This Bastard is a Dark Mage! (1)
Marquis Falkenheim commanded several knight orders, with the Wyvern Knights being one of them.
Gasqot, the commander of the Wyvern Knights and the commander-in-chief of this operation, took a deep breath as he looked at Ghislain.
'He truly possesses superhuman strength.'
It was hard to believe that a mere mercenary had reached such a level, even when witnessing it firsthand. However, he neither felt fear nor despair. Even if the opponent was indeed a superhuman, they had enough forces to take him down.
Hadn't they already accounted for the possibility of interference from the knights of Nordhill and Lacus when assessing their forces?
Still, he couldn't help but feel tense. Just receiving the sheer presence emanating from the enemy was enough to make his breath catch.
'Even if he's not a complete superhuman, he's stronger than the intelligence suggested. Was he hiding his power all along?'
Hiding his strength even while fighting against such a force—just how powerful was he?
Grit.
Gasqot clenched his teeth. He now understood why the enemy was so confident. Ghislain must have expected a stronger force to come since he had concealed his true power.
Gasqot couldn't stand the arrogance emanating from him.
"Everyone, attack that bastard!"
At his command, all the knights charged toward Ghislain.
Gasqot was certain. No matter how strong Ghislain was, he wouldn't emerge unscathed against a hundred high-level knights in direct combat.
Ghislain smirked.
"You can hold out, right? This will be a good experience."
Yulian and Kyle tensed but nodded.
To surpass their limits quickly, they had to gain life-threatening experience. This battle would be an immense help in their growth.
Believing in the two, Ghislain boldly made his move.
BOOM!
Ghislain thrust his staff forward, striking the nearest knight in the stomach and sending him flying backward.
At the same time, dozens of swords came slashing toward him.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Ghislain spun his staff, deflecting every incoming blade. However, the knights, as expected of high-level warriors, didn't show any surprise and swiftly retreated. The next row of knights immediately lunged forward, swords thrusting in unison.
Their attacks were precise, striking within the slightest opening. Even a superhuman from another timeline wouldn't be able to evade such a perfect assault.
Some of their attacks were bound to land. Everyone was certain of it.
Thud! Thud-thud-thud!
Contrary to their expectations, however, their swords struck an invisible barrier with dull thuds.
Only then did the knights realize—this opponent was not a knight.
He was a mage.
Ghislain slammed his staff into the ground and chanted a spell.
"Shockwave."
BOOOOM!
A massive shockwave erupted in all directions. The knights closest to Ghislain spewed blood as they were flung backward. But that was only the beginning.
"Maintain the encirclement! Keep pressing in!"
Gasqot's shout rang through the battlefield, and the knights closed in tighter around Ghislain.
Ghislain rested his staff on his shoulder and smirked.
"You should have brought a bunch of mages if you wanted to deal with me."
Whoosh!
Before his words even faded, three knights charged at him simultaneously. Ghislain deflected the first knight's sword with his staff.
The staff continued in a fluid motion, striking the second knight's head. In that moment, the third knight's sword sliced toward Ghislain's side.
Clang!
A flash of blue light erupted as a shield blocked the blade. Ghislain didn't waste the moment—his left hand reached out and touched the knight's sword.
"Chain Lightning."
Crackle!
Lightning surged from his hand, arcing through the knights in rapid succession. The powerful current coursed through their armor.
The knights nearest to him convulsed and collapsed, but the others endured by reinforcing themselves with mana.
As the stunned knights withdrew, their positions were immediately filled by others.
Gasqot's voice boomed through the hall.
"Reform the ranks! Push in with a three-line formation!"
The knights quickly repositioned themselves. Even Ghislain, who was faster than anyone else, had difficulty reacting to their swift movements.
The front row advanced with shields raised, while those behind them prepared their longswords. The final row aimed their spears.
Completely surrounded, Ghislain clicked his tongue and leaped into the air. As expected, dozens of spears shot toward him like a hailstorm.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Spinning his staff, Ghislain deflected every single spear midair. The knights were momentarily stunned by the display.
"A mage moving like that in the air…?"
They had anticipated his airborne maneuver and prepared spears accordingly. While a mage might be able to dodge swords on the ground, their movement should be far more restricted in midair.
Yet, Ghislain moved no differently in the air than he did on the ground.
Seizing the moment of hesitation, he cast another spell.
"Frost Nova."
Crackle!
The ground beneath the knights froze over, and an explosion of chilling air spread outward. The sudden cold slowed their movements.
Immediately after, countless streams of mana erupted from Ghislain's body.
