the battlefield.

"Don’t interfere," he said while cracking his neck. "They are my prey."

The next moment, he attacked again.

The three of them had no choice but to fight.

They moved together, and their attacks clashed against the Orc’s overwhelming strength, but every collision felt like hitting a mountain. The impact shook their bodies, and each exchange pushed them further back.

The battlefield turned chaotic.

Explosions rang out one after another, and the air distorted under the pressure of their fight.

Ethan’s eyes sharpened.

He knew they could not keep going like this.

Without hesitation, he poured out the remaining Martial Intent he had stored.

BOOOOOOM!

A cracking energy burst out from his body, and his aura surged violently as his strength rose rapidly, reaching the peak of the Mythic stage. For a brief moment, it even felt like he could step into the Divine Knight realm, but that final step remained just out of reach.

"...Not enough," he muttered, but he did not stop.

Even this was enough.

With the sudden increase in strength, Ethan stepped forward again, and this time, he managed to hold his ground against the Orc’s attack.

"Now!" he shouted.

"Drag him for a bit... I have something."

Han and Hale understood immediately, and they did not hesitate.

They rushed forward together, forcing the Orc’s attention onto them, and although they were pushed back again and again, they still managed to hold him for a few seconds.

The Orc laughed wildly as he fought them.

"Good! This is more fun!"

But at that moment,Ethan moved.

He disappeared from his position, and the next instant, strange chains of light shot out from the void itself. They appeared silently, yet carried a terrifying binding force as they wrapped around the Orc’s body.

The Orc’s eyes widened slightly.

"What is this—"

Before he could react fully, a distortion appeared behind him, and a sharp attack tore through space itself, striking him directly through the opened gap.

BOOOM!

The hit landed cleanly.

Ethan did not waste that chance.

He raised his hand, and a terrifying flame gathered instantly.

"Divine Flame."

WHOOSH!

The flame shot forward and slammed directly onto the Orc’s head, and instead of spreading outward, it burned inward, targeting the soul itself.

The Orc’s body froze.

Then..

"ROOOOOOAR!"

A brutal scream erupted as the flame tore through his inner being, shaking him to the core. The attack bypassed his physical defense and struck directly at his soul, and the pain made his entire body tremble violently.

But even then,he did not fall.Ethan’s eyes narrowed.

"Still standing?"

At the same time, a sharp pain exploded in Ethan’s head.

"Damn..." he cursed while grabbing his head, and it felt like something was trying to tear his mind apart.

"His soul strength is stronger..."

He could feel it clearly.The Orc was not alone.

Within him, multiple souls seemed to exist, and they had taken the brunt of the damage together, reducing the impact of Ethan’s attack.

The Orc slowly raised his head again, and his eyes were filled with rage.

"You... dared..." he growled, and his voice had turned darker and heavier than before.

The battle was far from over.

The moment the Orc staggered back from Ethan’s attack, the battlefield shifted again, and this time it was for the worse.

The other enemies did not stay still.

Luke, along with the remaining Mythic rankers and the cloaked figures from the Church of Darkness, immediately moved in, and their combined presence pressed down like a collapsing sky. The brief advantage Ethan had created vanished in an instant.

"Don’t give him time!" one of them shouted.

The next second, multiple attacks came at once.

BOOOOM!

A storm of power descended, and Ethan, Han, and Hale were forced to defend together, but even then, the pressure was overwhelming. Their defenses cracked, and their bodies were thrown back again as the attacks struck one after another.

Han coughed out blood as he steadied himself, while Hale’s arm trembled slightly from the impact.

"This is bad..." Hale said through clenched teeth.

Ethan did not reply, but his expression had already turned cold.

He could see it clearly.

This fight was over.

They had no chance of winning against this lineup, and if they stayed any longer, they would all die here.

Without hesitation, Ethan made the decision.

"Void Prison!" he said firmly.

CRUNAG!

The attackers pursuing them suddenly froze like a statue.

Ethan immediately reached out and activated his communication.

"Marvrick," he called out.

In the next moment, a faint ripple appeared nearby, and Marvrick’s figure materialized, his expression serious.

"Sir."

"Open a spatial portal," Ethan said quickly."Now."

Marvrick did not waste time, and he raised his hands as multiple layers of magic circles formed around him. The air twisted, and space itself began to distort under the pressure of his spell.

"Connecting... to the nearest domain..." he muttered.

The next moment a portal tore open.

It was unstable and flickering, but it was enough.

"Move!" Ethan shouted.

Han immediately turned and began issuing orders, and the soldiers nearby reacted quickly as they rushed toward the portal. The disciplined structure of the army broke apart as urgency took over, and survival became the only priority.

More portals opened.

Marvrick pushed himself harder, and veins bulged on his forehead as he expanded the spell, trying to connect multiple points at once.

"Faster!" Ethan said, his voice sharp.

"I am trying!" Marvrick replied, his breathing heavy.

The battlefield behind them was already collapsing.The demon army surged forward, and the gap between both sides closed rapidly.

Ethan turned once and swung his sword, releasing a wide arc of energy to push them back for a moment, and that small delay bought precious seconds.

Soldiers rushed through the portals.

One group after another disappeared.

But ut was not enough.

Marvrick’s limit came quickly.

"I can’t hold more," he said through gritted teeth.

Ethan’s expression darkened slightly.

"How many?" he asked.

"About one-fifth..." Marvrick replied.

Ethan clenched his jaw.

That was all they could save.

No more.

"Pull back!" Ethan ordered.

The remaining high-ranking officers did not hesitate, and they began retreating through the portals as well.

As the upper echelon withdrew, the structure of the army collapsed completely.

The remaining soldiers were left behind.

And then chaos began.

The demon army surged in like a flood.

Without leadership and without formation, the human soldiers scattered in all directions. Some tried to fight, some tried to flee, and others froze in place as fear took over.

"Run!"

"Fall back!"

"Save yourselves!"

The battlefield turned into a nightmare.

Some soldiers managed to escape, running blindly toward the distance, but many were not so lucky.

The demons caught up quickly.And then the slaughter began.There was no mercy.

Those who failed to escape were cut down without hesitation, and their cries filled the battlefield as blood soaked the ground. Bodies fell one after another, and the once organized army turned into a scene of complete destruction.

It was no longer a battle.It was a massacre.

Ethan stood at the edge of the portal for a brief second, and his eyes swept across the chaos behind him.

His expression remained cold, but his grip tightened slightly.

Shaking his head he stepped through.

But as Ethan was about to step through the portal, a sudden attack struck him from behind without any warning, and the force of it shook him to the core.