Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The mage who had blocked the front of the carriage raised his staff.

I’ve dealt with mages quite a bit.

The magic each mage handles well differs, and not all mages weaken just because one approaches, but from a swordsman’s position there is the restriction that one must unconditionally close the distance.

“Nothing to say? What we want is clear. You, the coffin. Me, you.”

“...”

That’s why I ran forward.

A fireball gathered in the air and flew in.

As it flew in, another one gathered and headed toward me.

Even a skilled mana user is better off avoiding that flickering sphere.

If struck, it will explode right in front of the nose.

Consecutive exploding booms.

Dodging to the side and approaching the wheat field, one mercenary holding a sword popped out.

As soon as the swords met, I pushed in one more step and grabbed the arm.

And hooked the hilt on the elbow, pressed down, and switched places.

“You came at a good time.”

As soon as I let go, a fireball fell on the mercenary’s back and a boom arose.

Turning my back from the mercenary collapsing cooked red, I received the sword falling down over my head.

As the sword scraped the sword, sparks flew.

As soon as the guards caught, I twisted and pressed the opponent’s sword, and struck the clearly exposed solar plexus with the pommel.

“Keueok——!”

Grabbing the sword of the mercenary who lost strength and dropped it, I roughly threw it, one charging mercenary struck it out as if flustered and stepped back, and receiving another’s sword I passed to the side and twisted with strength to the end.

The mercenary’s eyes shook.

With balance lost, on the tip of his own sword extended toward the air, a fireball was approaching, so it was natural.

“Why, why isn’t it moving!”

Because I’m holding it, it doesn’t move.

Now it will move.

Letting go and stepping back, a boom exploded.

The mercenary who courageously stabbed the flame sphere with the sword was collapsing burned blackish.

I looked back.

“What are you doing not coming?”

The time for the sword of the mercenary who received the thrown sword to come has come, but it doesn’t come.

Thinking it strange, he has withdrawn far.

And with a face that seemed heated, he was shouting.

“What are you doing! Are you crazy!”

He’s growling not at me but at the mage.

That would be so, shooting fireballs into the wheat field, it will soon become a sea of fire.

Unless intending to burn even the mercenaries hidden in the wheat field all to death, it doesn’t make sense.

However, the fireball was shot toward me again, and while dodging I aimed at the withdrawn mercenary.

“Damn it! Everyone get out of the wheat field! The ones on the other side block so magic can’t be used toward us!”

Commotion arose behind, and the magic became sparse.

“Here is empty.”

After striking the chin of the met mercenary and collapsing him, I faced the skinny man who carefully appeared.

“Are you the leader?”

“It’s not even written on the forehead, I don’t know how you know just by looking. How does small and tiny me look like a leader? Do monsters share something?”

“You’re holding the sword the most decently among them.”

“Thanks for the compliment. You look like you’re holding the most decent sword.”

I circled the charging leader’s sword once, put it to the ground, and kicked the sword surface.

When the sword flew into the wheat field with a whoosh, I went behind the guy, wrapped with the arm, and brought the blade next to the neck.

The mercenary leader raised both arms with full tension.

“Just hired? Or do you guys also want demonic energy?”

“Demonic energy? What’s that? We don’t know that! Just working for money!”

“Did you hear that I’m a magic practitioner of Equira?”

The guy flinched.

“Damn it! If I heard, would I have come! It was just a request to kill one young swordsman and snatch one coffin!”

Nodding, I lowered my voice.

“Then let’s send the kids back now. I’m tired. Kids who die while fighting will start coming out soon.”

“In this situation no one died? You just beat them all down?”

“The ones hit by flame spheres might have died?”

I whispered in the ear.

“Just tell them to run. If you want to all live.”

“...Everyone run! Our Surkis Mercenary Group is withdrawing from this job!”

The hesitating rustling sounds and the murmuring sounds from afar stopped and rapidly grew distant.

I pressed the chin.

“Good work. You stay as the representative.”

The leader lost consciousness and went limp.

At the rustling sound, looking to the side, there was a mercenary flinching with a fed-up face.

Seems he tried to run and came this way...

As the guy slowly stepped back, I pointed behind.

“Fire is attached there, so you have to go this way.”

When the guy passed by my side watching, I grinned and charged toward the guy.

“Where are you running!”

“Uwaaaak!”

The surprised guy runs with all his might, but I caught up soon.

But since I had no intention of killing from the beginning, I didn’t swing the sword.

Just stuck right behind the guy running desperately and ran.

“Get out of the way, you idiot!”

Fireballs begin falling again.

But it has gotten sufficiently close.

Lightly pushing away the mercenary just before the flame sphere touches the head, I charged toward the flame sphere.

The body tilted low slipped past under the flame sphere precariously, and I prepared the sword to bisect the guy.

Extend the sword to the side.

And lift it toward the sky as is.

Bring the opposite hand under the hilt and grip firmly.

The mage agilely moved the staff.

The fingertips brought next to the staff busily varied mana and were calling a phenomenon different from before.

Even a swordsman around this point comes to know things by looking over the shoulder.

