Chapter 54

Finally, in the capital of Drain, the Eldorado Kingdom Guard, the mercenary group of magicians, and the revolutionary army were facing each other.

They each readied their weapons and channeled their magic power.

However, the morale was overwhelmingly in favor of the revolutionary army. This was because, in addition to the spirit of rising up for the people, they had the confidence of repeated victories. On the other hand, the Eldorado Kingdom Guard, having heard of the revolutionary army's rapid advance, showed strong signs of fear.

"Lord Ray, the time has finally come."

"Yes. I've caused you all a lot of trouble."

At the revolutionary army's headquarters, where the final military conference was held, the leaders, including Rainvald, the revolutionary army's leader, had gathered.

"Well, we have turned our backs on the corrupt Eldorado Kingdom and risen as a new light. Though we were once on the brink of destruction, we have finally turned the tide to this point!"

The involvement of the black cat, the 'Reaper,' in this achievement was tacitly understood.

The success of an assassin should be buried in the dark. This is something that every person in power knows. Therefore, Rainvald did not mention it in this setting.

"Now is the time to restore the true king to our homeland. I, Rainvald Cain Richter, will reclaim the Eldorado Kingdom from the Subarokia Empire!"

At this speech, all the officers stood up and saluted.

They had already recognized Rainvald as their king.

"Let's march out! Capture the first prince, Lotus, and the king, Yanbar, and reclaim the country!"

The first step to escape the oppression of the great empire.

It is still just a step, but an important one. It must not be taken lightly. Retreat is out of the question.

"According to the plan, we will pretend to break the city gates and fight from the front. The royal family will try to escape through a hidden passage. We will intercept them and capture the royal family. The guard troops are necessary to maintain the security of the Eldorado Kingdom. Do not kill too many."

"Hai!"

The battle began.

◆◆◆

Meanwhile, the Dark King Shu and the witch Iris were on the military road connecting the Subarokia Empire's military base and the capital of Drain. To interfere with the battle between the revolutionary army and the Eldorado Kingdom in the capital, the S-rank magician and general of the Subarokia Empire, Kruger Pierre, was leading his army towards the capital.

Shu's job was to annihilate them.

Originally, assassinating Kruger alone would have been enough to complete the mission, but considering it as the best practice for Iris's magic, he decided to attack the entire army.

"It's about time."

Shu created a lens with water magic and adjusted the focal length with vibration magic to lock onto Kruger's Shadow Army, which was still far away.

However, it was within the range of magic.

The ninth tier of wind magic, "Heartless Void," is a tactical-level magic. If it hits, annihilating an army is easy.

Controlling a tactical-level magic and hitting it accurately is quite difficult.

This is because, unlike Shu, who analyzes magic, it is activated with a vague image and incantation.

"Ugh. Are we really going to do this?"

"Start the incantation quickly. I'll assist with the aiming and control."

"Okay, okay."

Iris reluctantly started the incantation. Shu focused on control, having no interest in the Apollis-style magic incantation, which he had no intention of learning.

(Area designation, analysis of air molecules started, completed, distribution grasped)

The Shadow Army was moving, so the area designation was a predicted point. If Iris's incantation and Shu's control work together, it should activate without any problems. The biggest problem was the risk of the space being detected as having been altered.

High-level magicians and magicians can detect the signs of their power. Especially with area designation magic, the signs of the will being transmitted to the world through magic are easy to detect. If one is careful, they can notice it.

Hiding this was a major challenge for Shu.

"Iris, can you do it?"

"I, I can!"

"Do it. Annihilate the Shadow Army."

"Wind's Ninth Tier, 'Heartless Void'!"

The tactical-level magic was activated.

◆◆◆

"General, it seems the revolutionary army is already facing off in the capital."

"Is that so? In that case, it will be just right when we arrive. We will crush the rebels known as the revolutionary army with the army entrusted to us by His Majesty."

"Yes, of course, General Pierre."

Kruger Pierre, an S-rank magician known as 'Shadow,' is a general of the Subarokia Empire. Worthy of the golden lion emblem, his achievements are remarkable.

Single-handedly capturing enemy bases, defeating over five hundred enemies in a single battlefield, and quickly suppressing rebellions in vassal states, his numerous achievements earned him the second-highest authority in the military, the position of general. He was also expected to soon become a grand general.

It was rumored that he would receive the golden dragon medal, the symbol of a grand general, by suppressing the revolutionary army in the Eldorado Kingdom.

Kruger was also confident of this.

"This suppression must not fail."

