The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years (Web Novel KR) Vol 1 Chapter 48

It was a middle-aged man.

He didn't have any distinct characteristics, but there were no clothes on his upper half, exposing his skinny form.

His body was not trained. (TL: yeah well at least he's 'skinny')

In all honesty, this person did not appear to be the deputy head of a magic tower.

However, Frey and the other three immediately became tense.

'It's been a long time. This dirty feeling.'

Divine power.

Seeing that the man in front of him gave off remnants of power similar to that of the Demigods, he was certain that the Apostles were able to use a bit of the Demigods' powers.

“Ah, Honor Lukes. Why are you here?”

Frey sighed deeply.

Mikel did not make a good judgement. Or he was forcefully averting his eyes from the truth. (TL: Ostrich)

The situation was clear to everyone who witnessed it.

Honor Lukes was one of the Demigod's informants.

He might have been a true circle member in the past, but now he was nothing better than a servant for the Demigods.

Mikel was the only one here who could not accept it.

Lukes spoke with an indifferent tone.

“Mikel, my friend. Didn't I tell you to wait? I thought you were supposed to be good at following orders.”

“Th-, there's something wrong here. Te-, tell me this isn't true! I…”

“Hoo. That's too bad. You could've lived if you had killed your curiosity.”

Lukes pat his waist.

“Hmm. I don't think I need to answer to a wizard. Then, good-bye.”

There were no signs.

After speaking, Lukes simply glanced at Mikel.

But Frey, who had fought the Demigods many times before, was able to react to it.

Clang!

“….!?”

Mikel collapsed.

All he'd felt was a faint lightning energy coming from Lukes fingers.

He looked at Lukes with a horrified expression.

Mikel knew that if he had been hit by that attack then he would have died immediately.

Lukes turned to Frey with a surprised expression.

“Huh? You were able to block that? What are you?”

“…”

“Indeed…it wasn't just the two Blacktooth members who came. Which circle are you from?”

Frey didn't answer and instead glanced at Mikel who climbed up from the ground.

“…nonsense. A circle executive becoming the servant of a Demigod. Th-, then the artifact that you have…” (TL: was tempted to use 'bs' since that also works)

“I can't use it. Of course, I am unable to use mana anymore. But it doesn't matter. I now have a much more powerful form of energy.”

There was a glow of madness in his eyes.

Frey looked at him with an unpleasant expression.

Fanaticism.

There might not have been any Apostles 4,000 years ago, but there were still enough people who chose to worship Demigods.

He'd seen them, fought them, killed them.

Frey realised.

The man in front of them wasn't being manipulated or confused.

He had already pledged his allegiance to a Demigod of his own free will.

Frey turned to Mikel and muttered.

“You need to pull yourself together. It is clear that he doesn't intend to spare us.”

“K-, kuh…”

Mikel's shaking eyes became clear and firm.

No matter what, he was a Floor Master who had gone through his own share of hardships as well as a circle member.

The stronger a wizard was, the better they were at controlling their own mind and calming their emotions.

Mikel managed to regain his composure without embarrassing himself further.

Lukes looked on with interest.

“I see. So you are the one who broke the array and destroyed the forest. That isn't something that Mikel could do. You've already reached the 7 stars levels. No matter how I look at you, you're not over the age of thirty. Impressive.”

“Why did you betray the circle?”

“Kukuku.”

Lukes let out a low laugh.

“I realised that no matter how hard we struggle, we couldn't defeat them…we are less than worms in their eyes. A fly that can be trampled to death at any time.”

Flames seemed to flutter within Frey's eyes.

There were people who'd made the same argument.

The unpleasant memories of that time seemed to come back to him.

“We're not worms.”

“Humans are not worms.”

Frey spoke each word slowly as though he was chewing them, the anger in his eyes clear.

'Frey?'

Liamson took a quiet breath at the sight.

In the short time that he'd known him, Liamson felt that Frey had a very special countenance.

