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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

Sponsored By: Wesley Brown, Black Fiend, Primula Hope, nord_nikon, Wyverius Blackfire, Silva, Yanga, HatefullMango, Andrea Boudas, Alex Rodrigues, Maxamaicus, Emblyon, maou99sama

Compound Magic is magic cast with the help of at least ten mages working together. The defining traits of such magic are their immense mana requirements, and equally immense power. The preparation time required for the casting is only matched by the complexity of the spellcraft itself.

Because these spells are most used for war, they are often referred to as War Magic or Tactical Magic.

The basis for Compound Magic is the very simple principle of, if one person isn’t enough, how about ten? In a lot of ways, this out-of-the-box creativity of humans can be said to be one of the Creator’s finest works. To a certain degree, this creativity is a legacy of the Creator’s own sense of creation.

The application of Compound Magic is one of the most complex tasks a mage could ever attempt. First off, an immense amount of time has to be spent training the coordination between the participating mages. Next, the varying mana reserves and habits have to be smoothed out to ensure an even casting. Finally, at least a Seven-star mage is required to conduct the actual casting. Once all that is settled, there is still the issue of Compound Magic’s inherently high rate of failure. After all, even if preparations have been done, it is still impossible to completely harmonize the mana of so many mages. Mutual rejection is only to be expected.

Yet in spite of all that, the power of Compound Magic cannot be denied. In terms of raw firepower alone, the only magic that could possibly top it is Forbidden Magic. A single successful casting will more than likely decide the outcome of a war!

— From |Compound Magic: The Key to Winning a War|

Escaping into the wilderness wasn’t an option at all. This was the Underdepths, not the Western Human Realms; danger was lurking in every corner of its forest, the only difference was whether it was a plant or an animal.

The stubbornness of the Undermarsh Murlocs had truly placed me in a bind. I couldn’t be sure if they were bluffing or they really had more reinforcements waiting in the river. Either way, it was also an undeniable fact that with just these ten attendants alone, fighting off a thousand Murlocs was close to impossible.

So it’s time for the Devil King Idol? Or perhaps I should let them know that I’m the Holy Son? Sigh… if only these fishes worshipped my godmother as well… like why would I ever risk my own life when I can just pull the parents card?!

However, the fact that these Murlocs were at war with the Dark Elves meant that they clearly had no respect for my godmother. So it’s stomping time then?

But pulling out the Devil King Idol just to bully a bunch of fishes just feels bad. All the opponents I used it against were all high level enemies and deserved that level of treatment. But these fishes… somehow it feels like it’s my loss just for summoning it.

Yet before I could come to a decision about whether or not to employ the Devil King Idol against them, fate had already made the decision for me…

The ground around us began to visibly shake. From across the river, there came the thunderous sounds of an army riding ever closer to our position.

A company of roughly two hundred Blood Drake Riders were galloping at full speed towards us right this instant. Their blurred figures reminded me of a sprinting leopard I once saw on television -that was how fast they were riding right now. Unfortunately, with how much distance they had to cover, it was highly unlikely that they would reach us in time.

However, the moment I thought they would never make it in time, the riders all made their move. They reached for the nearly two meters long spears on their backs and took up a throwing stance akin to an olympic javelineer.

Dragon spears: launch!

The Blood Drake Riders launched a volley of attacks against the Undermarsh Murlocs. With the speed of their mounts and their powerful arms propelling the spear forward, the spears easily crossed the distance between them and the Murlocs in an instant. Across the air, one could see dozens of spears flying towards the Murlocs in a perfect arc, reminiscent of dragons riding the clouds. This first rain of spears alone took out over a hundred Murlocs easily.

The fact that half of these spears were able to hit their targets from such a long distance away was testament to the extraordinary skill of these Blood Drake Riders. No wonder they were considered the trump card of the Shadowhunter clan! Lest one forgot, these Murlocs weren’t just target dummies standing there to be shot. They were living, breathing, and more importantly, moving creatures. Such a success was an unexpected surprise for me, though it probably also had to do with the sheer density of their formation.

“Brggwwllll!”

The Murloc Clanleader gurgled out more orders in response to the sudden attack. Following that, the otherwise unending stream of Murlocs swam back into the river, in all likelihood to stall the incoming reinforcement. Perhaps in his mind, he had the situation here completely in his control.

Unfortunately for him, this was a huge mistake. It wasn’t just the Blood Drake Riders who came to our rescue -the mages were here as well!

Close behind the Blood Drake Riders, the sounds of mages chanting in unison slowly became clearer amidst the din of the rumbling Drakes.

By the time the Murloc Clanleader discovered what was going on, it was too late!

It turned out that not only were the Blood Drakes carrying their usual riders, they were carrying a mage on each of their backs as well…

The uniform chanting only meant one single thing: Compound Magic! Magic like that required a prerequisite number of mages chanting at the same time, along with a well-honed coordination. Not only did it require a long time to cast, there had to be at least a Seven-star mage leading the whole ritual.

By now, the chanting sound had already begun to overwhelm the rumbling of the Blood Drakes. It almost seemed like the whole world was silent except for that strange, arcane chanting. Soon, the air itself began to turn cold like a blizzard was raging in the middle of summer. Or maybe we were teleported to the North Pole…

In just the blink of an eye, the surface of the Brackishwaters River turned to ice. And I meant ICE. Rather than the onset of winter slowly freezing the river, it was more like the Ice Age itself had arrived and caught everyone by surprise. Any lifeform who wasn’t able to jump out in time was now encased in ice. Even the odd limb or two that somehow made it to the surface had frozen over like an ice sculpture.

If I had to describe the current scene, it was like looking into a popsicle. The entire river had frozen into a transparent popsicle and those Murlocs trapped within were the fruit chunks…

The Blood Drake Riders took this opportunity to charge across the newly created surface and scatter the Murlocs. Thanks to the chaos created by the Compound Magic, it barely took any effort at all before the Murlocs were routed and their formation broken. Zurnalin was the one leading the charge of these fearsome riders. Her mighty dragon spear went straight for the Murloc Clanleader, hoisting him up high while her Blood Drake bit down on the dangling lower half and began thrashing about.

Their leader was captured, and this battle had been decided.

Try as they might, whether by spear or by claw, no amount of struggling was going to overturn this battle now. The Murlocs had completely lost their advantage, and even if they had the numerical advantage still, that wasn’t enough to salvage this situation.

Without any leader to direct their army, the Murlocs weren’t able to mount an effective defense at all. They were the very definition of a headless snake, struggling in vain during its last few seconds.

“Your holiness, please forgive Paliseth for her lateness.” Paliseth practically leapt off Zurnalin’s mount at that point, hugging me tightly the moment she landed. “ Nothing fills Paliseth with greater joy than to see your holiness safe and sound. Paliseth honestly thought that she had to commit ritual suicide as penitence to the goddess…”

That’s fine and all, but you can not point those things in my chest… I’m suffocating here…

“Cough… we can talk about all that later… First, I need you to let me go…”

Although it took a bit of struggling, I finally managed to escape from her diabolical clutches. However, I was immediately buried in darkness once more as I bumped into a new pair of bouncy mountains…

“Your holiness, you’re alright! Thank the goddess. Once this battle is over, how about we get married…”

Zurnalin… sister… I really need some oxygen right now…

Just as I was about to pass out from oxygen deprivation, my ears picked up the anxious but still timid voice of Jezsere. “Master… he looks like he can’t breathe…”

“Ah! Your holiness, what’s the matter? Don’t frighten me like that…”

“So Paliseth really has to commit ritual suicide?”

“Master… master…”

A minute later…

BREATH… I’m alive again…

The next time you two want to use those weapons of mass destruction, how about giving me a warning first?! Breath… also, Zurnalin’s aren’t half bad, they can give Paliseth a run for her money.

