< Asmodeus, what do you think of greenskins’ faith-path pillaging abilities? > Mordred inquired, subtly hinting at something with his question.
< Crude. However, there’s nothing inherently wrong with employing brute strength to acquire what you desire from others. Might makes rights, and the winner takes all. > Asmodeus responded as though she hadn’t caught onto his hint.
< When will you cease feigning ignorance? >
< ‘Until the very last moment of the very end.’ That was your instruction, by the way. > Asmodeus chuckled lightly.
< Haah… my previous self must have been an incredibly irritating man. >
< You absolutely have no idea, Your Majesty… > Astaroth suddenly joined in the conversation.
Ignoring the archdemon who always seized every opportunity to butt in, he threw the conversation into the back of his mind. He is now focusing on the task at hand: reloading the revolver.
Currently, his spiritual force foundation is extremely low. In public, he couldn’t use telepathic reloading techniques, as it was a method reserved for those with sufficiently powerful spirit foundations. Handling fire-path bullets was exceedingly perilous, even with the contingencies in place, as a mishap could lead to an explosion. Therefore, the simple act of reloading demanded his utmost concentration, especially considering he had to maintain the façade of a novice.
“Fireball!” With a crisp, explosive sound, the revolver launched a flaming projectile towards the goblin attempting to scale the defensive wall of carriages.
Fireball is one of the most basic fire-path spells, having undergone extensive optimization throughout the ages due to its widespread use. With the revolver facilitating the spell’s activation sequence, not only was the casting time reduced to an instant, but the power remind consistent without requiring any mana or spiritual force from the user.
Splat! The projectile hit a gretchen’s head, splattering its scorched brain content into the rocky soil.
Magic spells could be altered depending on the spell formation and catalyst used. The catalyst’s spell modifications used in this spell are as follows: linear vector, maximum velocity, medium elemental force, minimal explosion range, and abysmal incendiary potential.
Unlike most fireballs that focused on sheer destructive force or explosive power, the catalysts prepared by Sakuya prioritized lethality, albeit under specific conditions. While lacking the power to kill heavily armored or large targets outright, a well-aimed shot at a vulnerable spot could result in an instant kill. Additionally, these near-min-max modifications allowed the catalysts (bullets) to be more cost-effective than an all-powerful fireball catalysts.
‘An incredibly challenging weapon for a newbie, but a fitting one in my hands. This stroke of luck… my deduction should be correct; the refinement of my grade-S mana pool served as a checkpoint of fate, causing my luck to surge into the positives. I must quickly comprehend the mechanics behind Asmodeus’ [Sudden Inspiration] in order to bypass its karmic retaliation. It would be a waste to have an all-knowing search engine by my side and not be able to harness her full potential. It’s a damn shame that if I wanted to steal her [Sudden Inspiration], I'd have to devour her rank 6 truesoul…’
Lost in his own thoughts, he effortlessly fired his gun at a speed that wouldn’t raise suspicions about his mastery. While his exceptional accuracy with a new weapon could be attributed to his background as a village nobody who had to hunt small animals for survival, his swift reloading of an unfamiliar weapon would undoubtedly raise eyebrows.
As he approached the horde of greenskins splinters rushing towards the emergency wall, he encountered the youths from Mira village who were heading in the same direction. They had heard the commotion from the northern front, where the hobs had suddenly appeared with their double-layered ambush. They had been rushing towards that side even before Mordred fired his first shot, so when he caught up to them, they had a clear view of his mediocre figure.
“Ah, the whore’s son is here.” Haru, one of the ‘bigshot’ of Mira village that used to bully the original ‘Satoru’ spat with malice. “It seems that whore blood flows in your body, now that you’ve won the favor of Miss Sakuya as her sex toy.”
It was a secret that only a few knew about Sakuya’s preferences, but she is, in the end, a late-teen herself. Furthermore, fire-path cultivators have the tendency to be capricious or unhinged, unlike wisdom-path or ice-path cultivators who are more reserved with their emotion. In simple terms, she could not control her impulses and reactions in public. It doesn’t take a genius to see her reactions around Mordred and deduce that she likes him, due to various unbelievable reasons that nobody knows.
Haru’s comment made Mordred stop in his tracks. Not for the sheer audacity, but the uncreativeness of the kid, thinking that half-assed provocation is enough to rile up any muster of anger from his dead, cold heart?
