“Eh, a wizard?”
The thief flinched at the merchant’s words.
In this era, the presence of a knight or wizard was a walking strategic weapon.
If you mess around wrongly, you could be killed by the seed.
– Doo doo doo!
But then, when I heard the sound of horses hooves, I regained my confidence.
Because his co-workers came.
Nearly 100 thieves on horseback surrounded the surroundings to prevent them from escaping.
This is the size that can be made by combining several bandits nearby.
The lord class or subjugation could proceed, but ordinary merchants could not fight against it in any way.
“Uh ha ha. Are you a wizard? yes. look where you see it If you go to places like this with the merchants, isn’t that the level of the 1st class?”
The rogue giggled.
Of course, it was natural to be afraid of a first-class wizard, but it wasn’t that there was no way to deal with it.
They too die if struck by a sword or crossbow.
‘Of course, wizards stronger than him are no different from monsters, so I’ll have to run away… . There’s no way such a wizard could be here.’
why are they here?
He must be concentrating on research and improving his skills while being treated in the magic tower of a good territory.
“Keugh… .”
The captain of the merchants, Herey, made a troubled expression for a moment, then shouted in the direction of his wagon.
“Wizard! Please help!”
And coincidentally, that was also the direction Leo was.
Leo muttered in bewilderment.
“… Did you call me just now?”
Logan replied as if he was surprised.
“Huh. I don’t know when I noticed it. It could be that he was referring to me, not deterioration. Because I am also a wizard.”
“How did you know? Did it show off because our outfits were robes?”
“Travelers generally all dress like this, but… , I might have recognized it because I have good eyesight like a merchant.”
“It could be.”
Leo nodded at Logan’s words.
Anyway, I couldn’t just ignore it when I asked for help like that.
It was because Leo and his party came this far comfortably after joining the merchants.
However, the moment Leo was about to step out.
– Kik.
The carriage door opened and an old man stepped out cautiously.
“Cool cool. It’s so noisy.”
“Sorry, old man. I didn’t want to disturb the elderly’s rest, but… .”
“Cluck. nope It can’t be helped if the bandits show up.”
The old man walked little by little, relying on a cane taller than he was.
It was a movement that seemed like it would collapse if you hit it, as if it had no energy in its skinny body and legs.
One of the bandits asked involuntarily.
“… old man. Are you a wizard?”
“Cluck. yes. The young man has no manners. Do you talk to your grandfather that way too?”
“… By any chance, how old is the old man?”
“Okay. A little more than 90 this year?”
“… … .”
When the old man answered as if he was not sure, the thief was dumbfounded.
Not only that, but the other thieves and merchants who were listening were the same.
’90 years old? You’ve lived a long time.’
‘Isn’t that enough to lie in the room and not be able to do anything?’
Although this world did not have as advanced medicine as in modern times, it had a long lifespan because it could handle mana.
However, very few people live past the age of 90.
“Hey, old man. If you lived that long, don’t you have a little bit of notice that you’ve cultivated? Do you think you’ll face us and be safe? Or do you have no regrets about this world anymore?”
“Cluck… . Look at this. We did nothing wrong. So just let it go. If you harass a strict person, you might be struck by lightning… .”
“Puhahahahaha. You’re laughing. No matter how much you pray to God Is that possible?”
As the thief in front laughed, the rest of the thieves around them started laughing as well.
The thief looked at Heray, the head of the merchants, and said.
“Hey hey. I thought you were pretty smart, but you put this dying corpse up as a wizard? Did you know that we would be scared!”
“… … .”
Hayley kept her mouth shut.
It was true that he, too, was not very trustworthy as a wizard.
‘Did I make a mistake… .’
I met an old man by chance while crossing the western wilderness.
An old man on the verge of collapsing in a place like this.
Even he was moving alone, and I don’t know why he was walking here alone, but it was obvious that he would die if left alone.
Herei felt good because he made a lot of profit by wandering around slash-and-burn villages, so he was kind even though he was an old man he hadn’t seen before.
-Old man. It is dangerous to go alone in a place like this.
-Cluck. Thanks for your concern, it’s okay. I’m walking the path of magic, so I can deal with a few monsters.
-Ah, were you a wizard? Then go with our company. I would like to hire an elderly person.
It was so unbelievable, but Heray decided to hire him.
It didn’t cost a lot of money, and it was because I was determined to do a little kindness.
Since I hit the jackpot this time, there was also a generous heart.
And now, he looked to the sky and prayed.
‘Please, I hope that the elder is a skilled wizard… .’
However, inside, he thought that the old man would soon fall to the thieves’ sword.
That was the moment.
The old man pointed at the thieves with his trembling hands.
-Quarreung!
– Kwaaang!
A huge thunderbolt fell from the sky.
A bolt of lightning struck the center of the group of bandits and in an instant burned those nearby.
“Keep it off… .”
“Crrr… .”
About half of the people who were electrocuted and shivered before collapsing.
“Did I tell you that… . A thunderbolt will fall… .”
Looking at them, the old man murmured.
* * *
Schmuir of the thieves was dumbfounded.
‘crazy. You’re a real wizard!’
It’s been a while since I came here with the desire to make a big splash, but to meet a powerful wizard I had never heard of before.
To be honest, if you’re a mage of the right level, you can shoot a few crossbows while surrounded, then run up and attack.
If you were with your colleagues from all sides, it was not too difficult for a 1st or 2nd class wizard alone.
But I wasn’t a dying old man.
Contrary to its appearance, it was a powerful wizard who could easily defend against swords and crossbows just by looking at it.
He gave up his will to fight right away.
‘Can I run away?’
I turned around and looked at the other thieves.
