The Sword Genius of the Magic Empire - Chapter 93



Only Noblemtl

“… … Wait, that voice.”

When I stood still for a moment, the man noticed me and spoke right away.

“A guest I met during the day. What kind of coincidences are these?”

“I think it was Arcto.”

The taxi driver I caught on the outskirts of the commercial district. He was the same man with a thin cigarette in his mouth as during the day. He rubbed his eyes as if he was a little tired.

“Haha, right. I didn’t know that working two jobs would lead to carrying the same passengers every day.”

“You said earlier that you knew about this and that about the outsourcing business, so this is what you meant.”

Enoch glanced at the other mercenaries.

Just now, seeing that he was implicitly treated as a leader among other freelancers, it seemed that his skills were not bad, despite his light-hearted tone.

Arcto chuckled.

“Yeah. Taxi work is a side job. This is my main job.”

The woman in the backseat, wearing a baseball cap pulled down low, shrugged her shoulders and snorted in vain.

“Ugh, you’re really being so diligent for no reason. Even so, you’ll never be able to leave this area for the rest of your life.”

“I can’t live in the underworld anymore, so I’m rolling around. It’s been over 10 years since the underworld in the commercial district disappeared, and the time to wander around and find my own way to survive is over.”

“As expected of an old man.”

“That would be nice, since you’re young. At that age when you’re full of energy, it wouldn’t be bad to work hard and get a job in a cesspool like this.”

Arcto, who had skillfully returned the blow, opened the van door and gestured to Enoch to get on board.

“Let’s go. Punctuality is important.”

***

The old van creaked as it sped down the road.

I don’t know if Sig provided this vehicle, but its visuals and performance certainly don’t make you think it carries any important cargo.

There are four people in the car, including Enoch.

Arctor in the driver’s seat and a female mercenary of extremely few words sitting in the passenger seat.

And there was Enoch and a girl with short, bright pink hair, wearing a baseball cap pulled down low, sitting in the backseat.

As we were running on the road and losing track of time, Arcto simply stated the schedule.

“It’s still a few hours before we can leave the outskirts.”

“How are the communication lines?”

The woman wearing a ball cap sitting next to Enoch asked. Arcto kept one hand on the steering wheel and fiddled with the communicator in his ear with the other.

“All is well. We’re communicating with the PMC as planned. We’re maintaining regular contact every five minutes, so if they’re attacked, we’ll know right away.”

“It’s good to be certain.”

As she said that, she suddenly glanced at Enoch.

“I’m April. I’m a freelance mercenary.”

She looked at the cargo and said,

“By the way, I’ve been wondering since earlier. Sig Industries is the one who directly delivers the cargo. He must be someone I can trust. You?”

Then, sitting across from her, another female freelancer who had been relatively quiet also glanced over in silence. She seemed to agree with April’s words.

“… … .”

April shrugged.

“I don’t know the details about your situation, but if one of the major companies that is doing well is directly entrusting you with transporting cargo, it must be pretty important.”

“What are you talking about?”

April crossed her arms as Enoch asked again.

“The logistics companies that receive these subcontracts are also strong and tough. Especially my friends in the logistics industry who are on the underworld side will deliver anything if you give them money.”

After saying that, she glanced this way.

“I wonder why they gathered freelancers like us and added some unidentified person to the project…?”

After listening to her, I was able to guess what April wanted to ask Enoch.

“So. Who the hell are you?”

As expected, Enoch sat there without answering, feeling that it was worth answering, when April waved her hand in front of his eyes.

“Joegi…? What the, Zana? I can’t tell since I can’t see your face because of the mask and hood, really.”

April gasped in surprise as Enoch, who was starting to get a little annoyed, glanced back at her.

“Oh, surprise! Well, if you don’t want to answer, then don’t worry.”

Then she sighed deeply, as if she realized that Enoch had been ignoring her until now.

“I know a lot of people in this industry, but I’ve never heard of a freelancer like you, so I’m just curious.”

April’s shrugging voice had a somewhat boastful tone. Perhaps it was because she had the skills to back it up.

Enoch glanced at her.

What April was holding in one arm was a long, bolt-action rifle with a scope attached.

He appears to be a combat magician strong in long-range combat who uses difficult-to-handle and relatively expensive firearms.

It certainly didn’t seem like they were just floating around in a daze.

“Wait a minute. Be quiet.”

Then Arcto spoke from the driver’s seat. He put his hand on the earbud and furrowed his eyebrows.

“I can’t hear you. It’s time for regular contact, but there’s no answer on the line.”

“What? So there’s a fight going on there?”

“no.”

There was a brief silence in the room.

It’s not that I didn’t know what that meant, it’s just that it was impossible.

“Wait a minute, what does that mean?”

Of course, if a skirmish were to break out, we would have been notified immediately.

