Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 313

The group, having pinpointed the location and data of the secret facility slated for relocation to the undeveloped district, swiftly escaped District 6.

If the unconscious guards in the archive were discovered after a while, it would cause an uproar, but by then, the command vehicle would already be out of the city.

Hina, in the driver’s seat, was stepping on the accelerator with such fervor that it felt completely natural.

Screech!!

Even superhumans, capable of taking on entire military units single-handedly, were helplessly swaying whenever the steering wheel turned.

As soon as they left the outer district, the scenery blurring past the windshield was barely discernible.

Pallard, in the passenger seat, asked with a disgruntled look.

“Uh, couldn’t we go a little… slower?”

Hina, adjusting her glasses with a calm face, replied.

“Deputy Director, what are you talking about? There’s no time to hesitate when every minute counts. We need to link up before we seriously encounter the mobile fortress.”

“W-Well, that’s true.”

“Moreover, after causing such a commotion in District 6, we need to move to an area where communication will be cut off by the self-storm [a localized electromagnetic disturbance] as quickly as possible. If we get out of range before the phones here start ringing, we can claim we couldn’t be reached in the operation zone.”

“……”

At Hina’s resolute words, Pallard silently fastened his seatbelt.

“Keep pushing it to the limit.”

Bwaaaaaaaang!!!

In the tilting vehicle, Aris muttered, sounding dumbfounded.

“I don’t think this is the time to be joking around.”

“That’s not entirely wrong.”

Iriya, sitting across from him, replied.

“Even if we get our hands on the information about the secret facility, it won’t mean anything if we can’t deliver it to those fighting the Defense Forces in the undeveloped district.”

“That’s true, but the durability and speed of this command vehicle aren’t that great. If we rush and the vehicle overturns, we might end up wasting magic power unnecessarily to move everyone.”

Both of their opinions made sense.

It was natural to head to the undeveloped district as quickly as possible, but a command vehicle with an operation table like this would typically sacrifice some vehicle functions for a larger interior and the ability to accommodate many people.

In fact, the interior of the vehicle was constantly swaying as Hina increased the speed.

“If you’re so worried, why don’t you use a spell to balance it?”

“If you’re not going to help, are you going to drive the vehicle yourself?”

The atmosphere turned sharp in an instant. Considering what they had to do from now on, it wasn’t surprising that they weren’t speaking nicely to each other.

However, unlike Iriya, who was naturally sharp-tongued, there was a reason why Aris suddenly didn’t avoid the provocation.

Lenok, who had been silent, let out a small sigh and began to draw on his magic power.

[Haste]

[Balance String]

[Feather Light]

When he layered three common spells to balance, lighten the vehicle’s weight, and increase its speed, and slammed them into the vehicle’s wall, the vehicle instantly stabilized and its speed soared.

Ignoring the surprised glances, Lenok opened his mouth.

“It seems like there won’t be any problems like this, is it okay?”

“It’s very comfortable. Why didn’t you do it sooner?”

Pallard replied nonchalantly, turning his seat back.

“Now that it’s come to this, it’s better to interpret the data stolen from the archive now and quickly pinpoint the location. If Hina makes a mistake, I’m a dead man, so do it right.”

“How can someone who is a Deputy Director say such nonsense… Please stop saying strange things.”

Pallard, cleanly ignoring Hina’s sighing reply, unfolded the shelf on the table and placed five hard disks and dozens of documents on it.

Even though they had only selected and stolen data related to the relocation of facilities in closed areas from the 20-year-old city expansion development plan, the amount was still this much.

Pallard, holding one of the disks placed on top and inserting it into the connector below the shelf, opened his mouth.

“When the development plan was underway 20 years ago, there weren’t many secret facilities that were actually attempted to be relocated from the closed areas. Among them, there were even fewer cases that showed visible results.”

“If we only review the successful cases, it won’t take that long.”

“Right. But what if the successful facility relocation was like this case?”

Click.

With that word, the disk loaded and projected a hologram onto the table.

After roughly clearing away the pile of documents blocking the light, everyone’s faces turned pale as they recognized the appearance of the facility shown in the hologram.

