Chapter 1204: Boneheaded Windwolf

I watched the deaths of the superhuman soldiers within the black flames, shuddering at the power.

『Flame magic certainly has incredibly deadly spells.』

（Nn.）

Those black flames burn by using the target’s mana as fuel, which is why they don’t disappear until death. People above a certain level might be able to blow it away with an attack of their own, or block it with a barrier. However, anyone below that level can do nothing but wait until their life burns out.

That said, it was definitely weaker than thunder magic in terms of damage to each individual target. In fact, many of the soldiers managed to escape before being burnt to death.

All the survivors had removed their limiters and undergone a grotesque transformation. It seems that happens automatically after they receive a certain amount of damage.

Even so, we managed to take down quite a number of them with the first strike.

『We got around 4000-5000 with those spells, which is great. Now we just have to do the same thing as when we defended the village.』

（Nn!）

However, we’re actually further away from the villagers compared to last time. Defending will be even easier.

On the other hand, Fran wasn’t in perfect condition. She was burdened with the exhaustion from the previous battle, which she was forcibly trying to recover from by enveloping herself in divine energy.

（I can keep going.）

『Alright!』

As for the flyers…

『Great! They’re targeting us now!』

（Let’s keep them engaged!）

Were they instinctively drawn to Fran’s weak divine aura or something? All of the superhuman soldiers were clearly looking at Fran.

This allowed Fran to serve as a decoy, making it easier to ensure the villagers’ safety.

However, we also felt a tremendous surge of mana from a distance, far behind the lines of the superhuman soldiers we burnt with Surtr.

We had already sensed the presence of a large army in that direction, but it seems they’ve released all their limiters simultaneously. The superhuman soldiers who survived our spell also began transforming at the same time.

『Let’s maintain at a slightly lower altitude, so we can handle those coming from both land and air.』

（Nn!）

The starting bell rang on our fierce battle.

The grotesque creatures charged straight at Fran without any intention of pursuing the villagers. Meanwhile, Fran slaughtered them as they came.

Thunder and flame magic raged throughout the battlefield, as the ground was stained red with superhuman soldier blood. Due to Fran’s cloak of divine energy, each hit proved fatal.

That said, the intensity of the battle was taking a toll on Fran’s body. She was forced to dodge the relentless assault from all directions, without a single moment of rest.

That wasn’t the only reason Fran started to furrow her brows. The superhuman soldiers paid no mind to hitting each other, as if they were intended to die from the beginning.

They would go this far to wear Fran down?

No, that’s not the only reason. Both Fran and I had sensed a faint anomaly.

We already knew that the superhuman soldiers were absorbing mana from their fallen comrades, but I noticed something else peculiar. I must have missed it during our previous fight since we were too focused on defending the village, but this was our second encounter. There was definitely a faint oddity in the flow of mana.

All of the corpses were leaking mana, but this was seeping into the earth instead of dispersing into the air like usual. It’s almost as if the land itself was feeding on the mana of the dead.

However, we didn’t have any time to ponder this further.

「Zeyaaaaahhh!」

『Wooaahhh!』

I had already dispelled our disguise as the knight Gray, since I couldn’t afford to expend any effort on such an elaborate transformation. We were really pushing ourselves to the edge.

We were forced to constantly focus on multi-casting magic, dodging enemy attacks, and delivering counters with all our might simultaneously. And such an intense exchange had been going on for an hour without rest.

Just because we could harness divine energy more efficiently didn’t give us infinite stamina or anything. The overwhelming number of enemies made that painfully clear.

Fran’s movements began losing their luster, albeit gradually.

We might be screwed if our enemies keep up this pressure…

「!」

『Seriously?』

Just when the enemy army started to dwindle, we sensed the approach of a new force. Another legion of Raydoss’s super soldiers emerged into view from the top of a hill.

Enemy reinforcements. They must have all the superhuman soldiers in the vicinity gathered here.

Maybe we should disengage briefly to catch our breath?

Fran’s slight unease seems to have been conveyed to the enemy.

「Kwahaha! Don’t think this is all of us! We have plenty more troops to spare!」

「You must be… Windwolf!」

「Bingo!」

Though he had stayed in the background all this time, one of the enemy commanders finally revealed himself. Windwolf resembled a beastman with green fur, but his aura signature was closer to a magical beast than a person.

「To think you would be that notorious black cat! Never saw that one coming! But now that this news has reached the light, the undead of the Black Skeleton Corps and the Red Knights will come running for you! Even if you manage to survive my army somehow, your death is all but guaranteed! Fuhahaha!」

It seems he intended to break Fran’s spirit by explaining our predicament.

Sucks for him though! Fran isn’t going to despair over something this small! No matter how surprised or shaken she may be, she’s strong enough take it all in and keep pushing forward!

（Master! Let’s kill that guy!）

『Got it!』

Fran charged at Windwolf with a fierce grin, despite her unhealed wounds. Might as well take advantage of the enemy’s carelessness if their commander wants to show up right in front of us!

Teleport in and Heavenly Judgment. This was a trump card we kept in reserve, perfect for killing any foes caught off guard.

「Gah…?!」

「Hm?」

Windwolf was quick enough to respond, throwing our aim slightly off. That said, I definitely felt myself slicing through his right shoulder into the lung area.

But before I could cut through the rest of his body, he melted into the air and disappeared.

Shortly after, he reappeared a little distance away.

「…Dammit… you got me good!」

Did Windwolf have some sort of skill for melding with the air? Upon appraisal, I found a skill called Windbody. It seems this allowed him to temporarily turn his physical body into wind.

Even so, Windwolf definitely got hit by my slash, as he held the wound with his face contorted in anger.

「Keh… Keheheh! My wound… isn’t healing! What did you… do?」

「Guess?」

「It seems I was a dumbass to underestimate you!」

Well, yeah. He deliberately revealed himself to us, and took a fatal blow due to carelessness. Pretty stupid of him.

Also, we confirmed that divine-infused slashes work against the superhuman commanders. Fran with her current abilities can definitely fight on their level.

「Fine, you leave me no other choice… My master! I offer you my power as well! May my body become your sustenance! Awooooh!」