“Kuuk”

 

The mana inside his body was out of control. Without the black smoke, tiredness washed over his body and the unhealed wounds were making it worse.

 

“What are you doing, captain?” 

“Stay close.” That was all Kinoya could say before he sat down and started to meditate.

 

“What is this?” When his consciousness appeared in his magespace, he was stunned.

 

The whole space was fogged. And he was standing in knee-deep water. It was his mage space yet nothing was under his control. 

 

‘It’s this way’ With the bond between him and the mud slime he could still find the way. Before he could see, it jumped from the fog to his shoulder.

 

‘What?’ Even if it couldn’t talk, he could understand its complaints. Yet he couldn’t help it. As he moved he could see the black pillar around the black men. 

 

‘He is still sleeping. It would have been if he could help me.’ Kinoya was helpless. Akai was at the battlefield and other than him, he didn’t know anyone who can have a potion for mana poisoning.

 

“What was that? It’s like a heartbeat.” He wasn't sure about its source but the slime whispered in his mind, “What? Water fairy?”

 

Getting close to it Kinoya understood the meaning of the slime, “What do you mean? It didn’t hatch… Is it an egg?”

 

Egg or not, the liquid inside the ord was turbulent. Whenever a little bit of fog came close to it, the orb devoured it. But…

 

There was an area around it that was void of fog, even the water on the ground didn’t dare to touch the pillar. As if they were afraid of it.

 

‘Yes, If it can absorb the water and the fog…’ Kinoya moved to touch the orb. As soon as his hand touched it, it became docile again, like an obedient child.

 

‘What should I do now?’ Kinoya wasn’t sure what to do next. ‘It can devour the fog but the moment I move it…’

 

Kinoya tried to put the orb in the water on the ground, alas… As soon as it was close to the water, the water parted.

 

‘So they are afraid. And it can’t do anything unless it is close.’ While contemplating he observed another important problem. The water level has risen. It was close to his hips.

 

[Status check: Time till the destruction of space:  4:31]

[Status check: Time till the destruction of space:  4:30]

 

‘Destruction? The mage space will be destroyed?’

 

[Owner will lose all the advancement.]

[Owner will be unable to bond with the earth element again.]

 

“Are you kidding me? Where were you till now? What type of shitty system are you? Can’t you help your master?” Yet his screams fell into deaf ears, the ‘broken’ system reminded him of the cruel reality.

 

[Status check: Time till the destruction of space:  4:23]

 

He was helpless again. He moved to the black man, in the hope of waking him up, but the black smoke pillar stopped him from touching him. ‘Whose mana are you?’

 

‘Pour mana in the orb.’ the mud slime whispered inside his mind and didn’t dare to hesitate. As soon as he put the mana in the orb and...

 

*Shhh*

 

A sharp suction force spread from the orb, devouring everything on its path. The water and the fog vanished as soon as reached within the range of its power. 

Looking at its effectiveness he continued to pour mana and the amount of water continued to decrease. Soon only some puddles were left behind.

 

[Status check: Time till the destruction of space:  52:29:42]

[Status check: Time till the destruction of space:  52:29:41]

 

Kinoya wanted to pour more mana in the orb but the mud slime went limp on his shoulder. 

 

‘Looks like I forced you too much’ After putting the orb on the pillar, he put the mud slime too. Looking at his pitiful eyes Kinoya couldn’t hide his smile, “You should heal first. Don’t worry I will get the potion in two days.”

 

After taking a last look at the space he stopped his meditation. The situation of his body was different. His whole body was wrapped in black smoke and was healing at a visible speed.

 

“Captain, even if you are a child you shouldn’t be moving without any cover.” Palsa threw a cloth robe towards him.

 

Fighting under a strong leader is good, but a psychopath is never suitable. Most of the seventeen had regretted their decision to stay with Kinoya, but Palsa was not one of them. 

 

"Captain, why are we not fighting?" When others were afraid to even look at Kinoya, Palsa had a more open attitude. 

 

"Because you will die, even before you can draw your sword." Kinoya put on the robe.

 

 Though the leftover squad was also present, they were afraid to come close. They have seen the cruelty and the atrocity with their own eyes and the result was as expected.

 

They were standing on the hill, a little distance away from the battlefield. But the view was open like a chessboard in front of them. 

 

"Then would you have died too?" Palsa's words put a smile on Kinoya's face. 

Kinoya turned around to look at them. All 17 of them were young, even the oldest sergeant was just 27 years old. With the life expectancy of 150, he hadn't even reached his prime.

 

"You know I am thrown out of the military. So I can't put on the armour of the empire. I hope Chanakya has told you about It." 

