Devouring Monarch: Rebirth of the Profane Phoenix

Meanwhile, in the southern reaches of Silvara, many carriages moved along the winding roads leading south. The scenes were worlds apart from those of Asura, who enjoyed an exciting time with an Elf princess.

Mu Xue sat on a carriage heading to the southern village of Aleran.

Her face was glum as she toyed with the ring given to her by Asura. When he left, she took the parchment, proof they were a married couple.

A small piece of paper, yet it made her confidence soar.

"Mu Xue? Did Asura give one to you, too?" Xavida asked in a low voice, holding the dark parchment registering their marriage together.

"Mm, you too?"

"Hehe, look at my special ring and bracelet!"

Xavida seemed proud, and although the pair usually clashed, Mu Xue felt a sense of peace. They were both gifted with a ring and bracelet.

However, the colour, inscription, and material were utterly different.

'I can feel his thoughts and feelings, not wanting to treat us the same and looking at our unique appeal... fufu, such a lovely man.'

"Do you know how long till we arrive at the village?"

"I'm not sure, Mu Xue. We are not friends. Don't speak to me so normally! Hmph."

Xavida pouted while turning away, yet she seemed a little happy. Mu Xue realised she was probably nervous and lonely with Asura gone, so she gave her a free pass just this once and patted the seat beside her.

"Just sit and relax, then."

"Nn."

Xavida was a minor threat to Mu Xue after the appearance of Verana and Lorem.

Thus, she needed to choose when to assert her dominance. If she made enemies without thinking about her future as Asura's wife and who would support her when the others grouped, it would be a disaster.

Before Mu Xue could start an idle conversation, a familiar sound reached them from far away. It was the howling of Wolves that made her involuntarily grip the carriage door, ready to jump out to fight them.

"Stop, Xavida. The guards will dispatch them. Don't be a child."

"Eh!? You can't tell me what to do. Who are you to decide?!"

"You're causing trouble, sshh..."

"Don't shush me!" Xavida pouted but listened to Mu Xue because she saw the knights who guarded them decimate the wolves like they were children. "Woah! They are so strong, almost like Asura in bed!"

Xavida giggled but went silent when she noticed Mu Xue had her brows furrowed in worry.

"What are you thinking about?"

Mu Xue looked at Xavida with the strangest look.

Her eyes filled with tears, her lips trembling while her nose sniffled. "I don't know, it just felt like Asura might be speaking to another girl and flirting with her suddenly and I feel so jealous and angry... Let's go kill the damn wolves!"

"M-Mu Xue?!"

"Wolves. Now, Xavida."

"Heh!? The wolves are dead!"

"Then find some!"

Onlookers observed the two beautiful women hastily climbing onto the roof of a noble's carriage, prompting the maids to panic while trying to follow suit.

Moments later, they noticed the two suddenly casting area-dominating spells of ice and lightning magic into the dark forest, disturbing the beasts.

****

Not long after, Lorem rode a warhorse, leading the knights to fend off the berserk beasts that left the forest after Xavida and Mu Xue destroyed half their homes.

Lorem wore black and scarlet armour, her hair tied up into a side ponytail, and her scarlet eyes watched the distant south.

Her body felt the powerful vibrations of magic from such a considerable distance, which meant they would suffer a great battle. She hoped that the backup knights coming in two days would come faster.

'That arrogant old man is here. There is no way we can force them out with sheer strength if he takes field.'

She wanted to be optimistic.

However, something about the entire situation felt eerie: the north, east and south all at once, and the supposed allied troops from many southern nobles never appeared at the checkpoint, leading to the knights becoming nervous.

"I don't like this, something isn't right..."

Lorem murmured while watching the distant forest that would soon change everything in Aleran forever.

The terror of war was about to reach a remote village in the south.

****

Asura stood facing up against the angry goblin prince, who was wearing a small crown and holding a brutal-looking black mace in his hand. The prince seemed to be the size of an average human male but much shorter than Asura, who reached over 6 feet 5 inches.

'His muscles seem well formed, and the shaman seems to have cast heroism on him. Let's not joke around and quickly kill the shaman.'

He held his lance tight while preparing for combat against the goblin prince and shaman.

Meanwhile, the other goblins remained close to the barrier, brandishing their weapons or beating on it to break it down. Asura smiled, waiting for the first attack that soon came without fail.

The goblin prince moved like a mirage, his steps silent and swift, yet Asura's eyes evolved with the bloodlines of a black dragon and a devil from the abyss.

He could see the mana moving through the goblin's body, meaning he could predict his movements.

'Seems this guy is just a tad bit better than an average warrior or knight. Looks like the shaman is a bigger threat.'

"GRAHHH!"

The prince let out a growl as he swung his mace overhead.

