Category Archives: Devil’s Evolution Catalog

Chapter 814: Epilogue (8)

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

So he’s the one who cast that barrier… I thought it was some barrier mage hiding amongst the troops that did it.

“Don’t just stand there, keep pressing the attack, little brother. Doesn’t matter if you use those mana cannons, just don’t stop attacking!”

Her reminder immediately jolted me back to reality. Her hint made me notice that, while the dome might be covered in cracks, they were visibly mending at an appreciable rate!

****. I need to break that spell, quick.

With no time to waste, I summoned forth a 3.5 meters greatsword with a wave of my right hand.

Then like a great warrior of old, I raised the greatsword up high and brought it down on the stone giant.

Yet the stone giant was no slouch either. While it might have towered over me at ten meters tall, it wasn’t slow at all. It wasn’t fast as lightning, but it was only a smidge slower than Wyrm.

It was now or never. I had just dodged his palm strike barely and swerved to his back for a strike. Fully intending to end the fight now, I aimed right at his head!

“Crack…”

The mending barrier immediately shattered upon impact. However, just when I thought the dragonslayer greatsword would reach him, the stone giant spun around at unbelievable speeds to strike at me with his palm.

A sonic boom exploded in the air around me, his palm strike bearing down on me with a frightful wave of air pressure. I knew I couldn’t meet that headon and quickly tried to pull back my strike with a spin and backstep.

Phew… that was too close…

“His barrier requires time to reform and he dares not take a strike from your dragonslayer greatsword, so he rushed to counterattack. Little brother, your Wyrm still isn’t sturdy enough to survive a full blow from an overlord, it would be better if you use your mana cannons instead. As long as his outer defenses are broken, Heavensbreak can finish the job in an instant.”

As always, Ferti’nier was ready with her sagely advice as my personal “grandpa mentor”. This battle was no different. I had considered summoning my lioness, seeing as it had the ability to kill an overlord as well. But this was a battle to showcase my magitek armor, thus I gave up on that plan.

Now was the time to tell the world: the age of magitek has arrived!

In a lot of ways, this shield-wielding man was a bad match for Wyrm. My strongest weapon against overlords was that I had Pseudo-Territory Resistance. However, that only worked if the Territory exerted an external influence on me. Self-enhancement Territories were not affected at all.

But that did mean I was helpless either. Battles at this level were a matter of skill, too. And I still had cards to play that weren’t tied to Wyrm.

Regardless, now was the time for action. I opened up my shoulder compartments once more and launched a barrage of fireballs.

Yet that did not deter the stone giant at all. He continued peppering me with palm strikes and stomps. From a distance, our battle looked like an oversized man trying to swat away a bird, even though that stone giant wasn’t at all slow.

As my barrage continued, Ferti’nier’s hypothesis of his defenses soon bore fruit. The magical dome from before was most likely a measure against my magical attacks. Correspondingly, it was weak to physical attacks. Without that dome to protect him, his own metallic skin wasn’t able to bear the brunt of my magical attack.

On my end, the barrage of fireballs had taken a huge toll on my reserves. Had it not been for the fact that this entire suit was powered by an overlord dragon’s crystal core, I would have ran out of gas already.

Each fireball’s power wasn’t high, but when they constantly struck at the same spot, even the stone giant was beginning to feel the heat. There wasn’t a single spot on his skin that wasn’t scorched.

Three minutes into the battle, he was finally beginning to slow down.

But just when I was feeling confident in my kiting tactics, that blue dome sprang to life once more, blocking the dozen or so fireballs still rushing towards him.

I take it that means his cooldown is up… what a bother.

At a glance, his dome was able to fend against magical attacks. But it wasn’t very flexible. Even if the dome did not hinder himself from leaving its protective radius, re-adjusting the position of the dome wasn’t that easy. It took a whole three minutes for it to be deployed again. And as long as I could break the shield, I had three minutes to pepper him with magic.

Having realized that weakness, I ducked in with Revolution Slice, dodging his palm strike in the process. Nearby, his own troops were sent flying by the missed attack…

At the same time that I dodged his attack, I landed a heft strike against the stone giant’s blue dome. A crack swiftly snaked across its flawless exterior. Sensing the damage, the stone giant promptly tried to stomp on me.

I ducked underneath once more with Revolution Slice and landed another strike on the dome.

One after another, I spun around the massive dome, landing strikes while dodging the attacks that flew out. Each slice created a deafening crash, before finally an explosion occurred and the sound of falling glass filled the air.

Defenses destroyed, the stone giant wasted no time at all in trying to flatten me with his entire body. My surroundings immediately darkened and I could tell I had to get out right now!

“Boom!”

A massive earthquake soon followed. The walls of the fort seemed to jump off its foundations for a second there, and the world seemed to have turned upside down.

This was the first time he had attempted a full-body attack, and it was most likely meant to be a surprise move.

Unfortunately, I was a veteran of certain video games. And every gamer knew that a stone giant always had a move like that.

Ignoring the cloud of dust and rubble around me, I quickly sent out the 72 plates of Heavensbreak for a coup de grace!



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Chapter 813: Epilogue (7)

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

Was there anything more shocking than killing an overlord? Naturally. Like killing a Demigod…

But that’s enough daydreaming for now, there’s still a battle to be fought… and some well-deserved shut-eye afterwards.

Upon slaying the no-longer hidden -and no longer alive- experts, Heavensbreak did a quick turnaround towards me. Standing with his shield raised before me, the blonde man practically jumped with fright when he noticed them flying right in his direction. He panicked and raised his shield above his head, yelling, “Territory: Guardian of Earth!”

As his Territory activated, the emerald on his shield began to emit a blinding light. A craggy layer of rock materialized out of thin air, forming a protective skin on every nook and cranny of his skin. Yet the rocky growth did not stop there. In less than three seconds, his size rapidly expanded till there was naught but a massive ten meters tall rocky giant before me…

His body was covered in a glowing orange stone, similar to magma, but there was a noticeable diamond-shaped indentation in the center with a shield embedded. The very same emerald-studded shield he raised above his head.

“Fortitude of Stone!” A sonorous voice rang out from the stone titan. The magma around him instantly turned into a silvery gray metal that could only be described as impenetrable.

It was at that instant that Heavensbreak collided into his newly fortified skin. Like a deadly chainsaw, the 72 plates sliced circles around him with such force that sparks filled the air.

In just one attack, the otherwise flawless metal layer was etched with massive cuts across its entire length.

“Little brother, your opponents seem to have employed a Territory skill with a high physical defense, we can use a magical attack to counter that.”

A Territory skill?

“That’s right, a skill which an overlord creates from his Territory. A further distortion of the world’s laws, thereby enhancing the effects of the original Territory… A natural evolution when one learns how to manipulate the laws of the world.”

So a more advanced usage of the Territory and the laws of the world.

“Exactly, the fact that this human has managed to comprehend and develop a skill means he’s an elite even amongst overlords. His soul is worth at least 500,000 mortal souls. Don’t let him escape him, your big sis is eating good tonight!”

You say that… but killing and just defeating the man are two different concepts entirely. Both would shock the world and achieve the result I need… For the sake of the Western Human Realms, and turning magitek armors into a mainstream weapon of war, you will be my sacrifice!

And given our hostile relations with his employer, there’s no reason at all to show kindness towards an enemy. Even if I am only under the King’s temporary employment.

“Little brother, leave the small fries to your big sis, just focus on the big one over there.”

With the prospect of souls to be harvested through Heavensbreak, Ferti’nier had been more than enthusiastic in her job. As of now, her results alone in remotely controlling those plates had exceeded those one hundred magitek knights. It was only in such situations that this greedy she-devil ever showed such efficiency.

I sighed inwardly then focused back on the ten meter tall giant, still adopting a defensive stance as before. “I’m sorry, but I will need you to die today.”

“Cowardly cur, the only one dying today is you!” The stone giant’s sonorous voice rang out once more. At the same time, he raised his right feet. “I will flatten you to pieces!”

The giant’s foot was large enough to cover half a magitek knight, which was already an astonishing three meters in its own right. I knew I couldn’t meet that attack head-on, so I quickly ducked to the side with Wyrm.

Its foot immediately left a giant crater where I was mere seconds ago. Even the ground around us began to quake, causing the other ordinary troops nearby to lose their balance in the process.

I took to the skies immediately, but the stone giant seemed to have predicted this move as a pair of rapidly growing palms slammed in from the sides.

“Bang!”

Even the air around me was shaking from the impact. Still recovering from the first shockwave, those ordinary troops were immediately buffeted by a deafening sound wave, forcing them to cup their eyes in pain.

