The Sword Genius of the Magic Empire - Chapter 85



Only Noblemtl

Kuuuuung!

Again, a deafening explosion rang out.

Rhodes, brightly lit by the midday sun. Inside the ruins, Enoch, wearing a bomb-proof robe, walked slowly through the smoke from the explosion.

At the end of a sort of real-world experience where you increase your magic resistance with explosive magic.

Before he knew it, Enoch and Siroc had entered the depths of the ruins.

And while searching for the Sword of the Black Knight, the number of explosive artifacts installed throughout Rhodes and ‘directly’ dealt with also steadily increased.

Enoch walked across Rhodes to soothe his ears, which were about to develop tinnitus from the continuous drinking. Then he slowly thought about the current situation.

In a nutshell, [Explosion Magic] was all as expected.

Unlike military explosives such as grenades or claymores, which cause damage by shattered fragments when they explode.

A powerful normal magic that literally releases intense heat or shock due to the ‘explosion’ itself.

It is clear that the applicability is high, and it can have the power to blow up an entire area according to the caster’s intention. On the other hand, it was also possible to reduce the power and set it to only make a loud noise like a blank bullet.

Of course.

You can deploy it so that it chains onto [Trap Magic] installed on a wall, floor, etc., or cast it on an explosive artifact to make an excellent landmine.

As with trap magic, it is a terrifying magic that is even more nerve-wracking for the opponent because they don’t know when or where it will be installed and activated.

But at least for this case it was an exception.

After all, since it’s magic, if you focus on the sense of mana, you can guess the general location. That’s why I was able to find out some pretty surprising facts.

‘They’ve installed them all over the place.’

For some unknown reason, traps set up with explosive magic were spread across almost the entirety of Rhodes.

It was also particularly concentrated in areas where demons were densely concentrated.

The intention was obvious. The explosion itself was to cause damage, and the subsequent vibrations and noise were to drive the nearby demons wild.

By this point, anyone could easily notice it even without any specialized knowledge of combat.

A thoroughly calculated trap-setting technique. It is also the work of a veteran battle wizard who is skilled in battle and knows how to utilize the surrounding environment.

Perhaps, if it weren’t for Sirocco dealing with the swarming demons, I wouldn’t have been able to use explosive magic on my own.

At this point, magic resistance should have increased significantly. I’ve roughly achieved my goal.

“… … .”

But Enoch frowned. That was all well and good, but there was just one problem. And it was a very important problem.

‘I still haven’t found the Sword of the Black Saint.’

Almost an hour had passed since I started searching, but I still couldn’t find another Sword of the Black Sword.

Enoch looked around thoughtfully.

Some time had already passed since he had begun to act separately from the Dionil squad and had started to search for the Sword of the Black Sword and become a human minesweeper.

I thought I would be able to enjoy a fun farming time, but what awaited me was a series of hellish failures.

There were more variables than I thought.

“… … Phew.”

Enoch leaned back against the nearby ruins for a moment, then slowly looked at Rhodes, lost in thought.

Clearly there was a plan before coming.

Until reality hits you.

In the original, the map that I had looked through until it was dry and worn out definitely did not have any items like the Black Sword or any clues that could lead to a guess.

Therefore, the method of elimination was the most effective.

Of course, it would not have been wrong to judge that it would be standard to first explore places that could not be visited in-game.

However, there were a few facts that were overlooked.

‘First of all, Rhodes has a much larger area.’

If I remember correctly, five years later. In the original, Rhodes was almost half submerged.

In other words, the map is considerably different now than it was in the past, and it’s even wider than the original.

Rhodes is already a ruined historical site.

Broken places. There are many places that are difficult for people to enter. If you look around even a little, you will see a world of huge stone wall ruins, all shaded and hidden by bushes.

How do I search through every nook and cranny of this?

Even the most excellent wizard wouldn’t be able to survive for more than a few days.

I had a feeling that exploring Rhodes wouldn’t be easy when I first saw it in person, but the barriers to entry were higher than I thought.

As expected, raising specs was not an easy task.

‘I need to re-plan first.’

That doesn’t mean the situation is hopeless, though. There are still places to explore.

