The moment I used the technique, I immediately dashed towards the weakest person in the group.

Prince Leonard.

Alice and Kari soak up my teachings like a sponge while he's a little slow on the uptake. That's not to say he's a bad student. On the contrary, he's a good swordsman and knight, it's just that he isn't a great adapter.

He was taught to fight based on honor and dignity. Go to battle, fight with honesty and courage, and come home heroes. 

While I, on the other hand, don't necessarily teach that, I'm okay with unconventional warfare. Despite leaning towards the knight in shining armor side, if there's a strategy that can result in the enemy surrendering as soon as possible without losing allies on my side, I'm going to implement it.

This is the ethical dilemma Prince Leonard is struggling with. Honorable and dishonorable. Traditional and pragmatic. He can't just throw away his previous mindset and adopt a whole other one, it takes time.

And this time is what I'm going to use to my advantage.

WHOOSH!

Using a technique, I suddenly appear in front of Prince Leonard.

"!!!"

In a hurry, he stabs at my chest. I dodge it and use my lightning-covered hands and feet to stab the pressure point on his left shoulder and leg.

After stabbing him in his pressure points, his arm and leg lost all motion and with a strong kick to the numb leg, he fell to the ground with a thump. 

"Eh? I can't feel my arm or leg?"

Laying on the ground with messy hair, Prince Leonard said surprised. 

"That's the point. I injected my mana into your pressure points, blocking your meridians completely off."

He can't feel anything nor can he cast any magic out of his left hand until I dispel the mana within him. 

"[Heavenly Annihilation Technique: Dance of the Lightning God] is great for immobilization. I captured a lot of people using this. But this isn't all it can do though. If I wanted to, I could destroy the pressure point in your leg and make you not disabled."

As I said this, I touched his leg. This caused him to break out in a cold sweat. I also noticed him doing a momentary glance behind me.

I focus a little bit of my attention on Alice and Kari's situation.

I sensed they were moving behind me. Kari was retreating a little and Alice was closing in.

"Or I could control my mana to open the pressure point in your arm, causing a huge influx of mana to enter it and explode like an overinflated balloon."

I explained as I touched his left arm.

"There's another thing it can do as well. It's really simple in fact. And that is…"

I heard the sound of ice being summoned and wind being accumulated. They were about to attack.

"As a projectile!"

Grabbing Prince Leonard by the numb arm and leg, I threw him towards the person farthest away from me, Kari. She was about to throw another barrage of her [Wind Blades].

"Fuck!"

She yelled in surprise at the sudden attack before once again colliding with the thrown prince. The momentum behind the throw combined with the armor they're wearing resulted in her being thrown against a tree with a lot of force.

At the same time…

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

I was facing off against Alice. She was using her sword made of ice while was using Prince Leonard's dropped sword covered in lightning.

The battle was intense.

Every time I chip or break her sword, it'd regenerate and become stronger while mine gradually had cracks form on it. The tip was already gone.

Shallow cuts were appearing on my body as my clothes were slowly shredded. Alice wasn't fairing any better. She had cuts on her armor, arms, and a shallow cut on her cheek.

Despite treating her like my sister and seeing her hurt pains my heart, I showed her no mercy.

The pains of today will help her tomorrow.

SMASH!

I shattered her sword for the nth time.

"[Ice Spear]!"

Then suddenly, the broken sword made of ice turned into a spear and was headed straight for my face!

In a hurry, I barely dodged my head to the right as the spear zoomed past me and cut some of my hair.

I jump a few feet back and warily stare at Alice with a back full of sweat.

So close!

"You almost got me there. I didn't expect a spear."

"Well, you told us not to limit ourselves to one weapon. So I learned a few spear techniques from one of the castle knights."

Forming another spear made of ice, Alice commented. I did tell them that. You got to know how other weapons work as well.

You can't always rely on the sword in your hand. 

What if it breaks?

You can't just call timeout on the battlefield and expect someone to give you a new sword. No, you got to use what's on hand. Whether it's a spear, bow, dagger, or your bare hands.

So I suggested they learn a little bit about other weapons. They don't have to be an expert in every field but they need to at least have a simple understanding of it. That way, they have an idea on how to take down their opponents due to their season's weakness.

"Hey, how come you can use lightning? Didn't you say you couldn't use elemental magic that well?"

Staring at the lightning as it occasionally sparked across my body, Alice inquired. 

"That's true. I'm not too good at elemental magic. The best I can do is elementary-level spells. But this lightning right here isn't elemental magic."

"Oh? Then what is it?"

"My soul."

"...Your Soul?"

Alice asked, a little stumped at my answer. Nodding my head, I told her.

"Yes, my soul. I can control it with ease like it's an extension of my body."

CRACKLE!

To demonstrate this, I increase the output of the lightning around my body, causing it to spark and crackle like crazy.

