The Rebirth Of The Hero’S Party’S Archmage [EN]: Chapter 173

173

The Velisor Great River splits in two, flowing on either side of the purple city, Aurelinople.

The great river flowing southwest reaches the Yellow Sea at the navy city, Aristapo, while the great river crossing southeast merges with the Southern Sea at the blue city, Terbenople.

Thanks to these geographical features, Aurelinople became a central trading hub in the Northern Republic, serving as a natural canal.

Amidst this bustling trading city, filled with riverboats constantly traveling up and down the river and ocean liners heading to other major cities, Valensidice moved with purpose.

“I see. I understand. I’ll talk to the group.”

Valensidice, who had met with a dozen captains to inquire about the state of the waterways and fares, couldn’t help but tilt his head in confusion.

“Aki.”

“Aboot.”

“Don’t pretend you can’t talk.”

Rain was holding his forehead as if suffering from a throbbing headache, while Aki, clinging to his leg, was trembling as if terrified.

The creature that was so gloriously receiving the attention of the Dragon Protector and the True Dragon was, surprisingly, a turtle.

“I don’t expect much. I’m not asking you to fight against guys like Shar’kas or Nariaduke already.”

“Fight, fight, fight.”

“But, you know… even if it’s a juvenile, isn’t it a bit much to be scared of a turtle? You’re supposed to be an absolute being! It’s not a sea turtle or an alligator snapping turtle; it’s just a river turtle! How cute!”

Then Aki bit her lip tightly, as if determined, and cautiously approached the turtle.

Perhaps sensing a threat to its life due to the absolute vitality and power of the True Dragon.

The poor turtle was frightened and retreated into its shell, and seeing that, Aki was horrified and quickly hid behind Rain’s leg again.

“Aki, s-s-scary.”

As soon as Aki moved away, the turtle crawled back into the river.

The young man looked up at the sky and sighed.

He thought that if Alakish saw this, he might scold him for entrusting his daughter to him, only for this to happen.

“A True Dragon being afraid of a turtle… surely even a passing slime wouldn’t laugh at that. They’d die laughing.”

When Valensidice made fun of him with his characteristic cynicism, Pipi laughed hysterically.

“Burst, burst, burst, guts, blood, Pi, Pi, Pipipit!”

When Aki was insulted, for some reason, Rain felt several times more upset than when he himself was insulted (in fact, he had never been particularly moved by any insults he had received so far), and his face flushed hotly.

“This won’t do. What I realized during this incident is that Aki needs self-defense skills. At least she should be able to protect herself from thugs.”

“Hmm, how? She can’t even do addition or subtraction properly yet, so she can’t use magic.”

Teaching Valensidice sorcery was also out of the question.

Sorcery was a lower-level application of Dragon Words, simply a long explanation of Dragon Words in human language.

To make Aki, who had just started speaking human language and was more proficient in Dragon Words than human language, use sorcery? It was absurd.

“Can’t you teach her Dragon Words? You must have learned most of the Dragon Scripture.”

“I learned it from a translated version. To teach Dragon Words properly, we need to bring a shaman. Only they can read the Dragon Scripture in its original text.”

Ask Juliana, who must be busy dealing with the aftermath of this situation? That would be a truly shameless request.

And Aki had helped Valensidice with Dragon Words in this battle without being taught.

Does that mean Dragon Words will develop on their own? But I can’t wait until it’s fully grown.

‘Wouldn’t it be better to take her to the Red Mountains as soon as possible so she can systematically learn Dragon Words from other dragons?’

As he stroked Aki’s head with a bitter sigh of helplessness, Aki, who was cowering as if she was being scolded, made a pleasant “Aboo” sound.

“Then how about teaching her martial arts?”

“Martial arts?”

“Red Dragons have far superior physical abilities compared to the other two dragon races. They can utilize the Heart [Manaheart], which draws power from the body’s essence, hundreds of times more powerfully than humans.”

