49 – Overwhelming Power (1)
“You piece of trash, did you understand what I said?”
The blazing martial tower master, Ardor, right now.
From the stern of the massive airship soaring through the sky, Pellios Marquis could hear another voice. The voice belonged to someone who was even kneeling down.
“Well, aren’t you going to answer?”
“Ah, no, I understand….”
It was an answer that was finally squeezed out, as if being pushed.
To be honest, it was just a pointless nagging that couldn’t be understood no matter how much one wanted to understand, because it was so absurd.
Then, suddenly, his eyes met with the apprentice mage who had been hesitating.
Feeling embarrassed, Ardor involuntarily glared at the mage, even though he didn’t mean to.
If you don’t want to get cut, then turn your eyes away right now. How dare you rudely stare at this side without any consideration for the topic of the apprentice.
“Huh, you’re putting a lot of effort into your eyes, huh?”
Even though he didn’t even glare at him, Pellios Marquis made an angry expression as if he had been slapped.
Snap!
In the end, unable to control himself, Ardor even clenched his fist and hit his cheek.
How many times has it been now?
It was so frustrating, but all he could do was tightly close his eyes.
Even though there was no personal grudge against him, he couldn’t stand this situation where even the lower-ranked ones were watching this chaos unfold in a place where they were all aging together.
But his body had already sworn allegiance to the prince.
Now he was in a state where he couldn’t even escape anywhere.
All he could feel was the constant pain in his left ring finger and pinky, even though he had already put on the silver will that moved completely after healing.
Unable to bear it any longer, he gritted his teeth as if he was about to strike again, as if he had never been injured by the marquis.
Then, he heard a sigh from a woman named Elaine.
Finally, the shooting towards the moon was completely finished.
Duke Felios must have heard the sound, as he suddenly rushed over, leaving himself behind.
“Princess Consort, you have truly suffered!”
It was a breathtaking sight every time he saw her.
To the woman who had not even had an engagement ceremony yet, the duke, who was a nobleman, showed a more humble demeanor than in front of the prince.
By the way, Elaine, that remarkable magician, was the daughter of the prominent wealthy nobleman, Count Bart. It was truly unbelievable that she was even engaged to the prince.
At that moment, Ardor finally realized a way to escape from the duke’s hellish torment.
“If I can gain the trust of that woman whom the duke treats humbly?”
There was a possibility that the woman might save him from his persistent torment.
“In that case, even I…!”
However, Ardor, who was rushing towards Elaine in a hurry, could not help but stop abruptly.
“Oh, great Grand Master! Indeed, the future of Mersen! This old man will continue to devote himself! I will remain loyal to His Highness the Prince and Princess Consort.”
It was all because Duke Felios suddenly blurted out nonsense and even fell to his knees.
“No matter what, it’s still too much. She’s not even a grand sorceress, and she’s an old woman…!”
The words he uttered were so ridiculous that one could not help but think, “Is that old man losing his mind?” It was an undeniable situation.
But suddenly, the high priestess of the Goddess Church, Lergio, came running from somewhere and silently prostrated herself next to Duke Felios.
“What the hell are these guys…?”
Even Elaine was taken aback in that moment.
Ardor could be certain of at least one thing.
No matter what he did, it would be more difficult for him to gain the trust of Elaine than those people who looked like fanatics.
So, I obediently returned to my seat and knelt down.
***
“Why, why are you all doing this! Please get up!”
Even the elderly suddenly knelt down, leaving Elaine extremely bewildered.
-So, it’s you. The existence that made the prince so human-like! The future of the empire is truly bright!
When Duke Pellios met him for the first time in the Tenafer Marquisate, he had already shown this kind of behavior several times.
It seemed like he thought of Elaine as the mastermind behind turning the abandoned prince into a top prince.
-That Shield of Light magic… It was made by Empress Hwangja, right? Could you please tell me when there will be a good day for a drinking party… Ah, no, I shouldn’t be so presumptuous towards the Grand Master who defeated me…
Moreover, for some reason, he looked at Elaine as if she were an extraordinary magician.
