My Wife is a Dead Villainess, and I'm Her Living Weapon
Chapter 177: Strength

Chapter 177: Strength

Elian glanced at his lover as they walked hand in hand.

"How are you holding up, Bianca? You have been pushing yourself a lot these past few days."

Bianca stopped sipping her drink and raised both hands for a double fist pump. "I am fine, Elian. Both my body and my mana are still doing okay!"

Cute.

While Bianca said she was fine, Elian, being the worrywart he was, couldn’t help but check.

"Scan."

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Name: Bianca Valestra (F)

Talent: Frigid (S) | Eternal (SSS)

Lvl: 76

HP: 500/500 | MP: 56,712/320,000

Strength: SS | Intelligence: SSS | Agility: SS

Job: Ice Mage (S) | Alchemist (SS) | Psychomancer (SSS)

Title: Witch of the Frozen Night

___

"I am so glad your HP is slowly rising. It’s half a thousand now."

Bianca pouted but looked away, "Sigh, Elian, sometimes your affection is really a bit too much. Do you not pity how much you force-fed me cores just to get to that number?"

Although the witch sounded like she was annoyed, she kept looking at Elian from the corner of her eye. With the huge number of beings Elian had been fighting, cores were no longer an issue with the Weapons.

He had way too much to both sell and use. Bianca, who used to be one of the main reasons for Elian’s battle-hungry tactics, had slowly healed. Despite the piss-poor efficiency of eating cores, the Tyrant didn’t mind in the slightest.

If one considered the millions lost by liquidating thousands or even tens of thousands of cores for Bianca, few would stomach the loss. But Elian was different; to him, every core they gained existed solely for her.

Such thinking finally led to the number 500. An HP value unthinkable to a soulgem.

"Be that as it may, this is one thing I will never back down on. You will eat and drink cores until the number no longer rises, please?" although his voice was soft, the Tyrant’s demeanor left no room for discussion.

"Tsk. What are you even scared of? A typical soulgem only has 100 HP. I already have five times that and you still aren’t satisfied? Are you really that terrified of losing me?"

"I am."

An immediate answer. One without any sense of falsehood. Bianca couldn’t help but gaze at her lover’s face at his reply. Bianca’s cheeks flushed, and her body trembled for some reason. Elian approached her and pulled her close.

"..."

"Why are you even surprised? Didn’t you expect such an answer?"

The witch abruptly turned around, "I knew you were quite dauntless, so I kind of expected it. But being so direct about it is still... you know... embarrassing," she murmured.

Wrapping his hands around Bianca’s waist, Elian rested his head on her shoulder.

"You are quite stupid, Bianca."

"What? I’m not—"

Elian turned his lover around and raised her chin to face him. His touch caused Bianca’s body to stiffen. Seeing her freeze up like a soft animal at his touch made him feel like teasing her.

"No, you are quite stupid. I already said it before; you are my center. My reason for both fighting and existing. Unless you were actually trying to bait me into saying all this..."

"I-I wasn’t..." she stammered. "It’s not like I manipulate you into saying stuff, then record it afterward to listen to! I am not that depraved!"

The Tyrant couldn’t help but chuckle at her unconscious confession. He tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear and kissed her cheek.

"Do it in moderation. Or I might no longer be able to hold back and eat you up right now."

He felt Bianca’s body shiver. Her breathing grew uneven and her eyes turned glassy. Unlike him, the witch’s soul body still behaved like a human’s, meaning both biological urges and their reactions were still present in her.

Bewildered, Bianca hammered her fist on Elian’s chest, "You lecher! Just how perverted do you intend to act! Listen Elian... today’s youth are too lascivious! Whatever happened to good old-fashioned morals!"

Idly listening to Bianca’s lectures, Elian studied the rest of her status window. Apart from her level up, the only other notable thing was her MP.

320,000 was far greater than any human; even Heaven’s fist had a pitiful 100,000. And unlike humans, who could only drink potions, Bianca could consume monster cores for MP.

Hmm, apart from Soul bind, Bianca’s other ability barely uses 20,000 MP. I wonder if I should find a way to increase it? If she gained her new body from the Dyrads, would it also improve her mana?

"Tsk! Elian! Stop letting your mind wander! Are you even listening to me?"

"Ah, yes, darling. I am."

While the repeated soul binds created an army of over ten thousand, it rapidly consumed Bianca’s mana. Though, if one considered the speed at which they crushed the opposition, it was worth the trade-off.

