Chapter 40. Half-wit

“Ugh!”

“Keuk!”

“Th-this is…!”

The sound of writhing in pain rang out clearly from the place where the ice awls were spread.

“How did you know this…….”

Piontek, who was hiding with me, looked at me with surprised eyes. It was a look that wanted to ask how I knew the opponent would aim for us and attack. So I shook my head.

Anyone could see they were blatantly luring us, wouldn’t it be foolish not to know this?

“Your Highness, when do we move?”

Michelle, who was fiddling with her bow, asked with a dazed face. Still, her gaze was intense. I remembered her saying she was sorry for not doing her part when fighting the Devil Bear.

‘She said she would never let that happen again.’

Was that why she had become less talkative? Looking at her hands, there were quite a few scars. The calluses on her palms were clear, and the muscles in her arms were more prominent than before. I thought she was eating more than usual, but it seems it was to build up her body.

“They’ll let us know from over there.”

I pointed beyond the snow-covered field where the ice awls were plentiful. Michelle let out an ‘Ah’ and relaxed her hands.

A silence fell. Piontek, Adellian, Odekerkh, and Michelle swallowed dryly and watched the field beyond. We were now in the forest, hiding our bodies and observing the enemy’s movements.

“Sh-should I make more, more trees?”

Odekerkh, as if the weight of the silence was too much for him, opened his mouth.

“No. Our purpose is not to hide.”

The purpose is to grasp the opponent’s strength and engage in an effective battle.

“What are those things?”

This time, Adellian asked.

“I don’t know.”

I saw them for the first time just like you. But… why is Adellian looking at me with eyes full of suspicion, as if she doesn’t trust me?

“Are they bandits?”

Michelle asked.

“Th-that’s probably not it. I-if they were bandits, they wouldn’t leave any traces.”

Odekerkh answered. Perhaps because he was the youngest son of a merchant guild, he was quick to grasp the situation. As he said, if the opponents were bandits, they would not have left their traces. Someone with valuables would find a detour after seeing the suspicious wheel tracks and the melted path. Or they would strengthen their guard.

“So they were aiming for us?”

Piontek, who had relaxed a bit, asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Why?”

Piontek also frowned, as if he couldn’t believe my words. Him and Adellian, I don’t know why they’re acting like that when they haven’t even entrusted anything to me.

“It’s my first time here too.”

“……That’s true, but you were giving orders as if you knew something.”

“I can do it even if I don’t know.”

Because that’s what experience is.

If the path is open, you have to be careful of your surroundings. It’s something a wandering knight would know well enough. The so-called knights of this era only do what they’re told, get praised for anything even slightly plausible, and just pray to the gods, so they probably wouldn’t know.

“Something’s coming.”

Michelle said, circulating her Mana Circle.

I sharpened my mind and closed my eyes. I opened the path of mana wide and raised the sensitivity of my five senses. I carefully read the fluctuations of mana flowing in the atmosphere.

‘Four are down, six are running.’

One of them had opened his Mana Circle, and was circulating mana through his body. More than the amount Michelle was circulating.

‘So he’s over the 2nd Circle.’

I think he’s the most dangerous one.

“They’re fast.”

As Michelle said, their movements became agile. The violently shaking fluctuations of mana were telling me this.

I opened my eyes to confirm the exact location. They were spread out wide, centered on the strongest one. But they were not moving disorderly. They were moving forward with a certain regularity, scanning the snowfield.

‘Mercenaries.’

It wasn’t the movement of a ragtag group. It was a movement trained for survival.

‘If that’s the case, someone is aiming for us…….’

Michelle’s existence was not known. So there was no one to aim for her. Odekerkh was the son of the Nicola Merchant Guild, but since his family was as good as ruined, there was little reason to aim for him. If that’s the case…….

“Why are you looking at me?”

Adellian asked with her forehead full of wrinkles.

“Do you have any grudges?”

“What are you talking about? If it’s a grudge, it’s you, not me.”

“Not you, but someone in your family…….”

Looking at Adellian’s incredulous expression, it seemed not. Then is it Piontek?

