“$#≒!”
“Kyaaah!”
Iberis winced at the elf-like scream. He saw an enemy who couldn’t dodge his ice arrow fall to the ground.
“…!”
As Iberis was about to take the life of the injured elf, a black beam shot out from the watchtower. He stretched his arm towards it. It was magic.
Kwaaang!
A deafening sound erupted as the massive ice shield, created in the blink of an eye, collided with the Dark Elf’s magic. Iberis furrowed his brow at the unexpectedly strong power. As he hesitated for a moment, over a dozen arrows swiftly flew towards him.
Spinning in mid-air to avoid the attack, Iberis spread his arms wide, absorbing the surrounding mana. A fierce gust arose, forming several large, solid chunks of ice in the sky, like meteorites. He swung his arms without delay.
Bang! Kuung!
As the boulder-sized ice chunks fell, a loud crash resounded and a cloud of dust rose. The mud and wood watchtower disappeared without a trace from the tremendous impact. The Dark Elf mage who was there was no longer visible, likely swept away in the collapse.
Iberis drew up mana as he looked at the holes created in the earthen wall. He planned to focus on hitting the cracked wall surface to bring it down. Just then, a fierce flame shot up from below with a thunderous explosion.
Pueong! Pang! Kururu…
A series of thunderous sounds shook the earth, and soon the defensive wall crumbled, unable to withstand the shock. Livio, who was on the ground, had destroyed the entrance.
“We’ve broken through.”
Iberis muttered, bringing one hand to his ear, confirming that the enemy’s first line of defense had completely collapsed. The wireless earphone crackled, and Brenda’s voice came through.
– Good work, Major. Shall the entire army enter?
“Yeah. The enemies at the defensive wall are weaker than expected. The elite troops seem to be near the Black World Tree. All the strong energies are gathered there.”
Iberis observed the black tree visible beyond the fence of densely overgrown bushes and twisted vines. As he surveyed the enemy’s movements, he slightly frowned, seemingly bothered by the insects obstructing his view.
“Poison Butterflies and Black Hornets are spread all over the second defense line. Tell everyone to bring antidotes.”
– Understood.
Just as bees and butterflies are drawn to flower beds, insect-type monsters inevitably swarmed around otherworldly plants. Elves often bred these gathered insects to use as weapons. Iberis froze a swarm of approaching Black Hornets all at once and ran towards the vines. Frozen insect corpses fell to the ground with a rustle wherever he passed.
“While Logan and I destroy the second defense line, you clean up the remaining enemies inside and outside the earthen wall.”
– Yes, I’ll relay that to Major Russell as is.
As Iberis approached close range, the intertwined vines transformed into sharp thorns and bristled. He created an ice storm, shredding the vine stems aiming at him.
“I need to focus on the battle now, so this is the end of communication. Take care, and I’ll see you all later.”
– You too, Major. Wishing you luck in battle.
“…Take care of Luke.”
As Iberis hesitated briefly before adding his last words, Brenda’s laughter filled his ears.
– Hahah, don’t worry about the Captain. Lieutenant Denver has been glued to his side since earlier.
“Really?”
– Yes, he’s providing close protection to the point where the Captain might find it annoying. Besides, does he even need our help? He’s much stronger than me or the Lieutenant.
Brenda added cheerfully, telling him not to worry too much. Her voice was filled with faith in Lucas. It was no wonder, as none of the N-0 unit members doubted his capabilities anymore.
It was a natural result, given the impressive displays he had shown so far: marksmanship converging on 99.9% accuracy, hand-to-hand combat skills that didn’t easily lose even against Iberis, prowess against monsters during rift operations, and mana control bordering on the miraculous.
Iberis also acknowledged Lucas’s outstanding combat ability. But he couldn’t help worrying. There were danger factors other than the enemies they needed to subjugate.
Glance. Iberis’s gaze turned to Livio, who was following him. He was burning the monsters that Iberis hadn’t managed to deal with. Despite the warning before the battle, he couldn’t let his guard down.
