“I really am amazed whenever I see it. Isn’t that guy cold?” Laman clicked his tongue in astonishment as he lowered the telescope.
They had been following Eugene at a distance for the past two days, but that boy from the Lionheart clan seemed to be so naive and ignorant that it was difficult to believe that he was a young master from a prestigious family.
Eugene hadn’t even brought an escort with him. Well, Laman had heard that the Lionheart clan was a famous martial clan and that the boy showed exceptional talent even among the other Lionhearts of his generation. Although he was born from a collateral line, he had been adopted into the main family due to some kind of Bloodline Continuation Ceremony….
Well, whatever. It wasn’t like Laman really held an interest in all of that. No matter how amazing the Lionheart clan was, the person they were following was just a nineteen-year-old brat. And as rumors were usually just exaggerations of the truth, Laman was more afraid of failing his master’s orders than he was of a young master from a distant, foreign country.
“I think it might be some kind of a ritual,” Laman’s lieutenant speculated.
“A ritual?” Laman repeated.
The man continued, “Didn’t they say that he’s almost reached the age where he’s going to be regarded as an adult? Our tribe sends young men who are about to reach adulthood on a journey away from the tribe.”
“What’s so special about that? Our tribe’s coming-of-age ceremony was also like that. Most of the tribes living in this desert have similar coming-of-age ceremonies,” Laman replied with a snort of derision. “So what? You think that boy is challenging the desert to prove that he’s a man?”
“If that’s not the case, then what other reason could there be for such actions? He doesn’t light any fires or pitch any tents and just keeps walking through the desert from morning to night… hunting whatever monsters he encounters…. We’ve only been watching him for so long, but the boy’s behavior does seem no different from a person going through one of our desert tribe’s coming-of-age ceremonies.”
“You’re saying that someone from the Kiehl Empire’s Lionheart clan would really come all the way to this desert just for a coming-of-age ceremony?”
“I don’t know his reasons, but remember what our master told us? He said we should not allow that boy to enter the Kazani desert.”
That was their master’s only order. Although even Laman hadn’t been made aware of the reasons for this order, Laman had no intention of rudely speculating about their master’s order.
“Let’s just get some sleep ourselves as well,” Lamana ordered. “After all, that hardworking boy is sure to get back on the move early in the morning.”
“It seems that the Lionheart clan really is amazing as they say it is. There’s no way he could be familiar with the desert, but he’s already able to walk so fast. Anyone looking at him would believe that he was born in the desert—” Laman’s talkative lieutenant couldn’t finish what he was saying. As he turned to look behind Laman, his mouth fell wide open.
Unable to understand why his lieutenant had such a shocked expression, Laman also turned his head to look. Then, Laman’s jaw also dropped just like his lieutenant’s.
For behind Laman was the approaching figure of Eugene Lionheart.
While following Eugene for the past two days, they had quickly learned that the boy was able to travel incredibly fast, even though Eugene wasn’t riding a camel, nor was he equipped for such a desert crossing.
He only had one cloak, and his shoes were an ordinary pair that might be seen being worn just about anywhere, but even so, that boy was able to run across the sandy desert like his feet were stepping on hard, flat ground. And that was the case even now.
No, could such a speed really be called running? For a moment, Laman was forced to question what he was seeing.
Since they hadn’t wanted Eugene to notice that they were tracking him, Laman and his men had stayed at a good distance. Far enough away that they shouldn’t have been able to be seen without using a telescope. They hadn’t neglected to blend in with the terrain either. Even now, Laman and his men were keeping low behind the ridge of a sand dune.
But even so….
A pure white flame could be seen clearly weaving through the darkness. This was the first time he had seen it in person, but even Laman had heard all about that famous mana flame. It symbolized the Lionheart clan’s White Flame Formula, the dazzlingly white lion’s mane.
“G-get back!” Laman shouted the order.
Their master hadn’t given them orders to confront that boy, so it was best to withdraw. But how—no—since when had that young man noticed them?
Eugene was charging directly towards them, at far too fast a speed. The reasonable distance that they had kept no longer seemed so reasonable. For now, Laman could only pull out his kukri from his side.
‘Like I thought, they aren’t assassins,’ Eugene decided upon seeing them.
There were two particularly famous and powerful forces in Nahama. The Sand Shamans and the Assassins. Looking at their level of stealth and clothing, Eugene’s followers didn’t seem like assassins. Judging by their clothes, they appeared no different from ordinary travelers attempting to cross the desert, but that was likely their disguise.
Laman’s face stiffened as he screamed, “Stop!”
He realized that it was too late for them to retreat. The boy had approached faster than expected.
‘Stop? Did he really just try to tell me what to do? Why should I?’
Eugene didn’t respond to Laman’s cry. He was curious to see who his followers were. He also wanted to know what they were scheming by following behind him like this.
He might have been able to find out by greeting them with a smile and chatting about this and that, but Eugene hadn’t even given any consideration to such a method in the first place. If something like that could actually work, why would they try to follow him secretly?
