Chapter 32

I glanced at the three corpses rolling on the ground, then turned my gaze toward where the mercenaries clashed with the bandit knights. Thankfully, no mercenary had died yet.

On top of the flame resistance miracle, I layered two more blessings onto my body and staff.

‘Bless.’

‘Striking.’

After catching my breath for just a moment, I swung my heavy staff—its golden sheen flashing—and strode straight into the battlefield.

Time to show these thick-headed sword-swinging bandits the power of a “second-rank Archmage.”

I dashed like the wind and hurled myself into the heart of the fight.

It sounded like a long explanation, but the reality was simple: the bandit knights rushed in, I unleashed Flame Boom, the ones who charged through the fire got their skulls cracked, and all of that happened in barely over ten seconds.

Before I knew it, three Aura Users had lost their heads to my staff, and as I tore through them, the bandit knights—who had been overwhelming the mercenaries with less than half their numbers—suddenly faltered.

“What the—!?”

“Stop him!! Stop that bastard!!”

Before they could respond, I was already in their midst, cutting through them like a wolf diving into a flock of sheep.

My heavy staff, not just a lump of iron but a weapon of its own, slammed into the breastplate of a knight who was about to run a mercenary through.

KWAANG!!

“Ghhkk!!”

The knight spat blood as he went flying. Even then, as if trained to fight and eat nothing else, he rolled deftly on the ground and pulled off a clean recovery.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

I was already on him. I hooked his leg with the staff and yanked.

“Urk!!”

He toppled, and I planted a clean soccer kick right into his skull.

THUD! CRACK!!

“That makes one. …Hm?”

I felt a killing intent behind me and whipped my body around like lightning, driving my staff forward. Another knight who had lunged froze in shock, barely managing to raise his sword in time.

KWAANG!!

The impact sent him staggering back.

Even with his face twisted in pain, he charged in again. The length of my staff worked against me here, so he must have thought it better to close in and force a crossguard battle.

CLANG! GRIND!!

His sword and my staff locked together, aura grinding against enchanted wood.
Even with mithril plating and Striking layered on, it was still difficult to withstand aura head-on.

Thinking he had the upper hand, a triumphant smirk spread across his face.

But who did he think I was?

I was the one who had wrestled away the Dimension Fracture Sword from none other than Shia—Akathastasia, the North Demon King herself—in a crossguard fight.

Sure, I was a wreck right now, but as they say, even a ruined noble house lasts three generations. I wasn’t about to lose to some third-rate Aura User.

CLACK, SNAP, TWIST!

Three small shifts—push, pull, and press.

That was all it took for his sword to slip neatly into my free left hand.

“…Huh?”

“This sword is mine now.”

“Wh-what…?”

I drove the staff, gripped in reverse, straight into his side.

WHAM!! CRACK!!

“Ghhkk!!”

“That makes two.”

I launched forward again. Another knight, seeing me coming, kicked away the mercenary he had been fighting and quickly raised the shield he’d set aside.

Shield in his left hand, arming sword in his right—the most solid form for one-on-one combat.

Yeah, sword-and-shield was troublesome.

But only if you had to break through the wall of the shield.

I didn’t stop. Keeping up my momentum, I stepped in with a sudden surge, spun on my heel, and unleashed a full-force swing.

WHOOSH! BOOOOM!!!

He angled the shield at the last instant, deflecting some of the blow, but even the leftover force was enough to send him flying.

“Ghhkkk!!!”

He rolled across the ground before barely managing to get up again, red-faced and shouting.

“Coward!!”

“Coward? Me? Why?”

“If you’re a mage, then fight like a mage—with magic only!!”

“……”

“……”

“Don’t you feel embarrassed saying that out loud?”

“A-anyway!!”

“Well, fine. Let’s do that then. I’ll fight like a mage—with magic only.”

And with that, I immediately launched myself forward and kicked him square in the chest.

KWAANG! THUD-CRASH!

“Urgh!!”

He couldn’t even react in time to my speed, tumbling across the dirt once again.

“Y-you said you’d only use magic, but then you go and kick me!?”

“That wasn’t a kick. That was magic.”

“What?”

“My original spell. The effect makes my foot move and send you flying. As for the name… let’s just keep it simple and call it Kick Magic.”

“Stop spouting nonsense!!”

“I’m serious, it’s magic. You just don’t recognize it, you uneducated bandit bastard. Do you even know magic? If a mage says it’s magic, who the hell are you to argue?”

I dashed in again and mercilessly hammered his body with my staff before he could even stand.

KWAANG!! THUD! KWAANG!

“This is Clubbing Magic.”

CRACK!

“This is Joint-Lock Magic.”

THUD! THUD! THUD!

“And this is Stomping Magic.”

Finally, I grabbed his collar, yanked him upright, and drove my elbow straight into the crown of his head.

SMAAACK!!

“And that’s Skull-Break Magic.”

THUMP.

The bandit knight collapsed in a heap, frothing at the mouth. I shoved him aside and turned. The mercenaries, now emboldened, were driving the remaining knights back with fierce momentum.

No wonder. I had already taken down or killed six of their Mana Users and Aura Users by myself.

Now, only two Aura Users were left—including Golgon himself. The rest were just Novices, hardly worth counting.

I let my staff hang low in one hand and exhaled lightly.

“…That should just about do it.”

Even without me stepping in, the remaining bandit knights were cut down one by one.

Swords slashed.

“Ghhk!!”

Spears pierced.

“Gahk!”

Crossbow bolts skewered.

“Urgh….”

And at last—

BOOOM!! WHOOSH!!

