Chapter 34: The Mental Mage and the Monster Tide

The moment I realized the lizardman-like monsters were artificial lifeforms, I had already hypothesized the existence of “someone.”

And unfortunately, that hypothesis was proven true.

Standing atop a low hill, glaring down at me with a twisted face, was a tall man in a gorgeous uniform—silver hair, pale blue eyes, and a strangely familiar face.

The instant I saw him, a name surfaced in my mind.

I reflexively spat it out before even introducing myself.

“Sormanzer?”

Sormanzer.

The man with bright golden hair and dignified blue eyes, the one who had looked like a triumphant general.

The imperial collateral branch who had tried to abduct Ribelia and force her to sign a territorial treaty.

The man before me resembled him closely.

At the name, the man’s eyebrow twitched.

“How does an Intezeruto knight know my cousin’s name?”

“Cousin?”

“He is my cousin.”

He raised one hand.

Mana gathered in his pale eyes, then shattered like glass and vanished.

No fire burst forth, no wind raged.

Yet it was unmistakably magic.

Kiiiiii, kreuk, shiiiik. The lizardmen that had been charging ferociously shook their heads and lowered their weapons.

Blue light blazed in their eyes.

I had heard rumors of magic like this.

Mental-attribute magic.

A rare attribute.

I hid my surprise and lowered my sword for now.

Trichitas, who had been gathering electricity atop the rock, also dispersed his mana.

***

In the suddenly softened atmosphere, the silver-haired man spoke again.

“Who are you to know my cousin’s name?”

The moment he said “cousin,” my mind spun as quickly as when I gripped a sword.

He was likely an imperial collateral noble, here to earn merit, and would not back down easily.

And the merit he sought seemed to be the completion of what his cousin had failed to achieve.

To tilt the territorial dispute between Intezeruto and the imperial family in the empire’s favor.

I hardened my face to keep it from twisting and measured the distance between us.

Less than forty straight steps to the top of the hill.

A distance I could close in the time it took to blink a few times if I sprinted—but the variable was that he stood on a muddy slope where feet sank deep.

“Can’t you hear me?”

I looked up, met his eyes, and spoke.

“I am Anplus of the Intezeruto house. And what is your name?”

This was our house’s land, and he was nothing more than an invader’s descendant.

Imperial family or not, we had no reason to bow.

His face flushed red and blue, clearly feeling insulted.

“A mere knight dares—!”

“You never heard my name from your cousin?”

I sneered as if looking down on him from the hill.

I was the son of Elector Argantius.

Even an imperial direct descendant could claim to stand higher than me, but a collateral one could not treat me lightly.

“!”

Sensing something in my attitude, he frowned.

“Anplus… Anplus?”

He repeated my name several times.

Then, as if realizing something, his eyes shot open and he pointed at me.

“Anplus of Intezeruto. The crippled mage. The vile knight who kidnapped and threatened my cousin—that was you!”

“So you finally remember me.”

There were inaccuracies mixed in, but I had no desire to correct them.

Trichitas, having come down from the rock and approached, sent me a glance.

I answered with a slight nod.

Titles and names were not important right now.

As the man began gathering blue mana again, I shouted to divert his attention.

“What is your name? Prove you have the right to stand before a pureblood noble like me.”

“I have no name to give to a cripple who can’t even use magic.”

“Then I won’t know whose prisoner I’ve taken, will I?”

“What a comical knight. Fine, I’ll tell you. My name is Lobigos.”

He burst into loud laughter, genuinely amused.

But I asked back without a trace of humor.

“Neither you nor your cousin ever gave your middle name or surname. You must be quite distant from the direct imperial line.”

All amusement vanished from Lobigos’s face.

“You really want to die painfully, don’t you?”

“Your brother staged a kidnapping at the conference, and his cousin is now raising monsters on an Elector’s land. Do you not know how far the imperial name will fall if this gets out?”

“What nonsense is this? I merely heard that Intezeruto had stationed officer-mages in the border zone we agreed would remain demilitarized, and came to confirm.”

An utterly shameless statement that didn’t even deserve a laugh.

“With monsters that resemble the ancient ones?”

“With them? I was nearly killed by them myself! If I hadn’t been born with mental-attribute magic, I would have been helpless.”

But it wasn’t something that could be dismissed with mere accusations of brazenness.

Trichitas’s face contorted furiously.

I also inwardly clicked my tongue.

What a brilliant scheme.

Thanks to the existence of a mental-attribute mage, the imperial family could deny any connection to the monsters.

