Chapter 362
Chapter 362: Now You Must Choose (1)
Srrr…….
A madly spewing red mana started to wrap around Ghislaine’s body.
Soon, Ghislaine’s body was enveloped in undulating red mana. Only his two eyes emitted a crimson glow.
He looked like a devil rising from hell.
“What the hell is he doing…?”
At that horrifying sight, Delmood flinched. This was a phenomenon he had never seen before, even as a wizard.
The only thing he could deduce was that Ghislaine was strong enough not to fall behind him, who had opened all his mana.
No, maybe even stronger.
Delmood gritted his teeth at the sudden thought.
“How can a nobody like you be the master!”
There were rumors that Count Penris wasn’t at the master level, but Delmood dismissed them as exaggerated.
Having fought him directly, it was understandable that such words arose. To fight at this level meant he had truly reached master status.
But he couldn’t accept that. If he did, it would mean that he, Count Desmond, and the Duke Faction had all acted foolishly.
Whether it was turning the North upside down or preparing for civil war, the first thing they should have done was kill that guy.
But who would have thought of that at the time? Just a few years ago, Ghislaine was known only by one nickname.
“The North’s rascal…”
He had been deceived. The entire world had been fooled by him.
But there was still a chance to make up for it.
“Right, I just need to finish it here.”
Delmood slowly descended to the ground. He needed to conserve his mana, even just a little.
He had to make sure to kill the now stronger guy.
Ghislaine waited until Delmood landed.
He understood what Delmood was thinking. And he entirely agreed with that thought.
Fighting with petty techniques would only result in a waste of time anyway.
As soon as Delmood’s feet touched the ground, Ghislaine’s body momentarily shook before vanishing from his spot.
Bang!
The black devil flew like a beam of light. Seeing that, Delmood stretched out one hand.
“Flare!”
Ziiinnng—!
A beam of fire shot from his hand, heading directly into Ghislaine’s path.
The clash of tremendous powers ensued.
Kwaaaaaang!
Ghislaine’s speed toward Delmood decreased. The beam continued to shoot endlessly toward Ghislaine.
Surrounded by the crimson aura, Ghislaine thrust his sword forward, beginning to cleave through the beam.
Duddududu!
The beam split and spread out to the sides, incinerating everything it touched. People hurriedly scrambled to escape the range of the magic.
Ghislaine slowly advanced against that powerful force.
Duddududu!
Each step he took brought him closer to Delmood.
“Ugh…”
Delmood realized he couldn’t stop Ghislaine with this much. He needed stronger, more powerful magic.
“I must kill him in one blow.”
He restrained Ghislaine with one hand while gathering mana with the other.
Gooooo!
The seven rings surrounding Delmood’s heart glowed brightly and spun faster than ever before.
The first ring spun, drawing mana from within his body. The second ring amplified that power twofold.
With each additional ring, the moving mana increased exponentially.
Finally reaching the seventh ring, it began to absorb the surrounding mana as there was no more to extract from his own body.
In such quantities his heart could hardly endure.
Droplets……
Blood flowed from Delmood’s nose, ears, and mouth. His eyes were red and bloodshot.
He himself was pulling out power beyond his limits, risking his life.
Crack! Crack!
The surrounding space distorted. Mana was being sucked in by Delmood, throwing him off balance.
Goooooo!
High-temperature flames began to gather in Delmood’s empty left hand. It was the strongest destructive magic of the 6th Circle, Inferno.
“Still, still not enough.”
He needed to gather more mana. Make it stronger.
Only then could he kill that devilish guy in one blow.
Kuguguguguguuuung!
Even while Delmood gathered mana, Ghislaine continuously cleaved through the beams and pressed forward.
“A little more.”
He was not achieving the speed he wanted. That meant Delmood’s magic was extraordinarily powerful.
To attack like this while preparing another spell—truly the skill of a 6th Circle wizard.
Even Eloise from the Duke Faction wouldn’t produce an attack of this level.
When it came to destructive power, the fire school’s magic was indeed supreme.
Ghislaine was also drawing on mana beyond his limits. But it was still a little lacking.
— Master! The mana consumption is too fast!
Dark yelled urgently, but Ghislaine only grinned in response.
“Amplify my power more.”
— Master, if you do that, you’ll really die!
“Hurry up!”
— This, this is bad… I don’t care if I die!
Though he said that, he couldn’t die. If he did, he would cease to exist where there was nowhere to go. It would be better to add a bit more strength and finish quickly.
Reluctantly, Dark began to touch the fragments of Ghislaine’s emotions.
