A Returner's Magic Should Be Special

Chapter 253. Divide and Conquer (3)

Zod and Priscilla carried out their operations in a way that allowed their subordinates to demonstrate their abilities in the most effective way possible.

But the method that Donape chose was far from being one centered on efficiency. *CRASH*

Donape had turned his airship’s Aurora System to its maximum and rammed into the tower at full speed.

This resulted in a spectacle where the airship lay halfway drilled into the tower. It was far from what a carefully planned strategy would look like.

“W-What the… … !”

But that was what caught them off guard. Due to the unexpected situation, Divide’s anti-aircraft troops, which had been stationed outside to shoot down the airship, had become useless.

Just like that, the northern warriors had infiltrated the tower. “… … !”

The Divide soldiers stationed inside the tower froze the moment they saw them. “W-We have to fight these people… … ?”

They had felt extremely threatened by the group of barbarians, all of which were far bigger than the average human.

A brave knight stepped forward.

“There’s no need to fear, soldiers! These barbarians may be big in size, but they are small in wit! These bastards are… … ”

But that knight was soon left speechless from the sight that unfolded before him.

At the forefront stood a woman, her face half-painted with ominous black patterns, with intense aura leaking from her weapon and an unnerving amount of vigor in her eyes.

Those lined up behind her also summoned their aura at the same time. The aura they were emitting was not normal in the slightest.

The sight of their aura blooming like fireworks from each of their weapons made them look like demons from hell.

One of the knights witnessing this spectacle muttered to himself. “… the Hunting Pack.”

Barbarian Hunters.

The Northern Region’s most elite troops that rose to fame in the war against the Outsiders. Although their numbers had decreased after their last encounter with a homunculus, their forces were still extremely powerful, with all members being at least Bishop-Class.

Over the past six-month-long battle against the Divide Kingdom, they had become a feared group, known for ruthlessly annihilating their enemies.

A commotion stirred in the hall.

The hunters bared their teeth as they laughed, seemingly enjoying the sight of fear growing in their enemies’ eyes. Having spent their entire lives honing their strength, they could not hide their excitement for the battle to come.

As the fear in the air reached a crescendo… “Start hunting!”

The moment the Hunting Pack’s leader, Black Wolf Yuria, yelled, the tower burst into a thunderous roar.

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All at once, the Hunting Pack began charging at Divide’s soldiers.

The soldiers gripped their weapons with their trembling hands, but there was no way a soldier frozen in fear could fight properly.

Battle cries and screams of fear echoed throughout the tower at the same time. “S-Stand your ground!”

“N-No matter what happens, the formation must not collapse!”

Despite being Divide’s elite troops, given the incredibly important task of defending this tower, all they could do was barely slow down the Hunting Pack’s advance.

Stopping the Hunting Pack from advancing was impossible. “Hmm?”

Yuria, while slaughtering Divide’s frontline, whipped around, sensing something was off.

On the opposite side from where the Hunting Pack was advancing was a group of Divide’s magicians.

Yuria furrowed her brows. “That’s… … ”

It would be quite bothersome to deal with artillery magic at such a close distance. Of course, they would not take it quietly, but the problem was the silver-haired boy that stood amongst the magicians.

‘So, they’re not just going to take this lying down, huh?’

If the silver-haired boy, the homunculus, were to shoot a white flash of light, considerable damage was unavoidable. Of course, it was highly likely that the enemy wouldn’t care too much about the upper part of the tower collapsing, since all of the tower’s core facilities were underground.

It was when Yuria was about to leave the battle to stop that from happening. “I will deal with that one.”

A muscular man pushed past Yuria as he walked out.

It was Donape Aslan, the King of the North.

“Focus on your battle.”

Without waiting for an answer, Donape summoned his aura. A red hue started to envelop his entire body.

*CRAAASH*

The moment Donape launched from the ground and the moment that Divide’s magicians had been slaughtered were nearly indistinguishable.

There was almost no lag between his takeoff and his landing. It was truly a display of overwhelming physical prowess.

Donape had a completely different way of using such refined aura. While other King-Class swordsmen boasted a multitude of aura techniques, Donape used his aura in the most straightforward way that made sense to him: to increase his physical capabilities to the extreme.

Watching such a sight, Yuria smiled bitterly. “He’s a real tough guy, I’m telling you.”

Murmuring as if she were entranced, she soon returned to commanding the Hunter Troops. Witnessing their king’s prowess, the Hunting Pack’s vigor was through the roof.

“And I’m in debt to you.”

Meanwhile, Donape stared coldly ahead.

While Divide’s magicians had been swept away by the impact, their bodies unrecognizable or plummeting to the bottom of the tower, the homunculus stood unscathed.

Donape was the first one to move. An axe loaded with powerful aura rushed towards the homunculus.