As if it were second nature to him, Mordred effortlessly redirected the aim of his revolver from the greenskins towards the innocent kid who had unfortunately caught his attention. Without hesitation or consideration, Mordred acted purely on instinct, fueled by the callousness that comes with being the most murderous Magus of Holy Terra. To him, the act of murder was as mundane as drawing breath, and he had no qualms about taking the life of an innocent child. Despite being in a perilous situation where every able-bodied person was a valuable asset, Mordred's moral compass didn't even register the killing of a child as a conflict.
At first, Haru did not realize that he was about to be killed since there was no bloodlust being emitted by Mordred. It was only after the kobold who stayed behind to suddenly use his body as a shield that he realized ‘Satoru’ was aiming his gun at him.
“Young Master, I believe taking such action would not be wise.” The kobold suddenly spoke in fluent human tongue, gently redirecting Mordred’s gun downward with his hand. While the words and intonation that the kobold used were respectful yet not subservient, Mordred could sense a stern warning inside his tone.
Mordred was stunned for a brief second when the kobold touched his hand and revolver.
Mordred’s primary cultivation path was sound and soul.
Physical contact is one of the effective investigative methods of a sound-path cultivator, as it allows for the best transmission of vibration. When he stared at the kobold’s amber eyes to confirm his suspicion, he instantly understood why this kobold is giving off the feedback of a human signature concealed as a kobold. ‘This must be Kumo, Twin Helix’s member who always disguised herself.’
“I apologize for my impulsive action,” Mordred feigned an apologetic tone, while his mind wandered elsewhere. ‘Haru managed to escape death twice… how lucky.’ “Is there something that I can assist you with, Miss Kumo?” He inquired, pulling his gun away from the kobold’s grip and swiftly shooting a greenskin down below in rapid succession.
The kobold’s facial feature remained impassive, Mordred sensed subtle fluctuations in her emotions when she touched him, indicating suppressed surprise. < It appears Katyusha’s deduction was correct; Young Master Satoru possessed talent in detection. Nonetheless, I cannot permit you to kill anyone openly, even if they are disagreeable. If you must eliminate someone, do so discreetly. We must maintain appearances. >
Receiving a sudden telepathic message, Mordred spared a glance at the kobold. “Very well, if that is your wish.”
“It’s fortunate that the Young Master has a good head over his shoulders,” the kobold whispered in a low voice before leaping into the midst of the goblin horde. Wielding a sword on each hand, the kobold began slaughtering the goblins with ruthless efficiency, reducing the pressure on the defensive wall while leaving some gretchens for the youths to deal with.
“What a showoff…” Mordred narrowed his eyes as he took aim at the gretchen who was almost scaling the carriage wall. Despite using methods to don the skin of a kobold, Kumo flawlessly mimicked the mannerism of a true kobold.
Although kobolds were also bipedal and stood upright like a human, their body leaned forward when they rushed, maintaining balance with their long tails. These subtle details were challenging for races without tails to imitate, but as an expert in infiltration and subterfuge himself, Mordred appreciated Kumo’s attention to detail.
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Regardless, with the youths defending from atop the carriage, the overwhelming numbers and physical strength advantage of the gretchens held little sway. The carriages were designed to transform swiftly into an interconnected cage of sturdy wall segments, and it has been empirically proven that these ironwood constructs were impervious to the gretchens’ attempts to burn or damage them.
At most, they could leave behind scratch marks, but that’s all about it.
Mordred cast a sidelong glance at Haru who was seething in anger at the humiliation. ‘This guy is somewhat slow, how can he be so lucky to escape death twice?’
“Satoru, I understand that there’s some history between you and Haru, but I trust you can rise above and deal with it later,” another youth standing next to Haru spoke up. This was Mira village chief’s son, Hiroshi. His spirit talent was grade-C, and he aspired to become a MEKA pilot in the future, which had left a strong impression on Mordred.
“So be it. I have no interest in petty squabbles. I’d rather end it quickly.” Mordred coldly replied as he shot another gretchen down below.
“Great to be on the same page.” Hiroshi responded, rallying the rest of the youths. “Now then, let’s kill any greenskin that climbed up the defensive wall.”
While Mordred followed Hiroshi’s instruction, noticing his natural talent for leadership due to his upbringing, his attention was divided elsewhere.
