Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 985

Central Front Border Zone (3)

Whoosh!

A wave of blazing fire sweeps over and incinerates the altar.

The altar, made of stacked human skin, vanishes as if vaporized by the extreme heat.

Cultists, their bodies engulfed in flames, fall to their knees, unable to bear the pain.

“Aaaagh…!!”

“Oh, God… please…!!”

[Let’s go!!]

Having confirmed the priests were neutralized, the search party members simultaneously charged into the flames on their bikes.

They mercilessly cut down the cultists who had collapsed in their path.

Watching from afar, Lenok retracted the ignition device he was holding.

“A good start.”

It had been three days since he joined the border search party, who were tracking the Headhunter warlord.

While heading towards the first gate, Lenok assisted the search party, incinerating various threats along the front lines.

There were countless powerful organizations making a name for themselves in the Central Front, such as the Guido Order and the Awakened Ability Corps of the Headhunter warlord.

However, the search party’s primary focus was not on large organizations like the corps or the order, but rather on these remnants.

The cultists they were currently subduing were not actually part of the Guido Order, but merely imitations clumsily attempting their human sacrifices.

“Thank you, thank you…”

The people who had almost been sacrificed by the cultists repeatedly bowed their heads, their faces drained of color.

Having witnessed how others had died right next to them, they must have been out of their minds throughout the ritual.

“Thank you, Thousand-Times-Sir…!!”

“……”

People bowed to Lenok as they moved to the shelter near the gate.

Lenok acknowledged their greetings with a light nod, then turned his gaze away.

While he didn’t mind helping the search party, it was still something he couldn’t quite get used to.

“It’s been three days, shouldn’t you be used to it by now?”

“Ulurik.”

Ulurik, the search party member assigned to escort Lenok, said with a smile.

“You’re doing a good thing. You should be proud.”

“…I’m just helping the search party while heading to the gate.”

Lenok shook his head with a blank expression.

“They’re people I’ll never see again after today. There’s no reason to accept their bows.”

“There are too many superhumans in this world who see human lives as expendable.”

Ulurik replied.

“Compared to them, the righteousness you speak of, Evan, is much closer to good.”

“……”

“More than anything, the Evan I’ve been with for the past three days is a much better person than the rumors suggested. Isn’t that enough?”

“Are you still trying to say I’m a war machine created by the Thousand Eyes?”

“Hahaha!! Let’s go. We’ll arrive at the gate after today.”

Ulurik, watching Lenok’s disgusted expression, burst into laughter.

He pretended to drink from his hand, then said cheerfully.

“You still have to have a drink before you go.”

* * *

“Evan, from here, it’s just a day’s walk to the gate.”

The clinking of glasses mingled with the boisterous chatter.

In the ruins of a collapsed city, a wide campsite was set up with a bonfire.

The search party members, beer bottles in hand, sat around Lenok, chatting.

“It’s late, so let’s spend the night here and head to the gate tomorrow.”

“What are you guys planning to do?”

“We’ll continue our search around the gate.”

The members grinned at Lenok’s question.

“It’ll be a few more days before the relief unit arrives. This time, our schedule was a bit different because we were guiding you, Evan…”

“We’ve reported to headquarters, so you’ll receive compensation from the search party command when you reach the gate.”

“A great mage like Evan helped the search party, so the command will be very considerate.”

“I didn’t do it for any reward.”

At Lenok’s indifferent reply, the search party members feigned surprise and turned their attention to him.

“No, after making such a fuss for three days, you’re saying that now?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Lenok chuckled and tapped his beer glass.

“I meant that the search party command couldn’t possibly afford my worth.”

“…Ah.”

Belatedly understanding Lenok’s meaning, the search party members burst into awkward laughter.

“Hahaha! How did you know we’re always short on budget?”

“If the search party had sufficient resources and budget, the gate wouldn’t be operating in its current state.”

“……”

“I know that guiding me to the gate was also to borrow my strength during your operations.”

The atmosphere around them turned quiet at Lenok’s soft words.

Lenok looked at the members across the bonfire and said in a light tone.

“We just traded what we needed. I’ve already received my payment.”

“…Evan.”

“So, don’t worry about this matter.”

The fact that the gate was operated under the management of the Magic Alliance meant that maintaining it required enormous costs.

And it was impossible for the search party to fully cover those costs with their own resources and budget.

Lenok had known from the start that the search party’s escort to the gate was not entirely out of goodwill.

However, there was no need for helping or cooperating with someone to be purely out of goodwill.

Lenok was more accustomed to trading and adjusting conditions as needed.

If he considered his three days with the search party as such a trade, it would be sufficient.

However, the search party seemed to have taken Lenok’s words about not accepting payment in a different way.

