Chapter 258: Summoning scroll

Deep into the night, following Toral’s suggestion, we completely abandoned the idea of resting. The five of us gathered in a single room at the inn.

The discovery of another group of acolytes had destroyed any possibility of a peaceful night. Thus, we decided to take turns keeping watch. My Biochip also allowed me to constantly analyze the surroundings, and I had memorized the approximate locations of the five acolytes who had entered the inn.

The other team had apparently reached the same conclusion as us. They also had no intention of resting.

Toral was sitting near the table, Mitral occupied one of the sofas, Marak was leaning against a chair with her eyes half-closed, and Folbit had practically thrown himself onto the sofa.

Silence filled the room. Until, suddenly... I noticed movement. My eyes opened.

— They left.

My voice immediately awakened the others.

Mitral also stopped looking sleepy.

— What? — Toral asked.

I stood up.

— They’re leaving the inn.

— I heard their footsteps when they left the building.

— All of them are heading toward the entrance to the Far Mountain Mundane Forest.

Toral smiled.

— They chose the night to start a war, huh?

He stood up.

— Then let’s catch up to them!

I watched his enthusiasm. It wasn’t exactly surprising. The five of us had survived the Total Massacre. It was difficult to maintain the same mindset as an ordinary acolyte after that.

We soon left the inn.

Ten black shadows disappeared through the streets of the city beneath the faint glow of the stars.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Our bodies crossed the city at high speed. To an ordinary person, we probably would have looked like nothing more than shadows passing between wooden and stone houses. But after years of meditation, our bodies had been completely strengthened by mana.

Because of this, the darkness of the night, twisted branches, and vines covering the path couldn’t slow us down.

Ka-cha!

After some time in the forest, I noticed something.

— The other team stopped.

The others also slowed down, and I looked around. Enormous trees rose toward the sky, their branches forming such a dense canopy that almost none of the starlight could penetrate it.

Toral looked around.

— We’re far enough from the city.

He raised one hand.

— Even if we release energy waves during the fight, no one in the city should notice.

Then he put a ring on his finger. I immediately recognized its aura.

It was a magical artifact.

Mitral noticed it as well and laughed.

— Did you really need to take out your magical artifact now just to deal with a few pieces of trash?

Mitral spoke with disdain. But in the next moment, his hand disappeared inside the wide sleeve of his robes.

I silently observed this. Mitral had also activated his own magical artifact.

He said one thing and did another. I was already used to it.

Each of us checked our own trump cards. We were survivors of the Total Massacre. There was one lesson we had all learned in that place.

Even if the enemy looked like a rabbit... a lion should still use all its strength to kill it. Underestimating someone was an extremely efficient way to die.

We quickly began jumping between the branches at high speed again. After several minutes of pursuit, an open area appeared on the other side.

It was a swamp.

The water had a dark green color, and dry branches and dead leaves floated on the surface. Several animal corpses were scattered throughout the mud, and the smell was unpleasant.

The five acolytes were there, waiting.

This time, their outfits were different.

They had removed their disguises. The symbols of their organization were now clearly visible on their cloaks and robes.

My eyes narrowed.

— Black Bull Tower.

Toral spoke coldly.

The leader of the other group also observed us.

His gaze swept over each of us.

— Acolytes from Arcangrove Tower...

Then he seemed to understand the situation.

Acolytes from two enemy towers in a forest, shortly after a war had ended.

The peace treaty signed under the mediation of Sus Tower might have prevented the Official Mages from continuing an open war. But that didn’t mean the hatred between the acolytes had disappeared.

Quite the opposite. For us, encountering an enemy group in that place practically meant that one side would have to die.

The leader of the enemy group tried to say something.

— Actually... we don’t need to—

Chi! Chi!

A green light exploded beside Toral before the man could even finish. Toral’s ring shone brightly, and countless green vines emerged from the ground. Sharp thorns covered their surfaces as the plants violently surged toward the five enemies.

Toral carried the blood debt left by Deilok’s death. If those acolytes escaped and discovered his identity, he could end up being pursued by Official Mages from Black Bull Tower.

For him, there was no room for mercy.

— Despicable!

— Run!

