Click.
Click.
As the shadows were absorbed back, Elric could hear more pieces falling into place within his Spell-power Circuits.
At the same time, he felt strength gradually returning to his fatigued body.
The Seal of Fiend was glowing. It had absorbed a significant amount of demonic energy, and the rate of its growth was visibly increasing.
Thanks to the absorption of Judas's Seal of Assimilation, its efficiency had improved significantly, becoming much faster and more powerful than before.
This rapid recovery allowed Elric to wipe out the remaining demons with ease.
Similarly, the Seal of Winter shone brilliantly, and the Seal of Original Sin also began to radiate its dark, ominous light after a long time.
『This is... quite nice.』
Mephisto was clearly delighted.
Elric had kept his word and handed over the Seal of Insanity to him.
The once depleted spiritual form of Mephisto was now brimming with energy.
This was far more potent and vivid than the power they had absorbed from other demons of Gregory before. Even though Judas was a mere imitation of Azazel, the direct power of Azazel's seal had been quite flavorful.
Mephisto found himself enjoying this newfound strength.
『If even a defective one like that can provide this much power, I wonder what devouring a true vessel would feel like. Hehe.』
Mephisto concluded that crushing Gregory completely would be the best course of action.
Once the absorption of the seals had come to an end, Elric let out a long exhale as he slowly opened his eyes. His breath carried with it the remnants of stale air he had not released in the past.
His two green eyes glowed fiercely.
Though he had handed over Judas's Seal of Insanity and Seal of Assimilation to Mephisto and Yu as promised, he had refined and stored the remaining seals and demonic energy within his Spell-power Circuits.
Thanks to this, his mana core released more power, and strength flowed back into his body.
『You look quite satisfied.』
"Well, I've made good progress. What about you, Mephi? How are you feeling?"
『This king is also quite pleased.』
Elric glanced up and down at Mephisto.
"You don't look much different. Is this just pouring water into a bottomless pit?"
『Hmph. What difference would it make if you poured a river into the middle of a parched ocean?』
It's true that this was nowhere near enough. Mephisto added that much to his statement.
『However.』
Mephisto's lips curled into a smirk.
『There's been quite a change.』
Mephisto extended his hand into the air.
At that moment, a breeze blew past, catching on his fingertips.
Whirl!
The wind shifted direction and swirled, forming a small vortex.
A leaf caught in the wind spun in a wide circle, dancing in the air before finally shooting upward into the sky and disappearing.
Elric's eyes widened slightly.
Black Magic.
Mephisto had just performed magic himself.
『This is nothing more than the clumsy trick a novice would perform when they first start handling mana, but even this is a significant accomplishment for me right now.』
Elric nodded in agreement.
Up until now, Mephisto had been unable to physically influence anything.
But now, he could manipulate mana even a little? It meant the restrictions that had previously bound him were starting to weaken.
It was always difficult to open the floodgates, but once they were open, controlling the flow became much easier.
The same was true for Mephisto.
Now that he could touch mana again, he would eventually find a way to fully recover.
A demon king had that kind of power.
『Of course, I still can't cause any direct harm just yet, but that won't last much longer.』
Considering the continuous clashes with Gregory in the future, Mephisto's recovery would likely accelerate as well.
"Looks like you can finally stop living like a parasite now."
Elric's tone was full of teasing.
In the past, Mephisto would have exploded with anger at this, but now he was much more composed and simply shot back.
『Hmph. Do you think it'll stop there?』
Mephisto's sneer became even more pronounced.
『You've been looking down on me for long enough. Soon, you'll realize just how great this king truly is. Prepare yourself.』
Hahaha! Mephisto burst into laughter.
***
As soon as Elric finished cleaning up, he quickly moved on to another location.
It wasn't the front lines of the battle where the Star's Legion was fighting.
It was the rear of the ambush force, the main camp of the barbarians.
He had realized that the battle was dragging on much longer than expected.
His plan was to cut them off before the damage could grow worse.
Fortunately, the barbarians' primary goal had been to rescue their hostages.
If they suffered more losses than anticipated, they would likely retreat.
"[Swirl!]"
Boom!
Rumble—
Elric, utilizing his heightened Preta Sense, scattered blizzards across the barbarian forces, disrupting their ranks one by one.
As his attacks intensified, the damage to the barbarians escalated rapidly.
The entire mountainside was soon covered in snow.
And reports of these losses quickly reached the ambush forces.
"What? Another Imperial army has appeared in the rear?"
Batu, the chieftain of the Borfur tribe, who had been in the middle of fighting Herman, frowned deeply at his adjutant's urgent report.
"Yes! Not only has our main camp been hit, but even the Kanaka platoon that was attempting to flank has been wiped out…!"