But even though regular contact was maintained with the PMC every five minutes, contact was suddenly cut off.

“Then all the PMC guys on the bait side… … .”

At the same time, Enoch noticed a flash of light outside the van’s front window. Immediately afterwards, Arcto turned around in the driver’s seat and shouted loudly.

“I got caught!! Everyone bow your heads──!!!”

It was then that magic was activated in a nearby building. The sound of glass breaking in the window was deafening.

At the same time, blood spurted into the air on the driver’s side.

The van’s body spun around with a squeaking sound, leaving skid marks, and it crashed into the alley wall with a loud noise.

“Ugh!”

Arcto groaned in pain from the driver’s seat, clutching his bleeding arm.

“Sniper! 2 o’clock ahead, rooftop of the building!”

April immediately identified the sniping position and shouted as she opened the door with the glass windows shattered into pieces.

“Get down now! Quickly!!”

Even as everyone got out of the vehicle and ran down the dark alley, April shouted in a shrill voice as if she couldn’t understand.

“That’s weird! How do the scavengers know we’re transporting cargo?”

After everyone quickly took cover behind the wall of the nearest alleyway, Arcto slowly touched his earset and muttered as if he couldn’t believe it himself.

“… I’m not sure, but it seems like they completely neutralized the PMC team that was the bait, took away their communication channel, and traced their location back. There’s no other way to explain it.”

“No, don’t make me laugh! You have the skills to disable a corporate PMC and hijack its communication magic channel in 5 minutes? A gangster?”

But that question wasn’t important.

The first priority is to counter surprise attacks.

But even that wasn’t easy.

Kuuuuuuung!

A huge rock spear flies over the covered head and crashes through the outer wall of the building behind it.

April screamed as she watched the blue lightning whip through the darkness, ripping through the concrete wall with an ear-piercing sound.

“Wait a minute, that’s too much firepower! Is that the gang I know?”

“Take out the sniper in the building in front of me! I can’t do anything because of that!”

“Ugh! I can’t, I can’t! I’m reloading now! Cover my side first!”

April shouted urgently and pulled hard on the rifle-style bolt-action loading lever.

The brass casing bounced back with a clear sound, and she reloaded the chamber with an enchanted round.

“I’ll move to a counterattack, Arcto! What can’t you do?”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t do it because of my injuries. Besides, long-range combat isn’t my specialty!”

Arcto, who had been responding by grabbing the horse from the side and shooting arrows of mana forward, shouted as he tore the sleeve of his clothes and tied it around his wound.

It seems like he has enough skill to survive the raid, but the bleeding looks pretty severe.

Enoch watched silently from the side, observing the situation unfold.

It was clear that things were not going well.

Because they could already sense the enemies making a detour behind the alley where they had taken cover.

It seemed like other freelancers noticed that too.

“No! They’re pushing from both sides!”

April looked back and shouted.

“There are far more people bypassing than in front! There’s no cover in the back alley! There’s no escape route!”

April had a gut feeling that this would lead to annihilation, and she chewed her fingernails while holding the rifle.

Then, he looked at Enoch, who was standing still, and glared at him with a venomous look in his eyes.

“You, you too, try something! Aren’t you skilled enough to be dispatched by Sig Corporation?”

Enoch slowly stood up from his seat, ignoring April’s screams.

Anyway, by now the general situation and Pia’s power had been judged.

It was time to start moving.

Enoch spoke calmly to April.

“Ignore what’s coming from both sides and just focus on what’s in front of you. That seems possible.”

“Then what about you? And what about the back!”

Instead of answering, Enoch quickly threw the duralumin case in his hand at April.

She looked at it with blank eyes and glanced over here.

“Huh? You, you… … .”

Enoch slowly lowered his long bag and opened the entrance.

Placing his hand on the sword hilt revealed from within, Enoch walked towards the battlefield in the darkness behind him.

“Because I alone am enough for the rest.”

***

The scavengers, approaching from behind an alley, looked momentarily dumbfounded.

“What? You’re walking so confidently?”

A black-robed figure walking towards the middle of an alley with no shelter, holding only a sword.

The lead scavenger trooper snorted.

“I’m going crazy because I’m surrounded.”

But the moment he said that,

A gleaming silver sword light was drawn in a straight line.

“Huh, huh?”

As Enoch passed by, his sword in his hand returning, the man’s head fell to the ground, blood gushing out, and rolled away.

Enoch, with his hood pulled down, simply swung his sword once with a blank expression and walked away, scattering the blood on his sword.

The gang members at the back hesitated.

“What, what’s going on… … !”

In the darkness, a pitch-black figure hidden behind the hood of a long robe held a long sword emitting a cold light.

The gang members, who had come to their senses, began to yell at each other.

“What the heck is that! Kill it, kill it!”

“Just shoot them before they get close! They’ll make a hive!”

