Legend of the Arch Magus_The Upheaval

by Michael Sisa

  Lark tried consuming the fragment he obtained back then, but it did nothing but halt the progress of his curse for a couple of years.

  Lark smiled after the reminisce. He remembered his disciples once again. Each of them paved their own path. Each of them lived their own lives. Each of them left a mark in history. Somehow, he felt a squeezing sensation in his chest as he thought of it.

  “Ah, Big Mona,” said Lark.

  Big Mona broke out of his trance. “Yes?”

  “I’ve looked around the market in Lion City before, but the largest mana stone I’ve managed to find is around this size.” Lark gestured with his fingers. It was around thrice the size of a pebble.

  Big Mona immediately understood what the Young Master was trying to say. “You want me to find a larger mana stone for you?”

  Lark nodded his head. “Yes. Of course, you’ll be compensated.”

  Big Mona frowned for a moment. “Young Sir, it’s a bit hard finding a mana stone larger than that one these days. But as your partner, I’ll order my men to look for it.”

  “Is that so?” said Lark. “Then, I’ll be troubling Sir Merchant from now on.”

  Lark bowed his head in gratitude.

  Ever since he learned about the competition for the throne, he hastened the pace of his training. Right now, his body had been honed enough to withstand the consumption of larger mana stones. Even if he consumed a stone two or three times larger than the first one, there would be no rebound. His daily physical training finally paid off.

  Lark remembered the monsters lurking within the Gahelpa Forest. A monster as strong as those would surely have a mana stone inside its body. It might even be of the middle grade quality.

  After exchanging several more pleasantries with the merchant, he summoned Anandra and the other elite hunters of Gahelpa.

  Using the vision crystal, Lark have ascertained that the beastmen army had retreated. Even if he left the town for several days, nothing too catastrophic should happen.

  “You called for us, Young Master?” Anandra and the hunters bowed their heads.

  Lark went straight to the point. “I’m going to hunt the Basilisks. And I’m going to give all of you the choice to come with me.”

  Anandra and the hunters stiffened. They could still vividly remember the traumatic events that day. Although they had become relatively stronger than before thanks to the magic bows, fear was still engraved deeply within their bodies. They trembled with just the thought of facing that colossal serpent head-on.

  “I’ll leave tomorrow morning,” said Lark. “Whether you’ll come with me or not, you’ll have until tonight to decide.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  The time for departure of the soldiers from Lion City arrived. By dawn, they had already finished their preparations and were ready to move out.

  “So, the Young Master’s coming with us?” said Commander Daltos.

  “Coming along, Yes.” A sword dangled on Lark’s waist. “But we’ll part ways at the Gahelpa Forest.”

  Daltos looked at the hunters standing behind Lark. They were all armed to the teeth.

  “I see,” said Daltos. He decided not to pry any further. None of it was his business, after all.

  “Commander, the reports?” said Lark.

  Daltos knew that Lark was referring to the beastmen invasion a couple of weeks ago. He was asked by Lark to report the situation to Lord Valcres as a contingent plan in case the beastmen decided to redirect their forces towards Lion City. At the same time, it would also serve as a fallback in case Lark’s plans failed and the beastmen successfully captured the town.

  After Daltos sent his report, the news regarding the beastmen invasion started spreading among the residents of Lion City. It would only be a matter of time before the traveling merchants spread the news of Lark’s victory far and wide throughout the entire Kingdom.

  “I’ve received a reply from the City Lord,” said Daltos. “The City will temporarily support the bereaved families.”

  Lark nodded in approval at this. It was no exaggeration to say that because of those men, the entire Eastern Region remained unscathed from the beastmen. Had the Third Legion managed to capture Blackstone Town, it would have been only a matter of time before Lion City fell into their hands.

  Commander Daltos realized this too. He scratched his cheeks in embarrassment and said, “Young Master?”

  Lark quizzically looked at him.

  Daltos slowly mumbled, “Thanks.”

  Lark was momentarily taken by surprise. When they first met, this man was adamant on not letting him take command of the soldiers. But now, he could see respect within those eyes.

  Daltos no longer looked at Lark as though he was some spoil brat. After a month of working together with him and after seeing all the developments in the town, he realized that this young man was a competent ruler – a great leader.

  His feats during the war was almost akin to miracles. It would take no less than a genius tactician to pull off everything that transpired. If even a single variable had gone wrong or missing, they would have been long dead by now.

  After everyone was done with their preparations, Commander Daltos roared, “Men! Move out!”

  The ground lightly shook as hundreds of men started marching at once. Horses neighed and carts started moving out.

  Since horses were a luxury, Lark and his men walked alongside the infantry. Big Mona slowed his horse down to less than a trot. He was grinning from ear to ear. “Partner!”

  Lark knew the reason why the merchant was this jubilant since this morning. “Ah, Sir Merchant. So how’re the middle grade potions?”

  He had seen Big Mona test the potion on one of his slaves this morning. The fat merchant did not hesitate to stab a hole through the slave’s stomach, before pouring down an entire vial on the gaping wound.

