119. Mad Blood Refinement
119. Mad Blood Refinement
- 1 -
That very afternoon when the enemies declared war on us.
『To the Honored Lady Libertas.
...
Awaiting a swift reply.
Lord Melzeros.』
"All three who call themselves barons are high-grade dungeon lords. Currently unaffiliated, but upon deeper investigation, they've been confirmed to belong to Duke Dantalion and Grand Duke Astaroth."
The one who immediately investigated these enemies and informed us was Scarlet, the succubus of the Mammon Trading Company.
Given her original authority and the company's position, this was a slight overreach on her part—and also an investment.
I couldn't help but express my gratitude.
"Thank you, Scarlet."
"Not at all. For you, my Lady, I, Scarlet, would even personally take up a sword and charge onto the battlefield...!"
"You're talking nonsense again."
"But I'm half serious..."
After putting a stop to her dramatic declaration—she had one hand over her heart—I examined the documents she had brought.
As she said, the dungeon lords—Melzeros and the other two—were all high-grade.
'Melzeros, Zarkra, Kyricia.'
Dungeon lords of Monsters, Greenskins, and Werebeasts, respectively.
Since they wouldn't receive clear system assistance like I did, I didn't know exactly where they stood, but they were at least mid-tier among high-grade dungeon lords.
'Dantalion and Astaroth, huh.'
I could guess why their subordinates had come to check on me—or to kill me.
If Dantalion of the North could eliminate or block me—someone likely to cause chaos in the center of the continent—he could suppress the growth rates of southern Agares and eastern Eligos before he himself descended.
And Astaroth in the Eastern Sea needed to block Eligos's growth for the expansion of the Demon Realm.
'Conversely speaking.'
That meant Eligos or Agares, whom those two archdukes sought to check, could be in a position to help me... but there had been no contact from that side.
This signified one thing.
"At the very least, the archdukes didn't move personally."
"That is likely the case."
"How so?"
"Because if they had, the opposing side would have moved as well, Lady Scarlet."
Just as Evangeline said in reply to Scarlet.
If the movements had been directly ordered by beings of archduke rank, they wouldn't have occurred on such a small scale.
Nor would their adversaries have pretended not to notice.
Therefore, it was correct to view this as either the barons' arbitrary actions or excessive loyalty from subordinate dungeon lords calling themselves viscounts or counts.
'No, that must be it.'
『Demon Realm Fame - 1,098 (A newcomer backed by an influential family)』
In the first place, I wasn't significant enough for an archduke to move against.
Even if I was starting to make a name for myself in the Demon Realm, I was still treated as a newcomer or barely past that stage.
"Such excessive praise—! You are so perceptive, my Lady!"
"Yes. Thank you."
For me, this was a rather fortunate situation.
They didn't know about my circumstances on the surface—that the queens of the wild monsters had joined me.
And those queens were each monsters with power on par with the elite grade, while their subordinates possessed strength comparable to well-trained dungeon summons.
It was fair to say that just the two of them could sufficiently handle one high-grade dungeon lord, so we were on equal footing in terms of military strength.
At least according to the information on paper.
"We probably won't need to draw too much from their forces."
"That is correct."
Ran, having caught my murmur, agreed.
"We don't need to hide everything, but."
"There is no need to reveal everything either."
When I spoke while meeting her eyes, she immediately answered as if we shared a telepathic understanding.
As she said, we decided to keep about half of the queens themselves and their elite forces hidden.
To prepare for more critical situations in the future.
"Since they are our secret weapons..."
"They will be a sharp blade against enemies who come charging in, thinking we have few elite-grade summons."
Just as Shue and Eve said.
The queens' forces only needed to appear as 'the level of support an ordinary ally provides'.
It wasn't as if my own forces were lacking, and besides...
'This will be just the right difficulty for a first war.'
Because there was no need for that in the first place.
A map obtained from the Mammon Trading Company marked the locations of the three dungeon lords' dungeons.
As I confirmed the red dots marked on it, I didn't hide the smile that naturally formed on my face.
There was a hint there.
"I suppose I'll have to go monster hunting."
"Yeah..."
"I'll get things ready."
One week remained until the war.
There was no need to believe those enemies would honestly wait a full week, but considering they had observed the formalities, they would likely exercise patience.
'Four to five days at most.'
That was the critical deadline by which I had to maximize my dungeon's fighting strength.
"Scarlet. I have a favor to ask."
"Yes?"
"Please take this."
