21st Century Archmage

Chapter 101: The Granted Prey

“I-I have to inform him quickly.”

One of Duke Hanskane’s secret confidants, the court mage Viscount Tolstein, had spent a few days in the secret magic tower for a magic experiment. When he came out, the world was different.

The Royal Family and Royal Knights that were merely cripples because of the pressure from every noble faction, including Duke Hanskane’s, had changed. Their blades gleaming wickedly, they invaded the households of the nobles that had insulted and scorned the Royal Family all this time and captured the women as well as the children.

There was no such thing as noble privilege. Anyone who resisted was labeled a traitor and executed on the spot.

With a trembling hand, Tolstein stood with a lumikar reserved for emergency use. There was no knowing when the Royal Knights would come charging in, so he looked uneasily at the room door that was sturdily locked with magic before releasing the lumikar out the open window.

‘I can’t even use Fly…’

The Royal Palace was locked down. There were soldiers armed with bows and various weapons glaring frostily from the ancient castle walls.

Thud thud!

“Receive the Royal Decree, traitor Court Mage Tolstein!”

“!!”

While he was contemplating how to make his escape, someone thudded on the locked door to the magic tower as if to bash it.

“Break it down!”

“As you command!”

The Royal Knight outside impertinently ordered his subordinates to break down Tolstein’s door, even though Tolstein was fairly important among the court mages.

Crash!

A mana-charged axe crashed down onto the Lock-enspelled door, splintering it.

Crash! Craaaash!

The axe came down again and again. Piercing through the door, the axe’s bloodthirsty, blue gleam of mana sent waves of terror through Tolstein’s body as his knees buckled on the spot with a moan.

He might be a 5th Circle mage, but he was well aware that there was no escaping the current crisis. The moment he cast Fly, the ballistas and arrows from archers would turn him into a pincushion.

CRAAAASH!

The sturdy door was loudly destroyed, and ten Royal Knights walked in with blue mana swords.

Their razor-sharp, imposing aura made Viscount Tolstein pee himself in abject terror.

“Arrest him!” ordered a Royal Knight coldly.

Steel rang out as the knights stepped forward.

Everything was settled in mere moments.

With most of their lords off on the punitive expedition, the remaining leftovers scattered around the Havis Kingdom bowed their heads before the Royal Decree.

With a shocking speed, thousands of nobles and their family members who had sullied the Royal Family’s name were dragged to the castle’s prison or stripped of their titles and turned into slaves.

It was an extreme, decisive purging that no one had expected.

* * *

Fwiiiip!

‘That’s right, keep firing!’

I was out of their range, but the impatient Skyknights hurled Blessed Spears all the same. Filled with mana, the spears glowed with a fearsome blue aura, but they were completely unthreatening and fell to the ground far away from me and Bebeto.

‘Shall we start the thrashing?’

From what I could tell, besides the 30 wyverns giving chase, there were no others. They were dead set on catching us, so the idiots had come a long distance within no time.

‘Just in time.’

Five wyverns appeared in the air, waiting just like I had commanded them to. They were the beastmen who had butchered dozens of demon beasts during the recent monster subjugation. Even though there were five of them and just one of me, I was still shocked by the number of demon beasts they managed to slay. Their nonchalant words that hunting was the easiest thing to do in the world made me shut up and acknowledge them as master hunters.

“Bebeto, ascend!”

I raised the reins slightly, guiding his head towards the sun.

Flap, flap, flap flap flap flap!

The incredible strength of Bebeto’s muscles were relayed to me via the powerful beats of his wings. He surged into the air with a speed that made me think we could even reach the sun at this rate, this was a specialty of Bebeto’s that no other wyvern could imitate. In mere moments, the wyverns chasing Bebeto were left far in the dust.

‘What a shame.’

If they were from any other kingdom, I could have added to the territory’s wealth by hunting them all down, but I couldn’t just swallow the pitiful Havis Kingdom’s wyverns as I pleased.

Rosiathe’s face as she tearfully begged me to help her came to mind.

Wooooooosh.

