Richard wanted to challenge the crimson chasm again, but suddenly hundreds of identical Yumo emerged.

They charged toward him immediately, showing no intention of waiting.

Their strength was the same as the previous one.

The only difference was their overwhelming numbers.

Richard became curious about the outcome.

BOOM!

A ferocious wave erupted from him and spread in every direction.

This time, he unleashed the strongest wave he could produce.

The most astonishing aspect of it was that it didn’t merely move through space.

It pushed space itself, erasing the surrounding space as it advanced.

BANG! BANG!

The Yumo released crimson auras that formed walls to block the wave.

They shattered instantly.

BOOM! BOOM!

When the wave struck them—a wave powerful enough to shove space itself—their bodies exploded into bloody pulp.

Richard took a deep breath.

A single attack had annihilated hundreds of such powerful Yumo.

Yet it had also consumed a significant amount of his Aether.

There was no moonlight in this place.

That meant he couldn’t use Lunar Call to replenish himself.

Of course, he could still fight.

In fact, this was exactly the condition he wanted.

Only under pressure would battle become truly intense.

Now he wanted to see what kind of Yumo would emerge next.

His limits had already increased from slaughtering so many of them.

But to push them even further, he needed to be driven into a desperate situation.

So he waited.

A few moments passed.

Nothing appeared.

Naturally, he was confused.

Had he wiped them out completely?

Or was he simply too strong for them?

Just as he was thinking about it, his eyes widened.

Shua!

He instantly moved sideways.

His instincts screamed at him.

Danger was approaching from behind.

Sure enough, a blast of wind streaked past at terrifying speed.

It pierced through space itself.

Had he not moved, it would likely have pierced him as well.

Richard immediately turned around to see who had launched the sneak attack.

A Yumo.

Naturally.

But this one was different.

It possessed wings made of wind.

Instead of legs, its lower body resembled a serpent.

A staff rested in its hand, making it look more like an elemental controller than a warrior.

Just as Richard was considering how troublesome this one might be, more of them emerged from the crimson chasm.

One after another.

Their numbers did not reach a hundred.

Perhaps not even fifty.

Yet there were still many.

As they pointed their staffs toward him, countless currents of wind shot toward Richard from every direction.

They were unbelievably fast.

And they tore through space with ease.

Even in Richard’s eyes, these winds were not inferior to his own.

His Wind Element affinity had already reached ninety percent.

Dangerous.

Extremely dangerous.

Without thinking, he activated Black Heart Hidden Power.

His strength surged to nearly three times its previous level.

Otherwise, his only option would have been entering Void Mode.

He could not overwhelm these opponents directly.

These Yumo were likely operating at the Ruler Realm.

BOOM!

The additional power restored him to peak condition.

Then he released another wave.

This one was vastly stronger than the previous attack.

CLANG! CLANG!

When the wave collided with the incoming winds, the result sounded like countless pieces of metal crashing together.

Yet this was a single wave facing dozens of wind attacks.

And those winds were continuously reinforced.

Through their staffs, the Yumo poured even more power into them.

The winds grew larger.

Stronger.

Sharper.

Slowly, they began tearing apart Richard’s wave.

If it shattered completely, things would become dangerous.

Richard inhaled deeply.

ROAR!

ROAR!

ROAR!

He unleashed a dragon’s roar.

Only one roar.

Yet its echoes reverberated repeatedly throughout the battlefield.

It was the most intimidating roar he could produce short of transforming into a dragon.

The Yumo staggered.

Some lost control of their winds entirely.

Those winds dissipated immediately.

Richard’s wave surged forward.

However, some of the Yumo managed to react.

They pointed their staffs toward the incoming wave.

Brilliant wind energy erupted from the tips.

The wave was halted.

No matter how hard Richard pushed, he could no longer advance it. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

The Yumo had successfully blocked it.

And that was only half of them.

The other half raised their staffs as well.

Infinite streams of wind flowed from every staff.

They gathered together.

Compressed.

Merged.

Until a gigantic arrow appeared.

Its tip pointed directly at Richard.

The killing intent radiating from it was overwhelming.

The threat he sensed was so intense that every instinct in his body told him to flee.

Of course, he could escape with Void Mode.

But then the tension would disappear.

And this very tension was what would allow him to break his limits further.

Whoosh!

The wind arrow launched.

It pierced through his wave instantly.

The wave shattered completely.

Richard felt his entire body tremble from the backlash.

Yet just as the arrow was about to strike him—

A black dragon’s mouth emerged from his chest.

Not an actual dragon.

Merely black light.

But the light was so dense that it looked completely real.

The dragon expanded rapidly.

It bit down on the wind arrow.

Its body grew larger and larger until a colossal dragon appeared in full form.

The more it condensed, the less it resembled light and the more it resembled a living creature.

Black lightning erupted endlessly from its body, destroying everything nearby.

ROAR!

Its roar was even more terrifying than Richard’s own.

Then something even stranger happened.

The dragon split into three.

Each possessed the same size.

The same power.

Working together, the three dragons began tearing apart the gigantic wind arrow.

Dragon Power Grimoire.

This was Richard’s Grimoire.

Living dragons that he could summon into existence.

The 100 Shadow Monster Arcane Art, Lightning of Darkness Art, and Moonshadow Armor had all been sacrificed by Richard long ago.

Yet they still existed within the Dragon Power Grimoire.

And they continued evolving alongside him.

The dragons could even unleash Mind Attacks.

However, those attacks were designed to strike the minds of opponents, not to counter incoming attacks.

Richard had no intention of using them.

If he did, the Yumo before him would likely become far too weak to provide the pressure he needed.