## Chapter 1020 – 1020. The Plum Blossom Swordsman Reincarnated Into The Baek Family
I returned to the elf village with Berika’s corpse.
I gathered the elves in the center of the village. Even the severely ill were not excluded. After all, I planned to resolve the plague soon.
About 4,000 elves gathered and stared at Berika’s corpse. Some of the shocked elves collapsed to the ground, while others were simply stunned.
I looked around at the elves and clicked my tongue. The population, which was originally over 6,000, had lost 2,000 to the plague. As expected of elves, they all boasted outstanding beauty. It was such a waste that so many female elves had died.
“Listen up!”
I shouted, infusing mana into my voice. The elves looked at me. Their gazes were weak, especially those of the sick.
“Elder Berika is dead. Some of you may already know. Elder Berika conspired with demon contractors to kill us! There must be those who agreed with Elder Berika, and those who knew but ignored it! You ungrateful wretches! You will pay the price!”
I lifted Berika’s head and threw it to the ground. Berika’s head shattered. Skull fragments flew, and her brain soiled the ground.
“From now on, you are all slaves of me, Eugene Prukerus! Everyone, kneel on the ground! I will not tolerate any nonsense! You filthy elves who don’t know gratitude! You repay kindness with hostility! Accept your fate as slaves!”
I pointed my finger at the ground. Lightning shot from my finger, scarring the earth. The terrified elves looked at each other.
“…Don’t be ridiculous! I admit that the Elder was wrong! I also know that we who agreed with the Elder and those who stood by are also guilty! But that doesn’t mean we should become your slaves!”
An elf drew his sword and shouted bravely.
“He’s right!”
“We won’t be slaves!”
“Don’t underestimate us!”
Elves jumped out from all over. They held swords and summoned spirits. The Guardians. The only military force in this village. There were nearly 50 of them. Each one was a skilled expert, at least an Aura Expert. It would be difficult for me to handle them alone.
But I didn’t need to step in myself. I had a maid who had reached the pinnacle of Aura Master and Archmage.
“Yuria. Take care of them.”
“Yes, Master.”
A huge shadow blade appeared on the ground and swept past their bodies. Half of the 50 died from that, and the other half couldn’t avoid the spears that rose from the shadows and died. In less than a minute, all those who could fight were dead.
“Those who want to resist, resist. But I warn you, it won’t end with just death anymore.”
I threw the head of the Guardian Captain, Jegner, to the ground as well.
Aura Master.
The strongest after Berika.
The elves, who had lost their will to fight, knelt down. I grinned at them. Several female elves had already caught my eye. I was very much looking forward to them attending to me at night.
***
The Vitrasse army continued to advance.
A plague spread through the army. The army groaned. The plague spread more and more each day. It didn’t take long for the army of 12,000 to start creaking.
Already, over 4,000 were infected, and about 300 had died. The old soldiers with weakened immunity were the first to die.
The soldiers trembled in fear, not knowing when the plague would strangle them. They wanted to run away. But the moment they ran, the army’s blades would be turned on them. The army also had a unit that specialized in chasing deserters. And the moment they ran, their families back home would be in danger.
The soldiers prayed to the sky, to the earth, to God. To not be infected by the plague. Even if they were infected, to not take their lives.
But as time passed, the number of infected increased, and even the general leading the army, Marquis Paul Smeshed, became desperate.
He had been considering retreating, but suddenly changed his mind and shouted at the soldiers.
“Advance! I said advance! This plague is all the work of the elves! We must obtain the ancient artifact the elves possess to make the plague disappear!”
The words that started from the general spread throughout the army. The soldiers believed the general’s words. The general was a high-ranking person, and since they had contracted the plague after entering the forest, it was credible enough. The soldiers looked for a target to vent their hatred, a target for their anger.
“Damn elves! How dare they release a plague?! These bastards have crossed the last line we should have protected!”
“Let’s kill the elves!”
“Let’s rape the female elves and make them into prostitutes!”
“We must kill the elves to make the plague disappear!”
“Burn the forest!”
The soldiers marched recklessly. And at some point, the elves’ interference disappeared. The water that would appear in the air to extinguish the fires they set on the trees was gone, and the things that shook the ground and interfered had also disappeared.
The soldiers continued their advance towards the elf village.
“Ugh… Aaaargh…!”
“Mom…! I want to see my mom…!”
“I have a son at home… my son… Keuk!”
Soldiers died one by one. It felt like one was dying every 10 minutes. The dead soldiers were left on one side. Originally, corpses should be buried or burned.
“There is no time to bury the corpses! We will organize the corpses of our dead comrades later when we invade the elves and obtain the ancient artifact! The plague is still spreading! We must kill the elves to control the plague!”
It was the general’s order. The soldiers burned with hatred for the elves. This was all because of those damn elves.
“Advance! Advance!”
The general shouted as if in a frenzy.
“What are you doing! Why are you stopping! Can’t you hear my orders?! I said advance!”
“I, a tree fell and injured my arm! My arm won’t move!”
“Aha! Now that I see, you are a spy for the dirty pointy-ears! Kill that bastard!”
Anger and hatred turned into madness.
The general urged the soldiers on. He killed the useless soldiers by accusing them of being spies and ignored the advice of his adjutants that he was going too far.
General Paul knew it was dangerous, but he did it anyway. He had no choice. His life was at stake here.
“Kekel. You’re doing well. Very well. Kekekel.”
“Hurry, do it.”
Behind General Paul was a demon.
A demon with slippery green skin was the demon of plague. An unknown fluid dripped from his skin. His head was like a fly, and he had three mouths. Bat wings flapped on his back. As befitting the demon of plague, he had a gruesome appearance. He was Hepl, the demon of plague.
