As Yohan strode forward, a public official shouted, “That thing may look young, but it’s definitely a special-grade monster! There’s no way you can handle it alone!”
It was true.
To catch a special-grade monster without losses, at least three special-grade officials were required.
While it wasn’t impossible for a single special-grade official to do it alone, they would have to bear significant damage.
Despite this, Yohan remained resolute.
“It has intelligence. Moreover, it can attack from a distance. If we all retreat together, we risk being caught by its attacks. So, it’s better for me to buy time here while you call for reinforcements; that way, we can increase our chances of survival.”
Yohan drew up all his magic power.
Using the advanced magic he had hastily learned to clear a path earlier had left him with aching joints.
“Quickly! Before the path we just cleared gets filled with other monsters!”
Blue magic energy wrapped around both of his hands.
The swirling mana repeatedly emitted power, creating gusts of wind around him.
“I won’t die. I have no intention of dying here.”
The public official, who had reached out to Yohan, squeezed his eyes shut and turned his horse in another direction.
“I’ll quickly call for reinforcements!”
“Understood.”
“012!”
The public official gripped the reins and distanced himself from Yohan.
“Hah…”
Yohan let out a deep breath and surveyed his surroundings.
There were already fallen public officials, knights, and soldiers.
They must have had families too.
He gritted his teeth tightly.
He wasn’t shocked by the sight of death.
There was no time for that.
Right now, all he felt was anger towards the crown prince for causing such madness.
Still, this is the best way to minimize the casualties.
He had no intention of becoming someone’s hero.
He didn’t want to risk his life to save a complete stranger.
But the idea that everyone could die because of the crown prince’s schemes did not sit well with him.
Moreover, he couldn’t deny that this situation had also arisen because of him.
Everything is because that crown prince is crazier than expected.
While the crown prince was the mastermind, this situation had happened because of him, so he needed to minimize the sacrifices of others.
In truth, it’s a foolish thing to do.
If they all fought together, their chances of winning would have increased dramatically.
It would have been easier to use advanced magic with the frontlines mixed in.
However.
Then I wouldn’t be able to mess with the crown prince.
Yohan planned to defeat the special-grade monster, take its head, and present it as a grand gift to Fedelian.
It was clear that the monster would think he was dead.
That would be amusing.
I wonder how you’ll react.
What kind of change would occur on Fedelian’s face, which was always so relaxed? Yohan smirked.
‘I’m going to take him on head-on anyway.
Once I’ve planned something, I’ll execute it thoroughly and succeed.’
Just as Yohan was slowly raising his senses, a thud was heard.
The special-grade monster had moved.
The creature, with the head of a deer and a human body, grinned wickedly and tilted its head.
“Krk?”
It looked as if it was questioning Yohan.
‘Could he really do this alone?’ Yohan twisted his lips and chuckled.
“As the husband of the female protagonist, can’t I manage at least this much?”
Yohan clasped his hands together to form a seal.
The magic of emission and absorption intertwined in his hands, creating immense power.
This was the most powerful magic Yohan could use at the moment.
“An embodiment of chaos born from the origins of creation.
Within it, birth and destruction become one, and in the infinite boundaries, there can be no calm.”
Whoooooo!!
As he poured his magic into the incantation, the absorption sphere consumed the power, causing it to spin even faster.
Magic, taking on a spiral form, whirled vigorously, creating a whirlwind.
“Remnants of the ascent, intangible chains, river of silence, forgotten light.”
As the incantation to enhance the magic was chanted in succession, the magic storm grew even fiercer.
“Advanced magic.”
Yohan’s hand pointed toward the special-grade monster.
The trembling power at his fingertips sent shivers through his entire body, but it was not a major problem. He just needed to unleash the emission.
“Spiral Breakthrough.”
BOOM—!!
A vortex-like sphere of emission spun around the absorption sphere at its center.
The absorption sphere pulled in nearby objects, grinding them into pieces.
The spinning emission sphere surrounded the absorption sphere, rapidly charging toward the monster.
