The Sword Genius of the Magic Empire - Chapter 65



Only Noblemtl

Enoch’s unexpected proposal.

For a moment, silence fell on the interior of the vehicle.

Because the wizards of the family clearly knew the implications of the proposal he had just made.

Enoch, the direct descendant known to be a non-magician.

How he succeeded in his mission of exemption is a question that every citizen of the Magic Empire would have.

There are currently all kinds of speculations flying around about him.

Above all, it was a question that anyone would have suspected at least once whether he had actually dabbled in the forbidden ‘black magic’ while he was cornered and facing expulsion.

If by any chance a direct descendant of the Juga clan were to touch the taboo black magic, it would be an incident that could shake not only Elseid but the entire Magic Empire.

But just now Enoch had offered Theano to personally reveal his doubts about himself as collateral for carrying out his plan.

Moreover, the negotiating partner is the deputy commander of Nemesis.

The Nemesis Knights are a neutral organization of the main clan that fulfills its duty to protect the precepts of the Elseid family.

In the midst of all this, Enoch’s proposal, which was met with questions from both inside and outside the family, would be quite attractive to Theano, the vice-captain of the knights.

In the midst of all this.

“…surely.”

The knight in the black uniform slowly opened her mouth alone in the silence observed by everyone.

“That’s quite an interesting story.”

Theano lowered his eyelashes and shook his head.

“That is not something I will consider when deciding on the operation of this mission, Your Majesty.”

She looked straight at Enoch and said.

“Of course, since you mentioned it yourself, I know you are confident in your success.”

“then?”

“Because it is such a reckless operation.”

Theano added.

“Just in case. If Enoch gets isolated and in danger while proceeding as planned, there is no way for us to rescue him.”

The terrain of underground tunnels makes it difficult to determine their location.

If things go wrong, there is a very high chance that Enoch, his direct descendant, will not be rescued in time.

“As a direct descendant of Elseid, it would be good to achieve great things in the joint mission, but my life would be at risk.”

“I’m not saying that without knowing that much.”

At his words, Theano’s eyes hardened for a moment.

The meaning behind Enoch’s words was clear.

“no way.”

Her eyes, which had been cold until now, widened slightly. She asked back in a slightly embarrassed tone.

“Are you saying that you won’t even consider rescue?”

“Yes.”

Enoch answered calmly.

For a moment, Theano raised his head, looking slightly puzzled.

Her eyes, which had been watching Enoch until now, came out of the shadow of her hat and looked at him for the first time.

“Why would your direct descendant go to such lengths?”

Theano asked, looking puzzled.

“Even if it is a joint mission, there is no reason for your direct line to take such a risk, right?”

Well, if you think about it, it was just as she said.

Especially in the family alliance mission, the direct line is a key figure, no different from the king in chess pieces.

It was the family’s top priority for protection.

Of course, if the news were to spread that a direct relative was seriously injured or even died, it would be a devastating blow to the family.

There was absolutely no reason for a direct descendant whose life was protected in that way to volunteer to risk his life.

However, Enoch declared that he would not expect rescue even if he was in danger.

No matter how confident he was in his strategy, there was no reason for a direct descendant without even a single follower to go to such lengths.

… … But why?

Theano’s question contained such an obvious question.

Enoch was silent for a moment at her words. Then, shortly afterwards, he opened his mouth slightly.

“… It may not be a reason, though.”

He added, glancing out the window.

“During my time on duty, I have seen with my own eyes the evil deeds committed by the warlocks.”

Above the windshield, the scenery outside the vehicle passes by.

The images of the many people I had seen so far, trapped in the test tubes of Vendetta and unconscious, flashed through my mind.

Enoch added very briefly, recalling the pitiful sight of the children at the orphanage crying in his arms and Lien’s before.

“I want to stop the atrocities of the warlock.”

Theano opened his eyes wide as soon as he heard the answer.

A momentary flash of agitation flashed across her eyes.

“Is that so?”

Meanwhile, Enoch’s lips slightly rose as he confirmed Theano’s agitation, without anyone noticing.

‘To this extent, I think it’s a reasonably acceptable reason.’

He spoke as if he was quite serious, but of course he didn’t come up with this plan without thinking.

Because I actually knew.

No matter what situation we find ourselves in, there is someone who will definitely come to save Enoch.

‘Lien.’

Enoch’s only maid.

He glanced at her.

Lien was quietly looking at me with her usual cold blue eyes.

“… Okay, I understand.”

Theano nodded slightly and said.

“If that is truly what Enoch wants.”

Alright. Enoch smiled faintly. He had received permission from Theano to act alone.

Now there’s only one thing left.

