Page 70 of The Villainess Chose Naps Over Death Flags

"Yes."

"The heavily defended, extremely dangerous Corruption Core that normally takes a full squad to approach safely."

"I don't need a full squad."

Edwin sighed. "Of course you don't. Because you're in a hurry to get home to your pretty wife who feeds desserts to apex predators."

Several nearby soldiers quickly looked away, though Caspian could see them fighting smiles.

"Are there any tactical concerns?" Caspian asked coldly.

"No, Your Grace," Edwin said, still grinning. "Just observing that you're about to do something extremely dangerous and impressive because you want to have tea tomorrow."

"I want to complete my mission efficiently."

"Keep telling yourself that, Your Grace."

They approached the nest carefully, Caspian's senses extended to feel the corruption tainting the matter around them. The Blightspawn had nested in what used to be a small valley, now twisted and wrong from the Blight's influence.

At the center, pulsing with sickly green light, was the Corruption Core.

Around it, dozens of Blightspawn moved in coordinated patterns. Corrupted wolves, bears, even two massive elk with crystalline antlers that could gore through armor.

It was a significant threat.

It was also between Caspian and going home.

"On my signal," Caspian said quietly. His troops positioned themselves, weapons ready.

He could feel the matter all around him. The stone of the valley. The metal in his soldiers' weapons. The very earth beneath the Blightspawn's feet.

All of it was his to command.

Caspian drew both Wintersbane and Frostreaver.

"Now."

He didn't wait for his troops to engage the outer guards. He went straight for the center.

The ground erupted beneath his feet, stone lifting him forward in a massive wave. Blightspawn turned toward the threat—

Caspian manipulated the earth beneath them. Spikes erupted upward, stone blades cutting through corrupted flesh. The creatures that dodged found themselves facing a barrage of stone projectiles launched from the valley walls.

He landed in the middle of the nest, both swords already moving.

A corrupted bear lunged. Caspian ducked under its claws, Wintersbane carving through its leg while Frostreaver found its throat. The creature fell, and he was already moving to the next threat.

The crystalline elk charged. Their antlers could pierce steel.

Caspian raised his hand, and old metal from a dozen fallen weapons flew to him. The metal reshaped in mid-air, forming a barrier that caught the elk's charge. Then the barrier shattered outward, metal shards embedding themselves in the creatures' flesh.

A wolf pack tried to flank him.

The stone beneath them became liquid for a split second, enough to throw off their balance. Then it solidified again as spikes, trapping them for the brief moment Caspian needed to eliminate them with brutal sword strikes.

His troops had engaged the outer guards, cutting off reinforcements. But the nest's center belonged to Caspian alone.

He fought through the defenders with mechanical precision, each movement economical, each strike lethal. His Matter Manipulation allowed him to fight on multiple fronts simultaneously—swords handling threats in front while stone and metal attacked from behind and above.