As they each aimed for their own turf, Enoch, who had been walking, suddenly kicked the ground.

[Explosive Sword]

Taaaaang!

Enoch, who had been closing the distance as if shooting straight ahead, had already turned his sword towards the enemy at the front and was closing in on him.

“Huh, huh! What speed─!”

The scavengers were astonished and raised their saddle.

However, the distance between the two sides is already close enough that they can touch each other if they stretch out their arms. From here on out, it is not long-range magic, but swords and close combat that will take place.

Wedge!

The sword, which gave off a dark blue light along with a sharp sound, raced through the air, drawing cutting lines in all directions.

The enemy holding the spear had his arms and neck cut off, spraying blood in a circular pattern in the air, and his corpse rolled to the ground.

Right next to him, a member of the scavenger troop hastily raised his shield and completed his magic circle.

Enoch evaded the attack by running straight ahead and kicking the ground, jumping high into the air. Before he could even land on the ground, the sword slashed vertically from the darkness.

“Keeeeek!”

The scavenger member who was hit by the fatal blow fell backwards with a single scream, blood spraying out. As soon as he landed on the ground, he spun around and grabbed his sword.

Enoch’s body moved with a strong rotation, causing his jet-black robe to flutter in the wind.

For a split second, I could clearly see the fluttering hem of the robe blocking the enemy’s blood from flying towards my face.

“Ugh! Kill that kid! Kill him!!”

A scavenger running straight towards us.

A translucent hammer made of glowing mana appeared in the sky and fell straight down on Enoch’s head.

At the same time, Enoch confirmed it with his cold eyes and swung his sword. A sword line resembling flowing water was drawn from the longsword he held in both hands.

[Countercurrent]

Chaaaaang!

The two-handed sword draws a smooth trajectory and rotates once,

The hammer, deflected by the sword and flying with mana sparks as if swept away by a current, crashes into the ground in vain, splitting the ground and scattering in all directions.

At such an absurd incident, the scavenger who had been swinging his hammer could clearly be seen opening his eyes in shock, the whites of his eyes turning bloodshot.

As expected. Enoch was sure for a split second.

At least magic with physical substance can now be dealt with without having to evade it.

Peeeeeeeing─

Enoch then turned his sword halfway around and cut down his enemy, then ran straight ahead at lightning speed.

In an instant, he leaps up, grabs the shoulder of the next enemy, kicks off the wall of the building once, and then spins his body to the side.

“Huh, huh!!”

The eyes of the enemies who were casting spells towards this side and rushing for close combat suddenly turned to the sky.

To their eyes, Enoch must have leaped across the dark night sky, trailing a blue light in his wake.

Whirlwind.

Enoch spun around in the air towards his enemy and fell, his sword light flashing for a split second, cutting through the darkness.

Enoch fell straight down and cut down his enemies, and continued his one-sided offensive by fending off attacks from enemies rushing in from around him.

The blood of the enemies sprayed into the sky as the swordsmen struck without stopping and dashed around chaotically, and they fell one after another into the alley.

“Ugh, ugh!!”

One of the last members of the scavenger unit staggered back, clutching his wounds, and aimed his staff again, but it was already too late.

Enoch dashes straight towards the enemy like a bullet.

With a shocking sound like air bursting, he kicked the enemy’s forehead without even giving him a chance to counterattack.

The enemy, who had been hit in the chest with all that impact, flew in a straight trajectory like a piece of paper and hit the outer wall of the building.

The thing that made a loud noise, creating a circular crater centered around its back, shook and dropped its head.

And the darkness behind the building in the alley where the bastard was trapped.

Before we knew it, the enemies who had been maintaining a standoff in a state of panic were shouting loudly.

“Damn it!! If that guy gets close, I can’t use long-range magic because of friendly fire!”

“Then all at once! All at once!!”

Just after the members of the Scavengers had used their heads to make the best judgment they could.

Not only did the enemies who had been hiding in the alley jump out, but also other enemies jumped down from the rooftop of the building in the alley, casting melee magic while raising their mana all at once and shouting.

“There’s absolutely no way to avoid this!!”

But that was what Enoch had to say to them.

Enoch, who immediately kicked the ground and rushed into the middle of the enemy line at the same time, suddenly pulled his two-handed swords wide to the side of his waist─

[Fire wheel]

Taaaaang!

The sword shot out with a sudden burst of blue light, flashing for a moment, and immediately a huge circular cutting line was drawn in the darkness.

The dark blue light spun around three times and dashed forward, cutting down all enemies in all directions with one blow.

The two-handed sword was slower than the one-handed sword I had been using, but because it had a much longer reach, its attack range felt ridiculously long.

To the point where all enemies attacking from all sides were swept away in three consecutive strikes.

“Ugh, ugh!”

Enoch was expressionlessly watching the gang members fall down, blood spurting onto the alley wall, when he heard a desperate scream.

