chapter_0014

14 – The Flame of the Legal Sorcerer

14 – The Flame of the Legal Sorcerer

After meeting with Hadem, I went straight to see Sharen.

Although I made the choice for the territory and the people, ultimately I had decided to treat my vassal as a weapon.

I thought it was my duty as a lord to clearly explain this to my vassal.

It may be an excuse, but I really tried!

That crazy bastard is just being insane!!

“This is how things turned out, and I have no choice but to ask for your help. Sharen, please. Lend me your strength for the people and for me.”

Sharen listened attentively to my words until the end.

Then she quietly opened her mouth.

“It’s alright. My lord, I understand everything.”

She smiled calmly.

It was as if she already knew everything without me having to say it.

“I understand that you are working hard for the people, and that you hesitated until the very end to use my power.”

She stood up holding her red staff.

Then a tremendous storm of magical power began to rise, so strong that even I, who had neither magical power nor blessing, could feel it.

Wow… Even a magician like this gets attacked by bandits every other day while traveling?

Those bandits outside must have about 9 lives.

“And because you are such a lord, I decided to become your vassal.”

She knelt down respectfully before me.

It was the formal etiquette a vassal takes before their lord.

“Give me your orders, my lord. The Crimson Sorcerer Sharen is ready.”

She had made her own resolution and became the magician of our family and mine.

Then, as a beloved lord, it was my moment to live up to those expectations.

“Sharen! Burn all those monsters invading our territory to ashes!!”

At my words, Sharen raised her head and met my eyes.

Her red glowing eyes were even more fiery and beautiful than when I saw them in the game.

“Understood, my lord.”

As Sharen accepted my order, I was able to begin Operation “Monsters and Lions” to hunt the Diplocks while keeping the Lion Family in check.

Now, it’s time to put on a good show!!

The Lion Family was the first to sense the anomaly.

Lagos, the right-hand man of Lord Hadem, witnessed it while smoking a cigarette and settling at the border.

“The knights are… increasing in number?”

Hadem’s order was to invade Crone’s territory the moment a gap appeared.

And Lagos had found a gap after scouting for several days.

It seemed that if they moved knights to hunt monsters, they could easily conquer by dispatching the Lion Family’s knights through that gap.

However, knights were being deployed very quickly to fill that gap and it started to disappear.

“How are they planning to deal with the Diplocks with knights deployed like that?”

Lagos had experience participating in the Diplock subjugation campaign in the past.

Therefore, he believed that they were by no means easy opponents and that it would take all of Crone’s forces to repel them.

As Lagos was thinking this, he saw two figures riding horses towards them from the Crones’ side.

One was a white-haired girl, and the other appeared to be a knight escorting her.

The girl who arrived before him spoke without being intimidated.

“Hello. I am ‘Noah’, a vassal of Lord Calix. I’ve come to deliver a gift that my lord has sent for Lord Hadem.”

“A gift?”

“Yes!”

Noah took out a small box.

Inside were black sunglasses to protect the eyes.

“My lord said it would be good to protect Lord Hadem’s eyes with these, as another sun might rise today.”

“I see. Alright. I’ll deliver it to the lord.”

“Yes! Then I’ll be going.”

With those words, Noah left.

Lagos felt he could somewhat understand the message Crone was trying to convey.

It seemed he was warning them that Crimson Sorcerer Sharen’s magic was so tremendous that they needed to prepare to this extent.

But Lagos had fought magicians several times and seen high-level magic before.

It was certainly impressive, but he didn’t feel it was so amazing that they needed to prepare sunglasses like this.

“Still, just in case.”

Lagos’ motto was ‘As long as I survive, that’s all that matters’.

He considered survival to be the most important thing, and all his efforts to survive had paid off, bringing him to his current position.

He quietly pocketed one pair of sunglasses from the box before returning to Lord Hadem.

Near the Lag coast where the Diplock horde was approaching, a scene from hell was already beginning to unfold.