Well… bouncy bouncies are nice and all, but I still have some matters to attend to. Like that half-bitten Murloc Clanleader…

“So… how do we deal with this fella?” I pointed at Murloc Clanleader who had finally been freed from the jaws of that Blood Drake but was still breathing out more than he was breathing in. At his side was the Murloc Shaman who was frantically casting healing spells on him.

“Finish the job?”

“Ahh… I beg of you, don’t kill us…” The moment that I wanted to kill them, the Murloc Shaman immediately dragged himself to my feet and began grovelling, his healing spells clearly thrown to the wind at this point.

“Hey… I think your big brother is not going to make it at this rate…”

Ordinarily, the Murloc Clanleader should have been at his death throes by now. But thanks to the healing spells, he was beginning to recover somewhat, at least until his little brother completely forgot about them…

“Ahhh… big brother… don’t die… if you die, what am I to do…” Having been reminded by me, the Murloc Shaman abandoned his grovelling entirely and went back to casting his healing spells. As he did so, drop after drop of regret-filled tears rolled from his eyes. “Please wake up, big brother. As long as you wake up, I… I… I promise to never fight with you over Lily ever again…”

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Shameless Self-promotion

Announcement: I’ve re-opened my Patreon in case anyone wants to sponsor more chapters. Every end of the month, those chapters in early access will be released for free for all to read. If you sponsored a chapter, you will gain permanent early access to these chapters. Essentially, everyone gets more chapters to read, but those who donated get to read earlier. More chapters will then be translated at the start of the month. Explanation on the Patreon itself.

LINK HERE

If you liked my work translating Devil’s Evolution Catalog, feel free to check out Song of Adolescence. Also, every comment is appreciated even though I might not reply. I do read them.

Leave a comment

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

Sponsored By: Wesley Brown, Black Fiend, Primula Hope, nord_nikon, Wyverius Blackfire, Silva, Yanga, HatefullMango, Andrea Boudas, Alex Rodrigues, Maxamaicus, Emblyon, maou99sama

The Murloc Shaman was captured, meaning the battle was over for now. The Murlocs around us dared not move a centimeter forward in this situation and could only gaze trepidatiously in our direction.

The Undermarsh Murlocs had always lived under the command of their Clanleader, following that, their shaman. Given that the former wasn’t here, and the latter was a captive, their entire chain of command had collapsed in an instant. No matter how much they racked their fish brains, they couldn’t figure out a way to break out of this impasse.

“Bring the Murloc Shaman over here. If they dare make any moves, cut it.”

Because we didn’t know fish talk, we had no way of communicating with the Murlocs. In that case, the simple brute force method was our weapon of choice. Better to have them know who was in charge earlier than later.

However, it turned out that it was only I who thought we couldn’t communicate.

“Wait… please wait… esteemed Fallen Angel, I wish to speak.” The voice had a sharp quality to it, and its accent was strange as well. At the very least however, it got its message across. I turned around in the direction of the voice and found, to my surprise, that it was the captive Murloc Shaman.

Previously, I had my Shadow Demon pierce both its shoulders, yet to my amazement, those injuries had already stopped bleeding. Even though it still reeled in pain each time it spoke, the pain was bearable and it knew to keep its head down as it spoke.

Just from that fact alone, I could tell this Murloc wasn’t dim like the others.

“Have them back off first.”

Naturally, the Murloc Shaman knew who ‘them’ referred to even if I didn’t explicitly say so. Bearing with the pain of having two gaping holes in its shoulders, it gurgled in that strange Murloc call of theirs and the remaining Murlocs began to back off slowly.

“Bring him over here quickly.”

The Shadow Demon pulled out both of its hands from its shoulders but maintained its binding on the Murloc Shaman itself. Without any Murlocs to block their way now, the attendants quickly had two of their companions carry the bound up shaman to my side. In the meantime, the remaining eight kept a wary eye on the Murlocs.

However, it seemed like the Murlocs had no intention of trying their luck now that the Murloc Shaman had spoken. That Murloc turned out to be a pretty good hostage, after all. In that case, there was no need to escape so hastily either. There was time for a quick interrogation.

In actuality, with our proximity to Shadowhunter City, it was debatable how much danger we actually were in even if the Murloc Shaman turned on us. Before the Murloc attack, there were some Duergar slaves fishing by the river banks. They were definitely gone by now, but in all likelihood, they had fled back to the city to get help. As long as we held our position, I had no doubt in my mind that Paliseth would come flying to our aid in no time at all.

I had the Shadow Demon keep the Murloc Shaman tightly bound up on the floor while I gazed down loftily at him from above. With a flap of my purple wings, I exuded my mana like a blanket of pressure, keeping this captive constantly under duress.

The Murloc began to shiver uncontrollably under my withering pressure, to my delight. “Why did you attack us?”

“We’re here for revenge…” With my mana still pressuring him, the Murloc Shaman dared not even look me in the eyes. He turned his head to the side and continued in a meek voice, “There was an army of Blood Drake Riders who assaulted our settlement recently… we just so happened to be outside hunting when that happened…”

So what he’s saying is that Zurnalin stumbled upon an undefended Murloc settlement which was why she had such an easy time. The Murlocs returned home to find it destroyed and were out for blood. That’s when they so happened to stumble upon me…

Truthfully, the Murloc Shaman had been here since the beginning of the attack. He was merely hiding out in the waters of the river. Had it not been for my interference causing too much of a stir and forcing him to use a battle hymn, he would have probably stayed hidden throughout. Unfortunately for him, this decision led to him being captured by my Shadow Demon.

Upon hearing the Murloc Shaman’s explanation, I couldn’t help but smile sinisterly at it. “I’ll have you know, my lucky charm over here suffered quite a fright because of you.”

“Huh?”

The Murloc Shaman was stunned. If there was someone who should have been frightened, it was him not her.

I gently reached out and ruffled Jezsere’s silvery hair, not at all concerned by the shock on the Murloc Shaman’s face. “I’ll make it simple for you. Do you want to live, or do you want to die?”

“Live… live…” Perhaps it was the sudden agitation in his voice that ended up opening his wounds again, but the moment he rushed to utter that first word, his voice faltered a little.

“You wish to live? Be my slave then.” My sinister grin grew even wider at that point. “Have your Murlocs throw down their weapons.”

“But…owww… don’t… I’ll do it…”

The Murloc Shaman clearly wasn’t too willing to have them disarm like that. After all, as long as the other Murlocs were still a threat to us, his value as a hostage was guaranteed. However, the pain in his shoulders had another plan entirely.

This Murloc Shaman was a shrewd one, I’ll admit. He knew what it was that was keeping him alive right now. However, I was in no mood right now to play with him. With a mere thought, I had the Shadow Demon stab both his shoulders once more. This time, I only had it stab a few inches in, barely leaving any distance at all between its shadowy blades and his bones. If he dared try anything funny, I would be more than happy to send him off to the big fish pond in the sky.

“See. You should have listened from the very start. I wouldn’t have had to resort to forcing you at all then.”

Being scolded by me like that, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if this poor Murloc had the mind to cry just there and then.

“Put down your weapons… all of you put down your weapons now!”

Well, that was a quick change of heart. He acts all obedient in front of me, but he sure is quick to turn around and boss his own Murlocs around.

A small portion of the Murlocs who were directly under his command immediately threw down their weapons. The rest, however, were more hesitant to do so. They gazed at each other in confusion, unsure as to how to react. After all, throwing down their weapons was an act of surrender, and that was something a brave Murloc would never do.

Naturally, running away wasn’t a form of surrender… that was just postponing the battle.

“Are you all deaf?! I said throw down your weapons.” Seeing so many still hold onto their weapons, the Murloc Shaman’s first worry was that I would have my Shadow Demon stab him once more. That was why he immediately yelled at them. His heightened mental state caused by the wounds in his shoulders meant that he was more than furious right now. Too bad for him, he couldn’t direct that anger at the culprit, me. In that case, that only left the surviving Murlocs. “Are you all trying to get me killed or something?! Throw down your weapons now!”

