Eluard didn't depart from the area.
He was curious about the identity of the spatial magic user that Elder Flock introduced. That person must be extraordinary for compelling the archmage to drag them in person.
Either they were an archmage, or they held a special place in Elder Flock's memories.
'I hope that it would work just like how that magic array formation restricted Lucan and Olivia from teleporting back to the academy.'
His plan was based on the encounter between the two students against the demonic creature.
This time, he wanted to separate the planes and prevent the demonic creatures from flipping the kill-switch the moment Eluard and Elder Flock conducts their purging operation.
He also sought to foil the demonic creatures by sending reinforcements from nearby or from the Wastes, which could significantly alter the outcome of the battle against Harrtugg Naaw and the undead beings.
Eluard walked down the mountain and stationed himself near a road where a lot of undead beings passed through.
He waited for a while until only a few of them remained.
Locking on his target, Eluard quickly pounced and grabbed them by the throat, dashing away from the road before teleporting to the prison dimension connected to the academy.
Eluard tossed the undead being who was busy wriggling its arms around, trying to scratch and infect him.
'We'll see if this works.'
He used his mana and lighted a fire on top of his left palm. It was mild in power and scale.
'The forceful expulsion required a hint of divinity or light element before the undead essence could be removed. If I do contain a hint of divinity within me…'
Several roots sprouted below the undead being, restricting its limbs from moving. Eluard stood right above the target before blasting the fire toward its chest.
'…then this should work!'
Upon impact, the undead writhed in intense pain and started shouting in agony. Eluard closely observed the chest where the undead was hit.
He saw how the undead essence burned to ashes when it came into contact with his fire.
His spell died out before it could fully cleanse all of the undead essences.
'It works, and not only that. I have a hint of divinity in my mana.'
Eluard chuckled and was joyous of the results.
Although he could use the light element through the domain mana synthesis, proving the existence of divinity within him was of higher importance.
Now that he knew a little bit more about his capabilities, Eluard continued with his experiments.
Proceeding with the second or third method was out of the question.
The second method required meticulous study and research. Dabbling with pills, alchemy, and medicinal ingredients wasn't the same as learning how to cast a spell.
For the third one, Eluard was currently restricted to using only the fire element in his mana.
The spell retraction process would require the caster to undo the spell using the same element it was used to cast.
Utilizing the surrounding mana wasn't applicable either since that was not Eluard's mana.
'I also need to restore the balance of my elements soon. This feeling is no different from being crippled.'
Eluard conjured a brighter and stronger flame this time around. He engulfed the undead being in flames, extinguishing the undead essence that was corrupting it. Although the person's skin was roasted, Eluard considered it a success.
Things will never be perfect on the first try. What he needed to do now was to gather more samples and expand his experiments and results.
'Time to abduct some undead.'
In the following days, Eluard continuously experimented with the forceful expulsion method. His targets varied in their characteristics such as power, age, and sex.
He wanted to see how they factor into how much power and scale should Eluard integrate into his flames.
The purified northerners were locked in the cells. Eluard did not worry about their sustenance since a magic array formation was set inside.
It satiated and quenched their daily food and water needs.
…
Eluard retrieved his flames and sent the purified northerner to a cell. The first floor could contain 200 prisoners in total.
Eluard single-handedly filled more than half of the capacity in just 2 days.
'The frequent use of my fire element increased the control I have on it. Moreover, the balancing of elements in my mana seems to be reaching a closure as well.'
He felt his palms and rubbed them together.
'This should be all for now. Tomorrow is the big day, Eluard. It's time to take a rest.'
Eluard was keeping a close eye on High King Garron's marching army. He realized that the closer the army was to the assaulting magical beasts, the situation worsened alongside their degrading morale.
Harrtugg Naaw has already laid waste to 21 towns and 2 strongholds. The casualty surpassed 50,000 civilians and warriors.
High King Garron was pained after hearing the estimates. How he wished he had marched sooner and saved more lives.
