Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 20

Dray rotated the hologram, ensuring everyone had a clear view, before beginning his explanation.

“Currently, the scavengers are occupying the third-floor rooftop and siphoning power from the power facility. The two access points, the elevator and the stairs, are guarded by armed forces from three different scavenger factions working together.”

Considering that usually only one scavenger faction operates in a given area, this meant that scavengers from three different territories were involved in this operation.

“This group includes magic users with some combat ability. They might not be the most difficult opponents, but they are definitely not to be underestimated.”

As Dray spoke, he quickly displayed numbers on the hologram and continued his explanation.

“We don’t know what these rats are planning by siphoning power, but our objective remains the same. As discussed, the 3rd squad will breach the first floor, the 1st squad will enter through the second-floor windows, and the 2nd squad will directly infiltrate the rooftop.”

Lenok listened to Dray’s explanation with his arms crossed. Although he spoke quickly, his pronunciation was clear and steady, which had a calming effect on the listeners.

If there was a term for a field commander, it would be for someone like him. Watching the scene, he suddenly wondered what kind of person Antares, the mercenary, was.

If he could command a strongman like Dylan, Antares must also be an outstanding commander and mercenary.

While he was lost in thought, Dray’s explanation continued.

“Once the 2nd squad eliminates the forces occupying the power facility and confirms that the server is secure, the 3rd and 1st squads will simultaneously drive the scavengers towards the stairs from above and below to eliminate them. After that, the 2nd squad coming down from the rooftop and the 1st and 3rd squads coming up from below will repeat the same process. Does everyone understand?”

“““Yes, sir!!!”””

Dray, having heard the mercenaries’ loud replies, looked at Lenok and concluded his explanation.

“Mage, please provide as much firepower as possible during the initial breach, and then follow the 3rd squad to provide rear support from below.”

Lenok nodded silently. Simply put, it meant staying in the back and using magic when the situation allowed.

Compared to the request to infiltrate the manufacturing plant and blow up the basement, this was a much easier task.

As Jenny had said, it seemed they weren’t assigning him any particularly difficult tasks.

‘No, actually, wasn’t Valitz’s request just too difficult?’

Dylan was a very skilled individual and was good at drawing attention on his own, but if that wasn’t the case, even without Crocken’s intervention, blowing up the factory itself would have been a difficult task.

Of course, Jenny knew Dylan’s skills, so she wanted Lenok to experience a corporate request even if it was a bit much, but it was too much for Lenok to understand her favor to that extent.

“Alright. Let’s start right away. Everyone to your positions!”

At Dray’s words, the mercenaries began to pick up their equipment and move in an orderly fashion.

Some had unique equipment like mechanical hammers or tonfas [a type of baton], but most had swords and guns.

In a world where the body could be enhanced with magic, it wasn’t strange that melee weapons, which maximized power, and ranged weapons, which could produce effective power with less physical ability, coexisted.

It was just that there were moments when the miracle of magic was more desperately needed than all those means, which was why people in this business were so eager for mages.

Following the mercenary group, the street began to rapidly deteriorate.

A three-story building located at the end of the alley. The chaotic appearance with messy wiring sticking out of the windows, and people who clearly looked armed were loitering at each window and entrance.

Various firearms and equipment, and unified attire. Even the subtle flow of magic.

They were indeed a military force, clearly different from the scavengers Lenok knew.

From the 50th district onwards, the Vulcan police had completely given up, making it a lawless zone. That’s why scavengers could openly occupy other companies’ offices and act brazenly.

The consulting company that had their office taken away might feel wronged, but weren’t they the ones who set up their office here, lured by the low rent and almost non-existent taxes?

There were times when other means of force, not the police, were needed to solve such troublesome matters. Like the Creamgal Mercenary Office that came to this place.

As he watched the wires sticking out of the windows all pointing towards the rooftop of the building, Lenok was lost in thought.

‘It would be much easier if I just dropped a Thunder Calling from the start.’

If he dropped lightning on the power facility located on the rooftop, he could turn all the scavengers’ tricks into dust at once, but he had to avoid it because the server could go down as a result.

Among the conditions of the request from the financial consulting company, there was a request to ensure that there would be no damage that could cause the server data to be lost.

It was a demanding condition, but it was something he had to do for the reward.

The mercenaries each chose cover and hid, then slowly began to move according to Dray’s gestures.

He whispered to Lenok, who was following behind him.

“There’s a small chance that they might have hired a mage as well. If you sense anything, please tell me right away.”

