Chapter 187

The Hidden Snipers

The flames ravenously devoured and shattered everything in their path.

They blasted apart the stone buildings, smashed through the Shields raised by the black mages, and melted the flesh of the monsters protecting them.

“GROOOAAAR!”

Ordinary large monsters might have been overwhelmed entirely, but the unusual specimens managed to resist even those absurd flames.

The Fifth Circle spell melted portions of their hides and scales, yet it still lacked the concentrated power needed to erase them in a single strike.

That was unavoidable.

The spell had been designed to slaughter everything across a wide area rather than focus all its destructive force upon a single point.

The black mages also survived.

Their defensive magic, combined with the monsters using their bodies as shields, prevented any of them from being consumed by the flames outright.

Even so, several of the dozens of large monsters had died instantly, while many others had suffered wounds of varying severity.

“Attack!”

While the black mages and monsters were still disoriented by the sudden assault, Karath gave the order.

“Krahahaha!”

“We’ll kill them all!”

The instant his command rang out, the orc warriors and Silver Wolf warriors rose from hiding and charged boldly toward the monsters.

Despite the damage caused by the Fifth Circle spell, dozens of large monsters still remained.

Each stood at least three times taller than the warriors charging them.

Their enemies also outnumbered them by more than three to one.

Not a trace of fear appeared in their eyes.

“Orcs and wolffolk attacked us?”

“Did a mere orc cast Fifth Circle magic?”

The black mages who had survived by sheltering among the monsters stared at the attackers in disbelief.

“Capture them!”

“They’re new experimental subjects!”

The mages exchanged brief glances before pointing toward Karath’s forces and issuing commands.

The first monsters to respond were those stationed along the outskirts of the stronghold.

Karath’s Fifth Circle spell had struck the centre of the settlement, leaving the creatures at the perimeter almost completely unharmed.

“ROOOAAAR!”

The moment they received their orders, the outer monsters charged.

A roaring minotaur reached the front line first.

“Krahahaha!”

“I’ll split your skull!”

Kaden and Chief Parker, who had been running at the head of the formation, separated to either side and swung their axes.

Aura reinforced both blades.

The strikes carved enormous wounds into the minotaur’s legs, exposing shattered bone beneath torn flesh.

“Hraaaah!”

Wyg leapt into the air before the creature could recover.

Aura filled his wolf-like claws.

With a single vicious swipe, he tore open the minotaur’s throat.

“You bastard! That one was mine!”

“Hmph. You were simply too slow.”

Even in the middle of battle, Kaden immediately began arguing with Wyg for stealing the finishing blow.

“Awooooo!”

Meanwhile, Buddy gathered mana and unleashed a breath attack.

The blast struck a griffin diving from the sky and blew its head apart.

Krog, the other orcs, and the Silver Wolf warriors collided with the remaining large monsters, repeatedly carving wounds into their bodies.

Once Buddy joined them after destroying the griffin, the battle briefly appeared to favour the alliance.

“ROOOAAAR!”

“SKREEEE!”

But the enemy’s numerical advantage was overwhelming.

While the first few monsters fell, many more rushed forward and attempted to surround the warriors.

Several unusual specimens that had remained beside the black mages also entered the front line.

The battlefield descended into chaos.

“MOOOOOO!”

A massive unusual specimen resembling a minotaur, except for the three eyes set into its face, began gathering mana.

A Gorgon.

Beside it, another creature did the same.

It resembled a Black Cobra enlarged hundreds of times, its body even more enormous than an anaconda’s.

“Fall back! Anyone who advances alone will be surrounded!”

Krog chose that moment to direct the warriors.

Awakening aura had given the orcs and Silver Wolf warriors enough offensive strength to seriously injure large monsters and unusual specimens.

It had also granted them the mobility needed to avoid enemy attacks more easily.

Their durability, however, had not improved nearly as much.

Even now that they were Aura Users, a glancing blow from a large monster could break bones.

A direct hit could kill them instantly.

