Chapter 65 : Heading Towards the Truth (5)

Like ants pouring out of a crushed nest, users in white doboks crawled out, clearing the building’s debris.

As expected of people who had experienced something akin to a natural disaster, every one of them looked utterly dishevelled.

Their originally pure white doboks were stained dirty with soil and building debris, and the long hair characteristic of Chinese martial artists

was dishevelled.

True to being members of <Red Cliff>, whose skills even I would deem somewhat useful, most of the users were unharmed.

Even the few injured users were conscious and alert, despite their wounds.

Not a single user was dead or incapacitated.

Had this been the building of a lower-level guild, most members probably would have been crushed to death by the collapsing structure.

‘Should I try talking first… whether I like them or not, it was my friend’s guild.’

Dragons don’t easily break ties once they make a friend.

This was why forming friendships with dragons was considered difficult among many people.

Even though it was the guild of a friend already departed, and they were guys who committed human experiments, perhaps I could listen to

their side of the story out of old affection.

“I have personally descended before you… no, that’s not it… I came here to speak with your leader. The representative of <Red Cliff>,

step forward.”

When exchanging opinions with a specific group, seeking out the leader is the fastest and most convenient way.

However, as if completely ignoring my words, they checked their conditions without any response.

‘…Well, if they won’t come out, I’ll just find them myself.’

As I scanned them, roughly gauging their skill levels, I found the one who seemed to be the highest-ranking among the guild members

remaining in the building.

The aura emanating from him was the strongest, and most importantly, his dobok was embroidered with gold thread, and his sleeves and

collar were adorned with numerous attachments.

They looked like brooches, nameplates, or medals.

From goblins to humans, those in high ranks all had flashy attire.

Of course, that wasn’t necessarily bad.

From my perspective, it was rather desirable.

Because I could snatch those shiny things attached to their clothes.

‘…Is that sparkling jewel over there actually a diamond?’

While I was distracted by the shiny jewel, the guy suddenly channelled his internal energy and slammed his hand into the ground.

With a single shout, a huge chunk of concrete, almost the size of a small commercial building, instantly filled my vision and rushed towards

me.

Crash! The concrete chunk shattered into pieces.

The idea of attacking by throwing concrete from the ground was novel, but it hit the <Mana Shield> I had kept active for a while and dealt no

damage.

The Mana Shield, whose strength increased with the mana stat, boasted abnormal durability thanks to my outrageous specs, flaunting a

phenomenal mana stat of 370.

It was already sturdy enough to easily block handgun bullets, but now I was confident it could block even decent cannonballs or missiles.

So, that weakling’s attack was less effective than throwing an egg against a rock.

…However, if the Mana Shield had a downside, it was that it couldn’t prevent me from biting my tongue.

“Did that bastard just throw a stone at me?”

I was trying to happily admire the valuables I hadn’t seen in a long time, but the unexpected interruption severely soured my mood.

The stinging pain on my tongue and the metallic taste of blood threatened to stir anger deep within my heart.

‘How dare you wound my tongue! The value of my tongue is far greater than your life!’

If I had my way, I would have butchered them all immediately, but I decided to endure it once for the sake of the late Eunrang’s face.

However, enduring only meant not starting an all-out war.

These audacious fellows seemed to need a show of dominance.

“I will show you the difference between your eye level and mine.”

The advanced magic, developed by modelling the weapon of Rome’s supreme god Jupiter, was unleashed.

With a rough thunderclap, the surroundings darkened, and eyes widened to adjust to the darkness were blinded by the light emitted by the

lightning.

As lightning struck amidst the building debris, flames made of mana soared.

Although I primarily used ice-based magic, nothing beat flashy lightning magic for asserting dominance.

Subpar enemies often panicked and scrambled just hearing the thunder.

The only problem was that the members of <Red Cliff> were, at the very least, not subpar weaklings.

It seemed the magic cast for intimidation was interpreted by them as the signal to start battle.

“Prepare to attack!” (Prepare to attack!)

With the shout of the one who appeared to be the leader, they assumed their <Stances>.

And hearing that shout, I realized.

This is China, and I had just tried to converse in Korean.

Their perfectly synchronized movements, evoking the illusion of watching a dance troupe’s performance, were beautiful.

But engrossed in marvelling at my own foolishness, I couldn’t purely enjoy the sight.

I thought the only downsides to the increased assimilation rate were the strange way of speaking and the obsession with valuables.

But there was a bigger drawback.

My intelligence dropped due to confidence bordering on arrogance.

‘I was stupid, blinded by the increased mana. When I get back, I absolutely must find a way to lower the assimilation rate.’

Seeing them charge like an ant swarm, wielding various cold weapons like swords, staffs, and spears, or wearing sturdy gloves, gave me a

headache.

The stinging pain from my tongue was also incredibly annoying.

It was already too late to attempt conversation.

Deciding to keep only the useful-looking ones alive and kill the rest to extract information, I began to fiercely draw upon the mana within my

body.

“He’s a mage! Close the distance!”

“Die, you b*tch!”

The first one to charge, seemingly a swordsman, thrust his sword at me.

Seeing him generate sword energy , he looked like a level 50-60 user, but I decided to highly value his courage for daring to attack me

first despite the significant level difference and knock him out with his limbs intact.

I did need people to extract information from, after all.

This lightning magic, which jumps from one target to another, was the best magic to use in a chaotic melee and also the easiest to control the

intensity of.

Unlike the similar <Lightning Bolt>, its power was weaker and specialized for suppression.

Of course, ordinary people or newbies would die instantly upon being hit, but these guys were known for being quite sturdy, so it should be

fine.

The electrocuted guy screamed and fell away below.

‘I can’t understand a word they’re saying, but I can definitely understand the screams.’

With that thought of little substance, I cast the low-grade magic, freezing the weapons and limbs of the charging enemies.

‘Thanks to the output strengthened in proportion to the increased mana, even low-grade magic can handle most situations now.’

Despite being low-grade magic, its power was almost at the level of intermediate magic.

If other mage users saw this, they’d probably clutch the back of their necks and collapse, calling it cheating.

‘This should be enough adaptation to the increased mana. There’s no need to hold back anymore.’

Spreading my wings and flying higher, I fired off <Chain Lightning> a few times.

Infuriated, they started shouting something loudly in Chinese.

Some attempted resistance by launching sword energy or shooting arrows, but their substandard attacks couldn’t even penetrate the <Mana

Shield>.

Once I flew high enough that most of their attacks couldn’t reach, I could barely hear their shouts anymore.

I looked down at them from the sky.

Since their attacks couldn’t reach, they were no longer enemies, just moving targets.

“Hmm… they dodge well, indeed.”

However, the increased distance also meant more time for them to react after seeing the magic being cast.

I tried bombarding them with simple low-grade magic like <Magic Missile> or <Fire Ball>, but true to being agile martial artists, they dodged

everything.

I slightly raised my evaluation of them.

Not moving targets, but fleas that annoyingly dodge well.

The way to deal with fleas infesting a house was simple.

Burn down the whole thatched cottage.

Though, in my case, it would be freezing.

Just as I was about to cast the Dragon Word magic I had used before in the battle against Yejin.

A huge shockwave struck the Mana Shield.

The impact felt like a traffic accident, and I could only lament the unfortunate fate of my tongue, which was in the middle of chanting the

spell for the Dragon Word magic.

Tears welled up from the overwhelming pain.