Infinite Mana - Chapter 211 Silent Hunt (Thank you for your support, Zsolt Czocher!) (Patreon)

Sieghart followed the patrol from a distance, keeping Phantom Image wrapped tightly around his body while matching their pace through the abandoned street. None of the five goblins looked behind them often enough to suggest they had noticed anything unusual.

The formation remained consistent even after they turned twice. Both spearmen stayed in front, the swordsman occupied the center, and the two archers followed several meters behind while periodically scanning windows, alleys, and broken rooftops for movement. Sieghart watched their habits instead of attacking immediately. One archer always checked the left side first, the second favored higher windows, and the swordsman repeatedly looked backward whenever the patrol passed an intersection wide enough for an ambush.

That made the rear archer the easiest first target, but simply killing one goblin would create another problem. Bodies fell, weapons clattered, armor struck stone, and even a muffled scream could draw attention from nearby streets. Sieghart needed the patrol to disappear rather than merely die.

He waited until they entered a narrower district where collapsed buildings blocked sight from most neighboring streets. An alley opened beside the road ahead, while a partially fallen stone arch created enough cover to hide several bodies afterward. The first part of his plan required almost no offensive magic. Sieghart extended Telekinesis toward a loose pebble lying near the opposite wall, lifted it carefully, and sent it skittering through a shattered doorway behind the patrol.

The faint clicking noise was barely noticeable, but the rear archer reacted immediately. He stopped, raised one hand, and turned toward the doorway while the other four goblins continued several steps before realizing their companion had fallen behind.

The swordsman said something short and irritated in their language. The archer answered without lowering his bow, then approached the doorway alone while the rest of the patrol spread slightly instead of crowding behind him. Sieghart almost smiled. They were cautious enough to be useful training, but not cautious enough to refuse a familiar mistake. The archer had separated himself by nearly six meters, which was more than enough.

Sieghart moved behind him without making a sound. Phantom Image hid his outline, while Telekinesis wrapped around the goblin’s bow and lower jaw at the same instant that a Mana Sword appeared less than half a meter away.

The goblin sensed something at the last moment and tried to turn, but Sieghart pulled the bow sideways with Telekinesis, disrupting his balance while the Mana Sword drove through the narrow gap beneath the back of his helmet. The archer’s body jerked once. Sieghart caught him telekinetically before his knees struck the ground, caught the bow before it could fall, and lowered both body and weapon gently behind the broken doorway.

No shout came. No metal struck stone. The remaining four goblins still had no idea that their patrol had already lost a member. Sieghart dismissed the Mana Sword and immediately backed away.

Killing the first target had been easy because he controlled the opening, but the others would notice the missing archer within seconds if he stayed careless. The swordsman turned first. His posture changed as soon as he saw the empty doorway, and a sharp command sent one spearman forward while the other turned around to cover the rear with his weapon raised. Good. They were adapting.

Sieghart raised one finger and formed Fatigue Dart. The thin green projectile appeared almost silently, far less conspicuous than Fireball or Water Jet. He aimed at the rear spearman’s exposed calf and released it while remaining outside the goblin’s direct line of sight.

The dart struck. The spearman flinched and looked down, but the tiny magical projectile had already disappeared into the effect. There was no explosion, no visible wound worth alarming the others, and no obvious attacker to retaliate against. For several seconds, nothing happened. Then the goblin shifted his stance. His breathing deepened slightly. Sieghart watched through Magic Vision as Poison Mana spread through the target’s body and interfered with the normal rhythm of movement.

The effect was subtle, but the goblin’s weight started settling differently between steps. Fatigue Dart did not cripple him. It made effort expensive. Sieghart liked that considerably more. That difference would matter much more against stronger opponents who depended on explosive movement.

The forward spearman entered the ruined doorway searching for the missing archer. Sieghart had already moved around the building through a broken side opening, positioning himself above a collapsed section of wall overlooking the narrow interior. The goblin found the body. His head snapped upward. Sieghart dropped. Muscle Reinforcement activated before his boots touched the stone ledge. He landed behind the spearman, wrapped one hand around the shaft of the weapon, and drove a Mana Sword through the gap beneath the goblin’s arm.