This time, his enraged yelling seemed to have taken effect. However, before the murlocs could carry out his orders, a massive black silhouette emerged from the Brackishwaters River. It was a massive black Murloc, roughly two meters tall and with the typical brawny stature of a Murloc warrior. Unlike an ordinary warrior however, it had a much larger stone spear and even wore a horn by its left waist. In comparison, this horn was several times larger than the shaman’s horn, coming in at roughly a football’s size.

“Mrrrggrwwwllll!”

The giant Murloc gurgled sonorously. While I might not have understood Murloc, I could roughly guess what it was saying. After all, the moment that giant Murloc spoke, the remaining Murlocs immediately tightened their grips on their weapons. Even those Murlocs who threw down their weapons had already picked them back up.

The Murloc Shaman’s eyes went wide the moment that giant Murloc appeared. Even his words were starting to sound a little garbled, to the point where he forgot to gurgle. “Clan…Clanleader…”

“That’s the leader of your clan?” Seeing that newcomer suddenly wrest control of the situation away from me like that, my face immediately sank. I gave the captive Murloc Shaman a swift kick and said, “help me translate. Tell him to surrender immediately or I’ll kill you.”

“There’s no need for translation, I can understand you.”

The Undermarsh Murloc Clanleader menacingly waved his stone spear at that point, then flashed me a scornful smile. “Kill him if you want, it’s not like our settlement is lacking shamans.”

The moment he said that, the Murloc Shaman promptly panicked “Big brother… save me… I’m your own little brother…”

So they are siblings? A brawny fish like him and what looks more like a fish finger… exactly how are they siblings? Exactly whose genes is the recessive one here?

“Idiot! Why can’t you keep your mouth shut!?” The giant Murloc glared at his little brother as he said that. However, now that their relationship was exposed, the Murloc Clanleader had no choice but to change his tact. “Devil, do not harm my little brother, else I’ll never let you all go.”

“So you two really are siblings then. Pretty close too, by the looks of it.”

I swept my eyes over the Murlocs at that point. There had to be over a thousand right now.

Even though the Murlocs weren’t strong individually, there was no denying their numbers. Furthermore, our backs were against the river at this point. If we were to run away now, we could only escape in the direction opposite of the city. And even if we were to do that, the complexity of the wilderness might not necessarily be a better choice either.

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Shameless Self-promotion

Announcement: I’ve re-opened my Patreon in case anyone wants to sponsor more chapters. Every end of the month, those chapters in early access will be released for free for all to read. If you sponsored a chapter, you will gain permanent early access to these chapters. Essentially, everyone gets more chapters to read, but those who donated get to read earlier. More chapters will then be translated at the start of the month. Explanation on the Patreon itself.

LINK HERE

If you liked my work translating Devil’s Evolution Catalog, feel free to check out Song of Adolescence. Also, every comment is appreciated even though I might not reply. I do read them.

Leave a comment

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

Sponsored By: Wesley Brown, Black Fiend, Primula Hope, nord_nikon, Wyverius Blackfire, Silva, Yanga, HatefullMango, Andrea Boudas, Alex Rodrigues, Maxamaicus, Emblyon, maou99sama

Jezsere was already on the verge of tears at this point. The timid girl that she was clearly wasn’t prepared for a sudden attack. However, because she was worried that her crying might affect me, she forcefully held back any further crying. Even so, her shivering hands grasping on my arms was more than enough of a signal to me that she was very afraid. With how close she was to me now, her fragrance was constantly wafting into my nose, but I wasn’t in any position to bask in its glory for the time being.

Curse you, look what you fish heads did! My lucky charm is all scared now. You’d better watch out, else I’ll get my Devil King Idol to make fish paste out of all of you.

Yet just when I was about to call forth my Devil King Idol to flatten them, a spinning stone spear came screeching towards me from a distance away. Just from how furiously it was rotating, I could already tell it was going to be at least a few times stronger than an ordinary stone spear. Naturally, I had no intention of testing my luck against such an attack. I grabbed Jezsere by the waist and tumbled to the floor, narrowly dodging the spear.

You’re all dead! Who was that that threw the spear? I’ll teach you to try and ambush me like that!

I gazed in the direction of the spear and so happened to come upon a weaponless Murloc still standing in a daze… that’s the one! It has to be him!

My eyes narrowed in on the soon-to-be dead fish, and with a flap of my wings, sent a volley of Mana Feathers right at him. This time, I didn’t just fire them out as usual. Thanks to the inspiration from that spinning spear, I had the brilliant idea to add a high-speed rotation to my Mana Feathers as well.

Thanks to that, my Mana Feathers seemed more like drills than feathers as they sped towards the dazed Murloc…

An instant later, the Mana Feathers had closed the gap between us thanks to its newfound speed, piercing right through the eyes of that Murloc without any difficulty whatsoever!

However, that wasn’t the end either. After killing the first Murloc, my Mana Feathers continued onwards without any signs of slowing down at all. It was only until it collided with the third Murloc that it finally exploded, leaving that poor Murloc with horrendous injuries.

The sheer power demonstrated in just the short span of a few seconds was so shocking, it even startled me. Never would I have expected that just adding a spin to these Mana Feathers would lead to such a massive increase in penetration power. Not only did that one single volley kill off two Murlocs, it even maimed a third when it no longer had the power to pierce it. Now, that just wasn’t fair!

Clearly, I wasn’t the only one shocked as well. There was no one near those three Murlocs who weren’t just as stunned by what they had just witnessed. My shock, however, wasn’t as long-lived as theirs.

Barely a second later, I was already focusing my mana into a volley of my new and improved Mana Feathers. A couple of flaps later, I had easily slain over a dozen Murlocs.

Seeing how I was able to massacre their brethren so easily with one spell, even their renewed morale wasn’t enough to prevent the survivors from routing. With a nonsensical but fear-filled gurgle, the survivors all scrambled towards the safety of the river. As they stumbled head over tail to escape, everyone of them was cursing their parents right now for not giving them a longer pair of legs.

“Brrrrggwwwlll…”

Their desperate escape did not go unnoticed by the other Murlocs either. Even those who were engaged with the Dark Elves were starting to rout thanks to the franticness they displayed. While these Murlocs might have put on a heroic front when faced with a foe weaker than them, but when push came to shove, they were all more than happy to turn tail and run. Simply put, they were all bullies.

The rest of the Dark Elven attendants were immediately inspired by the sudden reversal in fortunes. One after the other, they pulled out every move they knew to try and take down as many Murlocs as possible. At the same time, they took the opportunity to slowly reform into one group. With their skillful sword and shield tactics, they managed to achieve this in mere seconds.

Now that they were together once more, all that was left was to finish off the Murlocs and secure this victory.

Phew… that’s the end of this battle at least. Blasted fish.

However, that optimism only lasted a few seconds before the routed Murlocs suddenly turned around to attack us once more…

“Brrrrrr~~~~”

That was the sound of a shellhorn blowing. The moment I heard those notes, my head began pounding with a fury that was only matched by the shaking I felt in my arms. I looked down and found Jezsere in an even worse shape than me right now. Both her hands were covering her pointy Elf ears while her body continued shaking uncontrollably.

“Master… the sound.. It hurts…”

With no time to lose, I hurriedly hugged her tighter, then with a hefty flap of my wings, retreated a good dozen meters back. Thankfully, this booming horn sound only lasted a short while before it stopped. It was then that Jezsere recovered some semblance of control as well. Her adorable little head was still swaying about in a daze while she hyperventilated slightly.

“Jez, are you alright?”

“Jez is… fine..” Even though she said that, she was still limp in my arms.

Concerned, I reached out to message her temples while gazing cautiously in the direction of the river banks. “Do you know what that was just now?”

As of this moment, the Murlocs were all charging at us with a speed that put their previous escape to shame. Gurgles abound, they rammed into the ten Dark Elves and easily surrounded them in a few seconds.

