Shi Yun Lan was within the veins, observing what Shion Lan was doing, grinding his teeth at the sight of him fighting to such an extent.
"Did you really do all of this? They're worthless! Some of them you've only known for two weeks, others merely follow their commanders' orders and treat you differently, and some used to look at you with disdain and contempt. Did you really exhaust your soul just to preserve their lives?!"
Shi Yun Lan closed his eyes and muttered quietly,
"Both of you are idiots of the same kind…"
…
The seventh-level enslavement mage, Cliff Biv, who had mocked everyone upon his appearance, was now feeling his back drenched in sweat. He poured all his focus into the sixth- and seventh-level crows.
"Damn it… damn it! This wasn't supposed to happen!"
He personally directed his crows against the commanders. If not for the domain reinforced by four crows simultaneously, he would have lost long ago. He thought bitterly:
'Blood was supposed to spread, explosions were meant to intensify with every passing moment. Then the dark crows would invade the kingdom and spread chaos and terror everywhere. Blood also has another ability beyond explosions—plague. I planned to spread it across the entire kingdom… but that damn brat!'
Rage flared in his eyes as he continued:
'I noticed the dark crows' hatred toward him as their lord, yet he appeared among them without warning and began slaughtering them. Their hatred for him only grew. He also has a strange ability to disrupt the plague and the explosions I created—otherwise, he would've died long ago. And he always has guards protecting him, making him impossible to be killed. Over time, I lost control over them, and they began focusing solely on him. The formation collapsed, giving those bastards the chance to kill them with arrows, and the healers managed to handle the plague quickly. The Rain Battalion and the Magic Tower… Now even controlling the fifth level has become difficult. All the commanders are strong and are using their domains at full force! I need to end this quickly!'
However, he saw Shion Lan retreating with Beliza Sano and Rona Flair toward the rear lines for treatment. Before he could act, he felt the commanders' assaults on the crows and their attempts to weaken the domain.
He looked and saw Aiten, swinging his fists against a crow the size of a large house. He showed no hesitation—electric charges enveloped his fists as he deployed his domain. Though affected by four overlapping reinforcing domains, his own small domain was more than sufficient for him as a frontline fighter.
He didn't use a grand technique, yet for some reason it was terrifyingly powerful. Simple punches carried overwhelming destructive force. Within his domain, wherever he struck, the electrical effect manifested everywhere else. Bruises and shock marks began appearing across the crow's body, even beneath its dark black feathers.
Despite reinforcing itself, the crow couldn't endure the onslaught. Forced by Cliff Biv's command to maintain the domain, it couldn't even counterattack and was reduced to pure defense. Hundreds of blows rained down in mere moments, filling the crow's body with electrical charge.
Aiten leapt upward within his domain and clenched his fist.
"(Aiten's Fist)!"
A technique he had developed himself—every electrical charge transferred from the crow into his fist, causing it to blaze with light. Dense energy filled the domain, forming walls of lightning around the crow, immobilizing it.
The crow looked up and saw lightning erupting from Aiten's eyes. It trembled violently at that gaze—so much so that even Cliff faltered.
'Its fear is greater than my control over it! But how is that possible?! Isn't he just a regional commander who hasn't even reached the Hero rank?! Even that sorceress and that swordswoman didn't inspire this level of terror!'
There was no time to dwell on it. Aiten's domain focused entirely on the crow. He released his fist, radiating blinding light—the last thing the crow ever saw before its body exploded into charred fragments.
With its death, the domain began to destabilize. Cliff seized this brief opportunity and used the remaining power of the fallen dark crow.
"I can't stop you… but you won't be the winners either."
He transferred all fifth-level crows toward the rear lines to destroy everything.
"This is an escape technique of the dark crows—when the domain's creator dies, he can expel his followers to protect them. Using them this way is even better."
But as the crows were being transferred, a piercing gaze locked onto his position. He turned instantly and saw Aiten staring at him, sparks flying from his eyes. Without lifting a single finger, Cliff felt a lethal danger pressing down on him.
Even though we're at the same level, I'm an enslavement mage—I don't have powerful spells to confront him head-on!
Instead of sending all the crows, Cliff kept half of them and teleported himself elsewhere. When he looked back at where he had been standing, it was reduced to rubble.
He then shifted his awareness to the fifth-level crows—only to be shocked.
'How is this possible?! Why weren't they transferred to the rear lines?!'
Observing through their senses, he noticed something strange.
