Chapter 163: The Two Men Will Go All the Way Through (6)

Pendragon Noble Council.

It was a vital institution of the Pendragon Kingdom that emerged along with the royal family, Guild Union, and Merchant Association.

The council was the place where the high-ranking nobles of the royal capital gathered, and was always famous for its loud and quiet voices—probably because the nobles in the council were divided into factions.

It was an institution created to discuss state affairs. But, if Lee Han were to see the way they were fighting among themselves right now, he’d probably think that the behavior of those in power was the same no matter which world he was in.

Bang-!

“This is why I told you that we should be in charge of the sultan escort!”

“Hah! They were the ones who said that they didn’t need an escort! We have no justification for providing him one!”

“The fact that we accepted their visit in the first place is problematic! That’s why this kind of trouble is happening to begin with!”

“You ignorant guy who doesn’t know the arts of diplomacy! Think about what you just said! We shouldn’t have accepted their visit in the first place? Are you in your right mind? If you have a brain, then think it through! Unless your brain is just a decoration!”

“What did you say? Talking as if you know everything…!”

“Take off your gloves! You arrogant…!”

Every minute and every second, gloves flew around and duels were established. The nobles kept swinging their fists while shouting at each other. It made one wonder if this place was a council of intellectuals or an arena.

The reason why this sort of chaos broke out was due to the terrorism incident involving the sultan. Since none of them managed to come up with any plausible proposals, the council just degraded into nothing but nonsensical shouting.

“This is frustrating. Do you have any opinions, Sir Dalton? If you do, could you please share them with the rest of us?”

“…How could I possibly have such a clever plan?”

“Hmph, being all humble like this, it’s not like you. Are you sick or something?”

“Oh, no, no. I just have a lot of things to think about, Sir Edry.”

“Hmm, if there’s any problem, tell me anytime. Am I not your senior?”

“…I’m always grateful for your thoughtfulness, Sir.”

The conversation between the senior and junior nobles seemed warm at first glance; it was something which showed the importance of school ties. But, the nobleman called Dalton was wearing an extremely stiff expression. Although, none would notice it unless they looked at him closely.

It was because…

That stupid sultan, why did he go ahead and create such a big accident!

He was feeling uncomfortable with the current situation, proven by his sunken eyes.

With an endlessly cold mockery, Dalton, no, the old mage who wore Dalton’s skin, deemed that everything that was going on in this place was insignificant.

Greg was an old illegal mage who’d be in his eighties this year.

Unlike knights and warriors who’d lose their physical youth and vitality as they got older, mages were a group of people whose magical powers only got denser as they got older. Thanks to that, Greg was living a strong life without any problems even at the age of eighty.

Just like now.

“Tch, did I choose the wrong person? I never thought he would be this poor and worthless…”

The problem he was facing right now was that he found out too late that the original owner of the skin he was wearing was just an honorary noble who had only read books and studied hard all his life. He chose the guy because he was a member of the noble council, but he didn’t expect him to be this poor.

He didn’t even have the basic things all nobles should have. All his servants and living expenses were just stipends from the council. Even if he was just an honorary noble, it was unthinkable that he lived such a humble and poor life.

“Phew, it’s been a while since I’ve used the skin of a noble, I didn’t expect that I’d get a dud.”

Greg clicked his tongue, grumbling in disappointment. However, he didn’t lash out at his surroundings or anything like that. Whenever he was pretending to be someone else, he tended to focus on acting as the person whose skin he used—this was his principle. Thanks to that, Greg was able to go under the radar for a long time.

I want to end this kind of life soon, though…

However, Greg knew he couldn’t live someone else’s life forever. After all, he had a strong desire to settle down in one place.

For example…

“…The sultanate will be a good nest.”

Even though Sultan Salah had been hiding in his quarters ever since he got attacked, Greg knew that he would not give up chasing after the Mystics.

After all, there was no way such a greedy person would give up such an opportunity.

Thud-!

Greg rolled the highest grade magic stone he received from the sultan in his hand. It was a magic stone with a brilliant light that made it look like a jewel. Though it was as small as a pebble, no price tag could be placed on it.

I asked him for it because I needed it, I never thought he would get me this stone so easily.

The sultan’s power amazed him, made him seethe with greed.

-I want it!

If I could get his life…!

Greg was a mage who spent his entire life trying to steal other people’s lives and talents. He was someone who was jealous of people with mystic ability. And now, he was directing his jealousy toward the sultan’s life.

He thought that as long as he could get his hands on it, he wouldn’t have to worry about research funds in the future, and if he did well…

Even the Magic Tower won’t be able to treat me carelessly anymore!