It was then that I spotted a relatively weaker Murloc jumping onto land. This Murloc wasn’t wielding a stone weapon like the others. Instead, it held a magical staff that seemed to be made out of wood. The head of the staff was carved into the shape of a spiral with a tiny fist-sized pearl in its center.

What was also worth mentioning was that this diminutive Murloc had a horn the size of a child’s head by its waist. From the looks of things, this was the culprit behind that horn call.

“Master… those should be the Undermarsh Murlocs, that staff wielder should be their shaman…” Our resident lucky charm began explaining, having recovered somewhat by now. “A Murloc Shaman has the strength of a Five-star. That horn call just now is their battle hymn.”

Battle hymn? So it’s a skill to stir their battle spirits. Seems like it also has the side effect of suppressing their opponent’s morale. No wonder they started charging at us like drugged-up attack hounds.

With my wings, I could have left long ago with Jezsere if I wasn’t concerned about those ten Dark Elf attendants. In fact, that thought did cross my mind a few times. However, I couldn’t be sure if they would have been able to make it out on their own given how our enemy’s numbers were still unknown. Besides, I still had the Devil King Idol as a backup plan. That was why I was able to calmly stay behind and watch even now… Hmmm… but the Undermarsh Murlocs huh… I thought Zurnalin had already taken care of them? What are those dumb fishies doing here then? Aren’t they afraid of being defeated by the Blood Drake Riders again?

Still, their numbers are really something to reckon with. There has to be at least a thousand of them on shore right now…I can still fly away, but the attendants have already been surrounded. Looks like capturing that shaman is the only out now.

“Don’t mind me and Jezsere, get that Murloc Shaman, quick!”

As the saying went, cut off the head and the body will die. The moment that shaman stepped onto land, I immediately realised that it was the key to this battle ending.

“Understood, your holiness.”

Having received my orders, the attendants immediately sprang into action, rushing in a beeline towards the shaman. With their powerful swords and shield, they cleaved a bloody road all the way through the Murloc horde. At this point, there was only ten meters separating them from victory.

“Mwwwrrgggllll!”

Realising that he was in danger, the Murloc Shaman gurgled in that signature nonsensical language of the Murlocs while waving his staff. An icy arrow quickly formed above the staff and shot out towards one of the attendants. However, that was easily deflected by a defensive spell of that Dark Elf. A crack later, the arrow had completely shattered into the ground without ever threatening that Dark Elf.

The ten Dark Elf attendants rushed forward like hungry wolves, eager for their prey. Whoever stood in their way were quickly slammed aside or skewered by their deadly longswords. Now that they had pulled out all the stocks, there was no way a bunch of Murlocs who were at most Four-star could ever hope to stop them.

By now, that Murloc Shaman was beginning to realise that if he didn’t flee now, he was doomed. Behind him was the Brackishwaters River, his safe haven away from the impending doom in front of him. All it would take was one leap from him and he was safe.

However, there was no way I would ever let it go at this point. The moment it showed signs of escaping, I flew up into the air and activated my Shadow Guardian. It immediately stretched itself out as a shadow on the ground and rushed right towards the shaman. And before I could even say mmmrrrggglll, the fleeing Murloc Shaman was captured.

The Murloc Shaman tried desperately to break free of the shadowy binding, but the moment it did so, it was confronted by a couple of scythe-like weapons. The Shadow Guardian stabbed its bladed arms right into the shoulders of the Murloc Shaman without any hesitation, nailing it to the ground.

“MMMMMRRRRRRGGWWWLL!”

The Murloc Shaman screamed at the top of its lungs, face even more ugly than it already was before.

Upon hearing its pained cries, the other Murlocs’ first thought was to try and rescue it. Unfortunately, the Dark Elves were already ready for them. Like a bloody hurricane, they cleared out a circle around the captured Murloc, cutting down anyone who tried to step into their circle.

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Shameless Self-promotion

Announcement: I’ve re-opened my Patreon in case anyone wants to sponsor more chapters. Every end of the month, those chapters in early access will be released for free for all to read. If you sponsored a chapter, you will gain permanent early access to these chapters. Essentially, everyone gets more chapters to read, but those who donated get to read earlier. More chapters will then be translated at the start of the month. Explanation on the Patreon itself.

LINK HERE

If you liked my work translating Devil’s Evolution Catalog, feel free to check out Song of Adolescence. Also, every comment is appreciated even though I might not reply. I do read them.

Leave a comment

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

Sponsored By: Wesley Brown, Black Fiend, Primula Hope, nord_nikon, Wyverius Blackfire, Silva, Yanga, HatefullMango, Andrea Boudas, Alex Rodrigues, Maxamaicus, Emblyon, maou99sama

How to determine if a female is a Demoness:

1. Throw the suspected Demoness into a confinement facility where they hold heresy trials. If the suspect is afraid, then she must be a Demoness. If she isn’t, that’s still no guarantee that she isn’t a Demoness. After all, her Devil patron might have given her the ability to resist sacred mana.

2. Whip the suspected Demoness. If she feels pain, then she must be a Demoness. But if she doesn’t feel pain, that’s still no guarantee that she isn’t a Demoness. After all, her Devil Patron might have given her the ability to resist the sacred whip.

3. Have the suspected Demoness hug a heated iron for a minute. Check the wounds after three days. If there are burn marks, then she must be a Demoness. But if there aren’t any burn marks, that’s still no guarantee that she isn’t a Demoness. After all, her Devil Patron might have given her the ability to resist flames.

4. Tie up the suspected Demoness and toss her into a large body of water. If she floats, then she must be a Demoness. But even if she sinks, that’s still no guarantee that she isn’t a Demoness. After all, her Devil Patron might have given her the ability to sink.

5. Use a needle to prick the suspected Demoness’s hand. If she experiences pain and starts to bleed, then she is innocent. If she doesn’t feel pain or bleed, then she must be a Demoness. But even if she bleeds and feels pains, that’s still no guarantee that she is innocent. After all, her Devil Patron might have given her the ability to bleed and scream in pain.

— From |Demoness’s Hammer|

Note to future readers: Because the methods listed in |Demoness’s Hammer| have been proven dubious at best, the book has been declared as obsolete for a long time now. While there have been cases of certain kingdoms running out of females due to adherence to this book, these cases are merely the result of the natural course of history, definitely not the fault of religion.

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The Murlocs who suddenly attacked us were all pitch black from top to toe. Each of them had a pair of human hands and legs. However, there was a membrane between each appendage that connected every finger or toe in the fashion of a duck’s feet.

These black Murlocs all wielded stone spears, though there was always that oddball or two who wanted to be different and wielded a stone blade instead.

By the dozens, these fishy humanoids rushed up the river banks right at us. With just a quick glance, I counted at least a hundred Murlocs on land right now. In a mere moment, they had already surrounded the five attendants trying to cover our retreat. Yet even then their numbers did not stop increasing.

“Mgrrrllllll!”

Dozens of black Murlocs gurgled in some strange, almost nonsensical language before charging at us. Just like that, our escorts had to section out three more Six-stars to handle the newcomers. Shield in hand and longsword in the other, these three Dark Elves stood their ground fearlessly in the face of this black swarm.

“Leave quickly! The two of you must protect his holiness no matter the cost!”

One of the three attendants yelled out without even turning around to face her companions. Following that, a Murloc stone spear rammed right into her shield and she no longer had the time to monitor our situation. Her shield held fast, and she took this opportunity to stab the unfortunate Murloc right through its brains with her longsword.

With barely any resistance at all, she quickly withdrew her bloody sword and slammed her shield into another incoming Murloc. A flash of steel later, that foolish Murloc’s stone spear was split in half!

Yet this attendant wasn’t the only one performing admirably right now. Her two other companions had racked up an impressive kill score in the few seconds of engagement. No matter who it was, those that tried to bypass them were slain without remorse!