"I understand, General. Of course, with you, 'Shadow,' defeat is impossible. And the Shadow Army is composed of A-rank and B-rank magicians. The rebels who rose up in a rural vassal state are no match for us."

"I hear the dark organization, Black Cat, is lending its strength to the revolutionary army."

"You've heard about it, General?"

"Do not underestimate me. It seems the 'Reaper' has lent a hand to them. It was unexpected that a capricious assassin would help a group that is certain to lose."

"Yes. But the Black Cat's actions are unknown. Thinking about it is meaningless."

The Black Cat organization has a significant reputation in the Subarokia Empire. It is said to be run by eleven leaders, including the leader 'Black Cat,' but their purpose and activities are unknown.

Indeed, the Black Cat is an organization where the leaders act freely.

It is understandable that their purpose is unknown.

"But the 'Reaper' is just an assassin. He can't do much against an army."

"Perhaps they should have hired 'Black Iron,' who is known for his combat skills."

"Kukuk. That's true."

'Black Iron' of the Black Cat is said to be unmatched in bodyguard work. He is considered to be on par with S-rank magicians and has considerable combat power. However, his true identity is unknown.

However, this was the only time they could joke about it.

"Everyone! Defend! There's an incredible magic reaction!"

The one who shouted was a member skilled in perception.

The weakness of a marching army is that it is a group. If hit by a great magic, they could be wiped out in one shot. Of course, the cost of using such magic must be worth it. If the Shadow Army could be annihilated with one great magic, it would be worth sacrificing a few high-level magicians.

It was not an impossible scenario.

Kruger gave orders to everyone.

"Everyone, cast a magic barrier!"

As expected of a trained army. Following Kruger's orders, they cast a barrier using non-elemental magic. This is a basic technique of creating a barrier around the body using magic power, which can be learned with training.

It can defend against certain levels of magic, magic equipment attacks, and physical attacks.

However, it was meaningless.

"Ugh... ah..."

"Ugh..."

"..."

The members clutched their necks and fell, their faces turning pale.

Kruger's eyes widened.

"This is...!"

Suddenly, Kruger also felt short of breath.

He quickly covered his mouth.

(Poison... no, it's not! Could it be...?)

◆◆◆

"They're dead."

"The ninth tier was activated... wasn't it?"

"Of course."

The ninth tier of wind, "Heartless Void."

This magic alters the air in the area to be 100% nitrogen. In other words, the creatures in the area suffocate and die. The Shadow Army's non-elemental magic barriers were completely useless.

"But they were unexpectedly skilled. I had hidden it, but they noticed in the last moment."

"Ugh. Activating it was quite difficult too."

"But it was successful. You should be able to activate it alone eventually."

"Ugh. That's tough."

Tactical-level magic is not designed to be activated by one person. Normally, it requires multiple court-level magicians or magicians to successfully activate it.

With Shu's help, Iris managed to activate it alone.

She deserved praise.

However, Shu did not praise her, as she would get too confident.

"Hmm...?"

At that moment, Shu noticed something.

Looking around, Iris asked.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just a bit."

Shu sensed magic. It had a hidden feel to it, but it disappeared in an instant.

He couldn't shake the feeling of unease, so he kept looking around.

(If it's related to magic...)

Shu's specialty as a primordial spirit is absorbing magic power. He can convert all forms of energy and even life force into magic power and steal it.

If something was hiding, he could just steal the energy.

Shu used death magic to steal the surrounding energy, avoiding Iris and the temperature.

"Ugh... impossible!?"

Then, Kruger Pierre emerged from Shu's shadow. He had been hiding in Shu's shadow using his shadow-controlling magic equipment.

When hit by Iris's "Heartless Void," he activated his magic equipment and escaped to the shadow world. He then traced the magic traces and hid in Shu's shadow.

He was trying to find an opportunity to kill Shu and Iris, but was discovered.

He probably didn't expect to have his energy stolen.

It was unprecedented for magic equipment to be broken in such a way, and it was understandable that he was momentarily stunned. His magic equipment was supposed to be absolute.

"You scoundrels, you destroyed my army!"

However, as a strong warrior worthy of the golden lion emblem, he quickly recovered.

Using the power of his magic equipment, he tried to kill Shu and Iris with a shadow spear.

"You're too slow."

However, he had shown too much of an opening in front of the Dark King Arklight. By then, the preparation for "Slash Air Domain" was complete.

The shadow spear extended from the ground and approached Shu and Iris.

But just before it hit, it disappeared.

"Impossible..."

His body began to slide, and Kruger collapsed on the spot.

A large amount of blood spilled out, staining the ground.

"Well, that's about it."

"Super close call!"

Iris's scream echoed.