Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: To the Battlefield (3)
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Lian immediately began preparations to head to the Black Moss Forest the moment he grasped the core of the curse.
"You're really going with just the three of you? Are you sure? I offered as many troops or supplies as you need."
"Yes. More heads just mean more variables, so a small group is better."
"There's a high chance the enemy's mage is holed up in a fortress inside the forest. Breaking in with only three won't be easy."
"We've accounted for that too."
"You're one stubborn fellow."
But the enemy fortress wasn't a major concern.
This party was, in fact, optimized for infiltration.
If they really put their minds to it, they could sever the enemy mage's head and slip away unscathed.
"Wait a moment. Someone fetch Martin."
But General Tullio had no intention of yielding either.
He held Lian's group back from departing and urgently summoned someone.
A short while later, a young soldier came running at his call.
"General? You called for me?"
"Yes. You've come."
But he was too clean and neat in appearance to dismiss as a mere foot soldier.
His posture was straight and unwavering.
Despite his youth, his body bore the marks of years honing martial prowess.
No way someone like that was an ordinary soldier.
"Take this fellow along. He's young, but he's capable."
"It's fine. We truly can handle it with just us."
"If something happens to a talent His Highness has his eye on, how could I face him? I stake my name on it—he won't be a hindrance at least."
"If you insist that much... Understood."
He was probably assigning a skilled knight as a monitor.
Given Lian's Bordian origins, they were wary of even the slightest chance of betrayal.
Or perhaps the general simply wasn't one to trust others easily.
"I'm Martin. I'll protect you all, even if it costs my life."
"Looking forward to working with you, Martin."
With that, preparations to tackle the Black Moss Forest curse were more or less complete.
Lian's group crossed the encampment straight toward the forest.
"So, how are you planning to handle the forest curse?"
"The medium is probably letters. It seems to affect even the illiterate, but knowing how to read likely makes it far more lethal."
"Ah, so that's why the con artists who could read went even crazier!"
"Exactly. It's a curse that grows more terrifying the more you understand it. They must be gripped by an obsession to write the curse's inscribed words."
And command-rank officers would naturally be literate.
The intent was to make them spread the curse further.
However, the mage's minor design flaw prevented that exact scenario from unfolding.
"But letters? Where the hell did they write them that the curse reaches even this far?"
"Ever heard of an optical illusion?"
"Hey, think I don't know that? Illusions are my specialty!"
"Likely they used tree branches or shadows to make them look like letters. They probably didn't even consciously register them as such."
No testimonies about the curse mentioned letters at all.
Even the mad con-artist convicts had carved only vague, indistinct patterns everywhere—not letters.
"That's probably the key. An optical illusion is essentially a brain error. It exploits that cognitive dissonance to induce madness..."
The curse essentially completed itself in the mind.
Those who died outright from it probably overloaded their brains in the process.
Conversely, clear, non-illusory letters might not carry the curse at all.
That was likely why secondary transmission failed.
"Mage, you actually understand all that mumbo-jumbo?"
"...No clue. Don't ask me."
But Firka the mage shot him a look like, what the hell is this guy babbling about?
Lian dropped the pointless explanation and returned to the main point.
"Anyway, our goals are twofold: take out the mage and eliminate the source of the illusions."
"Hold up. Can't we just burn the forest and solve it in one go?"
"No. Wrong season, and it's so damp with all that moss—fire won't spread properly."
"Tch... What a shame."
"If we're lucky, capturing the mage might resolve it. Let's pray for that."
Creating illusions with the forest wasn't easy either, so that was probably magic too.
"Wait! Aren't you forgetting something huge? How the hell are we getting in there?"
"For that, make us all invisible."
"And?"
"That's it. That'll do."
"Huh?"
Firka looked up at Lian, furrowing her brow deeply.
Her face screamed it had nothing to do with all that curse theory he'd spouted earlier.
"You're using your magic to interfere and cancel it out. Invisibility isn't even the main point—it's just insurance."
"Whaa...? I still don't get what you're saying."
"You'll see once you do it."
Firka eyed Lian skeptically as she rubbed her amber bracelet.
Suddenly, the surroundings shimmered and distorted like heat haze.
"Don't stray too far from me, you lot."
"Got it, Mage."
"We'll keep that in mind."
"So, what's the exact range? A few steps? By your stride?"
"I really wanna smack him just once..."
Noise from Firka's magic filled the air around Lian.
It made him a bit nauseous, but consciously filtering it out helped it fade.
