Chapter 85
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: Feat
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Luke Markner.
A descendant of the Jinrang Tribe, possessing explosive muscular strength that belied his small stature.
In the past, he had desperately wanted to show the world his exceptional abilities as soon as possible.
He was brimming with confidence that he could do anything.
That led to a split-second mistake, landing him in his current predicament.
'I need to complete this mission quickly.'
His footsteps quickened.
"Luke. Slow down. We need to pace ourselves."
"Ah... Sorry, Lucy."
"...You're in a hurry, aren't you?"
"...Yeah."
White Whale Mercenary Corps.
When the twins first laid eyes on them, they seemed like nothing special—just another band of mercenaries.
Could they even call themselves a 'corps'?
The two had only joined the assault thanks to the connections of the Black Forest commander.
But before they knew it, their group had grown by two more members.
One of them was even a priest dispatched from the church at the time.
And not just that—Luke realized they had all achieved remarkable growth.
It lit a fire in his heart.
"We have to succeed on this mission too. Then all our sentences will be served."
"I know that full well. But you know this too, right? Rushing in and getting seriously hurt would just make everything worse. Look at your arm."
"..."
Luke glanced at his right hand, which barely moved anymore.
The pioneer captain wasn't the kind type.
He treated convicts like expendable tools and saw no point in repairing damaged ones.
"Still, with the priest and the mage here... it'll be fine, right?"
"What have I always told you?"
"...Don't trust others."
"Even if it's that mage. Remember how we were used in the previous adventurer party."
During the assault, Luke and Lucy had faithfully followed orders from the Azure Cloud captain without question.
And this was the result of that trust.
"But..."
"You seem to have a lot of faith in that mage."
At that moment, a deep voice came from right beside them.
It was Joseph, the leader of the squad the twins were assigned to.
"Joseph?"
He had joined later than the twins but had quickly integrated into the pioneers with his impressive skills.
Rumor had it he was originally a soldier on the outside, sent here as punishment for defying orders from his superior.
"His skills... Honestly, I'm not sure. I haven't seen many other mages to compare. But still."
As Lucy answered, she recalled the assault.
"He's eerily calm and always draws out the best results no matter the situation."
"I see. More suited to a commander than a warrior, then."
"He's a mage!"
Joseph gave a somewhat bitter smile at Luke's response.
"No way. Mages aren't that smart, Luke."
"Huh? Why not? They know so much."
"Knowing things and using them effectively are different. It's the gap between knowledge and wisdom."
"Hmm..."
Luke looked puzzled, while Lucy nodded in agreement.
"Kuh! As expected of the squad leader! What a classy remark!"
Someone else jumped into the conversation from nearby.
A man known among the convicts as "Mustache."
Luke and Mustache didn't get along well.
To be precise, Luke found Mustache uncomfortable.
You shouldn't judge by appearances, but Mustache had this... bat-like vibe.
And his actions weren't much different.
The way he fawned over the assistant surveyor, Bright—who looked frail—just to scrounge some food...
Joseph ignored Mustache's comment.
Instead, he turned his gaze to the wind kicking up sand across the field.
"Time to see that mage's skills."
Monsters with green skin began emerging through the sandstorm.
A pack of orcs.
Within Blackout, orcs were never to be underestimated.
Though the Orcutas war fields housed the weaker orcs, they were inherently tough creatures.
Each one towered over the average adult height, raised as warriors from birth.
"Kuwaruta!!"
The lead orc bellowed in some unintelligible tongue and swung its massive club.
Blocking that head-on would rip your arm muscles apart.
The pioneer convicts, well aware, dealt with the orcs in their own ways.
"Beat 'em down!"
Some dodged nimbly, others deflected with skilled swordplay for a counter.
But the battlefield didn't tilt easily in their favor.
There were more orcs than expected.
Twenty convicts total.
Fifteen orcs charging.
"Hm."
While others handled two orcs each, Joseph faced his alone.
His twin axes tore through the orc's tough muscles, spilling green blood on the ground.
"This isn't looking good."
Injuries were already mounting.
'This early on?'
They hadn't even reached the target temple yet.
The area around it would be at least as dangerous, if not worse.
That's why they'd brought in mercenaries.
'But even if the mage is a brilliant commander...'
With this group, completing the mission intact seemed impossible.
And expecting miracles from just four mercenaries? Joseph discarded such optimism.
The priest's healing was the only reliable thing.
'No way she can fully heal nearly twenty convicts.'
Holy power wasn't infinite.
She wouldn't want to burn it all now.
'A lot of us are gonna die.'