That mana stacking layer upon layer solidly as if trying to draw a honeycomb is trying to create a shield wrapping the body.

“I obtained a famous sword, it’s about time to properly cut once.”

The powerful downward slash that top student Argen showed during the sparring.

Swordsmanship that does not allow meeting, purely pursuing the optimal height, posture, and trajectory that can cut the heaviest.

This is called semi-sword.

I firmly stepped the front foot.

And toward the completed mage’s barrier, I drew down Ash Black that had been staying at my highest height.

***

The plan itself was not particularly complicated.

In a relic vault with many miscellaneous items, many items come and go.

Unless an item of no value to anyone, adding and moving one more small coffin that looks special at a glance was not difficult.

Next, watch whether they open it on their own.

If they open it on their own, that would be good.

But if they can’t find a method, induce them to call a magic practitioner.

Around a duke, even a high-nosed magic practitioner could be called out soon.

The magic practitioner comes and erodes the coffin with magic power.

Then something dangerous will come out from inside, but when others check, it will already be empty, they said.

Then request resolved.

I receive a huge amount of money, the client achieves the goal.

Parting like that was the plan.

But I wasn’t just believing their words.

This kind of crime was the first, and even a matter entangled with a ducal family.

In case the identity is exposed, I had made various preparations so I could flee.

The preparations were valid.

Suddenly Equira’s magic practitioner called me out and interrogated, and the content was too direct and clear, so it was certain I was caught.

Even the Duke’s that uncomfortable silence, it clearly looked like an order to catch and imprison with a roar would fall not long after.

Thus I tried to ambush and flee before it was too late, but far from shooting magic, I couldn’t even aim the staff.

The sword I didn’t even see drawing struck up the staff and only destroyed the innocent ceiling.

Startled as if the heart would drop, reflexively infusing mana into the ring, at that time the wrist was cut off.

When seeing the one-layer stronger explosion magic recorded in the ring blow away my hand that fell to the ground, bewilderment preceded pain and the head rather cooled.

I heard that magic practitioners also use peculiar magic called magic arts, but I didn’t even see such a thing.

It was just a matter accomplished with the sword.

Why of all things did it come from the Equira Sword Family so that even ambush doesn’t work...

Fortunately, as he widened the distance from the ring, I could earn time to flee, but in that brief moment the wrist flew off.

As a fugitive unable to even find a doctor, only barely stopping the bleeding and suffering in the hideout, the client came.

He did treat my wrist, but it wasn’t normal.

“I said be careful. You have to be careful. Must not be caught...”

I thought he was a man with a heavy mouth, but after the matter went wrong, why does he mutter so much to himself and shake his head, a guy scary and unpleasant to keep by the side.

Then in the end, I received the news that the coffin was loaded on a luggage carriage and would leave the ducal territory tomorrow.

“Just win. He’s a magic practitioner...? Alone. Kill and run away with it. Find a way to separately invite a magic practitioner in another region. In the worst case, throw it into a magic power spring. The existence will be damaged but won’t die. Magic power spring... A magic power spring nearby...”

The restless black mage eventually stood up holding the staff.

Gulping down the black ampoule tucked at the waist, he threw a money pouch to me.

“With that money, drag the most expensive mercenary group possible and all come out to the wheat field.”

“...Understood.”

And look even now after a day has passed.

That Equira magic practitioner is still not even pulling up mana, overwhelming everyone in this place with just one sword.

The client’s flame spheres exploded colliding with the floor or wheat field, or ally mercenaries if not.

The magic practitioner laid nearby mercenaries down with whooshes every time he passed, and finally hid among the fleeing mercenaries and ran, raising the sword toward the client.

Just before the sword came down, red light swirled on the pitch-black blade.

Even without knowing swordsmanship, one can know.

If touched by that sword, it cuts.

As expected, the magic practitioner’s sword cleanly broke the client’s shield, passed the staff, bisected the whole body from the crown... Showed how rotten the insides of that dangerous-looking client were.

As the client collapsed, black blood that didn’t seem human’s spurted up.

“Monster...”

And the one who showed swordsmanship that didn’t seem human’s said.

“Do you want to become a monster like this?”

“...No.”

“Then you have to treat that hand quickly. You sprinkled the medicine he gave, right?”

I sprinkled.

“Surrender quickly. When the priest comes, I’ll send you to prison.”

Becoming like that was more hateful than dying.

Anyway, a person I can’t win against.

Since he doesn’t seem to have the intention to kill, I obediently knelt.

Just then, the sound of horse hooves was heard.

Carriages stopped behind, and two knights and mages poured in.

Seeing the gazes some mages and knights shot at me, I suddenly regret surrendering.

Shall I just try running?

When the heart was shaking, the magic practitioner’s hand had already touched my chin.

With the feeling of lightning falling, I lost consciousness as is.

***

“Magic practitioner, we received the report that a battle occurred and hurried, but...”

“You came not late.”

“Yes...? It already seems finished.”

I smiled and pointed at the burning wheat field.

It hasn’t spread widely yet, but if the wind blows strongly, it was a situation where one wouldn’t know what would happen.

“Please handle the aftermath.”

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