Chapter 173: A War That Wasn’t Even Like a War (3)

“Did Decarsen say he met you?”

Malphas wiped away his usual calm expression and gave Raion a sharp glare.

Raion didn’t show much of a reaction.

Instead, he gave a faint smile.

“He ran away like his tail was on fire the moment we met.”

“…Ran away? That Decarsen? Hahaha!”

The serious atmosphere disappeared at once.

At the same time, Malphas took off the hood he had been wearing low over his head.

Brown hair, freckles on his cheeks—his face looked utterly ordinary, yet it flickered like static.

Then it changed to short black hair and fair white skin.

At a glance, he looked somewhat similar to Decarsen, though his features carried a more mischievous air.

And yet, the air itself grew cold and heavy, pressing down like a weight.

‘As expected… so he really is a demon.’

It had taken a great deal of power just to defeat Decarsen.

Of course, Raion had since figured out their weaknesses.

Bzzzzzt!

Raion drew his sword and released the pure white lightning with full force.

“The light of Goddess Zigasis? There’s another who can wield that besides the temple’s followers?”

It was the same reaction Decarsen had given.

Raion didn’t bother wasting time and swung his sword immediately.

Malphas, clearly not intending to take the hit head-on, leapt backward at once.

Shwaaaa! Crackle!

White lightning drew a jagged path through the air, chasing after Malphas.

“Where do you think you’re going! Bangkit, Orc Seuneu! (Rise, Flame Ogre!)”

Unintelligible words spilled from Malphas’s mouth—

not the Common Tongue, but the language of demons.

The charred valley floor trembled as ashen red flames erupted here and there,

forming ogre-like beings out of scorched ash, like golems.

There were about twenty of them.

“…Summoning?”

In the Middle Realm—the current human continent—the concept of summoning was known only to the exceedingly rare spirit summoners.

It was an act of calling forth beings greater than oneself, and the mana cost was extreme.

Naturally, even spirit summoners risked their lives when performing a summon.

Grrrk! Groar!

Kyah! Shrieek!

The ashen ogres twisted their grim faces toward Raion,

waiting only for the command to attack.

“Have fun playing with my children!”

The moment he finished speaking, the bodies of the ashen ogres swelled

and rushed straight toward Raion.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Baaang—!

Five came charging head-on,

each twice Raion’s size.

A massive fist—large enough to cover his entire face—came swinging.

Whoosh! Slash! Swish!

‘He thinks he can take me down with these things?’

Raion swung his sword, cloaked in white aura, with blinding speed.

Following the arc of his blade, the oncoming fists were sliced apart and dispersed like smoke in the air.

‘They have no solid form?’

When he had burned the pitch-black goblin earlier with Gravity Boom and Fire Storm,

its body had vanished the same way after sustaining a certain amount of impact.

‘They’re made of mana.’

The severed limbs of the ogres vanished—then instantly reformed.

Now the ashen ogres surrounded him from behind as well.

Raion slipped sideways in haste and slashed once more.

Shwaak!

The sword’s trajectory was drawn even tighter than before.

Slash!

The shattered remains of the ashen ogres scattered like dust in the air.

‘They’re weaker than I thought.’

As if reading Raion’s thoughts, Malphas snapped his fingers and muttered,

“Naek, pendekar di Bumi Anu Kapohokeun! (Rise, warriors of the forgotten land.)”

The ground trembled again, and from it rose massive giants made of black stone.

Each stood as tall as half the gorge itself—five of them in total.

In their hands were enormous battle axes of unknown material.

Kwaang—! Bang! Bang! Kwaaang! Boom!

This time, the giants moved even before receiving a command.

Ten axes, each longer than two men laid end to end, came flying toward Raion.

Tak! Tatatak! Taak—!

‘He can raise the strength of his summons?’

Leaping high, Raion struck at the giants’ arms with his blade wrapped in blue aura—

but only shallow scratches appeared.

So, as he dropped back down, he summoned forth the aura of the White Lightning Flash.

“What a troublesome ability. But how long can you keep it up…?”

Kaang!

The aura that had easily cleaved through the ashen ogres bounced off harmlessly this time.

“Why…?”

Malphas, now floating in midair, curved his lips into a sinister grin.

“Ku kuk kuk! Did you think I would rely only on powers weak to the Goddess’s light? This is the end for you.”

The giants looked as if they had been formed by drawing minerals up from the earth itself.

And to Raion’s eyes, it was easy to tell what those minerals were made of.

“…Specific Analysis.”

[Tip: Composition analysis complete.]

[Steel 31.1%, Silica 22.5%, Adamantium 0.1%, Carbon 10.2%, Others 36.1%]

The familiar voice echoed in his head after so long,

and Raion’s eyes widened slightly.

“…Oh?”

Even in the midst of the urgent battle, his gaze sharpened.

Meanwhile, Malphas surrounded him with the giants.

“What a waste of talent. How about accepting my offer? Of course, it comes with a few restrictions.”

From Malphas’s floating hand, pitch-black energy flowed out, squirming like worms before forming the shape of a bird.

