The sun, which had reached the very top of the sky, slowly tilted over the mountain ridge. As dusk began to fall, even the talkative mercenaries fell silent and started to tense up.
Night was the time for monsters. Especially since their opponent was a monster that had already wiped out no small number of groups.
“…The mages should do well.”
“Hey old man, he’s a court mage. Then he must be really strong, right?”
“Of course he is. We just have to believe and fight. What else can we do?”
The mercenaries ate their dinner generously, perhaps it might be their last.
And then came the forest night in an instant. Unfortunately, clouds filled the sky, so they couldn’t get much help from the moonlight. One of the mercenaries looked up at the sky and muttered, “Damn, no luck.”
Neither the knights nor the mercenaries unstrapped their armor. They were ready to fight at any moment if a monster or beast appeared.
Guard duty was assigned, and the mercenaries gradually lay down on their beds. Yuri did not immediately lie down this time either. Instead of reading Adrian’s notes, he meditated and organized his magic. Like the mercenaries or knights, Yuri prepared himself to be ready for battle at any moment.
He recited the circuits of dozens of magics one by one in his mind. He completed each circuit swiftly, as if stamping a seal.
While mages usually sang countless runes to create a circuit, Yuri memorized the raw circuits themselves, without runes, in his head.
Certainly, mages often remembered the circuits of frequently used spells, but it was nearly impossible to memorize circuits for dozens of spells in such a manner.
However, Yuri remembered all these circuits as if they were pictures. To him, magic was like a masterpiece of circuits.
After completing his preparations, Yuri lay down. For some reason, the coldness rising from the ground felt even more intense than yesterday.
“Woof—” A distant animal cry echoed unsettlingly.
The subjugation team tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep easily.
*
Yuri woke up suddenly in the middle of the night. The watchman sitting around the campfire saw the handsome mage rise and asked, “Did you wake up because you need to pee?” But Yuri didn’t answer; he stared blankly into the distance. The laughter quickly faded away.
“…Why do you look so scared, kid?”
“What is it?”
Then, Yuri said with conviction,
“Wake everyone up. It’s a horde of beasts!”
Not some foolish mercenary brat, but a mage spoke. Moreover, under such circumstances, he wouldn’t be lying.
The watchman bit his lip and rang the bell. Instantly, the entire subjugation team sprang up as if they had been waiting for this moment.
“What’s going on? Is it a monster?”
“It’s a horde of beasts!”
When the alarm went off, the court mage Durnmer quickly spread mana around. He added,
“It’s a horde of beasts. Everyone, prepare!”
Since they only needed to grab their weapons, the preparation was almost complete. The team leader, Thomas, pushed the mages and civilians to the center.
“The priority is protecting the mages!”
As soon as he shouted, a horde of beasts poured out of the forest. Such a large-scale horde hadn’t been reported here yet. Durnmer judged that this must be the work of a monster.
“There might be a monster nearby!”
When the court mage reported this to the team leader, Thomas repeatedly shouted to the subjugation team,
“There might be a monster! Keep your guard up!”
Just as he finished speaking, the horde of beasts charged at the subjugation team. Each had four red eyes and sharp, dark fur that made them hard to distinguish in the dark.
“Don’t break formation! Hold your ground!”
The mercenaries and knights swung their weapons fiercely at the charging beasts. Although they weren’t particularly powerful, the sheer numbers caused constant injuries.
During their fight with the beasts, the mages kept casting spells while keeping an eye on the sky. They were ready to strike the moment a monster appeared.
Finally, a monster appeared in the eastern sky.
“There!”
The silhouette of the flying monster grew larger. It approached the subjugation team, then suddenly dived at an incredible speed.
Without hesitation, the mages cast their spells. However, hitting a monster that could control its direction and speed was difficult. The monster descended to the ground and grabbed a carriage.
!