  “Terrific! Truly a miraculous product!” Big Mona squealed. “I’ve heard that the Kalavinka Navy started an all-out war against the Mullgray Pirates! And the Empire! They started to invade the northern borders of the Kingdom!”

  The fat merchant spoke gleefully, his eyes glimmering brightly. “Do you know what that means, my dear partner?”

  Lark immediately understood the fat merchant’s intentions, but he chose to remain silent.

  Big Mona continued, “Potions! The unfolding wars will surely require my potions! Our potions!” He heartily laughed, almost choking on his own saliva. “I’ve already tested the efficacy of the low grade potions and just those alone is enough to tilt the powers to my side! But this middle grade potion! The Bloodstone! Even the Merchant Guild from the Royal Capital would have no choice but to beg for supplies!”

  Big Mona paused, as though struck by an epiphany. “Wait.” Big Mona’s eyes were wide as he said the next words, “Merchants are neutral to war, isn’t that right?”

  Lark frowned. Was Big Mona thinking of selling potions to the enemies of the Kingdom? The greed for wealth of this man surely knew no bounds.

  “Don’t even think of selling them to the Pirates or the Empire,” warned Lark, his face grim and daunting.

  Big Mona froze. He coughed. “Of…Of course!”

  Lark sighed.

  This merchant was indeed a double-edged sword. He just hoped that he would not do anything foolish in the nearby future.

  “Ah,” said Lark. He almost forgot to open this topic up. “There’s a food deficit in the Kingdom, right?”

  “What of it?” said Big Mona.

  “I’m sure you’ve seen the farmlands and the poultry farm,” said Lark. “I plan on selling meat and wheat to the nearby cities, you see. Not just in Lion City.”

  Big Mona had seen the extent of the developments the town went through. He did not know how Lark managed to pull it off, but judging by the exponential growth of the poultry farm, it should be possible to supply a small city or two.

  Also, the reclaimed lands in the north was vast. The entire field was now a lush green. By size alon
e, it was almost half the fields of Golden Wheat City, the second richest city in the entire Kingdom. It should be possible to supply wheat to a major city once harvest season comes.

  “Sell them to the nearby cities?” repeated Big Mona. He could already hear the clanks of golds and silvers. “But with such amount, it’ll be impossible to transport them without help from the merchants.”

  “You’re quick to take in the topic,” complimented Lark. “That’s right.” He stared at Big Mona. “So, can you do it?”

  Big Mona grinned. There was no need to ask. “Of course. Leave it to me.”

  ***

  Evening came.

  After arriving at Gahelpa Forest, Lark parted ways with the Army. Together with the hunters, he traversed the road towards the secluded village.

  They camped overnight and after dawn came, they started marching once again.

  “Listen,” said Lark. “Do not engage the enemy. Shoot from a safe distance. The female basilisk has the ability to petrify. If you’re hit by its magic and a part of your body is turned into stone, retreat. Even if your entire body turns into stone, you’ll revert to your original state as long as the magic caster – the female basilisk – is killed. But once a stone statue is broken, the petrified human dies.”

  The hunter nodded their heads, conviction evident within their eyes.

  “Yes!”

  “Our first target is the male basilisk,” said Lark. “We’ll eliminate the bastards one at a time.”

  Soon, they reached the village. Lark amplified his senses. There were no enemies nearby. He signaled everyone to move forward.

  The wooden gate was broken, just like before, but something out of the ordinary greeted their eyes.

  A colossal serpent, which seemed to have been dead for quite some time judging by the state of the corpse, was on the ground.

  Around it, numerous broken slabs of stones were scattered about.

  “What happened here?” breathed Valak.

  They did not expect their first target to be dead by the time they arrived.

  “Look! Over there!” said one of the hunters.

  They looked at the direction he was pointing at. It was a stone statue of a human leg. Not far from it, a stone which resembled a torso laid.

  Lark inspected the corpse of the basilisk. The wounds on its body were definitely from swords. And looking around, he could see a couple of those weapons scattered about on the ground.

  Just by this alone, he could conjecture the events that transpired somehow. These people probably fought against the male basilisk and won, only to become preys to the female basilisk in the end.

  But who were these guys?

  Why did they enter this village devoid of people? And why did they fight against the basilisk?

  The normal reaction when seeing a monster of such caliber was to flee as far away as possible. To flee with your life on the line.

  They managed to kill the male basilisk. These guys are skilled.

  After all, even Lark was unable to kill the male basilisk in a one-on-one fight. He could not perform middle tier magic that time he confronted the monster. Completely piercing through the tough scales of the colossal serpent proved to be an impossible feat back then.

  Well, at least we no longer have to deal with this bastard.

  Whoever these guys were no longer mattered. They killed the Basilisk, drastically reducing the risk for Lark and his men. From a certain point of view, they were godsend.

  Lark unsheathed his sword, and with fluid movements, cut off the head of the colossal serpent. The scales of the basilisk turned brittle after losing its supply of mana, making it easy for Lark to cut apart.

  The corpse was putrid, but Lark unhesitatingly pushed his hand inside the severed head of the basilisk. After fumbling about, he pulled it out.

  In his hand was a stone half the size of a fist. A Middle-Grade Mana Stone. An item several times more potent than the one he consumed before.