After shaking off the enemy wyverns and rising, Bebeto slowly whirled in the air, turning his nose downwards.

‘…..!!’

As expected, it was Bebeto’s special vertical rollercoaster. My heart thumped and raced in anticipation of the coming excitement.

In my right hand was a Blessed Spear, and in my left were the reins.

“…..”

The moment Bebeto’s enormous frame reached the turning point and was perfectly leveled out, I felt a moment of weightlessness, like my body was floating in the air.

But that moment quickly ended. My body felt like it was falling…before an electrifying sensation rippled throughout my body.

Swooooooooooooooooooooooooooosh.

Folding in his wings, Bebeto began plunging towards the earth like a reinforced bomber plane.

The cloak around my neck whipped wildly behind me as if trying to fly away.

‘OOHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!’

Bebeto’s flight stunt gave me a rush of excitement that no theme park attraction in the 21st century could come close to. Powerful pressure struck my body, making me feel like I would have already disintegrated if not for my airplate and helmet.

‘Have a taste of this!’

This was the new wyvern-and-Skyknight hunting technique I had invented after a lot of deliberation on how to hunt wyverns that came as a group. To be specific, it was important that the wyverns were kept alive, so the problem was defeating the Skyknights while making sure the wyverns were not injured.

And this is what I came up with.

“Light Missile!”

Light Missile, a spell without any physical offensive force, sparkled from the decent amount of mana I put in, glowing pure white as it passed by the enemy wyverns in no time.

‘One, two, three, four, five! NOW!’

After finding me suddenly right above their heads, the Skyknights flailed in surprise. Bebeto and I were plunging far too quickly for them to fire their spears.

“Air Bomb!!!!!!”

Throwing a spear as a decoy, I cast a spell right afterwards.

Flash! The spear flew at an incredible speed towards the wyvern at the front, followed by a glowing ball of magic.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

And then, it exploded.

The 4th Circle modification magic, Air Bomb, didn’t have much offensive force to speak of, but it was the perfect spell for surprising your opponent or frightening off monsters.

The mana and air were compressed and then exploded with a massive boom that shook the skies.

Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaak!

Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaak!

The sudden magic explosion had blasted away the wyverns’ hearing. Even the Skyknights were no different—they were trembling atop their wyverns, clutching their helmets with both hands. I could imagine their agony just by looking at them.

“Wind Arrow!”

“Wind Arrow!”

Then came the Wind Arrows, a precise, offensive spell.

The Skyknights were definitely suffering from burst eardrums due to the explosion, and there were no spears in their hands. Most of them had fallen to the ground as soon as the Skyknights reached up to block their ears.

At that moment, the beastmen flew quickly to hem the wobbling wyverns and skillfully cast Wind Arrows that shed not a single inkling of bloodthirst. Thick Wind Arrows the size of orc legs filled with 5th Circle mana dispatched one Skyknight after another, overwhelming the defenses of the airplates and causing them to faint on the spot.

‘You guys sure are handy.’

The beastmen settled things cleanly and with brutal frankness, like sushi masters filleting a fish. They put all the Skyknights on their wavering wyverns to sleep.

“Wind Press!”

Then, a Wind Press was very kindly cast on the wyverns that were roaming around, having lost all semblance of a formation.

Kwaaaaak!

Kyaaaaaaaak!

Struck first by the sound attack and now by a Wind Press, the wyverns all screeched as they flailed in the air like birds drowning in water.

Thuuuud! Thud! Thud!

The Wind Press from me and the beastmen grounded the wyverns one after the other.

‘It would have been harder if there were more of them.’

The Skyknights hadn’t been able to counteract this unprecedented attack method. Without a wyvern that could fly as well as Bebeto and a mage who could cast magic in an unstable position like I could, you couldn’t successfully pull off an attack like this.

The knights and hundreds of soldiers on standby appeared and took custody of the wyverns and Skyknights that had landed. Like I instructed, they poured healing holy water over the wyverns and made them drink a powerful sedative. Of course, the Skyknights were also dragged off and cuffed with mana bracelets.

‘Huhu, ka-ching.’

