Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: The Fog Array and the Knight's Challenge
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Pa-aa-aat!
Even as a soul-shaking impact hit him, So Gun-ak laughed inwardly. He had rarely experienced magic before. But the magic Horant was unleashing was all too familiar.
The Soul Subjugation Demon Drum Great Law that created hellhorses was a prime example. Among such mind-control spells, the strongest was the Yin Blood Death Spirit Art, passed down in the Secret Cult, one of the Eternal Divine Cult's branches.
It was a divine art capable of subjugating even souls that had died and become ghosts. Of course, subjugating a living person required an appropriate sacrifice—but ridiculously, Horant had prepared everything.
Kwa-ang!
So Gun-ak's Yin Blood Death Spirit Art clashed with Horant's mind-control magic.
'Huh? What's going on here?'
Horant blinked in confusion as his magic failed to take hold properly. He had tested it before on trainees. Once, by sheer luck, he had ensnared a trainee knight into a master-servant contract, but the subject had lost his mind under the mental magic.
Since he planned to turn So Gun-ak into a death knight anyway, madness didn't matter. As long as he acknowledged Horant as master and agreed to revive as a death knight, that was fine.
But this time, the magic was unfolding in an unprecedented way.
Tsutsutsut.
Black energy from the Essence of Life began clashing with the red energy pouring from So Gun-ak's body.
'What kind of harmony is this?'
Horant ramped up his power. The target might resist, sure. But that was only without a sacrifice. Now, with the Essence of Life boosting mental magic's control to nearly 100%, what could go wrong?
'Wh-what? Why is this guy...?'
Horant panicked at the incomprehensible phenomenon.
The Essence of Life continuously supplied him with energy, serving as a source of power alongside the mana of nature. Yet it was also fueling So Gun-ak.
To make matters worse, So Gun-ak's red energy was gradually eroding the black, pushing back the mind-control magic. Unbelievably, So Gun-ak was wielding mental magic himself.
The same type of magic, the same sacrifice. Now it came down to whose magic was stronger and whose focus was superior.
"Huh?"
Horant let out a dumb sound, his face going slack. At some point, he had started losing ground, and now So Gun-ak's red energy had completely devoured the flow from the Essence of Life. Not a trace of black aura remained; it had all turned red.
The space was fully under So Gun-ak's control. Horant heard a voice that shook his soul.
"You are my servant."
What nonsense was this? But against his will, words slipped from Horant's lips.
"I am your servant."
Through the red mist, So Gun-ak's figure emerged, looking utterly divine. Horant struggled to steady his fading mind, but it was futile.
Horant knelt before So Gun-ak.
"I am your servant."
His dazed mind soon bound itself to those words. The necromancer Horant had become So Gun-ak's loyal servant.
Papapat!
The red energy burst outward like an explosion before vanishing. Irina, her face streaked with tears, stared blankly at the scene.
The paralysis lifted, and So Gun-ak stood with his hands behind his back. Horant knelt respectfully before him.
"Wh-what happened?"
So Gun-ak smiled with his eyes without a word. He glanced at the dullahan Macaron.
"Withdraw."
"Krr."
At So Gun-ak's command, Macaron astonishingly released Irina's hair and stepped back. Irina's eyes widened in shock as she stared at So Gun-ak.
3. Spirit Magic
Irina trailed sulkily behind So Gun-ak. All she did to help was open her subsace to hand over formation materials.
So Gun-ak named what he needed, she pulled it out, and then she just watched him work. After half a day like this, she wondered if she was nothing more than a large-capacity bag to him.
'What is his real identity?'
He was someone with enough power to massacre hordes of orcs. Wright City had knights too. But compared to So Gun-ak, they were like fireflies before the sun.
With such immense power, he summoned spirits, sent message magic, resisted mental magic—and even turned it against Horant, subjugating the necromancer as a servant.
He sparked a mage's intellectual curiosity but offered no answers. That was So Gun-ak's essence to Irina.
"We need to dig here."
"Yes, understood."
Horant began digging where So Gun-ak pointed. The dullahan Macaron dug elsewhere. Dozens of holes already dotted the ground.
So Gun-ak turned to Irina, who stared at him intently. She jumped, eyes widening as their gazes met.
"Wh-why?"
"Why do you keep staring?"
"Wh-what else is there to do? Should I dig too?"
So Gun-ak chuckled. Fair point. Right now, Irina was useful only as storage.
"You can draw up groundwater, right? That's how Wright City secures water too."
A tower and city rising from barren plains without rivers. All their daily water came from magically tapped groundwater.
Thus, groundwater magic was essential for Wright Tower mages.
"Of course."
Irina finally felt her talents shining. So Gun-ak's abilities had made her feel insignificant.
She couldn't massacre orcs or fight dullahans like him, but her magic had developed differently—top-tier at Wright Tower, capable of feats beyond him.
"Dew slumbering within the breath of the earth," "Rise up!"
⟨ Groundwater Summoning ⟩
Irina gripped her arm-length wand, closed her eyes, and chanted.
She sensed the water flowing steadily underground.
With her commanding chant, she thrust out her hand.
Dududududu.
The ground shook like an earthquake.
Puaaaa!
Water gushed from the dug holes. Muddy brown at first, then clear water filled the sky, raining down like a massive fountain.
The geysers gradually subsided, filling the holes and flowing along pre-dug channels.
