Beyond the North, at the edge of the world. The members of the expedition to subjugate the Barbarian Tribe have been decided.
The members are four: Kail, Merlin, Rizelotte, and Yuri.
If she were to join an expedition consisting only of Masters, she might hold the others back, but her determination was so resolute.
“I’m going too.”
“No, you should just stay here─.”
“If you don’t take me, I’ll die.”
Unable to break Yuri’s willpower, who would rather bite her tongue and commit suicide than be unhelpful, Kail eventually nodded and accepted her decision.
After all, even though she wasn’t a Master, she wasn’t someone who would be useless.
“Yuri, dear. Didn’t you say you know how to use Double Casting?”
“……Can you teach me how to do that?”
“Aww~ If you tell me, I’ll teach you something amazing. Okay?”
She was a user of Double Casting, a technique even other Master-level Sorcerers couldn’t use. If they could master the method of casting two spells simultaneously, their power would increase exponentially. Thus, the two Sorcerers pleaded with Yuri in a frenzy.
However, unfortunately for them, Yuri had no intention of easily revealing her secret techniques.
“Sorry.”
“Hmm… Isn’t there any way?”
“If you tell us, we might even give you the position of Chief of the Imperial Magic Corps.”
“I’m not interested in such a position.”
Seeing Yuri’s unwavering resolve, the two Sorcerers temporarily set aside their greed and focused on the expedition. They didn’t need to learn directly from her. They could simply observe her using it and copy her.
“Alright, focus.”
After checking the morale of the three, Kail began formulating a plan. A way to deal with the Barbarian Tribe. A way to sneak into their territory without being detected.
That was very simple.
“We have three Sorcerers, so let’s do something Sorcerer-like.”
With a sly smile, Kail explained his plan to the three Sorcerers. Upon hearing Kail’s explanation, the Sorcerers were baffled, wondering what he thought magic was, but surprisingly, it wasn’t an impossible strategy.
And so, the expedition set foot beyond the Great Wall.
* * *
Piiiiiiiiiiiii─!
At the sound of the pierced whistle, the Barbarian warriors who were hunting stopped what they were doing and immediately returned to their village.
Even though the North was bitterly cold enough to cut through flesh, their bodies were covered only with the skins of the monsters they had hunted.
If citizens from within the Great Wall were standing here in such attire, they would have succumbed to frostbite within ten minutes.
“What’s going on?”
“Who knows? Did the warriors who went down below come back?”
“So soon? When was the time they supposedly found an opportunity to break through and took everyone with them?”
Muttering complaints, the warriors who returned to the tribe closed their mouths tightly as they looked at the grim-faced Tribal Chief.
Something must have happened. Just as they were thinking this, a young man appeared beside the Tribal Chief. It was Dune, the successor of the tribal shaman.
“It failed.”
“……What failed?”
“The warriors who went to conquer the Empire. Most of them were either killed or captured.”
The warriors flinched at the news that their brothers, sisters, and family had been defeated and silently suppressed their anger as they listened to Dune’s report.
He was the sole successor of the shaman and a candidate for the Great Warrior title. Whether by status or strength, he was unmatched by anyone present. In this situation, he was the only one they could rely on.
As people swallowed their anger, Dune quietly opened his mouth.
“They’re coming.”
“Who’s coming? The failed warriors?”
“No. Not them. As I said earlier, they’ve already crossed the river they can’t return from.”
Glancing up at the sky, the man frowned at the heavily clouded Northern sky.
The North, where even moisture in the air froze, typically had a clear sky devoid of clouds due to the lack of humidity.
But now, it was different. Even the sun, which usually warmed them faintly, was obscured by clouds that had suddenly formed just tens of minutes ago, unnoticed by even the warriors present.
“The enemy is approaching.”
The man stared intently into the clouds. With vision capable of seeing thousands of miles away, he spotted a dragon wriggling inside.
On top of the dragon were four humans.
Spotting a rather familiar face among them, the man naturally snatched a weapon from one of the warriors nearby.
“Right here, right now.”
Kuuung─!
