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Latia spoke from behind.
"Davian."
Her voice was steady, now that her breathing had calmed down quite a bit.
"What?"
"What do I have to do to improve my stamina? Should I do some internal and external power cultivation, even just a little?"
That was a terrible idea.
It was a mage's destiny to gather even a single grain of mana more.
But to cultivate internal and external power?
"No, you can't do that."
"Why? You do it."
"I'm a weirdo."
"I guess so..."
"Go for a jog every morning."
"A jog?"
Ah.
Latia, who had only ever studied magic, might find the word "jog" unfamiliar.
"Just run 10 laps around the gymnasium every morning."
"That's all I have to do?"
"After about a year, you won't even lose your breath climbing a mountain like this."
"Really? Okay."
Then.
Bonita, who was walking at the very front, bent down and reached her arm back.
The Grey Bear Expedition all stopped in their tracks and crouched down.
Latia whispered.
"You can put me down now."
"Okay."
Davian, who had been carrying Latia on his back, set her down and slowly moved forward.
"What's there? Bonita."
"There."
Smoke was billowing up from the place Bonita was pointing.
"Looks like they're openly trying to have dinner."
Nubes, who had come closer, asked.
"Is it a trade caravan?"
Liber answered.
"No. That flag. It's our family's flag."
"What? So you're saying your older brother's expedition is that big? I thought it was some kind of trade caravan. So if we get caught stealing the trace, we have to fight all those people?"
"Don't worry too much. Most of them are probably servants. That's just how my older brother is."
"Servants? On an expedition to a place like this?"
"Yeah. They need porters, cooks, workers to build the encampment, and even personal attendants. There must be about 20 servants alone."
"Is that what expeditions are usually like?"
"Not all of them are like that. But my older brother is."
Davian, who had been listening to Nubes's and Liber's conversation, carefully examined the expedition again.
'Their mobility must be poor. This is good for us.'
Latia, who had come closer, asked.
"When do we strike?"
"Let's raid them at night. We'll just secretly take the trace and slip away."
"Wouldn't the trace be with Liber's older brother, Leonel, himself?"
"I'm not sure, but if he's the type to bring that many servants around, he probably entrusted the trace to a porter."
"Well, whatever. We'll have to see."
Then.
Bonita, who had quickly jumped back, drew her sword.
Shwing.
"Who's there!"
A man covered in black clothes was standing at the tip of Bonita's sword.
The man quickly raised both hands above his head.
The man was urgently looking for someone.
"Liber Specula?"
Only then did Liber come closer and confirm the man's face.
"He's my informant. You can lower your sword, Bonita."
Bonita sheathed her sword again.
Liber asked the informant.
"Did you find out where the trace is?"
"I thought this trace thing was small."
"Isn't it?"
"They were keeping it in a large wagon. It looks like it takes up quite a bit of space."
Davian, who was listening to the conversation, nodded.
The 12 traces of the Archmage all had different shapes and sizes.
'The 3rd trace must be too big, so they're carrying it around in a wagon. But it seems they don't know that they don't need to carry them all around.'
According to what he saw in the secret library, to obtain the final 12th trace, you had to bring all 11 previous traces.
But until then, it was enough to just carry the trace right before it.
Leonel had only found 4 traces, so he might not know that fact yet.
Nubes asked.
"What? So we have to steal the whole wagon?"
Davian took out a large scroll that was folded several times from his pocket.
"I'll move it with this. It's directly connected to the Academy."
"What's that big scroll?"
"It's a scroll that can carry even a wagon."
"Davian, did you know the trace was big?"
"Just a hunch."
"Of course. My friend Davian's hunches are always right."
Bellum approached.
"What? That's lame? Just go next to the wagon and tear this scroll? That's it?"
"We'll have to go and see if it's lame or not."
"That's true. Who knows who's guarding the wagon."
"Oh, is that so?"
A time when a thin crescent moon barely illuminated the outline of the forest.
"Hey, we can go back tomorrow, right? I'm so bored."
"They said they're finding that trace thing tomorrow, so we can go back when that's over."
"This is the most boring mission of my mercenary life. It's like a mountaineering club."
"Mercenaries don't have to live their lives constantly facing death. Right? Don't you remember that last mission? We turned a whole territory into a sea of fire."
"I remember. I still feel like I can smell the burning corpses on my body. Now that I think about it, this is better than that. Even if it's boring."
The mercenary stretched out, as if he couldn't bear the boredom.
"Wait!"
"What is it?"
"Didn't you see something moving over there?"
"It's probably a wild animal. Who would be wandering around in the deep mountains at this hour?"
"I guess so."
Rustle.
"No! There's something there!"
"Really? Then let's go take a look."
The two mercenaries on watch duty walked towards the place where the sound came from.
Shwing.
They drew their swords and approached the dark bushes.
"Ugh!"
"Ugh!"
Two figures quickly approached and went behind the mercenaries, covering their noses and mouths with handkerchiefs.
The mercenaries' eyes seemed to roll upwards.
Then.
Swoosh.
Their eyes closed and their bodies slumped.
"Oh, this works well?"
Bonita looked at the handkerchief in her hand.
"Don't put it too close to your nose. Unless you want to pass out too."
"Liber is surprisingly useful when you look at it."
The other members of the group came out of the darkness one by one.
