I Was Mistaken as a Genius Mage in a Game-Chapter 5

The wagon had been running nonstop for half the day.

The sun, which had been racing alongside us, began to dip below the horizon, and slowly, the moonlight and starlight began to softly illuminate the sky.

Perhaps the horses were tired, as the wagon’s speed had decreased significantly compared to when we first left the city.

“We should start looking for a place to camp soon,” Rex, the orc hero leading the group, said, bringing the wagon to a halt. He decided to let the tired horses rest and give the soldiers some time for a brief sleep.

It would take at least three days of continuous travel to get from Straders to the capital.

For Rex’s well-trained elite soldiers, staying awake for three days wouldn't significantly affect their combat ability. However, the horses needed regular breaks and rest to continue at their best.

"Feed the horses and let them rest."

"Yes!"

"Understood!"

Feeling the atmosphere shift, the masked thief, Balder, silently dismounted from the wagon.

"......"

“You, search for a suitable camping spot nearby,” Rex ordered.

Balder gave a small nod and, like mist, blended into the surroundings before disappearing in an instant.

The group was now standing in the middle of a dense forest.

The towering trees surrounding them made it a dangerous place to camp carelessly. Any surprise attack could come through the trees and underbrush, so the soldiers dismounted, drawing their weapons and scanning the area for threats.

The boy, watching the soldiers' sharp blades and glinting armor reflect the moonlight, felt reassured.

These soldiers were far different from the city guards stationed in Straders. They were the real elite forces sent from the capital.

Each one of them was at least level 20, and Rex, the orc hero leading this squad, was over level 40.

The monsters that might appear on the nearby roads were likely the discarded mutants abandoned by the demons for being ‘failures,’ or maybe stray dogs.

At best, low-level 1 or 2 monsters might appear, so there was no real threat to this elite squad.

‘If we stay like this for another two days, we should reach the capital...’

The boy gazed absentmindedly at Rex, who was gently petting his Komodo, and casually considered what was to come.

‘We've easily passed through the most dangerous section with the help of high-level escorts. It seems we’ll make it to the capital without much trouble, and once we get there, the first place I need to stop by is...’

Crack!

As the boy leisurely processed his thoughts, his gaze was drawn to the corner of his vision, where a red liquid bloomed like a flower.

His focus, which had been on the Komodo affectionately nuzzling Rex, shifted.

His eyes locked onto the blood droplets and saw a soldier slowly collapsing to the ground, an arrow lodged in his neck.

"......"

Time seemed to slow.

An oppressive silence descended over the soldiers.

The stench of blood, which had haunted him in Straders, once again stung his nostrils.

The body that had bloomed with blood fell to the ground with a final thud.

Clang!

The sound of steel armor clashing against each other filled the air with a deafening noise. Soldiers' voices erupted from all directions in response.

"Ambush from the east!!!"

"Poisoned arrows!"

"We can’t locate the enemy! We’ve lost track of the capital!”

Despite the sudden ambush, the well-trained soldiers immediately relayed the fragmented information they'd gathered to their commanding officer in as concise a manner as possible.

“Damn it, Balder! Where is Balder?!”

Rex shouted for the thief, whose entire body was hidden behind a mask.

"......Here, I am."

Behind Rex, who was gripping his axe, Balder appeared, his body drenched in blood.

Three deep gashes marred his abdomen, and a large spear had pierced his back.

The wounds were, of course, infected with deadly poison.

His skin had turned a sickly greenish-blue, and blood tears flowed from his eyes.

“It’s a demon ambush. About a hundred mutants... not many, but...”

“...What is this? Medic! Get a medic over here, NOW!”

Rex hurriedly turned his massive body toward the soldiers and shouted loudly.

Balder grabbed Rex’s arm with his trembling hand and shouted back, despite the blood pouring from his wounds.

Although his body was oozing with blood, he didn’t stop talking.

"Don’t interrupt me, Rex...! Deliver the information first."

Balder briefly stopped talking to remove his blood-soaked mask. His tongue was numb, and the mask had become so saturated with blood that it was difficult to deliver clear information.

As he threw the mask away, his face was revealed, covered in old scars and burns that had spread across his skin.

“Every mutant... not only has intelligence, but they can also use weapons. It’s not just swinging them randomly... they know archery and spear techniques...”

Balder’s voice slowly faded.

Though his life was hanging by a thread, it seemed that giving Rex as much information as possible was his priority.

“Weapons...?” Rex's face twisted, unable to believe Balder’s words.

Mutants with intelligence were occasionally found. The demons would intentionally leave some of these behind to cause hesitation among warriors when fighting them.

