100% DROP RATE : Why is My Inventory Always so Full? - Chapter 262

Chapter 262: Chapter 262 – Battle
The Nephralis and Varkhaal disciples were already prepared.

They had been waiting for an ambush. The Dark Shade’s warning echoed in their minds. Their killing formations were already ready.

And the moment Lucien’s group emerged from the darkness—

The ritualists’ heads snapped up as one.

“There they are,” one hissed.

“We knew these pests would strike soon,” another sneered.

“Hah. I didn’t expect it would be you, Wolf boy. You’ve been against us even before we entered. Prepare yourself,” an elder spat.

Just then… a layered barrier wrapped itself around the ritual area.

Six figures stepped out from the ritual circle with cold precision.

Three Nephralis.

Three Varkhaals.

All were Celestial-realm experts. Even forcibly suppressed to the Mortal Realm, they radiated terrifying pressure. Their instincts, their techniques, and their mastery of laws all remained sharp.

Flames coiled around the Nephralis like dragon tongues. A suffocating black mist wrapped around the Varkhaals as if the shadows themselves bowed to their will.

Marie whispered tightly,

“Six elites… so they were already waiting for us.”

Eirene responded with unwavering calm.

“Verdant Veil, prepare for battle.”

They didn’t rush blindly.

They moved like hunters who had already anticipated where their prey would step.

BOOOOOOM—!!

A wave of molten fire erupted from the Nephralis formation, searing a deep gouge into the stone where Lucien had been standing moments earlier.

Simultaneously—

SHRRRRRP—

Varkhaal shadow tendrils slashed through the air like blades. Reality itself warped around their edges.

Lucien didn’t flinch.

“Spread out!”

The Verdant Veil exploded into motion. Some dove behind pillars, others leapt onto the air.

The Celestial seniors erected layered barriers—

CRACK—!!

But even those barriers trembled violently.

“These attacks—!” a senior choked. “They’re still too strong!”

Suppressed or not, Nephralis fire still carried the ferocity of a collapsing star. And Varkhaal darkness carved space like a guillotine.

The six elites smirked.

“Suppression does not make us equals,” a Nephralis murmured.

“We have fought across realms you cannot imagine,” a Varkhaal added.

“Know your place.”

Lucien takes command.

His voice sliced through the chaos.

“Sister Eirene! Backline support, control defenses.”

“On it!”

“Marie! Disrupt their formation links!”

Marie grinned, already sprinting.

“With pleasure.”

“To the rest of you, focus on ONE target at a time! Don’t give them breathing room!”

The Verdant Veil obeyed instantly.

Just then…

“Fire Magic — Dragonburst Pulse!!”

A Nephralis hurled a blazing orb that expanded mid-air into a roaring dragon’s skull.

“Move!” Eirene shouted.

She split her magic into a triple-layered green barrier—

BOOOOM!!!

It shattered, but bought enough time for everyone to dodge.

Opposite them—

“Dark Magic — Severing Eclipse!”

A Varkhaal carved a crescent of pure void that sliced stone like silk.

Marie rolled beneath it, hair singed.

“HEY! That almost took my head off!”

The Celestial-realm seniors countered—

“Two-Fold Radiant Wall!”

Light smashed into darkness—

KRKSHHHHH—!!

Sparks exploded across the chamber.

Neither side gained ground.

A perfect deadlock.

Lucien stepped forward.

His gaze sharpened.

He summoned a weapon then flicked his wrist—

SHING!

A chain-whip lashed out, coiling around a Nephralis expert’s arm.

“You dare—?!” the man snarled.

He tried to channel fire onto the whip—

But then—

PROCRASTINATE!

The Nephralis paused involuntarily.

An opening.

“Now!”

Marie flickered behind him but—

CLANG!

A Varkhaal shadow intercepted her strike.

“Tch! Cockroach shadows!” she spat.

Eirene raised both hands.

A pulse of emerald washed over the Verdant Veil… sharpening their senses, strengthening their bodies, and syncing their rhythm.

“Perfect timing!” Lucien shouted.

Spells clashed.

Stone burst.

Barriers shattered.

The entire chamber trembled—

Even the Eternal Beasts stirred, watching with amusement.

Lucien felt it.

If they didn’t stop the ritual now… things would turn catastrophic.

“We end this now.”

He charged toward the ritual—

But the elites blocked him with frightening coordination.

The ancient beings watched, entertained by a battle after millennia of silence.

Then the Red Dragon spoke like a verdict.

“Finish them.”

The Celestial Elites finally revealed their killing strike.

“Solar Wrath!!” A miniature sun ignited in a Nephralis’ palm.

“Void Maw!!” Shadows spiraled into a consuming vortex.

The Law-infused attacks intertwined, creating a blazing sun devoured by darkness.

The Verdant Veil members froze in horror.

“That—!!!”

Lucien roared,

“Sister Eirene!”

But she was already ahead of him.