  It seemed that in this current era, mana stones of this quality were hard to come by. After all, a basilisk was already ranked among the Calamity Class Monsters. If this was the Magic Empire from back then, these monsters would have been slaughtered in the blink of an eye.

  This was the true purpose of this trip. Revenge was secondary.

  If the mana stone from the female basilisk was as large as this one, then Lark would soon become capable of casting several Middle Tier Magic. Expanding his mana pool several times his current one would no longer become a problem.

  Lark expanded his senses further. He soon pinpointed the location of the female.

  “We’re attacking the female,” declared Lark. “Do you all still remember my instructions?”

  One of the hunters replied, “Shoot from a safe distance.”

  “Good,” said Lark. “Move out.”

  They moved stealthily, their footsteps not making any sound.

  Soon, they arrived at the place where the female was.

  The female basilisk was sleeping, its entire body coiled around a large boulder. Although it was not as large as the male, its pale white skin gave the hunters the shiver. Those glistening scales were reminiscent of magic crystals. Everyone here knew that this monster was capable of turning humans into stone.

  Lark raised his fist, and everyone nocked arrows on their bows.

  We need to fatally injure it on the first shot. It’ll be too dangerous otherwise.

  This was the reason why he brought the hunters with him. If he went alone, the risk of dying against this monster was several fold. But with the help of these hunters wielding magic bows, it should be possible to mortally wound this monster – to strike its vital points after catching it off guard. And now was the perfect time, while it was still in its slumber.

  “We only have one shot at this,” said Lark.

  The hunters tensed up. They gathered all their mana into their bow. An all-or-none gamble.

  Lark noticed that the female basilisk was starting to wake up, probably after feeling the mana condensing in the hunters’ bows.

  Before it fully woke up, Lark roared, “Now!”

  A split second after, the hunters released their arrows. It shot towards the female basilisk, striking its body and piercing it, eventually destroying the boulder behind it.

  An agonized shriek reverberated as the female basilisk woke up from the excruciating pain. It uncoiled itself, raised its body and glared at Lark and his men.

  After consuming all of their mana, the hunters’ legs wobbled. They slowly stepped back upon seeing the colossal serpent glaring at their direction.

  But that lasted only for a short moment.

  Soon, the light within the eyes of the basilisk dimmed. It hissed one last time before slumping on the ground. Pools of blood continued flowing out.

  All of the hunters were dumbfounded.

  They did not expect the monster to fall this easily.

  Lark walked towards the female basilisk and after staring at it for a full second, swung his blade and severed its head from the body. Blood splattered about.

  He turned to the hunters. “You’ve done well. Rest. We’ll bring the heads of these monsters back with us tomorrow.”

  Once again, Lark pushed his hand inside the severed head of the monster. He pulled his hand out, firmly holding a large stone inside.

  It was still filled with blood, but the quality of this one was definitely better than the previous one.

  High-Grade Mana Stone?

  Jackpot.

  Lark started looking forward to the day when he could once again use Grand Scale Magic.

  And one other thing.

  Lark stared at the severed head of the female basilisk.

  War was just around the corner.

  Maybe it was time to create another guardian for Blackstone Town?

  Lark grinned at this thought.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  The first thing Lark did the moment he arrived home was hole himself insid
e the underground chamber of the Mansion. After assessing the current needs and capabilities of Blackstone Town, he came up with an ideal guardian.

  They should be creatures capable of protecting the territory and at the same time contribute to its prosperity. A reliable workforce.

  The three suits of armor were strong, but they were made with the sole purpose of protecting his subjects in mind. There were clear limits to their uses, especially in a time when there was no war.

  Lark decided to create guardians capable of plowing the field, repairing walls, planting seeds, and if the need arises, take up arms and protect the domain. A versatile guardian.

  Lark looked around, his gaze eventually stopping at the pile of iron ingots. After defeating the Third Legion, he ordered these things from the Merchants Guild, spending quite an amount of money in the process. They were necessary investments for the prosperity of his territory.

  Let’s start.

  Using magic, Lark started making several bodies. Each of them resembled humans devoid of any skin, showing the muscle intertwined underneath. Their arms were long, almost reaching the ground, and a two-meter tail protruded out of their backs. There were three eyes, two at the front and a very small one at the back.

  It was nothing short of a monster. With just a single glance, anyone would arrive at the same conclusion.

  The appearance doesn’t matter. My subjects will get used to them as time passes by. What matters is the body’s efficiency.

  The intertwined fibers made of iron would make it possible to flexibly move the bodies’ limbs. Furthermore, it would enhance its strength several fold. The tail on its back have pincers at its tip, serving as a tool to grasp and carry things. At the same time, it would become a lethal weapon in times of war.

  Lark carefully considered the amount of manual labor these things would do when he created the bodies.

  Should he create a strong soldier using the soul of the basilisk? Or should he create a dozen weaker ones by splitting the soul several times?

  After pondering for an entire day before returning to Blackstone Town, Lark decided on the latter. Even if these soldiers were to be formed using the fragmented souls of a basilisk, each of them would still be around as strong as the three suits of armor he created before – or maybe even stronger than that.