Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 114 (Part 1)

Cant, the Silver Shield mercenary, narrowly dodged the troll’s attack. A moment’s delay, and he would have lost an arm.

“Damn it!”

The beast they encountered while escorting the caravan was a troll. These creatures were classified as mid-to-large beasts even on the central continent, requiring at least two or three Silver Shield mercenaries to handle a single one.

And now, five of them had appeared simultaneously. Even for Cant, who had been a mercenary for 14 years, this was unprecedented.

Whhoooosh!

A terrifying sound ripped through the air each time a troll swung its arm. Though he tried to maintain focus, victory seemed impossible.

‘If only there was just one.’

The hired mercenary force of the Hedler caravan was not weak.

They had two Silver Shield mercenaries and 31 Bronze Shield mercenaries. Additionally, a 4th-circle mage was among them.

With such a lineup, they didn’t need to worry about most monsters. In fact, they would worry more about not having enough to fight.

Yet, this was an absurd situation. Beasts far exceeding the strength of their escort had suddenly appeared.

Cant could hardly believe what was happening.

Whhoooosh!

“Argh!”

Cant deflected the blow with his shield and leaped backward.

Before he realized it, he was pushed to a dead end. If he retreated any further, the caravan would be within the trolls’ reach. That would mean failure.

‘There are too many of them.’

Even facing four trolls wouldn’t have been easy. This force could only handle up to three trolls without casualties. Four meant some mercenaries would need to accept injuries or even death.

Still, it wouldn’t have led to defeat. The caravan, their client, would be protected.

“Tsk!”

Cant planted his feet firmly to prevent further retreat.

This time, he had to meet the beast’s attack head-on. Deflecting or dodging would mean damage to the wagons.

“Come on!”

Boom! Thud!

Just then, one of the charging trolls collapsed suddenly. A woman appeared and grabbed the downed troll by its hair.

“Huh? Wh-what…”

Cant was so shocked that he couldn’t even ask who she was. He just stood there, muttering nonsense.

A strange voice called out. Cant, dazed, turned toward the sound.

It came from the wagons—two of them, with the doors of one open, revealing a child inside.

“R-run away!”

“It’s fine.”

Despite Cant’s urgent warning, the robed man in the left wagon merely waved his hand dismissively, an action void of tension.

Rodin watched Jena effortlessly subdue a troll. It had been a surprise attack, but not something just anyone could pull off.

‘As expected, a master level?’

Trolls were formidable beasts, evaluated at the level of a 4th-class swordsman or 4th-circle mage. Newly appointed knights or mages couldn’t take one down alone.

“Bianca!”

“Yes!”

“It’s a beast. The one you wanted to see.”

“Big Brother Rodin, I’m scared.”

Bianca, who had previously expressed curiosity about wanting to see a monster, was now just a frightened 1st-circle novice mage.

“You won’t be saying you want to see one again, will you?”

“No, I don’t, Big brother Rodin. Big Sister Jena, do something! Move it away!”

Jena, dragging the unconscious troll by its hair, ignored Bianca’s fearful shriek.

Normally, Jena would playfully laugh and tease Bianca, treating her like a real sister.

But that was only when Rodin had no orders for her.

Jena was Rodin’s battle puppet. Once he commanded her to drag over the troll, fulfilling that order became her sole priority.

“I’ve brought it.”

“Lay it here with its belly facing up.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

Rodin stared at the troll lying on the ground. Though Larry, Bianca, and Matthew were watching, he paid them no attention.

“True Eye.”

Rodin scanned the troll’s insides thoroughly and found a clump of foreign energy.

“As I thought. Oh? The others are struggling. Someone go and handle one more.”

“I’ll go.”

This time, Karis stepped forward.

Karis walked over to the cluster of mercenaries desperately holding off two trolls. She approached one, swung her spear once, and—

Swish!

Nobody could stop him. Except for Rodin and Jena, no one even saw how Karis’s spear moved.

Karis confirmed the decapitation of one troll and returned to his original position, the spear already strapped to his back.

her movements were so seamless, it seemed like a pre-arranged sequence.

“Wow! Big Sister Karis, that was so strong. Big Sister Jena was amazing too.”

“Incredible.”

Larry couldn’t tear his eyes away from Karis.

Before him was the image of what he aspired to be when he first took up the sword: confident strides, invisible, swift spear strikes.

He wanted to be that kind of person. The difference between a sword and a spear didn’t matter; that was insignificant.

“Brother Larry, your eyes are weird.”

“Isn’t it cool?”

“It is, but she’s still older than you. The age gap is too big.”

“What are you talking about? It’s not like that.”

“Then Big Sister Jena?”

“No!”

As they bickered, Rodin continued examining the troll’s insides.

“This isn’t just an ordinary creature. Wind Knife.”

A blade of wind formed and cut the troll’s abdomen. It was so tough it didn’t slice easily.

Rodin poured more power into his spell, sharpening and strengthening the Wind Knife. He cut forcefully from the pit of the stomach to the right side.

Ssshhk!

Finally, the belly split open. Rodin inserted his hand into the troll’s opened abdomen.

“Big Brother Rodin, what are you doing? You must be crazy.”

“Brother, what are you doing?”

Ignoring Bianca and Larry’s shocked reactions, Rodin focused on his task.

Feeling something hard like a stone with his fingers, he gripped it between his index and middle fingers and pulled it out.

“Huh?”

“Hmm?”

“Master, is it dark magic?”

“No. I don’t sense any dark energy. Just magic… or should I say Mana?”

Rodin had sensed an energy mass within the troll’s belly from the start.

To a magician, that wasn’t unusual, but a mass of power in a beast’s specific organ was not natural.

“Is it an artifact?”

“No, not quite. More like a clump of mana formed into a power crystal.”

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