Chapter 162
Chapter 162
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 162
Chapter Title: Army Mage (1)
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Army mage.
It was the first time Oliver had seen one in person, but he could tell.
Why retired soldiers feared army mages, even unconsciously.
He couldn't say whether it was talent or effort, but the mana reserves of the mage before him ranked quite high among all the mages Oliver had seen so far.
'Above the Matel mage, below Elder Merlin.'
And the skill with which he wielded that mana was no joke either.
Even as he emitted vast mana from his entire body rather than just his hands, he manipulated it with delicate precision, without any special gestures.
That intricate flow of mana left quite an impression on Oliver.
Unlike ordinary mages who only controlled the main flows, he dominated every single细 thread.
Kwaaaaaaaa!!
Under the red-skinned mage's mana and meticulous control, the surrounding flames moved like living creatures, blocking every possible escape route.
On top of that, the flames' intensity was amplified by mana, cowering his companions.
Both Willace and the army mage before them.
Oliver now had a sense of the flame mage's combat style.
Infusing existing flames with magic to create powerful fire, then reusing that fire to unleash absurd power... It was magic made for war, plain and simple.
Not an opponent to drag things out with.
Pahahahaha————Boom!!
As if sharing the same thought, Willace's subordinates swiftly gathered the surrounding flames, condensed them onto their swords, combined their power, and slammed them into the ground.
The flames infused with the mana of three mages surged across the earth and crashed into the enemy army mage.
A massive explosion like a volcano erupted, shooting a colossal pillar of fire into the sky.
The immense blaze, enough to overshadow the starry black night sky, resembled a calamity descended upon the land.
And the heat storm from its power ironically extinguished the surrounding flames.
It was impressive. Fire that put out fire.
But even more impressive was the army mage who took that attack head-on without a scratch.
"What the hell...!"
"Gods above."
"Impossible."
Willace's subordinates, Arthur and the rest, all turned pale and muttered in shock.
And no wonder—the mage had blocked what was more than an artillery barrage and stood there unflinchingly. His cloak merely fluttered.
The momentum from their initial ambush wavered.
Anxiety, fear, dread.
Emotions unfit for battle crept in, seizing their bodies.
This flow was no good.
Sring... Pang!
Kel's Free Independence Army leader and their temporary ally, Willace, slashed the air with his glowing red-hot sword.
Flames erupted from the smoke-cleaving blade, enveloping his body like armor.
"I'll handle him. The rest of you, get out while you can."
His subordinates protested in surprise, but Willace was resolute.
"Do as I say... He's no ordinary army mage. And you all... things got messy. We'll settle the payment later—focus on escaping first."
Willace said to Arthur.
It was a real dilemma.
The intel Hewitt had uncovered was something only Willace fully grasped, and now they had to split from him.
But there was no room to argue.
As Willace said, the army mage before them was clearly no pushover at a glance.
Escaping unscathed was the issue, not the payment.
If caught, they'd be branded rebels for associating with Kel's Free Independence Army, with no one to plead their case.
Worse, they might be seized as a weakness threatening the city, fall out of favor, be used and discarded, then executed.
Either way, a situation to avoid.
So Arthur could only grit his teeth.
His expression was gravely serious, and amid it, Oliver spoke up.
"If we don't get the rest of the intel, doesn't that mean our mission fails?"
"...Pretty much."
"Hmm... I see."
Oliver gathered his thoughts, then reinforced the Black Suit cloaking his body. And then—
—Pabababang!
Boosting output to his legs, he charged past Willace straight at the army mage.
"What the...!"
Arthur, Willace, and even the army mage himself tilted their heads at Oliver's sudden move.
Ignoring them, Oliver leaped high, gripped his Black Suit-clad quarterstaff long, and dove in swinging to smash down.
"...Foolish."
The army mage muttered toward Oliver's blatant charge, disappointment clear in his voice.
With that, he drew mana from his entire body, condensed it in midair, imbued it with will and incantation, and ignited flames.
Pop-! Pop-! Pop-! Pop-! Pop-! Pop-!
Six fireballs generated in less than a second.
Small in appearance, but packed with mana far beyond their size.
As the army mage flicked a finger to intercept Oliver, he sensed something and turned toward the ground, hurling the fireballs that way.
The fireballs streaked red lines and collided with six silently extending shadow stakes, exploding.
Peububububung!!
Oliver's plan to distract with a big attack and finish with Shadow Spike fell through.
But he wasn't disappointed. He hadn't expected it to work anyway.
Oliver swung his quarterstaff down at the army mage.
"......Hm."
The army mage, having expended his fireballs, didn't panic. He channeled mana through his feet into the ground, raising a massive earthen wall to block Oliver's strike.
Thud—!!
The dirt wall, infused with mana, boasted hardness far beyond normal.
Beyond mere steel—it felt like striking solid earth. Soft on the outside, dense and hard within...
