Mige continued his narrative, "At that time, Nezena decided to launch our final attack on one of the elven villages. The village was located on the outskirts of a river, sourced from a mountain in the Wolf Slope territory.
Most of the villagers were River Elves, and there were no mages guarding the village. So we were confident that this raid would be as easy as the previous ones.
As we anticipated, the village was quickly destroyed. We killed all the males over 100 years old and captured the rest. But just as we were preparing to return to our hiding place, a group of elves appeared."
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[Elf Alliance Territory, Ruins of Rizan Village]
Raiden gazed pensively at the devastated village. The sight of dozens of elf corpses strewn about weighed heavily on his heart. If only he had arrived sooner, all of this could have been stopped, and they could have been saved.
But no one ever knows when misfortune will strike.
Initially, Raiden had no intention of coming to this village. He was on his way home to Lake Serimpi, the center of the River Elf kingdom. He was a knight directly appointed by the king, making him a noble of the River Elf kingdom.
However, in the midst of his journey, he heard the news of disturbances in the elven villages located on the outskirts of the Bog Forest. Many of these villages had been destroyed, and their inhabitants were mysteriously killed.
At first, the other villages believed it to be the work of starving, mutated animals emerging from the Bog Forest. But the incidents continued to occur, even though they used camouflage spells that usually deceived mutated animals. The destruction of villages persisted.
This made the elves living near the Bog Forest fearful, and complaints began to be sent to the elven alliance. However, Raiden knew that their complaints would never be heard by the elven alliance.
Currently, the war against the demon species was reaching its peak. The three species—elves, humans, and warbeasts—were working together to fight the demons, but the situation remained the same.
Demon attacks seemed unstoppable. Their numbers were overwhelming and seemingly endless. Every time they managed to kill one demon, two others would appear to attack.
To make matters worse, every demon that was killed would be devoured by other demons, making them stronger. If this continued, the war between the species would end with them being consumed by demons or giving birth to new demons whose power surpassed anything they could fight against.
Two elf heroes, Darius and Lily, had tried to stop the attacks using their ultimate spells, but every time they stepped onto the battlefield, demon heroes would appear to meet them. The demon hero called themselves Behemoth.
Behemoth, a massive and corpulent creature, boasted curved tusks, blackish-gray fur blending with the night sky, and a pyramid-shaped arrangement of three slanted eyes on its head.
With its large head and massive curling tusks, Behemoth's body was covered in thick gray scales. Its smoky trunk emitted tremendous energy, and its presence was accompanied by a sweet musky scent.
Behemoth's smoky trunk exuded a hint of burning wood and a touch of floral aroma. Its thunderous roar and heavy footsteps announced its presence.
The creature's breath carried a sweet smoky scent with a musky undertone. Its tusks had a sharp, decaying scent, and its trunk emanated a powerful aura.
Behemoth's thick, velvety fur and robust trunk give it a commanding presence. Its tusks are curved and razor-sharp, while its smoky trunk emanates power.
With its thick, leathery hide, Behemoth's trunk hangs like a sturdy rope, and its tusks feel as solid as stones.
The creature is so terrifying that it brings nightmares to the elven alliance forces. Due to Darius and Lily being held back by Behemoth, the elven alliance is forced to find alternative methods. They burn all the corpses after battles to prevent them from becoming food for the demons.
The war rages on incessantly, with thousands to millions of spells flying through the sky every second. Despite this, soldiers still need rest, and they require sustenance. Raiden is one of the commanders tasked with fetching food supplies from the allied elven kingdoms.
When he heard the news of the destruction in the villages on the outskirts of the Bog Forest, Raiden took the initiative to investigate. Wars rely on soldiers, and soldiers consist of people who love their homeland. When the hearts of the people are filled with worry, and leaders forget about them, the morale of the troops easily falters.
