Chapter 272: A Spectacular Beginning (3)
Once Lennok successfully gauges the limit that won’t strain his body or leave after-effects, the rest is easy.
As the gap between Lennok’s ideal movements and Chen’s possible actions gradually narrows, the number of branches they can choose from grows infinitely.
Lennok meticulously records and checks the results of all these judgments and intuitions with his purple Mystic Eye, thoroughly distributing the risk to subdue Ho-jeo.
Swish! Swish! Swish!!
The unnecessary flourishes quickly disappear from the movements of the magic threads extending from Lennok’s fingers.
At the same time, Chen’s movements, which were chaotic when he first charged at Ho-jeo, become concise, while the sharpness of his thrown curved blades becomes more diverse.
Manipulating Chen, predicting Ho-jeo’s next move by observing his movements. Patterning them and inputting pre-prepared movements in sequence, with a time delay.
Just like inputting commands, Chen’s curved blades shot out, fearlessly darting around Ho-jeo’s immediate vicinity.
Thump! Thump! Thump!!
Every time Ho-jeo tried to use a powerful technique by altering the properties of his mana, Lennok would exquisitely cut off his breath and disrupt his timing, as if reading his intentions.
Only then did Ho-jeo’s face begin to turn deathly pale, sensing something amiss.
“Th-this is…!!”
He couldn’t read the offense and defense of an opponent he had considered far inferior.
Unlike Ho-jeo, who was flustered by this fact and whose cudgel speed slowed, Chen’s gaze deepened.
This was because he realized that all this mental warfare did not deviate from his own physical capabilities, and that simply by precisely structuring patterns of offense and defense, he could exchange blows with an opponent of a different skill level.
The wizard’s combat logic.
Heard only in words, it could easily sound like a delusion, claiming to bring preposterous armchair theories into reality. However, Lennok’s fighting style, directly manipulating Chen’s body like a puppet, was completely different.
Even as he gripped a curved blade in each hand and dodged the heavy cudgel swung before his eyes, Chen felt it clearly.
The important thing was never to lose the initiative in combat.
Even if he couldn’t completely dominate the battlefield himself, the main point was never to miss the opportunity to choose the minimum number of strategic moves.
To realize that logic, there was only one crucial premise: minimizing the moments of backing down.
In essence, it contained the desperate tenacity of relentlessly pushing forward and climbing over Ho-jeo, that thick wall, until it collapsed.
From the moment he realized that, Chen cleanly abandoned his pride and entrusted his senses to the magic threads that controlled his body.
Instead, he was desperately trying to learn Lennok’s combat logic by clearly observing the offense and defense realized through his body.
A freelancer who was entering his third year in this business. Furthermore, he was acknowledging and accepting that a wizard, who had no ties to direct combat, possessed a sharper and more sensitive warrior’s talent than himself, lying dormant within.
Instead of dodging the shockwave of the cudgel crashing down on his shoulder, he charged forward.
Thud!
He slammed the curved blade in his left hand into the dirt floor of the yard, pulled his arm back, and rolled his body forward.
Chen, who had darted out beside Ho-jeo’s left leg like lightning, flipped his body as if bouncing and threw the curved blade in his right hand.
“……!!”
Clang!!
The moment Ho-jeo twisted the cudgel’s handle to deflect the flying curved blade, Chen used the remaining blade to slash deep into the back of Ho-jeo’s knee.
“That’s enough!!”
But the moment the curved blade was thrown, the form of the subsequent attack must have been determined.
Ho-jeo naturally anticipated the next move and unhesitatingly kicked out his foot, striking Chen.
Thump!
“……!!”
What Ho-jeo’s foot struck was far heavier than he expected.
Ho-jeo’s face hardened completely at the recoil, which was unbelievably strong for Chen’s physical strength, which he had experienced until now.
Cases where combat ability transforms so drastically in a fleeting moment are rare.
Considering Ho-jeo’s experience as a warrior, there was only one possibility.
“…You, surely?”
On Chen’s curved blade, as he withstood the kick and rose, a faint, pale green magical light shimmered.
The basic color of mana is a light blue.
What would it mean if that transparent blue, said to reflect the human soul, began to change its properties?
A change in property that occurs upon reaching the realm of the military mind.
Could he have raised his own level through endless battles, like the warriors of legend?
“…….”
