Genius Wizard Hides His Sword Skills [EN]: Chapter 60

Ego’s Forest (3)

“Little human. Wh-what are you trying to do?”

“We need to stop that thing. Quickly! It’s about to explode.”

The Leaf Folk grabbed my hand, hesitating. I understood their concern.

“There’s no way to stop it! Only the caster can retrieve the mana!”

That was true. It was a device that would only stop if the caster retrieved the mana they had infused.

It couldn’t even be destroyed by physical force. It was an object so strong that ordinary weapons wouldn’t even scratch it.

‘So, Rakhoon, that bastard must be feeling triumphant.’

If he were killed, the mana bomb could never be disarmed. That was why he confidently shouted within the Ego.

In his mind, it was a foolproof method.

‘Stupid bastard.’

Not every tactic works for everyone.

“I can stop it. Just get me over there quickly.”

“How are you going to stop it? Are you going to persuade him?”

“No. I have another way. Hurry!”

The Leaf Folk reluctantly grabbed my hand tightly. They didn’t have any other options.

“Hold on tight, little human.”

Their figure blurred again, moving quickly. Rakhoon shouted at our sudden appearance.

“You bastards! What are you plotting! If you harm me, we all die together!”

But before he could finish, I was already in front of him.

“What else? I’m trying to stop the crazy thing you’re about to do.”

Swish!

I pulled out the dagger from my cloak and pointed it at Rakhoon.

“You crazy bastard!”

He probably didn’t expect a blade to be thrust in his face.

“Ugh!”

He stumbled backward, tripped over a rock, and fell. The red orb slipped from his hand. The mana bomb rolled and stopped next to his face.

“Little human! You mustn’t kill him!”

The Leaf Folk’s best warrior rushed towards us in desperation.

But even the fastest Leaf Folk couldn’t be faster than a dagger swung right in front of them.

Whooong!

The aura-infused dagger.

Thwack!

Quickly plunged down.

Everyone around was shocked by the sudden action.

“Little human. Wh-what have you done!”

Kral, who was approaching, stopped in his tracks with a look of despair.

Silence enveloped the surroundings for a moment. Fortunately, the tense silence didn’t last long.

“Hu, huh!”

Soon, a man’s rough breathing echoed. It was Rakhoon, gasping for air.

‘He’s scared stiff.’

The dagger hadn’t pierced Rakhoon’s head. From the start, my target was the red orb next to his head.

The mana bomb shattered by the dagger.

Pajik!

Only a faint cloud of smoke rose from within.

“…How!”

Rakhoon, still lying down, glanced at the spot near his head. His eyes were filled with astonishment.

The mana bomb was supposed to be unbreakable by physical force, let alone ordinary magic.

“Y-you did this?”

His bewildered attitude was a natural result.

[What a ridiculous fool.]

It might have been the best move he could come up with, but…

‘He just hasn’t met an aura user.’

The weakness of the mana bomb was aura. The mana orb, which wouldn’t even scratch with ordinary physical impact, could be easily broken by a weapon imbued with aura.

However, Rakhoon had no way of knowing that. Soon, his eyes began to fill with anger.

“Dorn’s General Store, those sons of bitches! They sold me a fake!”

He mistakenly thought he had bought a fake mana bomb. But the energy I felt was definitely that of a mana bomb.

‘Dorn’s General Store……’

The name Dorn came up again from his mouth.

[Dealing in interspecies trafficking and mana bombs.]

They were dealing with quite concerning items.

“You bastard! It’s all your fault!”

At that moment, Rakhoon reached out. Mana was gathering at the tip of his finger, aimed at me.

‘Not a chance!’

Just as I was about to swing my dagger again.

Thwack!

Something sharp pierced his neck faster than I could react.

“Little human. Are you alright?”

It was a leaf that Kral had shot. Rakhoon didn’t even let out a death cry, dying with his eyes wide open.

“Of course.”

I was just retrieving the dagger that had lost its purpose.

“How did you do it?”

Kral pointed to the shattered mana bomb.

“I’ll tell you about that later. How about we clean up here first?”

Since Rakhoon’s surviving group was still present, he slowly nodded.

“Capture the rest of the humans!”

At Kral’s command, the remaining members flinched. Despair filled their faces. It was hard to find any hope in their expressions.

“You bad guys.”

“You will be imprisoned in the Ego for life.”

The men were captured by the Leaf Folk. With their leader Rakhoon killed by Kral’s attack, they didn’t even have the will to resist.

“What’s going on!”

To make matters worse, a situation unfolded that brought even more despair to the humans’ faces.

[Another guest, huh.]

Numerous beings emerged from the forest. The residents of the Ego revealed their diverse appearances. They resembled humans but had different characteristics.

“Is it their doing!”

“To dare harm the Ego!”

They had sensed the energy of the mana bomb and appeared.

‘The Snow Rabbit Tribe, the White Wolf Tribe, and the Cat Tribe. Oh, the Origin Tribe is here too!’

I was more than happy to see them all gathered, but…

‘Ah, those guys are a bit much.’

There was one race that was particularly bothersome. They were much larger than humans, with short fur covering their entire bodies, and tiger stripes in between. It was as if a giant tiger was standing on two feet.

[The Tiger Tribe, huh.]