Kwaaaaa!
Emotions drawn from a part of his memory ignited.
Anger.
The emotion Ghislaine felt the most throughout his life.
That explosive emotion grew larger by burning the body and soul of Ghislaine as its fuel.
Bang!
As Ghislaine took another step forward, the ground he stepped on cracked. His pace began to quicken.
Duddududu!
— Master! Your muscles are tearing!
— Your bones are twisting and splitting!
— Damn it! How are you still walking?!
Ghislaine’s muscles and bones couldn’t withstand the overwhelming force and instantly became a mess. But he still did not stop walking.
“I’m going to kill him.”
He had to kill Delmood. He couldn’t miss this perfect opportunity. It would make the war easier.
That was his reason when his sanity was still intact.
But not now. Right now, Ghislaine’s mind was only filled with the thought of killing the enemy before him.
It wasn’t difficult. He had killed that guy in his past life as well.
From the top of his head, slicing his body in half.
Rage pushed him endlessly. Ordered him to kill that guy just like he did then.
Kwaaaang!
He took another step. His body had been ruined beyond repair, and his senses were all but gone.
But the aura blade he emitted became more vivid, and its length grew longer.
Seeing Ghislaine getting closer, Delmood’s eyes widened.
He could no longer delay. It would be dangerous if he got too close to Count Penris.
With the mana he had gathered until now, it should be sufficient. He had never gathered so much mana in his life.
He was also in a state of overexertion beyond his limits. After winning this battle, he would likely need to lie down for months.
“This is it! You brat!”
With a joyful smile, Delmood pulled back his hand that had released the beam and extended the other.
This ultra-high-temperature flame would melt the opponent without a trace…
Sck!
Before Inferno could be activated, something had sliced his body in half.
“What…”
The last thing Delmood saw was Ghislaine, swinging his sword from a short distance.
The sword’s extending, straight crimson mana grew several meters long. That had cleaved his body in two.
Fiiiiiiiiing!
The immense mana Delmood had gathered began to spread out, scattering in all directions.
And Delmood’s corpse, sliced in half from the crown down, was quickly devoured by the surrounding flames, turning to ash.
At the same time, the crimson darkness surrounding Ghislaine slowly faded.
“…….”
People could only watch the result in silence.
To both Ghislaine and Delmood, it felt like a long time, but for others, it was barely a blink.
Delmood had cast magic, and Ghislaine had broken through and sliced him. That was all they could see.
That’s how battles between superhumans worked. They fought on a completely different plane of perception, at an entirely different time.
Hubert trembled as he muttered.
“Is he… really a master…?”
He had killed a 6th Circle wizard all on his own. Whatever the method, it was impossible unless one was a master.
In this moment, the rumors of Ghislaine being a master were proven true.
The wizards of the Crimson Tower hesitated and began to back away.
“The, the tower master is dead…”
“By Count Penris, no less…”
“This is a dream…”
To them, Delmood had been the true strongest in the North. Laughing off claims that Count Penris was the strongest knight in the North was all they had done.
There were only two 6th Circle wizards in this kingdom. Even those referred to as masters were limited to two.
Thus, it was only natural to think of Delmood as the strongest. But now, that master had been killed by a rascal from the North.
While the disciples of the Crimson Tower were thrown into chaos, Ghislaine pointed his sword at them and shouted.
“Gillian!”
“Yes! My Lord!”
“Kill them all.”
“As you command!”
Chaang!
Gillian wielded two axes and charged forward. The Knights and soldiers of Penris followed suit.
Ziiiing—!
As they ran, the knights instantly activated the magic circles on their armor. Since their enemies were all wizards, they activated dispel spells.
“Huh? Huh?!”
The wizards of the Crimson Tower were thrown into disarray upon seeing the knights charging toward them.
They had only considered sweeping this place away, never anticipating the counterattack.
The Inferno Tower was also in a similar state of confusion. Hubert trembled and spoke to Ghislaine with a quivering voice.
“W-wait a moment… what’s happening…?”
“Uaaaargh!”
Before Ghislaine could answer, a scream echoed.
Though there were two 5th Circle elders on the side of the Crimson Tower, they couldn’t stop Gillian and the knights as they launched their sudden attack.
Because the knights clad in Galbarium armor were immune to magic, it held no effect.
They were already in a state of chaos and demoralization due to the shock of their master’s death. They failed to regain their composure even as they were being attacked.
While Gillian faced the two 5th Circle wizards, the knights and soldiers steadily massacred the Crimson Tower’s wizards.
“Uaaaargh! Save me!”
