The Duke’s Eldest Son Escaped to the Military (185)

Translator: ChubbyCheeks

59 Fierce Battle in the Southeast (3)

The monster corps was left in a fluster after receiving a sudden attack from the Mobile Field Army. They tried to use their heads to find a way to counterattack by hitting their enemies’ Command directly by themselves but it did not have much effect.

The manticore was forced to calm down as it watched its subordinates get trashed and beaten. It’s powerful and oppressive momentum weighed down heavily over its subordinates to the point that even the surrounding was warping.

― I’m pretty sure that I clearly told you to use your heads?

The monsters bowed their heads as they trembled in fear from the manticore’s harsh words. Even the leaders of all the other races were trembling wildly.

The monsters knew that their lives had changed after meeting the manticore. They studied under its guidance and were able to develop intelligence as they continued to absorb the void energy. It even told them how to efficiently use the power that had accumulated in their bodies.

The increase in their strength made them feel that no one could rival them. However, they still had to bow down in fear in front of this single being. Just a whiff of its murderous intent was enough to buckle their knees and make their bodies shake.

The manticore, with its overwhelming power and extremely shrewd and clever head, had always urged them to use their heads all the time. It was clear when it would praise and rebuke them. The leaders of each race also received praise when they moved around the Southeast and expanded their territories. However, the manticore was now looking at them furiously from the top of their heads down to the very tip of their toes.

Their biggest problem was the fact that their formation unraveled despite their overwhelming powers. Their enemies had already dealt damage and moved to another place before they could even respond. And this point had driven them all crazy.

― Morons. Everyone will advance to their Command. Wipe out everything that blocks your path.

All of the monsters bowed their heads and scurried away after hearing the manticore’s orders.

The manticore’s intelligence grew further the more it absorbed void energy. So, it believed that its subordinates would also be the same.

It clearly saw that the monsters’ level of intelligence had increased significantly over the course of time that they spent absorbing the void energy. In fact, their original intelligence, or lack thereof, in the beginning was now nowhere to be seen. However, there were limits.

The manticore finally realized that only a few of its subordinates could rival the giant armored worm in terms of growth in intellect.

One of them was the goblins. The goblins could probably prove to be useful to it but they were born as if they were fed with treachery and betrayal as milk. And even if they grew to be extremely clever, their power was still far too weak. No matter how much strength they gained during this time, the limits of their bodies were still as clear as day. A few of their mutants might have gone beyond their limits but the number was too small and insufficient especially when compared to other monsters.

He couldn’t even think of placing such a race as a leader that would command the monsters. It was a completely preposterous idea. Not only would the other monsters protest, it also did not want to place such a treacherous bastard on such a high position. The threat of a betrayal especially at this important juncture, was something that it could not afford.

― Tch!

The manticore frowned as it clicked its tongue in annoyance. It realized how annoying it was to decide everything on its own without anyone to trust.

If the humans in the Southeast were as dumb and moronic as the humans in the South, then it would have been enough for it to order its subordinate to do a reckless charge. But the problem was that the leader of the humans this time was a clever and shrewd guy.

The manticore could see that the fight ahead would be a difficult fight considering this big shot that they had been given. However, it still believed that fighting against the humans was a far better situation than immediately going against the worms up north.

Missing this opportunity meant that the Southeast would continue to be divided into three factions. And all three of them would be forced into a long and slow territorial war. The manticore did not know when an opportunity like this would come again so it had to carefully watch over the board that it had created to make sure that everything went according to its plans.

The manticore was deep in thought as it sent its subordinates away. It continued to ponder over the information that it now had in its hands.

Right now, they had an overwhelming advantage in numbers after they had collected all of the monsters in the south. However, the problem was that humans had a significant amount of military power and force. In addition, they were able to attack them from all sides continuously and stopped them from advancing forward.

― This won’t work.

If they continued to get dragged around like this, their advance would be delayed.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t afford to do so. Time wasn’t on their side. They still needed to prepare for a showdown against the worms so this short-term battle should be done as quickly as possible. So, they had no choice but to charge recklessly and take some damage.

― In the end, I still have to drag the worm bastards’ captain and go all out in a final bout.

If they suffered enormous damage from the humans, then the only way that it could gain victory was to fight single-handedly against the worms’ captain. It needed to revise and create a new board. And in order for it to do so, they needed to win the battle against the humans.

