Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 343

At the completely unexpected question, Lenox momentarily glanced around.

The noise magic was still working perfectly.

There was no one who could have overheard Lafford’s words.

Perhaps the dog-headed giant was also somewhat aware of this, which was why he had taken the time to seek out Lenox after the meeting had ended.

However, Lafford continued speaking, unfazed by Lenox’s reaction.

“I’m here to kill that monster. So, you’d better not lie.”

Lafford’s eyes glowed with a sinister yellow light.

“Where is Kroken?”

“…Are all you giants related to Kroken or something? Every one I meet is unusually obsessed.”

“I wouldn’t know. That ill-fated connection isn’t mine, but rather something left behind by that monster, like a scar.”

He replied, letting out bluish magical vapor around his mouth.

“So, if you want my cooperation as a Watcher, you should choose your answers carefully.”

“Before that, I have something I want to ask.”

Ignoring Lafford’s piercing gaze, Lenox countered.

“It’s been almost fifteen days since I came into contact with Kroken. I’m not one to leave traces, nor do I go around showing off trophies like that monster’s scales. So, for you to have found traces of Kroken on me means…”

With that, Lenox’s left eye began to rotate, transforming into a purple magic eye.

“It seems to be deeply connected to your inner state. Am I wrong?”

The air grew stiff.

A cold wind pierced through the barrier of noise magic, but it couldn’t hide the worried gazes from those around them.

Lafford stared at Lenox’s face for a moment, then slowly extinguished the light emanating from his eyes.

“I spoke out of turn. I never expected you to try and question my abilities here… You’re an impudent one.”

“If you’re willing to exchange information about that, I’m also willing to tell you about Kroken’s whereabouts. How about it?”

“……”

What happened with Kroken wasn’t exactly a big secret.

At Lenox’s calm words, Lafford fell silent, a slightly troubled expression on his face.

Then, he suddenly turned his gaze towards the snowy field below the floating island and muttered.

“The riffraff are being annoying.”

“What?”

Lenox turned his gaze a beat later and realized what he meant.

Amidst the swirling blizzard, dozens of magical traces were rapidly approaching the floating island.

Lafford had recognized the approaching enemy faster than Lenox, whose magic detection was scattered in the snowy field.

Lafford casually stepped out of the noise magic’s boundary and nodded at Lenox.

“Follow me. Let’s talk down there.”

He said that and began to stride towards the edge of the floating island.

After glancing at the ground without a word, he jumped down several dozen meters and landed directly on the snow-covered field.

Thump!!

A small ripple formed in the snowfield, and a blizzard swirled around the dog-headed giant.

As Lenox silently looked down at him, a flustered Lapis approached and grabbed Lenox’s sleeve.

“Evan…!!”

“……”

“I don’t know what Lafford said, but you don’t have to deal with him here.”

“It’s not just because of that.”

Lenox replied, looking down at the spot where Lafford had jumped.

“Considering the speed at which that much power is approaching, there’s a high chance the floating island’s location has been exposed. Grisha, move the floating island back and erase the traces.”

“What are you going to do?”

At Grisha’s words, Lenox reached for the end of his sleeve and replied.

“I have to deal with them. Both those guys and Lafford.”

“Haa…”

Ivelin, who was standing next to him, sighed softly, but Lenox took out a potion from his pocket and chewed it.

“Besides, there’s something I want to check out this time.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll be back in a bit.”

Lenox said that and, without waiting for a reply, threw himself off the floating island.

Ivelin, watching the rapidly receding figure of the mage, sighed softly.

“Haa… He’s not going to listen.”

“Well, Evan has been like that since he first came to the Autonomous Territory.”

Grisha chuckled, puffing on the pipe he had somehow put in his mouth.

“I thought maybe if you were with him, he’d be a little more controlled, but I guess not. What a shame.”

“……”

“Oh, you’re not denying it this time? Did I perhaps interrupt your push and pull?”

As Grisha grinned mischievously, Lapis, who was caught between them, shook her head, looking flustered.

Seeing Sunmyung also glancing this way, Ivelin silently turned her gaze to the sky and began to gather her magic.

Bang!!

With a crater created in an instant, Ivelin gestured to the other Watchers as well.

“If you want to watch, come over here and take a look.”

“…Is that really alright?”

The other Watchers, who had questioned Lenox’s qualifications in the meeting, had followed after confirming the conflict, but they were hesitant to approach, seeing Lapis’s presence.

However, Ivelin nodded calmly.

“Yes. It’ll be easier to show you than to explain it.”

“……”

“It might be better to show them once like this and settle things cleanly.”

She muttered, turning her gaze towards the ground.

“To show you just how unique that man is.”

The dog-headed giant and the mage, who had landed on the ground, slowly began to gather their magic, staring at the approaching sources of power.

* * *

Lenox chuckled, having confirmed the sudden explosion that echoed from above the floating island.

“Focus.”

Lafford, who was standing next to him, said with his eyes closed.

“They’re quite perceptive if they detected Grisha’s floating island. It might be a difficult fight.”

Lenox laughed lightly at those words.

