Chapter 160: Start of the War ; Plants

"So, you're saying that their power is being extricated and weaponized?" I ask once Sheffield is done explaining.

"Yes," she simply replies.

Well, I figured that it would something like this, however, there is no harm in making sure.

"How do I get the chains off?" I inquire.

"They can't be taken off, as they require a key that-"

Before she can finish what she has to say, I walk forth and flick the chains while cladding my finger in Destruction.

As expected, the chains instantly break.

And so, before the dismayed eyes of Sheffield, I proceed to break the chains one after another until all three of the Binary Factors are completely free.

As for how I dealt with the tubes that were extracting their power, I simply shattered them.

Having freed them, I proceed to examine their body using my enhanced senses.

Their anatomy is similar to that of the ones in Albion.

What's odd is that these Binary Factors aren't influenced by any foreign energy similar to the one that took away rationality and changed the appearance of the other five Binary Factors back in Albion.

"Sheffield," I say in a neutral tone, "Is the one you're serving capable of casting enslaving spells?"

"What do you mean?" she asks.

"Exactly what it sounds like. I am already aware that you're here by the orders of someone. What I'm asking is if that person is the one that caught these guys?"

Sheffield looks at the elves I'm pointing at before shaking her head and saying,

"I don't know."

A feel a strange sensation in my body as I subconsciously say,

"Don't lie to me."

"I'm not. I truly don't know," she responds.

"Need I remind you that I am no regular person? Seeing through lies is a simple feat for me."

Sheffield takes a moment to think before finally giving in by saying,

"Yes, His Highness is indeed capable of using such magic."

Hm… This girl, she gave in way too easily even if the situation is an unusual one.

Hold on…

A sudden thought appears in my head. I promptly use Clairvoyance to check on the state of Albion.

From the looks of it, everything is fine. It seems like Gabriel has properly shared the information around, as everyone I find is currently on guard for any possible attacks.

Seeing that Albion is fine, I shift my sight over to Tristain, only to find it in a state of chaos.

Fuck, I knew something was amiss.

Currently, three towns are being assaulted by heavily armed men that clearly belong to the same kingdom that Sheffield is from.

Naturally, there is resistance from the townspeople and Tristain's military, but it doesn't amount to much when compared to the quantity and experience of the opponent.

Knowing that I shouldn't waste any more time, I hastily make my way to the deck of the ship.

"Gabriel, make your way to the front of the castle. I'm going to be sending something over."

[Understood.]

Then, without further ado, I use Vector Manipulation to accelerate the ship forward while forming a rather large gateway using Norse Magic.

As that ship crosses through it while carrying Sheffield, I move onto the other ship in which Irene is currently at.

"Irene," I call out to her once I've met up with her.

"There were no survivors!" she reports.

"Good," I say while patting her head, "Anyway, we must leave now."

It's about time that I found the Core of this Platform.

Simply put, I will take advantage of this situation to send men over to Tristain as 'help' in culling the enemy forces.

Once that's done, I will have them slowly gain control over the towns by planting spies.

This will help me hear all gossips and possibly learn of a 'legend' about some mythical object that could be the Core that I'm looking for.

Naturally, I have to first 'gain permission' from those in charge of Tristain to go through with this plan.

---

"Are you ready?!" I exclaim while standing in front of the thousands of men that had been rounded by my generals before I teleported them over here.

The quantity isn't a lot, however, that's to be expected with the state of Albion being the way it is.

As a response to my words, the soldiers raise their weapons and let out battle cries with enough vigor to shake the ground.

"Glory to Albion!" I bellow while charging forward on a white horse.

Behind me, the thousands of men let out another war cry as they charge forward as well.

In about no time, we enter the assailed town and begin slashing down any armed man we can find.

We have received news of the Tristainian soldiers having already fallen, so there is no need to hold back.

Focusing on my Holy Essence, I raise my arm and activate Paladin's Aura while gifting those within my range immortality.

In no time at all, the enemy begins targeting me.

As I continue to ride my horse through the town while crushing the hearts of any man I come across by Telekinesis, I finally reach the town center.

The reason I'm here is that there is an unusual amount of soldiers grouped up in one area, which indicates that something is here.

As I had suspected, there indeed is something here.

A container filled with fluids that are suspiciously similar to the ones being extracted from Binary Factors.

Who am I kidding, that's exactly what it is.

So, knowing that things could get much worse if they go through with what they have in mind, I pull out Excalibur from my storage ring.

Then, before the men notice anything, I plunge into the ground with enough force to shatter everything around us as waves of destructive energy escape from the ground through cracks formed.

With most of them already dead, I take back Excalibur and change its form to scythe before indiscriminately cutting down everyone I come across.

After a few moments, everyone is already dead, so I look in the direction where the containers were, only to find them destroyed with the fluids inside it all spilled on the ground.

"Gabriel," I mutter, "Make your way to the town center…"

---3rd POV---

"Understood, Father," Gabriel mutters before turning around to face Krul, Aruru, and Yuno.

"Father says that we should head to the town center and check if there are any suspicious containers."

