I Wasn't Trying to Seduce with the Male Lead - Episode 48

“We will make camp here.”

Late in the evening.

Lian stopped in a wide-open meadow at the foot of a mountain and spoke.

“Isn’t this too exposed for a campsite?”

He gave the order.

“Cast and maintain a wide-ranging spatial restriction spell from the forest to the city.”

“What is the purpose of the spell?”

“Even if we fail, we must ensure that the Harkmercia cannot harm civilians.”

The well-trained combat mage did not question further and immediately began his work.

Returning to his tent, Rian was soon asleep.

Then, early the next morning.

Lian left his camping tent before the dawn stars had even faded.

“Where are you going, Captain?”

A knight on night watch asked the question.

Lian did not reply, simply mounted his horse, and rode away from the camp.

He quickly galloped across the wide-open meadow and soon entered a dense forest.

Not long after entering the woods, he found himself surrounded by gigantic, ancient trees.

Every tree stretched so high it seemed to touch the end of the sky.

This meant that no human had ever set foot here.

‘This isn’t good.’

The Harkmercia possessed the mobility to freely climb up and down trees.

Fighting it by leaping was no problem, but if the Harkmercia fled, it would be difficult to catch.

Hoping the forest of ancient trees would end before he encountered the Harkmercia, Rian continued to ride.

When the forest had deepened.

He sensed the presence of a wild animal just off the beaten path.

Lian, who did not usually use a bow, pulled it from his saddle and immediately strung the bowstring.

Thwick –

With a swift sound, the arrow flew without hesitation.

Almost at the same moment it pierced the thicket, the beast’s dying cry echoed through the morning forest.

When he pushed aside the undergrowth to check, he found it was a sizable stag.

Lian securely tied the stag to his horse’s back and began riding deeper into the forest once more.

He rode on for who knows how long.

Finally, the forest ended, and a massive basin appeared before his eyes.

Sensing something the moment he saw it, Lian rapidly slowed his horse.

‘This is it.’

As is often the case with places where monsters live, an unusual energy emanated from the surroundings.

A stillness so profound that not even birds flew and even insects seemed to hold their breath.

The basin did not seem to have been naturally formed but rather created by some kind of power.

Trees lay toppled around, but there were no signs of deliberate logging.

They had been pushed down and broken by something massive that frequently passed through.

Screeeeng.

He drew his sword and surveyed his surroundings, but no sound or presence could be felt.

Lian advanced toward the center of the basin.

Choosing a spot where the soil was soft, he drew a light defensive circle on the ground and set the stag down.

Sitting beside it, Lian began a meditation to sharpen his senses.

‘It will appear soon.’

‘It’s here.’

With a piercing sensation, Lian opened his eyes.

In his violet eyes, he saw a pitch-black object approaching with frightening speed.

Clang!

A sharp metallic sound of impact spread through the morning forest.

Rian raised his sword and blocked the first strike, which was too fast to even see.

“You’re an ill-mannered fellow.”

He had heard it was a sentient being, yet it attacked without any preamble.

After muttering under his breath, Rian braced himself for the next assault.

Soon, the Harkmercia’s claws flew at him, giving him no time to catch his breath.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of his sword clashing with the sharp claws scattered through the air.

The enemy was faster than any he had faced before.

It was so agile that attacks rained down from unexpected angles, making it feel as though he was surrounded by countless foes.

Left. Right. Behind, below, above.

For a while, Rian was only able to keep up with blocking the incoming attacks.

The cape draped over his back was already in tatters, and the hem of his clothes, which had never been disheveled in any training, was torn.

Just being grazed by the wind from its claws caused scratches on his skin.

He felt as if his body would be torn in half by the Harkmercia’s massive claws at any moment.

But a sense of danger was not in Rian’s sight.

‘This is the first time I’ve been able to fight so freely.’

Moving freely without worrying about his surroundings, it was as if one shackle after another was being removed.

His heavy steps grew light, and his whole body began to loosen up.

Twenty years old.

A time when physical movement was at its peak, even without the benefit of experience.

Below, above.

Lian, fully concentrated, began to find a rhythm in his movements.

He spun to the side and then swiftly swung his sword upward, forcing the Harkmercia to retreat for the first time.

It was a swordsmanship he had developed himself, but he had never needed to use it on anyone.

Lian gave it no quarter and continued to press his attack.

The battlefield began to shift more and more in the direction of the Harkmercia.

The Harkmercia leaped up into a tree as if to regain its stance.

But Lian didn’t give in, leaping up himself and cutting away the branches it perched on.

An endless back-and-forth of swordsmanship continued, with the beast fleeing and defending while Lian destroyed its surroundings.

‘This is interesting.’

Lian felt joy for the first time since he left the capital.

His movements, pushed to their limit, only heightened his exhilaration.

The energy that enveloped his sword now covered his entire body, as if he had escaped even the pressure of the air itself.

Clang-clang-clang.

