CHAPTER 167: FEEDING THE ENEMY [1]

It was a precarious situation.

"Damn it all...!"

The evil species’ body was like a tattered rag, and his life force could have been extinguished at any moment.

The biggest problem was Armian’s power of light that was eating away at the magical energy adhering to the wounds.

"Aint Armian! Didn’t I clearly tell you not to kill him!"

"I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to..."

The wound was growing wider.

No matter how resilient an evil species might be, as the wound was worsening due to the antithetical power, he would definitely die if left like this.

But they couldn’t think of a way to treat him.

Evil species were those who sold their souls to demons and gained their power.

They were no different from degraded demons, and no one had ever heard of medicine that could heal demons.

’There was no mention of such a thing in the prophecy book either.’

The one fortunate thing was that they weren’t completely helpless.

"Aint, withdraw your power."

"Yes."

The power of light that had been eating away at the evil species returned to its master. Gerhard stood up abruptly.

"Watch this guy for a moment. Absolutely do not kill him."

He headed toward the battlefield where combat was still ongoing. The stench of magical beasts and the heat of battle swirled above the earth.

Drdrdrd, as he extended his staff forward, the desert sand surged up to wrap around the corpses of magical beasts.

There were at least several dozen. A sphere made of sand swallowed them all up and flew over the evil species.

"What are you trying to do?"

"Feed him."

If mana was antithetical and potions from here wouldn’t work, how about blood from magical beasts of the same nature?

Considering the regenerative power of evil species, it seemed feasible.

Hmm? Feed the evil species with magical beast blood?

Not a bad idea. Magical beast blood is imbued with magical energy. If we replenish the depleted magical energy, his regenerative power should rise again.

’Since I’ve also withdrawn my power, there’s a good chance this will work?’

Such a simple method—why hadn’t they thought of it?

Probably because they hadn’t considered the idea of reviving an evil species they had half-killed.

Crunch, crack-

The sand that had swallowed dozens of magical beasts began to compress. It burst the flesh of the magical beasts, broke their bones, and squeezed out blood.

Black bloody water flowing from the sand entered the unconscious evil species’ wounds and mouth. Rather than "feeding," "thoroughly soaking" would be a more apt description.

But it had an effect.

"Mmm..."

A faint groan escaped from the unconscious evil species’ mouth. His wounds were slowly but steadily regenerating.

’That’s a relief.’

Gerhard checked the surroundings.

Perhaps because their master had fainted, the magical beasts were scattering in all directions.

The Iron Blood Knight Order had formed a defensive formation centered around the students, while the Light Blood Knight Order, Altriark’s elite soldiers, and the belatedly joined desert warriors were sweeping away the fleeing magical beasts.

’...It’s over.’

Although they had captured him more easily than expected, the plan to bring Aint and the evil species together had been accomplished.

’Rudger’s magic half-sealed the evil species’ movements, but Aint’s power seems stronger than what was mentioned in the prophecy book.’

Is it thanks to the Saint Bird’s heart?

Well, even though he had just casually given it, the Saint Bird was one of the top summoned beasts along with the Phoenix.

A supreme species that rivals a Royal Knight or Arch Mage just by existing.

Having fed him its heart was no different from starting a horse race with a top-grade thoroughbred.

"Aint Armian. You’re sensitive to magical energy, right?"

"Yes."

"I want you to stay by this guy’s side until we return to Altriark. If he shows signs of waking up, knock him out again, and if necessary, you can even cut off his limbs with your aura."

"His limbs?"

"He’s trash who betrayed humanity and sided with demons. Throw away any compassion."

"...That’s true... I understand."

Aint looked at Grad cautiously, but soon agreed when Grad nodded slightly.

After restoring the evil species just enough to keep him from dying, Gerhard threw the corpses back into the desert.

Not long after that, the battle completely ended.

==

The plan, which they thought would involve returning straight to Altriark, changed slightly.

It was because of the desert tribe.

"Ohhh! The holy light!"

"It’s the return of the legend!"

"O glorious one!"

With skin tinged with a subtle reddish hue and muscles so impressive they put orcs to shame.

The desert tribe members were very similar to humans but slightly different.

Their bodies were so strong that they could be said to have been blessed, a race with physically powerful bodies.

At the same time, perhaps as a tradeoff, their mana sensitivity was close to zero, making them a race unable to handle mana.

Such people were kneeling and bowing their heads toward Aint.

Not just one or two, but all of the desert tribe members, numbering around a thousand.

"Uh, what is this..."

Aint was bewildered by the sudden situation.

Nothing particularly surprising. The desert tribes once...

"The Tacklakan desert tribes are said to have fought alongside the first Emperor on battlefields a thousand years ago," Grad said with his arms crossed.

It is said that the first Emperor, who united six kingdoms and an emerging religion into one country, still felt something was lacking.

What caught the first Emperor’s eye were the Tacklakan desert tribes.

Although they couldn’t use mana or aura, they were monsters with inherently strong bodies.

The first Emperor suppressed them with force, those who worshipped the logic of power.

"But to think they still worship Armian even after a thousand years?"

"It’s quite strange. The desert tribes were practically abandoned by the Empire..."

The first Emperor became the Khan of the desert tribes and commanded them.

The desert tribes achieved great accomplishments, and the Emperor also promised and provided many things.

But that was only from the first Emperor’s perspective, and the existing nobles weren’t very welcoming of a new force.

Especially if the parties in question were ignorant people who knew nothing but force, having survived in the barren desert.

There wasn’t anything that could be called oppression per se.

After all, the desert tribes were essentially founding contributors to the Empire.

It’s just that over a thousand years, support gradually, very gradually, decreased.

That alone was enough.

The already barren desert couldn’t maintain its wealth and power without external support.

Those who had united to survive scattered across the desert once again.

That was the current situation.

"Thanks to all of you, our tribe has survived. Please don’t make us into ungrateful beasts."

"We need to go back to report the results to His Excellency."

"Then at least let these people stay one more day."

"Hmm, alright."

"Then for the safety of the Academy members, the Light Blood Knight Order will also stay."

The Iron Blood Knight Order and four hundred elite soldiers left, while the Light Blood Knight Order, one hundred elite soldiers, nine Academy students, and two professors remained.

The desert tribe slaughtered many livestock and grilled the meat. Perhaps it had been a long time since their last festival, as people’s faces were full of joy.

"Aint, how was the evil species?"

"Thanks to Senior Rudger, it was easier than expected."

"Rudger would have a fit if he heard that."

Although he knew it himself when he did it, he still disliked Aint anyway.

Gerhard, holding a cup of strong desert liquor, observed the tribe members.

’They’re generally poor. Well, there’s not much one can do in the desert. Especially with reduced Imperial support and magical beasts running rampant.’

There wasn’t anything particularly profitable either.

The desert tribe members truly had nothing except their bodies.

’Would it be useful to arrange for them to form a mercenary band and grow it into a large one? The brokerage fees might be decent...’