When they were still twenty yards apart, Malin pulled out a revolver from behind his waist.
A standard electrum bullet, engraved for penetration and soaked in Holy Water after being blessed thrice by a Bishop, would cost 1400 Mowish per bullet.
The electrum bullets in Malin’s gun were engraved using the powder from the acorns of the World Tree Sapling as pigment, soaked in the Blessed Water made from the same sapling, and blessed by the sapling for three days, with each bullet’s cost amounting to 240 Mowish.
The electrum plating was a bit expensive; Malin was considering looking for alternatives. If he could bring down the cost to 20 per bullet, he could afford a relic-grade semi-automatic firearm for himself.
The gunshot rang out, and the head of The Blessed in front of him burst instantaneously. It continued running until Malin stepped aside to let the headless corpse pass, then it fell to the ground, its strength spent.
"No way, isn’t this too much? This is like the setup for a champions’ duel!" The young mage couldn’t believe it, "He, he’s desecrating the sanctity of duels, isn’t he?"
"Talking about sanctity with Chaos, you should thank the Master of Wisdom that there isn’t a Paladin of the Lord of Justice around to hear what you just said; otherwise, he would have surely tied you to the stake," the old mage said with a laugh, patting his apprentice’s head. "See? This is the best way to deal with Chaos. Times have changed, young Raphael. Anything, be it Spell Formation or firearm, as long as it can kill Chaos, it’s the best tool. And if it can kill a Chaotic faster and better, then it’s even better."
The little boy, who had been yelling to chop up the Chaos Malin had just met, was dumbfounded and clearly unable to accept it, but he still nodded: "I understand."
While the female mage shook her head with a smile towards her lover: "Dear, you’re even more of an old-fashioned person than our old instructor, and even he knows times have changed."
"I... I was just surprised, really. When I was a child I witnessed a holy champions’ duel where a Paladin of the Lord of Justice beheaded a Chaotic champion. My City Lord bought that head and distributed bread tickets to the poor in the city for a week. That was the Paladin lord’s request," the young mage fell silent after speaking: "I actually wanted to become a Paladin."
"With that physique, you couldn’t even be a servant, forget your dreams and be a good Mage." The old mage then looked towards the leader of the soldiers: "Baron, sir, let your men go and cut off the heads."
"Sorry, there aren’t many heads left to keep. I don’t want these heads; you guys can divide them amongst yourselves," Malin said as he walked back, with Blood Roar still in his hand not moving, but its soul was crying inside Malin’s head like a kid who didn’t get any candy.
Alas, times have changed, you might as well give this axe to Maya to play with.
Thus, Blood Roar cried even louder.
The Baron had no complaints— although Malin had blasted away all the Chaos on the central front line, there were still thirty or forty Chaos lying on both sides, with dozens more buried in the sand ahead. Their little assault squad could take home at least a hundred heads, which was a very good haul indeed.
Usually in battle, if their team could keep ten percent of the spoils, it was considered a reward from the Noble lords.
Especially since Malin said he didn’t need the heads, it meant they only had to share some with the mage lords... even if they kept twenty, it was still a bountiful harvest.
"We don’t want them either. Just being able to destroy this Chaotic sacrificial ritual and altar is the best loot for us Mages," the old mage didn’t care for the heads of the Chaotic Believers - he had been used to calculating merits with the heads of Chaotic Warriors since his youth, and these believers’ heads weren’t even worth a mosquito leg.
Better to give a favor. These soldiers would probably really appreciate this gift.
So the Baron ordered a team of shield bearers and swordsmen to be responsible for decapitating, with groups of three and crossbowmen following from a distance. Even if a Chaotic Believer was playing dead, they wouldn’t survive this response.
Then, he led the remaining soldiers, following behind Lord Malin and the four mage lords into the village.
"...this is so disgusting." Raphael, following behind Malin, looked at the bloodstains on the walls of each household and the corpses on the ground: "This reminds me of my hometown."
"Your hometown is still intact, but their homes are gone," the young mage said, holding a revolver in his left hand— in a place , a gun was far more useful than the staff in his hand.
He went to a large pot nearby, scooped with a ladle, then threw the ladle into the pot: "These damned beasts."
"Is there any Chaos that shouldn’t die? Danger!" the female mage sighed as she said this, because following behind Malin, she had already seen the altar in the clearing ahead, a hunchbacked figure was frantically shouting words that none of them understood, and in the center of the altar, a rift was opening.
Malin watched as a bony hand reached the edge of the rift, a familiar scent making him lean against the railings beside him.
Before the old mage could react, he saw a skull poke out: "It’s a Lich! The Undead Plane! These damned beasts!" The old mage was ready to fight for his life, then heard Malin speak.