[It’s a human magician,] Kito communicated telepathically.

[Are they planning to attack us?]

[Yes.]

Leon immediately ascended into the air based on Kito’s information. The magicians who had orchestrated the monster attacks were now preparing to strike openly.

There was only one answer: annihilation.

Floating in the air, Leon glanced at Erika and calmly said, “It’s an attack by magicians.”

Using basic telekinesis, he opened the door to the carriage where Medriga was resting.

“Get ready for battle.”

Medriga, who had been sound asleep, jolted awake.

“Y-Yes, sir!”

The caravan, which had been steadily passing through the wide plains, came to a halt. The only reason was Leon’s sudden urgent movements. They had no idea that magicians had already surrounded them.

‘If we’re attacked now, it’ll be a massacre.’

Leon wasn’t talking about himself but about the innocent adventurers and merchants traveling with them.

He cast a wide-range detection spell. Though still at a distance, a total of ten magicians, split into two groups of five, were heading toward them. Ten magicians were more than enough to wipe out the adventurers.

[Kito.]

[Understood.]

Kito swiftly grasped Leon’s intentions.

[It seems the main force is ahead. You should head to the rear. You can handle them alone.]

Kito’s form, perched on Leon’s head, became enveloped in light. A massive shadow fell over the caravan’s wagons.

“What in the world…?”

The adventurers gawked in awe at the sight of the enormous bird-like creature hovering above them. Without hesitation, Kito flew toward the front lines.

“Medriga, Erika,” Leon called.

“Yes,” they both responded.

“Please protect the caravan as best you can.”

Medriga glanced at Erika. Suddenly, Erika reached down and removed the ornament strapped to her ankle. The moment she did, her true power was revealed.

“Huh…”

Medriga immediately bowed his head in respect.

Leon briefly entered the carriage and retrieved several armor golems from a magic orb. He wasn’t taking any chances. There might be magicians he hadn’t detected yet.

Although Leon had only mastered the first level of Secret of Creation, meaning he could only directly control ten golems at a time, there was no limit to how many he could command with simple orders.

Armor golems began to pour out of the carriage.

“What’s going on?” one of the adventurers asked in confusion.

“Just follow Master Teo’s orders,” Medriga advised, helping to calm the bewildered merchants and adventurers.

Fifty golems surrounded the wagons, standing guard. Thanks to Kito’s early warning, they still had time to prepare before the attack began.

Leon equipped his golden wings and, accelerating with a burst of speed, flew toward the rear where the five magicians were approaching.

The five magicians were flying toward him, dressed in dark robes, though they didn’t exude the sinister aura typical of dark magicians. It seemed their attire was more for concealing their identities than anything else.

Of the five magicians at the rear, Leon couldn’t gauge the power of one. The others were apprentice-level magicians, with one being a mid-tier sorcerer.

Leon reached into his pocket dimension and pulled out his wooden sword, a weapon he hadn’t used in a while. He enlarged the sword, splitting it into five massive blades that loomed over each of the approaching magicians.

Leon could now link five instances of the Sword That Splits the Moonlight, a basic yet potent spell. The five magicians came to an abrupt stop, confronted by blades towering five times their height.

One magician stepped forward—the one whose level Leon couldn’t discern.

“Are you blocking our way?”

“There’s a caravan in the direction you’re heading.”

The magician smirked, seemingly amused by the situation. A mid-tier sorcerer standing in their way?

“Are you hired by Erika? Or perhaps a lapdog of Sigrynell?”

“I’m an adventurer tasked with guarding the caravan.”

“An adventurer? Hmph, if you say so.”

It was clear the magician didn’t believe him, and Leon’s frustration grew. From their conversation, it was obvious these magicians were targeting Erika.

“Do you plan to kill everyone?”

“Isn’t that why you’re standing in our way?”

The situation annoyed Leon to no end. It was clear he had no choice but to act if he wanted to protect the people with him. But if these magicians were from the Empire, specifically those hunting Erika, would Leon end up making enemies of the royal family?

While Leon understood Erika’s predicament, he had no desire to get caught up in their politics.

But there was a solution.

‘Just eliminate them all.’

If no one was left alive, there would be no way for anyone to know that Leon had fought the Empire’s magicians.

‘As long as Erika doesn’t go blabbing about it…’

Leon’s expression hardened as he came to a decision.

“Luna.”

The five massive wooden swords began to glow with moonlight. The magical attribute infused into the blades was light—only those with high talent were permitted to use such a technique.

Leon felt a substantial drain on his mana, but he wasn’t done yet. He poured even more magic into the swords. The Sword That Splits the Moonlight grew stronger as it absorbed more power.

“Watch out!” the mid-tier sorcerer shouted, raising his staff.

“Burn to ashes!”

He struck the air with his staff, causing the atmosphere to tremble. A crack opened in the air, and molten lava began to flow out.

‘A multi-element spell?’

The lava didn’t fall to the ground but instead moved according to the sorcerer’s will, wrapping around him protectively. Even from a distance, Leon could feel the heat radiating from it.

