For most ordinary people, the "Seven Great Powers," who stand at the pinnacle of various fields in this world, are nothing more than legends. After all, ordinary folks rarely have the chance to encounter such top-tier beings.
Especially someone like the Dragon God Orsted, whose very existence is shrouded in mystery. The proud Dragon God rarely shows himself before ordinary humans.
Yet, judging by Wood's words earlier, it seemed he had not only met the Dragon God but had also fought against him. This left Therese and the Holy Maiden utterly stunned.
"Wood, you can't possibly have actually met one of the legendary Seven Great Powers, can you?" Therese knew Wood's character well. He wasn't the type to boast, which was why she couldn't help but ask in astonishment.
"I haven't met the others, but as for the Dragon God Orsted, I did encounter him two years ago at the 'Jaw of the Red Dragon' in the Red Dragon Mountains. We even fought.
That guy is indeed as monstrously strong as the rumors say. Back then, I was no match for him at all. In fact, he wasn't even at his full strength at the time because he had used a secret technique.
If I were to face him again now, I'm not sure if I could win, but one thing's for certain—I wouldn't lose as decisively as I did back then."
Hearing Wood's words, Therese and the Holy Maiden were completely dumbfounded. They never imagined that Wood had experienced something like this two years ago.
The Dragon God Orsted is one of the top-tier beings among the Seven Great Powers. To put it bluntly, the first and second-ranked of the Seven Great Powers could likely take on all the others combined without much trouble.
The Dragon God is one of the Seven Great Powers, but his level and strength are on a completely different plane compared to the likes of the "Sword God" or "North God."
And yet, Wood had fought against such a legendary figure two years ago—and survived!
Keep in mind that Wood is only about fourteen years old now. Two years ago, he would have been just eleven or twelve!
At that age, most children are still enjoying the care of their families and occasionally causing mischief. Yet, Wood had already crossed blades with one of the Seven Great Powers.
"Anyway, Sister Therese, you just need to trust that I can handle this. I won't let you two face any danger."
After learning about Wood's astonishing past, Therese and the Holy Maiden naturally had no objections. They accepted Wood's suggestion and headed toward the Holy Kingdom of Millis.
On their way, Wood and Therese happened to come across the Holy Knights who had been pursuing them earlier.
However, the once-majestic Holy Knights were now nothing more than scattered corpses.
When Wood and the others encountered these pursuers, most of them had already been torn apart by magical beasts. The few who were still breathing were surrounded by a large pack of beasts, desperately calling for help as Wood's group approached.
"What should we do? Should we save them? Or just turn a blind eye and leave?"
Therese and the Holy Maiden were just two people, yet they had already become targets for the magical beasts. With so many Holy Knights gathered here, it was no surprise they had attracted even more attention.
Including the beasts feasting on the corpses of the Holy Knights, there were at least a hundred magical beasts gathered here.
Seeing such a large horde, with many of the beasts being on par with the "Rock Python" and "Saber-Tooth Tiger" they had encountered earlier, Therese's eyes showed a flicker of sympathy. However, she didn't ask Wood to save them.
As former comrades in the Holy Knights, many of these knights were people Therese knew.
Although they had been pursuing her and the Holy Maiden earlier, Therese understood that, as Holy Knights, they were bound by the Pope's orders. They were simply following commands.
If they had the ability, Therese would have liked to save them. But given their current situation, she didn't want to risk her nephew and the Holy Maiden for the sake of these knights.
After a moment of hesitation, Therese bit her lip, turned her head away, and said to Wood and the Holy Maiden, "Let's go. They're our enemies now. There's no need to risk ourselves to save them."
Just as Therese steeled her resolve and pulled the reluctant Holy Maiden away, she noticed that Wood hadn't moved. Puzzled, she asked, "Wood, why aren't you coming?
Have you changed your mind? Are you going to listen to me and give up on going to the Holy Kingdom of Millis?"
"No, I just thought that you wanted to save these people, Sister Therese.
If that's the case, then I can lend a hand. It'll also give you both more confidence in what I said earlier."
Wood didn't particularly care about the lives of these Holy Knights. After all, he didn't know them.
But since they were Therese's former comrades, saving them as a small favor wasn't a big deal. Plus, as Holy Knights, they might have valuable information about the current state of the Church.
After weighing the pros and cons, Wood decided to act. With a flash of light, the blue longsword *Frost Knight* appeared in his hand. Before Therese could even try to stop him, Wood had already appeared in front of the magical beasts.
"Hyakki Goken-ryū: Single Sword Style—Kamaitachi!"
A fierce gale erupted, and the wind-born demon let out a shrill cry as it slashed forward with its razor-sharp claws!
The raging airflow condensed into a massive circular blade of wind, spreading outward in all directions. In an instant, accompanied by the agonized cries of the magical beasts, every creature within dozens of meters in front of Wood was cleanly bisected by the razor-sharp wind blade!
And it wasn't just the beasts. Everything within the attack's range—whether rocks or trees—was sliced in two in that single moment. Nothing was spared.
Therese and the Holy Maiden stood to the side, watching this unfold. Their expressions were frozen in utter disbelief.
This was a horde of nearly a hundred magical beasts, many of which were high-level creatures capable of rivaling S-rank adventurers. Yet, they had just been wiped out like trash with a single slash?
"Therese, you said earlier that Wood is a Sword Saint, right? But no matter how I look at it, this doesn't seem like something a Sword Saint could do, does it?"
