Chapter 305
Clop clop clop—!
The sound of hooves rapidly strikes the ground.
Five figures are rushing through the fierce sandstorm.
Even with hoods pulled up, the sand works its way through their clothing, scratching at their skin.
‘We’ve passed through the most dangerous areas of the castle and the capital. If we can just get through this plain safely, we’ll soon reach the river leading to Schugenhartz and the forces opposed to the magician.’
Among the hooded figures, Plauros, who is tightly wrapped around a girl on his horse, is feeling impatient.
By now, the capital must have realized that both he and Buer are missing.
With Schugenhartz branded as a traitor, the magician won’t just sit back and let this rebellion slide.
They need to put more distance between them.
That will be the way for both Buer and himself to survive.
‘…With this group, even if Amon… no, just Ami and Zagan show up, we wouldn’t stand a chance.’
Plauros is keeping an eye on the people aiding his escape.
He’s brought along a few followers of Buer from among the magician’s disciples—one of a total of five groups.
To buy some time, Plauros split the team into five and spread them out in different positions.
With the hood covering them and concealing their mana, it wouldn’t be easy for pursuers to identify them.
Their combat abilities are low, so if they are caught, surviving won’t be easy.
‘Lady Buer, please keep sleeping a little longer. I will definitely see you to safety.’
Plauros hugged Buer tighter in his arms.
Buer remains unconscious. Plauros hopes she stays that way until they arrive, gripping the reins.
“Yah!”
It seemed his urgent feelings were communicated.
The horse neighed loudly and pushed forward even harder.
Charging through the darkened plain, the horse received a hint of mana and showed no signs of tiring.
Neigh. Neigh.
With its snout protruding, it gave it its all.
As they continued their mad dash, someone shouted.
“It’s dangerous! Stop!”
—Eeeeeeeh!
At that cry, everyone gripped their reins tightly, and the horses reared up, spinning in the air.
They caught it. The horses were spinning their hooves in mid-air like a hamster wheel.
“What’s the rush at this hour?”
Another person, wearing a hood, asked.
Then the man who had warned about the danger reached out a hand and pointed forward.
“There’s a zone with traps for large monsters set up a hundred steps ahead. They won’t activate in daylight, but they are designed to trigger at night. It’s safer to take a detour here, even if it takes a little longer.”
“What? I’ve never heard anything like that!”
“They said they removed most of them after the demon lord’s subjugation, but there are still traps remaining here and there. That’s a fact.”
“…Wait a minute.”
Plauros, who had been listening to the conversation, slowly began to move his mana and assess the energy he sensed ahead.
Indeed, he discovered a subtle yet existing amount of mana, just as he had mentioned.
So minuscule that one would never notice it without being cautious with every step.
“It’s true…. If we had continued on, we would have had a group funeral.”
“Let’s turn back. It’ll delay us about 15 minutes, but it’s necessary.”
“You’re right.”
The group immediately turned the horses around and started to make a detour.
If they could fly, it would be different, but as long as their feet were on the ground, death was certain.
“Say, what’s your name?”
As he urged the horse’s legs again, Plauros asked the man.
He hadn’t known there was someone among their prepared personnel who was this sensitive to mana. Even though his face was hidden by the hood, it was clear he had only just recently heard the name.
“Alron.”
“Alron…. Oh, hearing your name reminds me. The new, sharp young fellow.”
“It’s an honor to be remembered like that.”
“Thanks to you, I’m alive.”
“It was just luck.”
“Luck….”
Plauros knew it had nothing to do with luck, but he didn’t continue the small talk.
To be precise, he couldn’t continue.
“……!”
Everyone present suddenly felt a powerful presence.
The horses felt fear from the approach of that creature and fell into a state of panic, unable to follow their commands.
They hastily tried to control them with mana, but that was not easy either.
The instinct deeply ingrained in the creatures rendered rational thought impossible.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
The pounding of each foot against the ground was not urgent.
However, as the source of the vibrations quickly closed in, they felt the distance narrowing rapidly.
Plauros and the others sensed death approaching through their skin.
‘This level of energy…. Those vibrations. Is it Ipos?!’
Ipos.
One of those who had previously become a disciple of the Magic Instructor, the man who awakened his body in a way no other disciple could, except for the first disciple, Bael.
‘Of all the times, why is Ipos coming this way!’
Just with his extremely trained body, he could neutralize most attacks.
It was clear that Plauros and the others would be crushed into bone fragments in an instant.
The group was clearly going to suffer a bone-breaking fate in an instant.
They had to come up with a trick to survive.
Briefly regaining their composure, they grasped the reins of their horses.
However.
—Thud!
“Graaah!”
Ipos’s chase was unimaginably fast.
Before they knew it, he caught up with one of the crew lagging behind and killed him.
A man in a hooded cloak screamed as he fell off his horse.
