The Women of the Portyr Family Are All Dragon Riders

"Yes, Colonel!"

"Ha! Kill those evil rodents!"

"Forget Cranium Rats—even if Mind Flayers came, they wouldn't be able to stop the Colonel's sword."

The ordinary Flaming Fists immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, following the plan they had made earlier, they placed piles of firewood at every fork in the road, doused them with oil, and set them alight to create flaming barricades.

A Flaming Fist was stationed at each barricade.

They took out the [Wind Dance] scrolls Marvin had given them and created a steady, continuous breeze to control the direction of the smoke, keeping it from choking their own people while driving off any Cranium Rats that might approach.

Normally, a spell scroll's user had to be able to understand the spell stored within it.

For instance, a wizard could not use a divine spell scroll such as [Cure Wounds].

Furthermore, low-level spellcasters risked failure when using higher-circle spell scrolls.

For example, if a level 2 wizard wanted to use a [Fireball] scroll—a third-circle spell that normally required level 5 to learn—they would have a 60 percent chance of failure.

But [Wind Dance] was merely a cantrip. It did not require the Weave and could be cast using only the ambient magic scattered throughout nature, making its threshold extremely low.

Therefore, anyone could use a zero-circle cantrip scroll.

While the ordinary Flaming Fists behind them were busy, the five-person squad at the very front had already finished their first encounter.

Once they sensed that their territory had been invaded, the Cranium Rat swarm launched a swift attack.

They first used Mind Blast from the shadows to ambush them.

However, after drinking the Mechanized Mind Potion, the group was barely affected. They only felt a slight jolt to their minds and dizziness for two seconds.

Then Marvin threw the stone enchanted with [Light] in his hand toward the sound of the rat swarm.

Liana immediately saw the rats lurking in the darkness.

Guided by the light, the level 10 warrior burst forth with incomparable instantaneous acceleration and rushed over in the blink of an eye.

"Burning Flame" was not merely her rank, but also her nickname.

Red magical radiance gleamed across the Flaming Fist commander's armor, while the two-handed sword in her hands blazed fiercely. She charged into the rat swarm and swept her blade in a single arc, sending foul rat blood and shattered rat corpses spraying like rain.

The other Flaming Fists hurled Alchemist's Fire into the swarm.

Clusters of alchemical flames burst open, burning the Cranium Rats that had failed to flee into charcoal.

Liana's armor protected her from fire damage, so her teammates did not have to worry about friendly fire at all.

The squad then continued advancing, repeating the same combat process over and over.

By the time the Cranium Rats had nowhere left to retreat and were driven into the room at the core, their numbers had been reduced to around fifty.

Marvin had not participated in a single battle. He had merely kept throwing stones enchanted with [Light], serving as a lighting tool.

It had been as easy as a picnic.

"You dare kill half of us! We are servants carefully cultivated by our master! Retreat now, and we will plead with our master to spare your lives!"

The Cranium Rats were surrounded atop a raised platform, packed tightly together as they squeaked frantically and shouted at Marvin's group through psychic power.

As their numbers dwindled, the rat swarm now had only around 10 Intelligence and could cast only first-circle spells.

Faced with desperation, their collective intelligence could no longer come up with any better ideas. They could only resort to the clumsy threats used by third-rate villains to save their lives.

Unfortunately, Marvin did not fall for it.

"Attack!" Under the effects of the Mechanized Mind Potion, Marvin gave only the briefest command.

Liana, who had already unconsciously begun treating him as the squad's strategist, immediately brandished her flaming two-handed sword and charged toward the platform. The other Flaming Fists stopped holding back and followed close behind.

This time, Marvin joined the battle as well.

The moment he sensed magic stirring in the air and knew that the Cranium Rat swarm was preparing to cast a spell, he immediately used [Magic Missile] to blast apart the Cranium Rat serving as the spellcasting core.

Once again, he had to thank Volo's Guide to Monsters for its detailed records on the rare monster known as the Cranium Rat.

Otherwise, Marvin would not have known that a Cranium Rat swarm required an individual to serve as the casting core when casting spells, marked by purple magical radiance emanating from its entire body.