He was now atop a watchtower, looking out over the snowy plains in the distance.
The army holed themselves in the Sokovo Stronghold in hopes of stopping Harrtugg Naaw's advance within this secured location.
It was the main trading hub of Norva Assili due to its direct connection to 13 other towns and strongholds. This gave them the ability to quickly call reinforcements from all sides.
Moreover, three mountain ranges from the east provided a natural cover, preventing the magical beasts to group up as one big horde that could prove dangerous against High King Garron's smaller army.
Despite this, a dark expression was plastered on his face. Things weren't going according to his expectations.
The long wait made Garron anxious.
Can he defend the ground until his last breath? His thoughts were interrupted when his older brother Xerga arrived.
"Brother, we have received several messages that the local and nearby armies are on their way to assist us here.", Xerga stepped to the sides.
He knew how important this battle was to his younger brother and himself.
"Xerga, should I die in a moment's notice, take Misha out of this place and go to the Morning Star Empire. I will-"
Xerga was dumbfounded. What was his younger brother talking about all of a sudden?
"Garron, you think I would dare to forsake my motherland just for your wishes?"
"Under my order, you will.", Garron coldly replied. He did not give Xerga a way to retort and left the watchtower.
Boom!
A loud commotion erupted in the distance to the north.
The two quickly rushed below and inquired the nearby people.
"High King! Something ominous is happening in the marketplace! The people are attacking our soldiers!", a warrior reported.
Another one arrived bearing similar news.
"High King, the western entrance is being attacked by some foul-looking warriors! They look exactly like our people!"
Everyone was shocked. How come they were under attack out of nowhere?
Nobody reported any unusual findings. The scouts did not say anything either. Garron dispatched personnel and investigate the root cause of this strange incident.
"Close the encampment! Let not one single man enter in or out unless I order it!"
"Yes sir!", the warriors saluted before going into position.
A meeting was set up with the leaders of the various clans and other forces.
"Does anybody know what is going on?", High King Garron inquired.
"High King, this may be the work of the Siegfried Clan!", one of his aides pointed at a plain-looking man who was the farthest from Garron.
"We all dearly know how they resent your rule. This is treason! They must be punished!"
"Silence!", Garron menacingly stared at the man from the Siegfried Clan, "Harrow Siegfried, might as well say something, would you?"
Harrow cackled, "Ah, Garron. Your skills have truly degraded over the years. No wonder that today, your rule as the High King will cease!"
Dark miasma burst out of his eyes and mouth, grabbing the coiled spear on his left side and jumping on the large table before thrusting his spear to the High King's head.
The rest weren't able to react on time.
Garron, however, remained unfazed.
Behind his body, an ethereal apparition of a polar war bear materialized. The two of them mocked Harrow's futile attempt of delivering a surprise attack.
"Die…"
Those were the last words Harrow heard before a pulsing sensation passed through him. Without any delay, his entire body was frozen to ice mid-air.
Garron gripped his right fist and punched the ice sculpture into pieces.
At the same time he released his aura, sharp noises of shattered glasses resounded throughout the entire Sokovo Stronghold.
'Isn't this how magic array formations sound like when they are broken?!'
Garron realized what happened and picked up his large broadsword.
"Gear up! Defend yourselves!"
His senses tingled and swung the broadsword to his back.
When his eyes caught up with his movement, he was utterly devastated by the sight in front of him.
"How could this happen-?!"
It was a northerner with an abominated figure and dark pustules around their body.
Garron could not let his sympathy drive him down as more corrupted northerners attacked him from all sides.
He tried to push them away by flicking his left hand. Unfortunately, the power contained within was too strong for an ordinary civilian to handle.
They burst into a pool of blood, staining the ground near Garron in red.
His mind turned blank for a slight moment before another pressuring aura emanated from his body.
"Siegfried Clan! I will exterminate you all until the end of time! I don't care what others will think of me but I, Garron Winterice will never forgive you!"
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