Seeing the horrifically dying wizards, Hubert trembled and asked again.
“Count Penris! What the hell is going on?!”
Hubert’s mind was spinning. He knew Ghislaine was reckless, but to openly carry out a massacre like this was unexpected.
Killing Delmood had the pretense of a duel. But there was no justification for killing the remaining wizards.
The wizards from the territory where the Crimson Tower was located would definitely protest to the wizards from other areas. There was also the danger of provoking their ire.
Yet Ghislaine couldn’t answer that question. No, he couldn’t.
“Cough! Let’s talk about it later…”
He collapsed on the ground, coughing up blood.
His insides had been completely wrecked. He could hardly stand anymore.
“My Lord!”
Vanessa threw Alfoy aside and rushed towards Ghislaine. The battered Alfoy crumpled to the ground.
She grabbed Ghislaine and shouted.
“We need to heal him now!”
Hubert nodded vigorously.
“R-right! Healing first!”
The potions prepared for the wounded in case of battle were all used on Ghislaine.
Vanessa forced Ghislaine’s mouth open and poured the potions down his throat, while all the wizards clung to him, casting haphazard healing spells.
But Ghislaine couldn’t easily recover as his internal organs, bones, and muscles were all damaged.
‘Oh no… If I’m not careful, I could die.’
He needed at least a bit of mana left to attempt self-healing, but he didn’t even have that. It was only natural after using all the forcibly amplified power.
It had been so long since he had suffered such serious injuries. Fighting a 6th Circle wizard was indeed that difficult.
‘If I lose consciousness like this, I could really die.’
Even if he didn’t die, he might end up in a coma for a long time. Ghislaine grasped Vanessa’s wrist and spoke with great effort.
“Keep talking to me. Don’t let me fall asleep. If I lose consciousness, I could really die.”
Vanessa nodded her head vigorously. She needed to say something to keep her Lord conscious.
‘What do I do? What should I do?’
To stay conscious, he needed something to focus on. She needed a topic to concentrate on.
‘Ah! I have an idea!’
She spoke the thought that flashed in her mind directly to Ghislaine.
“My Lord! Listen to me and keep thinking! You absolutely must not lose consciousness! Understood?”
“Yeah…”
“The number of chickens is four times that of ducks, and ducks are nine less than pigs. With a total of 67 animals combined, how many legs do the animals have in total?”
“…….”
Ghislaine stared at Vanessa with a look of utter disbelief for a moment. The others around him felt the same way.
Having given up thinking, Ghislaine simply closed his eyes and fainted.
“Gyahhh! My Lord!”
Vanessa’s scream pierced through the air with sharp intensity.
*
“The tower master has… gone to the Brivant territory?”
At Amelia’s question, Glen, the elder of the Crimson Tower, nodded.
He was currently in the Raybold territory seeking Amelia’s support.
“Yes, to wipe out the Inferno Tower.”
“But Count Brivant and the Crown Prince Faction won’t sit idly by, will they?”
Glen chuckled lightly.
“Of course, they’ll try to apply pressure through various disadvantages, but for now, they won’t be able to deal with us physically. They’ll first try to investigate the situation. We just need to keep buying time.”
“Aha, so it’s a matter of holding out till the civil war breaks out?”
“That’s right. But to hold out until then, we will need plenty of resources and supplies. Most of the transactions will come to a halt.”
“Hmm… So, I have to procure those for you?”
Glen nodded.
“You’ve already taken this place, haven’t you? According to our agreement, you should support us in lieu of Count Desmond.”
Amelia was the Count of Raybold and its lord, yet Glen still referred to her as “Lady.”
This was proof that he still looked down upon her.
Amelia seemed unfazed by the title and smiled softly as she asked.
“But is it really necessary to act in such haste? It might just alert the enemy.”
“Have you forgotten the Duke’s command to finish the Inferno Tower before the civil war? The Inferno Tower has many wizards. They’ll be quite a thorn in our side if they ally with the Crown Prince faction lords.”
Amelia nodded a few times as if she understood, then abruptly changed the subject.
“By the way, where is the tower master right now? Has he arrived yet?”
“He should have arrived at the Brivant territory by now.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’ve calculated all the timings and adjusted our plan accordingly. So, Lady, you need to support us as soon as possible.”
“Alright, then we need to get started.”
“Huh? What are you talking about? Ah, are you saying you will support us immediately?”
Glen smiled brightly, but Amelia shot him a sidelong glance as she continued.
“No, I mean I’m going to take care of the annoying little beggars who keep whining for money every day.”
A chilling smile appeared on her face.
