Chapter 152: Lure and Release

Above the mountain range.

In a place where monsters should be rampaging, mana was rampaging. The mana that more than covered the entire area soared up magnificently.

The mana that seemed about to shoot infinitely toward the sky—

‘Just right.’

The moment it enveloped all the mana around the area Rayrn had calculated, it stopped as if by magic.

“Wow…”

“That’s impossible…”

The mages watching the scene couldn’t help but let out exclamations of admiration.

They had heard in advance what he planned to do, but they never thought it would actually happen.

No matter how much of a genius Rayrn was, he had already accomplished so much.

Even if he could produce one or two miracles, it was hard to believe he would succeed at everything new he attempted.

Yet this time, too, he succeeded in his calculations without error.

‘Even building a single small shield spell accurately consumes considerable mental energy… How difficult must it be to calculate this vast area exactly as he wants and pour mana into it? And to do it using dozens of magic circles created with the mages’ help, not alone?’

‘…What kind of gap would we even need to compare?’

It was awe-inspiring.

For them, it was also a new level.

To an ignorant eye, it might just look like mana scattered about, but to mages, it was a miracle in itself.

Yet the one who created that miracle, Rayrn, did not particularly rejoice.

He gave a slight smirk at the mages’ expressions.

“Next.”

He muttered another incantation and began adjusting and moving the magic spheres embedded with magic circles.

There was no hesitation.

Thud. Smack.

He swung his hand and threw the magic spheres.

The thrown magic circles lodged into the ground exactly where he wanted, moving the surrounding mana.

Twitch. Twitch.

Only the mages watching trembled.

‘If even one spot goes wrong… there’ll be a massive explosion.’

The thing they worried about didn’t happen.

Instead, Rayrn simply coordinated all the mana and used that coordinated mana to enter the next stage.

“Now stage three. The last one. Be careful.”

Whoooosh—

A thick O-class mana. The internal energy that had surpassed one ten-year cycle and reached two ten-year cycles through continuous training and elixir absorption!

The two rose in harmony, amplifying the power.

‘Overwhelming.’

Too much energy for a single person to possess.

That enormous energy combined into one and began to move.

Whenever Rayrn’s mana and internal energy stimulated the magic circles embedded in the ground,

Woooom—

Woom—

The activated mana gave birth to a new flow.

“Installation complete!”

A short statement.

Whoosh—

But the result was astonishing.

The installed mana began to cover not just the area but the entire surroundings. It seemed to move all the mana accumulated in one ridge of the mountain range.

Grrrrr—

Mana that even a lord-level monster that had survived thousands of years would hardly dare to possess!

As that colossal mana surged,

–Kiiieeeeeek!

–Kreek?!

–Kreung.

Monsters of all kinds began to react.

Goblins and kobolds were a given. The higher-ranked monsters above those lower individuals were even more intense.

–Krararak!

Ogres and trolls below lord level.

Minotaurs stronger than them.

–Kiik?

Even rare monsters that, to newly rise to lord level, had been hiding from other lord-level monsters!

The sudden fluctuation of mana was a change and a miracle to them!

Grrrrrrung—

A massive rumble that shook the earth began.

Reacting to mana.

Monsters fed on mana to grow their bodies and increase their power.

Those monsters began to react.

Toward the magic circles Rayrn had installed!

Activation of the magic circles. Stirring of monsters.

As if a monster wave had opened, the monsters started rushing ceaselessly toward the mana Rayrn had installed.

It was a change that began in an instant.

“Huh, what happened?!”

“So fast?!”

They had been briefed before the task, but they never expected such a swift reaction.

They had thought it would take at least several days.

It could have taken weeks.

But it wasn’t. Rayrn finished the moment he started.

“What do we do?!”

Panic-stricken.

To the mages who had lost their wits in shock and didn’t know what to do, Rayrn’s voice came.

“It’s begun.”

Despite accomplishing an amazing feat, his voice did not tremble, nor did his expression show any particular sense of achievement.

‘Because the plan has only just started.’

His voice was flat and calm.

“Monsters will be charging soon.”

“Then what do we do?!”

Ruan asked urgently.

Even she, known as the genius of the Enchant Magic Tower, had not often experienced a mana fluctuation of this magnitude.

Moreover, monsters moving in response to that fluctuation was unprecedented.

Even if she wanted to experience it, it was impossible!

In her confusion, she had no choice but to lean on Rayrn, who was executing the plan, and ask.

He answered with a small laugh. A charming smile. But no one was in the mood to fall for it right now.

“First, we need to get airborne. From this spot.”

Because things were urgent.

“Don’t resist the mana. I’ll take care of it immediately.”

Woooom—

Even after using such enormous mana, Rayrn still had power left.

Using his own mana,

‘…It’s warm.’

‘Warm yet cold.’

He wrapped the three mages, including Ruan, in his mana.

His mana, which contained his internal energy, was subtle. As the saying goes, ‘you see as much as you know,’ more was felt only by those who could sense the level of that power.

