The heart pounded fiercely, and hormones were wildly secreted from the brain.
The once quiet senses sharpened sharply. Every strand of mana emitted by Magical Amulet was keenly felt.
Before engaging in battle. It forcibly readjusted the body's state to the most optimal condition for fighting.
Similarly, the sharpened vision became even clearer, scanning the wide battlefield in an instant.
In Elric's mind, it provided a comprehensive perspective of the terrain and personnel deployment, including a schematic of the entire battlefield.
Thanks to this, Elric could grasp the situation on the battlefield at once.
And he had to be slightly surprised.
'Why are there so many?'
Above the steep slope, unreachable by mere sight, not even with keen eyes.
The group of hunters who had thrown Fillum together had gathered much more than expected.
'I heard that there are usually around ten when going hunting... but there are more than thirty here, aren't there?'
Moreover, they were roaring with excitement, ready to charge along the ridge. They seemed to be so eager that even their spirits flew wildly.
It felt like they were about to wage a war or something.
『Hoho! Things are getting interesting. Starting off with a hardcore difficulty right from the first encounter.』
"Hm."
『Why? Aren't you even a bit scared now that it's time to fight? Well, humans are like that, aren't they...!』
"[Quiet.]"
『Mmmph!』
"Phew! Finally quiet."
While Mephisto's silenced mouth bounced around.
Bang!
The two knights and the monster hunters surged forward.
Swish, swish!
The knights pushed forward, sweeping away the yetis. With each flash of the blade from their swords, yetis fell, spraying blood.
Clash, spill, bend.
The knights wielded their swords seemingly effortlessly, yet with great grace and splendor.
In contrast, the hunters were rugged. Perhaps due to their lack of refinement in their techniques, they weren't as neat, but they were practical.
'That's... the way of using Aura.'
Elric witnessed a proper fight of knights for the first time in his life, carefully observing each of their movements.
It was a very brief moment.
During that time, he absorbed a plethora of information—stance, body movement direction, wrist rotation, sword thrust, mana flow, and Aura manifestation.
His trained brain, honed by enchantment magic, dissected, analyzed, inferred, and reinterpreted each piece of information, rearranging them into a new composition.
From the fragmented view they presented, Elric rapidly acquired only the parts he needed, discarding the rest.
And then...
Crack!
Elric sensed a group of yetis attempting to sneakily approach from the blind spot.
If left unchecked, the main camp where the robed woman and Mingma were stationed would suffer significant damage.
However, on the flip side, that meant...
'It also means we could strike their flanks from here.'
Elric quickly discerned their movement patterns and activated the spell once again.
"[Arms]."
Then, the spells he had memorized with 'Memorize' were sequentially manifested.
Cognitive expansion.
Strength enhancement.
Agility boost.
Attack amplification.
Acceleration.
...
The characteristic of enchantment magic is that it binds phenomena with language.
If one can pre-store this, it's possible to simultaneously manifest them all at once as long as mana follows.
This maximizes Elric physical abilities, making him capable of close combat, which is considered a weakness for most mages.
Hence, its name is 'Magic Arms'.
It was a form of restoration of the Body Strengthening Art that had been lost along with the severance of the Ho King's lineage long ago.
Of course, it was still in its rudimentary form and not fully restored.
Even so, just this alone could be a significant weapon for Elric.
"[Open]."
As mana burst outward wildly,
Kwaaang!
Elric slammed harshly into the ground, launching himself into the air.
'I'll capture one of them alive here.'
The targeted point, naturally, was their flanks.
"[Burst]."
The moment Elric revealed himself, the sensitive yetis turned their heads in this direction.
But before they could react, the ground beneath them, which they were stepping on, exploded simultaneously.
Modeled after the 4-circle magic 'Flame Mine', but with Elric mana infused, the destructive power was far greater.
As the ground erupted, flames engulfed the yetis at the center of the pack, clearing them out initially.
And with the remaining yetis stumbling, their formation was greatly disrupted.
"[Burn]."
As the sparks caught on their fur ignited fiercely, engulfing their bodies in flames in an instant.
Kyaek!
Kyaek! Ki-e-aek!
The yetis desperately tried to shake off the flames or roll in the snow, but the fire showed no signs of extinguishing.
In the meantime, Elric approached closely and activated another spell.
"[Pierce]."
This time, a barrage of arrows made of densely gathered wind appeared before him and shot forward.
A 1-circle 'Magic Missile'.
The real difference lies in its thickness and durability.
Moreover, since the surroundings were entirely snowy, it appeared like a lump of ice due to the abundant mixture of water vapor.
This was also part of Elric strategy.
Pew-pew-pew!
Ki-e-aek!
For those already engulfed in flames, being pierced by a sudden cold arrow would only add excruciating pain, as if their bodies were being torn apart.
Eventually, the yetis fell one by one, unable to put up much resistance.
A few brave ones roared and charged at Elric, but...
"[Bind]."
This time, invisible ropes tightly bound their ankles, stopping them in their tracks.
By the time Elric reached them, the group of six yetis was completely shattered.
Truly overwhelming firepower.
"Impressive... but."