Thankfully, my quicker reflexes allowed me to dodge his lumbering attack. I skirted around to the stone giant’s back, shoulder compartment opening with an audible click, and mana cannons blazing with magical energy.

A second later, dozens of fireballs flooded out of the cannon arrays. Wyrm’s own cannons had been modified with the Fire element, just like the other mass-produced magitek knights. It could now fire off mana shots and fireballs. Furthermore, the speed at which I could fire those attacks were incomparable to those mass-produced models. In just one second, dozens of fireballs had been fired. This withering barrage continued for fifteen seconds until the whole stone giant was covered in explosions and residual smoke.

Within those fifteen seconds, troops from both sides had tacitly agreed to back away, lest they were caught in our apocalyptic battle.

Firing off those fireballs non-stop was going to be a huge burden on mana, thus when I felt that enough was enough, I willed the cannons to stop. However, the smoke generated from my barrage had left a smokescreen, stopping me from assessing the aftermath of my attack.

According to Ferti’nier’s assessment, that “Fortitude of Stone” should be a physical defense skill. In other words, its magical defense shouldn’t be all that high.

Even so, I had no illusions that a round of cannon fire could kill off my opponent; he was an overlord.

Just as the explosions started to die down and I began observing the smoke, a rocky hand shot out of the smoke towards me!

The stone giant had nearly caught me off-guard again… but my impressive reflexes, coupled with the fact that I was already expecting an attack, allowed me to dodge it at the last second, barely grazing its fingers.

Having failed with that attack, the stone giant took a lumbering stride out of the smoke. But before its entire body had even left the smoke, a blue dome of magic, covered in cracks all over, materialized around him. It was the same dome that had protected the troops from my magitek knights.



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Chapter 812: Epilogue (6)

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

“With me!”

I dove from the heavens like a blazing comet, carried on the magical wings of Wyrm, striking the dome-like barrier of the Ertalonese army below me.

Already on the verge of collapse, the barrier shattered like glass upon impact. Yet Wyrm continued plunging ahead. All it took was one more second and that army would have been done for.

However, that second never happened. A meaty shield had risen to block my progress!

It was a man raising a shield in hand that stood before me and my goal. A ten meter radius around us had been blown clean from the sheer shockwave of our clash. Outside, the soldiers that were thrown away by the sheer forces generated fared only marginally better than if they had just been struck.

Towering above the blonde, short-haired man with a shield, I sized up my new opponent. He was strong, or rather, he was pure muscle, like his head itself was just an extension of his chest muscles.

His shield seemed to be of excellent make. The fact that it was still in pristine condition after our cataclysmic clash was no better proof of that.

It was diamond-shaped, and was as tall as a tower shield, being able to cover the greater part of the man. From tip to tip, it was a pure hue of yellow, lustrous like fine jade. In the center was a fist-sized emerald cut and set mimicking the shield it rested in. Even from within Wyrm I could sense the abundance of Earth energies coming off it.

Without a doubt, that shield was an Epic shield, bearing the same miraculous abilities you would expect of one.

“Such a marvelous construct, never would I have expected that someone would be able to stand up to me thanks to mere armor.” The blonde man spoke up first. His stance was relaxed, as if I wasn’t even an enemy worth mentioning.

Likewise, I wasn’t one to put much stock into the words of an enemy, especially since the kids were already charging behind me in their magitek knights.

“Hold the breach, leave this guy to me!” I barked curtly before rushing at the man.

Yet just as I took off, the metallic plates of Heavensbreak burst forth in a fan. And like a knife in the dark, the enemies the kids were rushing towards were already beheaded by a scarlet rhombohedron.

Eh? What’s going on with Heavensbreak?

It was at that point that a bunch of higher-starred warriors of the Ertalonese army rushed out from their hiding spots and attacked the magitek knights.

Just from their abundant aura, I could tell that these were at least six-stars, with some even being eight-stars!

****… those aren’t opponents the kids can handle right now. Let alone handling, they will just get slaughtered in an instant! Crap!

I should have realized earlier that if our enemy even has an Epic shield-wielding warrior on their side, they must have higher-starred warriors in their ranks as well!

But just as I started to panic, another miracle happened.

The 72 metallic plates of Heavensbreak did a roundabout turn and flew at every one of those warriors, and under the disbelieving eyes of that arrogant blonde warrior, his vaunted elite troops were slain by their stealthy attack…

Just like that over thirty lifeless heads now decorated the silent battlefield with an ominous roll. Their stumps of a head spurted blood like a fountain. Each of the slices came from the back and were executed with surgical precision. Even their unfortunate victims had looks of shock on their faces when they suddenly realized they were dead.

At the last second, their body instinctively told them that their life was about to end. However, that was no use. Because Heavensbreak was too powerful!

How the tables had turned on the blonde man. What was supposed to be a slaughter by their side turned into a one-sided victory for us. Even now, his eyes were popping out of their sockets from the surprise he felt.

But he wasn’t the only one that was stunned, I was as well.

Heavensbreak had acted completely independent of me. I had no part in this slaughter, and even my special technique of remotely controlling objects simultaneously hadn’t reached such a level yet…

“Little brother, don’t just stand there, hit him.”

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out in my head.

“Big sis… So that was your handiwork with Heavensbreak?”

“Of course it is, who else but your big sis would help you? Your big sis over here knows your desire to protect those brats, but there’s no need to thank her, that’s just how great of a sister she is!”

Hah, you think this is the first day I’ve known you? You just want those souls.

Despite my words, I was genuinely surprised that Ferti’nier was behaving so well since the start of this war. With how many dead there were here, I had heard nary a peep from Ferti’nier about harvesting them. Souls dissipated quickly when exposed, but they were still harvestable near the time of their deaths.

In all likelihood, she was concerned about keeping my identity secret. Tampering with a human soul was a capital offense in the human realms, after all. Munching on a couple of souls in secret was one thing, openly doing so was just madness. In fact, this battle would instantly turn into two kingdoms working together to get me…

However, if she was the one to kill them with Heavensbreak, matters were different. Since her will was controlling those plates, she could harvest the souls through them as well. That way, no one would be none the wiser of her duplicity.

“Oh my, our little brother has really gotten smarter recently. But don’t worry, your big sis knows to be discreet.”

Discreet or not, I had no choice but to believe in her.

“Let’s take care of the enemies first. An overlord soul is worth a hundred thousand of these mortal souls, so start hitting him!”

Yes, yes. You don’t have to tell me twice. It’s not like I can spread the fame of our magitek armors by just being nice to him. And what else would be more shocking than slaying an overlord?



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Chapter 811: Epilogue (5)

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

A single volley later, over a thousand of our enemies were slain!

With that, the battlefield descended into an eerie silence; not only were our enemies stunned, even our allies were just as shocked.

The members of the Magitek Knight Corp were similarly frightened by their horrifically effective volley. Despite learning about the power of these mana cannons prior, mere numbers lacked the sheer gravitas that a thousand blown up corpses provided.

Unlike their dead comrades, the three-star soldiers remaining had the ability to wrap their Fighter’s Aura around themselves, giving them a much tougher defense compared to the two-stars.

While a two-star was still able to enhance his body with his aura, that only made him stronger than an average human. Perhaps one single fireball was manageable, but what about two? Three? With how concentrated our carpet bombing was, they stood no chance at all.

As the dust settled on the battlefield, those that were fortunate enough to be outside of the volley’s range knew to escape while they still could, lest another came right after…

“Tell the commander here, the stragglers on the walls are his, I will bring my men to the breach. And depending on the situation, I might even launch a counterattack.” I grabbed a passing soldier and relayed the message. Then without waiting for an answer, I raised my hand and yelled, “Forward!”

Step by thunderous step, our massive metallic frames began to march forward. Even with each magitek knight weighing over a ton, one could almost mistake them for actual human knights thanks to their humanlike movements. Even their orderly formation, a result of those eight days of training, served to further reinforce this imagery.

“Boom…boom … boom…”

Wherever we went, a tiny tremor would shake the lands, like drumsticks striking a massive battledrum. Even from a distance away, our sonorous warsong brought fear into the hearts of the invaders. No amount of preparation or gear could prepare them for the doom that gripped their hearts like a vice.

The soldiers before us parted way without exception, even those who were desperately trying to flee mere moments ago.

Our message was clear: wall or no wall, we still held the cards in this battle.

“Perhaps they are the secret weapon of this fort?”

“Still… are they even human at this point?”

“Can a human even be that tall?”

“That doesn’t matter, we have the advantage now!”

“Reclaim the wall!”

“Chase away the invaders!”