Whooosh!
Boom! Boom! BOOM!
Hundreds of magic projectiles rained down upon the knights. Their slowed movements left them unable to dodge.
"AAARGH!"
Boom! Boom! BOOM!
If the people of Fenris saw this scene, they would have been shocked.
It was a technique used by the priests of the Salvation Church.
"If it works, it works."
Ghislain had no qualms about using techniques from his enemies. Against a large number of foes, there was no better method.
Of course, he adjusted the range and intensity. Not only was there no time to gather enough power, but he also had to avoid harming Yulian and Kyle.
Even so, the knights were visibly shaken. Gasqot, especially, was utterly stunned.
"How… How is he casting wide-area spells this fast?"
A mage's greatest strength was their devastating large-scale spells.
Even if the entire building collapsed, most knights here would survive. But no knight, no matter how elite, could withstand a direct hit from such a powerful spell.
Thus, they had constantly pressured him to prevent spellcasting. Yet, Ghislain was casting spells with ease.
"This… This is impossible! How fast must his computation speed be…?"
It was a complete misunderstanding.
Ghislain wasn't calculating anything properly. He lacked the time for it.
He simply forced mana into his spells by sheer willpower, compensating for inefficiencies on the fly.
To outsiders, it looked as if he were casting spells without any incantation.
"Attack with full force! Push harder!"
Many knights had endured the magic barrage. Those who remained gritted their teeth and charged.
Ghislain, now back on the ground, slammed his staff down once more.
"Gravity Well."
Rumble!
The gravitational field twisted, weighing down the approaching knights. Their weapons and armor suddenly felt twice as heavy.
Seizing the moment, Ghislain spun his staff and moved gracefully.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Each strike sent a knight tumbling. Even while fighting, he spared a glance toward Yulian and Kyle.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The two were engaged in combat with ten knights. Despite facing elite opponents, they held their ground.
Their strength was impressive, but they also had unexpected support.
"I am Dark of darkness!"
Flap-flap-flap!
Ghislain infused Dark with ample mana, allowing him to split and scatter in all directions.
"What the hell is this?!"
"A talking sparrow?!"
"It's a mage's summoned creature!"
Dark's clone technique(?) was proving incredibly effective. The small bird obstructed the knights' vision and constantly distracted them, throwing off their focus.
Yulian and Kyle seized those openings, striking with their swords and methodically bringing down the knights one by one.
Watching this, Ghislain smiled in satisfaction.
"Good. They can already fight so calmly under these conditions."
Two years of training hadn't been in vain. The two had grown remarkably strong.
No one in Fenris had progressed as quickly as them. They were born with exceptional talent, but they hadn't become complacent—they had trained relentlessly, and Ghislain's guidance had been excellent.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Now fully assured, Ghislain rampaged freely. The number of knights had already dwindled to half.
These were high-level knights, the kind who could easily claim the position of a knight commander or senior knight in any territory.
Each of them was strong enough to take on ten thousand regular soldiers. While they couldn't fully unleash their power in this confined space, capturing a single superhuman shouldn't have been difficult.
Yet, they were falling helplessly, unable to even inflict a proper wound.
Gasqot, who was commanding the knights, couldn't hide the tremor in his eyes.
"What the hell... What is he?"
As someone who had reached the pinnacle of high-level knights, Gasqot could tell—Ghislain was fighting at a superhuman level, but he wasn't a true superhuman.
In terms of raw physical strength, Gasqot was undoubtedly stronger.
Yet, his opponent's techniques were so bizarre that they left him stunned. Even he, an experienced warrior, struggled to keep track of Ghislain's movements.
And his magic? It was as if the very concept of casting didn't apply to him.
To wield magic of that caliber in melee combat at such speed, one would need to be at least a 7th-Circle Mage.
His terrifyingly advanced combat skills, combined with his near-instant spellcasting, made it impossible for the knights to counter him.
'This… This isn't a level achievable through training alone.'
There was no predicting what attack Ghislain would unleash next. Meanwhile, he seemed to anticipate every strike from the knights.
Only someone with extensive real-world combat experience could move like that. His battle instincts were extraordinary.
He looked young—far too young to be capable of such feats.
Gasqot felt a mix of fury, envy, and awe.
BOOOOM!
Ghislain swung his staff widely once more, sending all the knights before him tumbling down.
Gasqot realized he could no longer afford to stand back and command.
At this rate, they would be completely annihilated. He had to act.
"You bastard! Die!"
BOOM!
Gasqot erupted with mana, launching himself forward.