Laman gritted his teeth. He had clearly stated his demand, but the other side wasn’t listening. Had they been mistaken for thieves? Since the other side was already attacking them, it was too late for them to try and resolve the misunderstanding through dialogue. Their master had told them to secretly follow the boy’s trail. If they wanted to carry out his command properly, then instead of trying to resolve the confusion, it would be better to allow this confusion to continue.
‘Let’s just allow him to believe that we’re thieves,’ Laman decided.
They just needed to subdue the boy first, then they would steal a moderate amount of money and leave. This method wasn’t the cleanest way to go about it, but perhaps this mugging would convince this boy to return the way he had come.
To Laman, this didn’t seem like such a bad outcome. If that boy had continued to head forwards without changing his direction tomorrow, then Laman would have had to intervene in some form anyway. Laman’s mana covered his kukri in a gray sword-force.
Eugene’s eyes lit up as he spotted this sight. Being able to create sword-force, which was the next level up from sword-light, meant that his opponent was a fairly skilled warrior.
‘It’s been quite a while,’ Eugene thought with anticipation.
In the last two years, Eugene had spent most of his time breathing in the smell of ink rather than the scent of blood, and he had usually been holding a pen and paper instead of a sword or other weapons. As a result, his brain had been seeing a lot more use than his body. Although he had made sure to work out in the laboratories every day, he had spent much more time learning magic and working on his thesis.
Moreover, while working out in the laboratories, Eugene was always on his own. While back at the Lionheart’s main estate, he’d had Cyan, Gilead, Gion, and other knights to serve as his sparring partners.
It had been two years since he last fought seriously with someone like this.
Eugene felt delighted by this surprising realization. Learning magic had certainly been fun, but in both his previous life and his current one, Eugene found moving his body to be even greater fun.
Laman had shown off his sword-force, but he didn’t take a swing. He had only taken out his sword in order to display a bit of a threat and get Eugene to stop. 𝑖.𝑐ℴ𝑚
But soon, Laman realized things weren’t working out as he intended.
That nineteen-year-old youth from the Lionheart clan was still charging at their group of ten, despite this being a desert with no one around to help him.
Even on this dark night and with Laman clearly displaying the existence of his sword-force right in front of him, Eugene didn’t show even a trace of fear. Instead, he seemed to be somehow amused as the corners of his mouth were lifted in a smile.
Seeing this smile, Laman knew that he could no longer think of his opponent as a youth who had yet to experience his coming-of-age ceremony. This was definitely a young lion who had grown strong enough to lead his own pride.
The Cloak of Darkness fluttered around Eugene’s shoulders as he ran, covering his arms and making them difficult to see.
As Laman shuffled backward, he raised his kukri a little higher.
Boom!
With a thundering clap from Eugene’s cloak, a white light split apart the darkness. With a grunt, Laman swung his kukri. It wasn’t just a half-hearted slash meant to act as a deterrent. Laman had instinctively felt that doing so wouldn’t be safe, and he was soon proven correct.
Ching!
A silverish-blue blade leaped out of Eugene’s cloak and collided with Laman’s kukri. Or at least, Laman had expected a collision. But he was wrong. Rather than an equal collision, he was struck with an overwhelming force. Laman’s kukri was wrenched upward, and his wrists and arms were now throbbing with pain. 𝑖𝘳.𝒸ℴ𝑚
“Ugh…!”
Laman quickly threw himself backward with a gasp. The clash was over in an instant, but his men were already moving. His lieutenant, who was slightly behind him, was already holding up his own kukri.
The lieutenant quickly rushed forward to face Eugene in place of the retreating Laman. But as he was rushing forward, he suddenly froze. Because Eugene was now holding a loaded crossbow in his left hand.
But when did Eugene get an opening to pull it out? Until just now, his left hand had been empty.
Shshsh!
As he slid down the sand dune, Eugene kept his crossbow raised.
The lieutenant couldn’t tear his gaze away from the bolt aimed precisely at his chest. He wouldn’t have been so afraid if it had just been for the bolt. The lieutenant was a skilled warrior who could even catch an arrow when it was flying at him.
However, he couldn’t do anything about the sand beneath him suddenly swallowing his feet.
‘A spell!’
There was no incantation. The spell had just activated suddenly. The lieutenant quickly attempted to pull himself free, but Eugene’s spell didn’t just stop at collapsing the ground beneath him. Led by mana, the sand formed into dozens of tentacles that wrapped around the lieutenant’s legs.
“How dare you!”
Laman’s other subordinates also charged forwards. Only then did Eugene loosen his crossbow.
Twang!
The lieutenant wasn’t able to avoid the bolt. Fortunately, its head only pierced his shoulder, not his chest, but no matter where it had hit, getting shot by a crossbow bolt still hurt.
Eugene hadn’t just unleashed a crossbow bolt. Dozens of magic missiles also flashed through the darkness alongside it.
It was only then that Eugene spoke up, “Who are you?”
Laman wasn’t able to respond immediately.
Right now, the only ones still standing on their feet were Eugene and Laman.
𝘦𝑎.𝒸ℴ