Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 120

I won’t settle for the present; I’ll push forward to the very end.

That’s why he was here, taking stock of all the gains and losses.

Clunk!

Cheisha, who had just fired a bazooka, smoke still rising from the spent cartridge, said,

“That was a good start.”

It wasn’t really her place to say that, considering she was the one who initiated it.

“As planned, you and Hina will lead Squads 1 and 2 into the main base. I’ll keep an eye on Squads 3 and 4 and then move in later.”

Squad 1, led by Chen, and Squad 2, nominally commanded by Renok.

And Squads 3 and 4, which were reinforced for this operation.

Since they were all hired as freelancers or free mercenaries, their individual skills might be outstanding, but their teamwork could be an issue.

Cheisha was saying that she would take a position in this open area and provide long-range support to the other two squads.

“Are you sure about this?”

It could be seen as a decision befitting an artillery specialist, but conversely, Cheisha remaining alone in this place meant she was taking on a considerable risk.

She said she would move with Squads 3 and 4, but in reality, wasn’t she just staying here and firing artillery without any real protection?

“It’s a calculated risk.”

Cheisha said with a nonchalant expression.

“If it’s a place this wide open, I can clearly detect anyone trying to escape from the main base with my vision. It’s more certain that I confirm whether important figures like Craig or Jaun are still inside the base before I move in.”

“…Alright.”

There was nothing wrong with her reasoning.

Renok, too, could cover the entire area around this labor camp with his magic detection ability, but he didn’t have the mobility to chase after someone who was determined to escape.

It was reasonable for Renok, who had slow but powerful firepower, to enter the main base, and for Cheisha, who had both mobility and long-range support capabilities, to control the situation in this area.

Renok turned his body around, exhaling smoke between his teeth.

There would be no failure.

From the moment the Agency’s enforcers directly participated in this operation, victory was already leaning in their favor.

The only remaining questions were whether the outcome of this operation would be satisfactory to both Renok and the Agency, and what Craig was hiding.

‘I’ve been steadily studying the necromantic formulas.’

He didn’t know how research into a system of formulas that was clearly different from magic would help, but…

Hoping it wouldn’t be a futile effort, Renok immediately turned his back to Cheisha and started walking.

Kwaang!!

At the same time, Chen, who had appeared by breaking through the collapsed cement wall, smiled at Renok.

“This is the final operation.”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s go all the way. Even if it’s just to secure my start-up funds.”

#

Whoosh!

Cheisha, watching the group disappear with Chen, silently looked down at the magazine in her hand.

A magazine with sleek, metallic, gleaming bullets neatly arranged.

She shoved it whole into the bazooka she had taken out and took her stance.

Whirrrrr!

As the turret on her shoulder locked into place, the black barrel moved and transformed to match the caliber of the loaded ammunition.

At the same time, two support legs extended from the turret, firmly supporting her back.

Then, a heavy pillar descended from the bottom of the magazine and rooted itself into the ground.

Immediately after, the deployed turret split into more than five parts, aiming in all directions.

[Firing angle adjustment complete. 46 incendiary rounds loaded and ready to fire in sequence. 10 seconds until impact confirmation.]

A hologram appeared before Cheisha’s eyes.

Below it, a chaotic array of formulas was rapidly scrolling.

Cheisha, idly blowing a bubble with her gum, stared blankly at the scene and suddenly said,

“Team leader, he’s a bit different from what I expected?”

[In what way?]

As she heard Ivelin’s dazed voice from the earpiece, she tilted her head, and the speed at which the formulas unfolded below the hologram increased even more.

“You said he was the most talented mage you’d seen recently. But somehow, he doesn’t feel like a mage?”

Thump-thump-thump!!!

Immediately after, the five split turrets moved, firing dozens of rounds in all directions in an instant.

The flashes of light that swam through the cloudy sky pierced the abandoned ruins.

Kwakwakwakwakwang!!!

“I was expecting someone… a bit of a screwball, a bit of an idiot.”

[If that’s what you thought, you were completely mistaken.]

Ivelin chuckled lightly.

[That man is a gambler who, even with a knife to his throat, would think of a counterattack rather than be surprised. If you imagined someone eccentric, you’re way off.]

Even as they casually chatted, the hologram displayed above the turret was spinning wildly, spitting out formulas.

All of this was not being automatically calculated by the AI installed in the turret, but was being directly calculated in Cheisha’s mind.

The target point, the firing angle, the bullet speed, the damage range of the impact point, and the time it would take to fire.

Instead of offloading all the software needed for the bombardment to the user, the modified weapon ‘Tartarus’ was packed with the functions needed for bombardment to the extreme.

Because she alone could handle all of those calculations, she was able to carry around such a massive artillery weapon by herself.

Cheisha Arwell was an enforcer who had acquired the position of a lone-moving artillery specialist due to her innate mental calculation abilities and special psychic powers.

“Well, whatever. He’s an external consultant, right? I’ll have to give him this thing and ask him about it after this operation is over.”

[…I don’t think you should do anything unnecessary.]

“Why? It’ll be fun.”

