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chapter 157




“Urha?”
“…ah. My apologies.”
Nora’s voice woke Urha from his thoughts.
Then, he stepped forward and extended his hand towards the party beside her.
“This one is called Urha. I hope you can understand that I couldn’t give you a proper welcome because of the current situation.”
“I’m Frey, and I understand completely. Is the situation bad?”
Frey?
He’d heard the name somewhere before.
Urha narrowed his eyes for a moment, but he came to his senses when Frey’s cool hand touched his.
They did a few perfunctory hand movements before releasing their grip.
“It’s not good. Are you our reinforcements?”
“Right. I’m from the Circle.”
“The Circle… ah. It’s you. The Trowman Rings’ young Circle Rounder.”
Frey nodded.
The Circle didn’t even know about Paragon’s existence, but Paragon had a good grasp on everything happening in the Circle.
He’d also felt this during his conversation with Cairo.
Of course, it didn’t seem like he knew about the recent activities. Perhaps Cairo didn’t have the time to spread the information.
“I’ve also heard of your prestige.”
His appearance wasn’t quite what he’d expected.
Frey looked at Urha.
He looked to be about 30 or so years old, but he gave off a fragile feeling unbefitting of a desert Warrior.
His whole body wasn’t filled with muscles like Ivan, nor was his aura as fierce as Ivan’s. And his smile wasn’t confident like…
‘…’
Frey became puzzled for a moment.
Before he knew it, the image of ‘Warrior’ in his mind had become Ivan.
But he wasn’t a Warrior; he was a Magic Warrior.
No.
What exactly was the difference between a Warrior and a Magic Warrior?
“I’m Beniang.”
“Snow.”
Short voices sounded at that moment.
Frey turned to look at Snow.
“You’re using your real name?”
“What’s wrong with that? We’re on the other side of the continent. And it’s annoying to use aliases.”
Although Snow said this in a casual tone, Frey was certain that only the latter part of the sentence truly mattered.
Nora looked at Urha and said.
“Urha, we want to know the current situation in Silkid.”
“Please follow me.”
Urha nodded before turning around.
Frey looked around as they walked behind Urha.
“U-, urk…”
“Damn.”
“Hey, are there any more herbs?”
There was no one uninjured.
There were those covered in bandages and groaning painfully and those who had suffered severe injuries and seemed to be on the brink of death.
One thing to note was the fact that almost all of them had been burned.
“They weren’t hurt by a Demigod.”
“They were hurt by the creatures they created. How did you know?”
Frey’s following words made him speechless.
“Because they’re still alive.”
They soon arrived at a small barracks tent.
Although there was dust and sand everywhere, this place was much cleaner than anywhere else.
When they went inside, they found space large enough for five people.
Urha sat down on a shabby looking chair. Then, he covered his face with his hands before mumbling.
“…it was a Demigod made of fire.”
Frey’s brows furrowed.
“I don’t mean to brag, but I’ve encountered a few Demigods before. I know that they differ greatly depending on the individual and that it’s not just their features and habits. There are differences in strength. But he was on a completely different level.”
“That’s right. He’s an Apocalypse.”
“…I knew it.”
Urha sighed as if he’d expected it to an extent.
Frey also wanted to sigh at that moment.
Agni. They had successfully treated his wounds.
Riki had said it would take at least a year before they could barely begin to move again.
Frey couldn’t help but wonder if Agni was barely moving or if he was completely healed and, if that was the case, how it happened.
He suppressed the questions in his heart and continued listening to Urha.
“Of the 17 cities in Silkid, 7 have already been destroyed, 4 have surrendered, and the 6 remaining cities, including Rnei, are still fighting. But now, Sarman, Rnei’s Guardian Warrior, shows signs of wanting to surrender.”
“What is a Guardian Warrior?”
“…it is difficult to explain. Just take it as the City Lord.”
If one looked at the details then the two were very different, but that was all he could say at the moment.
Frey continued listening to Urha’s explanation attentively. Then, his expression changed when he heard the next bit of information.
“A Great Warrior?”
“Right. A man named Ivan. I don’t think he’s from Silkid, but he has a lot of charisma to pull the warriors together and form a counter force. It’s probably the largest single force in Silkid at the moment. And it’s still growing.”