The spearman tried to shout. Telekinesis closed around his throat just strongly enough to stop the sound while Sieghart pulled him backward behind the wall. The entire exchange lasted less than two seconds, but the surviving goblins heard movement. The swordsman barked an order. Both remaining fighters changed position immediately. The second archer drew an arrow and aimed toward the doorway, while the poisoned spearman moved beside him with his shield angled forward despite the growing heaviness in his legs.

Sieghart crouched behind the broken wall and listened. Three left. The situation had become more interesting because the goblins now knew something was wrong, yet they still did not know what was attacking them or where it had gone. That uncertainty was a weapon. Sieghart used Telekinesis to lift the dead spearman’s weapon, then pushed the spear tip slowly through an opening on the opposite side of the doorway as though its owner were trying to crawl out.

The archer fired immediately. The arrow struck stone where the false target disappeared. Sieghart moved at the same moment. Impulse carried him through a gap in the ruined wall and across the alley before the archer could nock another arrow.

He canceled most of the burst early to reduce noise and landed behind a collapsed cart. The swordsman noticed the air displacement. His head turned. Too late. A second Fatigue Dart crossed the distance and struck the swordsman’s shoulder. The goblin snarled and swung toward the source, but Sieghart had already shifted again. Phantom Image did not erase the disturbances he caused, so remaining in motion mattered more now that the patrol understood an invisible attacker was nearby.

The poisoned spearman charged toward the cart. His first few steps were fast. Then Fatigue Dart began showing its value. The goblin’s stride shortened slightly, his shoulders rose with every breath, and the explosive movement that should have carried him directly around the obstacle lost efficiency halfway through the charge.

Sieghart waited behind the cart until the spear tip appeared. Then he grabbed it. Telekinesis pulled from one direction while Muscle Reinforcement let Sieghart twist physically from another. The exhausted goblin resisted, but the competing forces wrenched the shaft sideways and exposed his chest.

Sieghart formed a Mana Sword. The blade struck once beneath the ribs. The spearman staggered rather than falling immediately, so Sieghart kicked the back of one knee and used Telekinesis to pull him downward before a second precise thrust ended the fight. He caught the collapsing body again. Three kills. Almost no noise. The swordsman finally understood that staying separated was killing them. He rushed toward the archer instead of searching blindly, positioning himself close enough that either goblin could respond if the unseen attacker appeared beside the other.

Sieghart watched them through a crack in the cart. That was better tactics. It was also exactly what he wanted now. He lifted two loose pieces of rubble from opposite sides of the street and sent both into distant alleys at slightly different times.

The first impact drew the archer’s bow left, while the second forced the swordsman to turn right. Their attention split for less than one second. Sieghart attacked during that second. Mana Barrier appeared directly behind the swordsman rather than in front of him. Sieghart used Impulse from the opposite side, emerging from invisibility only at the final instant as his shoulder slammed into the goblin’s chest.

The swordsman flew backward and struck the barrier. He had nowhere to give. The collision stunned him just long enough for Sieghart to twist away before the archer released an arrow at point-blank range.

The arrow passed through the space beside Sieghart’s neck and shattered against Mana Barrier. Sieghart grabbed the archer’s bow with Telekinesis and pulled downward. The goblin resisted immediately, keeping both hands locked around the weapon rather than surrendering it. That mistake anchored his upper body exactly where Sieghart wanted it. A Glacial Fist appeared beside his knee. The icy construct struck sideways. The goblin’s leg buckled, and frost raced across the joint while his aim collapsed.

Sieghart released the bow suddenly, causing the archer to stumble backward under his own resistance. The swordsman recovered faster than expected. His curved blade swept toward Sieghart’s ribs. Protection flashed around Sieghart’s body as he twisted away, but the edge still struck hard enough to send a vibration through his side and tear part of the illusion covering his coat.

Sieghart did not retreat. He stepped closer. The swordsman expected distance from a mage and reacted a fraction too slowly when Sieghart caught his wrist with one hand, reinforced his grip with Telekinesis, and drove his forehead into the goblin’s face.

