Among the refugees, about a hundred volunteered as rangers.
They were all older in age, but even so, a fierce determination could be seen in their eyes.
The one who came forward as their representative was a retired member of a former ranger unit.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Eostre.”
“Likewise. I’m Jun from the White Whale Mercenaries. Thank you for volunteering.”
“It’s only natural. How could we do any less than those who came all this way for strangers like us?”
Apparently, his grandson had been among the refugees, and Eleanor had healed him when he was suffering from frostbite.
“I swear, even if it costs me my life, I will defend this place.”
“I admire your resolve, but none of us are going to die.”
“You intend to stop an army of ten thousand with just this many people, without a single casualty?”
“Of course. I’ve already slowed them down. It won’t last more than a few hours, though.”
“Hmph…”
And the mage standing before him hadn’t lied.
In fact, it was quite a while later that they finally saw the enemy forces they should’ve encountered hours ago.
“They’ve arrived. What’s your plan?”
“Nothing complicated. There’s a reason we picked this uphill path.”
The enemy forces were now climbing up through the windless canyon without the slightest disruption.
And once Jun judged they were well within visual range—
His magic was unleashed.
[Grease]
Sometimes, stopping the enemy’s advance doesn’t require high-circle magic. Even an ordinary third-circle spell can do the trick.
That’s exactly what had drawn Jun to magic in the first place.
The ability to create an unexpected outcome using something seemingly insignificant.
And just as he’d hoped, the results followed.
Craaaash! Bam-baam-baaam!
“Pwahaha!!”
The one who burst out laughing was none other than Eleanor.
Hundreds of enemy soldiers, climbing the slope, slipped and collided into each other due to the now-slick ground, tumbling down in a chaotic heap.
Many even fell off the cliff entirely.
The sight was almost comical.
“Now’s the time.”
“Ah, got it!”
The rangers who had never expected to face such ridiculously clumsy enemies drew their bowstrings.
Though their physical strength had waned with age, their stances were honed by years of experience.
Fwhip! Fwhip! Fwhip!
In an instant, over a hundred arrows split through the air and rained down upon the enemy troops who had fallen into the canyon.
Unable to steady themselves or even lift their shields properly, the soldiers were pierced through and vanished like mist.
“T-To think we could kill them this easily…”
The rangers were left in a daze.
Back before the evacuation began, when they first picked up their bows to fight, they had felt nothing but despair.
The enemy’s shields had been like iron walls, and even approaching them had been a struggle.
When the enemy numbers were small, they could at least surround and handle them. But as their numbers grew, even that became impossible.
And yet now, the battlefield had completely changed with nothing more than a few spells from a single mage.
Securing this position ahead of time was a brilliant move, but even that would’ve been impossible under normal circumstances.
By all accounts, the refugees should’ve been caught from behind before they ever reached this place.
But somehow, the mage had managed to hold the enemy back and secure this location in advance. The results spoke for themselves.
“This should buy us a little more time.”
“You mean that spell just now won’t keep holding them off?”
“Their ability to adapt is… annoyingly effective.”
“Adapt?”
The ranger tilted his head, unsure what Jun meant. But the question was answered soon enough.
“Th-There!”
After several rounds of [Grease] to stall their advance, a knight-class figure appeared among the enemy ranks.
It was a thousand-man commander Aiden had killed once before.
He planted a flag into the ground, and just like last time, a wave of dark crimson magic burst forth.
“They’ve enhanced their foothold.”
It was as if the enemy had strapped on crampons over the ice. [Grease] no longer caused them to slip.
In other words, that method wouldn’t work anymore.
“What the hell are those things?”
“They’re soldiers. That’s all.”
With that, Jun turned to the rangers behind him.
“You’ve done more than enough. It’s time for you to go back to your families.”
“What are you saying? The enemy’s still out there, and in great numbers.”
“You’re nearly out of arrows.”
“Well, that’s…”
They hadn’t brought many arrows to begin with.
Even with dimensional storage bracelets, there was a limit to how much they could carry.
“From here on out, we’ll hold the line.”
“How can just the few of you…?”
“We’ll figure something out. More importantly, there’s no time. The enemy has probably split their forces to climb above the canyon. If we’re surrounded, we won’t be able to protect you.”
By gently implying that they might become a burden, Jun convinced them without resistance.
“…Let’s make sure we see each other again…alive.”
“Yeah. Let’s do that.”
And so, the hundred ranger unit retreated, leaving just the four of them facing the narrow canyon path once more.
“Senior.”
“Yeah, Aiden?”
“Do you feel it?”
“I just started to.”
Jun let out a sigh, as if annoyed.
A powerful presence had been emanating from the enemy’s side for a while now.
It was blatant. So much so that it felt like the enemy was watching, waiting to see just how far he would go. The pressure was relentless.
“Then I’ll have to live up to their expectations.”
It wasn’t yet time to borrow his comrades’ strength.
Jun’s magic circle spun fiercely, drawing in the surrounding mana. That mana then flowed through his magic circuits and erupted outward once more.
[Unique Magic]
[Flame Seeker: Wildfire]
“Let’s see if you can block it this time….like you did before.”
One of the changes that came with reaching the sixth circle was the creation of new spells.
If the 5th Circle is about laying the foundation for future growth,
Then the 6th Circle is about building on top of that foundation.
Developing one’s own signature technique, exploring the self, and discovering the inner image that would one day be fully realized.
Fwoooosh!
Jun’s unique magic wasn’t about adding an attribute to mana to cast spells.
It was about adding mana to an existing attribute.
It might sound like a simple reversal of order or something trivial, but the results were anything but.
