Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: A Combat Mage's Influence on the North (4)
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Before the gates of Norton, one of the North's three great cities.
A biting gale howled relentlessly, as if insisting that winter was nearly upon them, sending shivers through even the hardy northerners.
A new visitor had arrived here today.
-Creak
The door of an ornate carriage, adorned with intricate designs that screamed luxury, swung open, revealing a blonde woman.
A 5th Circle regular mage who had been waiting ahead bowed deeply.
"You've had a long journey, Manager Leona!"
"Where's the Count?"
"He's waiting in the castle."
"Tch."
Leona clicked her tongue.
It was laced with irritation.
To her, who utterly despised the cold, the North's weather was pure torment.
She wanted nothing more than to turn the carriage around and head straight back to the Magic Tower.
But she couldn't.
"Wait a moment. Not everyone's here yet."
A few minutes later, five men and women stepped out from a following carriage.
All of them were regular mages from the Magic Tower—Leona's loyal subordinates.
"Lead the way."
"Yes. This way, please."
Leona's expression remained stormy as she headed to the castle with her entourage.
'Damn it. What kind of suffering is this because of that idiot little brother of mine.'
She ground her teeth, thinking of her brother—one of the culprits who had dragged her all the way here.
'I spoon-fed him opportunities to make a name for himself, and the fool just spits it back up.'
Taking care of him because he was family had been a mistake.
Who would have thought he'd be such an idiot that he couldn't even handle his liquor, caught the flu on top of it, and ended up carted back to the family home useless as a sack?
If she'd known, she never would have brought him into her faction.
She'd have tossed him straight into the Foreign Legion.
Then he'd have clung to Titania's ankles and done his job properly on his own.
'If he hadn't screwed up so badly, he could've at least made mid-tier! But no, he shames me and drags me into this mess. That damn kid!'
Truth be told, she had zero desire to visit this frozen, backward backwater.
But she had no choice.
Because of her fool brother's blunders—and the antics of a certain mage she loathed—the situation had pushed her to the brink.
'Damn it all! Everything went to hell because of that Daniel guy!'
There was no other reason for Leona, a 5th Circle Master, to personally lead her subordinates all the way to Norton.
Daniel. She had to prove she wasn't inferior to that indefinite contractor mage—in fact, that she was superior—or her faction would collapse.
'Act like the indefinite contractor you are and stay in your lane! How dare you choke the life out of me!'
She hated this situation with every fiber of her being.
To be tossed around like this by some mere irregular mage!
But wishing it away didn't change reality.
Forcing herself to face the truth—that she was backed into a corner—Leona burned with rage toward Daniel.
'Damn it! You cursed indefinite contractor bastard!'
If Daniel had been a regular mage, things wouldn't have spiraled this far.
But he wasn't.
While the three dispatched regulars flopped spectacularly, he'd taken down over ten wyverns, defended Kazan, and repelled thousands of barbarians.
And he was an irregular—an indefinite contractor mage.
Because of him, the department heads who'd sent regulars north were catching all kinds of flak back at the Tower.
Scornful gazes asking, "An indefinite contractor's doing that much, so what are you lot accomplishing?"—mockery, contempt.
That alone was maddening, but the real kicker was how it was shaking her faction to its core.
A faction was, after all, a gathering of people betting on a promising future.
But what if that future looked clouded?
Especially if regulars were being outshone by a single indefinite contractor they dismissed?
It wasn't just shaking—it was on the verge of total collapse.
And that's exactly where Leona's faction stood.
'Damn it!'
It was an open secret that a good chunk of her regulars were already reaching out to rival factions.
When reports came in of many cozying up to her nemesis Titania, she'd been so furious she'd screamed and rampaged.
But throwing tantrums or raging didn't bend the world to her will—it wasn't that easy.
To stave off her faction's collapse, what she needed wasn't venting—it was proof.
'I'm not incompetent! Neither is the faction I lead!'
Leona needed achievements. Merit.
To protect her faction.
To sustain it.
To hold onto her power.
She needed overwhelming victories to overturn the current assessment.
That's why she'd come north.
Lips chapping in the bone-numbing chill, she quickened her pace.
'Just you wait, Daniel. Once I'm back at the Tower, I'll throw everything I have at crushing you.'
The 5th Circle Master from the Tower—who had abandoned her ongoing research and papers for this—clenched her fist, vowing revenge on an indefinite contractor.
Count Schultz's reception room was quiet.
The massive deer head mounted on the wall and the marble floors exuded warmth rather than cold.
Freed from the winter's bite, Leona schooled her relaxed expression into a ceremonial smile and bowed to Count Schultz.
"It's an honor to meet you, Count Schultz."
The Grand Duke's brother-in-law by marriage returned the smile.
"Welcome. It's an honor to meet a renowned 5th Circle Master from the Tower."
He studied Leona closely, then flashed a peculiar grin.
"You look oddly familiar for some reason. Reminds me of that mage who collapsed mid-game against me the other day. Siblings, by any chance?"
"...My youngest has caused you trouble."
This was the first time she'd ever struggled so hard not to grind her teeth.
Fury boiled inside, but Leona held it in.
Losing her temper here would be irreversible.
Politics demanded reason, not emotion.
Schultz's gaze shifted to the regulars standing behind her.