“Auuugh-!!!”

“Augh!!!!”

The Diplocks, hideous monsters with fish heads and arms and legs, were clustered in groups of dozens.

They were attacking and devouring fish near the coast, as well as livestock like cows, pigs, and chickens, and animals like rabbits and foxes.

“Truly disgusting.”

“Indeed, my lord.”

Watching from a distant hill, Hart and I spoke with frowning faces.

Ugh, how can they be so repulsive?

Although I like sashimi, seeing that made me feel like I wouldn’t be able to eat raw fish for a while.

As we were watching, a soldier came running and said:

“The preparations are complete, my lord!”

“Good, well done.”

At the soldier’s words that preparations were complete, I stepped forward on horseback.

I could feel the gazes of the knights and soldiers at the foot of the hill turn towards me.

They were waiting for my orders on standby.

Their eyes were full of morale, but also tinged with fear.

It was understandable.

Because the main forces had all been deployed to the border to keep the Lion Family in check, the number of soldiers was less than 10% compared to those Diplock monsters.

If they were to engage in a head-on battle like this, it was certain that the human side would all die miserable deaths.

Feeling that fear, I took a deep breath and steeled my resolve.

Then I stepped forward in front of everyone and shouted so all could hear:

“You must all be afraid!!!”

At my words, everyone’s attention focused on me.

As the lord of Crone and the one who proposed and commanded this operation, I spoke:

“The enemy is too numerous and we are few. Moreover, behind us, those hyenas wearing lion masks are waiting for a chance to bare their fangs at us.”

The people here were the elite troops within the Krone Knights.

So they knew the situation better than anyone.

But knowing and overcoming are two different things.

For people to muster courage, they need a message that stirs their hearts,

In other words, they need “inspiration”!!

“But we must overcome!!!”

I thought of my past life.

Recalling the numerous war films I had seen in my previous life, I said the words that I thought would be most inspiring:

“If we fall, our families and friends will be in danger. Our land will be ravaged by those fish bastards and lion cubs!!”

I pointed towards the territory, towards the border.

I reminded them of what needed to be protected there and of the enemies.

“We are the only ones who can stop that!!”

I could feel the eyes of the knights and soldiers starting to burn more and more.

Inspiration was rising in their hearts.

Now for the finale.

“And when you are afraid, remember that I, the Silver Dragon of Crone, am behind you!! For Crone!!!”

I recently learned that I am being called the Silver Dragon of Crone.

Honestly, I don’t want such a nickname that would increase hostility.

But now was the time to use everything we could use.

At my words, they seemed to burst with inspiration as the knights and soldiers began to shout:

“For Crone!!”

“For our lord!!!”

“We shall be victorious!!!”

“Uooooooh!!!!!!!”

They looked like they would charge at the Diplocks right away.

Hmm… It’s good that morale is high, but I hope they haven’t forgotten this battle is a lure operation…

“Now we begin the ‘Diplock Annihilation Operation’!!!”

“Let’s go!!! It’s time to roast these fish bastards’ privates!!”

At my declaration, Brock, who was leading the knights in place of Ricain, rode his horse and charged towards the Diplocks.

Though they were knights, they had removed all their armor and were lightly armed with only bows and crossbows.

Charging towards the Diplock horde, Brock ordered:

“Fire!!”

Swoosh! Swish!!

At Brock’s command, everyone fired their bows and crossbows at the Diplocks.

Dozens of arrows rained down on the hunting Diplock horde.

“Auuuugh!!!”

“Keouk!!”

The Diplocks, turned into porcupines by the arrows, looked at the humans who had attacked them.

They became enraged and started chasing after them.

“Good! Now on to the next group!! Hya!!!”

And so the knights shot arrows at the Diplock groups of dozens along the coast, then fled to lure them.

The Diplock groups that recognized them as enemies began to chase.

Groups of dozens quickly became hundreds and thousands.