That was why tactical movement and open ground that allowed easy evasion remained so important.

Hearing Krog’s command, the warriors stopped advancing just before the monsters could surround them and began withdrawing.

“Use the monsters as shields!”

The instant Krog gave his next order, the Gorgon and the enormous serpent opened their mouths.

ROOOOAR!

Their special attacks surged toward the warriors.

Everything touched by the Gorgon’s grey breath turned to stone.

Anything struck by the serpent’s black breath darkened before melting away.

Fortunately, the Silver Wolf warriors and Buddy were agile enough to escape the range of the attacks.

Krog and the other orcs either threw themselves aside or used nearby monsters as shields.

“ROOOAAAR!”

Their desperate evasive movements ruined their balance.

The large monsters waiting behind the breath attacks immediately struck.

Fortunately, the breaths made no distinction between ally and enemy.

Several large monsters were caught and killed as well.

Otherwise, the warriors sprawled across the ground might have been surrounded and beaten to death before they could recover.

Their actions had still achieved their purpose.

By drawing the monsters toward themselves, the warriors reduced the number remaining around the black mages.

And Karath had not been idle while they occupied the enemy.

Wooooom.

As every eye turned toward the warriors, he accelerated the infinite circuit rotating within his body once more.

Wooooom.

It greedily swallowed the mana flowing through the atmosphere.

Karath rearranged that enormous power according to the laws required to create the phenomenon he desired.

Then, once every preparation was complete, he released the spell.

“Thunder Field.”

Divine punishment descended upon the black mages’ stronghold.

Dozens of bolts of lightning fell toward the gathered mages.

A single touch would have roasted a body from the inside out.

“Barrier!”

“Aero Shield!”

“Stone Wall!”

The black mages had already prepared themselves for another attack.

The moment Karath cast his spell, they surrounded themselves with layers of defensive magic.

The few large monsters and unusual specimens still guarding them also threw their bodies into the lightning.

Several more monsters died.

Once again, however, none of the black mages were killed.

Casting two Fifth Circle spells in succession had drastically reduced the immense current of mana circulating within Karath.

The situation should have become increasingly grim.

Instead, a smile appeared on his face.

Those two Fifth Circle spells had only been bait.

Whoosh!

At the exact instant Karath’s lightning collided with the enemy’s defensive spells, a series of sharp sounds secretly cut through the chaos.

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

Five black mages collapsed simultaneously.

“Every shot hit!”

“Well done, Berners!”

The result had been produced by the hobgoblins’ arrows.

Karath had positioned the five hobgoblins along the enemy’s flank from the very beginning.

To avoid detection by the monsters, however, they had needed to remain more than two hundred metres away from the black mages.

Firing downhill from an elevated position might have been different, but with both sides at roughly the same height, inflicting meaningful damage with an ordinary bow from more than two hundred metres away was nearly impossible.

With their new bows and aura, however, that distance had become a killing range for the hobgoblins.

Naturally, even aura-enhanced arrows lost power after travelling so far.

A Shield would have been enough to stop them.

The problem was that the black mages had just exhausted their defensive spells blocking Karath’s Fifth Circle magic.

Immediately after committing everything they had to defence, even the weakened arrows of the hobgoblins were powerful enough to kill them.

The projectiles still carried more than enough force to pierce unprotected flesh.

The hobgoblins could also communicate through their horns without speaking.

Even amid the deafening chaos, all five had selected different targets and fired in perfect coordination.

Five arrows struck five separate heads or hearts.

Until that moment, the battle had unfolded exactly as Karath planned.

Six or seven unusual specimens.

More than forty large monsters.

Twelve black mages.

Even if the alliance somehow defeated such a force, the cost should have been devastating.

Yet Karath had chosen a frontal assault after seeing their strength because he was relying upon one critical possibility.

The black mages controlled monsters through brainwashing.

What would happen to those monsters if the mage controlling them died?

Karath had considered that question from the moment he began planning the battle.

