Chapter 11 – Slow, Very Slow
#1
The Lord of Magic slowly walked out.
Lawrence gazed at the mana undulating around him, marveling quietly.
Sounds of “ugh” and “ack” could be heard as people clutched their chests or struggled to stay on their feet, fighting not to kneel.
The deliberate display of overwhelming presence to command the crowd was quite impressive.
Lawrence stood straight, meeting Edward’s gaze as the man looked down at him arrogantly.
“Listen.”
Rumble—!
Like thunder, the mana resonated.
Some covered their ears, while others collapsed on the spot.
The vassals of Montemer stood firm, struggling to maintain their dignity.
‘As expected, without a Mana Core, I’m not affected at all.’
To Lawrence, it only sounded like a loud noise.
He met Edward’s eyes.
Was it his imagination, or had his father’s gaze changed?
“From now on, under the brilliant star of the Empire, by the command of His Majesty the Emperor, we will hunt down the threats gathering in the North.”
Edward spoke without bothering to calm the wild mana around him.
Sounds of people retching echoed from all sides as they vomited their morning meals.
Edward would probably see this as another test.
“This is a matter of life and death, so do not act rashly. Move as the units are called. May there be glory and peace in the Empire’s land.”
Glory and peace in the Empire’s land—!
The vassals of Montemer, the usual participants in the subjugation battle, and other brave souls shouted.
Edward’s speech ended there.
He glanced at Lawrence briefly before continuing to walk away.
‘A young son with no foundation, no supporters. What will you show me?’
He had a duty. If it meant protecting the Empire, he had to become a ruthless father.
So he hoped.
That this young son would awaken properly and find protection under someone’s wing.
This subjugation battle would be a critical test stage for that child.
‘It will not be easy.’
He also headed off for the battle.
Lawrence Montemer.
His eyes were firmly focused on his goal, and there was enough potential visible.
“From now, we will divide the units that will cooperate.”
Medeia’s voice, amplified by magic, was heard.
This was also a tradition, a ceremony showing the lady of the house’s ability.
And Lawrence’s unit was assigned.
“Phoenix Mage Corps, Algeras Knights, Lawrence Montemer, Loria Montemer.”
Lawrence’s unit was decided.
Just as he had hoped.
‘Perfect.’
He had intended to throw a fit to get into this unit, but Medeia had sent him to the death squad on her own.
As Lawrence moved, he thought to himself.
‘Perhaps…’
Did Medeia know something?
Lawrence speculated as he packed his bags.
#2
Loria Montemer.
The third daughter of the Montemer family, and the fifth among seven siblings.
Two years younger than Loras, she had just turned sixteen.
She looked at her brother Lawrence, who stood there calmly, while she was still trying to calm her queasy stomach.
‘What’s with him? Why is he fine?’
She felt like she was dying, so why did he look unaffected?
Pure curiosity arose.
At the same time, she recalled the things she had said in the past.
“Maybe I was a bit harsh back then.”
Mmm!
Yeah.
But still, we’re family, so I should at least say something!
She trotted over to Lawrence and tapped his elbow.
“Hey! What’s your deal!?”
“Loria, sis?”
“Yeah! What’s your deal!? Why did you get so tall!?”
<If you’re from Montemer, you should at least be able to use magic.>
<I take great pride in our family, and I really hate how you bring down that pride!>
Lawrence looked at his suddenly approaching sister, Loria, and recalled events from before his regression.
She had always been extremely proud of the fact that they were a mage family.
That’s probably why she used to say things like that whenever she saw young Lawrence.
He didn’t entirely misunderstand her feelings.
Lawrence stared at her quietly and then answered.
“By eating well and exercising a lot, I ended up like this.”
“Ugh… You, you can really use magic, right?”
“Do you want to see?”
“No, it’s fine. Do it properly. Even if we’re young, we’re still ‘Montemer.’”
Lawrence nodded lightly.
She gave him a piercing glare before tossing her auburn hair and heading towards the meeting place.
Lawrence quietly watched her back as she walked away.
Then he chuckled, summarizing their rare conversation in his head.
“She’s a bit headstrong, but she’s someone I can get on my side.”
The beginning of tragedy always stems from trivial matters.
