The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 129
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Chapter 129
Chapter 129
The staff I pulled out.
Elongated and straight in form, adorned at its apex with the visage of a hawk, this staff—radiating a brilliance that transcended gold itself, evoking the sun’s own radiance—was none other than.
[ Ra’s Solar Staff ]
( Non-Tradeable )
Type : Staff
Grade : Mythic
Requirement : Level 1,000 or higher, Wisdom 3,000 or higher
Description : A divine artifact imbued with the solar power wielded by Ra, the sun god of the Desert. Within this artifact dwells a formidable solar force befitting the epithet ‘Midday Sun’.
A Mythic-grade staff with a staggering level requirement of 1,000.
Even Lionheart Marquis, standing behind me, sensed that this staff was no ordinary weapon.
Ra’s Solar Staff was, in essence, the very symbol of a fire mage—a staff that greatly amplified fire-attribute magic.
Yet the only fire magic I could currently cast was Third Circle’s ‘Fireburst’.
And I had no intention of wielding this Mythic-grade staff merely to cast Third Circle magic.
– Activating the unique skill of ‘Ra’s Solar Staff’: ‘Ra’s Radiance’.
The staff’s unique skill activated.
The hawk sculpture atop the staff spread its wings wide, unleashing a brilliant flash toward the heavens.
The flash struck true upon the midday sun.
Whoooosh!
A blinding radiance began pouring forth from the sun itself.
Sunlight as scorching as the Desert’s own rays beat down upon us, and my vision brightened beyond measure—so intensely that keeping my eyes open became nearly impossible.
In truth, if one only observed this much, it seemed unremarkable.
Not like Zeus’s lightning Astrape, summoning divine bolts from the heavens.
Not like Poseidon’s trident Triana, unleashing torrents of seawater.
For a Mythic-grade weapon’s unique skill, didn’t it seem far too ordinary?
But no.
‘Ra’s Radiance is not a single-strike attack—it’s closer to sustained damage.’
“Kiiiiing….”
“Groooooar!”
“Hack, kaack! Kaaaaack—.”
The beasts assaulting the Red Beast Fortress’s barrier began to shriek.
Their fur singed.
Their skin charred and burned away.
Their pupils shrank, their mouths dried to cracking.
Yet this place was the ‘Plains’.
The sun hung directly above the barrier, so they could not shelter in its shadow, and the very nature of the Plains meant no shadows existed at all.
In such circumstances, the beasts had but two choices.
“Kraaaaaaang!”
Crash!
Before desiccating under the sunlight, the beasts had to break through the barrier by any means necessary, thrashing about with renewed desperation.
“Kiiiiing—.”
They clawed at the earth, hid beneath their companions to escape the rays, or sought any refuge they could find.
Of course, neither option was truly viable.
By the time ‘Ra’s Radiance’ faded and the sunlight dimmed,
“Good heavens….”
most of the beasts beneath the barrier had withered into twisted husks.
* * *
The Lionheart family—a noble house that had guarded the Red Beast Fortress for generations.
Among them, Gareon Lionheart, who currently defended the Red Beast Fortress, could finally draw breath, though only in the privacy of his own thoughts.
‘Thank the heavens.’
Though not through Imperial support, at least the Red Beast Fortress would not fall immediately.
He had been spared the humiliation of watching the fortress his family had protected for generations crumble on his watch.
Yet he could not rest easy until Imperial reinforcements arrived.
With that thought, I had detained Mir and the Steel Claw Mercenary Band.
‘A sub-marquis and a mercenary band. Impressive that they crossed the Red Lion Plains, but I cannot harbor great expectations.’
Contrary to what he had said earlier, Gareon Lionheart harbored no great hopes for Mir and the Steel Claw Mercenary Band.
At best, he was borrowing what little help he could get.
In truth, a sub-marquis was merely a title in name; among the nobility, such a rank commanded little respect.
Moreover, the sub-marquis was of adventurer stock with a level that was hardly impressive.
And the mercenary band?
What could a mere band of untrained sellswords accomplish at the Red Beast Fortress?
