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Zion chanted another spell towards the other side.

“Sharp flame, Fire Arrow.”

A young man, struck in the chest by a flaming arrow, went flying backward and crashed onto the floor.

“Ugh!”

There were three of his comrades right next to where he landed, but they were all sweating profusely and couldn’t even think of helping him. They were too busy forming hand signs to defend against the bull-like guy charging at them from the other side.

“Wa, Water Ball!”

“Shaking earth, Earth Shock.”

Makan stomped his foot hard like a bull, causing the three guys to stumble simultaneously. In the meantime, Makan swung his spear powerfully, dispersing the water droplets flying towards him.

“Now it’s my turn!”

As Makan charged forward, swinging his spear, the Bayern youngsters panicked and rolled left and right on the ground.

The situation was similar on the other side.

The Bayern youngsters were being overwhelmed in an instant, unable to do anything.

“Th, those guys…”

Snake’s eyes widened in shock, and Shane hurriedly raised his hand and gave an order.

“Invincible Corps, prepare to attack!”

Invincible Corps?

I, who had been watching the fight as a spectator, suddenly burst into laughter and quickly covered my mouth with both hands.

‘What a great naming sense. Is that guy the leader of the Invincible Corps then?’

While I was chuckling inwardly, the magic corps, boasting invincibility, descended into the estate all at once.

On our side, the elders were about to step forward, but Kazen shook his head and stopped them.

Kazen calmly observed the situation and said,

“Head Elder. It seems the enemy is short on numbers. I don’t see any mercenaries. They might be trying to surround us from the outside. I’ll leave it to you.”

Kazen and Norman exchanged glances for a moment.

The sunset that had been illuminating the estate gradually faded, and darkness descended once again.

Norman nodded with a stern expression.

“I’ll take care of the children.”

As the elders went outside, Shane finally walked down and joined the Invincible Corps.

At that moment, the dark clouds completely swallowed the sunset, and even the faint sunlight that had been shining on the estate disappeared.

A gloomy darkness settled in.

Shane narrowed his eyes cruelly and gave the order.

“Kill them!”

Dozens of youngsters charged towards us all at once.

* * *

As expected, the Invincible Corps lived up to its name; there was no worthy opponent.

They were so pathetic that they couldn’t compete with anyone.

Dozens of members of the Invincible Corps charged at the apprentices, but they were being overwhelmed instead.

If the apprentices had understood the importance of actual combat a little better, the Invincible Corps guys’ heads would have been blown off, and the situation would have been over already.

Even with Shane and Snake joining the fight, nothing changed.

The expressions on Snake Eyes and Corpse Eyes, mixed with bewilderment and anger, were quite a sight to behold.

Meanwhile, I was still watching the battle as a spectator, but it wasn’t just because there was no need for me to intervene.

I was continuously observing Cyan’s expression.

Although his eyes clearly showed bewilderment, there was no emotion beyond that.

Why?

His subordinates were being beaten back, so why was he just standing there watching?

Was he so scared that he was frozen in place?

As I pondered for a moment, a sudden ‘fwip’ sound pierced my ears.

Something like a ray of light shot out in the direction of the apprentices.

I instinctively jumped out and caught it, and it turned out to be a familiar iron skewer.

“Commander!”

I looked in the direction the skewer had come from, and several men were laughing while swaying their bodies.

They looked just like the mollusk man I had killed a while ago.

There was a brief lull…

Cyan cautiously opened his mouth.

“So you’ve come out.”

From the group of mollusks, a hunchbacked man stepped forward and replied.

“This is quite disappointing, Lord Cyan.”

Cyan’s lips twisted into a sneer.

“Didn’t I bring the Yale members here in preparation for this? You can kill anyone except Kazen and his bloodline.”

The hunchbacked man grinned, revealing his yellow teeth.

“I have to earn my keep.”

‘So that’s what it was.’

That’s who Cyan was relying on.

I looked at the mollusks called Yale for a moment.

They all looked strange. The Guy who tortured One-Eye before was strange, but these guys were even worse.

They were wearing cloaks that were either stained with blood or naturally red, and they were covered in iron skewers.

Both enemies and allies alike were hesitant to make eye contact with Yale.

I also frowned, feeling disgusted. There was a rotten smell in the air.

Especially the hunchbacked man, every time he spoke, the stench of blood intensified. He wasn’t someone who had killed just once or twice.

I covered my nose and looked at Cyan.

“You have quite a strong stomach. Where did you bring these rotten fish-like creatures from? Especially that hunchback, he seems particularly rotten. Get rid of them immediately.”

Cyan laughed as if he was dumbfounded, and the hunchbacked man looked at me with a bewildered expression.

“What are you looking at?”

“You’re the first person to speak to me like that. Usually, people are too busy freezing up or trembling in fear. Aren’t you afraid of me?”

“Shut your mouth and speak. The rotten smell is overwhelming.”

The Yale members all stirred at once. Even when they laughed, the stench of blood filled the air.

“You’re a fearless one. You must be Samael’s bloodline. It’ll be fun to pierce your belly. Let’s see if you can still talk like that then.”

“Someone said something similar not too long ago. Do you know what happened to him? Ah, don’t answer. The rotten smell is unbearable. Instead, let me tell you the answer. His head got smashed in and he died.”

Suddenly, the hunchbacked man tilted his head and asked,

“Are you the Mad Mage?”

“Precisely.”

Cyan frowned and interrupted.

“Are you the one Raven mentioned? Is it true that you killed a member of Yale?”

“My reputation has spread already.”

As I smiled with satisfaction, the hunchbacked man slowly descended from the railing.

He stared at me intently, and when I didn’t look away, he grinned creepily.

