The one who now best understood Ebner's overwhelming power was none other than the father of Vice Admiral of Dusk—the Demon Hunter Peter Ivan.
He was a burly middle-aged man of typical Feysac appearance, his body broad and powerful, with arms thicker than Ebner's waist. Standing before him, Ebner looked almost like a child.
Yet it was this "childlike" Ebner who completely dominated the battlefield. Alone, he had forced both the Demon Hunter and his entire fleet into a disadvantage.
The one controlling this historical projection was, of course, Ebner himself.
After Daphne had failed more than ten times before finally managing to summon his image, Ebner had immediately sent one of his Eyes of Wisdom to take control of the projection and assume command of its movements.
The sensation was similar to when he had controlled his "Owen" clone—the only difference was that this time, he needed Daphne to continuously supply spirituality to sustain it.
Of course, this projection lacked the Pure White Eye and many other convenient mystical items, but even stripped of all "external aids," a Prophet who had completely "analyzed" the Incomplete Mythical Creature Forms of twenty-two Beyonder pathways was a truly terrifying existence.
He could freely wield the abilities of multiple pathways, unleashing countless powerful secret arts, and could even "foresee" his opponent's next likely move through information itself—just thinking about it was enough to make anyone's head ache.
The Demon Hunter, though armed with his Eye of Demon Hunting and adept at finding the weaknesses of his foes to counter them precisely, found himself at a severe disadvantage.
Aside from a slight edge in "anti-prophecy" abilities, he was inferior in every other respect. He was even forced to maintain a solid, invisible barrier around the fleet to prevent it from being annihilated—otherwise, he'd have no foothold left at all.
As he watched the five fiery spheres orbiting around the Professor, each serving as both attack and defense, continuously firing and regenerating, Peter Ivan knew he could no longer stay on the defensive. He immediately pulled out a talisman and chanted in ancient Hermes:
"Harvest!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the talisman turned into a crimson meteor, streaking across the air and appearing before Ebner in the blink of an eye.
On the other side, guided by his semi-divine Analysis ability, Ebner instantly discerned that the talisman carried the power of a War Bishop'sKilling Strike. With the limited strength of this projection, a direct hit would cause it to disperse.
Thus, he immediately simulated a Secrets Sorcerer-level Blink, sending an afterimage to take the hit in his stead.
If it had been a true War Bishop launching that Killing Strike, such a simple afterimage trick would never have worked—but this was only a talisman. Though powerful, its adaptability was limited.
However, just as Ebner's projection reappeared in another location, a longsword gleaming with special sigils materialized there at the same time!
This, in truth, was Peter Ivan's real killing move—a Demon Hunter's assassination strike, made possible by his anti-prophecy and anti-divination traits, which hid his actions and intentions completely.
He had already anticipated that the Professor would evade the Killing Strike, and so he had used it as a distraction. Through instinct, mental sensing, and battle experience, he had accurately predicted his enemy's reaction and prepared to deliver a fatal blow.
Ebner was indeed surprised—but even under pressure, his mind remained perfectly calm in his State of Absolute Rationality. With a wave of his hand, he condensed a massive sword of orange light and drove it into the sea beneath his feet.
In that instant, the power of Guardianship enveloped his entire form. An invisible barrier formed around him, and before Peter Ivan's stunned eyes, his longsword shattered inch by inch—completely disintegrating.
"How… how is that possible?!" Peter Ivan was dumbfounded. As a former Guardian himself, now turned Demon Hunter, he knew the Power of Guardianship intimately—it should only reach full strength when connected to solid ground.
But this was the sea! The Guardianship power of the ocean shouldn't be anywhere near this strong!
While Peter Ivan was still frozen in disbelief, Ebner had already shifted from defense to offense. A flaming spear condensed in his hand, charged with the powers of Killing Strike, Enhanced Adjudication, Mind Deprivation, and Mystic Disease. Without regard for distance, he hurled it directly toward the Demon Hunter.
Though this strike didn't carry the sheer aura of that talisman's attack, if it hit, even a demigod would suffer severe injuries.
Feeling his spirituality scream in warning, Peter Ivan snapped out of it.
Seeing the fiery spear about to pierce him, he mimicked Ebner's earlier move, stabbing his broken sword downward and channeling all his power into Guardianship.
Watching this, Ebner couldn't help but let out a wry chuckle, thinking to himself:
The Power of Guardianship from the Warrior pathway must have originated from the Giant King, developed using the authorities of the Twilight Giant and the Naturewalker—similar to how the Phoenix Ancestor developed the Gatekeeper and the Wolf King developed the Fear Projection. These are composite abilities derived from multiple authorities, so they need the strength of the Earth to function at their best.
But my Guardianship is strong because I have the Earth's Blessing… You trying to copy me is like Dong Shi imitating Xi Shi—it's pointless.
Boom!
With a thunderous explosion, the Demon Hunter Peter Ivan was blasted backward, flying several hundred meters before finally coming to a halt. His armor and sword were utterly destroyed, and one of his arms hung uselessly by his side.
And that wasn't all—within Vice Admiral of Dusk's fleet, at least half the sailors dropped dead instantly. The survivors were pale and weakened, and some even suffered mental breakdowns, teetering on the verge of losing control.
So, he had a mystical item imbued with the Iron-Blooded Knight's ability, able to distribute damage among his men…
After a brief Analysis, Ebner nodded in understanding—but did not continue attacking.
For one thing, his mission was merely to distract the enemy, and he bore no personal hatred toward Peter Ivan; he had little desire to kill him.
Secondly, unleashing multiple demigod-level abilities in succession had consumed a vast amount of spirituality. Daphne still had to hold off the War Bishop, so there was no need to add to her burden.
Lastly, though the Demon Hunter was injured, every demigod was a dangerous existence. Ebner wasn't sure whether the man still had a trump card hidden away, so he decided not to push him further.
After all, Arrodes had once warned him—never drive a demigod to desperation unless you are certain you can kill them completely.
…..
While Ebner's historical projection clashed fiercely with the Demon Hunter and his fleet, the Owen clone, now transformed in appearance, was confronting the Silver Knight Ivan Shalik, the archbishop of the Church of the God of Combat who had rushed from the church.
(End of Chapter)