However, such mutants usually only mechanically uttered simple phrases and did not possess deep thought like other sentient beings.

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They were like puppets following the demons' commands, with speaking abilities added on.

So most mutants couldn’t use weapons. They couldn’t even move their hands freely, let alone wield a weapon with finesse.

“Run, Rex...”

But Balder insisted that the mutants could use weapons, and even when Rex gave him a disbelieving look, he didn’t retract his statement.

And with his final words, "Run," the thief, Balder, with his scarred and burned face, collapsed to the ground, his final breath escaping.

"......"

The silence after confirming his comrade's death was broken by the arrival of a poisoned arrow aimed at the soldiers.

It didn’t take long for Rex to assess the situation and make a decision.

“All forces! Mount your horses now! We’re heading north to leave the forest!”

“...What is this?”

The boy, who had been observing the situation from the wagon, couldn’t hide his confusion as he watched the battlefield, now filled with the smell of blood.

Mutants using weapons? Poisoned arrows?

Something was clearly wrong.

Mutants using weapons were higher-tier monsters, typically encountered in the late stages of the game during battles with regional warlords. They weren’t the kind of enemies you’d encounter on a forest path leading to the capital in the early game.

“Get down!”

As the boy frantically tried to make sense of the situation, Herion, who was crouched beside him, grabbed his shoulder and yanked him down to the floor of the wagon.

Whoosh—!

An arrow struck the wagon’s wall. Naturally, all the arrowheads were coated with deadly poison.

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The fear of death.

Although the arrows rained down, the boy’s mind didn’t stop working.

He didn’t feel short of breath or his senses dulling.

He was simply observing the situation with a calm, calculated mind, processing it and finding the best course of action.

“Mage! Contact the capital immediately! A warlord has appeared!”

“What... a warlord?!”

Herion, still crouched on the floor of the wagon, asked in disbelief.

It seemed like she wasn’t processing the situation as calmly as the boy.

“A warlord has appeared! Only the warlord can create mutants who can use weapons! This isn’t something we can handle on our own! Hurry! Time is of the essence!”

“AAAAAH!”

While the boy was explaining the situation to Herion, another scream filled the air.

A soldier riding a horse was struck by a barrage of arrows from the forest and fell.

As a result, a soldier in full steel armor rolled several times and was left behind in the rear.

“Wait, wait!”

The soldier who had fallen desperately shouted toward his retreating comrades.

“Captain, Felix...!”

Just as someone in the rear was about to speak to Rex at the front, it happened.

Whoosh!

A human-shaped mutant with a massive sword cleanly decapitated Felix, the fallen soldier.

“......”

The soldier who confirmed his comrade's death said nothing.

Clatter, clatter!

The horses pulling the wagons, too, panicked, their legs kicking wildly in instinctive fear.

The boy grabbed the edge of the wagon with his unbroken arm, holding on tightly to avoid being thrown off.

Herion, lying next to the boy, pulled a crystal orb from her robe and began chanting a spell.

Amidst the rattling of the wagon and the soldiers' curses and despair, Herion’s soft chant couldn’t be heard by the boy.

“We can’t contact the headquarters! There seems to be some sort of mana-blocking interference nearby...!”

After struggling with the crystal orb for a while, Herion spoke in a trembling voice. It seemed that, like the soldiers, deep despair was also settling in her mind.

“Damn it...”

A curse slipped out involuntarily.

For some reason, the warlord seemed to be carrying out a thorough plan to massacre everyone here.

‘Using Bloom to clash with these enemies? The warlord’s level must be at least 80.’

Rex, currently leading the charge in the front of the line, was no match for the warlord. Their levels were more than double, and the actual difference in power was far beyond that.

Even if Rex brought ten men, they wouldn’t even scratch the warlord.

The boy clenched his teeth and finished his thought.

“If it’s mana-blocking interference, I’ll handle it! So...”

Thud!

Before he could finish, the wagon [N O V E L I G H T] with him and Herion suddenly lifted into the air.

Once again, time seemed to slow.

The horse that had been hit by an arrow crashed to the ground, and its legs briefly brushed the boy's peripheral vision.

Then, countless arrows flew toward the boy, their faint reflections of moonlight illuminating his face.

Herion, who was lifted along with the boy, urgently began to deploy a barrier with her crystal orb.

‘Death.’

That cold word flashed through the boy’s mind once again.

His fragile body, so weak that even a fall could break his bones, was not built for this kind of ordeal.

What would happen if such a fragile body were thrown out of the wagon during a high-speed chase?

Naturally, his bones would shatter, and his organs would rupture.