— Aaargh!

The five enemies clearly hadn’t expected that attack. Two of them were surrounded by a black whirlwind. The wind increased their speed and hurled them out of the vines’ reach.

Another acolyte created red-orange flames. The flames took the shape of a whip.

Pah! Pah! Pah!

The whip repeatedly struck the vines, burning them and opening a path.

The remaining two... were Level 2 acolytes.

They weren’t so lucky.

The vines completely enveloped them, and their bodies disappeared inside a huge sphere of plants.

Crack...

The pressure increased.

Blood began flowing between the vines.

— Kill them all!

Toral shouted.

At that moment, I received confirmation. Those acolytes hadn’t participated in the Total Massacre. Perhaps they didn’t even have any real experience in life-or-death battles, which explained the enormous difference between us.

They were like sheep facing wolves.

A smile appeared on my face.

The best kind of enemy was one that carried valuable resources but didn’t know how to use them properly.

I advanced. As I ran, I began chanting a spell.

The light energy shone through the dark forest like a sun and gathered before me.

Sssii!

A hand made of light appeared in the air before shooting toward the enemy.

It grabbed a Level 3 acolyte by the ankle.

— What?!

The Light Hand tightened its grip.

Chi!

An intense heat spread through him. His flesh began to melt, and blood flowed down his leg.

— Aaargh!

The acolyte fell to the ground.

— Someone save me!

His screams echoed through the forest.

Marak looked at him.

She smiled.

— How about coming to play with Mommy? I can save you!

She raised her hand, and a golden light shot through the air.

Bang!

The acolyte’s head exploded, and blood and brain matter splattered across the mud.

Three people had died practically in the first attack.

— Damn it! Oti!

The two remaining Level 3 acolytes retreated.

One of them pulled a black scroll from his robes. He held the scroll in one hand and began writing rapidly with the other.

My attention was immediately drawn to it.

Was that a summoning scroll?

A sharp roar rang through the air!

My Biochip reacted.

[Sound frequency recorded.]

[Comparing with database.]

[Analysis complete.]

[Identification: Swamp Demon.]

My eyes narrowed.

— Swamp Demon?

My voice came out low.

— They deliberately chose this swamp as their battlefield.

— Be careful! They have a summoned beast!

Everyone looked at me.

— It’s a Swamp Demon! Get out of the swamp!

Groar!

My warning came at exactly the right moment.

The creature appeared, and a huge green shadow descended from above the trees.

It hovered over the swamp. It was approximately the size of a horse. Its body possessed a powerful elemental aura. Two large griffin-like wings extended from its sides. Sharp claws were attached to the end of each wing.

Its mouth was long and narrow, while sharp white teeth completely filled its jaws. Its eyes glowed with an intense green light.

— Show me this creature’s attributes.

[STATUS]

[Name: Swamp Demon]

[Race: Demon]

[Level: Level 3 Acolyte]

[ATTRIBUTES]

[Strength: 15.12]

[Agility: 12.5]

[Vitality: 15.57]

[Mana: 15.9]

My eyes narrowed.

This creature wasn’t weak.

But neither was it an existence capable of completely altering the balance of the battle.

The problem was the terrain.

Before I could finish the thought...

Shiikkk!

The Swamp Demon let out an extremely unpleasant roar.

— Retreat!

A wall of dark green water rose from the swamp before us.

Everything was mixed within that mass of water. The wave seemed large enough to cover the sky.

The acolyte holding the black scroll began to laugh.

— Very good, my loyal hound!

He pointed at us.

— Kill them for me!

The technique couldn’t maintain the same power outside this terrain.

However... one person hadn’t retreated.

It was the arrogant idiot, Mitral.

He remained standing there.

Mitral looked at the incoming wave as if he had just suffered a personal humiliation.

BOOOOM!

But at the moment of impact, something automatically appeared in front of Mitral.

An enormous silver metallic shield.

It was extremely thick, with mysterious runes engraved across its entire surface.

Blind arrogance really did make people stupid. For example, he could have saved the mana he had just spent by simply retreating a little with the rest of the team. Instead, he had chosen to face the attack head-on and reveal one of his trump cards.

...

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