“…They’re evenly matched.”
Rex, an orc completely covered in blood, observed the stand-off between the Grand Marshal and the boy. His presence alone was so overwhelming that it sent cold shivers down one’s spine and made legs tremble, yet the boy with white hair was somehow maintaining this intense deadlock.
“You’re at least a 7th Tier Mage. Considering you’ve reached this level at such a young age, it won’t be long before you hit 9th Tier.”
“Yeah, seems like you’re well aware, so no need to hide it.”
Though he didn’t hear everything due to his focus on the battle, Rex could piece together the situation from fragments of their conversation.
‘The boy can’t be older than sixteen or seventeen. Yet, he’s at 7th Tier…’
A warrior born and bred, Rex was someone who could maintain clarity and reasoning even in the midst of adrenaline-fueled combat. The boy he had unknowingly placed in the carriage headed to the capital was, without a doubt, the most talented mage on the continent. And the Grand Marshal had personally come here, risking great danger, simply to deal with this white-haired boy—a prodigy who had reached 7th Tier at the youngest age ever in history.
With these two facts clarified, Rex’s mind instinctively delivered the next order to his troops.
“…All units! Change the objective of the battle from ‘survival’ to ‘the boy’s protection’! He is an invaluable talent who must not die here! We must guard him all the way to the capital! Whatever happens!”
The boy’s life was far more valuable than his or his subordinates’. This conclusion came quickly.
Reasons like “is any life worth more than another?” don’t matter on the battlefield. How many variations could a single spell from a 7th Tier mage obliterate? How many lives could it save?
On the battlefield, lives are not of equal value. Rex, a lifelong warrior, knew this well.
If someone had to die here, it wasn’t going to be the boy—it would be them.
“Damn it, we’re swamped trying to save our skins… Where’s the mage?”
“The order is to protect the mage! Everyone, form the three-layer defense around him!”
“Arrows from the right! Raise your shields! If even one passes through, you’ll be dead!”
At that moment, flaming arrows, whose feathers were setting leaves and branches ablaze as they flew from the forest, began to veer off course as the fire spread.
Chardddeck!
A shower of arrows charged with mana collided with the huge shield of the infantry.
Ordinarily, arrows imbued with such powerful mana would have easily pierced through the shield and bodies. However, their feathers were consumed by fire, causing them to lose trajectory and not function as intended.
“Hmm…”
The Grand Marshal, in the middle of his standoff with the boy mage, glared disdainfully at the soldiers rushing in to protect the mage.
‘There’s no way to know his level, nor the kinds of magic he uses…’
The Grand Marshal remained still, not wanting to show any gaps while facing this 7th Tier mage, who might even surpass that.
He merely glanced sideways at the approaching soldiers.
Kaboom!
As soon as his gaze moved, massive trees ablaze began to fall in all directions.
Simultaneously, the ground violently shook and flaming leaves rained down like a storm onto the street.
“As ordered.”
A six-meter tall monstrosity made from a great Orc Barbarian appeared wielding a massive axe enveloped in flames and swung it at the soldiers with heavy footsteps.
Kang!
The hero Orc, Rex, clashed against the monstrosity with his axe, causing a giant burst of flame. Despite the enormous size difference, Rex managed to block thanks to his relentless practice.
“Go! Protect the mage!”
The soldiers, initially frozen upon the giant’s sudden appearance, now resumed moving.
“Tsk.”
The Grand Marshal irritably raised a finger and pointed at the soldiers rushing toward the boy.
A jet-black mass of mana began to gather at his fingertip, vibrating violently as if on the verge of exploding.
The boy’s blue eyes…
…did not miss the moment the Grand Marshal’s attention was diverted toward the soldiers.
A massive current of electricity surged from the boy’s limbs. His white hair stood on end, and a chilling aura surrounded him as if a lightning bolt was about to strike nearby.
‘…He’s aiming for an opening to attack.’
Maltiel, realizing the intent, inwardly smirked.
‘Taken in by my ruse…’
The Marauder race was inherently cunning and loved to deceive their opponents. The Grand Marshal, Maltiel, could have wiped out the humans rushing to protect the mage with a mere glance, but instead, he deliberately shifted his gaze and finger toward the infantry.
This was to signal to the mage that now was the perfect opportunity to attack.
‘Once you attack, your head will fly off.’
Maltiel had always used this kind of tactic.
Showing openings, pretending to be weak or cornered, always led his opponents to deliver everything they had with desperation. And the more desperate the attack, the more devastating his counter could be.
‘Come on…!’
A massive flash of light erupted from the boy’s fingertips, unleashing an overwhelming amount of energy that chilled the spine just by its sight.
“Conversion.”
Maltiel’s crimson eyes and blackened hand turned toward the boy. Seizing this exact moment, the Grand Marshal released his gathered mana in a direct line toward the boy’s heart, who was locked in position, preparing a powerful spell.
A pitch-black line sliced through the boy’s millions of volts of lightning, continuing endlessly without an end in sight. Cutting through trees, rocks, the earth, and monstrosities, it left massive holes wherever it touched, creating a scene reminiscent of a deity etching a long line across the world.
“It’s over.”
Doom filled the eyes of the soldiers charging toward the boy at their fastest.
Now, the only being capable of restraining the Grand Marshal on this battlefield was that white-haired boy.
If he were lost, they all would die.
As that thought of despair began to settle in everyone’s hearts…
“Crap, I almost really kicked the bucket this time.”
A cold and calm voice of swearing rang out above their heads.
“…Hah.”
The boy was alive. Realizing this fact, the Grand Marshal unintentionally exhaled in awe.