As she said that and pulled the trigger, flashes of light once again flickered throughout the labor camp, beginning to wipe out Falchion’s members.

A one-sided bombardment.

Even if the members of the other organization were relatively untrained, if they were subjected to such immense firepower, they would have no choice but to acknowledge her presence.

Cheisha, having confirmed several streams of magic power already turning towards her, grinned and reached for her parked motorcycle.

Charrrr!

The cartridge opened wide, revealing dozens of magazines inside.

She took one of them and unhesitatingly slammed it into the bazooka, then raised the muzzle again.

Once again, a hologram appeared, and the turret spat fire.

The fireworks were just beginning.

#

The group that had joined Chen quickly moved towards the center of the labor camp.

The approaching Falchion members and the few black mages were quickly dealt with by the other freelancers.

Dududududu!!

“Ugh!!”

“What kind of firepower is that…!!”

The resistance of the members was fierce, but this side was a firepower unit that had been thoroughly armed for this operation alone.

They were only insisting on a frontal breakthrough, but they could overwhelm the small forces that were approaching them by dispersing with the difference in firepower.

“Ban, this way!!”

“Crouch and move!!”

“Watch out for grenades next to you!!”

In the process, Renok didn’t lift a finger, but not a single person complained.

About half of the squad that was moving with Renok now were comrades who had recaptured the temporary base together in the desert.

While they were concerned about Renok’s safety in this place, there wasn’t a single person who could doubt his abilities.

“It’s down here…!!”

Following Chen’s voice, who seemed slightly out of breath, they turned their heads and saw a huge eight-lane road.

The road, which was expected to be used by hundreds of vehicles, was now littered with all sorts of broken structures and cracked asphalt.

A huge crack running across the center lane was the only thing that hinted at its end.

And at the center of that crack.

In front of a huge sinkhole that was gaping open in the middle of the eight-lane road, dozens of freelancers swallowed nervously with tense expressions.

“According to the location information, this seems to be the place…”

“Damn, isn’t it too deep?”

“We don’t even know what’s inside.”

As the freelancers began to waver at the sight of the bottomless hole, Chen looked around and quickly said,

“It’s precisely because of this situation that we need to go inside.”

“What?”

“Just from Cheisha’s one artillery strike, the number of members who were thrown out was over a hundred. So how many people do you think are left inside?”

“………”

At Chen’s words, the freelancers quietly looked at each other.

“…I guess.”

“Come to think of it, there were a lot of guys we fought at the temporary base who didn’t have any magic.”

“Were we too intimidated by the word ‘terrorist organization’?”

As if waiting for those words, Chen slyly pointed at Renok and said,

“Besides, there’s a mage here. A mage who’s over level 5. Do you know what that means?”

Chen grinned as he watched the freelancers’ eyes light up with excitement.

“Got it? Just close your eyes and lead the way. Then you’ll get the money for five jobs in one go.”

Renok inwardly nodded as he watched Chen.

Instead of emphasizing useless grit or mental fortitude to boost morale, he was presenting a plausible opinion, reminding them once again that this operation clearly had a good chance of success.

Even the fact that some of the members of Squads 1 and 2 gathered here were the same people who had participated in the temporary base raid with them was a carefully calculated move.

It was a flawless persuasion.

Renok’s job was to add visible trust to Chen’s fluent speech.

“Chen is right.”

At his calm voice, everyone turned their heads and looked at Renok.

He calmly accepted their gaze and took the cigarette out of his mouth.

Flick!

The cigarette he flicked with his finger spun in the air and fell down into the crack.

[Ignite]

[Plus Red]

Whoosh…!!

The embers remaining in the cigarette flared up like an explosion, turning into a raging flame, and swelling like a balloon, it transformed into a house-sized sphere of fire.

A method he could only use as a simple check against Beck Clinton.

But how much time had passed since then, and how much had happened?

The flame he had just thrown was proof of how much Renok had grown.

Kwaaaaaang!!

A moment of silence passed, and then a huge pillar of fire soared to a height of over ten meters.

[Aaaargh!!]

[I, It’s an attack…!!]

Everyone stared blankly down into the crack at the painful screams coming from below.

Renok took out a new cigarette from his pocket, put it in his mouth, and grinned.

“Let’s finish this quickly and get out.”

Chen, hearing Renok’s words, grinned and was the first to throw himself into the crack where the pillar of fire had disappeared, and the other freelancers also jumped into the crack as if they were bewitched.

Check (1)

Renok also cast levitation magic on his shoes and threw himself down.

Kwaaaang!!

The moment he landed on the dark floor, he saw a wide corridor.

Unlike the shabby scenery above ground, the corridor inside the crack was neatly trimmed, and the walls were firmly built with iron plates.

It was clear at a glance that this was a facility that someone had artificially created.

Renok nodded at the traces of dark magic that he felt as soon as he came down.

‘It seems they had a barrier in place to prevent magic from leaking out, with the boundary between the surface and the underground.’

Looking at the corpses lying around with burns, it seemed they had been hit directly by Renok’s fireball while defending the entrance to the main base, but…