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Chapter 226
Encounter (3)
Garhan got off his Golem Steed and raised his head, looking up at the sky.
Staring at rising Wyvern and Han-bin’s group on top of it, he asked, “Move according to plan?”
Genovia shook her head.
“Oh, get me that Wyvern now. There’s no need to capture her alive. I’m going to dissect her.”
“You are afraid that no one will call you a Mage, so you’re eager to study again.”
“Hey, thanks to my greed for research, we’ve all been able to find a way to stay afloat.”
It wasn’t even that difficult of a request.
Garhan nodded and raised his right hand to take the position.
“I got it.”
He lowered his hand into thin air, and he executed a stance.
-Magic Swordsmanship: Thunder Route!
Along with the thunderclap, complex sparks scattered throughout the sky.
It was a net made out of an electrifying blitz, like a road network drawn on a map.
Garhan then raised his foot and stomped it down.
“I’ll be right back.”
Lightning struck from the ground to the sky.
Rumbling!
Han-bin’s party was surprised by the soaring lightning.
A middle-aged man was standing casually on the electric bolt.
“Gasp!”
“I knew the Thunder King could fly, but…”
“That’s how he does it?”
Technically, he wasn’t flying.
He was just stepping on electricity.
It fluttered freely as it brought him to his destination.
It was a fitting appearance for the title of ‘Thunder King.’
Rumbling!
With a roar, Garhan dashed through hundreds of meters in the air.
He came up to the same eye level as Effir and murmured.
“Looking up close, you are not an ordinary Wyvern. Your spirit is different.”
Leon Hart was appalled.
The movement of the Thunder King completely transcended common sense.
There was no rapid acceleration, no sudden braking.
He appeared in front of her in an instant as if lightning had struck.
‘Oh, my God! Is that a trick that ignores inertia?’
Garhan pulled out a sword, stepping like he was on the ground.
“I’ll have to drop you first.”
Hundreds of dark clouds rose from the tip of his sword.
The scattered darkness converged and turned into hundreds of spheres, scattering all over the sky.
-Magic Swordsmanship: Martan of the Apocalypse!
A group of martans covered the sky and drew a large line. They then flocked to Han-bin’s party in unison.
‘There’s a lot!’
Gnashing her teeth, Effir pulled out her Force.
The left and right wings’ tips corresponding to her index fingers and middle fingers emitted light.
Whoosh!
Using the Force’s military capabilities, Effir flew through the martan repeatedly, rising and falling several times.
Hundreds of martans were bypassed and exploded in the air.
At that moment, Garhan blinked.
‘How can you avoid that?’
The efficiency reached its fullest potential, so her movements were beautiful.
“You’re pretty good.”
In the gap, Effir flapped her wings hard. It was to spread the distance somehow.
But it didn’t work.
Before she knew it, the lightning of the Thunder King was blocking her retreat already.
Garhan was there as well.
‘Ugh! Did you already catch up with me?’
The Thunder King took up another stance.
“Try to avoid this!”
-Magic Swordsmanship: Flame Storm!
Numerous streams of flames were shot from the tip of his sword, resulting in hundreds of whips.
The whip of fire heated the sky, thrashing about mercilessly.
Boom boom!
However, that didn’t work either.
“Hah! Yup! Yup! Yup!”
Effir repeatedly pushed forward and backward, adjusting her speed, then burst into delight as she escaped through the fire.
“I’ve avoided everything!”
Ryu Han-bin shook his head with a sigh of relief.
“Effir, do you know your shouts are getting weird?”
Garhan, meanwhile, had his eyes wide open.
‘You are amazing!’
She was a far cry from the Wyvern species itself.
There was also a light of greed in Garhan’s eyes.
‘To be honest, I want you.’
A private ride was a man’s dream.
So far, Genovia’s request was just to subdue her, but Garhan wanted her!
‘I’m going to catch you alive.’
Sparks began to rise from Garhan’s body.
Paah!
-Magic Swordsmanship: Lightning Depth Bomb!
A net of electricity hung over a vast area. There was a thunderstorm underneath it, and several vortices flew in, spreading fire.
Paaaa!
The scales of the black Wyvern were all on edge.
‘What? That’s it!’
Effir was also well aware of the lightning-type Magic Swordsmanship because she liked it the most.
She could not avoid it.
Of course, she pulled herself out desperately with tears on her face.
“Yay!”
As expected, a thunderstorm roared and blocked her retreat.
Ryu Han-bin and Leon Hart held their sword and fists up.
“It’s okay!”
“We’ll stop it!”
The red Blade Aura stretched everywhere and broke the detonator. A series of white flashes flew in and crushed all the whirlwinds.
Thanks to that, Effir got out safely.
Watching the scene, Garhan clicked his tongue.
“… I see.”
Originally, his target was the ones riding her, but there was a very coveted ride in front of him, so it was preposterous.
Catching up while riding his lightning, Garhan smiled at Leon Hart.
“Long time no see, Templar Lord of Kybriel.”
He then looked at Ryu Han-bin and asked calmly.
“It’s my first time to see you. Are you a disciple of Baotolt?”
* * *
Ryu Han-bin stared at Garhan without saying a word.
Thanks to the distance being close enough, the search function of the Guideline could be activated.
[Race: Human. Magic Swordsman Lv. 156]
Han-bin gulped without realizing it.
‘It’s different. It’s rumored that he is level 152.’
Of course, it had already been months since Hollien last saw the Thunder King and the Archmage.
