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Chapter 29 : You’re too greedy

“Wise one, that is enough for today.”

“No, Your Majesty. If we do not eliminate the miasma quickly, we cannot predict what changes may occur in your body.”

“That’s right, Father. We must remove it as soon as possible.”

The wise one and Princess Armis continued urging the king to receive healing.

“I feel guilty, wise one. You have been working tirelessly for days because of me.”

Even after the king regained consciousness, the wise one devoted more than half of each day solely to his healing.

The king felt both apologetic and grateful, wanting to repay the wise one somehow, but every offer was firmly declined, leaving him feeling awkward.

“That will be all for today.”

Leodel gently removed the wise one’s hands from his wounded area and put his shirt back on.

“Then, I shall take my leave.”

The wise one and Princess Armis left the king’s chamber and headed to the princess’s palace.

“Thank you so much for tending to His Majesty with such dedication, Wise One.”

“I simply did what was necessary. Besides, it was part of our deal, so I could not take it lightly.”

“A… deal…”

The urgency of the king’s healing had made Armis momentarily forget about their arrangement.

“I have urgent business to attend to today, Princess, so I will take my leave immediately.”

Upon arriving at the guest quarters, the wise one swiftly entered, shut the door, and disappeared inside.

Unlike his usual composed demeanor, there was an unusual sense of urgency in his movements.

‘A deal… a deal… hmm…’

Deep in thought, Armis decided to head to the guest quarters to discuss the details of the tribute arrangement.

She flung open the doors and knocked on the room where the wise one resided.

“I came to discuss something with you.”

However, the voice that responded from within belonged to another woman.

“Huh? Oh! W-Wise One hasn’t arrived yet…”

It was unmistakably one of the two women staying in the palace with the wise one.

‘…? But I just saw him enter…’

She had not seen him leave.

She had followed him inside almost immediately after he entered.

Suddenly, his earlier words came back to her.

‘I have urgent business to attend to…’

Urgent business?

And a woman’s voice coming from his room?

Could it be… that urgent business meant.

‘That silver-haired vixen who’s always trying to keep me in check—did she make her move first?!’

Without thinking, Armis pushed open the door.

“Ahh! You startled me!”

But inside, there was only the silver-haired woman, Elena.

Her face was flushed red, and she hurriedly adjusted her clothes while trying to hide something behind her back.

***

“WAHAHAHAHAHA!! Clear the way!!”

Ternak charged through the battlefield atop his centaur, reveling in the chaos.

Under his arms, two human women were trapped—Princess Violeta and Lady Herneon of the Eldwin Duke House.

The soldiers could hardly believe their eyes.

“Gasp…! The princess…?”

“Wh-Why is Her Highness…?!”

“Ugh…!! Uuugh…!!”

No matter the foe, the princess had always wielded her formidable black flames to vanquish enemies.

Yet now, she lay unconscious, captured by a Dark Orc.

The sight shattered the army’s morale.

“Run for your lives!!”

“Her Highness has fallen!!”

“She’s been taken captive!!”

“What?! The princess?!”

Hearing the soldiers’ cries, Ternak finally realized that one of the human women in his grasp was royalty.

“This wench is a princess?”

He glanced at Violeta, whose golden hair once burned with dark flames.

“Strange. Weren’t those Velodenit bastards supposed to wield golden flames?”

But what did it matter?

The only thing that mattered now was that this unconscious wench in his grasp was the Empire’s exalted princess.

“Ohohoho!! Rejoice, Emperor!! I’ll carve an eternal disgrace into your daughter’s womb!! Right before your very eyes!! WAHAHAHAHAHA!!”

Ternak’s loins swelled once more as he charged toward the center of the battlefield, where a black-haired saintess radiated greenish divine energy, sustaining a healing sanctuary.

The princess’s soldiers were already breaking apart, morale completely shattered.

There was nothing left to stop him.

“Saintess!! I’ll make you my sacred slave as well!! Surrender to me!!”

“No!!”

“We won’t let you have your way!!”

“Saintess, run!!”

“We’ll hold him off!!”

“Take the soldiers and escape!!”

“Everyone…!!!”

“We’ll be fine!!”

“Just go!! Hurry!!”

As the archbishops, priests, and nuns of the Holy Church threw themselves in Ternak’s path, a voice cut through the chaos.

“That’s enough, Ternak.”

“Hmm?! You…!!”

Standing in his way was Morcane, commander of the Ninth Elite Legion of the Demon King’s Army.

A thick, intense aura of hallucinations seeped from her body into the atmosphere.

The dark purple energy emanating from her nearly bare, violet-hued skin cast a foreboding presence.

Even the orcs, creatures of the abyss, succumbed to the hallucinations, plunging the battlefield into chaos.

