Chapter 12

­The Very Antithetical Alchemist (1)

After Ian was declared as an ‘Eternal Guest’ of the Mogrian house, the great landlord immediately arranged a convoy for Ian.

“I am not sure if we are the right people to escort him.”

There were around a total of twenty people in the squad, including the veteran knight ‘Eric’, who went to the valley with Ian, and ‘Luca’, who called himself the Spearmaster. They travelled with him while guarding him and running errands.

“That’s what I thought.”

The soldier Luca replied to the veteran knight.

Both of them saw the freezing hell that Ian made at the valley.

The landlord commanded them to protect him?

A random wolf spirit, passing by them, would laugh, if it saw this situation.

“Perhaps, we are the ones who are being guarded…”

“I agree.”

The convoy was formed with twenty people,

By following Ian, they were heading to the end of the province, Lloyd village.

He was going to meet the alchemist who the merchant suggested.

“What do you think about it?”

Luca asked Ian who was walking in front of him.

Usually, people got scared when confronting mages.

Especially, if they saw the scene at the valley.

But this soldier, Luca, he didn’t seem to be scared of Ian,

Whether he confronted knights or mages, he was a very friendly guy.

‘Does he dare to risk his life?’

As Ian had seen him, he could make a conclusion.

Soon, this soldier would be rebuked by nobles or mages with bad tempers.

“Is it still far from Lloyd village?”

“Yeah? Ah, we will arrive there soon. It’s bit far, yeah?”

Instead of answering, Ian changed the topic by giving him a question.

As Ian intended, it seemed that Luca forgot about the question he asked previously.

However, Luca felt different.

‘Hwoo! It makes me so nervous, indeed.’

By Ian’s question, Luca calmed himself.

Honestly, he was as afraid of Ian as the others.

Power was like a monstrous magic to nobles.

How would he dare confront such a person easily.

Furthermore, he hadn’t known him for very long.

‘But I have to endure. This is a chance. The only chance that is allowed to me.’

The reason that encouraged him to dare to risk his life, it was an ‘interview’.

An interview for his life goal!.

‘When would I have a chance to have a conversation with a mage?’

The dream he told his comrades about whenever he had time.

Writing a heroic chronicle after retirement!

Everyone laughed at his goal, but Luca was serious.

‘The Mage and The Spearmaster will be a masterpiece!’

The power of the dream was big enough to change his life.

He used to always drink whenever he got a day off.

Now, he learned writing skills whenever he had time.

The wage which was only spent on alcohol, was now spent to buy paper, books and ink.

‘Cheer up! I can do it! No hesitation! Go Go Go!’

With a small self encouragement, Luca grabbed his spear strongly.

Now the squads were close to the village.

“You will see the village when you climb over that hill.”

The veteran knight Eric said.

It was a very far away village, as though someone picked it up and put it away from the province.

He had only heard of it in his former life, but had never visited there.

‘The alchemist Ledio, was it?’

The alchemist who came from the capital and lived in Lloyd village.

According to the merchant, he moved here to gather some specific herb.

The herb that only grew in north land, Ian could list few herbs like that.

‘Specifically, the herb that can’t be found in other places would be…’

There was only one herb like that.

The herb with a body that was too frail to be transported.

The herb with sensitive characteristics that couldn’t be cultivated as well.

‘The flower of Randor.’

It was a rare herb,

But there was no known effect of it.

It was questionable if it should even be called as a herb.

‘Maybe he is not an ordinary alchemist.’

He moved to north side to gather such a herb.

Perhaps two possibilities are there.

He knew its usage, or was just curious about it.

‘Ee shall see.’

After he climbed to top of the hill, he could see the village.

It was the Lloyd village.

“Hmm?”

The village was in trouble.

Village people were forced to gather at the center, and there were men who were threatening the people with knives.

Even the soldiers who were stationed there were killed.

Surung!

The veteran knight Eric drew his sword.

These men were thieves.

“Take these youngsters only, we better go back now.”

“What about these chicks?”

