Chapter 42
Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: The Elves' Counterattack
"Oh, you're both holding out nicely."
When Johann returned, the gazes of the slave hunters and elf guards, who had been locked in a fierce battle, all focused on him.
Gilthon in particular freaked out, pointing at the head in Johann's hand.
"Sir Jonathan!"
"What? Sir Jonathan?"
"That head he's holding... it's Sir Jonathan's?"
"N-No way? That's really it?!"
As several slave hunters who recognized Jonathan testified in shock, the atmosphere among the slave hunters grew heavy in an instant.
"I'm in a hurry, so let's wrap this up quick. Don't make me chase you down. It'll hurt a lot more if you do."
Crack, pop. Zap!
The moment Johann casually rolled his neck and tossed Jonathan's head to the elves, his body was enveloped in blue lightning, and he shot across the battlefield in a flash.
Whoosh!
As the Thunder Hornets scattered in all directions and Johann himself darted through the fray with his twin blades raised, the only sounds echoing were the screams of the slave hunters.
"My god..."
"That's an absurd monster..."
"Guards, fall back! Don't get caught in this monster's fight—retreat now!"
The elf guards, who had pulled back to watch the battle, swallowed hard.
The slave hunters they had struggled against were falling before Johann like leaves in the wind.
Using hundreds of slave hunters as his canvas, Johann wove a hellscape of lightning with ten Thunder Hornets in the blink of an eye.
"P-Please... spare..."
Slash!
After cleanly severing the neck of Gilthon, who was tearfully begging for his life as the last one standing, Johann picked up Jonathan's head—which he had left with the elves—and headed to the agreed meeting spot.
"This is..."
"That's definitely the demon's head."
Dunas received Jonathan's head, which even in death wore a wretched, screaming expression, and gazed down at it gravely before praising Johann's efforts.
"You've done well. Even the Wind Demon that gave us so much trouble was no match for an Avatar, it seems. I never imagined you'd handle it this quickly."
Dunas's speech had shifted to half-respectful tones before they knew it.
"Not quite. It wasn't that Wind Mana is weak—Jonathan was just weak. If he'd properly wielded Wind Mana, even I wouldn't have beaten him easily."
Johann recalled memories from before his regression as he spoke.
'If it had been that guy...'
There had been someone just like him now—hiding his identity and devoting himself fully to liberating slaves.
A being who commanded storms, wielded massive whirlwinds like limbs, and dominated the winds...
He was unequivocally the strongest Wind Mana user Johann had ever fought, and alongside Gurkan, one of those foes he never wanted to face again.
'From the Empire's perspective, he's a thorn among thorns.'
In the Empire, where non-humans were seen not as people but as objects or worse, non-human slaves were not just normal—they were commonplace.
But that guy's goal was to free all slaves on the continent, human and non-human alike...
The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and that made him one of the strongest allies imaginable.
"You speak as if you've actually met someone like that."
Dosep tilted his head at Johann's words, prompting a smirk from Johann.
"Just putting it that way. Point is, elemental mana isn't some weak power. Anyway, what about what I asked for?"
"We've prepared it. But our warriors are exhausted from nonstop fighting. I'm not sure if clashing head-on with them in this state is the right strategy."
Johann shook his head at Dunas's concern.
"They don't know their top fighter is dead. That's an advantage we can't trade for anything. We hit them hardest when they're not braced for it—and when they least expect us to strike first, right in the back of the head."
"But..."
"Besides, our goal isn't conquering Ramakon Kingdom. We're just raiding the slave markets at the gates to rescue the elves and bolt. Sad truth, but they're the experts at pillaging, not me."
At the word "pillaging," Dunas and Dosep's expressions hardened, their eyes narrowing with rising anger.
"True enough. Very well, we'll lead the army back here this evening."
"I'll be ready by then too."
As the two departed with Jonathan's head, Johann sat down right there and began his mana breathing technique.
Lightning Mana was undeniably the most destructive and versatile power among the elemental manas.
It was worthy of being called the king of elemental mana.
But it came with clear drawbacks.
'Mana consumption is ridiculously high. Especially for skills like Thunder Hornet—great effect, but it drains several times more than hand-charging. And recovery is painfully slow...'