He seemed to always be in control of his emotions and he didn't speak easily. His smiles were faint and he was calm even when making jokes.

Liamson could hardly imagine the sight of him expressing intense feelings such as anger or sadness.

That Frey was now showcasing anger so fierce, he felt like he could see it.

“You gave in.”

“I gave in?”

“I know that the Demigods are transcendent beings. Everyone in the circle knows. Still, they don't hesitate to confront them. Why do you think that is?”

He said circle, but in fact Frey was talking about himself and his friends.

“Do you think they aren't scared? Do you think it's because they are ignorant of the Demigods' true power? Not at all. They know everything but they still have the courage to face it. To overcome it without running away!” (TL: 파이팅!)

“People in the world see them and think they are foolish.”

Frey let out a cold laugh.

“It's better to be an idiot than a coward. You don't deserve to speak ill about them, you piece of garbage.”

“Huhuhu. A young man who knows how to make use of his mouth. Then what was I supposed to do?”

Kwajik.

A huge thunderbolt formed in Lukes hand, letting off small sparks of electricity.

There seemed to be excitement in his gaze.

“Look at this. This is power. The power of lightning. Pure lightning that could never be made with magic…you don't need to learn a mind breaking formula or worry about how to efficiently distribute your mana. Just by accepting his power, it became mine. I have more power than any 7 star wizard.”

Kurrung!

Dark clouds began forming in the sky.

They were no ordinary clouds, but thunder clouds filled with lightning that were able to instantly turn a human into ashes.

Kwang!

Lightning struck the ground, scorching it black.

The sheer power of nature itself caused Liamson's face to stiffen. He realised that if he was hit even once, he would become a corpse like the one in the village.

Frey checked the power of his team.

Liamson was a true warrior. Although his talent in magic was high, he would only be able to showcase 100% of his strength by fighting with his body.

On the other hand, Mikel was an atypical wizard. For example, a warrior like Liamson would only need to take three steps before he slit his throat without giving him a chance to launch his spell.

Camille was an allrounder. She was a better warrior than Liamson, and a better wizard than Mikel.

Maybe she would be the key to this fight.

Frey came up with some of the most efficient tactics with this group and then he picked the most appropriate one for the current situation.

“Liamson, you'll take the lead. You have to pay attention to that guy's movements. Imagine that the lives of the other two are in your hands.”

“Understood.”

“Mr. Mikel please block that man's divine power from the back. Of course, you shouldn't face it head on. You have to stop before reaching your limits.”

Magic and Divine power were two opposing forces.

If they went head to head, then the side with the most power would overwhelm the other side, but depending on the wizard's ability, they could make it annoying for the opponent to utilize their power.

“U-, understood.”

Mikel wondered how Frey, who was meeting an Apostle for the first time, was about to make such accurate judgements, but now was not the time to ask.

Finally, Frey turned to Camille.

“Camille, you have the most important role. I need you to help fill in the gaps left by Liamson and Mikel. You'll need to have a wide view of the entire battlefield and understanding the situation at all times will be your top priority, can you do it?”

“I can.”

“Good.”

Liamson looked at Frey and asked.

“What about you?”

“I'll move separately.”

It was more efficient to use two units than to come together for an all out attack. One unit had just been completed.

There were only three of them, but they would be fine as long as they worked together.

The other unit would be made up of Frey alone.

Camille anxiously asked.

“…will you be okay?”

“This will be the last time you can afford to worry about someone else. I assure you.”

As he finished his words, Frey began running straight to Lukes.

Liamson, Camille and Mikel began running in the opposite direction.

“Huh…”

Lukes let out a short laugh.

At that moment, indiscriminate lightning began falling from the sky.

Kungkungkung!

The lightning either scorched the ground black or sent bits and pieces flying.

This destructive power kept Frey from feeling relaxed in any way.

