Mac missed the timing to avoid it and was forced to narrowly catch the spear shaft with his left hand. He didn't like to resort to dealing with things by force but nonetheless attempted to lift Malecia up by the spear and fling him.

However, Malecia, with his vast experience on the battlefield, let go of the spear and retreated with perfect timing.

With Malecia's weight suddenly disappearing, Mac stumbled backward, and arrows flew towards him at the same time.

Chaeng! Chaeng!

Mac quickly regained his balance and struck down the arrows. He evaded Malecia's sword, the other was attempting a quick stab and run. Then Mac crouched down and tried to slice his abdomen. However, Malecia quickly dodged, filled the sand with mana, and kicked it into Mac's face.

At the unexpected attack, Mac raised his left arm to shield his face and gathered mana to block it then he rolled on the ground once and quickly sprang to his feet.

Since dealing with Malecia, the desert terrain had started to really annoy him.

"Wow, I've never seen anyone fight so cowardly since the youngest master."

"Haha, that youngest master knows how to fight."

Malecia struck back at the fuming Mac. Somehow, the way he talked even seemed similar, it scratched at Mac's nerves.

"Well, isn't it too cowardly for a man called the Mercenary King?"

"Mercenary King is a position that's hard to survive in unless you are cowardly."

"Who was it that asked to be called a black knight?"

"Who knows? He's not here at least." Malecia rambled.

"I thought he was in front of my eyes. Maybe it's someone else." Mac took a jibe.

"A person today is different tomorrow. Aren't you fortunate to be having such big realizations?"

At the condescending teaching attitude, Mac decided to go all out.

He hadn't been serious up until now, but he decided to fight seriously go all out.

No, I'll just kill you.

"Huhu, die Youngest Master!"

A terrifying sword aura came out of Mac's sword and shot towards Malecia. It contained an aura that seemed to want to annihilate everything. The paladins, turbaned men, and even Malecia all rolled onto the ground.

"Ahahaha! Do you know how much I was beaten up by the boss for losing the youngest master!!"

Mac unleashed his sword aura as if he was pouring out all of his feelings.

"Ahh! Mac has gone crazy!" Albatoss exclaimed in fright.

The target was definitely Malecia, but the effects of his sword aura resonated everywhere. Meanwhile, Malecia, the quarry, continued to run away from the sword aura all along feeling this was unfair.

"Retreat! Everybody retreat!" Malecia cried.

All his men began rolling and running away. The surrounding troops had already retreated. With only Malecia and his men left to flee now, there was no need to stall for time.

Malecia and his men quickly got on the camels and ran towards the Holy Land Zaharam.

Mac looked oddly relieved and did not chase after them. Rather than thinking that there was no need to fight if the enemy was running away, it was more because he was satisfied that all his stress was relieved. In addition, it would be annoying to chase after them and get lost while getting back to Lancelot and Leisha.

When Albatoss saw the scene, he thought Mac had intentionally pretended to go crazy and all out in order to drive away the enemies. He felt that even if it was Mac, a Crow, he would still be exhausted after releasing sword aura like crazy.

Even the paladins supported by Hillis felt fatigued from the great battle that resulted in thousands of cut wounds. So of course, he thought Mac would be even more exhausted since he did not receive any support.

"We are returning to Miss Saintess."

Around the carriage where Hillis was, there was a large tree with arrows stuck like a cactus. Under the tree, Leisha was meditating.

After kicking open the carriage and coming out, Hillis exhaled deeply, sweat-soaked her entire body.

"Oh, I'm gonna die, I'm so tired! Water! Ha, ha."

Feeling a sense of exhaustion in her whole body, Hillis looked for water first.

"Thank you for your hard work! Here's the water."

Hillis, who received water from her servant, sank into a squat.

She had been supporting the paladins with her divine power for a long time. She had remotely treated the wounded paladins who had charged to deal with black magicians a total of 3,796 times. If it was an ordinary priest, he would have reached his limit after just 10 minutes.

As soon as she saw the five men trudging along, she first looked at Mac. "Are you hurt anywhere?" Hillis's support and healing were set to respond to the paladins' divine power so Mac had received neither.

"As you can see, I'm fine."

Seeing Mac raise his arms and gesture, Hillis was relieved and nagged at the paladins. "I told you not to get hurt so much because it tires me out."

"I'm sorry."

Looking at the grim-faced paladins, Hillis sighed. "Phew, it's fine since you came back alive."

The paladins, who were depressed by her words, looked up emotionally.

"Get ready for the camp. I'm tired."