Water was needed for the fog formation to obscure vision. Puddles formed at key points, channels carried water, reviving the barren city with abundance.
"Everything's ready now. Head back to the fortress first."
Irina glanced nervously at Horant and Macaron, shaking her head in horror. Staying with them without So Gun-ak terrified her. Realizing her reliance on him confused her.
"N-no! I'll stay quietly by your side without interfering."
But So Gun-ak shook his head firmly. With no choice, Irina pouted and returned to the fortress with Horant.
Preparations were one thing, but he couldn't let Irina see the formation activation. Horant, now a servant, might not grasp it, but Irina could intuit the principles just by watching.
"Time's short. Better get busy."
So Gun-ak chanted while moving materials from scattered building supplies, weaving the formation. After much bustling, fog formed, enveloping the city completely.
Returning to the fortress, So Gun-ak emerged from the fog at the gate. Irina jumped in surprise.
"How on earth...?"
So Gun-ak just chuckled instead of answering. Bursting with curiosity, Irina questioned his every move.
Having abandoned everything for magic to become Wright Tower's disciple, she found So Gun-ak's unfamiliar methods—producing magic-like effects outside standard systems—utterly fascinating.
"Fog magic couldn't cover this area. Magic circles might work, but you'd need thousands—taking a month. How did you do it in a day...?"
Irina's frustration grew at So Gun-ak's silence. Was he oblivious or feigning ignorance? He offered no answers.
Asking outright before he volunteered felt rude, so she hinted all day. But he didn't budge.
Irina, Wright Tower's beauty, never delegated, but men always rushed to help. So Gun-ak's indifference stung her pride, sparking defiance.
Ignoring her mood, So Gun-ak said what needed saying.
"The soldiers should be here. Let's greet them."
"Yes, got it."
So Gun-ak summoned Mu-yeong and ordered Horant.
"Watch the southern plains for orcs. Report any scouts immediately, no delay."
"Yes, understood."
Horant entered the tower, deploying familiar magic. Five crows under his control shared his vision and flew south.
Riding Mu-yeong with So Gun-ak, Irina gasped amid the fog.
Thick but not blinding, one could walk by sight, distinguish friend from foe at 3 meters. Beyond that, invisibility—perfect for inducing melees.
They arrived near the fortress. A stone tower made from his materials stood there.
So Gun-ak lifted the top stone; the fog thinned and evaporated.
Irina's eyes sparkled at the tower, sensing faint mana.
'Is that the trigger?'
Magic circles needed activation words. But So Gun-ak's formation seemed controlled by this mana stone tower.
"This device activates the fog formation. Replace the stone, and fog returns."
Irina's eyes widened.
"Why tell me suddenly?"
Her face lit with expectation—he might finally teach her new magic.
But that hope crumbled in seconds.
"Because you'll manage and activate it."
Irina showed brief disappointment, realizing her greed. So Gun-ak focused solely on stopping the orcs; she was curious about his magic.
The tension of defending Wright Tower for the mages had faded. Thanks to So Gun-ak.
'It really will turn out as he said.'
He boasted no orc would reach Wright City. She believed it.
With fog gone, approaching soldiers appeared. 300 makeshift cavalry on Wright City's horses led, followed by 300 infantry hauling war wagons.
Capone and the Red Wolf mercenaries beamed at So Gun-ak.
The citizen militia leader, Bolt—Wright City's guard captain for 20 years, a free knight settled there—was experienced repelling orc hordes.
Bolt couldn't fathom the tower brass handing full command to this unknown So Gun-ak over him. He followed orders grudgingly, but resentment lingered.
No mercenaries this year meant expecting failure. But abandoning walls for field battle? Absurd.
He knew the plan but found it laughable. He distrusted So Gun-ak, especially with no fog in sight.
"Hmph, that boasted fog formation or whatever—still not ready?"
So Gun-ak eyed Bolt. His scowl and tone revealed everything.
"All preparations complete. Now divide the soldiers—ten per group."
"Why? Explain first."
So Gun-ak clamped his mouth, scanning Bolt and the ranks seriously. Expressions varied, but the mood was distrustful.
Hard to command undisciplined troops. Harder still without trust in the leader.
'Can't even start fighting like this.'
So Gun-ak addressed Bolt.
"I hear there's a knight order besides the citizen militia."
"Yes. Including me, 50 total."
Of 600, minus mages and Red Wolves: 500 troops. One in ten knights.
The 50 knights handled city security as guard officers, all mobilized for battle.
"All step forward."
Bolt obliged curiously, signaling. The 50 dismounted, armor mismatched without uniforms.
"No alternatives or other plans. To succeed, follow my words without doubt."
"How can we trust and follow you?"
Bolt voiced the doubt. He still saw the plan as reckless; sieging from the castle offered better odds.
So Gun-ak met Bolt's eyes squarely.
"Act like knights. I'll show you my strength."
Bolt stiffened at the informal tone.
"How?"
"All rush me!"
The knights exchanged baffled looks.
'Is he insane?'
To them, So Gun-ak was just some mercenary. He beat orc scouts—with Red Wolves' help.
"Hahaha, amusing."
So Gun-ak drew a staff from his back, spun it, and tucked it under his arm one-handed.
"Whoever lands even a scratch on me gets command."
The knights bristled at the provocation. Bolt's trembling jowls betrayed his fury.