There was no such thing as free. I was doing this because of Rosiathe’s request, but I needed to earn at least the “minimum” amount to make it worth my while.

“My lord! More enemies are coming!”

Cedrian’s voice came from the magic communicator installed in my helmet.

‘Let’s make the most out of today.’

The weather was getting colder and colder. If snow began to fall, my soldiers might catch colds, so it was time to finish things.

‘200 wyverns! Just know that you’re all done for!’

I led Bebeto towards the skies above Gadain Castle.

Ahead of us lay the match that would determine the fate of Nerman and the Havis Kingdom.

* * *

“Mm…”

After rushing the soldiers, they arrived at the plains in front of Gadain Castle. Duke Hanskane unconsciously let out a groan after seeing the substantial castle-like-fort made of sturdy, grey stone. An inexplicable foreboding was surging from the depths of his heart, a feeling that began to bud since seeing that bastard yesterday night.

“Your Excellency, the Skyknights have not returned,” said the adjutant who was Hanskane’s shadow with a dark voice, looking at Gadain Castle.

Of the 30 or so Skyknights who had chased Nerman’s Lord, Kyre, not a single person had returned.

“They might have chased him far, so do not be shaken.”

‘They can’t all be…’

Hanskane told his adjutant not to be shaken, but he felt a shiver of fear.

‘It doesn’t matter. The fall of Gadain Castle will spell the end of Nerman.’

The purported 40+ Nerman Skyknights hadn’t yet appeared, but he wasn’t scared of them. In addition, the paladin Skyknights had joined the army, so there was no way they would lose in military force.

“How would you like to proceed?”

“Have the soldiers had their break?”

“They have had a simple meal, so there should be no problem beginning the battle now.”

Even without the adjutant’s words, Hanskane was well aware of the condition of the army. The soldiers had marched at rapid speed, but after a meal and a short rest, they looked to be full of vigor.

“The composition of the enemy soldiers is the same as before?”

“There are archers and just a few infantrymen atop the castle walls. If you give the order to attack, sir, we will be able to seize the castle before sundown.”

The Duke nodded at his confident adjutant’s words. He didn’t know what the bastards were up to, but the number of soldiers defending Gadain Castle was far too little. The enemy had definitely divided their forces because it was possible to make a detour around Gadain Castle and attack Denfors directly. Moreover, the elite soldiers in Nerman’s northern area couldn’t leave their posts—Hanskane had heard that monsters and hungry Temir wolves were greedily looking for a chance to strike.

“But there is something strange.”

“Something strange?”

“More war horses than expected have been seen in the castle’s stable and in the nearby vicinity.”

“You should call that something to be grateful for rather than strange.”

The nobles and knights affiliated with his territory were a hundred times more reliable than the other dumb nobles. They were standing on standby around the Duke.

‘There’s no reason to delay any longer. We shall begin the attack at once.’

The sun was already past its highest point and slowly creeping westward. They had to avoid fighting a night battle where friend or foe became indistinguishable.

“Relay the order to attack. Leave only 50 wyverns to defend the skies; the rest will attack the castle. At the same time, besides the cavalry, all soldiers will lay siege to the castle as soon as the wyverns strike. This order goes into effect immediately. Men, follow me and take off!”

“YES, SIR!”

The order to attack they had all been waiting for finally came from the Duke’s mouth. The knights on standby shouted an energetic salute.

The horn to attack rang long and loud over the plains. The army had held a rough strategy meeting regarding the attack on the way here, so the nobles and Skyknights with wyverns swiftly went aloft.

The soldiers who had enjoyed a meal and a short rest hastened to pick up their weapons. Everyone knew that because of the supply train ambush, if they didn’t seize the castle in front of them today, they would starve tonight.

“Forward, march!”

“Shield squads move to the front!”

“Soldiers of the Kerlow Territory should move to the left!”

No matter how much of a ragtag army this was, after receiving Hanskane’s order, the men of Havis fell into an attack position in perfect order under the command of the knights.

Their hurried steps created a cloud of red dust from the dry earth on the cusp of winter.

