The assistance of the mysterious group of fighters who broke through the side ranks and slew their way toward the center created a critical collapse to the battlefield.
As the soldiers had pushed back the forces, they had the rare opportunity to pull back all the slain forces to help their forces level up!
Since the corpses were often rich sources for level-ups, it was common practice that an army would retreat at a vital point of the war so that the deaths left behind would not be too many. And platoons would often harass the victors to ensure the army would not return the corpses left behind.
After all, if the army won the war and acquired the corpses, it meant level-ups for the enemy and could raise the quality of the soldiers.
The imps had always been able to harass the humans as their Krampus could cast ranged magic.
But the surprise bombardment left several Krampus dead, and at the vital point, the Imp Demon had to appear and drive back the Champion Knight so his forces could escape.
The collapse of the eastern imp line and the destruction of the central portion of the imp army allowed the eastern human platoons to break through the center and even aid in the west side.
It was a total victory for the humans.
The imps did not expect alchemy magic equal to a Champion Mage to appear.
Since their enemy was only a Champion Knight, the area attacks of the human army were limited.
But now, the imp army had to retreat to reposition the remnant army to the Imp Lord's defenses to guard the fortress.
And so, hundreds and hundreds of Puks and thousands of imps and gremlins were being brought back as many Captain mages began to quickly draw out the energy to fuel the fighters' might.
A huge pit of corpses being burned was next to the mages who kept extracting for the experience.
But there was a mystery as the mages found many Kallikantzaros and many Chorts and Puks empty of energy!
These dead, empty creatures were believed to be drained by the Imp Demon, who used its dark magic to empty the troops of whatever energy it had to keep the levels of the humans low.
But the amount of dead all empty creatures belonged to the eastern flank where massive losses first occurred.
"We believe the Imp Demon was secretly draining them on the east. But when the alchemy attack occurred, the walls collapsed, and the Imp Demon had no choice but to abandon his plans. This is why those at the center and the west are all full of life energy." A mage reported to the Champion.
The Champion nodded and was satisfied with the explanation.
"According to the laws, appropriate the portion set aside for me. Has the Captain on the Eastern platoons been rewarded?"
"Yes. He should be rising in his levels as we-"
BOOM!
Massive energy erupted around as a Knight laughed and released his Force Energy.
"Champion! I'm finally a Champion!" The former captain laughed.
He was so happy at his newfound strength. His men charged forward after the massive explosion and were credited for boosting the team's morale. But when asked who the soldiers were, no one admitted to it! These soldiers were believed to die as they charged ahead and were at the front lines when the battle continued.
Because of this, the Captain, the head of the group, was awarded honors and granted a massive boost of energy that finally pushed him through the last hurdle.
"I vow to find out who the dead soldiers were! And I also vow to properly thank those mysterious humans who charged bravely into the army!" The captain vowed.
He had seen the attack of the brave troop and how they used alchemy to blow the center. They faced a possible massacre but now gained their first major victory!
As the humans reveled in their victory, Emeros was also giving his allies a bestowal of energy.
Perment, who was already a Captain, had dropped down to level 13 due to the poisons he took. But now, he managed to raise it all again. Some portions of his strength and vitality as a captain remained and were empowered. His strength stat soared and had even surpassed the current state of Serena, who was a vampire.
His force stat was also awakened through a strange energy conversion circle that Emeros invented with himself. It was a Force Training Circle. The process was painful, but the once zero stat of Emeros had instantly caught up.
---
Perment
Mage Captain
Experience: 17,983/23,102
Level 15
Strength: 53
Magic: 48
Dexterity: 87
Vitality: 53
Intelligence: 94
Hit Points: 630
Force: 15
---
Serena was the strongest among them and was prioritized the least among Emeros's allies.
But as she crossed level 10 and was empowered thanks to a dark alchemy pill that Emeros created using the Dark Core he had. And so, Serena's magic stat soared. Her Force stat also increased through the Force Training Circle, surpassing most's average stat.
---
Serena
Level: 14
Experience: 17,003/18,076
Strength: 52
Magic: 21
Dexterity: 84
Vitality: 59
Intelligence: 71
Hit Points: 720
Force: 19
While Serena became a potent Battle-Mage Vampire, Wesret also had incredible progress.
