Even Pontiff Dustin was not immune. Tears streamed down his ancient, weathered face, and a long, mournful sigh escaped his lips.
As the Pontiff, his greatest purpose, his singular focus, was the preservation of humanity's flame.
But in that instant, under the spell's influence, he saw a vision: a future where humanity was extinct, where he was the last man alive, utterly and completely alone. How tragic! How utterly sorrowful!
Even the usually expressionless Kanna had tears welling in her eyes. If Master were gone, and she was all alone…
The only one unaffected was Elliot. He was a god now. Influenced by his divine nature, he existed beyond the simple joys and sorrows of mortals.
He could not be moved by such a scene.
He wasn't surprised that the heretic's magic could make a girl with a tragic past like Emilia weep.
But for it to affect the iron-willed Pontiff and the emotionally distant Kanna… that, he had not expected.
It meant this mind-altering spell was unusually powerful. If even they could be controlled, then he, without the protection of his Gnosis, would have been caught in its grip as well. That was close.
A wide-area control effect like this couldn't last long. But on a battlefield, momentum was everything.
A moment's hesitation, a fraction of lost will to fight, could change the entire outcome.
Cardinal Otto's plan was simple: seize control during this brief window of despair and end the battle quickly.
But as he prepared to press his advantage, Cardinal Otto felt a flicker of surprise. This Earth Dragon… he was completely unaffected by his holy art.
[Mourner's Grief] was a spell that awakened the deepest sorrows in a person's heart, utterly destroying their will to fight.
He also possessed other mind-affecting skills like [Mass Fear] and [Mass Compassion].
But against warriors pumped full of adrenaline, those skills were useless.
Only [Mourner's Grief] was effective, because sorrow was the one emotion that was hardest to resist.
Think about it: you're just about to clock out from work, and your boss suddenly tells you to stay for overtime.
Doesn't that instantly bring on the "suffering face"?
Or seeing the girl you like in the arms of another man… doesn't that make a river of sorrow flow? Sorrow strikes directly at the heart.
Everyone has a memory they can't bear to look back on. Once that is exploited, the emotion is nearly impossible to fight.
Yet, this man before him was completely unmoved. Could it be that in the long river of his history, he has not a single moment of sadness or regret? Cardinal Otto was deeply shocked.
However, victory was still within his grasp. What could a single Earth Dragon do to change the course of this battle?
But then he saw it. A strange, knowing smile playing on Elliot's lips. It sent a shiver of unease down Otto's spine. But the arrow was already nocked; he had to let it fly.
The heretic zealots began their counterattack against the Pontiff's forces. Empowered by their faith, the elves became a frenzied tide of destruction.
In contrast, the Pontiff's warriors, trapped in their own despair, saw their combat effectiveness plummet. The outcome of the battle seemed already decided.
Elliot just shook his head. It seemed this Cardinal Otto had no idea just how powerful a cheater could be. Without another word, Elliot began his performance.
"Dominus Lapidis!"
With the activation of his skill, every allied fighter on the battlefield was instantly enveloped in a shield of shimmering golden runes!
This was, in essence, his Jade Shield. However, this version, "Dominus Lapidis," only provided a shield with half the strength of his personal one.
But the difference was that his personal shield only protected himself. This one granted a shield to every single allied unit on the field.
As for who counted as an "ally"? That was determined by his own subjective will. Whoever he considered an ally received the shield's protection. It was an absurdly overpowered ability.
As Elliot cast the spell, the entire battlefield lit up with a golden glow. The heretics' countless attacks, which had been about to cut down the weeping, defenseless allies, now struck the shields and vanished like stones thrown into the sea.
His shield's strength was based on his own Max HP. With his current sixty thousand health, he could grant everyone on his team a shield capable of absorbing ten thousand points of damage.
What did a ten-thousand-point shield mean? It meant that even if you had ten thousand attack power, you couldn't break it in a single hit, because damage was still reduced by armor and resistances.
Even with the massive power boost from their [Berserk] skill, the heretics' attack power couldn't possibly reach the ten-thousand-point threshold.
And Elliot's shield ability… its cooldown was shorter than the time it would take for them to break it.
This meant he could, for all intents and purposes, cast it indefinitely.
This absurdly powerful defensive ability left Cardinal Otto completely stunned. Their only option now was to somehow kill Elliot. Otherwise, they would never break through his shields to finish off the Pontiff's forces.
"Kill him!" Otto commanded, his face a dark mask of fury. He never would have imagined this Earth Dragon possessed such a terrifying shield skill.
A single person, acting as an impenetrable fortress for an entire army… it was unheard of in this world!
"You think you alone can stand against a charging army?!" Otto shrieked, his composure finally cracking.
They had only one choice left: kill him, and kill him within the next three minutes! If they failed, the effect of his [Mourner's Grief]would wear off, and his own side would be in deep trouble.
Elliot's expression remained calm as he swept his gaze over the horde of heretic zealots.
"You're welcome to try." His current stats were on par with a mythical-level beast. Did anyone really think they could take down a mythical beast with sheer numbers?
And so, all the heretics turned their attention, swarming towards Elliot like a tidal wave of frenzied rage.
….
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