The saintess, despite her powerful divine energy, was no exception—she, too, fell into a trance.

The archbishops and other clergy members followed suit, lost in the abyss of illusions.

The once-bright sanctuary, glowing with green divine power, now had a gaping, dark purple void at its center, before fading entirely from the battlefield.

“Stay out of this!! Morcane!!”

“If you keep defying orders, you may face execution.”

“Shut up!! No one can stop me now!!”

At that moment, another figure stepped in his way.

The commander of the Seventh Elite Corps—Erkine.

“Are you so sure, Ternak?”

“…!! Erkine…!!”

Her skin was so pale that it was whiter than that of any human—proof of the vast amounts of life force she had drained.

In her hands, she held the remains of Prince Leonid’s holy armor—clad upon nothing but a skeleton.

Looking at the two human women trapped under Ternak’s arms, Erkine spoke.

“You should be satisfied with what you’ve taken, Ternak. Looks like you’ve already picked up some prizes.”

“Grgh…!!”

“Or… do you want to end up like this poor human here?”

Leonid’s body was beyond recognition, every bone tainted with the mark of her energy-draining sorcery.

“And that woman’s life force… it looks quite delicious.”

Erkine ran her tongue along the forehead of the entranced saintess, Lumienne.

Unaware of the dark energy sinking into her brow, Lumienne mindlessly murmured, flailing her arms weakly.

“W-Wise One… Wise… One… Mm… Your embrace is so warm…”

“She must be lost in a blissful dream of true happiness and pleasure. Now, shall I have a taste…?”

“That wench is mine!! Do not touch my spoils!!”

Ternak furiously tried to lunge at Erkine, who was stroking Lumiène’s black hair.

‘Foolish orc. If you disobey orders, I’ll drain your energy dry.’

Erkine sneered as she watched Ternak charge at her.

However, her expression soon twisted into one of fear as a chilling sense of danger washed over her.

“Hm?!”

“W-What?!”

Both Ternak and Erkine instinctively recoiled as an unknown light suddenly flared up.

But Erkine, who was too close, was caught—her hand seized by a radiant, shining grip.

“Ghhkk?!?”

A sizzling sound filled the air as searing pain coursed through Erkine’s nerves.

She grimaced in agony.

Before her stood a figure completely shrouded in a black robe, their face concealed behind a crimson mask.

It was an unknown existence.

Erkine immediately let go of Lumiène and swung her hand, unleashing a devastating wave of energy.

However, it was effortlessly blocked.

Both her hands were now restrained.

The unpleasantly bright light was piercing through her energy, burning her body.

At the same time, her own energy was flowing into the masked figure’s hands, attempting to corrode them.

They must be enduring just as much pain as she was.

Yet, the figure remained utterly unfazed, showing no reaction at all.

Unlike her trembling body, the opponent was eerily calm and composed.

The Sage, too, could feel intense pain in his hands, but having endured countless hardships, he remained steady.

‘About 10 to 1…’

The clash between Exterminating Divine Energy and Demonic Energy.

It was distinctly different from when he fought Luciphra.

Qualitatively, Exterminating Divine Energy was overwhelmingly superior.

However, the sheer amount of Demonic Energy the beasts possessed was beyond imagination.

‘A swift finish is the answer.’

As the Sage was analyzing the enemy’s power, Erkine activated the special ability of her energy—Absorption.

‘Fool! I’ll drain every last drop out of you!’

She focused even more energy into her hands to siphon his power.

But that was the worst move she could have made.

After all, the energy within the Sage’s body was entirely Exterminating Divine Energy.

“…?! AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!”

A horrifying scream burst from Erkine’s lips.

“Stop it!!”

Seeing this, Morcane swiftly moved behind the Sage, releasing a wave of Illusion Energy.

But the Sage was half a beat faster.

“W-Where did they go?!”

In the blink of an eye, the crimson-masked figure and the Saintess vanished from the ominous energy field.

Then, a piercing scream rang out from behind.

“Grrk?! AAAAAAAGGGGHHH!!!”

The massive dark orc, Ternak, had been grabbed by the scruff of his neck and yanked off his centaur mount by a mere human’s hand.

In the process, he lost his captives—the princess and Herneon.

“No!!”

Desperate to reclaim them, Ternak tried to rise.

But before he could, the Sage’s foot came down, pressing his head into the ground.

“You’re too greedy.”

“Sh-Shut up!! They are mine!! I rightfully won them… GAAAAAHHH!!!”

Ternak could only writhe as the overwhelming force crushed his skull into the dirt.

After stomping his bald greenish-black head several times, the Sage teleported to where the princess and Herneon lay.

He gently placed the unconscious Saintess beside them.

Then, he infused all three with Exterminating Divine Energy.

It was to purge the remnants of the Demonic Energy that had seeped into their bodies.