The most important ‘key figure’ was needed.

And the key figure in this operation is, of course, none other than anyone else here… …

“Did you hear that? Sirocco.”

A pair of wolf ears perked up in the front seat in response to his pointing, the tail sticking up between the ears.

“huh.”

Shiroko, who had her knees on the seat and turned her body around, was listening intently to the conversation.

“In order to save all the people in your village, there is something you must do.”

Enoch continued, locking eyes with her.

“I have a plan. Follow me.”

At Enoch’s words, Sirocco seemed lost in thought for a moment and quietly lowered his head.

Everyone in the car was looking at them.

After a brief silence between the two, Shiroko slowly opened her mouth.

“… The reason I followed your plan earlier in the fortress was because if it ended up being dangerous, it would only endanger me.”

She said, her small fists clenched tightly around the back of the seat.

“But this time it’s different. If something goes wrong, all of our people will be in danger.”

“I guess so.”

Enoch did not deny it.

Shiroko slowly raised her head. Then she looked at me with her clear eyes and opened her mouth.

“Then, on the contrary, I want to ask you something.”

Shiroko asked with a serious look in her eyes.

“If I follow the plan you laid out this time, will I be able to save our villagers for sure?”

Enoch looked at her and gave a short, definitive answer.

“If you can trust me.”

“good.”

Shiroko nodded slightly.

“Okay. I’ll trust you.”

Enoch looked at her for a moment.

Suddenly, the original Shiroko, with her bright eyes that resembled rubies and a dark shadow on her face, appeared vaguely.

Before she knew it, Shiroko’s eyes were filled with earnest and pure emotions that she was still young and unaware of.

─Responsibility.

In that moment, Enoch realized something new.

At such a young age, she unconsciously felt a great sense of responsibility towards her tribe.

And what does it mean when Sirocco declares, “I will trust you”?

… it felt a little strange.

Even in the original, the character I played the most is now receiving this much trust right in front of my eyes.

Realizing that fact, Enoch opened his mouth quietly.

“There is only one thing you have to do this time.”

Sirocco’s ears perked up once.

Enoch asked her back.

“The promise you made earlier will remain the same, right?”

Instead of answering.

Sirocco’s tail wagged gently.

***

Midnight.

The time when the darkness of night obscures all the ugliness of the world.

But the deep night scenery that should have been there was being mercilessly trampled by supernatural light.

– Green rays of light leaking out translucently from the ground.

Enoch slowly raised his head.

Before my eyes, a translucent halo of light rose from the underground of the great village of the Suin tribe into the night sky, spreading out like the aurora of the polar regions.

Perhaps because it was night, the translucent green curtains rising into the dark sky looked mysterious and majestic.

As Enoch watched the scene for a moment, the explanation Theano had given earlier flashed through his mind.

[Perhaps, the light is leaking out from a large magic circle that Vendetta created to conduct ‘human experiments’.]

Enoch immediately turned his head and looked ahead. There was no time to delay any longer.

I quickly moved into a dark alleyway to avoid the eyes of the vendetta forces stationed throughout the town.

Enoch’s eyes, which were crossing the narrow path so quickly, discovered something.

People collapsed and passed out everywhere.

A parent collapses while holding their child in their arms as if protecting him or her.

An old man who appears to have collapsed while shopping at the market.

A group of young boys and girls fell down, covering each other, while playing with their friends at the playground.

All of those people were lying unconscious on the cold floor in the dark of the night.

“… … .”

Enoch looked at them with deep-set eyes in the darkness, clutching his cloth bag tightly.

In the original story, these people met a terrible end without ever seeing the next morning.

And perhaps we will find out soon enough.

Will they meet their fate?

Or maybe we can greet the dawn of tomorrow.

That future─

Enoch made a silent pledge.

─I make it.

For this goal, the miserable fate of the people had to be changed.

It certainly won’t be easy.

But now he was not alone. The plan Theano had mentioned flashed through his mind.

[Once we reach the village, everyone will disperse.]

She explained the operation with a calm expression.

[The wizards of the family, including our Nemesis, will join up with the waiting teams in the village and use the attention of the Vendetta fighters in each area to secure as many beastmen as possible.]

Just before coming here, the details of the operation that I had received from Theano inside the vehicle flashed through my mind.

At that moment, a sudden noise and shouts erupted from the building next to where Enoch was passing.

“─Over there! The Elseid troops are gathered!”

“Send reinforcements quickly! Drive them out!”

The sound of Vendetta wizards moving and shouting could be heard nearby.

Enoch quickly hid behind the wall.

Soon a group of footsteps came rushing out of the building and disappeared into the distance down the alleys.

