episode_0049

“Do you understand what I’m saying, you piece of trash?”

The blazing Tower Lord Aldor right now.

From the stern of the huge flying ship soaring through the sky, Duke Felios was once again listening to Aldor’s words, even kneeling down.

“Well, aren’t you going to answer?”

“Oh, no, I understood well….”

It was a response eventually spit out as if pushed.

Honestly, it was just a useless nagging that he couldn’t understand at all, given how nonsensical it was.

Then suddenly, he locked eyes with the apprentice mage who had been glancing at him.

Feeling too ashamed, Aldor unintentionally threatened the mage with his gaze.

If he didn’t want to get cut, he should turn his eyes away immediately, asking if he could recklessly stare at this side without any regard for the apprentice status.

“Oh, look at the intensity in your eyes.”

Although he hadn’t even looked at himself, Duke Felios frowned as if he had been slapped.

Snap!

Unable to control himself, Aldor even touched his cheek with his hand and sword.

How many times has this happened already?

As much as it hurt, he could only tightly shut his eyes.

Even though there was no personal grudge against him, being watched by everyone as he aged made him unable to bear this chaos anymore.

But he had already sworn allegiance to the prince.

Now he was in a state where he couldn’t even escape anywhere.

His left ring finger and pinky were just numb.

Even after wearing the silver will that moved as healing was complete, he couldn’t help but grimace uncontrollably when scolded by the Duke.

Then, a sigh from a woman named Elaine was heard.

Finally, the shooting towards the moon was completely finished.

Whether Duke Felios heard that sound or not, he suddenly rushed off, leaving himself behind.

“Princess Mother, you’ve truly suffered a lot!”

It was an astonishing sight every time.

To the daughter of Viscount Bart, a man who hadn’t even held an engagement ceremony yet, the Duke showed a more dignified demeanor in front of the prince than ever before.

Moreover, Elaine, the outstanding magician, was the daughter of the leading wealthy man in the Empire, Viscount Bart. It was even said that she was engaged to the prince, which was truly unbelievable.

At that moment, Aldor finally realized a way to escape from the Duke’s hellish torment.

‘If I can gain the trust of that woman whom the Duke respects so much?’

There might be a chance that she would rescue him from the persistent harassment.

‘If that happens, then I…!’

However, as Aldor hurried towards Elaine, he suddenly had to stop in his tracks.

“Oh great Grand Master! The future of Mersen indeed! This old man will continue to serve faithfully to the Prince and Princess Mother.”

Duke Felios’ sudden rambling and prostration were to blame.

‘No matter what, even so, calling that woman a Grand Master…!’

Because the words he uttered were so absurd, one couldn’t help but think, ‘Could that inspiration possibly be senility.’

However, suddenly, Lerkyo, a priestess of the Goddess Church, ran over from somewhere and silently prostrated herself next to Duke Felios.

‘What on earth are these guys up to…’

Even Elaine seemed bewildered in that moment.

At least Aldor could be certain of one thing.

No matter what, it would be more difficult to gain Elaine’s trust than to show devotion like those fanatics.

So, he turned back and meekly knelt down again.

***

“Why, why are you all like this! Please, get up quickly!”

Seeing two elderly individuals suddenly kneel down, Elaine was extremely perplexed.

-So it was you, the being who made me so human-like, not a mere servant but His Highness the Prince! The future of the empire is truly bright!

When they first met at the Baronet Tena Fell’s estate, Felios Marquis had already shown this side several times.

It seemed as though he thought of himself as the one who turned Elaine from a lowly prince to an exceptional one.

-That Shield of Light spell… Wasn’t it made by Princess Vimama? Could you perhaps teach me the recipe on a lucky day… Ah, no, I dare not impose on the Grand Master like that…

Moreover, for some reason, he even gazed at Elaine as if she were a great sorceress.

Despite getting the Prince’s permission and trying to explain it as divine power, the Marquis simply refused to believe it.

