Chapter 700 - Lightning Rain

In a certain city of the empire.

A woman was standing in the sky with a calm smile on her face.

Traces of destruction could be seen all around her, and a fourth of the city below had been completely destroyed. But the woman did not have a single scratch on her.

However, the same could not be said about her opponents.

"… H-How is it possible…?" A tigerkin man looked at her with a shocked and scared expression.

He had lost his left arm and part of his torso, and his body was riddled with injuries. If he was not an Irregular, he would have been dead now.

The only thing keeping him alive was the abundant energy in his body.

But his two companions were not so lucky.

The birdkin boy lay dead on the ground, his body cut into two.

As for the foxkin girl. No trace of her body but blood and mincemeat had been left.

Evelyn had fought three Irregulars alone, but in the end, she was victorious, and her victory was overwhelming.

"… I-Impossible... H-How? How can you be so strong?"

Evelyn shrugged. "You are just mass-produced pawns. How can you be compared to us?"

"N-No. W-We…"

"I don't plan to continue listening to the whimpers of a dead man." With an indifferent face, Evelyn waved her hand, creating a space blade that cut the tigerkin's head.

Just like that, he died.

"It was easier than expected. They should have sent a few more." Evelyn shook her head disappointedly.

It was Emilia's miscalculation. She underestimated the power of the girls.

She had only given the girls one month of preparation. Even with the help of an Immortal, there was a limit to how much they could grow in that time without harming their foundations even if Claus lengthened the time ten times.

But Emilia overlooked the abilities of the contract that Claus had made with them.

Their souls had become one. Through it, the girls could see and experience the memories of an Immortal. It was countless times easier to find the path most suited for them this way.

And as long as they found their path, it was just a matter of time before they could become powerful.

Just like Evelyn. She was talented in the fields of magic and space, both of which Claus had studied extensively during many of his lives.

She only needed to search for these memories in Claus's soul to increase her knowledge and mastery of these fields.

Evelyn looked around and confirmed that no beastmen had survived. She then closed her eyes and got ready to teleport to the next city.

"… Right, it looks like the others started to fight as well. I wonder if they are alright."

Although Evelyn said that, in truth, she was not that worried.

Because she knew how strong the other girls were.

Evelyn was strong. So strong that she was surprised she could become so strong in such a short time.

But she was not the strongest.

These three girls… They were monsters.

"Especially Daisy. I want to see their faces once she appears."

Perhaps, she alone could kill every one of them.

…

"Burn everything to ashes, [Gungnir]," Daisy spoke, her voice reaching every corner of the battlefield.

In the next instant, the world was dyed golden.

Countless lightning bolts descended from the sky in an unstoppable way. It was as though heavenly punishment was raining down the world.

There was no time to avoid them. The lightning came so fast that none of the beastmen could evade it.

Their only option was to endure it.

But–

"!!!"

The power of this lightning was not something that a normal Irregular could take.

One, two, three. In an instant, around seven Irregulars were turned into ashes.

Soundless screams escaped from their throats as their lives came to an end before they could feel pain.

The other Irregulars were a bit stronger. They managed to endure for a bit longer. But before one second passed, another five Irregulars had died.

Selena turned pale. Through the array, she could feel the lives of her brethren coming to an end.

"DAMN YOU!!!"

Screaming in anger, she gathered as much mana as she could in her hand and threw a palm against the sky.

A giant palm made of mana clashed against the countless lightning strikes. For an instant, only the deafening sound of thunder and the blinding light of lightning could be seen.

And finally, the lightning stopped.

When the last lightning bolt fell, the figures of the beastmen appeared once more.

However, around one-third of them were gone, leaving only ashes behind.

"You…!" Selena glared at Daisy with an expression of hatred. Seeing so many of her brethren dying enraged her.

But just when she was about to charge towards Daisy, a soft voice reached her ears.

"It's enough."

"Your Majesty!?"

"Retreat."

"But! They kille–"

"I told you to retreat." Emilia's calm voice sent chills to Selena's spine.

She gritted her teeth with an unwilling expression and glared at Daisy with bloodshot eyes, but in the end, she nodded.

"Retreat." She spoke to the other beastmen and turned around to return to the beastmen camp.

Rose frowned when she saw that. She was about to chase after them, but I stopped her.

"Don't chase them. Come back."

"Huh? Why? They are injured and tired. If we attack them, we can win."

"You are just as tired as them. And some of the girls can't continue fighting."

Rose was startled. She looked around, only to see that Saintess Safelia, Katherine, and Daisy were pale.

Especially Daisy. She could barely move.

Although the attack she made just now was overwhelmingly powerful, it was not without a cost. She spent several minutes preparing it and used almost all her mana on it.

Daisy was one of my trump cards. In terms of combat strength, she was weaker than the other two trump cards, but when it came to destructive ability, she far surpassed the others.

Her ability to control lightning made her a powerful weapon of mass destruction.

In fact, every one of the lightning bolts that fell just now had enough power to kill a normal Irregular. And even when Selena used the power of over one hundred Irregulars to defend against it, a third of them died.

Such a result was proof of Daisy's overwhelming destructive power.

"Unfortunately, it won't be so easy to use this trick next time."

This time, I used the same trick that Emilia had used before to hide Daisy from her senses. However, such a trick won't work again.

Emilia will be prepared for it in the next battle.

But it accomplished its goal this time.

We managed to kill a third of Emilia's Irregulars, plus, we forced them to retreat.

Of course, it's far from enough to defeat Emilia. I'm sure she must have several other trump cards she has not shown yet.

But I am the same.

Plus, we had another advantage.

This was the first true battle of the girls after their training with me.

I plan to put them in the alternate space where time runs ten times faster after this. It will give them time to digest today's battle.

For the next battle, my girls will be significantly stronger than now.