Chapter 89
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 089
Chapter Title: The Con Artist and the Staff (3)
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“This way.”
Finding where the young man was proved easy.
Unlike the other mages, he hadn’t ventured out of the village.
“Here it is.”
The place we arrived at with Bear and Konall was a building much like Alistair’s house.
Knock knock.
I gave the door a light rap, and soon enough, I heard movement from inside.
The front door creaked open cautiously.
“Wh-who...”
“It’s me.”
The young man peeked out and asked.
I answered him boldly.
The moment he spotted us, he jumped in surprise and tried to slam the door shut.
But Bear’s thick hand caught the doorframe.
After grunting in vain for a moment, he gave up and asked me in a quivering voice.
“Why are you doing this to me?”
“You speak so eloquently. Then why earlier did you just mouth for us to flee without saying it aloud?”
“They might overhear voices. Now that everyone’s left the village, it’s fine, but...”
“Those guys?”
When I pressed him, the young man shuddered violently.
He seemed gripped by utter terror.
“The black mages. Every mage in this village besides me and you is a black mage. They’re lunatics who think nothing of killing people...!”
“They’re all with Eremus, of course?”
“How did you—?”
The young man’s eyes went wide.
He was shocked that I knew of Eremus.
Ignoring that, I asked what I needed confirmed.
“The ten mages, Alistair included, are all black mages under Eremus. That’s my understanding, right?”
I fired off the questions, and he nodded.
Seeing that, I asked his name.
“What’s your name?”
“Jake.”
“Nice to meet you, Jake. I’m Heros.”
“Heros? Ah...! The mage who killed the Eastern Branch Chief!”
Jake jolted at my name.
He glanced at the three burly figures standing behind me.
He’d finally pieced together who we were.
“Am I that famous among black mages?”
“Probably? I’ve heard Alistair mention you a few times.”
“What’d he say about me?”
“That if he ran into you, he’d kill you by any means necessary. Said he’d get a reward from headquarters.”
Chatting with Jake solidified my suspicion: Alistair knew exactly who I was.
The moment he laid eyes on me and the trio, he’d clocked our identities.
And played dumb.
What a slimy bastard.
“Pretty brutal. Hm. Guess that means I should strike first, before Alistair gets the chance.”
“Pardon?”
Jake blinked back at me, his face full of bewilderment.
I made him an offer.
“Come with me.”
The fight with Alistair.
I planned to bring Jake along.
I didn’t trust him yet.
If Jake tries anything shady, take him out.
After giving Gilbert the order, I set off with Jake.
Alistair and his nine black mages.
I’d planned to take them on with just the burly trio.
Small elite team, as usual.
But Cedric volunteered to join.
“We’ll come too.”
“It’s dangerous.”
“We know. And we know full well that charging into situations like this is what mercenaries are for.”
Cedric burned with resolve.
In the end, I gave the okay.
The soldiers and squires watching the exchange then stepped up to fight as well.
It was like a loyalty contest.
Bear and Konall watched with pleased smiles, but it gave me a headache.
Yeah, can’t baby them forever.
My selfish desire to keep my people safe.
Time to dial it back a notch.
I couldn’t shield them every time.
Fostering some self-reliance wasn’t a bad idea.
“I and the knights will handle the mages. You lot focus on protecting the villagers.”
The Barghests outside the village.
The undead knights had thinned their numbers plenty, but dozens still prowled.
Before the knights could mop them up, the black mages had stepped in to interfere.
So once the real battle kicked off, those mutts could swarm into the village and attack the residents.
That’s what worried me.
“How about rounding up the villagers in one spot first? Easier to guard them that way.”
One of the soldiers ventured the suggestion timidly.
Solid idea, so I adopted it on the spot.
“Do it.”
“Yes, sir!”
The soldiers moved out to evacuate the villagers.
I assigned the mercenaries and squires to help.
More hands would make it smoother.
They weren’t knights, so useless against mages anyway—better to deploy them like this.
Cedric, though, wanted to stick with me.
I allowed it.
With Gilbert occupied, I needed someone to keep an eye on Jake during the fight.
He’d handle that duty.
“Let’s head outside the village.”
Me, the burly trio, Cedric, and Jake.
Six of us in total, moving out.
On the way to the gate, Jake trembled nonstop, even as he walked.
Terrified at the thought of facing black mages.
“Don’t worry. You won’t have to fight.”
The reassurance didn’t help much.
