Episode 893
Episode 893
'This is why fake information is so dangerous.' Lee Han made a mental note to think twice before spreading rumors from now on.
"That would make them truly wicked and despicable intruders indeed!"
"I-is that so? But junior, just because they stole the Headmaster's treasure, I don't see why that makes them particularly more evil..."
Catten was flustered, wondering why his usually calm and composed junior was getting so angry.
Jowurin quietly explained from the side.
'It's probably because Lee Han is Gonadaltes's disciple.'
"I see..."
To Catten, the Skeleton Principal was just an eccentric archmage he wasn't particularly close with, but if Lee Han was his direct disciple, it made sense he'd be furious about such theft.
"You seem cold on the surface, junior, but you're actually quite passionate underneath."
Jowurin also thought the same...
"What are you doing over there? Hurry up and come here!"
Lee Han grew angry when he noticed Catten and Jowurin whispering instead of moving forward.
Fundamentally, wizards were a fragile breed.
While the magical power they wielded was formidable and destructive, the wizards themselves remained vulnerable mortals with many weaknesses.
This was why experienced adventurers didn't fear wizards excessively. There was even a saying among adventurers:
-Novice adventurers tremble at mere rumors of wizards, while veterans calmly prepare.
There were numerous ways to counter them:
Disrupting their spellcasting, ambushing them before they could cast, creating confusion to break their concentration, or muddying the surrounding mana...
The Shadows of Kangla who had infiltrated Einrogard were naturally well-versed in dealing with wizards.
Moreover, having come all the way to infiltrate Einrogard, they had prepared far more extensively than usual.
However, there was one thing these adventurers had never experienced before.
Dozens of wizards pursuing them relentlessly without holding anything back.
-Stay calm. There may be many of them, but they're just greenhorns who've never seen real combat. We can outsmart them...
-There! Intruders! Intruders over there!
-Damn it! My artifact spotted them first! My artifact found them first! Hormasi! Are you deaf?!
-I can't hear you! My puppy found them first! Kill them!-......
The confidence they had initially mustered disappeared within minutes.
Einrogard's students began tracking down the adventurers with terrifying speed.
-Grrrrrrrr!
"Isn't that a Cerberus?! Why are they raising that here?! It should be banned by imperial law!"
"This isn't the time for that! Swordsman! Run this way! Tear the fog scroll so they can't follow us!"
"The scroll isn't activating!"
-The Kitchen Club blocked the scroll! Everyone saw that, right? That's our achievement!
-Don't you dare try to claim credit with that! Don't even think about taking rewards for that!
"These arrogant brats! They keep pushing their luck because we're going easy on them!"
Being chased around by these young, green students eventually made even these adventurers lose their temper. Being a group composed solely of evil individuals, their patience wasn't particularly deep to begin with.
The Swordsman drew the sword strapped to his back and chanted a spell.
"Feed on blood and rend my enemies!"
As the sharp blade grazed his finger, droplets of blood formed. When the blood was absorbed, the sword trembled ominously, emitting a faint crimson glow.
"Ha!"
With a shout, the Swordsman swung his sword. The beam of light from an artifact flying toward him from afar was instantly extinguished.
This sword was also a powerful artifact capable of erasing lower-level magic.
The Swordsman held his breath and concealed his presence. Hiding in the bushes, he thrust his sword straight into an unfortunate student charging ahead.
Thunk!
The sensation at his fingertips assured the Swordsman of his success.
"See this, you wizard bastards! Keep chasing us. I'll make sure you all end up like..."
"I got him! I got him!"
"?!"
The student whose throat should have been severed instead giggled creepily as he grabbed the Swordsman's wrist.
Then he cheered to his friends about having caught him. The chilling sight sent shivers down the Swordsman's spine.
"What kind of madness...?"
The Swordsman frantically pulled his sword free. Other mages were already approaching. This was no time to waste.
Swish!
With a spell, nearby tree branches transformed into blades aiming for the intruder's neck.
Simultaneously, pebbles on the ground morphed into sharp throwing weapons and flew upward. The Swordsman swung his sword to erase the magic.
But unlike before, the magic didn't disappear. When he widened his eyes to look, the sword's glow had already faded.
"This can't be... Gahk!"
"Got you, bastard! Hand over the treasure!"
"Hey! I'm the one who caught him! I was the one who sealed that sword!"
"Even without sealing it, we could've caught a punk relying on some artifact like this!"
As the completely subdued Swordsman lay there, the students argued over who would claim the treasure.
The student with a gaping hole still in his body grumbled:
"I went through the trouble of applying blood-based transmutation to seal the sword..."
"Hmph. I would've caught him without getting stabbed. You couldn't even grab him first."
"Hey! This bastard was hiding really well! How were we supposed to find him while maintaining the transmutation spell?!"
"Everyone. Stop arguing and let's just find the treasure."
The Swordsman glared at the students with bloodshot eyes, but to the Einrogard students, he was already beneath their notice.
Einrogard's upperclassmen had faced too many dangers to be intimidated by some adventurer like this.
"There's... no treasure?!"
"Damn it! We caught the wrong one! No wonder he came out separately to draw our attention!"
"Wait. Guys. I think this intruder wants to say something."
When the tightly bound Swordsman mumbled through his gag, the students eagerly loosened the paralysis for a moment.
"Are you going to tell us where you hid the treasure? If you talk, we might show some leniency..."