Even though he obtained the prince’s permission and explained it as divine power, the Duke just couldn’t believe it.
It was simply an unbearable delusion, so Elaine had given up on persuading him.
So, at this point, there was nothing that Elaine couldn’t understand about Duke Pellios’ behavior.
But why on earth did this Lergeroan monk follow them here?
She could understand his insistence on staying as a viscount.
But it was completely incomprehensible that he followed them all the way here without saying a word.
That so-called extraordinary monk, who had insisted on following him just like Elaine, was now throwing a tantrum towards the prince…
With a stern expression, Elaine firmly scolded the two who had stood up.
“From now on, don’t ever do this again!”
After saying that, she turned around abruptly and looked down at Astia and the prince flying on Aquila.
Nothing out of the ordinary would happen.
But not far away.
From Noble mtl dot com
Countless torches flickered fiercely in the darkness, like the eyes of hidden beasts.
***
Hoo-waak!
As Astia leapt from the forest,
Aquilla, who had been complaining about how difficult it was, began to fly at an incredible speed, as if she had thrown off a sandbag weighing dozens of kilos.
It was a speed that made the night breeze scented with flowers feel cold.
The goal was to find the king of the barbarians, Barbaradun.
Anyway.
In war, the winner takes all.
It was a ruthless struggle where the principle of survival of the fittest was thoroughly applied, where if you didn’t kill, you would be killed.
In such a place, any feeble compassion or complacency would inevitably lead to shedding one’s own blood.
That’s why.
Once you step onto the battlefield, you must not hesitate to kill under any circumstances.
But even so.
If there was a way to shed less blood and still win, there was no reason not to take it.
That’s why I flew low, risking the threat of arrows and spears.
I had a plan to capture the king of the barbarians in one fell swoop and minimize sacrifices.
Of course, if it didn’t work, there was no choice.
“Shoot arrows and throw spears!”
It was not at all difficult to find Barbarudan.
In front of the army that filled the land, there was a gigantic man who looked like a mounted lion, and he had to be Barbarudan.
Whoosh! Swish!
Soon, the soldiers at the rear rushed forward like a swarm of ants and began attacking.
With the rapier that Lac had given me in my hand, I jumped off Aquila in an instant.
The green sword resisted the cool moonlight and began to emit a bright light.
Soon after.
The savages who were charging towards me all stopped in unison.
The grasses densely planted on the vast plain grew rapidly, entangling their feet and tightly wrapping around their entire bodies.
Thud! Thwack! Thump!
Hundreds of earth-made spears raised by Lac exploded, turning the tied-up savages into beehives.
Squelch- Squelch-
“Who are you?”
On the field where nearly a hundred savages had perished in an instant, the man with the dead horse under him stood alone and uttered those words.
“…I asked who you are.”
He was not just a king in name, but Barbarudan, who had witnessed the deaths of numerous subordinates before his eyes, was standing in front of me.
In his hand, he held a double-edged axe that shimmered coldly in the moonlight.
It wasn’t very large, but it looked quite heavy.
And Barbarudan was skillfully wielding that axe, as if swinging a dry branch.
“To dare stand in my way, I must commend your courage. I will personally cut off one pair of your limbs as a special treat for the wild animals. Of course, I will take care of the honor of doing it myself.”
Clang!
As Barbadoon pounded the ground, a gigantic figure, as fast as an arrow, approached him like a rock.
Smoke emitting a gray light was emanating not only from the axe but also from all over his body.
Thud!
I desperately blocked the sudden attack of the axe blade with my rapier, but the impact was quite overwhelming for me to withstand.
Swoosh!
If it weren’t for Lark’s help, I would have been blown away or fallen over in an instant.
I had no choice but to retreat a considerable distance, dragging my feet on the ground.
“The only Empire citizen who has blocked my attack is you, except for that bastard Servis. Usually, no one can withstand this blow.”
Crack!
I made my blade grow again.
“You have quite a skill.”
However, Barbadoon effortlessly cut through dozens of leaves that shot up at an incredible speed just by swinging his body.
“It was a good attempt. But if that’s all, it’s a bit disappointing.”