Having recovered their morale somewhat, the soldiers began to rally around their metallic saviors. In that sense, calling this the Messianic Knights series was quite apt… But still ostentatious…

The brats riding these metallic constructs basked in the admiring gazes of the soldiers until…

“Prepare the next volley! Our target: the breach ahead!”

I promptly brought them back to reality. Thankfully, those eight days of drilling them had left them… sensitive to my commands. All it took was a single bark and they were dragged back to their senses.

Just in time, too. The enemy hadn’t, in fact, given up on attacking and was already preparing for another charge.

To be honest, I would have had a harder time blasting them if they had chosen to charge right into the fort when they had the chance. Instead, they chose to secure the walls over routing their enemies. It was a sound decision with pros and cons, and one that would have worked for sure had it not been for my sudden interference.

They had gone through the effort of staging an elaborate siege on the north wall, hired an overlord to blast a forbidden spell at the wall, all for naught. Now that they had the ineviable of trying to reclaim the advantage by sending more of their troops into the meat grinder.

Unfortunately, this second wave was doomed to failure from the start. With a single raise of my hand, another volley of fireballs came raining down on them.

Yet the same death and destruction did not happen. At the very instant I expected the fireballs to strike, a blue dome of energy surged forth, shielding the soldiers beneath from harm.

Like raindrops to an umbrella, the fireballs pelted the blue dome, causing minute ripples all over the thin layer, but ultimately failing to breach the dome.

A stalemate had been achieved, but not for long. Over a thousand fireballs had been launched, and only half had landed thus far. By the midway point, cracks began to appear as the accumulated damage began to overload the spell. Once the thousand mark had been crossed, the dome finally gave in, shattering like a pane of glass.

Even so, I did not order a third wave of fireballs; the fuel for those mana cannons was limited and I did not want them to be spent in just the opening phase.

It was time for me to act. Like a fiery arrow, I dove into the collapsing dome with Wyrm, yelling mid-air, “Charge!”



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Chapter 810: Epilogue (4)

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

Some of the troops had already begun deserting their posts by the time we arrived in the fort. As they frantically fled, they clashed with their reinforcing comrades who were just as frantic in rushing to the battlefield. Chaos ensued, and no amount of executions or punishments were able to stem this slowly growing tide of hopelessness…

In contrast, the enemies weren’t in a hurry to chase down the deserters. Rather, they were meticulously taking up positions along the remaining wall sections.

True to the name as the “Iron Wall of Andassis”, the soldiers manning the surviving sections of the wall were still holding strong, in part due to the fort’s impressive history, and in part due to the General’s own charisma.

The title of “Iron Wall” wasn’t just given in vain. Every brick of this fort had seen wars where the numbers dwarfed this current assault. Yet the fort stayed strong throughout. In some sense, the walls were a symbol to the soldiers that manned it. Thus when the wall fell for the western defenders, their morale crumbled along with it. With how sudden the whole attack was, there was no way for any of them to prepare for the mental shock. Thus the western section swiftly spiraled out of control.

From the very beginning, they weren’t even on equal grounds with their enemies. Without a wall to hold the enemy back, there wasn’t even a chance of victory. Those who tried to resist were cut down without mercy.

In a normal army of the Western Human Realms, a soldier would roughly be a one-star. A section leader of ten would be a two-star. Yet the soldiers invading this breach were all at the minimum a two-star.

The enemy had only focused on the northern section of the fort thus far, giving the illusion that their main encampment and forces were in the north. Naturally, Cleoz knew that wasn’t an indication that the enemy would never attack from other walls. He had even stationed some experts on the other three walls as a precaution. Even so, the worst came to pass, and his precautions proved insufficient.

After all, what were a few experts to do in the face of an army?

It was clear now that the northern assault was actually a front and cover for the assault on the west. With this ambush, they were hoping to breach the fort and take down their enemies swiftly!

Our arrival was more than timely in that case. Not that this was all planned… the General simply decided to throw whatever he had at the wall to buy time for reinforcements. He wasn’t expecting us to do much in this situation; we were the newcomer knight order perfect as sacrificial pawns.

Unbeknownst to our dear general, our numbers might have been small, but we were more powerful than any old six-star warrior!

Not that any of those brats could actually beat a six-star warrior in a one-on-one battle…

There was still some distance towards our target, but I could already see that the owner of the remaining western walls had changed. Wherever I looked, I could see the insignia of the Ertalon kingdom emblazoned on the soldiers. With the occupation of this section, the enemy was starting to shift their main forces towards the breach.

In contrast, the reinforcements from our side had difficulty even approaching the area thanks to the deserters causing chaos.

“I’ve heard that this fort is quite sturdy,” I suddenly asked the soldier beside me. “I’m sure the walls are still sturdy enough even with that breach, but what about the inner section of the fort?”

“It should be just as sturdy…” the soldier answered without much certainty. “Other than this instance, the fort had never suffered such severe damage.”

“That’s good then.” I summoned Wyrm to my side and began commanding my new subordinates. “Prepare the mana cannons. The target: the enemy at the breach.”

After eight days of training, while the kids might still have difficulty pulling off some complex maneuvers, coordinated attacks were no problem at all.

A series of clicks rang out around me as their shoulder plates opened up to reveal the deadly weapon within. The air around started to heat up as mana began to coalesce.

“Engage carpet bombing… Fire the first volley!”

Having gone through some modifications, the mana cannons on the magitek knights had been infused with Fire elements. Sphere after sphere of fiery mana blasted out of their cannons at an impressive rate of two fireballs per second. The entire barrage lasted a whole ten seconds before they finally stopped!

The unending rain of fire took to the skies in a parabolic arc towards the area where the troops fought each other in a deadly charge. The battle was at its peak right now, thus when the Ertalonese soldiers finally noticed the heat above them… it was too late.

The poor soldiers raised their heads only to find death staring back in the form of a dazzling fire storm from the heavens. Countless fireballs rained down upon them like a deadly fireworks display, exploding the moment they came into contact with something…

This entire attack used the most basic of controls for the magitek knight. Something even these kids could pull off after eight days of training. I made sure to teach them the operations of their mana cannons, allowing them to pull this attack flawlessly.

With how dense the bombing was, there was maximum coverage over the target area, all the while ensure that none of the fireballs impacted each other. A huge swathe of soldiers were wiped out in this first volley. Anyone that wasn’t a three-star had been burnt to a crisp…



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Chapter 809: Epilogue (3)

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

Earthshatter was a spell of cataclysmic power. In order to mask its signature, Ertalon had to prepare extensively in advance. A massive barrier had to be erected to hide the spellcasting; they had to relentlessly assault the northern wall in order to draw attention away; the spellcaster even had to use his Territory…

All that was just to prevent Cleoz from noticing the spell till it was too late. At the level of an overlord, there was no telling if he would have noticed the mana signatures of a forbidden spell while they were casting it.

Such spells were serious business that, once interrupted, could threaten the life of its caster.

The Territory of that hierophant had the ability known as Dimensional Severance. It was able to separate a section of space from another, turning it into an independent area. However, such a separation was limited by the fact that dimensional space tended to self-mend over time. Once this ability ceased to function, that separated zone would automatically return to its original position.

Dimensional Severance was used to separate the western section of the wall for Earthshatter to work its magic. And thanks to the barrier they deployed, no one on the outside noticed this.

As a spell, Earthshatter had a radius of ten kilometers. However, Dimensional Severance only carved out a hundred meters of space. The original effect of the spell was thus heavily compressed and magnified in that small section. The instant it struck the wall, its reinforced defenses crumbled into nothingness like a house of cards. But thanks to that barrier they deployed, no one even noticed that something was up.

To the defenders of the wall itself, the entire process played out like a silent film -inexplicable and beyond the realm of common sense… Truly, magic never ceased to amaze!

To those soldiers that weren’t even stationed at the wall, they did not even know what had happened till the roar of the enemies filled their ears.

———– Change of Scene————–

I had just teleported over to the fort when a white-robed mage, roughly twenty years of age, introduced himself as a messenger and handed down a curt command to hold the line.

They want us to defend this breach to the death?

The messenger was looking me straight in the eyes when he relayed that message. A little rude, but there was no time to fuss over such small matters when there was an army overwhelming the breach.

However, his insolence was soon wiped off his face when the rest of our Corp arrived.

