Ranker's Return

Supplementary Story 19

“Are you okay, Duke Jerata?” A black magician holding an impressive staff with a fist-sized skull at the end blocked the way between Duke Jerata and Lebron.

After taking a few deep breaths, Duke Jerata smiled at the black magician. “I am okay thanks to you.”

“I don’t know how long we can hold out so you should leave quickly. I think we should give up Franc.”

This was the worst. The Knights of Keon were a group of monsters that even the black magicians found hard to deal with. No, the black magicians had to struggle just to survive. That’s how monstrous the Knights of Keon were.

“Understood. The cleanup is over, so I can give it up.” Duke Jerata accepted the black magician’s suggestion without much of a fuss. It was because he thought he might die if he hesitated.

“I will see you there.” Duke Jerata took out a piece of paper and tore it. A blue light enveloped his body, just like when he appeared.

“I thought you were a toothless tiger... I guess you were hiding your claws.” The black magician pointed his staff at Lebron.

“Hiding my claws... That is what I want to say. You joined forces with the nobles and survived well. Even if your life is tough, this is too tough,” Lebron mocked the black magician and came down from his horse.

The walls weren’t narrow, but they weren’t wide enough to move on horseback. In addition, in melee battles, it was much faster to run on two legs than to ride a horse.

“I am going to cut you up today.” Lebron’s body stretched out as he stepped forward.

He arrived in the vicinity of the black magicians in an instant and drew his sword without hesitation. Lebron’s sword fell with a neat trajectory. At this moment, a black membrane appeared in front of the black magicians. It was the same thing that had saved Duke Jerata.

There was a huge explosion at the same time as the collision. It was definitely a different result from the previous light hit.

Lebron’s attack was blocked, but there was no change in his expression. He kept an indifferent expression as he repeatedly swung his sword at the black magician. A series of thin pure energies was fired at the black magicians in succession. The black magician’s shield, which had been blocking Lebron’s attack, couldn’t withstand the repeated shocks and started to crack little by little. The limit had been reached.

The black magician saw it and held out the staff in his hand. “Fog of Despair!”

The skull at the end of the staff exuded black magic power. Magic power spread out in a fan shape and destroyed all the surroundings. It smashed anything that it touched.

“Magic doesn’t work on me, black magician.”

Lebron saw the approaching black fog and lightly stomped his feet. Then magic power in a space 10 meters around Lebron started to become tangled up. The magic power shook, and so did the magic. Fog of Despair, the magic the black magician used, started to dissipate.

“What is this...?!” a scream burst from the mouth of the black magician when he saw that. It was a horrible sight. He had never experienced it in his life, and he never thought he would experience it.

“Stop struggling in vain and extend your neck.” Lebron did his job regardless of how the black magician reacted. He jumped lightly and flew toward the black magician.

‘The raiders were such monsters...’ The black magician gritted his teeth. It had already been expected to some extent ever since the dungeon in the Balder Mountains was attacked by an unidentified force. That was why they were prepared.

‘I’m glad they came after we were ready.’

Teleportation magic circles were installed in the territories of the nobles they were working with. Then they started to hide the assets of the nobles. It was in case of an emergency.

‘The first thing to do is run away.’

All their efforts would be in vain if they died here. He couldn’t afford to die like this. The black magician took something out and threw it at Lebron.

‘What?’ Lebron reflexively swung his sword. Then the thing that black magician threw at him was split in half.

‘Paper?’ Lebron figured out what the magician had thrown at him based on the sensation he felt at the tip of his sword. Just then, a black wave burst out from the paper Lebron had cut. Lebron quickly recovered his sword and prepared for the impact.

“What?”

However, he felt nothing. The black wave didn’t cause any physical impact. It just looked gorgeous. Realizing something, the bewildered Lebron looked toward the place where the black magician had been standing.

“He ran away.” Lebron looked around. It wasn’t just the black magician he was dealing with who had disappeared. Most of the black magicians who showed up had disappeared. The only remaining black magicians were corpses.

Alexander appeared beside Lebron, who was looking sad. “What about the black magicians?”

“I let them go.”

“Well done.”

“I wonder if it was better to just kill them...”

“I told you several times that it is better to catch the rest rather than just one guy, Lebron.” Alexander shot Lebron an intense glance.

“I know. I’m just saying.” Lebron looked at the sky for no reason while avoiding Alexander’s eyes.

Alexander clicked his tongue a few times and called someone’s name, “Suped! Track the coordinates.”

“I’ve finished tracking them already, Your Majesty,” a heavy, low-pitched voice rang out from behind Alexander.

“Already?” Alexander asked back with a voice of surprise.

The task he asked Suped to do was not an easy one.

“Even if I look like this, I’m within the top five in the empire when it comes to magic, Your Majesty...” Suped had a sour expression on his face. Everyone else called Suped a great magician. His ability was clear when it came to magic. It wasn’t at a level where he couldn’t be trusted.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Blame me for being ignorant about magic.” Alexander smiled and patted Suped’s shoulder. “So where are they hiding?”

