Book Eater

Chapter 24: Night in the Nadun Mountain Ranges (2)

Meanwhile, at the head of the convoy, an entirely different scene was unfolding. The number of hobgoblins at the front was incomparable to those at the rear. It was difficult to measure the number of hobgoblins bounding out of the shadows, armed with weapons and armor.

Kuwaaaack!

Kieeek! Kiyaaak!

Ten minutes later...

Crunch!

Vince crushed a lump of charcoal beneath his boots with a cold expression. There were only a few traces of the hobgoblins left, mostly in the form of melted armor and weapons. A single man stood imposingly in front of a field of ash. A hundred hobgoblins had attacked them, and had been reduced to ash.

T-This is a 5th Circle master...!

Gordon’s eyes were wide with astonishment as he stared at Vince. He’d thought he understood the significance of a magician, but Vince’s display had gone beyond anything he had ever imagined. Gordon clearly realized why magicians were praised over knights as the ones who dominated the battlefield. The most fearsome thing wasn’t the horror created by the flames.

“How trivial.”

The magician who had turned a hundred hobgoblins into chunks of charcoal was the terrifying one. Even though they were hobgoblins and not people, Vince had almost been casual as he burned them to death. Gordon and the others had survived, but the mercenaries couldn’t hide the horror in their eyes.

In a way, this was Vince’s essence. He had been a good teacher at the academy, but the nicknames Destruction by Fire and Fire Killer Vince had not been given to him lightly. He had lost count of the number of humans he had killed on the battlefield. The power of a 5th Circle war magician, especially a fire war magician, was literally at the level of a siege weapon.

“Gordon.”

“Huh? Ah, ah, yes!” Gordon was surprised at the sudden summons and hastily replied.

“Send some people to the rear. Perhaps the hobgoblins also hit that area. It looks like they responded properly, but there might be more than one commander.”

Vince wanted to go to the rear, but if he left, the whole front line would be in danger. The hobgoblins had already been defeated, but their commander was still standing. If Vince left without finishing off the commander, he would be leaving behind deadly consequences. The defeated hobgoblins would evolve into more cunning and vicious enemies.

A hobgoblin shaman holding a staff was glaring angrily at him.

“... Is that an artifact?”

It was a wooden staff with a purple crystal embedded in it. Despite the coarse workmanship, it was radiating a significant amount of magic power. Perhaps the staff was what had allowed the hobgoblin to withstand his fire. Vince hadn’t expected to find such a good gift in this place.

“I guess I better hurry.”

He could feel the waves of magic power in the rear ramping up in intensity. He could also hear steel clashing with steel. If a commander-level enemy appeared in the rear, then Theodore would suffer. Vince decided to unleash some of the force he’d been holding back out of consideration for the onlookers.

Clack!

As soon as his fingers moved, a terrifying fire pillar emerged from the ground.

***

The flames at the front were so intense that they could be felt from the rear. Of course, it was possible that Theo was deluding himself, but it was still a spectacular scene. Theo, who had just fired a Fire Bolt at a hobgoblin’s head, stole a glance at the front.

“Wah, it seems like a real mess is happening over there.”

Fire magic was considered to be the best in a large army. The shockwaves from an explosion would rupture internal organs while the smoke and heat would damage lungs. If a Fireball from the 3rd Circle was that powerful, there was no need to talk about the 4th or 5th Circle.

Blaze Shell... no, Flare Burst. If I was right next to the professor, then I would be roasted right now.

Theo clicked his tongue and fired a Lightning Bolt at a hobgoblin who was trying to ambush a mercenary from behind. The hobgoblin twitched uncontrollably before collapsing. Theo was beginning to realize lightning magic was extremely effective on certain creatures.

However, Lightning Bolt consumes too much magic power. I can’t use a Fireball in this situation where it is a melee.

He didn’t have enough magic power to keep using single-target spells, while there was a possibility that his allies might be affected if he used an area-of-effect spell. Inexperienced battle magicians often didn’t know how to act in this situation, but Theo moved without much hesitation. If it was a melee, he would take advantage of it.

“Shock Bolt.”

As Theo spoke in a loud voice, eight lightning arrows appeared. Their strength was far inferior to a single Lightning Bolt, to the point where it wouldn’t even fry a rat. It was a magic which students soon forgot after learning it. However, this was enough for this battlefield.

Crackle!

The eight Shock Bolts shot at the hobgoblins. It was slower than natural lightning, but still too fast for the hobgoblins to react. It also helped that they were holding swords which attracted lightning.

Kiruruk?!

Kiyaaak?

Static crackled over the bodies of the hobgoblins who were hit. The electrocuted hobgoblins would temporarily lose control of their bodies for a few seconds, but that was enough.

“Get lost!”

It created just enough of a gap for the mercenaries. The hobgoblins had their heads cut off in that brief moment of paralysis. Some of the mercenaries knew it was due to Theo’s help and gave him a thumbs up. Theo returned their thumbs up and used Mitra or Ignite to help the mercenaries fighting the other hobgoblins. As this continued, the humans began to overpower the hobgoblins.

It’s almost over.

Theo took a moment to recover as he looked at the hobgoblins, whose number had been reduced by more than half. The mercenaries only had a few unfortunate casualties. Those who were injured took a moment to bandage their wounds before running back into the battle. If this continued, the situation would be cleaned up in less than thirty minutes. However, the moment he put his mind at ease, his sense of danger screamed at him.

Kwaang!

The only reason Theo avoided the blow was pure luck and the danger sense Alfred had left him. Theo, who had rolled forward reflexively, stood up and looked at the place where he had been standing. His skin was still prickling from the shockwave of the attack. The ground had cracked beneath the blow. If it had been a direct hit, it was obvious that he would have suffered broken bones and torn flesh.

“Keuk, this is a… spear?!”

It was a spear entirely made of metal! The weight alone made it hard to swing, so how could a hobgoblin throw it with the same speed as an arrow? If he had tried to block it with a shield, the spear would have gone straight through the shield. Theodore held his trembling arms close to his body and looked in the direction the spear had been thrown from.

A figure appeared out of the shadows.

Kuwaaaaack―!

As the figure ran out of the forest, an ax flashed and tore apart two bodies in front of it. As the upper halves of the two mercenaries fell to the ground, a mercenary barely managed to block the swinging ax with his shield.

“M-Monster!”

“Killing Jones in one shot...?”

“Hobgoblin chief!”

A mercenary's scream revealed the identity of the enemy.

A chief…?!?

A hobgoblin chief was a monster who led at least a hundred hobgoblins, with many presiding over thousands of hobgoblins. But a chief wasn’t a position that could be taken if one was simply superior in leadership or intelligence. As always, the world of the wild turned to the law of the strong. The chief had to be the strongest in the group.

Kururuk, kuraaaack!

The chief picked up the spear with one hand and pointed it at Theo like he was going to throw it at any time while holding the ax in his other hand. It seemed like he was clearly aware of the existence of a magician opponent, and Theo was his target.

This battle couldn’t be avoided.

Theodore sensed this and withdrew his magic power. He wished that he wouldn’t have to fight, but if there was no way out, he would need to win. Alfred’s memories pushed at him, saying he would have to deal with this enemy.

“Come!”

Kaaaak!

As a cold wind blew, the magician and monster ran toward each other.

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