The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years

Book 2: Chapter 294

Translator: Seven

Editors: Ana_Banana, Yahiko

Terrible scars were left in the places where undead appeared.

Firstly, they smelled worse than rotting corpses. It was a smell so pungent that it was difficult to describe. It was so powerful that those who smelt it wanted to cut off their noses and faint at the same time.

It wasn’t just the smell. The temperature in these places also dropped sharply. It was more chilly than cold, but this chill was still too much for many people.

“…”

Peran looked down at the pitch black lake in front of him.

This was Lake Comos. Although it had very little in common with the beautiful lake he remembered, it was clear that he hadn’t come to the wrong place.

Rotten chunks of flesh floated in the once pristine waters.

In the past, the water of Lake Comos was so clear and clean that one could drink it directly, but if anyone dared to drink it now, they would either be inflicted by countless unknown diseases or die instantly as if they had drunk lethal poison.

The appearance of this lake, which was filled with sticky black filth, was disgusting enough to make one want to vomit. But there was no disgust on Peran’s face, no hatred.

He couldn’t feel the presence of any undead.

Were they hiding?

No. If a high level undead had truly appeared there, then it wouldn’t just be the lake, but the forest around it that suffered.

Peran turned his head and looked towards the forest. The entrance to this dark forest was like the gaping maw of a beast.

Tap-

He put himself into the mouth of this beast without any hesitation. Although it felt like the darkness was trying to restrict him, Peran’s steps couldn’t be stopped.

But he didn’t walk for that long.

This was because of the sight he saw as he arrived in a large clearing.

It was strange to say the corpse of an undead, but ‘pieces of undead corpses’ were scattered across the clearing.

Peran had rushed to the lake as soon as he received the report of the appearance of undead. Although he hadn’t been keeping track of the time, he was certain that it hadn’t taken him more than half a day.

‘This was a group of at least a few hundred undead.’

Even considering that most of the number would be made up of low level undead, it was not an amount that could be easily cleaned up within half a day.

No. It had taken less than half a day. Looking at the traces around the clearing, it had been at least a few hours since the corpses had been left there.

In other words, this meant that hundreds of undead had been annihilated in only two or so hours.

“…”

The number of people capable of such a feat was extremely limited.

By combining the scattered zombie corpses, the scars all over the forest clearing, and the faint traces left in the air, Peran was able to guess who was responsible for this scene.

In the first place, he knew she was nearby.

After thinking that, Peran’s expression became a bit hard.

“…surely not…”

He investigated the direction the traces were leading to.

It seemed she didn’t have any intention of hiding her presence. Thanks to this, Peran knew where she’d gone.

—Northeast.

In the direction of Bairak.

* * *

The Rulan bridge was so large that even ten carriages were able to cross over side by side. But now, it didn’t feel large enough.

This was the only entry point in the southern section of the empire. And the crowd that formed was large enough to cover the entire bridge without gaps

“But it doesn’t feel disorderly, does it? There are even a lot of mercenaries here.”

“Do you see those guards over there? Would you believe me if I told you that they are all stronger than most A rank mercenaries?”

“Ay. Is that… supposed to be a joke?”

“If you don’t believe me, try to do something. On Rulan Bridge, even crazy bastards try to act like normal people. Have you never heard of the rumors about them? It’s said that the Ghost Catching Guards of Rulan Bridge are stronger than most Knights.”

Certainly, their size, gaze, and aura were unusual for simple guards.

“If you make a fuss here, you will not only be banned from entering the empire for life but your bones and flesh will also be separated and thrown into the Rulan River. So just stay quiet.” (Note: So they ban you… then kill you? Extreme.)

Lukas looked around while listening to the mercenaries’ idle chatter. The thing that caught his attention more than the guards was the abundance of other races. While the empire couldn’t be said to exclude other races, it couldn’t be considered an open country either.

—As he looked around the flowing river, it was finally their turn to enter.

“Please present your identification card.”

The guard spoke in a blunt tone.