“Why don’t you think about yourself first?”

The guy opened his mouth as soon as our eyes met.

Geez, you should at least pretend to think about it as a human being.

Tung!

Michelle’s bow made a dull sound and spit out an arrow. At the same time, the fluctuations of mana intensified. The center of the enemy distorted and its color deepened. A single wave.

The mana they were emitting was becoming a rough wave, about to swallow us.

“Odekerkh.”

Odekerkh condensed mana in the sword he was holding. Then, he showed a flashy movement that was neither a dance nor a rhythm.

“T-Terion!”

He swung his sword towards the ground and called the god he served.

“Th-that… no.”

I wanted to ask if he really had to make a sound, but I gave up after seeing his nervous face.

It wasn’t important right now.

Kwagwagwak!

As if a giant earth dragon was digging through the ground, the frozen ground writhed.

“Found you!”

The problematic guys who had been pushing through the mana revealed their faces.

But…….

“What the? These pervert bastards!”

Piontek shouted, drawing his sword.

The guys were bizarre to anyone who saw them. In this cold weather, they were wearing only a single pair of leather panties. It seemed they were guys whose brains had broken from the cold. Or perhaps they had incurred the wrath of the God of Fire, Ignia, and couldn’t control their heat.

‘Ah? No way…….’

Kaang!

Just as the perverts’ axes were about to head for Adellian, a thick tree became a wall and blocked their attack. Odekerkh’s ability shone brilliantly.

Kang!

Kwang!

Kwakwang!

The sound of their attacks being nullified rang out loudly.

“Ha! S-saved.”

Piontek said, slumping to the ground. It seemed he had been overwhelmed by the opponent’s number and momentum.

On the other hand, Adellian hardened her face and bit her lip. She looked frustrated. It seemed she was angry that she couldn’t even give a proper reaction even though she knew the opponent would attack.

‘She’s not the top student for nothing.’

It’s a pity that my first impression of her was so bad. She’s perfect for my first recruit.

“N-now what?”

Odekerkh, who had caught his breath, asked, shaking the dirt off his sword.

“What do you mean what. Do you think they’ll just stand there?”

Kung!

Koong!

They were really unnecessarily diligent guys. As soon as I said it, they were trying hard to break the wooden wall. Still, seeing that it wasn’t easily broken, Odekerkh’s ability seemed better than I thought.

Geugeugeuk.

Geugeuk? This wasn’t a hitting sound. It seemed my anxious guess was right.

“Adellian! Freeze it! Solidly!”

“Huh? The wall?”

“Quickly!”

Adellian, frowning, swallowed and thrust her sword into the ground. The snow on the ground gathered towards Adellian’s sword.

“Hah!”

With her shout, the gathered snow headed for the wooden wall.

Chiiik.

As the snow stuck to the heated wood, the heat quickly cooled down.

“Fuck! Why isn’t it burning?”

“The fire isn’t catching?”

“Should I light it?”

“It’s not working!”

Their panicked voices were pleasant to hear.

I caught my breath and raised my sword. I took out the mana contained in my Mana Heart and placed it on the tip of my sword.

‘Shall I try it?’

The Devil Bear’s heart was disgusting, but it was a great help to my body. Not only did the amount and quality of my mana increase, but my Mana Heart itself had grown. So a small technique I used a long time ago should be fine.

“Huh? Aura?”

Adellian, who was looking at me, asked with wide eyes.

“Not yet.”

Aura is only possible after hitting the 3rd Star. This is just gathering mana and stabbing.

Though not directly stabbing.

“W-what are you doing?”

“Huh?”

Piontek and Odekerkh reacted. So I showed them.

Puk!

The mana gathered at one point became a bullet and pierced the thick wooden wall. I heard a thud, so it seems one of their heads was smashed. Then, another one’s eye was seen through the hole.

“Michelle!”

Michelle, drawing her bowstring, opened her closed eyes. A green energy was surging in her pupils.

Ping!

The arrow made a different sound than before and rushed towards the hole.