…
On the southern front, where Kenji and Katyusha are responsible for defending the hobs’ ambush, the scenery had transformed into a landscape reminiscent of the Seas of Eternal Winters, with pale white snow covering the ground.
Beside Katyusha, whose silver hair glimmered as she activated a [Mage Armor] spell, encasing herself in pale blue ice armor, stood Kenji, standing motionless. His tanned body emitted a slight red glow, generating heat to shield himself from the harsh winter lady.
"I swear... These greenskins seem to adjust their resistance on a whim," Katyusha complained, noticing that the hobs reflected in her eyes had gradually stopped shivering from the cold. Their breathing became easier, and even the armor they wore began to heat up, despite lacking any obvious heat source. She glanced at Kenji and remarked, "The captain's hypothesis was correct. Greenskins appear to be nearly immune to saturation attacks of similar rank. Have any of your fingers fallen victim to frostbite yet? Should I cancel the radiation?"
"Nope, I think I can handle it. My nanoms are constantly reconfiguring themselves. The captain always provides me with the good stuff, after all. It's also good training, considering how cold your ice penetrates into the bones. If we go through this a few more times, I might develop a high resistance to ice," Kenji replied, his reddish skin gradually taking on a scale-like pattern, growing darker. Eventually, his skin turned completely black, covered by reactive bioarmor in the form of hexagonal "scales."
“Hahah, it’s not even half of my total output, but using more would be inefficient. In any case, I need you to protect me while I prepare some things,” Katyusha said with a shrug.
The greenskins were steadily approaching the two defenders, but as soon as Katyusha tossed a liquid spell catalyst into the snow and began chanting, the hobs surged forward as if they were injected with newfound energy. Some of the hobs held wooden contraptions adorned with scraps of metal, resembling makeshift rifles, and aimed them at Katyusha. The greenskins were aware that spellcasters posed the greatest threat on the battlefield. Despite lacking gunpowder in their makeshift weapons, when the hobs pulled the triggers, flower-like explosions erupted, propelling stone projectiles as dense as iron toward the mage.
To shield Katyusha from harm, Kenji positioned his body in front of her, acting as a human shield. The primitive bullets were reduced to dust upon impact, unable to withstand the immense kinetic force, but Kenji could still feel the bone-shattering impact they carried. It felt as if he was being struck by a powerful hand cannon rather than a simple wooden toy rifle. Despite his hexagonal scales providing some protection, blood began to seep through the gaps, indicating that some bullets had managed to somewhat penetrate his defenses.
"I believe these greenskins must have looted some high-tech items, but it's not visible because all they carry is garbage," Kenji reported while unleashing powerful punches at the hobs who approached too closely. His fists were on the verge of breaking the sound barrier, a feat accomplished only by elite late-stage rank 1 or common rank 2 cultivators. However, he found that his blows couldn't shatter the armored heads of the hobs as intended. This realization quickly overwhelmed him, considering their sheer number—fifty on their side.
"I've noticed," Katyusha acknowledged, observing as five of the fastest hobs began relentlessly attacking Kenji. Both of them had underestimated the strength enhancement provided by the 'magic machinery' armor worn by the greenskins. Before more of them could reach them, Katyusha hastened her preparations by utilizing several acceleration techniques for her chanting. "Rank 1 ice-path magic spell, [Chronophagous Cavalry]!"
The spell catalysts scattered across the snow underwent a significant transformation. In a mere second, they grew into four colossal centaur-like figures, standing at 2.5 meters tall. These ice cavalry units possessed a horse-like lower body and a human-like upper body, their arms integrated with various weapons. One held two-meter-long zweihänders in each hand, another wielded a large rotary crossbow with twin barrels, a third brandished a blade-lance and shield, while the fourth carried a warhammer.
As soon as they materialized, the three melee ice cavalry units charged towards the group of hobs assaulting Kenji, engaging them in combat with their icy weapons. Simultaneously, the ranged ice cavalry unit bombarded the hobs with a barrage of ice projectiles.
Facing the icy weapons of the cavalry, the greenskins' magic machinery armor seemed to have met its match. The warhammer-wielding ice cavalry went on a rampage to rescue Kenji, its powerful swings causing cracks to appear in the hobs' armor, pushing them back. However, greenskins were combat maniacs, and if they couldn't be eliminated swiftly, they grew increasingly difficult to defeat. This particular group appeared to have gone through numerous trials and baptisms of blood, bringing them to the brink of evolution as orks.