Without thinking long, he unconsciously struck his palm with his fist as soon as he heard those words.

Military arts.

While the Holy Human Empire was a nation of weapons, with the One Star Seven Swords and the Three Bows wielding their might, the Dragon Republic, which valued the training of the body itself, was dominated by martial arts sects.

“Then this is where we’ll go. We’ll take the southeastern waterway and go down to the Blue City. We can hire a suitable *ronin* [wandering samurai] as a teacher there.”

It was a perfect decision, requiring no further convincing.

Terbenople was the holy land of Terbel, the Sun of the Azure Sky, and the largest and most prestigious of the Republic’s seven major cities.

There were many reasons for this, but the biggest reason was probably the existence of the martial arts mecca, the Sky Arena ‘Palaseiom’.

“That’s right. The World’s Greatest Martial Arts Tournament is also held in Terbenople’s Palaseiom.”

“It’s held in mid-April every year. It’s still a long way off.”

“But disciples from the Six Great Sects or other mid-sized sects will be there to find odd jobs or take on students.”

Valensidice playfully raised his eyebrows as if to say that was also his basis for judgment, and Rain nodded in satisfaction.

“Okay, after learning martial arts there, we can get a ship and cross the continent. Let’s go.”

Soon, Valensidice found a captain with a bright yellow beard at a tavern near the pier.

He said he was going down to Terbenople with a load of pine nuts, honey, and fur.

In this kind of life, he was still several years ahead of Rain. Having him as a companion would make the journey several times easier.

“We’ll get there soon. Very fast. My Chwirangho has two sails and oars. The oarsmen are very good at rowing.”

“You mean the lord’s people.”

“Is there a problem? This honest free citizen, Smanreng, pays very fairly. The oarsmen like this Smanreng so much that they want to keep working under me.”

Smanreng boasted about how fast his ship was for a long time, and then said he wouldn’t charge them any fare.

“Do you know Lake Beltino in the Great River? The underwater monsters there are very active these days. Even the witches are having trouble dealing with them.”

“You want us to protect the ship there?”

“That’s right. The Empire’s wizards have elegant speech and are very intelligent.”

Those words were just a merchant’s typical pretentious praise.

Having been ruled by dragons for a long time, the people of the Republic, who had enjoyed a powerful golden age not only in national defense but also in various cultural arts, all secretly looked down on and disregarded the people of the Empire.

As they were having that conversation, something stinging and creepy brushed past the back of his neck.

‘Murderous intent.’

Valensidice, who was leaning against the stone wall and sipping wine with one arm, seemed to feel it too.

The guy casually put his glass on the table and said with his lips.

‘I’ll take care of it. Keep talking.’

‘No, it seems like they’re aiming for me. Aki, stay next to Valensidice.’

The moment he was about to get up leisurely from the table… a huge crack appeared in the outer wall of the tavern, and flames swirled through the gap.

Flames…?

The flames melted and shattered the outer wall, and a shadow jumped out from the collapsing sparks, rubble, and dust.

“……!”

By the time people barely recognized it, the owner of the shadow had already rushed into Rain’s face.

The moment he pulled his body back, the swirling flames concentrated in his fist brushed past Rain’s eyes.

Immediately, the dishes and glasses on the table, swept away by the vortex of flames, shattered in disarray, and the inside of the tavern became noisy.

“Ugh, ugh!”

“It’s a crazy *ronin*!”

“Guards, call the guards!”

Smanreng and his sailors, who were sitting across from him, froze as if they had turned into stone statues, while Rain skillfully took a stance as soon as he summoned the Flame Staff.

‘Who is it?’

The assailant was wearing a *ronin’s* unique wide-sleeved robe, and his dark ivory hair was disheveled.

The face revealed beneath it was gaunt and emaciated, but his eyes were frighteningly sharp.

A strange thrill ran through Valensidice’s mind as he recognized the same information as Rain.

“Rain, you mustn’t kill that guy!”

“What the hell? Who attacked first?”

