Legend of the Arch Magus_The Upheaval

by Michael Sisa

  That Rabbit’s good. Once I come back after this reconnaissance mission, I’ll make sure to recommend him for another promotion.

  Although Stone was just the Captain of a small unit, he could at least do that much. After all, he was close to General Urkawi himself and several adjutants. It would leave a bad aftertaste in his mouth if that genius Rabbit was demoted because of unruly politics perpetuated by stupid individuals. He had seen capable individuals succumb to such fate before. He did not want it to happen to that one.

  “Captain, we’re almost near Blackstone Town,” said one of his men.

  Stone and his men were riding Burrcats, monsters with the body of a horse and head of a cat. Although it looked gruesome to humans, it was an indispensable mount for the scouts of the beastmen tribes. These creatures were a lot smaller than horses, but they held the ability to climb trees and steep cliffs. The perfect ability for reconnaissance missions.

  Stone’s slit-like pupils widened as he looked at the distance. With his keen vision, he could see several houses built haphazardly in different directions.

  He raised his hands. “Stop.”

  The fifteen lizardmen he brought with him stopped altogether.

  “Tether the Burrcats.” Stone pointed at the trees to their left. He dismounted. The green scales on his body glimmered underneath the sun as his tail dragged across the ground. “We’ll do as planned. Molith, Salith, the two of you will stay here and keep watch.”

  “Understood!” Two lizardmen simultaneously replied.

  “If we don’t come back in two days, personally go back and report to the Commander of the Vanguard.”

  Molith and Salith looked at each other, their reptilian faces filled with wonder. “That’s a joke, right, Captain? How could those puny humans possibly kill you, the leader of the Scouts?”

  “Haha! They might not even notice that they’re being watched!”

  Stone glared at them, and the two immediately stiffened. “The two of you are still young, so you might not understand. Listen, kids. This world is filled with strong enemies lurking in each corner. There will always be someone stronger. Don’t underestimate your opponents, even if they’re humans. Did you forget how Alexander annihilated Commander Brock and his men three weeks ago?”

  The memory of how the human Mercenary Guild Master outwitted the Third Legion and one-sidedly annihilated an army resurfaced within their minds. The lizardmen turned grim upon remembering this.

  “But Alexander’s different. There’s no way there are other humans like that—” said Molith.

  “—Enough!” growled Stone. He turned to everyone. “Listen! This mission relies heavily on us, the scouts, for information! If we fail to capture the Eastern Region within the next several months, General Urkawi’s head might come rolling! That is the decree of the Beast King!”

  The lizardmen gasped. They never heard of this before.

  Stone glared at Molith and Salith. “Do you understand? Follow the orders and do as we planned!”

  “U-Understood!”

  After making sure that the Burrcats have been tethered to a safe location, Stone and his men made their way towards the town.

  Despite their reptilian features, their movements were smooth and nimble. Each of their steps hardly made sounds. Stone and his men activated Blend, a magic known only to the Lizardmen Tribe. This magic enabled them to alter the color of their scales at will, blending their bodies to their surroundings. Although it was broad daylight, the residents of Blackstone Town failed to notice the infiltration of these reptiles.

  “Move out,” said Stone.

  After that order, everyone dispersed into different directions. Their goal was to obtain a clear picture of this town’s defenses and geographical structure. Two lizardmen remained and followed Stone as he made his way towards the center of the town. They arrived at a Mansion.

  “Sir Gaston, these are the records of the Kalranes we’ve mined this week.” A blonde woman said to an elderly man in suit. “The Young Master told me to give you this.”

  The old man nodded and flipped through the parchments. “They’ve managed to reach the Fifth Area, huh? Good work.”

  “Are you planning to visit the northern farmlands again?” said the blonde woman.

  The old man shook his head. “No. This time, I’ll be inspecting the training of the soldiers.”

  Upon the mention of the word ‘soldiers’, Stone’s brows twitched. He decided to follow this old man for now.