"A letter... is it? Could it be..."
"Don't get any strange ideas."
And during that time, I intended to secure victory in this war in advance.
- 2 -
The time invested in cultivation was about three days.
However, all human and external dungeon lord influence in this vicinity had now been cleared away.
"It's excellent."
With no humans or other monsters to interfere with the hunt, the efficiency of the 'sacrifice collection' carried out by unleashing all the dungeon's monsters was better than expected.
I focused on other preparations, while the results were already sufficient just from enhancing my subordinates with the sacrifices they had personally hunted.
And right before my eyes was that very result.
『Name - Mire』
『Attributes - Stamina 35 Technique 43 Durability 38 Magic Power 44 Resistance 27』
『Name - Axe』
『Attributes - Stamina 56 Technique 39 Durability 34 Magic Power 23 Resistance 30』
Aside from Evangeline, these two, who could be called my oldest soldiers, had already reached the level of mature high-grade in terms of simple stats.
It wouldn't be difficult for them to achieve elite-grade specs if given an opportunity or just a bit more focus.
"You've really worked hard."
- Dalkak!
- Ttak!
I hadn't been able to pay them much attention, but this was the result of consistent sacrifice-based enhancement and their own steady training.
Moreover, by attaching one officer to each of them and moving them around, something new had also manifested.
『Traits - ... Field Commander ...』
It was a command trait that exerted its effect even while commanding monsters of different species.
It didn't quite match what Evangeline possessed, but in any case, it meant these kids had begun to develop tactical acumen.
"Truly excellent. You're doing well."
- Dalgeurak.
- Deolgeureok.
Indeed, seeing this kind of growth pleased me far more than anything else.
"You are my joy."
Cheok - !!
Not just these two—the first-generation skeletons, who in life had been bandits or low-ranking adventurers, were the same.
Every one of them was now pulling more than their own weight as warriors or archers.
"My lord husband. Please don't only look there, but look here too, I beseech you..."
"I'm sorry, Ran. Of course, you are excellent as well."
"Fufufu..."
『Name - Yu Ran』
『Title/Entity Name - Three-Tailed Fox』
『Attributes - Stamina 34 Technique 47 Durability 29 Magic Power 56 Resistance 41』
Ran's actual current ability strictly reached the level of an elite-grade monster, but by grade classification, she was still high-grade.
Since dungeon lords required high specs, it couldn't be helped.
『Traits - ...Special-grade Specialization: Flame Sorcery...』
Instead, she had intensively raised the grade of her flame sorcery, which had better offensive power than her main trait, 「Nine-tailed Celestial Fox」.
"I need to increase the number of tails soon..."
The 'Celestial Fox' was regarded as a divine beast. Among them, the race that had transformed into yokai and was called the 'Monstrous Celestial Fox'.
The power of Ran, a member of that race, was intuitively displayed through the number of tails she possessed.
Because of that, she usually kept her tails merged into one. It would be troublesome if the enemy could see the number of tails.
"Don't be too impatient. Isn't your pace quite fast enough?"
"Fufu. You comfort me so, my lord husband. I am at a loss for what to do with myself."
"That's good to hear."
But right now, she was in such a good mood that the merged state had unraveled, and they were swaying gently, three separate tails.
I thought it was amazing she became like that from just a single word of mine, but it didn't feel bad at all.
Kyaaaa - !!
『Name - Sonia Medib』
『Occupation and Grade - Elite Curse Sorcerer』
When I turned my head at the scream-like sound, I saw my first disciple experimenting with the manipulation of a newly learned curse.
『Attributes - Stamina 31 Technique 46 Durability 40 Magic Power 60 Resistance 50』
In Sonia's case, since her magic power capacity was already sufficient, I developed her in the direction of increasing stability. And perhaps because she was so highly attuned to magic, her magic power grew quite well—even though I had only used sacrifices like trolls or wild rock spirits, which had stupidly strong power or tough bodies.
『Traits - Special-grade Specialization: Curse...』
Furthermore, her curse ability, which could be called her main skill, had risen to special-grade thanks to unceasing study and discipline.
"Have you been feeling anything strange lately?"
"...It feels strange because my power has suddenly become too strong."
"I suppose that's to be expected."
Even if it felt strange to her, that was the better outcome.
If she had continued using magic in her original state, minor injuries would have accumulated in her body.
It wouldn't have been life-threatening like mana overload, but it wouldn't have helped in combat.
"Teacher. What if I end up becoming muscular like this...?"
