Shepherd Wizard (Novel) - Chapter 168

Chapter 168

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“Wow, this is as tense as it gets…”

Northern Land of Lakes, at the Ebrell River facing the Frostwind Forest.

A young man dressed in Baraha knight’s garb muttered as he gazed across at the enemy camp.

On the opposite bank of the vast river, about two hundred meters wide, stood the mages of the great family Ruban.

True to their reputation for close combat, they wore heavy armor and wielded massive weapons.

If those warriors crossed the river, just a handful could turn everything to rubble.

As the young man was lost in such grim imaginings, someone suddenly grabbed him from behind and hissed in a whisper.

“I told you not to go near the riverbank.”

“S-sorry.”

“You idiot! I’ve told you again and again, mages-especially nobles-are far more perceptive than you think. If you loiter one more time, you’ll be executed.”

The middle-aged man glared at the young man, who bowed repeatedly as he retreated, then turned his gaze toward the Ruban camp.

A few minutes later, convinced the enemy hadn’t noticed anything strange, he let out a small sigh.

“Whew…”

A few weeks ago, Baraha nobles had received unusual orders from their family head.

Gather a force of a few nobles, fifty knights, and a thousand commoners, then march on Ruban.

It was a baffling command.

Fifty mages and a thousand commoners-what was the point of such an army?

Give weapons to powerless commoners and a few well-trained knights could butcher them; against nobles, ordinary iron weapons couldn’t even scratch the skin.

And their pace was so slow that after walking twenty or thirty kilometers a day, they were exhausted and barely able to fight.

When the Baraha nobles questioned this, the family head answered calmly:

[It’s a fake army. Just move to threaten Ruban. Don’t actually fight.]

…Regardless, the godlike family head’s orders had to be obeyed, and soon Baraha’s “army” of commoners was assembled.

Those wearing mage uniforms for the first time looked at each other, bewildered.

[Wow…]

[Wearing this, I really do look like a mage.]

They hadn’t just grabbed people off the street; there were conditions.

No one too ugly, and all under forty and physically fit.

All this was overseen by Baraha’s few, trusted retainers.

Once gathered, these “soldiers” faced a brutal forced march toward Ruban’s territory.

Sixty kilometers a day-an impossible pace for ordinary people.

They managed only because they were all young and strong, and healers tended their injuries, but even so, it was slower than a real mage army’s march.

At best, it was like a mage army strolling at a leisurely pace.

Since arriving, this fake army had spent over a week staring down Ruban’s army across the river.

It was like a housecat growling at a tiger.

“Arke.”

Lost in thought, the middle-aged man called Arke turned at the sound of his name.

Standing there was a beautiful woman with black hair and green eyes, holding a long sword still dripping blood.

Having fought in the Ravitas-Baraha war, Arke recognized the sword as belonging to the head of the Parsha family.

“Did you call, Lady Berit?”

“I caught eleven spies trying to scout us. They’re tied up to the west-send someone to deal with them.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Arke was nominally in charge of this army, but the true leader was the woman before him.

Berit Zahar.

A Zahar noble, lover of Baraha’s head Solif, and in effect, his betrothed.

She was responsible for blocking enemy scouts during the army’s march and encampment.

She seemed to use a mysterious stone tablet, always in her hands, to aid her work.

“Um, Lady Berit…”

“Hm?”

Having just scolded a young man for a similar mistake, Arke sighed at his own carelessness, but since he’d already started, he pressed on.

“Do you know where the main force is while we’re here as a decoy?”

The operation was so secretive that even a noble like him knew little.

Berit tilted her head and replied,

“Why do you want to know? Planning to tell someone?”

“No! I just…”

“The moment a secret leaves your lips, you lose the right to keep it. That’s a Zahar family motto.”

“My apologies.”

“But as I said before, if they attack for real, surrender. I won’t hold you responsible.”

Berit then pulled out some cosmetics and dabbed her face.

“Ugh, camping out here ruins my skin… I wish I had skin like my sister’s that didn’t need care.”

She glanced westward, toward where her lover was.

‘By now, something should be happening.’

Berit had recently informed Zahar that Baraha was mobilizing an army and marching on Ruban.

She and her lover, and his most trusted friend-her cousin-were sure that other enemies would try to exploit the opening.

Whoever struck would face disaster.

* * *

…At the signal of Turan’s invisible railgun shot, the three-hundred-strong Parsha-Baraha allied force charged the Carmine and merfolk army, which outnumbered them more than ten to one.

But they showed no fear.

Unlike the enemy, made up mostly of commoner merfolk, a few Carmine nobles, and a handful of merfolk nobles, the allied force was composed of nearly a third nobles.

Most importantly, they had overwhelming firepower.

[“Scatter!”]

At a wind-amplified shout, Parsha’s mages threw handfuls of black powder.

Fire Soul-also called gunpowder-rode the wind into the merfolk ranks and exploded.

“Kyaaaagh!”

It was like Turan’s attack on pirates years ago, but on a far larger scale.

Even the weakest knight could easily cast fire magic to ignite the powder, and hundreds of merfolk were torn apart in seconds.

“Yes!”

“Let’s do it again-huh?”

Perhaps annoyed by their cheers, rain suddenly began to pour from the sky.

Just moments ago, the weather had only been a bit cloudy.

They didn’t know it was due to Carmine’s prepared rain magic device, but it was clear the situation had worsened.

Not only would the gunpowder be useless, but Carmine’s water mages would grow stronger, and Baraha’s fire mages weaker.

But the difference between the two sides wasn’t something a little rain could change.

“Doesn’t matter! Attack!”

At the signal, Parsha-Baraha mages unleashed every magic except fire.

