Chapter 126
A thin smoke rose lonely over the cold and extinguished bonfire.
Ruon stepped on the faintly sparkling embers and lightly shook the two quiet sleeping bags with his hands.
Soon, Kyle and Alla, who showed their faces quickly from inside the sleeping bags, got up with their eyes forced open.
The three of them didnt have much conversation while cleaning up the campsite.
Ruon rolled up the sleeping bags and tied them with a string and hung them next to the backpack. He suddenly lifted his head.
His amazing gaze reached the outer wall of the city that faintly appeared beyond the horizon.
When he raised his concentration there, his sight blurred for a mont and then suddenly expanded, as if he had brought his eyes to a microscope, and the wall enlarged.
The peeled-off outer wall, the shabby watchtower, and the face of an unknown soldier who yawned.
Ruon, who was rather surprised by the clear scenery, closed his eyes tightly and shook his head vigorously.
Then Alla, who had been feeding sugar-coated carrots to Kaliban and other horses before departure, opened her eyes wide.
Whats wrong? Whats going on?
I can see much better than I expected.
What?
Ruon didnt answer any more and pressed his palm on his sore eyes. He couldnt say he was an ordinary person anymore.
Was it because he engraved his na in the sky? Or was it because he had achieved two level-ups by knocking down the chief and the god tree in succession?
Maybe both.
He decided not to worry about his grown physical abilities anymore.
In a world where experience and titles exist, growing continuously was a natural phenonon, like breathing.
He shrugged his shoulders at Alla, who was still looking at him with a worried look, and climbed on Kalibans back.
Lets go.
With a short word, he lightly tapped the black horses flank with his ankle, and the guy neighed loudly and started to move his feet.
***
Around noon, when the sun was overhead. The party arrived at the gate of Dumpres.
They ran at a controlled speed for stamina, and it was the fourth day today.
Ruon, who got off the horse and walked ahead, heard soone shout loudly.
Stop!
A soldier who looked like a guard ca dragging his feet from the direction where the sound ca from and blocked the party. And he didnt say anything.
What?
Ruon stared at the soldier in disbelief, and suddenly he started to rant. But the following words were strange.
What? Who are you to look at like that?
The soldier made a sullen expression and spat on the ground. The yellowish liquid that splashed from his widely opened front teeth hit the ground and made a disgusting bubble.
Ruon.
Did Ruons eyes, which sank down, draw the scene of the soldiers bones breaking? Kyle lightly grabbed Ruons arm and muttered.
Ruon didnt think so, though.
He said.
Did you forget that you told to stop?
At his words, the guards eyes widened. Like a person who belatedly rembered a forgotten fact. And the pupil that expanded one beat late was strangely alien.
Right. I told you to stop. Why did I do that? Ah, inspection, I have to inspect
The guard, who was mumbling to himself, chuckled and added.
But I dont want to. Its annoying. Just go ahead.
He moved his feet as if he was joking and leaned against the wall and sat down weakly.
Kyle frowned at the incomprehensible behavior.
What. Like a madman.
I think hes right. He seems to be addicted to sothing.
Ruon answered like that, and Alla, who had been silent, looked back and forth at the saliva on the ground and the soldiers face that kept swallowing.
Its drugs. It makes you numb and forces you to stay in a dreamy state.
How do you know that?
Because Ive tried it before.
Alla ran into the gate as soon as she finished speaking. Ruon, who entered the city ahead of her, saw the ruined cityscape in his eyes.
The collapsed stalls and overturned tables, the scattered various items, and the people who whimpered like invertebrates.
He couldnt even guess what had happened in the scene that was hard to understand, and Kyle frowned.
How does the world work?
He moved his feet unconsciously and kicked sothing. He realized that the thing that rolled away was a bright red apple and looked around.
The fruits are not rotten and fine? Maybe there was a market recently.
Yeah. I think so.
The city streets filled with sprawled people were not an environnt to ride a horse, so the party imdiately tied up the two horses except Kaliban nearby.
***
The beasts seed frightened to be left in such a place, snorting anxiously, but they quieted down quickly when the dark mage stamped the ground irritably.
Run to us if theres any trouble while youre waiting. You can do that, right?
At Luons question, Caliban nodded vigorously, as if to say it was obvious.
Just then.
With a surge of heat, flas shot high into the sky in the distance. Ala, watching the blazing pillar of fire, said,
Its coming from the orphanage. Lets hurry.
As we leaped over obstacles on the ground, I asked,
What kind of drug is it?
Dodging the hand of a middle-aged man trying to grab her ankle, Ala replied,
Its a special herb grown with spells. Quen made it.
She glanced at the drooling man for a mont before turning away and adding,
Its useless just by taking it, but when exposed to a certain spell, it induces a temporary state of awakening. Its used to greatly increase magical achievents. It saves ti but puts a lot of strain on the mind.
Why would the townspeople consu it?
The question rose in my mind, but knowing Ala wouldnt have the answer, I focused on running.
After passing through a narrow alley, we saw a large iron gate and the figure of a gaunt man standing in front of it.
