LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 209 - The Scarecrow's Prayer (10)
It wasn’t difficult to notice Arcana’s management unit entering the forest.
If it were only one or two magicians, they could have gone undetected, buried in the forest’s mana flow, but if more than twenty entered, it would affect the entire forest.
Of course, that was also possible because all the magicians who entered the forest were first-rate magicians of the 5th tier or higher.
“65 people, did only some of them come for advance scouting?”
Arcana’s management unit was composed of a total of 4 units.
The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd management units were each in charge of combat with a total of 80 members, while the 4th management unit was in charge of combat support with 40 members.
In effect, up to 240 people were participating in the battle.
They were among the best magician forces in Arcana, which had various organizations under its command.
They were all so elite that if lost, “Arcana 01, The Magician” would shed tears of blood.
“They’ve split into two.”
I used Eunha, the light spirit, to grasp the movements of the enemies from afar.
Although it consumed a lot more mana than usual due to the forest’s mana, it was still manageable since I was wearing a white bracelet.
It seemed to be thanks not only to the bracelet but also to the fact that the source of my mana originated from the Witch of the Four Disasters and the special nature of spirits.
The negative-dimensional mana that filled this forest was created by converting mana extracted from the witch.
“I’ll annihilate them right now!”
The scarecrow, enraged by the intruders, enlarged the ghostly fire in his two eyes.
“Calm down. Getting angry like that won’t solve the problem.”
I calmed the scarecrow and quickly made an assessment.
“Interesting. First, scatter about twenty dullahans here. You’ll be the bait.”
I drew a rough map of the forest interior on the ground with a branch and showed the scarecrow where to stand.
“Hmm, if I’m the bait, what do I do?”
I chuckled and answered the scarecrow’s question.
“Don’t think about doing anything, just get beaten up like when Arcana’s management unit usually comes, and I’ll take care of it.”
“Why do you think I’ll get beaten up!”
“Well…”
Because your head is filled with straw?
“I know the basic anti-scarecrow tactics of the management unit. The fact that such tactics were established means that you…”
“I’m not stupid!”
“…I was going to say you’re straightforward, but I guess you hear that a lot?”
When I giggled, the scarecrow’s face turned bright red.
The management unit periodically entered the forest for tactical training in real combat, attacking the scarecrow and running away.
Of course, many died during the training, but if they didn’t train, they wouldn’t be able to move properly in a real situation like now, so it couldn’t be helped.
“You…!”
“Ah, but move the dullahans as I say. Everything is for your master.”
“…Hmph!”
At my flattery, the scarecrow glared at me as if he didn’t like it, but walked to the place I designated.
About ten minutes after the scarecrow stood still, the management unit started the operation while dispersing.
When the management unit eagerly attacked the scarecrow through the black fog with flashing red lights, I leisurely moved and identified the location of the management unit.
It was easy to identify when they were clustered together, but when they scattered, observation became difficult due to the black fog.
“Young Master, is it okay to move this slowly?”
At Precia’s concern, I waved my hand, saying it was no big deal.
“It’s fine, he won’t die from being hit by that. His endurance is outstanding.”
It’s done. I’ve identified the movements of the management unit. As expected, reading about it and seeing their movements were completely different.
I went to the place where a magician from the management unit would come and waited.
After waiting like that for a few minutes, a magician who had hit the scarecrow with magic flew hard towards where I was, sweating profusely.
He was probably the one called “1-1 Squad No. 8.”
“Scarecrow.”
I called the scarecrow through the wind spirit Navi and moved the dullahans.
“Urgh!”
The magician from the management unit was caught off guard from behind, his waist snapped, and he tumbled to the ground.
Moving in the forest as silently as an assassin was befitting of an undead moving with negative-dimensional mana.
I stepped on the back of the magician who was lying face down on the ground, right below his neck, preventing him from moving, and removed the white bracelet and the magical tool for receiving telepathic magic.
Then I kindly stabbed a knife into the ground right in front of his eyes and said,
“If you scream, you die. Not that anyone will hear you even if you scream.”
Actually, it didn’t matter if he screamed. Navi would stop it anyway.