There’s still one left above ground. If it’s not there, you can search underground.

Rhodes, which was a submerged area in the original, was deep underground and impossible to explore. If there is no sword on the surface, it must be underground somewhere.

‘Besides, there’s nothing else to take care of.’

In the original, Rhodes was a farming stage, but in reality, except for another sword of the Black Knight, there wasn’t much that would be of value in the current situation.

Anyway, among the things you could farm here, there weren’t many valuable items.

Usually, in farming stages, you can only obtain scrap metal of a low grade that can be used as materials to strengthen high-level equipment that can be obtained from gacha.

And it won’t be much different now that it’s become a reality. Collecting those items won’t be of much help.

Including Sirocco, it was not a necessary element for the training of the followers that would be recruited in the future.

“… … ?”

Enoch, who had been thinking that far, suddenly realized that the cries of the nearby demons that had been heard from behind him had disappeared.

It seemed that Shiroko’s work was also over. Leaning back against the ruins, I glanced in that direction.

“Haam~.”

Under the dazzling midday sunlight, Shiroko was calmly covering her mouth and yawning loudly.

Beneath her slender, bare feet, the remains of what had been Truncatus until just now were strewn about in a messy heap.

The demons that resembled inorganic substances all turned into black ash and rose into the sky making a dry, rustling sound.

Enoch smiled faintly without realizing it.

As expected, she was an easy opponent. I thought that facing a group of Truncatoos would be a good combat experience. I don’t know if it was even a little surprising.

Well, that’s true.

The last time I first met her, she fell down before the leader without hesitation even though the Legion’s demon army was rushing towards her.

“… Oh, you’re here?”

As I walked towards her, Shiroko glanced over and looked in my direction, as if she had noticed my presence.

“It seems like there are still some demons left around here.”

“yet?”

“Yeah. Every time you detonate an explosive, they keep coming. I feel like I’ve dealt with a lot of them, but I can still feel their presence. There are probably a lot more around.”

Shiroko tilted her head as she said that.

“This is the ruins. There are more demons here than around our village. It’s a bit strange.”

“I know.”

Enoch agreed lightly.

It was definitely a bit strange. It wasn’t because of my mood. It was true that there were quite a few more demons than in the original Rhodes.

Of course, now that it has become reality, the number of demons now cannot be exactly the same as the number of demons that appeared in the original five years later.

But it was clear that the number was so large that it felt somewhat uncomfortable.

We don’t know the reason yet, but it’s not that uncommon for the number of demons roaming around to increase naturally.

“But it doesn’t seem like it was particularly difficult.”

“Yeah, of course. But it feels a little strange.”

“what?”

Shiroko lifted her chin slightly and looked at me with detached eyes.

“Yeah, it’s nothing. I’ve been hunting demons alone most of the time. I just figured it wouldn’t be a bad thing to have someone standing next to me when the battle was over.”

“Then that’s good.”

Shiroko suddenly looked up at me with concern, caressing the pointed wolf ears on top of her head.

“… … But, there was a loud explosion earlier. Are you okay? I heard it from the side, but my ear hurt a lot. This ear is sensitive.”

“As you can see.”

Enoch nodded slightly. Although his whole body was still a little cold, he was not seriously injured.

But this is where it got real.

Enoch slowly passed Sirocco.

We will make the most of the knowledge we have from the original work, even though this is a naturally sinking submerged area and the terrain is different from the original.

‘Because I have knowledge that I can use.’

An area filled with the remains of a collapsed spire appeared before his eyes. Enoch’s eyes narrowed slightly at the sight.

I have memorized the entire map after it sank into the submerged area. So now all I have to do is check the outer area excluding that map.

And unless I remember correctly, this is the only place in Rhodes that hasn’t been confirmed yet. In the original, it would be one of the areas that sank deep under the lake’s waters.

Whatever is on the ground is here.

However, the area in front of here is blocked by the collapsed remains of ruins. If things continue as they are, entry is impossible. Then there is only one way.

“Sirocco.”

Sirocco glanced up from the side at the sound of someone calling her name. Enoch turned his dark blue eyes and spoke briefly to her.

“Here. Blow it all away.”

