Chapter 53

Ricardo searched for the form of the Underworld Wolf.

"Where did that big wolf go?"

General Samuele noticed that the door of the governor's pavilion had been torn off.

"Damn, it seems the Underworld Wolf has intruded into the building."

Judging from the absence of the surviving royal guards and court mages, they must have chased the beast into the governor's pavilion.

Isalco checked the condition of the fallen royal guards. Half of them were dead, but the rest were still alive.

"Tania, provide first aid to the living guards, and Ricardo, follow me."

Leaving Tania to start the first aid, Ricardo and the others entered. Screams could be heard, and General Samuele drew his sword and ran off at a quick pace.

At the end of a wide corridor, there was a grand hall, and there the Underworld Wolf was, holding a court mage in its mouth.

Ricardo was surprised to see the Underworld Wolf still alive.

"Even with the court mages here, why can't they subdue it?"

The court mages were supposed to be elite, chosen from among the best mages, all of whom were said to be skilled in advanced magic.

"They got their positions through connections and only do magic research. The skilled ones are outside the castle fighting beasts."

General Samuele spat out these words while glaring at the Underworld Wolf.

Looking closely at the faces of the court mages, they were pale, likely inexperienced in combat.

The Underworld Wolf's body was covered with numerous cuts and burn marks from magic. The court mages, crouching behind the royal guards, had been casting spells to damage the Underworld Wolf.

It seemed they were struggling because they couldn't use powerful magic indoors. To defeat a tough beast like the Underworld Wolf, advanced magic was needed, but using strong magic indoors could also harm the caster.

Moreover, most of the court mages here were skilled in earth magic, which was ineffective indoors, leaving them with no choice but to repeatedly cast the mid-level spell "Scatter Spear."

The royal guards with shields surrounded the Underworld Wolf, keeping it at bay. Behind them, the court mages were preparing their spells.

The Underworld Wolf swung the court mage it held in its mouth and threw it at the wall.

One of the royal guards fired an arrow from a bow. The arrow, shot at close range, hit the Underworld Wolf's back but didn't penetrate deeply and fell to the floor.

With a beast as tough as the Underworld Wolf, arrows were ineffective, but the guards couldn't help but attack.

"Ricardo, can you subdue it?"

Isalco asked, and Ricardo answered succinctly.

"The royal guards are in the way."

Hearing this, General Samuele took action.

"Drive the beast to the wall. The guards surrounding it, move back."

Ricardo handed his magic gun to Isalco.

"Use this to aim for its ears."

He thought the shockwave would cause significant damage to the ears.

Isalco aimed the magic gun at the Underworld Wolf's ears and fired.

The Underworld Wolf made a displeased face and retreated. General Samuele also drew his magic gun and started aiming at the giant wolf's ears.

Isalco and General Samuele worked together to drive the Underworld Wolf to the wall.

During this time, Ricardo took out the Death Prod. This magic rod, equivalent to a second-grade rod, could withstand even the high-level spell "Solar Flame Bullet."

Isalco almost gasped when he saw the Death Prod. He realized it was no ordinary magic rod.

Each scale on the rod's surface had a large, complex snowflake pattern, making it look like a work of art, but it also exuded a sinister power.

Ricardo released a large amount of magic through the Death Prod and sprinkled expensive catalysts. The magic turned a deep crimson. Ricardo aimed the tip of the Death Prod at the Underworld Wolf's head and whispered the incantation.

"Fana Rapisevorn Sperogoma"

The crimson magic swirling around the Death Prod gathered in front of it, forming a blazing, blinding sphere that flew toward the Underworld Wolf.

The Underworld Wolf tried to escape, sensing the danger, but the speed of the Solar Flame Bullet and the damage it had already taken from the court mages prevented it from fleeing. The superheated bullet turned the wolf's head to ash and melted the wall behind it, disappearing into the air.

Cheers erupted as the Underworld Wolf's massive body fell to the floor of the grand hall.

Isalco and the general approached Ricardo.

"Good job."

"Excellent magic."

The general suddenly remembered something.

"I'll go check on His Majesty."