Everyone was holding dolls wrapped in mana suppressing cloth, so they couldn’t immediately spot Plauros and Buer.
“Ugh! Aaaaah!”
But at this rate, it wouldn’t be long before heads started rolling.
Those caught attempted to resist using magic, but their efforts were thwarted by Ipos’s tough skin, leading them to their demise.
Only four remained.
And excluding Buer, that left three.
Plauros, hiding among them, was clinging to life.
‘I need to think of a trick! A trick!’
Plauros desperately wracked his brain, but came up empty.
If it had been any of the other disciples, he would have had a strategy to bind them temporarily.
However, Ipos was a martial artist who didn’t rely much on magic.
The kind of trick that required the opponent to use magic externally simply wouldn’t work.
‘Buer…!’
Clenching his teeth, Plauros poured a huge amount of mana into his horse.
He squeezed the muscled horse even more.
At that moment, Ipos, who had been pursuing from behind, made a great leap and came crashing down in front of the group like a cannonball.
Kicking up a massive cloud of dust, Ipos blocked their path.
All of this happened in just a matter of seconds.
“Give up.”
Ipos said.
His unfocused, round eyes met the three men.
The horses were now completely out of control, frothing at the mouth and losing consciousness.
Ultimately, they found themselves in an unavoidable situation.
One of the fallen comrades summoned his courage.
“I-I’ll buy time! Hurry and escape!”
A man with his face hidden by a hood charged at Ipos, emitting purple mana.
Though he couldn’t shake off his fear, trembling legs and arms managed to display a decent flame spell.
The problem was that the opponent was just too strong.
“Guh…!”
The man didn’t even have time to let out a single scream before his chest was blown open.
Ipos’s bare fist shattered leather, bones, and organs all in one go.
“Looks like it’s down to one of the two.”
Ipos ignited his purple mana, burning off the blood and remnants smeared on his body. Even after committing murder, his eyes shone calmly in the darkness.
He didn’t bother looking for Plauros among them.
After all, anyone who cooperated with him was a traitor.
A target for execution.
Thump. Thump—.
Time seemed to move slowly.
Ipos slowly approached them.
He didn’t seem in a hurry to tighten their lifelines, knowing they couldn’t escape.
‘What should I do? Should I fight? Wake up Buer? But could even our full strength buy us time?’
“Can you do it?”
Plauros, quickly turning his mind around.
He had concentrated all his senses on Ipos, so he belatedly realized that the girl he was holding had woken up.
“Stop—!”
“B-Buer!”
“I’ll go back! I promise I’ll go back…! I’ll go back, so please don’t kill Plauros!”
Struggling, Buer broke free from Plauros’s arms.
Hastily, she rushed in front of Ipos, spreading her arms wide to block him.
The girl earnestly pleaded.
“Please… save Plauros. Ipos.”
“……”
“I’ll talk to Mom nicely. I’ll kneel and beg for forgiveness…. So please let Plauros go.”
“……”
“Plauros didn’t intend to hurt Mom. He did it to help me!”
Using every word she knew to defend Plauros, Buer.
Ipos looked down at the desperate girl with emotionless eyes.
The only heir to the magician and Bael.
Not someone to be treated carelessly.
“…Buer, you’re mistaken.”
“Uh?”
Ipos took a step closer to Buer.
His face, surely meant to be friendly as he came to take her, somehow looked frightening.
Faintly shimmering purple mana surrounded Ipos.
He revealed the cruel truth to Buer.
“The Magic Instructor has ordered your death as well.”
Swish—!
Ipos’s hand sliced through the air.
The deadly intent emanating from his fingertips showed that the strike could easily tear Buer’s fragile body like paper.
“Buer—!!”
Plauros’s scream was almost a wail.
And then, someone whose speed was hard to comprehend snatched Ipos’s hand.
“…To think you would try to stab such a young girl. It’s hard to believe you’re the Magic Instructor’s disciple. Ipos.”
“……”
“Why so flustered? Did you not expect someone to stop you? Unbelievable. I thought there was no one in the world more arrogant than you, but I guess I was wrong.”
“…Who are you?”
“Are you asking about me?”
The man pulled back his hood with his other hand.
A man with black hair wore a smug smile, looking down on his opponent.
“I’m Alron, the new disciple of the Magic Instructor. Just know that.”
“……”
Bargan, boldly using his alias.
He manipulated the mana of the transcendent, gripping Ipos’s wrist tightly.
Though it was a type of mana he had never seen before, Ipos sensed immediately that Bargan was not a simple opponent.
“I’m sorry, but it seems that for me to achieve my purpose for coming here, these people need to be safe. No matter how much of a big deal you are, I can’t just stand by if you interfere.”
Bargan warned with a sly smile.
In a tone that anyone could tell was playful.
“Let’s settle this amicably. It would be best if you let them go. And if possible, let me go too.”
