Aura's Ambition

Dugu Qing looked at the demon horns on Linne's head, and the calm vanished from his face.

In this life, his father had sacrificed himself to defeat the demons, and his mother had died seeking revenge.

There was a boundless hatred between him and the demons.

Dugu Qing had long ago sworn to himself that whenever he saw a demon, he would strike at once and kill them without mercy.

He had never expected powerful demons to be so skilled at disguising themselves. She looked harmless, gentle and adorable, leaving him unable to feel the slightest hostility toward her.

More frightening still, there was very little fluctuation of mana around her.

This... was completely different from Frieren's information that demons were poor at disguising themselves!

"Damn, I've been exposed."

Linne looked at the horns on her head, silently cursing herself. Without hesitation, she leaped into the air and flew toward the Earl's mansion.

"Dugu Qing, why was there a demon in your room?"

Watching Linne fly away, the question Fern was most concerned about was whether Linne had spent the night in Dugu Qing's room.

"She said she was a maid at the inn, bringing breakfast."

Dugu Qing summoned the Clear Radiance Sword and pursued Linne.

High above Graf Granat's Domain, a brilliant red shockwave came from the north and charged straight at the barrier over the domain.

In an instant, it pierced the enormous barrier that covered the city for dozens of miles.

The barrier, vast as the sky, shattered with a crash, breaking into pieces.

An earth-shaking explosion thundered in the distance.

Dugu Qing abruptly looked back toward the north.

Linne took the opportunity to disguise her presence as that of an ordinary person and dropped into the bustling streets, gradually disappearing into the crowd.

"The barrier's broken. This city is in danger!"

Fern hurriedly turned, opened the door, entered the guest room, and threw back the blanket to wake Frieren.

Frieren lay curled lazily on the bed, her body drawn into a tiny ball. She slept soundly and sweetly, entirely unaware of the earth-shaking events outside.

"Lady Frieren, it's time to get up!"

Fern reached out and patted Frieren on the shoulder.

Frieren rolled over and straddled the blanket, her eyes heavy with sleep. Childlike and endearingly soft, she was as peaceful as a kitten.

"Lady Frieren, the demons are attacking."

At the mention of demons, Frieren regained consciousness and slowly woke up.

"Why are the demons attacking?"

"I'm afraid the Granat Earl has been taken over by the demons. What should we do now?"

Fern looked anxiously at Frieren, quite nervous.

If the demons attacked, she didn't know whether to protect the people first or fight the demons first. She had no experience...

"Shoot the horse to bring down the rider; capture the king to defeat the bandits."

Frieren had fought demons for over a thousand years and had long since developed her own methods for dealing with them.

Among demons, a brutal hierarchy formed according to the amount and strength of their mana.

As long as the great demon was killed, the lesser demons would lose their leader. Without anyone to command them, they would flee at the first sign of trouble.

"The shockwave came from the north. Let's go there!"

Remembering what he had just seen, Dugu Qing made the suggestion.

Frieren climbed out of bed, got dressed, and fixed her hair. Then she took Dugu Qing, Fern, and Stark and flew north.

Outside Graf Granat City.

Tens of thousands of headless puppets marched in a line toward the gate, stretching like a long dragon.

A tall, upright demoness with cold, pale skin and gleaming white horns stood with her hands on her hips, her red skirt swaying. She wore a sleeveless, close-fitting bodice and elegant black gloves.

Her long, wine-red hair flew freely in the wind.

She carried a golden set of scales and looked down upon all living beings from on high, her eyes gleaming with the pleasure of standing above them.

She was the world-famous great demon Aura, one of the Seven Sages of Destruction and an unparalleled master who commanded demons.

"Hahaha! Who would have thought a little scheming would actually break the barrier Flamme left behind? Humans really can't withstand a single blow!"

Aura floated in the air, gazing into the distance.

She had easily broken the barrier that had stood above Graf Granat City for a thousand years.

Pride welled up in her, the pride of having conquered time and risen ever higher.

"As long as I turn all the hundreds of thousands of people in this city into my puppets, hahaha! I, Aura, will have a human army hundreds of thousands strong! When that happens, how hard could it be to become the Demon King?"

Aura laughed in high spirits, utterly pleased with herself and basking in glory.

She felt that the throne of the Demon King was within reach, and the world was close at hand.

Even the sacred and inviolable Goddess of Creation seemed weak enough to bully.

"Long live Her Highness Aura!"

Lügner and Draht held their hands over their hearts and humbly pledged their loyalty.

The puppets behind Aura that still had their heads also bowed respectfully. Among them, unmistakably, was the Granat Earl.

On the northern gate's wall.

Frieren looked at the endless army of puppets in the distance and sighed almost imperceptibly.

With so many puppets, I probably couldn't finish fighting them even if I went seven days and nights without eating or drinking!

My leisurely vacation, sweet pudding, crispy potato chips, mornings I could lose myself in, hearty lunches, relaxing evenings...

Oh, goodbye! My love.

Oh, goodbye! My vacation.

Aura!

You bitch, you scum, leading an army of puppets to attack a human city—your crime is unforgivable.

I, the great mage Frieren, pronounce judgment once again.

This time, I'll send you to hell for sure!

"Let's fight."

Frieren summoned her staff, her lazy, easygoing air falling away and giving rise to a valiant fighting spirit.

Frieren raised her staff and flew toward Aura in the distance, facing the entire army alone.

"Let's go."

Dugu Qing guarded the left flank and Fern the right as they headed north.

"What about me? What about me? Don't leave me behind!"

Stark stood on the wall, waving desperately.

"What a nuisance."

Dugu Qing snorted softly, doubled back through the sky, and carried Stark away by his belt.

A moment later, Frieren reached the center of the battlefield and faced Aura from thirty meters away.

"Frieren, long time no see! Ever since I heard about you, I haven't slept a wink all night!"

Aura's eyes were bloodshot and gleamed with bloodlust, while a wicked, wild smile played on her lips.

"That's too bad. You're as good as dead."

Frieren pointed her staff at Aura from a distance, immediately invoked a spell, and unleashed Destructive Lightning with a roar.

A violent, razor-sharp torrent of magic tore through the void, surging forth with overwhelming force and shaking the heavens and earth for a hundred miles.

Aura swayed and narrowly dodged the lightning blast, her robes whipping in the wind.

Then she put one hand on her hip and laughed wildly, utterly unafraid of the earth-shaking pressure of the magic.

The puppets behind her swarmed out in dense masses, closing in layer upon layer and surrounding Frieren in an instant.

"Lady Frieren!"

Fern flew anxiously toward Frieren.

Lügner smiled contemptuously and blocked Fern's path.

Fern was human, while her opponent was a demon who had lived for who knew how many years. The gap in their foundations was too great.

Dugu Qing moved forward to protect her, about to rush to Fern's aid.

A slender figure in pink descended from the sky. It was Linne.

She looked at Dugu Qing, playfully brushed aside her bangs, and gave him a sweet smile.

"Elf, I'm your opponent."