I Can Finally Use Force (2)
The middle-aged man narrowed his eyes and observed Ghislain for a long time.
He had watched over the elves' forest for years. He incited a group of orcs, who were hostile to the elves, to pick a fight with them.
After that, he recruited a few dark mages to continuously deal damage to the elves.
Having observed them for so long and assessed the strength of the elves, the Salvation Church finally began preparing for a full-scale invasion.
When the orcs invaded the forest, they joined in and used their strength in secret. They even unleashed the church's secret techniques without holding back.
Through that, they managed to completely corrupt a part of the forest.
'There were no signs of human involvement.'
They thought the proud elves would never do such a thing, but just in case, they monitored whether the elves would seek help from humans to eliminate any uncertainties.
As expected, the elves tried to solve the problem on their own.
The Salvation Church watched how long it took the elves to purify the corrupted land. They had a general idea by watching them fight the orcs, but they needed a more precise estimate of their strength.
If there were an elf capable of summoning the Spirit King, they would have to revise their plan.
But no such elf existed. Despite multiple purification attempts, the elves ultimately failed to stop the corruption and retreated.
'We confirmed it multiple times. The full extent of the elves' strength is exactly what we've assessed.'
That's why the Salvation Church resolved to invade. They had gathered a force capable of assured victory.
Their job was to first invade various parts of the forest to cause chaos and prevent the elves from assembling.
After that, with the orc army and the dark mages joining in, they could crush the elves without giving them time to request help from humans.
There were other forests where elves lived, but none as important as this one. Destroying this forest alone would throw the entire elven race into great confusion and shock.
And yet...
'Why is a superhuman here?'
Superhumans were rare even in the human world. It was unheard of for one to wander around alone like this.
Someone who had reached that level usually held a key position in a kingdom and commanded an army.
The middle-aged man, still confused, questioned Ghislain again.
"Have the humans decided to intervene in the forest matters?"
"I was just out for a walk and saw some trouble, so I thought I'd lend a hand."
"Where is the army?"
As he asked the question, the middle-aged man spread his aura. A superhuman wouldn't be alone.
But he sensed nothing. The only one here was truly the superhuman before him.
Ghislain slung his staff over his shoulder and smiled.
"Do I need an army? I think I can take on about five of you on my own."
"...You bastard."
The middle-aged man's expression turned cold. He couldn't understand what kind of confidence this man had to be here alone.
The Salvation Church always moved cautiously. Their actions could not be exposed.
That's why, even now, the middle-aged man remained careful.
For Ghislain, dragging this out was in his favor. So, pointing his staff forward, he asked,
"Is the Demon Realm finally making its move?"
"...How do you know that?"
"I know quite a bit about you bastards."
"..."
The middle-aged man furrowed his brow. Who in the world didn't know about them?
But even dragons didn't know when or how the Salvation Church moved. There was no way a mere human could.
Staring quietly at Ghislain, the man's eyes suddenly gleamed.
"Is it you?"
"What is?"
"I heard someone's been interfering with our work in several kingdoms. They're called the 'Yulian Mercenary Corps.'"
"...…"
"They say there's a strange one among them."
The middle-aged man slowly raised his hand as he continued.
"Crazy superhuman. Astion."
— I'm not crazy!
— I'm just crazy in love.
Ghislain lowered his stance and grinned. After all that rampaging, it would've been strange if he hadn't ended up in the church's intelligence network.
"That's right. I'm Astion."
"I don't know how you found out about us, but... you must've found clues while dealing with the kingdoms' affairs."
It would take time before the Pope could alert all the kingdoms about the Demon Realm's advance. That's why they didn't know yet that Ismogen had been captured.
The middle-aged man looked at Ghislain with a chilling smile.
"Perfect. Now I can get rid of a troublesome pest right here."
"Since you know who I am, isn't it only polite for you to reveal your name too?"
"You speak true. One should know the name of the one who will kill them."
The middle-aged man tilted his chin arrogantly and said,
"I am the one who carves the church's law into this land by the will whispered from the Demon Realm, Enforcer Munareff."
In that moment, black light erupted from Munareff's hand.
KWA-A-A-ANG!