Wasn’t it the wolves that tore her apart, marking the start of her downfall?
In this subjugation battle, Montemer would lose a precious direct descendant.
That would be his sister, Loria.
Phoenix Mage Corps leader Freya.
Algeras.
Other mages and soldiers…
Lawrence thought carefully about the relationships among these people as he headed towards the officers.
“So, stop by Ivant Village… Young Lord?”
“I’ll listen too. I should know at least some of the plans.”
“…….”
Freya, who had been explaining the strategy, couldn’t hide her surprise as she glanced at the knights and soldiers around her.
She had heard the rumours.
The rumours surrounding the annex… were they false?
‘He’s too clear-headed to be called a madman. Besides, he seems to be about my height, or maybe even a little taller….’
This boy is supposed to be only eleven years old?
And he’s the one rumoured to be a crazy person who breaks everything in the house every single day?
That doesn’t make any sense.
‘The lady told me to be extremely cautious because he would be a burden, but it seems she misunderstood the situation.’
It’s a perfect deceit.
Even as she spoke, Freya closely observed Lawrence.
The way he crossed his arms and carefully examined the route was more like a serious military strategist.
She even found him somewhat intimidating.
“……That is all.”
“Will you be traveling by carriage?”
“You and your lady will be in a carriage. The rest will move on horseback and by foot.”
“I understand. Let’s make preparations right away.”
The preparations were proceeding smoothly.
They had been ready for this expedition to the North since before the weather turned cold.
They bundled up their clothes and took measures to ensure that their hands and feet wouldn’t freeze.
Plenty of feed for the horses and camping supplies had been perfectly prepared.
“Move out.”
With Edward’s booming command, the subjugation began.
#3
The road to the North was uneventful.
All they did was wait in the carriage or camp out for the night.
Lawrence didn’t forget to train during these moments.
“Wasn’t Young Lord Lawrence supposed to be crazy?”
“Yeah, that’s what they said, but…”
“Does that look like madness to you? He’s so diligent.”
“……Exactly.”
An eleven-year-old boy who trained every night.
The soldiers were paying more attention to Lawrence than the mages were.
To their eyes, Lawrence didn’t seem like a mage at all.
‘What’s up with him? He’s not studying magic; he’s just working out for no reason! Why!?’
Loria, with her crimson eyes filled with dissatisfaction, let out a sigh.
She had an enormous amount of studying to do to reach the 3rd Circle as soon as possible.
‘Big Sister and Big Brother reached the 4th Circle by the time they were seventeen. I’m going to reach it even faster.’
She decided to remove her large younger brother from her thoughts.
She had enough of her own problems to deal with, so she quietly returned to her books.
But her studies were interrupted by an entirely different issue this time.
Screeeeeech—!
A whistle signaling an attack echoed through the air.
“What? This isn’t a place where we should be attacked!”
Loria threw down her books and rushed outside.
Whooosh—!
The area was brightly lit by torches.
At the same time, cries of alarm spread from all directions.
“Everyone! Protect the mages!”
“Form a shield wall! Protect the mages!”
The soldiers of the mage corps moved in perfect coordination.
As expected, the trained ones were different!
Loria quickly took her position and scanned her surroundings.
“Wolves! A lot of them! But…”
“Green eyes!”
“Undead!?”
All around, decaying and rotting beasts appeared.
Undead.
More precisely, [Land Wolves] corrupted by dark magic.
There were over thirty of them.
“They don’t get tired. Make sure to burn them completely.”
“Understood.”
“Lawrence! Get over here! Quickly!”
Loria’s heart sank as she remembered Lawrence, who had been training outside the formation.
Claiming to be training, a mage was out there dancing under the moonlight, far away in an open space.
It was only natural that he was late to join the formation.
“Hurry! Start casting! Young Lord Lawrence is in danger!”
“Yes!”
“Soldiers! Light torches for targeting coordinates! Throw the torches!”
The ground had little grass and was mostly dirt and rocks.
Whooosh—!
Torches flew in every direction, and the wolves became visible under the dim yellow light.
The undead Land Wolves bared their teeth and charged.
The soldiers gritted their teeth and began the wolf hunt.