During their journey, they spotted billowing black smoke in the direction of one of the villages they were heading to. Raiden still remembered the name of the village told to him by an old Wood Elf—it was called Rizan. Raiden urged their horses to accelerate, sensing something ominous from the sight.
When they arrived at the village, Raiden's fears became a reality. The entire village's population had been killed, and the survivors were captured. But it wasn't mutated animals they encountered; it was a horde of humanoid creatures with dark green skin.
Raiden's eyes reddened, and without waiting for a command, he charged forward to attack. Other mages followed closely behind him. The battle between the two groups ensued.
Raiden had never seen creatures like his opponents, but they possessed incredibly strange powers. Raiden couldn't sense any mana within their bodies, yet their bodies seemed shielded by an invisible barrier. Their strikes were so powerful that they generated scorching flames. Some of them could even fly through the air by kicking at empty space.
Raiden didn't understand what kind of power they were using, but he was certain it wasn't mana. However, his confusion didn't make Raiden complacent or defeated.
Although these creatures were formidable, they were no match for him, a Level 5 Constellation Mage. Raiden had plenty of spells capable of destroying these creatures, but the problem was that they seemed unable to die.
Their wounds regenerated rapidly. Whenever their hands were severed, new hands would grow back within minutes. Every time he burned their skin until it melted, new skin would immediately form.
Not only that, but they possessed incredibly peculiar martial arts. Each of their movements was immoral and targeted unimaginable body parts. They fought like barbarians, yet their agility showed that they were highly trained.
Moreover, these strange creatures had excellent teamwork. The warriors Raiden brought with him were all mages, with the weakest being a Level 3 Constellation Mage. They were the elite team of the River Elf kingdom, but in this battle, they were increasingly cornered with each passing moment.
Eventually, one of his warriors was impaled on a creature's spear. The other warriors also showed signs of exhaustion and mana depletion. Raiden had no choice but to activate his Domain.
Raiden was a user of the Soul spell faction. His Domain had the power to shake the souls of his enemies, causing them to lose themselves and turn against each other. But when the Domain was activated, the scene Raiden had been waiting for did not occur.
He failed to control the souls of these creatures. Their souls seemed shackled by something, rendering his soul mana color unable to influence them. However, Raiden was not out of options. Ever since the Soul Spell faction became known to the human alliance, the River Elves had developed their own version of Soul Spell faction.
The Soul spell faction was no longer limited to the souls of the living but also extended to the souls of the deceased. The vengeful spirits of the villagers of Rizan, brutally slaughtered by these creatures, held a deep grudge against them. Raiden easily took control of them and turned them into his strength.
The battle resumed with a new phase. This time, Raiden's forces were no longer cornered like before. With the assistance of Raiden's created Domain, they began pushing back the creatures.
With the power of the souls of the villagers of Rizan, Raiden launched attack after attack against the creatures that their regenerative abilities couldn't heal. The battle became one-sided as the enemy had no mages capable of activating a Domain.
Within the Domain, all the laws of the world bowed to Raiden. He could launch attacks from anywhere and at any time, evading the enemy's defenses. As the creatures became increasingly cornered, Raiden discovered something that made him smile.
He sensed mana movements from one of the creatures. But these mana movements were strange, unlike the usual movements of mages. The mana seemed to be compelled by a force that enslaved them.
Annoyance suddenly welled up in Raiden's heart. He focused his attention on that particular creature and realized it was a female. She appeared to be a Green-skinned Wood Elf, but her taller stature indicated otherwise.
Raiden discovered that the woman was transmitting her mana to the other creatures. The mana she provided had the same mana color as a mage using the Healing spell faction. Therefore, Raiden suspected that she was the source of the creatures' rapid regeneration ability.
Without hesitation, Raiden concentrated his mana to unleash his most powerful attack. He named this spell Reaper's Edge.
As the spell was chanted, the souls of the villagers of Rizan gathered at a single point, forming a scythe-shaped blade resembling a crescent moon. Reaper's Edge then shot forward, targeting the woman with incredible speed.