The paladins that remained to protect Hillis moved and immediately started to set up camp. Fortunately, thanks to the tree that Leisha had made, there was plenty of firewood. However, the problem was the black magicians and their troops that fled to the Holy Land Zaharam.

-o-

Malecia and his men pushed the weary camels and headed for the Holy Land Zaharam. When he saw the huge tree from afar even though it was at night, Malecia drove the camel slowly.

That tree was the very reason Zaharam was called the Holy Land.

As he approached the tree, a familiar village resembling an ancient ruin, came into sight. That village was Zaharam, the Holy Land.

It was hard to see in the dark at night, but the tree boasted a size so huge that it could cover all of Zaharam.

Not a sound could be heard when Malecia entered Zaharam. Unlike its name, here was a village of ruins that did not give any feeling of vitality. But this was a place that one would never expect to be in a desert.

The crumbling stone structures that resembled ancient ruins were shrouded in ivy. And at the center of Zaharam, a huge tree that exuded a strong aura of vitality stood tall enough to raise the question of whether it could grow in the desert.

The ruins looked like it should belong in the middle of the jungle but somehow was in the middle of the desert.

Zaharam's tree was called the Divine Tree or the World Tree and emanated a special power. That power prevented not only humans but also insects from living. Because of this, even the temple that managed it could not stay here, and could only travel from the remote oasis village to guard it.

In reality, Zaharam was a place that did not need guarding at all. The power of the World Tree encompassed Zaharam, making it impossible to destroy the ruins here. It also made it seem as if it had stopped time.

When Malecia entered Zaharam, the power that always enveloped him when he came made him feel nervous. He massaged his chest. There was a magic necklace resting on his chest. The magic on it scattered the power, allowing them to stay here for a long time.

The necklace that most soldiers had was a crude item made by the black magicians that could not last over 15 days. However, Malecia's necklace was an item that was semi-permanent, and specially bestowed by the person he served.

Going deeper, Malecia came to a wooden fence. He frowned.

It was a barrier that was definitely not present when he had left Zaharam in the morning. There was only one reason for this wooden fence to be put up: they were holding a ceremony.

"Stop! Stop or I'll shoot!"

On the wooden fence, their bows pulled back, the archers took aim at Malecia and his men. This was because it was the middle of the night and Malecia and his men did not have torches.

And the reason they didn't have torches was that they had lit up the battlefield but still ended up retreating without being able to retrieve the torches.

When Malecia and his men came to a gentle halt, the soldier on the wooden fence asked, "Who is it!"

"Special Task Force Captain Malecia!"

The soldiers guarding the wooden fence all hesitated at the same time. Even so, they did not put away the arrow on the bow.

"Black!"

"Starlight!"

"13!"

"37!"

Having confirmed the passphrase and code, the soldier came down from the wooden fence and said, "I will now begin the process to verify your identity. Please wait a moment!" With a torch in hand, he opened the side door on the wooden fence and came out to approach Malecia. "Oh, I'm sorry!"

Malecia patted the nervous soldier's shoulder and spoke. "No, well done. But next time, just throw a torch from above and check the face. If I were an enemy, your life would have been in danger."

"Thank you!" The soldier saluted, he seemed moved.

Malecia smiled lightly and went into the barrier.

Inside the wooden fence were tents originally erected outside of Zaharam. Malecia clenched his teeth at the sight. Those soldiers did not have the necklace made by the black magicians that Malecia and his men had. Deploying those ordinary soldiers that could not even handle mana properly in Zaharam was the same as shaving off the lifespan of those soldiers.

Of course, there would be no issue if it was just for a day, but them being stationed there during the period of the entire ceremony at the altar was evidence these soldiers were expendable.

As Malecia looked around the tents with a serious face, he spotted the commander in the desert setting up a tent with a hammer.

The hammer was wrapped in bluish mana, but in order to hammer in holding pins into a land that was dominated by the World Tree's power, both the hammer and the pin needed to be wrapped in sword aura.

"You're working hard."

"Captain Malecia! I am glad to see that you are all right."

The commander only noticed that Malecia had arrived when he spoke, but he was relieved to see him as he wiped off his sweat. The fact that he had left Malecia and just retreated with his own men had been bothering him. Although the decision was made to save the soldiers, it was inevitable that he felt guilty.

Malecia, reading his mind, patted the commander's back. "Did you think I was going to die because I couldn't deal with five people?" His tone seemed light and he even smiled.

But the commander shrank back seeing Malecia's eyes that were overflowing with danger. He felt as if the other was yelling, "Did I look so weak to you?".