The boy never intended to attack initially. Somehow, the boy had known from the start that the Grand Marshal’s supposed opening was a fabrication.
Using some unknown method, he discharged a massive amount of volts beneath his feet, using the recoil to propel himself high into the sky. Upon seeing this, the Grand Marshal couldn’t help but grin widely.
‘So you figured out my trick of showing an opening and chose to fake a magic attack to escape to the skies instead.’
Exasperation over being outsmarted and admiration for the boy’s cool judgment welled up together.
Somehow, this boy seemed to know what Maltiel would do next, it was as if he had rehearsed it beforehand.
‘He’s deliberately creating distance to mock me. He just needs to buy time until “he” arrives!’
The Grand Marshal realized with certainty by gazing at the boy’s stoic, cold expression.
‘This boy is not just outstanding with magical talent. His insight into the battlefield flow is sharp, his ability to deceive rivals excellent. The foresight to completely grasp my tactics and the calmness in dire situations!’
Wings fully extended, the Grand Marshal soared straight toward the boy.
‘This isn’t just the seed of a monster. He must die here!’
Until now, he always prioritized his own safety.
If he fell, all the Marauders under him would become dysfunctional, leaving a significant void in the Marauder army.
But the very judgment and cool-headedness the boy exhibited just now tipped the scales of the Grand Marshal’s decision.
He decided that killing this boy here and now would be more beneficial for the Marauder army in the long run.
Judging that the boy’s life outweighed the 2000 Marauders under him and the 300,000 beasts they controlled, the Grand Marshal made his choice.
“Orkha D’ Astella!”
Amidst his supersonic flight, the thunderous voice of an Orc reached the Grand Marshal’s ears.
A 5-meter tall great Orc wielding a house-sized axe hurled it directly at the Grand Marshal, who was flying in a straight line toward the boy in the air.
“Protect him!”
Rex, having lost an arm and with a large gash across his abdomen, shouted under the moonlight while staring at the risen Grand Marshal and the boy.
At his feet lay the dismembered 5-meter tall Orc monstrosity.
Upon his command, soldiers began throwing scattered weapons onto the flight path of the Grand Marshal.
“Tsk.”
Most only ricocheted off, unable to pierce his skin as they hit.
The massive axe hurled by Rex, however, seemed troublesome enough to force the Grand Marshal to awkwardly twist his body mid-air.
That moment created an opening.
Seizing it, the boy’s blue eyes flared as he gathered an immense amount of electricity into his hand once again.
‘…Monstrous bastard!’
An opening.
When facing the Grand Marshal Maltiel, one must always be cautious of openings. The weaknesses he displays are often feints designed to induce complacency in his opponent.
But this time, the displayed opening was genuinely real.
With such focus on killing the boy, Maltiel’s field of vision had narrowed slightly.
The boy’s limitless potential so excited him that it had escaped his notice that Rex was about to throw that giant axe.
Though he barely reacted in time, his balance was thrown off, and he hadn’t prepared any adequate defensive magic.
“Counter, enjoy it?”
The boy’s arrogant voice echoed across the cloudless sky.
“…Impressive!”
The sense of duty that he must kill the boy and the excitement of engaging in an equal battle after so long, drove the Grand Marshal forward with everything he had.
Despite the lack of a thunderous shout, Maltiel’s attack was imbued with ‘desperation,’ the same desperation present in all the humans he had killed before.
And such desperate attacks, when countered, can result in great shock.
“Release.”
The enormous sphere of electricity in the boy’s hand shrank to an infinitesimal point.
The million-volt energy sphere trembled violently, as if about to explode at any moment. The boy casually released it toward the Marauder who had rushed before him.
In the pitch-black sky, a sudden brilliance emerged.
Lightning struck down from the clear skies, and blinding flashes erupted from all directions.
The boy concentrated his remaining mana on that single point.
Whereas the mana stat of a regular NPC mage in a game usually only reaches between 8-9, and even that of a named mage barely exceeds 13-14,
The boy’s mana stat approached a staggering 20.
He traded everything—his strength, dexterity, health, and luck—for this innate talent.
For three days, every bit of mana had been stockpiled within his body, now transforming into a pure white light and congregating before his fingertips.
Even the Grand Marshal, if he were to take this attack head-on, would undoubtedly turn into white ash.
…If he were to take it head-on, that is.
The boy’s attack ended by merely scorching the upper-right portion of the Grand Marshal and his wing.
An instant before the magic burst from the boy’s fingertips, the Grand Marshal performed a mid-air acrobatic twist, having seen the boy’s intention.
An attack that was practically point-blank missed.
Blessed with keen reflexes, the Grand Marshal had detected the trajectory based on the boy’s shoulder, eye, and fingertip movements, predicting the timing impeccably.
However, the boy’s eyes and hands failed to recognize that the Grand Marshal had executed another twist in the air.
Contrary to the boy’s divinely gifted magical talent, his physical capabilities—like reaction speed and dynamic vision—were cursed.
The result being, the boy’s desperate counter punch using all of his mana merely inflicted slight damage and detonated into the air.
Thunder struck, and great flashes of lightning filled the sky.
Everything beneath became engulfed in flames, and the world cycled between darkness and light.
“Damn, should’ve invested more in agility…”
With those words, the boy lost consciousness.
The Grand Marshal extended his remaining left arm and gripped the boy’s neck.
It was as fragile and delicate as a newly sprouted branch.
There could be no delay.
Though the boy now appeared unconscious from the aftermath of expending vast amounts of mana, there was no telling when this monster might awake and threaten his life again.
Just as the Grand Marshal was about to crush the boy’s neck with his clenched hand…
“We’re done here.”
The voice that everyone had waited for echoed quietly across the battlefield.
