Chapter 137: Magic 2
As Paul watched in amazement, the grey stone hanging on his chest slowly turned ck. This stone was a gift from Abbot Leonard of the monastery, imed to protect against the evil spells of witches. Paul had initially been skeptical but kept it as a talisman, thinking of it as a kind of charm.
When theres a magical disturbance nearby, its color will turn ck, the abbot had said.
At this moment, Pauls entire worldview began to crumble. Could magic really exist in this world?
Having regained memories of his past life, he had heard of magic from his old butler, Philip. However, as he grew ustomed to this world, there seemed no direct evidence of such phenomena. His sense of superiority from a scientifically advanced world and disdain for this medieval-like society led him to dismiss magic as a naive exnation by the ignorant.
No It cant be! Its just a chemical reaction, right? He was still reluctant to believe.
The cloaked man blocking the road was Bat. He had heard in Port Fran about the defeat of the Gadan pirate gang by the local lord and was infuriated.
After arriving in the northwest of the Kingdom of Ordo, his ns had been progressing smoothly: subduing the Kent family onnd, controlling Duke Ferdinand, and uniting various pirate gangs at sea.
His next n involvedrge-scale piratendings to raid territories. With his aid, the foolish lords would be defenseless. Marltz Kent, under his direction, would then subdue the pirates, gaining immense prestige and securing his session as the duke.
Gadan was an important part of his n, raised to lead the pirates and be a significant naval asset. Bat had chosen Gadan after observing various gangs, supplying them with the Arcane Societys berserk drugs.
The disruption of this key element in his n due to Paul Grayman caused Bat deep frustration.
Bat decided to eliminate Paul, who had brought him this defeat. Being active in the northwest for so long, he knew every power there.
The Grayman family was a minor lordship, an exiled family under the guise of a count, ruling over a poor area without even a vassal.
Paul, having defeated a small pirate group, seemed to have overestimated himself.
Against a powerful family like Ferdinand or Kent, Bat would have to be cunning, using covert means.
But against a poor lord like Grayman, without even a knight, employing intricate plots would beughable among his peers in the Arcane Society.
Bat nned to assassinate Paul in Lakeheart Town quietly, causing him excruciating pain before death. He was confident in his ability to carry out such a mission easily.
Unexpectedly, on his way to Lakeheart Town, he encountered the lord himself.
Fate seemed to favor him. In a crowded town, anymotion could attract the churchs inquisitors, causing trouble.
But here, in this remote area, killing the lord would likely go unnoticed, as long as he handled the body well.
As for the guards surrounding Paul Grayman, Bat thought with a sneer, if they had been a group of regr knights, he would have needed to prepare more thoroughly. However, Graymans guards seemed tock any armor-piercing weapons. They were all dressed in cloth, armed only with swords, andcked even long-range weapons like crossbows.
The only exception was a girl carrying a bow, but to Bat, a single bow, especially a weak short bow wielded by a girl, was hardly a threat.
With his mastery of the Stone Skin spell,bined with the Giant Strength spell, he felt invincible before these people. His defense, thanks to his expertise in Stone Skin, wasparable to dwarven-made te armor, impervious to their weapons.
Confidently, he moved forward to confront them.
When three soldiers were ordered to arrest him, Bat, bolstered by the Giant Strength spell, easily killed two of them. Ignoring the third soldier paralyzed by fear, he continued his approach.
Seeing a military officer leading more soldiers towards him, Bat smiled disdainfully.
Come then! You mortals are fortunate today to witness the power of arcane magic.
However, just as Bat was about to unleash carnage, a sense of danger surged within him, and he instinctively grabbed something from the air an arrow.
Sweat trickled down his back; had he not reacted in time, the arrow would have struck him right in the eye the greatest weakness of the Stone Skin spell.
Fortunately, he had cast Danger Sense in advance, out of tactical caution.
Tsk!
The female advisor, Ladi, quickly drew a second arrow. Under the effect of Full Concentration, she aimed again for the enemys eyes.
The second arrow was swiftlyunched but, regrettably, was again caught by Bat.
He turned towards the girl, frowning, Seems like theres an annoying little bug on the other side.
Even with Danger Sense, dodging precise arrow shots was challenging. Although he could easily catch the iing arrows, it was not pleasant to have them constantly aimed at his face.
Meanwhile, Victor, the captain of the guard, approached Bat with his soldiers. He didnt have time to marvel at Ladis archery skills. Seizing the moment Bat was distracted by the arrows, Victor thrust his sword with all his might towards Bats chest.
Incredibly, the sword struck something as hard as steel with a loud ng. Victor realized that, apart from tearing Bats clothes, the sword had not prated his chest at all.
In Victors shocked gaze, Bat grasped the sharp sword de and smiled, Why the hurry to embrace death?