Now the answer unfolded before his eyes.

Chapter 188

The Collapse of Control

“ROOOAAAR!”

Several large monsters and unusual specimens that had been attacking the warriors suddenly threw back their heads and roared.

Then they turned upon the monsters beside them.

The same thing happened among the creatures guarding the black mages.

Several of them lost control and began attacking everything around them indiscriminately.

“W-wait!”

Crunch!

One black mage had been standing beneath the protection of a monster whose brainwashing had just broken.

Before he could cast a spell or flee, the creature crushed his entire body beneath its foot.

Karath had not planned for that particular death.

Still, one fewer black mage meant even more monsters were released from brainwashing.

Only six mages remained.

They desperately attempted to control the creatures still bound to them while restoring order to the battlefield.

The liberated monsters, meanwhile, destroyed everything within reach.

It was only natural.

Monsters recognised little distinction between friend and foe outside their own kind.

Some even killed and devoured members of their own species.

Their coordinated behaviour had existed only because of brainwashing.

The instant that control vanished, the entire structure collapsed.

That did not make the situation safe.

The freed monsters attacked indiscriminately, and Karath’s warriors were among their possible targets.

“Keep sniping the black mages! Do not let them escape!”

“Understood!”

After issuing the order to the hobgoblins, Karath drew Silvertusk and charged toward the battlefield to rescue the alliance warriors.

The black mages’ controlled creatures, the monsters freed from brainwashing, and the alliance warriors had all become entangled.

Roars, shouts, and blood filled the chaotic battlefield.

“Hraaaah!”

Karath leapt into the air as he approached.

An ogre was about to crush Dagon, who lay sprawled across the ground.

Karath descended upon the creature and drove Silvertusk into its back.

Aura surged from the infinite circuit, travelled through his arm, and entered the weapon.

The aura-filled blade split the ogre’s hide and bones before tearing through its heart.

“Get up, Dagon!”

“Thank you, Grand Chief!”

After saving him, Karath rushed toward a Silver Wolf warrior who was being attacked by two large monsters simultaneously.

He rescued several more warriors in quick succession and helped restore the formation.

“Krog! Command the warriors! Withdraw slightly toward the perimeter and target only the monsters still controlled by the black mages!”

“Understood, Grand Chief!”

Leaving Krog to reorganise the battle line, Karath moved to support Buddy.

The silver wolf was fighting the enormous serpent that had been releasing Poison Breath.

Its attention was completely fixed upon Buddy.

Karath approached from behind and swung Silvertusk with all his strength.

Crunch!

“SKREEEE!”

The aura-filled blade split the serpent’s scales, pulverised flesh and bone, and opened a hideous wound across its body.

As the monster screamed in agony, Buddy immediately seized the opening.

“Awooo!”

He rushed in and tore additional wounds across the serpent with his claws.

Karath and Buddy repeated the assault several times.

Gradually, the enormous serpent weakened.

The head it had held high began lowering toward the ground.

“Hraaaah!”

Crunch!

Karath did not miss the opportunity.

Silvertusk smashed through the monster’s skull.

“Let’s go, Buddy!”

After killing the serpent, Karath climbed onto the silver wolf’s back.

“Woof! Woof!”

Karath did not need to explain where they were going.

Buddy immediately turned and began running.

Their target was the group of remaining black mages.

Those men were already overwhelmed trying to block the hobgoblins’ arrows while suppressing the monsters that had escaped their brainwashing.

“S-stop them!”

The black mages had only just managed to restore some order among their remaining creatures.

When they saw Karath charging directly toward them upon Buddy, they screamed in alarm.

“Do not let the monsters reach the Grand Chief!”

Krog immediately understood what the remaining controlled creatures would attempt.

He directed the warriors to block their path.

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

The hobgoblins continued firing from the rear to support Karath’s advance.

“Shield!”

Unlike before, Karath had not first forced the black mages to exhaust their defences with another Fifth Circle spell.

Their magic stopped the arrows.

