The Mage’s Nemesis Has Reincarnated - Chapter 200

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Natural Enemy of Mages Has Been Reincarnated – Episode 200
‘What should I do? Should I tell my companions about this?’
Russell gazed at the mercenaries with that thought in mind.
In truth, there were no real companions to speak of.
The Merchant Caravan had hired day laborers for escort duty in exchange for substantial payment, and what had gathered was nothing more than a motley crew of ruffians.
Yet I couldn’t pretend not to know that they had been summoned merely as expendable shields.
‘I have to tell them.’
Russell approached the middle-aged mercenary among them who appeared the most seasoned.
“Huh? What is it, kid?”
“I… I have something to tell you.”
“So what is it?”
Russell relayed to the mercenaries what he had overheard from the knights moments before.
Every word of it, without omission.
I had anticipated that the enraged mercenaries would erupt in fury, each insisting they were done and would abandon the escort mission.
However, their reaction diverged from my expectations.
“Expendable shields? Is there anyone here who didn’t know that when they signed up?”
“You can tell just by the fact that the knights called us. It’s obvious they intended to use us for exactly that purpose.”
The mercenaries spoke thus and chuckled without concern.
‘They already knew?’
The seasoned mercenary draped an arm across Russell’s shoulder and offered his counsel.
“Listen here, kid. When there’s big money involved, it means there’s hazard pay attached to it. The mercenaries here know that, and they’re sticking around because they want to make a quick fortune.”
“….”
“We appreciate you eavesdropping for our sake and passing this along, but it doesn’t change anything. We can’t back out now.”
“Why… why not?”
“If we all went on strike together to avoid becoming target practice? Those bastards wouldn’t just sit idle.”
The mercenary gestured with his chin toward where the knights stood.
“They’d definitely threaten us one by one—either die or become shields, pick one.”
“Nah, they’d just kill us all and call it self-defense.”
“Would they really do that, even with a knight’s pride?”
“This guy doesn’t know anything. Knights are always worse than that.”
The mercenaries each chimed in with their own remarks.
Speaking ill of knights was one of the few pleasures of this tedious caravan journey.
Soon enough, they noticed the knights’ gaze and quickly scattered.
‘The mercenaries don’t hold knights in very high regard.’
Over the past one year and three months.
I had wandered from place to place, taking on all manner of odd jobs.
Servant, woodcutter, tinker, pawnbroker, coachman, shoe polisher, and more.
With the mindset of gaining experience, I deliberately did not shy away from harsh work and lived diligently.
The reason was simple.
The successor’s trial was a test to prove one’s qualification as the family head.
To match his station, he needed to grow stronger—both mentally and physically—and he had deliberately endured hardship for that very reason.
Volunteering as a mercenary for this escort mission stemmed from the same resolve.
‘Though it turned out to be far more dangerous than it appeared, didn’t it?’
Dangerous, yes, but fear never took root in him.
After all, I was the child of a Prestigious Magic Family, was I not?
Though my attainment had plateaued at the 4th Circle, I would not falter when measured against the knights here.
I was no mere rabble to be lumped among common sellswords.
But these mercenaries, seeing me for the first time, could not possibly know such things.
“Boy. What’s your name?”
“Russell McLafflin, sir.”
“Listen, Russell McLafflin. You seem to have jumped at the promise of good coin without properly understanding what you were signing up for. Next time, do your homework before you volunteer, will you? Life is precious to everyone. With that frail frame of yours, can you even protect yourself?”
His words held truth.
But he spoke only because he didn’t know I was a mage.
“Yes, I’ll be more careful.”
I smiled and let the moment pass.
Concealing my identity was second nature to me.
‘I can’t reveal that I’m a mage. Once they know, prejudice will take root. They won’t treat me as naturally as they do now.’
I had deliberately chosen the life of a commoner, willing to wade through mud, so I had no intention of revealing myself.
I rarely used magic unless absolutely necessary.
‘Of course, I’ll use it when needed. But not now.’
The decorative sword at my hip was mere camouflage; when true crisis struck, I would resolve it through magic.