If we didn’t send officer-mages, we would be ravaged by monsters and unable to reclaim the land we had barely gained.

If we did send officer-mages to stop them, the imperial family would gleefully dispatch troops.

If we protested that they were using monsters to attack, they would demand evidence.

In this era, evidence in trials was created according to the will of the strong, so the truth was practically impossible to reveal in a dispute between the seven roughly equal houses.

I pronounced each syllable with force.

“We did not bring officer-mages.”

Lobigos clicked his tongue.

“Don’t lie. Those things cannot be stopped without officer-mages.”

He still wasn’t admitting that the imperial side had brought them.

But our house still had a card left.

Fortunately, that card was me.

“I killed all these monsters myself. Look at the corpses strewn about. If a lightning mage had done it, the bodies wouldn’t be cut apart like this.”

Lobigos’s face hardened as he looked at the dismembered lizardman corpses.

“If you claim a lightning mage did that, then your blood isn’t blue—it’s the blood of a con artist. Let me say in advance, that lightning mage is not an officer-mage either.”

“Proof?”

The moment he asked, Trichitas exploded.

“Look at this filthy bastard! What a waste of blue blood! If I were an officer-mage, I would have dropped lightning on you the moment I saw you!”

“That’s what he says.”

Lobigos looked at me.

“Are you claiming you cut down thirty monsters with a sword? That’s too much bravado. Who would believe a single knight accomplished such a feat!”

I smiled faintly and raised the sword I had lowered.

“If you don’t believe me, I’ll show you. And I’ll make you understand: just because you cannot comprehend it doesn’t make it false.”

As if on cue, a single ray of sunlight falling between the trees paid bloody tribute to the stained blade.

“As a knight of the house, it is my duty to eliminate monsters that disturb our land and obstruct the reclamation project. By your own words, these monsters clearly have nothing to do with the imperial house.”

“!”

“I suppose I must cut them all down.”

Lobigos made a face as if he had been struck.

“I also propose cooperation. If monsters like these awaken in both marshes and spread like wildfire, the imperial family will suffer considerable damage as well. As a mental-attribute mage, I formally request your cooperation.”

“I refuse. This is Intezeruto land. Resolve what happens in your own domain yourselves.”

He was digging his own grave.

The moment those words fell, Trichitas spoke.

“Then leave Intezeruto territory immediately. If you don’t, I’ll kill you.”

Faced with the threat of the strongest person-to-person attribute—lightning—the mental mage ground his teeth.

Taking advantage of the opening, I whispered to Trichitas.

“The monsters are one thing, but these imperial bastards are a problem too. There might be a few more of them.”

“I think so as well.”

Our opinions aligned for the second time.

“If his comrades are on this island, kill them. If there’s a boat, destroy it. We must stop him from returning. Then go back to camp and call for reinforcements.”

“Don’t order me around, you magicless bastard.”

Damn it.

“Please just shut up and do what I say. You’re my adjutant.”

I roared from the depths of my lungs.

I was thrilled to have encountered such a massive achievement, but the danger was too great to simply rejoice.

Seeing the look in my eyes, he sighed and nodded.

“The reinforcements you speak of—are you referring to those pathetic fools who, even after being raided every other day, couldn’t even build a single proper wall until you told them to?”

“The more witnesses, the better. They’re still blue bloods. If we call them, they’ll be able to do something.”

Trichitas nodded.

“I won’t worry about you.”

“Worry a little. The fire is already at my feet. I’m about to face dozens of frenzied monsters alone.”

“If he chases me, can I kill him?”

“He won’t.”

“Why not?”

Trichitas asked without sarcasm, and I answered without sarcasm.

“Because he’ll want to kill me himself.”

***

Lobigos watched the lightning mage disappear into the bushes.

Whether it’s retreat or calling reinforcements, I’m grateful he’s removing himself. 

Splitting their already meager forces of two. 

Fools.

First kill the insolent knight, then the arrogant lightning mage.

The thought of them begging for their lives as their limbs were chewed in scaled maws made him feel good.

Everything was going according to his plan.

If Intezeruto sent officer-mages, he could use that pretext to bring troops again.

If they didn’t, he could continue obstructing the reclamation.

Then he would incite and threaten nearby villages, making them turn to the imperial embrace instead of an Intezeruto that couldn’t protect them from monsters.

This is only the beginning, Intezeruto. 

I will break the spirit of you who have long defied the imperial family and create the starting point for bringing the Elector houses to heel. 

