To trump this tactic of theirs, the addition of his fifth gate had better be enough to overwhelm their blockade or he had better try something to make sure it will overwhelm it.
That’s why he turned from attacking the defenders. He turned around and ran back towards the tunnel. He didn’t run straight back too, he took the long way by running along the edge of the bottom of the cliff. Then he returned to the defenders when he reached the exit of the tunnel. Again, he didn’t take the straight way, he curved and ran along the edge. He repeated this again and again. He was running in circles.
The defenders were stunned as much as the attackers. The attackers were perplexed by the actions of their army commander. They didn’t know what he was doing but they didn’t think it would resolve the problem of the catapult. The defenders also thought so. So did the gods.
“Has he gone mad? What will that do?” A celestial god mocked.
“Well, it is understandable. He has tried all else but it has failed. Running in circles isn’t so bad.” Another one jeered.
The gods laughed and joked. Soverick had given them a big shock but the timely orders of Ode had put him in his place. Ode wasn’t the celestial god of battle for nothing. He is the one commanding the angelic army. It was his orders to employ the body blockade tactic. They had sacrificed a lot of their soldiers just to immobilize Soverick but it is worth it if it keeps him away from their ranged war machines.
The gods are rich and could afford better war machines, but the restriction that only vitality core stage refiners can enter also works on them too. That restriction prevents the main plane from trying to flood the dungeon with golems and machines of war, it also prevents the gods from doing the same. So they can only use these archaic instruments of war that don’t use mana at all.
It is all they have, so there’s no way they will let Soverick reach the catapults. They would rather watch him rampage about on the front lines and kill as much as he wants. They were even willing to encourage it. It would be a good thing for them if Soverick becomes a mana entity. The dungeon will transfer him to a more appropriate place. He will be transported to the lower levels of the dungeon and it can be considered progress for Soverick. But it will also allow them to use more powerful means to get rid of him.
The sight of him literally running in circles was encouraging. It showed how frustrated he is. They could still see him through the dust he was picking up. It was still an enjoyable sight when all that dust began to gather. It began to become startling when the dust and the disturbed air formed a small cyclone. Things became confusing when that cyclone became bigger.
“What’s going on?” One of them asked the very question that is plaguing all of their minds.
What is Soverick doing? What does he hope to achieve by kicking up so much dust? Is he really just throwing a tantrum? If he is, then it is one heck of a tantrum.
“This child is really fast.” One of the pointed out.
“Isn’t that obvious? We have seen his feats of speed before. That’s why we employed that tactic.”
“It is obvious. But I didn’t know he could be so fast.”
Ode was listening absentmindedly, he was also trying to figure out what was going on.
Another celestial god asked. “Was he this fast or did he get faster?”
Ode had had enough of their constant muttering. They were not helpful, it was only distracting him from thinking. So he started to berate the gods.
“What does it matter? How is that even relevant? Fast is fast…” He stopped mid-sentence.
It all clicked. The little incomprehensible details he had been seeing finally came together to paint a picture. Somehow, Soverick was getting faster, not slower the more he ran. It was illogical, unless…
“Quick stop him, he is getting faster.” Ode shouted to the angelic army.
The catapults and ballista were already locked and loaded. So they fired at that growing cyclone.
Soverick smirked when he saw the approaching boulders. “I might as well start now.”
It was all too late. Soverick had accumulated enough momentum. It is a wondrous thing to have 5 gates of momentum constantly empowering you. Imagine what they can do if you let them absorb a lot of momentum. Things can quickly escalate.
There were two cracks of thunder as he went straight for the angelic army. He had broken the sound barrier twice. The air howled and screamed as it announced the feat to all that could hear. The sound of the boom was almost deafening. It certainly is louder than the sound of his feet striking the ground like hammers.
Breaking the sound barrier is a feat that mana entities display. Breaking it twice as a vitality core stage refiner is unimaginable. Soverick had to dedicate all the mental prowess he could express to creating, fortifying, and replenishing physical barriers to protect him from the repercussions of his speed.
The speed wasn’t stressing his body. He will experience this same amount of stress if he were standing still. What warranted the protection with barriers is the very friction from the air and all it contains. But most importantly is the force of impact he experienced when he smashed into the lines of the angels and tore through them.
In the past, when they were still loose and had space between each soldier, he would simply cut through them. But now that they had debased themselves and become clothes packed tightly into a suitcase, he tore them apart into shreds. They clumped together for protection, they will die together now that the reaper has arrived.
