After completing their reorganization, the knights of Hareth, led by Cordelia, mounted their horses and surged out onto the plains once again to deal with the monsters. At the same time, the massive gate leading to the border region of the Elder Millie Peninsula opened wide.
In front of the gate, a procession of members from the Central Branch of the Council stood waiting, having finished their preparations to enter the peninsula.
Leonardo was perched on the roof of a supply wagon, enjoying a rare moment of freedom now that he was away from Hugo. With no handcuffs restraining him and nothing holding him back, he sat exposed in the open. Because of that, the surrounding members watched him with increasing wariness and maintained a wide berth.
Leonardo, however, paid no mind to their glances. His gaze was fixed instead on the battalion commanders of the Council, who were gathered near the center of the gate, seemingly engaged in hurried strategy discussions. Bored of waiting, he muttered to himself,
“What are they doing over there instead of departing?”
Meanwhile, at the forefront stood Hugo, alongside Meterion Clinder, Commander of the 3rd Battalion, and Bruno Amos, Deputy Commander of the Southern Branch. They were studying the low peaks that rose just ahead, beyond the plains past the gate.
Though referred to as small, they were only "small" compared to the other mountains—they were still made of steep rock walls, and looked dizzying when viewed from the base.
The route the Central Branch, led by Hugo, had to take was a direct breakthrough path that ran straight through those peaks and into the center of the peninsula. There was a narrow, winding valley in between, but the issue was that it would take considerable time for a large group to pass through it.
Hugo alternated between studying the terrain map of the peninsula and looking at the rocky peaks across the plains and said,
“If the peaks are directly in front of us, won’t it take a long time to enter and return to headquarters?”
“Yes, that’s true,” Bruno replied, “but we need it as a defensive line to block monsters converging from both flanks.”
As Hugo considered his words, Meterion added,
“The defense line only needs to be placed on the east and west. For the advance, it’s more efficient to partially break straight through to the south. We should avoid unnecessary energy expenditure at this stage.”
Hugo nodded in agreement.
“I think so too.”
Bruno scratched the back of his head.
“Then we’ll need to set charges... but that’ll take a lot of time. And it’s hard to control the size of the explosion.”
That was also true. Even if they went in and planted the explosives, it would still take effort and labor.
As for using mana to blast it open—Hugo’s mana, while vast in scale, wasn’t suited for detonation. If he used ice to carve the valley, it would quickly melt in Elder Millie’s hot and humid climate, flooding the terrain and clouding their vision with steam, potentially leading to dangerous situations.
After rubbing his chin in thought, Hugo seemed to come up with an idea. Turning to Bruno, he said,
“Even though the control is difficult, we do have a powerful bomb that can definitely cut down the time, don’t we?”
“Huh? We have something like that?” Bruno asked with a puzzled look. Meterion, too, looked at Hugo like it was the first he’d heard of such a thing. Then Hugo’s gaze turned toward Leonardo, who was still watching from a distance. Bruno and Meterion followed his gaze—and both muttered “Ah” in realization.
“Shall we try using that bomb?” Hugo said. “Any objections?”
Meterion narrowed his eyes.
“Can that guy really blow up those peaks in front?”
To that, Hugo nodded and replied,
“To be honest, I’m more worried he might blow up other things too... but that’s fine.”
At Hugo’s calm but unsettling answer, Bruno interjected with alarm,
“Commander, that’s dangerous. From the third peak onward in the central path, there’s a sheer cliff between the third and fourth peaks, and the peak sizes increase dramatically. If we’re not careful, it could cause a landslide.”
“Then let’s just blow up the three smaller ones before that.”
“Still... can that be controlled?”
At Bruno’s concerned tone, Hugo paused for a moment, then said with resolution,
“I’ll try to control it.”
Eventually, Hugo gestured to Leonardo to come over.
Seeing the three of them whispering while glancing his way and suddenly calling him over, Leonardo scowled with displeasure and muttered,
“Am I their pet dog or something?”
Even so, he teleported and appeared in front of them. Looking at Hugo, who had called him over, he asked flatly,
“What do you want?”
“Leonardo, look over there.”
Hugo pointed to the small peaks rising in the distance and said,
“The ones in front and the one right behind it are the 1st and 2nd peaks. Can you blow those two up?”
“That’s what you’ve been wasting time talking about?”
Leonardo scowled, but without hesitation, extended his arm forward and began gathering powerful mana in his hand.
As the extraordinary force accumulated in his palm, the surrounding air heated sharply and began to ripple. The energy flowing around him swirled violently, stirring up a fierce wind. Bruno and Meterion, startled by the sheer intensity of the power, instinctively took several steps back.
But Hugo didn’t move. On the contrary, he grabbed Leonardo’s right arm and stopped him.
“You have to blow up only those two. Don’t touch anything else.”
“Yeah, I got it. Just the front one and the one right behind it, right?”