“Boy, die!”

Check out the last one, who is charging forward with a scream and a burning flame wrapped around his arms.

Enoch immediately knelt on one leg, took hold of the sword in one hand, turned it to the side of his left arm, and stabbed.

Phew!

Enoch lowered his stance with one knee bent, and the sword extended behind his back pierced the enemy’s body.

On the other hand, the flames from the enemy’s two arms only brushed past Enoch’s head and back, who was lowering his posture.

Enoch, who had retrieved his sword from the enemy who was collapsing behind him, slowly got up as if to take turns with the enemy.

Before I knew it, a cold silence had fallen in the darkness.

I take a deep breath and sharpen my senses to focus on the battle, making sure there are no more threatening enemies around me.

Whew.

Enoch swung his sword once in the air, calmly shaking off the blood before placing it in the scabbard at his waist and walking away.

Before he knew it, Enoch felt that he had grown much more than before, from the moment he drew his sword, to the series of actions he took in dealing with his enemy, and even leading up to the sword strike.

However, it was still not enough.

In the battle just now, Enoch had not shown all of his skills, nor had he sensed the extent of his growth as he had planned.

Enoch couldn’t fight with all his might against an enemy of this level anymore.

The front of the alley had also become quiet.

It seemed like freelancers also had basic skills.

Enoch took a step back and slowly turned around.

As I was walking back to the alley where the freelancers were earlier, I saw April sitting on the corner of a building with her mouth wide open and her eyes blank.

It seems that he came late to support this side and just saw the battle in real time.

She opened her mouth in a stammering tone, pointing at Enoch with a trembling finger.

“What the heck are you… … .”

April muttered cautiously, as if she couldn’t believe what she had just seen.

“Huh, a close combat wizard? That movement just now… …. So you’re really a level 10 or higher combat wizard?”

Enoch looked down at her and asked calmly.

“Do I have to answer?”

“… … Oh, no. It’s okay.”

For some reason, April’s speech had become much more polite compared to before. It seemed like from now on, they would talk in a more agreeable tone.

Aside from her, the other two freelancers also appeared to be safe. On the other hand, there were no signs of the Scavenger Gang members in the alley ahead.

Although they were clearly inferior to the magicians belonging to Elseid, it was clear that they also had the skills to work as freelancers in the underworld.

But that wasn’t the end.

Rather, it is something closer to the beginning.

April looked around nervously, keeping an eye on Enoch, and spoke cautiously.

“… These guys will still be the lowest ranks. Judging from the communication cut off earlier, the ones who will come in next will be the main Scavenger force. They won’t stay still for the sake of their own prestige.”

“Are you talking about the guys who attacked the PMC that was the bait?”

Enoch thought for a moment.

It was true that things had become a bit complicated.

The outpost is the scavenger’s domain.

Since they already knew the identity of this person, they would know the location in real time, and even if they changed vehicles, it would only be a matter of time before their location was identified.

“First of all, until you leave the outpost, you are within the gang’s sphere of influence.”

Perhaps thinking the same thing, Arcto and another freelance woman approached from the side, holding the bleeding arm, and joined in on the discussion.

“You can expect sporadic fighting to continue while we’re stuck here.”

The freelance woman, who was known for her quiet demeanor, spoke quietly.

“Then, time will be lost and the losses in battle will be great. We will have to wait for follow-up troops to arrive.”

“What is the expected power?”

Arcto shrugged his shoulders at Enoch’s question.

“The PMCs of Sig Industries were wiped out in less than 5 minutes. Even if it was a surprise attack, it’s impossible to slaughter that many combat troops without even being able to communicate with them. There must be a different level of magician mixed in.”

He added in a low voice.

“I think there must be at least a level 10 wizard there who uses unique magic. Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain.”

A 10th level wizard.

April hugged the rifle and trembled, as if feeling a chill at the word.

“10, 10th grade? In the successor to the Scavenger?”

“Yes, so if we leave it like this, it’s disadvantageous for us. We have to find a way to escape somehow. If we keep going like this, we don’t know when we’ll be attacked.”

While they were talking amongst themselves, Enoch bowed his head for a moment and became lost in thought.

It certainly wasn’t a wrong statement.

If we just sit still, the situation will only get worse. It was time for us to find a way to respond appropriately to the situation and take action.

At that moment, I felt the eyes of the freelancers who had been discussing earnestly gather on Enoch, who had been silent until then.

Arcto asked quietly from the side.

“So what are you going to do?”

After seeing the performance earlier, they were curious about the doctor’s performance and were looking at him with eyes filled with considerable anticipation.

A look of anticipation that perhaps they could figure out a way to break through this situation and escape from the scavengers pursuing them.

The worry didn’t last long.

Enoch, who had his hood pulled down, finally raised his head and gave a simple and clear answer.

“We have to sweep everything away from here first.”