Chapter 53
It was a busy morning.
Royal mages and margrave family knights were busy moving about.
Azek looked at the carriage. There was a female mage in her late twenties and a male mage in his thirties standing in front. At dawn today, there was an urgent meeting to discuss how to confront the monsters, and Doris made an announcement afterward.
A squad consisting of six parties, including students, was decided under Mage Ryan's command.
The whole brigade had been awake since the start of the meeting, and necessary arrangements were made.
They had to head to the forest immediately at daybreak after breakfast.
The person in charge, Mage Ryan, was a man with an unassuming personality. But he was anything but that.
He had arranged parties and consigned everything in a matter of minutes. Six parties were formed, with student distribution in consideration of their abilities.
Some opposing voices tried to take students out, but he shot them down immediately with a smile on his face.
The whole town's defense had been rearranged as well. It was now put at maximum efficiency to cope with deficient numbers.
Doris looked at the advanced detection spell in the four corners of the town and the mage distribution and gave Ryan a nasty look.
Whenever he stepped in, there was no room for questions or negotiation.
The mages almost naturally obeyed his arrangements without any complaints. His calm but deep voice left no room for any quarrel.
Azek was assigned to the squad of Rina and Maxmillian. Both were skilled mages, but Azek was put in charge of the front scout party.
After learning of Azek's ability, Ryan quickly came up with a plan and asked him to use his spell to detect black magic particles in the air by exciting mana.
Although it would put a burden on Azek, he was supplied with sufficient magic crystals, and it would ensure their safety.
The rest of the five parties were in charge of finding suitable targets and taking care of them individually.
The sun's rays hit the ground, and they got into the carriage. Percival looked at Azek from a distance, but he didn't look back and completely ignored him.
The experiment didn't provide him with proof but was still sufficient to suspect something. He had put the matter aside for now, but the gears in his mind didn't stop spinning throughout their journey.
---
"Stop." Suddenly, the carriages came to a halt.
"Step down and stay low to the ground."
A command resounded.
There was an eerie silence in the surroundings.
Azek started conjuring a spell very thinly. A crystal got crushed, and mana stars flickered in and out of existence.
He slowly came down and bent to the ground, simultaneously releasing his spell.
A ripple spread. It seeped into the forest. The leaves rustled.
"We are surrounded."
Azek immediately sent a sound transmission to Ryan.
"The number is at least a hundred."
Ryan listened and gestured to his fellow mage.
The earth split open in their spots, and they were engulfed by the ground in seconds. Thin windows popped up for air.
Azek still continued to cast the spell and focused on getting the signals by the consumption of excited mana.
After a while, he sent a report to Ryan.
Ryan immediately cast a spell, and tunnels were formed in front of them.
"We will circle behind on the east side."
---
They crawled into the narrow tunnels slowly on all fours.
Screeching noises could be heard above them as monsters tore apart carriages, while thudding sounds continued underground as Ryan buried the tunnels to remove traces.
Grrrrrrr.
A slow growl could be heard above their heads as a monster continued sniffing the ground.
"An intelligent monster," Ryan slowly communicated.
A young mage clenched his fists.
"Two parties will take care of it. Third party on standby if the finishing blow seems difficult. Fourth party will deal a surprise attack if needed. If it is still not taken care of, the fifth and sixth parties are to retreat immediately and report to town with Mage Ashvin."
A detailed command came, and nervousness spread throughout the squad.
"Now, now, relax, people. With me here, two minutes are enough to beat it to a pulp. What are you worrying about?"
He said in a lighthearted tone, and the sudden tension vanished almost instantly.
Percival looked at Ryan.
He is certainly a capable commander, he thought.
His fists clenched slightly.
Ryan was putting an arm around his shoulders and reassuring him.
"You don't need to worry about anything. Everything will be taken care of smoothly."
His cheerful smile made Percival's lips twitch.
Crack.
A voice resounded.
The monster turned to its back at lightning speed, but nothing was there.
The spell had delayed its reaction by single second- just enough.
Two mages sprang up behind, and spikes lodged and fixed it in position on the spot.
The monster managed to evade a fatal strike by swinging its tail instinctively, but a second was all that was needed for the mages to give the starting opening.
Metal ropes danced and shot out in quick succession, but it continued to destroy the confinement at the cost of getting injured.
Crack.
Crack.
The last spike crumbled.
It opened its mouth, and mana gathered at alarming speed.
Zeewwwwwwww.
An arrow shot from underground earth and directly pierced its mouth.
But it didn't end there.
The arrow continued to bend and wrapped around its mouth.
The attack got stuck in its mouth, and the arrow blew up.
Pssssssssssss.
A small explosion happened, and smoke surrounded its body.
"Dodge!"
Both mages in front crouched, and sturdy shields surrounded them in the blink of an eye.
A moment later, a laser attack struck the shield of the mage in front.
But it crumbled instantly, and before it could claim the mage's life, he got pulled aside with vines.
The monster, now vigilantly looking at its surroundings, made its beam attacks nonstop.
Smash.
Crack.
Clashes resounded throughout the battlefield.
It wasn't giving any chance to counter despite the initial disadvantage.
Spells continued to pour, and beams landed everywhere, making deep trenches in the ground.
"Hmmmm."
Ryan put a hand to his chin.
He was analyzing the battlefield since the start.
A small voice resounded.
"Puck..."