“Magic core fission reactor, thought-guided ballistic missile launch test site, spirit satellite launch pad, corpse disposal site… These are dangerous facilities that are too risky to hide within the city, and most of them are related to failed projects.”

“If Gearsides intends to revive those projects, it’ll be a disaster.”

Pallard nodded at Lenok’s words.

“If you roughly understand what kind of facilities we need to find in the data, let’s start quickly. Let’s get this done before Hina burns all the fuel in this vehicle.”

“If you keep acting like that, I might really just turn the passenger seat and crash into you.”

“……”

* * *

It’s not difficult to deduce the route of the mobile fortress advancing towards the vicinity of the giant city beyond the outer perimeter.

The important thing is to deal with the main forces of the Defense Forces that are not staying in the fortress but are coming out to occupy the surrounding areas and establish a front line.

“Move faster!!”

“We need to finish our preparations before they start building their base over there!!”

Even though the Defense Forces had declined over the past 20 years, their organizational power, which had maintained the front line towards the central continent for so long, was not something to be ignored.

Satellite city Delta in the undeveloped district, which exactly overlaps with the predicted route of the mobile fortress.

One of the core projects of the city expansion development plan, and one of the abandoned cities called the biggest failure.

In the empty city center, filled with a desolate fog as if ghosts had swept through it.

Over hundreds of superhumans were engaged in a desperate battle.

Pshhh!!

“Grenade! In front of the shield bearers! Deploy shields, check power supply!!”

“Air fire support is weak, about to lose air superiority!! Designated marksmen, request support…!!”

The agent field response team, free from the restrictions of the Golden Law [a set of regulations or laws].

Along with them, the freelancers and mercenaries from the shadows who had directly stepped up for this mission.

Teams were formed around agent personnel who had undergone a certain level of organization and combat training, and the urban warfare taking place throughout the satellite city was constantly fluctuating.

“B3 sector team annihilated! Confirmation of the destruction of the 4th retreat route, we need to retreat right now!!”

“Damn it, that’s easier said than done!!”

Donovan, holding a heavy gatling gun and firing like crazy, shouted at the top of his lungs.

“If we retreat any further, we’ll be completely pushed out of the city!! Are you all planning to die together just to live half a day longer!!”

“Preserving our forces is the priority. We need to hold out at least until the Deputy Director arrives!”

“It’s no use.”

Kuuuung!!

At that moment, a precisely compressed wave erupted from the other side of the city, violently pounding the hearts of the people nearby.

“Damn it…”

Along with Donovan’s curse, a man in military uniform walked out from where the gaze reached.

His appearance, covered in blood from head to toe as if he had just finished a massacre, was eerily gruesome.

The epaulets on his shoulders and the insignia on his chest were privileges given only to colonels of the Defense Forces headquarters.

The colonel stared at Donovan’s face for a moment, then nodded as if he had belatedly realized something.

“Donovan White. So you were the one who maintained the enemy’s front line until now. I apologize for not finding out beforehand.”

“……”

“I’ve been carrying out operations for 8 hours straight, so I’m quite tired. I’ve been getting adjustments from time to time, but the mental fatigue is unavoidable.”

“You monster…”

The reason why the agent field personnel and the freelancers who were experienced in combat had been relentlessly pushed back after establishing a front line in the satellite city.

The fundamental reason was the unbelievable stamina of the Defense Forces, who continued to fight without end.

As if they had focused on developing individual combat abilities rather than organizational power, the movements of the Defense Forces’ main forces were not systematic, but the colonel’s and a few other superhuman forces’ bizarre level of combat endurance was holding back the allied forces.

“You’re having a lot of fun after joining hands with those machine freaks. It seems like you’re not even trying to hide it anymore?”

Donovan mocked his opponent while trying to memorize his appearance.

His features, with their unusually pale color, were striking, but what stood out more was the presence of magic light that seemed to float like magic circuits on his skin.

The pale magic light, like that flowing on the surface of a machine, was constantly flowing over the colonel’s skin.

Considering that they had joined hands with Gearsides, that was probably the trace of physical modification.

“Think what you want.”

However, even after hearing those words, the colonel raised the sword in his hand with an expressionless face.