“W-Who, ugh!”
When I stepped on him strongly, putting my weight on him, a sound of the air being knocked out came from the magician’s mouth.
“I’m the one asking questions. State your name and affiliation.”
“I don’t negotiate with the enemy, aargh!”
Nuni sat on the magician’s back and sent an electric current. As befitting a lightning spirit, it carefully controlled the electricity so it wouldn’t reach me.
“This is just a taste. If you don’t answer, I’ll fry your mana circuits. Name and affiliation.”
At my words about frying his mana circuits, the captured magician swallowed his saliva.
“M-Melrom Banad Gestalon. I belong to the 73rd Magic Battalion of the 7th Magic Division under the Western Army Command of the Duplion Kingdom.”
Magicians really cherish their mana circuits.
Abassael’s expression hardened upon hearing the prisoner’s name.
“If it’s Gestalon…”
“You know the family?”
Abassael nodded at my question.
“The Gestalon Count Family is one of the most prominent magic families in the kingdom. My friend is also from that family.”
“Ah, is that so? You’re lucky, prisoner. You’ve saved your life. Take a short nap.”
Bzzt!
“Ugh… ack.”
I sent the prisoner on a short trip to dreamland with electricity.
“…My lord, are you not going to kill him?”
I answered Abassael’s question while tightly tying up the prisoner with rope.
“If we kill all of them, what about the power vacuum on the western front?”
Actually, it didn’t matter much even if they died.
There were plenty of forces in the north to patch them up.
Since the hole to the other world had closed and the territory of the Ghost of the Sword, Demiway, had become free from monsters, as long as we paid the price to the Blantsbarg Marquis Family, we could bring in as many as we wanted.
But there were three reasons why I didn’t kill this guy right away.
First, as I said, if we annihilated the management unit, it would immediately create a power vacuum.
Second, although the management unit was said to be the direct subordinates of “The Magician,” only the executives truly followed him with their lives.
Third, these guys needed to be alive so that I could properly lure the forces of that bastard “The Magician” into the forest.
“Arcana 01, The Magician” was the son of a bitch who sent assassins into the palace along with the queen to kill me.
The opportunity to wipe out that bastard magician’s forces?
I couldn’t pass it up.
“Take this.”
I threw the white bracelet the prisoner was wearing to Abassael.
“Thank you! My lord!”
Abassael smiled brightly and quickly put on the white bracelet.
Although he didn’t show it, not being able to use magic seemed to have triggered his trauma.
He snapped his fingers and used simple magic, then nodded, satisfied.
“Take this too. Can you analyze the magic attached to it?”
Abassael, who received the ear-mounted receiving magical tool, answered confidently.
“Not only is it possible, but I can make it with my eyes closed. This is a magical tool that Wiesel and I developed.”
Often forgotten due to his silly appearance, Abassael was the youngest Supreme Mage to surpass Viscount Wiesel, one of the current Eight Sages of the Magic Way.
“I miss this. When we were developing this, the teacher was still teaching at the magic school… There’s no upgrade at all? Are they joking!”
Abassael, who was about to be lost in memories, became angry at the sight of the magical tool he had developed during his student days still being used as is.
Whether it was the army of my previous life using canteens from the Normandy era or the army of the current life in a monarchical country, they were all the same.
“Calm down and roughly explain how to use it.”
“Understood.”
I familiarized myself with how to use the magical tool as explained by Abassael and started hunting the management unit by controlling the dullahans using the scarecrow as a command center.
The targeted magicians were the ones who hit the scarecrow and ran away.
Perhaps because they were exhausted from flying away with all their might in a place with heavy mana consumption, or because of the dullahans’ near-assimilation stealth ability, they fainted in one go and were dragged to where I was.
I woke up the fainted prisoners one by one and started interrogating them.
“State your name and affiliation.”
“I won’t negotiate with the eneaaargh! I’ll talk! Billy Jin! Duplion Kingdom Army Western Front Command…”
“Pass, Nuni.”
-Bzzt!
Bzzt-!
“Name and affiliation.”
“Cherebille Modmang, Western Front Command…”
Bzzt-!