"Katyusha, I believe they're on the verge of evolution. It won't be long before they become orks, so they're seeking that stimulation," Kenji muttered as he joined forces with the support of the ice cavalry units.
"Sumire must have assigned us, the most formidable combat power within Twin Helix in the absence of the Captain and Ayame, to this side based on her analysis of the greenskins' strength," Katyusha explained. After summoning the ice cavalry, she had already begun preparing for the second wave to stabilize the battlefield. "If there were any other members here, they would have been overwhelmed quickly... Regardless, we must support the others if her plan fails."
"Well, dude, why the hell are you holding back in the first place?" Kenji complained as he fiercely punched a hob, retaliating for the blows they inflicted on him. "When you train with the Captain, don't you utilize the instant spellcasting method? And why do you summon only four during each 'wave'? Where are the rest?"
"Shh!" Katyusha hushed Kenji. "As I mentioned, this is Sumire's plan. She wants us to 'barely' win the fight to create a sense of pressure for the apprentices. The number of apprentices accepted into better academies will affect our ratings and bonus rewards. Consider this a way to sharpen them before they enter the academy. You're not good at being subtle, so nobody informed you."
"But wouldn't this put the apprentices in danger?" Kenji displayed a rare moment of critical thinking, unlike his usual self. Thanks to the nanoms enhancing his abilities during battles, his thinking speed and capacity expanded, granting him clarity of mind and the ability to multitask.
“None of us on the team possess the Captain's resourcefulness. Sumire is trying to catch up with the captain through her own methods, and this is one such method. After all, the captain’s brilliance is so blinding that even those around her look dim in comparison. Though, I believe it was useless to compete with that person in the first place.” Katyusha uttered while she finished her second wave of summoning.
Her next wave consisted of smaller summons, resembling wolf-like ice creatures with shark characteristics, each standing about 1 meter tall. However, there were ten of them. Despite their smaller size, Katyusha ensured that the specifications of these ice creatures were not compromised—they were nearly as strong as the first ice cavalry. With the advantage of numbers, Katyusha and Kenji had less to worry about being overwhelmed by the greenskins. At the very least, she could use her ice wolves to kite them.
"Kenji, let's start thinning them out. Use your martial arts," Katyusha commanded, preparing for the third wave of summoning.
"Roger that!" Kenji's muscles bulged, and he grew a few percent larger than his usual form. "Rank 1 strength-path martial arts, [Power Overwhelming]!"
Raw, unbridled strength emanated from Kenji, pushing back and even melting the snow around him. With this immense power, not only his punches, but even his movements created sonic booms as he broke the sound barrier. When he fought in this state, the ground was gouged, and explosions echoed as he moved at supersonic speeds.
When Kenji landed a punch on a hob's face, it was no longer able to defend itself as before. The hob's skull exploded, scattering armor fragments and brain matter. While not all of them were killed in a single blow, some hobs managed to survive for a few more breaths due to their evolved secondary central processing organ somewhere along their spines. However, that was not something Kenji needed to worry about
The third wave summoned by Katyusha consisted of ten humanoid figures resembling the hobs. Before they could even move, spectral beings emitting faint traces of dark energy emerged from Katyusha's shadow, crawling towards them. Seemingly using the ice humanoids as their mortal shells, there was a gleam of intelligence concealed within their pale icy eyes.
"My little slaves, it's time for a feast," Katyusha whispered. Like the Captain, she possessed inherent antidetection methods that protected her from various forms of scrutiny, ensuring that nobody could hear her whispers unless she wanted them to. "Fetch me their souls!"
The humanoid ice creatures lunged at the wounded greenskins. Although they appeared humanoid, they were originally blocks of ice infused with magical liquid ice. Their movements were unpredictable, not bound by joints, and they could transform their limbs into any desired weapon. Whenever they killed a greenskin, the souls of the fallen wouldn't be able to return to the greenskin's divine kingdom.
With Kenji as the primary force, the ice cavalry providing support, the ice wolves acting as bait, and the ice warriors finishing off the wounded greenskins, the battle situation on the southern front began to stabilize.