How to Live as a Genius Knight in a Fantasy World

40.

“What has become of this? Is it a sign that death is near?”

At the incomprehensible words, questions arose in Rohan’s mind.

Fortunately, his curiosity was quickly quenched.

After uttering the unknown words, the dark wizard pulled out a black bead from his robe and tossed it to the ground.

Sensing a negative aura, Count Karl swung his sword, and the bodies of the demons that stood in their way were split in half simultaneously.

However, the bead thrown by the wizard landed on the ground without any hindrance.

Colliding with debris, the shattered bead emitted a dark red energy, mingling with the dark magic exuded by the deceased dark wizards, and as if being sucked in, it vanished beneath the ground.

“What is this?”

Suddenly, the ominous feeling that seemed to foretell an unsettling event, in addition to the dark wizards who had just ended their lives, disappeared abruptly.

Naturally, the knights, even after vanquishing all their foes, could not release their grip on their swords.

How fiercely had they fought until now.

The enemies who had launched such a relentless assault had surrendered without a fight, a fact that was hard to believe.

As they began to scan their surroundings without relaxing, the mountain range, which had embraced countless corpses, had returned to its initial tranquility.

Thirty minutes passed, and as the soldiers and knights gradually began to relax without reservation.

One soldier leaped into the bushes to relieve himself, and to his satisfaction at surviving to see another day, a strange “line” appeared vividly in his eyes.

“What is this?”

Beside a tree root stained with his urine, a thick black line, as thick as an adult male’s torso, was clearly visible.

Around the same time, several other soldiers discovered similar mysterious “lines.”

Although there was an order to report immediately upon finding anything suspicious, soldiers, now burdened with extreme fatigue after the intense battle, were not eager to move diligently.

They were well-trained soldiers, not machines, and despite their joy of victory, they couldn’t muster the discipline to act with thoroughness.

Eventually, this “anomalous phenomenon” could only be reported to the commanders after catching the eye of a knight who was retrieving his comrades’ bodies, and during the time that was delayed, the lines that had steadily increased formed a single, massive pattern.

As the completed pattern began to emit a black light, the mages who finally realized the true nature of these “lines” panicked and started shouting in all directions.

“Magic circles, they are magic circles!”

“We must leave this place immediately!”

“To think a spell of this magnitude…”

Despite the ominous shape, there was no immediate harmful effect, but there was no guarantee of safety for how long.

No, even now, it wasn’t surprising if they were already suffering harm without realizing it.

Those who felt the sense of danger in their cries began to move swiftly, regardless of their rank or position.

Even Rohan and his companions, who were completely drained and sitting exhausted, were no exception.

“Ugh, my legs aren’t moving well…”

Whether it was the aftermath of the battle or the sinister magic, Isel, unlike Count Karl and Rohan, who were moving with great effort, didn’t know how to move his completely depleted body.

It was like sacrificing his last reserves, but he couldn’t leave his comrades like this.

With Rohan’s use of the Blessing of Breath, his movements noticeably lightened, and he helped both Isel and Atum, whose strength was completely spent, to escape outside the magic circle.

“…It’s really huge, isn’t it.”

With Rohan’s help, Viscount Ezel, who had escaped from the magic circle, murmured.

Although he had considerable knowledge about magic, he had never heard of such a large magic circle existing.

It was as large as to encompass the entire battlefield where they had fought fiercely until now.

Since they couldn’t discern the enemy’s intentions, they were even more afraid.

Leading Rohan and the others, those who still had the strength to move managed to pull their comrades out of the black lines somehow.

As Rohan moved the two outside the magic circle and turned back to rescue those still inside.

Those who hadn’t yet escaped the magic circle began to behave strangely.

Soldiers who had hastily grabbed their weapons and were about to leave, instead of moving, fell one by one.

Like their strength was drained, they fell helplessly and struggled to get up, unable to properly stand.

“What… what is this…!”

As the fallen soldier looked around in confusion, a grotesque sight met his eyes.

Bodies of fallen enemies were rapidly withering without discrimination.

