154 – Fog-1

Wizards roamed the streets at night. It seemed like he was trying his best not to get caught.

However, he did not use extreme methods such as teleporting the entire wagon.

It doesn’t seem like it was a transaction that happened once or twice, and it wasn’t a valuable material that required teleportation. Even if it was for security, if they tried to teleport every time, their magic wouldn’t be able to withstand it.

I ran after them holding my breath. The carriage, which seemed to wander the streets forever, stopped in front of a secluded mansion.

It was a rare mansion with high walls built around it, which was hard to find in the capital. The wagon naturally went into it.

However, the capital was lined with tall buildings. I carefully climbed the wall to the roof of the building and watched the mansion that the wagon was in.

It was dawn, but not many people wandered the streets. Few humans paid attention to me.

“…Is it magic?”

Secret magic emanated from the mansion. It was probably a simple perception-damping spell.

However, it is a weak and subtle spell that is cast on an unspecified number of people. It wasn’t magic that would work for a warrior.

Nevertheless, their vigilance was astonishing. As soon as I entered the stable inside the mansion, the cloth was lowered so I couldn’t see what was going on inside.

I couldn’t wait any longer. Now that we have arrived at what appears to be a shelter in our own way, we should be able to find suitable evidence.

In just a few steps, I fell from that height to the floor. It was an action that would have been unimaginable before, but now that I gained the strength of a hero, I was able to finish it with a moderately pleasant shock to my ankle.

Looking closer, the door to the mansion seemed even more massive. After a few steps away from the mansion, I tried to push the door open with my shoulder, but then stopped.

-Well? Weren’t you trying to push in?

At some point, the only person who spoke to me was this sword. At first, I thought it was a nuisance, but little by little I felt that I was depending on her.

“I have no choice but to get caught, but it’s better not to get caught as much as possible. There’s no need to make a fuss.”

He jumped up and jumped over the fence.

With the sound of stepping on the ground, the guards opened their eyes and looked in my direction.

“A raider!”

The first guard to spot him blew his whistle. The others, each holding a spear or staff, quickly surrounded me.

“I didn’t expect it to be like this…”

The training was good, and the momentum was not easy. It was hard to find the relaxed and prodigal atmosphere felt in the criminal organizations or mercenaries in the slums.

There was no time to admire. The magic that flew in in an instant passed by my shoulder.

“Respond with all your might!”

The fireballs they fired right away weren’t that powerful. It brushed past, but even if it had been hit, it wouldn’t have made me stagger.

However, this was only magic that they could ‘use immediately’. And wizards belonged to those who lacked the ability to respond immediately.

“Shoot!”

All of them seemed to be wizards. That too, not just a scholar, but a trained mage ready to fight.

While some wizards kept me in check with instant magic, others calmly cast spells that required time. A handful of guards even entered the building and began to call for reinforcements.

It is a magic tower. The Magic Tower was the only one who could secretly and massively move such thoroughly skilled wizards.

While Farseer was gone, it was clear that something disturbing was happening in the mage tower.

“Suck!”

I received the pouring magic with my body. I lunged forward and dug right into their middle.

“what…”

A wizard’s power is proportional to time and preparation. The magic that was cast for a few seconds would be stronger than the magic that was fired immediately, but the limit was clear.

I wouldn’t know if I chanted a spell that would kill me for weeks, but it’s hardly a magic spell that I vomited up in haste.

“Kuuk!”

“Mu, don’t back down! Whoever the opponent is, we can’t stop here!”

It’s unlikely that his body would be cut off because of the holy sword, but he couldn’t wield the sword with all his might against those ordinary wizards.

You need to know your motive. It is natural for warlocks to covet corpses, but it was strange for them to collect corpses as they have already built a huge tower in the capital of the empire and are enjoying the fame and fortune.

“I’ve confirmed that a wagon carrying a body is going in here. Please surrender obediently.”

I defeated several mages, but if the fight continued like this, there would be no end to it.

