ushernet Chapter 249 : Chapter 249
Chapter 249 : Chapter 249
Ding.[Skill: Superhuman Intuition has activated.]
[You sense someone’s killing intent!]
Radel’s skill triggered. He casually glanced in the direction it pointed.
Looks like they’ve come to rescue Oliver.
Just as expected, he felt movement in the distance—probably hiding among the rocks.
A glint flashed.
Light reflected off a spyglass. Sloppy enough that it all but confirmed they were children.
Radel recalled the conversation he’d had that morning with Carlos, the commander of the Horizon Knights.
“What? Those brats threatened you?” Kahah!
When Radel’s group reported the situation after capturing Oliver, Carlos had burst out laughing.
“Every mage who’s come here before was useless trash. No wonder the kids learned to look down on mages. They’ve never even left the desert.”
Carlos’s eyes sparkle with mischief as he grasped the situation.
“Hey, old man. What should we do with them? Hang them upside down in the desert?”
“That would do them good. Let the sun dry them out until they come to their senses. They deserve punishment for acting behind your back, Commander.”
“Perfect. Let’s check back in a week and only take in the ones who survived.”
Watching the commander and his deputy conspire so gleefully, Radel finally understood why the children had acted so aggressively.
With adults like that around them, they’d learned exactly what they were shown.
A desert of barren land and scarce water—
in a place like this, people inevitably grew rough and exclusionary.
If they’re going to hang them in the desert anyway, I might as well handle it myself.
In the end, Radel obtained Carlos’s permission to deal with the children as he saw fit.
Judging by the commander’s grin, he’d probably expected Radel to say exactly that.
“Senior.”
Shartea caught Radel’s gaze and nodded. She had likely pinpointed the children’s location as well.
Tap!
Shartea launched herself forward.
This operation wasn’t difficult.
If they disdained magic, then the answer was simple—show them the sword.
And right here was a swordsmanship prodigy perfectly suited to teach them a lesson.
***
The children were subdued in an instant.
Radel didn’t even need to step in.
From the very start, it was overwhelming.
Shartea swung her sword once, and the rock the children were hiding behind split clean in two.
Boom!
“Uwaaa!”
The children barely had time to react before scrambling away.
Ping!
Someone hiding elsewhere fired a poisoned needle just in case—but it was useless.
Clang!
“Imperial Swordsmanship!”
Radel focused intensely, determined not to miss a single motion of Shartea’s blade, which was far beyond his own level.
Her sword traced smooth arcs, like flowing water. Not a single movement was wasted.
The children finally drew their blades and rushed her together.
“Attack together!”
“Got it, boss!”
They surrounded Shartea, slashing at her neck, shoulders, waist, and legs from all directions.
Shartea didn’t panic.
She merely adjusted her grip, lowered her stance, and swept her blade in a wide circle.
Clang! Clang!
Her arms flowed with effortless grace as two swords were sent flying.
“Ugh!”
“What—what is this?!”
The children staggered back in shock, their grips numb.
They could see every trajectory clearly—yet there was no way to evade that slow-looking sword.
Clang!
Another blade flew away.
Only one sword remained—Leo’s.
“So you’re the leader.”
Shartea stepped closer, whispering to him.
Her presence was so chilling that goosebumps ran down Leo’s spine.
“…How did you know?”
Leo planted his feet, barely enduring the pressure radiating from her—
different from the overwhelming force he felt when sparring with Carlos, yet just as terrifying in its coldness.
Even without crossing blades, it was obvious how exceptional a swordsman she was.
Veins bulging in his neck, Leo shouted,
“Why?! Why are you so strong even with a sword?!”
Shartea answered with a stern expression.
“If you want to know why I’m strong—”
At the same time, her sword traced a slow arc.
“Learn how to read your opponent first.”
Boom!
Leo was blown backward as he blocked.
And Shartea’s sword still did not stop.
Boom! Boom!
“Wow. I thought she’d go a little easier on them.”
Watching from a distance, Radel gaped.
Gusto, standing beside him, nodded.
“Indeed, Your Highness. But that just means she’s taking them seriously.”
Armandy scoffed.
“Hmph. This is incredibly satisfying. Brats like that need to be taught a lesson.”
He’d wanted to punish those arrogant mage-haters with magic himself, but watching them get pummeled by a sword wasn’t bad either.
Yet even Inette began subtly siding with the children.
“They’re still kids, you know. Almond, you’re kind of narrow-minded.”
“Yeah. Try being a little more generous.”
