Chapter 49

Chapter 49

TL/Editor: Raei

Proofreader: Pickhead7

Schedule: 5/week

Illustrations: None.

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The battle unfolded completely opposite to the previous day.

Graham's forces couldn't handle the frontal assault of the Black Knight, leading to the collapse of their center.

At the same time, the rear troops, floundering in the darkness summoned by Ian, lost their judgment and hindered the retreat of the front lines.

In short, command was impossible.

To put it in terms of a strategy game, it was a total morale collapse.

"Everyone for themselves!"

"Aaah! I want to live!"

Baron Talian's forces literally crushed Graham's army.

They shattered their forces, scattering them in all directions.

Once an army was split like this, there was almost no way to reassemble it.

It was typical for everyone to scatter, each fending for themselves.

It was strange in the case of the former Count's forces.

Thanks to Ian releasing birds to gather them, about 300 grouped together.

Elated by victory, the Baron's troops hunted down the fleeing enemies one by one.

Mercenaries were killed, and knights were captured for ransom.

"Ian."

Ian, who was watching the battlefield, was startled by Lucy suddenly jumping into his arms.

Lucy hugged Ian tightly, sobbing.

"We... we won."

Yes. We did win.

Ian swallowed his words and looked out over the battlefield.

It was a monumental first victory since becoming a wizard.

---

---

War is business.

The purpose of war is conquest, plunder, and the accumulation of wealth.

The concept that 'war was a terrible thing' formed after World Wars I and II is a modern notion.

In the fantasy-medieval era where Ian was active, war was nothing more than a means to make a huge amount of money.

Working to the bone in the fields barely pays anything.

Farming is essentially the same as gambling.

But killing people makes money???

Guys! You should try killing people too! It pays!

That's right.

War in this era is like a real RPG game where you hunt human mobs.

The existence of classes like knights, clerics, and wizards alone should tell you it's an RPG.

But in a place where killing people and earning money, leveling up, and accumulating achievements...

Saying "Murder is bad. Robbery is bad."

Would that make sense?

"Don't you want to level up?"

"Don't you want to make money?"

That's the kind of response you'd get.

You killed a mob (person).

What's the next thing to do?

Naturally, looting.

Ian found soldiers obsessed with looting as he walked through the battlefield.

They searched the bodies for anything valuable.

This is how mercenaries accumulate their assets.

In a way, one could say they wield weapons and kill people for this purpose.

Just to lay hands on something shiny, beautiful, and desirable...

Maybe that's what living is all about.

To satisfy greed, it's about constantly consuming.

"..."

Ian wandered the battlefield, perhaps hoping to discover the mysteries of death.

But the mystery he sought was nowhere to be seen, only greedy soldiers sprawled everywhere.

'With so many corpses around, why can't I see the mystery of death?'

Ian furrowed his brows and looked around.

He felt nostalgic for the days he learned magic under Eredith.

Back then, Eredith introduced him to the best ways to hear their voices.

If Ian had tried to understand the mysteries on his own, who knows what foolish things he might have done.

'I don't understand.'

He thought he might learn necromancy here.

But simply wandering a battlefield full of corpses was not enough.

What should he do?

Dissect a corpse?

Sleep in a grave with a corpse? Or...

Ian shook his head.

It would be much faster to meet a necromancer during his travels and ask directly.

If Eredith knew what Ian was thinking, she would have been speechless.

You know, there are people who spend months trying, right?

And here was Ian, thinking he could grasp necromancy just by scanning a battlefield once.

"Lucy. Did you agree on anything with the Count?"

"Agree on something?"

"Like, in exchange for his help, you promised him something..."

Lucy, with her uniquely clueless expression, tilted her head.

"Nothing like that?"

"...Really?"

"Yeah. Really."

Really nothing?

Ian was baffled, but there truly was nothing.

Well, the original plan might have been to create an undeniable atmosphere after winning and then extort various things from Lucy, but...

The Count had died...

Regretting in the afterlife that he should have spoken sooner was futile.

What can be done about it now?

It was the Count's fault for not setting conditions beforehand in his attempt to maintain dignity in front of his niece.

Thus, the Count's people couldn't cause trouble in Talian's domain either.

"Lucky, aren't you."

Ian nodded to himself.

To Ian, Lucy was a born winner.

Someone who succeeds at whatever she does.

Well, an owner of such luck.

It's hard to say it was a repayment, but taking care of the mercenaries' meals and distributing spoils to the knights could be considered as such.

"You'll come to the banquet, right?"

"Of course."

"Then I'll see you at the banquet hall!"

Lucy, with many things still to handle, couldn't spare much time.

Even meeting Ian was squeezed into her busy schedule.

Understanding her situation, Ian once again wandered around aimlessly.

---

---

Having some free time for a few days, Ian fell into a rare serious contemplation.

"What really is a wizard...?"

A converser with the mysterious.

A seeker of mysteries.

That was the wizard Ian knew.

Up until now, he had been studying under Eredith and, by chance, talking with mysteries to build his achievements, but...

Now that he had some free time, Ian started to doubt the path he was on.

Is this the right way to train?

Perhaps a seeker of mysteries needed more extreme methods...

"I'm not sure."

Ian, a novice wizard, still found it overwhelming to forge his own future.

What Ian needed was more experience.

Now he vaguely understood why Eredith had recommended traveling to him.

"Oh! The wizard has arrived!"

"Ian Raven! Come here and sit!"

Ian laughed seeing the knights calling for him.

He still had so much to learn about this world...

But little by little, Ian felt like he was becoming a part of this world.

"Really, becoming a Black Knight and that's all you can eat?"

"Eat up! Eat up!"

The Baron's banquet hall... but it felt more like an outdoor barbecue.

It lacked that epic feeling.

Still, being a noble's banquet, the fact that peasants were mobilized to serve made it different from ordinary banquets.

"..."

Belenka, who was already there, stared at the lump of meat in front of her as if she was about to kill it.

"What are you doing over there?"

"Hmm. I have to eat all of this. But I'm so full I can't eat anymore."

The knights, having witnessed Belenka's feats, respectfully loaded her plate with meat.

With a dozen knights taking turns, the amount became enormous.

Belenka wasn't a competitive eating YouTuber; there was no way she could finish a mountain of meat by herself.

"Hey, hey. You're not saying you can't eat the food I'm offering, are you?"

"Come on, Black Knight! Try a bite of this too!"

"..."

With the food pile growing larger, Belenka tightly closed her eyes.

Ian tilted his head.

Colleagues persistently offering unwanted food...

Where had he seen that before?

It was just like a company dinner.

Ah!

A knight's banquet is just like a company dinner!

"Eat a lot. You know the main character always gets the most attention, right?"

"Ah. Then, Ian, maybe you could help..."

"Ah. I'm good. It smells gamey. Can't eat it. Why don't they season it with pepper or something? What kind of barbecue is just meat spun around the fire?"

Belenka looked at Ian with a resentful expression, but Ian just patted her on the shoulder.

No one dared to offer Ian, of all people, medieval-style barbecue recklessly.

It was nice being a wizard!