Chapter 81
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 081
Chapter Title: Believer and Unbeliever (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"It's about time we made a decision."
The man who had first spotted the campsite.
A fellow approached him and spoke up.
The man let out a deep sigh before replying.
"Haven't I said it over and over? We need at least three squads together. That's the only way to take them down safely."
"We called for reinforcements, and only our squad responded. That means there are no more brothers around here. Waiting for the others to join us is just a waste of time. We have to decide now—attack or give up."
"Hmm..."
The man groaned, and the one who'd spoken to him looked puzzled, as if he couldn't understand the reaction.
"Why are you so anxious? It's just one kid mage. We can handle him on our own."
"You've never seen that guy's magic, so you can say that. He's not like your average mage."
"He's still a mage. Once we close the distance, he won't be able to do a thing but hand over his neck."
The man sighed as he listened.
He could feel the other underestimating their foe.
But it was only natural.
The man had hunted dozens of mages so far.
So how laughable and insignificant must this new kid mage seem to him?
No matter how many times he warned that the guy was dangerous, the complacency remained.
"Hm?"
That's when the man sensed something off.
A comrade just outside the campsite.
His presence had suddenly vanished.
He was right there in plain sight, yet it felt like no one was there at all—no presence detected.
It defied common sense.
And the man knew exactly who could pull off something like that.
"Mage! Battle stations!"
It took only an instant for suspicion to turn to certainty.
The moment he shouted...
The ground beneath his comrade's feet turned to muck like a swamp, and his feet began sinking into it.
By the time one knight entered my tent...
I concluded I couldn't hide any longer.
I'd seen one of the guys outside yelling something to his comrades.
He'd clearly noticed something was wrong.
The moment I saw that, I cast my spell.
Slurp.
The devouring earth.
Thanks to it, the Silent Compliance knight who'd stepped inside was quickly sunk up to his ankles in mud.
But with a knight's superior physical prowess, escaping would be a simple matter.
So right after the devouring earth, I followed up with more magic.
'Rapid Growth, and Green Knot.'
Rapid Growth made the plants shoot up, and those plants bound the knight's feet with Green Knot.
To keep him from breaking free easily.
With the enemy under control, even if just for a moment...
The rest was straightforward.
'Lightning Bolt.'
The Silent Compliance knight with his feet tied.
I unleashed Lightning Bolt on him three times.
Once didn't seem like enough.
Crackle!
Three bolts of lightning hurtling toward him.
The knight twisted his body desperately to dodge, but he still took the hits.
Boom!
The knight toppled backward.
Smoke rising from his body told me my magic had landed properly.
One down, anyway.
Five knights left.
And my remaining mana: 919.
Plenty of room to spare.
'Guess I'm facing two of them.'
While I took out one with a sneak attack, the burly trio charged forward, each finding their mark.
The Silent Compliance group assigned one to each of them.
The remaining two?
They came for me.
While three kept the trio busy, the other two would go for the kill.
'Come at me if you're confident.'
So thinking, I watched them charge.
In a fight with knights, distance control was key.
I had to block their approach.
'Lightning Bolt on the left, Leaping Flame on the right.'
Lightning Bolt for the lone guy on the left, Leaping Flame for the one on the right near his comrades.
Natural dual casting.
Their eyes widened as they realized it.
But that was it.
True to their expertise, they didn't falter.
The left one hurled himself sideways the instant he saw the lightning.
The right one dodged the incoming fireball just as quickly.
'Just as expected.'
Both outcomes were anticipated.
And my real aim started now.
Boom!
The fireball burst in midair past the knight.
From it, tiny embers flew toward another nearby knight.
Was it the chaos of battle?
No one paid those little sparks any mind.
Exactly what I'd hoped.
'They're distracted.'
While manipulating the Leaping Flame embers, I still had to fend off the two closing in.
So I fired off Stone Thorn twice.
One each way to hold them back.
Kaboom!
Two stone thorns erupted from the ground.
Flying at the knights from both sides.
What happened?
I didn't check.
Had to focus on the embers.
And luckily, my efforts paid off.
"Gaaahhh!"
The knight Gilbert was facing.
The moment an ember touched his back...
His body burst into flames.
Panicking from the sudden blaze, he screamed and flailed, exposing an opening.