Wesret benefited greatly from the Force Training Circle. It was discovered that many of his meridians were damaged and blocked by dark energy. It was believed that the environment and the diet he consumed had all high dark energy, and Emeros used his Dark Core to remove these dark points through an excruciating process.
With it cleared, Wesret became a powerful Force user, reminding Emeros of the monstrous Steele Family.
---
Wesret n0Velusb.c0M
Level: 15
Experience: 18,009/23,021
Strength: 50
Magic: 12
Dexterity: 80
Vitality: 48
Intelligence: 63
Hit Points: 580
Force: 33
---
Philip was the fastest in stat among all of them. Even though Seren'a dark dependent advantage could not defeat his dexterity, he could easily juggle ten swords and hold a conversation.
Don was starting to become a proper mage. Vivindel and Perment claimed that he was a genius given his stats and the fact that, unlike Perment, he wasn't a Captain and dropped back several levels.
He wasn't like Vivindel, who was forcibly converted and had a high magic stat. He was a human with a great affinity for magic.
With the life energy that had the magical bodies of Puks and Kallikantzaros and Emeros's Dark Core, he created a Magic Pathway Clearing Pill. Unlike Serena, who could easily grow with Dark energy, humans needed their pathways cleared. Among all who took it, Don received the greatest benefits.
Perment's life-long practice had already made his pathways of magic clear. Don, however, took it the first time and had surprising results. His magic doubled to what it should be if other mages were at level fifteen.
Don
Level 15
Experience: 18,044/22,943
Strength: 47
Magic: 36
Force: 11
---
Dexterity: 75
Vitality: 47
Intelligence: 91
Hit Points: 570
Force: 11
---
Tyra and Brent also had their own transformations, given the time of their service. Tyra was training to be a Scout, a hybrid archer, and Swordsman. While Brent, who was amazed by Barbarians, was trying to become a specific discipline of Barbarians with great defenses and powerful attacks.
---
Tyra
Experience: 17992/22,911
Level 15
Strength: 48
Magic: 9
Dexterity: 79
Vitality: 48
Intelligence: 53
Hit Points: 580
Force: 17
---
Brent
Next level: 18,039/23,019
Level 15
Strength: 50
Magic: 7
Dexterity: 71
---
Vivindel was not granted any levels. Emeros saw his form as something that could be Vitality: 53
Intelligence: 54
Hit Points: 630
Force: 23
---
Vivindel was not granted any levels. Emeros saw his form as something that could be improved through alchemy and other branches of creation. The True Vine needed to be strong. Emeros had seen the power of powerful Vines among the Eldrich and could tell that the most important task Vivindel needed was to improve his base form.
Emeros only grew three levels but used all the new advantages he had acquired to turn himself into a powerhouse. The Dark Houdou Core allowed him to wield Dark Magic and Dark Flame Magic, which aided in the creation of numerous pills that helped his team soar in strength.
---
Level: 13
Experience: 15,321/19,023
Strength: 73
---
Magic: 36
Dexterity: 95
Vitality: 71
Intelligence: 412
Hit points: 810
Force: 43
---
Emeros opened his eyes after draining the last bits of energy, barely enough for him to rise to level 13.
Emeros couldn't help but smile.
"Kyros... I'm close to catching up to your starting point!" Emeros thought.
Kyros had over fifty points per stats. Kyros hid it from the rest but faced foes of high levels that made his starting point barely enough to go through the battles.
But now, Emeros had stats that were twenty to forty points higher than what the average levels were!
Emeros turned to his allies, who were all resting from their battles and adjusting to their new strengths.
"We leave tomorrow and finally go to town. Everyone get ready."
"Master. What about me? Do you have a way to improve my base power?"
"Yes. The solution I made is ready! You will spend the night dipped in it. It will be a painful process, but it will strengthen the core of your True Vine. All the blood you absorbed will be used to make a whip."
"That magic is amazing!"
"Indeed it is. My master was skilled in creating it. These are called Blood Weapons. Once you can master it, you must teach Serena."