As General Samuele disappeared, the injured royal guards and court mages began to cry out in pain.

"Move the injured to the treatment room."

A commander, likely the captain of the royal guards, gave the order.

As the royal guards left the grand hall, only the court mages and Ricardo's group remained.

Isalco asked the court mages.

"Do you know where this beast came from?"

"No, it first appeared near the administrative office, but we don't know where it came from."

One of the court mages answered.

"Let's go to the administrative office."

Isalco suggested, and they left the grand hall for the administrative office.

The administrative office was southwest of the governor's pavilion, about a three-minute walk away. The path was a garden where the king often took walks, with colorful flowers blooming.

A shed-like structure stood at the side of the garden, likely storing tools for maintaining the garden.

Isalco glanced at the shed. Two men were approaching it, trying to avoid being seen.

"Something's off."

"You're right."

Ricardo and the others approached the suspicious pair and called out.

"Who are you?"

One of the men clicked his tongue.

"We're gardeners."

Isalco moved closer to observe the two men. Blood was on the sleeve of the man with a large mole on his cheek.

"What's that blood?"

The two men's expressions turned grim at Isalco's question.

The man with the mole pulled out a hidden dagger.

"We'll take care of these guys."

The other man, with thick eyebrows, also drew a dagger from his pocket and got ready.

"You're the ones who summoned the Underworld Wolf, aren't you?"

Isalco's voice was filled with anger.

The two men approached silently.

Ricardo took out a spare magic rod. He decided not to use the Death Prod, as it might kill them, and he wanted to capture them alive for questioning.

This proved to be a mistake.

The two men were skilled. The dagger of the man with the mole lunged at Ricardo's neck.

"Ow!"

He dodged the dagger by jumping back. Before he could catch his breath, the dagger aimed for his stomach. He tried to block it with the magic rod but missed.

Ricardo tried to create some distance to cast a spell, but the men relentlessly pursued him, not giving him a chance.

The man's dagger attacked repeatedly, and Ricardo barely dodged.

The training he had done with Antonio using "Double Speed Thinking" seemed to pay off.

If he survived, he decided to train more rigorously using "Double Speed Thinking."

"Ha!"

The man suddenly threw the dagger, and Ricardo let out a strange sound in surprise. He managed to deflect the dagger's path with the magic rod.

"Tsk, to dodge my throw... "

Ricardo retorted to the man.

"Hmph, throwing your only weapon was foolish."

The man grinned and pulled out a pendant-type storage amethyst from his pocket, taking out a dagger from it.

"There are convenient things in this world."

Ricardo was stunned. He never thought he would be in trouble because of a storage amethyst he had made.

The situation was dire. Dodging the thrown dagger once was one thing, but doing it multiple times was impossible.

Finally, he remembered the magic gun. He drew it from its holster and aimed at the man with the mole's lower body.

The shockwave hit the man's lower abdomen, causing him to drop his dagger and fall, clutching his stomach.

Ricardo turned to see how Isalco was doing.

Isalco was fighting the other man. The man's fighting style, which didn't give Isalco a chance to cast spells, was not that of an amateur.

Ricardo tried to aim the magic gun. It was difficult to target a moving opponent. The man paused for a moment. Ricardo aimed the gun at the man's feet and pulled the trigger.

The man tripped and fell to the ground. He tried to get up, but his legs wouldn't move. The shockwave had shredded the muscles and nerves in his legs.

Isalco took the dagger from the fallen man and tied him up with a rope from the shed.

The man Ricardo had hit in the lower abdomen was unconscious, eyes rolled back.

Soon, royal guards arrived and took the two men away.

On the general's orders, the royal guards began searching the shed.

"Found it!"

One of the guards shouted. A secret passage leading to an underground tunnel was found under the shed.

General Samuele ordered his subordinates to search the tunnel. During this search, the guards discovered the two suspicious men, leading to a battle where the guards, despite suffering casualties, managed to subdue the two men.

King Althibald summoned General Samuele and the head of the court mages, Vittorio, to his office to inquire about the situation.

"The beast that appeared in the capital has been eliminated thanks to the efforts of the court mages."