The *ronin* recovered his posture with surprising speed while his fist was still extended.

The *ronin* was trying to slap Rain’s face by swinging his arm with the centrifugal force of turning his body, but Rain raised his staff to block it….

He was a considerable powerhouse with not only magical power but also physical abilities.

Rain’s feet slid back, causing friction, as he was pushed back by the struggle against the brutal pressure.

“Who are you? Why are you attacking me?”

Then, the *ronin’s* shout, uttered with unfocused eyes and rough breathing, made his body stiff.

“I’ll cut off your breath, Tureina……!”

This emotional outburst could only come from immeasurable anger and hatred…….

‘Did he mistake me for Tureina because of this old bamboo hat?’

It was the hostility towards Tureina that had grabbed Rain’s ankle.

He knew it well.

He knew it, but it was hard to admit… that’s why he couldn’t attack even though he had several chances to kill him.

Valensidice’s eyes narrowed.

‘He’s not being controlled, so could it be…’

Valensidice swung Kashasur. A sharp whirlwind of vacuum flew and completely destroyed the outer wall of the tavern.

It appeared almost immediately.

The puppet was sitting on the railing of the pier, crunching deliciously on an apple that must have come down from a mountain village.

“Oh, who is this? Isn’t that Valensidice, who impudently threw his resignation letter and ran away before me?”

Zerniks……!

In an instant, countless emotions cooled in Rain’s head. The moment he turned to look at him and began to construct a magic circle.

“I’m your opponent……!”

Flames swirled violently and exploded from the fist stuck in the staff.

“──!”

Rain released the staff in an instant, then grabbed the table behind him and somersaulted to land on the other side.

“Wizards like you can’t use your power unless you keep your distance……!”

Almost immediately, a flame mark appeared in the air above the table.

‘A mark?’

The *ronin* put the power of his Heart into his shoulder. He twisted his waist and ankles. And the moment he stabbed his fist into the mark.

“……!”

The mark amplified that power into an explosive amount of heat, and the flames overturned the ground, incinerating all the tables and drinking tables and covering Rain.

“Hmph, as expected of a *ronin*. A natural enemy of mediocre wizards and witches.”

The puppet munched on the apple as if he liked it very much, and Valensidice stood in front of him with Kashasur unfolded.

“What are you plotting again, Zerniks?”

“This young punk is already eating rice with his manners just because he submitted his resignation letter [acting like he’s already achieved success].”

The moment the puppet threw the apple seeds into the river, he instantly wove four magic circles on his right palm.

“Hey, Dragon Kid. That woman is the last survivor of the Cheonhwa Sect, which was destroyed by Tureina. What are you going to do?”

It is a well-known fact that the majority of the six methods of using the magical power used by *ronin*, the Heart [Manaheart], are focused on close combat.

Even a fairly skilled wizard should avoid close combat due to the compatibility. The problem was that Rain was not just an ordinary wizard.

He had received staff techniques from a hero and had faced an absolute being twice with those staff techniques.

“I’ll end it with this──!”

The *ronin*, who had kicked off the blackened ground and rushed towards Rain, who was engulfed in the explosion, opened his eyes wide.

“──?!”

Pushing away the fist wrapped in flames… isn’t this the staff he dropped earlier?

The moment he realized that, Rain spun his body and accurately struck the *ronin’s* lower abdomen with the bottom of the staff.

It was a blow right in the stomach, but judging from the fact that nothing but stomach acid and saliva came out, it was impossible to even guess how many days he had been starving.

Rain’s eyes narrowed.

‘He’s incredibly skilled. But for such a skilled person, he’s too rushed, to the point where his moves are obvious. What’s the rush?’

Bel Curious.

Opening his vision in red, he instantly read the framework of the aberrant power that wrapped around the staggering *ronin*.

As expected…….

‘Is it a possessing spirit? It’s a bit different…….’

A parasitic creature like a blood clot, as if it came out of a nightmare, was wriggling in the *ronin’s* heart.