“GYAAAAH!!”

The final underling went up in flames from the mercenary mage’s fireball. Left alone, Golgon’s face twisted into something like a wrathful demon.

Jacob, captain of the Wind Mountain Mercenaries, leveled his axe-spear despite blood streaming from his left arm and thigh.

“Golgon, was it? Give up this useless resistance and surrender. If you do, we won’t kill you here—we’ll hand you over to the viscounty guard instead.”

But Golgon’s face turned scarlet as he roared.

“Kill me? ME? You lowborn, pathetic mercenary dares threaten me? Don’t underestimate Golgon!!”

KWAOOOM!!

The aura surrounding his armor suddenly flared violently, destabilizing and scattering mana everywhere. That meant his aura had slipped out of his control.

Jacob flinched in alarm, shouting, “Mana rampage…!?”

Mana rampage? Oh, that thing Steel Body users supposedly unleashed as a last resort?
I’d heard that hardly anyone could pull it off, and even then the aftereffects were so severe it was practically abandoned.

“GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!”

Golgon charged, aura swelling around him like a derailed locomotive. His target? The merchants and travelers huddled behind the wagons.

“Uwaaah!!”

“H-he’s coming!!”

Of course there were mercenaries protecting them, but against someone cloaked in wild mana and charging like a berserk bull, they stood no chance.

KWAANG!!

Bolts lodged in his body didn’t slow him down. He plowed through three mercenaries like bowling pins and slammed straight into the wagons that had been serving as a barricade.

CRAAACK!!

Wood splintered everywhere. The sacks piled on the wagon burst open, showering the air with white powder that looked like grain dust.

And then, staggering out of the haze, his face powdered ghostly white, Golgon emerged—with a knife pressed against the caravan leader’s throat.

“Sp… spare me…”

Blood trickled from Golgon’s lips as he snarled, maybe from that so-called mana rampage straining his body.

“Bring me a horse. Clear the road. If you don’t, I’ll carve a hole in this old man’s neck.”

SCHLIP.

The knife sank a finger’s depth into the leader’s throat. Not deep enough to sever an artery, but the bleeding was heavy.

“What are you waiting for!? Three minutes! Three! If I don’t have a horse in front of me by then, I’ll slaughter every last one of these wretches behind me—men, women, children, even the babies still suckling at their mothers! I will not die alone! Wonder how many I can drag with me? Refuse me and find out!!”

Jacob’s face flushed red. His employer and several others were now hostages—it was a disaster.

“You call yourself a knight and hide behind hostages!? Aren’t you ashamed!?”

“Heh. Wasn’t it you people who called us bandits? Then isn’t it only right we act like bandits?”

“Shit… So you want a horse and a bag of gold, huh?”

“That’s right! And pack that bag full—gems and coins, no tricks! Time is ticking, don’t forget! Move it!!”

Jacob bit his lip hard and asked again.

“…If we give you the horse and gold, you’ll release the hostages, no tricks?”

“Heh. I swear on my knightly honor.”

“…Crazy bastard.”

‘Damn it. Mana rampage… To throw away even the chance of controlling your own power without a second thought…’

Grinding his teeth, Jacob gathered coins and jewels from the merchants who weren’t being held.

He had no choice. If his employer and the other hostages were killed here, word would spread to the merchant and mercenary guilds of every domain. And then all the trust Wind Mountain Mercenaries had painstakingly built would crumble in an instant.

No employer would care about excuses.

It would mean the disbandment of the group. Scattered mercenaries. And for Jacob, who had given half his life to this band, that would be no different from death.

“Please, everyone, contribute a little. We have to save the hostages first. Remember—there are infants in there still at their mothers’ breasts.”

But of course, some of these backward merchants opened their mouths with complaints and nonsense.

“Isn’t that your job as hired guards? If you’d done it right, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“Why should I pay for those people just because I’m also a merchant?”

“Even if we give him the gold, there’s no guarantee he’ll return the hostages. Better to just accept some losses and deal with him.”

“I… I don’t have any money right now…”

“They say the monkey gets the credit while the dog does the work… Wasn’t it that fake mage over there who really beat the bandit, not you mercenaries?”

Jacob clenched his fists, ready to smash the idiots’ faces in, when the so-called club-wielding “mage” finally raised his hand.

“I’ll cover the rest.”

“M-Mage, surely you don’t need to go that far—”

But he simply snatched the half-empty pouch, reached into his strange backpack, and poured in a fistful of gold coins. Then, almost casually, he added one more coin—etched with a strange rune in his own blood.

• [ᛊ´]

“Put this coin on top. Make sure he sees it.”

“This is….”

“Shh. Just do as I say.”

Jacob instantly understood. This wasn’t charity. This “mage” had no intention of letting Golgon walk away.

The words let’s just give him the gold and end this rose in his throat, but he swallowed them down when he caught sight of that blood-stained club.

…Yeah. Best to just do as he says. Better that than end up on the receiving end of his so-called “Skull-Break Magic.”

Losing the group was bad—but losing his life would be worse.

“Here. Take it.”

Golgon climbed onto the horse Jacob led over. One hand held the caravan leader by the throat, the other tore open the pouch of coins hanging from the saddle.

“Well, well…”

His expression brightened slightly as he peeked inside.

“You prepared nicely. Hm? What’s this?”

He pulled out a single coin.

“Peh. Blood on a coin? How unlucky—”

Jacob realized at once—it was the coin the mage had marked with blood.

His eyes flicked toward the man just in time to see him raising his club, pointing straight at Golgon.

And in the next instant—

FLASH!!

Lightning struck.