Chapter 72

Chapter 72

Chapter 72

Harlan was an ordinary city guard.N0v3lTr0ve served as the original host for this chapter's release on N0v3l--B1n.

Or at least— he had been an ordinary city guard. That was until he quit. He had served nearly ten years working at Whiteridge’s walls. It was a safe job. Or at least, he thought it was safe. He had taken it up after quitting as an adventurer.

Adventuring was dangerous. The rewards weren’t worth the risk. That was why he quit, hanging up his guild badge to be an ordinary city guard. And it had been fine for years. His biggest fear was being conscripted into the army, but his post at the battlements was rather high priority, so he knew the city couldn’t just let go of him even if they wanted to.

So Harlan had been safe. He only had to worry if the war reached the western edges of the Astrad Kingdom. He highly doubted that that would happen. He was certain that the Kingdom of Kal would be repelled. Especially so soon after their war with Archon. But if the worst scenario arose, then the [Hero King] would have stuck to his past tactics— heading straight for the capital city of the nation.

There was no need for the Kingdom of Kal to conquer all territories of the Astrad Kingdom if Astral was taken over and King Jalen Astral was killed. That was how Kallistus Kal rose to prominence so quickly. His actions were the same in Archon against King Thorne. He wasted no time dealing with the minor nobility— this could be seen as far as back as when he was first summoned.

After the Morius Empire fell, he gathered those who survived to form a small rebellion against the Crathus Kingdom. Kallistus had no army. Just a small band of rebels. It took him years, but he eventually slew King Ivan Crather, bringing down the Elegant Palace of Crathe, to establish the Kingdom of Kal.

Knowing this, Harlan thought he was fine even if he continued working at the walls of Whiteridge. He was certain that no harm would befall the city, and his life as an ordinary city guard would remain unaffected. Unfortunately, he was wrong.

Because when there were corpses, there were vultures. The Miststorm Riders got wind of the war, and they took this opportunity to strike the vulnerable Astrad Kingdom. They razed down entire villages, towns, and cities, until they eventually reached Whiteridge.

They stormed the city, bringing down its walls and slaughtering the guards. Harlan thought he was going to die that day. He was prepared to throw away his life to protect the citizens of Whiteridge. But... all at once, the thousands of [Bandits] burning down the streets of the city suddenly exploded.

It happened in an instant. First, the Miststorm Riders were empowered by a purple mist. Then they were dead. Their bloodied remains lined the cobbled ground. And the battle was over.

It had been over a week since. Harlan didn’t know what killed them that day. He just knew that the one responsible for defeating the [Bandit Boss]— Odell the Monster of the Mist himself— was a young woman who went by the name of Noele the Noble Spellsword. She was an adventurer. Harlan had never met her, but he already knew she was someone he only wished he could amount to.

Although... he did think her name was rather familiar.

But it didn’t matter. Harlan decided that he was done with fighting. He was no longer interested in being either an adventurer or a city guard. He was going to retire to one of the small farming villages surrounding Whiteridge.

Most of them had been badly damaged in the attack of the Miststorm Riders as well, and some had even been razed entirely to the ground. While Harlan wanted to help, he couldn’t afford to offer his labor for free right now. Not without a job. He barely had any savings since the cost of living was so high in cities.

Sure, what he had on him was more than enough to survive for a while in one of these villages. But he had to look out for himself first and foremost. So he sought out one of the few places that had been mostly unaffected by the Miststorm Riders.

Wolfwater.

Apparently, the [Bandits] were defeated right outside of the village before they could deal much damage. Harlan did wonder how they were defeated, but he didn’t bother questioning it now. He just knew that Wolfwater was safe, so his main focus was in finding a place to stay.

Or at least— he had thought Wolfwater was safe.

He strode down the gravel path leading into the village as [Farmers] passed him by. They eyed him curiously, and he just meekly nodded back at them. A little girl waved at him by the front porch of a house.

“Welcome to Wolfwater, sir!” she exclaimed.

He began to wave back. “Uh, hey—” he started.

And a powerful explosion ripped through the road. Harlan was sent flying back as a powerful shockwave toppled the nearby buildings. The little girl screamed as a wooden beam fell on top of her, while a plume of smoke rose to the sky.

Harlan staggered to his feet, panting with wide eyes. He swept his gaze around the village. Moments ago, he had seen a peaceful portrait of an ordinary day with the villagers going about their routines. But now, [Farmers] and their oxen lay bleeding across the burning gravel path. A few houses had collapsed from the blast, and the surrounding foliage was lit aflame.

“I’ll put you out of your misery—” she started.

But a rock flew at the Cloying Witch’s head. Zevya glanced towards the side, and a second rock struck her hat. She tilted her head curiously as a man stood at the very end of the gravel path. He carried a satchel at his side, dressed in a simple tunic. It was unlike the clothes worn here by the [Farmers]. Someone from the city?

“Y-you!” he screamed, tossing another rock at her. “Begone from this village, [Witch]!”

“Do you not know who I am?” Zevya said as he caught the third rock. She shook her head dismissively, barely giving him a passing glance. “Wretched fool. You have signed your death warrant. Perish.”

And she flicked a finger at him. She wouldn’t even bother to kill such a pathetic worm with her curses or hexes. Nor did she bother drawing out the Void’s magic to deal with him. It was a simple [Wind Slash]. A low level Skill.

The man’s eyes grew wide as he saw the attack coming. But even if it was a Skill fitting a Level 10 [Mage], Zevya was Level 58. Even her weakest Skills surpassed that of the strongest Skills of low-leveled individuals. The [Wind Slash] reached the man in an instant.

Then he vanished.

Zevya cocked her head. “Hm?”

She stared at the ground where the man had once been. But there was not a trace of him left. The Cloying Witch raised an amused brow as she looked down at the palm of her hand.

“Intriguing. I didn’t think the Void’s touch had empowered me so. Yet I have become so powerful, I can now obliterate a man with the flick of a finger.”

Shaking her head, she turned back to the little girl. Only to realize the little girl was gone too. Zevya blinked and looked down at herself.

“Did I do that? Wait—”

Her brows snapped together when she saw that the bodies littering the gravel path had vanished. And that was when Zevya heard the first crash. Her eyes darted to the side as a nearby worm golem exploded, shattered into tiny pieces.

“What is... going on?” she asked, but in response, another of her golems was destroyed.

A roach golem crumbled to rubble, and a human golem fell in two halves. And one by one, her golems collapsed. Like some kind of invisible force was taking them out. Or... something that was moving so fast, Zevya couldn’t even see it.

The Cloying Witch just gaped with wide eyes as golem after golem fell. She raised her hands, but then a figure landed before her. Her eyes grew wide as she recognized who it was.

“Thanks for the help, Amelia,” a blonde girl said, unsheathing a blade. “I’ll take care of the Cloying Witch.”

Zevya’s eyes just burned with rage. “You—”

She aimed her staff at the approaching figure. A powerful purple blast shot out as the Cloying Witch screamed.

“Noele the Noble Spellsword!”

And a second explosion rocked Wolfwater.

MelasD

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