Chapter 24: Tearing off the mask

“The situation has reversed, you two.”

Wei Bai emerged from the wall of fire with his clothes in tatters and his body covered in burns.

Despite his state, a faint smile played on his face, sending chills down the spines of the two mages.

‘This man is an absolute lunatic!’

This was the only thought in their minds.

Looking at Wei Bai, it was as if they were staring at a vengeful spirit crawling out of hell.

They had never encountered a madman who would gamble his life like this.

Throwing his only weapon while standing inside a magical wall of fire was like a drowning man kicking away his lifebuoy.

But as luck would have it, Wei Bai won the gamble.

Bolstered by Wei Bai’s layers of enhancements, the silver sword—brimming with mana—had struck the hub of the magic circle with unerring accuracy, successfully destroying the array.

And now, this lunatic was standing right in front of them without any obstacles in his way.

In an instant, the two mages felt the urge to retreat.

They felt nothing but overwhelming dread toward Wei Bai.

Wei Bai ignored them and walked toward his silver sword.

He was currently unarmed, and killing these two mages would be somewhat troublesome without it.

He needed to retrieve his weapon first.

At this moment, as long as his opponents weren’t idiots, it would be nearly impossible for him to reach his sword if they attacked.

However, just then, Wei Bai sensed a familiar aura.

The moment this presence appeared, Wei Bai felt at ease going for his sword.

After all, nothing provided him with more peace of mind than that presence.

Seeing that Wei Bai was ignoring them, the two mages breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, a thought suddenly occurred to them, and they glared at Wei Bai with murderous intent.

“Don’t let him get his weapon!” one mage shouted, immediately beginning a chant.

Seeing his companion’s reaction, the other mage followed suit.

Wei Bai was at his limit; they had to stop him from reaching that sword.

Otherwise, they might not be able to defeat him.

In terms of strength, these two were merely Junior Mages.

They had only passed their Entry-level Assessment a short while ago and could handle Tier 3 magic at most.

If they hadn’t pre-recorded a high-tier magic circle for this ambush, they might not have been able to harm Wei Bai at all.

As a veteran gold-medal Hero, Wei Bai had more experience fighting mages than most.

He was not someone two arrogant novices who had just reached the level of Junior Mage could handle.

Unfortunately, these two had come prepared and lured Wei Bai into a magic circle, nearly causing him to meet his end.

Thankfully, Wei Bai had remembered the appraisal function of Lyrvia’s Tears.

He used it to analyze the magic circle, found the hidden hub, and successfully destroyed it.

Because of that choice, however, he was currently without a weapon and in a vulnerable position.

Now that the brat was unarmed, it was the perfect opportunity to strike!

“TIER 2—STONE SPEAR ART!”

The mage who started chanting first finished his spell.

A long spear constructed from stone manifested beside him.

With a thought from its creator, the spear, carrying a wealth of mana, trembled before shooting toward Wei Bai.

At this moment, Wei Bai felt as if every bone in his body was broken.

The pain was excruciating.

Blood seeped from his burns, and every step was accompanied by a sharp, jolting agony.

All he wanted now was to grab his silver sword and slay these two wretched mages.

The sound of rushing wind approached as a spear lunged toward his heart from the side.

Long years of combat had granted Wei Bai ingrained muscle memory.

The moment he felt the wind, he jerked his body to the side.

The spear grazed his arm, leaving a bloody trail before stabbing into the ground nearby.

‘Tsk, this guy’s reaction is so fast.’

Seeing the sneak attack fail, the mage who cast the stone spear felt a sense of foreboding.

He turned his attention to his companion.

“Hey! Hurry up and cast something, or we’re in trouble once he gets that weapon!”

“…”

Receiving no response, the mage frowned and shouted again.

Just as he was about to walk over, his companion finally moved.

It was then that he noticed his partner had been chanting this entire time—not a standard magic formula, but something that sounded more like a Secret Technique.

“SECRET TECHNIQUE: COMM—AHHH!”

The mage had sighed in relief, thinking the battle was over, but his companion’s sudden, blood-curdling scream forced him back on high alert.

Turning his head, the mage watched in horror as his companion’s left eye socket turned into a hollow void.

Blood poured from the wound, creating a grotesque and eerie sight.

“What happened? Brown! What’s wrong with you?”

The mage panicked.

