The Book Eating Magician - chapter-193

After the crow flew through the desert sky for an hour, Theodore was
forced to fix his perception. He couldn’t use Mitra’s power, so he
called Hugin as a substitute. However, it was far superior to what he had
expected.

‘Indeed, it is bigger when the eye level is higher.’

Theodore shared the desert scenery with Hugin and soon discovered the
reason.

Mitra’s ability was moving through the ground, while Hugin could look
down at the ground from the height of the clouds. The sandy winds of the
desert couldn’t reach that height. Unlike the party that could barely
see 50 meters ahead, he could see a wide scenery.

Then something soon entered Theodore’s eyes. It was four hours after
the carriage stopped, just as the sun started to fall below the horizon.
Something glowing in the opposite direction of the sun entered Hugin’s
eyes.

“Uh?!”

“Kid, what happened?”

At the front of the party, Theodore suddenly grabbed his eyes and
Veronica hurriedly helped him. It might be due to the crow’s habit,
which liked sparkling things. The silver which entered Hugin’s eyes was
difficult for Theodore to endure.

However, Theodore restored his balance and looked at the landscape again.
There was a building which maintained its shape in the desert caused by
the sand dragon, Desertio. Additionally, the radiant silver which hurt
his eyes matched Paragranum’s previous description.

The hemisphere shape, which was 300 meters in radius, protruded from the
ground, and it was made of a metal that was hard to scratch with master
level auras.

“I’ve found the ruin.”

The faces of the investigation team became tense at Theodore’s words.
They were glad to reach their destination, but they knew that people were
occupying it. So, from then on, the party’s gait became more cautious.

They narrowed the distance toward the scenery which Theodore had seen.

‘…There.’

The investigation team could see the outline of the ruins Theodore had
seen from the distant sky. There was a flag with two swords flying. The
flag symbolized the sword empire. The black knights from Andras were also
patrolling the ruins.

“300 meters ahead, a patrol of Shadow Knights will pass.”

“How many?”

“There are 12 people on patrol and based on the barracks, there are 40
people in total.”

“It is a considerable amount. Isn’t the value of this set of ruins
quite high?”

Unlike Quattro who had no experience, Veronica had run into them several
times, so she knew the meaning of this number.

The Shadow Knights were the hidden swords of the Andras Empire, who
committed all types of deeds in the darkness. The fact that 40 people had
been sent to this distant desert was proof that these ruins had a lot of
value.

However, shortly after that, Theodore’s expression hardened. “…One
of the empire’s Seven Swords is present.”

It was a familiar face. With black hair and legs which were stretched out
in a relaxed manner, this was the appearance of a knight who looked
cunning. He was Andras’ 7th Sword, Lloyd Pollan.

Theodore Miller didn’t have a good impression of him. He was the sword
master who had found him in the royal palace and threatened to kill him
at the end of the armistice.

“The 7th Sword, Lloyd Pollan.”

“What? That opportunist bastard?”

However, Veronica’s reaction was unexpected for Theodore.

“Opportunist?”

“Yes, it is strange. He never comes when there are traps, but if there
is something to gain, he will appear like a ghost. Additionally, he never
shows up on a battlefield where either Blundell or I are present. He is
trickier than the 4th Sword.”

Therefore, Veronica’s eyes were blazing at this chance to kill him. It
wasn’t just her but the others as well. Quattro had a great attachment
to their kingdom, so they wanted to take this opportunity to shatter the
power of the empire.

In the end, only Mujak and Para moved along with casual expressions.

“Okay, this hill is adequate.”

Before long, Theodore’s group arrived at a sand dune near the ruins
containing the Andras team. It was a suitable place to secretly monitor
the Andras team. The approach of the six people hadn’t been exposed yet.

“The Shadow Knights… It is my first time seeing them with my own
eyes.” William looked over the sand dune and gulped. He knew about the
special forces of the Andras Empire, but he didn’t know he would
encounter them in this way.

Sylvia couldn’t help tightening her grip on her staff, while Theodore
was staring at the man called Lloyd Pollan. At that moment, Veronica
looked at the Andras knights and muttered, “But what are they doing
now?”

The question soon spread to everyone. It was inevitable for the Meltor
war mages to be curious about the strange actions of the shadows. A group
of five people was digging at the ground, while another pair was burying
something in the ground. Silver liquid was flowing from the large pits
they’d made.

Paragranum was the first to notice their intentions.

“…Explosives.”

“What, explosives?”

‘I know that the Andras people are using all types of means, but even
explosives?’

Veronica and the others turned to Para with surprise, but she didn’t
pay attention to them. She continued muttering to herself. What was the
Andras team doing?

On the contrary, there were several possibilities as to why they were
laying down explosives. Should the Meltor group let it go or interfere?
If they were confident of winning in a frontal battle, it was more
realistic to choose the latter.

“If they are planning to blow it up, should I use my breath?”
Veronica offered a radical suggestion.

However, Theodore considered it seriously. As Paragranum had described,
the ruin wouldn’t be broken by Veronica’s breath. The Andras group,
who hadn’t grasped their approach yet, would be hit and burn to death
without knowing. The explosives would blow up, and even Lloyd would find
it difficult to survive. It was a chance to get rid of everyone with one
attack!