― Tell everyone to gather. I will lead this battle myself.

The mutant birds immediately flew up in the sky the moment they heard the manticore’s orders.

Right at that moment, explosions suddenly erupted from their rear.

― How..

The manticore0 immediately whipped its head towards the direction where a strange and unusual energy suddenly appeared.

At that moment, a stormy wrath rose deep in its chest.

The place where their food was kept was now burning up in black flames. The place where they kept all of the void insects and dimensional fish that they had killed were now burning down into ashes. There was even a frightening lightning bolt that struck down on the void stone that kept all of the void energy in their surroundings, destroying it to pieces.

Watching the mutant monster corps’ rations and supplies burn and disappear in front of its very eyes made the manticore angry. Bloodlust even began to wrap the surrounding area.

“Oh man. What an uproar.”

The voice of a human echoed in the sky.

The manticore immediately flew up to the sky in reaction to the clear voice that rang loudly and clearly despite being high up in the sky. It’s gigantic body flew up in the sky but it was forced to fall back down on the ground.

An owl that was as colossal as its body appeared and let out bright shining rays of light from its eyes that prevented the manticore from flying up.

― Bastard!

Purple light erupted from the furious manticore’s body as it roared loudly with a voice akin to an old man’s voice. This attack was none other than the manticore’s cursed breath. This attack was also loaded with void energy, increasing its lethality. However, the manticore’s main weapon was easily blocked by Baepsae and the unfolding sanctuary that Iron created.

But this was the manticore. It’s main power was not just this single attack. Its wings gathered the power of the void while thousands of thorns appeared on its tail which flew out towards its enemy.

In fact, it was hard for the manticore to strengthen all of its attacks with the power of the void all at once. But it wasn’t because of its attacks that it won against a master.

“The manticore’s battle qi has reached the master-rank.. interesting.”

Iron smiled wryly after seeing that the manticore, a creature proficient in killing and hunting, showed a battle qi that reached the master level. Its purple light turned into a battle qi in the form of a gigantic lion that easily overwhelmed Iron’s size by several times that charged straight at him.

Iron pulled out his sword as if to show it that he wouldn’t lose to something like this. Then, a gigantic sword that was as hard as steel appeared and clashed against the charging purple lion.

The area that the manticore had created with his cursed breath and battle qi was pushed back by Baepsae and Iron’s sanctuary while Thunderbird blasted its poisonous saliva with the storm that it created. Even its void energy was destroyed by Two Moons’ ray of lights. The manticore’s subordinates, who wanted to rush in and help out, were blocked by Phoenix’s flame, all they could do was try and extinguish the flames that separated them from their leader.

It might have been the manticore’s own territory but Iron had perfect control over it.

So, in the end, it escalated to a battle of pure force.

“Your confidence and ego got inflated because you won against only one master.. how about I show you how different Imperial Masters are?”

Iron grinned as he spoke to the manticore.

The manticore’s face distorted in anger. Its face, which was already wrinkled, had turned even uglier from the anger as it rushed towards Iron. But despite its gigantic body, it could not push Iron back at all.

It obviously knew that the human staying in the Southeast had only become a master recently. However, the human’s physical abilities and aura that covered his entire body was monstrously strong.

The manticore had also become a master-rank monster not too long ago, so it was also still a bit inexperienced. But despite it’s inexperience, it was still able to beat the Southern master after leading it through countless killing attacks. However, all of those had now been sealed. So, its advantage had now disappeared.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Loud bangs and thuds resounded whenever Iron and the manticore collided. Even the trees trembled as the ground shook heavily.

It was clear that their battle qi and aura were lacking compared to other masters. But the manticore was able to fill its shortcomings with its physical prowess that had been strengthened by the void energy countless times. Iron was also able to cover up for any of his gaps with his numerous achievements and title effects. Perhaps it was because of that that the two master-ranked beings clashed together recklessly without a care about their bodies at all.

Their fight might look stunning and awe-inspiring to others but in the eyes of skilled swordsmen and fighters who had reached a high level, their fight was no different than a simple brawl. However, this fight still clearly benefited both Iron and the manticore. Since they had reached the same level and had fought and lived in similar styles, they were able to see their shortcomings and gaps more clearly.

‘Should I bring my sword over here?’

