Chương 67: The Point of No Return - Part 2

A ball of blue light burst through the stable's roof, shooting high into the air before coming to a halt. It hovered there as its glow intensified. As the flare settled, all Nicholas could smell was ozone. The scent mana left behind when it was burned in its pure form, and this one was used as a beacon to signal a location across great distances. His part was done. The organization had been alerted. There was no reason to hold back any longer. His troops had surrounded the stables, along with the mages.

"At will," he ordered. The mages began chanting, and moments later, fire spells lit up the lone building. He stood and watched as the stables and the horses within burned. His guilt grew as a wind mage on his orders put the horses down. He had considered releasing them, but it would have been too dangerous for his men. The culprit was releasing mana fluctuations at the level of an Archmage, and frightening him could have resulted in significant damage to the estate and his men. He knew it wasn't a true Archmage.

His gift told him as much, but he wasn't sure what kind of artifact or ritual was granting the culprit that power. The burning doors of the stables were torn apart by a spell that came from within. A moment later, a man walked out. In his hand was a brick emitting ominous mana. The man was on fire, yet the flames didn't burn him. They merely hovered above his skin, clinging to him like a second layer. Pale green veins covered every exposed part of his body, pulsing with power.

A crazed smile stretched across his face as he stared at Nicholas. Nicholas didn't react. His eyes remained fixed on the cursed object he had to destroy. There were eight brick buildings behind the main estate, scattered across the grounds. So it made sense that they hadn't found it until now.

"Sir," the knight behind him stepped forward, "it's... its Visen, sir." Nicholas just nodded at that as his hands tightened around the halberd. There was no reason to delay any longer, and he needed the mage to be strong for what was going to follow. Laughter echoed from the burning man as Nicholas rushed toward him. He vanished as he took a step, then appeared behind the man, his halberd's axe head already falling toward him. It collided with the shield surrounding the man's body. The shield didn't last.

It collapsed, and the man was thrown forward, crashing through the stable wall. Nicholas didn't waste any time and took another step, activating his killing intent. The flames extinguished wherever he passed. By the time he reached the man, his killing intent was in full force. The man couldn't even raise his head.

"Why?" Nicholas asked. The man continued his crazed laughter and managed to slightly raise the arm holding the brick. Nicholas swung his halberd and sliced through it before stepping on the brick with all his strength. The brick turned to dust. The ground beneath it collapsed as his leg passed through it, offering no resistance. The ominous mana scattered as the cursed object was destroyed. The connection he felt stretching from the brick to the Count's mansion vanished. The curse had been destroyed.

Just like that, the curse that had brought their entire County to its knees was gone. Yet he felt no satisfaction. The Archmage-level mana surrounding the Visen was dissipating harmlessly into the air as well.

"Why?" Nicholas repeated. He didn't think he would get any useful information from the man, but maybe... just maybe he would get an answer. The man was unable to move, so Nicholas withdrew some of his killing intent. Just enough to make movement possible. His halberd remained ready to take the man's head the moment he felt threatened. The man spat blood at him. It struck Nicholas's shield and slid harmlessly to the ground. He continued laughing as more and more blood flowed from his mouth and nose. His face...

no, his entire body was slowly withering away. Wet coughs followed, spraying more blood onto the ground. Before long, the man died without saying a single word. What remained was a withered corpse, as if it had been dead for decades. Every trace of life force had been burned away.

"Burn the corpse and everything around the stables," Nicholas said.

"Don't leave any trace of the cursed item." Nicholas glanced toward the Count's mansion as he felt the barrier dissolve. The Count was either dead or Adolin had saved him. He hoped it was the latter. If not, they had failed before the gamble had even begun, and all of their efforts would have been for nothing. Still, that wasn't his problem to deal with. He needed to continue with the plan.

"Victor," Nicholas said. One of the knights stepped forward.

"Sir." This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"Prepare to evacuate the estate, and get the soldiers ready." The knight nodded before taking his leave. Nicholas took a deep breath. He needed to prepare as well. From this point on, his job would be to hide and wait for an opportunity to intervene in the coming battle. He was the only Archmage-level fighter the Count had left, and he couldn't risk his life before the battle began. It had been years since he'd had to use his full strength, and he welcomed it.

