This was the sound of the last giant guardian from the city falling to the ground.
The giant guardian, riddled with a thousand holes, not only had its head blown off, but two of its limbs were also severed, along with ghastly and horrifying wounds – one could only imagine the torment it went through before it finally collapsed.
The knights of the Meipros family surrounded the giant guardian, gasping for breath while continuing to tense their bodies, their eyes fixed intently on the city gate as if waiting for another giant guardian to emerge.
Yet Reiger, with a clear gleam in his eyes, assured everyone at this moment...
"There are no more giant guardians coming out."
Reiger, who was hovering in midair, descended to the ground and said so.
"It’s over, the battle is over."
Upon hearing this, everyone was momentarily stunned, then, as if releasing a taut string in their hearts, collapsed on the ground one after another, taking deep breaths.
"It’s finally over..."
Axel and Diego also slumped to the ground, drenched in sweat.
Kazi didn’t collapse, but he too knelt on one knee and said this softly.
There were a total of fifty-four giant guardians that had charged out of the city, all subsequently defeated by the group.
Though they were defeated, given their strength, dealing with fifty-four giant guardians in uninterrupted succession was naturally exhausting.
Not to mention that the swordsmen’s physical strength was almost completely depleted, the magicians’ Magic Power was also running extremely low, each one of them sitting collapsed, faces showing fatigue.
See this scene, Revin, although drenched in sweat but only lightly panting, immediately issued an order.
"Rest on spot, recover your strength and Magic Power."
After giving brief instructions, Revin approached Nipede and began to speak with him in a low voice.
Nipede, however, seemed to be in good shape, apparently unscathed by the previous continuous battle.
His massive Magic Power, on par with that of a strategic-level magician, used only to cast battle-level Magic, naturally did not deplete much.
So, Nipede still appeared utterly composed, the only one among those present who, like Reiger, was effortlessly at ease.
He didn’t even dismiss the two dragons he had summoned, maintaining the Summoning Magic and letting the dragons fly overhead.
As for Reiger, he was helping the little princess to sit down beside him.
Looking at Liz who had collapsed without surprise - unlike the knights’ rough movements, she assumed a sitting position like a duck - Reiger asked gently with a smile.
Liz seemed a bit embarrassed, attempting to stand up but Reiger stopped her.
"You’ve also used up quite a bit of your strength; it’s better to rest for a while." Reiger prevented Liz from getting up and said, "Focus your consciousness a little more, refine your breathing."
Liz immediately followed Reiger’s instruction, starting to adjust her breathing.
"Concentrate a little harder, refine it further, don’t lose the rhythm, maintain the intensity, don’t let your breathing be affected by changes in your physical condition." Reiger placed a finger on Liz’s forehead and said, "The essence of breathing techniques lies in maintaining, upholding, and concentrating. Once you achieve that, you might even develop an instinct to maintain this kind of breathing twenty-four hours a day."
"By then, not only will your physical capabilities improve, but improvements to blood circulation and metabolism within your body will make you more enduring and powerful in battle. To some extent, it can also heal injuries, rapidly recovering your strength as well as stopping bleeding."
"This is what’s known as Total Concentration: Constant. Remember to practice well, okay?"
Listening to Reiger’s words, Liz took note and nodded repeatedly, extremely obedient.
Seeing this, Reiger asked again, "How did it feel to use Love Breathing in combat for the first time?"
Liz thought for a moment and gave an honest reply.
"It felt good, but it was somewhat difficult when shifting to attack. Everything from the force to the angle of the slash was a bit off from what I envisioned."
Reiger was not surprised at all by Liz’s experience.
"It must be the weapon’s problem, right?" Reiger said, "The person who created the Love Breathing technique used a sword that was as flexible as a whip, that sword was specially designed to complement the Love Breathing sword forms. You are using the Moslo Sword to execute these forms, so naturally it feels unsuitable."
Kanroji Mitsuri’s specially made Sun Wheel Blade had a blade flexible like a leather whip and strong resilience, a retractable sword that could curl up and be sheathed.
The sword forms in Love Breathing were intended to slice through the enemy’s attacks, circumvent their defenses, and inflict dizzying assaults; when used in combination with Kanroji Mitsuri’s special flexible sword, they allowed for simultaneous attack and defense, creating a characteristic of integrated offense and defense.
Now, Liz wielding the Moslo Sword, a lavishly designed standard Western-style sword, it was normal for her to find it difficult to transition into attacks and experience deviations in force and slashing angles.
But this wasn’t a significant problem.
"This type of breathing technique is extremely accommodating and flexible. If you adjust it according to your own style, conditions, and habits, you should be able to get it right."