Liber, who was the first to run out, asked.
"How is it? Does it work?"
"As you can see."
"Oh! It's a success!"
The thing on the handkerchief was sleeping powder that Liber had made exactly as he had read in the book.
Bellum 'thwacked' Liber on the back.
"Oh, Bookworm. Amazing. You can even make something like this."
"If the recipe is written correctly, there's nothing I can't make."
Davian signaled them to be quiet.
"Stop talking. Let's go."
The Grey Bear Expedition approached the Leonel Expedition's encampment and hid behind a large rock.
"That's the wagon, right?"
"Yeah. It looks exactly like what the informant told us."
Bonita estimated the distance to the wagon with her hand.
"We can just run straight there, right? Just touch the wagon and tear the scroll, right?"
"That's what we're going to do. But we have to make a plan."
"What's the plan for running straight there?"
"We don't know the enemy's strength. First, Latia, Nubes, Bellum, Liber, Luna. The five of you stay here. Prepare for any possible situation, and if we get caught, launch a support attack immediately. Bonita, you run there with me. It would be better if we arrive safely, but if not, we'll have to fight."
Bonita untied the black hair tie she had on her left arm.
Then she raised both arms and roughly tied her long red hair back.
It was also an action to tidy up her cumbersome hair, but it was also Bonita's routine that she always did right before battle.
Davian took out Ferrarius's gauntlets and put one on each hand.
"Good plan. Let's go."
"Cut down anything that gets in the way. But don't kill them, it could be a problem."
"That's an even better plan."
Shwing.
Bonita drew a sword that was halfway between a rapier and a bastard sword.
When she operated her internal energy, a subtle blue aura emanated.
"Let's go!"
Davian and Bonita's figures shot out quickly.
"Who's there!"
"It's an enemy!"
They knew they would be discovered.
It was impossible to approach without being discovered with the lights shining so brightly all around the encampment.
They would end it quickly.
One of the swordsmen in front of them drew his sword.
Bonita, who had approached with her waist bent, raised her sword from below.
Clang!
Once.
Clang!
Twice.
"Kuh-ack!"
In three exchanges, Bonita's sword deeply cut through the swordsman's chest.
He was wearing metal armor, but it was torn as easily as tearing leather.
Meanwhile, Davian had taken a few more steps towards the wagon.
Whoosh!
This time it was a magic attack.
A bright red fireball flew towards Davian.
Bang!
The ice wall Davian had built collided with the fireball.
After taking another step, Davian looked in the direction the fireball had come from to retaliate.
Boom!
The fireball that flew from behind covered the mage.
Judging by the speed, power, and accuracy, it was clear that Latia had shot it.
'That's right. Show your skills to your heart's content, Latia Meridiem.'
Meanwhile, Bonita, who had caught up with Davian, started to move ahead again.
The moment Bonita overtook Davian, Davian could see Bonita's mouth, albeit faintly.
'Is she smiling?'
She seemed to be feeling exhilarated in a situation where she could wield her sword to her heart's content for the first time in a while.
The moment her roughly tied red hair swung wildly.
"Kuh-erk!"
Another man who had blocked their path fell.
'She's definitely excited. Bonita Fortis.'
Bang! Bang!
The sounds of magic exploding continued to echo as Latia and the mage continued to exchange attacks.
"Block them!"
"Block!"
Swordsmen with fast bodies blocked Davian and Bonita's path.
There were three of them.
The speed at which they approached and the stance they took with their swords showed that they were at a different level than the mercenaries Bonita had cut down earlier.
But Bonita didn't hesitate.
Clang!
While Bonita was exchanging swords with the man on the right, Davian also ran towards the man on the left.
Boom!
Even though it was a fireball that was shot from a fairly short distance, the swordsman quickly swung his sword to cut through the fireball.
A bluish aura was formed on the sword.
A symbol was engraved on the chest of the armor he was wearing, symbolizing something.
'He's not an ordinary mercenary. He's a big name.'
Swish.
An ice sword appeared in Davian's right hand.
Whoosh.
The thick, long longsword that had blocked the fireball came down towards Davian's head.
Davian quickly raised his ice sword above his head.
Clang!
Davian, who had deflected the attack to the right, quickly turned his body to the left.
The ice sword was quickly swung towards the swordsman's side.
Even though he had deflected it in the opposite direction, the swordsman's sword was instantly bent to block the ice sword's path.
'I knew he could block that much!'
At that moment, a sharp wind magic element was shot from Davian's left hand.
Whoosh!
"Kuh-uck!"
The swordsman, who suffered a long wound on his thigh, became slower.
While he was hesitating, Davian's ice sword, which flew again, succeeded in deeply cutting the swordsman's side.
Davian quickly flew his body and ran towards the next man.
This time, the opponent was wearing heavy armor and holding a mace.
The fact that he was wearing such heavy armor and showed the same movements as when he blocked Davian and Bonita's path meant that he had tremendous internal and external power.
Whoosh.
The mace of the man wearing heavy armor was swung greatly.
Usually, when you swing such a large and heavy weapon, there are many openings, but the mace was so fast that there was no time to aim for the opening.
Crack!
The ice wall that Davian had quickly created collided head-on with the mace.
Even though he had pushed in 5-star level magic power, the ice wall was visibly cracking.
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