The Lionheart Marquis simply wished to keep them here so the fortress might endure one day longer.
And yet.
“Kiiiiing….”
“Kroooooar!”
“Cack, kaack! Kaaaaack—.”
What in the world was happening?
When Mir raised an uncommon-looking staff, the scorching sunlight that poured from the heavens began to roast the beasts beneath the barrier.
Those powerful crimson creatures offered no resistance to the blazing rays, withering away before his eyes.
“Good heavens….”
An exclamation escaped unbidden.
With a single spell, all those beasts had been reduced to desiccated remains.
Of course, not every beast had been felled.
Those that had reacted swiftly to the light, burrowing into the earth or hiding beneath their companions, had survived.
But what mattered was that Mir had ended this entire battle with a single incantation.
“Is he… a Sage?”
“He’s a Sage!”
“But to unleash magic of such breadth and power, how extraordinarily strong must this Sage be?”
“Does it matter? A Sage has finally come to the Red Beast Fortress!”
“The more of those damned beasts multiply, the more I wished to see the Sage! Finally!”
The Marquis wasn’t the only one startled.
The soldiers manning the Red Beast Fortress, drawing their bowstrings, cheered at the sight before them and praised Mir’s presence.
Of course, they had misunderstood Mir to be the Sage….
“I see, so he was the Sage.”
The power he had just displayed was more than enough to cause such a misunderstanding.
Even the experienced Lionheart Marquis had mistaken Mir for a powerful high-circle mage to that degree.
And shortly after.
His Vice Commander, who had been sent to investigate Mir upon his orders, returned after communicating with the Empire through the communication device.
“He is said to be an adventurer who received the title of Baron for the first time, recognized for the achievement of slaying the Orc Lord and an army of thirty thousand orcs.”
“The Orc Lord and an army of thirty thousand orcs? Alone?”
“While he did fight alongside the 2nd Subjugation Squad at the time, it is said that he was the one who devised the strategy, executed it, and ultimately slew the Orc Lord.”
“I see. So that was it.”
The Marquis nodded.
That attack just now made sense.
Perhaps he had even been holding back in that strike.
In the Marquis’s mind, an image formed of Mir unleashing tremendous magic, melting away the thirty thousand orc army.
With that, a conclusion about how to treat Mir was reached.
“Mir, Baron, it seems I have misjudged you. Would you not take the position of strategist at the Red Beast Fortress?”
* * *
The power of ‘Radiance of Ra’ was formidable.
Of course, having only just reached level 200, I couldn’t fully draw out its strength.
Many of the beasts that sensed danger from Radiance of Ra had hidden or fled.
Still, with this single strike, I had certainly extinguished the immediate crisis.
“Luke, eat.”
– I shall partake gratefully.
Whoosh!
The beasts I had slain then erupted into black flames.
[ Luke has consumed the ‘Red Wolf’. ]
[ Luke has consumed the ‘Red Boar’. ]
….
[ You receive the nourishment left behind by the ‘Black Flame Dragon, Luknir Desperado Ignockton’. ]
My stats rose rapidly.
Not only Luke’s stats, but mine as well, albeit faintly.
Before, my stats would only increase once Luke’s stats had risen by 100 and could rise no further.
Now, without such a requirement, my stats continued to climb steadily.
As a result, each time I slew a monster, it felt like consuming an elixir.
As Luke’s consumption neared completion.
“Mir, Baron, it seems I have misjudged you. Would you not take the position of strategist at the Red Beast Fortress?”
An unexpected proposal reached my ears.
I came to the Red Beast Fortress with the rank of Marquis, but I thought I’d be treated the same as a common soldier here.
Yet I was recommended for the position of staff officer, a role second only to the Marquis himself within the fortress.
Normally, I would have refused out of sheer annoyance.
‘Not a bad opportunity, though.’
When I thought about it, this was actually a favorable chance.
If I took the staff officer position, I could learn about the Red Beast Fortress’s situation—information I didn’t fully grasp—along with the types and numbers of monsters.