“Don’t stop, everyone!!! If you stop here, you’ll be trampled to death!!!”

“Yes!!!”

And so the Diplock army chased after them.

The grouped Diplock army began to move faster and faster.

Trampling their slower brethren underfoot, they gradually increased speed, and the knights rode their horses at full speed to avoid being caught by them.

And they arrived at the final location of the operation.

“Everyone… spread out!!!!!”

“Yes!!!”

It was the widest valley in the Crone territory.

It was very far from any villages, and due to the eerie humidity and occasional swamps, even animals didn’t live there much.

At the entrance, the knights spread out, and instead of the scattered humans, what appeared in the eyes of the Diplock army was a mountain of wild boar carcasses.

“Auuuugh♥!!!”

“Uuuugh uuugh♥♥!!!”

At the sight of the delicious meat before their eyes, the Diplocks completely ignored the knights who had attacked them and rushed into the valley.

The quiet valley was instantly filled with hundreds and thousands of Diplocks.

With this, all preparations were complete.

I, who had arrived first at a safe place a little away from the valley, said to Sharen:

“Sharen, I leave the finishing touches to you.”

“Understood, my lord.”

Sharen rose into the air.

Before flying away, she looked at me and said:

“It will be dangerous, so make sure to wear sunglasses and stay within the protective magic.”

“Alright.”

As she warned, I put on sunglasses and entered the protective magic.

And as she rose into the sky, she began her incantation.

Gradually, red magical power began to surge around her.

“Domine Ignis. (Lord of Fire.)”

Sharen was called the Crimson Sorcerer and was respected and revered by people, but there was a subtle difference from what I knew.

I learned the reason after taking Sharen as my vassal.

“Incarnatio Draconis. (Incarnation of the Dragon.)”

I first encountered Sharen as a game character and knew her abilities.

So I knew how powerful she was.

“Supplico tibi. (I beseech you.)”

But people didn’t know that.

Because Sharen had ‘hidden’ her abilities until now.

“Flamma diei ultimis orbis. (The flame that will burn on the last day of the world.)”

Sharen distrusted all lords and used her abilities minimally, she says.

Even the orc hunt was just using very weak basic fire magic from her perspective, she says.

“Descende. (Descend)”

In other words, this moment was when Sharen would truly use her real magic in front of everyone for the first time.

“Ignis Lanyx. (Flame of Lanyx.)”

『Flame of Lanyx』

The highest fire magic that Sharen, who borrowed the power of the Fire Dragon God Lanyx, could use,

A magic that only the successor of the Red Magic Tower could use.

As Sharen’s incantation ended, red magical power gathered above the valley and began to transform into the shape of a fire dragon.

How must that scene have looked to the Diplocks below?

In the middle of a joyful meal, they looked up at the sky to see it burning, and a hellish fire dragon glaring down at them.

It would be like something straight out of the Cthulhu mythos.

“Auuu…”

“A…au…”

The difference from Cthulhu was that what this fire dragon wanted was not corruption and mutation, but their total annihilation.

The Flame of Lanyx fell straight down into the valley.

And then…

Wooooong—

A nuclear explosion detonated before my eyes.

KWAAAAAAANG!!!!!!!!!

“Uwaaaaah!!!”

Even though I was at a distance and Sharen had cast protective magic, an incredible heat wave engulfed me.

When I barely regained my senses and looked at the epicenter…

“…My God…”

The pillar of fire that exploded in the valley created a mushroom cloud soaring hundreds of meters into the sky.

I remembered that in the description of Sharen’s ultimate skill, it said it had power comparable to a nuclear explosion.

But that wasn’t a metaphor, it was a real nuclear explosion.

That day, I acquired a nuclear button in this other world.

Author’s Note (Afterword)

I wrote this novel while listening to the Oppenheimer OST.

The sudden 19+ scene was more memorable than the nuclear explosion in that movie.