Swish—

Only for a moment!

The mana that enveloped their entire bodies—

“Fly! Undetect!”

The moment Rayrn chanted the spells,

Flash—

They vanished instantly.

“Ah.”

“Huh.”

The thrill felt from his mana.

When the warmth that felt like being in one’s mother’s arms as a child disappeared instantly, the exhaustion! They couldn’t help but let out a groan without realizing it.

Snap—

Rayrn flicked his fingers.

Flash!

The spells were executed instantly.

Fly, which lifted their bodies, and Undetect, which erased all presence.

The spells surrounding a total of four people were executed exactly eight times. Without precise magical calculations, it would have been impossible.

Rayrn, who didn’t even break a sweat after doing that,

“…We’re rising.”

“Wow.”

Rose into the air together with the mages.

“Good timing.”

The moment they concealed their presence and rose into the air,

–Kieeeeeeeek!

–Kkiek!

Thud. Thud.

A horde of monsters began charging.

The ones leading were the most numerous lower monsters. Before long, giant monsters and higher-ranked monsters started bursting forth.

If Rayrn had delayed even for a moment, it wouldn’t have been strange for them to lose their lives to that monster horde.

“…That’s incredible.”

It was an enormous horde of monsters.

Even the Magic Tower, armed with all kinds of magic, would not have been able to avoid damage from that many monsters.

Even if they held them off, it would consume a massive amount of resources.

An ordinary territory might not just suffer resource depletion but could face annihilation.

That was how violently the monsters were moving.

“It’s nothing much.”

“Nothing much?”

“All I did was stimulate the monsters’ nature. It was the same when I built the fortress, and it’s the same now. It’s easy.”

“…Don’t say that.”

“Pfft. If you’re curious later, I’ll teach you.”

“The price would be too high.”

“Well, that’s true.”

Rayrn, who had done all this alone. Only after the monsters moved as he intended did he smile more broadly.

‘It worked. The abundant mana in the mountain range actually helped.’

What he had done was install a formation using magic circles.

The keywords of the formation were just two:

Lure and Release.

He exploited the monsters’ nature of being particularly sensitive to mana.

When he built the fortress, he trapped monsters beneath the formation-made walls and used lure to absorb their mana.

‘But this time is the opposite.’

The magic circles made this time were not for trapping.

There was no need to absorb the monsters’ mana. Now was not the time for that.

After the lure,

‘We need to release.’

This time, he neither trapped nor blocked.

–Kreeeek!

–Kiik.

Monsters began pouring out. There was no one to stop them, no one trying to stop them.

They only ran madly toward the release direction led by Rayrn.

An enemy’s enemy is an ally.

‘I’ve gained allies.’

The magic circles themselves were a method Rayrn devised to obtain the soldiers he lacked!

It was even better if they were allies he didn’t need to rule or worry about sacrificing.

Monsters that would attack House Ofern whenever their numbers grew—they were beings that would become enemies eventually.

He was just controlling those enemies.

The monsters that passed through the formation

–Kreuk!?

felt their power surge from the mana bestowed by the formation.

–Kreureuk.

–Kieek!

Intoxicated by the sudden mana, madness would also pour out.

Since mana was bestowed through the magic circles, the circles themselves couldn’t last long. Mana would be continuously consumed.

At most a few months, at best a few weeks.

‘Doesn’t matter. By then, everything will be over.’

But that was enough.

Even if monsters poured out for just a few days, the numbers would be enormous.

Last year, when Rayrn first regained his memories, the monster wave had headed toward Ofern territory. But now,

“It’s heading south. As if controlled toward one direction.”

“That’s because I made it so.”

“Lure and release…”

The direction of the pouring monsters was one place.

Toward the Duke’s Household of Jiseoteu.

Toward that place.

–Kreuk.

Monsters began pouring without pause.

They were lured to the magic circles, gained power, and then went down again.

It was an endless straight-line release.

A number worthy of the phrase “monster paradise” headed south.

The endless wave of monsters was enough to tire one just by looking at it.

Woooomwooom—

The magic circles he created simply mechanically lured, released, and poured out monsters.

***

After a long silence, a voice came to the mages looking down below. Even amidst the monsters’ roars, his voice was clearly heard.

“Let’s go back. Our soldiers will be waiting.”

His attitude was that since they had done their job, they should return.

With a hint of concern, Ruan asked.

“…With that scale, wouldn’t we run into them?”

“Impossible. I’ve calculated that far.”

His answer was firm.

“I suppose.”

Even Ruan was tired of disputing his words now.

‘It will go as calculated.’

He was the one who instantly coordinated and created a massive magic formation. He was even making new things on the fly.

Though he didn’t say it, Ruan sensed that after the iron plate scroll, countless experiments had led to something new.

Even now, his hidden power was nearly infinite.

He had only revealed a portion of it, so why bother being more surprised?

As he said, the monsters would pour downward without ever colliding with Rayrn’s soldiers.

And down there,

“M-Monsters!”

The territory of House Jisert would be waiting!