Everyone had the same thoughts as her, their eyes constantly shaking.
Some even looked at their colleagues next to them with lively eyes.
It was obvious that he intended to attack and knock down his comrades, giving himself time to escape.
‘Dogs. You’ll see how only he wants to live.’
Schmuir, of course, had the same idea.
Whether it’s going well or a colleague, in this situation, I had to survive first.
Still, Schmear knew how to analyze the situation quite coolly.
‘That old man. I was trying to protect the merchants from earlier. It seems like he has a lot of affection, but if he takes a few hostages, he might find an opening.’
He had a better chance of surviving than just running away.
When taking hostages, you had to choose your target well.
If you try to catch someone who is too strong, this side could be attacked.
It should be easy to catch, but it should stimulate the protective instinct to the extent that the opponent cannot treat it carelessly.
The target audience is women and children.
‘found.’
Schmuir found just the right guys.
An armed woman and a young guy with a clear youthful look. And even the middle-aged man next to him.
The woman wore a knife, but it’s even weirder when she’s out west and doesn’t carry a weapon.
“attack! Wipe them out!”
cried Schmuir loudly.
The bandits’ colleagues instinctively drove the horses.
In a nervous state, a sudden shout came out, so the body moved first.
“Eh, I don’t know!”
“He’s an old man on the verge of collapsing anyway! If you approach and drop the knife, you will die!”
The thieves forced their courage to run away.
Half the bandits were killed by lightning, but the other half survived.
With about 50 people, maybe one old mage should be able to do it!
– Kwajijijik!
White lightning burned several thieves who were running.
It was an astonishing force.
In addition, the merchant side did not stand still.
“Help the wizard!”
“Damn thieves!”
The mercenaries hired to escort each took out their weapons and started fighting.
Although their numbers were much lower than those of the thieves, they believed in the wizard and took courage.
Schmuir chased his prey in the gap and rode off.
-Dagdakdakdak!
As I was running in a straight line toward the target youngster, I met his eyes.
There was a slight bewilderment in the silver-eyed boy’s eyes.
‘Are you upset? But even if I tried to run away now, it would be too late.’
I was thinking of grabbing it and capturing it.
But then.
“Who are you daring to target?”
“… … !?”
With a ghastly voice, the woman next to the boy rushed forward.
In the twinkling of an eye, Schmuir felt that she was right in front of him.
Panicked, he swung his sword, but the opponent lightly dodged and put a fist into his stomach.
-puck!
“Hey… .”
Schmear’s mind went black.
* * *
“What is this guy?”
Leo was dumbfounded.
I was watching in surprise at the sudden appearance of a wizard, but suddenly a thief came running aiming for this.
Although Celise knocked her out, why did she remain still?
It’s also behind the group, so it’s not very noticeable, but I don’t know if it was aimed at.
“How dare you attack the lowlands. Kill me right away.”
Celise’s eyes still sparkled with anger.
“Before that, let’s ask one more time. Why did you pick me up and come after me? It seemed like you were only looking at this from the beginning.”
“Shall I wake you up?”
“yes.”
At Leo’s words, Celise nodded and then punched him.
match! match! The sound was repeated several times before he opened his eyes.
“Ouch! uh, what… !”
Because it was a fight with plenty of mana, his teeth fell in just a few shots.
The guy struggled and tried to block it somehow.
“Cheuk. Cool. When you do, please don’t hit me!”
However, there was no way he could stop the high-ranking sword expert from striking him.
Eventually, after several more blows that made his face unrecognizable, Celise let him go.
Leo sneaked up.
“I have a question for you.”
“Yes Yes. We will answer anything. Our headquarters is on the side of the hill not far from here… .”
“No, I don’t really care about that. Why did you attack me?”
“… Yes?”
“Why did you attack me? Did you notice it?”
Leo asked with a serious expression.
Even if you wear a wig to cover the color of your hair, it is difficult if you show off as royalty.
There will definitely be things to hide your identity in the future, but wouldn’t it be a big deal if you get caught like this every time.
“Oh, no.”
“No? then?”
“That… I tried to hold you hostage.”
“what… oh It was like that.”
Leo sensed Schmuir’s intentions.
It seemed that he thought that he could only escape from the old wizard by taking a hostage.
It wasn’t a bad decision, but… .
“Are we that complacent?”
“that is… .”
“Don’t you know that they say to be careful when you see an old man, a woman, or a child?”
Next, Logan tilted his head and murmured.
“Is this the first time I’ve heard that?”
Instead of answering, Leo just shrugged.
It’s a famous saying in martial arts, but there doesn’t seem to be anything similar here.
Anyway, I asked everything I wanted to ask.
Leo nodded, and Celise slapped him on the neck.
The guy fell down with a thump.
This time, he didn’t faint like before, but his neck was broken and his breath stopped.
By that time, the battle was over.
The bandits were annihilated.
The mercenaries were also active, but it was the old wizard who killed most of the bandits.
The leader of the merchants, Heray, cringed in front of the wizard.
“Thank you, old man. Thanks to you, we were able to arrive safely.”
“Cluck. nope You drove me here in a comfortable carriage, and I have to repay you this much.”
“After collecting useful things from the bodies of the thieves, I will give them all to the elder.”
“There is absolutely no need for that. Treat it appropriately and share it among you.”
“uh… , All right. Shall we take you to the carriage?”
“no. First you go and do your thing. I’ll go on my own.”
The old man smiled and waved his hand as if to say goodbye.
Then he began to move slowly, dragging his frail legs.
It was the direction Leo was.
The old wizard grinned at Leo.
“The person over there.”
“… You mean that?”
“Yes. Please talk to me for a moment.”
“… … ?”
Leo looked at him with puzzled eyes.