An intense battle took place in the sky as Erica fought with Sherry, who was riding on her Steel Falcon.

Erica was spamming Magic Bullets, and so far, she had achieved minor success in

Weaponization

Her Magic Bullets now had a small black bead at their center, which was concentrated magic that took physical form.

The sound of metallic beads colliding against steel reverberated in the surroundings.

It sounded like countless little bells that were being rang at the same time.

Thirteen taught Erica the theory of Weaponization for two reasons.

The first one was to make Erica stronger.

The second one was to hasten the Steel Falcon's evolution.

Since it could only evolve after getting hit numerous times by magical and physical attacks, Erica's weaponization was the perfect way to make it evolve as soon as possible.

If the Sorceress only knew that Thirteen was only using her to make "Ace" evolve faster, Erica would certainly get mad and target Thirteen with her Magic Bullets instead.

Fortunately, she didn't know, so Thirteen could only chuckle in his heart as he shifted his gaze to Joshua, who was fighting against Mildred in ranged combat.

Just like Erica, the Sage of the Hero Party was a magical battery.

He had both offensive spells, as well as debuff spells, which could make the enemy feel disgusted in battle.

That was why, when Thirteen trained Joshua in the Leventis Residence using the GANDAM NeuroLink, he made him battle a Pocopoco composed of Vassago's data.

The Pocopoco not only attacked him but also trash talked him to oblivion, making Joshua lose the calmness of his state of mind.

The role of the Sage in the Hero Party was the "Controller."

He was someone who supported Erica as an offensive spell caster and supported Shana as a debuffer.

By inflicting his enemy with debuffs like Slow, Weaken, Paralyze, Blind, and other spells that would decrease the enemy's combat effectiveness, the Hero Party would be able to get an advantage, especially when they were dealing with a single strong monster.

Because of this, Joshua needed to remain calm at all times to perfectly assess the situation. If his mental state was broken, his effectiveness in battle would decrease by more than half.

The training with the Pocopoco had nearly driven Joshua insane.

As someone who had been treated with respect his whole life, being hurled with expletives brought him down a peg and made him wake up to reality.

Now, he had stronger mental defenses and was able to deal with Mildred's range attacks in a calm manner.

Seeing that the battle was moving according to his expectations, he shifted his attention to Diana's and Shana's battle.

With sword and shield in hand, Diana clashed with Shana, who was wielding her silver banner like a spear.

'Not bad,' Thirteen thought. 'Shana's close combat is at a passable grade.'

As the Saintess of the Hero Party, Shana would always be at the rear of the formation.

However, this wasn't a safe place because the enemies usually target the healer first.

If ever there were monsters who managed to get past the vanguard's defenses, Shana would have to protect herself, and this was where Thirteen's Divine Martial Technique came in.

Shana's Divine Technique was called Saintess Eternal Blossom.

It was a technique that merged celestial beauty with devastating martial prowess. When activated, the user becomes surrounded by a field of radiant, ethereal blossoms that sway with an otherworldly glow. Each petal embodies a fragment of divine energy, offering protection, overwhelming offense, and restoration.

It had three major abilities.

Blossoming Sanctuary-a field of divine blossoms blooms around the user, creating a protective barrier that absorbs incoming attacks. Allies within the sanctuary are healed, their wounds closing as petals swirl around them. The barrier grows stronger with the user's resolve.

Petal Storm of Judgment-the petals transform into razor-sharp, luminous projectiles that target enemies with divine precision. Each petal strikes with immense force, capable of breaking through even the strongest defenses.

Eternal Bloom Requiem-the ultimate technique of Saintess Eternal Blossom. The user channels all of their divine energy into a massive, celestial flower that blooms above the battlefield.

It releases a cascade of radiant petals that cleanse the wicked and restore the pure. Enemies are obliterated by its divine judgment, while allies are healed to their peak condition. True to its name, every time Shana swung her silver banner, white flower petals fluttered in the surroundings, wafting off a fragrance that soothed one's senses.

