The Son-In-Law of the Magician Is a Transcendent Sword Master - Chapter 120

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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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Chapter 120
The Chimeras that spotted Rashek began charging forward at a terrifying speed. By the time he took his stance and raised his fists, dozens of Chimeras had already surrounded him.
‘There’s such a thing as being reckless.’
Following behind, I sighed and drew Eclaire with my left hand.
Well, if I was going to fight the Chimeras anyway, reducing their numbers beforehand wouldn’t be a bad idea.
I manifested spectral magic.
Crimson and white.
“Scarlet.”
A rosy luminescence swiftly enveloped the forest and began dispersing heat in all directions.
In the moment the Chimeras panicked at the sudden temperature shift, I thrust Benheim’s sacred blade before my chest and pierced through them in one motion.
Splurch!
Blood erupted as two Chimeras’ bodies were bisected.
True to their nature as creatures wrought from black magic, Chimeras possessed considerable regenerative capacity. To kill them completely, I had to destroy their core—their heart.
Typically, a Chimera’s core is buried deep within its flesh, making it difficult to locate.
Yet to me, it was glaringly apparent.
Where their weaknesses lay, where their vital points were.
Following the flow of mana, everything fell within my sight.
Unlike the grotesquely bloated Chimera from the Red Pirate Guild before, a Chimera of merely beast-sized proportions could be killed in a single strike like this.
It was simply tedious to engage them.
[Shriek!]
The Chimeras understood the sudden intrusion. They identified me as the most threatening opponent, but that was a miscalculation on their part.
“You wretches! Can’t you see me!”
In the moment I lowered my guard, Rashek charged forward at a horrifying speed and reduced the Chimeras to pulp.
Unlike beasts, Chimeras possessed basic situational awareness. Whether they instinctively understood that these two humans before them were apex predators, they began contorting their bodies grotesquely in an attempt to flee.
Of course, even that attempt proved futile.
Boom!
Algiz, Uruz, Hagalaz.
Three rune characters combined, forming an intangible barrier of physical force—a barrier that descended from the sky like a spike.
It was Renia’s rune magic.
[Screech!]
The Chimeras panicked as their escape route was sealed by the barrier.
Not stopping there, Renia chanted rune magic with her other free hand and opened the pouch at her chest.
A wind spirit.
In other words, its name was….
“Swiftstone, go.”
…Swiftstone instantly conjured a gale and herded the Chimeras beautifully into the center.
Aside from its ridiculous name, Swiftstone was quite a capable spirit.
“…Uoogh!”
From that point onward, it was less a battle than a hunt, less a hunt than a slaughter.
It was merely mechanical work—eliminating Chimeras that had lost all will to resist.
After about ten minutes, we stood catching our breath before dozens of chimera corpses.
“Rashek. I understand your anger, but next time, give me some warning before you charge in like that. Please.”
“Hmm.”
Rashek, who had been surrounded by chimeras for a moment, lowered his head in shame.
“I’m sorry, but… I couldn’t help myself.”
That was fair. Spirit summoners cherished their spirits like their own children. As a fellow spirit summoner, I understood Rashek’s feelings. He couldn’t have stood by watching a spirit being devoured alive right before his eyes.
In fact, Swiftstone in Renia’s arms seemed angry too—its wing beats were twice as frequent as before.
“…I will never forgive these creatures.”
Until moments ago, Rashek’s primary goal had been to solve the Southern Forest’s problems and return to Maelrn in triumph.
But now, his eyes bloodshot with rage, he glared at the chimera corpses, his resolve burning brighter than ever.
“Calm yourself, Rashek. We did gain something from this.”
“Gain something?”
“Yes. The chimeras, which we hadn’t seen hide nor hair of until now, are gathered here in this dead forest. How did you not notice that?”
“You don’t mean…”
“Exactly. Regardless of the reason, it means the Aconia Family we’re looking for is connected to the sorcerer commanding these monsters.”