  The old man rode a carriage. Stone and his men quickly followed.

  After several minutes, the carriage halted to a stop. It was an area filled with newly constructed houses. Workers were seen here and there. The sound of hammers hitting wood and stone resounded. The old man went down the carriage, his steps slow but steady as he made his way towards a place with a large clearing. In there, numerous humans wearing leather armors were seen practicing with their spears.

  Stone and the two lizardmen he brought with him were surprised upon seeing this. The movements of these humans were trained, almost similar to those of the mercenaries personally led by Alexander. Still, Stone could see the subtle differences. He was sure that these soldiers were greenhorns, despite the obvious training they have underwent.

  By sight alone, there were almost a hundred soldiers in this place. An amount disproportionate to the population they estimated. Stone could not see the reason why the Lord of this town needed so many soldiers. If it were him, he would have made these men work on agriculture and other more relevant fields. After all, this town was located in the wilderness, without any hostile forces nearby. He could not see the merit of training these much men for the military.

  The soldiers, basking in the sun, stabbed and pulled their spears. They repeated these movements over and over again that Stone was amazed of their perseverance.

  Although these humans were disciplined, Stone knew that the vanguard forces of the Third Legion would easily crush them during a fight. It seemed that there was no need to worry about this town putting up a good fight. He could not see any noteworthy individuals.

  All that’s left now was to survey the rest of the town, record the geographical features of the surrounding regions, then report to the Commander of the Vanguard.

  As Stone was about to silently leave, he noticed that the Commander of the soldiers, a man with golden hair, was staring at him. For a moment, Stone stiffened.

  Could he actually see through his magic? Impossible. His ability to blend with his surroundings was perfect. Coupled with controlled breathing and silent steps, it would be near impossible to detect him without using magic.

  It must have been his imagination. It must have been simply coincidence that the man was staring at his direction.

  Stone nodded at his men, signaling that it was time for them to move to another location. As they were about to leave, the commander of the soldiers spoke.

  “Stop. If you move, I’ll shoot you with the spear,” said the man with golden hair. “I know you’re there. Show yourselves.”

  Stone and his men widened their eyes upon hearing this. They momentarily looked at each other. They did not expect that a human, a mere commander of a small army at that, would be able to see through their camouflage.

  “Anandra?” said the old man. “What are you talking about?”

  Anandra was still staring at Stone’s direction. “There’s someone over there. Three of them, probably. There’s no mistaking it.”

  Upon hearing this, the soldiers stopped in their training. They all looked at the direction where Anandra was gazing at.

  This was bad. The job of the Scouts was simply reconnaissance. They were not supposed to fight these humans.

  After a few seconds of ponder, Stone decided to silently escape while they still have the chance. He wordlessly told his men to quickly move out.

  But before he could escape, a spear came flying out and struck one of his men. The lizardman was hit right at the chest, impaling
him towards the wooden wall of a newly finished cabin. His body twitched for a moment, before the light in his eyes vanished.

  “C-Captain,” said the remaining lizardman. “He killed him with a single shot!”

  It was a preposterous feat for a human, since the scales of a lizardman was as hard as stone. Furthermore, the shot was done with absurd accuracy.

  “Beastmen?” mumbled Anandra. He pulled out the sword on his waist and slowly walked towards Stone and the remaining lizardman. “Tell me, why did you come to this town? The nearest country of beastmen should be the United Grakas Alliance. Are you from the Lion City? Why did you conceal yourselves upon coming here? State your purpose. Show yourselves.”

  There were so many questions, and Stone have no plan of answering any of them. He issued an order to his subordinate. “Go back and relay what we’ve found to the Vanguard.”

  The lizardman was in stupor. “W-What do you mean, Captain?”

  Stone pulled out the scimitar on his waist. “This human’s dangerous. By skills alone, he should be on par with me. It’ll be impossible to escape without killing him.”

  “But Captain!”

