Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 184 (Part 1)

Rodin sensed a tremendous number of magical beasts. Easily more than 500. And that was only the number within his detection range—far more were still surging in from beyond.

“Mage Rodin, the number?”

“Hundreds. Possibly over a thousand.”

“…What?”

Scott was dumbfounded by Rodin’s reply. He couldn’t make sense of what he was hearing.

He had been a mercenary for a long time, but he had rarely encountered hundreds of magical beasts at once. Even those few times had only occurred when mercenaries were recruited in the thousands or tens of thousands for large-scale monster subjugation operations.

“Scott! Move!”

“Understood! Everyone, form up in defensive formation! Line the wagons up side by side!”

“There’s no need to cover the right flank. Fire Wall! Fire Wall! Fire Wall! Fire Wall!”

Rodin cast four consecutive Fire Walls on the right side. With this, the movement of the beasts could likely be redirected elsewhere.

Unless there were no other path, magical beasts wouldn’t willingly charge into walls of flame. And since he had layered it fourfold just in case, the right side could be considered secure.

“Got it. Everyone heard that, right?”

“Jena, don’t step out—stay in the carriage and wait.”

Rodin stopped Jena from drawing her weapon and pointed inside the carriage. It meant she should go all the way in and conceal herself.

“Why, sir?”

“It’s not normal for magical beasts to charge in this many numbers.”

“You believe someone’s interfering?”

“Yeah. There are people targeting this place. This is likely a probe of our strength.”

Scott also overheard Rodin’s words to Jena. Only then did the absurdity of the current situation begin to make sense.

“There are people after Queen Regina.”

“Yes. Think of this as the real beginning. Karis! You too—fight only at the level of a 5th-class swordsman.”

“Understood.”

Rodin, being a Grand Mage, was someone the enemy would certainly be aware of. There was no point in hiding his capabilities.

Karis, too, had made an appearance in the Kantros Plains, so it wasn’t as though her existence was completely unknown.

But as for her exact level of skill—they were probably still uncertain. That’s why he instructed her to hold back somewhat in her performance.

“I’ll also act tired once the number of magical beasts decreases.”

“Understood.”

Dudududududu!

The magical beasts had drawn near. The sound of the ground shaking sent a chill down the mercenaries’ spines.

“Inferno Flame!”

Rodin gathered his magical power and unleashed a powerful strike. A flame formed from seven circles flew into the midst of the charging magical beasts.

KABOOOOM!

A massive explosion swallowed the magical beasts. Dozens were caught in the blast and were blown away in every direction.

“Huff!”

“Crazy!”

It was a spell created with nothing but destructive power in mind. Combined with martial arts casting, it produced power of a different magnitude than a normal 7-circle spell.

Rodin didn’t stop at just one.

Before they got any closer—while the magical beasts were still clustered together—this was the perfect opportunity to reduce their numbers.

“Thunder Storm!”

A massive whirlwind of lightning formed at the center of the gathered magical beasts.

The storm raged, flinging bolts of lightning in all directions, turning the beasts into charred husks. Those that didn’t die collapsed to the ground, their bodies convulsing uncontrollably.

Southern Luvain Kingdom, Risten Region.

With a tremendous explosion, silence fell over the area. Amidst a stillness so heavy that it made one’s ears ring, a man in his early fifties wearing a black robe walked forward unhurriedly.

Crunch!

“Urgh!”

The robed man stepped on the abdomen of the fallen man. As he pressed down with force, blood rained from the torn-open side.

“Still alive, are you, Marquis Richmond. Swordsmen’s bodies really are sturdy. I’m envious.”

“Y-You…”

“You’re just a tougher insect, at best.”

Marquis Richmond glared up at the robed man, his eyes bloodshot. But a fierce glare alone could do nothing.

Still lying down, he slowly turned his head. He saw Tower Master Tamia and the mages of the Chronoa Magic Tower—bodies burned beyond recognition.

He turned his head the other way. His subordinates were already long dead, now lifeless corpses.

“…Haa.”

He had underestimated his opponent far too much. He thought with Tower Master Tamia at his side, they’d easily be able to capture Marquis Rotten.

It was a misjudgment. Tamia had died pathetically. Though she cast three or four spells, none inflicted any real damage on Marquis Rotten.

On the contrary, the magic Marquis Rotten used had turned Tamia’s body into a charred corpse in an instant. The battle was so one-sided, it hadn’t even lasted five minutes.

“You went through all the trouble of chasing me—should’ve known your own limits.”

Crunch!

Marquis Rotten pressed down again with force. From Marquis Richmond’s side, his entrails began to spill out.

“This thing here is a fantastic weapon.”

Marquis Rotten pulled out a bean-sized stone from his robe.

Marquis Richmond squeezed his eyes shut as he looked at the small stone in Rotten’s hand.

It was the Stenial, the artifact that Uncle Butler had lent to Healer Sagan. A treasure containing magical power comparable to a high-grade orb, yet no larger than a bean.

Of course, that treasure wasn’t the sole reason Tower Master Tamia had died. The staff she had carried also had a high-grade orb mounted.

But had the Stenial not been used, Tamia wouldn’t have been at a disadvantage in terms of magical power. If that had been the case, then even if her casting speed was slightly behind, she could’ve at least fought on somewhat equal footing.

“Uncle… You’ve taken my life from me.”

“No! No! My lord Marquis! Marquis!”

The one crying out, bound and restrained, was Hamilton Kailas, the Chief Administrator.

The Head Butler, Kylas, shared responsibility for the current disaster.

He should never have let Marquis Richmond and Marquis Rotten meet. He should’ve confessed everything he knew and helped Marquis Rotten leave in search of the Kingdom of Bolas’s legacy sooner.

“Kill… me…”

“Oh, I will. This has cost me dearly, you know. Because of a bug like you, I lost my brother and my men!”

In the brief moments when Tamia had fought, Richmond and his knights had killed Bronair and Tankonaria. In this land, their cover identities were Mage Raven and Knight Jensen.

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