Vittorio reported proudly.

General Samuele glared at the head of the court mages, annoyed that he was deliberately ignoring the royal guards' efforts. What a jerk.

"The court mages and the royal guards have both worked hard. By the way, I heard that the beast that appeared in the castle was subdued by members of the Mage Guild."

The head of the court mages stiffened.

"The Mage Guild only finished off the beast after the court mages had weakened it."

"Is that so?"

General Samuele interjected.

"Indeed, when we entered the grand hall, the beast was injured, but far from fatally. It seemed the court mages were struggling."

The head of the court mages looked offended.

"Are you insulting us, the court mages?"

The atmosphere became tense.

"Stop it. Both the court mages who weakened the beast and the Mage Guild members who subdued it have done a great service. Let's prepare rewards for both."

King Althibald frowned and said.

"Tell me about the state of the city."

General Samuele answered the king's request.

"The areas where the Horn Wolves and the Ulfar appeared, such as the port and the nobles' residences, suffered little damage. However, the commercial district where the Fang Boar rampaged and the workshop district where the Flame Hell Lizard appeared suffered significant damage."

The king's face turned grim upon hearing that several textile workshops in the workshop district had burned down, resulting in dozens of deaths.

"Do we know the purpose behind this violent act?"

"No, the captured perpetrators are tight-lipped and refuse to reveal the mastermind or the purpose."

At that moment, Baron Alfred, a close advisor, rushed in.

"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened."

"What is it?"

"The Chancellor has been murdered."

"What, what did you say!"

The king, as well as General Samuele, changed their expressions.

The Chancellor was a pillar of the kingdom, an irreplaceable figure.

When the news of the Chancellor's murder spread throughout the castle, it caused a commotion.

Ricardo and the others, who learned of the Chancellor's death a bit later, felt a sense of defeat.

"Was the target of this incident the Chancellor?"

Tania, who had joined Ricardo and the others, asked Isalco.

"Looking back, it seems so. Summoning beasts in the city was likely to draw the royal guards and court mages away from the castle, thinning the castle's defenses."

The Chancellor lived in the castle's elder hall, so they used this method. If he had lived in a residence in the city and commuted to the castle like other ministers, they would have attacked his residence.

Ricardo and the others decided their mission was over and decided to return home.

On their way to the Mage Guild from the castle, they saw smoke rising from the workshop district, and faint cries of children could be heard.

Ricardo felt a mix of anger and indescribable sorrow.

"I thought the struggles of the powerful had nothing to do with me... This is too cruel. Even commoners, who are not royalty or nobility, are the same people..."

"If the Crown Prince had been in the capital, this wouldn't have happened."

Isalco grumbled.

Crown Prince Gaius, who was disliked by the king, was still dealing with beasts in the Yorgul territory.

The king had told him not to return to the capital until the situation with the increasing number of beasts near the magic portal stabilized.

"Councilor Isalco, can't the Mage Guild do something?"

"Do what?"

"Something like reconstruction support."

Isalco shook his head, thinking of the other councilors and the head of the guild.

"It's difficult. The other councilors are indifferent to such matters."

The Mage Guild, according to records, was founded by mages who gathered to develop and apply magic to society. The ideals of the great predecessors seem to have been forgotten, and the current Mage Guild seems to be heading in the wrong direction.

The city of the capital was beginning to turn red.

Isalco and Tania, heading to the Mage Guild, parted ways, and Ricardo went home.

Hastening his steps, he saw lights on in his house.

"I'm home."

The children and housewives who had taken refuge in this house had returned to their own homes.

"Big brother Ricardo!"

Pamela ran over and hugged Ricardo. Monta also jumped on him, climbing onto his shoulder and rubbing his fluffy cheek against Ricardo's face.

He felt relieved. He carried Pamela to the dining room.

His family was there, as if nothing had happened, and he thanked the gods that no one in his family had been harmed in the recent turmoil.

This concludes Chapter 2: The Mage of the Miscellaneous Affairs Bureau.

The next chapter will be a new one.

2017/10/2 Typo corrections

2017/12/11 Typo corrections