Countless details would become available to me.
And that’s not all.
If I calculated the monster distribution map, including the terrain of this place.
‘I might even be able to predict where the Demon God is located.’
The second Demon God I’m targeting this time.
I might discover where the Red Beast Demon God is hiding.
The more I thought about it, the more my head nodded in agreement.
However.
“As long as it’s only until this matter is resolved, I have no objections.”
The duration would be limited to the end of this crisis.
The Marquis nodded in agreement and readily accepted.
“Much obliged. Follow me.”
At that moment.
[ Quest ‘Protecting the Red Beast Fortress’ has been created. ]
Grade: Epic
Description: The Red Beast Fortress, which protects the Empire’s southern territories from the raging beast-type monsters, now faces a grave threat.
You must aid Gareon Lionheart and, as the fortress’s staff officer, prevent this crisis and defend the Red Beast Fortress.
Objective: Protect the Red Beast Fortress.
A Quest window materialized before my eyes.
Accepting the staff officer position apparently counted as accepting the Quest.
However.
‘Epic grade, no less.’
The Quest difficulty was no trivial matter.
Then again, if those red beasts are indeed connected to the Red Beast Demon God as I suspect, it’s hardly surprising.
The Red Beast Demon God held the second position among the main scenario Quests in Second.
‘Well, I should be fine.’
Though it’s a difficult Quest, if I defeat the Demon God, it will naturally resolve itself.
There’s no reason to refuse.
“Our original plan was to endure somehow until Imperial reinforcements arrived.”
“Why haven’t the reinforcements come?”
“I’ve heard that not only have monster threats intensified, but attacks from foreign powers have grown fiercer. Perhaps the fortress was deprioritized because of that.”
“Even so, the Red Beast Fortress is….”
“Important, certainly. But perhaps everyone assumes the Red Beast Fortress will be fine, since it has never once been breached in all its history.”
The Imperial Knights came to mind.
If those knights would step forward, things would become far easier.
Well, from what I’ve heard, major incidents are unfolding in places other than the Red Beast Fortress as well.
Above all, the Imperial Knights are core personnel who move only at the Emperor’s command, so they won’t be easy to mobilize.
“Such was the situation. But witnessing your magic, Mir, has changed my perspective.”
The Marquis led me to a place called the War Room.
Inside the War Room stood a table with the Red Beast Fortress and surrounding terrain, along with mysterious miniature models, while Sub-officers conversed around it.
“Attention.”
“My lord?”
“Is it true that reinforcements have arrived, my lord?”
“Could it be the knights… wait? Who is this person beside you?”
“Mir, a junior marquis from the Empire.”
“A junior marquis?”
The Sub-officers began murmuring amongst themselves.
In truth, the title of junior marquis is an ambiguous one.
Higher than a knight, yet lower than a marquis.
Among the nobility, they refuse to acknowledge the rank as true nobility, while even knights regard them as merely slightly above their station.
As such, the authority conveyed by the title of junior marquis was not particularly imposing.
Therefore.
“Until this matter concludes, Mir shall serve as our chief strategist.”
“As chief strategist, you say?”
“Regardless of his junior marquis status, how can we entrust strategy for the Red Beast Fortress to someone who knows nothing of it….”
“Moreover, isn’t he an adventurer? I know not how he obtained the title of junior marquis, but how can an adventurer serve as strategist for the Red Beast Fortress!”
Their resistance was entirely justified.
Regardless of their protests.
I ignored them and examined the table positioned at the center of the War Room.
‘That must be the Red Beast Fortress. The red markings indicate monsters, then….’
The model was organized far better than expected, making it easy to verify.
Without needing explanation, I could rapidly assess the current situation of the Red Beast Fortress simply by observing the model.
Fortunately, they hadn’t been idle either—the table displayed not only information visible from the fortress itself, but also reconnaissance data gathered from distant locations.
Upon examining those details.
I reached a single conclusion.
“Tomorrow, the beasts of the plains will launch a total assault.”
The Red Beast Fortress will fall tomorrow.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————