Even so, the constant volleys restricted their movements.

“Die!”

With the alliance warriors clearing the path and the hobgoblins suppressing the mages, Karath and Buddy broke through the remaining defences and reached the black mages.

Chapter 189

The Last Black Mages

“S-stop them!”

“Kill that one!”

The black mages screamed desperately as Karath and Buddy closed in.

After dealing with the monsters freed from brainwashing, only two creatures remained to protect them.

Both were unusual specimens.

Defeating them with only Karath and Buddy would have been difficult.

But those monsters were not their objective.

The black mages were.

“Ignore them and break through!”

“Woof!”

Buddy barked once in understanding and accelerated.

The two monsters attacked as the pair rapidly approached, one swinging an arm and the other sweeping its tail.

Buddy threw himself to the left and avoided the enormous arm.

Then he sprang upward like a compressed coil, narrowly escaping the second monster’s tail.

Having slipped past both attacks in an instant, Buddy tried to race beyond them.

The monsters twisted their bodies sharply and continued attacking, unwilling to let them through.

“Barrier.”

Karath cast the spell he had prepared for precisely that possibility.

The protective barrier collided with the monsters’ bodies and released a deafening boom.

By the time they broke through it, Buddy had already passed them.

Only the black mages remained ahead.

Brainwashing was their speciality.

But as long as Karath and Buddy still possessed mana, that technique would not work upon either of them.

Without it, the enemy were simply ordinary mages.

And in close combat, most mages were weaker than common soldiers.

Unless they happened to be rare exceptions like Karath, who had trained in both magic and martial combat.

“Your head is mine!”

Buddy carried him directly toward one of the black mages.

Karath raised Silvertusk and brought it down.

“Aero Shield!”

The mage desperately cast a defensive spell.

It could not withstand Silvertusk reinforced with aura.

The spell shattered with a sound like breaking glass.

Karath’s axe continued through it and crushed the man’s skull.

“Die!”

“Fireball!”

“Icicle Lance!”

As one black mage fell, two others cast offensive spells at Karath.

He had just used Barrier and killed their companion.

There was no time to prepare another defensive spell.

Karath remained calm.

He drew a small amount of mana from the circuit within his body and channelled it into his armour.

A strange resonance hummed through the equipment.

BOOM!

The two spells struck him directly.

“What?”

“H-how?”

Karath remained unharmed.

His armour had been crafted from the hide of the Twin-Headed Ogre and the scales of the drake they had hunted.

Inside it, Karath had inscribed a magical formation in advance.

The materials conducted mana naturally.

With only a small infusion of power, the formation could withstand spells around the Third Circle.

Thud!

Thud!

The two mages paid for choosing offensive magic instead of protecting themselves.

Arrows from the hobgoblins struck their heads and hearts.

“ROOOAAAR!”

One of the two unusual specimens chasing Karath and Buddy suddenly released a furious roar and began thrashing wildly.

It had apparently been controlled by one of the mages who had just died.

With that obstacle removed, Karath reached the remaining three even more easily.

“N-no!”

“Yes.”

Silvertusk swept through the air.

The final three black mages were eliminated without much difficulty.

“ROOOAAAR!”

With every mage dead, only the rampaging monsters remained.

Perhaps they remembered being brainwashed.

Perhaps they were driven mad by the physical pain accumulated while under the mages’ control.

Whatever the reason, their eyes had rolled back as they attacked everything around them without distinction.

“Withdraw!”

Karath ordered the warriors to fall back.

“We’ll start from the perimeter and kill them one at a time!”

The monsters were already fighting among themselves.

There was no reason to rush into the centre of that chaos.

The alliance remained cautious, striking the backs of creatures already occupied with one another and eliminating them one by one.

The fighting continued for some time.

When it finally ended, only Karath and his allies remained alive within the basin.

“Haa.”

Monster corpses covered the entire area.

It was a savage and desolate sight.

A direct battle would have been impossible.

