Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 186 (Part 2)

It was not so weak as to be pierced by the swords of a mere 3rd- or 4th-class knight. Jito let out a shriek—but it was pure dramatics. It ha

It was not so weak as to be pierced by the swords of a mere 3rd- or 4th-class knight.

Jito let out a shriek—but it was pure dramatics. It had screamed simply because it had been struck.

“Inferno Buster! Detonate!”

Rodin’s attack swept across the rear. The enemies who had returned with difficulty had already been shaken once by Holy Explosion, and now were annihilated by Inferno Buster.

On top of that, the magical landmines Rodin had laid exploded. Enemies standing above them were flung in all directions.

Slice! Slice!

Jena, who had approached unnoticed, cut down the knights trying to strike Rodin from behind in the blink of an eye.

The left flank was almost cleared. With the number of knights halved, Jena moved to guard Rodin’s side.

“Thanks. Flare! Thunder Blast!”

With Jena’s protection, Rodin unleashed his magic freely. Spells rained down relentlessly on both the rear and the front, quickly collapsing the enemy formation.

Slice! Slice!

“Keugh!”
“Kuheok!”

At Rodin’s command to kill them all, Karis began cutting down enemies with terrifying speed.

It was rare for Rodin to give a kill order. Especially an order to kill nearly 200 knights—under normal circumstances, Rodin would never have given such an order.

But this time was an exception.

In Rodin’s eyes, these men were clearly knights belonging to a nation. Judging by their skill, they were likely knights who protected the royal family or the kingdom.

“If we let them live, it’ll be a hassle.”

If this had been the entirety of the enemy force, a few could have been spared. After all, even if a handful survived, they wouldn’t pose a threat to Queen Regina.

But the attackers today were only a portion of the enemy’s forces. If left alive, they would join up with others and likely return in greater numbers.

“Retreat! Retreat!”
“We’re breaking out!”

Jepp, a 6th-class knight who couldn’t move due to Lock Down¹, made the decision to save his subordinates. Following his command, a few surviving knights fled in all directions.

“No need to chase. Just take out the ones we can handle.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

Karis designated a range about 50 meters from the carriage procession and killed every knight within that area. However, she did not step beyond that boundary.

“Looks like the knights are roughly taken care of.”

The battle was over. Corpses filled the surroundings. Fewer than ten of the attacking enemies managed to escape.

Thankfully, none of their own mercenaries had died. Though many groaned from injuries, they were all still alive.

Rodin had been extremely vigilant in order not to lose a single mercenary. Even while dodging via Blink, he didn’t ignore comrades in danger.

While Scott had been placed in charge of leading the group, Rodin was, on paper, the official leader of the escort. The responsibility of minimizing casualties was also Rodin’s to bear.

Rodin first approached the knight among the two who had been captured with Lock Down.

Though the man couldn’t move at all—like being bound in spiderwebs—his eyes still burned with savagery. The bloodshot glare was unsettling to the point of being chilling.

Naturally, Rodin didn’t care in the slightest. He sat in front of the fallen man and locked eyes with him.

“I doubt asking your name will get me an answer. Same with your affiliation. So what should I do?”

“Mage Rodin, shall I handle it?”

“You know how to torture someone?”

“I’ve never done it before, but I’ll try.”

Rodin simply nodded in response. Scott then brought a rope from somewhere and tied up the 6th-class knight.

“Don’t go overboard.”

“Understood.”

Scott hoisted the knight onto his shoulder and disappeared somewhere. The mercenaries watched the direction he went with pity in their eyes.

“Aaaagh!”

A terrible scream followed soon after, making the mercenaries shudder. Rodin furrowed his brows slightly.

“Not a fan of loud noises…”

This time, Rodin approached Harry, a 6-circle mage caught by Lock Down.

The man was on his knees, coughing blood repeatedly. His body was so damaged that he wouldn’t last long if left unattended.

“I think you were called Harry?”

“Kuhak! Just… kill me.”

“Could it be the Kingdom of Selden? Or the Kingdom of Lloyd? It has to be one of the two.”

Rodin confirmed the man was from the Kingdom of Lloyd by watching his reaction. When he mentioned Lloyd, the mage’s pupils visibly trembled—Rodin didn’t miss it.

“Seems like it’s Lloyd, then. What now? If I spread your face everywhere, I’m sure someone will recognize you.”

“Kill me! You devil!”

The Kingdom of Lloyd lay to the east of the Luvain Kingdom. Like the Kingdom of Selden, it had long been a friendly nation and had maintained neutrality during the recent civil war.

“Devil? You used Azahasar Pallite to murder innocent people, and you think you’re righteous? If you intended to erase the royal family of a long-standing ally, you should’ve expected retribution.”

“Mage Rodin! What do you mean by that? Lloyd was a friendly nation!”

Queen Regina, having confirmed the battle was over, emerged from the carriage. Perhaps due to the horrifying scene around them, she did not bring Prince Arian with her.

“These people seem to have been sent from the Kingdom of Lloyd.”

“That’s impossible. We’ve always had good relations. Even during the civil war, they stayed neutral.”

“They had no reason to interfere. The war was already chaotic—watching from the sidelines was probably enough for them.”

“Ah…”

Queen Regina’s face turned pale as she glared at the mage named Harry. Her gaze seemed to ask, Is this true?

But the mage said nothing. He simply closed his eyes and waited for death.

“Your silence won’t change anything. I’m a 7th-circle Grand Mage. I can record your current appearance as a video.”

“Guhh…”

“What if I spread this video in your country? Through the mercenary guilds, it won’t even take long. I’m sure someone there will recognize your face.”

Rodin got to work right away.

He pulled a large orb—used as a projection device—from his subspace bracelet and placed it on the ground. Then, he forcibly lifted the mage’s face to make him look into it.

“Aaaagh!”

Another scream echoed from afar. It was the sound of Scott torturing the 6th-class knight.

“You know, I realized you’d been following us for three days.”

From the day they left the Duchy of Lientas, Rodin had trained a bird using a Familiar Spell. The bird would scout ahead, constantly surveilling their surroundings.

Though inferior in all aspects—movement, vision, and field of view—to Jito, the bird was still useful. It wasn’t nocturnal, so it was practically blind at night.

However, Rodin didn’t want to keep his summoned beast Jito separated from his body for long, so he used the familiar spell instead.

“What?”

“You’ve been trailing us from back there. That’s how I also know a part of your force is waiting up ahead. Around 50 of them, I’d say. They were probably planning to show up late and pretend they were here to save us.”

Queen Regina’s face turned crimson. Just imagining herself being manipulated by unknown hands filled her with unbearable rage.

“Mage Rodin, are you saying those waiting ahead were just going to pretend to come rescue me and the prince?”

“No. These people will absolutely try to kill Prince Arian. There’s no benefit to having a Luvain heir still alive. But they likely intended to spare Your Majesty. And the ones waiting ahead aren’t from the Kingdom of Lloyd.”

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