Rina presented her identification without saying a word. It was a certified identification card that was only issued to certain persons.

The identification ‘card’ was a small bronze plaque engraved with symbols and writing denoting her origins, all signs that showed it was not something that could be mass produced.

With this card, she was able to enter more than 20 countries, including the Kastkau Empire, and stay in cities of other races that had good relationships with humans for as long as she liked.

Among the many merchants of the Red Hub, only those who were recognised as elites could obtain it.

The guard carefully scrutinised the card before glancing at the carriages behind her.

“Were you attacked?”

“Yes.”

“…it must have been a disaster. You have my sympathy.”

“Thanks.”

The guards beckoned some of his comrades over to check the luggage inside.

“The ones behind you are the mercenaries you hired, ‘The Crazy Gargoyles’, correct?”

“That’s right.”

“Understood.”

By then, the luggage check had been completed. The guards made eye contact with each other and nodded at almost the same time.

The guard in front of them returned the bronze plaque.

“You are formally permitted to enter. Welcome to Kastkau.”

It was much faster than the others.

Lukas was curious about the reason, but Garp muttered under his breath a moment later.

“As expected, merchants are the best when it comes to this. The Kastkau immigration process, which is known for being absurdly complicated, is over in just an instant.”

Rina, who happened to hear his murmur, smiled.

“Do you want to be a merchant too?”

“…that’s not a funny joke.”

Of course, Rina didn’t mean it, so she just let out a laugh.

Their journey continued beyond Rulan Bridge.

The mercenaries subconsciously let out a breath.

It was natural to feel relieved.

After all, while there was still a bit of distance to the city, they had finally managed to successfully cross the border into the empire.

* * *

Lukas sat in the bumpy luggage compartment and thought back to his fight with Budilem.

Budilem’s level. Considering the fact that he was a Magic Warrior, it should have been close to the top. He was by no means weak, but he hadn’t been strong enough to be counted among the ‘truly strong’.

Nevertheless, Lukas had no choice but to admit that he was a difficult opponent.

‘I can probably only defeat those around Budilem’s level.’

No matter how experienced, skilled and in control of his body he was, it was impossible for him to defeat someone stronger than Budilem in his current state.

In fact, if the fight against Budilem had been more normal, he would have had to suffer a bit more damage.

In the end, there were three factors that led to his victory.

Budilem had been more wary of Lukas than he needed to be, his fighting style wasn’t much of a threat to him, and finally, he was pressed for time.

If they had fought fairly in an open space without a time limit, it would have been much harder for Lukas to win.

Throb-

He felt pain in his shoulder and stomach.

Although neither attack had hit a vital spot, they were not shallow wounds. He would need to rest for at least a week in order to let them heal.

0

Lukas then began to think about the enemies he would encounter from now on.

Multiple enemies.

Quick enemies.

Enemies whose main means of attack were long or wide ranged attacks.

At this point, the enemies that would be the most difficult for Lukas to face were Wizards.

Generally, as the level of spells increased, the range also increased. In addition, attacks without a distinct shape such as fire, water, wind, darkness, and light were difficult for Lukas to counter.

This meant that he had to find other countermeasures than the sword, but he couldn’t think of any at that moment.

‘…I need a more systematic swordsmanship.’

Of course, the first thing Lukas thought about was Lucid’s Dreadment.

But unfortunately, Lukas didn’t know enough about Dreadment.

Dreadment hadn’t suited his body, so he’d only trained it to an elementary level.

‘Riki’s memories…’

Were of no use to him right now.

Riki’s methods were simple and crude, but it could be called something similar to swordsmanship.

But it couldn’t be copied. He was a Demigod, a being who was one step out of the mortal realm from birth. A being that could cleave a mountain in one swing if he wanted to. If he tried to imitate that guy’s swordsmanship, his body would collapse.

In other words, what Lukas needed was swordsmanship that matched his current self.

‘…Master.’

He thought of the being who had taught him about swords.