Chen silently picked up the other curved blade that had fallen to the ground and gripped both blades in a reverse grip.
Slowly, as he crouched, there was no longer any hesitation in his eyes.
Behind him, Lennok, who had been fidgeting with the magic threads, just scratched his cheek with a troubled expression.
‘I got too carried away. I hope Chen isn’t disappointed….’
The idea of directly manipulating Chen’s entire body to use him as a vanguard wasn’t bad, but Lennok had gotten excessively immersed because it was more effective than he thought.
The change in mana properties Chen was currently using was not entirely his own achievement.
After Chen realized that Lennok’s mental warfare and intuition far surpassed his own and cooperated with the manipulation without hesitation,
Lennok, getting overly excited, had ended up directly interfering with Chen’s mana itself.
The change in mana properties Chen was currently using was less about his intrinsic growth and more about the mana naturally following the manipulations Lennok made.
After Lennok’s manipulation ceased, that pale green mana would also disappear.
‘It could be dangerous. Should I stop?’
The act of directly interfering with another’s mana, manipulating its flow and use. It would be a good experience for Lennok, but Chen’s safety couldn’t be guaranteed.
Lennok’s sense of mana manipulation was fundamentally different from other wizards.
If he carelessly manipulated Chen’s mana without considering the limits of Chen’s own manipulation abilities, Chen’s body could explode.
“Van.”
But Chen, as if he knew this, quietly called out to Lennok.
“Keep going.”
“…….”
“I can still do it.”
A desperate expression. Lennok ultimately continued to move the magic threads instead of making him retreat.
Chen also knew that the level he had attained was akin to a fleeting miracle, a combination of coincidence and serendipity.
Nevertheless, to not forget this miraculous sensation in his hands, he charged at Ho-jeo, disregarding fear and anxiety.
“Hmph!”
Ho-jeo, who had been staring blankly at Chen, laughed.
“Good. Let’s see this through to the end!!”
Thump!
As Ho-jeo powerfully gripped his cudgel, his mana, heavy and metallic, swirled around it, changing its color.
The true power of the blunt weapon, which Lennok’s incredibly precise suppression had prevented him from unleashing, now revealed itself.
The torrent of mana, majestically swirling around the mace, was a weighty brown.
Two warriors, who had awakened to the change in mana properties, faced each other and charged without hesitation.
Ho-jeo, instinctively realizing he was at a turning point, also let out a sharp cry, his fighting spirit burning.
“Wooooooah!!”
By then, Chen too was screaming wildly, his face flushed.
The moment Chen’s charging form overlapped with Ho-jeo’s action of swinging his cudgel towards the sky from his spot.
CRUMBLE!!
A heavy roar echoed across the ground a beat later.
But it wasn’t Ho-jeo’s massive body that fell.
The handle of the heavy cudgel he had just held snapped, and its head fell off.
“…….”
Ho-jeo’s face went blank, realizing he had not only been outmaneuvered as a warrior but had also been utterly defeated in a direct confrontation.
The head of the Paldun Family, who had been watching, roared.
“Everyone, attack at once!!”
“Hwaaaaaap!!”
At that moment, the Paldun warriors, who had been surrounding the three with hostile gazes, charged at them as if on cue.
CRASH!!!
[I knew it, you cowards!!]
Manson, who had hurriedly drawn his sword, blocked Lennok’s front and began spewing all sorts of curses.
Behind him, Lennok looked up at the Family Head and gave a cold sneer.
“So, this is how it is? Well, if you were scared by just this much, you would have been wiped out long ago.”
“Do you think I’d so easily surrender the authority representing my family…!!”
The Family Head, his beard trembling, sprang to his feet and shrieked at the top of his lungs.
“The opponent is a wizard!! If we deal with him before he can cast his spells, we can pretend nothing happened!”
Their true intentions were obvious, given that they intervened as soon as Ho-jeo’s defeat became clear in a duel where they seemingly had the upper hand.
They had no intention of genuinely granting the authority of a proxy from the start.
Manson quickly swung his sword, securing space and trying to buy Lennok time, but it was already too late.
Other warriors, who had stealthily approached Lennok, easily breached Manson’s covered range and began reaching for Lennok.
Wide-bladed blunt weapons.
Once swung, these weapons easily occupied space and narrowed escape routes, now pouring in from all sides, closing off the path of retreat.
Thud! Thud! Thud!!!