In the meantime, Han-bin’s party had also raised their level significantly. There was no law that they should not become stronger as well.
But Hollien said it was unlikely.
No matter how strong he could be with the blessing of the Goddesses while maintaining his youth and heyday, growth would inevitably slow down as he reached higher levels.
But he raised his level by four instead?
‘There’s no easy way out of this world.’
But he couldn’t even give up now.
‘We have no choice but to stick with the plan.’
Ryu Han-bin suddenly jumped off of Effir’s back.
He threw himself into the air and immediately burst into a roar.
“Footholds!”
Leon Hart quickly prepared for the formation.
-Spiritual Barrier: Sorondi’s Shield!
A dozen spiritual shields rose horizontally between Garhan and Han-bin.
Ryu Han-bin narrowed the distance as he stepped on them.
“You start using your sword all of a sudden? You are impatient like your master.”
Clicking his tongue, Garhan also started another technique.
He lowered his posture as his eyes shone. The blade of lightning cut through the sky at the same time as he stepped forward.
-Magic Swordsmanship: Thunderlight Attack!
Han-bin slid his Gigant down with a loud cheer.
-Vertical Cut!
Thunderlight and his Aura clashed against each other.
The shockwave shook the sky with a deafening noise.
At that moment, both were pushed back.
Boom!
It was such a powerful wave that Effir, who was caught in it, lost control of her flight.
Flapping, she let out a scream.
“Chao!”
Ryu Han-bin, who was pushed out, grabbed Effir’s leg and turned his body around.
With that propel, Effir regained her position, and Han-bin climbed onto her back.
Barely correcting his stance, Han-bin frowned.
‘Strong…’
Sliding on lightning, Garhan also flicked his wrist.
The impact was greater than expected.
“He’s already this strong without using fighting spirit?”
Garhan had already expected Han-bin would be tough, considering he beat Hollien, but…
“You’ve learned so well. The dead Baotolt would’ve been proud.”
Han-bin smiled bitterly at Garhan’s admiration.
“I don’t think so.”
How could he be content that a stranger pretended to be his student?
“Well, he’s never been satisfied. You understood your teacher well as a disciple.”
“Think as you please.”
Their last clash widened the distance somewhat.
Ryu Han-bin sent a knowing gaze.
‘Effir!’
‘Yes!’
She suddenly spread her wings, turning around in reverse. She then accelerated rapidly and began to fly to the other side.
‘Tactical retreat!’
It was a very determined start to walk away.
But Garhan didn’t follow them. He just stood on the path of the lightning and stared with curious eyes.
Looking back, Artis murmured.
“You’re not coming after me, are you?”
“You can never be full with the first bite.”
Looking at the faraway battlefield, Leon Hart calmly replied.
“We need to set up more baits.”
* * *
Sliding on lightning, Garhan came back down to the ground.
“Sorry, I missed them.”
It was not an apology for missing Han-bin’s party.
At that moment, the incarnation of darkness wasn’t alone. But if he got rid of them, the incarnation of darkness which was left in solitude would hide again.
Rather, it was a situation that needed to be let go of.
He apologized for a different matter altogether.
“That Wyvern was faster than I thought. It wasn’t easy to capture it alive.”
“Huh? I told you we didn’t have to capture it alive.”
Genovia wondered.
She even explained to Garhan that she was going to dissect the Wyvern, but he tried to capture it alive?
“… Did you want it, too?”
“It flew so well.”
Garhan looked beyond the sky, smirking.
Genovia sighed.
“I’ll have to give up dissection, then.”
She wasn’t sure how long it had been since that man had coveted something with such sparkling eyes.
“I’ll finish my research and toss it to you.”
“Thanks.”
Genovia changed the topic.
“So, how was Baotolt’s disciple?”
“Strong. I fully understand why Hollien lost.”
He had only crossed swords with him once, so he had yet to confirm his full potential, but his physical ability alone was not below Baotolt.
“If it was before I got this…”
Garhan raised his right hand.
“It might have been quite dangerous.”
Black air currents leaked out through his palm and wriggled.
[Near-Completion Omphalos’s Blessing (Unique Item)]
“It doesn’t get him over the wall, but…”
With a grin, Genovia sneaked out of the darkness.
“Because it makes you stick to the wall.”
Her level was reflected in Garhan’s Guideline.
[Race: Human. Mage lv. 155]
* * *
Outside the battlefield, Han-bin’s party continued to fly west to Fort Poltaron.
In a serious tone, Effir murmured.
“We should avoid air warfare in the future.”
She had never been pushed back n the sky. But the way the Thunder King worked…
“It’s a completely different trajectory.”
He opened the path with lightning and rode on it.
She didn’t know how he could do it. Even inertia was ignored on top of that.
It was only possible for her to maneuver at a right angle in the air.
No matter how good Effir was, she was not free from gravity and inertia. Hence, she could be caught instantaneously.
“But the good news is that I’m still a little faster than him when moving in a straight line…”
Effir’s speed, which became the fastest, was a little better in itself. It was enough for her to run away.
“We’re at a disadvantage in a prolonged battle, too. You’ll lose your endurance.”
Leon Hart said soothingly.
“That’ll be fine. I won’t have to run that far. The Thunder King is level 156? Are you sure?”
“I’ve made sure.”
Leon Hart’s expression hardened at Han-bin’s affirmation.
“Now that we’re quite strong, I thought we could win…”
Under the current circumstances, the Archmage should be at a similar level.
“What have you done?”
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