It was so damaged that it couldn’t emit even a trace of magical power in its original state, but that thing was forcibly flowing magical power throughout his body.

So that he would fight so fiercely and die from Mana Deviation…….

“I’ll end it with this, I’ll end it……!”

The *ronin* forcibly raised his body, which seemed about to break, and concentrated his last magical power in his fist.

If left like this, he will die.

Before that fist could reach him, before the flickering flames from that fist could hit his face, 0100010001, the flames of annihilation turned the parasitic creature’s body into a meaningless collection of numbers.

“Ah……?”

As if the puppet’s strings had been cut, the body’s movements stopped and the magical power dissipated with a whoosh.

He was about to smash his nose bone, but the body slumped powerlessly, leaning on Rain’s shoulder.

After a very brief moan and tremor, the strength completely drained from his body, as if he had lost consciousness.

“Ha, I’m going crazy! I came here with a little expectation because he killed Tureina, but if I go here like this…….”

At that moment, the puppet muttered annoyingly and replaced one of the four-star water attribute magic’s modifier-type Rutichen runes with the forbidden-type Orbios.

“You still have such a pathetic mindset, so you still haven’t even used the true power of Bel Curious, you bastard!”

More than a dozen soap bubbles turned into corrosive liquid that instantly melted the wood and stones of the pier and rushed towards Rain.

At that moment, Valensidice blocked the space between Rain and the puppet.

“Open, Kashasur.”

The moment he unfolded the fan with decisive movements, a crack in space-time opened in front of Valensidice and sucked in all the soap bubbles.

A technique that Valensidice imitated, however insignificantly, using all his magic, sorcery, and black magic knowledge, the spatial interference ability of Nariaduke.

It can only be activated by using this Kashasur as a catalyst, and there are limitations such as the short activation range and time.

Still, it was remarkable that a human was wielding the power of transcendence.

“Wow, that’s not a technique that a guy like you, Valensidice, should be using? The power of the relic is amazing.”

Zerniks, who knew that better than anyone else, whistled, and a hand of darkness grabbed his neck.

The hand that sprang from the severed section of his severed left arm was constructed with sorcery and black magic and could exert four times the strength of normal muscle strength.

Valensidice’s voice, which was slowly crushing his neck bones, was as cold as frost.

“A low-level puppet whose magical power is completely exhausted after using just one four-star magic…… It seems you’ve almost lost all the puppets you can use for combat on the Akrad continent, Zerniks.”

“Hehehe, it’s because there’s no need to use them. I can make you one of my puppets if I want to. You know that, right?”

A chill ran down Valensidice’s arm, knowing that those words were true.

The puppet’s gaze, whose eyeballs were about to pop out of their sockets due to the internal pressure, turned to Rain. He had rushed here carrying the *ronin*.

“I was wondering where I had seen that Sun Parrot, hmm, and that staff technique too…… It’s amazing. It seems like there’s something I don’t know about?”

“Stop playing around with puppets and come out! I’ll grind your damn face. Are you scared of me?”

“Do you have the confidence to win in a one-on-one fight with this Zerniks? If so, come to the Yellow City Laptas on the Adrion continent. I, your senior, will show you what real magic is there.”

The puppet suddenly withered and began to melt, emitting a disgusting stench.

Valensidice tore through space and threw the puppet beyond it so that it would not damage other structures on the pier.

When Valensidice closed the space he had opened, the commotion had not subsided, but the lord’s soldiers who had received the report were swarming in.

‘Zerniks, you damn bastard…….’

Rain bit his lip.

When Aki and Pipi, who had been protecting Aki, came to his side, the young man was looking at the *ronin* who had lost consciousness on his shoulder.

He was calling the name of his former disciple with feelings of hatred…… Perhaps that’s why he couldn’t just leave him there.

This incident, which Zerniks called the result of a pathetic mindset, was the beginning of the connection that led to the ‘Aki Punch’.