Just what you’d expect of a Dark Elven Six-star, they really don’t fool around when it comes to killing, do they? I doubt those fishies have any warrior that can stand up to their steel wall.

Unfortunately, my optimism was quickly disproved by the sheer numbers the Murlocs brought to bear this time. In just the blink of an eye, another hundred black Murlocs came waddling up onto land. Even though these were mostly all One-stars, there were still some Two-star, Three-star elites mixed in with the horde. At times, there was even the odd Murloc Warleader or two who possessed the strength of a Four-star.

Individually, these Murlocs were clearly not a match for the attendants. However, their sheer numbers meant that it was only a time before the attendants were all buried by their warriors.

Because of that, there soon appeared several dozens of Murlocs who managed to break through the defensive lines created by the eight attendants.

“Your holiness, please make your escape without us, we’ll hold them back here.”

Faced with an ever-growing horde of Murlocs, the last two attendants made the difficult decision to stay behind. Through their sacrifice, they planned to buy Jezsere and I the time we needed to escape. Without any hesitation whatsoever, the two of them took up the same formation their sisters used previously. By now, the Murlocs were already within smelling distance of us. The two Dark Elves raised their shield to block the incoming barrage of spears, then slammed down on the nearest Murloc, stunning him for a quick sword kill.

Thanks to their combination of sword and shield, they were able to rotate smoothly between defense and offense, not at all like an assassin’s dual wielding style which left one open at times. In a chaotic battle like this, their balanced style was proving highly effective, especially since their shields served as a means to stun their opponents as well. Because the stone spears weren’t able to pierce their shields, that meant that they didn’t have to dodge any projectiles either.

These Six-star Dark Elves were not only accomplished warriors, they were mages as well. In other words, they were Magisters. While they might not have been able to blast off huge spells instantly like the mages, they could still cast defensive and small-scale spells instantly. Yet it was this difference in spellcasting ability that proved decisive in this battle of attrition. Without the ability to fire off huge area-of-effect spells instantly, it meant that they had no chance to fire off any such spells at all. Without any huge area-of-effect spells to deal with this horde, the Dark Elves were doomed to failure.

At this rate, it was only a matter of time before all ten of them fell, assuming of course, that I didn’t intervene.

No matter what the reason was, it was a fact that these attendants were risking their lives in order to protect me and Jezsere. No matter what, I wasn’t about to let a beautiful lady just die like that, especially not ten of them. Grabbing my adorable little white bunny, I began beating my purple wings and fired off a rain of feathers at the incoming Murlocs.

Normally, my Mana Feathers weren’t all that deadly against opponents of my level. However, what if they were all lower starred? Against these Murlocs, my Mana Feathers were basically a one shot one kill skill. In fact, I was practically bullying them now.

“Mgwwwrrrrr!”

Countless Murlocs were turned into hedgehogs in an instant by my Mana Feathers. While not all of them might have died, that wasn’t a problem either. After all, my Mana Feathers were all imbued with my consciousness. And recently, I developed a new add-on skill on top of Rising Feathers: Feather Explosion!

Because these Mana Feather did not contain all that much mana within them to begin with, the resulting explosion was a small one as well. Even so, it was enough to blow a tiny but bloody hole into any Murloc unfortunate enough to be pricked. Those who fell victim to my new skill immediately fell to the ground gurgling in pain. The sheer pain contained within each gurgle was enough to affect those who weren’t even injured.

Perhaps it was because this resulting scene was just too bloody, or perhaps the thought of being blown up was too terrifying, but the remaining Murlocs finally halted their relentless charge and began to retreat.

However, that didn’t mean this battle was over either. A real battlefield was always as fluid as water. Even when you thought that the opponent was routed, there was always that sliver of chance that they recovered. While my Mana Feathers were able to cause severe injuries, that didn’t mean that everyone affected was dead either. Some of the stronger willed Murlocs began to rise to their feet, albeit shakily. Despite that, these wounded warriors still charged fearlessly at the attendants, hoping to at least drag down one of them in a last hurrah. Seeing that, even the retreating Murlocs were inspired to action once more.

The horde began reforming for another wave of attack at the Dark Elves who had just gained a brief moment of respite.

In a lot of ways, such relentless attacks were the very antithesis of Dark Elven tactics. Dark Elves, and Elves in general, all favored agile tactics, and not brute force. If one had to attach a number to the strength of these Elves, then their strength would be 0.8 times that of a normal human’s. Just based on that fact alone, Elves weren’t suited for battles of attrition.

Blast it, I think my Mana Feathers ended up spurring them on instead. At this rate, even me and Jezsere might be in trouble.

“Master… Jez is…cries”

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Shameless Self-promotion

Announcement: I’ve re-opened my Patreon in case anyone wants to sponsor more chapters. Every end of the month, those chapters in early access will be released for free for all to read. If you sponsored a chapter, you will gain permanent early access to these chapters. Essentially, everyone gets more chapters to read, but those who donated get to read earlier. More chapters will then be translated at the start of the month. Explanation on the Patreon itself.

LINK HERE

If you liked my work translating Devil’s Evolution Catalog, feel free to check out Song of Adolescence. Also, every comment is appreciated even though I might not reply. I do read them.

Leave a comment

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

Sponsored By: Wesley Brown, Black Fiend, Primula Hope, nord_nikon, Wyverius Blackfire, Silva, Yanga, HatefullMango, Andrea Boudas, Alex Rodrigues, Maxamaicus, Emblyon, maou99sama

A Demoness refers to a female who worships and serves a Devil. Normally, such a privilege is only available to Devils that are Eight-star and above. However, the real way of defining a Demoness is a female who has attained the power of a Devil, and only Devil Overlords are able to bestow such a power on their supplicants.

When a Demoness is bestowed powers by her Devil master, she awakens a number of abilities that are tied to her bloodlines and the Devil she worships.

Some Demoness gain the ability to summon Devils while some gain the ability to shapeshift. Then there are also those who gain the ability to harvest souls. The number of abilities available to awaken are countless, but the one thing in common is that every Demoness is adept at hiding themselves. Unless a Demon Hunter has been specially trained in this field, even they wouldn’t be able to differentiate a normal human from a Demoness.

—- From |Demoness’s Hammer|

My plan was to have a tour around the outskirts of the city, however that was quickly disrupted when a Dark Elven messenger came looking for us. Upon opening that missive, Paliseth immediately recognised the urgency of the matter.

“Your holiness, I’m afraid Paliseth is unable to accompany you for the time being.”

Ever since opening that letter, Paliseth’s expression could only be described by one word: black. Even as she apologized for her departure, I could faintly detect a hint of anger in her voice.

“What’s the matter?”

“Have a look, your holiness.” She didn’t answer me directly but instead handed over the missive.

Upon looking at the letter in question, my eyes glazed over… it was completely written in the encrypted language of the Dark Elves… and I had no idea how to read it…

The corners of my mouth twitched slightly as I handed the letter back to Paliseth. “Maybe you should read it to me instead…”

“…”

At that point, she must have realised the problem as well. “There’s been a sighting of a Minotaur’s Labyrinth roughly 50km south of our city, and it’s currently inhabited by a horde of Minotaurs.”

Simply put, the report mentioned that the Minotaurs in that labyrinth were suddenly acting up. In just a single night alone, they destroyed three sentry posts belonging to the Shadowhunter Clan.

Had it not been for one of the sentries risking his or her life to bring this message back to a nearby military base, those minotaurs might already be knocking on the gates of Shadowhunter City.

The Minotaurs were an immensely strong race of magical monsters that were basically cows that could walk on two legs. However, a distinction had to be made between the bull humanoids of the Beastmen race and the Minotaurs. Those Beastmen possessed a bull head, but their legs had cow hooves. In contrast, the Minotaurs had a bull head as well, but they had human-looking feet with five toes.

