Genius Wizard Hides His Sword Skills [EN]: Chapter 107

107. The Eccentric Merchant (4)

A heavy rumble shook the hillside, a subtle vibration even felt at the tips of our toes.

‘Doesn’t feel like magic.’

[What is it?]

Even we, who had seen our share of battles, were witnessing something new.

With the sudden geological change, Jurant and the members of the Central Council surrounded me.

“Preceptor! Hide behind us!”

They didn’t know what form the attack would take, but their priority was my protection.

Kuuuuuu……!

Soon, dust clouds billowed up from the distance. Trees were falling.

Screeeech!

Something was approaching, felling trees with a bizarre mechanical sound.

“Hmm.”

Carles narrowed his eyes and stepped forward.

Kuuuuung!

Finally, the tree directly behind Diffon fell.

‘……What is that?’

The creature that emerged was enough to make anyone frown.

It seemed to be at least 20 meters tall, its form indescribable.

Clearly, it was hard to see it as a normal living being.

[Is that a chimera? What the hell is that?]

Parts of various creatures were haphazardly stuck together. Unidentifiable pieces made up its body.

‘Doesn’t seem like a typical chimera.’

However, it looked quite different from the typical chimera seen in black magic grimoires.

Unlike Aries, where the parts were meticulously joined, this one was different.

‘Doesn’t seem like black magic.’

Its skin was tattered, as if forcibly pieced together. The right way to describe it was that all sorts of body parts were plastered on.

Screech-. Screeeech!

Moreover, a strange mechanical sound tore at the ears every time it moved.

[Looks like the joints have been replaced with metal.]

Instead of bones or flesh, metal scraps connected each body part.

Faced with the unheard-of creature, the group remained silent, each preparing whatever magic they could.

Gulp.

It was then that Jurant’s gulping sound seemed particularly loud.

Geeeeee!

The right hand of the monstrosity Diffon summoned was raised.

Wooooooong!

Mana began to gather at an incredible speed, faster than anything I had ever seen.

‘……Can mana be gathered this quickly?’

The mana, condensed in an instant, was already being fired at us.

* * *

The energy was too formidable to have gathered in such a short time.

Kuaaaaaaa!

Carles’s grip tightened as he watched the beam of light.

‘What is that monster, gathering mana so quickly?’

His brow furrowed. At this rate, the monstrous mana wave would sweep away the entire group.

‘Not a chance.’

Ian and his subordinates had followed him because of his bold promise. He was the only one who could protect them from that formidable energy blast.

He kicked off the ground and dashed forward.

Kuuuuung!

The hillside shook as if about to collapse with that one step.

Whooong!

As he thrust out the trident, the space seemed to crack and tear.

Carles’s full-hearted movement was aimed at the energy wave.

‘Hmm.’

The energy wave collided with the golden trident, and Carles couldn’t help but be taken aback.

Kwaaaaaaa!

His body was being pushed back by the unexpectedly strong energy.

‘Can such a mere trifle generate such power!’

Who was he? The apex of all the Suwang Clan [a powerful clan known for their mastery of water magic]. He couldn’t use his full strength out of the water, but being pushed back was unexpected.

‘This is quite embarrassing.’

Of course, he could easily evade it. It wasn’t as if he couldn’t handle the monster’s attack.

However, if he withdrew the trident, the group behind him would be hurt. The energy was too much for them to bear.

In the end, he had no choice but to face the monster’s energy wave head-on.

‘Alright. Let’s see what you’ve got.’

Clench!

His grip on the trident tightened. He put more strength into his retreating feet.

He endured with the sole determination to not let it reach Ian. The monster’s energy couldn’t be infinite, so if he endured, an opportunity would eventually come.

‘There’s no way it can fire off this kind of power indefinitely.’

Diffon was standing next to the monster. He could tell just by looking at his face. His eyes were narrowed in what seemed like panic.

“Oh, so Delema has been developing strange secret weapons. A freak using a spear, huh…….”

The monster acknowledged his martial prowess, but he didn’t like the way he spoke. He had been babbling about Delema’s secret weapon since earlier.

“I’ll slice you up a little later.”

Carles glared at Diffon, putting more strength into the trident.

“Hmph! Well, I admit you have skills to be confident. Of course, you might even threaten my life…….”

The corners of the monster’s mouth twitched nervously as he continued.

“But, it looks like your lord is going to be in danger first. What should I do?”

At the same time, Diffon reached out towards his back. Mana began to flicker at his fingertips.

“You bastard! How dare you!”

While he was dealing with the monster, the monster was trying to harm Ian directly.

“Don’t worry too much. I won’t let him suffer too much. I’ll finish him quickly and then torment you.”

“How dare you speak so carelessly with that hole you call a mouth!”

“Haha. How scary. I wonder what the principle behind Delema’s secret weapon is. I’ll dissect your body and dig everything up, so just wait a little longer!.”

The monster’s pure skill alone would overwhelm Ian’s group.

‘……I was going to stall for time!’

Now the tables had turned on Carles.

There was no more time to dawdle with the monster.

He didn’t know how long Ian’s subordinates could withstand the monster’s attack.

‘End this as quickly as possible.’