The impact stunned both of them more than Sieghart liked. He ignored the pain. The swordsman did not have that luxury. Fatigue Dart had been working throughout the exchange, and the goblin’s breathing had already become ragged. His attempt to wrench free came with noticeably less strength than the movement he used earlier. Sieghart swept one leg behind the goblin’s ankle and pushed. The swordsman fell. Before he hit the ground, Sieghart caught his sword telekinetically, tore it from his hand, rotated the weapon in midair, and drove the pommel into the goblin’s temple.

The swordsman went limp. Sieghart caught him before his armor struck the street. The archer was already moving. He abandoned the bow entirely and ran. That was dangerous. A fleeing goblin could turn a successful ambush into an alarm within seconds, and Sieghart had deliberately chosen a patrol because he wanted to learn how to prevent exactly that problem.

He raised one hand. Wind Magic gathered. A Wind Blade would have been faster. It would also risk cutting deeply enough to spray blood across the street or leave a body where another patrol could notice it from far away.

Sieghart chose something quieter. Telekinesis struck the fleeing goblin’s ankle sideways. The archer stumbled. Impulse carried Sieghart forward before the goblin recovered. The archer reached toward a short knife hanging from his belt, but Sieghart arrived first and slammed one hand against his shoulder while another Fatigue Dart entered his back from almost no distance.

The goblin spun with the knife. Sieghart leaned away from the first slash, caught the wrist with Telekinesis, and forced the arm wide while the poison began accelerating the cost of every desperate movement. The second slash never came. Sieghart summoned a Mana Sword beside the goblin’s neck and stopped it there. For one brief moment, both remained motionless. The archer’s eyes widened. Sieghart could hear his breathing. Then the goblin tried to scream. Telekinesis tightened around his throat before the sound escaped.

The Mana Sword moved once. Sieghart caught the body before it fell. Silence returned to the street. For several seconds, he remained perfectly still while Magic Vision scanned the surrounding buildings, intersections, rooftops, and underground passages for movement responding to the fight.

Nothing approached. No alarm sounded. No distant voices changed. The city continued as though five armed patrol members had simply vanished into another street. Sieghart slowly exhaled. That felt considerably different from destroying golems. The fight itself had not been especially difficult. Controlling information had been the difficult part. Every target needed to die before communicating.

Every body needed to fall quietly. Every weapon had to be caught. Every movement needed to avoid creating a trail obvious enough for the next patrol to follow immediately. Stealth demanded discipline in places raw power usually allowed him to ignore.

He looked back toward the ruined building where the first two bodies remained hidden, then toward the three goblins currently lying near him. The System chose that moment to respond.

[Fatigue Dart has reached Level 2.] [Magic increased by 2.] Sieghart smiled faintly. The spell had leveled after only several practical applications, which suggested using it against active biological targets taught far more than firing it into something incapable of becoming tired.

That resolved one question. It did not resolve the uncomfortable ones. Sieghart looked at their equipment, then at their faces, and reminded himself that these five had been armed patrol members inside territory he had deliberately infiltrated. He had chosen the fight. They had not attacked him first. That distinction mattered. He was not going to pretend otherwise just because the System rewarded him. Still, if he intended to explore the city, avoiding every patrol forever was unrealistic, and these goblins had provided exactly the kind of stealth practice he came here wanting.

Sieghart began moving the bodies. Telekinesis allowed him to carry two at once without dragging them across the stone. He placed all five inside the ruined building, collected their weapons, and cleaned the small blood traces with Water Creation.

Then he looked at the bodies again. Five goblins. Five sets of armor. Five faces. One invisible mage capable of altering his appearance. The idea from earlier returned immediately. Sieghart crouched beside the swordsman and studied the goblin carefully. Height. Shoulder width. Skin color. Ear shape. Facial structure. Armor. Weapon. Posture. Phantom Image could reproduce all of it well enough to fool ordinary sight.

Sieghart smiled. Stealth had worked. Now he wanted to see how well infiltration worked, because wandering invisible through an entire underground city was useful, but walking through its streets while everyone believed he belonged there sounded considerably more interesting.