Chapter 16

The Marquess Family's Magic Genius - Chapter 16 (16/324)

16

They say when it's time to die, one's abilities suddenly surge. It seemed this wasn't a lie. If it were just the original skills of a baron, he wouldn't have been able to cleanly sever one of the ogre's legs like this.

‘Got it all.’

The soldiers continued to shoot arrows at the fallen ogre's wound, steadily piling up damage.

Was it because one of its legs was now crippled?

The creature was emitting mournful cries, helplessly receiving the arrows.

With that leg, it would be impossible to escape. The ogre was as good as half-hunted.

My gaze naturally turned to Jerome.

Baron.

Perhaps because it was almost time to die, when I activated my inner vision, I could start to see the creature's insides.

The aura that had been concentrated in the dantian was now flowing out in all directions and escaping.

‘Wrong.’

Even if there was a very small chance it could survive, it would never be able to become a knight again.

Jerome, spitting blood from the corner of his mouth, slowly bowed his head.

“...Cu... Huh... What... Why?”

“Don't you know? You evil bastard.”

My words made shock rise in his eyes.

He must have instantly grasped what I meant.

“...That... Wh... At...”

With wide, shocked eyes, Jerome's breath gradually stopped.

The stillness inside his body.

He was definitely dead.

Even if the dark power was strong, with his insides completely destroyed, he couldn't come back to life like a zombie.

‘Rest in peace.’

Whether you go to heaven or hell.

I'll play in this world, so it doesn't matter anymore.

Now it was time to cut off the ogre's breath, which was already caught.

The ogre, lying down, swung its arms to prevent the soldiers from approaching.

Was it because it had two heads?

It was particularly noisy.

Soon, my circle began to rotate rapidly.

The magic I would use was Fire.

Wounds, after all, taste best when seared with fire.

The ball of fire that bloomed from my hand moved toward the cross-section of the severed leg.

Sizzle!

Roar!

Perhaps from the intense pain, the two heads let out loud screams.

The creature's life was not long.

Three minutes.

The creature's breath, which had been enduring the soldiers' attacks, gradually began to fade.

Now, even if the wound was seared with fire or an arrow was shot into its eyes, it didn't move at all.

It was definitely dead.

Seeing the creature's corpse, a smile naturally formed on my face.

The ogre, being a very powerful monster, had byproducts that were incredibly valuable.

The blood, organs, and eyeballs were used as high-quality magic materials, and the skin could be used to make top-tier armor.

Lastly, the meat was a part that could be quite delicious when grilled.

“Is... Is it dead?”

“It's not moving?”

“Are you sure?”

“It is! If it were alive, it would have moved when the arrow hit its eye!”

To the bewildered soldiers, I shouted with all my might.

“We did it!”

At the end of my words.

Tears welled up in the soldiers' eyes.

“We... We won!”

“We caught the monster! It's dead!”

“We're alive! Yaaah!”

“Waaah!”

After this simple victory announcement, the post-battle cleanup began.

Naturally, I took charge of the command.

From the baron, the commander-in-chief, to the knights, the intermediate commanders, all were completely wiped out.

The soldiers followed my instructions very faithfully.

The trust built over the past three days.

Plus the impressive magic I showed during the battle with the ogre.

It might have been natural for them to start following me.

One thousand.

Among them, after encountering the creature, about two hundred soldiers survived.

‘Very good.’

Seeing the surviving soldiers, I smiled.

They would serve as excellent witnesses and testimonies.

Even if Adolph, who is suspicious, questioned me, he wouldn't be able to do so.

What could be done if a two-headed ogre appeared?

It had to be accepted.

Soon, the soldiers gathered the corpses.

“Master, how should we handle the corpses?”

There were hundreds of corpses.

Many of them were unrecognizable.

With the remaining soldiers being insufficient and most of them injured, it was impossible to carry all the corpses back.

It took three days to enter, so it would take the same amount of time to exit.

If we were attacked by monsters while carrying these corpses?

‘It would be the worst.’

It would be no different from fighting while carrying a burden.

Moreover, the smell from the corpses would attract more monsters.

Burning them was the best option.

“The corpses of the baron and the knights should be collected, and the soldiers' belongings should be gathered. The rest should be burned.”

The soldiers nodded heavily.

With hundreds of corpses, it was clear that they couldn't carry them all.

Soon, a magnificent fire rose in the forest.

After a minimal funeral service.

The soldiers approached the ogre.

It was time to collect the spoils of war.

I was no exception.

‘Is it there?’

What I wanted from the creature.

It was the dantian.

The very thing said to be inside a magical creature.

With two heads, the possibility was high.

If the dantian exists.

‘I need to swallow it.’

The dantian is something that can occasionally be found in powerful monsters.

Even a low-grade dantian is very expensive, and there are few available, making it difficult to obtain.

Even the Marquess family doesn't have many dantians.

This is one of the items that can't be obtained even with golden connections.

If I could obtain the dantian?

‘I could open a few more channels.’

A body with blocked channels.

Currently, I have opened one channel from my right arm to my heart.

I would like to open them all, but the barrier in the upper body is too solid.

It's hard to tear the barrier itself.

With the dantian, I might be able to use its power to open the upper body.

‘I want to raise my circle, but...’

The reason I haven't considered raising my circle with the dantian is simple. Since I've only created the circle recently, it hasn't properly settled yet.