Once we collaterals raise the imperial authority with our own hands, even the arrogant direct line will no longer be able to ignore us.

“Go.”

Lobigos uttered aloud in a monotone voice.

Mana obeying human will worked the miracle called magic.

The blue mana carrying his intent seeped into the pupils of the created monsters, altering their minds and emotions.

Rage, passion, pain, hatred.

“Shiiiiiiiiiiik!”

The monsters, stimulated by those four emotions and memories, went berserk.

Their rage and passion were transmitted back to Lobigos.

My blood boils.

Veins bulged on his forehead as he controlled his emotions.

He watched a hundred monsters swarm a single knight.

The knight’s mantle and cuirass were buried under a tide of green scales.

Then came the sound of seogeok.

“Huh?”

A voice of pure bewilderment escaped Lobigos’s throat.

Six? Seven? 

He wasn’t sure, but a considerable number of arms and hands flew into the sky.

Steel-hard scales and hide tougher than ten layers of cow leather were all severed in an instant.

“W-What the—!”

As if answering his question, Anplus swung his sword.

He cut knees of charging lizardmen, pierced hearts, stabbed thighs.

The moment the blade drew a flowing curve, there were monsters whose four arms became zero.

Hu, ha. Breathing deeply, he divided his heartbeat into four.

Enemies surrounded him on all sides.

Enemies with bodies superior to humans and ferocity that disregarded their own lives.

There was no shortage of opportunities for him to exert his full skill and strength.

The muscular strength and stamina that had climbed a fifty-meter wall laden with lead weights.

The gaze that precisely measured the trajectory of a sword swung like wind and the distance to monster maws.

The sense of rhythm that divided heartbeats to read the flicker of mana.

Even the innate regenerative power that reattached severed necks and the mental fortitude to endure the pain and fear of decapitation.

Anplus displayed without reserve all the artistry he had accumulated.

He deflected a monster’s downward sword strike with his gauntlet at an angle, let another’s thrusting spear glance off his cuirass.

Even while evading two—no, three, no, four attacks and taking them on his armor, there was no fear in his eyes of “what if it pierces?”

It was nobility that suppressed instinct with reason.

The next instant, he lowered his body, spun half a turn, and explosively unleashed the power and speed he had tensed in his muscles.

Saaak—!

True strike—a technique he had built alone.

Every limb within the half-moon arc of the swung blade was severed.

Steel-like scales were powerless before the art of cutting iron plates.

Shiiiik, hareureuk, kiik.

The monsters, forgetting their rage, retreated in fear.

“Kill him! I said kill him!”

Lobigos’s scream rang out.

“Kiiik!”

As if in answer, a gigantic monster charged Anplus.

Resembling a massive crocodile, it wielded an axe and a long-hafted hammer.

The hammer soared skyward and fell like a meteor.

Instead of retreating, Anplus charged into its bosom.

Shiik? The monster voiced confusion.

Kang! The metallic clang came a beat earlier than expected.

Anplus had blocked the hammer haft with a short guard, propping it up.

At the same time, he twisted his sword tip and stabbed deep into the monster’s wrist joint.

A technique learned from Seongbaek.

“Shik?”

The moment the hammer fell to the ground, Anplus’s sword pierced the gigantic monster’s tough heart.

Talent met effort and bloomed into a blood-red flower.

Anplus toppled the giant monster sideways, crushing smaller ones beneath it, then leaped into the momentarily disordered ranks and rampaged.

Teong—!

An application of Ma-cham—his slow but powerful swing snapped and deflected five sharp spears.

Of course, he was still outnumbered.

As if five was nothing, blue eyes flashed from all directions.

The scaled monsters surged like a tidal wave.

“Ha!”

With a kiai, he stepped on one monster’s shoulder, leaped, and spun his legs.

He momentarily locked the rotational force that traveled up his waist in his upper body, then released it the instant true strike was ready.

He spun like a bladed top.

A spinning technique of the Fortenatum style, created together with Seongbaek.

One.

Two, three.

Four, five, six!

The more he spun, the faster and sharper it became.

Peok, chwaak, seogeok, saak, jeuk—!

By the final rotation, there was no sound at all.

The monsters that had surged like a flood receded like the tide.

He caught his breath and looked up the hill at Lobigos.

Steam rose from his heated body between the gaps in his cuirass.

Eyes burning with flame-like ambition and log-like rage declared that he would soon climb.

Anplus took a step up the hill with momentum that seemed to tear the earth apart.

Unconsciously, Lobigos retreated exactly one step.