However, these white flower petals shouldn't be underestimated. As delicate as they look, they were sharp enough to cut through a person's skin, making them a very deadly ability. Only Diana, who specialized in defense, would be able to fight Shana calmly, which had led to a stalemate between the Crusader and the Saintess, the ones who played the roles of Guardian and Healer of their Party.

Hundred of meters away from them, Derek and Roland were fighting each other.

Currently, the two of them were evenly matched. Even Thirteen didn't know who would win between the two because they almost had the same fighting prowess.

Not far from them, Alcapone was fighting against Cristopher's Avatar, Brutus, who was now a Rank 5 Sovereign.

Of course, Brutus wasn't fighting with 100% of his ability. If he did, Alcapone wouldn't stand a chance of winning against him.

Right now, the leader of the E4 Mafia had a black flame blazing on his forehead, which was the ability that Thirteen had passed onto him in exchange for the two billion gold coins he should

have won

auction.

Originally, Alcapone was feeling depressed that his money was swindled from him by his Battalion Commander.

To make matters worse, when the two of them reunited, Thirteen didn't hesitate to knock him unconscious.

The teenage boy hadn't done it out of spite. He simply played it safe and made Alcapone faint before he transferred a Divine Martial Technique in his consciousness.

When Alcapone finally woke up, Thirteen handed him a Martial Booklet and asked Alcapone to train using the moves inside of it.

At first, Alcapone felt indignant, but after reading the booklet, he felt that he could see someone performing the different martial poses inside his head.

Whenever he slept, he would find himself executing the martial technique while fighting against countless enemies.

This was how the Martial Techniques that Thirteen had given to others worked.

Whether they were awake or asleep, they would learn the Martial Techniques without fail because they themselves would be performing it consciously and subconsciously.

The training inside their dreams were the real cherry on top because they were always sent to a battlefield, and the battle would be so realistic, making them even feel pain despite the fact that it was only a dream.

When Alcapone finally finished reading the booklet, it suddenly caught fire and burned until

only ashes were left.

Even so, it no longer mattered.

Alcapone had already memorized everything.

The only thing he lacked was experience. With a bit of practice, it would be ingrained into his

muscle memory.

The Divine Martial Technique that Alcapone gained was called Phantom King's Shadow

Dominion.

This technique drew on the clandestine power of the underworld, blending divine energy with

the aura of a master strategist. The user becomes an untouchable phantom, manipulating

shadows and reality to dominate the battlefield.

It had three distinct abilities.

Spectral Sovereignty-the user creates an intangible domain of darkness, silencing all opponents' powers within its radius. Only allies of the Mafia can act freely.

Chains of Oblivion-shadowy chains erupt from the ground, binding enemies and draining

their strength while empowering the user.

Eternal Vow of the Mafia King-a finishing move that invokes the loyalty and power of the Mafia family, amplifying the user's energy to obliterate foes in a devastating strike.

In short, the Eternal Vow of the Mafia King's power increases when the members of the E4

Mafias are gathered together.

The greater the numbers, the greater the damage!

But since Alcapone was using this ability for the first time, he was having trouble fighting against the Troll Champion, who had high resistance to physical and magical attacks.

Cristopher watched the battle with his arms crossed over his chest.

As Thirteen's right-hand man and also as a Brute Tamer, he was also given a powerful Divine Martial Technique, which Thirteen asked him to keep hidden.

He was only allowed to use this as a last resort because once he used it, he would gain the

attention of every major power in the world due to how devastating it was.

Colbert, who was Thirteen's third in command, also had a Divine Technique. But this

technique wasn't an offensive ability.

It was meant to support people in the battlefield, highlighting Colbert's slyness, for he liked

to take advantage of the weakness of his enemies.

The more they trained, the more Thirteen believed that when the Tournament of Dragons and

Phoenixes took place, the people who had gone through his training would definitely be the ones to reach the top ranks in the tournament.