novelraw Chapter 138 : Chapter 138
Chapter 138 : Chapter 138
Chapter 138
Calua flapped his wings and pointed at a clump of magic stones trembling precariously.
- Success, Human!
“Amazing, aren’t you?”
- Of course! Because I am a great dragon!
Stroking Calua who was holding his head high with pride, I checked the magic stones Calua made.
‘It’s different from the stacked magic stones I made.’
The stacked magic stones Calua made were slightly different in shape and color.
‘Did he not put mana in?’
Unlike my magic stones shining as if to explode any moment, the light is faint as if about to go out.
It was clear he didn’t lose mana in the process of stacking magic stones.
‘More surprising is that he maintained the magic stones with insufficient mana.’
If the mana consumed in the stacking process is reduced, the magic stones unable to withstand it crumble.
I thought it was natural until now, but seeing Calua, it seems I was mistaken.
‘The difference is the magic circuit. The magic circuit re-engraved during the stacking process.’
Instantly, I met eyes with Calua who was smiling proudly.
- Should I try again, again? Human doesn’t need to worry! Because a great dragon can make all of these!
There is a reason why stacked magic, which can produce three or four times the effect just by overlapping magic, is not mainstream in the magic world.
‘Because the larger the innate mana amount, the more disadvantageous stacked magic is.’
Just as it is easier to change the direction of a weak stream of water, mana is the same.
The smaller the innate mana amount, the easier it is to increase mana control.
Conversely, wizards blessed with mana find precise mana manipulation difficult.
‘And that’s the same for dragons.’
Calua is a dragon said to be loved by mana.
There’s no way a race that uses magic like breathing can manipulate mana delicately.
‘If mana is insufficient, they just pour more, so there’s no need for mana manipulation.’
So it’s impossible for a dragon to make more precise stacked magic stones than me, who was born with thread-like mana.
‘Unless he was born with even less mana than that.’
Come to think of it, didn’t he say he came to the forest of demonic beasts for his first amusement to recover mana?
Even if he is grinning stupidly like this now, it means he was driven to the brink of death due to mana deficiency for a long time.
‘If I hadn’t found him, he would have died from mana deficiency without even knowing his name.’
Just as I was about to vow to treat Calua well from now on, Calua, meeting my eyes, shouted sharply.
- …Huh? Human, your face is strange!
…….
But this lizard bastard?
“Not the face, the expression is strange.”
- Is that so? Doesn’t seem like it…….
I threw a box of magic stones in front of Calua who was tilting his head.
“Be quiet and make that.”
- Understood!
Sitting next to Calua, I put mana into the magic stones Calua completed.
‘It seems to take less than what I made?’
Effect will decrease as much as mana decreased, but as long as the speed increases.
After roughly stroking Calua’s head and picking up the magic stones, Calua shouted.
- Complete!
‘Already?’
It didn’t even take thirty seconds to charge mana, but Calua made stacked magic stones in the blink of an eye.
- If I do well, I think I can make two!
Calua, shouting confidently, struggled and took out ten magic stones.
‘Uh…….’
Until just a moment ago, I was worried about the mana Calua possessed, but it seems I should be worried about myself, not Calua.
‘Can my mana withstand it?’
As soon as I charged mana into the magic stones, the ten floating magic stones turned into two clumps of magic stones and rolled on the floor.
“…….”
Seeing the magic stones roll towards me, my heart tightened as if predicting the future.
“Right, it’s not like I collapsed from mana deficiency just once or twice.”
It’s not like the mana accumulated so far is small, and thinking I can make dozens more of mere low-to-mid-grade magic stones, the moment I picked up the magic stones.
- This time three! I should try three too!
Calua, succeeding in making two stacked magic stones at once, flapped his wings and took out fifteen low-grade magic stones.
“…Take it slow.”
- It’s okay! This is fun!
‘No, I’m not having fun.’
Mana draining out every time I charge magic stones makes me feel like a human battery.
Just as I was contemplating how to solve this problem, Hoodwock, who returned after shooting stacked magic stones, shouted.
“Commander! Did you already make three in that short time? Truly amazing!”
- Human! I, I made them!
Hoodwock, seeing Calua flapping his wings, smiled and continued.
“I was worried about what to do because the bastards suddenly started running, but running doesn’t mean they can dodge lightning, and with this speed, there seems to be no problem.”
- I can make them faster too! Don’t worry!
Still, I was the only one who could hear Calua’s voice, but Calua shouted bravely as if such things didn’t matter.
By the way, the legion started running?
“Don’t worry, we can make enough magic stones. More importantly, tell me more about the legion side.”
“Ah! It’s not a big deal, bastards like them can’t dodge rain and lightning, can they? So they seem to try minimizing damage by moving as fast as possible.”
Breaking through as fast as possible is indeed the easiest choice for this kind of trap.
Depending on how fast they escape the rain clouds, they can minimize damage.
Conversely, the side that prepared the trap must hold the enemy for as long as possible.
‘So our side prepared enough too.’
The muddy road soggy with rainwater is terrain difficult to speed up on itself, and we made swamps here and there using Aqua.
