Elinalise being targeted was understandable. Despite her curse making her a complete pervert, her beauty and figure were undeniably stunning.
But even Wood and Rudeus being targeted by the female members of the rebel faction was downright insane.
Perhaps it was the influence of the "Human God" amplifying their desires, or perhaps human nature was just this ugly.
Regardless, the "rebel faction" before Wood and the others, who were supposed to be members of the church, now seemed more like a pile of pure trash.
Facing such trash, Wood didn't waste any words. He drew *Frost Knight* and charged straight at Lartal, their leader.
Lartal was easy to spot. His mana was several times stronger than the others, making him stand out like a crane among chickens.
But what Wood didn't expect was that Lartal, a name that sounded masculine, turned out to be a woman—a strikingly seductive one at that.
She had long, wavy crimson hair, and her beauty rivaled even Elinalise's. Her figure was even more impressive, and she wore scandalously little clothing.
If Elinalise was an elf, then Lartal was a succubus.
Seeing Wood charging toward her, Lartal licked her lips seductively. She was the one who had earlier suggested "having fun" with Wood and the other boys.
Wood's bold charge toward their leader naturally enraged the other rebels.
As Wood closed in on Lartal, many of the rebel knights drew their weapons, ready to teach Wood a lesson.
But unfortunately, before they could even make contact with Wood, they saw him, mid-charge, holding his longsword in one hand and extending the other.
A powerful surge of mana gathered in his hand, and a blue magic circle quickly formed. In the next moment, the temperature in the air plummeted, and a bone-chilling blizzard erupted from the magic circle in Wood's hand!
The rebel knights charging at Wood didn't even have time to react before the icy winds engulfed them. In a matter of seconds, their bodies stiffened, unable to move, and a few moments later, they were completely frozen into lifelike ice sculptures.
The rebels also had mages who tried to use fire magic to thaw their comrades. But to their horror, even intermediate or advanced fire magic was instantly extinguished upon contact with the blizzard!
"As Rudeus said, Wood is a complete monster.
And he could have easily wiped out everyone here in an instant, but he's considerate enough to leave some opponents for us.
I just counted—exactly sixteen people were frozen, plus their leader Lartal, making seventeen.
Does your brother always stick to his word like this? Saying he'll take on seventeen and then doing exactly that?"
Hearing Elinalise's words, Rudeus could only smile wryly before using his swamp magic to restrain the remaining rebels.
Meanwhile, Elinalise drew her rapier and charged forward under the cover of Rudeus's magic.
They weren't as rigid as Wood, insisting on each taking exactly ten opponents. Not everyone was a monster like Wood and Rudeus.
Cliff, despite being the Pope's grandson, wasn't strong enough to take on ten Holy Knight-level opponents alone.
Rudeus and Elinalise had considered this and decided to work together, partly to spare Cliff's fragile pride.
"Clang——————!"
On the other side, after Wood had effortlessly taken out sixteen cannon fodder rebels, his *Frost Knight* clashed with Lartal, the self-proclaimed follower of the Human God.
Lartal's weapon was rare in this world—a whip made of some unknown leather. Yet, when she wielded it, it could withstand the blade of *Frost Knight*.
Wood wasn't using his full strength because he still needed to interrogate Lartal. He didn't want to accidentally kill her.
Even so, the level of swordsmanship Wood displayed was at least at the "Sword Saint" level.
Yet, Lartal managed to block his attack perfectly. Though her whip was stretched taut and the ground beneath her cracked from the force, she had indeed blocked Wood's strike.
"Little brother, I underestimated you earlier. How about joining me? With your strength, I can introduce you to a great being.
With his help, you might become even stronger."
To be honest, Lartal had heard some rumors about Wood in the Holy Kingdom of Millis.
But she had dismissed the tales of the "Divine Emissary" as exaggerated. As a follower of the Human God, she knew more than the average person and understood that there were no true gods in this world.
They were all just playing the same game. The easiest way to establish a new religion or gain followers was to create a figurehead and embellish their deeds to "deify" them.
In Lartal's eyes, Wood was just such a figure.
Freezing an entire beast horde? Only the foolish followers of Millis would believe such nonsense.
While there were people in the world capable of such feats, Lartal refused to believe that a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy could do it!
"The great being you speak of—is it the Human God you worship?
I've actually been quite curious about him. If you could introduce me, I'd be more than grateful.
But I wonder if the great being you worship would dare to show himself to me."
Lartal flicked her whip, and the flexible weapon coiled around the blade of *Frost Knight*. With a powerful tug, she sent Wood flying.
