Chapter 59: How To Use Them

    Look at these guys?

    Ian’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the merchants.

    Where would the evil energy be?

    ‘Well, that might be true.’

    The opponent was not an ordinary beast but a dragon. But if the opponent was those guys, the story would be different.

    ‘Those tattoos. It is obviously the runes that wizards engraved on their bodies.’

    Wizards of a certain level or higher used the engraved characters on their bodies. Its purpose was to shorten the activation time required for long casting magic. If a particular spell was engraved, they could activate the magic engraved only with magic power.

    In short, it was like a magic tool.

    But their acting was not good enough to pretend to be merchants.

    ‘And the dragon’s miasma and evil energy? Are they trying to trick us with something that doesn’t work to begin with?’

    Dragons did not spout miasma and evil energy.

    The blood and flesh had some poison, but it didn’t devastate the surroundings.

    Therefore, Ian knew exactly how absurd the words these people claimed were.

    But it was really weird.

    Drip. Drip.

    As they said, the place where the dragon’s blood and saliva touched was becoming corroded.

    It really seemed like it was full of miasma and evil energy.

    Those people pretending to be merchants even covered their mouths and shouted.

    “Be careful. Don’t breathe it in.”

    Ian and the knights followed suit, though.

    ‘Suspicious. Very shady.’

    It seemed that this dragon had a special secret, enough for the Kingdom of Magicians to look into it personally.

    Hence, Ian looked at them and sighed, pretending to be deeply frustrated.

    “I need the meat. I don’t know if I can eat it as it is.”

    “Hahaha, please worry not. Using the secret medicine we have here, we can get rid of the miasma and evil energy.”

    “Really?”

    “It takes a little bit of time, though.”

    They curled up their lips. Ian’s reaction was not bad in their eyes.

    However, Ian narrowed his eyes slightly so as not to alert them.

    ‘Oh? I see. You need some time, is that it?’

    Ian could see what kind of trick they had up their sleeves.

    Still, he needed to ask just in case.

    Ian sighed heavily.

    “I wish I could leave it to you, but unfortunately, we don’t have time.”

    “Yes?”

    “We have to go to the capital right now.”

    “Pardon?”

    “His Majesty has told me to catch the dragon. So, the dismantling of the dragon should be left to the royal chefs.”

    “Ah... You see... What I’m saying...”

    They looked a little flustered as if they didn’t expect Ian to respond like this.

    They finally sensed that things were not going as smoothly as they thought.

    The moment a few guys tried to move their hands.

    Smirk.

    Ian suddenly smiled brightly.

    “Still, there are a lot of injured people, so I think I’ll stay here for a few days. We will also prepare a place for all of you who have helped the territory. Take a good rest. We’ll talk about dragon handling later.”

    “Uh... huh? Will you really do that?”

    “Of course. You’ve given us plenty of herbs.”

    Ian flashed a friendly smile.

    But inwardly, he was clicking his tongue. It was a close call.

    ‘I didn’t expect them to try to use their hands right from the start. These guys... They’re more dangerous than I thought they’d be.’

    The Kingdom of Magicians and the Kingdom of Swordsmen were not on good terms. Therefore, the existence of wizards was also rare. That’s why other people might not know.

    Ian, who had fought against this Kingdom of Magicians enough to know their ins and outs, knew well.

    ‘Finger seals are more dangerous than spells or engravings.’

    They were just about to try creating such a seal.

    ‘They must be at least a three-star wizard who is comparable to a senior knight.’

    Unlike knights with classes ranging from the lowest to the highest and the master class beyond, wizards had a five-star rating starting from one star.

    And a three-star wizard could be regarded as a battle wizard.

    It was unknown how great the magic they had prepared was.

    ‘Wizard’s specialty is wide-area attacks. Everyone here was almost in danger.’

    Just looking at the number of people scattered around, they must be very formidable. Much less fighting in his own territory with many wounded was the loss on his side instead.

    Ian smiled unconcernedly.

    ‘Once we lay the stage, we will strike them from this side.’

    And right at that moment.

    “Your Highness, the deputy lord is up.”

    “!”

    Galon found Ian as if he had read Ian’s mind.

    “The deputy requested to have a face-to-face meeting with the prince. Would you like to meet him?”

    Looking at Galon, Ian tilted his head again.

    This was because he saw the thread of light he saw earlier again. It was shining clearly as if a single thread connected to him remained.