“I’m sorry, Evan.”

One of the search party members, his face slightly flushed with drink, spoke with a slurred voice.

“To be honest… I think I’ve been misunderstanding you all this time.”

“Misunderstanding?”

“I thought a pyromancer who killed thousands would be a fiery person in everything he did…”

“…It’s not that bad. It seems like the number keeps increasing.”

Ulurik, Pizer, Harken, Wolfhild, and the other members who had been with Lenok for the past three days added their thoughts one by one.

“Unlike this idiot, I knew about Thousand-Times-Sir.”

“You saved the lighthouse keeper against the Ironclad and even bought them time to escape, didn’t you?”

“You’re bringing up that story again. Don’t you ever get tired of it?”

During his three days with the search party, Lenok had roughly figured out how the rumors about Thousand-Times were spreading.

A great pyromancer and a slayer of apostles.

A superhuman who blindly served the Eyes of Azure [a powerful organization] and would do anything for the lighthouse keeper.

Contrary to the high praise for his integrity and loyalty, the rumors about Evan Martinez’s actions were greatly exaggerated.

That was probably because Thousand-Times had created a firestorm in the outskirts of the Balkan region, and ultimately met his end by being defeated by the Ironclad [a powerful enemy].

However, in the Central Front, even Thousand-Times’ defeat seemed to be a factor that elevated his reputation.

“If you’ve been in the search party for a long time, you’ll hear about things happening outside. We’ve heard a lot about the Ironclad’s wickedness.”

“It’s rare to find a mage whose infamy has spread so widely, even though they don’t operate in the center.”

“A great mage who made killing his profession. Isn’t it amazing that you survived against such a madman?”

“……”

As Lenok smiled wryly and tilted his beer bottle, the search party members chattered with even more excitement.

“I heard that there are hardly any people who have officially fought the Ironclad and returned alive.”

“Among the major powers, there are many who want to meet Evan because of that.”

From the outside, Thousand-Times was the one who turned the entire Balkan region upside down to save the lighthouse keeper, and risked his life to fight the Ironclad for her.

Although he was defeated in the end, the process itself was so dramatic that it wouldn’t be strange to see it from an outsider’s perspective.

Decisively, with the news that Lapis had survived in the Balkans and that Thousand-Times had left the Eyes of Azure in the process.

The situation that had caused a stir in the Central Front ended with an incomprehensible conclusion, and the evaluation of Thousand-Times had skyrocketed to a bizarre degree.

Lenok shook his head with a wry smile.

“I’m telling you again, what happened in the Balkans wasn’t like that.”

It wasn’t bad for Thousand-Times’ reputation or status to rise, but he didn’t want to be portrayed as a loyalist who risked his life.

In the first place, Lenok was not such a person, nor had he ever acted with such a disposition under the name of Evan.

“What happened in the Balkans has nothing to do with me now. There’s no reason to mention it anymore.”

“Understood. If that’s your wish, Evan…”

The search party members were honest and rough, but they weren’t oblivious.

When Lenok didn’t say anything, the members, guessing his intentions, backed down one by one.

“We won’t say anything about the Eyes of Azure.”

“We swear on the name of the search party that today’s conversation will go to the grave.”

“Vigor. Who gave you permission to swear on the name? I haven’t agreed yet.”

“If you’re going to be like that, do you think we’ll even have a grave when we die?”

The members suddenly started a heated debate about where to swear on the name of the search party.

Lenok watched them and slowly tilted his glass.

He had said that the refugees he had saved were people he would never see again, but the same was true for the search party members.

It would be better to end things on a light note like this and leave.

He would head straight to the gate at dawn.

Thinking that, Lenok was about to take a sip of his beer, but then he put down the glass in his hand.

Other members, sensing something was off, turned their gaze to Lenok, who was staring blankly at the dark night sky.

“…Evan?”

“Everyone, prepare for battle.”

Lenok, taking out a thick cigar from his pocket and putting it in his mouth, said while holding a glass in one hand.

“Something’s coming from the sky.”

“…!!”

The search party members’ faces immediately hardened, and they quickly got up and grabbed their weapons.

Having been with Lenok for the past three days, they understood how sensitive and sharp his senses were.

His perception went beyond distinguishing friend from foe, to the point where he could sense the killing intent directed at them from thousands of meters away.

KWA-AAANG!!!

Immediately after, a faint sonic boom echoed from above, and a bright red flame erupted from the horizon.

The members’ expressions twisted as they realized that the direction was the shelter where they had guided the people they had saved earlier that day.

“Damn it, why now…!!”

“Move. We’re going to check the shelter right now!!”

The gate search party was a small elite unit that prioritized mobility above all else.