Fun fact: Minotaurs were said to have come from a union between a female human and a cow-type magical beast. Also, that female’s husband was said to be a king of a country.

Hearing Paliseth recount the events in the south, our resident proud knight, Zurnalin immediately made herself known to us. This proud warrior really was a mystery to me. In front me, she was your typical crazed idol-chaser. In front of everyone else, including Paliseth, she was a walking ice block.

“Matriarch, I humbly request to take part in this battle.”

“Hmm… it is true that only the Blood Drake Riders can guarantee a victory against the mighty Minotaurs.” Paliseth nodded her head without a second thought. “Bring the hybrid Blood Drakes as well, we can use this battle as a test of their strength.

With Paliseth’s approval secured, Zurnalin turned around and bowed her head apologetically towards me. “My apologies, your holiness, Zurnalin has a duty to fulfill and can’t accompany you any further.”

“It’s alright, you do you. I still have Jezsere to keep me company.” Finally presented with the chance to rid myself of this crazy lady, my smile couldn’t have been any brighter as I wished her well. “Be careful during the battle, your safety is important as well.”

Naturally, that was just routine courtesy on my part, though I really was happy about sending her off. However, who would have thought that a simple statement would actually bring her to tears.

“His holiness actually cares about me…” She passionately pulled me into an embrace and even tried to kiss me. “I just knew his holiness cared about me… this is great… Your holiness, please allow Zurnalin to leave your side temporarily. Once the southern battle is over, Zurnalin will immediately come back to fulfill her natural obligations!”

Maybe you shouldn’t come back at all…

I hurriedly pushed her away, barely avoiding her luscious lips in the process. She wasn’t all too happy about that but I did not have much choice. “About that… Zurnalin… I hate to break it to you but it’s impossible for the two of us…”

“Why? Does his holiness dislike Zurnalin?” The moment she heard me reject her, her tears flowed even more. “Zurnalin has always maintained a pure body. She has never had any intimate contact with another man…”

“I’m not accusing you of that… your chastity is not in question at all… it’s just…”

I couldn’t continue any further at that point. After all, my pee pee was still on vacation and even if she was willing, I wasn’t able to comply. Besides, I didn’t feel any attachment to her at all. Somehow, unknowingly, I was now set on the path of the legendary harem… I wonder what would happen if I ended up accepting too many girls into my harem, will there be a bloodbath…

My words ended up being stuck in my throat. Seeing that there was no answer forthcoming even after a long while, Zurnalin was starting to get a little anxious. She desperately wanted to know why I rejected her but she dared not press the issue too much as well. Finally, Paliseth leaned in and whispered a few words in her eyes. It was then that she nodded her head, seemingly having realised something. However, the passion in her eyes did not wane in the slightest.

“Your holiness, there’s no need to worry at all, even two females are able to have a child together. There’s no need for a wretched male!”

“…”

Hey, I’m one of those wretched males as well. I think there’s been a fundamental misunderstanding here: I’m not a female at all. I just don’t have a pee pee right now. There’s a big difference between not having a pee pee and being a girl, don’t just lump the two together because they both don’t have a pee pee!

“Jezsere wants to have a child with the master too…” Jezsere shyly blurted out. However, the moment she said that, her face blushed a furious red to the point where I was beginning to wonder if blood was about to come out.

Even Jezsere has fallen, I see…

“Spare me, Jezsere, I’m about to faint already…”

At the side, Paliseth could barely hold back her laughter as she watched her subordinate and daughter push me to the brink. Finally, she stepped in to save the day. “Alright, alright. Zurnalin, we need to return to the city right now. We still have a lot of work to do.”

“Understood, Matriarch.”

Now that that whole farce was over, Paliseth and Zurnalin both left for Shadowhunter City while Jezsere and I stayed behind to continue our riverside tour. Before leaving, Zurnalin had her two Six-star attendants guard us while we continued on.

First on the list was fishing. However, we didn’t get to do this for long before Jezsere finally ran out of patience and threw aside her fishing pole. She promptly grabbed onto my arms and looked me straight in the eyes. “Master, let’s go for a boat ride.”

Hearing that, I was immediately reminded of that tiny boat parked by the banks and the obvious redundancy of it. “Let’s not.” I sternly refused. “How about we hike through the mushroom forest instead?”

The mushroom forest was one the specialties of underground life. The forest itself was made up of countless giant mushrooms and reached up to heights I would have never expected to see back on Earth. Honestly, the first time I saw the mushroom forest, I had this feeling of stepping into a fairy tale.

“No…” She meekly objected. From the look of disgust in her eyes, it was obvious she wasn’t very happy about the idea. Finally, after much prodding, she came clean. “It’s because the forest is full of bugs… Jezsere doesn’t like bugs.”

So she’s afraid of bugs… I guess that’s only to be expected. Heck, I hate them too. After all, they are troublesome creatures. Stupid, dim, oh and stupid too, did I say that yet? In fact, if you put them under a magnifying glass, they are basically miniature monsters.

Since the mushroom forest was out of the question, we continued our fishing while chatting. Suddenly, the silent up till now attendants abruptly reached for their waists. With a flick of their wrists, a bunch of flying daggers launched out towards the Brackishwaters River. An intruder?!

Before I could even figure out the situation however, the answer came lurking out of the river surface.

A blackish half-fish humanoid poked its head out of the river, finally reaching up to 1.6 meters when fully erect. It wielded a two meter long stone spear that ominously preceded its arrival. Unfortunately, before it could even make a move, it was already face to face with the flying daggers the attendants tossed out. A flash of red later, the Murloc was left with a gaping hole in its head. Behind it, the flying dagger was still flying strong into the river. Just like that, its life ended before it even knew what had happened.

Yet at the same time its body collapsed into the river, countless bubbles began rising to the surface. That lone Murloc was just the beginning. Even if one of them died, there were plenty more to come. In the blink of an eye, over a dozen Murlocs reared their ugly heads and walked up to land. Behind them, I spotted even more silhouettes approaching the river bank.

“Intruders! Protect his holiness!”

The attendant who scored first blood immediately called for her companions to take up formation with her. In less than a second, I was surrounded by ten Six-star Dark Elves. Of the ten, five of them were already engaging with the Murloc horde. The rest slowly backed away while escorting me and Jezsere to safety.

“Master…”

The sudden change came as a shock to Jezsere who was just enjoying the peace and quiet not too long ago. Her eyes began watering up once more as she darted into my arms for safety. “It’s alright, your master will protect you.”

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Shameless Self-promotion

Announcement: I’ve re-opened my Patreon in case anyone wants to sponsor more chapters. Every end of the month, those chapters in early access will be released for free for all to read. If you sponsored a chapter, you will gain permanent early access to these chapters. Essentially, everyone gets more chapters to read, but those who donated get to read earlier. More chapters will then be translated at the start of the month. Explanation on the Patreon itself.

LINK HERE

If you liked my work translating Devil’s Evolution Catalog, feel free to check out Song of Adolescence. Also, every comment is appreciated even though I might not reply. I do read them.

Leave a comment

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

Sponsored By: Wesley Brown, Black Fiend, Primula Hope, nord_nikon, Wyverius Blackfire, Silva, Yanga, HatefullMango, Andrea Boudas, Alex Rodrigues, Maxamaicus, Emblyon, maou99sama

With the Brackishwaters River being so near the main city of the Shadowhunter clan, there was no way you could ever convince me that anyone could approach the city without being noticed. After all, the Dark Elves were not only expert assassins, they were expert trackers and scouts as well. In just those two fields alone, the Dark Elves were unmatched.

Despite knowing that, I still couldn’t help but furrow my brows as I asked, “invaders, perhaps?”

“Impossible. No one can approach our territory without being detected.” Paliseth confidently refuted my concern. “At this time… perhaps it’s the Blood Drake Riders returning from their field exercise?”

“Blood Drake Riders?”

