Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 73 (Part 2)

Rodin slowly rode his horse out of the city. Fortunately, he managed to leave Bontis before the gates closed.

The horse couldn’t pick up much speed. After an hour of traveling, he hadn’t gotten very far from the city.

“Stop!”

A group of men suddenly appeared in front of him. At first, he thought they might be Imperial soldiers, but they weren’t. They were bandits dressed in ragged clothes.

“Hey, leave your horse and bag…”

“Fireball.”

Boom!

Before the bandit could finish his sentence, Rodin cast his spell. A fireball exploded at the feet of the man who had been threatening him.

“Argh!”

“If you block me again, you’ll die.”

Rodin’s quiet words sent the bandits scattering to the sides. The one closest to the fireball crawled away, having narrowly avoided the blast.

“Let’s go.”

Rodin lightly tapped the horse’s side, and it began to move more briskly as if it was finally warming up.

“But where to now?”

As long as the war continued, nowhere would be truly safe. He might have to make another nighttime escape like this one.

“I should head to the Central Continent.”

Thinking back, it might have been better to travel with Bron and his group. At least he wouldn’t have been bored during the journey.

“Should I head to Melcos or Lanse?”

To reach the Central Continent, the easiest way was by ship. While it was expensive, he could focus on his studies comfortably during the voyage.

There were two port cities near Bontis: Melcos, in the southern part of the Kingdom of Riyaz, and Lanse, in the southern part of the Kingdom of Beros.

Lanse was closer. Even at a leisurely pace, he could reach it within ten days on horseback.

The sailing distance was also slightly shorter. Ships departing from Melcos had to stop at all 13 coastal cities, including Lanse, so it was naturally a longer route.

However, there was the issue of crossing the border.

Though this area was near the border, it was still part of the Riyaz Kingdom. Crossing the border involved a rather cumbersome process.

“The process isn’t the problem. I could get conscripted.”

Normally, mercenaries wouldn’t be forcibly drafted into the military, as the Mercenary Guild wouldn’t stand for it.

But the situation was dire. With the kingdom on the verge of collapse, they wouldn’t hesitate to use every resource they could. They would likely conscript anyone they could get their hands on.

“Lanse it is.”

Rodin decided to cross the border. Using magic, it wouldn’t be hard to sneak through undetected.

* * *

The Ingram Empire, after pressuring the 13-nation alliance as a whole, suddenly concentrated its forces in the west. With that concentrated power, they began their assault on the Kingdom of Riyaz, the westernmost nation of the alliance.

The Empire’s focused strength was terrifying. The Riyaz Kingdom’s frontlines collapsed almost instantly, and just five days ago, even the capital had fallen under the onslaught of the Imperial Army.

The king of Riyaz chose to flee.

Two days before the capital was fully encircled, the royal family, along with all their wealth and the elite royal and palace guards, escaped to the south.

Officially, they declared they would relocate the capital to the southern port city of Melcos and continue the fight. But no one believed that.

Melcos was the departure point for ships bound for the Central Continent.

As the royal family of Riyaz, they likely had several ships at their disposal, ready to flee to the Central Continent at a moment’s notice.

This news soon reached the Kingdom of Beros.

The neighboring Kingdom of Perry was considered the weakest of the 13-nation alliance. After a series of relentless attacks from the Empire, they had lost most of their military and over half of their territory.

Fighting the Ingram Empire, which had gained momentum after capturing the capital of Riyaz? It was a losing battle.

Moreover, the Kingdom of Beros had a geography that favored the Empire. With the north occupied by the Empire, the lower-lying southern lands of Beros were vulnerable to attack.

Their forces were inadequate, poorly trained, and geographically disadvantaged.

In their desperation, they had initially considered forcibly conscripting mercenaries. They thought boosting their numbers might give them a fighting chance.

However, that idea was ultimately dismissed.

Instead, the Kingdom of Beros decided to move all their remaining troops, along with the royal family and their allies, to the east. Their plan was to join forces with another nation.

“Huh?”

Rodin was riding hard to the east. Around noon, he reached the area near the border.

But the border was deserted. Nobles and merchants were passing freely without any inspections.

“Hm, could they have abandoned the land?”

It didn’t seem like a wise decision. A king who abandoned his people would lose his legitimacy, even if he won the war.

‘Unless they’re planning to flee, which would make sense.’

Rodin hadn’t yet heard that the king of Riyaz had fled to Melcos. But seeing the border unguarded, he began to suspect that might be the case.

“Well, this works for me. Saves me some trouble.”

Rodin blended in with the crowd crossing the border and entered the Kingdom of Veros.

Once in Beros, Rodin continued southward, avoiding the cities near the border.

As he rode south, he suddenly pulled on the reins, bringing the horse to an abrupt stop.

Rodin dismounted and surveyed the scene ahead. Over 30 bodies were scattered across the ground.

“Sigh, bandits again?”

With the king of Riyaz taking all the soldiers and fleeing, law and order had collapsed, leading to rampant crime.

The carnage before him was a result of that. Criminals had targeted and slaughtered refugees who had fled to the outskirts of the city, robbing and killing them.

“Looks like about five families?”

The corpses included the elderly, adults, and children. They were all stripped of their clothing.

Even clothing could be considered valuable in desperate times. The bandits who attacked had taken everything, treating clothes as assets as well.

“There was no need to kill the children.”

Rodin’s memories of being a slave as a child were still vivid. He had a strong belief that children should be protected, and seeing children subjected to injustice made him twice as angry.

But this was beyond injustice. The children had been ruthlessly slaughtered without reason.

“They’ll probably target me next. Well, that works for me.”

Rodin sensed movement in the distance. At least several dozen men were running toward him at full speed.

“Kill him!”

“First to get him wins!”

“Tsk.”

They didn’t even bother with threats like “Stop!” or “Hand over your belongings and leave.” Each man was wielding a weapon, charging at him with reckless abandon.

Their intent was clear: kill first and take whatever they wanted afterward.

“Well, I have no reason to hold back either.”

Rodin casually formed a series of hand seals while chanting runes. The magic was completed before the bandits could close the distance.

“Shockwave.”

A fan-shaped shockwave spread out from Rodin, engulfing the approaching bandits completely.

Hyung_Otaku

I'm currently Translating the following novels: Pick Me Up! | A Frontline Soldier Awakened as a Gamer In The War! | The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player. If you want to support me and read more chapters please subscribe to my Patreon!

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