They quickly circulated mana within their bodies to evaporate the alcohol, slapped their cheeks, and got on their bikes.

They quickly packed up the campsite, gathered their belongings, and armed themselves.

VRRROOOM!!!

The sound of the bikes’ engines echoed across the dry wasteland, and at that moment.

Something that had fallen from the sky instantly turned the campsite into a sea of fire.

WHOOSH…!!!

KWA-GWA-GWANG!!!

Something vaguely distorted in the night sky fell, relentlessly pounding the ground.

It was as if something invisible was aiming its cannons at them and launching a preemptive strike.

“It’s an attack!!”

“Evan!!”

The search party members, having quickly moved their bikes to avoid the bombardment, called out to Lenok, but he didn’t turn around.

“Go first.”

“But…!!”

“More are coming from the other side.”

Lenok said, watching the dark night sky vaguely ripple.

“I’ll cut off their pursuit, so move first. I’ll follow soon.”

“…We’ll be waiting!”

They were soldiers.

Everyone knew that in such a tense situation, unnecessary hesitation could mean life or death.

The search party members gritted their teeth, turned their bikes, and quickly began to speed across the wasteland.

The ruins, which had been a place where they had just been sitting around a bonfire and drinking, had become a chaotic mess, as if the moment had been a lie.

“You’ve moved the people, so come out and talk now.”

Lenok stared at the ruined campsite with a blank expression, then turned his gaze.

“Weren’t you waiting for me from the beginning?”

The bombardment of the shelter was to lure the search party and separate them from Lenok.

And the purpose was not to kill Lenok or the search party, but for something more than that.

Lenok had been aware of the presence hiding nearby since the attack began.

CHIIIIK!!

At that moment, five airships that had been hidden beyond the night sky suddenly appeared above Lenok’s head.

The steel airships revealed themselves after deactivating their stealth fields. They were all war machines produced with uniform specifications and sizes.

Only a very large and well-organized military organization could carry out such a covert preemptive strike and operation.

There was only one force in the Central Front capable of doing such a thing.

[Deadrise 3rd Corps Air Assault Unit. Currently moving for operation.]

A heavy, middle-aged man’s voice echoed through the airship’s speakers.

[We have received information that cultists have infiltrated the civilian shelter and are conducting a ‘selection’.]

“…Selection, huh.”

Lenok looked up at the airships with a blank gaze and asked.

“Is that the justification the corps is using to intervene in this matter?”

[The staff department has determined that the gate search party, which is under the command of the Magic Alliance, is unable to function properly.]

The firm voice coming from the speaker began to mix with a bit of life.

[That’s also related to the fact that the gate search party lost its neutrality by operating with you.]

“……”

[Thousand-Times Evan Martinez. What is the reason you, a watcher of the Eyes of Azure, are moving with the gate search party?]

From beyond the airship, Lenok felt a very powerful presence watching him, one that he could sense.

[Be aware that depending on your answer, the main force of the corps may directly intervene on the spot.]

“The Central Front Corps staff seems to be very slow with their news.”

Lenok said, exhaling smoke from the cigar in his mouth.

“It’s been several months since I left the Eyes of Azure. The lighthouse keeper’s mission has nothing to do with me anymore.”

[No. A man who risked his life for Lapis Falshier would not so easily sever his ties with the Eyes of Azure.]

The man’s voice echoing through the airship became resolute.

[Considering your actions in the Balkans, your departure from the Eyes of Azure must also be a deliberate move.]

“…What?”

[You might be planning to seize the gate with the search party and transfer its ownership to the lighthouse keeper. At least, this corps will never overlook such a risk.]

For a moment, Lenok felt as if someone was sharply glaring at him from beyond the airship.

[Evan Martinez. This corps will never underestimate you. The fact that a man like you has set foot on the front lines at this time must mean that you have a great cause in mind.]

“……”

[I can understand that because I also have a similar cause in my heart. Sometimes, there are things that must be pushed forward, even if it means setting aside all other priorities!]

He was a steadfast soldier, as anyone could tell just by listening to the voice through the speaker.

A soldier who had reached the rank of giving and issuing orders, beyond the level of obeying them.

But the fact that such a soldier had appeared before Lenok at this time, asking about his intentions, clearly meant that there was another purpose.

Especially if they had used the shelter and the search party as a pretext to come and greet Lenok in such a grand manner.

“You have something you want to say to me.”

Lenok said in a subdued voice, having realized that.

“What do you want?”

[In this battlefield, there is only one thing I want to hear from a great warrior like you.]

CLANK!!

On both sides of the airship, dozens of cannons popped out and spread wide like wings.

A powerful roar, as if they were arming themselves and preparing for battle on the spot.

[Join the Deadrise, Evan Martinez.]