The Sword Genius of the Magic Empire - Chapter 94



Only Noblemtl

“What, what is it?”

April opened her eyes wide and asked blankly.

Not only her, but the two other people who were listening from behind also had expressions on their faces as if they were wondering if she was in her right mind.

“Sweep them away? We’re the successors to the scavengers?”

April protested, visibly embarrassed.

“Hey, don’t make me laugh! Don’t you know that all of the Sig Corporation PMCs were wiped out just now? With just the personnel and power we have here, how can we… …!”

But April caught Enoch’s gaze as he turned around to look at her, wearing a hood, and she swallowed her breath without realizing it.

She hesitated for a moment, looking into Enoch’s eyes, then spoke cautiously, observing his expression.

“That, that’s why! If we’re going to survive here, there has to be a better way than that… …!”

But Enoch had already started moving.

“If you don’t feel like doing it, do it alone.”

Anyway, there is no time to explain everything one by one, and it is difficult to expect them to understand.

In that case, it was necessary to give them a firm and definite answer so that they would follow as much as possible, just like Enoch had done so far.

As expected, the response came back quickly.

“Okay, okay, wait a minute! Do you have plans?”

April, who had brought up the subject, must have thought that they were trying to leave because of her, so she hurriedly followed behind and shouted.

“We’re all going to be targets of the scavengers anyway, so we’d better act together!”

Before I knew it, Arcto and the other female freelancers were following behind me without saying a word.

Arcto also seemed to agree with Enoch’s plan as he hummed softly.

“If you really took out the PMC in one blow, it’s only a matter of time before they catch up to you anyway. So does that mean you’re saying we’ll at least take the initiative in the fight?”

“okay.”

Enoch, who was walking, added with a cold glow in his dark blue eyes from the shadow of his hood.

“If we destroy all the follow-up units that attacked the PMC in reverse, we won’t have to worry about them chasing us until we leave the outpost.”

“that…….”

April, who opened her mouth wide at those words, glanced at Enoch as if to ask if he was serious, but when she realized that she couldn’t see his face or expression because of the mask and hood, she just lowered her head as if she had given up.

“Then what do you think about the rumor that there might be a 10th-level wizard among them?”

“If I thought I would lose, I wouldn’t have chosen this method.”

Enoch glanced over his shoulder.

“First of all, there is one person here who is close to being a level 10, even if he is not a level 10.”

April, who had been following Enoch’s words, was slightly shaken. The person he was referring to as he spoke was the freelance woman who had been the most reserved until now.

She was quietly looking this way, holding a short, bloody, metal wand-shaped weapon in one hand.

A woman wearing a baggy shirt, a thin harness across her chest, and short pants.

Enoch was a freelancer who had been keeping an eye on, although he was nothing compared to April who had been nagging him until now.

Because when I saw him earlier, he was a very skilled person.

“A magic of the stealth series. Is it a unique magic of the perception-obstructing series? It’s not quite level 10, but it seems like the magic is quite well-made.”

When she was fighting the gang members earlier, Enoch had been watching her movements closely.

She quickly deployed a series of perception-obstructing magic on herself from the cover of an alleyway, and moved to flank the enemies faster than anyone else to strike their blind spots.

She simply nodded.

“Did you recognize me during the battle? That’s interesting.”

“It just so happened.”

“Wow, how did you see that?”

April, who was looking at him from the side as if she was a little tired, paid no attention to him and greeted Enoch calmly.

“This is Skia. I just wanted to ask you to confirm, but did you really see me?”

“You repelled the ones who attacked the place where Arcto was hiding after being injured. I also saw you go and take care of the scavenger who first shot the van by yourself. Am I wrong?”

At those words, the wizard named Skia opened his eyes wide in surprise. It was definitely true.

In fact, the reason Enoch was able to recognize the wizard named Skia during the battle was obvious.

No matter how much you try to erase the presence, the mana used to use magic is not hidden.