More than fifty creatures, each at least as powerful as a minotaur and many as large as ogres, had occupied the stronghold.

Seven had even been unusual specimens comparable to drakes.

Had the alliance attempted to kill them all through a straightforward clash, they probably would have been annihilated.

Victory had been possible only because of the surprise attack and because the battle had unfolded according to Karath’s plan from beginning to end.

There was only one remaining problem.

How are we supposed to carry all of this?

The corpses of large monsters were immensely valuable.

Their hides, bones, tendons, horns, and scales could all be used to create weapons and armour.

Materials harvested from unusual specimens were even more precious.

Unfortunately, Karath had only eighteen people.

Taking everything was impossible.

They would need to choose carefully.

Even after dismantling the enormous bodies, they could carry only a small portion.

“Hm?”

As Karath examined the corpses, something strange caught his attention.

“One building survived?”

Despite taking two Fifth Circle spells, one structure remained standing.

That is right. The black mages protected it desperately.

Even while struggling to preserve their own lives, they had sacrificed monsters to defend that particular building.

The black mages had sought power through brainwashing, but their organisation had originated as a school of magical research.

If scholars had protected one building even while facing death...

Could it be?

As though drawn by an invisible force, Karath hurried toward it.

BOOM!

He nearly tore the wooden door from the stone entrance as he forced his way inside.

The sight awaiting him matched his expectations.

“As I thought.”

The first thing he saw was an enormous quantity of books and documents, enough to deserve the name of an archive.

Because paper was difficult to obtain in the central mountains, the texts had been written upon processed hides and sheets of bark.

Various materials that appeared to have been used in experiments filled the rest of the room.

The place resembled a laboratory.

Since it belonged to the black mages, Karath could easily guess what the writings contained.

Black magic.

No.

The magic of the Sigmund School.

A smile slowly appeared upon his face.

The thought of brainwashing naturally inspired disgust.

Yet as he had told the Silver Wolf warriors, a tool was only a tool.

According to the information he had obtained, the Sigmund School had originally focused upon using magic to understand and treat the mind.

Karath had now reached the Fifth Circle, and he had nearly exhausted everything Renstein had left behind.

This meant he had acquired an entirely new body of magical knowledge to study.

“The spoils are better than expected.”

New magical texts.

The remains of seven unusual specimens.

Nearly fifty large monster corpses.

It was an astonishing haul.

Chapter 190

Spoils of the Central Mountains

Immediately after the battle, Karath divided the group and began clearing the stronghold.

Some remained behind to protect the spoils from monsters drawn toward the area.

The others dismantled the most valuable corpses and transported the materials back to the cave where the Silver Wolf Tribe lived.

The journey took four or five hours in one direction.

A single round trip consumed an entire day.

Repeatedly dividing the group and travelling through such a dangerous region was not a wise choice.

Karath therefore prioritised the magical records and the materials harvested from the unusual specimens before ending the recovery operation.

Even transporting only those required three trips.

The enormous number of corpses attracted more monsters with each passing day, making further work increasingly dangerous.

“The bones, hides, tendons, and other materials will be used to create weapons and armour for the alliance warriors.”

At last, the time came to distribute the spoils.

“Berners will take responsibility for distributing the poison harvested from the enormous serpent that used Poison Breath among the goblins.”

“Thanksh!”

“With that poison, even goblinsh who cannot use mana should be able to contribute greatly in battle!”

Berners and the other hobgoblins bowed gratefully.

“Ruker. Doltz.”

“Yes, Grand Chief.”

“There’s something I want to ask. Do your people not use weapons or armour?”

“That is correct. Tempering the body also tempers the mind. Therefore, our bodies are our weapons and our armour.”

“Mmm.”

Karath stroked his chin.

“I admit your claws are powerful. Even so, you should consider wearing armour. Those among you who can use mana may manage without it, but that approach is dangerous for ordinary members of the tribe.”

“Understood.”

Before the attack, they might have responded that dying in battle was simply fate.