It then shot upwards again, hurling the carriage at the subjugation team. Thomas hesitated whether to shout for them to dodge when Durnmer shot a mana ball at the carriage, causing it to explode in mid-air.
“That damn thing!”
The monster circled the subjugation team, confusing their vision, then dived at them at an incredible speed.
The mages fired mana balls at the descending monster, but it twisted to avoid them. At that moment, a dazzling magic circle appeared above Yuri’s head, launching a feather-like white arrow.
!
Instinctively, the monster realized the spell was dangerous and sharply changed direction. Unlike ordinary mana balls, the white arrow pursued it gracefully.
The monster soared high into the sky to increase the distance. The white arrow slowly faded and eventually vanished.
‘…The distance was too far. The power was slightly insufficient…’
Yuri’s aura changed dramatically after blinking his eyes.
But he won’t miss next time.
He glared at the monster, overlapping his palms diagonally. He compressed mana in his palms, twisting it, and spread his hands upward like scattering seeds.
A powerful magic circle began to form instantly. Refined mana circulating in Yuri’s body rapidly drained as it flowed into the magic circles he drew.
A clearer and brighter white arrow emerged through the magic circle.
One, two, three, four. Four arrows shot upwards like lightning.
!
The white arrows, leaving a shimmering trail, spiraled in a helical pattern. The arrows compressed and spun faster, transforming into massive spears that flew towards the monster at an incredibly fast trajectory.
The monster tried to accelerate and change direction, but it couldn’t evade the massive white arrows. They struck the monster, causing a huge explosion.
Ah.
The subjugation team found it hard to take their eyes off the overwhelming aerial battle. Some even got severely injured by the beasts due to their distraction.
“Don’t let your guard down! Eliminate the beasts first!”
The monster, having lost a wing, couldn’t fly and crashed. It fell into the forest, causing a loud crash and dust.
Only then did the effect on the beasts disappear. The horde, which had been attacking crazily, slowly retreated and fled.
However, it was still too early to celebrate.
“The monster might not be dead yet.”
Hearing Yuri’s words, the team leader nodded. He also had no intention of ending the battle until he saw the monster’s corpse.
“Move towards where it fell!”
Of course, they couldn’t take all the workers, coachmen, and injured into the forest. So, the captain left part of the team behind and led the rest.
The court mage detected the monster’s location with wide-range mana detection. The subjugation team crossed the dark forest carefully, watching their surroundings.
“Don’t let your guard down! Keep watching the surroundings!”
Everyone was breathing heavily in excitement. After a long while, they finally found the fallen monster.
As expected, its breath wasn’t completely gone. In fact, it was still quite lively.
Angry at losing a wing, the monster roared and charged at the subjugation team, swinging its sharp claws wildly.
Though not as fast as when flying, it was still a formidable threat.
“Spread out!”
Team leader Thomas ordered them to spread out. While they were distracted, the mages cast their spells. Of course, the most noticeable was the handsome mage, Yuri.
‘I’ll finish it here.’
This monster was a wicked creature that had claimed many victims. There was no room for mercy.
The moment the mages shot mana balls at the monster, Yuri spread his arms and created a magic circle.
Using mana arrows in such a cluttered environment risked missing the target. Worse, they could hit allies.
So, there was only one way.
Yuri gathered his index and middle fingers, pointing at the sky and looking upward.
The pitch-black night sky lit up as a magic circle appeared, launching a club-shaped mass of mana.
As Yuri pointed his fingers downward, it instantly fell onto the monster’s head, before it could react.
Kraaang—
With a tremendous impact, the monster’s body was crushed.
Fortunately, this monster was less tough than the Black Snake Eldrover, which had withstood this mass magic three times. It finally exploded on the fourth attempt.
The subjugation team watched dumbfounded as the monster, which had been wildly glowing, was crushed by a single blow.
…
Their gaze slowly shifted to the owner of the magic.
Handsome mage Yuri.
Through this battle, they clearly understood how terrifying a skilled mage could be.
