Alator, who didn't lose his charismatic stance even in the most troubling situations and answered every question asked after thinking thoroughly, was gone, replaced by the druid who practically turned the place into hell with the help of the double magic circle appearing under his feet.
"Is this all? Just an energy shield and you won't even be able to put a scratch on it?"
The residents of the World of the Six Civilizations didn't have an idiom like 'adding fuel to the fire', but if you wanted to explain what it meant, having them watch what was happening right now would have been enough. The more the Blood Dome, which was one of Nafız's signature techniques and which she developed by building upon the original, stood intact before him, the more the Leader of the Elemental Ten became enraged.
"One of them fears the darkness that brought her into existence, the other fears her madness that caused her to turn her back on her lineage. With this pathetic state of yours, how are you going to lead and pave the way for the druids who want to follow you. Pathetic fools!"
The Blood God kept hitting hard; it was obvious this many words didn't come out because of a spark; in every battle she experienced, Nafız dealt with her comrades as much as with the enemy. It wasn't for nothing that she waited until now instead of heading to the Reward Dungeon the moment they entered the continent of the Mercenaries' Lodge; even if they weren't aware of it, they were in a test and would get their grades along with the last question.
"So what if you have dual element mastery? If an ordinary orc warrior were in my place, he would have severed your neck with his axe long ago. You are nothing but a fool who thinks he can fight without moving from where he is!"
This was where the rope broke; along with salt being rubbed into his wound opening moment by moment, Alator, whose nose and ears started leaking blood, carried out his ultimate attack on the Blood Dome with ten tornadoes and a relentlessly pouring rain of needles.
The remaining nine druids had already retreated dozens of paces; the members of the Elemental Ten knew their leader's might, if they were caught in the middle they wouldn't have the chance to protect themselves like the orc warrior.
There was someone who didn't agree with them, and Nafız, standing tall like a mountain inside the Blood Dome starting one pace away from her, was extremely relaxed in the face of the attack that would smash even the largest unit in the region they pillaged to smithereens.
The attack carried out jointly by two elements could be a death trap for others, but Nafız, who was cleansed of all impurities inside her in order to receive God Berkut's blessing, had the might to withstand this.
While she should have fallen into a disadvantaged position as the situation continued, the exact opposite was happening; as Alator's physical endurance, mental resistance, and the presence of the elements heeding his call decreased, the might contained in the noble blood flowing in the Blood God's veins remained in place.
Alator was not in his right mind. His actions were the product of the secret desires he tried to suppress, but whatever happened, he had chosen the absolute wrong person for a war of attrition. When his staff dropped from his hand, it was followed by his knees unable to carry his body, and finally his head adorned with silvery shining hair under the moonlight.
The Leader of the Elemental Ten fell; before the relentless flurry the Blood Dome used its chest as a shield against could reach its goal, his body reached its limits. However, there was an unresolved problem; the water and wind elements that had answered his call and turned into attacks each were still here and continuing their movements.
With no one to tell them what to do and where to go, they began to drift aimlessly, advancing towards Alator lying on the ground and the Elemental Ten members waiting a few paces behind him. If the young druid, who mobilized a power too massive for him to control, was exposed defenselessly to the water needles mixed into the tornadoes, there might not even be a body left behind to be honored by burning. It wasn't the time to hold back; while those among the subordinates stepping in front of him to protect their leader who had mastery over the water-ice element tried to subdue the sharp needles, earth walls rose from the ground.
"Disperse!"
Maybe they would make it by the skin of their teeth, maybe they would fail, but the owner of the voice they heard most often lately roared so loudly that they froze just like the elements coming at them. In the void above Nafız, the blood-red double-headed eagle phenomenon appeared, and not only Alator's ownerless elements but also those controlled by his subordinates were shattered and mixed into nature.
This was what true power was like. Being the heir of God was far beyond acting with borrowed might. Unearthing a part of the power she hid in her body, in her veins, the Blood God ensured all elements in the area surrounding them bowed down.
"Engrave well into your minds what you just experienced. If tomorrow, when one of the mages of the Lands of Light appears before you, you don't want to lose the mastery of the elements heeding your call, get stronger until no one can lay a hand on what's yours!"
Grab this handsome guy and let's hit the road, he will have sobered up by the time we reach our destination!"
This time, they didn't need to engage in an extra effort to leave no trace behind. Alator, ending the job his subordinates started with the attacks he made unconsciously, had managed to wipe the last force belonging to the Mercenaries in the region off the face of the earth.
With Nafız in front, Alator carried together by two druids behind her, and the remaining Elemental Ten members, they were setting out towards an unknown, but it was impossible for them to see the smile covering the face of the red-haired orc warrior.
A smile rivaling hers was also on the face of Dimitri, resting in one of the tents belonging to the siege army in front of the Balsici Castle at the other end of the continent. Neither the smell emitted by tens of thousands of corpses lying on the ground, nor the sounds made by the birds flying to take a piece from them, nor the difficulty of what needed to be done to capture the rest of the region could manage to spoil his mood right now.
"Master, let us just burn these away. What were they when they were alive that they should be something when they become fertilizer? The fruits and vegetables grown from these would be poison to the one who eats them!"
Hammerstriker, who closed himself off after the struggle at the beginning of the war, couldn't hold out much longer and opened up like a tulip a day later. He had taken upon himself the job of leading the guards while the Balsici Castle soldiers plundered the enemy headquarters, but it was obvious he hadn't considered the consequences of Leonardo's idea about the dead.
"A little more patience, my friend; both the lands devastated due to the war will heal, and it will be useful for the testing phases of my apprentice's new invention. By the way, why don't you wear the odor-proof mask I designed like the others?"
Leonardo spoke hurriedly while popping the fruit, grown only on the tree called Flat Mulberry on the Wild Swamp continent and red on one side and white on the other, into his mouth. He ate with such appetite that even if he choked, he waited for the fruit in his mouth to go down to his stomach before coughing.
"The things you say now, Master. I should put that weird thing on my head and fall prey first to the tongue of this guy, then his master, right? Don't be fooled by him standing quiet, mysterious, and introverted in his corner; the moment he catches the opportunity, he would draw my picture and send it to you-know-who using a mechanical hawk without pitying the money!"
Bookworm, retreated to a corner of the large tent where General Alina had pleasure parties a few days ago, overflowing with her unique and pain-filled screams, was hiding his giggles using the wide hood of his purple robe.
While the Nameless Ten stood guard in their hiding places just in case, the Orc Royal Family, Master Leonardo, his apprentice Michelangelo, and the Leader of the Balsici Family, Dimitri, had thrown themselves into this most comfortable place to seek shelter from the noon sun.
Everyone in the environment knew Nafız, and they silently confirmed the truth of Hammerstriker's words, but there was something they didn't know. Seconds ago, a mechanical hawk sent by the person they thought the news would go to had reached the Balsici Castle.
Seeing the mechanical device brought by the guards, Sasha took it and set out turning into the wind, and appeared at the door of the tent with the mechanical hawk that would only react to Bookworm's lineage power.