For scavengers, a group of poor bastards, to go to such lengths meant that this matter was quite important to them.

“Okay… um?”

Lenok, who was about to answer Dray, paused as he felt a gaze piercing through his magic.

A strange sensation he was feeling for the first time. However, Lenok’s powerful magic perception immediately recognized that it was a visual substitute created using magic.

Someone was looking down on them from above.

The moment he realized that, Lenok unconsciously extended his magic and grabbed the tendrils of that gaze.

[Gasp…!!]

A shocked voice was heard beyond the resonance of magic. Lenok’s sensitive magic quickly pinpointed the location through that sensation.

…Found it.

Crackle…!!

A man kneeling and using magic in a secluded room on the third floor of the building.

He didn’t know how he did it. But Lenok instinctively felt that he could do more than this.

He grabbed the gaze that the mage had extended with his mind and snapped it off.

Crack, crack!!

Along with an inaudible noise, the magic that was extending from the mage’s inner self was grabbed by Lenok’s magic and severed.

The backlash of the magic that was being cast being completely shattered.

Lenok, having confirmed the mage collapsing while bleeding from his nose and ears, said to Dray.

“The opposing mage just used a search spell.”

“….Huh?”

“Right after sensing the magic, I went into the tendrils and suppressed him. I think we can breach right now.”

A statement so absurd that it was hard to believe even after hearing it.

However, when Dray unconsciously turned his gaze to the third floor after hearing those words, he saw the armed forces, who had been maintaining strict security, suddenly moving busily.

An unexpected gap. Dray, sensing that now was the chance, immediately gestured to the mercenaries.

“Let’s go…!!”

Bang!!

The mercenaries, having received the order, immediately threw something from their pockets and ran forward.

Fwoosh…!!

They first suppressed the vision with flashbangs and created a path by spreading smoke.

At the same time, the mercenaries of the Creamgal Office began to dash silently across the asphalt.

The armed forces of the scavengers, sensing that something had happened, aimed their guns in this direction and responded.

Seeing that, Lenok also immediately raised his magic.

Suppression.

‘They said they needed the strongest firepower possible during the initial breach.’

The most effective magic to suppress the scavengers who were sticking their guns out of the windows right now.

Lenok quickly found the answer and projected his will onto the overflowing magic.

Zzzzzap!!

Blue currents of electricity sparked and glowed between his outstretched fingers.

He put directionality on the mass of electricity that seemed like it would jump out of his hand at any moment, and distorted the principle to allow for a chain reaction.

Tsspapapapap!!

The electricity shot from Lenok’s hand split into dozens of chains in the air, spreading in all directions.

[Chain Lightning]

Dozens of currents of electricity, branching out while moving through fixed relay points, swept over the scavengers who were sticking their bodies out of the windows like a wave—

“Aghhh…!!”

“Kuaaak!!”

The scavengers, directly hit by the electric magic, rolled their eyes and began to scream in pain.

With a single spell, he swept the entire wall of the building, immediately neutralizing the armed forces that were on the window side with overwhelming firepower.

“This is insane!!”

Wayan, who had confirmed the feat Lenok had created while running, cheered, and the other mercenaries also increased their speed while being impressed.

They realized that Lenok was a mage with several times more skill than anyone they had hired so far.

Based on the mage’s successful firepower support, the mercenary group immediately began to enter the building as they had agreed beforehand.

The 3rd squad, made up of strong melee fighters, broke through the front, and the 1st squad, armed with light weapons, immediately jumped to the second floor.

Dray, having confirmed the 2nd squad, who were agile, climbing the wall with the help of the 1st squad and flying to the rooftop in an instant, also joined the 3rd squad and began to help break through the entrance.

When you’ve gained momentum, you should never hesitate.

The mercenary group, sensing that the opponent’s defenses had been opened by Lenok’s electric magic, did not miss the gap and charged into the scavengers’ formation with all their might.

Dudududududu!!

Ike and two other giants held up huge shields and took the gunfire from the front, while a man with a greatsword ran out from behind and stirred up the enemy lines, adding to the confusion.

Dray also held a gun in one hand and a sword in the other, cutting down the scavengers.

“Kuaaak!!”

“Hold your positions, you morons!”

“If the rooftop is breached, the operation will be useless!”

Despite the scavengers’ superior numbers, they were unable to deal with the mercenary group charging through them and fell into a panic.

They were still unable to come to their senses due to the aftermath of the [Chain Lightning] that Lenok had scattered just before the breach.

