Aside from the few heroes of the Eileen Kingdom, including Brandon Von Guttur, the Weapon Breaker, who holds the rank of commander—equal to that of a noble duke—there are three commander positions that form the pillars of the kingdom's forces.

The first is the Knights' Commander, who governs all the knights of the entire kingdom.

The second is the Valkyries' Commander, who governs all the valkyries—or rather, the female counterpart of the knights, though calling a valkyrie that way could be considered an insult.

The last is the Soldiers' Commander, who governs all the soldiers of the kingdom's capital—the very commander whose Visage they are about to fight.

"Burnout"

Brandon immediately activated his divine gift, as it was his only upper hand against the Soldiers' Commander.

Though Brandon was taller, at around 190 centimeter, and had a larger frame compared to the Soldiers' Commander, it didn't mean he could overwhelm him in strength or speed. Not to mention, their skill with the sword was almost equal—

"Heh…"

At that thought, Brandon couldn't help but laugh. Not to mock his opponent, but himself—admitting that what he called "almost equal in swordsmanship" was only true when he was using his divine gift to bring out the full potential of his enchanted sword against a swordsman who wasn't even a hero and didn't have a divine gift.

Regardless of his insecurity about needing to rely on his divine gift just to win against the Soldiers' Commander, Brandon chose to fight with the intent to end it as soon as possible.

After all, a prolonged battle between two commanders whose strength equaled that of gold-rank adventurers would only put Brandon at a disadvantage, as his weapons and armor would eventually break due to the nature of his divine gift.

'Ballista'

Enhanced to its maximum potential and imbued with an advanced combat skill, Brandon threw his spear, aiming to obliterate the Visage of the Soldiers' Commander.

His spear shot forth at blinding speed. The blast of wind that erupted with the soaring spear—bearing enough force to break a castle wall—engulfed the wide tunnel of the labyrinth, tearing through its stone floor, walls, and ceiling.

"Lightning"

—BOOM!!!—

The explosive impact of the spear hitting its mark was immediately followed by a thunderous roar as Sylvie cast her intermediate-level mystic spell, conjuring a lightning bolt that struck the Visage in a flash.

With two consecutive attacks from a gold-rank warrior commander and a gold-rank mage adventurer, giving no quarter against a single opponent, even a high-level monster would fall to its knees upon taking both head-on.

But that wasn't the case for the Visage of the Soldiers' Commander—and especially not for the real one.

"You really are unwavering, aren't you?" Brandon said, impressed but also anxious at the Visage's ability to imitate the moves of the real Soldiers' Commander that he remembered.

With a single swing of its longsword, imbued with the combat skill Shockwave, the Visage intercepted Brandon's spear imbued with Ballista.

The collision of two destructive advanced combat skills generated a powerful blast that altered the trajectory of the incoming lightning bolt, causing it to miss its mark and strike only the tunnel wall.

That move—precisely cutting down a spear soaring at blinding speed—wasn't a simple feat, proving that the Visage of the Soldiers' Commander was as strong and skilled as the real one.

Or so it seemed to everyone in the group—except Brandon.

"What a letdown… I guess you aren't as durable as that person."

The cracks in the Visage's armor—like crystal slowly shattering rather than metal—showed it wasn't able to deflect all the damage from the spear and the lightning bolt.

"If it were that man, he could take more than this injury and walk it off like it was nothing. Let's see if you have that kind of resolve, my Envy."

As Brandon took his stance, preparing to end the fight with his next attack—or rather, with their group's next attack—the Visage also readied its stance, preparing to unleash its own.

"I'll leave the defense to you, young ones."

Being told to withstand an attack from a Visage with the same caliber as Brandon himself made Liz, Hannah, and Ellric nervous and anxious.

Regardless, they stood at the front, knowing they wouldn't improve their skills without taking risks. They were still copper-rank adventurers, but their fighting ability had always been above their rank—and it wasn't as if they hadn't been training since their last quest.

"Boost"

The instant Hannah cast her divine blessing, doubling Liz and Ellric's physical and magical capabilities, the Visage unleashed its attack—a burst of cleaving aura released with the swing of its longsword.

'Gale'

Ellric countered, activating the same advanced combat skill, mirroring the Visage's move with his own longsword.

The two destructive attacks cleaved through the stone floor and ceiling, shattering the walls and crystal shards as they collided with devastating force.

But even though they were the same combat skill, one proved stronger than the other. Ellric's Gale, even boosted by Hannah's blessing, was swallowed whole by the opponent's.

'Fortress'

Liz stepped in, unleashing a protective barrier with her shield as she activated her advanced combat skill to block the incoming cleaving aura.

Though the Visage's Gale had already been weakened by Ellric's counter, Liz's skill still wasn't enough. Her shield was bound to break, unable to withstand the force she was trying to absorb and disperse. But before it did, Brandon finally made his move.

As the Visage rushed at blinding speed, using the remnants of its Gale as cover to reach Liz and cut her down, Brandon intercepted—tanking the lingering aura with his enchanted armor and clashing swords with the Visage.

Brandon fought with his usual style, focusing solely on offense—trusting that his blade would cut through his opponent's weapon and armor—while relying on his armor to endure incoming strikes.

If it were him, this strategy wouldn't work, Brandon thought, sure that he could win against the Visage of the man he envied—with the help of his companions.

Although the Visage of the Soldiers' Commander had the same fighting capability as the real one, its body, armor, and weapon—all made of crystal that only imitated the original materials—were far less durable.

The Visage's longsword cracked with every clash, and its armor splintered with every strike it received.

All Brandon needed was a single opening to break the stalemate in his favor.

"Now, Ms. Sylvie!"

At Brandon's signal, Sylvie cast her advanced-level mystic spell—the same one that had taken down an entire swarm of mid-level harpies.

"Thunderstorm"

—BOOM!!!—

A lightning field engulfed the entire tunnel, surging into its branching passageways as thunderous roars echoed and resounded throughout the entire underground labyrinth.

Hannah was forced to cast her divine blessing Barrier to shield herself, Liz, and Ellric from the lightning and thunder, even though it wasn't aimed at them—while the Visage took the full brunt of the storm.

Standing right in front of the Visage, Brandon was bound to get hit as well. But thanks to the enchantment of his golden armor—granting him partial immunity to magical attacks, further enhanced by his divine gift—he endured the wave after wave of lightning strikes.

As the Visage halted its assault, its body sustaining more cracks and slowly falling apart, Brandon raised his longsword, poured his mana into it, and activated his combat skill with a final strike.

"I acknowledge you, my Envy."

'Gale'

The Visage of the Soldiers' Commander was split in half, then broke apart into hundreds of crystal shards—ending the fight against Brandon's Envy.

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