  “Go! The mission’s more important than our lives!” snarled Stone. “Just go!”

  Still hesitant, the lizardman quickly left the area. At the same time, Stone disabled his magic and showed himself, preventing Anandra from chasing after the lizardman that escaped.

  Without another word, Stone dashed towards Anandra and struck him with the scimitar. Anandra sidestepped then retaliated with his sword.

  ‘He’s fast,’ thought Stone. ‘There’s no other choice. We need to successfully carry out our mission.’

  Stone exchanged several more blows with Anandra, then quickly moved towards the old man from the Mansion. He wrapped his arms around him and pointed his scimitar at his neck.

  “Move and I’ll kill this human,” said Stone.

  He knew there was nothing honorable about this, but he had no choice. The Commander of these soldiers was too strong – this was his realization after exchanging several blows. The mission was his priority, his life and dignity were secondary.

  The human soldiers slowly encircled him, leaving him no room to escape. Still, none of them dared to attack. Even the Commander with golden hair refused to move after Stone took the old man hostage.

  “Let him go,” Anandra said slowly. His gaze was predatory.

  Stone did not reply. He looked around, trying to find a way out of the encirclement. After noticing a place where he could pass through, he carried the old man by the waist and ran through it. The soldiers were baffled when the lizardman suddenly shot towards their direction. Without ample time to react, coupled with the fact that he was carrying the butler as hostage, the soldiers were unable to block the escape of the lizardman.

  Behind him, Anandra quickly gave chase, leaving behind the rest of the soldiers.

  It was a mistake. That man’s stronger than me. I need to shake him off quickly.

  Although Stone was the fastest lizardman within the scouts, with him carrying the old man, he was unable to shake off his tail.

  After reaching the end of the town, Stone skidded to a halt.

  “Finally decided to give up, huh?” Anandra slowly walked towards him, his hand holding his sword.

  Stone took out a small vial from the pouch on his waist. He shattered it and green mist seeped through the cracks.

  “Mist of the Poison Frogs,” said Stone. “Lizardmen are immune to it, but it’s lethal to humans.”

  It was the half-truth. Although the mist was fatal to humans, it would not manifest its effects immediately on knights and magicians. By estimate, this man with golden hair was on the same league as those bastards.

  Stone needed a way to escape this predicament and report back to the Commander of the Vanguard. And this was his only solution.

  Soon, the effect of the mist began showing through the old man’s face. He coughed repeatedly as his face drained of all color.

  Stone took out two different vials and gently placed them on the ground. The old man continued coughing and gasping for air.

  “These are the antidotes,” said Stone. “Mix the two together and make that human drink it. How about it? Why don’t we make a deal? Let me go and these two are yours.”

  Judging by the reaction of the man with golden hair and the rest of the soldiers, this old man was a prominent figure within this territory. He was sure that he would grab his offer. Even if the human successfully administered the antidote to the old man, Stone would have fled the area by then. He was the fastest lizardman, after all.

  “What if you’re lying?” said Anandra, grimly.

  “That’s right. You have no way of finding out,” spat Stone. “This old man will die soon. Choose.”

  Seconds lingered. Anandra gnashed his teeth and choked the words out. “Go.”

  Stone slowly took several steps back, his eyes locked with Anandra’s. After taking a quick look around, he dashed off and disappeared into the distance.

  He ran through the plains and reached the forest.

  That strong human must be administering the antidote by now. With this, he’ll be able to gather enough time to escape.

  He finally arrived at the place where the Burrcats were tethered.

  My men are still in that town. It’s regrettable that I’m unable to recall them.

  Those guys would probably die once they were spotted by that human monster. A necessary sacrifice.

  “Ah, Captain!”

  Molith and Salith jumped down the trees upon seeing him. Beside them was the lizardman that escaped before him.

  “Why are you guys still here?!” Stone was baffled. They should have been gone by now, on their way to report back to the Vanguard. It was a safer way of communication than animal messengers, after all.