The homunculus quickly reinforced its arm and reached out to block it. *CLANG*

Donape’s axe and the homunculus’s arm collided with each other. Between an unstoppable force and an unmovable wall, it was the homunculus that gave way, unable to withstand Donape.

Even if the homunculus’s body had been strengthened through extensive research, it was impossible to surpass Donape, who had reached peak physique, even among barbarians, and had mastered the art of using aura to strengthen his body even further.

After being thrown back dozens of meters, the homunculus hastily invoked artillery magic in response to Donape, who had immediately begun chasing after him.

Compared to the white flash, it was significantly less powerful, but it was by no means a weak attack. The entirety of it was focused directly on Donape.

However, Donape just took the attack with his body and used the opportunity to strike back at the homunculus.

[Mountain Stomp]

It was a blow that almost destroyed the tower. The surrounding area was reduced to ashes and the homunculus was torn asunder.

“… … !”

Hundreds of meters away from Donape, the homunculus regenerated.

The homunculus realized that it had no chance of winning in a head-to-head fight.

*Craaack*

The homunculus’s legs started to transform. Its legs started to twist strangely before taking on a bizarre, in-human shape.

Having finished its transformation, the homunculus was ready for battle. It lifted its foot, preparing to dash forward, but somehow it had closed the gap before Donape could notice. *CLANG*

Once again, Donape’s axe and the homunculus’s arm collided.

But this time, the results were different. It was Donape that was pushed back. Donape immediately tried to counterattack but the homunculus was already gone. “… Hmm?”

During Donape’s momentary state of confusion, weakened artillery magic rushed in from an unexpected direction.

The moment he blocked it, another spell flew in from a different direction. *CRRAASH*

Aura and mana collided numerous times as explosions erupted. It was as if dozens of homunculi existed at the same time.

‘Seems like I’m dealing with a tricky opponent.’

This battle had changed from one of strength to a battle of speed.

When faced with such a strong foe, this was the solution that the homunculus had reached. The homunculus continuously jumped from wall to wall as it attacked. When Donape tried to counterattack, it had already started firing from somewhere else.

Although it was inefficient, it was effective. Donape, who had always been on the offense, had been forced into a defensive position. But even then, Donape looked perfectly calm. As he blocked the mana cannons continuously firing, he slowly grinned. *CRASH*

The instant Donape leaped from the ground and swung his axe with both hands, a massive explosion shook the tower.

“Hrrrk!”

Buried under the rubble that had gathered at the epicenter of the explosion was none other than the homunculus.

The homunculus scowled. Instantly recovering, it quickly drew away from Donape, visibly caught off guard.

The homunculus identified the possibility that Donape had identified its strategy and predicted his movement and attack patterns. To mitigate this possibility, it started moving differently. Until now, its movements had been fast but rhythmic, so this time, it deliberately mixed it up.

*Craaaack*

The moment the homunculus fired at Donape, it felt its whole body getting destroyed. It had been split in half by Donape’s axe.

“… … !”

Recovering using the power of causality, the homunculus gasped for air as it stared at Donape in shock.

It had no choice but to admit it. The man in front of it was predicting its every move. But it couldn’t just back down.

The newly regenerated homunculus disappeared instantly and reappeared behind Donape, as if it had been there since the beginning.

It should be impossible to predict moves that ignore causality.

Thinking so, the homunculus felt confident, knowing this attack would pierce through its opponent’s back.

*THUMP*

The homunculus’s vision spun. Slamming hard into the wall, its entire body throbbed in pain. Even before the homunculus could realize that it had been kicked, the blade of an axe coated in Donape’s fiery aura flashed in the distance.

“… … !”

The homunculus hurriedly used its abilities again to move far away.

But at some point, Donape had already started to leap towards it again.

Soon after, a wave of aura washed over the homunculus.

*CRASH*

Donape was not identifying and predicting each and every move.

Vision that could catch up to even the fastest of movement.

Hearing that captured even the slightest of sounds involuntarily made during movement.

A sense of smell that could detect the faintest scent of chemicals on the homunculus’s body. Instead of moving before thinking things through rationally, this monster was responding in an instant through extreme, almost feral, instincts.

It was closer to a reaction than it was to a prediction.

He had been responding with a speed that transcended humans, making it look as if he could predict the future.

The homunculus continued to consume its mana by moving beyond the effects of causality, but it still could not escape Donape.

Time and time again, Donape caught up to it.

“The reason you were so strong before… … ” The homunculus’s head flew off.

The homunculus attempted to regenerate as it manipulated the principle of causality, while spending additional mana to calculate the optimal set of moves for this situation.

Its body moved to the opposite side of the tower.

At that point, the homunculus had recognized that the best situation it could create was to run away from Donape.

However, a shadow loomed above when it arrived.

The homunculus looked up. Fear slowly rose in its eyes. “Is because we didn’t know anything.”

An aura that burned red like fire filled the homunculus’s vision.