“Michel Facil Conrad, Royal Dispatch Magic Battalion…”
Bzzt-!
Nuni made the prisoners faint again one by one.
“Name and affiliation.”
“Luomant Del Drapelga, affiliation is…”
“Ah, enough. You can stop talking.”
I stabbed the sword into the chest of the guy who was about to say his affiliation. An unpleasant sensation was transmitted through my fingertips.
The entire Drapelga family were fervent followers of that bastard “The Magician”. I couldn’t keep alive someone who wouldn’t betray him no matter what. Actually, it wasn’t impossible to make him betray, but it wasn’t worth the effort.
“Young Master!”
Precia looked at me with a worried expression as I got blood on my hands.
“It’s okay. I can’t urge only my subordinates to dirty their hands.”
From now on, there will be countless people who will die by my hands. I can’t collapse over something like this.
“Abassael.”
“Yes, my lord.”
I handed Abassael the receiving magical tools I had collected from the prisoners and gave instructions.
“Go hit the scarecrow’s back of the head refreshingly in their place and come back.”
If the operation stops, they might notice something is off and run away. That must never happen.
Abassael, who noticed my intention, burst into laughter.
“Hahaha! As expected of you, my lord. You’re really ev… thorough.”
Weren’t you about to say I’m evil just now?
At my gaze, Abassael coughed and flew in the direction of the scarecrow.
I attached the receiving magical tool to my ear and eavesdropped on the management unit’s communication. And in between, I spread false information in line with the operation.
“This is 1-13, confirming the moving scarecrow, will attack!”
Of course, I scattered interference waves all around so they wouldn’t realize it was a different person’s voice upon hearing me, and divided the captured prisoners into those who would live and those who would die.
Even though Abassael was an archmage, he had physical limits.
I also gave appropriate directions to the scarecrow on how to move.
“This is 2-18, confirming the scarecrow’s path! Oh, good magical tool! Ahem! Confirmed. Will intercept. Four, three, two, one!”
While continuously exchanging false communication, I thoroughly looted the prisoners’ belongings. As expected of those who received generous support, they were full of good magical tools and equipment.
I counted the number of captured prisoners. Thirty-nine. Only the commander was left.
“Now, let’s move.”
I tied up the captured prisoners with ropes so they couldn’t escape and buried them in the ground with only their heads sticking out. The dullahans were truly versatile workers. (TN: why is he planting them like flowers? It reminds me of Oga in Beelzebub >_<)
I stopped spreading interference waves and headed to where the commander was. The commander, who could be seen from afar, was panicking as if he finally noticed something was off. I stealthily grabbed his back and giggled.
“This is 1-18. Now you’re the only one left, over.”
Then I greeted him while stabbing his back.
“Peek-a-boo~!”
The commander of the management unit looked at me with a futile gaze and collapsed to the ground.
I searched his belongings for a communication magical tool.
The magical tool in the form of a letter revealed the same text when the content was written.
“How should I play with the management unit using this?”
Shall we play a fun game of tag?
*****
“Nyahaha! It’s freaking far, how much further?”
Ilyu Arisa, lying flat on her back in a meadow, asked Nivel while sweating.
Likewise, Nivel also staggered, exhausted and soaked in sweat, and answered.
“I don’t know. They shoved a map in my hand and told me to fly urgently, how would I know!”
“Arcana 16, The Tower” Nivel di Probelin belonged to the faction of “Arcana 01, The Magician”.
Therefore, she had no choice but to follow “The Magician’s” orders to resolve the abnormal situation that had occurred in the Witch’s Forest.
“Nyaha~! It’s freaking tiring, what’s the difference between this and running across the country!”
“It can’t be helped. The current situation in the Magic Tower is not very good to receive support.”
“Is that so? Then let’s rest for a bit.”
At Arisa’s suggestion, Nivel also sat down on the ground and answered.
“Phew~ Okay. What could go wrong?”
The two magicians decided to take a break in the meadow quite far from the Witch’s Forest. It was too long a journey from the capital to near the western border.
“The management unit will take care of it well on their own.”
“Nyahahaha~! Right.”
TN: Guess Arisa was fine