Legend of the Arch Magus: Havoc

by Michael Sisa

Following the spear, over a dozen arrows whizzed toward the Magic Knights, along with eight severing disks. The Alvaren Army was apparently caught off guard with this sudden attack as none of them even managed to erect barriers or raise their shields to block the attacks. Surely, they didn’t expect that the enemies’ arrows could reach them at this distance.

  With speed incomparable to normal arrows, and with strength akin to a javelin throw, the arrows struck several Magic Knights. Some of them were shot right at the chest, their plate armors seemed nothing but parchment as the arrows pierced through it. The unluckier ones were struck right at the face, their heads exploding, sending blood and brains splattering about.

  Only General Alvaren managed to defend against this unexpected attack. Although he didn’t notice the spear approaching, his body moved on instinct and parried the attack with his glaive. His several decades of experience in the battlefield screamed at him that death was approaching, and his body moved accordingly to protect him.

  Although General Alvaren managed to parry the attack, his hand holding the glaive felt a bit numb after blocking the spear thrown by Lark.

  “Shields up!” the General roared. “We’re under attack!”

  In unison, his knights moved their shields up to block the incoming arrows. But this was clearly a mistake as the severing disks came flying toward them this time, and it cleanly cut through their shields as though they were rye bread, eventually severing the knights’ armor, bodies and all. And the severing disks did not stop at the first knight. Some of the disks swerved as though they had a life of their own and bisected a few more knights before hitting the ground.

  General Alvaren gnashed his teeth. His knights were fearless and would not hesitate to charge into the city at a moment’s notice. But that wasn’t even possible right now. Those damnable gates even withstood an attack from the Fortress Breaker. If they charged in now, they would just become moving targets for the Kingdom’s soldiers.

  And how the hell did their arrows reach his army, all the way here? It did not make sense, unless all of their archers were capable of imbuing their arrows with magic!

  Lark did not give them a chance to breathe. He ordered the archers from Gahelpa to empty their remaining mana and shoot another volley of arrows toward the Alvaren Army. The Third Army also started loading more severing disks, retracting the strings to their utmost limit.

  “Fire!”

  And another volley of arrows shot toward the Alvaren Army. Followed by several severing disks.

  Seeing this, the Magic Knights kicked their mounts and immediately dispersed, as though they’d practiced this several times before. The second volley of arrows did not take even a single life, and even the severing disks struck nothing but the ground.

  But it was enough.

  Lark cast his spell and a figure made of smoke manifested itself before him. The smoke floated in front of the Kingdom’s soldiers for a moment, before flying toward the Alvaren Army.

  The Magic Knights immediately moved upon seeing the ghostly figure. They slashed at it, and some tried to burn or freeze it with magic, but the figure simply reemerged unscathed every single time.

  “Stop,” said General Alvaren. Losing more than a dozen of his elite knights left a bad aftertaste in his mouth. “That thing’s no offensive spell.”

  “Greetings, General of the Great Empire.” The humanoid smoke bowed, still floating up. “I am Lark Marcus, Commander of the Third Army and the little brother of the man you’ve been calling a coward.”

  General Alvaren’s eyes widened for a moment. He’d heard before that the Third Army’s commander was the little brother of Lui Marcus. But he’d not expected him to be a capable mage at such a young age. This humanoid smoke was clearly not your average spell. Although it held no offensive abilities, it was perfect for relaying messages to your enemies over short distances.

  “General Alvaren,” replied the General. “Snotty brat, come out and stop hiding behind those walls! I guess you could substitute for your brother, since the bastard doesn’t even dare show himself before me after his defeat back then!”

  The humanoid smoke formed a smile. It chuckled. “I was expecting more after hearing about your feats, but the so-called monster of the Empire’s not much, huh? A man-child, to be exact. Only fools would leave the fortress and answer your taunts, General.”

  In a way, Lark thought that General Rizel was a more dangerous opponent than General Alvaren. Based on what he’d heard, General Rizel was not this easy to rile up. A stark contrast to General Alvaren.

