Devouring Monarch: Rebirth of the Profane Phoenix

The Silvaran army would have to head southwest to reach the border between Silvara and Romantica, where the land of Silvara would curl and touch the northern tip of Romantica.

The only invasion route would be by the vast ocean. A choice that could take weeks to traverse. Because of the deadly sea monsters and maelstroms that plagued the central ocean of Valkrim.

The queen's special fleet suffered over fifty casualties when she returned early during the assessment month earlier in the year.

On land, thanks to magic-imbued carriages. The distance between the two would take three days at the slowest and one if you rushed with all your might.

Barbatos reached the southern tip in two days. Neither too slow nor wasting their magic for future battles.

The ground below shook as the clouds slowly gathered and turned grey while the sea roiled in an immeasurable rage. The surface was undulating like a wave, growing ever taller.

"Barbatos, how does it look?"

Lorem stepped out of the carriage shared with Asura and the princess, her neck wearing a strange cloth to hide the marks from his kisses. She hopped onto the edge, peering down at the target, which seemed to look normal.

People inspecting the walls and guards with torches. However, their movements felt eerie, like mannequins performing actions that seemed somewhat lifelike but were not.

Barbatos narrowed his eyes and searched for the anomaly. Yet couldn't see even with his spyglass.

"I am not sure, Knight Lorem. I feel this battle will not be easy."

Barbatos swung his arm in a half circle, creating a rift in space, and handed over his spyglass.

She gazed through the lenses and scanned the town. At first, nothing stood out of the ordinary except the movement of the guards, which confused her. Then she realised the lack of commoners or merchants.

"Where did the village people go? Many of them were Romantican's too. Did they kill them all?"

She kept turning her head to observe the silent village, and nobody stood out in her vision.

"I don't like this, there is something amis."

Barbatos stepped back to the huge caravan of students and closed his eyes. Meanwhile, Lorem used her phoenix eyes to scan the town for magical signals, only to find a horrifying reality.

'Everyone's magic is pitch black and writhes inside their bodies like worms!?'

She stared in horror at the town and turned to Barbatos, who had closed his eyes. Then she told him what her special vision saw.

Lorem knew he would believe her as she used these eyes in past conflicts to learn the movements and elements used by the enemy to seal a safe victory.

"Barbatos, do you know how to approach this problem?"

"Everyone has the same pattern and aura?"

"Yes, like strange black worms, writhing without sentience. As if waiting for new orders, they perform like automatons until that time."

"Did you notice anything else?"

"I don't think so. I wish I could inspect it up close, but they would notice and we might lose any chance of surprise."

"Knight Lorem, have you ever heard of mind leech, a foul parasite used by the demons in the first war of Silvara?"

She stood dazed, as that was a horrific creature beyond the monsters recorded in history, with no thoughts other than hunger and the desire to eat. Even a lone mind leech could destroy a town in days, with the ability to reproduce without end when given new hosts.

However, the first queen destroyed their matriarch and the brood mother, which should have eradicated them.

"Wait, what are we talking about? The first queen wiped them out, even the books even said so. She even destroyed the brood mother and queen. How can they return? Do you think this is some cult's doing?"

Barbatos sighed because he knew the truth, and that Lorem served even during those years. Yet he didn't mention it and continued his path of thinking.

"I don't doubt the queen did, but what if the cultists have the power to summon them from another world or place?"

He smiled while she frowned, doubting the cultists. She knew they weren't all incompetent fools, but she couldn't think of any other reason. Then she realised something different: in the past, they were all females. This time, the enemy was all male!

'Oh my god, there was another tribe? Or bloodline of these things. We never considered the fact there might be a male bloodline.'

Lorem turned to Barbatos with a pale face.

The enemy, though few, could take the bodies of any fallen students for their own!

They would be unstoppable and even more vile as the females would snatch human males and reproduce with them. Then, the males were probably the same, meaning a great danger appeared out of nowhere.

'This is a dangerous enemy.'

Barbatos watched Lorem while the other royal knights assembled. A plan formed in his mind to use only the stronger students and those who could defend themselves.

"The first and second years will mostly be useless. We shouldn't let them fight."

His voice reached all the knights, making them frown and consider his words. They understood his intentions, as many students would be a burden if they fought such a creature.

"Lord Barbatos, what are we facing?" Cynthia asked, her long black hair tied up before she donned her full-plate helmet.

"Lorem, can you give more information?"