In the end, the way to eliminate anxiety was simple: quickly end the subjugation without giving Livio a chance to make any moves.
His gray eyes gleamed sharply as he made his decision. Just then, a resounding cheer came from behind. It seemed Yurina had given the signal for a full-scale attack after hearing about the inner situation from Brenda. The real battle was about to begin.
Waaah!
Iberis focused his mind, feeling the ground shake. Soon, explosive mana burst from his body. The ice storm that had been slashing the vines blocking his path rose high into the sky. That day, the first snow fell in N-zone.
* * *
His body felt light.
Iberis unknowingly smiled as he froze a Dark Elf warrior rushing at him from head to toe. Had there ever been a time in his life when he felt this good? He thought it might be the first time. It was all thanks to Lucas.
Without him, his physical condition wouldn’t have improved this much.
Iberis dodged the Black World Tree roots that shot up from the ground, thinking of Lucas. Their matching rate had already risen to 95%. The two were joking about hitting 100% within the year, as their matching rate was steadily climbing.
As of yesterday, his mana pollution level and circulation rate had entered the normal range. It was the effect of receiving daily guidance from Lucas. Even the most troublesome body damage rate had dropped to the 20% range. Considering it was 40% before returning to the unit, it was a truly remarkable change.
Lucas said the treatment gained momentum thanks to Regina reviving, even if only a little, the dead parts inside Iberis’s body. The permanently damaged areas were negatively affecting the surrounding areas, but with those gone, the recovery speed increased.
Maybe that’s why. In the past, his body deteriorated day by day, but lately, he felt healthier every time he opened his eyes.
His body temperature was still lower than others, but it was closer to normal compared to before. As a result, his digestion improved and muscle pain decreased. His chronic cold hands and feet syndrome also noticeably alleviated. The frequency of sudden chills decreased significantly. Even when they did occur, they were much less painful than before.
Above all, he didn’t feel very cold despite using his abilities consecutively like this. There was no sensation of his internal organs freezing solid, no frostbite symptoms of his hands and feet alternating between cold and hot, no pain as if each joint was about to break. So Iberis used his mana freely.
Whiooo…!
With a single gesture from Iberis, a blizzard raged, and ice covered the ground with each step he took. The branches of the Black World Tree trembled at the cold rising from its roots.
Saaah…
The sound of the Black World Tree, now covered in frost, shaking its leaves as if writhing, sounded just like a scream. Elves, frenzied at the sight of their sacred tree dying, surrounded Iberis. However, none of them succeeded in their attacks.
“Haa…”
Pale smoke flowed out between his slightly parted lips. Despite moving this much, the breath coming out of his mouth was incredibly cool. But it wasn’t bad. Rather, it was very refreshing.
It felt like the stone that had been weighing down his head and shoulders for a long time had disappeared, and the shackles binding his hands and feet had been removed.
Caught up in this refreshing sense of liberation, Iberis coldly passed by the elves who had frozen to death, their faces unaware of what had happened to them. All that remained were one Dark Elf mage who appeared to be the group’s leader, and the boss, the Black World Tree.
“What the…”
Livio stared blankly at Iberis’s back, overflowing with composure. Since the start of the subjugation operation, he had been constantly surprised.
“At this rate…”
We can’t do anything. Livio muttered under his breath. When he first joined the battle, he had planned to seize an opportunity to give Iberis a hard time. Even if he couldn’t eliminate his opponent, he wanted to inflict at least a small injury. He felt that would somewhat ease his twisted feelings.
However, no opportunity for Livio to do anything to Iberis arose. From the start, Iberis used his ability ruthlessly, as if not to give anyone else a chance to intervene. It was such overwhelming firepower that one might wonder if he wouldn’t soon suffer from aftereffects.
Damn it.
Livio inwardly cursed, feeling the snowflakes landing on his cheeks. Since earlier, light snow had been falling, incongruous with the bloody battlefield. It wasn’t natural snow, but a phenomenon created by the ice storm Iberis had raised.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
