“Damn it! How could this happen?”
“Could it be that information was leaked beforehand?”
No. 5 and No. 3, who were guarding the base, murmured as they watched the enemy reinforcements. Especially from No. 5’s perspective, this was incomprehensible.
‘How on earth did they know teleportation would become possible? And even if they did, how could they deploy a counter-magic circle so quickly?’
While they had prepared magic circles and other measures for a long time, the same couldn’t be said for their enemies.
Setting up a large-scale teleportation magic circle capable of transporting hundreds required at least one 6th-circle mage at both the entry and exit points. Especially to deploy such counter-magic circles ad hoc.
‘At least a 7th-circle mage…! Did the Ashton household hide such a mage?’
He had heard that they recently took over a mage tower, but it was known that the tower lord was only a 6th-circle mage. Regardless, the facts were facts. If things continued this way, they were bound to lose.
“What do we do now? The plan has gone awry.”
No. 3 asked, and No. 5 bit his lip.
“Any contact with Zero?”
“Communication was cut off after he said he was entrusting the operation. He must have gone back into hiding.”
Zero operated deep within the heart of the Lusenberg Kingdom. It was only natural he couldn’t leave his post for long unless it was a special circumstance.
“No chance for additional reinforcements?”
“Do you think sending more troops there now will solve anything? Or are you thinking of gathering all the Numbers?”
Currently, the battlefield had more than ten top-tier experts from the Greer Marquisate, the Count Ashton household, and Viscount Raul’s forces in full swing.
To counter them, they might need all the Numbers, and even Zero himself. But No. 5 had no authority to gather them.
“…Damn it. We put so much effort into this plan!”
“And now that effort has led to this disaster. Do you have any idea how much I’ve lost because of you, idiot?”
No. 5 couldn’t respond to No. 3’s curses.
No matter the process, the outcome had turned into a fiasco.
“…Retreat.”
With clenched fists, no. 5 barely managed to force out the words.
“Tch. I don’t like it, but we’ll take you in at our shelter. We’ll need the manpower however we can get it.”
Retreating was no simple task either. Sacrificing enough troops to hold back the enemy was necessary. But their decision was completely overturned by a messenger’s report.
“Sir! The teleport gate is…!”
“What?”
Alarmed, they turned to see the gates transform into black wisps and vanish into thin air.
*
「Mission accomplished~!」
Rabel’s cheerful voice came through the communication.
「As expected of Rabel. Turning all those Imperial mages into blind fools. Thank you very much!」
「Hehe, this was a piece of cake. They might have numbers, but a bunch of 5th-circle mages are nothing against me.」
「Haha, you’re reliable as ever. I’ll leave the next task to you.」
「Leave it to me!」
The magic circles set up by the Empire had been cleverly hidden. But they weren’t hidden well enough to fool Rabel. Though currently a 7th-circle mage, she had used 8th-circle magic in the past, possessing knowledge and skill akin to a great sage.
Her knowledge, accumulated over thousands of years bound to books in a library, was unparalleled. Despite understanding the magic circles beforehand, Rabel had refrained from interfering due to Raul’s request.
Raul had been observing the situation to exploit their plans, and once the time came, Rabel began dismantling the magic circles.
“Lalala. Now, if I just adjust the barrier blocking entry!”
In her semi-transparent spectral form, Rabel touched the hidden underground magic circle, drawing thin threads of mana to alter it.
And shortly after…
Crackle.
Black smoke began to faintly rise, and the lines of the magic circle were replaced by the fresh emerald hue of mana.
“Done! Now, who is the rat trapped in the jar, I wonder?”
Rabel smiled, adjusted his glasses, and gently floated towards where Raul was.
*
“So, how should I deal with you?”
Raul was standing once again before the beast soldier Toadlion, on behalf of Marquis Greer. The marquis had momentarily withdrawn to command the troops.
Whoosh.
Along with a fierce wind pressure, the creature’s disgusting stench hit Raul’s nose.
‘Ugh, this smell of decay never gets any easier.’
The original form of the beast soldier was a dungeon guardian. Although it was a unique entity sustained by mana, it was undeniably a living being.
Capturing it and tattooing it to turn it into a biological weapon created the beast soldier. The issue was that it could no longer be called a living being.
“Hup. Ha!”
Raul dodged the beast’s battle axe and thrust his sword towards its chest.
Zzzzzap, whoosh!
The sword penetrated the resistant black energy shield, and the golden mana blade scored a cut on its hide.
Drip. Sizzle!
The black blood that oozed from the wound dropped to the floor, dissolving the marble of the training room as it vaporized.
‘Acid poison?’
It was a trick of the Empire, not one of its original traits. At that moment, something sharp flew towards Raul.
Thud!
He blocked it with a sword stopper and grabbed it with his hand, but the snake-like red object slipped out with a slithering sound. Swoosh, snap!
Moving freely and targeting Raul again, it was Toadlion’s tongue. The gruesome tongue targeted Raul like a snake, and when the large battle axe dropped down again, Raul gave up counterattacking and flung his body back.
Shiiing!
Where Raul had been, the sharp claws intertwined with mana shredded through the air.
‘That’s the third means of attack. The forepaw strike, right?’
Toadlion’s main attack methods consisted of three things. A massive weapon with a mana blade almost equal to that of an expert of the highest grade.
A whip-like tongue that could effortlessly pierce through any average steel plate while repelling the mana blade. And the explosive speed and sharp claws used in the forepaw strike from its lion-like hindquarters.