“Huh, good!”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she lightly jumped up and down on the spot, then launched a powerful roundhouse kick straight ahead.

A dull, ear-piercing sound. Immediately before my eyes, boulders exploded in all directions from the ruins.

Kururururung.

Soon, the debris and dust that had been towering before our eyes began to settle, revealing a place that had been hidden by a pile of rock debris until then.

A place that was clearly hidden to anyone who saw it.

Sirocco’s eyes widened for a moment when he saw that.

“Oh~ There’s really something inside?”

Sirocco glanced over in admiration.

“Hehe, how was it? Did I do well?”

“Yeah. Good job.”

Shiroko’s neat eyes slightly opened wide as she glanced over, perhaps because she was surprised by the compliment. Then, she soon showed a bright, joyful smile.

“Right? Who am I! You can praise me more.”

“That’ll be later.”

Looking at the tail wagging behind him, I wonder if praise is more effective than I thought. Enoch said as he looked ahead with his dark blue eyes.

“Because the work isn’t done yet.”

It was a place I had never seen before.

Enoch slowly stepped inside.

A ruin where green moss and the water of the lake pouring down from the wall harmonized. Enoch’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the past heritage that had faded over time.

Under the dazzling golden sunlight of noon.

A quiet stillness and the ruins of a half-submerged historic site in the waters of the lake. An old corridor forgotten in time comes into view.

Perhaps because it was a place where no one had visited for a long time, wild flowers and green weeds were blooming here and there in the cracks in the walls and floors throughout the corridors.

And what caught my eye from above the corridor─

‘article?’

Statues of knights clutching swords. They were lined up on both sides. Enoch went in and looked around more closely.

Inside the ruins of a castle city submerged in water up to your feet.

There were majestic stone statues of knights wearing helmets, holding long swords with both hands and swinging them downwards.

Their swords were sunk shallowly into the lake’s waters, and they appeared as if they were stuck in the water’s surface. Their upside-down figures were quietly reflected beneath the clear water.

Above the castle city on the lake. Statues of knights.

All of them have their necks cut off or their arms cut off. Green vine leaves and moss partially cover their faded stone armor.

But as time passed and they lost parts of their bodies, their upright posture, wearing their armor and holding their swords, never changed.

‘Are these the knights who once protected this fortress city?’

Enoch walked into the corridor for a moment, staring silently at the knights with his dark blue eyes. The feeling was strange.

A time when knights with steel armor and swords lived.

On the other hand, it is now a modern-day magic empire where glass-filled skyscrapers form the skyline in the city center and cars run on asphalt roads.

It must have been a distant past that was hard to imagine now. Enoch turned around and passed by the statues of the knights.

Before he knew it, a smile appeared on his lips.

It wasn’t that I had a particularly artistic sensibility and was absorbed in appreciation. There was just one thing that I could guess from those stone statues, the most important thing.

‘It looks like it has something to do with the sword.’

Enoch’s heart began to beat a little faster.

I haven’t found the Sword of the Black Knight yet, but I’m sure of it.

If Rhodes was a place where knights used swords so openly, then the next sword of the swordsman was likely to be somewhere here.

Perhaps the sword I’ll acquire this time is related to the knights.

Just as Enoch was thinking that, he turned his head.

In the darkness of the void.

─A translucent line as blue as water was drawn, rippling in the empty space before my eyes.

Enoch glanced around and followed the line.

The end of the line that glowed blue continued. That was, of course, the underground of Rhodes, where the Dionil squad had entered for the rescue operation.

I could see the collapsed staircase leading to it. For a moment, certainty raced through my mind.

Where there is another sword of the Black Sword.

That was the Rhodes underground area right before my eyes.

And the very next moment that realization struck me.

Kuuuuuuung─!

The ground shook again, and a familiar explosion sounded. Enoch immediately checked the location of the explosion.

Deep in the Rhodes Underground, where the Mana Line continues, vibrations emanate from there, shaking the surroundings.

Another explosion underground.

And that place, if you look at the map that Emma drew earlier, is where Dionil, who had gone out for the underground rescue operation, was.

For a moment, an ominous feeling ran through Enoch’s mind. Before he knew it, his legs were kicking off the ground and running.

Something went wrong.