Mage Manual-Chapter 281 - 242 The Real Soldier

Chapter 281: Chapter 242 The Real “Soldier

Chapter 281 -242 The Real “Soldier

“Wishing to use the poison fog in the cave to whittle down my minions, huh…”

Demilo watched as the steel monsters burrowed into the dark-green cesspit, their buzzing roars as if urging him to hurry in.

Should I go in?

It seemed to be a no-brainer—entering the tactical terrain set up by someone else was foolish, and he had no necessary reason to fight the mages, moreover, if he really wanted to fight in the poison fog, he would have to use some of his precious ‘soldiers’.

No instructions came from the Divine Lord to the Heroic Souls; in fact, unless it was a time of war, Heroic Souls were free. However, in order to accumulate enough merit to exchange for soul fragments, even during peaceful development periods, they would still patrol their territory and transport resources voluntarily, just like Demilo, who had set out this turn to transport resources from the surrounding area back to the main city.

Therefore, Demilo could overlook these arrogant mages and simply walk away; he could do as he pleased.

And so, he felt somewhat perplexed.

In the past thousand years, he had never encountered a moment that required his decision. During war, needless to say, the Divine Lord’s edicts were followed; during peaceful times, he dutifully managed the main city, weighing the possibility of victory when encountering hostile legions, deciding whether to fight or flee, and when encountering ordinary mages, he simply crushed them.

He had also encountered many mages, some of whom happened to cross the path of the march and were casually crushed to death by the Shepherd Star; others fled swiftly, and as long as they did not die under the first wave of long-range attacks from the legion, Demilo would not specifically pursue them.

This situation, however, was unprecedented.

He had encountered mages, but not only had he failed to crush them, but the mages had also inflicted considerable losses on his minions. The mages did not flee but wandered under his gaze, yet he could not easily crush them.

Although there was no evidence, Demilo believed that the clean state of the cave resource point could hardly be unrelated to this group of mages.

Interest, loss, battle, departure…various thoughts surged, but ultimately, there was no reference case, and in the end, it was up to Demilo to make the decision.

He had to follow his own wishes.

For a corpse without a heartbeat, that was a cruel joke indeed.

However, as Demilo turned to look back at the cave and did not immediately choose to leave, he had already made his decision.

Anger? Jealousy? Curiosity? Demilo, lacking even a fragment of a soul, did not believe he had the capacity to feel these emotions, yet the scales of thought definitively tipped towards those mages.

If there had to be a reason, it was probably the look in the eyes of that male mage just now, which added a weight to the balanced scales decisive enough to determine the outcome.

His appearance was completely different, but his gaze was very similar to the person who had killed Demilo.

“The sacred Star Cluster connects us.”

Demilo silently recited the prayer in his heart, the power of the stars pouring through the chains of void into the sentient creature, dyeing the remaining eight Bird Dragons a deep blue, including Demilo’s surviving mount.

They yawned languorously as if just waking from sleep, their bodies covered in blue distortion. A second later, the serpent-dragon had vanished without a trace, leaving behind eight deep blue dual swordsmen in full armor that didn’t leave a single gap, with only deep blue pupils visible inside their cross helmets. Behind them was a scorpion tail, but instead of a poisonous sting, it bore a blue-glowing sword.

“Star Swordsman: Serpent-Dragon Specialization”!

Having decided to fight, Demilo naturally wasn’t stingy with his “soldiers”.

Although he had been commanding knowledge creatures, these creatures could not be considered soldiers; they were mere followers.

Knowledge creatures were essentially monsters, not comparable to mages who could wield tools. Even if a commander could control them as handily as using one’s own limbs, as tactical executors, knowledge creatures were far too inferior to humans.

The strength of the Heroic Soul Army lay in the commander’s ability to transform followers into a more powerful ‘type of soldier,’ retaining the creature’s original combat power while also endowing them with enhanced combat skills.

When followers became soldiers, they would undergo different transformations based on their unique physical traits. For instance, serpent-dragons with pincers and scorpion tails would mutate into dual swordsmen with tail swords, capable of launching three attacks simultaneously, enough to overwhelm an ordinary mage with a triple thrust and six-point strike.

Although Star Swordsmen were only a Level 1 soldier class in Star Hall, when given to the right knowledge creatures, they could combine to form a formidable combat power. Hence, for Demilo and other Heroic Souls, the knowledge creatures themselves weren’t important; the “soldiers” they carried were.

In the Void Realm, knowledge creatures were endless, but ‘soldiers’ weren’t born from the Void Realm; they originated from reality. For Star Hall, soldiers were the most vital and scarce resource of war. Followers could perish in any number, but each unit of soldiers had to be used cautiously, primarily reserved for sieges and national battles.

Until just now, Demilo had believed he could kill those three mages simply by sacrificing followers, naturally unwilling to use his own soldiers. In fact, he didn’t carry many soldiers with him since his mission was to transport resources within friendly territory during a period of peace. Under normal circumstances, the majority of soldiers should be left in the main city, managed and deployed by the City Lord.

However, Star Hall had recruited a new batch of soldiers in reality a few days earlier, an unexpected boon, so each Heroic Soul received a share of reserves, including Demilo.

It was a pity all the Bird Dragons were gone. Otherwise, if Demilo had only needed to endow them with the Level 2 soldier class “Star Archer,” combined with their innate Thousand Feathers mutation, he would have been able to turn that iron monster into a sieve in an instant.

Nevertheless, the Serpent-Dragon Star Swordsmen were more than enough.