He aimed to cut Ghislain down in a single, decisive strike while his fellow knights were falling.
But before he could reach his target, his opponent suddenly appeared right in front of him.
A chill ran down Gasqot's spine. He clenched his teeth.
"So, you finally decided to step in?"
Ghislain had moved first, just a fraction of a second ahead. Smirking, he reached out with his hand.
Gasqot's eyes widened in horror at the sight of that blackened hand approaching him.
'Black magic?!'
There had been no reports of him being a Dark Mage!
Crackle!
The ominous black energy barely grazed past Gasqot, but it was unmistakably black magic.
Panic surged within him as he hastily leaped back. His mind was in complete disarray.
From a safe distance, he glared at Ghislain and shouted,
"You! You're a Dark Mage!"
At those words, the remaining knights hesitated.
Dark Mages were terrifying even to knights. If they weren't careful, they could have their very souls bound by black magic.
Thus, Dark Mages were always to be eliminated on sight.
The knights exchanged uneasy glances, flicking their eyes between Gasqot and Ghislain.
"A Dark Mage? But he was using elemental magic."
"Look at his mana… It doesn't feel like black magic."
A Dark Mage could wield elemental magic. However, no matter what spells they cast, their mana's essence could never be hidden.
If Ghislain were truly a Dark Mage, his mana would reek of corruption. Yet, no such aura could be sensed from him.
It was impossible to conceal the nature of one's mana. Even if it were somehow hidden, the knights here were powerful enough to detect such deception.
Besides, they had fought him directly—there was no trace of black magic in his previous spells.
Yet Gasqot, who had only been commanding from the sidelines, was now having a full-blown panic attack, shouting over and over again,
"You vile fiend! You dare conceal your identity as a Dark Mage—"
But then, his rant abruptly halted.
He noticed that every knight was staring at him.
Their eyes were filled with doubt and confusion.
Gasqot quickly tried to correct himself.
"N-No! I swear, he just used black magic!"
He was a high-level knight; he wouldn't mistake the presence of black magic.
But suddenly, an uncomfortable thought struck him—black magic was inherently different from other types of magic.
"...Wait. What? But I saw—"
His voice faltered. His confidence wavered.
The knights' expressions hardened.
The battle had already been exhausting. Their opponent was far stronger than expected.
And now, their commander—their leader—was spewing nonsense.
With Gasqot's sudden outburst, their morale plummeted.
The battlefield fell into an eerie silence as uncertainty took hold.
Ghislain shrugged and remarked,
"Seems like they sent an idiot to be in charge. Does Marquis Falkenheim have no better talent?"
"You—you insolent—!"
"Why are you suddenly accusing an innocent man of being a Dark Mage?"
"D-Dark Mages can use elemental magic!"
"So what? Did my other spells feel like black magic to you? Does it make sense for someone to switch the nature of their mana at will?"
"I—I was certain…"
"If you're so sure, why don't we do the feather-and-scale test?"
Grit.
Gasqot clenched his teeth. He had heard of the recent trend of "Dark Mage verification" using a feather and a scale.
By bringing it up now, Ghislain was openly mocking him.
Come to think of it, why was he even arguing with this man?
"You insolent cur! It doesn't matter if you are a Dark Mage or not! You will die here!"
BOOOOM!
Gasqot flared his mana once more and charged. Ghislain raised his staff to intercept his blade.
Clang! Clang-clang-clang!
A rapid exchange of dozens of blows erupted in mere seconds. Gasqot, as a high-level knight, struck with overwhelming speed and force.
And yet—
The other knights didn't move.
They simply watched.
The atmosphere had shifted. Gasqot's credibility had been shaken, and the knights were now hesitant to follow his lead.
Realizing this, Gasqot grew even more frustrated. Just as he was about to order them forward—
Ghislain subtly reached out again with his blackened hand.
Clang!
Gasqot leaped back in alarm, then shouted at the top of his lungs,
"Did you see that?! He used black magic again!"
The knights, who had started to step forward, froze mid-motion.
They turned their confused gazes back to Gasqot.
There was no black magic.
And even if there was—what did it matter? Weren't they here to kill him anyway?
"You—You…!"
But Gasqot couldn't let it go.
There were too many witnesses from rival noble factions present.
Now, in their eyes, he wasn't a respected commander—he was a delusional fool.
A man obsessed with proving something that no one else could see.
And he couldn't stand it.
Desperately, Gasqot roared,
"I swear—this man is a Dark Mage!"
He had fallen completely into Ghislain's psychological trap.
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