He hoped the organization wasn't as well informed as they seemed, and that they weren't expecting him. He wasn't naive enough to think that was true, but he still hoped. He hadn't even needed to use half of his strength against Visen. There was also the issue of Visen. He hadn't appeared on any of the lists created during the search for the culprit. Thankfully, he had been frightened enough to act. The only reason Nicholas even knew his name was because Luna had mentioned him.

And he still wasn't sure who Visen was, despite knowing everyone who worked on the estate. Still, it was too late to dwell on things that wouldn't help them. He was looking forward to letting loose. He issued a few more commands to the knights around him and took his leave. He headed toward the last building on the left side of the estate. The supply house, where most of the food and goods were stored. Inside, he opened a hatch and climbed down.

Beneath the building was a bunker meant to keep the estate's staff safe. In this case, it was where they would keep the last card they had left to play. His orders from Eduard were to stay there until he was called into the fight, and he couldn't leave before that for any reason. He took a seat in one of the chairs placed inside the bunker and closed his eyes. The most difficult part of the operation was now upon him. Staying in place while everyone else fought on the surface. …

Liam stared into the forest in front of him. It was the same view he had seen for the last few months. It had been so long that he had stopped counting. He looked at the artifact strapped to his arm. It was a metal device covered by glass, inside which small blue flames burned. The life force of the scouts assigned to him. The artifact had one function, and it did it well. To track the lives of the people who had left a sliver of their life force inside it. Just like every other day, every flame was accounted for.

He stretched before climbing the rope that led to the observation tower atop a tall tree. It took him a minute or two, but he eventually made it to the top. The wooden platform creaked softly beneath him. The only sound besides the wind rustling through the forest. It was the second task he had been assigned on the mission. To look toward the estate every hour, every single day. Thankfully, he wasn't alone. His colleague was currently sleeping in the observation post located a fifteen-minute walk from the tower.

Between the two of them, the task wasn't that demanding. It was almost like a vacation. But he knew it wasn't, so he always reminded himself to remain vigilant. He stopped at the edge of the observation platform and glanced toward where the estate should have been. The only thing he could see was an endless stretch of trees that seemed as though it would never end. There wasn't any change, so he sat down on the chair beside him. It wasn't like he had expected to see anything.

His job on the platform was to keep an eye on the artifact connected to its counterpart in the estate. An artifact meant to send and receive simple messages. And for it to work, he had to be in an elevated position to receive the mana. He took the artifact from the pocket inside his jacket. It was a palm-sized dark orb. The orb was blinking. His heart dropped. It was happening, he thought. The reason he had spent the last few months in the middle of nowhere was finally about to happen.

That didn't bring him any joy. He was stationed on one of the few paths leading toward the estate. If anyone wanted to invade it, they would have to pass through one of them. There were five paths in total, each watched by scouts whose job was to send a message the moment the enemy made a move. He took a deep breath and focused on the artifact. Maybe it was just a checkup message. Or even a rotation order. He knew that wasn't possible, but he still hoped. He waited for the message to repeat and started counting.

A quick blink, followed by a longer one. Then another quick blink, a long one, followed by two quick blinks. He wrote the letters down one by one on the wooden board in front of him. The message quickly took form.

'Alert.' It was the code meant to signify trouble. He stood up from the chair as his heart started racing and headed toward the opposite side of the platform. The side overlooking the path that the enemy would use if they wanted to reach the estate. He grabbed the artifact mounted on the wooden desk, a sightseeing artifact, and put his eyes to it. He spent the next minute scanning the area, but saw nothing except trees and the small bare ridge beside the path. There was nothing out there.

He still had time to make the necessary preparations to escape the moment he spotted enemy movement. He glanced at his wrist, at the Lifetracker. Everything looked the same as it always did. It was more routine than anything else, but something still felt wrong. He checked it again, this time counting the flames. One was missing. One of his comrades was dead, and he had almost missed it. Then another flame went out. And another. He rushed back to the other side of the platform, his heart racing like never before.

The flames that were going out were spread throughout the forest. Not a single scout team was close to another. Every scout team had been found. That was the only explanation. And they were being killed one by one. If there were signs of enemies, the first thing he had to do was send a quick message back to the estate. Three quick blinks, followed by three longer ones, and ending with three quick ones.

He scrambled to take out the other artifact, the one meant for sending messages, but his eyes were glued to the Lifetracker. Another flame went out. The flame that represented his colleague. Fuck. More and more flames went out on the artifact. Liam felt a slight itch around his neck before everything turned black. His was the last one.