“Krk…?!”
The special-grade monster seemed to instinctively sense the threat, shrinking back and attempting to escape, but it was too late.
As the sphere reached near the monster, an explosion erupted.
KWA-BAAAM!
A massive storm of magic erupted, shattering everything around it.
The ground cracked, rocks flew like dust, and dirt filled the sky.
At the center of the explosion, the absorption sphere ground against the monster’s flesh.
It ruthlessly destroyed everything in its vicinity.
“GRAAAAAK!”
From the unseen front due to the swirling dust, the special-grade monster’s scream could be heard.
The Spiral Breakthrough was a technique that gathered the caster’s magic to its limits and struck down.
This magic had rapidly transformed Yohan into a seasoned advanced magician, even though he wasn’t yet accustomed to using magic.
“Haah, haah…”
He had used large-scale magic consecutively.
The consumption of magic was off the charts.
He felt as if he would collapse any moment.
Yohan leaned on his knees, gasping for breath.
I don’t think this is the end.
Show yourself quickly.
He glared in the direction where the special-grade monster had been.
The ground looked like a crater had formed from the explosion.
However, the special-grade monster was nowhere to be seen.
It must have taken serious damage and was recovering somewhere.
It has intelligence, so it won’t let this go unpunished after taking a hit.
Yohan wiped the sweat that trickled down his temples while catching his breath.
At that moment.
“Krara-ra-rack!”
Monsters appeared from the forest, surrounding Yohan.
All of them were low-grade monsters, like grade 3 or 4, but they were numerous.
“I don’t have time to deal with lowly monsters.”
Yohan rolled up his sleeves and created an absorption sphere.
The center of the sphere continuously devoured the mana flowing around it in real time, repeating its rotations.
If anything touched the rotating sphere, it would twist and be sucked into the center, tearing the entire body apart with the magic.
In truth, it was hard to even call it magic.
It was more like a condensed mass of mana created purely by manipulating magic power.
This was a technique that only Yohan, with his exceptional affinity for magic and an amount different from others, could use.
“Distortion Sphere.”
Yohan moved his hand.
The large sphere, spinning in a spiral, changed direction following his hand.
BOOM—!!
“Krara-rak…!”
“Kyahhhh!”
As it swept along the ground, the rushing monsters were sucked into the center, their bodies ripped apart and vanished without a trace.
“Phew…”
In an instant, Yohan had eliminated the small fry and looked straight ahead.
The special-grade monster, with half its body blown off, was hissing and staring at him.
“Let’s give it a try.”
If he could take it down here, and present its head as proof of his value, it would serve as a grand gift to the crown prince, who thought he had won.
That way, the intensity of the schemes Fedelian was orchestrating would only increase.
However, if he gave a hint that he knew the culprit, he could keep him tied up for a while.
“Krara-ra-ra!!”
Just then, a special-grade monster charged at Yohan from the side, lunging at him with one arm while its saliva sprayed in all directions.
Yohan calmly whispered, “Tome of Calamity.”
Flap!
A brilliant burst of white light gathered before him, and a book appeared.
Yohan fixed his gaze on the book and stared at the shimmering patterns.
A deep chill flooded in, creating an icy sea.
The cold energy seeped into his bones, drastically lowering his resistance.
The Tome of Calamity was telling him that there was no better technique than this to subdue the monster right here.
Yohan grinned and shouted softly.
“Shadow Sea.”
It was after the soldiers who had moved to each monster den had returned to the forward base.
“How strange. To think that not a single monster can be seen in the monster den’s forest. It’s as if the ghosts are wailing,” said Fedelian casually, sitting leisurely in a chair at the center of the forward base.
“Is it the work of the mages?” asked one officer, who seemed equally puzzled by the unusual situation.
“Only those fools could control the monsters, so that must be it,” Fedelian shrugged and smiled subtly. Then he turned to Francia, who was fidgeting, and asked, “Princess Ferbache, what are you so anxious about?”
“You won’t even answer now.”