Compared to Therese, who already had some understanding of Wood's abilities, the Holy Maiden was even more shocked by what she had just witnessed. She turned to Therese with wide eyes, seeking an explanation.
However, what she didn't know was that while Therese wasn't as visibly stunned as the Holy Maiden, the impact of what she had just seen was no less profound.
Even Therese herself hadn't expected that her nephew, whom she already considered incredibly strong, would have grown so absurdly powerful over the past two years!
This wasn't the level of a Sword Saint anymore. This was something even a Sword Emperor might struggle to achieve!
After performing this feat that left Therese and the Holy Maiden utterly dumbfounded, Wood casually sheathed his sword as if he had just done something trivial.
He glanced at Frost Knight in his hand and muttered to himself, "As expected, my own sword feels much better to use. If I had been using that junk from before, the blade would've shattered after that slash."
Wood hadn't expected that Frost Knight, a system reward, could be used in this world. His previous weapons, Heaven's Wither and Morning Dew, which had fused with his original sword Dragon's Fang, couldn't be used in other worlds. However, Frost Knight, being a pure system reward, didn't have that limitation and could be summoned and used freely.
After effortlessly wiping out nearly a hundred magical beasts, Wood turned his attention to the Holy Knights lying in pools of blood. He extended his other hand and conjured a green magic circle.
"Imperial-Level Healing Magic: Redemption of the Holy Light Goddess!"
A brilliant golden light instantly enveloped the entire forest. The dense magical energy in the air coalesced into the form of a beautiful goddess clad in white, radiating a holy aura.
As the goddess showered the area with divine light, the Holy Knights who had been on the brink of death were bathed in the radiance. Their wounds began to heal at a visible rate.
The injuries caused by the beasts' claws and fangs were one thing, but even severed limbs and disemboweled bodies were rapidly regenerating under the effects of the holy light!
Of course, those Holy Knights who had already died couldn't be brought back to life. Even though their bodies were restored to completeness under the holy light, death was still death. Not even an Imperial-Level healing spell could reverse that.
Nevertheless, witnessing this scene, which could only be described as divine, left Therese and the Holy Maiden—both devout followers of Millis—completely speechless.
It was common knowledge that followers of Millis, like Zenith, were skilled in healing and purification magic. This was especially true for members of the Millis Church.
Among the Millis Church, the one who had mastered healing and purification magic to the highest degree was undoubtedly the "Old Pope."
However, as Therese and the Holy Maiden knew, while the Old Pope publicly claimed to have mastered "Imperial-Level" healing magic, the truth was that he had only reached the "Saint-Level."
For most mages, healing magic was the most difficult system to master. The Old Pope's "Saint-Level" healing magic was already considered heroic within the human realm, which was why he held such a high position in the Church.
Yet, the healing magic Wood had just displayed completely shattered their understanding of what was possible.
"Saint-Level" healing magic was already extremely rare on the continent. While it couldn't regenerate lost limbs, it was more than enough to pull someone back from the brink of death.
As for "Imperial-Level" healing magic, while not as absurd as "God-Level" healing, it was still something close to a legend.
Even as the Holy Maiden and the Captain of the Holy Knights, Therese and the Holy Maiden had never truly witnessed "Imperial-Level" healing magic.
Moreover, the sheer scale and effectiveness of the healing they had just seen seemed to far surpass even the rumored capabilities of "Imperial-Level" magic.
"Miss Therese, if I recall correctly, you mentioned earlier that your nephew, Wood Greyrat, is skilled in 'Sword Saint'-level swordsmanship and various 'Saint-Level' elemental magics, right?
So, your Latria family considers slaying nearly a hundred magical beasts with a single slash and a healing spell that's only slightly less effective than resurrection to be 'Sword Saint'-level swordsmanship and 'Saint-Level' magic?"
Seeing the Holy Maiden look at her with an expression that seemed to say, "Your Latria family really knows how to show off," or perhaps, "Your standards are ridiculously high," Therese could only grimace awkwardly.
Based on the information she had, two years ago, Wood had indeed only mastered "Sword Saint"-level swordsmanship and "Saint-Level" magic.
Wood was her nephew, after all. The stronger he was, the more pride she could take in him. Why would she hide such a thing?
"I genuinely had no idea that my monstrous nephew had grown this much stronger in just two years!"
Despite Therese's earnest explanation, the Holy Maiden wasn't buying a single word of it. She was now convinced that Therese was just being humble—or perhaps, showing off.
If Therese had known about Wood's true strength all along, why would she have tried to stop him from returning to the Holy Kingdom of Millis?
With Wood's current power, even if he couldn't single-handedly dominate the Holy Kingdom, he could at least stabilize the situation. At the very least, he could ensure the safety of the Latria family.
By the time Wood and the others arrived, most of the Holy Knights had already perished. Despite the overwhelming power of Wood's "Imperial-Level" healing magic, only four or five Holy Knights survived.
When these surviving knights saw the Holy Light Goddess dissipating in the air, they immediately dropped to their knees in reverence, clasping their hands in prayer.
They believed that this miracle, comparable to divine intervention, could only have been the work of a god.
"That was just a spell. Instead of praying to some distant deity, you'd be better off thanking me directly."
Hearing Wood's words, the surviving Holy Knights were left speechless. They simply couldn't believe that someone could take healing magic to such an unimaginable level.
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