The attention of the vendetta forces was drawn.

It was just as Theano had planned.

[Enoch, take advantage of the enemy’s focus on our personnel and enter the underground area.]

Enoch quietly thanked the wizards of Elseid, who were still fighting in various places, and ran for a while, hiding in the darkness.

Eventually we reached an alley in the center of the village.

The back of the village’s wide square came into view.

The entrance to a large passageway, solidly built with old concrete and steel reinforcements, was visible.

─Underground living quarters.

Beneath the huge underground chamber I had seen during the day, a dazzling green mana light was shining forth.

‘As expected, Tantalus’ Manada.’

I could tell because I had already seen his mana in the basement of Leopolis.

Now all that remains is to reach the underground living quarters of the Suin tribe’s village where the bastard is.

[Just be careful during the operation, Enoch.]

For a moment, Theano’s warning flashed through my mind.

[Vendetta won’t stay still either.]

widely.

At that moment, Enoch suddenly stopped walking in an alley not far from the entrance to the underground area.

In the darkness just outside the alley.

The silhouette of a large water man slowly appeared, with his back to the green halo emanating from the ground.

“… … You managed to survive. You’re a direct descendant of Elseid.”

A bushy head of hair resembling the mane of a gray lion.

A warrior of the water tribe with thick, muscular arms with bulging, ominous green veins, perhaps due to the side effects of the magic potion he was administered in the fortress.

Leontos stood tall and held his ground.

“I tried not to cause any unnecessary casualties.”

The bastard spoke while aiming his unique stone axe-like weapon at me with his clenched fist.

“I can’t let you interfere with Vendetta’s plans any longer. That’s the terms of our contract.”

Between the thick hair that resembled a lion’s mane, the yellow light from Leontos’ two eyes shone ominously.

“This time I will kill you for sure.”

The man spoke as if spitting and slowly lowered his posture.

But on the other hand, Enoch stood still and faced him with a calm expression, not even drawing his sword.

Leontos’ eyes twitched as he confirmed that.

“Listen to the horse! Elseid’s direct descendant!”

Leontos shouted fiercely at Enoch, who still did not respond.

“No more, you bastards… the future of our tribe!”

Swish!

But before he could finish speaking.

From Leontos’ side, someone’s two feet flew in at incredible speed and struck him in the side.

Phew!

A dropkick that hits so cleanly that it’s amazing.

In an instant, with a dull, eardrum-bursting sound, the bastard’s entire body flew to the side.

“Keuh-euk!”

Leontos, who had been talking excitedly, was thrown back with a great force and rolled around on the ground several times before crashing noisily into a wooden market stall and destroying it.

A huge cloud of dust and wood debris erupted.

And beyond that, someone shouted boldly.

“Huh! Who the hell wants to be the future of the tribe?”

The girl who had drop-kicked him away stood tall in the rising dust and shouted energetically.

Enoch smiled faintly as he looked at the prickly red wolf ears that emerged from the settling dust.

Sirocco.

She ran at full speed towards Leontos and kicked him with both feet.

“I am the successor to the patriarch!”

Sirocco lifted his chin slightly and said.

“If you’re going to talk about the future of the tribe, ask my permission first!”

She, who had been shocked at the previous fortress, was nowhere to be seen.

Sirocco glanced at Enoch.

“Is this okay?”

“okay.”

The operation Enoch had told her about in the operation vehicle earlier. The conversation at that time flashed through his mind.

[Sirocco. You, face Leontos alone.]

What Tantalus wanted was for the experiment to succeed.

[Most of the Vendettas will try to stop the Elseid agents from rescuing the water people who are the experimental materials.]

[Huh, really? It’s difficult.]

Shiroko tilted his head.

[It’s highly probable. But if they approach the underground tunnel, they won’t just sit back and watch.]

Vendetta will wage a war of attrition, buying time by preventing the rescue of the Suin tribe rather than intercepting Elseid.

Of course, from their perspective, their goal would be to protect the caster, Tantalus, and buy time until he can activate the magic circle that will turn the beasts into beasts.

Therefore, Vendetta will try to intercept and block those who are ‘targeting Tantalus’.

And what is suitable for that role?

[Maybe they’ll use Leontos.]

Leontos is a powerful force among them.

As he is also an excellent warrior of the water tribe, he has excellent mobility based on body strengthening magic.

In other words, he is one of the few magicians who can deal with unexpected situations on a battlefield that is constantly changing.

So, from Vendetta’s perspective, it would be the best card to tie up enemies approaching Tantalus.

[Well, I get the general idea.]

Sirocco slowly raised his face.

[So, you want me to stop Leontos?]

[that’s right.]