"Damn those deceitful Imperials! They've dug yet another trap!"
"We need a decision! Give us your orders!"
The Borfur tribe couldn't even imagine that a single person was systematically destroying their forces.
In their world, magic was an unfamiliar concept, and they believed that no individual could exert such overwhelming power.
No matter how skilled a warrior was, it seemed impossible to decimate all the troops spread across a mountain.
So they had assumed that an unknown Imperial force had appeared and misinterpreted the situation.
Frustrated, Batu believed they had almost secured victory, only to have it slip away.
'Elric must have done something again.'
Although Herman couldn't understand Batu and his adjutant's conversation, he could easily guess what had happened.
Now he had to respond in kind.
Despite the pain still emanating from his left eye, Herman showed no sign of concern and shouted.
"You'll be buried along with these rebels soon enough. Why aren't you fighting? Are you scared?"
Herman's voice was full of confidence.
It felt as if he had returned to his youth, filled with burning energy.
Batu's face twisted in rage at Herman's taunting, but…
"Chieftain!"
He clenched his teeth at the urgent plea of his adjutant.
Before being a top-tier warrior, Batu was the chieftain responsible for the safety and prosperity of his tribe.
If he deemed the situation dangerous, he had to have the courage to retreat.
"…retreat."
"Understood!"
The adjutant quickly nodded and brought the horn hanging around his neck to his lips.
Bwoooo—
The sound of the horn echoed far and wide.
The eyes of the barbarian warriors, who had been engrossed in battle, all turned toward the sound.
One after another, horns signaling retreat rang out, and the Borfur tribe withdrew like the tide receding from the shore.
"Don't pursue them! Maintain vigilance!"
The Star's Legion tightened their ranks, carefully controlling their formation to avoid recklessly chasing after the retreating barbarians.
It could easily have been a trap laid by the barbarians themselves.
Huff...! Huff...!
As the exhausted soldiers gasped for breath after the intense battle…
"Lord Elric is back!"
Someone shouted, and all eyes turned toward the sky.
Elric was flying toward them, looking quite worn out. Realizing that the sudden retreat of the enemy was thanks to him, the soldiers cheered loudly.
"You're back?"
Herman, looking fatigued, waved at Elric as he approached.
"Lord Marquis… your face…?"
Elric's expression hardened.
Something that should have been on Herman's face was missing.
"Hmm? Oh, this?"
Herman waved his hand dismissively, as if it were nothing.
"The opponent was stronger than I expected, so I had to give it up. I guess I underestimated the barbarians."
"…!"
"But I managed to cut off his left arm, so we've each given and taken a part."
Herman's left eye was drenched in blood.
A deep, dark sword wound across his face explained everything that had happened to him.
"Let me take a look."
"I'm fine—"
"You are not fine. Please, let me."
Elric rarely lost his temper, but this time, he did.
Herman, taken aback by Elric's reaction, smiled slightly before showing him the wound.
"You're smiling? Now?"
"Haha. I can't help but smile."
"Just wait a moment."
Recently, Elric had been deeply immersed in martial arts, so he knew all too well how important clear vision was for a swordsman.
He was also shocked to think that there was a warrior among the barbarians who could inflict such a wound on Herman, a man known for his swordsmanship second only to the Golden Lion in the empire.
The memory of the wooden-masked man from the assassination attempt in the North also crossed Elric's mind, and he was reminded once again of how vast the world was.
"Is that true?"
"About what?"
"About the Blue Lion losing his eye…?"
"Watch your mouth! The Blue Lion didn't lose his eye; he's just tired!"
When word of Herman's injury spread throughout the camp, it caused quite a stir.
The fact that there was an elite warrior among the barbarians who could push Herman to such an extent weighed heavily on everyone's minds.
Who knew when the barbarians might strike again?
But
"My father is fine, so don't worry. Instead, let's focus on moving to our next destination. Is everyone ready?"
When Isabelle took charge and calmly encouraged the soldiers, the tension in the camp quickly dissipated.
If the Blue Lion's own daughter could remain steadfast, the soldiers knew they couldn't afford to falter.
"If the commander's daughter is standing strong, we shouldn't waver either."
"Exactly! The Blue Lion has saved us many times, so now it's our turn to be his eyes!"
With that, the Star's Legion reorganized and prepared to march again.
Under normal circumstances, they would have waited for Herman's injuries to heal and prepared for another potential barbarian ambush.
But they were on a tight schedule, needing to adhere to the grand strategy's timeline for an imminent full-scale war. They had no choice but to push forward with a forced march.
However, whether by fortune or misfortune, the march came to a halt.
A message arrived from the main camp, carrying orders.
…
It was sudden news of a devastating defeat.
[T/L: You can read ahead chapters and support me here: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]