A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles

The wyvern struck by the lightning plummeted without even being able to let out a brief cry of agony.

Thud.

With the sound of the impact, a faint vibration traveled beneath their feet.

Marquis Bernhardt stared at the scene in a daze and asked the knights,

“…You saw it too, didn’t you?”

“Yes. It was exactly the same kind of magic we suffered when the Krephelt Rebellion was suppressed.”

One of the knights answered with a tense expression—someone who had marched alongside the marquis in that campaign and had experienced the power of that spell firsthand.

“Maybe it’s just my impression, but it seemed even more powerful than the magic back then.”

“I felt the same. What in the world is going on here?”

Bernhardt murmured, his expression confused.

He had heard that magic was divided into countless branches depending on the school, and that its effects varied greatly.

Even when the result appeared identical, the magical formulas were usually different.

But no matter how much he thought about it, the spell from just now was exactly the same as the one he had suffered.

Aside from the difference in power, it was identical—to the point that one could be certain it came from the same mage.

‘Then how is it possible that that man’s court mage can reproduce that magic? He didn’t take mages under his command until after receiving Asagrim!’

The marquis’s eyes widened.

A hypothesis flashed through his mind like lightning.

‘Don’t tell me all of that was a farce from the very beginning?’

What if, ever since he was the third son of the Valdeck family, he had secretly recruited a mage?

What if he deliberately provoked the First Prince’s displeasure in order to retreat into the shadows, waiting to appear as a savior when the allied army was on the verge of collapse?

The thought sent chills across his skin, but he soon shook his head.

If it had all been an act, it wouldn’t explain the subsequent surprise attack by the Krephelt army.

That would have required not only a mage, but also direct collusion with the Krephelt army.

To carry out an espionage operation of that magnitude within the allied army while being only the third son of the Valdecks was absurd.

‘But whatever the truth may be, the one thing that’s certain is that that man has obtained an extremely dangerous mage.’

Bernhardt swallowed as he looked toward the spot where the wyvern had crashed.

He himself had experienced just how terrifying that magic was.

Without the protection of a high-ranking mage, a compact army could be completely annihilated.

If not for Blasker’s magical protection back then, he himself would have lost his life.

And now, it turned out that one of Lucian’s vassals could use that same magic.

“Damn it… why do the Eight Gods allow this…?”

— Graaaarrrr.

— Rroooaaaargh.

As he lamented, the marquis heard other wyvern roars.

Startled, he raised his head and saw, in the distance, two more wyverns taking flight.

The marquis, who had thought everything was over, shouted with a flash of hope.

“Of course, it wasn’t just one! There were two more!”

At first he thought they had fled in terror upon seeing their companion fall, but it was the opposite.

The two wyverns, enraged, swept across the surroundings with bloodshot eyes, as if ready to tear apart whoever had dared to attack.

‘No matter how powerful he is, no mage can cast a spell of that level several times in a row. Perfect—I’ll use the wyverns to finish off that mage once and for all…!’

Rumble! Rumble!

Clenching his fist in excitement, Bernhardt froze upon hearing two consecutive peals of thunder.

A blinding flash lit up his vision, and in the next instant, the two wyverns began to fall, just like the previous one.

Boom. Thud.

“…”

“…”

The knights were completely frozen by the scene.

Even by setting the forest ablaze, installing ballistae at strategic points, and relying on troops brimming with morale, capturing a wyvern required countless sacrifices.

And yet, three wyverns had taken flight with all their ferocity only to die like fleeting insects.

“Ma, marquis…”

“Shut up.”

Bernhardt cut him off without even looking at him.

Then, his eyes shining with palpable killing intent, he murmured once more,

“Shut up.”

“…”

With that single word, all the knights fell silent.

From that moment until the time of the challenge ended, Marquis Bernhardt did not utter another word.

***

“Fuuu…”

Marius let out a deep breath.

Although he was quite exhausted, it was obvious that he was trying not to show it.

Lucian watched Marius in silence and asked him.

“Is it that taxing?”

“I’m sorry. I showed an unsightly display.”

“I’m not worried. I want to know your limits. Does using magic like just now place such a heavy burden on you?”

“Under normal circumstances I don’t get tired to this extent, but casting three spells consecutively at maximum output is a bit excessive.”

If he had used that same magic against a human army, Marius would have been able to smile without the slightest concern.

Even at normal power, a lightning strike is enough to kill people.

But this time, the opponent was none other than a wyvern.

Though far inferior to a dragon, it was still a monster with extremely tough scales and extraordinary vitality.

If he used mediocre power, there was a chance it would survive and take flight again.

That was why, even while pushing himself, Marius had no choice but to cast the spells at maximum power.

“I’m ashamed to say it, but a fourth consecutive cast would be impossible. Consider that my limit.”

“Well, given the effort, the result was decisive. You turned two giant wyverns into charcoal.”

“I’m glad you’re satisfied… huh?”

Marius, who had bowed his head with a smile, froze.

Two turned into charcoal? Weren’t there three wyverns that had been struck by lightning and fallen?

Seeing his confusion, Lucian smiled faintly and said,

“One survived and fell while still alive.”