No one could imagine what kind of party was prepared for them in Gadain Castle.

* * *

“We’ll go around.”

After the Havis punitive army began moving towards Gadain Castle, Daterian, the leader of the paladins, gave an order to the men waiting for his command.

Their goal was to secure Priestess Aramis without fail. Because of that, they were located behind the Havis soldiers, maintaining a distance where they couldn’t be seen from Gadain Castle.

‘Somehow, I have a bad feeling about this war.’

Priest Daterian suddenly remembered the ominous dream he’d had last night, a gruesome nightmare where a spear shining blue with mana had pierced through his chest. It was only a dream, but he still could not forget his vivid fear long after opening his eyes.

“Hiya!”

All the paladins were mounted. Daterian whipped his horse forward, taking the lead.

Thud thud thud thud thud.

The other paladins followed him like lionesses running behind the male lion.

Kiooooooooooooooo!

Low above their heads flew 10 wyverns from the church in defensive formation.

Their destination was not Gadain Castle, where a battle was breaking out, but Denfors, the city on the other side of the hills…

“It’s quite impressive.”

Standing next to me in the watchtower, Cedrian exclaimed as he watched the countless enemies marching towards the castle walls. He might have been a successful mercenary in the past, but even he would have had a hard time sightseeing a battle of this scale. Moreover, a great number of wyverns were swiftly going into the air, blotting out the sky like a massive flock of birds migrating for the winter.

‘Come. I’m hungry.’

I could not be soft about the battle ahead. Showing a pathetic sense of mercy would only result in my knights and soldiers getting hurt.

The knights hiding in the castle quietly assumed positions suitable for attack in the watchtowers and on the castle walls. The enemy was not yet aware of these men, who were taking up positions next to the regular soldiers. They numbered an exact 1,000.

In their hands were spears of death that would guide the enemy wyverns to the gates of hell.

Ping!

The sound of string being drawn taut came from the watchtower next to us. The ballistas made by the dwarves to counter wyverns were fitted with bolts coupled with mithril arrowheads.

“My liege, I believe it is time to go aloft. The enemy wyverns are preparing to bombard the castle.”

The sky was steadily filling with dark clouds. I could see a group of wyverns in a defensive formation and wyverns lifting into the air with large logs and boulders in their claws. A cloud of grey wyverns flew into the sky like a murder of crows.

My heart thumped wildly. I was trying to be strong, but in this match, the fates of myself, Nerman, and the Havis Kingdom were hinging on this battle.

Like in any battle where lives were on the line, at the end, the victor would be smiling, and the loser would be as still as death itself. A cold, dead corpse could speak no more, after all.

“I wish you success in battle.”

“We will present victory to you, my liege!”

“SAAAALUTE!”

Several knights followed Cedrian’s confident words with a vigorous salute.

A long whistle rang out.

Guoooooooooooo!

Flap flap flap flap flap flap.

Bebeto let out a long roar from the hangar inside the castle and flew towards me.

I jumped from the watchtower, then felt Bebeto’s saddle under my feet. Clicking the safety ring into place, we flew into the sky.

It was time to get this perfectly prepared party started.

Wooooooooosh.

The frosty winter wind blew over the land, which was teeming with bloodthirst and tension.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The enemy infantry was swarming towards the castle like hungry ants, their shields in front of them.

Kwaaaaaaaa!

Kiuuuuuuuuuuu!

And the air was filled with the cries of wyverns anticipating a battle.

“Huhu…”

Cold laughter flowed from my lips and out the helmet.

My thumping heart warmed with the excitement of battle.

Because the blood flowing through my body right now was the crimson blood of a wild beast…

* * *

‘What are you up to?!’

Riding his beloved wyvern, Duke Hanskane went high into the air, where he could see Nerman’s expansive plains and all of Gadain Castle in one glance.

The only wyvern that appeared above the castle was the hybrid wyvern of Nerman’s Lord, Kyre, and it was even flying high and away from the battle, as if fleeing.