'How do they know how to fight like this? I mean—how to fight dark crows specifically? These attacks and methods seem designed solely for this purpose. Even the teleportation failed because of specific strikes and spells that disrupted the entire process. I could only send a few!'
Through the crows' awareness, he saw the boy who had become the source of all his troubles—standing behind the two women known as the Queens of Fire and Ice. The spearman Aero of the Rain Battalion also stepped forward to confront the five remaining crows.
My control over the crows weakened when they approached that boy. With the domain weakened, they can barely resist—but for now, I'll deal with the problems before me.
From another position, Cliff looked toward Aiten, who was searching for him, then to the other commanders.
One of them was Ryan Shine, the Star Instructor of Karath Academy—an archer who formed his arrows from aura. He deployed his domain, and the arrows he created took the shape of spears. As he drew the bowstring, five spears formed upon the bow.
"(Arrows of Light)"
A blatant lie—they were powerful spears launched from a bow. They struck a seventh-level dark crow, but half of the attacks dispersed quickly against the dark domain, while the rest continued raining down.
Next, he looked to Commander Wendy, the duelist who held the title of Hero. She summoned her domain, which formed solely around the crow. She swung her sword.
"(Gale Blades)"
A pillar of violent wind spiraled fiercely around the crow. Though it reinforced itself with its feathers, it couldn't block every strike. Still, as a seventh-level being, its abilities were remarkable—the darkness formed a thick cover over its wounds, preventing blood loss. Locked in defense, it couldn't counterattack.
Cliff was stunned and turned to the final commander—Amy, the fire sorceress—who invoked her greatest fire magic. With her domain and seven magic circles, she unleashed a wide-area attack upon the crow.
"(Meteor Rain)"
Violent flames crashed down, and the crow screamed in agony. Yet she didn't stop; the relentless bombardment continued. Still, the crow didn't fall easily.
Cliff muttered inwardly:
'How can the Star Instructor of a prestigious academy and two heroines fail to kill a crow as quickly as a mere regional commander did? This makes no sense.'
He chose to wait and direct the remaining crows—but they soon began falling under Aiten's ferocious intervention, his fists relentlessly crushing sixth-level crows in support of the troops. Other commanders' techniques finally began to show their true power, and wounds started to open visibly.
Cliff had had enough.
"Come!"
The three seventh-level crows gathered directly under his command as he revealed himself openly.
"Once I reveal myself, my influence over my followers will increase, and their power will surge to protect their master—the primary target."
Indeed, the crows' strength spiked sharply.
Ryan Shine spoke calmly,
"Aiten, you can retreat now."
Aiten bowed and withdrew swiftly. Cliff was stunned.
"You must be wondering why the only person capable of killing the strongest followers has retreated, aren't you?"
Ryan spoke calmly, glancing at the two heroines, who looked embarrassed. Wendy spoke up,
"Well… that was her fault."
She pointed at Amy, who snapped back,
"Don't act like you're innocent!"
"You were the main reason to begin with."
Ryan ignored their quarrel and continued,
"He was severely injured protecting them when they lost consciousness. That caused instability in his aura for a long time. He can release overwhelming, destructive power—but it consumes his body."
He raised his bow.
"Unlike him, we can dance with you all day."
He prepared his spear-shaped arrows, raised the bow high.
"(Rain of Light)"
He drew the string with terrifying speed and strength. Hundreds of spears shot skyward.
"And you think I'll just stand here and watch?"
"Yes—because you're going to stop."
The two women spoke in perfect unison, answering Cliff's mockery.
Amy raised her staff, set with a fiery red gemstone.
"(Combustion)"
It was a beginner-level spell, but in Amy's hands, every simple spell became a terrifying force meant to challenge only the strong—its rank elevated to advanced.
Wendy moved as well.
"(Gale Restraint)"
A dense pillar of Wendy's aura enveloped the three crows, igniting them in flames. Cliff realized the danger.
Restraint to prevent movement, combustion to weaken me—but will these weak spears kill me?
"Not yet," Ryan said.
He fired a single arrow upward, swapped places with it, gathering among the others, then invoked his domain.
"These spears won't do anything to you—but this will.
(Light Condensation)"
All the spears merged into a single colossal lance, shaking the entire battlefield. His domain formed a massive bow to anchor it as he drew back.
"Any last wishes?"
Cliff remained silent. He felt the terror of the crows under his command—they were no longer under his control.
As he drowned in his thoughts, an overwhelming horror erupted in the rear lines of the army, where the fifth-level crows were located. He shared their vision—
—and plunged into shock.