Lian’s sword and the Harkmercia’s claws made a sharp sound as if they were tearing the very atmosphere.

Each swing of his arm caused the nearby trees to bend from the wind pressure.

Lian pushed the Harkmercia back, unleashing the full extent of his swordsmanship, which he had never had the chance to use.

Ka-ang!

With a loud crash, he deflected a claw.

And in the next moment.

For the first time, Lian felt the sensation of piercing something other than a claw.

‘I hit it.’

It seemed he had landed a successful blow.

The Harkmercia shrieked and leaped far back to a distant tree.

Instead of chasing it immediately, Lian pulled back his sword and watched the Harkmercia.

The monster hung upside down from the tree, its yellow glowing eyes shining eerily.

[Human. Why do you wish to fight?]

It attacks him at length first and now asks for a reason?

As Lian frowned, he heard its voice again.

[I’ve lived peacefully on the offerings you provided. Why do you now refuse our coexistence?]

“There is no law that says we must be plundered forever. Is it strange for those who have been robbed to go on a campaign of conquest?”

[What I received was the price of non-aggression, not plunder.]

The Harkmercia, too, seemed to have emotions, and its tone felt somewhat agitated.

Lian answered bluntly.

“Threatening people to give you offerings if they don’t want to die, that’s not an agreement, it’s blackmail and plunder. If you need something, get it yourself instead of taking it.”

[It was the humans who proposed it first.]

“When you are weak, you have no choice but to give up a lot…”

Lian held his sword straight, aiming it at the Harkmercia, and concluded his words.

“But if you have power, you fight to protect what is yours.”

His voice was low, but it would have been enough for the Harkmercia to hear.

“Either give up everything and disappear, or risk your life here.”

As soon as Lian’s ultimatum was delivered, his heart thumped.

Not from fear, but from the expectation and excitement of the final clash.

In the short time that passed, a fearsome energy, so powerful it turned the sharp blade of his sword a faint blue, gathered on the steel.

[Come with all your strength.]

That’s what he wanted.

Lian leaped forward at the same time the Harkmercia moved.

A vortex of energy.

Everything was converging on a single point.

Lian thrust his sword toward the point where the strongest energy had gathered.

A powerful explosion shook the world.

On the central rampart of Basel Castle.

The people gathered in the gallery watched, mesmerized, as the flash of light stained the sky crimson.

Otajur Eunice clenched his trembling fists and bit his lip.

‘He’s only… a twenty-year-old knight, I heard.’

He prided himself on being a capable warrior, but the sight he had just witnessed was on a completely different level.

Not only that, but no one could ever be like him.

The red light that had colored the sky for a long time slowly faded, and the air began to dissipate.

A messenger could be seen running from the outpost watchtower.

“The Imperial Knights have officially announced the successful subjugation of the Harkmercia!”

At the messenger’s cry, a cheer of joy erupted from the ramparts.

The guards embraced each other and cried out in astonishment. The news quickly spread to the citizens who had gathered after hearing the loud noise, and the whole area became a festive scene.

Watching the scene, Otajur muttered bitterly.

“It’s all for nothing.”

He was certainly happy that the Harkmercia had been defeated.

However, Otajur’s goal had been to protect everything from the Harkmercia and coexist with it for his entire life.

His planned life had all crumbled.

By an overwhelming display of force he had never even imagined.

‘It has just begun. I can’t stay here much longer.’

As a minor branch family member who had not even received a barony, his status was too low to be in charge of a city like Basel.

The reason he, despite being from the periphery, had become the mayor of Basel—a city with fertile lands and a suitable trade route—was undoubtedly because it was tied to the Harkmercia.

Soon, higher-ranking nobles would vie for its interests, and a new mayor would be appointed in his place.

‘Well, I suppose it can’t be helped.’

Ottajur gave a bitter smile.

He was disappointed that his dream had been shattered, but he didn’t resent the fact.

When you witness something great, you are simply moved by it.

“The Knights have returned!”

A cheer rang out from the surroundings.

Otajur walked to the castle railing and saw a group of knights approaching, kicking up a cloud of dust.

They were already quite close, and his good eyesight allowed him to even make out their faces.

‘The platinum blonde hair and features… I’ve only ever heard of it from old legends.’

Not even the founding emperor of the empire, who had lived 400 years ago, was glorified to that extent.

He used to scoff at such fairy tales, believing only young girls would fall for them.

And yet, there it was: that starlight-like platinum blonde hair and a pale face.

His noble grace remained untarnished, even smeared with pitch-black blood.

Just sitting there, he seemed worthy of a lifetime of praise.

But the greatness of that man was not merely that.

Otajur looked at the body of the Harkmercia, which was being dragged along, tied to dozens of horses at the very end of the column.

He had lived beside it his whole life, but this was the first time he had properly seen its form.

Lost in thought, the knights quickly drew closer.

“Open the gate!”

With a resounding voice, the city once again erupted in cheers.

Support