    But having no way to know it, Ian immediately told the merchants to rest for a while and followed Galon.

    Finally, they raised their hands and waved the seal.

    Boom!

    The collapsed buildings surged in a flash. The melted bulwarks crumbled away, and new soil began to build up in that place.

    Ian smirked with great satisfaction at the scene.

    ‘What, wizards are more convenient than I thought, huh? Should I use them some more?’

    Well, having experienced the war, Ian thought these guys would be quite useful, and a wizard alone could do what dozens of people could.

    Of course, it was not without disadvantages at all.

    “Pant, pant... huff!”

    Magic took up both mana and physical strength. That might be why the wizards seemed to be losing their strength.

    However, Ian, the one deliberately ordering them to slave away here and there, pretended to be absolutely clueless. The little boy had a worried expression on his face.

    “Are you okay? It’s strange, is it really that hard to use magic tools?”

    “No! Of course...”

    As they were gasping for breath, they flinched as soon as they saw the knights.

    “Th, that! Our magic tools are a little special. It uses the user’s stamina.”

    “Oh! I see. Then please take it easy.”

    “I can’t do that. We have to finish quickly so we can buy the dragon. We don’t refuse to...”

    “Oh, really? Then please help over there, too.”

    “...”

    When Ian pointed in the direction of the landslide, the wizards gritted their teeth.

    They thought it was a good thing they came to the prince at the command of their leader, but this was not the case.

    Of course, the dragon was very precious to the Kingdom of Magicians. They wanted to ignore all this and break into the cage keeping the dragon right away.

    ‘Two knights are guarding the dragon. We can’t seem to get the chains off without catching their eyes.’

    ‘It’s safer to just do the prince’s request, pretend to buy the dragon, and break the chain.’

    The three knights Ian brought were high-ranking knights.

    They might have a slight chance against the two handsome men who looked like nobles, but the most striking one was the brown-haired knight, Galon.

    ‘I think it would be better not to touch that man.’

    They felt a sense of danger.

    Well, if things went wrong, they could use wide-area magic to get rid of the knights. Still, it would be troublesome to have the existence of the Kingdom of Magicians discovered.

    Not to mention by the royal family.

    ‘Hold on a little longer. And we will use the dragon to kidnap this prince as well.’

    They sensed a strange power from Ian.

    But no matter how hard they worked, Ian’s instructions were never-ending.

    ‘Leader, stop him now...’

    ‘Isn’t it enough to say that there is a limit to the number of magical tools?’

    The wizards were in tears.

    Even worse, that was not the only problem.

    “I thought it would take some time, so I sent a telegram to the Lavaltor duchy. It’s nearby, so help will come here. Then you will be a little more at ease.”

    “...!”

    To call that Lavaltor the Destroyer of all things!

    They had to finish their work before the forces of Lavaltor, who mercilessly killed their youngest prince in the past, arrived.

    In other words, they had to finish their work quickly even if they used up all their mana.

    Of course, the wizards didn’t intend to just let themselves get beaten.

    ‘How’s the condition of the dragon right now?’

    ‘Actually, I think I can control it from this distance.’

    The wizards smiled insidiously.

    And at that time.

    Fiosen, who was watching the huffing wizards, whispered.

    “I think their physical strength has reached their limit. What should we do, Your Highness?”

    “We will just let them restore that plaza and attack them. Get ready...”

    But right at that moment, Ian flinched.

    He had no choice but to do so.

    ‘No way, these guys...’

    He spotted them making some suspicious moves while pretending to help rebuild the territory.

    Small lines were gradually gathering. Others would have thought that it was just the tracks, but Ian didn’t think so.

    He was not sure exactly what it was, but at a glance, it was an explosion-type magic circle.

    It was similar to the one that blew Garcia’s harbor in the past.

    They had to watch out.

    ‘The magic circle will be completed soon. Then everyone is in danger!’

    He had to strike them right now.

    It was the moment when Ian was urgently about to call the knights.

    [Do you need help?]

    “!”

    Ian heard someone’s voice.

    It was not the usual voice of Faith. The voice was as if someone spoke directly to his brain.

    [If you hand me that dragon, I will help you.]

    Surprised, Ian looked in the direction of the voice as if in a trance.

    A stranger was standing in an alley not far away.

    At first glance, it seemed human, but it wasn’t human.

    ‘...A dragon?’