As he started to think about the Magic Tower, countless emotions crossed Greg’s eyes.

Love, hate, jealousy, and greed.

It was a place that every mage longed for. He yearned to be recognized by them, and for them to look up to him. It was his lifelong wish for his research to be stored on the top floor of the Magic Tower.

That’s my dream!

Greg’s heart was burning with desire.

If I successfully steal a Mystic and send the results of my research to the old people in the ivory tower, they’ll have to call me back even if they don’t want to.

He already looked forward to the day when the guys who kicked him out would regret it and call him back.

Roll-!

Thud-!

“…”

He kept on rolling the magic stone, but then he suddenly felt something was out of place.

What the?

A mage who had lived for 80 years would never not notice anything out of the ordinary in his surroundings. The fact that he had survived for so long meant that he had developed his survival instinct to an extreme degree.

He then…

Flash-!

It’s quiet around here!

Quickly assessed the situation in an instant. Around him, not even the insects were buzzing, everything was awkwardly quiet.

Noticing this, Greg hurriedly took the magic stone and…

“You have a remarkable instinct for a magic freak.”

Bang-!

“!!”

A hand came slithering towards him, breaking through the wall like it was nothing but paper.

It was a shocking sight.

If Greg was someone with a weak heart, the sight would be enough to make him frozen in fear but luckily, he wasn’t. Instead, he…

Whoosh-!

Bang-!

“Keuuuk!”

Cast a magic barrier to block it.

Being surprised by the enemy was like half of his life’s work while being attacked by surprise was something he was used to—

Crackle-!

“!?!!!”

Crazy!!

Greg let out a curse, but his voice was drowned by the sound of his magic barrier being crushed.

The attacker’s arm mercilessly destroyed the magic barrier of an old mage who had lived for 80 years. Even though his talent fell short compared to true geniuses, he never forgot to train his telekinesis and kept doing it for all his life.

His magical barrier should’ve been as strong as a castle wall, so it was only natural for Greg to be terrified to see that such a barrier was about to collapse.

Seeing this, he immediately realized that the attacker wasn’t an ordinary guy.

He’s strong.

As soon as he realized this, instead of running away, he started to recite his spells.

“[Clouds, gather together], [Storm winds, permeate the clouds]. [Lightning, dances, winds dance sharply], [Destroy my enemies]!”

The instantaneous chanting of the spell formed a lightning cloud. Though it was a small sphere of thundercloud its power was still considerable.

Rumble-!

“Die!”

As he directed the thundercloud with incredible power, Greg immediately tried to chant another spell and run away. After all, even he wouldn’t be unscathed if he got caught in the thundercloud explosion.

In reality, this attack was just a way for him to get away rather than to kill his opponent. It was only natural. Anyone who had half a brain would try their best to avoid the thundercloud.

However…

“It stings.”

Crackle-!

The thundercloud was instantly shattered.

“This monster!”

What in the world?!

Seeing how the thundercloud magic he had unleashed shattered into pieces, Greg’s composure was also shattered.

That’s not magic that could be erased that easily…!

D-Don’t tell me…

“A-An Aura user?! An Aura user is coming for me?!”

Aura user. Superhumans known as the bane of mages, capable of annihilating an entire nation on their own.

Thinking that such a monster had appeared, Greg was clearly shaken.

“Deploying an Aura User for a lowly magic freak is too much, you know?”

However, the attacker just laughed at him as if he found it funny. He claimed that sending an Aura User to catch the likes of him was too much.

Then, he…

“If those guys had moved, the situation would have ended a long time ago. I won’t need to go through all this trouble.”

Approached Greg from the front while taunting him.

“[W-Wind, permeate into my legs]!”

Greg jumped into the air while urgently reciting the spell.

Whoosh-!

With the help of his telekinesis and spells, Greg was able to glide through the air with the speed of a bird. Since the attacker’s attack made the house collapse, it wasn’t difficult for him to escape from the guy.

In an instant, he soared up into the sky with a movement so quick that he could even pierce the clouds. That was how determined he was to escape.

T-There’s no way a pathetic human could chase me all the way to the sky!

Air combat had been the domain of mage since ancient times. It was a sacred thing that no knights nor warriors could ever invade.

That’s why…

I-I can finally take a breather…

Greg, who had been terrified from the beginning to the end, let out a sigh of relief, thinking that he had survived the ordeal.

But the moment he did that and raised his head…

“Where are you going?”

“…Keuheup!?”

He had to inhale his breath back. Why? Because he saw the attacker doing the same thing as him—walking on the sky. Hell, he was actually moving more fluidly than him.