"I call it [Soul Spark]. Not that many people can do this. It takes a lot of training. One wrong move and you can damage your soul and become nothing but an empty husk of a human."

If I didn't have [King of the Dead], which allowed me to easily control my soul as if breathing, I most likely couldn't do it. Nor would I want to do it considering the consequences of messing up.

"The downside of [Soul Spark] is that its range is limited."

The farthest I can use it is a couple of feet from me. Because of this range limitation, I can't use [Heavenly Annihilation Technique: Dance of the Lightning God] to its full use.

I learned that some of the techniques can allow me to form dragons made of lightning to help me as I fight and create lightning storms at the drop of a hat!

When I first heard this, the thought that went through my head was 'that's fucking awesome!'

But then I heard the qualifications behind it, I have to have an affinity and be adept at lightning magic. 

I don't have either of those. The best I can do is [Shock], a rank D magic spell.

...Sometimes, I hate my abilities. They're so powerful that they make it almost impossible for me to learn elemental magic.

But I didn't let that stop me. When life hands you lemons, you make lemonade! 

So that's what I did.

Using the fact that I can control my soul, I made it have the properties of lightning and used it as a substitute.

It might not be as effective as a person using actual lightning magic, but it's more than enough to get the job done.

"But the good thing about using my soul as a substitute instead of actual lightning is…"

I turned my attention towards Kari who was trying to get up after slamming into Prince Leonard. She looked quite tired.

"I can control it even after it leaves my body. [Soul Shackle]!"

Seeing this tiredness, a malicious smile crept onto my face as I said this.

"Wha- I can get him off me! What's this on his arm? Chains? Where the fuck chains come from? And why are they connected to me as well?"

"Chains? There are chains in my arm! Master!"

"Dammit, Marcus!"

Hearing them spit curses at me as they tried to get up from the ground only to fall back to the ground in failure, I laughed out loud and looked back towards Alice, who was staring at the duo in shock.

"Two down, one to go."

"...It appears so. I plan on defeating you with everything I got."

Putting on a serious expression as she looked back at me, Alice got in her fighting stance and aimed her spear towards me.

"Good. I like your optimism. Like always, don't... hold back!"

In the middle of my sentence, I dashed towards her with my chipped and cracked sword. I didn't cover it in lightning this time since I noticed it wasn't doing well against the ice.

Ice was a poor conductor for electricity.

I could cover the blade in [Gahenna's Flames] but the sword is on its last legs. It can only take a few more hits before breaking.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

We trade blows. Sword to spear and spear to sword. We were constantly on the offensive towards each other, pulling no punches.

"Agh!"

I viciously stepped on Alice's foot before ruthlessly sending a strike towards her face. 

She parried it with her spear before giving me a headbutt to the nose.

"..."

The attack made my nose bleed but other than that I ignored it and continued my assault.

I punched the gap in her armor, striking her ribs and she stabbed my shoulder with the spear.

I slashed her thigh with the jagged edge of my sword and she grazed my chest with her spear.

I jumped back to gain distance and she followed after me.

SMASH!

Simultaneously, I broke her spear and she shattered my sword. She formed an ice sword and stabbed at me. I dodged the sword, reinforced my arms with mana, and using some strength, snapped the ice sword in half. She tried to thrust the broken sword at me but before she could, her foot was suddenly caught by my [Soul Shackle] that I placed while talking to Kari and Prince Leonard earlier, causing her movement to freeze.

Taking this opportunity, I grabbed her arm, pulled her towards me (dispelling [Soul Shackle]), slammed her to the ground with a judo flip, and used [Heavenly Annihilation Technique: Dance of the Lightning God] to strike her pressure points, effectively paralyzing her.

 "It's over. Hmph!"

Blowing blood out from my nose, I looked at the three who were on the ground and said with a hearty smile.

"You guys did well. I'm proud of you."

They came a long way from when I first started teaching them. They're effectively learning and combining my teachings and their other teachers' teachings quite well.

Call me biased but I consider these three to be the best hero party of this generation. While the other heroes may have time on their side with them being summoned before us, they don't have me.

Not to boast, but I was the only summoned hero to fight in the previous war. 

I'm a former hero.

Meaning, I have plenty of battlefield experience compared to most guys that teach heroes. Whether it's jungles, deserts, snowy mountains, or tunnels underground, where Denoria forces were, I was there.

So, using my experiences as teaching material, I told Alice, Kari, and Prince Leonard how to handle such environments. I also gave them hardcore sparring matches that simulate real-life battles. I couldn't do all the scenarios I wanted but I was able to do the majority of them.

...It should be enough for them to survive on the battlefield. 

"Okay, lemme start healing you guys."

Snapping my fingers, I dissipate the mana that was in their pressure points and dispel [Soul Shackle].