“Look at their faces you fool. Would anyone buy them?”

A cunning voice.

It was the conversation between thieves who were committing robbery and human trafficking .

“Hmm, but what a waste.”

“Let’s sell these youngsters and quickly move to Coldwood.”

“Hehe! Yeah, that area has pretty chicks.”

There were five stationed soldiers and twelve boys who would be able to fight.

However, there were twenty one thieves.

It was a battle that they couldn’t win, compared to the number and combat experience of thieves.

Furthermore, they were assaulted suddenly.

“D..daddy!”

“Douglas!”

There were parents who tried to stop their kids being taken away.

One of these parents was the alchemist, ‘Ledio.’

He desperately held his son, ‘Douglas.’

“Give me the boy you bastard!”

However, it was a meaningless struggling.

This weak alchemist wasn’t strong enough to hold his son from the muscular thieves.

“N…no! Not my son!”

“Shut up.”

*smack! smack! smack!*

The thief kicked Ledio’s stomach many times.

“Hurkkkhhh!”

Ledio’s eyes rolled up due to severe pain and he let out what seemed to be a deathlike groan

“This dying bastard dares to act against me?”

Before he got kicked, Ledio’s face had already turned grey.

Furthermore, he was very skinny, like a wooden stick.

It was obvious he was suffering from a nasty sickness.

“Daddy!”

The young son, Douglas, struggled to escape from the grasp of the thief.

“Let me go! Let me go! Daddy!”

“Huh, they both are bitching a lot.”

The thief said annoyingly.

He drew a dagger from a sheath on his thigh.

“Would you shut the fuck up if your daddy dies?”

“…..!”

With the threat, Douglas closed his mouth

“Say one more word, then let’s see what I would do.”

“Sniff….!”

“Oh? Did I just hear something?”

The thief smiled sinisterly, while revealing his dirty teeth.

He loved to steal money and rape a girl..

However, the most entertaining thing was this.

Killing, and playing around before killing.

Just like this time.

“You cried, didn’t you?”

“N…no…..!”

“Wow, now you talk?”

He started to tease the boy.

“Tsk, That crazy dude started it again.”

Even other thieves looked at him uneasily.

When people were gathered, there was always at least one abnormal man.

“Finish it quickly and bring the kid!”

“Hehe! I know, I know.”

The thief crouched in front of Ledio, then said.

“Don’t worry. I will sell him at a good place.”

He whispered while showing Douglas’ face to Ledio.

“No…. Douglas…. Don’t go….”

Even he couldn’t control himself, he stretched his arms, to grab his son.

“Bye bye.”

The thief grabbed the knife in reverse.

He was going to stab the back of Ledio’s neck.

He loved decapitating people.

“D…daddy! DADDY!”

While the boy screamed desperately,

*Peeerrrk!*

It was a weird sound.

Not a sound of something being penetrated clearly,

Nor a sound of something being smashed.

Some kind of sound that was in between that.

The sound came from the thief’s head, while spreading his red blood everywhere.

“W…what was that? What happened?”

The thieves were panicking.

While looking around carefully, they reached out to the thief who lay on the ground.

“Ice….?”

It was an icicle, which had each side sharpened, that penetrated through the head of the thief.

Well, more accurately, his head was blown up.

“W..where! Where did it come from!”

The thieves looked around cautiously, trying to find the source of the icicle.

“T..there, over there!”

One of thieves found something.

He pointed to the hill side.

“T..the p..provincial army?”

The knights and soldiers rushed down beauteously.

That was the only thing they could see.

Because they were already panicked at the scene.

“W..why are they here!”

“Damn! Run away!”

Still, there was a long enough distance between them that they can run away from them.

That’s the conclusion the thieves made.

They were sure about it without any doubt.

*Peeeerk!*

Suddenly, another thief fell down.

Again, it was an icicle.

*Peeeerk!*

The icicles came spontaneously.

It never missed once.

*Peerrrk!*

They couldn’t figure it out, that the icicles were coming from the top of the hill, even at the moment when they were dying on the ground.