Rebirth of the 8th-Circle Mage

Chapter 79: The Second Time For Sure (5)

At Pip’s order, the ten knights rushed at Henry. Henry quickly glanced at Kale and his disciples.

The four wizards held hands as soon as Pip ordered them to attack.

‘They’re pretty smart.’

It was a sensible plan. The knights would buy the wizards time, and the wizards would also be their backup. It was a basic war tactic. However, Henry was not strong enough to face ten Sword Masters and four wizards at the same time.

“Klever, get ready.”

- Yes, Master!

“Blink.”

Flash!

Henry disappeared and reappeared right in front of Kale and his disciples, who were preparing to cast a spell.

Swoosh!

Without hesitation, Henry swung his sword. Wizards were Henry’s biggest weakness. They were the most dangerous opponent, and if he couldn’t stop them now, he would be at a greater disadvantage later.

Henry’s sword, loaded with mana, swung towards Kale’s neck. When it brushed Kale’s collar…

Clank!

There was a sharp, explosive sound. Covered in blue aura, Pip’s sword blocked Henry’s sword and he immediately kicked Henry’s stomach.

“Arrgh!”

It was quite painful. It was a kick embedded with aura from a mid-level Sword Master, and Henry flew back, tumbling in the dirt.

“How dare you play your dirty little tricks on me?”

When he blocked Henry’s sword, Pip was sure that Henry was just a weak wizard pretending to be a swordsman. He couldn’t feel any aura on Henry’s blade, nor did he feel a strong aura protecting Henry when he kicked him in the stomach.

“It’s over, you bastard!” Furious, Pip showed no mercy and he gathered his aura onto the tip of his blade. When his sword was fully charged…

Shunk!

“Huh?”

Just as he was looking down on Henry with disgust, he felt a sharp sting in the back of his head, as if he had been stabbed with a needle. Pip touched the affected area and saw a small amount of blood on his hand.

“What is this…?”

Confused, Pip turned around and found the reason. Kale’s disciple was standing behind him with dull eyes, holding a dagger.

“What the hell are…”

Thud.

However, even before Pip could finish his question, he collapsed, feeling dizzy as if the world was turning upside down.

“What are you doing!”

It had happened so unexpectedly no one had time to stop him. Kale realized what was happening and pushed his disciple out of the way. However, Pip’s skin was already turning a dark color. Kale hurried to check the blade of the dagger on the ground.

‘Poison?’

It was only a small amount, but if his guess was right, it was deadly. Kale quickly ordered his disciples to heal Pip.

“Poison! This is poison for sure! What are you waiting for? Hurry, heal him!”

“Y-yes! Poison Cure!”

The two first-class wizards did their best and poured out their mana, but the discoloration continued to spread throughout his body uncontrollably. Kale realized the seriousness of the situation and tried to help. However, he couldn’t prevent Pip from dying.

‘What the hell…!’

A wizard's healing power was different from that of a priest. However, if a mage were to use its healing powers, it would have had a similar effect to a priest.

However, the poison was so deadly that even a mage couldn’t do anything.

‘I can’t believe that a mid-level Sword Master could die this easily. What the hell…!’

Sword Masters underwent physical training their entire lives. They also had as much stored aura in their bodies as blood. When they reached this level of skill, their resistance to most injuries and attacks also improved, including resistance to poison. Pip had almost reached the highest level of a Sword Master, but he’d died so easily. That meant an ordinary person would die just from the slightest contact with the poison.

Kale swallowed nervously and picked up the dagger again. He stabbed it into the soil, and the soil around the dagger turned dark. ‘As I expected…’

His guess was accurate, but why would his disciple do such a thing? Also, how could a first-class wizard get such a precious poison in his hands?

Kale suppressed his complex emotions and turned to his disciple, who was still lying on the floor unconscious.

‘He passed out? But I didn’t even push him that hard.’

The disciple was in the best physical condition among the three disciples. Kale didn’t understand. ‘What is going on…?’

Everything was in chaos, but then…

“Sir!”

Pip's men finally understood what was happening. They rushed over and surrounded Pip. They hugged his discolored body as they sobbed, unable to face reality.

‘Fuck… We’re in real trouble now.’

Pip’s death was a huge problem because the knights no longer had a commander to lead them.

‘Salmora’s disappeared and now Pip, the unit commander, is dead. My disciple who killed Pip has lost consciousness… There’s no way that he’s the one behind this, right?’