I even hoped such a moment would never come.
But fate had other plans.
“Bandits! A bandit gang has appeared!”
“Two o’clock!”
“There’s another group at eleven o’clock!”
The greatest threat any Merchant Caravan had to fear was a bandit gang.
Human predators who would not hesitate to kill for the caravan’s goods.
Such bandits were treated no differently than monsters.
At least, that was how the Aura-wielding knights saw them.
“Don’t make a fuss. They’re just bandits.”
The knights, offering sharp rebukes to the panicking mercenaries, drew their blades.
They had already anticipated the bandits’ appearance.
This region was notorious for frequent bandit activity.
‘Though we hired mercenaries just to be safe, it seems we didn’t really need them after all.’
The knights chuckled at the thought.
The number of bandits that appeared was roughly twenty.
Against their force of ten knights, it was a manageable number.
They even had ten mercenaries to use as a buffer.
“The numbers are equal, but honestly, we don’t even need the mercenaries to step in.”
“We’ll take care of those bastards, so just sit back and watch….”
The knight speaking suddenly fell silent, his brow twitching.
Indeed, the opposing thieves were smiling with infuriating smugness.
Their faces brimming with self-satisfied grins.
“What the hell are they laughing about?”
“Hah, seriously! They saw we’re knights and still make that expression?”
“These fools seem ignorant of reality—shall we enlighten them?”
“For those who don’t fear death, the path to the afterlife is the quickest remedy.”
Chuckling, the knights drew their swords and advanced.
However, the thieves showed no intention of engaging them, instead veering off and passing by.
Still wearing those infuriating smiles.
‘What’s this?’
It was then that the knights grew puzzled.
The thieves suddenly accelerated their pace.
As if fleeing from someone, they glanced back frantically while scrambling away.
‘What? Those bastards?’
At first, they thought the thieves were running from them.
But their gaze wasn’t directed that way.
It was behind the knights themselves.
The puzzled knights turned their heads to look back.
Moments later, an unexpected presence emerged from beyond the Forest.
“KROOOOAAAHHH!”
“That, that is!”
“An, an Ogre?”
An Ogre—the mightiest monster on land—came thundering toward them with heavy, earth-shaking strides.
Only then did the knights understand.
Why the thieves had worn those smiles upon seeing them.
‘These insane bastards! They lured the Ogre here!’
Now that he thought about it, there was the Mist Forest nearby—a woodland teeming with magical beasts.
The thieves had lured the Ogres from that forest and brought them here.
To easily wipe out the Merchant Caravan.
‘Once the Ogre slaughters us all, they’ll claim the remaining spoils? Damn it!’
A strategy of reaping rewards without lifting a finger.
Despair washed over the knights’ faces.
Even for warriors of their caliber, an Ogre was an overwhelming opponent.
The mercenaries bore similarly grim expressions.
“An, an Ogre?”
“That’s an Ogre?”
“Why would a monster suddenly appear….”
Countless among them still hadn’t grasped the situation.
Most of the mercenaries had never laid eyes on an ogre before.
Their experience amounted to little more than hunting a few goblins.
Russell found himself in the same predicament.
‘Ogres are too much even for a 6-Circle mage to handle. You need to be at least 7-Circle or an Aura Master to stand against them.’
And now two of these creatures were charging straight at us.
Not toward the bandits—toward us.
“Grrrrr….”
The ogres skidded to a halt mid-charge.
The bandits had vanished, replaced by a human Merchant Caravan—an unexpected sight that gave them pause.
In the next instant, their eyes blazed with murderous hunger and appetite.
“Roooaaarrr!”
“Roooaaar!”
The two ogres launched their assault on the Merchant Caravan without hesitation.
The knights, having anticipated this moment, rushed forward to intercept.
“Ugh!”
“Gack!”
The ogres’ brutish strength sent them flying backward several meters.
Even channeling their aura proved futile against such power.
“Damn it—what kind of strength is this….”
“Stay sharp! Don’t try to match their force—evade and counterattack!”
The knights moved with practiced precision.
Each blade gleamed with a blue aura.
