Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 187 (Part 1)

The clothing of those who had just attacked and those waiting up ahead was different. Rodin had already confirmed that through a Familiar sp

The clothing of those who had just attacked and those waiting up ahead was different. Rodin had already confirmed that through a Familiar spell.

“Mage Rodin, you’re saying they’re not from the Kingdom of Lloyd? Then who are they?”

“The Kingdom of Lloyd’s forces wouldn’t come this far. If they showed up here, it would only raise suspicion.”

Rodin’s group was still within the borders of the Kingdom of Selden. To reach this area from the Kingdom of Lloyd, one would have to cross the entire Luvain Kingdom from east to west. Even on horseback, it would take over a month.

Coming all that way just to rescue Queen Regina? That was the perfect setup for suspicion.

Queen Regina was bewildered. They’d just been ambushed, and now an international incident was arising. On top of that, hearing the name of the supposedly allied Kingdom of Lloyd—more than surprising, it was appalling.

Queen Regina’s original family, the Viscount House of Coventry, had strong connections in the Kingdom of Lloyd.

Her late mother, who had died during the civil war, was of fallen noble descent from the Kingdom of Lloyd. Going back generations, many in the House of Coventry carried Lloydian blood.

And now, the Kingdom of Lloyd was behind all this? She couldn’t believe it—and she didn’t want to.

“Mage Rodin, then who are the ones waiting up ahead?”

“There are likely nobles within the Luvain Kingdom who have joined hands with the Kingdom of Lloyd. They want to take credit for rescuing Your Majesty.”

“Ah!”

Only then did Queen Regina begin to see their scheme.

They were thinking two steps ahead.

For the Kingdom of Lloyd, the best outcome was to absorb the entire Luvain Kingdom.

But they also had to consider the possibility of failure. After all, the Luvain Kingdom was a powerful nation even within the Central Continent.

In that case, they could use the collaborating nobles to exert influence over the Luvain Kingdom. As the ‘saviors’ of the queen, those nobles would naturally gain a strong voice in the royal court.

“Well now, Mage Harry, tell me—who are the real demons here?”

“Silence!”

“No matter how I look at it, you people seem more demonic.”

At that moment, Scott came dragging something along. Judging by his apologetic expression, it looked like the interrogation hadn’t gone well.

“My apologies, Mage Rodin.”

“He’s not dead. Recovery.”

Rodin healed the knight named Jeff, whom Scott had slung over his shoulder. He poured in just enough magical energy for him to survive, but not enough for full recovery.

“Yes. He passed out after a few rounds of torture. Seems like he forcibly detonated his own aura.”

“That’s fine. As long as he’s alive. Besides, we did find out who’s backing them. We just lack evidence.”

Rodin left the captured 6th Circle Mage alone and stepped away.

The remaining decision wasn’t Rodin’s to make. It was up to Queen Regina, the client of this expedition.

“Your Majesty, what should we do with him?”

“He claims he came from the Kingdom of Lloyd.”

“Hmm.”

Queen Regina relayed to Scott what Rodin had told her.

Scott’s expression shifted repeatedly—first disbelief, then anger, then contemplation as his thoughts turned to the civil war.

“Could it be that they were behind the outbreak of the civil war?”

“It seems so.”

The fundamental cause of the civil war had been poison. The argument over who had poisoned whom had escalated into full-blown conflict.

If it had been the Kingdom of Lloyd who used the poison, then they had, in effect, orchestrated the civil war.

“Those bastards. Do they think the Luvain Kingdom is theirs to toy with?”

“Mercenary Scott, is it possible to suppress him in a way that prevents him from using magic?”

The 6th-class knight had already detonated his own aura. For now, binding his limbs with rope was sufficient.

But the Mage, while severely injured, was still capable of casting spells. Rodin’s magic control had already dissipated, and there was no telling when he might try something.

“If we cut out his tongue, that would do it.”

“I’m sorry, Mercenary Scott. Please take care of it.”

“Understood.”

“I’ll handle it.”

Rodin poked just his head out of the carriage, then directly disrupted the Mage named Harry’s circle, ripping out his magical energy at the root.

“Gaaaah! Cough!”

Harry screamed and coughed up blood. Unable to withstand the pain, he soon lost consciousness.

“I’ve dismantled his magic circle. It’ll regenerate with time, but he won’t be able to use magic for at least a year.”

“Thank you, Mage Rodin.”

“Please gather the orbs I left over there. I need some rest.”

Rodin was on the brink of collapse from overusing his magical energy. Ever since he had learned magic as a child, he had never cast so much magic in one day.

He returned to the carriage. Karis and Jena naturally took up guard positions around it.

“Bianca, how’s Larry?”

“He’s not seriously hurt. Just exhausted.”

“That’s good.”

Larry had lost consciousness during the battle with the magical beasts. He had taken a troll’s attack head-on.

Thankfully, the blow had landed on his shield, so he wasn’t seriously injured. But he had to summon all the aura he had to block it, leaving him in a state of total exhaustion.

“Big Brother Rodin, I’ll stay outside.”

“Sorry. I need to recover first.”

“It’s alright.”

Bianca stepped out of the carriage. Rodin placed his trust in Karis and Jena and began magical energy meditation.

Rodin quickly completed one cycle. His magical energy was about halfway restored.

“Whew… I feel alive again.”

He rushed out of the carriage and immediately headed to the cart carrying the wounded, checking on the mercenaries.

“Recovery. Restore! Heal.”

He used healing spells based on the severity of the wounds. For the most critical injuries, he also gave out potions.

While Rodin was healing the wounded, Bianca entered the carriage.

Rodin wasn’t the only one with depleted magical energy. Bianca had also used every ounce of hers.

She had nearly exhausted her magic fighting the magical beasts—and then squeezed out every last drop again during the fight with the knights.

Though completely drained, she had waited for Rodin to finish recovering before tending to herself. At this point, Bianca was practically no different from an ordinary person in terms of magical capability.

“Scott! Any casualties?”

“Thankfully, no. Thanks to you, Mage Rodin.”

“I was only doing what had to be done. Seems things outside aren’t cleaned up yet.”

“We’re still debating how to deal with the corpses. If we just leave them here, there’s a risk of plague.”

It wasn’t just human corpses. The bodies of the magical beasts from the earlier battle were even more numerous.

Leaving them would inevitably cause problems. Disease was one concern—but the scent would also attract other magical beasts or predators.

But burying them all was out of the question. Most of their people were injured, and it was difficult to even gather enough manpower to move the bodies.

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