26 Shaq Missandia

Chapter 26 - Shaq Missandia

Zwei, naturally, didn't know the Levitate spell.

Although the Levitate spell was also a first-circle spell, it belonged to the Minor Wind Mastery skill tree. Moreover, similar to the Exploding Flame Arrow, it was on the second step of the skill tree.

Instead of Levitate, Zwei merely used Mage Hand to prop himself up in the air. In any case, ordinary people wouldn't be able to see his Mage Hand, so visually, it looked as if he had used Levitate.

In fact, if Zwei possessed enough achievement points to exchange for the Moving Cast skill, he could have used Mage Hand to drag himself across the air, achieving a similar effect as the Levitate spell. Of course, the speed and height he could reach with just Mage Hand definitely wouldn't be as good as if he used Levitate.

Of the five soldiers, the first to snap out of it was the big soldier.

"Apologies, we didn't know that the Lord Magician was here," the big soldier said, trying to mimic the etiquette of nobles. Unfortunately, his imitation was subpar at best; he looked more like a gorilla trying to dance than an actual noble. "However, the tax collection is the will of the lord, so…"

Meanwhile, when the four other soldiers snapped out of their dazes and heard the big soldier's words, they could not help being shocked. They immediately glared at the big fellow, obviously dissatisfied with his decision to continue talking to Zwei. After all, who knew if this seemingly powerful magician would suddenly change his mind and kill them?

However, since the big fellow had already said so, they couldn't deny his words. Hence, they had no choice but to fan the flames.

In response, Zwei leaped off the platform he created using Mage Hand. His Mage Hand was just slightly over a meter above the ground, so he had no problem jumping off it.

Zwei never imagined that even after he had made an appearance, the other party would still try to fish for some benefits. Frowning, he shouted, "My patience is limited! Scram!"

Clenching his Mage Hand, Zwei slammed it into the ground. With a loud boom, a small crater formed on the slate pavement. The crater measured over two meters in diameter and half a meter in depth.

This show of strength generated a much greater deterrent effect compared to his levitating performance earlier.

Finally awakened from his greed, the big soldier started sweating bullets. He and the other soldiers fearfully scrambled out of the village right away.

Upon seeing the soldiers flee, the villagers were first silent. A moment later, however, they erupted into cheers of excitement. Expressions of joy and excitement colored their faces. Only the village chief still had a troubled look as he worried about the local lord's vengeance.

Regardless, at this moment, Zwei had become the villagers' spiritual pillar. His reputation among the villagers even showed faint signs of surpassing the elderly village chief's!

Meanwhile, Zwei himself also felt relieved at this situation.

Truthfully, he had considered landing his attack on the big soldier's body.

He was well aware that killing the other party was probably the best option if he wished to avoid future problems. However, he still failed to execute the kill in the end.

Although Zwei didn't feel the slightest of guilt when killing the monsters in the dungeon, he still found it difficult to slaughter people.

Forget it. It's still useful to leave those people with their lives. With them around, I might be able to expose the mastermind. That was how Zwei consoled himself.

After asking Alyssa to calm down the villagers, Zwei raced off in the direction the soldiers fled to.

Very quickly, he made a discovery.

In the forest near the village, the big soldier was currently complaining to a man. "Milord, you didn't say that there was a powerful magician in the village."

The man the big soldier conversed with had neatly combed, dark blond hair that had obvious traces of hair oil smeared on it, and wore a black mage cloak embroidered with golden trim. Compared to Zwei's Apprentice Cloak, be it the fabric or the craftsmanship, the black mage cloak was clearly of a higher quality. The only difference was that it didn't have any special abilities attached to it. Combined with his heavy perfume, which Zwei could smell even from several meters away, the man looked utterly incompatible with the surroundings. No matter how Zwei looked at it, this man was more like a paper-pusher who belonged in an office.

Following the big soldier's complaint, the other soldiers nodded in agreement and added their own complaints.

"Oh?" Raising his eyebrows, the blond man asked, "How powerful is this magician?"

In response, the soldiers retold their experiences to the man. While telling their tale, they made sure to exaggerate Zwei's strength slightly while also emphasizing their perseverance.

"In other words, you failed to get the magic weapon I told you to get?" The man's expression remained unchanged even after he heard the soldiers' tale. Instead, he said calmly, "Since you failed to get the item, there's no way I'll give you the promised remuneration, either. I'll reduce your payment to one silver coin per person."

Although the big soldier wanted to object, the other party's cold gaze silenced him. In addition, thanks to Zwei's previous performance, he now had a lingering fear of magicians. Hence, he couldn't find it within himself to speak up.

As for the other soldiers, they were similarly cowed into silence.

"One silver coin is indeed quite a small amount. In that case, I'll compensate you a little more," the cloaked man said as he stroked his glossy hair. He then pulled out a small pouch from his belt and threw it to the soldiers.

The big soldier swiftly caught the pouch. The other soldiers leaned forward with joyful expressions, eager to find out what kind of compensation the wealthy magician had prepared for them.

However, what came out of the pouch was neither gold nor silver, merely a small stone.

"What's this?" the big soldier asked, his question representing the thoughts of the other soldiers.

At this time, a feeling of danger enveloped them. Even when facing off against the walking corpses on the battlefield, they had never felt their hearts race so much. However, just as they thought to distance themselves, the stone exploded into shrapnel that turned their bodies into sieves.

First-circle earth magic, Sandstone Bomb.

Although Sandstone Bomb's destructive power wasn't a match for the Exploding Flame Arrow, it could be used to execute delayed explosions. And with how close together the soldiers were, the spell killed all five of them.

"Hmph. Stupid commoners. How could I, Shaq Missandia, leave a possible stain to my reputation in this world?" the cloaked man sneered as he looked at the shredded corpses before him.

There were plenty of carnivorous scavengers in the woods. The bloody smell of these corpses would soon attract these scavengers, so these corpses would eventually vanish without a trace.

After taking care of his loose ends, the cloaked man looked toward the nearby village. The smile on his face disappearing, he muttered, "A magician capable of instantly casting first-circle magic, huh? It seems he's someone worth befriending."

The next moment, he suddenly turned around and narrowed his eyes on a bush, seemingly attempting to see through it.

He drew his wand. Just as he was about to approach the bush, however, a gray rabbit hopped out of it, then quickly disappeared into another bush.

"A Sly Woodland Rabbit?" The man named Shaq breathed out a sigh of relief. He turned around and walked toward the village.

Upon seeing this, Zwei, who stood behind the bush, also breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Shaq Missandia, huh…" As Zwei looked at the distant figure, he muttered, "It seems this is going to be a little troublesome."