Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 68 (Part 1)

Bron and Marlon, upon returning, immediately began reorganizing their belongings.

They had fled so hastily that they hadn’t even dressed properly. Their equipment was also out of place.

While sorting through their backpacks, Bron and Marlon pulled out thick clothing and draped it over themselves. They re-secured their belts and hung the throwing daggers, which had been haphazardly shoved into their packs, onto the belt loops.

Shortly afterward, Baker and Ellice returned.

“Did you guys see it?”

“See what? You can’t just leave out all the details and expect us to know what you’re talking about.”

“There’s a raft over there. It looks like the people who were chasing us prepared it.”

“Ah! That makes sense. Since they had a way to cross the river, that’s why they came this way.”

Seventeen of the first-class recruits had fled to the Lamaton River through the eastern gate, just like Bron and his group. Although they had put some distance between them, it wouldn’t be long before they arrived here.

“Should we take it?”

“Is the raft big?”

“No, it’s small. If we take the raft, we’ll have to leave the horses behind.”

“We can’t do that. These horses are our tickets out of here.”

Bron and his group were in a serious financial bind. Every time they stayed at an inn, they had to calculate carefully, thinking, “How much do we have left?”

The cost of a ship from the port city of Elpeso in the Aslan Kingdom to the central continent would also have to be covered by selling the horses they were currently riding.

“Let’s leave the raft. We don’t need it.”

“Really?”

“Get ready.”

Although the horses were valuable, Rodin didn’t want to take away the first-class recruits’ means of crossing the river.

If they had no other choice, that would be one thing. But since they could cross the river without the raft, there was no reason to cause unnecessary harm to the first-class recruits.

Rodin dismounted and stepped forward.

“Could you take care of my horse?”

“Sure, I’ll lead it.”

“Oh! You all can just ride comfortably. I’ll take care of things down here, so don’t worry.”

Rodin called out to Undine as he looked at the river.

Feeling pleased as the water drew nearer, Undine fluttered around.

‘Stop playing around. Block the waterway for a bit. We need to cross.’

Nod!

Undine used her power. Naturally, that power originated from Rodin’s mana.

As Undine moved, the rushing current shifted, creating a passage for them to cross while the water flowed only on the upper side.

“Let’s go.”

Rodin reinforced the passage that Undine had created with magic.

He used a 4th-circle water-based spell, Aqua Wall, similar to Fire Wall, to prevent the water from seeping through. Simultaneously, he solidified the muddy ground by turning it over.

“Wow! That’s amazing.”

“Creating a passage through the water like that.”

“We don’t have time. Let’s hurry and follow.”

Rodin walked, concentrating on the flow of the water. Bron and his group quickly followed behind.

Rodin dismantled the Aqua Wall in the areas they had passed.

“Hey, are those fish?”

“You can’t see them, so how do you know if there are fish?”

“It might not be visible to your eyes as a knight, but I can see them as a mage.”

“Yeah, right.”

Ellice and Marlon bickered even as they crossed the river. They might end up dating at this rate.

Rodin walked at a pace that wasn’t fast, but neither was it slow. Bron and his group followed at the same pace on horseback.

After about 20 minutes, the flat ground gradually turned into an incline, and before they knew it, the walls of water above them had completely disappeared.

“We’ve crossed.”

“Wow! This is something to brag about.”

“Hey, over there… those are the people who were following us.”

The first-class recruits had already arrived on the other side of the river. They hadn’t yet packed up the raft.

“Looks like they plan to cross the river too.”

“Let’s go. It’s best to get as far away as possible before sunrise.”

“Indeed. The empire’s got plenty of mages. They’ll cross this river in no time.”

During their crossing, Bron’s group unintentionally conserved energy. Since they had matched Rodin’s walking pace, the five horses had also hardly used any stamina.

Now, they put that conserved energy to use, increasing their speed as they continued eastward.

As Rodin rode, he thought about the Imperial forces they had fought today.

‘Should I let them think I’m an Archmage?’

He had deliberately mixed in Wind Storm, a 5th-circle spell, with 4th-circle spells. It was to make it seem as if he had cast a 5th-circle spell with only a trigger word.

He had pulled his hood low to conceal his youthful appearance, hoping they would see him as an older mage.

If they mistook him for an Archmage, they wouldn’t pursue him. Although the Empire’s magic corps was powerful, they would have to be prepared for total annihilation if they faced an Archmage.

‘Or maybe not. The power was lacking.’

It would be fortunate if they were mistaken, but no matter how much he thought about it, it didn’t seem likely they would mistake him for an Archmage. He could only hope that he had at least delayed their pursuit with his ruse.

‘For now, it seems there aren’t any Imperial soldiers chasing us.’

* * *

Five hundred knights from the Empire’s magic corps.

They usually never leave the side of the mage assigned to them. From the beginning of the war to the very last moment, their sole duty was to protect their assigned mage.

They might die before the mage, but they could never allow the mage to die before them. That was their reason for existence.

So they were always at the mage’s side, but today was a little different.

Because the mages had gathered in one place to cast their spells, the knights were given a different task.

The eradication of all lifeforms emerging from the village.

To carry out this mission, they surrounded the village, naturally expecting that the enemy would try to escape.

However, instead of the Riyaz Kingdom’s reconnaissance unit they had anticipated, they suffered tremendous losses at the hands of what appeared to be a group of mercenaries.

It all happened so quickly that it still felt like a dream.

But the reality was undeniable, and they had to report it, no matter what.

Hyung_Otaku2

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