Ghislain, blocking the attack, was pushed backward across the ground. At the same time, the four priests standing beside Munareff turned into black mist.
PAA-A-A-A-AK!
The mist quickly spread and surrounded Ghislain from all directions. As he skidded back, Ghislain thrust his staff into the ground and turned his head.
Part of the mist fluttered and reshaped into a black robe. From it, a priest jumped out.
KAA-A-A-ANG!
The priest's attack was blocked by Ghislain's staff. But then, a second priest attacked.
BAM-!
Black chains shot out from all directions, aiming for Ghislain's limbs. Ghislain struck the ground with his staff, using the rebound to lift his body.
Before the chains could reach him, he pointed a finger at the priest.
"Lightning Bolt."
KWA-A-A-ANG!
Lightning burst from his hand like a roar. One of the pursuing priests was hit directly and blown away.
Though it was a lower-circle spell, Ghislain had poured considerable mana into it. It had enough destructive power to kill an average person instantly.
But black energy wrapped around the priest's body and quickly regenerated the wounds.
'Cockroach-like bastards, as always.'
Even in the future, their regenerative power was annoyingly persistent. But these ones were stronger, and their healing was much faster.
Before his thoughts could finish, the third priest appeared behind him.
Ghislain twisted his body to dodge, but the fourth priest slashed at his side with a blade-like aura.
SSKAK!
Blood splattered. Ghislain gritted his teeth and swung his staff hard at the attacker's side.
KWAJIK!
"Gahhk!"
With a sound like bones breaking, the priest screamed. His side caved in and he was knocked back, losing his balance.
But at that moment, another priest reached from above and struck with his hand.
KWA-A-ANG!
The priest's black hand hit Ghislain's shoulder. Ghislain spun with the impact and swung his staff.
KWAANG!
The priest was struck in the face midair, half his face crushed. Even as he was hit, he couldn't comprehend what had happened.
Based on the energy he had released, the enemy should have been thrown down or had his shoulder shattered.
But this man had twisted his body and counterattacked while being hit. It was a technique beyond his understanding.
Ghislain, now back on the ground, thrust his staff backward without even turning.
PUUUK!
The priest sneaking up from behind was impaled in the stomach and flung away.
In an instant, all four priests had been struck and sent flying by Ghislain. They quickly turned into black mist, widened the distance, and began healing their wounds.
The priests' eyes trembled with disbelief.
They were among the stronger members of the church. They could overwhelm most superhumans even one-on-one.
But even with four of them attacking, they hadn't overpowered him. If anything, they were at a disadvantage.
Munareff was just as shocked as the priests he led.
'Impossible! Has humanity's level risen even further?!'
The opponent far exceeded the level of a superhuman that the Salvation Church had assumed.
Cold sweat ran down Munareff's back. The number of superhumans in the Human Alliance was far greater than the number of high priests of the Demon Realm. From the beginning, there was a massive difference in population.
No matter how many dimensional rifts they opened to fill their army with Riftborn, if they lacked superhumans, they would inevitably be at a disadvantage in war.
'That's why each high priest was trained to be able to handle at least two or three superhumans…'
And even that wasn't enough. They had employed every method possible to weaken humanity's strength.
And yet, for a superhuman's power to still be this strong—wars to come would be nothing short of brutal.
'I must kill him here!'
The fewer superhumans in the Human Alliance, the better it was for the church. This chance to eliminate a powerful enemy must not be missed.
KWA-AANG!
No longer a bystander, Munareff shot toward Ghislain. The other priests resumed their attacks as well.
With black energy surging in from all directions, Ghislain gathered an immense amount of mana.
Ziiing—!
A blue magic circle instantly spread around Ghislain. Dozens of overlapping circles began blocking the incoming energy.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The five priests were indeed powerful—stronger than most superhumans.
Yet Ghislain fought them on equal footing. And this was using Astion's body.
The combat prowess Ghislain had built over time wasn't just about physical strength.
Clang! Clang! Clang-!
In the black mist that devoured all light, only the blue streaks drawn by Ghislain's staff tore through the darkness.
The darkness was relentlessly torn apart by those flashes. With every strike drawn in midair, parts of the mist were ripped, and the shadows shuddered as if screaming.