In truth, Fedelian already knew why Francia was anxious.
All the other soldiers had returned, except for those who had gone south to scout.
‘What a relief. Who told them to go against my wishes?’
Yohan Harssen was dead.
Killed by a special-grade monster.
It would be strange if he had not died.
The monster controlled by the mages was still a young special-grade monster, but it still bore the title of “special grade.”
There was no way that a mage who had just barely reached the initial stage of high-ranking magic could handle it.
‘What remains is to find a way through the weakened Princess Ferbache.’
Just then, as Fedelian smiled slyly, an officer rushed in.
“Commander! The soldiers who went south to scout have returned!”
“…What?”
Fedelian’s eyebrows twitched.
How was that possible? He had driven the lower-grade monsters and the special-grade monster into that area.
There should have been no chance of survival.
“Let’s go see.”
Fedelian quickly put on his outer garment and headed toward the south side of the tent.
The unit that had returned looked battered and exhausted.
“What happened?”
“Well…”
The officer, who was the temporary commander of the southern scouting unit, began to explain.
“Due to a sudden attack by a special-grade monster, the deputy commander was injured. After that, lower-grade monsters appeared and blocked our retreat. Fortunately, thanks to the special mage Harssen, we were able to escape.”
“What about casualties?”
“Ten, including Deputy Commander Terces.”
Fedelian’s eyebrows twitched again.
Despite the appearance of a special-grade monster, the fact that they had returned with so few casualties was remarkable.
He managed to maintain an expressionless face and asked, “…That’s fortunate. Where is Special Mage Harssen?”
“Well…”
The officer continued with a grim expression.
“It was Special Mage Harssen who helped us escape. He opened a path with high-ranking magic and is currently confronting the special-grade monster alone.”
For the first time, a faint smile appeared on Fedelian’s lips, which had been continuously bothered.
‘So, you’re dead after all.’
Then the operation was a success.
“Is support on the way?”
“Sir Renokhonen, the first officer, has gone to lead the support troops.”
“Of course, a battle-hardened knight can handle it alone. We’ll wait until they arrive.”
As Fedelian gestured for the officer to go, the officer politely bowed and retreated.
“Haha.”
A bitter laugh escaped from his lips.
‘You’ve been too arrogant, you little brat.’
After all, he was just the third son of a baron.
And despite just passing the special mage exam, he dared to go against his feelings.
It was only right that death was to be repaid.
Just as Fedelian was desperately suppressing his laughter, a commotion broke out on the path leading south.
“No! Special Mage Ferbache!”
“Move! I have to go right now!”
“Sir Renokhonen is leading the support…!”
“I said I have to go!”
She was desperate, to the point where it wouldn’t be strange for her to start crying.
Fedelian felt his annoyance rise again at the sight.
‘Enough. After all, he’s dead.’
Fedelian walked over to her and pulled her arm.
“Princess Ferbache. Stay calm. I’m sure he will be safe.”
“Don’t touch me! You’re filthy!”
At the words “filthy,” Fedelian’s body flinched.
“That hurts to hear, you know?”
“I meant it to hurt.”
Francia frowned and warned the knight who was blocking the path to the south.
“Move aside. I have to go now.”
“No, that… This is problematic…”
The knight scratched his head, looking awkward.
Given that a special-grade monster had appeared, it was sensible to keep everyone together to assess the situation rather than let Francia go.
Though Fedelian tried to calm her down, he found himself at a loss.
“Francia.”
“Don’t call me by my name casually!”
Francia responded coldly.
She clenched her fists and glared.
“I’m telling you again. Move aside. I have to find Yohan.”
“Ah…”
The knight sighed, wiping his forehead.
As the standoff between Francia and the knight continued, time passed.
Suddenly, Fedelian noticed figures on the path leading to the southern monster den, far in the distance, returning to the forward base.
“What…?”
As he observed the figures, Fedelian doubted his own eyes.
Among the first officers who had gone to support, Yohan Harssen was holding the head of the special-grade monster.
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