"We know." It was a sergeant who spoke.

 

"What is your name?"

He was surprised for a moment but answered with all seriousness. "I am Chand Sadagar."

"Oh! Chand, you are the one who got the [Basic Archery] skill first. Well, you will be captain of my archer troop."

 

Stunned wasn’t the right word to express their feeling. They were speechless at the arrogance of him. 'What is this child talking about?' 

 

"But captain even if I get it first I am a swordsman, not an archer," Chand protested.

 

"Even the things from a long distance away are very clear to you. All the moving things slowed down when you concentrate. You can sense everything around you, even thing that is behind you. In other words, you have three skills [Far-sight], [Focus] and [Perception]. And your dexterity is very high, but your health is low. Am I wrong?"

 

Chand couldn't believe what he was hearing. These skills are something not many knew about. "How do you know?"

 

"That is not important. But if it is true you can only be an archer in my troops or you can change the troops.”

 

Chand almost spoke out loud. "Captain, you are a captain yourself. How can you do that?" 

 

"You have followed someone who was thrown out of the army. Do you want to retire from the army when you follow me?"

 

Hesitation wasn't the emotion one could find on the face of Kinoya neither could they fathom his level of confidence, “If they want to give up on your promotion then you are free to go. But…”

 

Kinoya couldn’t even try to hide his hostility. Even without black smoke and blue eyes, his bloodlust was enough to make them shudder in fear.

 

“If you decide to stay, I want absolute obedience. I don’t want hypocrites in my army.”

“Why are you looking at me? Do I look like one?” Palsa was first to retort, “Killing one or killing a thousand is the same to me.”

 

Even though others want to say something, they can't find the right words. All they could do was avoid his gaze.

 

"It is just a 2-year suspension, as long as general Akai is alive, it won't even be the problem to get myself back in. Worst come worst, I will move to the army of moon general."

 

“Even the confidence of the devil is on a different level. How can you be so sure?” The man who came out wasn’t part of their troop.

 

"He is friendly." His right eyehole flickered in the blue fire for a moment, before Kinoya said it. But Chand moved closer to Kinoya, was going to say something but he was stopped, "I know. Don't worry."

 

“But what I am more curious about is that.” Without caring the suspicion aimed towards him he continued to speak, “By your plan, General Akai should be in defence, but General Vorn's corps are forced to move back."

 

"That was the plan."

"Tell me about it." His voice wasn’t soft, neither was it manly. Yet none dare to ignore the air of dominance that was wrapped around those words.

 

"Will they come out?" Kinoya couldn't be careless. With his previous display, it won't be surprising, if the enemy sent some assassins. Though his [Extrasensory Vision] couldn't detect any ill intent, one could never be too careful.

 

"Don't worry about them. They won't move. Let's talk about the formation. I heard it is you who devised it."

 

'How could this man know about it?' He kept his expression under control, "I did."

 

"So why are you not in it? Are you afraid?" Listening to his words, Kinoya couldn't shake off the uneasiness. The man was pleased with the expression,  "I saw you were quite heroic in the morning."

 

"Hero or Villain, those things depend on one's perspective. Either way one couldn't say that I am a hero." Kinoya looked into his eyes, "And, I am suspended."

 

"Who suspended you? You should have been an asset to the army."

"Emper…" *hic* 

 

The end of his words was swallowed up in his hiccup. Never had he felt such thick killing intent. 

 

His back got wet in just an instant, but it vanished even before a second could eclipse. What was surprising was that the intent came from the person in front of him.

 

"Boy, you should not be so careless with the little mouth of your." The man's eye flickered for a moment before he asked, "Imperial edict?"

 

Under the stare of the man, Kinoya was still unable to control the body, all he could do was to nod.

 

The man didn't care about Kinoya, as he turned towards the battleground. "Then what about the cavalry?" 

Taking a look Kinoya couldn't help but curse under the breath, "That idiot."

"What? Was that not your plan?"

 

"That Bastard…" Kinoya looked at the man before continuing, "That general Riyasu is doing exactly what I had told him not to do."

 

"Why? That is good. He is using the cavalry to assist him. That will relieve him of some of the pressure." Kinoya couldn't believe it was the same person who was excluding such a strong intent a moment ago. 

 

"Cavalry is not a problem. But the right-wing is the problem." The man took another look as Kinoya continued to explain, "The right-wing is close to the river. The ground there is wet and can't hold the charge of the cavalry. It will just hinder their movement." 

 

With his words, their action relayed, and soon the cavalry lost the momentum. They became the standing target for the archers. The leftover cavalries’ ineffective charge clashed against the enemy, further increasing the casualty.