For example, assume he absorbs 10 mana via breathing.
A typical Aura User might take in 6-7, but elemental mana had slightly higher absorption rates.
Water Mana, the best absorber, could take 9-10, making it ideal for prolonged fights.
Lightning Mana, despite its "king" status, had the worst absorption—only 2-3 out of 10.
'At least I've fully opened my Mana Circuit...'
Thanks to his fully opened Mana Circuit, he could suck in 20 or 30 at a time to offset the poor rate.
Pre-regression Johann would've been stuck replenishing mana for 2-3 days straight after a fight like this.
But that was only possible with the Empire's endless manpower.
In a real war, days without rest would be common—no way he could spend half a day just charging mana.
'But it's not hopeless.'
Johann smiled, thinking of one of Hector's three treasures: the Seven Divine Artifacts.
* * *
A red sunset like a velvet carpet settled and faded, giving way to pitch-black night.
"That's weird."
"What is?"
"All the other hunters seem to be back, but Sir Jonathan still hasn't returned."
"Now that you mention it... Even for Sir Jonathan, the elf forest at night is dangerous..."
The gate guards peered into the elf forest from the watchtower, worrying over Jonathan's absence.
"Nah, quit worrying over nothing. Sir Jonathan wouldn't fall to mere elves."
"It's the first time he's been this late, though. Still, you're right—he's Sir Jonathan, what could—Huh?"
As they shelved their concerns and refocused on duty, one guard squinted at the forest.
"What? Something wrong?"
"Nah, I swear I just saw a blue flash over there."
"Blue flash? No way. Torches don't burn blue. You must've seen wrong..."
Flash! Thunk!
Thud...
"Gah!"
The moment a brilliant blue light flared deep in the forest, the guard's comrade lost his head in a spray of brains and crumpled lifelessly.
He collapsed in shock, trembling like a leaf.
He couldn't fathom how his comrade had died.
But he knew his duty.
He scrambled up, reaching for the alarm bell.
But...
Flash! Thunk! Boom!
Another bolt and arrow shattered his head in an instant.
His headless corpse tumbled outside the gate.
The real issue: the same happened simultaneously to all fourteen guards across the seven watchtowers.
'This is insane...'
'The distance from forest to gate is huge...!'
'Are Avatars truly divine power?'
The open field between forest and gate spanned just over 800 meters.
And they were sniping upward from below.
Seven watchtowers, two guards each.
Missing even one meant bells ringing and soldiers swarming.
The elf warriors felt genuine fear and awe toward the monster who shattered all that impossibility.
"I thought my archery unbeatable, but today it's humbled again. Heh..."
"Lucky Alphas's arrow tip pointed our way. If it'd been aimed straight at us, our hearts would've stopped."
"Indeed."
As the participating elders wiped cold sweat, Johann turned and shouted.
"Now! Full charge!"
"Warriors of Elraim, charge!"
"Save our oppressed kin!"
As the elves surged forward, Johann channeled mana through his body and kicked off the ground.
Crackle! Boom!
Johann overtook the wind-like elves, streaking ahead with a long trailing tail of lightning.
"Huh? Something's coming."
"Yeah, the wind sounds off."
Meanwhile, guards on the lower gate walls scanned the dark plains as an odd wind noise approached.
"Th-That's!"
"Elves!"
"Elves are attacking!"
Being lower than the watchtowers, they spotted the elves only after they'd crossed half the plain.
But then a streak of lightning tore across the field at terrifying speed, and they desperately loosed arrows at Johann.
But...
Crackle! Zap!
Their arrows couldn't even come close to his blistering speed.
Johann instead stretched out both hands, yanking the misses toward him.
With a gesture forward, one arrow pierced a guard pulling a horn whistle from his bosom.
"Wh-What the hell is that monster?"
"Damn it!"
Realizing he targeted whistle-bearers, wall guards hesitated to grab theirs.
"There are guys below! Elves attacking! Sound the horn! Hurry!"
Finally thinking of comrades below, they yelled downward—but too late...
Crackle!
"Haa..."
The wall guard sighed in despair.
Johann was already nose-to-nose.
He sensed his fate.
"Son of a..."
Slash!