Their thinking appeared to have changed somewhat.

“Since most of the materials will be used by the orcs and goblins, I’ll grant your warriors a different reward.”

Karath placed several mana stones before them.

He had intended from the beginning to give a portion to the Silver Wolf warriors.

Every orc and goblin present had already absorbed at least part of a mana stone.

Karath had no desire to risk another case of mana instability by giving them more.

Rather than present that as the only reason, however, he framed the distribution differently.

The orcs and goblins had already received weapons, armour, and other materials.

Therefore, the mana stones would go to the Silver Wolf Tribe.

It was a small precaution intended to reduce any possible resentment among the existing members of the alliance.

Perhaps it was unnecessary.

Considering their loyalty, the orcs and goblins might accept whatever decision Karath made.

Still, caution never hurt.

Paying attention to such matters might prevent future conflict.

Perhaps he considered such things only because part of his human way of thinking still remained.

The Silver Wolf warriors exchanged uncertain glances.

No one stepped forward.

“Woof!”

Buddy casually approached, picked up one mana stone, and placed it in his mouth.

Crunch.

He bit off exactly half.

Then he deposited the remaining half back into Karath’s hand.

Is Buddy being careful about mana instability too?

The wolf had always been obsessed with mana stones.

The fact that he ate only half made the possibility seem strangely plausible.

Unfortunately, his restraint created another problem.

Once a mana stone was damaged, its stability broke down and its energy began dispersing.

Because Buddy had bitten it in half, mana rapidly leaked from the remaining piece in Karath’s palm.

“I’ll consume the rest.”

A Silver Wolf warrior stepped forward.

It was Wyg.

The same warrior who had treated the alliance with contempt during their first encounter before Karath beat him like a stray dog.

Was Buddy the reason?

Perhaps seeing the sacred silver beast consume the stone without hesitation had convinced him.

Karath soon realised the warrior’s true motivation.

As Wyg took the half stone from his hand, his eyes shifted toward Kaden.

It was rivalry.

During their first encounter, Wyg had overwhelmed Kaden.

Even after relations between the alliance and the Silver Wolf Tribe improved, the two continued growling at each other.

More accurately, Kaden constantly demanded revenge while Wyg treated him with complete indifference.

During the recent battles, however, Kaden had fought using mana and performed every bit as well as Wyg.

Perhaps that had given the Silver Wolf warrior a sense of danger.

Competition can be useful.

The rivalry between the hobgoblins and orc warriors had already encouraged both groups to improve.

Now the Silver Wolf warriors could join them.

Each group would push the others toward greater strength.

If the competition became so intense that someone resorted to dishonourable behaviour, Karath could intervene.

There was no reason to abandon every benefit merely because something might go wrong.

“Ahem. Then I’ll take one as well.”

Once Buddy and Wyg consumed mana stones, the other Silver Wolf warriors gradually stepped forward and divided the rest.

Seven unusual specimens had been killed during the battle.

Buddy and the six Silver Wolf Aura Users shared four of their mana stones.

The remaining three could be stored for warriors who awakened in the future or used for magical research.

“Now organise the remaining spoils and prepare your belongings.”

“Are we returning?”

“Couldn’t we turn this place into another village?”

Berners and Krog looked slightly confused.

“No orcs or goblins live nearby. We cannot increase the alliance’s population here. Judging from the monsters in this region, maintaining a settlement would also require us to station Aura Users here permanently.”

“Ah... That would interfere with expansion elsewhere.”

“Exactly. There may be many unusual specimens and large monsters here, so the region could provide valuable materials. But we don’t need a village for that. We can simply send expeditions here periodically.”

Karath smiled and looked across the veteran alliance warriors who had accompanied him this far.

“This expedition ends here. It’s time to return to the alliance.”

The black mages had been destroyed.

The Silver Wolf Tribe had joined the alliance.

They had acquired magical texts, mana stones, and an abundance of valuable materials.

Now it was time to carry their spoils home.