However, his movements were too slow, and Asura effortlessly dodged by ducking his mace before swinging his fist upwards. His fist smashed the ugly goblin's face even more, causing its entire body to launch high into the sky like a cannonball.

'Why are these guys so weak?!'

Asura didn't mean to be arrogant; however, during his last evolution and rebirth, his body underwent a significant change that brought it to the limits of possibility.

When he cleared the fourth plume, he would surpass that possibility and fight the very concept that a flesh body could fight against magic.

The goal of the entire cultivation ritual and technique seemed to be a magic-resistant physique: to attain a body equal to a god before becoming one themselves—or rather, a god-slayer.

Meanwhile, the shaman cursed in a goblin tongue, its body crackling with lightning before an arcing bolt struck Asura with a defeating boom that shook the surrounding earth, creating a scorched crater.

Asura seemed unharmed and still had his fist raised.

The only difference was that his body sizzled and cracked with a purple light. His smile made the goblin prince scream in anger after landing on his face, breaking its massive nose.

"You! Kill!!"

The shaman shrieked as it cast spell after spell at Asura, who stepped forward and absorbed each bolt of lightning without missing a beat. Forced to watch its enemy survive everything it could throw made the goblin shaman shiver and howl, fearing the monster approaching.

'I can absorb inferior lightning slightly to reduce the damage... Otherwise I'd be burnt to a crisp by now!'

"Thank you, my little dragoness~ Daddy will reward you well for this."

Asura laughed while adjusting his posture, black scales covering his entire body. His eyes turned golden with a sense of ancient wisdom and Draconic magic.

In front of his slit irises, he could see the shaman's heart pounding; the ability to peer into the goblin's flesh seemed to be a new skill from evolving both types of eyes.

The goblin shaman trembled as Asura vanished from its sight.

"Gigigi!?"

It screeched as its arms were severed instantly, unable to retaliate with any magic because it felt the energy vanish as though stolen.

'Like a vampire, I can steal energy from their bodies during combat... Is this because of my devour or Verana?'

"Well, at least it's useful."

Asura chuckled while looking at the terrified goblin, which could not even retreat with the loss of its arms.

"GRI!!!"

"Sorry, but I've promised to become the strongest."

Asura raised the goblin into the air with a brutal kick to its crotch as Asura penetrated the shaman's chest with his left arm, partially transformed into a dragon's claw before crushing the poor thing's heart.

While he seemed preoccupied, the goblin prince attacked him from behind, striking down with a furious blow.

However, Asura did not miss the incoming attack and lifted his right arm. A long black blade like a dragon's tooth extended from the dragon-scale armour on his forearm, blocking the mace with a loud clang.

"Didn't you learn your lesson earlier?"

"Gh... hu...man..."

The prince watched the corpse fall to the ground as his mind filled with rage. However, he felt intense pressure on his mace, turning his weapon to dust under Asura's grasp. The sheer might of his body could crush weapons below the mythril grade.

"Hmph!"

Asura swung his free arm and turned his enemy's face into mush as it flew helplessly towards the spike barrier, slamming into it and causing a sonic boom.

The goblin prince became skewered like a roast pig, and frustration and despair were the last things visible inside its beady black eyes.

"Well I should go check on that little elf..."

He stepped away from the dismembered corpse of the shaman, which he left hanging on the throne, blood and flesh smeared across it.

Asura didn't even realise the brutal and gruesome actions he started taking. When facing an enemy, he became relentless and ruthless from the moment his fourth plume started awakening.

'Those ugly little goblins, those fucking Elves...'

Asura let out a deep sigh as he imagined the death and destruction waiting ahead, which caused his body to tremble with a strange feeling of delight; he even felt his lower body becoming hot. It seemed his changes were distorting him, yet he corrected nothing.

'I am who I am. They attacked me with a spell that would have killed me, I won't let them go!'

He felt, after seeing how much Verana suffered and sacrificed, the efforts Mu Xue and Xavida endured to keep up with him.

Not to mention how much suffering Helliana must have endured when fighting those women from the upper realms, he couldn't become soft.

Although he refused to let it consume him, he wouldn't stop yet.

"There are enemies more ruthless awaiting me, their hearts don't feel emotion and I cannot let myself lose to them."

Asura shook his head, and the dark topics became annoying as he rushed back to find the princess, wondering if she had survived.

"I'd better hurry if she's still alive..."

However, the princess seemed just fine when he arrived back at the village. A beautiful elf surrounded by goblin corpses, a strange sight.

"Princess, I can see your underwear..."

Asura's nonchalant voice caused the poor princess to tremble while lying on the ground covered in blood, guts and sweat, heaving to regain her breath.

After the battle against the small group of goblins, the poor princess used all her strength and collapsed.