Unless you’ve reached a level of unique magic, it’s nearly impossible to completely erase Enoch’s presence from his sight.

She introduced herself as Skia and showed off the blood-covered wand she was holding in her hand.

“… … That’s right. It’s amazing that you got to see that far.”

“What? Then you didn’t do anything?”

April glared at Arcto from the side and spoke curtly.

“Slackering during work hours? We’ll have to pay you back later, sir.”

But even as he received her pitiful gaze, Arcto simply glanced at the wound on his arm that was oozing blood and chuckled.

“Okay, I get it. Please, stop looking at me with those eyes that ask what I did. Don’t you feel sorry for that poor middle-aged man who got injured in a surprise attack?”

Enoch answered in a calm tone.

“Well, I don’t know if it’s pitiful, but I have something to ask.”

Arcto, who had been pretending to flirt at those words, seemed to sense something and glanced at Enoch for a moment.

“There’s something I learned from the raid earlier.”

Enoch looked at him coldly and asked calmly.

“You know quite a bit about scavengers, don’t you?”

“… … .”

At those words, the atmosphere around them became tense for a moment.

Enoch slowly opened his mouth and added.

“When I was suddenly shot by a sniper from my vehicle earlier, I wasn’t using any special magic, but I reacted at an unbelievable speed. It was as if I knew where the sniper was coming from.”

A very trivial thing that Enoch was able to catch thanks to his excellent kinetic vision and ability to see the flow of mana.

But there was a lot of information to be gleaned from there.

“Did you know the Scavenger’s sniping point?”

For example, aside from the fact that Arcto is a simple illegal taxi driver and underworld freelancer, he also knows more about Scavengers.

“… … I don’t know how you didn’t find out, but you’re right. It’s not like there’s anything to hide anyway.”

Arcto replied, taking his cigarette out of his mouth.

“I knew that the Scavengers had placed wizards at sniping points in their territory. Of course, their identities were also clearly hidden, so I didn’t think that we would be ambushed like this during transport.”

“Do you know anything about scavengers?”

“I just got involved in making money in the past.”

He shrugged his shoulders calmly.

“All I did was help the scavengers inside the outpost distribute supplies. I found out about their sniping points while I was planning the distribution route. There’s no other relationship beyond that.”

“It doesn’t matter. That’s the information I needed.”

Enoch nodded.

“The scavengers will probably assume that we will quickly get away with our cargo, and will pursue us by the shortest route. Then, it will be easier to predict our route.”

Enoch looked down at him calmly and said.

“There should be a shortest route from here where communication with the PMC was cut off. The scavengers’ follow-up force will arrive that way.”

Arcto scratched the back of his head at Enoch’s words.

“Yeah, that’s not wrong, but… … .”

“We’re going to counterattack the guys that attacked the PMCs earlier. And if there’s a Grade 10, I’ll take care of it.”

“Then. Are you planning to ambush me?”

“I don’t think any further operations will be necessary.”

Enoch said this and tilted his head slightly.

“From there, you guys can figure it out.”

“… … .”

Others who heard Enoch’s words sighed silently. But in the end, no one said that it could not be done.

In the first place, if it were Sig Industries, there would be no reason to recruit cheap, vagrant freelancers when needed.

These people, who have been working in this field for a while, are quite trustworthy as freelancers and are relatively clean magicians, so it was only natural.

April was the first to take a step.

“It’s annoying. The pay was good compared to the request, so I wanted to suck up some honey after a long time, but what the heck… … .”

April grumbled with her mouth pouting, but she decided it was worth listening to that far. She followed Enoch and operated the rifle.

Pulling back on the bolt action lever, she opened the chamber, snatched the brass cartridge that shot into the air with a clear whine, and confirmed the enchanted magic. She added quietly as she casually inserted the cartridge back into the chamber.

“But still. It feels bad to be hit like this. I guess I’ll have to console myself like this.”

