She had always pursued power.

Power that could destroy everything.

A powerful force that could turn to ashes anything that stood in her way.

And as a result…

She had ventured into the so-called forbidden knowledge.

Even in a world of witches who had no taboo against ordinary magic, there existed restrictions on this forbidden knowledge that one should not touch.

And now…

She began to wield that power within her body…

The power to turn everything into a handful of ashes.

Before her were countless humans—

Weak, insignificant beings of utter worthlessness.

Towards them, the orbs of light swirling around her began to soar like living creatures.

Tiny orbs of light.

So small they seemed to be mere decorative trinkets that evoked a dreamlike feeling, they landed directly on the soldiers’ bodies.

And then…

“Gah!”

“Gaaah!!!”

In the next moment, desperate screams started to echo from all directions.

At the moment they grasped the meaning of those screams, the soldiers’ faces turned pale with dread.

Those shards that appeared as mere tiny specks of light.

However… the moment they grazed the soldiers’ bodies, their forms melted away grotesquely as if tossed into a furnace.

Skin, flesh, and bone evaporating in that ghastly scene.

Some soldiers began to scream in agony as they looked at their arms that had vanished in an instant, while others writhed in pain, dying from their evaporated insides.

The luckiest ones were those who lost their heads instantly, leaving them dead in a single blow.

Thus, the tiny shards of light swept through the Mansfeld mercenary camp, racking up massive casualties in no time.

And this applied not only to the common soldiers but also to the powerful mages.

“What… what is this! Such magic exists?”

“The… barrier… the barrier is completely ineffective… Guh!”

The barrier that could block bullets and, if lucky, artillery fire.

Yet… at this moment, that magic barrier was pierced through as easily as paper, displaying no power whatsoever.

Even for standard magic, there might have been some weakening as they passed through the barrier, but right now, there were no signs of such with those shards of light.

Thus, the soldiers, who had crossed the bridge to form a line, started to be violated in an instant by a single mage…

And the follow-up troops who watched the scene were tied to their spots, unable to advance any further.

“Wh…who is that?”

“Is there truly such a mage? How can someone wield such power alone?”

Even the strongest mages of the Empire, General Spinola and General Tilly, weren’t at this level.

Their magic was definitely powerful, but it had clear limits; especially, such a reckless act of charging into the enemy’s midst was something they would never do.

No matter how powerful a mage might be, magical power had its limits, and the fatigue of battle piled up immensely.

Moreover, if the opponent consisted of other mages, recklessly advancing meant facing potential counterattacks, so most high-ranking mages acted together with their subordinate troops for protection.

However, at this moment, that mage casually disturbing their ally showed no sign of fatigue or exhaustion.

Wielding power effortlessly as they dispatched foes, it built a dreadful momentum.

Watching that menacing display, a single thought engraved itself in the soldiers’ minds.

They could not advance any further.

The moment they approached that hellish slaughter, all that awaited them was death.

Thus, the Mansfeld mercenaries, gripped by fear, showed no signs of advancing.

However, at this moment, they were unaware.

What lurked behind them in the shadows was not the mage rampaging before them.

“Good, let’s begin.”

“Understood!”

Nodding in response to Valenshtein’s command, the aide immediately fired a flaming arrow into the sky as a signal.

Then…

“All troops! Fire at will!”

-Kaboom!!!

In the next moment, cannonballs began to spew fire simultaneously toward the front.

Those hidden in the shadows poured down upon the immobilized Mansfeld soldiers on the bridge.

As a result…

-Kaboom!!!-

“Gah!”

“Th… the enemy! It’s their ambush!”

“They’re laying in ambush… Guh!”

A sudden thunderbolt from the scene rendered the mercenaries frozen in place, their bodies rigid, unable to decipher what to do against the unexpected enemy bombardment.

If this had been an open field, at least there would have been some space to regroup and deploy artillery in retaliation.

However…

At this moment, they were on a narrow bridge, and due to soldiers continuously pushing from behind, order could not be established easily.

Engaging in retaliation against the enemy’s fire was utterly impossible.

Consequently, the soldiers began to die mercilessly under the bombardment.

And at the center of those soldiers’ deaths stood the commander himself, Mansfeld.

“Damn it! What… how did it come to this!”

When he first saw the bridge, it seemed as if nothing was prepared.

A desolate atmosphere and a scarcity of enemy soldiers.

Moreover, the fact that the one leading this group was the inexperienced Valenshtein was crucial.

But… at this moment, Mansfeld finally realized.

All of this was a trap.

The Dessau Bridge over the Elbe River was set with a deadly ambush specifically meant to deal a decisive blow to him and his soldiers.

In a panic, Mansfeld was engulfed in confusion when Christian shouted urgently at him.

“W…we must retreat! There’s no other option!”

“Retreat? We haven’t even fought properly yet! How can we back down now!”

“There’s no other choice! If we keep this up, we’ll all die! Look, that monster is still rampaging over there, and the enemy bombardment shows no sign of stopping!”

“Ugh…!”

Mansfeld couldn’t offer any solid rebuttal to Christian’s words.

Indeed, even he had accepted that there was nothing he could do in this situation.

That monstrous mage wielding light shards was a foe Mansfeld couldn’t dare confront either.

Moreover, the enemy bombardment continued to rain down even now, leading allies to death.

He knew well that displaying bravado here would only result in death for more of his soldiers.

Yet… despite this, the word “retreat” didn’t settle on his lips.

In purely practical terms, giving a retreat order would only ensure that over 30% of the troops would meet their doom, leaving him with no future chances of victory.

His last investment for the future…

Meant that this had turned into a complete failure…

“Damn… given this situation…”

“C…Commander?”

Thus, with an expression riddled with despair, Mansfeld drew his sword.

Christian’s face began to reflect a wave of unease at the sight of him.