Other than me, every other member of the Corp came riding their magitek knights. Just to accomplish this massive teleportation, Andassis the Seventh had to spend a fortune on the teleportation array. To bring about such a feat, an equally massive amount of energy was required. That was the law of conservation at work in the real world…

By the time all of their three meter tall magitek knights came rumbling out of the teleportation circle, the young messenger mage was so shocked that he had fallen on his butt, quaking in his boots like a frightened animal…

The mage pointed shakingly at the neatly lined up rows of magitek knights and asked in an incredulous voice, “Commander Mo Na, are these the members of your knight order?”

“That’s right,” I nodded.

“The support staff should arrive shortly, but our combatants are all here. Please lead the way to the battlefield.” I curtly stated, clearly annoyed with the man.

The young messenger mage seemed to have picked up on my foul mood as well. “Do not worry. The General only wishes that Commander Mo Na hold the line for a while, His Excellency will arrive with reinforcements before long.”

“In that case, he needs to be quick, otherwise there will be nothing left for him to do.”

“His Excellency will do his best.”

Despite the fact I had just been handed down what was tantamount to a suicide mission, I did not show any further dissatisfaction. I knew what was at stake here, but that didn’t stop me from rating the General poorly as a first impression.

Honestly, this sudden turn of events suited me just fine. The magitek knights were here to beat back the invasion and protect the kingdom. Thus the outcome would have been the same either way. It was just the way we were treated that rubbed me the wrong way. But now wasn’t the time for such petty matters. If we did not help now, this section would most likely fall before the General arrived.

Besides, wasn’t this just what we wanted? A fight of armies. Those kids might not be very experienced, being that this was their first battle, but in firepower alone, they were six-stars, without a doubt!

Seeing that I had accepted the order, the messenger mage waved to a soldier. “You, soldier, get over here and lead Commander Mo Na to the western wall.”

“Yes, sir!” he barked without hesitation before turning to me, “Sir, if you will follow me…”

The battle situation ended up a lot worse than I had initially imagined. My first reaction was of one utmost shock.

When I heard that the wall had been breached, I had assumed that the enemy blew a hole in the wall. But the reality was that a whole hundred meters section of the wall was just gone. Like it had never existed in the first place. If there was any indication that such a structure even existed, it would be ground-up rubble gathered in a pile where the wall once stood.

Countless well-armed soldiers stormed out of an underground tunnel dug outside the wall, like an army of ants leaving its nest to search for food. From a glance, the weakest amongst them was at least a two-star.

With such elite troops leading the charge, and no wall to hold them back, the defenders of this section quickly lost their foothold.



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Chapter 808: Epilogue (2)

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

Fort Andaris was the last line of defense that the King had in his arsenal. The general in charge was General Cleoz, one of the more famous generals in the kingdom, and a star amongst the commoners.

Being born of common stock himself, his rise to power could be said to be a miracle in itself.

LIke one of those main characters in a light novel, Cleoz was a genius at a tender age. Coupled with an equally prodigious series of encounters, his rise could only be described as meteoric. Without even turning forty, he ascended to become an overlord, receiving the prestigious title of “The Guardian of Andassis” – the very definition of a winner in life!

When he was but a teenager, he was scouted by a professor in the Royal Andassean Academy to enroll in the academy. That professor later became the headmaster of the academy itself. While studying there, he even had the fortune of meeting the current king’s younger sister… Irrelevant details to his strength, but definitely proof of how lucky the man was!

Right this very instant, this superstar of a general was in his meeting room, dressed in an ornately golden breastplate, matched with an exquisite cape that hugged his muscular frame. Looking like a thirty year old, he was the very definition of a handsome military soldier, coupled with a short and neat hairstyle to match. This was the undefeatable Guardian of Andassis. And that man was currently preoccupied with his own thoughts, brows furrowed so deeply they almost looked like muscles themselves. As he tapped on his table impatiently, the anxious voices of his adjutants rang out in the background like an annoying buzz.

The enemy assault had continued for over twenty fours straight; they seemed dead set on conquering this fortress, known as the “Impregnable Wall of Andassis”, in one fell swoop.

Countless boulders of fire, launched by even larger trebuchets, rained down on the beleaguered fortress. Like meteors from the heavens, they blasted a massive chunk out every section of wall they hit. The soldiers dared not stick their heads for fear of their withering assault. Even without that rain of death, the enemy below often launched a barrage of flame arrows towards them. While not as imposing as the boulders, they were harder to guard against.

By now, there wasn’t a section of the wall that was spared. Yet the soldiers’ morale held on. The war had only started, and the brunt of the enemy forces hadn’t struck yet, thus there was still hope for a counterattack.

Till now, the war had mostly been carried out through non-magical means, like trebuchets or arrows. Their continuous peppering of the fort had tired out the defenders greatly, aided significantly by the tremendous forces they had brought to bear today.

Yet the question remained: where were the experts? Was there some grand conspiracy playing out in the background?

Undefeated though he might have been, the General was starting to feel like cornered prey. That was how strange the enemies’ actions had been.

He wanted to send out his own experts to investigate, but there was a nagging voice in his head that told him that would be the equivalent of throwing his men into the meat grinder. His foes could very well be banking on this tactic of psychological attrition. For the time being, he was in the dark, and they were the ones in complete control.

How he craved information right now… even a scrap would do…

In the midst of his ruminations, a white-robed mage suddenly interrupted his thoughts. This was the mage in charge of communications for the fort.

“General, sir, we have breaking news!”

“His Majesty has sent word at last?” The General’s tired but steady voice cut through the din of his officers like a hot knife; being on the frontlines, his stress was no less than the King. In fact, he hadn’t slept a decent wink since the battle started.

There were three overlords known to be leading the enemy army. They hadn’t acted yet because they did not wish to corner Cleoz to the extent that he would willingly drag them down with him at the cost of his own life.

Overlords treasured their own lives like that.

Under such grueling circumstances, was it a surprise that he was so worn out?

“Yes, sir. His Majesty has good tidings.”

The General’s eyebrows twitched in surprise, but his face remained passive for the most part. “Those two bastards actually agreed to help?”

“The news isn’t about the Sword Saint or the Hierophant…” The white-robed messenger mage paused with a start. He sneaked a glance at the General, and upon seeing that he was still as passive as before, continued, “The reinforcements are from a newly established knight order…”

“And?”

“… That’s all…”

Cleoz fell silent upon hearing his subordinate’s response, though he was probably lamenting the lack of support from his dear royal brother-in-law. Who would even send a newly established knight order in such a situation, were they just here to sightsee?

To begin with, how many knights could a newly established unit possibly have when recruitment was already so strained by the war? A thousand? Ten thousand? Definitely not a hundred thousand -that’s just an army. While it took a skilled soldier to be a knight -a minimum of two-stars -the question of how many knights still remained.

Five thousand, at most. That was General Cleoz’s most optimistic estimate.

However, his long-service allowed him to suppress the dissatisfaction in his heart. “Tell me more about this knight order.”

The white-robed messenger mage began reading out the message, but the moment he got to the first word, he was stunned.

Finally, the messenger continued with much trepidation, “The new knight order is called the Magitek Knight Corp. Five hundred members, of which a hundred are combatants and the rest are logistics support…”

“How many did you say were combatants?”

“A hundred…”

“The rest are non-combatants?”

“Four hundred of them…”

“…” The silence was deafening in the room. The next time the General spoke, his voice was shaking from his barely contained rage. “What kind of knight order requires four hundred non-combatants as support?”

The General hadn’t said anything else, but everyone present knew he was already cursing to himself. Somewhere along the lines of, “What the heck is that King even doing? Just because we are brother-in-laws doesn’t mean I won’t betray him if he pulls a ridiculous stunt like this!”

Naturally, the General wasn’t going to turncoat. He would rather die standing than live with that dishonor. But even he wasn’t pleased with the news he just received. It wasn’t like a mere five hundred would make a difference in a war in the hundreds of thousands. Not unless they were all six-stars. And especially not when only a hundred of them could fight. In fact, the sheer number of support staff was strange. This was a functioning fort, meaning they had enough medical staff and logistics staff to begin with.

“General sir, the Magitek Knight Corp will arrive soon via the teleportation circle, they require your approval.”

“Approved.” The man coldly replied, though his eyes were burning at this point.

Let’s see what this knight order can even do with a mere five hundred, he thought to himself.

However, the General barely had time to digest this piece of news before his messenger mage received another shocking piece of news.

“General sir! The western wall has been breached…”

“What?!”

“The western wall has been breached. They are now marching through the breach. The soldiers can’t hold out much longer…”

“…” Once more, the General was overcome with the urge to yell, but he held fast. “That teleportation circle was near the western wall, wasn’t it? Have those newcomers hold the line!”

“… But General sir… they are His Majesty’s…”

“Tell. Them. Hold the line. I will be there soon.” The General shot up from his chair, glaring at the messenger mage.