“I don’t intend to stop until I take this satellite city today.”

Waaaaaaaah!!

With those words, the Defense Forces’ brigade forces poured out like a flood from behind the colonel.

“…We’re going to retreat from the front line.”

The agent field personnel, biting their lips, picked up the communicator.

“From this point on, give up occupying satellite city Delta and retreat…!!!”

Kwaaa kwa kwa kwang!!!

At that moment, a dry thunderclap echoed in the sky far away.

The moment they recognized the sound, blue lightning was already falling in front of their eyes.

More than a dozen streaks of lightning that had shot through the cloudy sky lined up and ran through the middle of the city, stirring the surroundings with their immense heat and impact.

The tip of the spear of intense firepower, which was difficult to withstand even for a moment, was aimed directly at the Defense Forces’ brigade forces running behind the colonel.

The speed of the lightning running on the ground was faster than a moment, but no one could withstand the barrage of lightning.

“Kkyaaaaaaak!!”

“C-Colonel!!”

“D-Die…!!!”

Kwaaaaaaaaah!!

A long scar was etched into the Defense Forces’ formation as if a giant lightning whip had struck down, revealing the appearance of corpses pressed into the gaps.

Immediately after, the burst of lightning split into dozens of strands, transforming into the shape of wolves and madly pounding the entire area.

The Defense Forces’ morale was instantly broken by the overwhelming and violent carnage.

With brightened faces, Donovan and the personnel turned their heads.

“Were we too late?”

The command vehicle, so tattered that two of its wheels had fallen off.

Pallard, who appeared from the passenger seat with a haggard face, grinned.

“Deputy Director!!”

“Ban!!”

Donovan ran forward, calling Lenok’s name with an expression as if he were greeting a friend of ten years.

Lenok, who got out of the vehicle, waved his hand casually while holding a cigarette in his mouth.

Aris, who followed him out, stared at the magic that Lenok had unleashed and asked.

“Is there a reason why you chose the shape of a wolf?”

“……Huh?”

“It’s not a bad choice to borrow the shape of an animal in elemental magic. Aside from the fact that it’s easy for personal preferences to be included, it’s relatively easy to construct an image.”

“Do you use a similar method, Professor?”

“I wonder…”

Aris did not answer clearly.

Instead, she reached out her hand towards the cloudy sky and began to draw on her magic power.

“Since the weather is bad, it seems like there’s something I can do.”

Uuuuuuung!!

The magic power that rotated from her body pressed down and bloomed in all directions, and in an instant, rain began to pour down from the cloudy sky.

Hudududuk!!

The raindrops that began to fall upside down towards the ground immediately froze upon touching the ground, covering the surroundings with a white field.

Jjeo jjeo jjeo jjeok!!

It was truly a magnificent sight, but Lenok was speechless for a completely different reason.

On the ice rink that Aris had created, baby foxes made of ice began to rise one by one.

“……”

It wasn’t difficult to guess which spirit the appearance of those foxes was based on.

Regardless of Lenok’s feelings, the foxes running on the ice rink instantly froze the Defense Forces and bound their bodies alive.

Jjeo jjeo jjeok!!

“Hwaaaak!!”

“C-Cold…!!”

“We were told we could withstand sub-zero temperatures, how…!!”

A powerful elemental control ability that freely uses and transforms water manipulation and freezing control.

The essence of elemental transformation, which had gone one step further from the change in the nature of magic power and had solidified as Aris Richelene’s unique characteristic, unfolded in that place.

The sight of the wide 8-lane road of the satellite city instantly turning into a white ice field made people gape.

“To control the environment near the city so easily…”

“If you can handle attributes so freely, does that mean it’s not even difficult to control the surrounding environment?”

Donovan, turning his head sharply, shouted towards the agent field response team.

“Send a message to all teams! Our aces have arrived!!”

“Understood…!!”

Kwaaaaaa!!

The barrage and rocket launchers fired by the allied forces, led by Donovan, simultaneously spewed fire, completely turning the frozen Defense Forces into corpses.

The relentless lightning strikes continued to prevent the Defense Forces from maintaining their formation.

