Episode 41
***
Talia runs away frantically following Ian.
‘I just need to finish this operation. why.’
Vice-captain Eva, whom I hadn’t spoken to before, personally encouraged me.
I was very excited at the thought of finally joining the Bowen sisters’ mercenary corps.
However, from the moment the ogres appeared in the troll habitat, anxiety overtook them.
It’s about the size of an ogre, she said, since she had a mage and a priest as well as leader Luna.
However, the appearance of more than hundreds of intermediate level monsters crossed the line severely.
‘I thought it would be safe at least to participate in the battle as the first team.’
My eyes went dark when I thought of the mid-level monsters chasing me.
It was at that time that she was buried in hopeless feelings.
“evil!”
Alana’s screams came from behind.
“Alana!”
Talia didn’t even have time to look back and ran straight to Alana.
Before she could take a few steps, Alana’s arm was cut off by the monster’s attack.
At this rate, she would lose Alana before she could even use her hands.
‘please.’
Thalia was infinitely resentful of her slow legs.
But then.
Ian ran past her at incredible speed.
Ian, approaching Alana in an instant, drew a silver sword and swung it.
The two monsters that were charging at Alana turned to ashes and scattered.
‘Nonsense!’
Talia opened her mouth at the unbelievable sight.
Ian’s sword was so fast that it was difficult to even follow its trajectory.
while she was shocked.
The monsters that were attacking Alana spread all at once and rushed at Ian.
Once again, Ian’s sword cut through the air with a flash of light.
Only silver traces flickered in Thalia’s eyes.
Ian’s attack turned the three monsters into ash and disappeared.
However, one that he had not managed to deal with clung to Ian’s side.
The guy stabbed Ian’s butt repeatedly into his armor, as if trying to insert a poison needle into it.
But the stinger couldn’t pierce Ian’s armor and continued to slide, as if poking a boulder with a rumbling twig.
Ian violently grabbed the monster and put the sword through its head.
In the blink of an eye, he killed 6 mid-level monsters.
‘Is this a skilful experience?’
Ian’s unusual skill was already noticed when dealing with Manfred.
To say that an introductory warrior fought against an expert warrior and won without any damage.
It was hard to believe no matter who heard it.
It’s been less than a year since Ian received the mercenary screening.
In the mercenary screening process, even masters cannot hide their status, so there was no doubt that Ian was a beginner until recently.
If that’s the case, it means that you’ve reached mastery in those few months.
Some of those with talent and wealth reach proficiency before becoming adults, so Ian’s skills were understandable enough.
Hiding one’s skills is something that any mercenary would understand.
However, the movement Ian showed just now far surpassed that of a skilled warrior.
It is realistically impossible to go from introductory to master’s in just a few months.
Then there was only one conclusion.
From noble mtl dot com
‘Is Mr. Ian a magic warrior?’
If the mana simbeop is double-imprinted in two places, Kihae and Suhae, the efficiency of seniority is extremely reduced due to the conflict of the simbeop.
However, those who had genius talent in handling mana were able to minimize the collision of mana simbeop to a level where seniority was possible.
The magician was a term referring to those who trained by imprinting two mana simbeop like this.
However, unless he was a priest, he could not completely prevent the clash of mana.
At the moment of double imprinting, the efficiency of seniority dropped to the point that even a heavenly genius would become a rare dunjae, so the help of a magic circle or elixir was essential to make up for it.
‘But Ian said he was from a rural village.’
It is said that the resources required to walk the path of a magician are beyond imagination.
Even with the support of Sir Herbert, it was close to impossible to acquire enough wealth to rise to the rank of Adept.
Talia looked at Ian and remembered a being.
‘Deres-nim.’
It reminded me of the myths and legends of Teres I heard during worship when I was a child.
Talia knew that the only being who walked the path of a magical warrior with only her own talent was Teres, who had ascended to heaven.
***
The moment you reach proficiency.
He raised his mana to the limit.
Then, all senses were rapidly expanded, and unprecedented vitality filled the whole body.
As his cognitive ability increased, the movement of the monster, which was difficult to catch up with, caught his eye.
The monsters flew through the air and passed around Alana’s body.
Every time that happened, Alana’s armor and flesh were torn off together.
‘I have to hurry.’
He kicked the ground with all his might.
The sudden improvement in ability made the movement feel awkward, but thanks to the improved cognitive ability, there was no difficulty in adapting.
Two monsters were rushing in, aiming for Alana’s neck and head.
He took out his silver sword and slashed them all at once.
Then the other four guys all rushed at me.
After dealing with the three, I grabbed the one by the waist and put the sword through its head.
Gray jewels shimmered through the scattering ashes.
‘Intermediate magic stone?’
I opened the subspace bag and put the magic stone in the heart of the windfall.
I concentrated my senses and looked around, but I couldn’t feel the presence of the monster anymore.
I turned around and saw Alana clutching her severed arm with her teeth clenched.
Talia and Kate approached and gave Alana a recovery potion.
“Talia, please go to Erita and help Alana heal. I have to go to Eva, so it won’t be easy to go with her.”
It’s impossible for me to protect Talia’s party forever.
Unless you know how things will change.
Returning to Erita was the safest way for them to live.
“Mr. Ian.”
Talia pursed her lips and then spoke with a determined expression.
“Thank you, Mr. Ian. Thanks to Mr. Ian, I saved my life twice. If I get a chance someday, I will definitely repay this favor.”
“Me too, Mr. Ian. If you need anything, just tell me.”
“Me too. Just tell me.”
After Thalia, Alana and Kate spoke.
