Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 436

Giselle was in a better situation than her friends, but she stayed quiet.

Giselle thought she could do more than Angaroa and Batrec.

“Sir Jean-Cliffe, I don’t think we’ll have time to give everyone the antidote. Can you choose the people who need it?”

“Don’t worry about that! I’ll prepare it right away.”

“No way… No way! How?!”

An anti-magic zealot who had collapsed nearby screamed.

His face showed utter disbelief.

“How are you using magic?!”

Sir Jean-Cliffe was about to get angry at the anti-magic zealot for interrupting, but then he understood, ‘That’s right.’

Indeed?

“But are you really alright?”

“I naturally have a lot of magic, so poison doesn’t affect me easily.”

“That’s crazy talk!”

“Shut up.”

Thwack!

A knight next to him kicked the anti-magic zealot.

He found it hard to forgive him for daring to interrupt after ambushing them with poison.

“What does it mean that you’re not easily affected by poison because you have a lot of magic? Normally, magic fights against poison. But this mushroom poison is special. It stops magic from working at all…”

“Sir Jean-Cliffe, this isn’t the time! You need to prepare! Can’t you ask later?!”

Giselle shouted without realizing it.

She was just an apprentice knight. Normally, she would never be so rude.

Moreover, Giselle valued her reputation and influence among knightly families very highly.

‘Oh dear.’

As soon as she said it, Giselle immediately regretted it.

If Sir Jean-Cliffe was offended, Giselle’s reputation among the Beechwood Knights would immediately…

“That’s right. I’m sorry! Everyone, move! Knights whose magic hasn’t recovered, this way! Reinforce the doors and windows to prevent the enemies from entering. Knights whose magic has recovered, that way!”

Fortunately, Sir Jean-Cliffe didn’t get angry and moved immediately instead.

Giselle sighed in relief.

Click-

“???”

The knights of the Beechwood Knights secretly gave Giselle a thumbs up, thanking her.

Giselle looked at them, dumbfounded.

“Moradi. Thank you.”

“……”

Giselle was speechless at Lee Han’s words.

She received such good feedback for one thoughtless action.

She felt like the whole situation didn’t make any sense.

Park Deok-geul ran up the hill.

As soon as the signal was given, the anti-magic zealots dashed forward.

“They can’t use magic! But don’t let your guard down. They’re still knights!”

“Don’t worry!”

Rough voices of mercenaries, now anti-magic zealots, echoed from all over.

Experienced mercenaries knew how strong knights were, so they also knew their weaknesses.

In a muddy fight after being poisoned, mercenaries would likely win.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Park Deok-geul wasn’t surprised by the sound of arrows and shouted.

“Block them!”

The sound of arrows hitting shields rang out. The anti-magic zealots blocked them without any damage.

“It seems they’ve noticed.”

“Of course, since we poisoned them. It’s what I expected.”

No matter how carefully they planned, they knew the knights would notice after being poisoned.

The mercenaries didn’t relax, not even a little.

“Surround them and go in. Don’t let anyone live!”

Park Deok-geul used the >Antagondals’ Piercing Eyes> artifact. Even in the dark, he could clearly see the knights’ camp.

As expected, there were no traps. No matter how much they noticed, they didn’t have time to set up traps.

Then it wasn’t difficult.

“It seems they’re trying to hide inside the building.”

“Laughable fools.”

The barracks set up for the banquet were stronger than normal barracks, but they were still just built quickly. They were made of wood and cloth, not iron and stone, so they could be easily destroyed.

“Shall we break down the door?”

“There’s no need. Why should we play their game?”

Park Deok-geul snorted.

They could break down the doors and windows, but why fight a hard battle?

They had already prepared everything.

“Set it on fire.”

“Yes!”

Setting a large barrack on fire wasn’t easy. Just throwing fire wouldn’t spread it.

However, it wasn’t hard if they were prepared. Fire arrows flew from the darkness towards the barrack.

“Hahaha! Knights! What are you going to do! Are you going to burn to death? Come out!”

The mercenaries shouted and stomped to scare the people inside. Flames licked at the wooden walls of the barrack, quickly growing bigger. Thick, black smoke billowed into the night sky. It looked like the knights would jump out any second.

Splash!

“???”

“What?!”

Suddenly, the fires in the barrack began to go out. The barrack became wet from water being poured from inside.

The mercenaries were shocked.

“Wh-what should we do?”

“Shoot fire again! They only blocked it once.”

The fire arrows flew again, but nothing changed.

‘Wasn’t that an artifact?!’

At first, he thought they used an artifact or scroll to put out the fire. He thought it would be fine since they could only use it once or twice…

Park Deok-geul frowned.

Surprisingly, the mercenaries were running out of fire arrows first.

“…It seems they’ve prepared a lot of water. Break down the door.”

“Yes! Hey, break down the door!”

One of the mercenaries tore a scroll. Then, a strong wind hit the blocked door of the barrack.

A deafening boom shook the air, throwing dust and debris everywhere.

“Go in at once! Destroy the other areas too!”

“Yes!”

Another scroll, made of thin, crackling paper, was torn open, and the thin walls of the barracks shattered.

A massive pile of earth was revealed.

The mercenaries stared, confused.

“What the?!”

The mercenaries were shocked at the mound of earth revealed beyond the wall, like some kind of fortress.

How could they build an earth wall behind the barracks wall in such a short time?

Someone muttered, “Unless there’s a wizard…”

“Is there a wizard in there?”

Park Deok-gul scoffed, his voice sharp. “Don’t be stupid! If there was a wizard, they would have shown themselves already. This is just a trick. They’re desperate. Break through the next wall! It’s their last stand, I tell you!”

Bang!