Meanwhile, the magic power that Lenok and Aris alternately drew up connected the phenomena they had created, constantly giving rise to different forms.

Whirrrrrrr!!

Lenok, grabbing the cold air rising from the ice rink created by Aris, created a blizzard.

Hududududuk!!

Aris, grabbing the hail created by the blizzard in the air, melted the ice and turned it into a mass of water.

The scattered water swirled in all directions and rushed towards those who survived and resisted.

Kaga gagak!!!

The breath of cold that the two mages were constantly injecting into the middle of the street. Its aftermath spread like paint in all directions, painting the enemy’s blood instead of the allies’.

And in the center of the rapidly dwindling Defense Forces’ brigade, the colonel raised his head with a cold face.

“I thought things were going too easily, so the Iron Fortress and its lackeys have finally arrived.”

Click!!

When he flicked the folding knife he had taken out from his waist, it expanded as if the blade was swelling, transforming into a long blade.

A cold magic light, similar to the one that had formed on his hand, was reflected on the sharp blade.

The colonel, gathering the flowing energy, dragged the blade on the ground and began to walk forward.

“But the fact that you’re still here is proof that you don’t know anything.”

Whirrrrrrr!!

“I will buy time myself until the general arrives at this place.”

As if the gestures he had been using to massacre the allied forces until now were not his full power, the sword in the colonel’s hand began to vibrate fiercely.

“You will never win in our battlefield, absolutely-!!”

Dudududu!!

At that moment, five super-vibrating spears that had been shot down from the sky were instantly slammed into the colonel’s surroundings.

The hair that emitted an unusual reflective light fluttered.

The moment he noticed, Iriya’s sharp killing intent was already digging into the colonel’s vitals.

Kaga gagagak!!!

The spears that were embedded around the colonel vibrated fiercely, turning the ground into a pulp.

The colonel’s balance, who had tried to respond like lightning, was shaken by the collapsing ground.

With Iriya’s gesture, who did not miss that fleeting moment, the sharp energy of the spears shot from five directions pierced the colonel’s body.

Pook!!

“Ugh, ugh…!!”

Five spears aimed at his vitals. Even in the situation where the ground beneath his feet was collapsing, the colonel managed to avoid four of the spears and swung his blade back at Iriya.

However, unable to withstand the vibration of the spear that had flown straight at him, the blade was broken in half.

Immediately after, his entire body was pierced by the spears, and his internal organs were completely crushed.

The battle that had been pushed to the brink of death ended at the same time as the colonel’s body was pierced by the spears that had risen upside down.

It was as if the battle just now had been a lie, as the three Saint-level superhumans appeared on the scene and resolved the situation at once.

The two mages in the rear pushed back the Defense Forces’ forces that were pouring down the 8-lane road, and Iriya, the vanguard, assassinated the leader, the colonel, in the meantime.

A move that overturned the situation at once by simultaneously dealing with the enemy’s main forces and their leader.

However, despite the pain of his internal organs being twisted and crushed, the colonel gave a crazed laugh.

“Hh, hheee…!! How arrogant, how very arrogant…!! Did our struggle seem so laughable to you…!!”

“……”

“You won’t be able to stop anything… nothing…”

The moment Lenok, who had met the colonel’s blurred eyes and gaze, took out his cell phone from his pocket.

Kuuuung!!

A huge explosion erupted from the other side of the satellite city, brightly illuminating the fog-filled city.

The colonel, realizing the direction, was startled even as he was dying.

[Ban, are you listening?]

A heavy male voice began to be heard from Lenok’s cell phone, which was on speaker.

[This is Felix from the Antares Office. We have just recaptured the artificial cultivation facility hidden in the underground area of satellite city Delta.]

“…!!!”

The moment he heard those words, the colonel’s eyes widened, and his whole body began to convulse.

His face was so exposed, as if a weakness he had been trying to hide had been revealed in one go.

His features, which had seemed to have blurred emotions, were distorted miserably, revealing his inner feelings.

“I’ve never underestimated the Defense Forces’ power.”

Lenok slightly lowered his head and said, meeting the colonel’s collapsed face and eyes.

“That’s why it took so long to prepare like this.”