Genius Wizard Hides His Sword Skills [EN]: Chapter 145

145. All-Out War

Life within the Ego, unexpectedly, stretched on longer than anticipated.

Confined here, I had to oversee our forces scattered across the continent. With the Magic Tower and the Five Stars relentlessly hunting us, our actions had to be even more cautious.

[It’s already been half a year.]

Six months had passed since we settled here. Every day, I moved between the halls, preparing for war with my companions.

‘Right. Being chased here by those guys might have been a good thing after all.’

If we hadn’t been pursued, we wouldn’t have dared to challenge the Hall under the Moon.

‘Thanks to that, I’ve accumulated so much Aura.’

The Aura, overflowing as if it filled every single muscle cell.

“Preceptor.”

The voice came at that moment.

“We will take our leave now.”

It was the Knight Commander of the Round Table.

“Alright, good work today.”

As the sun began to set, they left the hall first.

“Ian! I’m counting on you.”

But Drew and Admun remained by my side. Despite the setting sun, they didn’t leave.

“Alright. Both of you, come closer to me.”

It was because I had reached a level where I could help them.

Closing my eyes, I began to sense the surrounding energy once more.

Kuuuuuu….

The intensifying energies of the hall were no longer unfamiliar.

They were like a tsunami, threatening to destroy everything around.

[Good, well done!]

But around me, they only reached as gentle waves.

Half a year of accumulating Aura here. Not only had I filled my body with Aura, but I had also become skilled at controlling the energies of the hall.

[Now, the time when that Baal appears is getting later and later.]

Thanks to that, Baal only appeared when the moon was high in the sky. Now, my body wasn’t exposed to danger in most situations.

I repeatedly sensed the rough energies one by one, confining them around me. Before long, the energies within a 10-meter radius had stabilized.

“Thank you, Ian.”

“Thank you.”

Nodding, Drew and Admun focused on circulating their Aura once more. They, too, had been spending nights in the hall using this method for quite some time.

“Let’s work hard again today.”

And so, we closed our eyes and focused together.

Without realizing how time passed, we fell into a state of complete absorption.

A world where only the surrounding energies and my mind existed. I opened my body with the intent to absorb all the surrounding Aura.

Kuuuuuu….

The Aura seemed to like its new home, settling into every corner of my muscles.

The wave of Aura that couldn’t be felt outside the hall. It was a moment that brought a pleasant smile to my face.

[Ian.]

A voice that disturbed that blissful moment.

[Ian!]

It wasn’t dangerous enough for Baal to appear yet, so it was Oberon’s voice.

‘What’s wrong?’

[I think we need to stop for a moment.]

I couldn’t help but open my eyes. He never interrupted me while I was accumulating Aura.

‘What is it?’

[Over there, Klal doesn’t look good.]

Where his fingertip pointed. There were figures approaching rapidly from afar.

‘Why are they suddenly here…?’

Klal and some members of the Leaf Clan had come to the hall with flushed faces.

“Ian!”

Even his urgent voice made me realize that something serious had happened.

“What’s going on?”

I, too, could only face him with a hardened expression.

“This is no time to be standing around. We need to leave quickly.”

And then Klal turned away first. I had to get up from my seat immediately at his following words.

“The mages of the Magic Tower have come.”

* * *

We headed straight to the outskirts of the Ego.

“The others have already gone ahead.”

Klal, carrying me on his back, continued the story. Drew and Admun were also entrusted to the Leaf Clan members.

“What do you mean, mages of the Magic Tower?”

“They’ve come. They’ve completely occupied the meadow in front of the Ego’s forest.”

Klal was referring to the meadow that connected Aital to the Ego.

“Hmm… how many were there?”

“I didn’t have time to count properly because I rushed to get you, but it looked like there were over 300.”

A frown appeared on my face at the answer. More mages had come than I had expected. Since they were sent by the Magic Tower, there was no way they were just a bunch of nobodies.

‘Are they finally starting in earnest?’

They must have noticed that we had hidden in the Ego over the past few months. They were just waiting for the right time to move.

“Some of them are already unleashing magical attacks. And they’re preparing something.”

“Preparing?”

“Yes. We’re almost there, you’ll see for yourself.”

He ran straight ahead and climbed the tallest tree in the area.

‘Hmm.’

The entire view of the meadow in front of the Ego was visible at a glance. It was a sight that made me frown.

The mages covering the meadow were holding flames in both hands, pouring them towards the Ego’s forest.

[They’ve brought quite a lot.]

A massive fire threatening the Ego.

But we weren’t going to just stand by and take it.

‘They’re responding well.’

The mages of Revoluca and the Round Table were desperately creating a defensive line.

[Impressive, isn’t it?]

Among them, Stenos was outstanding.

Crack!

The millennium glacier he created surrounded the Ego’s forest as if embracing it.

Stenos’s magic, which seemed to freeze even the flames. Such was the dignity of someone who had reached the upper echelons of the 8-star level.

‘If it weren’t for Stenos, I might have been flustered.’

If the Ego’s forest had started to burn, the panicked other races would have had difficulty drawing out their true power.

[One high-level mage is better than dozens of nobodies.]

