Reincarnated as the Baron's son: My Infinite Card Upgrade System-Chapter 112: Power to destruction.

A few days had passed, and the brutal war was still ongoing from the northern region all the way to Forgeno.

Many soldiers lost their lives in an attempt to push Dergen’s army back. But alas, it was useless; Dergen was just too strong.

He had them outnumbered and overpowered, thanks to the thousand demons working for him and the firearms he was gifted.

Meren and a few of her soldiers were taking shelter somewhere hidden; as such, not all of them were aware of the destruction that was happening around them.

Many counties had fallen, and many cities were in ruins, with civilians dying left and right.

Velmo tried to hold up for a while due to his strong military interference, but even that was no good as Dergen easily broke through.

Being the wise man he was, he realized for some weird reason Dergen wasn’t attacking the people in Montclair Barony; as such, he decided to find his way there in order to assess the situation.

The fact that the empress had not yet attended to the issue was concerning. In less than a day, Dergen should arrive at the royal capital. The royal order should have interfered already.

Were they afraid?

Hearing that almost every city in the kingdom of Vergino that led to the main capital had been burnt to the ground made them a bit wary.

The situation was getting out of hand; despite the fact that other dukes had begun to gather their armies for war against Dergen, there was no doubt it would be too late. Before they even got to where he was, the capital would have been destroyed.

"I need... to head back..."

Meren uttered as she tried to stand up from the flat stone she was sleeping on.

Apparently, she was unconscious for a couple of days after losing her arm. It was Ley and some other knights that took care of her, hiding her inside a cave.

"Mistress, you should rest a bit more. You lost a lot of blood; I wasn’t able to cure you completely," Ley said, kneeling in front of her.

Meren took a second to look at her severed arm, her face instantly making a disgusted expression.

She was shirtless, but the bandages she had on covered both her chest and her arm.

"Dammit!" she cursed, slamming her hand on the stone.

"Alaric, you crazy bastard! You better have a damn good reason for doing this... Because I’m going to kill you regardless!!!"

Ley lowered his head, allowing his mistress to vent all her frustration.

Calming down, Meren finally asked...

"What’s the situation?"

"The whole place is swarming with demons. I’m afraid going out right now is going to be risky. At the same time, the capital is nearing its own fight; Dergen’s army will be pulling near soon."

For some reason, hearing that made Meren grin a bit. But it wasn’t that she was happy... It was more like she was impressed and also pissed off at the same time.

"Alaric... taking down a kingdom all on your own... You abnormal bastard."

She then looked at Ley,

"How many knights are currently with us at the moment?"

"Sixteen."

"Horses..."

"A single one."

"Alright then. Have them all head toward the capital. I’ll take the horse to have a head start." Meren stood up.

"Head start? You are heading to the capital?" Ley asked, a bit surprised.

"No, I’m going to get answers from my soon-to-be husband. I just can’t catch a break."

"Are you speaking about the man who led a thousand demons?"

Meren couldn’t help but raise a brow, "Is that what they are calling him?"

"The knights said the demons called him that."

"He has always been a smug bastard. If I recall, Dergen mentioned Alaric being with them at the moment, correct?"

"Then that means he should still be here. I’ll go around the enemy front and see if I can find him. I just need to capture a single demon to get my answer."

"If that’s the case, then allow me..."

Ley suddenly sensed something.

Immediately, he stood in front of Meren, his blade stretched toward the entrance of the cave.

At that point, even Meren could tell what was going on.

The enemies had found her.

And it was not just any enemy; it was Dergen himself.

"What is this? The all-so-great Meren Lorik is cowering inside a cave while her men are dying? That’s quite cowardly, don’t you think?" Dergen walked out of the corner and presented himself to them.

The ray of sun that once slipped into the cave bounced off his body as he spread his arms to the side.

"Have a bit of pride in you, Meren; do you fear death that much?"

Before she gave any response, she made sure to scan her surroundings.

Though it was a bit weak, she could sense multiple people surrounding everywhere outside the cave.

"Do you really want to kill me that badly? You’d have all your soldiers here?" she asked, a mocking smile playing on her face.

Dergen sneered, "They were the ones that found you. Hide and seek is not fun if only one person does it."

"Bold of you to assume I was hiding?"

"Were you not? I find that hard to believe, Meren; take a look outside... oh right... I doubt you’ve seen it in a long time. Well, let me explain it to you..."

A crazy look played on Dergen’s face.

"I finally brought the kingdom to its knees! By now, my army should be breaking the capital walls, and I’m not even there in person!!! Demons are quite wonderful; how did we fail to see this? Haha! It’s not too long now; I can feel it, the power I have can give me what I need! The throne! I want that damn throne!"

"You are killing hundreds for a chance to take the throne? Who will serve you if you took power on fear and death?"

"That’s where you’re wrong, Meren; fear brings loyalty. Who would oppose me after I conquer a whole kingdom by myself? Huh? Who do you think will..."

"Disgusting..."

"Huh?" Dergen smacked his lips, his eyes veiny as he tried to understand what Meren meant.

"I understand now why you were never able to surpass me. You are disgusting. The power which you hold so much pride in is one that was given to you by a man who was respected by beautiful people. And even he never ruled with fear. Power consumes you, and you fail to realize you are still the very failure you were before you got it."

"Hey!"

Dergen was pissed. He aimed his pistol at her, his head red from how annoyed he was at her statement.

"Do you understand I have the power to end you, right here and now?"

Meren clenched her fist.

There was no doubt she was afraid; just the mere sight of the pistol reminded her of her arm getting blown off.

"This is where you take your last—"

Not even a sentence after—

Baa!

Dergen pulled the trigger.

Just as quickly as the sound erupted, Ley fell to the ground, his body immediately getting soaked in his own blood.

Meren flinched at the sight, her eyes widened in shock at how fast it all happened. He was a diamond rank; there was no way he would drop that fast.

Now pointing the gun at her, his eyes red and filled with pent-up anger from years of being under her shadow.

He was ready to kill her.

Ready to embrace the victory that would come right after.

"Have your fill in hell..."

Baa!

...

Meanwhile, as the sound of guns being fired and explosions echoed all around, Ava and Hina rode on their respective horses, speeding through the land of scattered bodies and broken weapons.

Their destination was the barony.

They had been on the road for some time, often almost getting killed. But thanks to their unique strength, they were able to fight their way out of it.

Getting to the barony, Ava was surprised to see that it was unharmed and there was not a single sign of any kind of fighting having taken place.

But that didn’t bother her too much, as she quickly got down from the horse and ran into the mansion as quickly as she could.

In the living room, Kika, Elena, and some other family workers were present there. Most were afraid, and others terribly worried about what was happening in the kingdom.

Kika was a different case; if it wasn’t for Elena, who was near her at all times, she would most likely have gone insane.

Not only was her husband at the capital trying to stop the war from happening, her son had also turned into something she could hardly recognize.

She truly was the only one fit to die from worry.

Petting her mom, who was desperately trying to hold her tears back while gunshots could be heard around the area, Elena, for a brief moment, caught a glimpse of Ava running down the passage.

...

[A\N: I haven’t gotten a character art for Meren. But it’s something like this...]