The three girls nod their heads as confirmation, while Krul says,

"Did he say anything about what the containers looked like?"

"Father said that we will be able to recognize if we happen to see it."

"Then, let's go," Krul says as she begins sprinting.

Yuno follows along, while Gabriel and Aruru both extend their wings and soar into the sky.

On their way to the center, Yuno and Krul kill every armed man they come across using various means.

In a matter of seconds, all four of the girls arrive in the town center, only to find a dozen or so men surrounding a strange contraption.

One of the men spots Krul and Yuno, resulting in his eyes widening as he exclaims,

"Activate it!"

"What?" another man asks.

"I said activate it! They've arrived!"

"U-understood, sir!"

Hearing this, Yuno raises her arm and exclaims, "Disintegration!"

The next moment, a beam of light escapes from her palm and strikes three of the men.

Those who were struck immediately lose their lives, while the rest try to remain calm and continue activating the contraption.

This time, Krul dashes forward, planning to finish all of them off in one go.

However, once she's a few meters away from them, a blind light shines from the artifact as several thick vines appear from the ground.

Before she can realize what's going on, several vines pierce through Krul's thighs as one vine begins strangling her.

Seeing Krul's state, Yuno begins running forward but is forced to a halt as a plant-wall forms in front of her.

Yuno frowns as she raises her arm and exclaims,

"Incineration!"

The next moment, bursts of flames escape from her palm and burn the plants down.

Meanwhile, Gabriel and Aruru both fly over to the center, where the contraption was at.

There, she finds the men all in a deceased state, with a green gem that's covered in a blue liquid.

Raising her arm, Gabriel forms a massive spear of light and directly strikes the gem.

This results in the vines that were holding Krul to suddenly wither, and the newly-formed plant walls in front of Yuno to break down.

As Gabriel, Aruru, and Yuno walk over to Krul who's regenerating her wounds, they hear her ask in an irritated tone,

"What was that?"

"I don't know," Gabriel says, "But it's most likely related to the magic of this world. Previously, much larger vines had appeared in Albion. But, those vines didn't attack us, rather it helped us take down a gigantic machine."

Hearing this Krul frowns as she says,

"So you're saying that the enemy is brainwashing these 'plants'?"

Shaking her head, Gabriel says,

"I'm not sure. Father most likely already knows what's going on, so we will just have to ask him."

"What a pain," Krul groans.

"Come on, we are all doing this for Victor," Yuno finally speaks up.

"For Father!" Aruru exclaims, clearly supportive of Yuno's statement.

"Even so," Krul says, "I've already lived a life filled with war back in my world, so I don't think asking for some rest is too much."

"Lazy bum," Yuno mocks.

"What did you call me?!" Krul scowls.

"I call you a lazy bum," Yuno says without the slightest bit of hesitation.

As a response to this, Krul glares at Yuno for a few seconds before closing her eyes and shaking her head.

"I've had enough for now," Krul says, "Stop bothering me."

Having said what needed to be said, she walks away.

"Leave her alone," Yuno says, stopping Aruru who was planning to follow Krul, "There are still some of these heretics left. Let's go deal with them."

As the two of them go away, Gabriel mutters,

"Father, something unexpected occurred. By the time we arrived in the town center"

---1st POV---

After having heard Gabriel's report of what occurred, I praise her for her way of dealing with the issue before thinking of what she described.

This is problematic…

I just hope that the mastermind would already appear so that I can obliterate him once and for all.

Speaking of which, I wonder how the others are doing…

Tracing my connection with Tiamat, I locate them in no time.

Using Clairvoyance, I watch as Saturnus, Tiamat, and Ddraig fight their opponents with great proficiency.

Due to the overwhelming difference between them and their enemies, the battle is completely one-sided.

"Your Highness!" a man's voice reaches my ears.

Turning my head, I set my sight on Godeffroy and say,

"How is it going?"

"The battle has concluded. By some miracle, only four of our men died in battle, while about a hundred men are injured. Among the injured men, five of them are in an unfavorable state."

"Lead me to where the injured men are," I order.

"Yes, Your Highness!" he responds before leading the way.

After a short while, we reach our destination.

The moment they sense my arrival, the soldiers present begin saluting, including the injured.

Seeing them enduring their pain just to show me respect, a strange feeling appears within me as I beam them a smile and say in a loud voice,

"Great work, everyone! Today, we showed the foe that we are not to be underestimated!"

"You represent the Kingdom of Albion, so I can't have you die on me now that the battle has ended."

I raise my right arm and exclaim,

"Glory to Albion!"

Immediately after that, I begin to make use of Gift to grant them immortality once more, as I walk to where the critically injured are.

Ignoring the bewildered crowd behind me shouting things like "It's a miracle" and "Long live His Highness", crouch down and say,

"Thank you for your service."

Then, instead of simply gifting them immortality, I begin to make use of Healing Factor to heal them.

And so, before the eyes of a hysteric crowd of men, I completely heal the five men that were believed to be at death's door.

"Long live His Highness!" a man suddenly shouts as hard as he can.

The rest of the men all begin to vigorously shout that very same phrase numerous times, resulting in a small smile to form on my lips.