'The barrier from the Typhoon Earrings could only take three hits…no I should assume that it can only take two.'

Frey decided that it wasn't the time to hide any cards.

Woowoong.

The Staff of the Great Sage, which had been in the shape of a bracelet, revealed its true form.

With this, his magic power increased by several times.

He didn't know the defense of the Apostle, but he was sure that he could at least do some damage.

First, he would check the enemy's reactions.

“Burning Ground.”

7 star magic!

10% of his total mana disappeared in an instant.

Frey's mana pool was incredibly high, but the 7 star spell Burning Ground required much more mana than other spells of its rank.

Massive flames covered the area as dozens of fires sprung up at the same time. The heat of these flames converging upon Lukes.

Because of the reinforcement by the staff, the magic power of the spell was now comparable to Torkunta's breath.

However, Lukes wasn't troubled at all and instead scoffed softly.

“Hng!”

Paat.

“…!”

The attack didn't reach him. Frey realised it even though his vision was blurred by the flames.

He didn't feel the sensation that would've occurred.

Pijik.

The flames slowly disappeared and the figure of Lukes was once again revealed. His body was wrapped in a sphere of lightning.

'What tremendous defense.'

He didn't even scratch it.

“Hahaha! You are fairly skilled for a 7 star wizard but you could never crack my Lightning Barrier with just that level of skill.”

Frey ignored his words and swung the Staff of the Great Sage.

Kugugu.

There were 5 skill storage slots. In them, he had stored three attack spells, one Blink and one Warp.

Frey used two of them simultaneously.

Dozens of 5 star Flaming Balls appeared. Followed by a 6 star spell Frost Scream

“It's no use!”

Boom boom boom!

The sound was loud, but there was still no significant damage.

However, Frey had gotten an understanding of the Lightning Barrier.

'It's not that it takes no damage, but that it recovers faster than the damage is being done.'

And the thing that provided the necessary energy for it to recover was none other than the thunderclouds in the sky.

The vacant location where the dead forest had once stood had become a devastating battlefield that would never regain its former appearance.

The lightning that Lukes utilized himself and the lightning that constantly fell from the sky with bright flashes of light and loud sounds could easily distract the mind.

Even a wizard who had encountered many hardships would not be able to cast their spells in all of this noise.

As he tried to come up with a plan, Frey avoided Lukes indiscriminate attacks with a combination of Haste and Blink.

Even so, he did not forget to counterattack occasionally.

Frey specialised mostly in spells of the Fire and Water attributes.

Even when he didn't cast the spell that took longer, he was still able to present a formidable and destructive power.

However, the two attributes weren't enough.

Even if they managed to reach the barrier, their power would be reduced by half.

Wind attribute magic.

Wind magic, which showed its strength in destroying spells, terrain and barriers was his best option to eliminate the thunderstorm.

And of course, the range was also fairly high.

However, it was difficult for Frey to do it directly. Not only because it would lack power when compared to his fire and water attributes, but because he could not make the time to do so.

'It's not possible to significantly shorten the casting time like with fire or water magic.'

To be able to accumulate enough power to blow away the thunderclouds, he'd need to charge the spell for at least 1 minute.

'Lukes wouldn't miss that opening.'

Even now, Lukes was giving almost all of his attention to Frey.

Casting for one minute in this situation was tantamount to suicide.

But it didn't need to be 7 star magic.

He pretended not to notice the weakness of the lightning barrier and intended to give a mission to the other group.

Only

Frey telepathically contacted Camille when he had a bit of breathing space.

[Camille, we need to get rid of the thunderclouds. Can you do it?]

One of the most important things when casting spells was how calm and stable the caster was.

Rather than a 7 star spell that had been cast unstably, the 6 star spells cast by the three of them together would be much stronger.

[I can do it if Mikel helps me. But…]

[We'll get Lukes attention.]

Frey subconsciously gave a small smile.

[I'll take care of that.]

Chapter end