The defenses of Fort of Andaria had undergone reinforcement on every level, meaning even the foundations underneath the walls were magically reinforced. Normally, even Earth magicks couldn’t breach it. However, there was news that Ertalon had recently hired a nine-star elemental hierophant. One that was proficient in Earth magicks, and had even recently learnt the forbidden spell known as “Earthshatter”.

Basically, it was just a massive earthquake. A forbidden spell version of it that naturally carried huge risks of magical feedback; but that mage probably received compensation to make up for that. After all, once this fort fell, Ertalon would have basically won the war.

Before this war even started, Ertalon even made secret arrangements with the overlords in Andassis. That was why the King had so much difficulty getting them to act. The aforementioned Sword Saint and Hierophant were included in this list. Technically, those two only promised to remain neutral, but remaining neutral in a war was basically treason.



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Chapter 807: Epilogue (1)

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

Establishing the Magitek Knight Corp was a major move by the King of Andassis. As such, preparations were taken when choosing its commander. Even with his lack of choices, he had screened Mo Ke multiple times, verifying that he was indeed the person for the job.

Based on his interactions with Mo Ke, he came to the conclusion that he was someone who was more sentimental. Someone that would not easily betray a person.

As for his otherworldly identity, he accepted it on the surface, but he was still on the fence about it. Not that it mattered…

The “movies” he was shown, while fantastical, weren’t objects impossible to replicate with magic. As proof of that, he questioned various magical authorities who came to the conclusion that producing such works was possible but expensive. The cost of producing one might even come out to a million gold coins. And that was just the cost of equipment…

The development routes of the two countries varied so much that what might have seemed simple in one world, was a wondrous feat in the other.

Back to the topic of those movies… the estimates he received were enough to bankrupt an empire, let alone a kingdom! In that case, they were better off just buying the kingdom. Why even bother going through the hassle of scheming in his kingdom?

At that point, even a monarch, and his tendencies for paranoia, had to admit that Mo Ke’s identity was worth betting on. After all, there was no other logical explanation for those movies.

In the first place, the Three Hells and the Western Human Realms were an example of different worlds, thus the idea of an otherworldly visitor wasn’t even that unusual.

With every sign pointing in favor of Mo Ke, his otherworldly identity was basically confirmed. Along with it, his qualifications to be the new commander of the Magitek Knight Corp.

And while the King had his own reasons for involving Mo Ke, Mo Ke himself had his own reasons for accepting. Thus an accord was formed. Granted… the King was already scheming how to take back this authority, even in spite of the war being at its height.

One couldn’t just trust a person that fell from the sky, after all. Not a king, anyway.

Now that he was done with the ceremony, the King did not return to his quarters right away via a teleportation gate. Instead, he had his carriage take him on a leisure drive.

But even in this state, Misseger was still able to contact the outside world on his behalf.

“Your Majesty,” the dead-faced maid said as she looked at the crystal ball in her hands. “Lady Redleaf has rejected the request once more…”

“Has she…” the King sighed. “But I’m sure Lady Mo Ke should suffice for the time being.”

Another notification popped up through the crystal ball then.

Upon reading it, even the stony-faced Misseger finally broke her war on emotions. “Your Majesty! The great houses have finally begun sending over aid. 50000 elite soldiers, but they want their children back.”

Even the King was visibly pleased by that news. “Have Baroque receive command of these troops,” he stated with smiling eyes.

Baroque was the younger brother of Baku. Just like his older brother, he was completely loyal to the King. Having a trusted subordinate receive command of these troops was actually a means by which the King took back some of the authorities given to the nobles. The whole training camp was just bait for these troops. A bait which worked, and he even got to keep the bait after hooking the fish…

“But…” Misseger seemed to notice the incongruence as well.

“Don’t worry, they can’t do much,” the King declared in a firm voice. “Tell them this, their children are fighting for the glory of our kingdom. They should be proud!”

“…”

To anyone not familiar with the magitek armors, his words were basically a death sentence for those children. Misseger was aware of this fact, thus she feared that the situation would spiral out of control. In contrast, the King and his allies had full faith in this new project. A group of five-stars and six-stars wasn’t something to laugh at, especially when they did not fatigue especially and possessed a powerful new area-of-effect weapon.

Naturally, all that was just theoretical. With just eight days of training and no actual combat data, even Misseger couldn’t fully reconcile those children with a special forces corp that each had the power of a five-star mage.

“It will work out.”

“But the great houses…”

“They won’t rebel. They aren’t fools either. At least not before the conclusion of the battle at Fort Andaria.”

“But the magitek knights…”

“Their fate is in the hands of Lady Mo Ke, as much as I’m not comfortable with the idea of fate…” The king gently grabbed onto Misseger’s hands. “Even without those elves, we will make it through this war… In fact, I can already see our bright future…”

“Mhm…” Misseger laid in his gentle embrace, no longer that stony-faced attendant she was before…



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Devil Evolution Catalogue Chapters 797 to 806

Chapters 797 to 806 are out! Finally done! Now to farm some runes, sacrifice a maiden, and burn down a tree for standing in my way.

Click the Link to Start Reading:
» Chapter 797 | Chapter 798 | Chapter 799 «
» Chapter 800 | Chapter 801 | Chapter 802 «
» Chapter 803 | Chapter 804 | Chapter 805 «
» Chapter 806

Chapter 806: Magitek Knight Corps

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

The day had finally arrived. This was the day I was to send the brats to war. After yesterday’s little exercise, they had learnt to work with each other, and perhaps even entrust their backs to their classmates.

However, my time with them was short. I had considered requesting an extension, but I quickly changed my mind on second thought.

The situation in the kingdom was rapidly deteriorating day by day. General Cleoz was currently holding the line at Fort Andaria, but should that fall, this kingdom would be at its death throes. The Ertalonese army would have a straight shot towards the royal capital, or anywhere else in the kingdom.

The Ertalonese army knew this as well, thus they threw their entire might at the fort. Andassis the Seventh had been desperately scrounging up men and equipment to send towards the frontline, but his efforts were miniscule compared to the 200,000 strong army he faced.

In just the eight days I spent training the kids, the king had visibly aged a few years. Deep eyebags covered a face devoid of any color, and even his hair seemed to fall limply by his sides.

After a brief discussion with Andassis the Seventh, I soon learnt why he was so desperate to send the magitek armors onto the battlefield. On top of the obvious military aims, there were political considerations as well…

These students were all picked from noble lineages. Every one of them were either scions of great houses, sole heirs, or just kids who held great potential in the future. Naturally, these great expectations were a testament to their strength, as well as a chain on them.

The fact that a hundred of such candidates were being sent to the battlefield posed a massive problem… What was a parent to do in such a situation?

The king knew that by sending these kids to the battlefield as soon as possible, he would be able to squeeze more aid out of these noble houses. After all, if the kingdom were to fall, their heirs would die a horrible death as well.

Well done on the part of the king… the moment he chose those candidates, those nobles were ensnared in his machinations.

Yet it wasn’t all smooth-sailing for the king either. The pressure on him was now two-fold, thanks to his little stunt with the nobles.

He had to send those kids now, else someone might start harboring certain ideas.

The morning that greeted us was a warm one. The camp wasn’t bustling like the past few days, but the atmosphere was immeasurably heavier.

Row after row of magitek armors lined the otherwise empty training grounds. After eight days of training, the kids were finally ready to graduate, whether they wanted to or not. Back straight and heads held high, they stood beside their future partner in war.

“Today is the day you will be sent to the battlefield. Are you scared?”

“No!”

As I looked at their firm faces, I was at a loss as to how to react to their enthusiasm. Thankfully, there was no need for me to consider as the king soon arrived…

“His Majesty, Andassis the Seventh, has arrived!”

As the herald announced the king’s arrival with a clarion call, his hundreds-strong entourage parted to make way for his golden carriage.

With Misseger’s help, Andassis the Seventh gracefully descended from the steps with a smile. Beside him was his longtime bodyguard, Baku.

“Long live His Majesty the King.”

Those who had met the king before quickly knelt down. As for those less versed in protocol, they merely followed the lead of their classmates.

I nodded at the king. “Your Majesty.” Perhaps to others he was an imposing figure, but in my eyes, he was just that, a human king.

“Lady Mo Na, are they ready?”

“They are.”

“In that case… I, Andassis the Seventh, hereby announce the formation of the Magitek Knights Corp!”

There was no fanfare. No ceremony. Nothing. It was just a proclamation by the king himself.

“Lady Mo Na, will you accept the appointment as the first commander of the Magitek Knights Corp?”

