The Merchant on the Run

"Swadi, another magical beast, thirteen hundred meters out. Take him down."

"Understood!"

"Whoosh!" An arrow streaked through the air like a shooting star, striking a tiny black speck on the horizon.

"Boom!" High in the sky, an Overlord drifting in the distance was instantly blasted into fragments.

"Well done!" an aged voice praised without reservation.

"Thank you for the compliment!" With a flick of his right hand, Swadi's Enchanted Folding Bow immediately collapsed into a bracer, locking onto his wrist. Behind him, eighteen thousand soldiers of the First Legion continued their steady advance.

Accompanying this serpentine formation were a dozen incredibly luxurious carriages. The roofs of these carriages were etched with various magical inscriptions, representing different magic guilds. Most eye-catching of all, however, were the magical beasts pulling them.

The six most opulent carriages were drawn by six different types of magical beasts. The lead carriage was pulled by two warhorses with horns on their heads; if they had been pure white, they could have easily rivaled a unicorn.

The carriage behind it was pulled by two massive wild boars. Yet, their thick, muscular frames were as angular and hard as stone; clearly, even as a breed of boar, they were not to be underestimated. Further back was a lizard over five meters long. It was obviously someone's pet, brought out as a display of wealth to pull the carriage. The lizard's back was covered in iron armor, with inscriptions flickering across the metal. Providing a pet with magical defensive gear was a display of extravagance most people couldn't afford.

"In my opinion, our movements have already been exposed..." In the center of the army, a formidable-looking general said softly. From the carriage beside him came a voice of disdainful mockery—the same person who had spotted the Overlord over a thousand meters away. "So what if we're exposed? General Yarman, are you worried they might run away?"

Yarman, commander of the First Legion, sighed lightly. "In fact, the very mockery you speak of is exactly my concern. We seized the opportunity of the Magic Exchange Conference to have mages from various nations work for us, but if these magical beasts escape, we will lose this chance to hunt them down. Once these mages leave our borders, our magical strength will once again become dire..."

"Hmph, who's to blame for that? If the King had granted the robe of the mage Merlin to our Keren Magic Guild earlier, our strength would have doubled by now. Hmph, now you realize the utility of our magic..."

Yarman gave a bitter smile. "Enough, Star Mage Thomas. His Majesty knows he was wrong. He is the King, after all; you must give him room to make mistakes. Besides, after this war, I believe your magic guilds will become the kingdom's most prominent and unique nobility!"

"Report! Report!" Suddenly, a scout in the distance galloped toward them at full speed, the dust kicked up by his horse's hooves creating a cloud of smoke across the ground.

Yarman nudged his horse's flanks, and his mount trotted over to meet the scout. "Have you found the magical beasts?" Yarman asked preemptively.

"Yes, Commander. Five miles out, we discovered traces of the magical beasts, but they are currently pursuing a human merchant caravan!"

"A human merchant caravan?" Yarman's eyes widened. "Who is so foolish? Don't they know that Morton has already been overrun by magical beasts? How could they possibly be passing through the territory of Morton?"

"I don't know. We've never seen the crests on their carriages, but they can't be a small merchant group—they have one Level 5 mage and two Level 4 mages among them!"

"Since when do merchant groups have the money to hire mages?" Thomas, the head of the Keren Magic Guild, ordered his carriage to stop and stepped out with a cold snort.

"Regardless, since they are human, we should save them. Besides, the reward for rescuing three mages will certainly be substantial!" Yarman looked at Thomas, seeking his agreement.

Thomas didn't care much about that. "Fine. It's time to see just how strong these legendary magical beasts are. One can judge the whole by a glimpse. Let's go and meet them!"

The army halted. The mages from the various carriages disembarked one after another. Upon learning that magical beasts were attacking a human caravan ahead, the mages were eager to go and watch the spectacle, chatting and laughing as they went. That was exactly right—they were treating it as a bit of fun. With a thousand guild mages gathered from six kingdoms, they were essentially a combined army of three kingdoms; they had every confidence they could wipe out any threat with their magic.

"Damn it, Louis, run! Leave the cargo, saving your life is what matters!" The Level 5 mage roared in grief and indignation toward the warrior still driving the carriage behind him. The warrior was also Level 5, but burdened by the carriage, his escape speed couldn't keep up with the mage!

"I can't! This cargo is our entire income for this trip. If the cargo is gone, our merchant house is finished. Damn it, giddyap, giddyap, giddyap!"

"Roar!" Suddenly, two Zerglings accelerated sharply, leaping high into the air to pounce on the carriage!

"You're going to get everyone killed!" The Level 5 mage unleashed two fireballs. They struck the airborne Zerglings accurately, the intense heat instantly burning them to ash. However, even as two Zerglings died, more surged up from behind!

"Ahhh!" Two screams rang out as the two warriors following the carriage were tackled by Zerglings and torn to pieces in an instant!

"Cast magic! Wall of Fire!" The Level 5 mage, looking at the remaining five warriors and the carriage behind him, immediately ordered the two Level 4 mages beside him. The two of them gritted their teeth and stopped in their tracks!

"Proud fire spirits, your servant is suffering from evil predation. Please lower your tolerance and grant a barrier that those evils cannot cross. Wall of Fire!"

"Whoosh!" From behind the carriage, a wall of fire thirty meters wide and three meters high erupted from the ground, completely blocking their path of retreat!

"Awoo..." "Awoo..." The Zerglings charged headlong into the wall of fire without fear of death. However, the violent fire-elemental power erupting from the ground instantly burned a dozen Zerglings to ash!

"Hmm, their strength doesn't seem to warrant such a desperate flight," Thomas said, questioning the situation as he watched the Zerglings show no resistance against the magic. The mages around him also wore expressions of doubt.

However, the next moment, the confusion in everyone's hearts was suddenly and brutally cleared!

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..." Hundreds of Zerglings slammed into the flames simultaneously. After burning through more than eight hundred Zerglings, the Wall of Fire exhausted its elemental energy and began to flicker out. As the height dropped from three meters to less than one, it was like a terrifying sack being opened—and on the other side of that sack were thousands upon thousands of Zerglings!

"Damn it, strike now! Save them!" Thomas's expression shifted. He shouted, drew his staff, and began preparing a spell!