Another scroll exploded. Dust and splinters flew as a hole ripped through the wall. But behind it, they saw another earth wall, just as thick as the first.

A wave of doubt rippled through the mercenaries. Park Deok-gul glared at the barracks with hatred. Those knights will pay for this trickery.

Not all the mercenaries were thorough anti-magic zealots. Some had joined out of greed for gold.

Some mercenaries were only here for money. They would run if things got difficult.

Park Deok-gul felt the need to issue a strong directive.

“The fact that the knights are poisoned hasn’t changed. To the main gate! Use the remaining scrolls on the gate, then advance!”

Fortunately, there was no earth wall on the inside of the main gate. It seemed the knights hadn’t managed to build one there.

As the remaining scrolls exploded, a roar echoed around the main gate. Any knights waiting behind the door would have been blown away by the impact.

The mercenaries charged forward with a shout, shields raised.

At that moment, the floor gave way beneath them.

“!!!”

Everyone was horrified by the pit trap, deep enough to swallow their entire bodies, not just trip them.

When had they dug such a deep pit?!

“Fire!”

Arrows rained down from inside. The fallen mercenaries screamed for help, but their comrades were too busy blocking the attack to spare them.

“Make a platform and go in!”

Park Deok-gul had no intention of helping them. Now was not the time.

They quickly grabbed wooden planks and thick ropes – siege equipment they had brought just in case – and threw them over the pit. As the mercenaries tried to charge again, using their shields to block the arrows, blinding white lightning crackled through the air, followed by a sharp, ear-splitting sound.

“!!!”

The mercenaries, unable to even scream, fell into the pit as lightning struck relentlessly.

The lightning crackled, burning the air and leaving a smell of ozone. Even shields couldn’t fully stop it.

“I think there really is a wizard!”

“Are you alright?!”

“Shut up and get in there,” Park Deok-gul said grimly.

By now, Park Deok-gul realized that something was wrong.

Something had gone awry with the plan.

He didn’t know what the knight inside had misunderstood, but there was a wizard who hadn’t taken the poison!

“This is different from what I… Ack!”

Blood spurted from the neck of one of the mercenaries who had been questioning the situation. Park Deok-gul, holding a skewer-like sword dripping with blood, glared coldly at the mercenaries.

“Anyone else want to die?”

“Ugh… Uwaaah!!”

The mercenaries began to charge again. Park Deok-gul spoke to his subordinate in the meantime.

“While the mercenaries are buying time, we need to break through the weak earth wall.”

“Yes!”

The subordinate understood immediately.

That seemingly easy-to-breach entrance was now a trap.

Even if it looked easy to enter with such preparations, there was no telling what lay inside.

He couldn’t believe they had prepared so quickly, but if they didn’t want to be played by the knights any longer, they had to take the initiative.

Thud, thud, thud—

Park Deok-gul’s subordinates began to break down the weak earth wall.

It was a crude method of smashing it with magic, but the effect was certain. The thick pile of earth collapsed, revealing a hole.

“Go in… Ack!”

Jean-Cliffe, who had been hiding behind the pile of earth, attacked fiercely the mercenaries.

An intense blue aura blazed from Jean-Cliffe’s sword, crackling with energy, and cut through the mercenaries’ metal equipment like paper.

Jean-Cliffe moved with speed and power. His sword flashed, and mercenaries fell back in surprise.

Park Deok-gul and his subordinate were shocked.

How???

“You hate magic for no reason! What have you done to deserve this!”

“Surround him!” Park Deok-gul’s subordinate shouted as he parried Jean-Cliffe’s attack.

He was certainly a great knight, but the elites he brought with him were veteran mercenaries. They wouldn’t lose easily if they just surrounded him.

However, other knights were waiting beside Jean-Cliffe. In an instant, the fight turned into a battle between groups.

The knights moved together like a single unit, their shields forming a wall, their swords ready. The mercenaries felt suffocated by the pressure, as if a wall of steel had been erected.

At most, there were only about twenty knights, and they were supposed to be poisoned…!

Park Deok-gul drew his sword and charged. He wasn’t aiming for Jean-Cliffe.

‘The fact that the knights moved like that means the main gate is unguarded!’

A counter-attack!

Park Deok-gul focused his will, feeling the magic gather in his leg, and then kicked out with all his force. The floor caved in with a ‘thwack,’ and Park Deok-gul’s body flew over the pit.

Lightning flew towards him. Park Deok-gul rolled to dodge it.

Lightning flew again. Park Deok-gul quickly raised his arm, the Blackwood Bracelet with its seven intertwined snakes glinting in the light, and blocked the attack.

“You wizard brat! I’ll kill you…” Park Deok-gul, who was shouting, widened his eyes.

The wizard in front of him was too young.

This wizard was the one who put out the fire, built the earth wall, and summoned the lightning?

‘More importantly, why does he look so familiar?’

Even with Park Deok-gul’s angry glare, the young wizard didn’t flinch. He simply waved his staff.

Then, a giant skeleton warrior, its bones glowing with faint magic, rushed forward and sent Park Deok-gul flying.

Park Deok-gul gritted his teeth. *This wizard is stronger than I thought. I’ll have to use my secret technique.* He couldn’t ignore this young wizard.

When facing a wizard, speed was key.

He had to kill him as quickly as possible.

‘I’ll jump in and strike him in one blow…’

But at that moment, a sleek, black panther with emerald eyes snarled, ready to attack, and rushed in and swiped at Park Deok-gul. Park Deok-gul regained his stance once more and gritted his teeth.

“Two summons…”

Finally, a magnificent griffin, with golden feathers and sharp talons, burst from the ceiling and sank its claws into Park Deok-gul’s back.

Park Deok-gul gave up trying to be calm and howled.

“You goddamn wizard!”