Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 78 (Part 2)
“Sir Mage, could you help us?”
“Just a moment. Let me check from above.”
Rodin used Magic Hand to hoist himself up to the top of the city wall. He had already canceled his Fly spell.
“Mm.”
Seeing the Imperial forces directly, he could guess how they had managed to get here.
The Ingram Empire soldiers looked utterly exhausted. Their faces were caked with dust, and they all wore expressions of deep fatigue.
‘They got greedy for Lanse.’
After capturing the wealthy city of Bontis, the Ingram Empire troops had spent a full ten days regrouping.
During that time, had they simply rested? No. They had thoroughly pillaged the wealthy merchants and nobles of Bontis.
They ransacked estates, emptied warehouses, and tortured captured nobles and merchants to uncover hidden treasures.
Just by conquering one trade city like Bontis, the Empire’s financial situation had improved significantly.
‘A long war must have been a heavy burden on the Ingram Empire. No wonder they were tempted by this.’
Indeed, as soon as they wrapped up the looting in Bontis, the Ingram Empire had swiftly dispatched forces to Melcos in the Riyaz Kingdom and Lanse in the Beros Kingdom.
Both were port cities that traded with the Central Continent, and aside from their respective capitals, they were the richest cities in each country.
“This doesn’t look good.”
Rodin pulled his hood down low, completely concealing his face. He climbed down from the wall and slowly walked toward the direction of the Ingram Empire forces.
‘I just need to stall them for one day.’
By tomorrow, he would board the ship and leave Lanse. One day. If he could prevent the Ingram Empire from attacking Lanse for just one day, it would be enough.
‘I’ll hit them hard and retreat quickly.’
Rodin formed hand seals, preparing three 5th-circle spells in succession.
Only Rodin was capable of leaving spells in a ready state without casting them immediately. By controlling the timing of the rune symbols he formed with his hands, he could delay the completion of the spells.
Most mages could only chant a single spell at a time, meaning they couldn’t stagger the timing of their spells. But Rodin had mastered the technique of adjusting the timing for up to three spells.
“An enemy!”
“Knights! Kill the approaching one!”
The Ingram Empire soldiers were flustered by Rodin’s approach.
A lone man boldly walking toward an army of 10,000.
Yet he was clearly not one of their own. The confusion of ‘who is this guy?’ delayed their response.
“Fire Storm!”
Rodin’s first spell landed in the middle of the vanguard, engulfing hundreds of soldiers in a storm of flames.
“Argh!”
“Ahhh!”
“Run!”
“Wind Storm!”
Rodin’s second spell followed immediately. The flames, which had begun to die down, were fanned into a raging inferno by the wind.
“Stop him!”
“A mage! A mage!”
“An enemy! Don’t retreat!”
The soldiers belatedly charged at Rodin. Most were knights, not ordinary soldiers.
“Full plate armor, huh… the perfect target. Lightning Field!”
As soon as Rodin cast his third spell, he turned and calmly headed back toward the city wall.
“Argh!”
“Ugh…”
“An enemy…!”
“Retreat! Get insi—ahh!”
Lightning Field was a 5th-circle spell that created an area filled with bolts of lightning. Among 5th-circle spells, it consumed a particularly large amount of mana, but its power was equally formidable.
If Black Thunderbolt was the most powerful single-target spell, Lightning Field was the strongest area-of-effect spell.
The knights, struck by the bolts, collapsed one by one. Their full plate armor, being excellent conductors, only made the damage worse.
Lightning surged through the ground, felling dozens of knights. About half of them, those of lower rank, died from electrocution.
‘That should buy enough time.’
Rodin had unleashed three 5th-circle spells in quick succession.
Now, the enemy would have to contemplate his level of power. Was he truly just a 5th-circle mage, or something greater?
‘If they think I’m a 7th-circle mage, they’ll retreat, but that’s unlikely.’
He didn’t expect that much. He just hoped they would hesitate for a day, long enough to delay their attack. That would be enough.
“Wow!”
“Amazing, Sir Mage!”
Rodin returned to the top of the wall, his expression calm as though nothing extraordinary had happened.
The guards, who had witnessed the magic, were awestruck.
“Thank you, Sir Mage. The enemy is retreating.”
“It’s only a temporary effect. They’ll come back after regrouping.”
“I suppose so… sigh.”
Without saying anything further, Rodin descended from the wall and naturally turned his steps toward the inn.
* * *
The Imperial army, stationed in front of Lanse’ north gate, had pulled back. They had no choice but to avoid the spells being cast from the city walls.
But that didn’t mean they had given up on Lanse.
Having marched at a grueling pace to reach Lanse, the soldiers needed time to recover. Additionally, they needed to reorganize their formation to launch a full-scale attack on the city.
Rodin knew this respite wouldn’t last long. Soon enough, the Imperial forces would strike Lanse. There wasn’t much time.
Instead of returning to the inn, Rodin flew toward the harbor.
“Welcome. Looks like things are chaotic with the war going on.”
“Yes. That’s actually why I’m here. Is the ship still scheduled to depart tomorrow?”
“Yes, the schedule hasn’t changed. We’re leaving at 8 a.m. tomorrow.”
The ship Rodin planned to board wasn’t bound for the Beros Kingdom but for a merchant company affiliated with the Central Continent. For that reason, they didn’t seem too concerned about the Imperial army.
‘They shouldn’t be so confident.’
They likely believed that since they were from the Central Continent, the Ingram Empire wouldn’t target them. It was a reckless assumption.
The Ingram Empire wasn’t in a position to care about such distinctions anymore. Despite their consecutive victories, they were stretched thin and couldn’t afford to be picky.
“Are you assuming the Ingram Empire won’t touch ships from the Central Continent?”
“Well, that’s not for me to say. I’m just a low-ranking employee of the merchant company. Decisions like that are made higher up.”
Realizing his words had made the other person uncomfortable, Rodin quickly changed the subject.
“If the ship’s leaving tomorrow morning, my siblings and I will have to leave the inn before dawn. Is there any other way?”
“Oh, if you’d like, you can stay on the ship tonight. The ship arrived yesterday, and all the cargo has already been loaded.”
Rodin glanced up and saw a few people who didn’t seem like sailors, standing on the deck, enjoying the breeze. They were likely passengers who had already settled into their cabins.
“We can stay on the ship?”
“Yes. The cabin number is written on the ticket we gave you. You can board and settle in starting today. However, meals won’t be provided until tomorrow’s lunch, so you’ll need to handle your meals on your own until then.”
“Thank you. I’ll bring my siblings here in the evening.”
At first, Rodin had planned to bring Larry and Bianca right away. The ship seemed safer than the inn.
But after hearing that meals wouldn’t be provided, he changed his mind. It seemed better to have dinner at the inn before moving.