A perfectly reasonable deduction.
Rashek clapped his hands together as the possibility finally dawned on him.
“…Of course! We just need to storm Aconia and interrogate them! Reagan, are you a genius?”
“You’re just an idiot.”
“Aconia! Not only destroying the forest, but daring to harm the spirits themselves! I won’t let this stand!”
“….”
Without responding to the insult, Rashek strode purposefully toward Aconia’s stronghold with long, determined steps.
I wasn’t sure whether to call him foolish or kind-hearted.
“…He’s an amusing one.”
Renia chuckled watching Rashek’s retreating figure, then glanced at me with a smirk.
“Right? Doesn’t he remind you of my brother?”
“…You’d better apologize to Arno when we get back.”
* * *
The Great Cavern, nestled deep within the Southern Forest.
Just then, the man in the Fox Mask passed through the cavern’s entrance and walked into the dark corridor.
“I have something to report.”
The woman who had been reclining in her chair rose to her feet and retrieved a spider mask from her bosom, placing it over her face.
It was a rule of the Beast Face Society. When conversing, one must wear a mask that distorts the voice.
The reason was unknown. They simply followed orders from above. Because of this, no one in the Beast Face Society knew who anyone else was, or where they came from, or what they did before joining.
However, the hierarchy was absolute. In the Beast Face Society, the higher one’s rank, the more legs their mask possessed.
In that sense.
“Speak. Fox, what is it?”
The Spider, leader of the Beast Face Society, prompted the Fox to report.
“The Apsache has fallen.”
At those words, the Spider’s eye sockets twisted in displeasure.
The Red Pirate Guild. Merely a ragtag collection of brigands, yet I had dispatched the Fox Mask to bolster their numbers. My intent was to strengthen control over the Southern Forest under my jurisdiction.
“The Red Pirate Guild was suppressed… Does that mean the Royal Court intervened?”
“No. Benheim intervened.”
“Benheim’s main forces?”
“Not at all. A direct blood relative who recently held a betrothal ceremony, and her husband.”
The Spider tilted his head.
Benheim Estate and the Southern Forest were quite distant from one another. For a blood relative—not even Benheim’s military forces—to venture all the way to this remote frontier was startling news indeed.
However…
“Well, we’ve already extracted everything worth taking from those vermin, so it matters little either way.”
The Spider answered dismissively.
Yet the Fox Mask, still burdened by worry, spoke up.
“But if the Great Magic Families become involved, it will complicate matters considerably.”
“Don’t fret. We simply kill them. There’s no need to fear repercussions. There is no place on this Continent easier to conceal an incident than the Southern Forest.”
“But killing them… Their cultivation levels are far from ordinary. There were two 6th Rank cultivators among them.”
The Fox Mask spoke passionately, drawing upon his memories.
“Moreover, Maelrn’s heir was among them. No matter how well-suited the Southern Forest is for concealment, it remains Maelrn’s Domain. Should we kill the heir within his own territory… Maelrn’s Head would burn the entire forest to ash if it meant capturing us.”
The Fox Mask’s words held merit.
If an heir were slain within his own front yard, even Maelrn—a faction known for its laissez-faire principles—would not remain idle.
Yet the Spider let out an unpleasant metallic laugh.
“It doesn’t matter. Do not concern yourself with Maelrn’s retaliation.”
“But… We draw our power from spirits as an energy source. If Maelrn’s Head, who reveres spirits, learns of this forest’s devastation, surely he cannot remain passive…”
“Which is precisely why it doesn’t matter.”
The Spider leaned back leisurely in his chair and continued.
“Fox Mask, you still don’t understand Maelrn’s Head well enough.”
The Spider waved his pale, slender fingers dismissively.
“Maelrn’s Head, Kashar El Maelern—he is a master of spirit binding, not a spirit mage.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Exactly as I say. To a spirit binder, the wild spirits of this forest beyond his control are merely thorns in his side. Moreover, this forest is also the territory of poison users, whom he despises.”