“Safeguard Bloom!!”

Roots of energy wove layer upon layer like a living fortress.

The combined spell struck—

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM—!!!

A shockwave tore through the entire chamber.

…

Soon, the shockwave faded.

Dust rolled across the chamber. The Verdant Veil staggered but remained standing thanks to Eirene’s barrier.

The enemy elites straightened with arrogant composure, already preparing their next strike.

Lucien exhaled once.

And then he decided. There was no point hiding anymore.

He lifted his hand slightly.

A faint golden spark ignited around him.

Then—

Divine energy erupted as Lucien started casting a spell. A tide of luminous power surged outward, distorting the air and bending the shadows around him.

The Verdant Veil members froze. They recognized that energy signature. None of them expected this.

Even the Nephralis and Varkhaals involuntarily stepped back.

Marie only grinned wide, proud, and almost smug.

“Took you long enough,” she said, placing her hands on her hips. Then she stomped her foot on the ground.

“Fine. Let’s stop playing pretend.”

Ripples of power spread from her feet.

Absolute Earth Governance.

The earth sharpened, pillars rose, and the ground itself shifted, recognizing her authority. The very stage turned in her favor.

The Verdant Veil stared at the two of them with equal parts awe and disbelief.

The Eternal Beings reacted. The ancient cages shook violently.

The Storm Roc hissed sharply. The Behemoth’s chains clattered. The Titan leaned forward. The others trembled with shock.

The Red Dragon’s molten eyes widened a fraction.

The Dark Shade’s form flickered erratically.

From deep within the chamber, their Eternal tongue echoed again.

“Who is this mutt…?” the Behemoth growled, bewildered.

“Divine energy from a wolf cub…?” the Storm Roc whispered.

“Impossible,” the Titan murmured, voice trembling with memory.

Their eyes all locked onto Lucien.

Even the Abyss Monster turned its head but its gaze was impossible to decipher.

The Red Dragon and the Dark Shade finally acknowledged a mortal as a threat.

A low rumble came from the Red Dragon. A ripple of corrosive shadow leaked from the Dark Shade. They could not directly attack… not in their suppressed, chained state. They could only snort, glare, and distort the air around them.

It was enough to make the Celestial elites stiffen but it did nothing to Lucien.

Lucien raised his hand.

He finally finished the casting.

Advanced Light Magic: Sanctus Lumina.

Divine energy burst from him.

Holy light tore upward and outward.

The chamber shifted as though consecrated.

From the ground, orbs of warm gold began rising…

Each one shimmered like a soul ascending.

It was the same spell Clara used back in the Coalheart region when they blessed the departed.

Marie gasped softly.

“This is… beautiful.”

Eirene trembled as warmth wrapped around her.

“It’s… a buff.”

Indeed.

Sanctus Lumina washed over the Verdant Veil, granting sharper reactions, steadier minds, and renewed vitality.

Every member felt reborn.

But the Varkhaal—

Their forms spasmed violently.

SHZZZT—SHZZZT—

Their shadows evaporated and their bodies flickered.

The darkness they relied on to teleport vanished.

A Varkhaal elder screamed,

“WHAT—!? How can you use divine energy?!”

The darkness recoiled from Lucien’s divine light like a wounded animal.

Marie laughed.

“Oh, you’re done. So, so done.”

Just then, Marie finished shaping her stone golems. She willed them forward. They struck the stunned Varkhaals with overwhelming force, maneuvering skillfully through the terrain she created.

But the Nephralis weren’t idle.

They unleashed concentrated fire magic infused with the Law of Fire toward the golems.

And another column of molten flame surged toward Lucien.

Lucien simply lifted one hand.

“Let me show you something.”

A golden flame ignited at his fingertips.

It burned silently. Its edges curled inward instead of outward.

The flame darkened slightly as Lucien infused it with the Law of Death… specifically, Decay.

“I’ll call this one… Deathfire.”

He flicked his wrist—

Lucien’s dark golden flame met the Nephralis infernos.

Everyone expected an explosion.

Instead—

Ssshhhh—

The Nephralis flames withered, hollowed, and died as if they were old leaves crumbling in winter.

The Nephralis elites’ pupils shrank.

“No… no, impossible—!! Our Law of Fire is being erased?!!”

Lucien’s Deathfire didn’t slow.

It devoured the flames completely and smashed into the barrier behind the enemies.

BOOOOOOM—!!

The barrier rippled… fractured… and a massive hole tore open.

The ritual circle was no longer fully protected.

Marie’s grin sharpened.

Eirene’s breath caught.

The Eternal Beings inhaled slightly. They recognized the golden flame… or rather, the law within it.

“That Law… I felt something similar during the War,” the Titan whispered.

“This mutt is more dangerous than any of us expected.”

The Abyss Monster simply turned its head, amused.

Lucien lowered his hand.

His voice was calm.

Deadly calm.

“My turn.”