“The Blood Drake Riders are the strongest mounted soldiers we Dark Elves possess. Every month, they would engage in a field combat exercise.” She smiled as she explained. “That was five days ago so they should roughly be back by now.”

Just as she finished explaining, the human-sized mushroom forest ahead of us was suddenly parted in half by a bunch of frightening, dark green monsters trampling over the mushrooms in front them.

These monsters were almost three meters tall and had the typical dragon head but without horns. It stood on its two hindlegs while a pair of comparatively shrivelled up looking claws hung in front – basically a Tyrannosaurus Rex with a dragon-looking head. However, that wasn’t all there was to these monsters. Each of them wore a simple set of black armor that covered their head, chest, neck and thighs. On their backs was a saddle with a fully armored knight dressed in black.

The armor on these knights wasn’t of the heavy variant. Rather, they seemed heavier than your normal light armor but just not to the extent of a plate mail. Every one of them had on a fierce mask that resembled the hideous visage of a Devil. Their headdress even had a pair of bull horns that curved upwards like a Devil’s. From far, they looked more like demons than Dark Elves.

(Rumbling noises.)

The Blood Drake Riders galloped onwards in a straight line towards the Brackishwaters Bridge, passing by us with several dozens of meters to spare. The lead rider seemed to have noticed our presence and ordered the riders to halt in the clearing. Then, with two other attendant riders, she rode towards us.

“The Blood Drake Riders are made up of our strongest warriors and Blood Drakes. They form the strongest fighting force in our clan and are an unstoppable force on the battlefield.” Seeing those three riders ride towards us in all their terrifying glory, Paliseth couldn’t help but smile proudly. “Recently, the Undermarsh Murlocs of Fluorescent Swamp has been poaching fish in the Brackishwaters River. A week ago, I ordered the Blood Drake Riders to hunt down these pests… seems like they are back earlier than I had expected.

“Wait… if those Undermarsh Murlocs can swim in water, and that Fluorescent Swamp you mentioned clearly is a swamp, then…”

I was a little confused about what she just said so I had to pause for a second there out of sheer puzzlement. “Those Blood Drake Riders don’t really look like they can swim or even move about freely in a swamp…”

Swamp, river, armor, dinosaur… hmm… no matter how you look at it, those armored riders don’t seem very buoyant. In fact, can they even navigate a swamp?

“Blood Drakes can all swim. Plus, their original habitat is a swamp so there is no better choice than them to hunt these Murlocs.”

The moment she said that, I swore my jaw fell right into the river. The fact that a tyrannous rex with a dragon head could actually navigate through a swamp with ease and was even proficient in swimming was just… no wonder they say you can’t judge a book by its cover, or a Dark Elf by her marital status. Even monsters aren’t an exception anymore… geez.

While we were conversing, what seemed like the leader of the Blood Drake Riders came up to us with a pair of attendants. The three riders hopped off their mounts and half knelt towards Paliseth. The leader in the center of them even took off her headdress as she did so, revealing a flowing head of silvery hair that fell to her shoulders. The face beneath was an androgynous one that lingered between the boundaries of handsome and beautiful. However, while her beauty was a little ambiguous, the resolve in her eyes were anything but. She was a warrior. And a proud one at that.

“Interim Blood Drake Rider Corp Leader Zurnalin pays her respect to the Matriarch.”

Zurnalin had a short hairstyle which only reached up to her mantle. She herself was a mature lady that could be considered both handsome or beautiful at the same time. Even as she knelt with her headdress under her arm in subservience, that did nothing to lessen the imposing aura she gave off as a battle-hardened warrior. While one could not tell if her respect was genuine based on that emotionless expression she had on, but there was no faulting her etiquette.

The question then was this… does that iceblock of a face ever thaw?

“Zurnalin, before paying your respects to me, I would first like to introduce his holiness to you.” Paliseth gestured towards me. “Sir Mo Ke is the child of our great goddess, Lolthe. You may address him as his holiness. You must respect his holiness the same way you respect our goddess.”

“Your holiness.”

Zurnalin addressed me with that same icy look she gave Paliseth. However, I could detect a distinct aloofness in her tone like how one would address a pet dog or cat someone shoved in your face.

“Hello…”

Faced with an ice queen like her, even I wasn’t sure how to interact with her at this point. Thankfully, Paliseth was already well accustomed to this corp leader. She first gave me a mysterious smile then pointed in my direction again.

“Zurnalin, his holiness is the goddess’s representative in the mortal plane, the highest manifestation of the goddess’s will. You have to show his holiness the same respect you show the goddess…”

Suddenly, before Paliseth could even finish her sentence, Zurnalin’s otherwise frigid face underwent a huge gamut of changes. From aloofness, to neutral, to joy, then finally to fervor… she had basically cycled through the whole range of emotions a person could possibly show in a single second. Long story short, she’s scary! What the heck is going on here…

“Your holiness! Please allow me to bear your holiness’s seed!”

Zurnalin was shaking profusely at this point. Gone was her previous iciness, replaced by a scorching passion that threatened to swallow me whole… is this how a stud feels?

Her sudden change really threw me off-kilter. Even now, I still couldn’t figure out what caused this sudden change in her. The disparity she showed was even larger than my pee pee… ahem… I mean, her delayed reaction was really something…

Hey! Don’t grab my leg like that. Where’s my icy queen? Where’s my proud warrior?

Finally, with the aid of Paliseth and Jezsere, I managed to pry myself from her clawing grip. Geez, why did I ever think that she was mature… she clearly has a screw loose in her head.

While it was true that I had my fair share of fervent fans -like those Devils in Purgatory or Abaddon – none of them dared to grab my leg like that. Especially since their compatriots would have already clobbered them to death the moment they even thought about it. So, really, this was a new experience for me.

After a long talk with Paliseth, the corp leader finally realised how inappropriate she was acting right now. Slowly, she released her grip on me, albeit unwillingly, then turned her attention to Paliseth.

“How was the fight with the Murlocs?”

“Excellent.”

Now that she was back to addressing Paliseth, she reverted back to her icy self. Her words were curt but filled with vigor. Just based on that single word alone, one could tell that she was a tested warrior, a noble knight you could entrust your back to.

At least… that was before that whole leg grabbing incident. Had it not been for that, I would have never pegged her as a nutcase.

“Elaborate further.”

“I had our troops seal off the tunnel connecting Fluorescent Swamp and the Brackishwaters River. Next, I led a hundred elite riders right into the swamp to raid their nest. We suffered no casualties but killed nearly a thousand Murlocs.”

“Very good. I’m sure those dirty fishes won’t dare invade our river for a good long while.” Paliseth nodded her head in satisfaction. “How is the progress going with the hybrid Blood Drakes?”

“The rearing is proceeding smoothly but their personalities are too varied. They aren’t very good mounts.”

“That’s alright. Their combat strength compared to the normal Blood Drakes more than makes up for it. As long as they listen to orders, it’s fine…”

Just like that, Paliseth continued chatting with Zurnalin about her work for a while longer. Finally, after she was done with her report, Zurnalin offered her services as a guide for our little jaunt in the wilderness. However, before I could even respond to that offer, she had already commanded her second-in-command to lead the rest of the riders back to the city. As for herself, she pressed herself against my body, both arms wrapped tightly around my arms while her bouncy bouncies pressed themselves dangerously against my chest…

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Shameless Self-promotion

Announcement: I’ve re-opened my Patreon in case anyone wants to sponsor more chapters. Every end of the month, those chapters in early access will be released for free for all to read. If you sponsored a chapter, you will gain permanent early access to these chapters. Essentially, everyone gets more chapters to read, but those who donated get to read earlier. More chapters will then be translated at the start of the month. Explanation on the Patreon itself.

LINK HERE

If you liked my work translating Devil’s Evolution Catalog, feel free to check out Song of Adolescence. Also, every comment is appreciated even though I might not reply. I do read them.