Ignoring his employer’s demand for secrecy, he shouted his companion’s name.

“My eye! My eye!”

Brown didn’t respond.

He screamed in agony, his mind shattered by the intense pain.

The sheer terror of the situation was rapidly dismantling his psychological defenses.

When had he ever felt such pain? Ever since he started on the path of a mage, he had never suffered a single physical injury.

The mage then noticed that Wei Bai was about to reach the longsword.

He glanced at Brown, then gritted his teeth.

“Fast Chant: Fi—” He endured his fear and tried to release a spell quickly, but a sudden, harsh cry from above interrupted him.

Caw!

A black shadow flew past.

The mage looked up in shock and confusion to see a crow circling in the night sky.

In its beak, it seemed to be carrying a round object.

‘A crow? What is that in its mouth…’

For a moment, the mage was puzzled by Anthony’s appearance.

Then, he focused on what the crow was holding.

Was that… Brown’s eye?

The mage trembled violently as the realization set in.

The fear in his heart grew denser.

By now, Wei Bai had reclaimed his longsword.

Using it as a crutch, he leaned on it and looked coldly at the mage.

That single look made the mage’s skin crawl.

“Lord! My Lord! I was wrong! Please, have mercy! I beg you, spare my life!”

Having lost all will to resist, the mage collapsed to his knees.

He shook like a leaf, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

He had only just become a Junior Mage after the Entry-level Assessment.

A scholar who spent his days buried in books, he had never seen a situation like this.

Facing Wei Bai, he no longer had any thoughts of fighting; he only wanted to save his own skin.

He had a bright future ahead of him.

He was a noble mage!

Even if this mission failed, at worst, he could just leave.

Count Arni wouldn’t be able to find him.

Besides, the scene before him was simply…

Terrifying! It was too terrifying!

Who had ever seen such a bizarre way of fighting? First, the boy broke a magic circle like a madman, and then a crow appeared to snatch Brown’s eyeball right out of his head, only to circle above them.

The kneeling mage felt like he was going insane.

He was just a newcomer on the path of magic; his mental fortitude was nowhere near as resilient as his predecessors.

He began to suspect that the youth before him wasn’t even human.

“Count Arni sent you, didn’t he?”

“Yes! Yes!” the mage said fearfully, terrified that a late reply would result in his death.

“What is your name?”

“My name is Green.”

“Good. You can die now.”

As soon as Green finished speaking, Wei Bai swung his sword.

“No, no! I don’t want to die! Please, I beg—”

Before he could finish, Wei Bai’s blade fell.

Green’s head rolled across the ground, his face frozen in an expression of absolute terror.

Wei Bai glanced at the terrified, babbling Brown and gave him a final thrust of the sword.

The two who had been so arrogant moments ago now lay dead on the ground, their warm bodies slowly growing cold.

After dealing with them, Wei Bai used his sword as a cane and walked to the low wall at the edge of the plaza, slowly sliding down into a sitting position.

He was never one to be soft-hearted toward his enemies.

He always dealt with them cleanly and decisively, leaving no survivors.

He knew that letting these people go was the same as inviting future trouble.

“Sss… that hurts.”

As soon as he sat down, a needle-like pain flared across his body.

The hand holding his sword trembled, and his entire body was soaked in sweat.

At this moment, Wei Bai didn’t have a shred of strength left.

The wall of fire had taken a heavy toll, and combined with the constant chanting to compress his mana, his physical stamina was completely drained.

He was a mess, covered in burns and drenched in blood.

Caw, caw!

The crow in the sky circled down and landed not far from him.

“Anthony, spit that thing out. If you dare eat it, I’ll make you throw it up,” Wei Bai said, feeling nauseated as he looked at the eyeball still in Anthony’s beak.

Hearing Wei Bai’s words, Anthony blinked his eyes and dropped the eyeball to the side.

The reason Wei Bai had been so confident in retrieving his sword despite the mages was because he had sensed Anthony’s presence.

He was certain that Anthony would find a way to buy him enough time.

He hadn’t expected the two mages to be so utterly petrified by seeing Anthony peck out an eye.

The battle had ended more easily than Wei Bai had anticipated.

He had expected at least one more life-and-death struggle to finish them off.

But this was for the best.

It saved him the effort.

He was covered in injuries and in a lot of pain; he needed to find a way to heal himself quickly.