RMA 22

chapter 22

Sometimes, when people witness something unbelievable, their thoughts just freeze.

That was exactly how Loria felt right now.

Lawrence Montemer.

The possessor of great power, and her younger brother who had awakened his unique ability.

Once considered the shame of the Montemer family, now a sibling whose value was beyond anyone’s imagination.

She stared blankly at the devastated terrain.

“Holy Bomb… Holy Bomb.”

A spell that completely overturned people’s prejudices about priests, who were thought to know only healing magic.

Thanks to this magic, even the church and priests began to be recognized as capable combatants.

Its overwhelming power spoke for itself.

“Wow… completely wiped them out, huh?”

“There don’t seem to be any undead left in the area.”

“Good. You did well, Lawrence.”

“No need to mention it. By the way, can we take these?”

Lawrence stretched lightly and pointed at the corpses the inspectors had killed.

Leila frowned.

“Not during the mission. Unless you have an extra-dimensional storage spell.”

“I do.”

“…?”

He did. A very large one.

Lawrence smiled brightly as he looked at the corpses. These were no ordinary corpses.

[Heart: Manifest – Poison Cloud]
[Rib Cage: Engraving – Affinity with Darkness]

…They were perfect material items.

He separated the corpses by body parts, showcasing their varied functions.

What caught Lawrence’s attention most was the remains of the Night Crawler.

[Night Crawler Core]
[A suitable medium for crafting.]
[When combined with dark magic extracts, total capacity +30%]
[Can be manifested and engraved up to Circle 3]

“Since money isn’t an issue, I might as well pocket this.”

Crackle!

He activated his will, opening an extra-dimensional space.

Everyone watched the spectacle in awe.

After all, to use extra-dimensional magic, one usually had to reach Circle 6.

Among those watching, Freya was the most astonished.

She hadn’t yet fully confirmed Lawrence’s powers.

Freya’s voice trembled as if she were witnessing something she shouldn’t have.

“Prince… what on earth…”

“Captain Freya, if you keep this a secret, I’ll give you some research materials later. For example… artifacts.”

“Really?”

“You must keep everything you saw here confidential. That way, I can ensure you profit. For instance… by selling the materials?”

At that moment, Freya and the Northern troops’ eyes sparkled.

They desperately needed a stepping stone to reach Circle 6. At the same time, they had to manage a tight budget.

“Of course! Absolutely!”
“Uh-huh! We didn’t see anything! Wait, why are there only monster bloodstains left!?”
“Well, not surprising anymore. Let’s go. Actually, this is better!”

Living in the cold seemed to make people straightforward.

But here was the prince, demonstrating a mysterious power right before them.

“I….”

“We’ll talk after this mission. Looks like the Duchess mentioned something to you.”

“Honestly, I don’t remember that part very well.”

She couldn’t respond.

Suddenly, Medea’s words came to mind.

<The research materials… in the family’s records… I’ll hand them over.>
<Just follow through diligently… It’s the youngest prince’s task… Sad, but for the family’s sake…>

Yes, oddly enough, she couldn’t remember clearly.

It was strange. A skilled mage forgetting a mission or request, especially when it came from the matriarch of a noble family.

“And the overlapping route is suspicious too. Why didn’t I think of that back then?”

A seed of doubt began to grow in Freya’s mind.

Lawrence smiled inwardly as he watched.

“One more to go.”

“How did you get something like this? Amazing.”
“It’s my unique ability, Princess.”
“By the way, if we sell all of this, how much money will it make? Can we fit it all in? Surely we can?”
“Of course. Even after storing it all, there’ll be room. We could probably take everything from the monster encampment too.”

Everyone raised their voices in excitement.

Especially the Northern soldiers and knights, their eyes shone brightly.

“Then we can finally throw a party!”
“Thanks to the Grand Duke always blowing things up, our expenses have been a nightmare. This is great!”
“Mead! Meat! And a party!”
“Wooooo!”

So that was the reason.

Lawrence recalled the destroyed castle gate and chuckled.

Thanks to the extra-dimensional performance, the morale of the allies skyrocketed.

It was a form of inflation, boosting the team’s image.

“Are you sure this is safe? Showing this off so casually?”

“They’ll protect me. What’s there to worry about?”

Loria asked anxiously, but Lawrence brushed it off.

The soldiers cheered even louder, inspired. Even those in the Phoenix Mage Division seemed impressed.

“My value is determined by my actions.”

Lawrence realized the image he projected was changing.

Those who had stopped the raid kept moving.

#2

After repelling two attacks, the group reached a vantage point overlooking the monster village raised by barbarians.

The entrance had only one point, but from nearby hills, attacking would easily give them the upper hand.

The issue wasn’t the terrain but the ominous atmosphere.