"Dammit! We were so damn close! Ouch, my back!"

Kari said furiously before quieting down due to pain. She sounds like an old person.

"I can move my arm and leg again! They won't be disabled!"

Prince Leonard said happily despite limping a little bit. What I told him must've scared him a little.

"...I won't lose next time."

As for Alice, she was standing up with her arms crossed and her cheeks puffed up. Her sore loser is coming out again.

"Yeah, yeah, you say that every time you lose. What's this 16-0? I'll admit the sudden appearance of Alice surprised me but in the end, you still got the L. Anyways, get in a line, starting with the least injured first, Prince Leonard."

Brushing off their remarks about losing, I made them get in line starting with Prince Leonard. 

Fifteen minutes later, after using [Revitalization] on everyone, they were more or less healed. The cut marks from swords are gone and bruises are mostly healed. The only thing they need now is rest. 

"[Soul Lock Level 1: Engage]!"

Once everyone was healed, I sealed my power once again. A sense of fatigue washed over me, making me stumble a bit.

"Are you okay?"

Worried about me, Alice caught me and asked. She had eyes full of concern.

"I'm just a little tired. It looks like I overexerted myself with tonight's spar. Good job for achieving that."

To ease her worries I said with a smug smile. Every time I reseal my powers, this sense of having the life sucked out of me appears. Given enough time and I'll be okay.

"Hmph! If you can self-promote and joke like that then you're alright."

"Ouch! Don't pinch my side like that!"

"Hmph! I'm going to have a bath and go to bed. See you tomorrow."

Walking away slightly stiff, Alice said goodbye.

"Wait for me! I wanna come. Let's take a bath together!"

"Okay, but get off me. I'm sore."

Latching onto Alice's side, Kari suggested and Alice said a little annoyed. In a hurry, Kari let go with a laugh.

...Tch, I'm jealous.

"Master, Father, I'm heading back to. I'm going to slowly process this spar and find the points I'm weak on."

Seeing them leave towards the castle, Prince Leonard said with a solemn look. His once handsome face and clean hair are now dirty and unruly.

"Sure. If you're stumped on something, you can come ask me anytime. My door is always open."

I said as I nodded. If there's anything he's unsure of, I'm just a knock away.

"Thanks. Goodnight, Master, Father."

"Goodnight, son."

"See you tomorrow."

Prince Leonard then walks away. There was only me and King Paul left.

"You sure you're okay?"

All of a sudden, King Paul asks. To which I answer honestly.

"No. Not really. They didn't hold back. Ptoo!"

I spit out a good amount of black blood from my mouth. These were from internal injuries. Being smashed into numerous trees will do that to you. 

"If I let it be, it'll take two days to heal. But with [Revitalization], It'll take half a day."

"It's amazing how fast your regeneration is with and without [Revitalization]. Most people would need weeks to heal, and that's with healing magic."

"What can I say? I'm built different. I mean, look at that."

I point towards the places where my blood landed. Sprouting from the bloody dirt were little saplings.

"Thanks to my abilities. My blood has so much vitality that it can make plants grow in a matter of minutes."

"...That can be either a blessing or a curse. If someone from the Black Order learned about this, they'll spare no effort to get you."

"What? Those  fuckers are still around? I thought we killed everyone affiliated with it."

I said slightly surprised. The Black Order was an evil organization that pursued the goal of mastering all magic and achieving godhood. It didn't matter if you researched holy magic, necromancy, fire, or curse magic, if you don't mind crossing any line, killing any person, or having no qualms about who your allies are, then you're in.

I ran into them one time in the past because they were working with Denoria's army. We bumped heads a couple of times, I killed a few important people, they killed a few important people, you could say it was a 'fight on sight' situation between us.

Anyways, after interrogating a few of their members using a special means, I found out where their headquarters were and gathered a force to wipe it off the face of the earth. We left no one behind.

Or at least I thought we did.

"It turns out a few managed to escape the elimination of Black Order and went into hiding, biding their time. They resurfaced two years ago, doing the same thing they did all those years ago.

"I see. Well, considering all the hell they gave me in the past, if I receive word about I'll help out. Their members usually have nice stuff to sell."

I made a lot of cash selling their shit.

"...Sometimes, I can't believe you're the former hero Mars."

With an incredulous look, King Paul said. In response, I shrugged my shoulders and said.

"If it makes you feel any better, I gave half to the orphanages I came across."

I didn't need all that money anyway so I figured that I should give it to people who'd put it to good use. 

"Anyways, let's head back. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to put my plans dealing with the Yulsteins into play. But before I can do that I need your help."

"We'll talk on the way there. Just say what you need."

"Gotcha. First things first…"

On the entire way back, we talked about how to bring on the downfall of the good-for-nothing Yulstein family.