Chapter 105
‘Who is this?’
The First Elder’s face was unfamiliar.
I thought it might be someone I knew, like with Randgar, but it wasn’t.
“Damn it.”
The First Elder, with long hair and one eye covered, grimaced.
Although his quick movements had made me think he was younger, he seemed about the same age as Randgar.
Tap—
As the First Elder tried to flee, now with his robe removed, I gave him no chance and immediately charged at him.
For a moment, I was nearly distracted by his exposed face.
“What kind of…!”
The First Elder’s surprise was evident as my Black Shadow Sword passed through his magic.
It was a technique worthy of astonishment.
Even for me, it consumed an immense amount of mental energy every time I used it.
The technique worked by opening space around the sword, allowing it to bypass physical obstacles, and then closing that space as soon as the sword made contact with the target.
In theory, it was the ultimate offensive skill capable of piercing any defense.
The only downside was how incredibly difficult it was to execute in reality.
‘Thinking about how much I struggled to perfect this…’
Memories of endless nights spent agonizing over this technique resurfaced.
It had been a grueling process.
Vmmm—
“You’re quite good at dodging, huh?”
For a mage, the First Elder was astonishingly agile.
Even though I wasn’t swinging with the intent to kill, the fact that he was evading my attacks so consistently was remarkable.
It was movement unthinkable for a mage.
I was starting to get annoyed.
“Let’s end this quick…”
Vmmm—
Just as I was about to finish speaking to the clearly flustered First Elder, a familiar vibration and sound filled the air.
The sound of space shifting and resonating.
Both the First Elder and I instinctively turned our gazes toward the source.
“Ugh.”
As the sound of space opening echoed, Ordin appeared.
Why was he showing up now, of all times?
I couldn’t help but scowl.
“You…”
Srrrng—
The moment he arrived, Ordin, looking disoriented, briefly pressed his forehead before drawing his sword.
A sword that could be aimed at either me or the First Elder.
“Oh.”
‘Seriously? Why now?’
Of all times, Ordin appeared just as I was closing in on the First Elder.
Not exactly a welcome face.
‘So, the Warp Portal wasn’t a one-time use, huh.’
“You two!”
Ordin alternated his gaze between me and the First Elder, shouting.
Neither of us seemed particularly threatened by him.
“Today, I can avenge O’Neill’s grudge against both of you.”
As Ordin spoke, a massive surge of mana enveloped his sword.
Boom—
As blue mana burst forth from Ordin’s sword, glowing explosively, a sharp sound of air rupturing followed.
In the brief moment I glanced aside, the First Elder had fled.
“Damn it, seriously.”
What a completely unhelpful individual.
Ordin seemed momentarily stunned by the First Elder’s sudden disappearance but quickly pointed his sword at me.
“Black Shadow Corps, you bastard!”
“Ugh, I almost had him.”
“…I don’t know why you were fighting that man, but…”
“…”
“You’re still an enemy of our kingdom.”
Tap—
Ordin didn’t wait for a response, charging at me the moment he finished speaking.
Going from fighting the mage-like First Elder to facing Ordin, a knight fully intent on combat, was a whole different level.
Shing—
The clash of my Black Shadow Sword, imbued with black mana, and Ordin’s sword, glowing with blue mana, produced a clear, resonant sound.
It wasn’t the heavy clang of metal-on-metal but a pure, crystalline tone.
This sound was the result of refined mana colliding.
Shing— Shing— Clang—
In an instant, my opponent had shifted from the First Elder to Ordin.
Until just now, I had been busy cornering and attacking the First Elder. Now, I had to focus more on defense.
At least I didn’t need to use the techniques I had reserved for the First Elder, so my head felt a little clearer.
Clang— Clang— Shing—
‘He’s still as fast as ever.’
This time, it was more about using my body than my head.
Ordin’s movements were swift and sharp, a constant reminder of the time he shattered my arrogance.
Shing—
“…You’ve improved since last time, thief!”
“Was that a compliment?”
During a brief clash where our swords locked, Ordin spoke first.
Whether or not it was a compliment was anyone’s guess.
“You’re still a thief, no matter what!”
Whoosh—
With those words, Ordin’s sword shone even brighter.
It was at that moment I decided not to clash but to dodge instead.
Rumble—
“Whoa.”
“What now?”
Suddenly, the ground began shaking violently.
So violently that it was impossible to maintain balance.
Tap—
Almost as if it was planned, both Ordin and I leapt into the air simultaneously.
The ground continued to tremble with a deafening roar, and fissures began forming everywhere.
‘That’s definitely the First Elder’s doing.’