He had to quickly defeat the unidentified creature that was firing the energy wave.

Kuuuuuu…….

The energy began to swirl around the golden trident.

‘I came out here with a light heart…….’

A power he had never shown before began to stain the dark hillside.

‘You’re forcing me to use even this power.’

It was a different kind of energy than what humans called aura. The divine artifact passed down through generations to the Suwang Clan leader, the Trident. The energy contained within the trident was being unleashed.

* * *

[This is dangerous.]

Oberon narrowed his brow.

No one here was unaware that we were facing a crisis.

‘Carles is evenly matched?’

The suddenly appearing monster boasted a powerful force that even pushed Carles back.

It didn’t make sense. How could such a crude creature emit energy that could overwhelm Carles?

‘What the hell is that crazy bastard doing here?’

This incident that occurred in the hills near the Zairo Mountains [a mountain range known for its rich mana] could not be overlooked.

“Where are you looking!”

Moreover, our gaze couldn’t linger on the monster for long.

‘Ha. That damn bastard.’

Diffon began to chant magic towards us.

Even if Carles blocked the monster, the five executives of the Central Council, including myself, had to face Diffon.

[I don’t think this will be easy.]

He was at least as skilled as Angel, so it was questionable whether we could handle him with our current strength.

‘The Central Council executives are around 7-star…….’

Judging from what happened to Jikel, we didn’t have much of a chance. At best, we could only withstand the monster’s attacks.

[Will we be okay?]

‘I’m not worried about Carles. Looks like he’s unleashing the Trident.’

His spear had begun to shine. Now that he had started using the Suwang Clan’s divine artifact, there was no doubt about his victory.

Anyone would kneel before the Suwang Clan leader who had unleashed the Trident. However, the problem was us.

‘First, we endure as much as possible.’

We had to buy time until Carles defeated the monster and came to help us.

Kwaaaaaaa!

A flash of yellow light sparkled before our eyes. A barrage of lightning bolts was being fired, as if to swallow the entire hillside.

‘He’s coming out strong from the start.’

It was a Thunder Storm deployed by Diffon.

Woooong!

A transparent barrier surrounded us at that moment. It was a defensive barrier used by Jurant and the executives of the Central Council.

[Oh. Quick, aren’t they?]

‘Indeed.’

It was already too late to avoid the widespread Thunder Storm. They had chosen the best defense.

‘They’re in perfect sync.’

The Central Council executives had completed the defensive barrier without a single error, as if they had been training together.

[Did they engrave magic circles on their bodies in advance?]

They had deployed a high-level defensive barrier in an instant.

[We should be able to hold out for a while with this, right?]

Even if Diffon had reached 8-star [a measure of magical power], it wouldn’t be easy to break through a barrier that five 7-star mages had created with all their might.

Pazzzzzzz!

As expected, a single Thunder Storm only struck the surface of the barrier and passed us by.

“Preceptor! Don’t worry too much! Even if he’s strong, this is a barrier that can block magic of this level!”

Jurant stretched out both hands towards the barrier.

It was the moment when a sigh of relief was about to be released.

“You bug-like bastards. You’re still just bugs.”

Diffon frowned and continued chanting. Mana was once again gathering at his fingertips.

“We can block everything related to magic. Unless that guy is in the realm of 9-star, he can’t break through this.”

Jurant and the executives firmly maintained the barrier. It wasn’t that he didn’t know that fact, but.

‘What is he planning?’

Diffon must have known the effectiveness of the magic barrier. An uneasy feeling crept over me.

Screeeech-

A strange noise was heard at that moment. The creaking mechanical sound began to echo in the forest. However, this time it wasn’t from the monster Carles was fighting.

‘……There’s definitely something.’

My suspicion turned into certainty the moment the mana in Diffon’s hand changed.

Pazzzzzzz!

The monster had summoned another Thunder Storm.

‘Damn it!’

Even though he knew it wouldn’t work on the magic barrier, he was using the same magic.

“We should avoid it!”

With a bad feeling, I hurriedly shouted to the executives of the Central Council.

Kwaaaaaaa!

The Thunder Storm had already taken over our surroundings and was flying towards us.

And another noise that stimulated the ears.

Peeeuw!

It was the sound of something flying quickly towards us.

[It’s a crossbow!]

Swish!

I had no choice but to quickly draw my sword.

The magic barrier deployed by the executives of the Central Council was a defensive magic only to counter magic. It couldn’t protect us from the flying arrows.

‘That bastard. He was aiming for this!’

If an arrow fired from a mechanical crossbow pierced someone in the Central Council, the magic barrier couldn’t be maintained.

However, if we released the magic barrier to block the arrows, the Thunder Storm would fly in. It was truly a dilemma.

“I’ll block the arrows!”

In the end, I was the only one who could counter the flying arrows. I swung my sword towards the place where the sound of the air being torn came from.

Clang!

One arrow was blocked and bounced off at the end. There was no reason why I, who had already reached the 5-star level, couldn’t block ordinary arrows.

However, the problem didn’t end there.

Screech-

Mechanical sounds were heard simultaneously. Immediately after, the sound of the air being torn began to be heard from all directions.

Peeung! Ping! Peeeuw!

Dozens of arrows were flying towards us.