As the whip lashed out, Lartal chanted a long incantation, and red magic circles lit up along the whip. In an instant, flames engulfed the weapon.
"Though I don't know how you learned about my master, with your current strength, you're not worthy to speak his name, let alone claim he's hiding from you.
If you're as strong as you claim, why don't you show me? Let's see if your strength matches your mouth."
The raging flames turned the whip into a fiery serpent, scorching the ground it touched and striking toward Wood with incredible speed.
It was clear that Lartal, as a follower of the Human God, was no pushover.
Even without using his full strength, Wood was employing three different sword styles at the "Sword Saint" level, yet he still couldn't overpower her.
Her whip wasn't an ordinary weapon either. Not only was it incredibly durable, but it also had "mana-conducting" properties, allowing it to synergize with magic.
The Old Pope had supposedly been killed in a sneak attack, but Wood suspected that even in a fair fight, the Old Pope might not have been a match for Lartal.
"He's not wrong. With the strength he possesses now, the Human God, that coward, wouldn't dare show his face.
You think you're suppressing him? He's probably not even using a tenth of his power. He's just playing with you, trying to extract more information about the Human God."
The one who spoke wasn't Wood or Lartal but a white-haired, middle-aged man who had appeared out of nowhere.
He wore a white trench coat with a high collar, had golden eyes, and exuded an overwhelming aura of killing intent. Just by his demeanor and gaze, it was clear he was a figure of immense power.
And indeed, the man who had suddenly appeared was none other than Orsted, the Dragon God, ranked second among the Seven Great Powers.
Orsted's words weren't directed at Wood but at Lartal, Wood's opponent.
Perhaps because Orsted's presence was too intimidating, or perhaps because she was dissatisfied with his words, Lartal hesitated for a moment before redirecting her flaming whip, which had been aimed at Wood, toward Orsted instead.
But unfortunately for Lartal, the person she was provoking wasn't an ordinary man but Orsted, the second-ranked among the Seven Great Powers and one of the strongest beings in the world.
Her fiery whip, which had seemed so menacing, was extinguished just inches away from Orsted, as if it had struck an invisible barrier. The whip itself froze mid-air.
Then, with nothing more than a cold, golden-eyed glare, Orsted sent an invisible shockwave that not only deflected the whip but also sent Lartal flying.
With just a glance, Orsted had not only neutralized Lartal's attack but also sent her crashing into a stone pillar of the church.
This was Orsted, the Dragon God, ranked second among the Seven Great Powers. His power was truly terrifying!
"Hey, who asked you to butt in? Don't you know what 'first come, first served' means?
You're so heavy-handed. If you kill her, how am I supposed to get information about the Human God?"
Seeing the sudden appearance of the white-haired man, Rudeus explained to a confused Cliff and Elinalise that this was Orsted, the Dragon God.
Upon learning that the legendary Dragon God had arrived, both Cliff and Elinalise showed respect.
Though they hadn't met Orsted before, he was a legendary figure. Showing respect and fear toward the strong was an innate instinct.
With Orsted's arrival, Elinalise and Cliff felt much more at ease. With such a powerful ally, victory was practically guaranteed. There was no way they could lose now.
However, not everyone was pleased with Orsted's arrival.
For example, a certain golden-haired boy, who had just had his opponent stolen and had previously lost to Orsted, was extremely unhappy.
Instead of being grateful for Orsted's intervention, he felt the Dragon God was meddling.
When Wood spoke to Orsted in such a tone, Cliff and Elinalise were terrified.
They didn't know Orsted personally, but they had heard the legends. They knew the Dragon God was a proud and aloof being.
Dragons were already proud creatures, and Orsted, the pinnacle of dragonkind, was no exception.
Cliff and Elinalise were worried that Orsted, who was supposed to be an ally, might turn hostile due to Wood's disrespect.
After all, they had heard from Rudeus and Paul that the Greyrat family had some history with Orsted.
But to Cliff and Elinalise's surprise, their fears didn't come true.
The legendary, proud, and aloof Dragon God Orsted didn't seem as difficult to deal with as they had imagined. Hearing Wood's irritated tone, Orsted simply replied in a calm voice, "I controlled my strength to ensure she wouldn't die.
And your method of extracting information from her is futile. The Human God is a master of manipulating human nature.
This matter is better left to me. No matter how devout she is to the Human God, I can use dragon secrets to make her talk."
Cliff and Elinalise's understanding of the legends wasn't wrong. Orsted was indeed a man of few words and immense pride.
If he wanted to do something, he wouldn't explain himself—because he didn't need to!
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