“This is my brand. Accept it, and you’ll gain power beyond what you have now.”

Raion could feel the sinister energy radiating from it.

“You really think I’d take something like that?”

“Then I take it you’re asking me to kill you here.”

“We’ll see who’s the one dying in the end.”

The giant axes surrounding us began to move.

At that instant, Raion’s gaze and mouth moved swiftly.

“Extraction! Extraction! Extraction! Extraction!”

Negis, an archer who had spent his entire life holding a bow, received command over the troops from Raion.

From a prejudiced view, it was a situation ripe for resentment.

Yet the deputy commanders standing before Negis showed neither complaint nor envy.

“Since the Master’s battle has begun, Prince Rasfer’s camp must have its eyes fixed in that direction now.”

That was because of the enormous flames that had erupted earlier from the valley.

He did not know exactly what was happening.

All he needed to do was fight as the Master had ordered.

At that, the eyes of Patrick, Turklan, Dejir Malon, Calsios, and Caldein Flavan turned toward him.

“Sir Dejir Malon, secure the northern retreat path through the mountain forest. Sir Calsios, once the signal is given, lead Lord Caldein Flavan’s troops and strike from the east. Lord Caldein Flavan, please launch something big into the enemy camp as the opening signal. It’s a forest, so no fire-type spells.”

“I’ll do that.”

The others nodded in agreement.

Once the plan was set, Dejir Malon and Calsios led their troops into the forest and disappeared.

Meanwhile, Negis climbed a tree to check on the enemy camp.

‘That fire must’ve thrown them into chaos. In this state, we shouldn’t have any issues.’

Feeling slightly satisfied, he descended again.

There, remaining with him were Caldein Flavan, his guards Patrick, Turklan, Cayman, and thirty soldiers under his command.

“…Huh?”

Then suddenly, a strange presence.

Negis, whose senses were sharper than most, quickly notched an arrow and fired into the bushes.

Shwaaa—! Thud!

The arrow halted, not lodging into anything.

“Were you trying to kill me?”

The one who appeared with the arrow in hand was Jade, accompanied by ten of his knights.

Jade had caught the arrow with his bare hand.

Negis let out a sigh of relief at their appearance.

“Why did you come so late?”

“These guys gave me the wrong directions.”

The knight Jade pointed at looked quite displeased.

As if to say, what nonsense is that supposed to mean?

“Sigh… You were so late that the Master entrusted me with command. Now that you’re here, you should take it back.”

“That’s fine.”

“Huh? You’re not taking command?”

“This happened because I was late. Please, just give the orders yourself, Sir Negis.”

“Be honest—you just find being in command a hassle, don’t you?”

At Negis’s words, Jade’s eyes drifted off into the air.

“Unbelievable… Anyway, since we need to move quickly, head for the retreat route toward Huffo Territory so you can attack as soon as the signal goes off.”

“Understood! Let’s go!”

“You’re going with only that many?”

Jade had brought only ten men.

It seemed he hadn’t considered how numerous the enemies were.

“Isn’t that enough?”

“Ah…”

Negis belatedly remembered how skilled they were.

At minimum, they were Swordmasters—the elite of Raion’s personal guard under Jade’s command.

Meanwhile, Raion was darting across the giants’ bodies, collecting valuable minerals.

“Extraction! Extraction! Extraction! Extraction!”

“Extraction! Extraction! Extraction! Extraction!”

It was because of what he had seen through Specific Analysis (特定分析).

[Steel 31.1%, Silicon 22.5%, Adamantium 0.1%, Carbon 10.2%, Others 36.1%]

Among them, only one element was worth targeting.

Adamantium—the pure, unyielding metal said to be stronger than even Orichalcum.

“Extraction! Extraction! Extraction! Extraction! Adamantium Extraction!”

Black liquid seeped out from the giants swinging their massive axes, pooling in Raion’s palm.

The giants staggered, their swings faltering and axes veering off course.

Boom—! Thud! Crash!

[Adamantium 100% / 843 kg]

Considering the giants were several dozen tons each, towering as high as half the valley—extracting just 0.1% in Adamantium yielded a tremendous amount.

“Did I extract too much?”

The giants, kneeling under their own weight, stirred the minerals and earth around them to stand once more.

Boom! Boom!

They hefted their axes again and charged.

Meanwhile, Raion, gripping the Adamantium lump, recited as an Arcane Sorcerer:

“Extraction-Synthesis, Form Transformation, Fusion, Engraving.”

Roughly three kilograms of Adamantium melted swiftly into the Blue Mithril Sword in Raion’s hand.

The giants’ axes came flying toward him.

Even in that instant, Raion dashed across their arms and thighs.

“What are you trying to do?”

“Can’t you tell? I’m forging the blade that’ll cut you down.”

Slash! Slash!

Dodging the giant’s swings, Raion spun through the air and landed on the ground.

In his right hand gleamed a dark, single-edged sword.

A weapon forged from a fusion of Adamantium and Blue Mithril.

“As expected, handmade weapons are the best.”

Whoosh—!

The completed sword sliced cleanly through the air.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep