The Indomitable Martial King

“What on earth…”

An Orc using aura and an Elf wielding spirit magic. It was an extraordinary occurrence, but Marund had recently heard rumors of such bizarre individuals. News of the civil war in the Kingdom of Crovence, a nation to the east of the continent, had spread even to the distant Kingdom of Hallein. He had heard that among the diverse group led by the protagonist of those rumors, there were individuals like these.

‘But didn’t that guy use magic?’

Rainbow Force Ray was a high-level, 6th-circle spell. And the protagonist of the rumors was known to be a renowned martial artist and aura user.

‘How could someone who is an aura user have the time to learn magic as well?’

On reflection, it wasn’t impossible that there was another human who commanded such unique individuals. There were countless Elf and Orc slaves in the world.

‘Is it someone else after all?’

Yet, looking at that imposing figure, it seemed plausible that it was him…

As Marund was momentarily lost in his confusion, Repenhardt gestured to Attila.

“We’ll handle this. Go save your people.”

“Ah, understood.”

Snapping back to his senses, Attila ran towards the steel cages. He still didn’t fully grasp the situation, but it was clear that the giant human was not currently his enemy. He had to take this opportunity to save his suffering people. Attila began breaking the steel cages and freeing the exhausted Trolls one by one.

Repenhardt turned his attention to the mage, Marund. Frowning deeply, Marund asked,

“Could you be the one from those rumors…?”

“Who knows? What do you think?”

With a smirk, Repenhardt extended his finger.

“Force Cannon!”

Startled, Marund quickly countered with a spell.

“Ugh! Photon Ray!”

The green orb and yellow flash collided in mid-air and vanished. Marund’s expression grew even more confused. Given the Elf and Orc, it seemed highly likely that the young man’s true identity was the protagonist of the rumors, the Fist King of the Duchy of Antares. However, he was undoubtedly also a high-ranking mage.

Repenhardt smirked.

“Your head must be a mess.”

Repenhardt cast successive spells. Though confused, Marund also raised a magical barrier and countered. The magical barriers of both began to expand and intensify.

As the two barriers grew, they started to pressure each other. The magic clashed violently in mid-air, causing turbulent, invisible magical currents that distorted the space between them.

Vroooom!

In the deafening noise only audible to mages, Marund gradually increased the power of his spells.

“Spear Line Grade Fast…”

Repenhardt formed hand signs to match his opponent.

“Rantia Photon Cload Leyride…”

Within the tangled barriers, spells were cast, countered, and disrupted, over and over. Sweat trickled down Marund’s forehead.

“Ugh…”

Despite continuously casting spells, none were effective. He was losing the strategic battle completely. Moreover, his opponent’s mastery of magic was even more adept than his own, though he had been practicing for nearly 50 years!

“Th-that’s impossible!”

Watching the floundering Marund, Repenhardt smiled. Engaging in a mage’s duel after such a long time felt exhilarating. Now that he was a 7th-circle mage, he could hold his own against any opponent.

“Aaaaargh…”

A scream escaped Marund’s lips. His domain was gradually being pushed back and shrinking. Pressing his advantage, Repenhardt delivered the final blow, chanting an incantation.

“Lay of Blackout!”

From within the intertwined magical barriers, a jet-black flash shot out, striking Marund. Already occupied with countering three different attack spells, there was no way he could handle this one as well. The knockout spell hit Marund squarely on the head.

“Squawk!”

With a sharp cry, Marund collapsed, unconscious.

* * *

“Hiya! Hiya! Hiyaa!”

Tassid relentlessly wielded his turquoise blade aura, pressing Kapir without mercy. Kapir gritted his teeth as he continuously retreated.

‘Damn it! The flow of my aura keeps getting disrupted…’

Initially, Kapir had fought evenly with Tassid, but as time went on, he found himself being pushed back. The difference in their skill levels was simply too vast. Kapir had only awakened his aura a year ago. By aura user standards, he was quite the novice. His aura quantity and control abilities were still terribly immature.

Of course, it hadn’t been long since Tassid had awakened his aura either. In fact, it had only been three months for him, making him even more of a novice.

However, Tassid had been an orc great warrior in his previous life, on par with the swordmaster Cyrus. Simply put, he was a genius among orcs, akin to the likes of Russ. Their innate talents were different, so it was only natural that there was a significant gap in their abilities as aura users.

“Huff! Huff! Huff!”

Kapir’s breathing grew increasingly labored. His skills were already lacking, and having exhausted himself fighting Attila, he was at a loss. Eventually, under the continuous assault from Tassid, Kapir’s footing slipped, exposing a vulnerability.

“Ugh!”

Not missing the opening, Tassid activated his Spirits Weapon.

“Go, Dakar!”

The demon sword shot towards Kapir like an arrow. But even so, an aura user was still an aura user, even if in a weakened state. Kapir twisted his body with all his might, barely managing to evade the demon sword. Feeling triumphant, he shouted,

“Hah! You missed!”

However, he failed to notice that the demon sword had turned around like a boomerang and was coming back.

Clang!

“Ow!”

A loud cracking sound echoed from the back of Kapir’s head. His eyes rolled back as he crumpled to the ground, foaming at the mouth, undoubtedly knocked out cold.

Repenhardt let out an admiring sigh.

“Hooh?”

While it was easy to cut down an opponent with aura, adjusting the force to merely knock them out was a highly advanced technique. To execute it while simultaneously using the Spirits Weapon?

‘Tassid, you always sparred with Russ, and now your aura handling has reached an impressive level.’

Feeling satisfied, Repenhardt glanced over at Siris.

‘It’s already over on that side.’

She had already lightly struck the back of Blay’s neck, knocking him out. As with the case of Sillan, a priest’s combat power wasn’t particularly high. The fact that Blay had held out this long was thanks to the more combative prayer scripts of the High Priest Seiya. Honestly, it was impressive that he had endured against Siris, who now wielded spirit magic, for as long as he did.

Thus, these three middle-aged men, renowned in the Kingdom of Hallein, lay unconscious with their eyes rolled back. Repenhardt gave a bitter smile. Watching them, he felt a bit sorry for them. They had done no harm to the trolls. All they did was get a free meal and ended up in this mess.

‘It’s true what they say about there being no such thing as a free lunch.’

Siris approached Repenhardt and asked curiously.

“But Repenhardt, is it really okay to let them live? Even though we didn’t use aura, I think they might still figure out your identity.”

“Well, probably.”

Siris’s eyes widened in surprise at his unexpectedly calm response.

“Really? Is that okay?”

Repenhardt was no longer just a warrior. He was a renowned aura user, the Fist King, and the ruler of the Duchy of Antares. He was, in many ways, a public figure. Could he really come to a foreign city, cause such a ruckus, and face no repercussions?

Repenhardt smiled gently.

“This is all part of the plan.”

Siris looked puzzled. Repenhardt continued, patting her head.

“If I truly wanted to keep my identity hidden, I would have worn a mask. I would have also prohibited the use of aura or spirit magic. As long as the crucial details don’t get exposed, it’s fine. I have my reasons, so don’t worry.”

After reassuring Siris, Repenhardt turned to Attila. He was laying the freed trolls on the ground and using his shamanic powers to revive them.

“Uuuugh…”

“Aaah…”

The trolls, barely conscious, struggled to speak after having their throats constricted for so long. Seeing their pitiful state, both Tassid and Siris’s expressions hardened.

Feeling Repenhardt’s gaze, Attila turned his head. He stood up and bowed respectfully.

“Guru Attila thanks his saviors.”

Though respectful, his expression still showed caution. Urging him, Repenhardt quickly responded.

“Let’s leave this place for now. We don’t know when others might come.”

Southern Branch of the Alchemist Guild, Tears of Santana

Flames engulfed the enormous mansion, the inferno blazing brightly as thick black smoke billowed up into the night sky.

“Fire!”

“Help!”

The desperate screams of alchemists, unable to escape and burning alive, echoed throughout the mansion. Those who barely managed to flee ran frantically in all directions.

Among them stood the Southern Branch Manager, Diphl, staring at the burning mansion with a soulless expression, tears of blood streaming down his face.

“No… No…”

With his branch in such a state, Diphl’s future was as good as over. Not only would all his qualifications be revoked, but his entire fortune would be seized to compensate for the damages. In an instant, he lost everything he had spent a lifetime building and faced a miserable downfall.

Boom! Boom! KABOOM!

In the chaos, the alchemists’ reagents exploded one after another, exacerbating the fire. Citizens living near the mansion, fearing the flames, abandoned their homes and fled. Firefighters from the city of Kaltizan rushed in to extinguish the blaze, while city guards armed themselves to maintain order, shouting commands.

“Everyone, stay calm!”

“Evacuate in an orderly manner! If you don’t keep order, there will be more casualties!”

The entire district was in turmoil, a veritable pandemonium. Countless people flooded the streets, scurrying about like ants from a destroyed anthill.

Amidst this chaos, a group traversed the rooftops, crossing the city. It was Repenhardt’s group, along with Attila and the trolls they had rescued.

Naturally, this fire was their doing. They had set the mansion ablaze to divert the humans’ attention and used the distraction to rescue the trolls. Of course, Kapir and his group had been moved to a safe location beforehand. Repenhardt was not so heartless as to leave unrelated people to burn to death. As for the alchemists, their sins against the trolls were so grave that it didn’t matter if they burned.

“Just a little more effort!”

Attila’s shout spurred the following trolls, who nodded desperately despite sweating profusely.

“Uuu…”

“Grrr…”

Their bodies were a mess, but thanks to Attila’s sorcery, they had temporarily regained some strength. With their excellent physical abilities, the trolls leaped from rooftop to rooftop, heading earnestly towards the outskirts of Kaltizan. Those too exhausted to walk were carried on the backs of Repenhardt, Tassid, and Attila.

After running for some time, the southern gate of Kaltizan, shrouded in darkness, gradually came into view.

The gate, which should have been tightly closed, was wide open. The guards who were supposed to be standing watch were unconscious, sprawled out on the ground. This was the work of Russ and Sillan, who had arrived earlier as planned.

Attila and the trolls were the first to jump down from the rooftops. Russ’s expression stiffened slightly as he faced them.

“Um…”

Although Repenhardt had repeatedly told him that trolls were actually wise, their hideous appearance was still the first thing that struck him upon seeing them in person.

‘J-jeez, they really do look terrifying.’

Repenhardt was the last to leap down from the rooftop, landing next to Russ. Seeing Russ’s expression, Repenhardt chuckled understandingly.

“What? Are you scared of how the trolls look?”

“It’s just a bit awkward…”

Repenhardt let out a short laugh.

“Well, weren’t you awkward around orcs?”

When you think about it, both orcs and trolls have rather fierce appearances.

“That’s the thing, I’ve seen orcs a lot as slaves around, so it wasn’t really off-putting.”

Repenhardt gave a wry smile at Russ’s response. Regardless, now was not the time to be leisurely chatting.

“You’ll get used to it. Now, where’s the carriage?”

“It’s ready outside the gate.”

The group, along with the trolls, hurriedly exited through the gate. Three cargo carriages were parked by the roadside outside the gate, and a red-haired boy waved from atop one of them.

“Repen! Over here! Here!”

The exhausted trolls climbed onto the carriages, hiding themselves under the covers. Repenhardt gestured to Sillan.

“Sillan, take care of them!”

“Yes, yes.”

Sillan prayed to Philanence as she cast healing spells on the trolls. While treating them, she muttered to herself.

“Huh, this is the first time I’ve seen trolls. But they’re all so skinny. Aren’t trolls supposed to have more muscles?”

Even in the face of these fearsome appearances, is that really what he’s focusing on? Truly a peculiar personality. Shaking his head, Repenhardt climbed onto the driver’s seat and took hold of the reins. Russ and Tassid also mounted their respective carriages, preparing to depart.

“Giddy up!”

“Giddy up!”

The wheels began to turn, and the carriages slowly started moving. The three carriages rolled into the darkness, gradually fading away.