‘Just what is this foreboding feeling…’

Since his birth, he had overcome three incidents where he almost met death. The first was during the veiled fight for succession among his brothers before becoming a duke, the second was after he became a duke and suffered a cowardly attack from hired assassins, and the third and final time was when he consumed an unknown poison in his food several years ago.

Even after overcoming those critical moments, he had never felt a sense of foreboding this potent before.

It was obvious that they had overwhelming force. The lines of infantry advancing upon the castle were not just awe-inspiring, but outright beautiful. They had so many wyverns flying into the air that one would not even fear a battle with an empire.

But he felt uneasy.

The 30 wyverns and Skyknights who chased Kyre did not return, but Kyre and his hybrid wyvern appeared unscathed. The thousands of soldiers atop the walls of Gadain Castle could never be a match, but Hanskane’s uneasiness refused to abate.

‘No. There’s no way we will lose.’

With their overwhelming advantage in numbers, even an 8th Circle archmage would be unable to stop them.

Flap flap flap flap.

Carrying the boulders and logs they’d prepared, the ground-bombardment wyverns steadily approached Gadain Castle. Duke Hanskane flew at the very back, guarded by 30 wyverns under his banner. It would not take much. A single bombing would crush the morale of the soldiers guarding the castle and the battle would be finished.

Swoooooosh.

And then, the wyverns reached the skies above the castle and began to descend. If they bombarded from a high altitude, the wind could make them miss their targets, so they had to go down to 200-300 meters above the castle.

Over a hundred wyverns were folding their wings, about to bombard the castle.

It was truly a rare sight.

‘That’s right, this is only natural. How could they think to fight off wyverns with such a shoddy—Ah!’

He did see a few ballistas drawn with arrows, but Hanskane knew they could not possibly pose a threat. Far from piercing wyvern armor, arrows couldn’t even penetrate the hide, and without tracking guidance, wyverns wouldn’t just stand around idly and let themselves get hit.

But just then, the Duke was alarmed by the sight of hundreds of mana lights suddenly blooming to life.

Spearthrowers had appeared among the archers atop the walls. The spears in their hands were glowing with an all-too-familiar mana light.

‘B-Blessed Spears!!!’

It wasn’t just one or two. There appeared to be at least a thousand Blessed Spears, an enormous number that could heavily injure at least 50 wyverns.

‘Oh! My goodness…’

Hanskane suddenly recalled something—not long ago, the Herz Mercenaries who joined Nerman were all Grade 1 mercenaries who could use mana.

Flash!

Fwip fwip fwip fwip fwip fwip fwip!

“NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!”

A guttural scream blasted from Hanskane’s helmet.

At the same time, hundreds of Blessed Spears gleamed mercilessly as they flew into the sky like a rain of lightning bolts, hurtling towards the 100 wyverns plunging towards the castle in a bombardment.

* * *

BAM BAM BAM BAM.

KYAAAAAAAAK!

KUAAAAAAAAK!

KAAAAAAK!

It happened in an instant.

1,000 Blessed Spears flew towards the wyverns descending with heavy boulders and logs. The Blessed Spears I had robbed from the enemy Skyknights I had faced so far became spears of hell in the hands of 1,000 elite knights.

The result was evident.

No matter how wide the sky was, there was absolutely no way the girthy wyverns could escape the tightly stitched net of death. Of course, there were some Skyknights who sensed the danger and activated the Shield on their wyvern armor, but that wouldn’t protect the wings. Also, from this range, the Blessed Spears could easily punch through wyvern armor.

THUUUD! THUD! THUD!

‘It’s over!!!’

The wyverns dropped from the sky, defeated by an incredible attack method no one had expected. All of them were hit by Blessed Spears and crashed to the ground.

Only 10 wyverns from the bombarding party had survived. Their wings were ripped, so the wyverns discarded their boulders and logs and fled with their tails tucked. It was obvious that both the Skyknights and the wyverns were shitting themselves with fear.

‘They’re coming now.’

I could spot them now—the territory Skyknights I was proud of were appearing far in the distance, right on time.