Iron changed his sword’s trajectory the moment this thought flashed in his head.

‘My aura management is still lacking.’

The power of his aura became stronger after he identified his shortcomings.

‘So, this was the reason why my aura blade had been unstable?’

His way of handling his aura blade gradually increased in level which inevitably affected the gigantic sword in front of him, making it more perfect and sturdy.

Iron’s movements continued to change and improve the longer he fought. It was to the point that someone clueless about what was happening could see the changes in his body.

And the same was true for the manticore.

― Since it’s hard for me to manage every detail of my battle qi, let’s just make it stronger! Make it more aggressive!

Unlike Iron, who focused on the delicate details of his swordsmanship and aura, the manticore chose to just increase its power output and attack more aggressively with its enormous force.

― More lion energy! But let’s make it nimble and add wings! Also, add mutations to the tail!

The once simple battle qi in the form of a lion slowly began to capture the original form of the manticore. The changes that the manticore had made in its own battle qi slowly changed it to the point that it almost resembled the manticore’s own body, perhaps it was because of this that the agility, mutations and aggression that it added slowly showed its presence in its own body.historical

As the brawl continued, the two master-ranked beings continued to develop and cover the gaps and shortcomings in their fights. And gradually, their similar fighting style began to change little by little.

One of the knights riding on the drakes couldn’t help but click his tongue as he watched the master-rank beings develop and improve right in front of his very eyes.

The masters that had reached a level that was already close to completion still continued to develop and improve themselves? Their subordinates couldn’t help but feel ashamed of themselves as they watched them.

They had continued to wander around the wall of the 5th Stage without even thinking of breaking through it. However, watching a master-rank being continue to improve himself gave them no other choice but to try their hardest to break through and walk further.

“This is fun!”

Both Iron and the manticore were grinning as they continued to fight.

Iron lifted his sword and swung it directly towards the manticore, who had bared its teeth in a gruesome smile. The manticore wrapped it’s tail with its battle qi and welcomed the coming sword attack.

An almost perfect battlefield appeared with the two of them keenly sensing each other’s attack. In a blink of an eye, the battle evolved and stopped from being a battle purely about battle qi and aura. Two Moons and Thunderbird, who were keeping the void energy and poisonous saliva in check, Baepsae, who maintained the sanctuary, and Phoenix, who kept control of the surroundings, were all assimilated with Iron.

Seeing this, the manticore was forced to admit that the human standing in front of it right now was stronger than itself. But at the very least, it still had a secret move.

Crackle!

Iron hurriedly stepped back as a purple lightning bolt appeared and wrapped around the body of the manticore’s battle qi. But the manticore’s purple lightning was quick to wrap around its battle qi. It was already charging towards Iron by the time he reacted.

Baaaaang!

― Did I finally get rid of the pesky human?

A gigantic sword covered in lightning suddenly flew straight at the manticore as soon as its words fell.

“You shouldn’t mindlessly speak like that.”

Iron smiled broadly as he looked at the manticore while he pointed his sword covered in both lightning and frost towards it.

The manticore’s aged and weathered face was suddenly dyed in disappointment.

It had accidentally discovered an ancient god’s temple while it was ransacking the south. And the power that it gained from that place was something that it had saved and kept a secret so it could use it against the imoogi.

However, even after using it against the human, it found out that it did not do much damage, let alone a fatal injury. What was worse was the fact that the lightning wrapped around the human’s body did not look like it was a force that came from one of his divine beasts.

― I can feel a bit of god’s power from that attack.. did you also receive an ancient god’s power?

“Who knows?”

Iron only left him with a vague answer. He just smiled as he jumped up in the air.

The manticore knew that it had no choice but to step back. It knew that it wouldn’t be able to catch and kill the human in front of it. It could try killing the human with its subordinates but that was nigh impossible with all of them in a disarray.

― If we weren’t in a disarray.. No, was this something that he intended to happen in the first place?

The manticore murmured to itself silently admitting that it had been beaten. The defeat this time was a valuable experience so it felt happy instead of furious.

However, the pleasant expression on the manticore’s aged face soon morphed into anger once again after hearing its subordinates’ reports.

― Even our military supplies in the rear had been stolen by humans?!

The agitated monsters that had been robbed cleanly by the rangers trembled at the manticore’s furious roar.

***