The lava gathered and was shot toward Leon at high speed. Using his acceleration, Leon dodged upward, wiping the sweat from his brow as he felt the intense heat.

‘Before more comes out…’

“Blade.”

All five moonlit wooden swords swung simultaneously.

The blades ripped through the air, slashing toward the magicians.

Boom!

Each magician raised a defensive spell to block the attacks. While Leon’s magic was powerful, it was still basic magic at its core, so higher-ranked magicians could defend against it. However, the apprentice-level magicians had no such luck. Three of them were quickly dispatched.

The only surprise was the mid-tier sorcerer.

‘His mana quality is higher than mine?’

Even though Leon’s spell was packed with magical energy, the mid-tier sorcerer managed to withstand it. His wooden sword, which interfered with magic calculations, should have hindered the sorcerer’s spells, yet he blocked it.

‘If I hit him with nine spells at once, I could break through… but would a high-tier sorcerer let me do that?’

Leon felt a bit troubled. At the same time, the sorcerer began to realize the gravity of the situation. He had initially assumed he was just dealing with a mid-tier sorcerer, but now he understood this opponent was far more dangerous than expected.

‘A sorcerer of this level… in such a remote area?’

The sorcerer quickly pulled out a net from his pocket dimension and threw it toward Leon.

“Bind!”

As he uttered the command word, the net expanded, growing large enough to cover the sky and descending toward Leon.

In a flash, Leon used a blink scroll to teleport out of the net’s range. However, the sorcerer had been waiting for this moment, calling out as soon as Leon reappeared.

“Crush!”

The space around Leon warped, as though being compressed by a powerful invisible force.

“Black Turtle!”

Leon summoned his turtle familiar, which had evolved from a simple mole to a powerful earth-based creature. As soon as the turtle appeared, solid earth pillars rose around Leon, blocking the compressing force.

Crack!

The pillars barely held up against the crushing magic.

‘It’s not a mystical-level spell, just high-tier sorcery…’

Leon had tested the limits of his Guardian Robe, and realizing the spell wasn’t too dangerous, he felt more at ease. The earth pillars finally crumbled under the pressure, but the short delay had given Leon enough time to escape the spell’s range.

He swung his five wooden swords toward the high-tier sorcerer.

“Shield!”

The sorcerer quickly cast a powerful barrier to defend himself from the incoming swords. However, as the blades struck the barrier repeatedly, his expression became more strained. The magic interference caused by the wooden swords was disrupting his spell calculations, making it harder to maintain the barrier.

Though the raw power of the attack wasn’t overwhelming, maintaining his magic became increasingly difficult.

“Damn it!”

In the end, the sorcerer was forced to break his own shield and dodge to safety.

Meanwhile, the mid-tier sorcerer was gathering mana, preparing a powerful sorcery spell. Mana swirled violently around him.

‘I need to stop him.’

Leon knew that allowing a mid-tier sorcerer to fully cast a sorcery spell could be disastrous.

“Fall.”

He summoned a lightning bolt and directed it toward the mid-tier sorcerer. The sorcerer had to cancel his spell to defend against the lightning with a barrier.

Though Leon had successfully interrupted the spell, he had confirmed one thing.

‘His mana quality is definitely higher than mine.’

In the midst of this, the high-tier sorcerer launched another spell. Leon used his golden wings to accelerate and narrowly avoid the attack.

“Let’s see how long you can keep this up!”

There was no way a mid-tier sorcerer could keep fending off a high-tier sorcerer indefinitely. Mana wasn’t infinite, and neither were spell scrolls.

“Ulric!” the mid-tier sorcerer called out.

Ulric, the high-tier sorcerer, nodded in understanding and clasped his hands together. Their plan was clear now: Ulric would handle the attacks while Fabian, the mid-tier sorcerer, prepared his spell.

If Fabian tried to defend against Leon’s attacks, he would be in too much danger. Ulric, however, had the power to keep Leon at bay.

“Crush him!”

Invisible force closed in on Leon from all directions, but he used his final burst of acceleration to escape. He then swung his wooden swords again, forcing Ulric to defend and preventing him from casting another spell.

The two continued their high-speed duel, each trying to gain the upper hand. Although it seemed strange that a mid-tier sorcerer like Leon could keep up with a high-tier sorcerer like Ulric, the continuous exchange of attacks served its purpose.

Fabian was able to focus on his sorcery spell without interference.

Just as Fabian was about to complete his spell, Leon reached into his pocket dimension and threw something toward him.

‘A gargoyle?’

The ivory-skinned gargoyle opened its mouth, forming a magic circle in front of it and unleashing a blade of wind toward Fabian. Once again, Fabian was forced to cancel his sorcery spell and erect a defensive barrier.

“Is this kid a noble’s heir or something?” Fabian muttered in frustration.

The sheer variety of tactics Leon used was endless. Golden wings, golems, an unusual wooden sword, scrolls, and a wide range of potent magic. These were resources only someone from an exceptionally wealthy magical family could possess.

Fabian glanced at Leon, who was still holding off Ulric. His expression was calm, but there was no mistaking the underlying tension.

‘Is there even more?’