The priests were struck and flung away again and again. On top of that, Ghislain's mana exploded all around, driving them into utter disarray.
As the battle dragged on, Munareff's back was soaked with sweat.
'H-He can't be… to be this strong!'
Munareff couldn't comprehend it. He admitted that the opponent's combat skill far exceeded their own, but in terms of strength and speed, there wasn't a huge gap.
No matter how skilled someone was, against this many enemies, they should've been severely wounded and fallen by now.
'So why…!'
The opponent kept avoiding fatal blows with uncanny precision. Even when an attack landed, it failed to inflict serious damage.
No, Ghislain was actually beginning to pressure them little by little.
As Munareff fought, feeling increasingly confused, he noticed something strange.
'My perception… is distorted.'
There were attacks he was sure would hit, but they missed by the slightest margin. At first, he thought it was just exceptional evasion.
But as the fight continued, he realized the peculiarity. It felt like he was drunk—unable to judge distance correctly.
It was something that should never happen to a superhuman.
Looking back, that phenomenon only occurred in critical moments—when Ghislain was in real danger.
'This bastard… what kind of trick is this?'
A technique capable of distorting the perception of a superhuman—he could hardly believe it, even as he witnessed it.
Looking around, it seemed the other priests hadn't noticed anything. Only he had picked up on this subtle deviation.
"Everyone, go all out! We must kill this man here and now!"
BANG-!
Munareff clenched his teeth and unleashed all his energy. There was no need to conserve strength for the elves anymore. Sticking to the original plan was already out of the question.
This man had to die here, no matter what.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The other priests also attacked with their full power. As a result, Ghislain, who had been holding the upper hand, began to get pushed back.
His eyes sank into a quiet calm as he defended against their onslaught.
'Hmph… is this the limit?'
The enemies were indeed strong. The strongest he had encountered since returning to the past.
If it had just been the original four, he could have likely killed one or two before retreating.
But the problem was that enforcer. He was stronger than the other priests, and he had even started to catch on to the willpower Ghislain used only in truly dangerous moments.
Ghislain hesitated. If he went all out here, he could definitely kill two of them and then withdraw.
'No, no. I haven't fully grasped their forces yet.'
KUUNG! KUUNG! KUUNG!
KWO-OOOOOO!
From the distance, came the roars of orcs and the rumble of a great army. That army even had dark mages.
There was no way to know how many more priests the Salvation Church had.
So using full power now would be reckless. He had already used up a significant amount of mana.
It was time to retreat. With the time he'd bought, the elves should be ready by now.
'For now, this is enough.'
It was time to face the enemy together with others.
As he backed away, Ghislain suddenly thrust his staff into the ground. His immense mana traveled through the staff and pierced into the earth.
In an instant, the ground quaked and trembled.
BOOM-!
Cracks spread through the earth, then the ground shattered completely as a powerful shockwave exploded from where the staff had been planted.
Rocks and dust flew into the sky. The priests chasing Ghislain were hit by the sudden blast and knocked back.
Taking that chance, Ghislain bolted and shouted,
"Let's save round two for later!"
As the priests tried to pursue, Munareff stopped them.
"Enough. It's too late."
Munareff took a long moment to calm his boiling rage. Because of one damn human, their operation had been compromised from the very beginning.
Even with five of them working together, they had failed to overpower and eliminate him. That was a humiliation.
'I should've killed him, no matter what…'
He wanted to give chase and finish him off himself, but if they pursued now, they might get surrounded by the elves instead.
Forcing himself to cool down, Munareff turned his head.
KUUNG! KUUNG! KUUNG!
The great orc army was drawing near.
The elves must have completed their battle preparations by now. In this situation, it would be better to clash with brute force alongside the orcs.
They had brought them as expendables anyway—it didn't matter if they all died.
The superhuman who fled was certainly powerful, but with a large enough force, they could kill him. Even with the elves supporting him.
The Salvation Church had been preparing for this war for a very long time.
'It's time to crush this forest completely. And that arrogant bastard—I'll make sure he dies.'
Munareff's eyes gleamed with murderous rage.
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