Frey chuckled.
He was a man who stood out no matter where he went. This wasn’t unexpected.
Ivan seemed to like being alone, but he had the natural aura of a leader and innate charisma.
In times of chaos, it was natural for people to gather around a focal point.
‘He’s just like him.’
Nora’s expression also changed, and she smiled softly as she thought about Kasajin.
For some reason, however, her smile appeared quite cold. To put it bluntly, her expression seemed to say ‘I’ve got you now’.
Come to think of it, Frey remembered that he still needed to resolve the misunderstanding.
‘…mm.’
Well. He could always do it when they met.
Frey shook his head and put those thoughts away.
‘It’s been a while since Ivan and I parted ways.’
They had agreed to go upturn the Circle together, but Frey had unexpectedly done it all by himself. But with that guy’s personality, he shouldn’t mind that too much.
Frey wondered how much stronger he’d gotten.
Ivan was a genius. A true genius who wouldn’t lose even when compared to Kasajin.
Frey was looking forward to seeing how much stronger he’d gotten since he came to Silkid.
“Have you encountered any other Demigods?”
“We haven’t. We’ve only seen the fire Demigod.”
“Hmm.”
Agni was the only one who’d made an appearance.
Frey clicked his tongue at those words.
The divine power that was covering Silkid was not something that could have come from Agni alone.
That meant that there were still two or three Demigods hiding in Silkid.
‘They wouldn’t stick together.’
Demigods wouldn’t group up unless there was a special situation, for example, when Lord called a meeting. They were extremely individualistic beings.
Maybe he was on a different mission.
Nix’s image appeared in his head for a moment.
Could it be that Agni was chasing her?
‘He can’t kill her since she’s his Apostle.’
Did she think he was going to restrain her?
It was possible.
From Agni’s perspective, it might not be good for her to keep wandering around as she pleased.
Of course, this wasn’t a good situation for Frey either.
Anastasia was the only one who knew that she was Agni’s Apostle. If anyone else found out, it was almost certain that they would try to kill Nix.
So before that happened, he had to find Nix first.
Urha finished his explanation while Frey agonised over the difficult problem.
“Have you ever heard about a red-haired woman?”
It was at that moment.
“Mr. Urha!”
The tent was suddenly opened, and Warrior Lieutenant walked in. He had run so quickly that his entire body was covered in sweat.
He spoke with a quivering voice.
“T-, there’s a raid.”
Urha immediately rose from his seat with a stiff expression.
“Tell me the situation.”
“I-, it’s the Demigod’s creatures.”
“How many?”
“…that…”
“Report it properly. How many enemies are there?”
The man gulped.
“…they cover the horizon. The dust cloud they are kicking up also makes it hard to see, so we aren’t fully sure.”
Then he forcibly squeezed out a few words.
“…but there are at least thousands of them.”
Urha sighed heavily.
It was as if his soul had just left his body, and his face became filled with despair.
Thousands.
If that was true, then it was over for Rnei.
“What about Demigods?”
A flat voice sounded out. It was Frey.
The lieutenant turned to look at him, and Frey once again asked in a calm manner.
“Has the Demigods’ presence been confirmed?”
This Warrior, who was seeing Frey for the first time, could not help but respond with honorifics as he was intimidated by his mysterious aura.
“I-, it hasn’t been confirmed, but there doesn’t seem to be any Demigods.”
“So there aren’t any.”
It was a relief but also a shame.
Feeling a bit upset, Frey rose from his seat.
“Which direction are the creatures coming from?”
“So-, southeast, but… that. Who are you…”
Frey walked past him with a brief response.
“Reinforcements.” (TL: Kyaaa!)
* * *
He headed southeast.
A stone spire had been erected there. It was quite high.
When he got to the top of the spire, he could see hundreds of kilometers in every direction. So, naturally, he was able to see the horde of creatures galloping toward them, creating a large dust cloud.
Frey narrowed his eyes and examined this group closely.
‘It’s still quite bizarre.’
They looked like Fire Spirits. Beings whose entire bodies were covered in flames.
These were probably creatures that Agni himself had created.
“Are you really going to stop that army alone?”
Urha couldn’t erase the doubt from his voice.
“Do you think it’s a joke?”
“As far as I know, there are only two Wizards in Paragon who could accomplish such a feat.”
