As Idris deliberately dragged out the timeline, the Abyss Mages finally began to multiply.
They poured out from different portals, gathering in greater and greater numbers.
Once Idris judged the count sufficient, his eyes flashed coldly.
He shouted, and his sword light poured out like liquid silver—
in a single sweeping strike, the surrounding Abyss Mages were all knocked flat.
However, the two elder-rank Abyss Mages were not so easy to deal with.
One unleashed blazing flames.
The other released biting frost.
Together, fire and ice surged forward, attempting to trap Idris between them.
Idris's expression sharpened.
Can't get careless. Even a scratch would be annoying.
He took a deep breath.
Energy surged through his body.
With a powerful swing, he cleaved a razor-sharp sword aura straight through the incoming elements.
"Break!"
The sword aura shot forward like lightning.
Where it passed, flames and frost vanished instantly—as if they had never existed at all.
The two elder Abyss Mages screeched in disbelief.
They hastily raised their staffs, summoning layered shields.
Useless.
Idris's sword aura tore through the shields like paper.
Both elders were struck head-on, crashing to the ground with agonized howls, struggling to rise.
More Abyss Mages continued to gather.
Seeing that the timing was right, Idris summoned the Abyss portal—
but this time, he did not retrieve it.
He left the portal inside the Abyss.
Then he stepped back into Sumeru.
The soldiers waiting outside immediately surrounded him, concern written all over their faces.
Idris raised a hand, signaling that he was fine.
"Watch the exit," he ordered rapidly.
"Abyss Mages will come through soon. When they do—don't panic."
"I'll be right here."
"Cut them down first. Ask questions later."
The soldiers nodded firmly, gripping their weapons.
Idris stood at the front of the formation, eyes sharp, scanning the surroundings.
He was certain of one thing—
while the portal's destination was random,
its exit point was fixed.
They would follow.
Moments later, the portal shimmered.
Light rippled across its surface.
The next second—
A swarm of Abyss Mages burst out.
Staff raised. Faces twisted. Guttural screeches filled the air.
Before they could react—
Idris swung his hand.
Blades flashed.
He charged forward with his men, slamming straight into the Abyss Mages head-on.
The fight instantly turned one-sided.
Most Abyss Mages were cut down the moment they emerged.
A few survivors desperately swung their staffs, firing dark energy in all directions—
only for Idris to casually tap the air with his sword tip.
The attacks collapsed like bubbles.
His sword movements grew sharper, faster—clean and ruthless.
The soldiers were stunned.
Even with preparation and ambush positions, Abyss Mages were notoriously hard to fight.
Yet Idris carved through them like harvesting wheat.
Still, some Abyss Mages who hadn't exited yet seemed to sense danger.
They gathered together inside the portal, chanting rapidly.
Idris's eyes narrowed.
"Careful!" he shouted.
The chant completed.
A massive sphere of condensed dark energy formed—and shot toward the formation.
"Great Sage—what do we do?!"
The soldiers were reaching their limit.
Idris moved instantly.
Frostmourne swept outward, blade light stacking upon blade light—
forming a massive radiant barrier in front of the troops.
The dark sphere collided with the shield.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion rocked the battlefield.
Light and darkness intertwined, swallowing everything in chaos.
When the dust finally settled—
Idris still stood firm.
His formation was intact.
The Abyss Mages, by contrast, looked utterly spent.
Idris sneered.
"Little Abyss brats—
let me show you how you die today."
He had originally intended to wipe them out in one sweep.
But the portal's erratic behavior forced the Abyss Mages to arrive in waves instead of all at once.
Annoying. Inefficient.
If they had come ten or twenty at a time, the job would already be done.
He only needed one or two alive anyway.
The problem was—
Abyss Mages didn't talk.
And Idris had already beaten the hell out of them.
Interrogation wasn't exactly promising.
But honestly?
If you meet Abyss Mages and don't beat them up—
What's the point?
Idris's gaze hardened.
"Speed it up," he commanded.
"Exterminate every last piece of Abyss trash."
Morale surged.
The troops charged again.
The battlefield descended into another brutal clash.
Eventually, several Abyss Mages were captured alive.
The rest were dead.
The cleanup phase had begun.
"You stay here," Idris ordered.
"I'll take the prisoners back to Sumeru."
"Do not relax."
"Let the world see what happens when you come looking for trouble in Sumeru."
With Idris's reassurance, the soldiers finally felt at ease.
Without him anchoring the battlefield, most of them would've broken long ago.
"Understood, Great Sage!"
They even pushed themselves harder, eager to prove their worth.
Idris watched, satisfied.
As for the Abyss Mages still crawling out of the portal—
He smiled coldly.
Line up.
One by one.
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