It was such an unbearable delusion that eventually Elaine gave up trying to convince him.

So at this point, there was nothing about Marquis Felios’ actions that Elaine couldn’t understand.

But why on earth was this Leggio acting this way again?

I could understand his insistence on staying at the Viscount’s residence.

However, following us all the way here without saying a single word was completely incomprehensible.

The fact that this esteemed Leggio, like himself throwing a tantrum to follow the Prince, was throwing a tantrum to follow the Prince…

With a composed face, Elaine firmly nailed them with her gaze.

“In the future, do not behave like this again!”

After saying that, she turned abruptly and looked down below where the Prince and Astia were flying on Aquila.

There shouldn’t be any trouble.

But not far from there.

Countless torches were flickering fiercely in the darkness like the eyes of hidden beasts.

***

Hoo-waak!

As Astia leaped off near the forest,

Aquila, who had been complaining about how difficult it was, started flying at an incredible speed as if shedding a sack of sand weighing tens of kilos.

It was a speed that felt cold even with the scent of flowers in the night breeze.

The goal was to find the king of savages, Barbadoon.

Anyway.

In war, the victor takes all.

A brutal struggle where the law of the jungle, kill or be killed, is rigorously applied.

In such a place, any misplaced sympathy or complacency would inevitably lead to shedding one’s own blood.

That’s why.

Once on the battlefield, one must not hesitate to kill under any circumstances.

But still.

If there was a way to win with less bloodshed, there was no reason to hesitate.

Flying low rapidly, despite the threat of arrows and spears, was for that reason.

My plan was to capture the savage king in one fell swoop to minimize sacrifices.

Of course, if it didn’t work out, there was no choice.

“Shoot your bows and throw your spears!”

Finding Barbadoon was not difficult at all.

In front of the vast army filling the land, the giant man who looked like a lion on horseback was undoubtedly Barbadoon.

Whoosh! Swoosh!

Finally, the soldiers behind rushed forward like a swarm of ants and began their attack.

Gripping the rapier handed to me by Rack, I leaped off Aquila in one go.

The green blade began to emit a bright light against the cool moonlight.

Soon after.

The savages who were charging towards me all stopped in unison.

The grass that densely covered the wide plain grew rapidly, entangling their feet and climbing up their legs, tightly wrapping around their bodies.

Thud! Thwack! Thump!

Rack caused hundreds of arrows made of earth to explosively rise, turning the bound savages into beehives.

Squelch – Squish –

“Who are you.”

In the field where nearly a hundred savages were instantly doomed, a man standing alone with a dead horse on his back uttered those words.

“…He asked, ‘Who are you?’”

The king, not just in name, seemed to revel in the deaths of many subordinates before me.

In his hand gleamed a cold, moonlit double-edged axe.

It wasn’t particularly large but appeared quite heavy.

Barbadun deftly wielded the axe as if it were a dry twig, swinging it lightly.

“Daring to block my path, raise your courage high, for you shall be a special feast for the wolves. Of course, I will personally sever each of your limbs, so consider it an honor.”

Thud!

As Barbadun struck the ground, a massive figure approached faster than an arrow.

Smoke emitting a gray light rose from the axe and his body, where blood was beginning to flow.

Clang!

I desperately parried the sudden attack of the axe blade aiming for a moment, but the impact was quite overwhelming for me to bear.

Swish!

If it weren’t for Rak’s help, I would have been blown away or fallen over in an instant.

I had no choice but to retreat a considerable distance on foot.

“The imperial subject who blocked my attack, besides Servis, is the first. Usually, they can’t withstand this blow.”

Crack!

I regenerated once again.

“You handle similar skills well.”

However, Barbadun effortlessly cut through dozens of leaves that shot up at tremendous speed to entwine his body.

“It was a good attempt. But if that’s all, it’s a bit disappointing.”