“…!”

“Unlike the other two, it wasn’t completely charred. It was also noticeably larger, so it must have been a rather old specimen.”

Whether monsters or beasts, ordinary living creatures weaken with age once they pass their prime.

However, draconic creatures like wyverns or drakes grow strangely stronger right up until the moment of their natural death.

That was why hunting an ancient dragon was often considered less efficient than simply waiting for it to die on its own.

The cost of the hunt far exceeded the cost of waiting.

If two had been reduced to charcoal and one survived almost intact, it was clear that only that specimen had reached an exceptional age.

“We’ll take care of the remaining one directly—Felicia and I. You stay here and wait with the others.”

“My apologies, Your Majesty! I’ve made it so that you have to intervene personally…”

“It’s fine. You already did more than enough by knocking that flying nuisance out of the sky.”

In truth, he had done more than enough.

The fact that the wyvern had fallen without even being able to cry out meant that the impact had been devastating.

By now, it must have been paralyzed at the crash site, barely breathing.

Lucian and Felicia would only need to finish off a prey that had already been caught.

“Let’s go, Felicia.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The moment he heard her reply, Lucian launched his body off the ground.

His physique, reinforced to the limit with magic, crossed the forest in an instant.

Soon after, three enormous shadows appeared before their eyes.

No—more precisely, they were three blackened masses, like charred silhouettes.

Two of them were completely burned and half shattered from the impact.

“…If we try to move them, they’ll crumble. It’s better to leave them as they are.”

“I agree. There’s no need for Your Majesty to dirty himself with ashes. That single specimen is enough to win the bet.”

— Grrrkk…

As if reacting to Felicia’s voice, the wyvern that still retained some shape moved its eyes.

More than half of its body was burned and it could barely move, yet its gaze was still filled with hatred and a palpable killing intent.

However, the instant the wyvern’s eyes reflected Lucian, they widened in terror.

— Grrk… Grrraak!

“What’s wrong?”

Lucian frowned as he looked at the frenzied wyvern.

For a moment, he thought it was going to attack, but contrary to expectations, the wyvern couldn’t even bare its fangs.

It smashed trees with its tail and kicked up earth with its body, yet avoided any contact with Lucian at all costs.

— Kyak! Kyak!

“It seems to be afraid of Your Majesty…”

“So it seems. Though I don’t know why.”

Faced with the strange phenomenon, Lucian scratched his cheek.

It didn’t look like a monster simply recognizing a stronger being and submitting.

Even on the verge of death, it had shown bloodlust toward Felicia.

If it were a creature that bowed to strength, it would have done so long ago.

There had to be another reason.

“It’s strange. There shouldn’t be anything that makes a wyvern fear me like this…”

Tilting his head, Lucian recalled something he had overlooked.

Come to think of it, there was something related to dragons.

‘The dragon heart.’

Although he had only absorbed its magical power, that alone had been enough to transform all of Lucian’s magic into that of the dragon heart.

In a sense, the current Lucian was closer to an ancient dragon than to the human race.

If there was some connection between the dragon heart he possessed and the wyvern’s reaction…

‘I’ll know if I test it.’

Fuuuum—

The moment he formed the hypothesis, Lucian drew out his magic.

Just like the first time he absorbed the power of the dragon heart, magic began to flow uncontrollably through the completely opened channels.

When the overflowing energy became visible and filled the surroundings, the wyvern began to writhe in panic.

— Kiiiaaaah!

“Silence.”

Lucian spoke a single word to the wyvern that was trying to distance itself from him.

Amazingly, the instant he spoke, the wyvern’s movements stopped.

It wasn’t that it understood the words, but rather that it seemed to have directly grasped the meaning contained in the voice.

“This is interesting.”

Lucian observed in silence, intending to see how long it could endure.

One minute passed, then five, then ten.

Though its body trembled spasmodically, the wyvern maintained its initial rigid posture.

Even when healthy, that posture was painful for the joint structure of a draconic creature.

And now, after having been struck by lightning, every second must have felt like hell.

Even so, it endured all the pain and obeyed Lucian’s command.

“You can move again.”

Thud.

— Hiss! Hiss!

The moment it was given permission, the wyvern relaxed its body and began to pant with harsh, reptilian breaths.

Listening to that sound, Lucian approached the wyvern.

Felicia, who had been watching in silence until then, cried out in alarm when she saw what he did next.

“Your Majesty! It’s dangerous!”

Lucian was reaching his hand toward the wyvern’s eye.

It was the weak point of any living being, a place where even the slightest contact was painful.

No matter how afraid it was, when pain was inflicted on the eye, it was natural to react violently.

When a vital point is threatened, instinct usually overrides fear.

Swish—

— Kiiik!

But this time, the wyvern barely let out a whimper.

Each time Lucian’s hand brushed the surface of its eye, it cried out in pain, but it neither turned its head nor closed its eyelid.

Even if Lucian were to crush its eye at that very moment, it seemed it would offer no resistance at all.

When the wyvern’s eye had become completely red, Lucian withdrew his hand and murmured in a voice filled with amusement.

“An unexpected prize.”