Some of them tried to regain their senses and hold their positions, but most of them ignored the words and just retreated helplessly.

“…..Tch!”

The man who was leading the scavengers on the first floor gritted his teeth and turned his gaze towards the mercenary group.

To turn the situation around, he had to inflict a major blow on the mercenary group with a single attempt.

The core of this offensive was not the vanguard that was fiercely pushing into the building, but the skinny electric mage who was the starting point and center of it all.

If he could cut off that defenseless-looking neck and scatter blood, he could change the tide of the battle.

The man, having quickly finished his calculations, moved stealthily, avoiding the mercenary group’s gaze.

The man knew how to handle magic to some extent, and he guessed that it would not be easy for the mercenary group to react when he was determined to run.

Just a single gap. It would be enough if the mercenary group was caught up in the indiscriminate offensive and broke their formation, exposing the mage.

‘Now!’

Ike’s body, holding a huge shield, opened up slightly, and the moment Dray also stepped forward and pulled the trigger, the man threw his body forward with all his might.

The man, having pierced through the mercenary group’s formation with his sharp senses, closed the distance in the blink of an eye. Even Dray was surprised and threw his body back, but it was already too late.

The Bowie knife in his left hand flashed quickly, aiming for the mage’s neck and curving in.

Taang!!

Along with a sudden loud noise, the man who was running fell backward.

There wasn’t even a scream. The man, who had fallen backward with the shock of his upper body being pierced, convulsed, unable to even close his eyes properly.

Dray, who was in the middle of turning back towards Lenok, stared down at the corpse with a dazed expression.

“He died of shock.”

Lenok muttered. In his hand was a revolver he didn’t know when he had taken out.

The moment the man rushed towards Lenok, Lenok, who had taken out the revolver with lightning speed, aimed at the man’s shoulder and pulled the trigger.

[Aim Correction], [Trigger Acceleration], [Impact Enhancement]. The shotgun bullet, fired with three shooting assist spells woven in a single moment, knocked down the man who was rushing forward with tremendous speed.

Lenok’s gaze lingered on the horribly sprawled corpse for a moment, but the mage’s reason thoroughly suppressed the emotional fluctuations so that Lenok would not be swayed by it.

The mage’s mental strength, which usually made Lenok’s thoughts extremely rational, was further strengthened in combat situations like this.

Lenok, having let out the smoke rising from the muzzle, turned the revolver to reload and glanced at Dray.

“Go. I’ll take care of myself.”

“O-Okay.”

Dray answered obediently and turned back to readjust his weapon, but the shooting skills Lenok had shown in that short moment were unforgettable.

The shooting itself was ordinary, but the movement of taking out the revolver from his pocket and putting his finger on the trigger was so quick and precise that even Dray would have difficulty following it.

‘Are the popular mages these days also good at handling firearms like that…?’

Dray, who had no idea that Lenok was using shooting assist magic, sighed with worry that the value of mages would increase even more, and quickly cleared the first floor.

After the man who was the leader of the group was killed by a counterattack while trying to kill Lenok, the scavengers quickly collapsed and were swept away by the mercenary group’s offensive.

“Kidel, it’s me. The first floor is clear. What’s the situation on the upper floors?”

Once you start something, you have to see it through to the end.

Dray and the mercenary group contacted the 1st squad that had gone up to the second floor and, at the same time, confirmed the kills on the sprawled scavengers.

[It’s a stalemate. If the captain comes to help, the second floor will be cleared quickly.]

“I’ll go up now, so time it right.”

Dray finished speaking and immediately approached the stairs with the 3rd squad, crouching down.

Using the elevator to go up to the second floor was suicide. It was somewhat disadvantageous due to the difference in height, but it was wise to break through the stairs somehow.

Lenok briefly considered using a search spell, but the other mercenaries were carefully climbing the stairs without his help.

At this distance, magic users could perceive the surrounding presence with their enhanced senses, which made this action possible.

Unlike the first floor, where the noise was constant, there wasn’t even a sound of breathing on the second floor.

The desolate scenery of the office. A place full of cover like desks and partitions.

The 1st squad that had infiltrated the second floor and the scavengers seemed to still be facing each other, mixed together.

Only the sound of the floor being swept occasionally and the sound of the loose wind blowing through the broken window, sweeping across the desks, could be heard.

Fwoosh!

Along with a sound as if a gunshot had been forcibly suppressed, someone collapsed with a thud. Immediately after, someone stood up from behind the partition.