“You’re already talking like you’re weak. Did you come down to the ground with such vigor just to give me a warning now?”

“No, what I mean is…”

Lafford, who had come down earlier, checked Lenox’s appearance and immediately reached for the weapon on his back.

Thump!!

A stone pillar, befitting the dog-headed giant’s massive frame, was slammed vertically into the ground.

Lafford placed his hand on the stone pillar and replied.

“I meant, don’t be a hindrance.”

A heavy and massive blunt weapon, as if he had pulled out an entire support from a grand structure.

It was a pillar that didn’t seem to have a proper place to grip and swing. As he gathered his magic, the magic flowing through the pillar began to rotate.

Whoooom!!

As he rotated the magic while gripping the base of the pillar with one hand, the pillar in Lafford’s hand vibrated, drawing a dark spiral.

Lenox’s eyes gleamed as he looked at the weapon.

“You use a unique weapon. Is it a personal preference?”

A pillar with no place to hold properly. It had no blades at all, a primitive blunt weapon specialized only for smashing with its weight and surface.

In Lenox’s experience, using such a weapon meant that the user’s spells or inner state were specialized in that direction, or that the weapon itself was a powerful artifact.

However, Lafford shook his head at Lenox’s words.

“It’s faith.”

“…Faith?”

“They’re coming.”

The moment Lenox asked that, the identity of the magical sources that were rapidly approaching from the other side of the snowy field revealed themselves.

The figures of soldiers wearing thick helmets and pure white uniforms. Their color scheme was so perfect that it was difficult to see them properly with the naked eye in the snowfield.

They emitted a faint red glow from beyond their helmets and quickly began to surround them.

All of them were equipped with machine guns and heavy weapons, and behind them, mechanical beasts in the form of animals were supporting the vanguard.

“……”

At that unusual sight, Lenox naturally lowered his expression.

It was clearly a military organization that had been systematically trained. Just looking at the equipment they were wearing, it was easy to guess that they were handling an enormous amount of funds.

No matter who they were, it wouldn’t be good to get entangled with such an organization for long.

“We need to finish this quickly and get out of here.”

At Lenox’s words, Lafford cracked his neck from side to side and said.

“You said you wanted to see my inner state.”

He stepped ahead of Lenox and glanced back at him, muttering.

“If you can, try to see it for yourself.”

“What?”

There was no reply.

Whoooom!!

At the same time that Lafford gathered his magic, a hazy figure appeared in the air and covered his body.

Lafford’s body, which had been scattering green light all over, lowered his stance slightly and disappeared.

Bang!!

The massive body, which had dashed several dozen meters in an instant, came right up to them and swung the blunt weapon in his hand diagonally.

The force was so strong that the stone pillar he was holding looked like it was bending.

The giant’s body, stained with green and black, slammed into the approaching forces.

The blizzard that erupted from the ground scattered in all directions in an instant.

Kwaaaang!!

“Kill them!!”

“They’re charging into the rear, stop them!!”

The soldiers who had chased the floating island also poured the weapons they were holding at Lafford, but it was not enough.

Amidst the sleet that was rising like a mist, a jet-black figure dashed forward.

Sweeek!!

The dog-headed giant. The warrior, who had raised the form of a black dog, grabbed the center of the pillar with both hands and pressed down.

As the pillar rotated violently along his arm with the magic imbued in it, it scooped up the snowdrifts beneath his feet.

Puh-buh-buh-buk!!

In the snowfield where magic detection was not working well due to the presence of an Ascended One [a being of immense power].

In this environment, they were reducing the chance of response by obscuring the vision and blocking the senses one by one.

Once the sight and hearing were blocked by the blizzard and explosions, it was only natural that Lafford, who had relatively good senses, would have the first move.

Lafford’s dash, who had quickly distinguished the opponent’s position even in the pure white snowdrifts.

He broke through the front lines in an instant and headed for the rear, leaving behind the collapsing snow tower.

He broke through the ranks of the armed soldiers in an instant and aimed for the mechanical beasts beyond them.

The mechanical beasts that had been following behind the soldiers immediately focused the cannons all over their bodies on Lafford.

It was not a barrage of gunpowder and bullets, but military magic bullets that were fired by rotating condensed magic.

There was a high density of magic mixed in, enough to be clearly felt even amidst the heavy weapons that were exploding everywhere.

Kwaaaang!!!

Explosions mixed with red and blue flames echoed throughout the snowfield.

The heavy stone pillar that had sprung out from the explosions smashed directly into the head of a mechanical beast, crushing its body.

Uji-ji-jik!!

The dog-headed giant, who was scattering a faint green light from his entire body, climbed onto the broken mechanical beast and slung the stone pillar around.

Whioooooooo!!!

Even amidst this fierce battle, a unique tone, as if playing a harp, began to resonate above Lafford’s head.

At the same time that the spirit that had appeared above his head was singing, the rhythm was circling and rotating through the stone pillar.

Lafford gripped the pillar with both hands and slammed it hard into the ground.

[Sanctuary.]

Pa-a-a-a-a-a-at!!!

A light green wave spread out over the snowfield, illuminating the area like a mirror.