“I will.”

This had all been agreed upon beforehand. I had planned on making a big splash with my magitek armor, and Andassis the Seventh needed a competent commander, thus it didn’t take much before this mutually beneficial agreement was reached.

The king then reached forth for the jewel-encrusted sword in Baku’s hands. It was an ornately golden sword, carved with the words “Commander of the Magitek Knights Corp” -the sword that would soon represent the honor and dignity of the newly formed corp. An ornamental sword, but the symbol of authority of my new rank.

“I present to you the sword, Lady Mo Na.”

Normally, I would have to kneel at this point, but we had already agreed that I would not.

While all these actions might have seemed disrespectful to the king, my track record of having killed an overlord elevated me to the same status as one too. For the mighty, kneeling wasn’t even an issue worth mentioning.

If this was an actual knighting ceremony, it wouldn’t have been such a simple affair, but with the kingdom in danger, this would have to suffice.

With the corps officially set up, and a few words of encouragement later, Andassis the Seventh left in a hurry. The recipients of said encouragement -the students- were still in a tizzy from the quick ceremony; none of them aware of the implications of those short but heavy words.

I couldn’t blame them either – the eight days of training had left them unaware of the situation on the outside. Naturally, they had no way of knowing how bad the war was going for the kingdom.

At this point, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that these students were this kingdom’s last hope. If this newly formed corp were to suffer heavy losses, those nobles who had been tricked would gladly pay the king back in kind. Thanks to that, the safety of these students were paramount.

For that reason alone, I had to be the commander. Ugh… He has it good, he’s not the one babysitting these kids in a battle.

A short while after the king’s departure, Meister Amori walked out of the warehouse.

“Commander Mo Na, the teleportation circle is complete, we are ready to depart once the support team is ready.”

Next to Amori was a familiar bearded figure: Meister Belud.

“Lady Mo Na, looking forward to joining you on the battlefield. I’m sure this will be an exciting trip for the both of us, if you know what I mean…”

I ignored his little tomfoolery and sternly said, “I’ll leave the supporting in your capable hands then.”

“No problem, leave it to us!”

Belud thumped his chest with confidence.

“In that case, we’re off!”

This marked the first skirmish of the magitek armors, and it certainly wasn’t going to be the last.



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Chapter 805: Final Training (2)

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

Anti-magic collars were specially crafted as a restraining tool for magical criminals. In general, they resemble a plain black choker, these would shut off the mage’s internal mana from the outside world.

When casting a spell, a mage requires both the ability to control the mana within him, and the ability to communicate with his environment. Theoretically, one could stop spellcasting entirely by cutting off this process. But these collars do not only work against mages. To a varying degree, aura in normal fighters have been noted as being affected. When worn, the collars restricted their ability to externalize their aura.

Naturally, these collars are made to be highly durable against physical removal, rendering most high-level mages powerless before this nightmarish implement.

———From <>

“Instructor… is it too late for me to take back my words?”

“What do you think?”

“…”

As of this moment, Tallin was a dozen meters above ground, climbing up a man-made plateau, hands shaking profusely as he grabbed onto the white magical rings.

Because of the anti-magic collar I attached onto him, he only had his physical strength to rely on while climbing. In other words, if something were to go wrong, he had no magical means of saving himself.

I was stationed above, watching over him in case of any accident.

Down below were the rest of the students. They gathered below their climbing compatriot like a bunch of ants. Each one of them had their arms stretched out should he suddenly fall off…

Or jump…

That was basically the game I had in mind for them. An exciting game which they would never forget for the rest of their lives!

“Instructor… I’m afraid of heights…”

While Tallin might seem like a fearless, stout fellow, and he was so as he climbed the initial section of the plateau, but when he finally reached the top and had the opportunity to gaze down…

“Then just jump.”

“I…”

At this height, his classmates were still able to see the terrified look on his face. Naturally, they weren’t about to let him off the hook so easily.

“Tall, stop stalling and just jump!”

“Yea, the Instructor’s orders, and all that.”

“If you’re so afraid of heights, why did you climb so high in the first place?”

“Don’t worry, Tall, we will catch you, I promise, so just jump!

“Come on, Tall, where’s your usual bravery?”

“Yeah, I want to have a go myself. Get your bum down here!”

“Stop wasting time now, come on!”

Unfortunately, no amount of taunting was going to change the boy’s mind. Thankfully, the weather today wasn’t bad, and a dozen or so meters wasn’t that high either. Because the winds were mostly mild, he didn’t sway much as he held onto the last ring. Being a three-star magister, his physical strength wasn’t bad to begin with, so hanging on for another half an hour shouldn’t be a problem.

Basically, he needed some convincing to… help him down.

With that in mind, I threw a look at the middle-aged mage nearby, who promptly nodded and began casting a spell.

Barely a second later, the spell began to take effect. Out of nowhere, a powerful gust of wind blew across the poor boy. And just like a helpless kite in a storm, he swayed violently from left to right.

Hours before this game started, I had already considered the question of “what to do if someone wouldn’t let go?” A gust of wind, what else!

“Ahhhh….” Tallin held on for dear life while his body continued flying about in the winds. In just one second alone, I saw his grip change a few times. However, he held fast, and was likely to hold on for a while longer.

Damn stubborn kid.

Shadow Guardian!

Time to up the ante…

I quickly summoned Shadow Guardian, materializing the shadowy being directly above Tallin’s head. Right hand morphing into a wispy scythe, it started to take aim at the ring that Tallin was holding onto…

A moment later, both the ring and plateau were split…

“Nooo… save me…”

Without something to grab onto, he freefalled down the plateau.

Due to how sudden this was, the kids below were caught off-guard by his sudden scream. Thankfully, some of the quicker students were able to form up, taller ones ready to catch him, while the rest began casting wind magicks to slow his descent. With everyone’s concerted efforts, Tallin landed safely.

Though he still fainted… useless brat…

A few students started calling for healers to attend to him, but all in all, our hair-raising first attempt was over, and Tallin woke up moments later.

“I’m… alive?”

“Did you want to be dead?”

Slightly before his descent, I touched down nearby – as a backup of sorts.

Now that he was awake, I was standing right above him, smirking at the silly kid who actually fainted from fright. “Ready for another round?”

“…I… do…” It took him a second to register what I was asking, but when he did, his eyes practically shone with light. “Instructor, let me have another go! Please!”

“…”

Hold on, that wasn’t the plan at all…

“Instructor? So can I go again?”

“Scram!” I snapped. “If you want to have a go, you need to wait your turn. There’s still 99 people in front of you!”

****…

“Who’s next?”

“Me!”

“Me! Me!”

A good number of students began clamoring to be the second person in line. Of them, there was a 7:3 split between the boys and the girls. But I had other plans for the girls…

Not long after, the second plateau was erected, and the students began climbing up that as well.

Just like with Tallin, they had anti-magic collars to restrict their use of magic. Thankfully, everyone here was a trained magister, so regardless of gender, the students had the strength required to complete the task.

This whole exercise was to simulate a sense of helplessness in the students. Hence the collars to prevent any levitation magicks. This was to hammer into them the fact that there were times they had to rely on others, and that a single person’s strength was limited.

Having the students gathered below was a sign of support for the person up top -even if you are helpless, we got your back, was what they were saying wordlessly.

Hopefully, the brats would come together as one. It was in times of trouble that real bonds were forged. Teamwork. Cooperation. By aligning everyone together, even the complexity of human beings could be purified and distilled into a cohesive unit.



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Chapter 804: Final Training (1)

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

The morning after their night “lessons”, the students gathered at the campgrounds as instructed.

Through the miracles of modern healing, their wounds were completely gone, though I couldn’t say the same for their psyche. A quick look later and I could have sworn that they had just walked out of a carriage crash.

A complete wreck…

On the other hand, some of them were just raring to have a go at someone. Then, finally, there were those who were just pissed, like they were owed a million gold coins.

You could almost say that this was the whole three stages of grief right there.

“Gather up!” By now, Ansom had fully assimilated into his role as my adjutant.

Hearing his command, even the dissatisfied students jogged over to form up.

Upon arrival, they found a group of robed men gathered by the side. Their curiosity was piqued, but hours of harsh training had conditioned them not to ask for the time being.

“Morning, Instructor!” Ansom led the students in greeting.

“Morning, Instructor!”

“Mhm, morning, everyone.” I nodded curtly. But by the time I was done, I could sense that some of them were still dissatisfied with yesterday’s treatment, they just weren’t saying it out loud.

