The Strongest Human

Chapter 7

The blackened stone walls of Ironclad Fortress stood imposing, clawing at the arid sky of the Deadlands. Surrounding it, a transparent magical dome radiated a dense, shimmering golden-purple hue. The Aetheric Aegis—a tier-three absolute magical barrier powered directly by subterranean branches of the Aetherial Veins—stood firm, protecting the fortress without a single flaw.

Atop the fortress walls, dozens of silver-armored Daemonicus soldiers lined up in neat formation. At the forefront stood Commander Valerius, a two-horned Daemonicus noble clad in the majestic robes of the Sovereign Concord. Valerius looked down at a lone human walking calmly across the dusty ground.

"Look at that earthworm!" Valerius roared with laughter, his voice projected by wind magic until it thundered across the entire battlefield. "Does he honestly think he can breach the Aetheric Aegis shield on foot? Has the brain of this slave race rotted away in the abyss?!"

The Daemonicus soldiers joined in with contemptuous laughter. An elite mage beside Valerius readied his crystal staff. "Commander Valerius, should we fire the Aetherium mana cannon at him now?"

"No need! Let the bastard slam his cheap body against the shield! Let him see how absolute magic pulverizes his bones into dust!" Valerius replied with supreme arrogance.

Behind Alden, Garrick Ironwill tightly gripped the handle of his giant axe. Cold sweat dripped from the broad-shouldered veteran's forehead. Beside him, dozens of Ashen Vanguard members held their breath, their faces pale. "Alden!" Garrick yelled anxiously. "That shield isn't ordinary magic! The Aetheric Aegis channels raw energy straight from the belly of the earth! Even a direct hit from a war cannon wouldn't leave a scratch on it!"

Alden Vance stopped exactly three paces in front of the vibrating purple dome of magic. He held no weapon. Both of his hands hung loosely at his sides. Alden stared at the magical energy lines before him with cold, tranquil black eyes.

"Channels raw energy from the belly of the earth, you say?" Alden murmured softly. The corner of his lips curled into a faint, terrifying smile. "Good. That means this isn't just a shield... it's a gourmet feast for my body's cells."

Instantly, a bizarre phenomenon occurred. Alden took a deep breath. The Somatic Resonance within his body suddenly burst into action. The pores of his skin opened wide, and the veins along his arms and neck glowed with a burning black energy. The surrounding magical boundary effects began to warp wildly. The air around Alden bent sharply, as if sucked into a black hole.

The Aetheric Aegis magical dome, which had been glowing brightly moments before, suddenly hissed loudly. The purple energy forming the barrier began to distort, forcibly pulled and bent toward Alden's chest and right hand. The absolute magic did not reject Alden; instead, its energy was brutally violated and devoured by Alden's Earth-human biology.

"What... what is happening to the shield?!" screamed the elite mage atop the wall. The crystal on his magic staff suddenly cracked. "The Aetherium energy from the shield is being siphoned! Our magic isn't working! The shield is losing stability!"

"What?! How could a human without a magic core drain raw Aetherium?! Shoot him! Shoot that bastard right now!" Valerius bellowed in panic, his arrogance instantly vanishing, replaced by instinctive terror.

"Too late, motherfucker," Alden whispered.

Alden pulled his right fist back. The muscles in his arm swelled, densifying until they were as hard as forged steel. The abundant Aetherium energy freshly absorbed from the shield gathered entirely within his fist. Without hesitation, Alden unleashed a strike of pure force using the foundational technique of the Apex Arts: Iron Devourer.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!!

A tremendous sonic blast shook the entire Valley of Iron Skulls. A circular physical shockwave surged outward, obliterating the ground beneath Alden's feet. The Aetheric Aegis magical barrier—the pride of the Sovereign Concord—shattered into a thousand cracks within milliseconds before exploding into fragments like cheap glass smashed by a sledgehammer. Purple magical dust scattered into the air, and every speck was absorbed into the pores of Alden's skin, further heightening his physical density.

The residual force of Alden's punch did not stop there. A shockwave of pure air pressure hurtled forward, slamming into the main gate of Ironclad Fortress, which was made of two-meter-thick Aetheric iron. The massive gate ripped free from its hinges, sailed into the fortress courtyard, and crushed dozens of Daemonicus soldiers, killing them instantly.

A suffocating silence enveloped the battlefield for several seconds. The Ashen Vanguard forces stood slack-jawed with wide eyes. They could not believe what they had just witnessed with their own eyes.

"A-An absolute barrier... destroyed with a single bare-knuckle punch?!" stammered one of the human rebel soldiers.