Yet they were far from Aura Masters.
Clang!
Judging by the shallow gashes they carved into the ogre’s hide.
“Grrgh! What kind of body is this hard?!”
Their cuts only enraged the creatures further, dealing negligible damage.
Magic bounced off them just as easily—there was no point in trying.
Clang clang clang— Clang!
“Roooaaaarrr!”
“Ahhhhh!”
“Kyaaah!”
Even the knights, hardened by countless escort missions and rigorous training, were like mice before a cat facing these ogres.
Desperately dodging attacks, they nearly lost consciousness whenever an ogre’s fist connected.
It was a battle where we were hopelessly outmatched.
And the bandits watched from behind with leisurely satisfaction.
Now they had no reason to flee.
‘This situation is dire. Even if we defeat the ogres, those bandits won’t let us go.’
Faced with a sudden brush with death, I racked my brain for a solution.
But the overwhelming disparity in power left me grasping at straws.
Even inexperienced day laborers could recognize the hopelessness of their situation.
“H-how are we supposed to defeat something like that…?”
“W-we’re finished…”
“Finished? We should run for our lives right now!”
“Y-yes, let’s do that!”
Abandoning the knights fighting desperately and fleeing was hardly the honorable thing to do, but these mercenaries who had signed on for nothing but coin had never possessed a shred of responsibility to begin with.
What in this world could be more precious than one’s own life?
And so, the moment one man broke ranks, the others began to scatter in earnest.
If they were to escape, now—while the knights and the ogre were locked in combat—was their only chance.
But the thieves were not the sort to idly permit such a thing.
Whistle!
Thunk!
Arrows streaked through the air and buried themselves in the backs of the fleeing mercenaries.
The thieves had anticipated this moment and were already loosing volleys.
Thunk!
“Gack!”
Thunk!
“Ugh!”
The mercenaries attempting to flee fell helplessly to the ground.
Why would the thieves simply let them go, only to face potential retaliation later?
The mercenaries, unwilling to become pincushions, abandoned their attempt to escape.
They were trapped between impossible choices.
An ogre ahead and a band of thieves behind—there was nowhere to go.
“Uuugh…”
“I-it’s all over now…”
The mercenaries had resigned themselves to their fate, but one among them refused to surrender.
“Russell?”
“Kid! What are you doing?”
“At this point, we have to help the knights!”
The mercenaries tried to stop Russell McLafflin as he turned toward the knights.
“That’s insane! You’ll just die a pointless death!”
“How are we supposed to defeat an ogre?”
“At least it’s better than waiting for death here!”
Russell McLafflin, having delivered his blunt truth, moved to stand behind the knights and began casting magic.
“Haste, Strength.”
An artificial wind enveloped the knights.
Their movements became more agile, and their grip on their swords tightened with newfound strength.
“W-what? Suddenly I feel stronger…”
“Isn’t this a buff spell?”
“A mage?”
“A mage among the mercenaries?”
The knights engaged in combat voiced their confusion, but only briefly.
They resumed their assault on the ogre.
Russell McLafflin decided to provide fire support from behind the knights.
Yet even with Russell McLafflin’s intervention, the situation did not improve.
Crack!
Thud!
Unable to overcome the disparity in strength, the knights fell one by one to the ogre’s grasp.
As their numbers dwindled, the tide of battle turned decisively against them.
Crunch!
Snap!
The chilling sound of necks breaking echoed repeatedly.
The knights fell helplessly.
Ten knights perished in mere moments.
“Ah, ahhh….”
Not a single knight remained.
Panicked, Russell McLafflin desperately tried to move his legs.
But as if his body had malfunctioned in the face of this primal terror, his limbs refused to obey, and the ogre’s massive fist hurtled toward his head.
There was no time to evade.
Crack―!
With the sound of a skull shattering, Russell McLafflin collapsed.
But it was not Russell McLafflin’s skull that had shattered—it was the ogre’s.
“How… how is this possible…?”
A figure came into view as he looked around in confusion.
A familiar face. One I recognized.
“Z… Zeke?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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