  General Alvaren quivered with rage. He roared, his voice amplified with the magic tool. “What did you say, brat? Lark Marcus! Come out! If you don’t—”

  “Then what?” the smoke chuckled. “Your so-called Fortress Breaker is useless, General. If you’re really as strong as you make yourself out to be, then go ahead and charge into the city.”

  The smoke tilted its head to the side. “Or maybe you’re afraid? Look at this, pot calling the kettle black.” The smoke chuckled again, ignoring the curses spouted by General Alvaren. “But maybe I’m a fool? I’m feeling a little… magnanimous today, you see. All these preparations for war have been making me bored lately.”

  The gate of Akash opened, the bridge was moved over the moat, and over a hundred soldiers clad in full plate armor moved out of the city. At their lead was a young man with short silver hair and sharp blue eyes. As soon as they were out, the bridge was retracted and the gates were shut.

  The smoke broadly smiled. “So I’ve decided to accept it. The duel. A one-on-one battle.”

  The young man and his army of armored knights started walking toward the Alvaren Army, then halted at a distance.

  General Alvaren glared at the young man. He was sure that he was the one speaking with him through the humanoid smoke.

  “So how about it, General? Will you accept?” The last lines were said playfully, clearly mocking his enemy.

  The humanoid smoke slowly dissipated and vanished entirely.

  General Alvaren gripped his glaive. With him at the lead, the Alvaren Army started moving toward the direction of Lark and the Blackstone Knights.

  VOLUME 4: CHAPTER 18

  Unmasked hostility and bloodlust filled the air as the Alvaren Army glared at Lark and the Blackstone Knights. The memories of arrows and severing disks taking away the lives of their comrades were still fresh within the Magic Knights’ minds. Finally, they’d found themselves an outlet for their boiling rage.

  When the two armies were only a short distance away from each other, General Alvaren roared, “Kill the foolish bastards! Charge!”

  The entire Alvaren Army roared in unison. With General Alvaren at the lead, they charged fearlessly toward the Blackstone Army.

  Mana gushed out of the Magic Knight’s bodies, amplifying their strengths beyond human limits. Each of them held their glaives, ready to clash against the Blackstone Knights without regards for their lives.

  And the two armies collided.

  The sound of iron striking iron reverberated as armored knights, swords and glaives struck against each other. Sparks flew and blood filled the air as the two opposing forces broke into a melee. The Magic Knights roared and fought like savages, their eyes fearless as they swung their glaives left and right. The Blackstone Knights also roared and hacked at all the enemies they saw using their sword.

  To Lark’s surprise, the Magic Knights were able to stand their ground against over a hundred Blackstone Knights. Their magically-enhanced body, their superior numbers, coupled with decades of experience in the battlefield, made it possible for them to fight on par with Lark’s army.

  “Where are you looking?” a deep, hatred-filled voice was heard.

  Lark intuitively blocked the glaive of General Alvaren from above. His hand felt numb after impact. Without giving Lark any chance to retaliate, the General sent a kick toward Lark’s abdomen. Lark evaded by leaping back, but the General’s glaive swerved and followed his mo
vement, its blade aimed at his neck.

  Lark erected a three-layered barrier made of wind magic in front of him. But to his astonishment, the wind barrier immediately formed cracks and shattered the moment the glaive touched it. Caught off guard, Lark evaded the attack a split-second late. A small cut was made on his chest, making blood spurt out.

  “You’re a lot weaker than your brother.” The General rested the glaive over his shoulder. “How disappointing.”

  Lark channeled mana into his wound and forcefully closed it with magic.

  What’s happening?

  But the wound would not close no matter what he did. An invisible force was disrupting the flow of mana in the wounded area, making it impossible for his spell to heal it.

  Lark looked at the glaive the General was using. After seeing the complex runes engraved on its blade, he finally understood what was happening.

  The reason why the wounds of his brother and the Sword Saint didn’t heal even after several priests cast healing spells on them. The reason why his three-layered wind barrier instantly shattered the moment it made contact with the glaive. The reason why the cut on his chest was not responding to his magic.