Garrick Ironwill was the first to snap out of his stupor. The veteran grinned broadly, thrusting his mechanical arm into the air and bellowing with commanding authority: "Rebels of the Ashen Vanguard! Don't let the sacrifice and path forged by Alden go to waste! CHARGE! Slaughter every single bastard who has enslaved us!"

"CHARGE!!" roared hundreds of human warriors, ignited by a newfound fire of resolve.

Inside the fortress courtyard, total chaos erupted. Panicked Daemonicus soldiers scrambled to form defensive lines. Three high mages cast a combined spell, hurling a barrage of fiery spears—Inferno Lances—straight at Alden as he stepped inside at the lead.

"Die, you monster!" screamed one of the mages.

Alden didn't even step aside. He charged straight through the magical inferno. The heat, capable of melting iron, evaporated the moment it touched Alden's skin, converted instantly into pure kinetic energy. Alden emerged from behind the flames at absurd speed. His left hand snatched the neck of the first mage, twisting it until it snapped with a hissing CRACK. With his right leg, Alden delivered a spinning roundhouse kick that slammed into the chest of the second mage, crushing iron armor and ribs alike, sending him flying into the fortress wall.

The third mage trembled violently, dropping his staff. "Mercy... have mercy on me—"

Before he could finish the sentence, Alden's palm grabbed the mage's face and slammed it into the stone floor, shattering it completely. The entire elite magical defense of the Daemonicus collapsed before Alden's Apex Arts martial arts.

Atop the fortress, Commander Valerius turned and fled in terror toward the inner hall. He fumbled in his robe pocket, trying to activate an emergency teleportation talisman. "Damn it! Damn it! This isn't a human! This is a cosmic predator demon! I have to report this to the capital of Aethelgard!"

"Where do you think you're going, bastard?" a cold voice echoed directly behind the nape of Valerius's neck.

Valerius froze. Before he could turn around, a massive hand like a steel vise crushed his right wrist holding the teleportation talisman.

CRACK!!

"AAGHHHHHHH!! MY HAND!!" Valerius screamed hysterically as the bones in his wrist were ground to pulp. His magical talisman dropped and was crushed under Alden's boot.

Alden choked Valerius's neck with one hand, lifting the horned Daemonicus commander off the ground until his feet dangled in the air. Valerius's face turned purple-blue, his eyes bulging in agonizing pain and sheer terror.

"You... you human trash... if Arch-Sovereign Malakor finds out about this... you will burn in hell—"

Alden drove his thumb into Valerius's shoulder, piercing through the silver armor and pressing down on a sensitive nerve point. Valerius shrieked so loudly his voice went hoarse.

"I don't have time to listen to fairy tales about that dog of a ruler of yours," Alden said in a flat, ruthless tone. "Answer my question if you still want to be breathing in the next five minutes. Where is the raw Aetherium reserve and weapon storage for this fortress?"

"In... in the third basement level! The master key is in my belt pouch! Please... please stop! Don't kill me! I'll give you anything!" Valerius sobbed and pleaded, every ounce of his magical noble dignity crumbling entirely before the threat of raw death.

Alden took the master key and delivered a swift punch to Valerius's jaw, knocking the commander out cold with a shattered jaw. Alden tossed Valerius's body to the ground like a pile of trash.

A few minutes later, the battle in the fortress courtyard had come to an end. All remaining Daemonicus soldiers were either slaughtered or surrendered. Garrick Ironwill walked over to Alden, wiping enemy blood from his sword and mechanical arm. The veteran's face was filled with awe and deep emotion.

"Ironclad Fortress... is ours," Garrick whispered, as if still unable to believe it. "For a hundred years that humans have been exiled in the Deadlands, not a single rebel group managed to take a Sovereign fortress. But you... you did it in a matter of minutes, Alden."

Alden turned his head, looking at the hundreds of human prisoners who had just been freed from the labor cells in the rear of the fortress. They gazed at Alden with tear-filled eyes, kneeling and worshipping him as a savior god.

"Stand up! Never kneel to anyone ever again!" Alden's voice echoed sternly across the entire fortress. "I am not your god. I am human, just like you. And today we proved that the magic of the Sovereigns is nothing more than a giant lie that can be shattered with bare fists!"

Roaring cheers filled the air of Ironclad Fortress. Garrick approached Alden and patted his shoulder gently. "What are your orders, Leader?"

Alden looked toward the northern horizon, toward the floating city of Aethelgard that hid the universe's dark secrets.