In the end, the Cranium Rat swarm's numbers fell below the threshold needed for spellcasting, and they failed to cast even a single spell.

"Squeak—"

The death cries of the Cranium Rats as the swarm was utterly destroyed rang in everyone's minds.

The final battle, which had lasted less than five minutes, ended without a ripple.

The five people stood silently in place without moving for half an hour, creating a rather strange scene.

Only after the effects of the Mechanized Mind Potion wore off and everyone returned to normal did they begin tallying the results and cleaning up the battlefield.

"Unbelievable. I thought keeping casualties below one-fifth today would already be an excellent result. But after the final count, aside from one person who passed out from smoke inhalation and two who tripped over stones and sprained their ankles, we didn't suffer a single combat casualty!"

After taking roll, Liana could not help but marvel at the result.

On the Prime Material Plane, Cranium Rats were exceedingly rare monsters. Almost no one knew how to deal with them.

Even if someone had encountered Cranium Rats before, given how stealthy such a swarm was, they probably would not have known what killed them even after being slaughtered by it.

Although Marvin had made thorough preparations to clear out the Cranium Rat swarm, Liana had still not been certain of victory until the very end.

But as the commander, she had to appear fully confident in front of her subordinates before the battle.

"As it should be." Marvin's tone carried a sense of complete naturalness. "A dramatic struggle full of unexpected twists, ending with terrible sacrifices before turning the tide through willpower and luck to claim victory... I have no desire to go through that kind of process."

Hadn't he spent so much time making all kinds of preparations precisely to achieve this kind of effortless sweep?

Liana smiled.

When she had carried out missions in Chult in the past, lacking intelligence and insufficiently prepared, she had indeed often fallen into desperate situations just as Marvin described.

Though the tempering between life and death was what had forged her current mastery of combat, being able to defeat enemies easily and pleasantly without suffering through all that was also a fine experience.

She removed a plate gauntlet stained with filthy Cranium Rat blood and patted Marvin on the shoulder. "Well done, wizard."

"What a pity." Liana suddenly sighed. "I've been married for fifteen years, and my husband and I have a very good relationship. The Portyr Family doesn't have any other women of suitable age, either.

"Otherwise, I really would have wanted to suggest that my uncle win you over through a marriage alliance."

Marvin glanced at the tall, sturdy Liana and mentally declined that suggestion with thanks.

To borrow Engels's assessment of German women, Marvin felt that the women of the Portyr Family were probably all dragon riders, with all their attribute points invested in Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution, leaving Charisma lacking.

Besides, he was not a child. He did not like driving a big truck.

After the joke, Liana added, "In any case, you have earned the Portyr Family's trust and friendship. If you come to Baldur's Gate in the future, we may have opportunities to work together."

Establishing a good relationship with one of Baldur's Gate's four great ducal families was indeed very helpful to Marvin.

But whether he would go to Baldur's Gate was another matter entirely.

Although Baldur's Gate was the most famous trading city in western Faerûn and was known as the "Pearl of the Sword Coast," Marvin felt that the nickname "Faerûn's Gotham" suited Baldur's Gate better.

The city had originally been nothing more than an obscure, remote fishing village.

Its villagers lived half as fishermen and half as bandits, often forging the light of a lighthouse during foggy weather to lure passing merchant ships aground before robbing them.

Later, a great adventurer named Balduran emerged from the village. Only through the immense wealth he brought back did the little fishing village develop into what it was today.

Baldur's Gate had been "founded improperly." Its underlying color was the black of crime and the red of blood.

In this city, whether it was the outwardly magnificent Upper City or the filthiest underworld, conspiracy and violence were everywhere, and death could be found around every corner.

Moreover, ever since the Time of Troubles, the influence Bhaal, the god of murder, had exerted over the city still remained to this day.

For the sake of his own safety, Marvin felt that he needed to reach at least level 7—or at the very least level 5—before it would be safe to go to Baldur's Gate.

And even if he did go to Baldur's Gate, it would be best to keep a low profile, slowly integrate into the city, and avoid getting involved in the struggles of the four great ducal families.