Became a Medieval Fantasy Wizard-Chapter 144

TL/Editor: raei

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The kobolds crumbled without any way to resist.

Kobolds are low-level monsters with unremarkable individual combat ability.

In a one-on-one fight, they'd even get beaten up and chased away by a farmer who knows how to throw a punch...

"Keeeeng! Keeeeeng!"

But their opponent was a giant warrior standing 2 meters tall.

And a knight clad in full chainmail armor.

Jubal and Belenka were already top-tier warriors overflowing with combat prowess.

A mere handful of kobolds stood no chance against them.

"Uwaaaaah!"

Jubal swung his mace, as big as a child, without hesitation.

With only their large build and sturdy bodies as strengths, the kobolds tried to leverage their physique in combat.

From the kobolds' perspective, this was nothing short of a calamity.

A kobold's body is only the size of a child, so it was like a madman wielding a weapon as big as their entire body charging at them.

Belenka also silently sliced through the kobolds.

Her combat prowess was undoubtedly the most impressive on the battlefield, needing no further explanation.

The kobolds tried to intimidate the humans with threats.

"Y-you guys! Do you know whose property you're messing with?!"

"Whose property is it?"

Ian responded on behalf of the group.

The kobolds glanced at each other nervously before finally shouting:

"Th-the great Lord of Darkness! It belongs to the Demon King!"

"Y-yeah! Do you want to die horribly?!"

Ian snickered at the kobolds' pitiful bluff.

While Ian found it laughable, such bluffs surprisingly worked in this era sometimes.

It was due to the bias of information.

Even if you didn't know who your opponent was, putting on a tough front and acting like your side was incredibly strong often made the enemy hesitate to fight out of fear.

"... Lord of Darkness!"

"... Demon King!"

Indeed, a few of the mercenaries lost their nerve and morale dropped.

It would be cruel to call them idiots... wouldn't it?

They were just typical medieval people.

How smart could uneducated men barely scraping by in low-ranking mercenary groups be expected to be?

"Hey, kobolds."

Ian spoke up for the sake of the frightened mercenaries.

"Huh. Weak dogs bark the loudest."

"... Kugh!"

"Don't use such strong words. It makes you look weak."

As soon as he uttered those lines, Ian wanted to rinse his mouth out with salt water.

No. The characters in manhwa spout lines like that without a second thought. Am I still lacking?

Though the dialogue was cheesy and cringeworthy...

... the mercenaries unexpectedly went wild for Ian's bragging.

"Ooh...!"

"So cool!"

"..."

Ian felt strange as the medieval people appreciated the manhwa-like dialogue.

I guess masterpieces really do work anywhere...!

The kobolds sensed their bluff had been called out.

"R-retreat!"

"Run away!"

Conversely, the mercenaries' morale soared to the heavens.

"Attack! Wipe out those kobold bastards!"

"Waaaah!"

Ian watched the warriors fight with an amused smile.

Honestly, Jubal and Belenka did most of the fighting. Over 80% of the corpses littering the ground were their handiwork.

The rest of the mercenaries just ganged up on one or two kobolds that strayed from the pack.

Yet they were the loudest of all.

"They fight well."

Though wizards have been active on battlefields lately, they're not originally a combat profession.

In large-scale wars maybe, but in small skirmishes like this, wizards struggle to be useful.

Ian had learned all sorts of magic, so he was quite versatile...

But typically, wizards just watched from the rear.

"That mercenary Jubal. He could've been an amazing warrior if only he had the brains to match."

"Just a warrior? He would've become a knight with his own fief."

The larger one's physique, the more advantageous in combat.

Size isn't everything in a fight, but it's certainly not something to be ignored.

In that sense, Jubal's body was a natural-born warrior's frame.

With long limbs and exceptional strength, he could wield even a dagger like a spear.

"Master!"

The fight must have ended, as Jubal returned.

"Master?"

"Yes! Sir wizard! You are my master. I, I serve the wizard."

Ian's performance must have left quite an impression.

Jubal saw Ian as his benefactor.

Ian's demon exorcism had been a show, true.

But taking out the demon wizard Walter was no act.

Walter had indeed been exploiting Jubal's mercenary band, so Ian really did save Jubal.

"We've disposed of all the kobolds."

"Well... good job."

The number of kobolds the mercenaries dealt with was about 40.

Considering Jubal's mercenary band numbered barely over a dozen, this was a tremendous victory.

"Wizard! We've achieved victory...!"

"Ah, yes. I saw."

The mercenaries rushed over, eager to boast to Ian.

But Ian's lukewarm response made them flinch.

'We won a great victory, didn't we? But he doesn't look happy at all?'

'Did someone mess up?'

The mercenaries whispered among themselves.

Ian's reaction defied common sense.

The reason Ian wasn't elated by the victory... was because he hadn't expected much from the fight to begin with.

Belenka had participated, and Jubal had made full use of his massive build.