If I tried to forcibly increase the circle, it would be a sure way to die.

It would be better to open more channels.

Opening channels would make me stronger just the same.

‘I need to examine the inside of the body.’

Gathering mana in my right hand.

I inserted the mana into the creature's corpse.

Normally, there would be resistance, but since it was a corpse, the mana easily penetrated the body.

After spreading the mana finely, I slowly began to focus my mind.

I don't know where the dantian is, but since the dantian naturally attracts mana.

If it exists, my mana will move toward it on its own.

‘There it is?’

The direction the mana was slowly being pulled.

It was directly above the right head.

‘I need to take it without anyone knowing.’

If the soldiers found it, there might be a dispute over ownership. The dantian is an item that even high-ranking knights like Adolph or Abel would go crazy for.

If it's known to exist, there will naturally be trouble.

‘Is there a way?’

Cutting off the head and taking out the dantian?

This would leave evidence.

After a moment of thought, I came up with a method.

‘I could just take the whole thing.’

Looking at the position, it seems to be near the brain. The solution is simple.

I could just give away the eyeballs and say I'm studying the brain, and take the whole head.

If I just added a spoon, it would be quite noticeable, but it wasn't.

I had already done quite a lot.

So.

‘If I take this one, no one will go crazy on me.’

This would be the same even after returning to the territory.

The decision was made quickly.

I called a few soldiers and gave an order.

“Can you cut off this right head? I want to study it.”

The soldiers cut off the head without any suspicion. If the baron or even a knight were alive, they might have stopped me.

But a low-ranking soldier can't do that.

‘I need to take it out and burn it properly.’

What can they do if I use it?

The dantian is already activated inside my body.

The right head, which is about 0.7 meters long.

Activating mana in my right arm, I lifted the heavy head, removed the eyeballs, and handed them to the soldier.

“Use these for distribution.”

The soldiers' expressions brightened.

“Thank you!”

Ogre eyeballs.

They are quite expensive magic items.

Thank you.

The value of the dantian inside this head is much greater than the huge body.

Quietly entering the tent.

I moved the mana to form a blade and began to split the creature's skull.

It's really tough.

If it doesn't work, I'll keep trying until it does.

As I split the skull into two, a green dantian began to appear.

It felt like a slightly larger pill than a pea.

‘Nice.’

‘Huh?’

It seems the inner vision can also analyze items.

Seeing that no words appear for ordinary swords or books, it seems to only analyze items of a certain grade or special artifacts.

Well, it's not bad for me.

If I claim to be studying the brain and turn the head into a rag, I can perfectly hide the trace of the dantian.

Smiling.

I began to disassemble the creature's brain in all directions.

* * * * *

Three days.

The time it took to exit the forest.

Since we had cleared the monsters while advancing, there was only one attack.

It was a small-scale group of goblins, which we could easily handle with my magic and the soldiers' response.

During this time, I thoroughly disassembled the ogre's skull and left the byproducts to the soldiers.

I need to show this to make them think I took it for research.

The bag hanging from my waist.

Thinking about the dantian sleeping inside, it felt like my stomach was already full.

Unfortunately, I couldn't immediately consume the dantian.

It's structured to spread energy as soon as it enters the mouth.

The upper part of my heart is completely blocked.

Naturally, controlling the energy in the upper body is impossible.

In such a situation, if the massive energy of the dantian enters my mouth?

The energy might run rampant in all directions, potentially causing my body to explode.

Uncontrolled energy is the most dangerous.

Then.

‘I need to melt it and consume it through my right arm.’

I would need to use a special processing method to turn the dantian into a liquid state and absorb its energy through my right arm.

This way, I can instantly send the energy to my heart, combine it with the mana in my circle, and advance it toward the upper body.

While thinking about this.

The extermination force approached the outer city.

After passing through the checkpoint and entering the territory.

The residents, seeing the extermination force, began to murmur.

The bloodstains all over their bodies.

And the much smaller number of soldiers returning compared to when they set out.

Defeated soldiers.

They probably thought of that first.

I also looked similar to the soldiers.

Using the items in my magic bag, I could look clean, but there was no need. This appearance would be more advantageous for public opinion.

It's hard to criticize someone who has suffered.

‘The dantian is hidden too.’

In my magic bag.

The dantian was carefully stored there.

The magic bag basically has a function to block the energy inside from the outside.

It's similar to a vacuum state.

This is why food can be preserved for a long time.

So, the energy from the dantian can also be hidden to some extent.

I even considered burying it underground, but that wasn't a good method.

Since it can't completely block the energy, a monster or animal might eat it.

Or someone might find and take it.

Rather than taking that risk, it's better to keep it near my body.

After blocking the energy with my mana in the magic bag, the energy from the dantian wasn't leaking at all.

At this level, even a Sword Master would probably only feel that my mana is activated in the bag.

They wouldn't ask to check the bag just because of that.

As I entered the inner city, the Marquess, Abel, and Adolph hurried over.

After naturally looking at the ragged me and the soldiers.

Everyone's faces turned as stiff as lead.

“...What happened?”

“...We encountered a twin-headed ogre. The baron and the knights did their best to deal with it, but... in the end... they died together...”

At the end of my words.

Adolph's expression began to crumple like he had eaten something foul.

You're a fool.

On the surface, this extermination seemed to have failed completely.

But for me, it was the best possible outcome.