Ch.331331. A Single Victory (6)

“Ugh.”

Finally, Dusen, unable to withstand the assault, is also thrown against a rock without exception.

With the enemy commander beginning to falter, it was time to immediately shatter their formation.

BOOM!

—AAAAARGH!

Ashpern unleashes a magical bombardment based on an enormous amount of magical power. There was no one in the Imperial army who could stand against this anomalous being.

‘I should have done this from the beginning!’

Surely I must have known this. Why had I forgotten?

No matter how they try to resist, there exists no one who can oppose me.

They’re mere humans. No matter how skilled they might be, there was no way I could have lost.

‘Yes. Just like before, I should have instilled fear first…!’

I should have incapacitated their will to fight by imprinting the terror that they cannot win no matter what means they employ. Instead of being swayed by the enemy commander’s pace.

Reviving the facts he had overlooked one by one, Ashpern finally returned to his true self and implemented his usual method of crushing the Imperial army.

It’s nearly impossible for those weak bodies to match the physical abilities of magical beasts.

Weapons forged from heated metal. Weapons made from concentrated mana. Even magical tools and artifacts. While some are troublesome, we still have the numerical advantage.

Human tactics are naturally thwarted by his intervention. Even if they employ magical power, if he pushes through with overwhelming magical energy, their formations break far too easily.

Within the crumbling formations, unlike magical beasts driven only by instinct, they become stained with fear and despair.

They abandon their positions, leaving comrades behind to save themselves.

They flee disgracefully, concerned only with their own survival.

As desertions continue one after another in this precarious balancing act, large holes open in the once solid battle line, and from that point, humans collapse like dominoes, unable to recover their broken formation, becoming prey for the magical beasts.

This theory, which Ashpern had developed through repeated battles with humans, had never been wrong.

And it proved correct this time as well.

‘That man is nowhere to be seen.’

There were those who fought knowing they would be defeated, like the ones who invaded Lebrant and sealed Feltiburugos.

Although they had firmly engraved sealing formulas, he couldn’t understand why they would attempt something that merely delayed the inevitable.

Their actions had been completely unexpected.

But the one with the greatest variable was undoubtedly that black-haired man.

The human who had inflicted a humiliating defeat on him, who had made him feel the fear of death for the first time.

Yet, why couldn’t he see the man he believed he must be wary of?

The answer was simple.

That man, too, had ultimately failed to withstand the fear of death. Just like all the humans he had seen before.

With Junon nowhere to be seen, Ashpern had no reason to be anxious anymore.

There would be no more variables.

However.

-Woong.

“…!”

A massive formula unfolds in the sky above.

The humans had suddenly activated a formula that he hadn’t noticed at all until now.

“This is…!”

He couldn’t neutralize it. Even if he devoted all his power right now.

-Crack, crackle.

The ground begins to split.

The dry earth loses moisture and becomes crumbly, and soon a second massive formation activates.

A crouched lotus flower in the air opens its petals toward the ground. Condensed mana bursts forth from the opened petals, soon striking the crumbled ground.

On the surface, it didn’t seem like much.

The ground merely dried up, followed by a strong impact. This attack didn’t even touch Ashpern.

However.

The problem was that a third spell was manifesting in the meantime.

-CRASH!!!

The ground begins to break into pieces from the impact. The very ground he was standing on suddenly collapses downward.

When he realized it, Ashpern found himself already floating.

Within the range of the circular formation.

“Such trickery!!”

If they’re trying to make him fall, he just needs to jump up before falling.

That’s what he thought. But there are too many spells flying through the air.

None of them are particularly powerful spells. If he wanted to neutralize them, he could directly target and cancel them out, and with enough concentration, it wouldn’t be difficult to counterattack and eliminate the casters.

However, his proficiency isn’t high enough to fire spells in mid-air with pinpoint accuracy. Ashpern, who had prioritized firepower over precision, had no choice but to deflect only the spells that would hit him directly as he fell into the pit.

The pit dug beneath the ground was quite deep.

A height that would break at least one leg even for a magical beast, let alone a human.

But how many spells had he learned? There’s no way he couldn’t protect his own body.

-Tap.

Landing gracefully at the bottom of the pit, Ashpern clicked his tongue and mocked the humans.

“Hmph. Just like earlier when the enemy commander tried to bind my feet, is that your plan?”

This was clearly not a naturally formed pit.

An artificial pit that must have taken considerable time to dig. Though not certain, he suspected the humans had dug it intending to trap him here.

“How ridiculous. I can simply escape this mere pit with magic.”

How long would it take to rejoin the magical beast army? Ashpern snorted at this meaningless act and drew a magic circle.

However.

-SCREECH!!

“What…?”

