Episode 437
Episode 437
Having two summons was already pushing the limits too far.
What kind of reckless act was this for a mage who looked so young?
Moreover, it was right after he had recklessly summoned lightning. Even if he squeezed every drop of mana from his blood, that much shouldn't have been possible.
And now, with the griffin joining the fray, Bakdugul's patience had run out.
"I'll kill you!"
As a murderous crimson aura flared around his skewer-like sword, Lee Han shouted at Ponlig.
"Fall back, Ponlig!"
His opponent's swordsmanship was anything but ordinary—it seemed on par with Jean-Cliff's. If a griffin carelessly got caught by someone like that, even its head could go flying in an instant.
Sharkan and the Skeleton Warrior Godanaltes charged forward, heedless of damage.
"Godanaltes! I'm counting on you!"
"Who the—?!"
Thud!
Even in his panic, Bakdugul cleanly impaled the Skeleton Warrior with his aura.
The swordsman's aura, forged through endless grueling training, was the crystallization of patience—and at the same time, a spear capable of piercing through anything.
To think he could pierce through an enhanced Skeleton Warrior, reinforced by stacking over ten ordinary ones, shield and all.
Lee Han couldn't help but be stunned by the overwhelming destructive power that defied expectations.
'What the hell is that...?!'
But Bakdugul, too, was caught off guard.
When the Skeleton Warrior clung to him stubbornly, ignoring the damage, Bakdugul's eyes widened in shock.
Just how many layers of summoned bone armor had it stacked? It was holding on without being forcibly unsummoned by the aura.
"What the hell...?!"
Taking advantage of the opening, Sharkan let out a vicious growl and sank its teeth into Bakdugul's ankle.
Bakdugul cursed and tried to kick Sharkan away, but the beast retreated without pushing its luck.
"Hah... Hah..."
A moment later, the Skeleton Warrior was forcibly unsummoned. Bakdugul immediately distanced himself from where it had been, leaving no opening.
A Black Mage's true assault only began after their summons fell.
Even a summon's corpse had to be treated with caution.
Yet despite his caution, an explosion erupted from Bakdugul's coat.
BOOM!!
Instinctively, Bakdugul channeled mana into his muscles to block the attack, but he couldn't fully negate the shockwave.
"What the... Damn it...?!"
Bakdugul couldn't understand it.
He had clearly moved away from the summon's corpse—so how could there still be such a massive explosion?
At most, only bone fragments should have clung to him...
'At least that's a relief.'
Lee Han let out a sigh of relief.
If the opponent had stayed close, he wouldn't have dared to use it for fear of triggering a massive explosion. But shaking off all the bone fragments had made it easier to deploy.
At that scale, there was a limit to how much damage it could do!
Though even accounting for that, the power still exceeded expectations...
Bakdugul's eyes locked onto the arrogant face of the mage before him.
It was as if he was declaring, 'I still have plenty more hidden up my sleeve.'
'...This isn't working.'
Bakdugul forced himself to ignore Sharkan and the griffin.
The mage's summons were undoubtedly threatening, but the mage himself was no pushover—certainly not someone he could take down while also fending off those summons.
He needed to break free from the opponent's control.
Bakdugul took a deep breath.
The crimson aura around him intensified, burning even fiercer with killing intent.
Even if it cost him a limb or two, he was determined to strike the mage directly.
'Damn it.'
Lee Han clicked his tongue inwardly.
The situation was spiraling further out of his expectations.
If he had blocked this much, he thought the enemies would retreat by now...
'Why aren't they retreating?'
He had countered most of their prepared methods, blocked both frontal and flanking attacks—wasn't this usually the point where they'd fall back?
'Do they really hate knights that much? Did the Beech Knights insult their parents or something?'
Lee Han failed to realize that he had been driving his enemies too hard.
Given how much they'd suffered at this point, retreating wasn't an option—not just because their pride was wounded, but because it simply wasn't feasible.
A mage like this would undoubtedly have prepared traps in anticipation of a retreat.
The only sure path left for Park Deokgul was to behead the mage. That was the only guaranteed way.
"...Go ahead and try."
"?"
"What? What are you waiting for?"
Park Deokgul spoke to Lee Han, probing him, trying to disrupt his focus.
What kind of trap had this mage left behind?
'Wait... there isn't one?'
Lee Han was slightly taken aback.
He had already used up all his summons, and now the only thing left was a pure contest of strength.
His plan was to cast Illusion Magic and Invisibility Magic the moment his opponent lunged, then follow up with a barrage of spells.
He was worried whether he'd have enough time, given that his opponent was a swordsman who could wield aura, but in this situation, there was no other choice.
'Wait. No.'
Realizing that his opponent was misunderstanding the situation, Lee Han decided to play along.
At the very least, it would buy him time.
"I'm waiting for you to make the first move."
"Is that so..."
Park Deokgul let out a low snort and glared at Lee Han.
"There must be a magic circle laid on the floor."
Magic that activated invisible magic circles upon stepping on them was commonly used for defense.
Lee Han nodded.
"That's right."
"And on the ceiling."
"That's right."
"And the walls."
"That's right."
"......"
Park Deokgul suddenly felt confused.
The fact that the mage was calmly admitting the truth only made him more bewildered.
What was going on?
'No, no... I almost got played by a mage again.'
Park Deokgul swallowed his pride.
He had to acknowledge that this mage was, without a doubt, a step above him.
It was humiliating—enough to make his chest burn—to admit that he was being outmaneuvered by some greenhorn mage, but there was no other choice.
He had been completely dancing in the palm of the mage's hand this entire time.
'I'll kill him!'
At that moment, a dagger came flying from behind Park Deokgul. Sensing the movement, he swiftly dodged.