  Lark frowned. “That glaive. Where did you get it?”

  The General grinned. “A nice weapon, isn’t it? A replica of the national treasure of the Empire. The weapon once used by Uurvesk in the legends!”

  It was a familiar name. A name Lark had read from the history books back in Lion City. A name he’d known back in his previous life.

  “Uurvesk?” Lark said slowly, mumbling to himself.

  It was the name of his disciple. The hot-blooded idiot who nearly got himself killed after waging war with the tribe of Red Dragons.

  According to the Grand Historian, Gustav Chavalion, after Evander Alaester died, Uurvesk conquered the numerous clans in the Vast Wilderness and founded the Great Empire. Was General Alvaren pertaining to that child? The kid who previously followed Evander around, insisting that they should explore the Frost Mountains of Yleonor and visit the Elementals of Marut? Remembering about that disciple of his gave him a sense of nostalgia.

  “By Uurvesk,” Lark started channeling mana into his fingertips. “Do you mean… the man who founded the Great Empire?”

  An orb of lightning the size of a fist hovered at Lark’s fingertip. He pointed it toward the General and shot it. The orb crackled dangerously as it whizzed toward the General. As though swatting a fly, General Alvaren slashed the orb in half with his glaive.

  The orb of lightning was cut in half and harmlessly dispersed without exploding, confirming Lark’s suspicions.

  A maginus.

  The glaive the General was using was a maginus. Weapons engraved with anti-magic runes capable of nullifying almost all forms of magic.

  A single maginus would take months, even for Lark, to create. And there was also the astronomical cost in creating one to consider. Even though the General said it was a mere replica of the weapon once used by Lark’s disciple, it was so well-made that it was almost hard to decipher the difference from the real one.

  General Alvaren gripped his glaive. Around them, the Blackstone Knights and the Magic Knights were still in a deadlock. “Amazing, isn’t it? The founder of the Great Empire is such a fighting maniac that he made a complete set of items meant to nullify all forms of magic! It’s like saying only the Grand Emperor’s allowed to use magic in battle!”

  Lark completely agreed with that statement. That child—that disciple of his—had been so obsessed with fighting that Lark ended up intervening on his behalf dozens of times to save his life. A problem child. And the master was unfortunately doting enough to let it pass.

  Uurvesk. You, little shit. Even now you’re giving your master a headache, huh?

  With his magic nullified by the glaive, Lark started storming his mind for a way to win the battle. The Magic Knights were unexpectedly holding well against his Blackstone Knights. He had to defeat this General on his own, somehow.

  Lark sent a telepathic message to the Baron using the pendant. Prepare to charge out at any time. Mobilize the entire army. We have to wipe out these guys before they have a chance to go back to Yorkshaire.

  A reply filled with static was heard afterwards. The soldiers… are ready to move… out at any time. We can… charge now if you give us… the signal.

  Good. But not yet. Be on standby. A red flare in the sky. That’s the signal.

  If tens of thousands of soldiers suddenly poured out of the city, the Alvaren Army might suddenly disengage and retreat to Yorkshaire City. Lark did not want to miss this opportunity to fight the General outside the fortress, surrounded only by his Magic Knights. Lark knew that it would be exponentially harder to kill this old man once he was inside Yorkshaire. That’s why he decided to go out with only the Blackstone Knights. Surely, the prideful Alvaren Army wouldn’t retreat from an enemy less than half their number.

  Lark took out a small vial and drank its contents. The cut on his chest closed on its own, despite the interference of anti-magic from the glaive.

  General Alvaren seemed surprised by this, but this lasted only for a moment. The old man grinned broadly. “That’s some expensive potion you got there, kid. Normal ones wouldn’t be able to heal the wounds made by this partner of mine, you see.”

  The General’s eyes turned predatory. “But enough with the useless talk.”

  The General channeled mana into his weapon, activating the runes engraved on it, and an azure glow started enveloping the glaive. Lark felt the mana in the air vibrate then slowly disperse as seconds ticked by. Lark quickly analyzed the flow of mana and made an estimated radius of the anti-magic spell.