Carmine’s mages tried to counter, and the commoner merfolk charged like hounds, while Carmine’s commander Jemel groaned as he watched Parsha’s lines.

“Turan, Parsha…”

He alone knew why Turan had suddenly appeared.

With his awakened spiritual sense, he saw Turan snatch the soul of a vessel just killed by the railgun.

With his soul outside his body, Turan couldn’t maintain invisibility.

‘Can I kill him?’

He knew he should run, not seek revenge.

Against an enemy who could capture souls, his immortality was useless.

But his pride, inflamed by humiliation, wouldn’t let him flee without striking back.

If Turan was truly defenseless, maybe this attack would end it.

Inside, Jemel’s three symbols intertwined.

The flowing river froze with a crack, forming a dragon, and six eyes appeared at its head.

Ripple, Frost, Hunter.

Combining the three, he unleashed the skill “Eternal Pursuer,” sending a teal light streaking toward Turan.

It looked like a turquoise glow, but it was a dreadful curse that froze any target on contact-impossible to dispel with modern magic.

Even a family-head-level mage would not survive if hit unguarded.

But Turan’s golden shield blocked Jemel’s attack.

“You think I’d just stand around?”

It was Solif, Baraha’s head, who blocked the attack with a white flame.

Jemel’s face darkened.

He recognized the skill as one only possible by combining three classes in their old game.

“Already mastered it, huh…”

The reason god vessels held such an advantage over modern mages was these skills.

But if a modern mage mastered them, the gods’ edge disappeared.

In fact, with their young, healthy bodies and souls, modern mages could use skills even more easily.

Suddenly, Jemel sensed danger and conjured an ice barrier.

A strange blue lightning bolt smashed through it, grazing him.

“Ugh-”

He realized the attack came from Meisa Arabion, who was also skillfully using a combined skill.

With just those two, the enemy was formidable-if Turan joined after soul capture, it would be hopeless.

Even with the Giant Sea Serpents, it wouldn’t be a one-sided fight-

‘Wait, where are they?’

Only now did Jemel notice the three Giant Sea Serpents were gone.

They had quietly transformed back into merfolk and were fleeing in different directions.

Perhaps the rain helped them move quickly even on land.

“Those bastards!”

Jemel cursed but understood.

With no hope of victory, it was smarter to abandon unreliable allies and escape.

The tragedy was that he couldn’t do the same-his loyal Carmine mages would never abandon him.

“Retreat while the merfolk buy us time! Fall back!”

“Y-yes! Everyone, retreat!”

The only fortunate thing was that the thousands of commoner merfolk served as a shield, buying time.

Even elite Parsha-Baraha mages, hampered by the rain and the berserk merfolk, would need time to finish the job.

As Jemel and his followers fled, he realized why the enemy had brought an army composed mostly of nobles.

“Did they plan all this…?”

He saw enemy mage units closing in from a distance, surrounding his escape route.

Most would be knights, but even a brief delay could be fatal now.

Jemel’s face twisted with rage.

* * *

The battle-more a chase-between the Parsha-Baraha alliance and the Carmine-merfolk army lasted nearly a day.

Parsha and Baraha suffered almost no losses.

About thirty knights died trying to restrain Jemel and the other powerful nobles, and twenty more fell to the crazed merfolk.

Four nobles died attempting to contain the Giant Sea Serpents.

But for Carmine and the merfolk, the losses were devastating.

Of Jemel, fifteen Carmine nobles, and eighty knights, only about ten escaped.

Of the three Giant Sea Serpent royals, only one survived; all other merfolk nobles and commoners were wiped out.

The exchange rate was essentially a hundred to one, or worse.

Solif clicked his tongue as he reviewed the reports.

“I didn’t expect them to fall for it so easily…”

“You said Carmine had already cooperated with Ruban, and Zahar brokered the deal. If you show an opening, someone will always take a shot. I didn’t expect them to team up with the merfolk, though.”

Turan had even prepared for the worst-case: a full assault by all enemy forces, including Badal, the Arabion-Nagin army, Carmine’s Lawyer, all their vessels, and a dozen Giant Sea Serpents.

If that happened, Turan planned to use the Mimic Mask to infiltrate and sow discord-attacking Arabion and the merfolk as Carmine, or vice versa.

Compared to that, this attack was a smaller catch for the trap he’d set.

Even so, the damage dealt to Carmine and the merfolk was enough to keep them quiet for a while.

“What if they hadn’t taken the bait?”

“Hm?”

“If Ruban attacked the fake Baraha army, or Carmine didn’t invade at all?”

Turan paused to collect his thoughts.

“Ruban wouldn’t attack. Their army is fake, too.”

After repeated railgun strikes, Turan had proved that a normal army couldn’t stop him, and sending elite troops would only increase their losses.

If the enemy knew Turan was there, only a fool would send their best.

“I guess they’re just waiting to catch me with a special detachment while I’m busy sniping with the railgun.”

But Baraha’s “army” had no intention or ability to cross the river, so it was pointless.

“And if no one attacked… well, it’d be a shame, but not a loss.”

The only real cost was a bit of Solif’s prestige, which could be restored with future support from Parsha.

And most importantly-

“Now that we’ve pulled off this trick, our enemies will always hesitate, wondering if what they see is real or not. That alone is a win.”

If he could have wiped out an enemy faction, it would have been better, but even so, he’d dealt meaningful blows to two hostile powers.

Already, Turan was planning his next move.

“While they’re reeling, we’ll strike Ruban. But before that, I need to have a word with our new friends.”

Turan tapped the jewel box, still damp from use.

It was time to get to know the new souls he’d just acquired.