So I let him shake it out.
Didn’t seem like words could fix it.
Just had to question him like this.
“Jake, why was Alistair hunkered down in this village for a whole month?”
Barghests had shown up two months back.
Alistair arrived a month ago.
To wipe out this little village?
Doubtful.
If that was the goal, he could’ve done it ages ago. Why waste time playacting as the benevolent mage?
That’s what nagged at me.
“To craft a magic tool.”
Luckily, Jake answered steadily despite the shakes.
“What kind?”
“A staff. He was gathering the materials he needed to make one for himself.”
“A staff?”
“Alistair can infuse mana into whatever object he chooses, using people as the base material. Then he uses those magic tools as components for the staff.”
The words sparked a realization.
“So he cut Stonehill off from the outside world to keep the residents penned up as an endless supply of magic fodder?”
“Yes.”
“And all the missing villagers weren’t Barghest victims—they were Alistair’s?”
“Spot on.”
“What kind of staff is worth using people for materials?”
“No idea. But one thing’s certain: it won’t be complete until every last villager is dead.”
“One staff, one whole village sacrificed? Way beyond what a mortal like me can fathom.”
I clicked my tongue.
Cedric’s voice came from beside me.
“If Heros-nim is a mere mortal, then every mage in the world qualifies.”
Sneaky flattery out of nowhere.
I couldn’t help but snort.
Boom!
The moment we stepped out of the village, a thunderous roar echoed nearby.
Black mage versus undead knight.
Some explosion from their clash, no doubt.
The undead knights are holding up better than I expected.
My sole order to them: harass the black mages without getting caught.
They were carrying it out to the letter.
The sporadic booms were proof.
“Sir Bear, Sir Konall—move independently, but prioritize any black mages tangled with the knights.”
I gave Bear and Konall their orders first.
The “knights” I meant were, naturally, the undead ones.
With Cedric around, I didn’t want to spell it out, so I phrased it vaguely.
Thankfully, they got it.
“Got it!”
“We’ll prove worthy of your faith in us, Heros-nim.”
After their steadfast replies, Bear and Konall split off to the flanks.
They’d handle the black mages from here.
“Cedric, guard Jake.”
With them off, I turned to Cedric.
“Yes, sir!”
He snapped to with vigor.
His job: watch Jake, and protect him.
Alright, prep’s done. My turn to move.
I’d pinned Alistair’s position via mana detection.
Headed straight there.
He was the top dog among the black mages here—the most skilled by far.
Made sense for me to take him.
Hm?
En route to the target, I noticed the Barghests shifting oddly.
A few started milling about haphazardly.
The cause was obvious.
The black mage puppeteering them had died.
Bear and Konall are on the ball.
As I noted that with satisfaction, mana surged from Alistair’s direction.
Casting from this range?
Sure enough, a spell hurtled our way.
A conical boulder, torso-sized.
No intention of tanking it.
This? I’ll sidestep.
Still a good distance from Alistair.
And I’d sensed the mana flow—knew the attack was incoming before he even cast.
Piece of cake to dodge the rock.
Boom!
I slipped aside nimbly, and moments later, the conical rock slammed into where I’d stood.
The spell packed a punch.
“Eek!”
Jake, witnessing Alistair’s magic, went sheet-white and panicked.
He even bolted to flee.
Hm. Useless in a fight, as expected.
“Cedric! Take Jake and fall back.”
I barked the order at Cedric.
He grabbed Jake and withdrew.
And soon, Alistair made his entrance.
“Heros. You’ve ruined everything.”
Alistair spoke first.
His face was rigid with tension.
But something else bugged me more.
He said my name.
I’d never given Alistair my name.
Yet he knew precisely who I was.
He’d sniffed out my identity ages ago.
“Knew it—you recognized me.”
“You never bothered hiding who you were.”
“Fair point.”
I nodded.
Silence hung between us.
Alistair broke it again.
“Heros. Word is you wield Earth Magic too.”
“Yeah. Your point?”
“As your senior, I’ll show you how a true Earth Mage fights. Watch closely and learn.”
Alistair’s arrogance grated.
I shot back immediately.
“A true Earth Mage? I know one worthy of the title. But it ain’t you.”
Alistair’s face twisted at my words.
Then we unleashed our spells at each other.
Almost in perfect sync.
Boom!
My stone spike.
Alistair’s conical boulder.
They collided midair, heralding the battle’s start.