Hey, I mean… better a lesson learnt than a life lost, am I right? At least they won’t think they are all-powerful just because they can pilot some magitek armors. After all, they are still newbies, just more powerful ones.

“I know some of you might not be happy, but this will be the last day I’m training you before you will be sent to the battlefield. On the battlefield, there is no telling when the enemy will strike and where…” I paused at that point and looked around. Some of them were finally getting the point. “How can you hope to survive on the battlefield without at least this level of mindfulness? What happens if you get ambushed in your sleep again? I’m sure you can tell already.”

Death -that’s what’s waiting for them at this rate.

At this very least, I want to hammer this logic into them before they leave. I wouldn’t want them to just die meaninglessly.

“…”

“Since no one is objecting, I take it everyone understands then.” I did not bother to look at their expressions this time. “In that case, there’s nothing more for me to say. This is something you will experience for yourself on the battlefield. But back to the training… today is the last day, but I’ve just realized I haven’t imparted something important onto you guys… The importance of trust in your comrades and cooperation. Everyone here still thinks of themselves as a solo hero.”

Or maybe I’m just too strong? There were no cannons yesterday, but they would have just lost faster if I could use them.

In actuality, the students shouldn’t have lost so one-sidedly. They were just too used to duels, and too complacent in their numbers advantage. By the time they realized they were in trouble, it was too late.

“In order to work on this problem, I’ve devised a little game. I hope that everyone will learn to trust each other once we’re done. Any questions before I start?”

“Yes. Will it be fun, Instructor?” Green-haired Tallin was the one to ask, raising his hands as if he was in a classroom.

“I’m sure it will be.” I revealed a toothy smile at our eager little bird. “You will be gasping with excitement by the time I’m done.”

“Any other questions?”

“…”

“Good, now stay there, I need to go get some… Anyway, I’ll handle it.”

On the western section of the base, a group of multi-colored mages stood at the ready. These were the mages of the Royal Mages Circle.

“Please begin, just follow what we discussed earlier.”

I nodded at the middle-aged mage who was leading the group. Yet even though he was the leader of this group, he was at most a six-star; the higher starred ones weren’t too easy to borrow after all. But the ten of them should suffice for my needs.

Soon, mana began gathering in our vicinity. As the energies grew, the ground began to shake. The rocks cracked and danced wildly. A number of students were already starting to lose their balance, nearly tripping in the process…

As the tremors reached their crescendo, a deafening rumble swept across the forest, followed by a strange black plateau rising out of the ground.

When the commotion died down, the plateau reached several dozens of meters high, like a sword pointing right at the heavens.

But that wasn’t the end of the spellcasting either. Riding on their wind magicks, a few of the casters floated up to the plateau and created a bunch of descending white rings as they came down. From a distance, these rings almost looked like bangles on an arm.

With that job done, the head mage floated before me, looking at me with an inquisitive gaze. “Lady Mo Na, will that be enough?”

I nodded politely. “Yes, but I might need your cooperation in the near future, please standby at the side.”

“Understood.” He nodded as well.

“Instructor, what is this?” Stars practically spewing from his eyes, Tallin rushed forward, pointing at the new plateau. “Instructor, is this the game you were talking about?!”

“Oh, this is just the beginning. Would you like to be the first person to try it?”

“Of course!”

He immediately answered without consideration…

“Actually, Instructor, is it alright if I take that back?”

“What do you think?”



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Chapter 803: Dead of Night

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

Hrmm… I think I went off on a tangent again, I should get back to training those brats.

Speaking of which… one can never predict when an enemy will attack in war… So maybe… How about a night simulation?

With that decided, I immediately hopped off my comfy bed, and sought out the guard captain of this base, Sir Johnson. With his men, a night raid should be possible.

A little later, I got the man’s approval -he was very supportive, in fact. Thus at an hour after midnight, when the kids were all sound asleep, a deafening explosion rocked the camp.

Some of the more alert students quickly threw on some clothes and ran out of their tents. On the other hand, there were those who were still rubbing their eyes in confusion, enjoying the light show outside their tents.

Soon enough, they did not even have the luxury of rubbing their eyes, as a bunch of masked men charged into their tents, swinging left and right without a warning.

Only a small portion of the students were able to mount a resistance, but they were clearly outmatched against the black masked men and their steel clubs…

The students were all divided into tents of ten, with the ten of them forming a team.

Of the 100, only Ansom was able to break through the black masked men to reach the warehouse of the magitek armors, where I and an eager Sir Johnson were waiting.

The moment he noticed me, Ansom’s face immediately lit up as if he met his savior. “Instructor! It’s an enemy attack! Our camp is under attack!”

“Just you?”

“The rest have been surrounded! We need to save them!”

“Seems like the students were wiped out… I guess that’s the best you can expect of a bunch of kids.” Sir Johnson eyed the boy with a hint of contempt -a disdain borne from an old soldier looking at a bunch of freshies. However, was there anyone who wasn’t a fresh soldier at one point?

On my part, I didn’t even expect a single person to reach the warehouse. The fact that Ansom was here was a pleasant surprise.

“At least there’s someone who passed.”

“Instructor?” Ansom muttered a little unsure of himself after seeing me so nonplussed, coupled with the presence of the guard captain who was even more uncaring than me.

“Do you not understand what’s going on? Hah, I thought you would be smarter than this.”

For a moment, I thought this would finally be the straw that broke the royal camel’s back. However, Ansom instead calmed down.

“Instructor, was this ambush of your making?”

Before I could even reply, Sir Johnson was ready with his snideness. “Took you long enough.”

But the boy wasn’t bothered to even answer the man. Instead, he kept looking at me as if searching for an answer.

“On the battlefield, your enemies won’t wait for you to get a good night’s rest… perhaps in the past, but not now.”

“…” Ansom’s face went through a myriad of changes, but he finally understood what I was trying to say. “But, Instructor, was there a need to be so harsh?” he smiled wryly.

“A little pain is always helpful to make you remember, and being on guard wasn’t the only lesson I was trying to impart on you. There were other problems with this little exercise as well.”

“Other problems?” The young boy blinked his eyes like a lost puppy.

“When you and your peers realized that this was an enemy attack, what were your first reactions? How many tried to work together? I doubt there were many, seeing that you were the only one who made it here.”

“…” He was startled, but he knew what the problem was now. “I only made it here with the help of my classmates. I’m sure there were others who tried to work together as well, but only I was able to succeed…”

“Then let me tell you another fact -there were only fifty assailants tonight. Roughly half of your numbers. If you were prepared beforehand, combined with some group tactics, at the very least, you wouldn’t be the only one here right now.”

“…” There was no refuting what I just said, because it was all true.

The ones dressed as the masked men were naturally the subordinates of Sir Johnson. Everyone of them was a hardened veteran in their own right. Bare minimum, they were at least at the peak of one-star, with some even being three-stars. Having gone through the hell that was war, they were beyond fierce in a fight.
In contrast, these pilot candidates were basically hovering around the two-stars and three-stars band of magisters. Under normal circumstances, the only way those soldiers could have won would be through an ambush or a desperate attack.

A veteran soldier couldn’t be compared to ordinary bandits at all. The sheer aura they exuded from months of hell wasn’t something that could be explained away so easily. There were even cases of lower-starred beasts running away in the sheer presence of such an ominous aura.

No more was this more apparent than in this age of swords and shields. A powerful general could easily influence the morale of the battlefield with his overwhelming aura. And emotions like fear were a plague that, once released, would spread like wildfire.

These elite students were nothing more than baby chicks to the hardened soldiers.

By the time I was brought to the resting area of the students, I learnt what it meant to be treated like dogs…

The male students were all beaten on the ground. The female students were mostly cowering in the corner. As long as they didn’t try to resist, they weren’t beaten up. As for those that tried, they were those boys on the floor.

“Instrustor… hel me…”

Unfortunately, that was seen as a form of resistance as well, and another beating for him…

Yikes, that’s a nasty face…

In actuality, the troops had suffered some casualties as well, but they were more stoic about it.

Maybe weakness is contagious after all.

“I think that’s enough for today, have the healers come.” I took this opportunity to glance at Ansom, his face black as the night. “Report at eight in the morning, do not be late.”

“Yes, Instructor!”

Regardless of how much those students were yelling at me in their hearts, I wasn’t about to change my tactics. Hmph.



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Chapter 802: A Rotten Situation

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

Now. I wasn’t bragging or anything – but my reputation amongst these kids was nothing to scoff at. All thanks to certain… incidents that happened during the first day.