I knew immediately after assessing the situation.
This was 100% the First Elder’s technique.
The moment Ordin appeared and he went into hiding, I had expected something like this.
“This is all because of you.”
“What?!”
“Damn it, I almost had him.”
Rumble— Whoosh—
As the ground trembled for a while, black mist began to rise.
It was the same black mist from earlier.
‘Ugh, just when I thought things might go smoothly.’
It wasn’t just mist covering the ground.
Though the mist obscured vision, I could sense it—numerous spells forming within the mist.
“Great.”
Ordin, who had leapt into the air almost simultaneously with me, had reached his peak and was now falling.
The same was true for me, but I had a way out.
‘It’s not perfect yet, but…’
Vmmm—
Stretching my hand downward mid-air, I opened a space.
From the slightly opened void, something gray shot out at high speed.
Grroooar—
“Alright.”
It was Yongyong.
“Whoa!”
Yongyong growled in annoyance as if displeased but still obeyed my command.
It caught me on its back and, with its front claw, snatched Ordin from his fall.
Ordin seemed startled by the sudden appearance of an Undead Wyvern grabbing him mid-air but didn’t resist.
After all, falling to the ground would have meant certain death from the First Elder’s magic.
“What is this?! Controlling an undead! As expected of your kind!”
“Yeah, yeah. Just cooperate for now, alright? You have a student from Crescent to rescue too, don’t you?”
“…Fine.”
Held in Yongyong’s claw, Ordin didn’t argue further, seemingly unable to deny my words.
“Let’s rescue the student first, deal with that guy, and then settle things between us.”
Ordin grimaced but eventually nodded.
Shing—
At the same time, sharp black spikes shot up from the mist-covered ground.
‘Holy crap.’
This wasn’t just a handful of spikes like before.
Hundreds of spikes erupted from the ground cloaked in mist, their pace and intensity relentless.
“Yongyong!”
Grroooar!
Though Yongyong was far from fully tamed, it seemed to instinctively sense the danger of the situation.
Instead of its usual defiance, it heeded my call, growling low before accelerating rapidly.
“Ahhh!”
Meanwhile, a scream escaped Ordin, still caught in Yongyong’s claw.
Vmmm—
Yongyong maneuvered swiftly, weaving through the barrage of spikes shooting from the ground.
The attacks were fast and densely packed, but any that Yongyong couldn’t dodge, I redirected into another dimension using spatial manipulation.
Thanks to this, we barely managed to survive the storm of attacks.
It seemed even the First Elder couldn’t continuously deploy such large-scale magic. After the wave of attacks subsided, there was a brief moment of reprieve.
“Ugh… ugh…”
Ordin groaned in discomfort, clutching his head as he remained in Yongyong’s grip.
“Yongyong.”
Grroooar—
Understanding my command, Yongyong hesitated but gently placed Ordin on its back.
“Damn it.”
“This is a special ride, just so you know.”
“Cursed thief… accepting help from the enemy…”
“Quiet. The next attack could come any second, so focus on finding the enemy.”
Boom—
As I spoke to Ordin, the sound of air rupturing came from ahead, and the First Elder appeared.
I didn’t expect him to reveal himself so soon.
“What the…”
“Is that…”
The First Elder wasn’t alone this time.
Beside him, Elaine Sinclair hovered unsteadily in the air.
Elaine looked pale as she glanced down and then forward.
“Commander Ordin! And…”
‘Damn, what a dirty move.’
The moment I saw Elaine appear alongside the First Elder, I understood his intentions.
He had brought her out to use as leverage against me and Ordin.
“So this is where the Undead Wyvern the Third Elder lost went, huh?”
Unlike before, the First Elder now spoke to me with a confident, mocking tone.
It was infuriating.
“If you try anything foolish, I’ll drop Sinclair right now.”
Vmmm—
“Ugh!”
To prove he wasn’t bluffing, the First Elder let Elaine fall.
She plummeted rapidly, stopping just shy of the mist-covered ground.
Clutching her chest, she collapsed, still suspended by some invisible barrier.
‘Rescuing her isn’t the hard part.’
The real issue was whether the First Elder had laid other traps around Elaine.
“You cowardly bastard! Using a hostage!”
Having somewhat recovered from his nausea, Ordin shouted angrily at the First Elder.
The First Elder, of course, paid him no mind.
“First, you’ll need to return the undead.”
The First Elder smiled.
It was infuriating.
**((The Undead Wyvern’s name is “Yonyong” but it can also be called “Yongyongi” as Koreans usually add “-aa” or “-ee/ii” when calling someone affectionately))**
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