"What the— So this was it! Hah!"
Park Deokgul shouted as if he had finally figured it out.
The students from White Tiger Tower, who had been fighting the knights, had rushed over to help Lee Han.
"No..."
Lee Han was stunned.
Why are you guys here??
"You told us to fight alongside the knights!"
"You're terrible at acting!"
Park Deokgul openly sneered.
Seeing Lee Han's flustered reaction only confirmed his suspicions.
These young knights were clearly the mage's hidden trump card.
"Let's see you try!"
Angrago aimed his crossbow.
Though his technique was fairly skilled, to a battle-hardened swordsman like Park Deokgul, it still had many flaws.
'What's this? I won't let my guard down. There must be a trap...'
Park Deokgul didn't pay it much mind, but for a brief moment, he sensed an intense surge of mana from the crossbow.
Twang!
"...!"
Whatever artifact it was, the arrow whizzed past with a deadly sound. One direct hit would be enough to take him down.
'Just as I thought!'
"Hey! The recoil on this thing is—"
"Deal with it! You'll just have to adapt!"
'Was that a spell the mage cast!?'
By this point, Park Deokgul was growing increasingly curious.
Just how many of the spells here had this mage actually cast?
Clang!
At that moment, a potion bottle came flying. It was a poison vial thrown by Batrek. Judging by the energy inside, it was undoubtedly toxic.
Park Deokgul had no choice but to halt his attack and deflect the bottle.
'It doesn't seem like that strong of a poison. Did I block it unnecessarily? No. I can't judge by appearances. This is another one of that mage's traps!'
'His movements have stopped.'
In that brief moment, Lee Han gripped his staff and completed his incantation.
Honestly, the attacks from his White Tiger Tower friends weren't that impressive, but for some reason, Park Deokgul was being overly cautious, wasting time.
That opening gave Lee Han another opportunity.
Crackle—ZZZZT!
"Ghk!"
A much thicker bolt of lightning, different from before, surged through the tent, scorching everything in its path. Park Deokgul dodged on instinct.
'This bastard is keeping his distance!'
The opposing mage didn't seem to expect a one-hit victory either, launching continuous attacks instead. As Parkdgrul dodged them, the distance between them gradually widened.
This was an uncommon approach among typical mages.
Normally, they'd conserve mana by aiming for a single decisive strike, revealing openings the moment they missed...
"Are you alright, guys?!"
"We're fine! Protecting mages is a knight's duty, isn't it?!"
"Confident you can block?"
"......"
The White Tiger Tower students didn't respond. Lee Han felt the weight of responsibility pressing down on him.
'I have to protect them no matter what.'
Meanwhile, Giselle swung her twin swords, stepping forward to block Parkdgrul's path.
The enemy's blade burning with aura.
Though it was a technique with devastating destructive power, aura wasn't omnipotent.
Giselle avoided direct contact with the opponent's sword, maintaining distance while attempting probing thrusts to keep him in check.
"...The Moradi family!! Wait, you people... hold on... wait...?!"
Parkdgrul's eyes widened as he recognized the swordsmanship.
After so many bewildering events today, his mind felt foggy—but seeing that sword style triggered a realization.
'That's the Alpha family crest, and that's the Bark family emblem... wait... wait...?'
None of these families had any connection to the Beech Knights, nor any reason to be here.
Moreover, these knights looked suspiciously young.
A flash of understanding struck Parkdgrul's mind.
"Don't tell me you're students?!?!"
"......"
"......"
The White Tiger Tower students were even more flustered.
'He didn't realize we're students? Why's he making such a fuss?'
"Damn deceitful mage bastard...!"
"Huh? No, he's also a student..."
Realizing he'd been fooled yet again, Parkdgrul raged like a demon from hell.
To deceive students into acting as knights and tying his hands...
This enemy wasn't just cunning—they were downright vicious.
"Magic or whatever..."
Parkdgrul prepared to charge, trusting his swordsman's honed body even if a summon pounced or magic tore at him.
"...Try and stop me!"
The air vibrated with murderous intent.
CRASH!!
And then the Skeleton Principal's death knights smashed through the tent with their eerie blue glow.
The death knights cheerfully trampled the mercenaries outside, drained the energy of those inside, and finally encircled Parkdgrul in a wheel formation.
Enraged by the sudden assault, Parkdgrul swung his aura blade, but the death knights just laughed eerily, regenerating instantly whether damaged or not.
-"Stab harder, living one! I said stab harder!"
-"Living one, I've wielded aura since you were squirming in your father's coin purse. Did you think that skill alone would suffice? Ahahaha!"
-"The most vile and dreadful magic protects us!"
"Damnable undead!"
Parkdgrul panicked.
A helplessness he'd never felt since first mastering aura overwhelmed him.
Even the undead from the empire's darkest, most wretched lands would writhe on the ground when struck by aura, unable to recover...!
Sschhk!
With every graze of the death knights' blades, his blood froze, bones grew sluggish, and vitality drained from his body.
Parkdgrul tried channeling mana, but his body stiffened, legs giving way.
Thud!
"I'll... remember you...!"
-"???"
-"Who's he holding a grudge against now?"
The death knights, busy sealing Parkdgrul with layers of artifacts, found his words absurd.
Was he too stupid to even know whose blade had cut him?
"Mage bastard... today... I admit... I played into your hands... but next time... never...!"
-"......"
-"......"
The death knights, now grasping the situation, looked slightly awkward.
They'd come to help after sensing a fight while tailing the students—only to unwittingly become part of a meticulously planned ambush.
-"Indeed. You were played."
-"Hey!"
-"What? This works better, no?"
-"Well, that's true. Our master's disciple would prefer the infamy anyway."
"????"