Ryker and Viscount Janice’s flight coming from Fort Ciaris, Sir Shailt’s flight from Orakk Castle, and the flight on standby in Denfors. Combined with the beastmen flying next to me, 47 wyverns altogether were closing the net around the Havis Kingdom trash who were in a state of disarray after seeing their countrymen’s instant defeat.

“Bebeto, let’s go!” I shouted to Bebeto, who was patiently biding his time.

Guoooooooooooo!

Bebeto let out his characteristic roar, the rippling muscles of his wings moving in perfect harmony.

Swooooooooooosh!

The wind whistled all around us.

The prey granted to me was over there, the pitiful soul watching his worst nightmare unfold from the sky.

* * *

‘……’

Slack-jawed and wide-eyed, Duke Hanskane watched the violent sight occuring before his eyes. The admirable flock of wyverns filling the sky just moments ago was nowhere to be seen, leaving only the 60-70 wyverns reserved for defense flying in a disorderly panic in the sky.

Schwiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip.

Baaaaaam!

“Kyaaaaaaaaaak!”

And that wasn’t all.

The infantry had advanced until they were 1 kilometer away from Gadain Castle, but due to the enormous bolts that shot across the plains, they were skewered, 10 men at a time.

Schwip! Baaaam!

“Uwaaaaaah!”

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaak!”

The volley did not end there. The outrageous arrows of the ballistas shot forward at regular intervals. The file of soldiers that had marched confidently towards the castle began to grow ragged.

Thud thud thud thud thud thud thud!

And then, he saw it.

The castle gate had opened, revealing thousands of horses that charged towards the Havis Kingdom army after forming ranks.

“Haah…”

He should be giving a command to block the charging cavalry, but what came out of his lips was a long sigh. Hanskane closed his eyes tightly, his head throbbing.

Bam!

Kyaaaaaaak!

“F-FLY!”

But he could not even do that for long. A scream suddenly came from behind him. Duke Hanskane turned rapidly and stiffened on the spot. One of the Skyknights from his duchy had cast Fly in an emergency flight, his wyvern crashing from a Blessed Spear that had pierced it from the back.

“W-Wyverns!”

An unidentified group of wyverns had appeared behind them.

Swoosh!

KYAAAK!

Not only that, but a spear flying from the side struck his wyvern armor and bounced off, sparks flying.

‘We’re surrounded!’

To his shock, in mere moments, dozens of wyverns had appeared as if everything had been arranged beforehand. They were fewer than the Havis Kingdom wyverns, but they appeared in perfect flight formation, prepared to attack, inspiring utter fear. The Havis Kingdom Skyknights had already lost all semblance of a fighting spirit. They didn’t receive a command to retreat, but they began to desperately flee.

‘We, we’ve lost…’

Duke Hanskane finally realized what that foreboding feeling was. He thought they were attacking Nerman all this time, but in actuality, they were merely wretched bugs caught in a spiderweb.

Thud thud thud thud thud!

BAM!

“Kyaaaaaaaak!”

“R-RETREAT!”

“AAHHHH, SAVE ME!!”

The situation on the ground was a mess as well. The men below had clearly seen the kingdom’s wyverns crashing down. Their wits were first cracked by the ballista bolts hurtling towards them from the castle, then completely shattered by the thousands of cavalry charging towards them, leaving the army in disarray. The soldiers of the nobles threw down their all-important weapons and scrambled back the way they had come, kicking up a cloud of red dust.

“R-Retreat! Everyone, retreat to the kingdom!!”

Duke Hanskane gave the command to retreat.

Schwiiiiiip! Schwip schwip schwip!

KWAAAAAAAK!

The collapsed ranks below were mirrored in the air. The sky was large, but the enemies were coming in on all sides, confusing the judgement of the Skyknights. When the Skyknights that had still been maintaining defense formation heard the order to retreat, they split up, swerving towards the gaps without enemies.

‘OH! GODS ABOVE!’

Hanskane gave an entreaty to the gods for the first time in a while.

Leading a few Skyknights who continued to fly around him for his protection, Duke Hanskane turned around.

Only a few minutes, barely enough time to finish a meal, had passed, but he was deeply entrenched in the despair of irreversible defeat.