Chapter 142: Valther The Mage

A few minutes earlier.

Inside a relatively luxurious tent near the center of the Deres camp, a young man sat alone.

A small crystal ball rested in front of him, its light slowly dimming.

’’Finally,’’ the man said, letting out a long sigh.

His name was Valther, a Second Circle Mage serving under the Second Royal Prince.

And for the past several minutes, he’d been reporting the situation at Whitemane City directly to his master.

’’What a waste of time,’’ he mumbled, stretching his arms. ’’I could’ve long since learned another spell if I’d been at the tower.’’

Valther leaned back in his chair, slowly massaging his forehead.

’’Why did I have to be sent here? These people are all so moronic.’’

For the past several days, he’d been forced to accompany an army of ordinary soldiers, all because some insignificant Baron couldn’t handle his own problems.

Worse still, the enemy was another insignificant Baron!

His expression soured just thinking about it.

’These sword-apes keep falling for their stupid traps,’ he thought, groaning.

For a moment, he fell completely silent.

’Whatever,’ he finally thought. ’At least the prince promised me a reward...’

Valther glanced towards the communication orb again.

He’d already finished his report, so there was nothing left for him to do tonight.

’I’ll just get some rest, and then—’

’’FIRE!’’

His thoughts were interrupted.

’’FIRE! SOMEONE GET WATER!’’

Dozens more shouts soon followed.

Each of them had the same topic.

’’Hm?’’

Valther frowned slightly.

He sniffed the air, sensing a faint smell of smoke.

An annoyed expression appeared on his face right away.

Walking towards the entrance, he pushed aside the tent flap.

WHOOSH!

The moment he stepped outside, his gaze landed on the enormous flames rising from the supply area.

Several wagons were already burning.

Thick clouds of black smoke billowed into the night sky, while dozens of soldiers rushed around carrying buckets of water.

Valther stared at the scene for a moment.

Then a deep sigh escaped his mouth.

’’Can’t these idiots do anything right?’’

Shaking his head, he began making his way towards the burning wagons.

Extinguishing an ordinary fire wasn’t particularly difficult for a mage of his caliber.

However, just as he was about to join the soldiers, something caught his attention.

’Hm?’ he thought. ’Who is that?’

A small figure was running between the tents.

It seemed normal at first glance.

There were dozens of soldiers running around, after all.

But unlike the others, this figure chose to run away from the burning supplies.

And rather quickly at that.

Valther narrowed his eyes slightly.

’What do we have here?’ he thought. ’Is that the little rat?’

He looked more carefully, instantly noticing something else amiss.

The Deres armor he was wearing clearly didn’t fit properly.

His breastplate was way too large, and the helmet kept slipping down over his forehead.

’Interesting,’ he thought, smiling faintly. ’So you’re the one responsible for this.’

Valther’s gaze lingered on the boy for a moment.

As the boy hurried past the water collection points, his suspicion was confirmed.

’Now where exactly are you going?’

A thought suddenly occurred to him.

’Perhaps he’s returning to his comrades,’ he thought, his smile widening. ’Wouldn’t that be convenient?’

Without another thought, Valther began moving.

Rather than approaching the boy directly, he began following him from a distance.

He made sure to remain among the other soldiers whenever possible, occasionally using the tents to conceal himself.

Fortunately, the chaos worked in his favor.

Nobody paid him any attention.

And the boy seemed completely unaware that he was being followed.

’Good. Keep running,’ he thought gleefully. ’Lead me to your comrades!’

A few moments later, the young boy slipped past the outermost tents.

Then he disappeared into the fields beyond the camp.

Valther followed closely, unaware that Baldwin had just arrived at his tent.

...

The boy continued running across the fields, eventually disappearing into a nearby patch of trees.

Valther followed, maintaining a reasonable distance.

’Just how far is this bastard planning to go?’ he complained internally.

Fortunately, he didn’t have to wait much longer.

After another minute of running, the boy suddenly stopped.

CLANG!

His oversized breastplate fell to the ground, followed by his helmet.

Then he continued running.

Valther’s smile widened immensely.

’So it really was a disguise,’ he thought. ’I’ve got the rat!’

A few moments later, the boy emerged into a relatively large clearing.

Near its center stood a large tree.

Strangely enough, rather than continuing to run, the boy approached the tree.

THUD!

He dropped to his knees and bowed over.

Valther raised an eyebrow.

’What is this now?’

WHOOSH!

A small flame suddenly appeared at the base of the tree.

Within seconds, it spread through the dry hay piled around its roots, quickly climbing the trunk.

’A signal?’

Mana gathered between Valther’s fingers.

In an instant, it spread out around him in an almost invisible net.

’Huh? Nobody’s nearby?’

Valther raised an eyebrow as he dismissed the spell.

Shrugging lightly, he stepped out from behind a tree.

’’That’s far enough, brat.’’

WHOOSH!

Flames appeared around his hands.

’’I’m giving you the chance to surrender now,’’ he said calmly. ’’If you do, I’ll treat you fairly.’’

The boy remained kneeling, seemingly oblivious to his presence.

Meanwhile, the tree had become completely engulfed in flames, billowing thick smoke into the night sky.

’’Tell me where your comrades are, and I might even let you go,’’ Valther continued, taking another step forward.

Finally, the boy moved.

His head slowly turned around.

And when their eyes met, Valther felt his expression stiffen.

A strangely cheerful smile was plastered across the boy’s face.

Yet his eyes told a completely different story.

They were empty.

It was like Valther was staring a corpse in the eyes.

’What the fuck is wrong with that brat?’ he thought, a shiver rolling down his spine.

His expression darkened, and his voice grew louder.

’’Freak,’’ he said. ’’This is your last chance before I burn you.’’

Suddenly, the boy’s arm moved.

Valther instinctively jerked his head aside.

WHOOSH!

A small knife shot past his face, missing his cheek by barely an inch.

THUD!

It buried itself in the tree behind him.

For a brief moment, Valther stood completely still.

’Did that little bastard just...?’

He slowly turned his gaze back towards the boy.

However, before he could say anything, the boy let out a disappointed sigh.

’’Ah...’’

A look of genuine regret mixed with somberness appeared on his face.

’’I really thought that would hit.’’

Valther glared at the boy, his face twisted with anger.

The flames on both his hands lit up, forming a huge floating fireball in front of him.

’’You little bastard! I’ll burn you alive!’’

Yet rather than showing fear, a warm smile appeared on the boy’s face.

’’Well, since I missed, I suppose the others will have to take care of this, then.’’

Valther’s expression changed instantly.

’Others?’

An overwhelming sense of danger washed over him, sending a chill down his spine.

His eyes widened immensely.

’’BARRIE—’’

But it was already too late.

WHOOOOOSH!!!

The noise of roaring wind rang out.

An enormous metal bolt tore through the darkness at terrifying speed.

BOOOOOM!

It slammed straight through the fireball, causing it to explode violently.

Before Valther could even react...

SHHHHK!

The bolt tore straight through his body, completely obliterating his midsection.

A mist of blood and flesh scattered through the air.

There wasn’t even time for him to scream.