On top of that, the ranger unit is targeting only the lead.
If it’s the Legion Commander who protected the Royal Guards even in the fire, he would have no choice but to slow down the advance to protect the Royal Guards this time too.
“Situation at the lead?”
“Perhaps it was unreasonable to advance while protecting the Royal Guards anymore, both the Legion Commander and the Royal Guards are running frantically.”
No.
It can’t be unreasonable.
If it’s a Legion Commander, he could block magic like Thunder all day long.
‘If they just advanced while protecting the Royal Guards, there would have been no damage to the Royal Guards, so why did he change his mind?’
Increasing marching speed is clearly a bad move.
No matter how good Orcs’ stamina is, they are bound to get tired after running on muddy roads and swamps in the rain.
‘Unless they abandoned the rear entirely…….’
Abandoned the rear?
“The guys who came out this time were Red Orcs, right?”
“Yes, we confirmed the red armor you mentioned, and the Legion Commander’s tattoo is also glowing bright red.”
It’s hard to believe, but if it’s Red Orcs, there is a possible option.
‘Because I can smash everything.’
Running until something they can smash comes out.
“Tell others to move following the legion. Special Mission Unit should dig into the center if possible.”
“Pardon? Didn’t you clearly say we should reduce the personnel in the rear before arriving?”
“Now those bastards won’t even care where we target.”
If they really abandoned the rear, unless we hover right in front of the Legion Commander’s eyes, he won’t care about what happens behind.
“Finally, I can shoot arrows properly. Ah, right. Then what will you do, Commander?”
As if shooting an arrow once every ten minutes while hiding was quite frustrating, Hoodwock asked smiling showing his teeth.
“I will…….”
It was frustrating for me too.
If I were swinging a sword or bow, maybe, but to be in a position massaging magic stones way back, not even on the front line.
In my thoughts, I wanted to run wild with the Special Mission Unit right now, but.
Roll.
Three magic stones rolling in front of my eyes awakened me to reality.
Putting mana into the magic stones picked up with a complicated face, I said.
“I should make these.”
Unfortunately, this side is where I am most needed.
For now, this one magic stone would be more efficient than hundreds of arrows.
“I’ll move slowly while making these, so tell Vergil first. That the Royal Guards might arrive faster than expected.”
“Yes!”
* * *
“Whew…….”
Vergil wiped the sweat beading on his forehead with his sleeve and checked the surroundings.
“Is this the best for now?”
The third trap prepared by the Royal Army was a trench using the low-grade magic ‘Dig’.
Although not even a trace of the trench could be found now where a huge pit was located.
“Are you saying you are anxious even after turning the ground over like that? They said Moner’s knights, but you are quite the cowards.”
Vergil turned his head at the cold voice heard from the side.
‘Was he the unit commander of the cavalry unit?’
A commander who had been consistently uncooperative since hearing the order to withdraw from the front line.
Although he withdrew reluctantly due to the rangers’ explanation and the personnel on this side, his thoughts could be read just by the distrust and hostility clearly visible on his face.
‘He must think Moner is snatching the credit.’
Just seeing the appearance when he first came here was enough to know.
Soldiers heavily excited while hacking Orcs with dozens of spears.
‘They won so easily that Orcs look easy.’
So, there’s no way they would welcome Moner appearing suddenly saying they would help the Royal Army.
Their heads must be full of confidence that they can kill any number of Orcs.
“Did you decide to ignore me now? Or are you scared you might make a slip of the tongue?”
At the cynical commander’s question, Vergil answered in a calm voice.
“I have no intention of ignoring the Royal Army. However, Moner always does its best. Since we decided to use traps, we are just designing the trap with our best effort.”
“Tsk, a knight’s best should lie in sword and shield… I heard Moner’s knights are different from other knights, but I didn’t know they were this different.”
As if thorns were sprouting, the commander sneered with a voice feeling sharp hostility.
Discussing a knight’s qualification in front of Knight Commander Vergil, and insulting Moner’s knights with ambiguous words and voice, all must be planned.
‘How would I have reacted before meeting my Lord?’
If it were his father, Count Sven, he would have ignored it.
Would he, who secretly hated such a father, have struck back with a fist?
‘Probably. Saying let’s see if you can say that after all your teeth are pulled out.’
Before, whenever Moner’s Knight Order was insulted, he felt it was an insult to the Count family.
Now it was a little different.
“The unit commander’s words are correct. Moner’s Knight Order is different.”
He looked at his knights moving busily in the distance.
The appearance of the Knight Order wearing white armor and equipped with all swords, bows, spears, and shields would be different from any Knight Order on the continent.
In a voice devoid of any emotion, Vergil said.
“Compared to the Kingdom’s Knight Order running away scared of mere Orcs, aren’t we a different breed?”
“Wh-what?!”
Turning his back with those words, Vergil moved to the next trap area.
The commander, flushing red, shouted loudly that insulting the Knight Order was practically insulting the Royal family, but Vergil consistently ignored him.
‘To think Moner would be scared of the Royal family.’
There were still too many things to check to waste time on such a stupid guy.