“This is… magic?”
Aiden’s eyes sparkled.
No matter how many times he saw it, it always felt new.
Even now…..
Like something truly magical, a fierce blaze surged through the canyon field like wildfire.
The red army standing above looked like glowing embers, burning bright.
“What kind of magic is this…?”
Watching beside him, Eleanor looked at Jun with a mix of awe and dread.
Having recently dedicated herself to magic, she could tell just how far Jun’s approach differed from that of traditional mages.
My god.
Imbuing an attribute with mana. No mage had ever seen anything like it.
“…Hoo.”
Meanwhile, Jun focused his entire mind on controlling the flames.
It’s strong, that’s for sure.
The enemy camps turned to mist, devoured by the flames rising from the earth.
They looked like moths drawn to a bonfire, but only for a moment.
The enemy forces began resisting his magic, their mana that was once enhancing their footing starting to shift.
Just like during the first refugee rescue mission, when they had withstood [Flame Rage], which contained [Flame Seeker].
They were holding out again.
But this time was different.
Back then, [Flame Rage] was magic with an attribute added to the mana.
Because of that, it was difficult to fully unleash the raw power of [Flame Seeker].
But now, it wasn’t the same.
This time, the attribute came first then mana was added to it.
Mana wasn’t forming the attribute. The attribute was wielding the mana.
As a result, the properties of [Flame Seeker] became even more amplified, and it began devouring even the red mana surrounding their bodies, turning it into fuel.
It was, in every sense, a principle befitting the name “Flame Seeker”.
To quell these flames, one would need to suppress them with a force even stronger than the mana Jun was pouring into them.
That was something the flag of the thousand-man commander before him simply couldn’t accomplish.
And perhaps it was those very flames, radiating with fierce energy, that provoked the presence looming beyond.
“Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!”
Just like the thousand-man commanders they had encountered so far, this one appeared with a wild burst of laughter, a flag fluttering behind his back.
He walked atop the scorched earth ignited by [Flame Seeker] as if it were his own home, completely at ease.
“How entertaining! Yes, this is how the surface should be! I’m glad I returned to my homeland!”
“…And you are?”
“I stand at the peak of ten thousand elite soldiers! A name bestowed upon me by the one and only noble lord of the surface….Rikedaimon! You who stand in the way of our advance….tell me, what is your name?”
“I’m Jun, leader of the White Whale Mercenaries.”
“You possess the qualities of a fine warrior!”
He didn’t question that Jun was a mage.
And perhaps he didn’t care. He simply lifted the massive flag from his back and drove it into the ground.
In that instant, unlike the previous thousand-man commander’s display, a surge of red mana erupted with overwhelming force, engulfing the raging [Flame Seeker] and forcibly evolving it.
“You’re a ten-thousand-man general.”
“Exactly! I hadn’t planned to appear in person, but each and every one gathered here stirred my fighting spirit!”
His gaze lingered on Jun for a moment, then turned to the comrades behind him.
“One who carries the bloodline of the great one… one who houses a cursed outer god within that fragile body… and finally…”
His eyes settled on Maya.
At some point, an uncontrollable murderous aura had begun to radiate from her.
“So the child we let slip away that day is here too. And she’s inherited her father’s power. Truly remarkable. I used to believe nothing surpassed the strength of bloodlines… yet she’s gone beyond that and earned the recognition of the spirits themselves?”
From his words, Jun realized the truth….that this man was one of the main perpetrators behind the fall of the Jokyeong tribe.
“So it really was you. The invincible army… Eldark.”
“……!!”
Eldark.
When Jun uttered that name, it wasn’t the enemy who reacted but Aiden.
As a member of the imperial family, there was no way he couldn’t know that name.
“E-Eldark…? That’s the name of the army that served the First Emperor, isn’t it?!”
“That’s right. A ghost of the past, buried in the blackout.”
“Hahahaha! Indeed! We are ghosts of the past! Even in death, we never forgot His Majesty’s grace, and we waited for his call. And then, he personally raised us!”
“What on earth are you talking about…?”
This wasn’t something that could be explained here and now.
“No way… How could someone from centuries ago still be…?”
“A truth unknown to the surface dwellers. No one ever witnessed his end. They simply believe he ascended.”
The general spoke as if reminiscing.
He thumped his armor, adorned with ornate patterns, and said,
“But that’s not what matters right now! It’s time to unleash the fighting spirit blazing in my chest!”
“What is it you want?”
“Battle! War! Struggle! I want it all!”
“Are you asking for a duel?”
“Yes!”
“I have no reason to agree to that.”
Even now, Jun had multiple ways to stop the army.
The refugees had likely all made it down past the base of the mountain.
From here, he could unleash large-scale magic to trigger avalanches or landslides.
In other words, stopping that force of ten thousand wouldn’t be difficult.
And the enemy knew that very well.
“Don’t be so boring, brilliant tactician!”
“Then what?”
“Face me in a battle of life and death! Let blood spill and fighting spirit burn! Let me taste a battle that ignites a warrior’s soul! If you defeat me, I swear…I will bind my army here!”
“You have a conscience?”
The ten-thousand-man general.
He was on a completely different level from the commanders Aiden had faced so far.
He alone likely stood at a solid level 7.
There was no one in the group who could take him on alone.
“It’s fine. You’re already one and the same. You’re all bound together by the power of the World Tree, aren’t you?”
“…Hoh.”
So, he meant to face all four of them at once.
That was actually intriguing.
“Were you serious about what you said earlier?”
“I was!”
“Then I accept your challenge.”
“Excellent! Splendid!”
His satisfied laughter echoed through the canyon.
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