[Okay, I wanted to do that anyway!]

As if recalling the pledge she had made in the fortress, she opened her mouth slowly with a smile.

[Leontos─]

And now, Sirocco, who had been blocking Leontos, raised his head and declared in a low voice.

“─I’ll stop it.”

Enoch nodded. Up to this point, everything was going according to plan.

‘Currently, Nemesis and the other wizards are scattered and focusing on diverting Vendetta’s attention.’

In this situation, there is no one better suited to stop Leontos, who came to tie up his feet, than Scirocco.

There was good reason for such confidence.

‘More than anything, I know all of Shiroko’s movements!’

In the original, Shiroko was the main character for most of the long journey of the old man.

I could confidently say that no one in this world knew her better than Enoch.

That’s exactly why I know.

‘Even if it’s the current Shiroko, if you give it your all, you won’t lose to the likes of Leontos.’

Of course, the Shiroko we know here is the Shiroko from five years later. Naturally, she is younger and less experienced than the original.

‘However, Shiroko is still a genius who has reached level 10.’

Even though I was buffed by the magic potion, I didn’t think I would lose to Leontos.

There is a huge gap between wizards who have surpassed the 10th level and those who have not, so much so that it can never be bridged.

Enoch spoke briefly from behind Sirocco, who was facing Leontos head-on.

“I leave it to you.”

“huh!”

Enoch turned around immediately. His figure quickly disappeared into the darkness of the alley of the buildings next door.

“Direct line, where!”

Leontos, who saw that, also tried to quickly chase after him.

But the next moment he stopped and his legs stopped.

─Sabak.

Because Sirocco stepped forward and stopped him.

Her long hair fluttered in the night wind, obscuring Enoch’s figure as he faded away beyond Leontos’ sight.

“… Get out of the way. Young Chieftain’s successor.”

Leontos spoke roughly to the little girl.

But Shiroko put both hands on her waist and responded lightly, teasingly.

“Hehe, you wouldn’t give in to a sloppy person, would you?”

“I don’t want to kill a child.”

Sirocco answered calmly.

“If you stop acting like such an adult, I’ll think about it.”

“what?”

“Didn’t you hear that? Stop acting like an adult.”

Shiroko answered with her eyes glowing red.

“You’re attacking innocent people while talking about the future of the tribe or something. Isn’t that childish behavior?”

Leontos growled.

“You don’t know anything yet. Young Chieftain’s successor.”

Bam.

He said, highlighting the veins in the hand holding the horse.

“It’s too difficult for you to understand everything.”

“Huh, there’s no need to understand?”

Shiroko looked straight at him and glared.

“Anyone can see that you’re just being a tantrum.”

“What?”

Leontos’ expression hardened grimly.

On the other hand, Shiroko tilted her head and said.

“Aren’t you just going to harass innocent people as you please and claim that it’s for the future?”

“There is no time to explain. Young Chieftain’s successor.”

Leontos spoke to her with his teeth clenched and his eyes shining with a meaningful expression.

“Only this is the way for us, the people…!”

“If it’s really for the good of the tribe.”

Sirocco cut him off and spoke quietly.

“I guess I made you understand first.”

Leontos bared his fangs in a menacing manner.

But Shiroko covered her mouth slightly and laughed, as if openly provoking the guy.

“Pfft! But now you say there’s no time to persuade me. This isn’t like you’re throwing a tantrum. What’s that?”

Leontos shouted, aiming at the steed.

“Shut up! You little idiot who doesn’t know anything!”

Shiroko responded with a mischievous laugh.

“Hehehe~ You’re getting so upset over something a little brat said?”

Sirocco lifted one leg up to the side, slightly bending the knee.

Beneath her short pants fluttering in the night breeze, her white, smooth legs and elastic thighs were revealed.

Talk.

She lifted one foot and lightly tapped it on the ground, muttering softly.

“… As expected, you’re not an adult.”

Wheeing-

In response to the movements of Shiroko’s legs, a bright red ring of mana rotates and builds around her ankles.

The mana on her ankles, shining brilliantly like a dancer’s anklet, greatly enhanced her physical abilities.

“So come on, you big brat!”

Sirocco’s wolf tail and ears stood up stiffly with a strong fighting spirit as he prepared for battle.

Leontos, whose patience seemed to have reached its limit, aimed at the horse and roared in return.

“You ignorant little brat!”

Tukwaaaaang!

The next moment, the ground the two figures were standing on collapsed at the same time. There was a violent explosion of dust.

Soon, two figures rushed towards each other with such incredible speed that they left an afterimage.

A night in the village where the last of the Empire’s water people gathered.

Two incompatible futures began to clash.