Wouldn't it have been stranger if they'd lost?

Ian had only watched from the rear, so he felt relatively less joy in the victory.

'Idiot! How could the wizard think the same as us!'

'... Ah!'

But the mercenaries didn't find Ian strange.

On the contrary, they thought this was how a truly excellent wizard should be!

He doesn't revel in victory like an ordinary person?

Even better.

For an outstanding wizard like Ian, there should be something extraordinary about him to make it believable.

That inhuman composure, unmoved even by a great victory...!

It's perfect!

'As expected of the wizard!'

"???"

Ian was slightly bewildered as the mercenaries gazed at him with eyes full of admiration.

I just watched Kira fight from here? Why are they all looking at me like that?

'I guess they're grateful I didn't interfere.'

Ian nodded as he thought this.

Usually, it's most annoying when a high-ranking superior who knows jack sh*t about the actual work tries to butt in.

Ian held a position equivalent to the mercenary band's CEO(?), so he could have easily meddled in the battle.

But he just watched from the back, making it so much easier for them to work!

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"Thank you, wizard!"

Ian praised the employees' hard work with words alone while lazing about in the rear.

Truly an ideal superior.

"Ian. Let's go into the warehouse."

"Right. Let's go."

As Belenka called, Ian brushed himself off and stood up.

Investigating only after the fight is over.

This too is a wizard's privilege.

Let the brutish warriors do all the fighting.

Ian headed towards the hidden warehouse, accompanied by Belenka and Kira.

---

---

The demon wizard Walter's secret warehouse was set up in the back of a moss-covered cave.

The cave doubled as the kobolds' living quarters, so Ian naturally passed through their dwelling area.

The most noticeable things in the cave were none other than the skulls.

"..."

As Ian stared intently at the skulls, Belenka commented:

"Looks like the bones of nearby villagers."

"Villagers?"

"The kobold bastards must have eaten them."

"..."

Ian was reminded anew that kobolds were monsters.

Feral dogs eat humans, wolves eat humans.

What about kobolds? They naturally chew on people like dogs gnawing on treats.

"They sure ate a lot."

Belenka clicked her tongue and made the sign of the cross.

'Walter is a demon wizard.'

Ian thought as he looked at the pile of human bones.

Whether he made offerings to demons or conducted evil experiments, Walter must have harmed people as naturally as breathing.

And he likely tossed the corpses to the kobolds as food.

'... Why on earth?'

Ian felt a chilling fear, but was also gripped by curiosity.

Why did Walter study demon magic while sacrificing so many people?

Was he simply a deranged psychopath? Or did he have a goal he sought to achieve through sacrifice?

Either way, it was beyond Ian's comprehension.

"This way."

Belenka took the lead, holding a torch.

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She easily discovered the hidden treasure trove in the back of the cave.

"Oh ho."

There were baskets full of amber ore piled up.

But more eye-catching than the heaps of amber was the yellow tapestry decorating the wall.

A tapestry is a textile craft, simply put, a carpet hung on walls.

It decorates the wall while providing some insulation.

"My, this must be far more expensive than these measly stones."

Belenka whistled as she examined the tapestry.

Medieval tapestries are indeed expensive.

They're 100% handmade, and this tapestry even used gold thread.

It was a tapestry decorated with gold.

"You'd only see something like this in a duke's castle..."

Belenka remarked with genuine admiration.

This tapestry alone made discovering the secret warehouse worthwhile.

How much money could they get if they took it down and sold it!

"Ian?"

"..."

"What are you staring at?"

Unlike Belenka who was excited at the prospect of making money(...),

Ian observed the tapestry's image itself.

'A circle and an equilateral triangle.'

Ian rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a signet ring.

A ring engraved with a circle and equilateral triangle.

It was the symbol of the [Golden Rule] of the old Heaven's Faith.

'And that... is it a religious painting?'

Tapestries are typically made for decoration, so they often feature images.

Depictions of historical battles or biblical scenes are most common.

The tapestry Ian discovered seemed to portray some religious scene.

Sunlight pouring through the center of a cloudy sky.

Winged angels and the Golden Rule symbol.

An emperor and nobles wailing before it...

Ian furrowed his brow.

He had a vague idea of what the painting depicted.

'The fall of the Golden Empire...?'

That was probably the correct answer.

The ancient people of the Golden Empire believed the end of the world would come after the empire's downfall.

The scene this painting portrayed was...

The moment judgment day arrives as the Golden Empire collapses.

"Is there a problem?"

"Belenka. This painting. What do you make of it?"

Belenka answered straightforwardly:

"It's very well-made."

"..."

"They even used gold thread. It must be incredibly expensive."

Ian just laughed at such a knightly response.

As a wizard, Ian pondered the hidden meaning of the painting.

But to the knight Belenka, it was just an expensive piece of loot.

"Ian. Let's gather what we need and get out of here."

"Right."

Ian rolled up the tapestry and took it with him.