Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 155 (Part 1)

A single distant mage came running over. Stopping in front of Rodin, he bowed deeply.

“Your junior greets the senior mage.”

Watching the bowing mage, Rodin gave a slight nod.

He already knew that among the mages waiting for the great wyvern, there was a 6th-circle mage. Using a 7th-circle magic spell so spectacularly had been to draw that mage’s attention.

His prediction was correct. Among the mages, one had recognized Inferno Buster, one of the relatively well-known 7th-circle attack spells.

“Are you from the Magic Tower?”

“Yes. I am Alle, a mage belonging to the Ekrot Magic Tower. I apologize for my rudeness.”

“Ekrot Magic Tower, I see.”

Rodin’s gaze slowly shifted to the side—the direction where the knights, who had tried to rush in but then stopped, were standing.

“They’re not my subordinates, so I can’t control them as I please.”

“Is that so? Then that means I can kill them as I please, right?”

“Th-That… I apologize. We are also in a position to receive cooperation for this matter. Hoo… I beg your forgiveness, senior.”

Alle, the 6th-circle mage, bowed his head once more. Seeing him display such extreme courtesy, Rodin feigned holding back his anger.

“It’s not your fault, mage Alle. I understand. Ah, I haven’t introduced myself. I am Rodin.”

“Ah! The Platinum Badge. It is an honor to meet you.”

“There’s no need for that. More than that, I’d appreciate it if they didn’t block my way.”

Rodin gestured toward the knights.

Alle glared at the knights sharply.

“Understood. I will warn them.”

“Please do. I have no desire to continue any more unnecessary conflicts.”

The knights still hadn’t grasped the situation.

They couldn’t understand why the 6th-circle mage—who they thought stood far above them—was bowing his head or why he was glaring at them.

They had no idea what was happening.

“Sir Halsein, what on earth did you do?”

“I don’t understand what you mean. They insulted the knights.”

“Do you think I don’t know what you did? You were probably trying to pick a fight to vent your anger.”

“We did no such thing.”

Although he denied it, his expression gave everything away. His face seemed to say, “So what if we did?”

The knights of Count Laren had only clashed with the great wyvern once. During that encounter, they had lost one of their comrades—swallowed whole, with no way to save him.

That anger had been festering, and just then, two carriages had appeared.

Frustrated as they were, the knights had unconsciously displayed an aggressive attitude.

“Haa… That person is a 7th-circle Archmage. If you had laid so much as a finger on him, you wouldn’t have lived to see tomorrow’s sunrise. Understand?”

“Wh-What? An… Archmage, you say?”

“Yes. The only Archmage in the entire mercenary world.”

“O-Oh… Ah!”

The knights’ faces turned pale.

The knights of Count Laren’s household gathered here were composed of 3rd-grade and 4th-grade swordsmen. Even the 6th-circle mage, Alle, was an opponent they could never hope to handle.

But now, someone even stronger—a 7th-circle Archmage—had appeared before them. Just as Alle had said, everyone gathered here—knights and soldiers alike—could have easily died today.

“That person showed mercy and spared everyone. If you had shown the same disrespect to me, you’d all be corpses by now.”

“I-I offer my sincerest apologies.”

“Why are you apologizing to me? The one who deserves your apology is standing right over there.”

“Understood.”

The knights hesitantly approached. Stopping in front of Rodin, they bowed their heads and asked for forgiveness.

“That’s enough. Just don’t block my path.”

“S-Sorry!”

The knights quickly backed away. Meanwhile, the wyvern flying above had ascended even higher.

“It’s going to attack, isn’t it?”

“You mean the great wyvern?”

“Yeah. It raised its altitude—it’s preparing to dive.”

“Brother, what are you going to do?”

From inside the carriage, Larry’s voice rang out.

It seemed he found it uncomfortable to step outside with so many unfamiliar people around.

Bianca, too, was peeking out from inside the carriage through a slightly opened window.

“Hmm… This doesn’t feel like my fight anymore, though.”

“But you said they’re not knights of the Lennox Kingdom, right?”

“That’s true, but it’s not my concern anyway. I’m not a citizen of the Lennox Kingdom either.”

The carriages began moving again, slowly passing through the knights and soldiers.

“Young Master.”

“Young Master, it’s coming down!”

“Ah, damn it… Ice Dome!”

The great wyvern had targeted a particularly noticeable object: the large, slow-moving carriages.

Rodin conjured a massive block of ice that enveloped both carriages. A 6th-circle spell, yet its completion and the formation of the ice occurred in an instant.

Pachang! (SFX: Crash!)

The great wyvern suddenly spun its body and kicked the ice barrier. Rebounding off the ice, the wyvern swiftly soared back into the sky.

Rodin, who had hoped for a head-on collision, smiled bitterly.

“It’s pretty fast. Let’s just go.”

“Yes. Hyah!”

Leaving the high-flying wyvern glaring from above behind them, Rodin set the carriages in motion once more.

Once they had traveled a fair distance away, the great wyvern descended upon the ground again. Sounds of battle echoed from behind.

“It’s coming down again! Use Shock Wave!”

“Shock Wave!”

“Shock Wave!”

The 5th-circle mages of the Ekrot Magic Tower simultaneously launched shockwaves. It was their carefully prepared trump card.

However, the great wyvern shielded itself with its large wings and then soared back into the sky, seemingly unaffected by the attack.

Rodin glanced behind him briefly before losing interest. Now that he had distanced himself from the battlefield, the great wyvern was no longer his concern.

Ekrot Magic Tower, huh…

It was clear that Slavon was posing as the Ekrot Magic Tower to the outside world.

Since the Ekrot Magic Tower was located within the Kingdom of Maven, it might be influencing the royal family of Maven in one way or another.

‘I should keep my distance.’

Although Rodin had clashed with Slavon once before in the Moord Wastelands, they wouldn’t recognize him. So, for now, it was as if he had yet to come into conflict with Slavon.

‘The problem is that 8th-circle mage.’

Rodin recalled the 8th-circle mage he had encountered in the Sorien Mountains.

Though the mage no longer seemed as terrifying as when they first met, he was still a powerful figure who was intimidating to be around.

‘Still, it’s best to avoid meeting him if possible.’

*

Hyung_Otaku2

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