Chapter 1455: Opening Act

Mebu’s eyes flashed with apprehension.

There were a dozen Mana Foundation-level orcs, who had just made their presence known. Even he, a Mana Liquefaction Magus, wouldn’t be able to take them all on without sufficient preparations.

Not to mention, orcs had sturdier physiques compared to humans and possessed far greater strength.

The two Acolytes with him turned towards him, clearly wanting to help the boy out. However, Lebu couldn’t endanger the lives of his team members because of an outsider.

If the rest of the Magi in the caravan were with him at the moment, perhaps he might have acted differently. But as things stood, he couldn’t take such a big risk.

Lebu turned towards his team members and solemnly shook his head. He then turned back to the clearing, preparing his spell components. If he couldn’t help the boy out, the least he could do was buy him enough time to escape the orcs.

But when he shifted his attention back to the boy again, he was astonished.

This kid... what the hell is he doing?!

He screamed inwardly.

Is he crazy?!

The dusk-skinned youth had put away the flute into the folds of the scarf wrapped around his head, then broke into a sprint straight towards the orcs. All the while, he had a wide grin on his face, one that made it look less like he was charging into death, and more like he was running out to play.

This stupid son of a bitch! Is he so desperate to court death?

Lebu was bewildered, not knowing what to do. The Acolytes with him were equally dumbfounded.

Just what kind of idiot would rush head-on towards a group of orcs? Moreover, it was clear to them that the boy was only a Mana Foundation Magus. Yet, he was still charging towards death.

If this was not foolishness, they did not know what was.

But what transpired next made Lebu and the Acolytes realize that it wasn’t foolishness at all, but sheer confidence.

The first of the orcs chose to rush towards the boy, a cruel grin on its face. It raised its club and viciously swung it at the boy’s head.

"Haha!" The dusk-skinned youth simply laughed in joy.

He sidestepped, easily evading the attack, much to the orc’s surprise. Then, he casually disarmed the monster and gripped the club tightly before...

BAM!

The boy struck the orc in the head with its own club. The weapon shattered, and so did the orc’s skull.

As the monster fell to the ground, bleeding profusely from its head, the boy had already slipped past it and charged towards the next orc.

Hiding under the cover of leaves, Lebu found his eyes turning as wide as saucers. He witnessed the boy deal with the orcs one after another, all the while having a mischievous smile on his face.

He disarmed them, knocked them down with their own weapons, wrestled them to the ground, broke their legs and arms, and leapt from one monster’s shoulder to another as if... he were playing with them.

Lebu’s mouth was agape.

What... what the hell is this kid?

Thought the man.

Is he really only a Mana Foundation Magus?! Such strength... incredible!

"Captain, shouldn’t we go help him now?" An acolyte urged.

"Yes, look!" the other added, pointing at the orcs. "He hasn’t killed them. Only knocked them out!"

Lebu snapped out of his daze, his expression returning to seemingly normal. Yet his eyes couldn’t help but betray his inner shock.

He turned to his team members and instructed, "Kori, Pang, secure the perimeter. Stand guard at twelve and six o’clock."

"Yes, captain!" The two Acolytes rushed towards their positions.

Lebu turned to the boy in the clearing, who was playing — bullying — the last of the orcs, and disappeared from his spot.

***

At the center of the clearing, Adam was constantly slapping the orc before him, thinking to himself in boredom:

Come on, make your move already.

Based on Maximillian’s intel, Adam had been scouting this region for the last couple of months, trying to locate the Brotherhood’s hidden supply routes and, at the same time, fabricating the current persona’s background.

In the process, he had even come across a few cultist hideouts. Naturally, he had sent all the Magi within them to their maker. After clearing the region of cultists, all he had to do was patiently wait and hope that Maximillian’s intel wasn’t wrong.

And it wasn’t.

He had finally found his target.

Lebu Potts was going to be his ticket into the Twilight Brotherhood.

Adam had already sensed him and two other Magi long before they had arrived at this clearing. He had also lured this group of orc raiders in time to showcase his strength to the Agent of the Brotherhood.

Now that he had succeeded in displaying his skills to the "recruiter", it was time to conclude the opening act.

"Kid, get out of the way!!"

Lebu’s voice tore through the clearing, startling the dusk-skinned youth. He instinctively retreated several meters away, just in time for the

Hail of Thorns

to descend on the clearing and instantly kill off the dozen or so orcs that had already been incapacitated by him.

The boy was startled by the sudden turn of events, not quite comprehending what had just happened.

Just a moment ago, he was playing with these monsters, but now... all of them lay dead, their bodies riddled with thorns.

He turned to the source of the voice and found a middle-aged man with ginger hair looking back at him with a light frown.

"Why did you kill them?" Asked the boy, his playful expression long gone, now replaced by deep seriousness.

The frown on Lebu’s face deepened.

"These are human-eating monsters," he said in a grim voice. "The more important question is, why

didn’t

you kill them when you clearly had the means to?"

"You..." The boy gnashed his teeth in fury. A moment later, he turned around and walked away.

"Hmph! You ruined everything!" he said with a pout.

Lebu’s lips twitched.

"...What?"

"I said you ruined everything!" The boy turned back around and shouted.

"I left them alive for a reason! Do you think I’m stupid? I wanted them to lead me to their lair! And now you ruined it! Ruined my revenge! Now I have to wait who knows how much longer!"

Being reprimanded by a kid younger and weaker than him, Lebu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

He quickly ran after the boy. "Hey, you! Wait!"

"No, leave me alone!"

The boy broke into a run.

And thus began a game of cat and mouse...