All of this could be in vain if the sorcerers who waited for the time didn’t know what spells they might cast, or if they missed the corpse’s whereabouts.

“Don’t back down! Keep fighting!”

Each one was a high-level wizard. If the wizards standing guard were at least ordinary wizards, the wizards recruited from somewhere had even more formidable abilities.

“shit…”

There was no end to going on like this. Even if you allowed powerful spells, you had to fight once you got the evidence.

“Keuuheouk… Huh?”

Stopping defeating the wizard, I rushed into the stable where the wagon had entered. When the cloth was removed, the unhidden wagon remained intact.

“Stop it! You can’t let it go in there!”

Despite the wizards’ cries, I tore off the wagon’s door and removed the black tip on it.

“…shit.”

Traces of life were revealed, clotted with hardened blood. Eyes met with the corpse of the deceased with a painful expression.

I knew that this would be there. It wasn’t shocking. Rather, it would have been more embarrassing if it had been empty.

But even if he knew, seeing a human corpse was not very pleasant. As if the strong incense had worn off, the disgusting smell of corpses stung my nostrils.

“What the hell is going on!”

Unlike other wizards who disguised themselves as ordinary people, a middle-aged wizard in a plain white robe came down.

I could feel it just by making eye contact. That wizard is stronger than all the other wizards here.

“Now that you’re here, don’t even think about leaving alive!”

Confidently casting the spell, he made eye contact with me and stood still.

“…Hero?”

It seemed like he knew me. Before I could organize my thoughts, he waved his hand to defuse the situation.

“Stop the battle! Not the enemy! Damn, didn’t one of these guys know the face of the warrior!”

It was strange.

If the few wizards in the Mage Tower had plotted evil, there would be no reason to be swayed by the name of a hero.

If he was afraid of the hero’s strength, it would have been wiser to run away as soon as he saw me. There was no reason to stop fighting.

It was a little futile, but it was better not to fight than to fight and kill everyone and win. Even more so if you are someone you can communicate with.

“Are you all members of the Mage Tower?”

“Yes… It seems there was a misunderstanding, warrior. Could you please lower your sword? We will not increase the futile sacrifices any more.”

However, it did not change that they did something. Because the corpse in front of my eyes didn’t disappear somewhere.

“Explain it. It’s hard to give you a long time.”

Giving time to the mage was dangerous. He lowered his sword, but was ready to attack at any moment.

“That’s… uh, didn’t you know?”

“You mean buying bodies? Did you think I would know that?”

If this had been said in public, I would have thought it was said to draw me into this criminal activity.

However, those around him were only wizards who were on the same side as him. There was no one he could fool.

“So, is that why you’re here? Because we’re buying bodies from criminals?”

“Buying a corpse? Do you think it’s going to end like that?”

I clenched my teeth tightly.

“Because of that, criminal organizations that kill people for dead bodies have emerged.”

I knew that the mindset of magicians was different from that of ordinary people, but I did not know that even such a thing would be regarded as a minor deviation.

“That’s not only the capital, but also wandering around the Leodrin family’s territory, so I, who was there, came all the way here?”

“But, that’s all you… Whoops!”

He was talking normally, but suddenly closed his mouth as if something was blocking it.

“Kuluk, keuhuk, ugh, uhh… I’m sorry.”

“What happened?”

“This… is a bit surprising.”

Taking a deep breath and calming down, he wiped the blood from his mouth with his robe.

“I don’t think I can tell you everything. This matter… you’d better check it out for yourself.”

“I have no intention of going over with words like that.”

“As you may not know, it’s common for wizards to buy illegal ingredients. I wouldn’t say it’s the right thing…”

The wizard’s face darkened.

“But to the extent that a criminal organization was formed. If that even happened, I’ll admit it. We went too far. We’ll surrender.”

“…What?”

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to receive a punishment that satisfies the warrior’s standards, but the magic tower will definitely pay the empire a price appropriate for the life that died.”

None of them were actions that I could understand with my common sense.

I knew nothing.