Oliver's attack dispersed, failing to land properly.
And then—
"Oh, this..."
The earthen wall that blocked his strike had swallowed the quarterstaff like quicksand, then hardened into rock with a crunching Kwakwak- sound.
Snap-!
The army mage snapped his fingers.
In sync, the wall exploded.
In that brief moment, he'd hollowed the inside to trigger an internal blast.
Shards of the once-solid wall flew everywhere, pummeling Oliver indiscriminately.
Head, side, chest, arms, knees, and more.
The Black Suit barely blocked direct damage, but not the impact—Oliver was sent flying.
But this was fine too.
He had the army mage pinned.
From the ground, Oliver pressed a mana-extracting hand to the earth, seizing the army mage's legs.
The dirt clung like cement, binding him like tough roots.
"Ho... You use magic too?"
"Yes."
With his reply, the ground around the army mage bulged and churned, massive earthen walls rising to engulf him from all sides.
Oliver clenched his fist tight.
Kwak...
The earth compressed with audible force, squeezing the army mage.
Hard enough to mince an ordinary person into a meatball.
Oliver stood, keeping his mana-infused hand on the ground.
"Now's your chance. Everyone, run."
"What?! But you—!"
Oliver answered Arthur's question.
"I'll follow soon. I'm just holding his ankles—flee first. Isn't this the plan?"
They hesitated, incredulous, frozen in inaction.
Then, the earth clump around the army mage twitched faintly.
Crumbles of dirt fell away.
Despite Oliver's heavy mana investment for maximum pressure, the mage endured—and was even encroaching on Oliver's controlled mana.
Impressive. Oliver had seen mages lose control, but never one trying to steal his.
Duty-bound and personally curious, Oliver blocked the intrusion and intensified the squeeze.
Tzzzzz...
With a small but dense sound, the clump visibly shrank.
Oliver looked at Arthur.
"Won't... you get to work? And Mr. Willace?"
He glanced at Willace.
"You're not in a position to slack off either, are you? Hammersh and everyone died trusting only you—can you afford this?"
Willace's eyes widened, as if struck.
Snapping to, Arthur and Willace exchanged looks, then led their groups away.
As he passed, Willace said,
"Thanks."
"Let's talk later."
Willace gave him a 'what a weird guy' look and left.
Dadadadak.
The footsteps faded.
In the dark midnight mountain, only Oliver and the army mage remained.
"Fine, I admit it..."
The voice from within the earth clump was calm.
"...I can't seize the mana you're controlling. Quite intriguing."
With those words, the rock-hard compressing dirt burst like a rotten can.
A fierce explosion followed, and from the blindingly hot flames, something flew at him.
A spear of stone, dirt, and fire, brimming with immense mana.
Enough to pierce the Black Suit.
Oliver jerked his head aside, dodging. The spear flew on, hit a tree, and exploded massively, setting the surroundings ablaze.
"Not just mana control—reflexes too. Plenty of real combat experience, I take it?"
The red-skinned army mage emerged leisurely from the crimson flames.
Despite the fire licking his body, he wasn't burned—not even singed.
Possible only by controlling each individual flame around him.
Similar to the flame mage Hammersh from the closed space, but on a incomparable scale and level.
'And way more tricks up his sleeve.'
Oliver thought, eyeing the massive stone pillars rising around them.
Not just rising stone—they each held mana, sharing and exchanging it with others nearby.
Blue and red mana intertwined, linking the pillars into a giant fence encircling Oliver, separating inside from out.
Highly dangerous, yet familiar.
Dispersing vast mana via mediums, then exchanging and sharing it. He'd seen it somewhere before.
'Where was it?'
The army mage, backlit by roaring flames, pulled a communicator from his robes.
"Ah. Ah. Can you hear me? ...Enemy black mage let the rebels escape. A powerful one. Request pursuit of remaining fugitives. Route is D-12, for reference."
A panicked voice replied from the device, but he ignored it, turned it off, and crushed it underfoot.
Crack.
Oliver tilted his head.
"Is that okay?"
"...Wasn't doing it for fun anyway. Found something more interesting."
The red-skinned mage swept back his thick black hair.
His tone matched his stiff expression.
"So you waited for them to escape on purpose? How kind."
"Call it scholarly curiosity."
"Is it because of how I handle mana?"
Oliver recalled that black mages who wielded mana were rare cases.
Because of it, poor Rossburn had been kidnapped by Matel. Not a pleasant memory.
But he'd guessed wrong. The mage shook his head.
"No. It's because my mana control doesn't work on you at all... Haven't seen this since my master. What trick is that?"
Eager for a real fight, his eyes gleamed with seriousness and battle lust.
Responding, the mage's body and surrounding pillars surged mana, intensifying the flames.
The army mage said,
"Try not to die. Black mage."