Barbatos trusted Lorem as much as he might trust the queen. The day Bernard gave him the offer of becoming the Royal knight who guards the next king, he learned the truth of many things and signed a soul pact with the queen and Lorem present.

"This monster doesn't have an official name but think of it like a parasite similar to ringworm. It invades the body, so always use magic to protect yourself. These things are extremely weak when exposed to air, but inside a body, they become devastatingly powerful. It infects the mind and takes over, mimicking the host."

Cynthia stepped back, afraid of fighting the unknown. Only a fool would fight blindly, and Lorem's words, Which lacked any hint of toning down the threat, followed Barbatos's orders.

"When you defeat an enemy, burn their corpse or use your magic to eradicate it. Do not think that they will stay down like a normal human, closer to zombies. They will attack again. Or the parasite will leave the body and try to take over another, either yours or a nearby corpse. So destruction is imperative!"

Everyone felt their blood run cold as Lorem's gaze wandered, showing there was more.

"Even if you are victorious, there is still one more problem. If you injure the host or show your power too soon, the parasite will escape in search of a new body. You need to destroy it otherwise. The mind leech will split and take over two people growing in number."

Cynthia shivered at the thought of her close friend fighting a living corpse with a mind similar to the dead. Many of the knights felt the horror of these monsters, while the students also heard the news.

People realised something wrong and very dark was happening under the surface of their kingdom and the surrounding nations.

The knights sorted the students into different groups, with most of the first and second years at the back, excluding Asura and his group, including Cil, who were still in the third and fourth years. All stood in a line while watching the knights explain the task at hand.

After the briefing, they handed out disposable grenades and incendiary powder to the leader, and the strongest members of each unit became condensed.

Asura took control of his small group with two first years, three second years and one third year. Their major role was to support the knights led by Lorem attacking the eastern walls and aiming to take down the twelfth lord, Aldric Cavallio. Barbatos confirmed his presence at the camp and left the task to Lorem because of the sheer amount of leeches inside his body.

'I can't believe such disgusting monsters exist,' Asura thought to himself while cleaning his blade and preparing for the battle with Akkrum and the rest of Unit Nine.

He watched the distance, able to see their forms clearly. Like nasty worms wriggling within the human brains with long tails that penetrated their spines, likely to control their movements and actions.

It seemed nobody in the village survived this sad fate.

Their assigned area would assault the east with 500 knights, most of whom were in the last two years of the academy, while Barbatos would take most of the other troops and distract them towards the western wall.

'It seems Vela, Mu Xue, and Xavida will be part of the eastern attack; I can't help but worry. Thankfully, Lucia is there to support them.'

While Asura prepared for combat, his many wives sat in Princess Vela's carriage and discussed things he did not know about.

Lorem approached him in the afternoon sunlight, her scarlet hair dancing with the wind while watching him with gentle eyes.

"Are you ready? I know it will be difficult for you, but if you can make it past this mission, you will no longer be a student. Your true adventure will begin."

She smiled and sat beside him, the clang of her plate armour different from her usual uniform, as she stroked the dirt with her silver gauntlet.

"We have not taught you about these creatures yet. The queen's fight was a great secret. She used her bloodline and lineage to eradicate them to the best of her ability. If only we knew of the male breed, we might have discovered them sooner. But as it stands, it is not worth regretting now."

She reached down and removed her gauntlets, her sharp eyesight able to notice nobody in the area as she stroked Asura's cheek.

"Be safe. I will do my best to protect everyone, but the problem is that the others are not like you and if I don't protect them, they might become mindless zombies."

Lorem reached up and kissed him, a chaste peck on the lips as she curled her lips into a faint smile. "Don't get jealous. I can let you fight without worry because of how much I trust and rely on you to fight without my support, okay?"

Asura noticed she seemed to pull away, but his powerful hand grasped her wrist and pulled her back into a deep kiss that she could not refuse. He placed his other hand on her cheek, and the two stared deeply into each other's eyes as if having a conversation about something Asura couldn't express with words.

He felt guilty about the way he acted, but this was war, and nobody would judge him for it. "Don't get hurt. I never want to see you wounded again, Lorem."

Lorem could see the intense unspoken emotions in his eyes and giggled slightly at his shyness.

"I will try not to. Now get ready because Barbatos will move soon."

She gently tapped his shoulder and stood up before glancing at him. She hoped he understood her true feelings. "Come back alive and happy."

Lorem stepped back and walked to her horse, and Asura watched her the entire time with a calm expression.

'I won't fail this mission or risk the lives of my precious family.'

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