Rebirth of the 8th-Circle Mage

“There’s no need for you to go all out. Like I said earlier, our goal is to capture him alive.”

“I know.”

“Then I guess I'll have to switch positions.”

Henry took a step back, raised his hand and said, “Wisdom.”

He summoned the World’s Wisdom that was made out of elven wood. He intended to offer as much support as he could to the three knights.

“Magic Armor.”

Instead of stomping his feet, Henry lifted the Wisdom and tapped the ground with it. Following that, emerald-colored mana spread across the ground, enveloping the three knights.

McDowell smiled at the soft sensation of mana completely enveloping him.

“Much better.”

This was the best support magic there was, cast by the continent’s greatest wizard.

The knights felt their bodies grow lighter.

Seeing this, Balak said, “There’s even a wizard here even though there’s an order to kill all of them… All the more reason for me to not let this slide.”

Balak’s killing intent became even more obvious as he noticed Henry’s presence. He had been kidnapped and imprisoned, and now a wizard dared to appear before him, even though the emperor had ordered for all of them to be executed.

From Balak’s perspective, this was all the more reason he couldn’t show them any mercy.

Following Balak’s short remarks, McDowell suddenly disappeared.

The air felt uneasy.

McDowell concentrated the Aura around his body to his legs and feet, allowing him to move at an incredibly fast speed. It was his ability to use his Aura in such a manner that had earned him the moniker ‘Sonic McDowell.’ In addition, thanks to Henry’s magical armor, he could now move nearly twice as fast.

McDowell quickly closed the distance between him and Balak. He then thrust his sword like a spear, aiming straight for Balak’s back.

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

However, without even looking back, Balak simply put the Black Punisher behind his back, blocking McDowell’s attack.

“Ha.”

With a slight snort, he brought the Black Punisher back forward and struck the ground with it.

Cracks formed all over the ground. Due to the nature of the hollow carved inside of the snowy mountain, it would quickly collapse if there was a powerful impact either inside or outside.

Henry scattered mana throughout the hollow, preventing it from collapsing.

Balak’s strategy was quite ingenious. He had heard them saying that they needed him alive, so while he could fight with the intent to kill, he knew that his opponents couldn’t. He also knew that the battle would become more difficult if the wizard also got involved, so he swung the Black Punisher with the intention of causing the hollow to collapse.

Balak struck the ground again. He smirked as he looked at the floor and saw that it didn’t even crack despite his powerful strike.

Not even a speck of dust rose from the ground despite the fact that it should have been shattered by the powerful impact. This meant the wizard was protecting the hollow with his magic.

It was just as he had planned. Balak felt a rush of joy as he realized that his predictions had been correct.

It was clear that their goal was to subdue him, so Balak didn’t understand why they didn’t attack all at once. He was certain that they were looking down on him. However, he was glad that his opponents had their guards off, because in a fight, being caught off guard was a guaranteed way to lose.

Having his attack blocked, McDowell started circling around Balak at an incredible speed. It was the kind of speed that regular people couldn’t follow with their naked eye.

However, Balak wasn’t fazed by that in the slightest. To him, McDowell was nothing more than a fast insect. No matter how fiercely McDowell attacked him with his sword, Balak was completely unafraid.

Ronan had been knocked out before the fight even started, so he wasn’t even a concern in the first place. Balak had thrown the Black Punisher at him right after he was unsealed, thinking that Ronan was the weakest, but even so, he turned out to be much weaker than Balak had thought.

Balak concentrated his Aura into the Black Punisher. Then, like a bloodthirsty ogre on a rampage, he started swinging the morning star in all directions.

“What a maniac…” Von cursed under his breath as he saw the Punishment King going berserk. He then said to Valhald, “Shouldn’t we join as well?”

“...Let’s wait a little longer.”

“What? Let’s face it. McDowell can’t deal with Balak by himself, and you know it. Just look at him. No matter how fast he is, his attacks are not working at all.”

“...”

Valhald stayed silent.

Just like Von said, and as Henry had requested, if they had attacked all at once from the start, they would’ve easily dealt with Balak. However, even though they knew there was an easy way to deal with this, and even though they had seen Ronan get knocked out, they didn’t attack all at once because they were curious to see how strong Balak was after all those years.

Valhald had been compared to Balak for quite some time now, so he was the most curious out of everyone present.

Seeing that Valhald refused to budge, Von sighed and said, “Okay, I see where you’re coming from. You can continue watching, but I’m helping McDowell.”

“...Alright.” Valhald nodded in agreement.

Von unsheathed his sword, released his Aura, and said, “Henry.”

“Yeah?”

“Is he too much for you?”

“No. Everyone seems to enjoy watching their fight, so I’m also staying out of it.”

“Okay, then I need you to actively provide more support from now on.”