Leave a comment

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

“How about we go somewhere else then?” Paliseth suggested with a smile. “The nearby Brackishwaters River has a number of interesting fish species. We can fish and relax there.”

“A subterranean river?”

Paliseth nodded. “That’s right, the fishes from those waters are pretty good. The catfish that was served just now was fished from that very river.”

“Let’s head out then.”

It turned out that whether you were a human or an Elf, the first thing you looked for when constructing a city was a nearby source of water. This subterranean river was the very reason why the Shadowhunter clan decided to set root in this region. The river was an important source of fish for the city and was one of its main exports as well.

Everyday, the Duergars would work hard to bring in all manner of fish for the city. At times, you would find the odd angler or two who just wanted to have a break and fish.

The waters of this river weren’t particularly fast and the river itself was at least ten meters wide. Its depth was said to be particularly deep, roughly coming in at over ten meters as well. That fact alone was enough to give me pause when looking at that river. After all, I did not know how to swim, and unlike Earth, there were river monsters in this world…

Having noticed the hesitation in my eyes, Paliseth promptly pointed at a nearby fishing boat then warmly said as such, “Your holiness, how about a quick boat ride to the other side? The area there is considered wilderness so we can do some hunting if you’re not all that interested in fishing.”

“No… it’s fine.” I meekly rejected her suggestion. “Rather than a boat, I would much rather trust my own wings.”

The boat’s fine… but how about you guys take it, I’ll just fly across.

At that point, Paliseth uncharacteristically smiled tenderly at Jezsere and said, “Jez, do you want to sit on the boat with your mother?” In all likelihood, this was her way of buttering up her daughter.

Startled by this sudden change in behaviour, Jezsere subconsciously nodded her head but immediately shook it a second after once she realised what her mother was asking. She hesitated for a while more then meekly said, “Jez… Jez prefers to be with master…”

“Is that so…” She smiled a little sheepishly upon hearing that. Was that loneliness in her eyes? Or perhaps even that was a ruse. Either way, she quickly hid that smile and came over to comfort Jezsere who seemed to be on the verge of tears once more. “In that case, Jezsere will be in your care then, your holiness.”

“My pleasure.”

Grabbing onto her tender figure, I began ascending into the air with a flap of my wings. In order to protect her fragile psyche, I made sure to fly as slowly and as steadily as I could manage so as not to startle her.

“Ahhh…Jez is flying… Jez is flying… Master’s so awesome…weee”

Jezsere screamed excitedly, having clearly forgotten the thorough scare she suffered because of the bloody gladiatorial fight. With how quickly her mood improved, I really wasn’t sure if I should call her capricious or just forgiving.

Still seated on the fishing boat, Paliseth turned her head skywards when she heard her daughter’s adorable laughter. Her lips curled into a soft smile at that. Right this very instant, she looked more like a loving mother than a stern matriarch who had just bullied her own daughter not too long ago. Whether or not that’s true, who knew.

To be perfectly honest, that answer was of no consequence either. As the godson of Lolthe, I was half a master to the entire Dark Elven race. While I might not have held any thought of uniting the clans, I definitely was more than open to using my position to protect Jezsere.

Most likely because this was her first time flying, Jezsere happily stuck out her milky white arms like a pair of wings, lips still grinning from ear to ear. Right now, there were only the two of us flying across the river. And as I was still holding onto her tightly, I could distinctly smell the fragrance wafting off her nape. “Jez, do you know how your mother sees you?”

“Mother… Jez doesn’t know at all… but Jez is so useless… she can’t fight… or get mad… she can’t even stand up to the Devil she summoned…”

The moment I mentioned her mother, I could visibly see the joy drain from her eyes. She knew more than anyone else that she likely held no worth in her mother’s eyes. If not, why would she even consider sending Jezsere to Arachne Cavern?

However, the whole reason why this was even an issue was because she herself wasn’t able to contribute, though her mother’s own callousness had a huge part to play as well…

Lest one forgot, the Dark Elves could be considered one of the evil races in a video game. Just like the neutrally-aligned humans or the good-natured Wood Elves, the Dark Elves had their own culture and way of living. As a warlike race, their whole culture revolved around might and using violence to get what they want.

Whether it was the Duergars they enslaved or the merchant caravans they robbed, these were all precious resources they attained through blood and steel. Without this warlike attitude, the race itself would implode.

Progress or death: that was the one constant the Dark Elves lived by. The higher up one was, the more they had to contribute.

As the daughter of their clan’s matriarch, the fact that she wasn’t even at the level of an ordinary Dark Elf was in itself a threat to Paliseth’s prestige. When one thought about it that way, it was only understandable that Paliseth did what she did. However, understanding was one thing, accepting it was another…

Perhaps to Paliseth, Jezsere was nothing more than a deadweight. But to me, she was a kind, adorable girl that should be protected. Sigh… sometimes, there were just some differences in opinions that couldn’t be bridged. This was one of them.

The fishing boat that Paliseth was on was three meters long and probably could only carry five others max. In that case, what about those dozen or so attendants following us? How long would it take to ferry them all across? Hold on… what’s that ahead… is that a stone bridge I spy?

I pointed at the distant bridge. “Jez, what’s a bridge doing here?”

“That’s the Brackishwaters Bridge. At its widest, it can allow three Blood Drake Riders to cross it at the same time; it’s the largest bridge in this region.” As she said that, there was a hint of pride in her eyes. “I’ve heard that this bridge was built by our clan’s ancestors. There are even fortifying arrays carved onto it so its physical and magical defenses are quite formidable. The bridge is also well-maintained so this is the bridge we usually use.”

“…”

So I’ve been conned again? It has to be! No wonder it seemed so strange to me just now that there was no bridge for this river…

A visibly refreshed Paliseth elegantly stepped off her boat at this point. She had originally intended to greet me again, but upon noticing the black expression on my face, she changed her mind. However, instead of being afraid, she used her hands to cover her mouth in what looked like an obvious attempt at stifling a laughter -her eyes were practically crescent moons at this point! “Your holiness, what’s the matter? Why do you seem so displeased?”

“Shut it, you know why I’m angry.”

“Ohohoh… your holiness is angry then? Then as penitence, Paliseth can only agree to be his holiness’s bed warmer tonight. How about that?”

“…”

I think I’ll pass on that. Putting aside the fact that I have no pee pee now, I still wouldn’t do it with her even if it was back. Besides, she’s Solar-sama’s wife and Jezsere’s mother. A soft, timid girl would be better. That’s right, I can just hug Jezsere to sleep tonight. I have no pee pee anyway, I can’t even do anything to her even if I wanted to.

With that in mind, my mood improved considerably. However, the look I gave Jezsere right now turned a little strange. Realising that, Jezsere immediately blushed.

“Master… if you look at Jezsere like that, she will be scared.”

“Of what? It’s not like your master is going to eat you.”

“But… but…”

My little bunny quickly buried her head into my head and stayed silent. In contrast, I was chuckling happily like I had just secured a victory.

While our little exchange went on, Paliseth watched silently with a faint smile on her lips. The fact that she hadn’t interrupted us was just perfect. The last thing I wanted was for her to ruin the mood by bringing up bed warmers again… Honestly, even I’m a little scared that I might just cave in… A milf is just… cough, I mean I will never give up!

Now that we had crossed the river, Brackishwaters, it was time for the hunt Paliseth had talked about. However, reality had another plan for us.

Just as we were about to discuss the details of the hunt, the ground shook violently and a deafening boom rang in our ears. Ever one to be startled, Jezsere reflexively ducked into my arms once more.

Such a scene instantly struck me as familiar… Where have I heard this sound before… hmm… wait, wasn’t it when those Warhorses were galloping into battle?! So what monster is causing it this time… No, it would be more accurate to ask what monsters are causing this!

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If you liked my work translating Devil’s Evolution Catalog, feel free to check out Song of Adolescence. Also, every comment is appreciated even though I might not reply. I do read them.