  Twenty meters.

  Now that the damnable anti-magic weapon had been activated, it would be impossible to materialize any spell within a radius of twenty meters from the glaive. The Magic Knights definitely knew this too, since they immediately moved a certain distance away from the General the moment he activated the runes engraved on the glaive. Otherwise, their magically-enhanced bodies would lose all of their strength after coming into contact with the maginus’ area of effect.

  What a troublesome opponent.

  Lark took out his sword and tried channeling mana into it. The sword started to vibrate thousands of times each second, before the flow of mana was eventually disrupted and the magic stopped working. Lark tried just to be sure, but it seemed that even amplifying the strength of his body or his weapon was impossible at this point.

  He also had the option of creating distance between them and bombarding the General with magic from afar. But such tactic would do nothing but sap away Lark’s mana. That so-called replica could easily cut through any form of magic as though it was rye bread.

  Should I run?

  Lark seriously considered this option. His magic was sealed and he could not even enhance his body with mana. The only thing he could rely on right now was his swordsmanship, which he was unsure would be enough to win against a war veteran like this old man.

  I should have dug deeper into the reports. I was too conceited.

  Lark had received reports indicating that General Alvaren was somehow capable of disrupting his opponent’s magic. But Lark never imagined that it was to this degree. He did not imagine his opponent’s glaive to be a replica of the weapon once used by the founder of the Great Empire.

  As Lark was weighing his options, General Alvaren leapt toward him at a tremendous speed. No magic enhancements, using only pure brute strength.

  The General’s figure blurred, he appeared right before Lark, and with an earth-shattering force, swung his glaive downward. Lark managed to block the attack with his sword, but the force sent him flying and rolling on the ground several times.

  Before Lark could even recover, General Alvaren shot toward him and released a barrage of attacks, each swing carrying the same weight as the first one.

  Thankfully, Lark never neglected training his body. He brushed close to death
several times, but he still managed to fend off the General’s attacks.

  Lark’s sword—unenhanced with magic—started forming chips and cracks.

  Damn it.

  Lark gnashed his teeth. This was the first time he’d felt this cornered ever since he took over this body. He could not use magic. His physical strength was far inferior to his opponent’s. And the wounds inflicted by his enemy were impossible to heal unless he used a middle-grade healing potion. His only saving grace was his decades of experience in the battlefield, his intuition that kept saving him from death.

  “Is that it, brat?!” snarled the General. “Your brother was a lot stronger than this! Even with his magic sealed! Where did your arrogance go? Didn’t you want to fight me one-on-one?”

  Lark was starting to see why General Alvaren was recognized as one of the monsters of the old era. The damn bastard’s an Anti-Mage. A Magic Slayer.

  The General’s glaive struck Lark’s sword once again and the impact eventually cut it into half. Seeing their master in danger, the Blackstone Knights ignored their opponents and charged toward General Alvaren.

  The General clearly disliked what was happening, since this was supposed to be a one-on-one battle. With an annoyed glare, he channeled mana into his glaive, gnashed his teeth, and struck the nearest Blackstone Knight.

  The maginus cleanly cleaved the Blackstone Knight in half. And it did not stop. Another slash bisected a Blackstone Knight, separating the torso into two. He swung the glaive once again, and the next Blackstone Knight tried to block it with its sword, but the maginus simply cut through the weapon, before cutting its armor.

  In an instant, three Blackstone Knights fell down to ground, lifeless. As expected of an anti-magic weapon, it even managed to cut through the link connecting the monster’s essence with the armor.

  General Alvaren frowned. “What are these guys?”

  The inside of the armor was hollow.

  General Alvaren stared at the lifeless Blackstone Knights for a moment.

  Was it necromancy? No, impossible. The leader of the Witches of Aravark was a necromancer, and General Alvaren was pretty sure that it was impossible to give life to inanimate objects with necromancy. The primary prerequisite was a dead, formerly-living body.