Their skin cracked, bodies slowly shrank, and even the remaining bones disintegrated into dust.

“Damn it…”

Lying on the ground, a soldier struggled to raise his hand and cursed.

He, too, was no different from the corpses.

The flesh on his hand rapidly diminished, skin cracked and tore, blood oozed out.

The vitality that had always been abundant in his body was quickly leaving him.

Soon, the unconscious soldier’s head drooped.

“The magic circle has started working. We must get out quickly, quickly!”

The wizards who had escaped with the help of the knights shouted again, but the magic circle that had started functioning in earnest possessed a power befitting its scale.

Not only the life force of the living, mana, and such, but also the life force remaining in the bodies of the dead, the morale-like energy emitted after death, all were swiftly sucked into the magic circle.

Traces of life that were on the magic circle dried up in an instant and scattered into dust, and from the center of the magic circle, which had accumulated an uncountable amount of energy, a huge sphere rose.

“Oh my goodness…”

The wizards groaned with bewildered expressions at the overwhelming amount of dark magic they had never imagined.

Being wizards, they could guess.

How massive the amount of magic in front of them was.

And what it could accomplish.

Some tried to cast spells with their remaining strength, but as soon as they approached the sphere, they were absorbed as if devoured.

Continuously absorbing the dark energy emanating from below, the sphere grew larger and larger.

Duke Karl, feeling an ominous sensation, swung his sword repeatedly, but it was futile.

Although the sphere cracked and slightly decreased in size each time he swung the sword, it quickly regained its original form.

Just like scooping water out of a lake, it swiftly returned to its original shape.

The magic circle was no different; the parts swept away by the sword were instantly restored to their original form.

Even the Master’s attacks failed to have any significant effect, causing the exhausted soldiers to panic and start running.

“…Don’t we need to flee as well?”

At that moment, Atum, who had grown to the size of a small village where commoners lived, couldn’t contain his anxiety and spoke.

With such power about to cause a massive explosion at any moment, there was no reason not to be afraid.

As if in response to Atum’s words, Count Frederick ordered them to flee.

No matter what number was used, it was understood that it was impossible to stop the magic circle.

In the middle of the mountain with no proper path, maintaining the troops and fleeing was impossible.

Troups of soldiers, scattered naturally, climbed the steep mountain paths each for their survival.

Rohan’s group also forced their tired bodies to move their legs.

While ascending the mountain with Atum’s support, Rohan’s head kept turning back as if waiting for something.

In his sight, despite everyone else having moved away, Karl the Duke stood steadfastly by the sphere, looking as if he had given up on life.

But suddenly, Rohan had a thought that he was waiting for something.

When Rohan’s group, moving diligently, reached the ridge after pushing through the dense trees,

As Rohan turned his head again, he saw the black sphere rapidly shrinking in size.

The expanding sphere, as if giving the feeling that a black sun was descending, gathered into a single point, then quickly formed a rough shape resembling unprocessed crystal, exuding a black hue.

When the crystal, which had been floating above the magic circle, suddenly shot up into the air,

The Duke’s sword, which had been still for a long time, moved once again.

As if exerting all its power, the sword, completely engulfed in a deep blue aura unseen until then, shattered the crystal in one swift strike.

As countless shards touched the ground, they disappeared like melting, but the largest piece finally left the ground and flew towards its destination.

Checking the direction the piece flew in, Rohan unknowingly muttered a curse.

“Damn it…”

One of the few Korean words he couldn’t completely detach from even after being reborn.

Unable to understand the meaning of Rohan’s words, Atum, as if lacking the strength to move any further, hesitated and asked a question.

“Damn it? What does that mean, Rohan?”

“Atum, look over there.”

“What? What the hell is that? Crazy, what on earth is that?”

At the trembling voice of Rohan, Atum reflexively turned his head and witnessed an unbelievable sight.

The direction the crystal left the magic circle for was a massive lake in the middle of the mountain range.

No, to be precise, it was the skeleton of a dragon, stained black, locked inside the lake.