“They are bold guys. They are hiding in a big city in the south.”

“A city?”

“Based on what I found, the coordinates are near Brigs.” Suped nodded confidently. It was definitely Brigs.

“Brigs? They are really outrageous.” Lebron burst out laughing.

“They took a spot near the great temple.”

Brigs was a place with one of only 10 great temples in the empire. The number was small, so the power of each great temple was not weak.

“Okay, let’s go straight to Brigs. Get ready,” Alexander said. Hearing that, Lebron nodded.

“Knights of Keon, gather outside the castle!” Lebron shouted into the air.

“I understand, Deputy Commander.”

“Everyone, come out of the castle!”

“Arrange your positions!”

Answers came here and there from the Knights of Keon. They gathered in one place.

“Who is in charge of this place?” Alexander roamed all over the walls. Then he found someone on the ruined walls.

“I am Baron Paige, and I’m in charge of the guards of Franc Castle.” A man with a blue bruise on his face limped toward Alexander with his right hand held high.

“Baron Paige? Do you know who I am?”

“I heard what you said earlier. You were the 1st Imperial Prince, and now you are the emperor...”

“Then you heard everything else, right?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I heard everything.”

“So I won’t have to say a lot.” Alexander took out a small pouch and handed it to Baron Paige. “There are gold coins and potions inside. Use the potions on those who are seriously wounded and the gold coins to call priests from the temple to heal others.”

Alexander held out the pouch to Baron Paige, who was looking bewildered.

“There is probably no one who is dead. Those who are badly wounded would probably just have broken bones somewhere,” Lebron added an explanation to Alexander’s words.

“From the very beginning, the ones we targeted were the nobles, including Duke Jerata, and the black magicians, who were hiding somewhere. We don’t want to catch soldiers and knights who didn’t know what was going on.”

Alexander and Lebron were aiming for the rotten part of the empire, not to rip off a solid chunk of flesh.

“A noble will soon come to manage Franc, so I hope you will work hard until then, Baron Franc. Can I trust you?”

“I will do my best, Your Majesty.” Tears fell from Baron Paige’s eyes. It was because Alexander conveyed his intention to take care of them rather than sacrifice them for his cause.

“We will go to Brigs.” Alexander gestured toward Lebron and Suped with his chin before jumping off the walls.

“I trust you will do well.” Lebron patted Baron Paige on the shoulder and disappeared after Alexander.

***

In the southern metropolis of the Yusma Empire, southern Brigs…

A strong light burst out in a place where it was hard to find any people. The light disappeared, and more than a thousand people appeared on the spot.

“As expected of the best great magician of the next generation of the empire. You can move thousands of people at once.” Lebron applauded and admired Suped.

“Are you making fun of me?” Suped’s expression became distorted. What did this person mean by ‘the next generation’? He thought Lebron was making fun of him.

“Be patient. He is still immature in his manner of thinking.” Alexander pretended to find fault with Lebron.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Suped nodded without hiding his displeasure.

“I’m just telling the truth. Why are you reacting like this?” Lebron shook his head. Then he turned around and looked at the Knights of Keon behind him.

“Seeing that you are in good shape, I think it is okay to start right away, Your Majesty.” Lebron was in the presence of the Knights of Keon, so he spoke to Alexander in a respectful manner.

Alexander shook his head and looked at Suped. “Suped, what is the location?”

“Follow that, Your Majesty,” Suped replied.

The magic power flowing from Suped’s fingers became a small bird and flew into the air, swiftly headed somewhere.

“We can’t miss this, so let’s depart.” Alexander kicked his horse.

He was naturally followed by Suped, Lebron, and the Knights of Keon.

***

“Stop!”

After following the small bird for 30 minutes, Alexander and his companions arrived at a plains area that gave off an unpleasant aura.

“Your Majesty, this is a magic circle. There are magic circles for distortion and concealment, as well as an integrated magic circle that attracts magic power.” Suped immediately grasped the identity of the energy.

“Is it possible to break them down?”

“There is no time, so I think it is better to crush them with force.” Suped offered a very simple solution. He would’ve reversed the magic circles if he had enough time, but now it was a situation where it was best to save every minute and second.

“I’ll do it.” Alexander came forward. In terms of simple destructive power, neither Suped nor Lebron could ever reach Alexander.

‘I’ll finish it in one go.’ Alexander got off his horse, gently placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, and closed his eyes. Then the magic power in the atmosphere responded to Alexander’s will. Soon, the atmosphere around Alexander started to vibrate wildly. The moment the vibration reached its peak, Alexander’s sword moved lightly. It was a simple slash.

“How could this happen...?”

However, Suped’s expression was filled with astonishment when he saw it. Alexander’s slash wasn’t a simple slash.

“Breaking down space...”

The simple slash destroyed the space where the magic circles were placed. A new scene was revealed in the place where the space had collapsed.