Chapter 14
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Infiltrating Mason Village
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Ruyan arrived in Mason Village in the blink of an eye and carefully scanned the walls.
Even in the dead of night, lights blazed everywhere, and countless soldiers guarded the key passages.
The defenses had been significantly strengthened since his last visit.
'Getting past them wouldn't be an issue, but...'
It would be pointless killing.
He had no intention of forgiving the mages from Brighton or the lord's knights, but the ordinary soldiers were another matter.
As he had said before, a warrior's sword could distinguish between commoners.
That was why he was feared as a terror in the martial world yet never officially hunted.
Ruyan decided to slip quietly through the gates. But that wasn't the only problem.
'Once I'm inside, even I can't predict what comes next.'
There were surely countless knights and mages waiting behind those walls.
The fact that Blanc, a 5th Circle mage, hadn't escaped meant there were some serious heavyweights in that village.
Honestly, his current condition wasn't sufficient to take them on.
Ruyan suddenly spat out a gush of blood rising in his throat, his expression hardening.
'I pushed myself too far.'
Facing twenty foes who could manifest sword aura wasn't a light task, even for him.
He had fought by drawing on nature's energy as much as possible, but the limits of his barely fifteen years' worth of inner power were clear.
Pushing further here could damage the dantian he had painstakingly built.
If retreat was an option, avoiding battle was best. But in a situation like this, where backing down was impossible...
'I need a weapon.'
Ruyan eyed one of the soldiers guarding the gate.
An old bow hung from the soldier's back.
'It'll have to do for now...'
Ruyan stealthily approached the wall, subdued the soldier, knocked him out, and took the bow and quiver.
Of course, it wasn't satisfactory to him.
It was too light, lacking sufficient tension.
The string was so slack it was useless even as a rubber band.
He hadn't used such a shoddy bow even during his debut in the Central Plains.
But with no other options, he had to borrow the soldier's for the time being.
Still, holding a familiar weapon calmed his boiling heart somewhat.
The three divine attributes of the Divine Bow!
The Return Heart Technique, which allowed him to amass vast inner power, was the first.
The Return Divine Step, enabling unshakable, swift movement, was the second.
And now, the final piece had entered his hands.
Archery!
The Sobles Continent would soon learn exactly why the bow-wielding master was the supreme being under heaven.
Sa-sak.
Ruyan cloaked himself in darkness and slipped through the wall undetected.
As he entered the village, a sign mysteriously ablaze caught his eye.
-Brighton Magic Academy.
'If you really killed my father, the ground you're standing on will become hell.'
Ruyan steadily nursed his rage as he strode boldly into the Brighton Academy.
A mage, sensing his presence, whipped around with wide eyes.
"Who goes there! The door was clearly locked..."
The shop was apparently closed for business, as the mage was tidying up.
Ruyan stared at him before casually tossing out his words.
"I'm here to see Alex."
"Huh? Who the hell are you, barging in looking for the branch chief?"
A look of bewilderment crossed the mage's face.
But to Ruyan, short on time, it was an irritating response.
"Not going to tell me where he is?"
"You crazy bastard! You think the branch chief is your buddy? Of course I'm not going to—"
Ruyan ignored the rest.
He simply walked forward and lightly drew the bow.
The bow, empty moments ago, now had an arrow nocked.
Peeing.
The plain wooden arrow transformed into light as it left Ruyan's hand.
The mage, mid-tirade, froze solid.
Then he toppled backward slowly.
Thud.
A coin-sized hole pierced the fallen mage's forehead.
A death so anticlimactic.
But Ruyan didn't blink. He didn't even pause.
Grabbing one of the mage's legs, he dragged the body up the stairs to the second floor.
'They're all gathered here.'
From the second floor onward, it was the core of Brighton Academy's operations, with plenty of mages on duty.
Thud.
Ruyan roughly rolled the body across the floor, drawing all eyes.
Then he repeated the same question.
"I'm here to see Alex."
The mages, who had been blinking in stunned silence at his brazen advance, finally grasped the situation and leaped up.
"You bastard! Do you know where you are, causing a scene?!"
"What the hell were the first-floor guys doing, letting trash like this through?!"
The mages raised their voices and closed in aggressively.
But Ruyan's expression didn't change as he tossed the body from downstairs at their feet.
"The one from the first floor is dead. He wouldn't answer."
A heavy silence blanketed the mages. This was utterly beyond their expectations.
"Aaaah! What the hell is this?!"
A gaunt-cheeked, frail-looking mage collapsed and scrambled backward on all fours.
"I'll ask again. Where is Alex?"
Ruyan rarely gave second chances, but he exercised patience this time.
The mages, however, didn't realize it was the utmost mercy.
"You little shit! Which academy sent you?!"
The mages began channeling mana to prepare spells.