The boy didn’t need to think deeply to realize that the scythe of death was hanging over his shoulder.

“Bloom.”

Without hesitation, he uttered a simple word.

Under the bright moonlight, a massive lightning bolt struck down.

The incoming arrows were instantly reduced to white ash as they hit the bolt, and the surrounding trees erupted in flames.

“......”

Herion, who had barely managed to protect herself from the shock, stared in disbelief at the boy, who was standing unharmed after the lightning strike.

Whoosh!

The sound of wind slicing through the air chilled the boy's eardrums.

As if waiting for this moment, countless arrows began to fly directly toward the boy, their sharp tips aimed at him.

Swoosh...!

But they never even scratched his skin and disappeared completely.

The electrical current that radiated from the boy turned everything into white ash.

The white dust surrounded the boy, briefly obstructing his view.

“...Try contacting headquarters again. The interference should have been broken by the first lightning strike.”

“Ah... Yes!”

Herion, the red-robed mage, hastily infused mana into her crystal orb.

Luckily, the orb worked normally. The crystal, covered in mud, emitted a red light and began transmitting the voice of a communication mage from the alliance headquarters.

—Ah, ah. Communication security. Communication se...

“First Infantry Unit, 6th squad, 4th-circle mage Herion Criatis! Requesting urgent assistance! Current position is coordinates 07—11.36!”

Herion, almost screaming, urgently requested reinforcements. There was no time to go through the formalities of communication security.

—Uh... What happened? Could you briefly explain the situation...

“There are mutants using weapons! We believe the warlord has appeared! We need help urgently...”

Herion’s voice was cut off as she was shouting, urgently explaining the current situation.

Thud!

An arrow with mana embedded in it flew toward Herion, spitting blood as it passed through the air next to her.

It seemed the mutants had shifted their strategy, deciding to deal with the communication mage after confirming that their arrows weren’t effective on the boy.

Snap!

The boy, seeing the direction of the arrows, flicked his finger, unleashing a thin bolt of lightning.

The lightning, traveling at 100,000 kilometers per second, collided with the arrow and instantly transformed into a massive stream of lightning, burning down the entire surrounding forest.

“We’ve made contact with headquarters! Reinforcements are on their way!”

While Herion was completing the communication, she yelled out, her voice booming in desperation. It was hard to believe it was coming from her frail body.

“The headquarters is still a distance away, and before the reinforcements arrive, we’re all going to die! Get up and get on my mount!”

Herion’s shout was met with a soldier in silver armor rushing toward them, shouting in response.

“Did you clearly report the situation?”

Unlike the shouting soldier, Rex calmly asked Herion.

“Yes! I clearly reported that there are mutants using weapons... and that the warlord has appeared!”

“What... the warlord? He appeared?”

The soldiers, who had finally grasped the situation, looked around in fear, their eyes filled with growing despair.

“Damn it... Why is that monster, the one we’ve had no leads on for three years, showing up now?!”

“Estellasia, please watch over us! Please!”

Herion, filled with despair, shouted again toward her comrades.

“This is the warlord who appeared after three years...! He won’t miss this opportunity! We just need to stall. I’ve left the coordinates for ‘him,’ so we can’t leave this spot, Rex!”

Rex, having halted his Komodo, frowned deeply and quickly began to calculate in his head.

‘For sure, when the news of the warlord reaches headquarters, ‘he’ will undoubtedly send reinforcements.’

The problem was whether his squad could hold out against these mutants until ‘he’ arrived.

Fighting the monsters here, and continuing to move on horseback or Komodo.

Rex constantly weighed which option had the better chance of survival.

‘Even if ‘he’ comes quickly, it’ll still take at least three minutes to get here.’

Can they survive for three minutes?

At their current state?

Rex’s squad was well-trained and more than capable of handling regular demons and mutants, but they were no match for the warlord and his mutants.

They were different kinds of monsters.

Even if Rex threw himself into the fray, he would barely be able to take down one of the warlord’s mutants, let alone his whole squad.

He knew they would be slaughtered like leaves in the wind.

‘...But.’

Bang!

Another massive lightning strike fell, hitting the ground near Herion’s back as she lay flat on the floor.

The white-haired boy stood unfazed, watching the forest burn down completely.

Rex saw a glimmer of hope in the sight of the boy engulfing the entire forest in flames.

The light was incredibly bright, like lightning itself.

‘...If that boy fights with us, it’s not entirely impossible.’

“All forces, prepare for battle!”

Rex leapt from his Komodo, gripping his heavy battle axe.

It was time for the defense to begin.