Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 57 (Part 2)
Rodin moved from south to north through Hamless Gorge, memorizing the terrain in his mind. Then he returned to the center of the gorge.
“I’ll have to deal with them here. Jito, can you scout for me?”
“Kueng.”
Jito transformed from clothing to his true form. He then leaped from Rodin’s shoulder, soaring up high until he was just a tiny black dot in the sky.
‘Where are they now?’
Rodin shared Jito’s vision, scanning the south. He saw the two imperial soldiers and Commissioner Albrecht, following at a reasonable distance.
“Undine, do you think I can defeat those guys?”
Undine glanced at him.
She didn’t speak, but Rodin just smiled and moved on.
He hadn’t asked the question expecting an answer. With Jito out scouting, he just felt a little lonely and wanted to talk.
“Those guys. The knight is probably a 6th-level. They wouldn’t send a 5th-level swordsman to capture a 5th Circle magician. The magician isn’t much, probably below 4th Circle. Albrecht, that guy’s a 5th-level knight. But he’s too lazy with his training. He won’t be able to show his former skills.”
Rodin assessed the enemy’s capabilities from their appearance and demeanor. Though he spoke lightly, he knew that if they confronted each other, he wouldn’t stand a chance.
“Maybe four or five hours? That’s about right. I need to hurry.”
He drew a large magic circle in the center of the gorge. The spell was an explosion-type spell called *Explosion*. As the name suggests, it was a spell with immense explosive power.
“That’s it for fire magic. I’ll use different elements for the rest.”
He had heard that knights were always well-prepared against fire when facing magicians. Artifacts related to fire resistance were also common in the market.
It wasn’t that knights were particularly vulnerable to fire spells. Whether it was fire or lightning, strong magic would cause similar damage regardless.
But fire, by its nature, was the most visually striking. Even if they were hit by various kinds of magic, fire spells were what stuck in their minds the most.
That’s why knights had a mental equation: magician equals fire.
“This is a bit wasteful, but…”
He took out the staff he had obtained from Elrov Commissioner’s underground chamber from his backpack. The staff had a blue Arovaine wood shaft and a large red orb on top.
Rodin carefully detached the red orb from the staff. With a slight twist and the infusion of mana, the orb separated cleanly, as if it had always been a separate piece.
“It’s a waste, but there’s no choice.”
These orbs, called Elvias, were extremely valuable. The red ones were especially sought after because they enhanced fire magic, fetching much higher prices.
Moreover, with a size like this, it was even rarer. Even if you had the money, it wasn’t something you could easily buy. It hardly ever appeared on the market, and when it did, it was usually snapped up by the Magic Tower.
“It better explode properly.”
Rodin shared his vision with Jito briefly to check the distance of the pursuers. He estimated they were still about two or three hours away.
“Kuwoog!”
Rodin embedded the large Elvias deep into the center of the magic circle. Then he covered it with dirt and stones to keep it hidden.
“One down.”
After that, he etched magic circles into the walls on both sides of the gorge. These were also large magic circles.
‘They look big, but they’re not that powerful.’
Despite using as many mana stones as possible, there was a limit to their power.
The mana stones themselves were low-grade. No matter how efficiently he drew out their mana, they weren’t strong enough to kill a 6th-level knight.
But that didn’t matter. The main focus was the magic circle on the ground. The magic on the walls was just a distraction.
“I’m doing my best.”
Rodin straightened up and shared his vision with Jito again. The pursuers had closed the distance to about an hour away.
“The magician and Albrecht.”
These were the two targets of the trap he had set. The knight wasn’t his main focus.
“It’s enough to injure the 6th-level knight.”
Of course, killing him would be ideal, but he wasn’t counting on that. Cutting off the pursuers would be enough.
Rodin had no particular grudge against the Ingram Empire. If not for the pursuit, they wouldn’t have clashed at all.
“All set.”
Rodin used wind magic to cover the magic circles as much as possible.
The wind blew. The magical wind and the natural wind of the area mingled, thoroughly disguising the scene.
“Done.”
Rodin started moving north at a leisurely pace.
There was no need to hurry. He just needed to let them know he was still on the move.
“Kueng.”
“Oh? Why did you come back?”
As Rodin started moving, Jito returned. It was as if he was saying, “Take me with you.”
“Kueng?”
“Stay up there. You need to watch them so I can trigger the magic at the right time.”
“Kueng.”
He sent Jito back up into the sky. Rodin continued moving at an even slower pace.
‘They’ll be here soon.’
He shared his vision with Jito again, checking on the pursuers. They were entering the gorge where he had laid his trap, completely unaware.
—
Count Ferrios and his party also reached Hamless Gorge. The bleak and desolate atmosphere made them stop in their tracks.
“Edric, do you remember this place?”
“Yes, of course. You conquered this place within a few days, didn’t you?”
Count Ferrios closed his eyes, letting the strong wind from the north hit his face.
Rodin had prepared this location unknowingly, but it was a place of personal significance for Count Ferrios. He was the one who had personally conquered it under the orders of the Supreme Commander.
“That’s right. There were no casualties.”
“Thanks to your remarkable abilities, Count.”
“It wasn’t my abilities. The Riyaz Kingdom fools were just incompetent. I didn’t think we’d take this place so easily.”
When the order to capture Hamless Gorge had come down from above, Count Ferrios had first studied the terrain.
After the reconnaissance was complete, he had resigned himself to losing quite a few soldiers here.
The terrain was truly wretched.
The width of Hamless Gorge was at most 20 meters in the widest spots and less than 10 meters in the narrowest. It stretched for 3.1 kilometers, with a winding path that made it difficult for those in the rear to even see what was happening at the front.