The other demon was a 30cm-sized wooden doll. Sharp hooks were attached to both arms, and blood constantly flowed from its mouth. It was a mid-level demon, Nerot, with the ability to control people and corpses like puppets.
Thud, thud!
“Faster. Faster!”
Nerot stabbed General Paul’s back with his hooks, urging him on. Blood dripped down. Nerot sucked Paul’s blood with his bleeding mouth.
The demon of plague, Hepl, wasn’t idle either. He played with General Paul’s right arm. General Paul’s right arm was grotesquely twisted. It melted, and it also transformed into a disgusting form like an insect’s arm.
General Paul tried not to look at the demons behind him. He shouted at the soldiers.
“Don’t rest! The moment you rest, the plague will kill us! Advance! Advance! It’s not much further!”
And finally, the Vitrasse army arrived at the Beliak elf village.
“Kill the elves and find the ancient artifact!”
General Paul shouted, veins bulging in his neck.
The soldiers rushed in like wild horses. Even the knights who pretended to be noble ran towards the village. Elf artifacts would be worth a lot of money, and the beauty of elves was famous, regardless of gender. Especially female elves were hard to find even with money. Their faces were filled with greed and lust.
“Huh, there’s no one!”
“There are no elves!”
“General! The houses are empty!”
“Hah, it might be a trap!”
“Damn it! It seems the elves have already escaped!”
The soldiers shouted in anger. Because there was nothing for them to gain.
“You fools! Look over there! The elves are gathered over there!”
A fence was set up in the center of the village. Beyond it, the elves could be seen. The elves, suffering from the plague, glared at the soldiers with gaunt faces.
And in the center of them was a noble man with black hair and black eyes.
***
I grinned as I watched the Vitrasse army that had invaded the Beliak village. The mad soldiers rushed in, but they couldn’t cross the fence. It was a partial use of the ancient artifact, the Earth Orb.
Of course, it wasn’t completely blocked. Those who came to their senses would realize that this was a barrier, and they would break through the barrier with force.
But I would strike first.
I stroked the Earth Orb. I roughly knew how to use it. I poured mana into the Earth Orb.
“This is what you’re after, right? The Earth Orb. But too bad. I have no intention of handing it over to you. Heh heh. You’ve come to hell.”
Mana was sucked into the Earth Orb.
The Vitrasse army. An army that the Vitrasse king had squeezed to the limit to form. If this army was annihilated… the Vitrasse kingdom would not be able to withstand the aftermath and would be destroyed, and another country would take over the territory of the Vitrasse kingdom.
“Explode!”
Boom! Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwang!
The ground exploded. Dust rose into the air, and the soldiers’ bodies were easily shattered like twigs. The soldiers who had been blinded by plunder and had entered deep into the village died in vain. More than 5,000 had lost their lives.
“It’s magic!”
“It’s a great mage!”
“Hiiiik!”
The soldiers were terrified. Some were running away. I didn’t bother to stop them. The enemies had already lost half of their will to fight.
“Hey, you bastard. Hurry up.”
I stomped on the head of Beint, who was writhing on the ground without arms or legs.
“You… promised… Don’t kill… my sister.”
“I won’t. If you do your job properly.”
Beint gritted his teeth and used his ability. The plague corpses that had been prepared in advance moved and rushed at the remaining soldiers. The soldiers were horrified and attacked the plague corpses, and the plague corpses exploded, scattering the plague.
The plague spread. The soldiers infected with the plague trembled and then collapsed to the ground. Ordinary soldiers couldn’t withstand the high concentration of the plague for long. I watched the scene from the safety of the barrier.
“As expected, biochemical weapons are specialized for mass destruction.”
Bella, who was bound by ropes, shouted.
“Hepl! No! What are you doing! Take back the plague spreading through the army!”
She called out to the demon she had contracted with. Bella seemed to have built a decent relationship with the demon, so the demon might listen to her. But the demon was currently distracted by something else.
I tilted my head to the side. In the open space filled with corpses, Yuria was holding a bottle and sprinkling something black.
Corrupted mana.
The life force and power of demons.
The demon of plague, Hepl, and the demon of puppets, Nerot, had already been lured in. They had taken the bait even though they knew it was a trap. It couldn’t be helped. The corrupted mana that Yuria had specially prepared before losing her memories was of a higher purity than anything else.
And the arrogant demons probably thought of Yuria as just a human.
“Kekel. A human from my memories…. Ah, this is not the time!”
“Hmm. Good. Corrupted. Mana.”
The demons lay flat on the ground. They were licking the corrupted mana that Yuria had sprinkled on the ground. There was no regard for their demonic dignity as they stuck out their tongues and licked the ground.
“They look very fitting.”
Yuria sneered. Charrrr! Shadow chains wrapped around the demons’ bodies. The demons were relaxed.
“You think you can stop us with just this?”
“Very. Foolish.”
The demons twisted their bodies. The shadow chains did not break.
“I have been constantly researching demons because I judged that the greatest enemy of my master is demons. The most effective thing against demons is the power of a rare god… and ironically, the power of the demons themselves.”
Clink, clink.
The shadow chains did not break.
“It’s not just you demons who can use corrupted mana. Those shadow chains are chains strengthened using corrupted mana. You won’t be able to escape easily.”
“Kekel…. Impressive. Any demon below the upper rank would be helpless. But I am the demon of plague! A top-tier demon! These chains are meaningless!”
Hepl spewed out the plague from his mouth to break the chains. The plague did not spread but stuck to Hepl’s body. Hepl’s body swelled more and more.