Immediately after, the power of the spirit that had been floating above Lafford’s head surged, and at the same time, it infused his body with even greater power.

Lenox watched the scene from afar, his eyes gleaming in a rare sight.

‘A virtuous cycle caused by the interaction between the body and the spirit. I’ve seen similar spells a few times, but this is the first time I’ve seen such a precise spirit.’

It wasn’t that Lenox hadn’t met warriors who fought by possessing spirits in their bodies.

During the fight with the Cigar Bang gang, the warrior who was with the vampire, or Beck Clinton, a high-ranking executive, had fought by possessing various spirits in their bodies.

However, the difference between them and Lafford was that the forms of the spirits they handled were clearly different.

Unlike Beck Clinton, who handled the spirits of animals such as bears and deer, Lafford was possessing the spirit of a giant whose entire body was covered in trees.

If you think about it in connection with the word faith that he had said, perhaps he was borrowing the power of the spirit that he believed in as a doctrine.

‘And this Sanctuary… It’s unbelievably far from a spell. Is the operating principle itself based on faith or belief?’

Assuming that the spirit was a summoned creature, it was impossible for the area created by receiving power from the summoned creature to amplify the power of the summoned creature in reverse.

This was because the power source that supplied the power had to be clear in any spell.

Wasn’t the magnetic field dreamscape that Davi had deployed also a spell created around Lenox’s magic?

Perhaps the way Lafford had read Kroken’s traces from Lenox was not physical power, but….

“Hoo…”

Lenox was about to examine this interesting power in more detail when he sighed at the sharp signs he felt around him.

Sensing that Lafford was breaking through their rear lines, the opponent had now begun to target Lenox, who was standing in the rear.

Dozens of life signs were hiding in the blizzard and secretly directing their magic towards him.

The moment Lenox was about to gather his magic against them,

[It smells delicious.]

Davi, who had raised his head from inside his pocket, sniffed.

“…What?”

[I smell the electricity I’ve eaten a few times, where is it?]

A loud explosion erupted right in front of them. The attack had begun towards them.

Lenox quickly summoned a carapace mass and hid behind it as a shield, then asked Davi again.

“Davi, what are you talking about? Electricity you’ve eaten?”

[You know, the one we ate in the desert.]

Davi wiggled his tail and struggled inside his coat.

[Those guys who talked too much. They smell the same?]

“…Wait, if it’s the desert, could it be…”

There was only one thing that came to mind when it came to the recent events in the desert.

Lenox, who had understood what Davi was saying in an instant, grabbed Davi’s front paws and lifted him up.

“Are those guys using Gearsyde’s equipment?”

[I think that was the name… maybe?]

“……”

Lenox, who still wasn’t very interested in remembering nouns, grabbed the spirit’s ear and stretched it out once, then immediately got up from his spot.

“That’s actually good.”

Lenox grinned as he captured the magic of the soldiers who were rapidly approaching.

“It’s time to work, Davi.”

Somehow, things seemed like they were going to be a little easier.

* * *

Lafford, who had crushed the last remaining mechanical beast with the pillar he was holding, raised his head.

“Cough…!!”

The pilot inside was already losing his breath rapidly, his lower body mangled.

The dog-headed giant rummaged through the pilot’s pocket and found a small notebook, muttering.

“The Baracheta Liberation Front…”

Thump!

He closed the notebook and placed it on the pilot’s chest as he said.

“To think there are still ignorant people clinging to worldly affairs. Human greed is truly inescapable.”

“Kuh, hic…”

The pilot, unable to speak properly, was shedding tears. Lafford, who was silently looking down at him, rummaged through his pocket without a word.

What he took out was a small bundle of leaves that resembled olive leaves.

Lafford, with his thick hands, sprinkled it on the pilot’s head and muttered.

“You who have endured three pains. Return to the bosom of the god you desire.”

“……”

At that moment, the pilot’s expression relaxed and his focus slowly blurred.

Lafford silently closed his eyes and then got up from his spot.

It was a ritual he always performed on the last life he had killed, but every time he said these words, his heart always felt heavy.

After all, none of the people he cherished had lived according to these words.

He was still chasing the monster that had given them deaths that deviated from providence and doctrine.

That was why Lafford so desperately wanted to hear about Kroken’s whereabouts from Lenox.

“Evan!!”

The dog-headed giant roared, baring his teeth.

“Are you still not done yet!!”

However, if he was a warrior who was struggling against enemies of this level, there was no more to see.

That meant that the fact that the mage had survived against Kroken was simply due to a combination of various coincidences.

However, the words that came from amidst the swirling blizzard were very different from what Lafford had expected.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

At that moment, the snowdrifts scattered and Lenox revealed himself.

The snowfield was littered with the corpses of dozens of soldiers.

As if he was avoiding the ever-increasing snowdrifts, Lenox, who was standing on top of a mountain of soldiers, looked down at Lafford with a blank face.

“Were you perhaps scolding yourself for being late?”

“……”

A faint smile was in his reply. However, Lafford couldn’t answer those words and slightly opened his mouth.

[I did all the work…]

Davi grumbled quietly from inside Lenox’s pocket.