“Looks like the dark mages completely control them now.”
“Hmm… True. They’re big and fast, and now undead as well…”
“So fast, strong, and neither tired nor afraid?”

Leila nodded as she observed the village glowing faintly with green heat haze.

The barbarian-raised monsters were Ice Trolls.

They had strong regeneration, requiring their heads to be cut off or their auras sealed to prevent recovery.

Lawrence roughly gauged the village’s size and spoke to Freya.

“Can’t we burn them from a distance with fire magic?”
“It’s possible, but the problem is the ones deeper inside.”

She pointed to a cave entrance on one side. The true ones were likely in there.

“They probably aren’t connected to the other passage. But we’ll need to enter for a full sweep.”
“This is serious.”
“We need to seal off the surroundings so they can’t escape, then strike all at once.”
“Leave the frontal assault to me. Our family has always dealt with undead.”

Leila’s eyes gleamed with a fanatical light, her lips curling slightly.

The plan was simple: block the entrance so the dark mages couldn’t escape, then kill everyone inside.

With Northern forces and Montemer magic, it was a plausible plan.

“Everyone, not tired, right?”
“No, no problem.”
“This is a real battle. Hehe.”
“Some of you seem crazy…”

Only Loria sighed softly, trying to stay level-headed.

This seemed like a battle with heavy casualties, and she worried alone.

A passing soldier smiled at Loria.

“Don’t worry, Princess. This is why we train.”
“Ah…”

She nodded silently, as if realizing something.

Meanwhile, Lawrence quietly pulled out a massive chunk of meat from his extra-dimensional storage.

To undead, sacred meat is poison.

Even if it seemed strange, it couldn’t be helped. He couldn’t just waste a valuable artifact.

“Hah…”

His gaze was far from normal.

#3

Rrrrrrrr-!

Raids always came out of nowhere.

Scarlet flames spread across the snowy plains.

The trolls, previously docile, didn’t run wild.

They just glared with green light in their eyes and roared.

Surprisingly, it was the dark mages controlling them who were startled.

“Raid!”
“They’re faster than expected!”
“The intel must be wrong, what’s happening-”

They were prepared. Or rather, in the process of preparing.

But before they could finish, the enemy struck.

The dark mages started controlling the trolls haphazardly.

“Block them with trolls! Buy time until ‘that’ is ready!”
“They sounded dangerous, didn’t they?”
“Yes.”

Lawrence and Leila entered the village.

They didn’t miss the dark mages’ shouting.

The key was not to give the enemy time to prepare.

Their eyes met.

“Shall we go!?”
“I have no aura. You must escort me.”
“Leave it to me. Even so, I can—!”

Shing!

Leila’s sword, glowing with blue aura, cleaved a charging troll in half.

A clean, powerful strike.

Lawrence was impressed enough to click his tongue.

“Intermediate aura user, huh!”
“Yeah, you filthy dark mage! You’re all dead today!”

Leila charged wildly, with Lawrence following.

Dark magic flew at him, but he dodged effortlessly.

He clutched the meat tightly in one hand.

“You fools cast magic openly without escorts?”

[Holy Arrow]

“Why… so fast—!”

The dark mage casting his spell was flustered by the flying arrow.

Even Circle 1 holy magic was enough against this level of dark mage.

Lawrence had prepared an artifact specifically for dark mages.

The mage’s chant was interrupted as he rolled frantically.

[Haste]
[Strength]
[Warrior’s Movement]

Lawrence followed the rolling mage expertly.

Where did he learn such acrobatics?

“Do you like meat?”
“What!? Aaaah!?”

Crack!

The sacred meat exploded on the dark mage’s head.

The dark mage, who loved meat, was exposed to holy magic and his head melted instantly.

“Likes meat, huh.”

Lawrence laughed, watching the head disappear.

Who would taste the meat next? He began hunting his prey with gleaming eyes.

“Prince Lawrence! Help—!”

Leila’s voice came from inside the cave.

Lawrence looked around, saw soldiers and knights restraining the dark mages, and moved leisurely.

Even without him, they could handle it.

Boom!

Intense vibrations and noise came from inside.

What on earth was happening?

[Uooooooh!]

A monstrous roar echoed.

If Leila was in trouble, it would be serious.

Lawrence rushed into the cave. What he saw was—

“Huh?”

[Uooooooh!]

“Ha ha ha ha! Keep regenerating! Good job!”

Leila was playing with the enemy completely.

A massive troll with striking red fur repeatedly bled and regenerated.

[Troll Heart: Engraving – Berserk]

“Ah!?”

The required material appeared just in time.

This raid was definitely a goldmine.

“Ha ha. Finally found you, you rascal!”

Lawrence’s grin stretched wide.