-I'll kill you all! You bratty little mage bastards!
"...Seriously. Of all the people we could've caught, we got this guy."
"Tie him back up, tie him up. Let's hand him over to the Death Knights."
"What a waste. Can't we use him for magic experiments?"
"Don't say dangerous things. The Skeleton Principal will throw a fit."
"Why is it okay to experiment on students but not outsiders?"
"I think the Headmaster just wants to keep all the fun to himself."
-......
For the first time, the Swordsman realized calm conversation could be more terrifying than violent threats.
He'd often heard Einrogard's mages operated on a different level, but never imagined it would be to this degree.
They were nothing like any mages he'd ever conceived of before.
"What? You caught this many?!"
Lee Han, arriving late, was startled to see seniors casually resting beneath the mountain range with captured intruders hanging around.
Far more intruders had been caught than expected.
'Did Antagondals get scammed?'
He'd thought adventurers trusted by Antagondals would be formidable, yet so many had been captured already.
"Ah... Maybe these are just a small fraction and there are many more intruders left..."
"Huh? No. After interrogation... I mean, questioning, we've caught almost all of them. Only a few remain."
"......"
Lee Han began to wonder whether his seniors were extraordinary or these adventurers were just mediocre.
The <Shadows of Kangla> party had literally disbanded. With most members captured instantly after being spotted once, "disbanded" was putting it kindly.
All the preparations they had brought were utterly meaningless. Even if they managed to block the students once or twice, the students relentlessly pushed forward with sheer numbers.
If they blocked divination magic tracking with scrolls, the students would switch to magical creatures for tracking. If they shook off the magical creature tracking with floral scents, the students would use detection artifacts to track them...
This was the result of being discovered just once. From the intruders' perspective, it was truly an unfair situation.
"Hmm. Maybe they really are just mediocre adventurers after all. Perhaps Antagondals got scammed..."
"Hmm. That might indeed be the case."
Jowurin nodded in agreement with Lee Han's speculation from beside him.
Given that Antagondals was a magic criminal, there must have been limits to the quality of adventurers he could hire.
Moreover, who in their right mind would willingly infiltrate Einrogard?
So he probably had no choice but to forcibly employ such low-skilled individuals...
Lee Han and Jowurin exchanged these insulting remarks—the kind that would make the adventurers of <Kangla's Shadows> weep tears of blood if they heard.
"But by any chance, have you seen Professor Ingoldel?"
"Professor Ingoldel? He went inside earlier to catch the intruders."
"See, professors are on another level. We've already half given up, but he's still going all out to catch them."
The seniors marveled at Professor Ingoldel's tenacity.
The students gathered here had already half given up on the Skeleton Principal's treasure, even after capturing so many intruders.
Yet Professor Ingoldel paid no heed and continued his pursuit relentlessly. Only an unyielding greed to obtain the treasure at all costs could drive such determination.
Was this the difference between a student and a professor?
"...Wait. He's seriously doing this for the treasure? Why? If it's the Principal's treasure, shouldn't the Principal be the one handling it?"
"That's exactly what I think! Isn't it cheating for a professor to join the competition?"
The students all nodded in agreement with their admirable junior's observation.
Frankly, someone of a professor's standing shouldn't be coveting the Skeleton Principal's treasure. They should leave it for the students.
'Should I just give up?'
Lee Han hesitated slightly.
Judging by the number of intruders the seniors had already captured, even if Professor Ingoldel caught the remaining ones, there wouldn't be that many left.
Then, even if those intruders appeared in the midterm exams, it wouldn't be that difficult...
'What kind of insane thought is that? Even one is dangerous enough.'
Fighting battle-hardened adventurers from outside wasn't something to take lightly just because their numbers had dwindled. The only right choice was to stop them no matter what.
"I had no idea Professor Ingoldel could be this greedy."
"Maybe it's for the exams."
"That's even more horrifying."
Lee Han recoiled at Professor Voladi's words.
If he wasn't doing this out of greed for treasure but purely out of a desire to use the intruders in the midterms, that was even scarier.
—"Found an intruder!"
"!!"
While Lee Han was still pondering, a distant shout reached his ears.
Immediately, the seniors erupted into a chaotic brawl.
"Shadows, blind the enemy's eyes!"
"Earth, bind them!"
"Mist, obscure their..."
Why—why are they doing this?!
For a moment, Jowurin wondered if the students had fallen under some kind of spell. Catten kindly explained.
"They're trying to hinder the others and get ahead first, Your Highness."
......
Jowurin, who had been staring in disbelief, turned to Lee Han and asked:
But Lee Han, if you're looking for Professor Ingoldel, shouldn't you be heading that way?
"Ah... I was thinking of giving up since it seems too late now."
Lee Han was gradually resigning himself to facing the intruders in the midterms.
If the seniors were fighting this fiercely, how much harder would it be to stop Professor Ingoldel...
"Lee Han! You mustn't give up! You absolutely must get Gonadaltes' treasure first!"
'That's just a baseless rumor.'
Lee Han didn't want the treasure—he just wanted to stop Professor Ingoldel from capturing the intruders.
But Jowurin paid no heed, spreading his wings wide before forcibly scooping Lee Han up.
Let's go! Jowurin will take you there!
As the dragon soared into the sky, the seniors, who had been locked in combat, looked up in shock at the sight.
Riding a dragon?!