His presence was shining brightly.

“Look over there.”

And Klal pointed to a space beyond the mages.

“…That is.”

More than a dozen mages were preparing something. They were surrounding a huge rock, chanting magic.

“That’s what I was talking about. I don’t know what it is, but it seems like they’re preparing something ominous.”

I couldn’t help but nod.

[…Is a magic bomb really that big?]

A magic bomb so huge that Klal couldn’t recognize its true nature. They were injecting mana into a magic bomb that was probably 10 meters in diameter.

‘They’re planning to detonate that.’

If it exploded in the Ego’s forest, the damage would be immeasurable. The mountain’s trees would all burn, and our camp would fall into chaos.

“The flame magic is just a smokescreen to buy time. We have to stop that.”

“Hmm. But it’s not easy to get out there. Even if it’s just a smokescreen, we have to break through that fire.”

“We still have to try. Let’s go down first. Let’s go to where everyone is gathered.”

Klal nodded. After he ran down the tree again for a moment.

“You’ve come!”

Grantel’s face immediately came into view. The clan leaders were gathered together, watching the situation.

“Preceptor.”

And of course, Angel was with them.

“Angel. Besides the ones in the meadow, have any other movements been detected?”

He shook his head.

“Fortunately, they seem to be all of them. No other personnel have been detected nearby.”

“That’s a relief.”

If there were more besides those gathered in the meadow, the battle might continue for quite some time.

After defeating them as quickly as possible, we had to seize the initiative in the next battle.

“How dare those humans!”

And a person began to rage.

“I’m going to tear them all apart and kill them!”

The Tiger Clan leader couldn’t hide his excitement.

I had told them never to act on their own accord if such a situation arose. That’s why they were staying here.

The Merchant Clan leader was barely managing to stop him.

‘Well, shall we give them a taste first?’

I approached them and faced the Tiger Clan leader.

“Clan Leader.”

“How long are you going to keep telling us to endure! We have to tear those bastards apart right now!”

He spat as he spoke, excited.

“Yes. Now, show them what you’re made of.”

At those words, the Tiger Clan leader’s eyes seemed to burn even brighter.

“…Show them. Does that mean I can go?”

His gaze turned towards the outside of the Ego’s forest.

“Kuaaaa!”

His roar, looking at the mages, shook the forest.

“Kuaaa!”

“Kuang!”

The roars of the Tiger Clan echoed in succession. Taking the Tiger Clan leader’s roar as a catalyst, the Tiger Clan members rushed out all at once.

“…Is it okay to send them like that?”

Grantel’s expression was full of worry at the sight.

“Either way, there’s no other way. Right now, those guys are preparing a huge magic bomb in the back. We have to respond as quickly as possible and stop them.”

“Hmm… a magic bomb.”

“And the Tiger Clan is the most suitable for gaining the upper hand. There will be no one to oppose them in the meadow.”

The Tiger Clan used extreme martial arts to unleash waves of Qi [life force or spiritual energy]. Because their attack method was direct and strong, their power would be further maximized in the meadow.

“The front lines will collapse soon. The guys who encounter the Tiger Clan’s power for the first time will be flustered. At that time, the other races and I will all rush forward and launch a surprise attack.”

“Hmm. I understand.”

In a situation where we had to stop those guys as quickly as possible, there was no need for any other tactics.

[An all-out war.]

Taking advantage of the Tiger Clan’s surprise attack to launch a simultaneous assault.

‘Sometimes being simple-minded is the best.’

That was the best thing to do in the current situation.

We couldn’t talk for long.

“Kuaaaaang!”

The roars of the tigers began to echo through the meadow. Soon, the screams of humans would ring out.

“Everyone, let’s go.”

I quickly followed behind the Tiger Clan and rushed out of the Ego’s forest.

* * *

“I, It’s a different race!”

“Be careful!”

“Kuaaaaak!”

The meadow was in chaos.

The mages who had been constantly spewing fire magic were frozen as if they had seen a ghost.

The Tiger Clan members, who had been waiting only for this moment, shot out.

Kwaaaa!

The mages couldn’t withstand the Qi waves emanating from their arms. Thanks to that, the front row of mages was in complete disarray.

“Kuaaa!”

The Tiger Clan’s momentum seemed to pierce the sky.

However, there were experienced mages in various places.

“Don’t panic!”

“Straighten the ranks!”

They rushed into the broken ranks and quickly began to respond.

[They still have some system.]

‘Squad leaders, probably.’

The Magic Tower’s squad leaders. Mages of at least 7-star level were firmly holding their ground.

“Shoot water magic! The Tiger Clan is weak against water!”

As if they had already completed thorough investigations, they knew the information about the other races.

Chwaaa!

Streams of water shot out from their hands all at once.

Because of that, the Tiger Clan members stopped attacking and were busy avoiding the water.

‘Not a chance.’

However, the Tiger Clan had already played their part sufficiently.

‘How dare you come here on your own feet.’

My eyes, looking at the Magic Tower’s mages, were already deeply sunken.

Behind me were numerous other races who had been with me. The resentment they had accumulated in the Ego for thousands of years.

“Let’s go!”

They all burst out together.