However, the moment when Theodore was about to nod with agreement, there
was a voice which interfered with the decision.

“No, you can’t do that!” Paragranum, the grimoire in the shell of a
girl, suddenly shouted at Veronica. Veronica stopped in surprise, just as
the explosives burned up on the other side of the sand dune.

Kwakwakwakwa!

There was a massive explosion accompanied by a huge roar. The party
wasn’t prepared and quickly covered their eardrums, while the sky
darkened with smoke.

Kukukukung, the earth also trembled.

The ground shook like an earthquake was occurring. A great shock wave
burst out, and the sandy field shook. Theodore barely recovered from the
shock and instantly realized. ‘…No, isn’t the shaking lasting too
long to just be the aftermath of the explosion?’

The impact of the explosion should’ve ceased already. So, why hadn’t
the shaking stopped yet? This meant the shock wasn’t caused by the
explosion but from something under the ground. Was it a coincidence or
inevitable? Theodore looked at Paragranum for clarification.

Then he got his wish.

「Mercurius… woke up.]

Theodore couldn’t hear it because his ears were still ringing, but he
read her lips.

Kukukukukung…!

Simultaneously, a white liquid emerged from underneath the ruin. Mercury
had been placed beneath the laboratory for the purpose of stopping any
intrusions. There was a large volume and it started taking the form of
something huge.

This was an autonomous maneuver-type guardian that Paracelsus had created
out of mercury. The name was Mercurius…

This was the name which had been given by the best alchemist in the Age
of Mythology to a man-made embodiment of Hermes. The guardian didn’t
have a nucleus, which was the weakness of all existences with an
indefinite form. It had the ability to multiply again and again, as long
as there was a drop of mercury left.

Paracelsus’s guardian appeared in the image of a snake and declared in
a loud voice, 『This is Mercurius’ 76th autonomous movement. It is due
to an intrusion attempt without going through the procedures.』

Mercurius gazed at the Andras excavation team. 『Power annihilation..』

Although the sun had only fallen a little bit to the west, the serpent
was big enough to cover the sun, casting a huge shadow. As the knights
stiffened at the sight before them, Mercurius struck ruthlessly.

Its estimated length was tens of meters, while its estimated weight was
several tons. Mercurius’ body, which was entirely made of mercury, was
a terrible mass weapon in itself. From top to bottom, left to right…

As the massive mass of mercury crashed into them, many Shadow Knights
were crushed to death.

――――――――――――――!

The simple movement wasn’t enough to destroy all of Andras’ barracks,
but it did reach the sand dune where Theodore’s party were hiding. Even
the wind was an attack! Mercurius waved its tail lightly, but it was
almost equal to magic of the 7th Circle.

“Waaack!”

“Uh!”

“This damn snake!”

Fortunately, Veronica managed to offset the wind pressure. Otherwise, the
six of them would’ve been blown away. One scholar had said this, ‘A
massive mass is a power in itself.’

The six people hiding at the sand dune quickly thought about what to do
next. There were still a few of Andras’ Shadows remaining, while
Mercurius was already moving its body for the next attack. If they
didn’t move quickly, they would be late.

“Yellow Tower Kid, why did you stop me?”

Didn’t it seem like she was aware of Mercurius’ existence? Five pairs
of eyes stared at Para with reasonable doubt.

She explained in a matter of fact manner, “That is Mercurius, a
guardian of the laboratory that Paracelsus created. Its entire body is
made of mercury. If Tower Master had used your breath, this entire area
would have become filled with poison gas.”

“Poison gas?”

“Even a sword master can’t escape from the poisonous influence of the
mercury. Additionally, if it evaporates, it will just return to liquid
again.”

It couldn’t be defeated. That was the common thought in the minds of
those who heard the explanation. Veronica’s breath would only threaten
the body. Even if it evaporated from powerful magic, it would just return
to its original state. This wasn’t an opponent they could face.

They wondered why Para had omitted the mention of such a dangerous
existence.

“But Mercurius is a defender who will only use force if people don’t
enter through the door in a legitimate way. It is safer for us to stay
back until all of the Andras group are dead.”

“…That would be reasonable.” Veronica nodded at Para’s
explanation but then pointed toward something. “Though, isn’t it hard
to leave this situation alone?”

The investigation team looked at where Veronica was pointing. On the
battlefield, the Shadow Knights were being trampled on like ants. Behind
Mercurius, a man was trying to enter the laboratory through a drainage
tunnel that had been exposed.

“Lloyd Pollan?!”

“Well, this is what happened. We can’t retreat now. That bastard is
going in alone,” Veronica said and then looked at Mercurius, which was
like a mountain.

Despite being a sword master, Lloyd didn’t hesitate to run away from
such a monster. It might be different if his Aura Ability was focused on
destruction… but Mujak’s ‘Illusion’ ability was just like an ant
before Mercurius.

So, a magician was needed to deal with that mercury serpent. However, the
person needed to be of the master level and able to cooperate with
Veronica.

“Come, Kid. It is our turn.”