Michelle aimed her bow and stared at the flying arrow. The green energy became a thick thread, connecting Michelle and the arrow.

Giiing!

The arrow spun fiercely, making a sound like hundreds of bees flying.

The eye seen through the hole quickly disappeared. But it was too late.

“Keok!”

“Keuk!”

The arrow that passed through the hole pierced the enemy behind the wall. Hearing two different sounds, it seems two of them are dead.

“That’s right.”

The fluctuations of mana confirmed it.

“Hoo.”

Michelle caught her breath and nocked a second arrow on her bowstring.

I raised my hand to stop a hasty attack. It’s not too late to shoot after grasping the enemy’s movement.

‘No other movements.’

There were three places where the fluctuations were distorted in human form. They showed no other movements. There was no cry for help and no additional movements, so it was clear that the remaining three were all there were. If that’s the case, there’s no need to wait.

“Piontek, Odekerkh.”

I called the two men to get behind the enemy. Then I used hand signals to tell them where to move. If Odekerkh dug the ground and Piontek went out to cut their ankles, the situation could be finished…….

Kwaang!

Huh?

The wooden wall, which was taller than two adults standing on top of each other, the wall as thick as a log that had been frozen solid, crumbled like a cookie breaking.

“You have many tricks.”

A super pervert, twice as big as the other perverts, and dressed exactly the same, appeared.

The intense mana fluctuations I saw earlier were created by this guy. Even now, the size of the mana he absorbs, circulates, and spits out is considerable. Seeing that he’s bigger than Michelle or Adellian, he’s over the 2nd Circle.

“Heop!”

Adellian, surprised by the guy, gasped. It didn’t seem like she was surprised by the magnitude of his power. She was contorting her face as if she had seen something dirty.

Well, it is dirty. I’ll try hard to understand that he’s wearing only panties because he has a lot of body heat. Because I have no choice. But if you have a big build, you should wear big panties to match. His butt crack is all visible and that place is… anyway! He’s wearing panties that make the triangle prominent, so it feels like my eyes are rotting.

“Why on earth are you doing this?”

Even if he was cursed for blaspheming Ignia, shouldn’t he be a little considerate of others’ eyes?

“……”

Right, he’s a guy who ignores questions, so would he care about others’ eyes.

“Who is Maximilian?”

The giant pervert asked.

Naturally, everyone’s gaze turned to me.

What on earth did that Maximilian Caesar fellow do to be so popular?

“Why are you looking for him?”

“Is it you?”

“Just answer the question. You half-wit bastard.”

At the word ‘half-wit,’ the giant pervert’s face contorted fiercely. I had a feeling, but as expected. The guy is a descendant of the Amirios clan, who were cursed by Ignia.

‘There are still some greedy bastards left.’

The Amirios were a clan of mages who served Ignia. Ignia loved them. He lent them more power because he was pleased that they only looked at him and prayed. Because of that, the Amirios boasted stronger power than mages of the same circle. Everyone envied the Amirios. Feared them. Bowed their heads. The Amirios enjoyed the feeling of being gods.

What ruined that feeling were the knights. The knights who used the Mana Heart, who built their stories as a single human, not a god. The Amirios coveted the Mana Heart. They thought that if they created a story of fire with the Mana Heart, not a circle, they could become gods, not just enjoy the feeling of being gods.

The Amirios stopped praying. They prepared to become gods by embracing the Mana Heart and creating a formula of fire.

‘The god isn’t an idiot, would he have just watched?’

Ignia punished the Amirios. He said that those with the blood of the Amirios would live in a pit of fire.

The Amirios could no longer create a Mana Heart. They could only embrace a Mana Circle, and that too, a Mana Circle full of heat that burned their own bodies.

‘Like the half-wit in front of me.’

“How dare you! Say such a thing to me!”

The giant pervert, going beyond glaring, looked at me with eyes that were spewing black smoke. He raised a huge knife that looked like it belonged in a slaughterhouse.

I opened my Mana Heart and shouted to those who were with me.

“Take care of the rest as you see fit!”

It seems I’ll have to face that half-wit alone.