The monsters were not weak, but they were definitely not difficult to deal with.
Because not only did they not flee, but they also showed zero intelligence or self-preservation, acting exactly like mindless machines faithfully carrying out a programmed task. Facing such predictable monsters that neither retreated nor played tactical tricks, dealing with them was simply too easy for Regulus.
After the initial cleanup was finished, the three of them successfully arrived in front of the dilapidated carriage and saw a heavy cloth bag emitting a faint, pulsating glow.
At this moment, Shion could basically confirm that the reason she encountered this bizarre, five-year nightmare was definitely because she had accepted this strange sphere.
"The item is in that bag," Shion pointed, her voice trembling slightly.
Although it was obvious without her saying it, she was truly terrified of that glowing object and swore she would never haphazardly touch any strange artifacts ever again. Because of this single cursed thing, she had lost her carriage and an entire batch of goods—goods that were worth one-third of her total fortune!
The heartache was so painful it was almost unbearable.
Regulus reached out, took the glowing bag, and handed it to Sphinx, who was still safely nestled in his arms.
When Sphinx opened the bag and pulled out the object, she couldn't help but frown. She had never seen an item of this shape or composition in her life.
But Regulus, who also looked at this perfectly smooth sphere with a very strong, advanced metallic feel emitting a faint neon glow, immediately became intensely interested.
There was absolutely no mistake.
'This thing is definitely not a product of this fantasy world,' Regulus analyzed internally. 'Or even something that could be created using ordinary science.'
At least in the modern world before he transmigrated, creating a single self-replicating, reviving bio-monster like the ones outside was absolutely impossible.
'Could it be from a highly advanced future world? Or perhaps an anime world where incredibly absurd mad scientists exist, like Shinonono Houki from Infinite Stratos, or Lala from To Love-Ru?'
After all, an existence capable of casually creating such absurd, reality-defying tools could probably only be a genius of their caliber—no, a prodigy.
At the same time, just as Sphinx was carefully channeling her mana to investigate the magical principles behind the sphere in her hand... click.
It seemed she accidentally brushed against a recessed switch. As the sphere's neon light suddenly grew blindingly strong, the scattered, shredded remains of the monsters that Regulus had just eliminated suddenly stirred and began to fuse back together.
"Oh no! They're moving again!" Shion cried out, her expression turning incredibly grim as she instinctively moved closer to Regulus's back.
Even without having fought this newly mutated batch herself, the strong sense of primal crisis welling up inside her made her clearly realize a terrifying fact: even in a one-on-one situation, she wouldn't last a second against these newly revived beasts. She would definitely be torn to shreds.
Sphinx also stopped her magical research. Completely ignoring the terrifying, roaring monsters assembling around them, she simply looked up at Regulus with her dark, deadpan eyes.
"I cannot give a specific, logical answer about the composition of this thing," Sphinx stated flatly. "But if it were Mother, she should definitely know something."
"There's no need to specifically ask Echidna," Regulus smirked. "I already have a rough guess as to what it is."
"As expected of my Lord," Sphinx nodded smoothly. "Even Mother probably couldn't come up with an accurate answer so quickly."
Regulus paused, looking down at the petite Witch in surprise. "You... when did you learn this trick?"
"Hmm? I do not understand what you are saying." Sphinx tilted her head innocently.
"Alright, play coy. But truly, as expected of Sphinx, your learning ability regarding flattery is very strong."
"Of course," Sphinx replied. "I was created by Mother. Although I am not a perfect vessel, I am definitely an excellent work."
Regulus couldn't help but smile. Flattery and self-praise—although such things are generally not to be encouraged, they sound really good to his ego, especially when the other party is a very cute, obedient girl.
However, unlike Regulus and Sphinx who were casually flirting, Shion, even after witnessing Regulus's unreasonably powerful strength earlier, still couldn't help but panic.
Before, the monsters had attacked in small groups, but now they were reviving all at once, practically shoulder-to-shoulder in the village square; the nature of the threat was completely different.
"Um... Lord Regulus? The monsters are already standing up," Shion timidly reminded him, tugging at his sleeve.
If possible, she wanted to leave this cursed, monster-infested place immediately. Right now. She didn't want to stay for even another second.
Regulus lazily looked up at the horde of revived, roaring Mabeasts. They were mostly the same; at most, their physical presence felt a bit denser and stronger than before.
"I know," Regulus said dismissively. "Go pack your things into bags right now, Shion. Once you're ready, we'll leave this place."
"Eh! Ah... okay!"
He truly didn't put the monsters in his eyes at all, actively treating a horde of terrifyingly strong, immortal beasts as if they were just thin air. But that arrogant confidence was contagious. It proved that even in this apocalyptic situation, the man in front of her was still perfectly relaxed.
Reassured, Shion dashed into the dilapidated carriage to frantically pack her belongings. At the same time, she checked to see if any of the goods that had been trapped here for several years were still usable.
She wanted to recover as much capital as possible; losing one-third of her fortune directly to rot was truly heartbreaking for a merchant.
After spending some time rummaging in the dark cabin...
"Are you not done yet?" Regulus's voice called out from outside.
"Almost done!" Shion replied, speeding up her hands. She grabbed the remaining high-quality furs and sealed wine casks—items that wouldn't spoil much even after being stored in a damp swamp for half a decade.
This way, she could at least recover a small fraction of her losses, although she was still effectively in a state of financial ruin.
Securing her bags, she kicked open the carriage door.
But the moment she emerged from the carriage and looked at the scene outside, she froze completely in place, her bags dropping from her hands.
"This... did you do this?!" Shion gasped, her jaw dropping.
"I did," Regulus nodded, smiling pleasantly. "Doesn't it look much cleaner now? And the road back is also much neater and tidier."
"Uh—"
Shion turned her head, looking wildly around.
Where was the village?!
Everything was gone. The ruined houses, the overgrown weeds, the massive horde of roaring monsters... they had all completely vanished. Even the very ground beneath her feet had drastically changed.
The entire surrounding area looked as if it had been perfectly plowed three feet deep, as if a god had simply taken a massive, invisible scoop out of the earth and swept it away into the void.
Especially the direction from which they had originally come. The dense trees, the thick weeds, and the massive boulders had been perfectly eradicated, forming a smooth, flawless road wide enough for several empty carriages to travel comfortably side by side.
This new road, like its surroundings, looked as if it had been sheared out of reality by an absolute, unstoppable force.
Precisely because of this terrifyingly clean aftermath, Shion gained a horrific new understanding of the man's true strength. His destructive power wasn't just magic; it was simply god-like erasure.
Regulus looked at her exaggerated, terrified expression and didn't say much to comfort her.
Because to him, this was absolutely nothing.
Armed with the Authority of Greed, even an entire country could be completely flattened and erased from the map with extreme ease, and it wouldn't even take him much time or effort to do so. He had only flattened a small, abandoned village; it was a trivial matter, completely not worth mentioning.
As for why he chose to completely flatten the earth, it was mainly a permanent solution to prevent those pesky monsters from ever reviving again. They posed absolutely no threat to him, but for ordinary merchants like Shion, a regenerating horde numbered in the hundreds was a lethal hazard.
'Can't revive if there isn't a single atom left to regenerate from,' Regulus thought with a satisfied smirk.
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Give me powerstones.
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