Their faces were full of sincerity.
“Okay. You don’t know when the enemy will appear again, so let’s talk later and go. See you in Erita.”
At my words, they seemed to feel a sense of crisis as well.
Since the subjugation team came clean, there shouldn’t be much danger going there.
The problem was how Hanri would deal with the deserters.
But that’s something to think about later.
Unless they returned to Erita anyway, it would be difficult for Talia and her party to survive.
After watching Talia’s party leave.
I grabbed my mace and quickly moved to the battlefield.
‘Isn’t it too late?’
It had only been a few minutes since they had left the battlefield.
However, it was a time that could not be called short if it was in the middle of a desperate struggle.
‘Still, with Captain Luna, nothing special will happen. I’m sure he won’t let his brother die.’
It was said that the sisters’ bond was strong, so as long as Captain Luna was alive, Eva’s sister wouldn’t be in danger.
As I ran with all my might, I arrived at the battlefield in an instant.
The subjugation party was still fighting the monsters.
Fortunately, the wizards were back and spraying smoke as before.
Perhaps thanks to the magician’s support, the subjugation team dealt with the monsters without much difficulty.
I naturally joined the subjugation party as if I had run away.
After a while, the sound of the monster’s wings completely disappeared.
Halli instructed each platoon leader to identify casualties and report them.
A total of 13 people died, 9 apprentice knights and 4 mercenaries died.
Independent mercenaries were excluded from the report because all of them had fled except me.
It was no exaggeration to say that this amount of casualties against hundreds of mid-level monsters was a feat.
Instead, the death toll was low, but the number of seriously injured was overflowing.
Fortunately, with the help of the priest, everyone was able to finish the treatment safely.
Even though he treated more than 30 seriously injured people, the priest showed no signs of hardship.
It certainly seemed to be a power from a different dimension than Mana.
while the priest heals the wounded.
Leaders gathered and held a meeting.
I listened to the wizard’s voice.
“The movements of the monsters are unusual. Seeing that this many monsters have moved south, it must have been the birth of a new queen bee and a division. As their power increased, they must have moved farther to find food.”
After the wizard finished speaking, Hanli opened his mouth.
“Spawning. If that is true, the situation will become serious. I think everyone knows how important reconnaissance is. So if we choose Mercury, we will only give the monsters time to expand their power. In the end, the life and death of many people will be determined by the results of our reconnaissance. Vice-captain Eva, do you still want to retreat?”
Sister Eva didn’t say anything.
“Then I understand that there is no disagreement. And from now on, I will minimize the battle and focus on reconnaissance. Now that the vassals are gone, it will be easier to carry out the operation.”
“Shudder! Only the apprentice knights who came with the sir died. Nine of them died. Not to mention our mercenary corps, and we don’t even know how long those recruited from the mercenary agency will survive. No matter how important the operation is, don’t you even have the heart to mourn the victims? ?”
Sister Eva said in a voice filled with anger.
“You dare. Are you making a joke right now! You are currently a soldier, not a mercenary. You’d better be careful with your words.”
“Sadly? Did I say something wrong?”
Sister Eva replied without losing.
But at that time, Captain Luna, who was silent, covered Sister Eva’s chest with her arms and said.
“Sir Hanli. No one’s life can be taken lightly. Moreover, those who are sacrificed now are comrades who fought alongside us on the battlefield. If you say such nonsense one more time, I will help you to receive the blessing of Lord Teres, as you said.”
It was a calm tone, but Captain Luna’s voice contained a force that put pressure on his heart.
‘Since he doesn’t talk, I wonder if he doesn’t have a lot to talk about, so it seems that his original personality is like that. Anyway, if I want to go anywhere with my shoulders straight, I’ll have to go up to the master’s table.’
Even skilled samurai can be appointed as knights depending on their efforts.
Even more so, master warriors are those who can become nobles at any time.
Moreover, since they proved their worth with force, no matter how good the aristocrats were, they couldn’t do anything to the master warriors.
If Captain Luna decides to kill Han-ri, who can stop her?
“Benefit. The meeting ends here. Everyone get ready for camp!”
At Captain Luna’s warning, Han-ri hurriedly ended the meeting.
Soon after, the leadership dispersed and the subjugation team prepared for camp.
First, I collected the magic stones from the monsters.
There were about 20 intermediate magic stones and about 70 low-level magic stones.
Next, the dead were grouped together.
Those close to the deceased took their belongings and buried them in a deep dig with the help of a wizard.
The sun had completely set and it was a dark night.
Sister Eva was in a depressed state after losing a member, so it seemed difficult to have a conversation.
I didn’t know anyone, so I went to a corner to take a break.
There was no vigil, the wizard’s vigilant magic, and the master’s warriors who were alert, so there was no concern for safety.
‘What would it be like in the sub-dimension?’
As he reached mastery, his mana response increased rapidly.
I was really looking forward to what it would feel like to use the mana psyche in the sub-dimension.
Summoning the pocket watch and pressing the crown, the field of vision reversed in an instant.
At the same time, he felt a tremendous amount of mana he had never experienced before.
As much as the high density of mana surrounded the surroundings, it felt like non-existent heat was heating up my whole body.
In this case, all you need is one thing.
I jumped into the spring filled with spring water and cooled the heat that enveloped my body.
He opened his mouth and inhaled the spring water.
At that moment, an amazing thing happened.
The refreshing energy of the spring water quickly spread and gradually turned into a warm energy that tickled the whole body.
‘Could it be again?’
The stopped spring water’s strengthening ability resumed again.