Bruno looked confused. Just a moment ago, they had agreed to blow up three peaks, including the third one. Why was Hugo suddenly saying two? Still, he thought, There must be a reason, and watched quietly.
As Leonardo focused and gathered his energy, Hugo added in a casual tone,
“You should scale the mana down a bit.”
The swirling pressure lessened slightly, but Hugo frowned again.
“Reduce it more.”
Leonardo complied, cutting the power again. The turbulent wind around them eased further. Yet, Hugo still wasn’t satisfied.
“Still too strong. Lower it again.”
“Oh, come on! You told me to blow it up! At this rate, I won’t even crack a neighborhood hill!”
Leonardo snapped at Hugo, clearly irritated. As he grumbled, the boiling mana calmed further, and Hugo finally nodded with satisfaction.
“Yes. That’s just right.”
Leonardo furrowed his brows deeply and looked at the now much-diminished mana sphere in his hand.
“Isn’t this way too weak? I’m only doing this because you told me to, but if it doesn’t explode properly, don’t blame me.”
“It’ll be fine. Just throw it like that.”
Still uneasy, Leonardo gripped the compressed orb of flame and air, dense with explosive force, in his palm.
Even with the naked eye, the inside of the sphere shimmered with volatile energy, trembling as if ready to burst. In Bruno’s eyes, it looked like an unstable nuclear bomb on the verge of going off.
Leonardo braced his left foot, adjusted the angle of his arm, and hurled the mana sphere toward the peak ahead. It cut through the wind like a cannonball, streaking toward the 1st peak.
Everyone held their breath as they watched the arc of the sphere fly across the air, leaving a visible trail in its wake. Leonardo remained frozen in his throwing posture, eyes fixed on the target.
A minute passed. Then another. The expected explosion never came. The peak stood undisturbed.
Meterion, who had been waiting in tense silence, scoffed and said sarcastically,
“Agrizendro, is that your idea of control? You controlled it so much it didn’t even scratch the surface.”
Leonardo turned toward him, frowning, but Hugo, still watching the peak, said calmly,
“Leonardo, not yet. Focus.”
Leonardo turned his eyes forward again. A few seconds later, Hugo raised a large barrier in front of the gate and said,
“Now.”
Leonardo clenched his outstretched right hand into a fist.
At that instant, as if that motion triggered the explosion, a deafening roar exploded across the landscape. The shockwave tore through the terrain, echoing with a sound that felt like it would split earth and sky apart.
Everyone’s attention snapped forward at the thunderous blast. A tremendous gust of wind and dust surged toward them, striking Hugo’s barrier and scattering outward in a thick cloud of yellow dust.
The immense mana energy in the blast cut into skin, bored into bone, and left behind a visceral sensation of power.
It was more than enough to etch Leonardo’s might into the minds of everyone present.
Meterion’s previously sarcastic eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the devastated terrain.
Bruno and the other members behind them looked in awe at the shattered landscape where the peaks had stood, now obliterated.
Amidst the settling dust, a vast gorge had formed, carved precisely between the untouched flanking peaks, with the entire center blown clean away.
Feeling a chill run up his spine, Meterion couldn't speak, his expression contorted with unease.
Leonardo, sensing the gaze, turned to him with a casual, amused smile.
“For just a scratch, it’s a little big, don’t you think?”
Bruno, inspecting the result, counted the peaks.
“One, two, three. He blew it right through to the 3rd peak.”
Leonardo flinched, then looked back at the gorge, narrowed his eyes, and counted. He slowly lowered his hand and glanced up at Hugo.
“...You kept putting handcuffs on me, and now I’ve lost my sense of control.”
It sounded like an excuse, but Hugo gave a faint smile and replied,
“Well done, Leonardo. You hit the exact target.”
Leonardo gave him a confused look.
“Wasn’t it up to the 2nd peak?”
“The target was the 3rd peak.”
“But you told me it was the 2nd...”
Leonardo suddenly went quiet, eyes narrowing as realization set in. Hugo had expected Leonardo to lose control and lied about the target range from the beginning.
Though the result was favorable, Leonardo glared at him, eyes full of unspoken curses.
Hugo patted him on the back and smiled.
“Good work. Head back to the rear now.”
Leonardo ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) stared at him in disbelief, brushed Hugo’s arm off, and walked away without a word.
He might have looked obedient, but his face was murderous. Everyone who saw it instinctively stepped back.
Though he didn’t act on his fury, Leonardo clenched his teeth and thought,
I want to punch him just once.
Bruno, watching him leave, turned to Hugo—and was shocked. Despite Leonardo brushing his hand away, there was still a faint smile lingering on the Commander’s lips.
Is... is he enjoying this? What the hell?
But as soon as Hugo turned his gaze from Leonardo’s back, his cold expression returned. After confirming the destruction ahead, he said to Bruno and Meterion,
“Now that the path is open, let’s move.”