They were one of the most warlike races. They would kill any human they saw. They were even avoided by other races.

“Keheong! Leaf Folk. You’re not planning to keep those humans alive, are you?”

The other races flinched at their growling. It was the Tiger Tribe pointing at the men captured by the Leaf Folk.

“They will be imprisoned in our dwelling.”

“What nonsense! All humans who come here must be killed!”

Among them, the largest Tiger Tribe member’s figure seemed to blur.

Thwack!

His sharp claws pierced one of Rakhoon’s men.

“Keo, keoeok!”

The man, still bound, was stabbed in the lungs. But the Tiger Tribe’s actions didn’t stop there. He pierced the man’s head with his other hand.

Chaaak!

Then, he spread his arms and tore the body apart, showing off his immense strength as if to show off.

Even the Leaf Folk didn’t try to stand up to the sudden action. The Tiger Tribe’s unilateral massacre continued until all the remaining members were dead.

‘……They’re still the same.’

Matching their fierce temperament, they had tremendous martial skills. It was impossible to compare them to ordinary knights, but they moved at least at the level of a 7-star knight.

“What about those little humans?”

Eventually, the Tiger Tribe’s sharp gaze was directed at Drew and me.

‘This is awkward.’

[Of all the tribes, it had to be the Tiger Tribe.]

Drew and I had already gained the favor of the Leaf Folk, but the situation was far from easy.

“They are benefactors of the Ego. This little human stopped the mana bomb.”

Kral stood in front of us. Nevertheless, the Tiger Tribe warrior bared his sharp fangs.

“Huh! Calling a human a benefactor of the Ego? Are you really out of your minds!”

“Thanks to the little human, we prevented a disaster in the Ego. We can’t touch them.”

However, Kral’s attitude was unwavering.

“Leaf Folk! Do you want to be kicked out of the Ego! How many comrades have sacrificed themselves because of humans!”

The Tiger Tribe roared again. The howling he emitted seemed to tear at our ears.

A touch-and-go situation. The momentum of the two beings, who seemed ready to clash at any moment, was suffocating.

‘Even Kral would have a hard time against those guys.’

Even if he was the best warrior, it wouldn’t be easy to fight the Tiger Tribe, who were born for battle. Moreover, there wasn’t just one Tiger Tribe member.

“Do you want to die!”

“Kral! How dare you stand against us!”

The Tiger Tribe members surrounded Kral in an instant.

“Even if you are residents of the Ego, there will be no more mercy. Hand over the little humans. Otherwise, we will kill you too.”

In the end, the one who massacred Rakhoon’s men opened his mouth last. Red blood was still dripping from his claws.

The men were gradually tightening the noose around Kral.

“Keheong!”

It was the moment his mouth opened wide.

Whooong!

The trees began to vibrate violently. The trees around us stretched out their branches.

Chwaaak!

As if they had a will of their own, the branches bound the Tiger Tribe’s limbs.

[Oho.]

I was able to regain hope at that sight.

“How dare you bare your claws at anyone!”

The Tiger Tribe’s momentum was broken by the voice that appeared.

‘Good timing.’

A being landed on the branches that surrounded the Tiger Tribe. He looked similar to the other Leaf Folk, but his entire body had a subtle glow.

“Chief!”

The other Leaf Folk, including Kral, bowed their heads. He was the leader of the Leaf Folk.

“Kral. What happened? What was that power from earlier?”

“The humans were trying to detonate a mana bomb. This little human stopped it.”

From then on, the Leaf Folk gathered around the chief and began to chatter.

“The little human also has the Leaf Folk emblem.”

“But the Tiger Tribe tried to kill them.”

“It’s a relief that the chief came.”

The chief nodded, as if he understood the situation at once. The chief approached the Tiger Tribe members, who were tied up.

“Tiger Tribe warriors, I understand your feelings, but attacking fellow residents of the Ego is forbidden. Have you forgotten the rules?”

It was only after the Leaf Folk chief appeared that the Tiger Tribe members backed down.

“Ahem! Let’s put this down first and talk.”

Only then did the branches that were holding them return to their original positions.

“We also have the same desire to protect the Ego. Even if they are humans, how can we harm the Ego’s benefactors?”

“Chief, why are you protecting the humans? You shouldn’t be doing that? The Leaf Folk must have suffered the most damage from the humans.”

“That’s none of your business. We will take these little humans.”

The Leaf Folk chief was unwavering. No matter how strong the Tiger Tribe’s combat power was, it wasn’t enough to ignore the chief.

In the end, the Tiger Tribe had no choice but to back down.

“Tch! If anything happens to the Ego because of those little humans…”

The Tiger Tribe, after baring his teeth once, continued.

“The Tiger Tribe chief won’t stand still.”

“So be it.”

The Tiger Tribe growled at me for a moment.

“You’re very lucky, little human.”

Turning away, they quickly disappeared somewhere in the forest.

‘That’s a relief.’

The Leaf Folk chief didn’t forget to reassure the remaining races.

“Don’t worry, everyone else. This little human is a benefactor of the Ego and has the Leaf Folk emblem. I will take responsibility and control them.”

The situation was quickly resolved when the chief stepped in. The other races also left one by one.

“Let’s go to our dwelling. It’s not good to talk here.”

The Leaf Folk chief extended his hand to us.