At best, a rough plan of action would be sufficient to deal with ordinary members of a gang.

Enoch glanced at Arcto. He was already nodding, seemingly in agreement with the plan Enoch had just outlined.

“I have a guess as to where they’ll come from. I’ll show you around. If we’re going to attack them, we should at least set up a few trap spells here.”

As Enoch walked past the van, which was banged against the wall and spewing black smoke,

Three freelancers followed behind him silently. They were now staring deep into the inner part of the outsourcing area, where the darkness of midnight had fallen.

April said in a low voice.

“Since it’s come to this, let’s finish it quickly. There’s not much time left for transportation.”

Led by Inyoung, who was wearing a pitch-black robe and wielding a sword in the darkness,

The freelancers, who had finished preparing for battle by checking their respective mounts, walked into the deep throat of the outpost.

Whether it’s Enoch or them, those who accepted this job in order to gain benefits through thorough rationality. As such, they will do whatever they have to do perfectly.

Crumbling footsteps echoed through the darkness.

From now on, it is time to counterattack.

***

Abandoned building in the outskirts.

It was a fairly large and spacious building, probably once used as a logistics warehouse. Perhaps because of the ventilation provided by the holes in the exterior walls here and there, the dusty smell wasn’t as noticeable as I had expected.

April, who was lying face down behind a windowless window on the fifth floor of an abandoned building, aiming her rifle-shaped pistol and looking through the scope, suddenly turned her head.

“… … So, is this right? Really?”

She retraced the plan Enoch had mentioned earlier.

“It’s just reckless to ask them to stop the enemy vehicle column by hitting it with an enchanted projectile and then cover the engagement.”

Just below them stretched a wide asphalt road.

A path that must be passed in order to catch up with them in the outer district. That was the stage for the gang’s follow-up force to counterattack.

Enoch said, tilting his head slightly.

“It might be possible if it’s a firearms training ground.”

April’s riding ground, a firearm-type riding ground, is a riding ground with clear advantages and disadvantages depending on its structure and type, aside from its extremely expensive accessibility.

Therefore, even among battle magicians, it was a field where individual preferences were clearly divided according to taste.

But at least Enoch knows the power it can wield when in the hands of a decent wizard.

It didn’t seem impossible for April to carry out an operation of that scale.

“I didn’t say it was impossible, but….”

She still grumbled, as if she was unhappy.

“Hey, I don’t know. If things go wrong, Arctor and Skia will run away using the escape route we talked about earlier. I’ll protect you as much as I can. This is what happens whenever you take on any kind of work.”

Enoch stared calmly at the dark road ahead as he listened to her speak in a voice half filled with anxiety.

Well, if you think about it, Enoch was also a strange person.

The freelancers here, including April, will not be able to expect skills on the level of Shiroko or Lien, who they have seen while fighting alongside them so far.

Still, I didn’t think this operation would fail.

In the first place, what Enoch wanted this time was not just the success of a simple request, but also the measurement of his own growth in real life. Even if they had followed him, it would have been a problem.

When Enoch thought about it that way.

Suddenly he realized that April, who was lying face down, was looking at him curiously.

“By the way. I’ve seen a lot of wizards who use extraordinary magic to engage in close combat, but this is the first time I’ve seen someone like you who fights with just a sword.”

“You’re so interested in nothing.”

April said, seeming a little cautious.

“Oh, don’t worry too much. At least among the freelancers in Outsourcing District 37, it’s an unwritten rule not to reveal in detail how your coworkers handle their work to your employer or anyone else.”

“It’s an unwritten rule.”

“Even if it’s just freelancers, there are rules to keep. If you don’t keep them, you’ll lose all your work. You’ll have to think about putting your life on the line.”

Enoch nodded slightly. As he already knew, it wasn’t a lie.

Although she had guessed, it seemed unlikely that Elena would hear about Enoch using a sword through the freelancers.

April shrugged.

“However, I have never heard of a skilled person with such characteristics among my colleagues. So it is natural to be curious.”