“We’re not even at the border yet, and already…”
“They’re coming!”
“Hold out until the mages finish casting!”
“Lady Freya! The Algeras Knights are nowhere to be seen!”
Problems always arise all at once, and there’s always a reason behind unexpected crises.
Freya and the Phoenix Mage Corps instinctively realized.
Algeras.
They had something to do with this situation.
“Dammit, is this a betrayal!?”
“How dare they bare their fangs at Montemer!?”
“Young Lord Lawrence—!”
Loria cried out in a frenzy as she saw the wolves ferociously rushing toward Lawrence.
“No—!”
Even though he was a fool without a Mana Core, even though she saw him as a burden, he was still family.
If he were to be torn apart here, their future…
“Burn.”
Just when everyone thought it was too late, they heard Lawrence’s calm voice.
The Fire Arrow Artifact, charged and ready, manifested its power.
[Fire Arrow]
[Multi-shot]
[Remaining capacity: 8]
Whoosh—!
In an instant, two flaming arrows appeared.
Everyone’s mouths hung open in shock as they watched.
When did he cast it?
And not just one—.
“Double casting…!?”
“Go.”
Boom—!
The flaming arrows shot toward the undead wolves.
The fire pierced through the darkness and engulfed the undead in flames.
Lawrence didn’t stop there.
His eyes glimmered ominously.
Loria.
She was originally meant to die here.
‘The date and location of the attack are different. Was the report wrong? Or has history changed?’
The location and form were different from the information he had heard.
Had the truth been hidden? Or was this the butterfly effect?
It didn’t matter.
As long as he was here, she wouldn’t die today.
Crackle—!
Before the other mages could cast even a single spell, Lawrence had already created his third spell.
Loria just stared blankly at the blue lightning that appeared.
“Soldiers, get out of the way!”
“Wha—!? Young Lord, it’s dangerous!”
Crack—!
The blue lightning engulfed the undead wolves.
Lightning magic, imbued with purifying power, was especially effective against the undead, just like fire magic.
Lawrence’s bold actions didn’t stop there.
He pulled out a chunk of meat with bones attached and gripped it like an axe.
As for this meat—.
“It’s a chunk of meat with healing magic imbued. You lousy wolves.”
It was called [Holy Meat].
Sniff, sniff—.
The wolves, still retaining some of their animal instincts, flared their nostrils.
Drawn by the scent of raw meat, they all turned toward Lawrence.
Originally, the meat had been prepared to lure and exterminate them, but since the wolves had turned into undead, the plan had to change.
Lawrence tightly gripped the bone and charged at the wolves.
The wolves, drawn by the scent of meat, focused on Lawrence as he charged alone.
The soldiers quickly followed behind him.
[Engraving: Warrior’s Agility]
[Engraving Rank: 2nd Circle]
[Warrior’s Agility: Physical abilities enhanced to the level of an Elite Soldier.]
[Dragon Body]
[Hatchling: 21.2%]
[Maximum Implantable Artifacts: 5]
He didn’t miss the wolves’ movements as they attacked.
His dragon eyes saw through everything.
“Die—!”
Crack—!
The chunk of meat imbued with healing magic exploded against the wolf’s head.
The wolf struck by the meat began to disintegrate instantly.
At the same time, the meat shattered like a grenade, scattering fragments everywhere.
“Yelp—!”
“Arrrk—!”
“Is that really a mage!?”
The wolves, hit by the fragments of meat, howled in pain.
Since they were undead, the healing magic melted their rotting flesh and bones.
‘This feels better than I expected.’
Surprised by the satisfying results, Lawrence decided to make full use of the holy meat.
It had originally been made for practice, but it turned out to be more useful than he had thought.
Whoosh—!
By then, ten seconds had passed, and once again, two magical flaming arrows flared to life.
Loria was too stunned by her younger brother’s incredible performance to focus and cast her own spell.
Lawrence looked at the mages who were standing there, dumbfounded, and spoke.
“Hurry up and cast. You’re too slow—.”
This time around, Lawrence was determined to save his sister, Loria, who had died so absurdly in his previous life.
This was the wolf hunt that Lawrence had meticulously prepared for.
Wolves love meat, after all.
—
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