Kale suddenly remembered Henry’s wicked, smiling face. He turned to look at Henry.

“Argh… I almost died there.”

The kick had sent Henry far away, and he was slowly getting back on his feet and brushing off the dirt on his stomach.

Henry smirked at the sobbing soldiers and said, “Great work, Klever.”

- Thank you, Master!

The fog that had scattered in the air quickly transformed into a cat. Henry and Klever had worked on the plan together.

‘At my current level, Pip would be too difficult to challenge.’

It was important to know one’s enemy, but it was also important to know one’s own level of skill.

Although Henry was a swordsman who could freely use magic, he wouldn’t be able to handle all of his opponents at the same time unless someone was supporting him. Henry left his blood-stained dagger with Klever just in case Salmora’s Forced Transfer failed, and as a result, Henry was able to achieve the most ideal situation he had hoped for.

‘To be honest, it was kind of a gamble, but it’s a relief that the aura on my head was discreet. Anyway, you have to admit that knights really have a lot of pride.’

Usually, those who could use aura always injected their weapons with it. After stabilizing the aura on their weapons, they then usually covered their entire body with aura. However, despite that, it was a strange habit for most swordsmen not to cover their necks and heads with aura.

Although the neck was an important body part, aura wouldn’t prevent one’s opponent from slicing through it. As a result, swordsmen chose to use their auras more efficiently by making their swords sharper. They believed that the strongest attacks were the greatest form of defense. Thus, Henry’s plan had worked out perfectly.

Henry had aimed for Kale not to knock him down, but instead to stop the knight guarding him.

‘Well, even if he hadn’t stepped in to protect him, it would have worked out, too.’

It didn’t matter whether he brought down the commander or the knight. Either way, it would remove opponents. In the mess of confused wizards and sobbing Sword Masters, Kale realized that this was all part of Henry’s plan. He accidentally made eye contact with Henry.

Smirk.

Henry smiled mockingly at Kale, who had lost his commander despite being a mage.

“How dare you…! Know your place!”

A wizard had as much pride as he had skill. Henry’s ridicule wounded Kale’s pride terribly and at the same time, awakened his destructive tendencies. Kale’s face turned red. He began to create runes all over the place.

‘Memorize?’

Henry was sure that this was a spell that Kale had prepared at the Magical Spire and when the runes around Kale were on the verge of flashing—

“Blink.”

Zap!

Clutching his sore stomach, Henry cast Blink into the snake’s mouth where his opponents were gathered. He reappeared directly in front of Kale.

Kale and Henry’s eyes met. They were less than the width of a fist apart.

“Freeze.”

Crackle!

“Ugh!”

Still in pain, Henry cast the 1st Circle freezing spell, Freeze, with one hand as he clutched his stomach with the other. The spell landed on Kale’s mouth, and when Henry grabbed Kale’s lower jaw, it began to freeze and grow covered in frost.

“Master!”

The remaining disciples quickly ran toward Henry. However, they seemed to move as slowly as turtles to him.

‘Was this how I used to look…?’

He suddenly felt shame at the thought that knights had seen him in the same way in the past.

“You guys need to exercise more.” Henry easily avoided the two men and slapped their napes powerfully.

Slap! Slap!

Thud.

“How weak.”

The two fell unconscious from a mere slap. Only then did the sobbing Sword Masters realize that the wizards were having difficulties.

“Iron Wall!”

Rumble!

From the moment he entered the enemy's nest, Henry had been relatively prepared. However, there wasn’t enough time to face the knights. The spell touched the ground, and a huge, thick steel barrier began to rise, embracing the two.

Rumble!

Past the rapidly rising barriers, Henry said, “Lightning Kale.”

“Mmm!”

“Blame your ignorance for choosing Salmora.”

“Mmm!”

“Fly.”

There was not a lot of time left. The thick iron wall wouldn’t be able to withstand the attacks of ten Sword Masters, but it could buy him some time.

Henry grabbed Kale’s collar and began to fly into the sky.

“Mmm! Mm!”

Kale squirmed, trying his best to get out of Henry’s grasp, but like the other wizards, he simply wasn’t physically strong enough.

Swoosh!

The two rose up in the air until the Sword Masters looked as small as ants. Henry stopped in the sky to freeze Kale's limbs.

He pulled Kale in closer by his collar and whispered in his ear, “Goodbye.”

Henry opened the hand holding Kale’s collar wide, as though it were a butterfly.