“Now I see you’re not just fearless. You’re the same kind as us. You have talent. It’s something you’re born with, and you’re better than most. If it weren’t for this situation, I would have taken you in. It’s a shame.”

As the hunchbacked man descended the railing, his cloak fluttered in the wind.

I observed him carefully and came to a conclusion.

He’s a professional assassin and torturer.

His skills were hard to gauge just by looking. His eyes were worn and weathered, and he knew how to conceal his energy. Moreover, rats like him who made a living from torture and assassination always had hidden tricks up their sleeves.

One by one, the other Yale members descended the railing and stood beside the hunchback.

The hunchback pulled out a skewer from his cloak and pointed at me.

“I’m going to pierce that guy’s belly, so don’t touch him.”

“Keke, then I’ll take that pig. He looks plump.”

The others also pointed at the apprentices one by one, choosing their targets for skewers.

While the rotten-smelling guys were giggling…

I debated whether to launch a surprise attack but changed my mind.

These rotten fish were at least faster than the one guy I killed before.

If I attacked first, I could kill a few of them in one blow, but I couldn’t kill them all at once.

Especially if I let the hunchbacked man out of my sight for even a moment, there was no telling what kind of trouble he might cause.

Dying in a fight was an everyday occurrence, but I wasn’t alone now.

There was no need to put the apprentices and Kazen in greater danger.

First, I had to make sure I had a firm grip on the hunchbacked man.

I looked at the idiots and spoke seriously for the first time.

“This is real combat now. I can’t protect you all. Take care of yourselves.”

The apprentices nodded with tense expressions.

Suddenly, I heard a whistling sound from behind.

Whoosh—

As expected, the hunchbacked man was sneaky. He threw a skewer as soon as I showed an opening.

I turned around immediately, having compressed a ‘Wind Barrier’ around my upper body.

The skewer hit the Wind Barrier, causing cracks. At the same moment, the other Yale members also unleashed a barrage of skewers and charged towards the apprentices.

I focused solely on the hunchbacked man and kicked off the ground.

The Yale members and I crossed paths like the wind.

* * *

‘Fire Spear.’

The hunchbacked man effortlessly deflected the flame spear with a nod and pulled out two iron skewers.

Surprisingly, he didn’t throw the skewers. He gripped them tightly in his fingertips and charged towards me, swinging them fiercely.

I dodged the skewers swung at close range and opened my heart’s circle.

“Flames that wrap around the skin…”

I ducked to avoid another skewer and completed the chant.

“…Fire Arm.”

Dense mana gathered in my right arm, enveloping it in powerful flames. I swung the Fire Arm directly at the hunchback’s jaw.

At the same time, the hunchback flung his cloak open like lightning.

A volley of skewers poured out from the cloak, raining down on my right arm like arrows.

Fwoosh—

The two attacks collided.

The Fire Arm, its power weakened by the skewer shield, narrowly missed the hunchback’s jaw.

While the hunchback momentarily retreated…

I briefly turned my head to take in the whole scene.

The apprentices and Yale were entangled in battle.

The Bayern youngsters were preparing their hand signs.

Cyan and Shane stared at the apprentices in disbelief.

It didn’t take long for me to make a decision.

Whoosh—

“Wind that pierces a single point, Piercing Wind.”

The moment Cyan turned his head, sensing something amiss, the wind blade had already pierced Shane’s heart and the pillar of the main hall.

“Gah.”

There was no further scream.

Only the following whistling sound and his collapsing body remained.

“You bastard!”

Cyan, his eyes bloodshot, leaped towards me, drawing hand signs. The hunchback, having finished his preparations, also charged at me with skewers between his fingers.

I had to face both Cyan and the hunchback at the same time.

I skillfully deflected Cyan’s hand signs while keeping my focus on the hunchback.

For some reason, the rotten smell intensified every time he moved.

After exchanging a few blows, the hunchback’s eyes changed rapidly.

“What the hell are you? Are you really from Samael? I’ve never heard of anyone like you.”

“You called me the Crazy Mage earlier, you idiot.”

Hearing my reply, the hunchback suddenly introduced himself.

“I am Blood.”

“…”

I noticed that the hunchback’s fingernails were dark red.

How many people had he killed for the blood to stain them like that?

Such discoloration couldn’t happen just by killing people. Had he pierced his fingertips and dipped them in blood?

From observing the hunchback so far, his movements were impossible without mana.

But no matter how I looked, I couldn’t sense any mana fluctuations from him. Instead, a murky energy emanated from him every time he moved his body.

At first, I thought it was the rotten smell coming from his body, but it wasn’t.

“Hunchback, did you perhaps devour someone else’s core?”

The hunchback grinned, revealing his teeth.

Dark red bloodstains were visible between his yellow teeth.

“You were even more of an idiot than I expected. So that’s the source of the rotten smell.”

At that moment, I felt a surge of mana from behind.

While I was figuring out the hunchback, Cyan had completed a 4-star hand sign.

“Die, you brat!”

A chilling wind blew, and a sizable ice spike flew towards me. I immediately put up a barrier and prepared to defend against the incoming ice spike.

“Ruin!”

Faster than that, a powerful surge of mana from behind struck the ice chunk.

Boom!

The ice shattered into countless pieces, scattering white in the air, and the mana fluctuations vanished without a trace.

I turned around to see Kazen clutching his chest and breathing heavily.

“…Be careful, Ruin.”

I nodded once and leaped towards Blood.

I wondered if the hunchback even realized what a foolish thing he had done.

Flash—

The dark estate suddenly flashed, and the world turned white.

The dark clouds covering the sky emitted a flash of lightning, followed by thunder.

Rumble!

A faint scream, masked by the loud thunder, reached my ears.

“Ugh!”

It was the voice of one of the apprentices.

———