With a light gesture, the Shepherd Star directed the Star Swordsmen to march in step into the poisonous fog cave, unfazed by the corrosion of the fog. After being endowed with the soldier class, the Star Swordsmen acquired armor akin to a near-impenetrable barrier; unless a blow was strong enough to penetrate the armor, it could not harm the Star Swordsmen.

Even if the blow penetrated the armor, it would only weaken the energy of the armor and still not genuinely harm the Star Swordsman’s own body. With three layers of armor, the dense, bone-eroding, soul-withering poison fog amounted to nothing more than an irritant that slightly obstructed their vision before the armor was breached.

Demilo stood outside the cave, capturing the direction of the enemy through the Star Swordsmen’s perception, and then—

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

The iron monster charged rashly at one of the Star Swordsmen, playing right into the Shepherd Star’s hand.

Defend!

Confronted by the monster’s charge, the Star Swordsman crossed his two swords in an X, assuming a defensive stance to withstand the evil blade’s massive inertia head-on!

Crack! Crack! Crack!

All three layers of armor shattered, yet the Star Swordsman remained standing in place, staunchly blocking the iron monster’s assault!

Clang—

Countless swords clanged simultaneously, and the other Star Swordsmen immediately launched their attack on the Mages within the monsters, sword light enveloping them from all directions like a fishing net cast across the sky!

“Ah!?”

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“Why… who are they!?”

The poison fog couldn’t mask the Mages’ shocked voices, which was within Demilo’s expectations. Just as he wouldn’t waste soldiers when crushing Mages, other Heroic Souls would certainly let their minions drive out these pests.

Just as no Mage knew the secrets of the Heroic Souls, naturally, no Mage had ever seen these monster soldiers bestowed with military roles.

If this shock occupied the enemy’s thoughts, it was a tactical victory. As long as the enemy hesitated, their souls would be torn into fragments in the next second…

However—

Hum!

The steel beast roared again, its fanged blades shattering the armor of a Star Swordsman and splitting him in two! Meanwhile, the male Mage seemed to have cast a miracle, enveloping the entire vehicle in a warm yellow barrier. Although the Star Swordsmen’s sword net slashed it to pieces the next second, the barrier had created a gap, allowing for a narrow escape from the deadly siege!

How many times more could you cast such a protective miracle? Next time, I’ll reserve two Star Swordsmen to chase you down—you won’t get a second chance… Demilo quickly adjusted his battle plan in his mind, commanding the remaining seven Star Swordsmen to continue their siege.

Just one mistake and death would cling to them relentlessly.

The steel monster circled inside the cave, and after accumulating multiple injuries, it finally seized the opportunity to crush a Star Swordsman.

Just one mistake.

Continuous drifting and spinning, the steel monster dodged the Star Swordsmen’s pincer attack, severing two more in the process.

Only if…

Once the last Star Swordsman too was struck dead by the steel monster, Demilo stepped aside at the cave entrance. Seconds later, the steel monster burst out of the poison fog, its claws and teeth undiminished, its spherical limbs gnawing viciously at the ground, leaving jaw-aching marks!

The man was unscathed as he emerged, his gaze locked onto Demilo—as if to say—

You’re next.

Watching the man in the dark red trench coat, Demilo knew he had lost the battle of command.

Soundly defeated, with no excuse to spare.

Although the enemy had only one steel monster unit, command was still command. The man had stayed calm against Demilo’s siege tactics, tearing open a gap and systematically picking off the Shepherd Star’s soldiers with guerrilla tactics, a classic example of victory against the odds.

“Where did those deep blue soldiers come from, some fairy tale?” asked the female Mage with crimson hair curiously, seemingly anticipating Demilo’s response.

Demilo paid no attention to the other female Mages; in his heart, he muttered softly, “Star Cluster, please twinkle for me.”

Boom!

Deep blue armor materialized on his body, his left hand holding a sinister giant bow firmly planted on the ground while his right drew a resplendent great arrow, seemingly made of diamonds, and aimed it at the steel monster, still farting and polluting the environment.

Hum! Hum! Hum!

As the steel beast charged, sensing danger, Ash immediately grabbed Sonia and Diya, diving under the seats!

In contrast, the Shepherd Star let loose his arrow with an air of nonchalance.

The splendid great arrow split into three upon missing its target, striking the sports car like thunderbolts!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Crack!

The front windshield shattered instantly, as the splendid arrow grazed over Ash and his companions’ heads, taking with it a few strands of hair. Meanwhile, the car’s terrifying blade struck Demilo with a speed of over sixty kilometers per hour, seemingly about to slice him in two!

Thud!

The evil blade, sharp enough to slice through stone like butter, not only failed to cleave the Shepherd Star but instead spun in place as if it had hit a pillar!

Demilo was merely knocked back a few steps, his deep blue armor barely altered, calmly drawing a second splendid great arrow.

Suppressing the dizziness from the collision and spin, the Mages peered out to survey the situation. Sonia almost screamed, “Even if those freaks’ armor didn’t break from a hit, at least it should’ve faded in color a bit… how come he looks like nothing happened to him!?”

“His armor is very high,” said Diya, whose hair now a chaotic mix of black, red, and white, the colors impure, dirty, and dim. Her voice sounded like a trio, “It must be a privilege of the Heroic Souls, but it doesn’t matter, if we keep ramming—”

“It does matter.”

Ash said, “His last attack took away one-fifth of the car’s remaining health.”

“Four more times, and the car will explode. Without this car, we stand no chance, but now it’s just the Heroic Soul Commander left.”

“Either the car blows up first, or he dies first.”

“Final round, begin.”