‘To be honest, it’s powerful but not particularly threatening.’
Once upon a time, perhaps, but Raul was now unimpressed. Activating his power armor had brought Raul’s physical strength to match that of Toadlion, and he was far more agile.
His dynamic vision had enhanced to the point that the beast’s attacks appeared slow. It meant that he could dodge its attacks whenever he willed.
However, the troublesome part was its insane defense and zombie-like vitality.
‘Is it correct to even call it vitality? It’s more like it’s already in a state of decay.’
Beast soldiers subjected to the Empire’s procedures began to rot immediately. As far as he recalled, the maximum period they could maintain combat ability was about three months.
It meant they were disposables, but that wouldn’t mean much to the Empire, which considered even knights expendable.
It bore the grand title of a master weapon, but in reality, it was far from it. To the real ‘masters’ Raul had met, it was nothing more than a toy, a half-baked weapon.
‘Now that I’ve roughly assessed it, let’s get serious.’
Raul activated his true power armor, ‘Regnator’.
Swish.
Underneath his B-rank power armor, Raul felt the warm sensation of Regnator layering itself over him. Without stopping, he immediately activated the area buff skill, <Radiant Aura>.
Flash!
“Ohhh! What’s this energy?”
“It’s the master’s blessing! Sweep them all away!”
Having reached intermediate level 9, the Radiant Aura now showcased effects on a completely different level from when Raul first acquired it. It was an area buff lasting three minutes within a 150-meter radius, providing a three-part holy power combo of purification, blessing, and healing.
For allies within a 5-meter radius of Raul, continuous health recovery, mana recovery, and anti-magic effects were granted. For Raul himself, all buff effects, including spiritual power recovery, were doubly potent.
Whoooosh.
“Graaargh!”
As an intense holy wind spread from Raul’s body, the demon soldiers and beast soldiers screamed in agony. Given their tenacious recovery abilities, they might soon regain their combat strength.
‘There’s no need to give them that time.’
Swoosh.
With golden, illusionary wings spreading from his back, Raul gripped his longsword with both hands and focused his mind.
Hummmm!
An overwhelming amount of mana gathered into his longsword, accompanied by a sound as if the very air was roaring. And finally. A radiant golden aura, about 1 meter long, materialized.
Grumble, rumble.
The aura appeared somewhat unstable, but with the support of two power armors, holy power, and psychokinesis, it differed in essence from a typical ‘temporary aura’ of an expert of the highest grade.
“Come on, let’s see if you’re really the master weapon.”
Flash!
In an instant, Raul vanished from his spot. In the air, only the faint afterimage of golden wings remained, and Raul reappeared dozens of meters away behind the third Toadlion.
Boom, crash, bang, thump!
The delayed sound of the atmosphere tearing, like the sonic boom of a jet, echoed. Three Toadlions stood, each with a two-meter hole in their necks and torsos, spilling black blood.
Crunch.
Raul, who had folded his golden wings and landed on the ground, glanced down at his sword. The result of hammering the unstable aura into the shield and Toadlion’s body was the destruction of his weapon.
Clatter.
Metal fragments, which had once been a rare A-Grade luxury sword, fell to the floor.
‘I regret wasting such a valuable sword.’
Although it could have been done slowly, Raul felt he had unnecessarily exerted full power and lost a precious sword. Nonetheless, having learned that such an occurrence was possible was valuable in itself. In a match against a superhuman, such an unfortunate incident could have cost him his life.
“Well, Master, aren’t you being a bit much? It was a fun opponent to slice up after a while, and you took it away again…”
Jake, who had approached unnoticed, grumbled in a joking tone.
Thunk.
“Ouch.”
“If you have time to whine, go deal with the imperial scum before they go on a rampage.”
Philip, poking Jake’s side with an empty scabbard, made him smack his lips and head to another battlefield. Apparently, the third Toadlion had been fought by Philip and Jake together.
“Honestly, even with higher skills, your personality hasn’t changed… Master, that was impressive!”
“Haha, I seem to have gotten carried away. I showed an embarrassing side.”
Raul, shaking the hilt left from the destroyed sword, joked, making Philip smile faintly.
“Those words don’t work anymore. You’re close to breaking through.”
“I don’t think you’re one to talk, Philip. Are you going to keep delaying the news?”
Upon checking, Philip’s experience and proficiency were nearing completion. If things went well, the Ashton household might soon see the birth of its second master.
“Haha. If Master could spar with me a little more often, it might happen sooner. Of course, I’m more interested in your beautiful swordsmanship than my own progress.”
Philip was typically a gentleman and an exemplary knight and commander, but there was one thing he could not resist—his obsession and fascination with various sword techniques.
From the moment he started following Raul, he had been intrigued by Raul’s unusual sword techniques. Philip enjoyed learning the various sword arts Raul had collected and sparring with him.
Thanks to this, Philip was the next most versatile swordsman after Raul in the Count Ashton’s household and the First Knight Order, and that might have been the driving force behind his rapid progress in mastery.
“At any rate, we must deal with them quickly. By now, they must’ve realized they’ve fallen into a trap.”
“It would be troublesome if they collectively performed the ‘Black Sacrifice.’
Not that it would change the course of the battle.”
With all their secret weapon, Toadlion, defeated, the enemy must’ve been feeling the pressure.
As Raul gazed coldly toward the location of the brass mask, he pondered on the choices the enemy, with their escape routes cut off, might make.
(To be continued)