The weapon he threw after stomping on the ground pierced through the clouds and grazed the dragon flying inside. It wasn’t his spear throw—it failed angle adjustment.
However, the warriors realized the enemy was approaching. Perhaps the enemy also realized their position had been discovered, as the dragon hiding in the sky began descending toward the ground.
“All units, prepare for battle!”
The dragon crashes to the ground.
The dragon, which carved out a large crater by forcibly digging up the snowfield, disappeared, and the four humans riding on it dropped down abruptly.
The pristine white land of the North, never before stepped upon by any imperial citizen, was defiled by the rough invaders.
“Glad to meet you.”
Kail greeted them lightly as he landed on the ground. The warriors were crushed under the overwhelming pressure of his powerful Aura, unable to move.
In a situation where even veteran warriors could barely twitch their fingers, Kail looked around at the barbarians and spoke.
“Who’s the strongest here?”
“……Why do you want to know?”
“Oh, I can tell just by looking. You, right?”
Kail smirked at Dune, who had spoken to him. The fact that he could speak while others couldn’t even move proved that he was indeed a Master.
“Hand over your leader’s head.”
Having found the strongest warrior, Kail immediately swung his sword. And so, the expedition began.
* * *
The plan to teleport straight to the Barbarian base using Merlin’s teleportation was abandoned before it could even be executed.
This was because of the limitation of teleportation magic—you can’t go somewhere you’ve never been.
“Even if we could go, it’d be a problem. How can we just use teleportation without knowing what’s there?”
“Then how do we get there? I planned to fly there instantly with old man magic.”
“Just fly there, then.”
“─Huh?”
Thanks to Kail unintentionally stating the obvious, they ended up riding a phantom dragon created by Merlin towards the Barbarian territory.
Along the way, they didn’t forget to summon clouds to avoid detection. Flying through the clouds in the sub-zero North was practically suicidal, though.
Somehow managing to reach the Barbarian territory undetected, Kail’s group quickly descended to the ground upon spotting a javelin flying towards them from below.
‘I shouldn’t do this again.’
Kail brushed off the ice crystals stuck to his eyebrows and looked at the Barbarian warrior standing before him—the one who had resisted the pressure of his scattered Aura.
He was the third Master of the Barbarian Tribe. Realizing this quickly, Kail immediately swung his sword.
And it was blocked.
‘Oh?’
Though it was practically an ambush, the opponent blocked it as if he had anticipated it. Well, that’s what you’d expect from an Aura Master.
Kail clashed swords with him a few more times, then naturally raised his Aura to create an Aura Blade behind the warrior.
An Aura Blade, undetectable even by another Aura Master, targeted the Barbarian warrior, and once again, he blocked it as if he had seen it coming.
“─What’s this now?”
Among countless battles with Master-level opponents, no one had ever blocked Kail’s Chi-Control Sword on the first encounter. Either they endured the hit, or the attack didn’t connect at all.
How could he possibly sense and block an Aura Blade appearing suddenly from an unseen blind spot? Unless he had eyes on the back of his head.
‘Does he really have eyes on the back of his head?’
Thinking this, Kail created another Aura Blade behind the man and charged forward. If the man moved his sword to block the rear attack, Kail would ensure his own strike couldn’t be blocked.
But this time, he completely ignored the rear attack and blocked Kail’s swing. Then, he concentrated Aura on his back to defend against the Aura Blade.
Kail began to understand the man’s abilities more clearly. He didn’t react at all to things darting behind him, seemingly ready to stab.
He would block surprise attacks from blind spots, but if they weren’t attacking him, he wouldn’t react at all.
“Do you see the future or something?”
The man didn’t answer Kail’s question and continued swinging his weapon. Of course, answering honestly would be foolish.
Then, how about this? Kail backed off slightly, sheathed his sword, and spread both hands wide as he looked at the man.
The man’s puzzled expression gradually hardened. By now, over a dozen Aura Blades had appeared around him.
“─Are you too careless because you see the future?”
The first method to counter someone who sees the future:
Whether they see it or not, prepare a weapon that can kill them for sure.
The next moment, over a dozen Chi-Control Swords flew simultaneously.