Ironically, it was Elric himself who was more surprised by the outcome.
While he had confidence in his ability to fight them, he never expected to gain such a decisive advantage.
Despite leveraging the element of surprise, it was still a remarkable outcome.
He couldn't help but feel regret for wasting the memorized spells for magic arms.
Ki-e-aek!
Then, the lone surviving yeti let out a frantic scream.
"Mmph."
『Ugh!』
"Huh? You're still at it? Just say something."
『Mmph!』
"Oh, can't you?"
Elric chuckled and flicked his finger lightly.
『Haha! This guy is unbelievable...!』
Mephisto breathed heavily, his fist trembling. If only he could regain his strength, he would give this guy a good punch in the face!
"Do you want to get hit?"
『Why did you call me!』
"Translate that."
『…!』
Mephisto erupted in rage at Elric words pointing to the bound yeti.
Not even interpreting, just translating! He was on the verge of exploding in frustration. Even if he wanted to curse, he couldn't, which only fueled his anger.
Of course, despite witnessing Mephisto's outburst, Elric remained silent, simply gesturing towards the yeti.
Mephisto glared at Elric with seething eyes.
Gnash, gnash, his teeth gritted.
『Now... release... the goddamn... yeti... Or else I'll kill... you... That's what you're saying, right?』
"From now on, if you answer my questions properly, I'll release you. Interpret."
『…Kwaa, kuku-kukua! Kuaa!』
Mephisto could tell that Elric was saying his words were not translation but 'interpretation', but he decided to ignore it.
Focusing on this guy's antics would only drive him crazy.
Instead, Elric focused on the interpretation magic he had set up, saying '[Listen]'.
It was a magic constructed using phonetics to compress Mephisto's scattered thoughts into mana and deliver them to the yeti.
'To think he could grasp this just a moment ago...! Anyway! Having talents is useless if they're not used properly!'
Kyaek! Kyaek! Kikikiki!
『I won't tell a murderer of comrades anything! Just kill me!』
"That's my business. Where is your village?"
『Kua, kuaaa!』
Kyaek!
"What did you say?"
『Do you think I'll talk? Just kill me.』
"You don't want to talk?"
『Kuaaaa!』
Kyaek!
『I won't! Kill me!』
"Fine. Then die."
Elric smirked and created a hole in the yeti's chest with a magic missile.
Thud!
Mephisto looked at Elric in disbelief as the yeti he had been interpreting for collapsed weakly.
But...
Elric just chuckled.
"It's not like there's only one mouth here, right?"
Elric turned his head.
There was a group of yetis bustling around, eager to hunt down the passengers.
* * *
Elric sneaked away from where the passengers and Mingma were and moved to another location.
『...You really seem like Satan's favorite. It's clear you'd stick an arrow in your own child's throat in front of its mother.』
"Listening to that from the king of demons is amusing. Is that a compliment?"
『Does it sound like one?』
"Maybe not?"
『It is a compliment. Hmm. It's a virtue that one must naturally possess as a being who must survive in this harsh world.』
"Your words seem filled with sarcasm, but since I'm in a hurry, I'll just overlook it."
『....』
Mephisto shook his head vigorously as he watched Elric swiftly ascend the cliff using levitation.
After confirming his own abilities, Elric immediately jumped into the midst of the group of over twenty yetis.
What followed was, naturally, a massacre.
Based on this, Elric managed to capture several individuals to break their will to fight.
He then conducted separate interrogations with each one.
As expected, Elric didn't prolong the interrogations unnecessarily.
He asked about their hideouts, and if they resisted or hesitated, he promptly made a hole in their chests with a magic missile.
As a result, he quickly obtained the locations he needed from those who wanted to survive.
'Are talent and character proportional among these bloodlines...?'
Even among the Melvinger family, known for their eccentricities, Elric seemed to stand out as the most exceptional.
As Elric ran, a yeti with bound limbs sat on his right shoulder. Unable to provide simple explanations, Elric had forcibly brought it along.
The faces of those affected by the terrifying speed, including Mephisto, showed clear signs of distress.
『Kua, kukuku, kua!』
Kuaaaa!
The sounds of their fear echoed as Elric continued to dash forward relentlessly.
『Kuuk, kururur!』
"Eh? What have you two been chatting about all this time?"
『Heh heh, nothing much. Just saying that if you behave, you might live.』
『Kua! Ku kuwaa, kurru...!』
"Hmm...? [Translate]."
『...So, this guy with the destroyed character, together with him... Huh?!』
Mephisto, who had been speaking in yeti language, suddenly widened his eyes as the common continental language came out of his mouth.
He had been happily roasting pumpkin seeds all this while, and now he was caught red-handed!
Seeing Elric's cold smile directed at him, Mephisto trembled uncontrollably.
This guy, he must have been intentionally... able to use translation magic all this time!
"Well, I expected nothing less from you, my friend. 3 days [Shut Up]."
『Eup! Eeup!』
"And keep [Acting cute]."
『...Kkyukkyu?』
For a while, Mephisto had to perform a strange cute dance.
Meanwhile,
Elric completely detached from the group and was able to reach the yeti's headquarters.