"Seven mages from the Tower. Never dreamed I'd see such precious talents in my city. Most reassuring."
"Rest easy. With us here, the barbarians won't take a single grain from Norton."
Leona declared confidently.
"Quite bold."
Schultz's eyes narrowed.
"Mind if I ask one thing?"
"Of course."
"You know Sir Daniel."
"...!"
"Similar prowess to him. Can I expect as much?"
The room's air turned icy in an instant.
The regulars' faces twisted in unison.
Leona was no exception.
It was tantamount to asking if regulars could outperform an indefinite contractor.
A direct strike at their pride and self-respect—like touching a dragon's reverse scale.
'Daniel! Daniel! Daaaaniel!!!'
She inwardly repeated the name of the man now more hated than her rival Titania.
It took longer than expected to open her mouth while suppressing the rage ready to erupt.
"Naturally."
Her voice came out hard and cold as ice.
"Advanced spells from true regulars—powers no indefinite contractor could dream of. I'll show you their might and majesty firsthand, my lord."
"Ho ho."
Schultz nodded at Leona's response.
"I'll look forward to it, Lady Leona."
"You won't be disappointed."
The meeting seemed about to wrap up.
-Ding ding ding dooong!!!
A ear-piercing emergency bell shattered the calm, assaulting everyone's ears.
The door burst open as a knight stumbled in, panting.
"My lord Count! Steel Scale Tribe! The Steel Scale Tribe is attacking!"
"...!"
Schultz shot to his feet.
Sparks flew from Leona's eyes.
Her chance for proof—for shedding this disgrace—had arrived.
"Wyverns? Which tribe? How many?"
"Th-that's..."
"To the front lines. Everyone, follow me!"
"Yes!"
"Lady Leona?!"
The Count was aghast, but Leona ignored him.
Opportunity for glory had walked right to her door—she had no intention of letting it slip.
"No need to worry, my lord. Just sit tight and await the victory report."
"Wait—"
"Everyone, move!"
Burning with desire to overshadow Daniel's name and broadcast her own, she cast Haste.
The mage contingent, led by Leona, tore out like a gale, streaking beyond the inner walls.
Cold wind lashed their faces, but Leona welcomed even that pain now.
"Kyaaaoooo!"
"Everyone, prepare!"
No sooner had they exited the castle than wyvern roars echoed.
Leona began chanting, targeting the first wyvern in sight.
Her subordinates followed suit.
"Huh?"
The chants finished. But no spells flew toward the wyverns.
Leona—and the mages—were left speechless in shock.
The scene before them defied expectations, transcending common sense.
"Kyaaaah!!!"
"Kiaaaah!!!"
Intel said the Steel Scale Tribe handled around twenty wyverns.
Wrong. Wildly off.
It wasn't mere dozens blanketing the sky.
How could dozens alone cover the heavens?
The mages gaped, mouths agape.
Twice, thrice that—or nearly a hundred wyverns dominating Norton's skies in a horrifying spectacle.
"Wh-what is this?"
"A natural disaster?"
Yes. This was a disaster.
Mages were called superhumans for their mighty, devastating power.
But even superhuman mages couldn't halt true disasters like typhoons or floods.
And that's what they faced now.
Wyvern disaster.
No need to describe Norton's plight under such calamity.
"Fight back!"
"Die! Die, damn you!"
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuuuck!"
"Help! Somebody save meeee!"
"Gaaah! Spare me! Please, mercy!"
Knights bellowed.
Soldiers cursed.
Citizens screamed and wailed.
Wyverns—the root of it all—wreaked slaughter and havoc in this hellish battlefield.
Facing a inferno far beyond what she'd imagined, Leona's mind went blank.
Her regulars fared no better.
"Kieeeek!!!"
"Ngh!"
A diving wyvern's killing intent from above snapped her back to reality by force.
"Sonic Cutter!"
-Slash!
"Kieeeek!"
Dozens of wind blades rent the northern sky and the wyvern's wings.
Blood and membrane sprayed as the massive body crashed into a nearby shop, shaking the ground.
"Get it together!"
"...!"
Her shout restored light to the mages' eyes.
"They're numerous, but magic works, as you see! Take them down one by one! Form up for Anti-Air Beast Hunt Formation—"
-Piiiieek!
A short, shrill whistle cut her off.
She spotted a fallen wyvern rider with a whistle in his mouth.
-Flash!
"Eek!?"
In that instant, dozens of wyverns ruling the sky whipped their heads toward them.
Dozens, hundreds of eyes locked on her—she knew something was wrong.
Chills raced up her spine.
"It's Daniel!"
"The Black Catastrophe's here! Take him out first!"
"It's the shaman! Kill those bastards!"
The wyverns flapped skyward in unison.
Facing the unbelievable reality of dozens charging straight at them, Leona and the mages paled like sheets.
"F-fire! Fire at will! Anything—blast them! Shoot!"
"Kill them!"
"Death to the Black Catastrophe!"
"Hraaaah!!!"
"Stay back! Don't come any closer!!!"
Dozens of spell barrages clashed with dozens of wyverns midair.
Death bloomed in the skies, on the ground.
In the tangle of wyverns and mages, blood soaked the earth and screams painted the heavens.
Hell had descended on Norton.