They were walking like royalty amidst a fierce battle. Of course, despite the situation, Elian and Bianca were not even in the slightest danger. Like a fortress of swords, the Naga Weapons shielded the couple from even dust dirtying their clothes.

"Alpha tribe! Crush their flank! For the glory of Valestra!"

"Betas! Do you think the Alpha tribe is superior to us? Of course not! Follow me!"

"Gamma tribe! Show these poor bags of flesh the might of the Weapons; charge!"

"Epsilon tribe, leave the idiots and focus on guarding the Tyrant and our Anchor!"

"Zeta tribe, fall back! Despite dying, these Python bastards are still stupid muscleheads!"

Five full-sized armies of Naga operated like tides of Death. Each with their own fighting style. Some fought like berserkers, others rained magic down on their enemies, while others fought using assassins.

Individually, they were the weakest race Elian had encountered so far. Weaker than even the Red Ants. However, what they lacked in physical or mental power, they made up for in combat skill and foresight.

True to their identity as a race familiar with wars, the Weapons of Ysh-Natul were leagues better than the ones Elian had fought to date. The Naga actually used tactics, feints, tools, weapons, and formations.

I see. This is their Strength. They knew instinctively that they were lacking in many departments. They lacked the physical might of Snow Wolves, the mana of Flame Swallows. Like humans they created tactics and tools to fight.

As Elian watched, the battle shifted. Unable to fight the Weapon tribes head-on, the enemy began to shatter. However, his army reacted to the development without the need for his direct command.

"Alpha tribe! Burrow now!"

"Betas! The last one underground will clean the tribe’s armor!"

"Gamma, retreat! Prepare to resurface at my call."

The muscle-headed vanguard units suddenly dived into the ground and burrowed. Their bodies broke the ground and made them swim in the stone and rock. Meanwhile, the two rearguard tribes also acted.

"Epsilon tribe, begin water magic barrage! Target the cliff behind the enemy!"

"Zeta tribe, wall the enemy in! Do not let a single one escape!"

Casting magic of their own choice, the Epsilon tribe shot water lances, spikes, and discs and carved off a large part of the structure above the enemy. The second tribe then raised Earth Walls, sealing the fleeing Naga in a tomb of stone.

A loud crash followed, then the vanguard Naga popped out of the ground and killed everything that still breathed.

Elian grew impressed when the Tribes created their own hierarchy and began designating roles. At the moment they had five tribes under them. Each with over 2,000 members. Each tribe was led by a Naga of a higher evolution.

Males were known as Ocean Python Guards, while females were called Sea Sirens. Both still had snake lower halves, but their upper bodies were vastly different.

The Ocean Pythons looked like oversized builders packed with dense muscle. Their skin was comprised of scales and their heads were like eels crossed with cobras. Their combat style was vanguards drunk on aggression.

Meanwhile, the Sea Sirens were slim and human-like. Their faces and skin grew softer, almost like flesh, making them pleasing to the eyes. But their eyes remained reptilian,, and their hair looked like braided snakes. Finally, they fought using long-range magic and bows.

Despite being Weapons, who no longer had mana, the Naga used tools and weapons. At first Elian thought they were just sticks. But apparently, they ’sticks’ used cores to fuel magic attacks. Something no other race he fought to date had done.

These bastards even used artifacts!

Against the poorly armed living Nagas, the Weapon tribes dispatched them with impunity. Each enemy Naga was killed, the looted remains of their monster cores. Their corpses would be left for Golem Lake, allowing rapid looting of the battlefield.

"Hmm. The Naga would make excellent commanders for the Weapons. I feel that once the Flame Swallows and Beowolves are given to them, they would create even more tactics."

Just then, Elian’s cheek was pinched and pulled down. The culprit? A ravishing woman with silver hair who pouted unhappily.

"Elian, how dare you not listen to my lecture about morals? Aren’t you treating me like I’m air?"

Although Bianca was annoyed, her voice was still full of affection. Elian gently grabbed her face with both hands and kissed her.

"I don’t need a lecture on morals, Bianca. I will only act in this manner with you. And since I know you like it, I will not stop teasing you in this manner."

"Wha—"she called out, surprised, "W-Who said I liked it?"

Bianca’s flustered outburst made Elian feel giddy. He took her hand in his and asked once more.

"Bianca, you only have a little over 50,000. Shouldn’t you rest a bit before performing another Soul bind? You already did six. Please don’t push yourself too hard."

"Seeing how powerful the Naga have become; don’t you want more?"she teased.

Elian gulped. "I do."

With a dazzling smile, Bianca nodded and declared, "Then, that is all that matters."