Gilbert, of course, didn't miss it.
Slash!
Gilbert swung his sword.
And the knight's head floated into the air.
Four enemies left.
"Watch out for the embers!"
The knight facing Connel yelled after witnessing his comrade's death.
He bolted from his spot.
The ember that had just arrived there circled the empty air disappointedly before fading away.
Meanwhile, only one was still approaching me.
Gilbert had intercepted the other after his kill.
'One-on-one, I won't lose.'
So thinking, I eyed the approaching knight.
He was getting fairly close.
I hit him with Lightning Bolt while casting Devouring Earth right in front of me.
This way, to avoid getting stuck, he'd have to swing wide—making it hard to reach me.
Or so I thought as I looked ahead, but the knight exceeded expectations.
Crackle!
He dodged the Lightning Bolt just by tilting his head.
Without slowing, he noticed the changing texture of the ground and leaped.
Then, instead of touching the dirt, he bounded off protruding rocks and solid protrusions toward me.
He'd spotted the Devouring Earth for sure.
I'd used it once before, after all.
'Clever workaround.'
Realizing he couldn't step on soil, he used the natural protrusions instead?
I hadn't even imagined that counter.
But I couldn't just stand there stunned.
Slurp.
The knight closing in fast.
To check him, I triggered Rapid Growth for plants to sprout.
Followed by Green Knot.
But he slashed the vines grabbing at his ankles clean with his sword.
Impressive that his speed didn't drop even then.
Time for a different approach.
'How'll you handle this?'
A suitable rock for footing.
The instant he leaped for it...
I seized the gap and unleashed Lightning Bolt five times.
In midair, dodging would be tough.
Crackle-crackle!
Five bolts streaking toward the knight.
Aiming for different spots each.
Impossible to evade them all.
'Just in case, though.'
As the bolts flew, I prepped another spell.
A gift for when he reached me.
Whoosh!
How would he overcome this danger?
As I watched curiously...
The knight roughly flung his cloak off with his left hand.
Toward the incoming five bolts.
Flutter!
The cloak billowed in the air.
The Lightning Bolts hit it and fizzled out harmlessly.
Then the charred cloak split neatly down the middle, revealing his twisted face through the gap.
"It's over!"
The knight finally reached me.
He bellowed with a contorted expression.
He was right.
It was over.
Not for me—for you.
Thud!
A square field of invisible force.
It crashed down on the knight's head.
My prepped Ground Flatten spell.
"Guh!"
The knight collapsed with a choked scream.
But I didn't let my guard down.
Thud!
Another Ground Flatten.
And for good measure, a barrage of Lightning Bolts to electrocute his body.
Not overkill in the slightest.
The guy was that tough.
'Knights live up to the name.'
Even after two Ground Flattens, his body held its shape.
A testament to his honed physique.
Going toe-to-toe with someone like that would be rough.
No wonder he pushed so hard to close the gap.
Once in melee range, he could've dictated the fight in his favor.
'Gotta be more careful from now on.'
I couldn't let them get that close again.
Even if it meant spamming spells, I'd take them out before they neared.
'Lucky there were only six. More and it'd have been dicey.'
So thinking, I looked down at the knight.
Over half his body was already buried in the dirt.
Sinking further by the second.
Seeing that, I was certain of our victory.
'Now I can cast in peace.'
Three Silent Compliance knights remained.
All busy with the burly trio.
No one left to bother me.
With my magic supporting the trio, the fight would end soon.
'Help Bear first?'
I fired a Lightning Bolt at the knight facing Bear.
He was closest.
"Tch!"
The knight dodged my spell mid-clash with Bear.
But it threw off his rhythm.
The balance tipped.
Momentum swung hard to Bear.
I didn't stop there, though.
Bear pressing from the front, magic from behind.
The knight finally ate a hit from Bear.
"Gah!"
Impaled through the chest.
His eyes bulged.
Bear swiftly withdrew his sword and slashed—the knight's head went flying.
'Connel and Gilbert next.'
Turning from Bear...
I eyed Connel's foe and cast as well.
The result was much the same.
The knight couldn't hold out long and fell to Connel's blade.
"Capture the last one alive!"
I shouted loud enough for Bear and Connel to hear too.
I had questions for a Silent Compliance knight.
Needed at least one breathing.