Sylas moved swiftly, sweeping down from the skies.

The crossbow bolt was definitely well over a hundred pounds, and it needed far more force than just this to wind up. However, much like old crossbow bolts, they relied on physics to make the output lower than necessary.

As such, after a cursory glance, Sylas was confident that he could wind it up if he used six sets of telekinesis, each working on its wind-up handles.

However, that would eat up all the capacity of his Wisdom, or at the very least, almost all of it. So he wouldn't be able to focus on anything else. Not even his visualization.

Luckily, the large crossbow was already loaded once. As for its bolts, they would be more than useful.

Each one was over 20 pounds heavy, and the kind of devastation that Sylas could unleash with them…

Sylas' kunai slipped into his waistband as he stored the large ballista away.

He pressed a foot into the soft soil and dodged out of the way of an arrow he slightly diverted the path of.

He soared up, landing on the city walls.

Around him, four ballista bolts appeared. Each one was over a meter long, their bolt tips glistening in the night as a light snow fell.

Sylas locked onto several targets at once and then sent them soaring out like rockets.

He controlled them perfectly until he reached the end of his 20-meter range, and then let them fly on their own.

He realized immediately that his accuracy suffered when he did this. Aiming without the help of precise control and his visualization was difficult.

However, one ballista bolt still rang true, piercing into the skull of a pig demon with such force that its skull burst into a rain of blood, flesh, and bone.

These bolts were meant to deter and attack large siege weapons. Who had ever seen them used against people? Or in this case… demons?

The other three bolts missed, but they still deterred as expected. This allowed Sylas the chance to quickly close the distance between him and a pig demon.

In a panic, it raised its own crossbow, ready to fire.

Sylas ducked and rolled the moment his visualization felt the trigger being pulled. At the same time, he used his telekinesis to rip the bolt upward, causing the compensation in aim of the pig demon to be worthless.

The bolt soared over his shoulder and he popped to his feet, his fist streaking through the air.

His green eyes seemed to leave streaks in the air as he moved, their eerie emerald marking the night sky.

Every muscle in his body thrummed to life.

In these days, his comprehension of the Physical stats had reached an unprecedented level, and as such, so too did his control over his own body.

He might still not have much fighting experience, but in terms of reading, reacting, and countering in a life-and-death situation…

He had gained quite a deal of confidence.

And as a result…

—

[Your understanding of <Madness Control> has deepened]

[<Madness Control> has reached Silver Mastery]

—

[Your understanding of <Madness Control> has been temporarily raised by Madness Comprehension]

[<Madness Control> has temporarily reached Gold Mastery]

—

[Madness Control (FF+) (Skill)]

[Your body is your temple and it listens to no commands other than your own]

[+1.0 (+0.6) Effectiveness]

—

BANG!

Sylas felt every inch of the pig demon's face crumbling beneath his fist. He seemed to want to run his entire arm through its face, his adrenaline spiraling through his body like molten lava.

As he breathed, a foggy whiteness painted the night. Every one of his movements seemed to superheat the air.

He moved without thinking, his body swaying out of the way and grabbing a bolt just before it entered his shoulder.

The bolt crumbled to ash and Sylas didn't slow in the slightest, another four ballista bolts appearing around him as he was suddenly surrounded.

The pig demons hadn't been able to see what happened before because of the darkness, and certainly didn't expect this to suddenly happen.

And this time, they were too close to dodge.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Four died in quick succession and Sylas knew that he had already cleared all the Level 7s. Only the Level 8s remained, but he kept sending glances toward the direction of the core of the village.

He could feel movement, and he was ready to escape at any moment. No matter what, he would only take as much risk as necessary and not a single ounce more.

The movement of the Level 8s snapped him back to attention.

By this point he had already moved to the second outpost, wiping out another quarter of the torches and eyeing a second ballista.

But this time, both Level 8s were at full attention.

The gleam of a crossbow locked onto Sylas from the distance. However, much like last time, he had more than enough time to react.

His telekinesis surged and ripped the bolt out of the air, sending it flying back with just as much speed, but this time from above.

To Sylas' surprise, the Level 8 managed to react. Or, rather, his partner did, holding up a shield and casting a Skill that covered them both.

Sylas' pupils constricted. He had been acting fast until now, killing before the pig demons could react. But he wasn't the only one with means outside just the Physical.

What was even more fearsome was that at this point, the Level 8s had already pointed a new pair of crossbows at him, firing both at once.

Sylas was too close now to react with the same approach, and they would also be ready for his telekinesis.

Without a choice, he too cast a shield Skill. <Solidify> activated and stood in front of the twin bolts.

Despite the fact they hit in unison, the shield continued to stand tall. That was the good news.

The bad news was that a shimmering silver-blue Skill was activated, and now Sylas' position was as clear as day.