“Alright.”

Von knew that McDowell couldn't do anything about Balak on his own, and he wasn’t even sure if his joining the fight would change much. Thus, he asked Henry to give them more support.

Soon, Von infused his blade with Aura, extending its length.

Extending his Aura was Von’s main skill, which was why it was much more advantageous for him to be out in the open rather than in such a confined place. He was also not a very good match for McDowell, whose main skill was speed, which was yet another reason why Von needed Henry’s support.

“Here I come.”

As the Aura grew, the blade, which was as long as a longsword, extended to the size of a two-handed sword.

Von threw himself at Balak with his extended sword.

“You’re still being cocky.”

However, Balak snorted again when he saw that it was Von, and not Valhald, who had intervened. For him, Von’s involvement just meant that he had to face two insects instead of one, nothing more.

“You’re one to talk!”

Jumping into the fight, Von used his extended sword to his advantage, keeping the Black Punisher at a safe distance from himself. Then, he unleashed numerous blows as if he were using a whip.

The clashing of blades resonated just like the sounds from a blacksmith’s forge.

Exactly like McDowell, Von kept swiftly attacking Balak. McDowell took advantage of this and increased his speed even further.

The sound of metal clashing echoed throughout the hollow at an even faster tempo.

Finally, Balak stopped wielding his Black Punisher.

“Stupid bastards...”

After a few minutes of fighting, or rather, playing, Balak briefly commented on their performance, “You've turned into pigs since I’ve last seen you, you bastards.”

“This guy…!”

Everyone had reached the highest level of a Sword Master, and yet Balak had just called them pigs. It was very insulting, but what was downright humiliating was their inability to prove to him that they were stronger.

“You son of a bitch…!” bellowed McDowell. The humiliation led to anger, and he was the first one to express his rage. He stopped and stood in one spot, and with a sharp glare, he slowly released a tremendous amount of Aura, far more than he previously had.

The Aura that covered his entire body was so potent that it produced a distinctive sound. It surged like a wave as McDowell concentrated it into his right hand

“Why don’t you try to block this one too?”

McDowell didn’t move. Instead, he bent his waist, sheathed his sword, and focused his energy on his wrist.

Henry knew what McDowell was about to do based on his gesture. Thus, he stopped protecting the hollow and quickly cast a spell in order to maximize the effect of McDowell’s decisive skill, the Blue Crescent.

Just as McDowell was about to unleash his skill…

“Stop it, McDowell.”

Valhald grabbed onto McDowell’s shoulder and stopped him.

McDowell got distracted by this. However, he was still pissed off, so the distraction caused him to release his anger on the wrong person.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

“That’s enough McDowell. Stop it.”

“Shut up!”

As a fellow knight, McDowell had been insulted beyond imagination, so the interruption of his decisive skill was more than enough to make him snap at Valhald. Nevertheless, Valhald stopped McDowell, and at the same time, he quietly said to Von, “You stop as well.”

“...”

Von’s face turned ashen, but unlike McDowell, he just quietly sheathed his sword.

“Let go of me!” snapped McDowell.

“That’s enough,” replied Valhald in a calm voice, still trying to pacify McDowell.

As Henry watched, he understood why Valhald had stopped them.

McDowell’s decisive skill, the Blue Crescent, was an ultra-fast swordsmanship skill that utilized his already fast speed.

Most people on the continent had lost to McDowell’s ultra-fast swordsmanship, but Valhald had judged that not even his decisive skill could win against Balak. He had stopped McDowell for the sake of his already bruised ego.

Valhald locked eyes with McDowell for some time.

McDowell pushed Valhald’s hand off his shoulder in an irritated manner.

“Okay, I get it!”

He understood Valhald’s intentions, but he was still frustrated because his pride had been hurt. It was the same for Von. As much as he hated to admit it, the two of them were no match for Balak.

Watching this, Balak laughed mockingly through his helmet.

“Well, at least you know your place.”

McDowell reached for his sword again, but Valhald grabbed his wrist and shook his head.

“...Damn it.”

They knew what Valhald was trying to do, so Von and McDowell had to back down even though they were burning with anger on the inside.

Henry stopped casting the spell, walked next to Valhald, and said, “I trust you, but… Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”

“No, I’m not.”

The former first sword of the empire couldn’t guarantee victory against the Punishment King, which proved just how formidable Balak was. However, this didn’t mean that Valhald lacked confidence. After all, he had promised himself that one day, when he had the chance, he would duel with Balak. This was his chance to finally do it.

Vahald drew his Bastard Sword and released his Aura.

“So you’re finally stepping up.”

Seeing Valhald step forward, Balak took a proper fighting stance.

Balak and Valhald.

The duel between the two formidable men that everyone had talked about had finally come true.