On the night of our first training, three rambunctious kids actually had the audacity to try and peep on me showering. They were summarily beaten up by the fire elementals I left on standby. And by the time I walked out all refreshed, I found three blackened, unidentified objects…

From that day onwards, the look they gave me was entirely different. Like Heaven and Hell…

But in actuality, I was completely innocent. In fact, I wasn’t aware of what those fire elementals even did.

To the students, however, the fire elementals acted completely on my command. That was how normal fire elementals, with their lack of independent will, would act. Naturally, the students weren’t aware that my fire elementals were different thanks to the abilities I gained from my Fallen Angel bloodline. Yet that wasn’t something I could just explain, so I left it as it was.

After that peeping attempt, two similar attempts were made, and they were all punished duly. From that point on, the kids realized that I wasn’t just a pretty face, I was pretty good with my fists as well.

Coming back to the present, the kids knew to shut up the moment I straightened my face.

“Let’s leave things as is for today. Tomorrow will be your final day of training. I hope everyone will get sufficient rest and face what’s to come with your best.”

“Yes, Instructor!”

After dismissing them, I returned to my own room for some quiet thinking on my ever so comfy bed. The topic – how to get them to work together.

Despite their showing today, I had to admit this first batch of students were exemplary, as one would expect of the elite of the elites.

They might be young, but they had at least completed one quest before being chosen. A quest being tasks like wiping out bandits, hunting down some monster, etc. Essentially, they had spilt blood before.

However, they were still too impulsive, thanks to their age. Their desire to prove themselves was no less apparent.

Under normal circumstances, a fully-equipped magitek knight with a normal pilot would display a five-star’s power. But its defenses were well and truly that of a six-star’s, closing in on a seven-star. But that was no reason for the kids to be complacent.

According to normal procedures, the first batch would have been chosen from the king’s personal guard, and after six months of proper training, they would be fit for service. However, as luck would have it, war came knocking on their doors earlier than expected, and the king had to choose this batch of kids instead.

However, making me an instructor for these kids had a hidden objective as well. Or rather the king had no need to tell me anyway. The king wanted shock troops that could turn the tide of war. Evidently, such a company would need a leader as well. That wasn’t to say that the king did not just choose me because there was no other option, but the former was a consideration as well. After all, a person who could kill an overlord with magitek armor was definitely powerful enough to be the leader of this new army. This would be his way of binding me closer into his orbit and sending me off to war.

After all the fortune he spent on constructing my Wyrm was very much something I could never hope to afford, given the amount of epic-grade ingredients used. I was definitely more trustworthy than those overlords who might or might not even support him.

One good turn deserves another… and all that.

On my part, gratitude aside, I actually needed this kingdom in my plans. Thus I wasn’t about to let them perish either.

Plus a desperate situation only served to better demonstrate the power of these magitek armors.

Now was the time to bring forth my great magitek revolution! Press forth, and light the way to a new age!

There was no telling how long the kingdom of Ertalon had prepared for this war. But their army of 200000 was more than enough to storm across the continent! In comparison, Andassis was the soldier who was caught with his pants down.

The fact that their northern region actually turned on them meant that there were likely moles in the other regions as well.

If the overlord stationed in the north was a turncoat as well, then 200000 was most likely not an accurate representation of the true threat…

That was why the Andassean king dared not employ the other overlords even in this dire situation, lest he invited disaster into his ranks.

The king only had his own troops to rely on, and not those of the other lords’. But 200000 was just the number of frontline troops Ertalon brought to bear. After all, to mobilize such a large army, one needed a large logistics network as well.

All things considered, Andassis was like a candle amidst a storm.

In medieval times, such a bloody change of power often meant that the previous ruling family was put to the sword. In contrast, competent ministers and lords might even be elevated in the new kingdom, whether it was just to placate the people, or genuinely to keep their talents. This was so for the Western Human Realms too.

Basically, there was no point for the nobility to aid the royal family in such a dire situation. It was just a simple matter of self-interest.



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Chapter 801: Life as an Instructor (3)

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

We were now on the seventh day of the training camp, in order words, the second last day.

Thus far, the camp had proven smooth-sailing, and the kids had shown why they were the elite of the elite. From basic piloting to conditioning, it only took a day to reach the desired levels, after which all our time had been spent on combat tactics and combination attacks. Those went well, naturally.

Too well, in fact. An elite had an elite’s pride, and it was time for a quick wake-up call. I chose the ten strongest students for a mock battle against me. One on ten…

Gathered around the training yard, the students watched with excitement in their knights from the outermost ring. In the center was me, riding a newly manufactured knight, which I had taken to calling it the “Tin Can”. Due to its appearance.

Our magitek armor production hadn’t stopped all this while. But the fact that we were in the midst of training the pioneer batch meant that we couldn’t take in another batch of students.

Naturally the Tin Can’s systems weren’t as smooth as Wyrm’s. A stretch and wave of my arms made me realize how much the latency was, but it was still within acceptable parameters.

I beckoned towards the ten students with my arm. “Come at me, every one of you. Do not hold back, because I won’t.”

Having gone through seven days of rigorous training with me, the kid roughly knew what kind of person I was. If I said something, I meant it. But I did not overreact either.

Honestly, in a real battle, even a hundred of these brats wouldn’t be enough for a warm up. Yet with their knights, things were a little different.

A magitek knight, using one of these mass-produced magitek armors, was limited in their prowess. Roughly a five-star’s power for ordinary pilots. Six, perhaps. If they were ace pilots.

This was common sense. The students knew it, thus they did not think they were at much of a disadvantage. In all likelihood, they couldn’t even imagine how they could lose!

“Well, if our dear instructor wishes it, a bit of fun shouldn’t be a problem.”

Having gotten closer, I now realized that Ansom was a lively kid. This nephew of Meister Amori was quite a casual person. Affable. But he’s been getting rather mischievous recently…

The other nine students were just as eager to join in, though, the first to strike was a student named Tallin.

Tallin had a personality that could only be described as aggressive. He was impulsive, and rather than acting like a dignified magister knight, he was more like a berserker.

“Haha, the instructor’s mine then. Stay back, the lot of you!”

When the chosen students had begun to encircle me, Tallin had already stepped in front of them. This time, he charged ahead with his knight, mechanical legs tearing into the ground, spear and shield raised for a powerful ram!

Even though we were separated by our knights, his passion and hotbloodedness were infectious. Unfortunately, such a straightforward charge was only good for morale…

“Your openings are plain for all to see!”

Right as his spear was about to strike, I performed the Revolution Slice to switch positions, dodging his line of attack by an inch.

The boy rushed past me in a gust of wind. However, I wasn’t done with him yet. The Revolution Slice’s, at its core, was a counterattack skill. Thus I swung out with my own spear, swiping at his legs like I would with a staff.

“Boom!”

Tallin fell flat on his face with a deafening crash…

“That’s one down. Who’s next? Let’s see how much your training has borne fruit.”

No one dared to move at that moment. Faced with such a resounding defeat of one of their peers, even these elites couldn’t help but feel a sense of helplessness.

Even after climbing to his feet, Tallin dared not attack right away. Instead, he cautiously backed away, as he knew that no amount of charging would yield better results.

Unlike the ten students, however, the other 90 were more than happy to participate from the sidelines.

“Hey now, what’s with the hold up? I thought the fighting would have started yesterday!”

“If you guys don’t want to do it, I will!”

“Yeah, if you’re too afraid to attack, let us have a go!”

“Exactly, this might be our only chance to have some skinship with the Instructor. If you guys won’t do it, let me!”

“That’s right!”

These brats… you guys are getting some extra training later!

“Our instructor is definitely strong. Without these knights, it would surely be a loss, but in a fight of magitek armors, the instructor’s power should be similarly restricted as well. With so many of us, there’s no way we can lose!”

It was Ansom who rallied his fellow students. While one might have fallen, together they stood a chance. Was what he thought. And it seemed his other students agreed as well.

“That’s right, stand strong, everyone!”

“Together! Defeat the Instructor!”

“Together!”

Bolstered by each other, they immediately rushed towards me like a swarm of bees. No formation to be seen, anywhere.

Thus, the brats were taught a lesson once more…

Ten minutes later…

“Instructor, you’re cheating! Everyone here is using the same mass-produced models, so why are you so strong?!” Ansom dragged himself out of his knight, hair slightly ruffled and clearly dissatisfied with his showing. “Have you been holding out on us?”

“Exactly!”

“Didn’t I say so already? The first generation of magitek knights have the strength of a six-star, but you must be an expert to achieve that. You guys are merely beginners; not hurting each other on the battlefield would be a miracle.” Having said that, I stopped smiling and looked all in the eyes. “More importantly, I don’t see any teamwork from any of you!”

“…”



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