Weeks Later

"Ptuih!"

Diru spat onto the dirt. A thick, crimson fluid that had turned almost black erupted from his mouth. His internal organs had been shattered when he took that direct hit in the previous skirmish. Although his regenerative capabilities had already mended the damage, clotted blood still obstructed his throat. Once he had cleared it, he felt a wave of relief.

He turned his gaze from the enemy remains—slowly dissolving into black ash and drifting away on the wind—to his squad. They looked exhausted, yet a triumphant smile was etched across their hardened faces. Their fists remained clenched; though their bodies were marred by wounds, the radiance of their Dragon Prana was already rapidly reconstituting the damaged tissue. Within minutes, they looked as if they hadn’t just survived a life-and-death struggle against a lethal foe.

After losing half his squad on the first mission, Diru had feared he would be sidelined for an extended period while waiting for new personnel. To his surprise, reinforcements were already waiting for him at the base. They were redeployed to the field with less than a few hours of rest.

Diru didn’t mind at all. There wasn’t an Asura alive who didn’t relish a fight. In fact, for them, idling at home and listening to their wives’ chatter felt far more torturous than clashing with a user of the Body-Eating Pill. Furthermore, Diru’s four wives were already pregnant with the next generation. Instinctively, he felt his biological duty had been fulfilled for now; he no longer carried domestic burdens and wished only to breathe in the scent of iron and blood on the battlefield.

Before returning to the field, the base’s strategic team had equipped them with a tactical booklet regarding how to handle those under the influence of the Body-Eating Pill. From captured human mages, Wilwatikta had learned that the Human Alliance referred to the cursed substance as the Genesis Pill. Nevertheless, to Diru, the name "Body-Eating Pill" remained a far more accurate description of that suicidal poison.

The booklet had initially been nearly empty. The strategic team intentionally asked the unit captains on the front lines to fill in notes based on authentic field experience. Diru and the other captains had no qualms about providing their bloody testimonials. Every time Diru returned to base with the surviving Asuras, he would hand the booklet back to the Strategic Team—its pages now filled with evaluative notes on the battles he had just endured.

Diru had completed this cycle three times. This meant that three times over, his unit had lost a significant number of members, forcing them back to base only to fill the gaps with reserve personnel. Every life lost was converted into a line of instruction within that book.

Currently, the booklet was in its fifth version, featuring increasingly sophisticated strategies. One of the newest techniques designed to contain Genesis Pill users was the collective manipulation of the Biofield. By unifying the energy of ten or more Asuras, they could manifest a massive, towering shield of flames.

The strategic team dubbed it: [Brajadenta: Fire Shield Formation].

The logic was simple: upon consuming a Genesis Pill, a mage’s consciousness eroded rapidly, leaving only wild killing instincts. They transformed into beasts devoid of reason. Because of this, a wall of fire was considered highly effective—much like a wild animal that instinctively hesitates to approach a roaring blaze.

Diru tested this theory in his latest engagement. As the strongest Asura, he took on the task of intercepting the enemy’s fastest mages, while his subordinates formed shield formations to corral the others. Once the enemies were cornered and swallowed their pills, the Asuras immediately activated their collective biofields.

Initially, Diru had been skeptical, as the strategy was still listed as an unverified theory in the booklet. However, he didn’t mind being a pioneer. While Asuras did not fear death, he had no desire to waste his men’s lives in vain. As it turned out, the results were extraordinary.

The enemies trapped within the Fire Shield Formation dared not approach due to the extreme radiant heat. they could only howl in frustration like cornered animals, firing off long-range spells haphazardly. The Asuras now only needed to maintain the shield’s integrity while waiting for the pill’s effect to expire or for the enemy’s vessel to disintegrate.

Of course, those long-range attacks remained dangerous. Diru’s squad, still unaccustomed to the tactic, had momentarily faltered when their shields cracked under magical impact, allowing a few mages to slip through the perimeter. Chaos had briefly erupted before the Asuras adapted and successfully sealed the gaps in the formation.

Diru felt immensely satisfied. They had won while losing only two warriors, with the rest suffering only minor injuries—mostly due to the learning curve of the new strategy. He was confident that in the next battle, they could achieve victory without a single casualty.

As he watched his troops celebrate their victory with high discipline, Diru ordered them to scavenge what remained of the caravan’s logistics. Unfortunately, the mages’ bodies had evaporated into black ash, so there was nothing to bring home as a "celebratory feast." Still, Diru was grateful to be heading back with a nearly intact unit.

"We’re returning to base! I must report the success of this Fire Shield Formation to the strategic team," Diru commanded.

"Yes, Sir!"

However, halfway through their journey, a sudden premonition struck Diru. His steps faltered. For some reason, he felt a pull to look toward the east. Though the distance was vast and his view was obscured by the dense forest, Diru could almost "see" something there.

In that direction, a massive conflict between the Demon race and the Human Alliance was raging. Diru felt there was something of vital importance there—something he could not afford to miss.

He trusted his instincts. For an Asura, a powerful premonition was no illusion; it was guidance from The One. Diru immediately altered their route. Not one of his soldiers questioned him. The moment they heard that Diru’s intuition was leading them, they fell silent and obeyed.

Though most of them were new Asuras who had only just opened their second or third gates of evolution, they all knew that a leader’s foresight was never a trivial matter. It was a fact that had been proven time and again throughout their history.