As if it was its original place, the crystal, which approached the area that used to be the dragon’s forehead in its lifetime, settled on the skull like putting down roots.

The crystal, now completely merged with the dragon, emitted accumulated dark magic, and the empty eye sockets of the dragon filled with a black energy.

In an instant, the dragon, dyed completely in black, finally broke its long silence and began to move.

With the sudden movement of the giant body, the water of the lake, which had remained calm for a long time, overflowed heavily, engulfing the surroundings.

The mud deposited on the body of the dragon was washed away by the turbulent current, and the decaying flesh clinging to its body rose up into the sky as if in a lie.

A corpse dragon.

At the appearance of a monster that only appeared in legends, panicked soldiers lost their reason and attempted to flee.

Under the evil aura covering the sky, the troops who had barely maintained their strength raised their weapons.

Rohan, too, prepared for what might be his final battle.

Since fleeing from the opponent who completely dominated the sky was impossible, if they wished to survive, they had to do their best to confront it.

The troops resolved to fight, prepared to face death.

But they had no chance to wield their weapons towards the dragon.

As if everything was already over, the one who had floated in the air for a moment spread its wings, now reduced to mere bones, and flew towards the north.

Only after the dragon’s figure completely disappeared beyond the clouds, did the tense individuals begin to relax, one by one taking their seats.

It was the moment when the fierce battle had completely ended.

After the dragon, which had been submerged in the lake, completely vanished into dark magic, the surviving members of the punitive expedition headed back to Taloon Territory.

The aftermath of the battle that lasted all day was immense, to the extent that even knights with incomparable physical abilities to ordinary people could not escape the accumulated pain and injuries.

However, human will towards survival is remarkable, and eventually, most survivors were able to reach comfortable inn rooms successfully.

Fortunately, there were no monster attacks on the way back, which was expected considering the number of men who died in the battle.

After seven nights of camping, Rohan and his companions were able to return safely to Taloon Territory.

If only the three of them had moved, they could have arrived much faster, but being lords and knights, they couldn’t just prioritize their own safety.

The journey back was prolonged significantly due to the soldiers of Ezel joining them along the way.

Of course, none of the three had any complaints about this fact.

The fact that nearly twenty people survived and could return together was a great comfort in itself.

When they arrived at Taloon Territory, it was just past lunchtime, but they didn’t hesitate to settle into their rooms after choosing accommodations.

Unpacking their belongings, Rohan laid on the comfortable bed and spent the rest of the day sleeping.

Sleep was magnificent; even investing just twenty hours in it dramatically restored his condition.

Rohan, feeling refreshed for the first time in a while, stretched widely.

“Ugh…”

The heavy fatigue that seemed to weigh down his body had dissipated, but the injuries and muscle aches from the intense movements for a long time were still vivid.

Shaking off the drowsiness quickly, Rohan wiped his face briefly and left the room.

“Oh, Rohan. Are you up?”

“Oh, did you sleep well?”

As they descended to the first floor, the Earl of Ezel, who was having a late breakfast, greeted them.

The Earl, who seemed to have just woken up, was still not completely groomed.

After a generous meal was ordered, Rohan took a seat in front of the Earl.

“Lord Athem…”

“Oh, Athem is still asleep. I suppose he’s not much older than you, Rohan. It’s about time his stamina starts to decline.”

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Nodding slowly to the Earl’s words, Rohan understood that even knights, being human, couldn’t completely avoid aging.

As Athem, who had entered his forties, had been around for a long time, it was natural for his recovery ability to be lower compared to his younger days.

Breakfast arrived as generously as Rohan had ordered.

After swallowing a well-cooked fried egg in one bite, he dipped the slightly tough bread into the well-heated soup and pushed it into his mouth.

There was no more conversation between the two focused on their meal, but Rohan felt deep tranquility after a long time.

The past battle felt like a dream.

However, reality is never easy.

Just as the Earl’s morning greetings were nonchalant, his words about Arden collapsing were shocking.

“Rohan, Arden has fallen.”

“…What?”

With a blank expression, Rohan, forgetting to chew his food, let out a stunned voice.