Watching the fire with sunken eyes, he spoke as he saw us approaching.
Ala? I heard you were dead.
Ala strode forward and said,
Gonzalo. Why did you feed the people of the city Skar? You know what happens when those who dont know the spell take it!
The man called Gonzalo, with a foreign-sounding na, looked at us with a stony face and answered,
It was my fathers command. He said there are talented ones even among the wretched, and we should weed them out. Like us.
He sighed as he watched the still-raging fire and waved his hand.
Like a lie, the flas died down.
On the scorched ground lay a charred body, no taller than my waist.
Kyle gripped the handle of his hamr, growling,
That bastard to a child!
Gonzalo defended himself with the only plump part of his body, his lips,
You misunderstand. This child burned himself, unable to control his overly expanded consciousness. Its a regrettable case. Its very difficult to find those with magical talent in this wretched city.
Kyle shouted,
You call that an excuse!
With a roar, white lightning shot from his hamr like an arrow.
After a trendous explosion and a cloud of dust, Gonzalo stood protected by layers of transparent shields, crinkling his nose.
I indulged in conversation because I missed my sister and you showed up. But this is uneducated behavior.
Then Ala spoke,
The orphanage no, Quen treated children with magical talent like animals but at least didnt harm innocent people. Of course, that was to blend in with the city.
She slowly raised her hand, aiming at Gonzalo, and demanded,
Answer straight. Why did you do this to a perfectly fine city?
Gonzalo shook his head,
Have you beco stupid in my absence? I told you, we were trying to weed out the talented ones among the wretched. And that was my fathers command.
Madn.
With a short reply, an invisible force from Alas palm struck Gonzalos shield with the speed of a hare.
The force was so imnse that the iron fence behind the orphanage began to crumple as if screaming.
Yet, Gonzalo spoke leisurely amidst the onslaught,
My father thinks youre dead for so reason. Im glad. I can kill you here without any problem!
He raised his arms as if celebrating, and several bodies on the ground began to rise.
Having fought resurrected corpses too often, I calmly drew my sword, then suddenly turned my head, feeling a strange sensation.
Boom!
The force that grazed my ear collapsed the building behind . The direction from which the power ca was an old man pointing his finger, his eyes turned white and eerie.
As spells flew at us from all directions like a barrage, Kyle quickly pulled out the Spellbreaker and effectively blocked the continuous barrage of spells, though the overlapping shockwaves pushed him back.
Ala, too, struggled to maintain focus in such a situation, retracting the force pushing Gonzalo and protecting herself.
Ah Ah Aaah.
Seeing the old man continuously throwing lightning bolts as thick as forearms and blood pouring like a waterfall from his eyes, nose, mouth, and even ears, Kyle yelled.
***
Are those people still alive?
Ala answered, as she extinguished the lightning that flew at her with a spell.
Yes. They are pushing themselves to the limit, like wringing out a wet cloth. They will eventually go berserk and die.
Gonsalo laughed and said.
They are ignorant fools who lived their whole lives without knowing their own talents! They are burning themselves in the last mont, like martyrs, even though they didnt know they were the chosen ones of the spell!
He shouted, spreading his palms wide towards the sky. Soon, a sinister power began to swell above his hand.
He looked at Ala and said.
I never understood it. Why did father cherish that failure so much, who always whined and clung to Rozelins bosom?
As soon as he finished his words, Gonsalo threw a soccer ball-sized crimson sphere, but at that mont, a terrifying shockwave burst from the compressed air, and Ruon flew at him like a cannonball, hitting his shoulder.
Ugh!
Gonsalo had endured Kyles lightning and Alas invisible force, but this ti, he flew like he had collided with a dump truck, breaking the wall covered with thorny vines and falling to the ground with a thud.
Inom-!
Suppressing the dizzying pain that rose from his waist, Gonsalo threw the sphere in his hand at Ruon.
Ruon dodged the projectile that flew like a dart with a slight tilt of his head, but the projectile turned in the air as if it were alive, and hit his back, exploding.
!
The space was distorted by the explosion, and the air that was pushed out by the vacuum rushed back in.
For a brief mont.
Gonsalo, who had summoned five layers of shields to protect his body from the aftermath of the shock, glared at the dusty front and chuckled.
Youre such a brute. How low can you stoop to use such a dirty trick. Thats why you wont leave a trace-
He couldnt finish his rant. A red disc flew from the front, tearing through the stacked shields and leaving a red line on his neck.
His head began to split, unable to bear the weight, and he clenched his eyes in pain. He saw a warrior walking through the fog, approaching him.
-Ow! Throw gently!-
The ego sword, which had only the handle left and was stuck deep in the ground, complained. Ignoring the sound, Ruon walked up to the writhing mage and lifted his foot.
Gonsalo squeezed out a voice that didnt co out of his mouth, looking at the black shadow looming over his head.
Yourfatherwait
Bang!
Ruon stomped his foot without waiting for the rest of his words, rubbing his shoe that was stuck with flesh and bone fragnts on the ground.
One down.
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