“H-How…!?”

“Airwalking.”

“???”

“Yeah, I thought so. There’s no way a magic freak would know this.”

Just like that, the attacker drew his sword quietly.

Then…

“Haa… Catching this fucker without killing him is gonna be hard…”

“??”

While listening to his words, Greg had to watch the sword break his magic field and strike his side.

Experiencing the series of events that happened in an instant, a thought popped up in Greg’s mind.

…If he wants to catch me alive, why is he doing this…?

Lee Han quietly exclaimed.

“Huh? He’s stronger than my kids?”

It turned out the old magic freak was quite impressive.

Lee Han had hit him with all his might, but he only got a broken rib. Judging from the fact that the magic field he deployed was quite strong, he concluded that the old man was on a different level from the other magic freak.

The saying that old ginger would turn spicy turned out to be correct.

However…

“A magic freak is still a magic freak.”

His praise towards the magic freak stopped there. It didn’t matter how strong or old a magic freak was, they still had to be dealt with no matter what. Especially if he was a filthy bastard who walked around wearing someone else’s skin.

“Sir Lee Han, Dalton is safe. He is badly injured, but as long as we go to the temple, he will recover in no time.”

“Thank goodness.”

While Lee Han was subduing the magic freak, Galahad’s knights managed to find the victim whose skin was stolen by the magic freak. The news made him feel relieved.

After all, normally, nine out of ten people kidnapped by illegal mages were found dead.

“…Just thinking about it makes me mad.”

Crackle-!

“Keuuuuuuk!”

Lee Han crushed Greg Bean’s shoulder. The old mage writhed in pain again, but he paid no attention and just stomped on the back of his head.

Crack-! Crack-!

“…Sir Lee Han, he’ll die if you keep doing that.”

“He won’t. Magic freak is a strong beast.”

“…They aren’t beasts.”

“Insects then.”

“…”

“Just kidding.”

“Ugh…”

The Galahad’s knight was certain that those words weren’t a joke, though. It was clear from his eyes that he wasn’t treating the mages as people at all.

…What a scary person.

His power was so great that it was admirable, but his thoroughness and cruelty when he dealt with the mages was straightforward, if not resolute.

He saw them as monsters that needed to be exterminated, not people.

…His look was scary enough to appear in dreams.

“Anything’s happening on your side?”

“…No need to worry. We finished our tasks without suffering any damage.”

“As expected of Galahad. You guys really are the best in the kingdom.”

“…I-I appreciate those words, but wouldn’t the Silver Lion be upset if they hear them?”

“You think they have the right to be upset?”

“…”

…For a moment there, the knight felt a little sympathy for the Silver Lions at this poor treatment.

“He managed to find a single mage in this vast capital? Amazing.”

“Only after he heard from the great disciple of the Magic Tower that the mage had infiltrated the Noble Council. It isn’t that amazing…”

“In that sense, no one knew that a mage was hiding in the council, but he found out anyway.”

“…”

“Hahaha, are you jealous that I’m praising that knight?”

“…Your Excellency.”

“Ahaha!”

Duke Blake was wearing a happy expression. Perhaps because he had the chance to go out and walk with his disciple for the first time in a while.

“Your skills have improved, Lake. I think it’s time for you to finally become the knight commander.”

“No, I’m still lacking. I had to borrow your power to catch those people, Your Excellency.”

“…Rascal.”

Blake laughed at his disciple’s humility.

“Ugh…”

“K-Kill me.”

“W-Water. Please give me water!”

Under the feet of Duke Blake and the Galahad’s knights, there were people rolling around—50,000 of them in total. They were troops who had been hiding at the foot of the mountain border. Just a while ago, they were carrying the sultan’s banner, but now they were complaining about the heat and pain they felt, as if they were being burned in a pit of fire.

Duke Blake, who had ‘incapacitated’ 40,000 of them by himself, laughed in vain.

“It feels good to work out for the first time in a while.”

“Ngh…”

Lake, who had barely incapacitated 10,000 troops with the knights, swallowed his saliva. As the master of the Demon Sword, his strength was comparable to a superhuman; it was so overwhelming that he could overpower even tens of thousands of troops easily.

Really…

The wall I’m trying to reach is too big and tall.

At that moment, Lake wondered what that arrogant thug would say if he were to see this sight.

Probably…

-That gentleman is still in good spirits. He should try to get married again.

…He’d say such an irrelevant thing.

“Ha…”

I guess that thug influences me in one way or another…

Lake shook his head, admonishing himself for thinking such nonsense.