They advanced like that for about ten steps.
Soon, the forest edge appeared smeared with ink-like blotches.
"Ugh...! Is this really okay...? Something weird's ahead!"
"It's fine, Pablo. Firka's magic is properly blocking the curse."
"...What do you know. It actually works."
"Most visual magic should be nullified by yours."
It operated on a principle similar to signal jamming.
This granted immunity to the curse and evasion of enemy eyes—one stone, two birds.
"But conversely, your magic could be disrupted too, so stay sharp."
"It's already getting tough... My focus is blurring; can't concentrate like usual."
"Hang in there. Might get easier once we're near the forest."
Sweat beaded on Firka's forehead before long.
Lian supported her back with one hand as they pressed on.
Then, as they neared the forest proper...
Bad news awaited one of them.
"Looks like you'll have to tough it out more, Firka."
"Nngh...! Damn it!"
"Hang in there, Mage!"
Beyond the rippling illusion curtain like heat haze, suspicious blotches dotted the forest.
The entire woods were riddled with illusion traps.
The Black Moss Forest lived up to its name: a woods thickly blanketed in moss.
No bare earth on the ground—just moss everywhere.
Each step squeezed water from the sodden moss.
"Enemy fortress up ahead."
Nearly an hour of navigating the woods.
They spotted an area walled by huge log palisades half-covered in moss.
"Urgh...! Damn Bordian mage! I'll kick his ass!"
Firka glared at the forest fortress with bloodshot eyes.
Dark circles had formed under them.
Maintaining invisibility all the way here had pushed her stamina to the limit.
"Sure. After all that, I'll let you have him."
"So, what's the plan now? The mage looks too drained to cast..."
"Can't push her more, so we'll handle it from here with our own strength."
"See? Should've brought more troops like the general said."
Martin looked thoroughly displeased with the situation.
Essentially, three of them had to assault that fortress.
Judging by its size, at least twenty or thirty enemies were garrisoned there.
"We wouldn't have made it here with more. I still think this is optimal."
"So, what's the specific plan? Please don't say 'charge straight in.'"
If Firka recovered enough for more magic, they'd stroll through the gate—but not now.
They needed another way in: climb the palisade or find a dog hole.
"We're only after the mage. If he comes out, we don't even need to go in."
"Easy to say. Luring him out's way harder than sneaking in, right?"
Martin's face could've earned him every insult in the book: all talk, no action.
"Won't know till we try."
Lian flashed a mischievous grin and crept toward the palisade base.
He closed his eyes and pricked up his ears.
The moment the mage cast, his ability would pinpoint the location.
Lian waited calmly for that instant.
And it came.
"Over there."
A bubbling, frothing sound.
Unmistakably akin to the forest curse's noise.
Lian focused on the gauged position and moved along the palisade.
Complex calculations raced through his mind simultaneously.
"Found you."
Coordinates from estimation and mental math alone.
Not pinpoint accurate, but within acceptable error.
Lian zeroed in on them and clapped a hand over his mouth.
"What's he doing?"
"Dunno. When have we ever understood what Lian's up to?"
"True that."
Nod, nod—
Pablo and Firka oddly bonding, nodding in agreement.
Martin watched them with pitying eyes, wondering what kind of ragtag crew this was.
"...Wasting time like this meaninglessly."
If not for General Tullio's orders, he wouldn't sit through this circus.
His patience wore thin as time dragged on fruitlessly.
"Uwaaaah!"
Then—
A scream erupted from inside the fortress.
"Hyaack! Stop! Stooop!"
The once-quiet forest fortress turned into pandemonium amid the mad shrieks.
Pounding footsteps in frenzy.
Desperate calls for someone.
Something was definitely happening inside.
"Ah! That's it. Mimicking Luerne's magic..."
"Shh. Everyone down and hide."
Pablo, monitoring the interior, signaled his comrades.
Someone was emerging from the fortress.
"Mage! It's dangerous! Stop!"
"Uwaaah! Shut up! Get away!"
And soon after.
They witnessed a robed mage fleeing into the woods, hands over his ears, pursued by leather-armored soldiers.
"See?"
Lian pointed there with a grin.
"Now, let's hurry and chase him down."
"Yessir. I'll take point."
"Hey! Take me too...!"
Lian and the other two rushed into pursuit.
Martin stood frozen, dumbfounded, watching them go.
"What the hell just...?"
Soon, an inexplicable sense of humiliation spread across his face.