And then came Radel’s infuriating addition.
Armandy, who’d finally felt some catharsis, felt his chest clog up all over again.
***
The mage-discriminationist group was now being punished under Radel’s supervision.
“Hey. Hands higher.”
Inette scolded a child whose arms had started to droop.
Startled, the child raised them straight over his head again.
Between supervising Lizardmen and watching the kids, Inette was having a busy afternoon.
“Hands up properly, or else.”
A Lizardman poked his head out of the pit, hoping to slack off while she was distracted.
Inette immediately caught him.
“Why are you up here? Want to be grilled lizard?”
She removed her glove, muttering ominously.
Fwoosh!
Flames gathered around her fist.
Even though the words weren’t directed at them, the children instinctively raised their arms higher.
“That’s real magic, right?”
“No. I heard only royals can use something like that.”
Either way, seeing fire appear from nothing was impressive.
Leo, however, remained sulky.
“What’s so impressive? Fire can be made with flint. Did you all forget what that scrawny mage said?”
“Of course we remember, boss.”
“That was unforgivable.”
Radel, who had approached quietly, nodded along.
“Yeah. So what did that mage say again?”
The children ground their teeth, recalling the humiliation.
“What else? He said swords were weak compared to magic!”
“How could he say that?!”
“Seriously! Academy or not, that crossed a line!”
Radel finally understood.
One of the Horizon Knights’ kids had gone up to Armandy and asked if he was a mage—that moment had sparked everything.
Armandy, bragging about being a ‘true mage,’ had belittled swordsmanship in front of a child who asked whether magic or the sword was stronger.
No wonder they’d exploded with anger.
“Now I get it. That guy was wrong, wasn’t he?”
Radel empathized deeply and pointed straight at Armandy.
“Huh?!”
“What?!”
The children, arms raised and unaware anyone had approached, finally noticed Radel and nearly jumped out of their skins.
He’s a mage!
Why can’t we sense him at all?!
They bristled with caution, staring at him.
To Radel, they looked exactly like young magical beasts before being tamed.
And he had more than enough ways to win over children like these.
He chose the most powerful one.
“Want to see the griffin?”
***
“This way.”
Kau tribe warriors pointed south.
The Lizardman shaman turned to the Rau tribe warrior beside him.
“We need to go further down.”
“Understood.”
The Rau warrior gestured behind him, leading several strong, agile warriors toward the Horizon Knights’ base.
This was by the Great Chieftain’s order—to rescue the captured Kau chieftain.
Normally, Father wouldn’t send me on something like this.
That warrior was Ian Rau, the Great Chieftain’s eldest son.
But this involved an oasis, however small.
In the desert, land with water was worth more than gold.
“How large is the southern oasis?” Ian asked.
A Kau warrior replied,
“Enough for our tribe to survive.”
“No wonder you were desperate.”
Ian clicked his tongue in sympathy. He knew Geheram well.
When Ian’s younger brother, Isan Rau, had gone to study at the Imperial Academy, Geheram had fiercely opposed it—staking his entire tribe against the idea.
A warrior who despised humans and rejected any contact with them…
For such a man to swallow his pride and ask the Great Chieftain for a shaman—
Things must have been dire.
Even the water-rich north had been drying up lately.
Thanks to Isan Rau’s efforts—developing medicine to purify contaminated water—the situation had improved slightly.
But without a new water source, the future of the Lizardmen in the Kamin Desert was bleak.
Even Geheram must have had no other choice when it came to an oasis.
Just then—
“We’ve found it.”
The Kau warriors had located the Horizon Knights’ base.
Ian flicked his tongue, catching the scent of water.
“Good. First, confirm whether the captured warriors are alive. Move quietly, don’t attack recklessly. Regroup in one hour.”
“Yes.”
Ian advanced with only the shaman.
The shaman divined Geheram’s location.
“This is strange… He appears to be deep underground.”
“Already dead and buried?”
Puzzled, Ian moved deeper—and then saw something unbelievable.
Lizardmen, shovels slung over their shoulders, walking somewhere together.
“Hey, you know what dream I had today?”
“What kind?”
“Nava himself appeared—with a shovel in his right hand! Don’t you think today might be the day?”
“Really?! Let’s tell the chieftain! This must be a revelation to dig deeper!”
Ian could only doubt his ears.
Why would Nava, god of warriors, appear holding a shovel?
Why were Lizardmen so casually talking about digging the earth?
Something utterly incomprehensible was happening.