Snick-

His naturally formed smile disappeared momentarily, and the attack resumed.

Clang! Clank! Clang clang clang!

It felt like fighting a giant rock.

Horizontally, diagonally, from below to above, from above at an angle,

Each time I blocked the swiftly flying axe blades from all directions, the tremendous shock transmitted through my hands thrilled me to the core.

Perhaps Barbadun’s mana endowed him with a property that made his body as solid and sturdy as a rock.

“Oh. Can you withstand this much? How about this?”

I used Aqua’s power to cast invisibility to buy some time and shifted positions.

“….”

In the desolate wilderness where no one could survive, those who lived by confronting all kinds of beasts, monsters, and skins were savages.

It was needless to say that their innate senses were extremely sharp.

And sure enough.

He closed his eyes like a master, turning his head here and there, sniffing out small sounds, gradually approaching me.

If he hadn’t compressed mana deep within his body, he would have been caught instantly.

“Barbadun!”

Though the savages rushed in belatedly, Barbadun fended them off with a raised hand.

“Surround the area tightly so not even a single rat can escape.”

After the savages nodded and withdrew, I continuously caused the earth around Barbadun to erupt like playing whack-a-mole.

Thwack!

“There!”

Swish! Crack-

Puff!

“There!”

Chuff!

But what met the axe blades were already crumbling clumps of earth.

“You… dare to mock me, do you? Do you have multiple lives? There’s nowhere to escape! You’re like a rat trapped in poison!!”

“Barbadun. If you surrender and swear allegiance to me, I will spare the lives of your kin.”

Using Wind’s breeze that joined late, I carried my voice away, making my location unknown.

“Surrender? To trash like you? That will never happen!”

“Then there’s no other choice.”

I summoned a Magma Golem.

“Grrrr!”

A huge figure rose from the lava that fell with a thud.

It was much larger than Barbadun.

The intense heat had already burned all the nearby grass, heating even the cooling air.

Even the moonlight shimmered on the boiling shoulders.

“How could such a mere monster do anything to me?”

Barbadun swung his axe directly at the magma golem.

Chwahak!

However, Barbadun’s axe blade passed through the flowing magma without cutting anything.

He swung but couldn’t cut through anything, a situation worsened by bad compatibility.

Due to intense heat, it was Barbadun who ended up retreating instead.

“This…”

Barbadun, furious at the situation, was brainstorming countermeasures.

Following my command, the magma golem raised one arm high and shot a fireball into the dark sky.

Pahang!

The erupting flames exploded in all directions.

Faced with resistance, I had no choice but to wield my club.

I revealed myself by dispelling invisibility.

“So you were hiding there, you little rat. If I kill only you, that hot thing will disappear. Die!”

“Before you kill me, many of your subordinates will die first. Are you okay with that?”

Hearing my confident voice, he seemed to intuitively sense something and began to frantically look around.

I kindly instructed him with my rapier.

“Look at that.”

“W-what is that…!”

A small fireball above the barbarians fell rapidly from the night sky.

It grew in size exponentially, demonstrating its potentially devastating effect.

“No, this can’t be happening…”

“I won’t ask twice. Will you submit to me?”

Crash!

Too shocked to respond, Barbadun dropped his axe.

Crash! Boom!

The meteorite from the sky reached its destination.

“Argh!”

“Ack!”

“Save me!”

Compared to what fell on Tenafel Plain, it was a small meteorite, less than a third of its size.

Yet even with just that, it was more than enough to obliterate the barbarians’ forces.

A tremendous shockwave ensued.

Crash!

Those directly hit were instantly annihilated by the extreme heat and pressure.

The fragments of the burning and shattered meteorite fell around, triggering a secondary explosion as they rolled and tumbled.

Nearby barbarians and large clumps of earth were scattered in all directions due to the powerful blast.

The intense heat, thick dust, and the rapidly spreading vibrations unleashed a devastating force that made the earth tremble and scream in agony.