-CRACK!

Ashpern’s formation, intended for escape, breaks apart due to interference from another mana source.

‘This power… could it be from that time?’

He had experienced this unnatural sensation once before. After being swept downstream in the Ripol River.

It was the sensation he felt before finally fleeing on two legs, bearing the humiliation.

“Right. You could simply escape this mere pit with your magic.”

-Step, step.

Along with a human voice, footsteps begin to echo.

‘There was a passage on the side!’

The footsteps are getting closer, but still not visible.

Ashpern ordered the magical beasts, who were still disoriented from the fall, to explore the passage.

But soon, the sound of something being struck came from the dark passage.

Then, with a dry bursting sound, the magical power signature completely disappeared.

For a magical beast, the disappearance of magical power means something has happened to their life-sustaining magical circuit. In other words, death.

Although their sturdy bodies would have been damaged from the fall, he had sent at least five beasts. And they all died in less than a minute?

‘Did he intentionally fall down here?’

He thought it possible since the man was quite threatening, but unfortunately, the figure entering Ashpern’s sight was someone entirely different.

“You…!!”

The one who appeared from the passage was none other than Junon, whom he had been certain had fled.

***

—Ashpern’s fall confirmed! He has definitely fallen into the pit!

—Good. Everyone retreat!

Having successfully isolated Ashpern in the layered trap and severed his connection with the magical beast army, the Imperial forces immediately begin to retreat.

‘So their plan was to separate me from the magical beast army!’

Though he didn’t know how they figured it out, Ashpern had a limited range within which he could command the magical beast army.

That range extended precisely to the reach of his magical energy. So if he fell into this pit, the distance between him and the beasts would naturally increase, making it impossible to issue commands.

If anyone had discovered this fact, it would undoubtedly be the human standing before him.

But both he and the humans had overlooked one thing.

“Do you think I’ll fall even if you separate me from my army?”

Except for a single defeat, Ashpern had won countless battles against humans.

“I suppose your plan is to divide the Imperial forces to deal with the magical beasts while eliminating me? But do you really think I would lose to the likes of you?”

Not a chance.

No matter how many Imperial soldiers they had brought into this pit, Ashpern was confident he would never lose.

“The power of the river. Yes, I certainly was defeated then. I didn’t take the falling rocks seriously, but now you have no such means! Isn’t that right?”

With no variables now, the only weapon humans could use was magic.

Therefore, it didn’t matter how many Imperial soldiers Junon had brought.

In fact, the more they used magic, the more he could instill the fear that it was completely ineffective, pushing them into the abyss of despair.

Despite his bravado… Ashpern felt something strange.

‘Why can’t I sense any magical power from the passage?’

Moreover, it was about time for the Imperial soldiers Junon had brought to show themselves.

Pre-cast spells in the passage. Hidden formations ready to activate. Surprise attacks. He remembered all the methods humans had used.

But not only was there no secret spellcasting from the passage, but no one was showing up. No, he couldn’t even sense any magical power at all.

He realized something was off when he noticed the footsteps had stopped.

“Don’t tell me… you’re alone?”

Junon merely grinned in response.

“That’s absurd… are you saying you dug this pit to face me alone?”

“Why not? I think I’m more than enough on my own.”

“What arrogant thinking.”

If true, it was clearly a mistake. Humans would normally tremble and back away at the mere sight of him.

No matter how strong one’s mental fortitude, no one could stand against him.

This meant the man had voluntarily come to this place, isolated from the soldiers above ground.

“Ha. So that’s it. In the end, you too intend to sacrifice yourself?”

He had concluded that the two people he saw in Lebrant had sacrificed themselves to buy time.

This man would be no different.

If that’s the case.

“I’ll send you to the afterlife immediately!!!”

Ashpern leaped swiftly, striking the ground with a spear of magical energy.

He levitates rock fragments that surge up in two directions from the spear tip, then hurls them all at Junon.

‘He’s a warrior who focuses on close combat. Though there exists a power I cannot handle, it’s certain he can no longer use it. If that’s the case, as long as I don’t give him distance, it doesn’t matter!’

The scorched ground. Rising rock fragments. A large pillar of flame that had erupted at a single point.

The three massive spells he had just been hit with. That should be enough.

As a powerful spellcaster, he could push through with overwhelming magical power.

-BOOM!

The rock fragments crashed down on Junon with enough force to bury him in this pit, raising a cloud of pale dust.

Snorting at the pile of neatly stacked stones, Ashpern drew a formation to leap back to the surface.

But immediately,

“…!”

-CRASH!

The formation was destroyed.

Simultaneously, the pile of stones came tumbling down.

“You…!”

Junon stood there with all limbs intact.