Blows exploded in succession.
Dust and whirlwinds rose continuously, covering the yard in a hazy mist, but there were no traces of hot blood within it.
Lennok, with all ten fingers connected to magic threads, simultaneously deployed five layers of shields covering his body, twisting the impacts from all directions and slamming them into the nearby ground.
The ability to use split-second decision-making to guide Chen’s movements against a warrior like Ho-jeo, while also protecting himself without a single scratch.
Before the other warriors could marvel at the exquisite distribution of power, Lennok, having severed the magic threads from his left hand, lightly brushed off his coat sleeve.
Click!
Immediately after, a metallic object with a bluish luster sprang from Lennok’s left hand, emitting a pale flash.
A double-barreled shotgun. Moreover, it was a rechargeable type that charged mana from the trigger area and pushed it out through the muzzles.
Kiiiiing……!!!
With a sound as if something was violently rotating inside, the crystal on the side of the shotgun turned a strong blue.
The immense pressure leaking from the muzzles even felt like it was creating a faint reverse suction.
The scent of mana was too dense to dismiss it as mere pneumatic pressure.
The warriors, with horrified expressions, frantically tried to retreat, but Lennok pulled the trigger much faster.
Beep-
There was no sound.
Everyone present just felt a ringing in their ears.
Lennok’s mana, compressed to its limit, forcefully propelled the projectiles from both muzzles.
Any remaining output then twisted and exploded in the air, resonating with other mana rotating in the exact opposite direction.
Centered around the shotgun’s bullets, a massive storm erupted.
Bluish mana and wind converged, rotating in reverse, and slammed directly into the courtyard of the Paldun mansion.
The Family Head, who had been watching the distorted battle with an anxious expression, sprang to his feet the moment.
CRASHHHHHH!!
As if devoured by a giant beast, the mansion’s floor was completely crushed and exploded.
“Aaaargh!!”
“Ugh…!!”
The burly warriors who had charged at Lennok groaned in pain beneath the wreckage of the exploded mansion.
They couldn’t withstand the violent magical shockwave and were directly flung into the mansion’s walls, becoming additional projectiles that shattered the wooden structure.
“……!!!”
“What is this… How can a firearm have such power?!”
“Does he still have this much power left…!!”
As someone mutters dazedly, it is indeed impossible for even a double-barreled shotgun to unleash such power, logically speaking.
Mauser, who had gifted this shotgun to Lennok, wouldn’t have expected such power either.
This isn’t something possible by simply amplifying firepower.
Even a rechargeable shotgun has a permissible charging limit, and exceeding that threshold would cause the shotgun’s structure to fail.
However, Lennok had ignored such limits through shooting support magic, constantly charging mana and preheating the shotgun.
It was the result of continuous stimulation and preheating to compress and charge mana for a long time, and then thoroughly protecting that firepower with shooting support magic.
The amount of mana consumed in that last shot was only slightly above Lennok’s total mana capacity.
While it was impossible to use such powerful charged shots consecutively, there was no need to explain the advantage of being able to set aside mana in advance and convert it into real physical force.
In that fleeting moment when everyone was stunned, Lennok quickly seized the opportunity and shouted.
“Manson!!”
[Got it!!]
Manson’s hands, which had been tying down the other warriors with a single charged shot, were now free. Understanding Lennok’s words, he charged towards the Family Head without delay.
The Family Head, noticing Manson’s pursuit amidst the shattered wooden debris, struggled to evade, but there was no one left to help him.
Furthermore, Manson was a freelancer who received top-tier treatment even in Vulcan.
[Annoying old man. Come here!!]
“Ugh!!”
The resolution was instantaneous.
“You cowards!! Let my father go!!!”
Ho-jeo, his face crimson, screamed at the top of his lungs, but no one responded to his plea.
Slash!!
Chen slipped through the split cudgel and deeply cut Ho-jeo’s thigh.
Lennok confirmed Ho-jeo, bleeding and kneeling, immediately pulled out the Compassion of the Archangel from inside his coat and activated a transference spell.
A glowing grenade was jammed into Ho-jeo’s wide-open mouth.
“Aaaaaahhhgghhh!!”
CRACKLE!!!
Ho-jeo’s body, convulsing with the grenade in his mouth, flashed bright blue.
His eyes rolled back, and Ho-jeo collapsed, slamming his head into the ground.