He didn't particularly care if convicts died.
But their deaths meant mission failure.
Joseph had no desire to stick around this mad outfit longer than necessary.
Just as his face darkened—
Elemental Armory
Attribute: Fire (火)
The weapons of those at the front lines began to blaze with red flames.
A few convicts flinched in surprise but quickly realized it was the mage's work from the rear.
"Alright, let's smell some roasting today!"
A convict battling nearby charged an orc with his flaming sword.
The orc, which should have reacted sooner, hesitated.
That sealed its fate.
'Why?'
Was a notoriously aggressive orc scared of mere fire?
Joseph tilted his head briefly, but only for a moment.
He seized the momentum and shouted to the Jinrang twins.
"Take them one by one!"
"Got it!"
"Understood."
The troublesome convicts actually listened to him well.
But things didn't stay easy.
As the stench of burning flesh spread, a new pack of orcs appeared.
"Kuwaruta!"
Ten more orcs, bellowing their cry.
They hadn't even finished the first wave.
Even with the mage's enchant, death loomed.
Hymn of Light
Life of Light
"Hymn of Light"
"Life of Light"
⟨ Radiant Golden Holy Power ⟩
A burst of brilliant golden holy power erupted from behind.
Strength surged through their bodies, minor wounds healing in seconds.
It came from the priest with unique black bandages over her eyes.
The mercenaries didn't stop there.
Two warriors from the rear shot forward.
Aiden, charging alongside Maya, counted the enemies they could handle.
'Five.'
Fighting amid the convicts who had already engaged would limit their potential.
So Aiden targeted the rear of the orcs, hyped on bloodlust.
'Senior said orc strength is the biggest threat.'
Indeed, even level 3 or 4 convicts needed groups to take down one orc.
Their skills weren't bad, by Aiden's eyes, yet that was their limit.
'Can't take them lightly.'
Yet why did his steps feel so light?
Aiden couldn't quite grasp it.
Instead, he watched Maya dash ahead.
Aiden drew their attention first, while Maya blended with her surroundings and struck from behind.
"Kweh?!?"
The excited orcs sensed her late.
Too late—Maya's blades had already swept their ankles.
Their rock-hard muscles should have blocked, but her twin swords sliced through effortlessly.
Three of the five targets were hobbled by Maya in an instant.
The remaining two focused on the charging Aiden.
One lunged first, swinging its huge club at his path.
Aiden should have blocked—but instead, he gathered mana in his feet and exploded forward.
Charge
Boom!
The ground exploded beneath him, accelerating in a flash.
To the orc, Aiden vanished.
"Gweh... Kyaeeek!!"
Scorching pain flared in its side.
Only then did it register the blond human low and grazing past.
A long gash opened, blood spraying.
'Slower than I thought.'
Worlds apart from Bern's movements Aiden had seen.
With that realization, all hesitation vanished.
'Senior and Priest Eleanor were right.'
His skills held up even on the fourth layer.
Not leisurely, but solid.
'Not enough to threaten me.'
Aiden glanced at an orc roaring in rage at a comrade's scream.
'I can do this.'
The confidence lost to repeated losses against Bern returned.
Aiden spotted Jun smiling at him from afar.
That smile conveyed one emotion: trust.
Belief that his comrades wouldn't lose.
Aiden moved to repay that trust.
"The mage is that good?"
The battle ended.
Joseph stared at the mercenaries in astonishment.
A five-man corps with a priest—and one whose skills seemed upper-tier at that.
The two warriors were no slouches either.
'Their raw power is level 4 at best.'
But their movements were bold, like veterans who'd brushed death countless times.
Even the convicts for violent crimes couldn't match it.
'Talent? No, that's not something talent alone fills.'
He wasn't the only one surprised.
"Did that guy fight that well...?"
"...Dunno. He wasn't this good in the Black Forest."
Luke and Lucy gaped at the blond blue-eyed man.
"That much growth in just months... The mage's doing?"
"Stop asking me, Luke. This is new to me too."
Meanwhile, convicts cheered the priest.
To them, her healing and buffs outshone the warriors.
Plus the fire-enchant mage.
"Kyaa! With a priest, this is a breeze!"
"Look at this! That wound from last mission's already gone!"
"That's nothing! I cracked my arm blocking a piglet attack!"
"No, the sword went whoosh with fire! Saw those piglets freak out and do zilch? Did ya?!"
Thrown into missions where death lurked, without healers.
Injuries meant death for convicts—so their reaction was natural.
Regardless, the mercenaries proved their worth in one fight.
The convicts' cheers pointed to that.