  “We heard of the situation from Bolux.” Molith and Salith looked at each other. “We didn’t want to leave the Captain behind so—”

  “—Fools!” roared Stone.

  The three lizardmen flinched and shrank their shoulders. The Burrcats whined in fear.

  “You should have heard of that commander! That human monster! I’ve managed to shake him off before but what if he comes again?!” Stone was livid with rage. He knew fully well the importance of this reconnaissance mission. “We need someone to deliver the message! The vanguard consists of only three hundred beastmen! We’ll suffer casualties if we attack the town with only those numbers!”

  The three lizardmen turned dead silent. They hanged their heads low and avoided Stone’s fierce glare.

  “Untether the Burrcats. We depart immediately,” said Stone.

  “Yes!”

  With trained movements, the lizardmen moved and untethered their mounts. Since Burrcats were rare, they decided to bring the unmounted ones back with them.

  “Move out,” said Stone.

  The lizardmen slapped the reigns, the Burrcats purred, and they silently moved through the forest.

  The Third Legion have fifteen thousand soldiers. Surely, they would be able to spare at least a thousand more to help the vanguard conquer that territory.

  Stone decided to convince the higher ups to strengthen the vanguard’s military.

  Chapter Seven

  The sudden appearance of the lizardmen pushed the town into uproar. Men took arms as they vigilantly watched their surroundings, as children and women took shelter in their homes. The rumors escalated quickly. Some said that the lizardmen ate several locals before they escaped, while some spread rumors of Gaston’s death.

  Lark was inside his room, expanding his mana pool, when loud knocks were heard. The voice of a frantic servant echoed. “Young Master! Young Master! Sir Gaston! The Lizardmen!”

  The words of the servant did not make sense. Lark stood up and opened the door, only to be greeted by an exasperated, pallid-face servant.

  Lark frowned. He placed a hand on the huffing woman. “Calm down. Tell me what
happened.”

  The servant quickly recounted the story. For a moment, Lark was in stupor. Gaston was dying? That old man was like family to him. When he first gained consciousness in this world, he could feel the suppressed hatred of those around him, but that old man was different. Lark, with his several decades of experience in his past life, could easily tell that the old man truly loved him. A love beyond mere servitude.

  Unable to shake off his uneasiness, Lark quickly went down and arrived at the Mansion’s hall. Several servants were surrounding an old man with wrinkled, pallid skin. The old man was close to death. Lark could tell with just a single glance.

  “Y-Young Master.” Anandra’s voice trembled. “The antidote given by the lizardman isn’t working. I tried everything but Sir Gaston… He’s…” Anandra choked the next words out. “I couldn’t think of any other way to save him! But if it’s the Young Master… then maybe… please!”

  Anandra felt responsible for the old man’s fate. Since he knew that Lark was the one who treated his wounds, he gambled on the chance that Lark may know how to treat the dying old man.

  Lark crouched and touched the neck of Gaston. The pulses were weak and the flow of mana inside his body was turbulent.

  “Give me the antidote,” said Lark.

  Anandra handed him two half-emptied vials. Lark opened them and sniffed their contents. He creased his brows. They were not antidotes.

  “These two are paralyzing potions.” Lark tossed the vials to the ground, shattering them into several pieces. “That lizardman didn’t have the slightest intention of saving his life.”

  There was suppressed anger within Lark’s voice. If possible, he wanted to capture the lizardman right now and tear him to several pieces. Although it had not been long since he arrived in this timeline, he truly enjoyed his new life. At the very least, he wanted to protect what he had right now. This town. The people.

  “Everyone, move back,” said Lark.

  After the servants and Anandra moved away, Lark chanted his magic. The incantations were long, all the while, magic circles and runes formed underneath his feet. Although this would hurt Lark physically, he decided to forcefully tear open the mana pool of Gaston and interfere with the mana moving in the old man’s body.