“…”
“Maelrn’s Head likely discovered our presence in this forest long ago. Yet he allows it to persist. Do you know why?”
The Fox Mask fell silent. Yet it seemed he had already grasped the situation to some degree.
“Precisely. He observes passively. Using one evil to counter another. He waits for us filthy rats to cleanse the pests infesting his front yard in his stead.”
“Then… the heirs of the Great Magic Families…?”
“Killing them poses no problem. After all, Maelrn’s Head is a petty man who harbors inferiority toward his son.”
“…”
“If it proves too difficult, we can employ poison.”
“Poison… You speak of poison?”
A crimson gleam flashed behind the Spider’s mask.
“Indeed. Now Aconia rests in the palm of our hand.”
* * *
To cut to the chase.
Rashek’s desire to confront Aconia over this incident never came to pass.
“…What.”
When we arrived at the Aconia Encampment.
There was nothing there.
To be precise, it wasn’t entirely devoid of everything.
“…Why is it in ruins?”
Before my eyes lay the Aconia Encampment, reduced to a wasteland.
The wooden palisades surrounding the encampment had collapsed entirely, the tents were torn to shreds, and several had been reduced to ash, their charred remains releasing the acrid stench of smoke throughout the area.
Leaving the bewildered Rashek behind, I crouched down to examine the muddy ground.
Countless footprints led away in the direction we had come from.
‘…It seems those chimera swarms we saw earlier attacked Aconia.’
This meant the Aconia Family was also a victim of the Beast Face Society.
Then why would the Beast Face Society have attacked Aconia?
Without much deliberation, an answer came to mind.
‘Poison.’
Just as I sought poison to bring down the Archmage King.
The Beast Face Society had attacked them to seize Aconia’s poison.
If that were the case… I had gained yet another reason to bring down the Beast Face Society. Should they obtain Aconia’s poison and it become one of the Archmage King’s weapons, no greater calamity could befall us.
“Let’s spread out and investigate for now. There might be some clues.”
“Got it.”
Renia nodded, and Rashek reluctantly began moving as well.
We proceeded to search through the ruins of the Aconia Encampment.
Collapsed tents. All manner of belongings lay scattered across the ground.
‘The valuables are all still here.’
The treasures remained untouched while the people had vanished like a mirage.
This discrepancy was similar to when Victor Otto had been abducted in Orelion.
In other words, they had been subjected to a sudden assault and dragged away without a chance to resist.
Was this the work of the Beast Face Society’s chimera sorcerers?
As my thoughts reached that point.
‘Hmm….’
My eyes caught something.
A faint trace of mana.
Not the murky, repulsive aura characteristic of chimeras. Nor was it the presence of a spirit sorcerer.
I carefully approached the torn tent and flung its entrance wide open.
“….”
A woman crouched inside, staring at me.
Even in the darkness, her skin was so pale it seemed to glow, and her eyes shone with a brilliant golden light as vivid as Renia’s hair color.
I soon noticed something peculiar about the woman’s body.
‘…Twisted?’
Half right, half wrong.
The Woman’s Mana Core was twisted, but not distorted. It wasn’t turbidly contaminated either.
Rather, it was a mysterious form of Mana Core that maintained a delicate balance while remaining twisted. And in the very center of the core, where the nucleus should have resided….
“Deadly poison.”
In other words….
“Aconia’s….”
Before I could finish speaking, the Woman sprang to her feet and launched her attack.
Whoosh! A violet awl shot from the Woman’s sleeve.
I hurriedly jerked my head back. The violet awl grazed past my bangs, cutting a few strands. Simultaneously, a pungent aroma assaulted my nostrils.
‘…Poison, then.’
So this Woman was indeed a Mage of Aconia.
Then why was an Aconia Mage attacking me?
The answer came from the Woman’s next words.
“You filthy Black Mage! Have you come crawling back to capture me again?!”
It seemed I had been thoroughly misunderstood.

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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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