“Cairo Wilsemann and Diablo.”
Urha was shocked.
Frey didn’t turn around as he continued.
“You seem to have been hoping for them to arrive from the start.”
“…you noticed?”
“How could I not notice when it was so obvious?”
Frey spoke simply, but Urha was shocked.
He was confident in his ability to hide his inner feelings. And he had believed he’d hid his disappointment too quickly for anyone to notice.
“To correct one misunderstanding, I am not below them.”
“What…?”
“Watch closely.”
Frey walked to the end of the spire with dozens of calculations spinning in his mind.
“They have spirit bodies, so they are bad opponents for warriors. It would require a lot of force to subdue them with physical attacks.”
“Their firepower is also formidable. Their flames can even melt rocks.”
Urha bit his lip.
“…although their numbers are small, there are still a few Wizards and Sorcerers in Silkid. But their ice magic didn’t really have an effect on them.”
“That’s natural. There are also classes among creatures.”
After all, they were made by the Apocalypse Agni.
It depended on the individual, but he was sure that the strongest amongst these creatures were Intermediate rank Spirits.
That meant that any spell below 6 stars wouldn’t really have much of an effect on them.
“Even I can’t guarantee victory over a hundred of them, but you alone…”
“You’re not very knowledgeable about Wizards.”
Frey’s words made Urha speechless.
“…what is that…”
“The number of enemies doesn’t matter to a Wizard. As long as you know their coordinates, it doesn’t matter if there are hundreds or thousands.”
Pak.
As soon as he was finished speaking, Frey’s robe flapped.
Originally, he intended to move in the shadows since he didn’t want to be spotted by the Demigods’ spies that might have been hidden in the desert.
But he’d changed his mind.
Agni hadn’t been seen since Talhadun, and the other Demigods’ whereabouts were unknown.
But it was possible that he was chasing after Nix.
If so, then Frey would draw their attention.
It didn’t matter if the Demigods came.
It would be even better if Nix came.
And drawing attention was something that Wizards were the best at.
Roar-
Urha stumbled back a few steps.
“W-, what is this…”
A horrifying amount of mana was spewing from Frey’s body. It was so dense that it seemed as if thousands of threads were encircling Frey’s body.
“And for 9 star Wizards, size and location don’t matter at all. Everything within my sight is my space.”
“9 star?”
Urha’s mouth fell open.
Frey drew a line with his two fingers.
This action felt holy to Urha, as though a devout believer was drawing a cross.
“Blizzard.”
Then…
Urha saw snowflakes falling in the desert.
“U-, uhh…”
The ground froze, snowflakes fell, and the atmosphere became cold.
Everyone saw and felt it.
Despite that, they couldn’t believe their eyes. It was such an unbelievable sight.
Then, a wave of ice swept across the army of creatures in an instant. They weren’t even able to let out a scream before their bodies froze in place.
‘Is this young man really a 9 star Wizard?’
He’d heard it before.
9 star Wizards could even control nature.
And that was exactly the scene that had unfolded in front of him.
He dared to say. Frey had just made the desert submit.
“A-, ahh…”
“What the hell…”
No one would have ever imagined that a day would come when they would be able to see their breaths in the desert.
“This is the difference between a Wizard and a Warrior.”
Frey let out a breath.
Immediately afterwards, the pieces of ice broke, and Agni’s creatures shattered.
Urha blinked twice at this scene before he finally understood the situation.
Thousands of creatures had been wiped out in an instant.
“Ho-, how…”
“Wiping out small fry is a Wizards’ specialty.”
This was to be expected.
After all, these weren’t Apostles, they were only creatures. Just Blizzard, a 7 star spell, was enough.
In such large-scale battles, the utility of a Wizard would surpass any other strategic weapon.
The tricky part was when they had to face powerful individuals. Like the Demigods, for example.
Frey turned around and said.
“The ice will melt quickly in the sun. It’ll stay cold for a bit, but that will also go away soon.”
“…”
Frey headed down the spire, and Urha hurried after him.
The only ones left were the two guards tasked with observing their surroundings, who still felt like they were dreaming.
“…let’s have a snowball fight. I always wanted to try it.”
“Sure. But if we tell the others, they’ll think we’re crazy.”