Sizzle-
As if the naturally formed laughter disappeared in an instant, the attack resumed.
Clang! Clank! Clang clang clang!
It felt like I was fighting against a huge rock.
Horizontally, diagonally, from below to above, from above at an angle,
Every time I blocked the axes that flew at me vigorously from all directions, the tremendous impact transmitted through my hand sent shivers through my bones.
Perhaps Barbadon’s mana seemed to possess the quality of making the body solid and sturdy like a rock.
“Oh. Can you handle this much? Then how about this?”
To buy some time, I borrowed Aqua’s power to cast invisibility and moved to a different location.
“…….”
In this desolate wilderness where no one could survive, those who lived, facing all sorts of beasts and monsters, were savages.
There was no need to question that my innate senses were extremely sharp.
And sure enough.
With his eyes closed like a master, he turned his head back and forth, sniffing and trying to catch even the slightest sound, slowly approaching me.
If he hadn’t compressed his mana deep within his body, he would have been caught instantly.
“Barbadon!”
Latecomer savages rushed in, but Barbadon raised one hand and bit them.
“Surround the area tightly so that not a single rat can escape.”
The savages nodded and stepped back, and I continued to make the dirt shoot up around Barbadon like a game of whack-a-mole.
Thwack!
“Is it there?”
Swish! Thud-
Poof!
“Was it there?”
Chooof!
But what was hit by the axe blade was only crumbling clumps of dirt.
“This… how dare you mock me! Do you think you have multiple lives? There is nowhere to escape! You are already a rat trapped in poison!”
“Barbadun. If you surrender and swear loyalty to me, I will spare the lives of your people.”
I used the wind from Wint, who joined late, to carry my voice and hide my location.
“Surrender? To trash like you? That will never happen!”
“Then there’s no other choice.”
I summoned a magma golem.
“Groooooo!”
A massive figure rose from the fallen lava.
It was even bigger than Barbadun.
The intense heat burned up all the grass nearby and heated up the air that was already cooling down.
Even the moonlight shimmered in the boiling haze.
“Do you think such a creature can do anything to me?”
Barbadun swung his axe at the magma golem.
Clang!
But Barbadun’s axe blade passed through the flowing magma without any effect.
He had struck, but achieved nothing.
It was a bad match.
Because of the intense heat, it was Barbadun who had to retreat.
“This…”
Barbadun was furious at the situation and was thinking of a countermeasure.
And the Magma Golem, following my command, raised one arm high and shot a ball of fire into the dark sky.
Boom!
The flames soared into the sky and burst into small fragments in all directions.
Finally, resisting me, I had no choice but to pick up my club.
I released my invisibility and revealed myself.
“So, you little rat… you were hiding there. In the end, if I kill you, that heat will disappear too. Die!”
“Before you kill me, won’t countless subordinates die first? Are you okay with that?”
Hearing my confident voice, he seemed to sense something instinctively and started to panic.
I raised my rapier and kindly taught him.
“Take a look at that.”
“W-what is that…!”
A small ball of fire was falling from the night sky above the barbarians, at an incredible speed.
“….”
In an instant, it closed the distance and grew in size repeatedly.
The size was significant enough that even a barbarian could understand how destructive the effect would be.
“No, no way…”
“I won’t ask twice. Will you come under my command?”
Thud!
Startled, Barbarut dropped his axe and couldn’t answer anything.
Crash! Boom!
The meteor that fell from the sky had finally reached its destination.
“Ugh!”
“Argh!”
“Help me!”
Compared to the one that had fallen on the Tenafel Plain, it was a small meteor, less than a third in size.
However, even with just that one, it was more than enough to erase any traces of savagery.
A tremendous shockwave occurred.
Boom!
Those directly hit were instantly annihilated by the intense heat and powerful pressure.
The fragments of the burning and shattered meteor fell around, rolling and causing a secondary explosion.
The nearby savages and large clumps of earth were scattered in all directions, unable to withstand the powerful blast.
The violent heat, dense dust, and the vibrations that spread much faster than them wreaked havoc on the land with a devastating force.