"That won't happen, Sonia."
The enhancement of physical abilities caused by mana acting on the body doesn't change one's physique.
Of course, if a specific trait existed, that would be a different story, but generally speaking.
"Ah. Right..."
I ruffled Sonia's hair once. She, who had never been healthy her whole life, felt that her body was too strange, but she met my eyes with an awkward smile.
She seemed relieved, and that was a relief to me.
Kung!
"I have returned, Master."
"Good work, Eve."
Just then, Evangeline was coming in, clutching an ogre by the scruff of its neck.
She had gone and killed an ogre—one whose massive body looked fully grown at the very least—and brought it back without a single scratch, despite being the same grade as the ogre.
Even if the opponent was a wild monster, it was a remarkable achievement.
『Name - Evangeline』
『Epithet, Title - Hero, The One Who Tilts the Scale』
『Attributes - Stamina 59(54) Technique 69(63) Durability 45(40) Magic Power 60(55) Resistance 42(37)』
In Eve's case, no dramatic increase in stats had occurred.
After all, it hadn't been long since she'd risen to elite grade.
And at this level, there was no major problem in fighting a high-grade dungeon lord; considering the traits she possessed, she could even overwhelm them in some situations.
Nevertheless, the current her was stronger and more capable than before...
『Traits - ...Imperial Guard Knight Sword-Shield Technique, ... Advanced Specialization: Flame Magic, Advanced Specialization: Water Magic, ...』
『Imperial Guard Knight Sword-Shield Technique - When performing defensive actions with a sword, adds 40% of Technique to Durability and Resistance calculations.』
This was because, instead of raising her attributes, she had secured several additional traits.
On top of learning two elemental magics—as if to prove she was a hero, not a knight—she even had a sword-shield technique trait from who knows where.
"Aren't you being too greedy?"
"It's fine, Master. I'm only learning to a manageable level."
"Ah, I see..."
"You can trust me without reservation, Master."
I had no words since she'd said it herself, so I just nodded. Eve took my hand, kissed the back of it several times, and said that.
Lately, her physical affection had become noticeably more frequent.
Eve's growth was so steep that I didn't even need to control it, so of course I did trust her, but...
"Of course. I trust you."
Feeling a little regretful, as if she was growing too much on her own without me, I'd ended up saying just that.
And she smiled so brightly, as if she had gained the whole world, that I ended up feeling ashamed instead.
『Name - Lin Xue』
『Title/Entity Name - Blood Wolf Child』
And, lastly.
"Huaa..."
"How do you feel, Shue?"
I looked at my first mercenary. Her hair had turned completely red, probably because she had just finished her transformation.
That appearance was the same as when 「Frenzy」 was fully charged before, but she wasn't rampaging now.
In a very calm state, she smiled as she looked at me.
"Really... good."
"You look it."
Though there were plenty of monsters to be caught, elite-grade monsters were not so common even around here.
Using the ogre Eve had brought in as a sacrifice, I raised Shue to the elite grade.
All the high-grade summon slots in the dungeon were full, but since she was classified as a mercenary, she didn't fall under that restriction.
Of course, if she were an ordinary mercenary, I wouldn't have developed her by consuming sacrifices like this...
But she was no ordinary mercenary.
『Attributes - Stamina 62 Technique 46 Durability 56(51) Magic Power 59 Resistance 60(54)』
『Traits - Bloodlight Demon Refinement, Loyalty, Preemptive Blood Strike, Mana Rampage, Member of Necropolis』
Among Shue's traits, her main trait 「Frenzy: Blood」 had changed to 「Bloodlight Demon Refinement」, and 「Blood Blade」 had changed to 「Preemptive Blood Strike」.
In the case of Bloodlight Demon Refinement, the grade remained Legendary, but it hadn't simply changed in name.
『Bloodlight Demon Refinement
■ Bloodlight
■ Bloodhunting Demon Heart
■ Symbol of Life
■ Blood Wolf Child
A composite trait combining the above four traits.』
I had suspected it from her name's continental style, but for her traits to take that direction as well was quite meaningful.
"Evangeline... let's fight one more time."
"Here? It would be better not to. If you and I fight now, everything will break, and Master will hate that."
"Ah..."
"Let's set a time and place later."
I watched her, who had been unable to control the power surging within her, calm down at a single remark from Eve.
'Preparations for the key personnel are complete.'
I looked forward to the coming fight.
This was at the point when the day I expected my enemies to actually invade was only two days away.