The Book Eating Magician

Chapter 24

Night In The Nadun Mountain Ranges #2

Meanwhile, at the head of the procession, an entirely different scene was unfolding.

The number of hobgoblins at the front was incomparable to the those at the rear. It was difficult to measure the number of hobgoblins appearing in the darkness, and they charged forward while equipped with armour and weapons.

Kuwaaaack!

Kieeek! Kiyaaak!

Around 10 minutes after that…

Pasak!

Vince stepped on a lump of charcoal at his feet with a cold expression. Few traces were left of the hobgoblins who had just been attacking. The only thing left behind was the melted metal from their armor.

The imposing figure of one man was standing over the traces. There were over 100 traces struck together, which meant at least 100 hobgoblins had been killed in 10 minutes.

‘T-This is a 5th Circle master…!’

Gordon’s eyes were wide with astonishment as he looked at Vince.

He’d thought he understood the significance of the existence of a magician, but the scene Vince had just showed was much more than he had ever imagined. Gordon clearly realized why it wasn’t knights but magicians who were said to dominate the battlefield.

Above all else, the fearsome thing wasn’t the horror created by the flames.

“How trivial.”

The magician who had turned 100 hobgoblins into chunks of charcoal was the terrifying thing.

Even though they were hobgoblins and not people, Vince had casually burned 100 of them to death. Thanks to that, Vince and the others had survived, but the mercenaries couldn’t help gulping with expressions which didn’t hide their horror.

No, in a way, this was Vince’s essence.

He had the image of a good teacher at the academy, but the number of humans which Vince had killed on the battlefield couldn’t be counted. The power of a 5th Circle war magician, especially a fire war magician, was literally at the level of a siege weapon. Over the decades of his life, Vince had killed more than 100 people in one battle.

At one time, he had been called, ‘Destruction by Fire’ or ‘Fire Killer Vince.’

“Gordon.”

“Huh? Ah, ah, yes!” Gordon was surprised at the sudden call and barely replied.

“Send some people to the rear. Perhaps the hobgoblins also hit that area. It looks like they have responded properly, but there might be more than one commander.”

Vince wanted to go to the rear, but if he left his current location, the whole front lines would be in danger.

The hobgoblins had already been defeated, but there was still the commander. If Vince left without finishing off the commander, he would be leaving behind deadly consequences. The defeated hobgoblins would evolve into more cunning and vicious enemies.

Standing there was a hobgoblin shaman holding a staff.

“…Is it an artifact?”

It was a wooden staff with a purple crystal embedded in it. Despite the coarse workmanship, the level of magic power coming from it was significant. Perhaps the staff was what allowed the hobgoblin to withstand his fire.

Vince hadn’t expected to find such a good gift in this place.

“I guess I better hurry.”

He could feel that the waves of magic power in the rear were becoming more intense. The sound of metal screaming didn’t stop. If a commander-level enemy appeared in the rear, then Theodore would suffer.