A mere assassin from a rival academy—that was the extent of their imagination.
"Wrong."
The Divine Bow's questions demanded answers. Those who replied with questions died.
The shabby bow bent at tremendous speed before snapping back.
Piyuk.
With a sharp whistle, the philtrum of the mage who had shouted at Ruyan exploded.
Thump.
Death was impartial to all.
The instant an arrow left the Divine Bow's hand, one life vanished.
"Where is Alex?"
Death itself posed the question.
No—issued the command.
Silence before his wrath.
A rotund old man and a refined middle-aged man—two ill-matched figures—sat together.
Though they projected a warm atmosphere over tea, they were really sizing each other up with sidelong glances.
The fat old man spoke first.
"Branch Chief, why don't you leave the rest to me and get some rest?"
Yagnik Mason, the baron.
Even at his advanced age, he was an old schemer who couldn't rest unless he controlled everything personally.
Unlike his limp white hair, his goatee bristled with vigor, giving him a sly look.
His features were nearly buried in thick flesh, yet his prominent cheekbones brimmed with greed.
But in terms of greed, the middle-aged man across from him was no slouch.
"This isn't something for a noble like you to handle personally. Leave it to a subordinate like me and rest easy."
Alex bowed politely, but it hid the glint in his eyes.
This middle-aged man, his hair neatly covered by a blue hood, was the branch chief of the Brighton Magic Academy's northern branch.
Mason Village's sole 5th Circle mage!
True to his position, he wore luxurious silk robes adorned with all manner of accessories—every one a magic item enhancing his casting efficiency.
"You've already contributed greatly by sharing this opportunity with me. I'll reward you generously, so don't worry."
"I have no such impertinent intentions. I'm merely concerned for your well-being."
Though their eyes didn't meet as Alex bowed, their words sparked fiercely between them.
As the lord had said, it all stemmed from Alex's cunning tongue.
The Brighton Academy, monitoring Blanc, realized one thing the moment he arrived declaring his intent to found a magic academy.
'The theory is complete!'
They couldn't let that stand.
'Good thing we didn't kill him rashly. Who'd have thought he'd deliver the treasure himself?'
The original goal was to sabotage his research before success, but now that it had succeeded, things changed.
'I'll claim that theory.'
Alex had no desire to end his days as a frontier branch chief. He yearned to shine brilliantly on a grander stage.
It was a distant dream on ambition alone, but a golden opportunity had arisen.
Monopolizing Blanc's theory could make it reality.
'The problem is Baron Yagnik.'
Any scheme near Mason Village would reach the lord's ears inevitably.
'That sly old fox won't miss this chance.'
He'd surely seize the magic theory on some trivial pretext.
'Better to reveal it upfront and steer the situation myself.'
That was why Alex had approached the lord.
-My lord, do you recall the prophecy tied to Hatchling Village?
That single line was enough to hook the lord's interest.
After all, Yagnik himself oversaw that insignificant village because of the prophecy.
The lord instantly grasped what Alex meant.
'If we leave things as they are, that mage Blanc will become the prophecy's heir.'
Was the founding emperor's prophecy truly real?
The one to rule all mages would emerge from there.
'Hah! I won't let some commoner mage become a dragon.'
There was still time.
Eliminate Blanc, and he could claim the legendary role.
Thus, the two schemers dreaming divergent ambitions boarded the same ship.
-Capture Blanc at once!
At the command, the knight commander led nine elite knights into action.
From Brighton, Alex personally took seven mages.
The region's finest knights and highest-level mages—it was the full might of the north.
Up to then, they believed the plan would proceed smoothly.
But once astride the tiger, capturing Blanc alive proved no easy feat.
'Where the hell did that guy get such power...?'
Blanc was no ordinary 5th Circle mage. His spells hit over twice as hard as the norm.
Alex, who had reached 5th Circle far earlier, couldn't dream of facing him head-on.
Even laden with magic items, he was utterly defeated.
They overwhelmed him with numbers and barely subdued him, but at tremendous cost.
'What a monster.'
Five 4th Circle mages were gravely wounded, and three elite knights crippled for life.
A brutal price for one backwater mage.
That was why Yagnik and Alex were still locked in a staring contest so late.
'We've paid too much already. That theory is mine.'
At that moment, they shared the thought.
Having witnessed Blanc's magic firsthand, their greed only grew.
"The Mason Knights are searching Hatchling Village now, so good news should come soon. You should withdraw, Branch Chief."
"Wouldn't it be faster to hear it straight from Blanc? Our mages are interrogating him—leave it to me."
They clashed, each insisting their role was weightier, refusing to yield.
Their minds were filled only with securing Blanc's theory first for personal gain.
Up to this moment, they remained oblivious. To the shadow creeping toward them.
To the fact that, in another world, it was a being more terrifying than 'death' itself.