“Why?”

At those words, April glanced over.

“Hmm, you’re definitely not a freelancer or a beginner?”

She said with a small sparkle in her eyes.

“The reason is obvious. If you have a good partner in the same city, you sometimes lose work. You wouldn’t be a freelancer without knowing that. Honestly, if you were a freelancer, I think your name would have already been known here and there.”

Enoch stared at her for a moment. Only after listening to her did he realize that April had been slyly chatting away.

I guess I took a bite out of it.

But since it had come to this, I thought it would be a good idea to just talk to April a little more.

Anyway, if we could find out what she knows about this, it would be quite helpful in hiding her identity and operating in the future.

“Is my fighting style that unique?”

“Well, it’s because there are so many other named freelancers with strong magic or personalities. It’s true that it’s unique.”

She said as she looked at the sword at Enoch’s waist.

“I don’t even know what magic he uses, whether it’s a unique magic or something else. Are you really a wizard?”

She added jokingly, glancing this way.

“Besides, you didn’t seem to have any qualms about taking out the attackers earlier, and seeing you listen to the banter of a freelancer who just keeps getting work like this makes me wonder if you’re not such a bad person after all.”

Enoch felt that April’s speech was taking too long and he slowly changed the subject.

“Judging from the fact that you’ve been talking about work since a while ago, it looks like you need a lot of commission.”

“Of course. In fact, I need to earn commissions with this one gun and send money back to my hometown.”

She said with a serious expression, tapping her index finger near the trigger rhythmically.

“A younger sister who has to be fed because her family is so poor? And on top of that, her parents are sick? What? She has to pay for her school fees too? So… … .”

She stuttered nonchalantly, her voice trailing off as if she were constantly making up stories on the spot.

Enoch took a shooting stance on the floor and looked down at her as she lay face down, then said.

“If you’re going to lie, don’t make it long.”

“Hehehe. That’s right, it’s all a red lie.”

April looked back and smiled playfully, as if she had no intention of deceiving me in the first place.

“Simply put, money is good. In the future, when I save up, I want to live in a better place than the cramped corner of that rented apartment in the outskirts. Who in this world doesn’t like money?”

She said, turning her gaze to the scope.

“And, as a side note, it’s better to work as a relatively clean freelancer and clean up the things you don’t like.”

“It seems that scavengers have quite a reputation.”

“… … I believe you’re not asking because you don’t know. They’re famous for treating non-magicians who have been pushed out to the outskirts like livestock for slaughter. They even kill innocent people indiscriminately if you offend the gang even a little bit.”

“Because they are livestock for slaughter.”

Booooooo!

By the time Enoch had muttered that far.

Through the silence of the darkness, a loud noise began to be heard from the road in the distance.

“You come when I tell you to… …!”

April broke off the small talk and spoke calmly.

“650 meters ahead, multiple vehicles approaching. Three trucks and ten escort bikes. Make some noise.”

She kept her eyes on the scope while maintaining a binocular shooting stance, checked the markings on the body, and calmly briefed.

“Scavengers. This is the mark of the follow-up processing unit.”

“okay.”

Enoch added with a calm look in his eyes, slowly placing his hand on the hilt of the longsword at his waist.

“Get ready.”

April put her finger on the trigger.

Mana coalesced from her fingers, and the metal trigger of the rifle glowed, secretly glowing with her pink mana.

Kiiing-

And with the roar of the engine filling the asphalt road that had been shrouded in darkness, the headlights illuminated the surroundings.

Booooooooooooo!

April held her breath slowly.

The procession of vehicles approaches quickly.

The acrid exhaust fumes from speeding vehicles stung my nostrils, and the fierce engine noise vibrated the interior of the abandoned warehouse.

Soon, a procession of bikes and trucks on the road began to pass in front of the abandoned warehouse building, clearing the veil of midnight darkness.

And at that very moment,

April pulled the trigger.