"Ah, no. I'm sorry."

Malecia was somewhat sullen. The reactions were always like this when he joked. Sighing inward, he whispered to the commander that it was a joke while patting his shoulder.

"Be prepared to leave any time."

"Yes? But—"

The commander cast a curious look, but Malecia shook his head in silence in all seriousness. Then, he went straight to the altar.

(End of Part 1)

The altar was located in the largest building at the center of Zaharam. Perhaps the building was a temple in the past because it was imbued with the aura of holiness.

Malecia couldn't understand why the black magicians were doing black magic experiments in a place like this, but they who were preparing for the ceremony were serious.

The altar was in the room that was furthest inside the temple. Out of the 300 people assembled here, twenty were black magicians and the remaining were 'rabbles' that did the bidding of the high-ranking black magicians.

Malecia had fought countless battles, to him, the people here and those outside were far from being considered a magician. So he didn't like the way they acted as if they were real magicians.

"Ah, so you arrived?" One of the black magicians got up from his seat and approached Malecia.

Malecia grasped the other's neck with one hand and hauled him up.

"Kuh, Kuck! What... Why!"

"What are you doing?" An old man in charge of the ceremony and in the highest seat among the black magicians was angry. However, Malecia ignored the old man.

"Was it you? The one who rejected the request for magic?"

The black magician who was being strangled by Malecia, realized that this was because he had refused the request to create light with magic when they were attacking the Saintess.

"No... no... I!"

Crack!

Malecia broke the neck of the black magician who was trying to make excuses, tossed aside the corpse, and stared around. Then, he approached the black magician who had sand dust on his clothes just like his dead mate.

"No! Not me!"

Malecia grabbed and shut his mouth blocking all excuses. Then, he grabbed his shoulder and pushed hard to snap his neck.

"You bastard! What are you doing?!" The old man roared and glared at Malecia, but the latter simply looked down at the spectators with cold eyes.

"Ninety precious soldiers died in order to protect these insects. Don't disappoint me any further."

"You dare! You're nothing but a powerless swordsman insect. What?! Don't let you down? You think you can say whatever you want just because you have that person's favor?!"

Malecia closed his eyes for a moment then opened them. He spoke in a low voice, "Didn't I tell you not to let me down?"

A black magician, seated on the ground, stood up and shouted. "Ha, so? What are you going to do about it?"

At his cry, other black magicians rose from their seats and joined in.

"You bastard! You definitely must be crazy to dare kill a magician!"

"He just wants to die!"

Malecia laughed at the fact that these black magicians, who would not have dared to make eye contact if it were one-on-one, were shouting angrily with glaring eyes.

"I don't want to talk to you anymore. I'm leaving."

The black magicians flinched at Malecia's words.

Right now, the Saintess and paladins, the natural enemies of the black magicians, were just around the corner. So if Malecia didn't protect during the ceremony, they had no idea of knowing just how many of them would die.

Malecia turned and was walking away when an old man guarding the altar caught him.

"Carnelian, yes, did you find the carnelian crystal?!"

Malecia stopped walking at the old man's shout.

"No."

Malecia's answer brightened the black magician's complexion. This was a justification for holding back Malecia.

The old man said in a bright voice, "Then this place! So—"

Before the old man finished speaking, Malecia cut him off without so much as a backward glance. "Go talk to that person about this."

With that, he left the room.

-o-

Hillis gathered the paladins and began the meeting. The topic was, of course, what to do about the black magicians who seemed to have occupied the Holy Land.

"We have to charge in right now! How can we allow the Holy Land to be occupied by the dirty black magicians!"

At the words of one paladin, another shook his head.

"No, I understand that sentiment, but the first thing to think about now is Miss Saintess's safety. If we charge in, who will protect Miss Saintess?"

Another paladin spoke as he folded his arms, "We can do it if we leave a section to protect Miss Saintess while the rest attack."

The paladins turned noisy.

"Quiet! We are in the presence of the Saintess!" Albatoss roared.

The paladins shut their mouths and looked at Hillis. This was because, despite all this chattering, Hillis's decision would determine their course of action.

While contemplating, Hillis glanced over at Lancelot's party and asked, "What do you all think?"

The paladins' opinions were all predictable anyway. Therefore, it would not be a bad idea to listen to the opinions of people with a different perspective.

"Well, I don't know. I've never learnt military strategies or tactics," Leisha said.

"It's okay. I just want to hear the opinions from those outside of the temple." Hillis smiled playfully. In the first place, it was not a question of how to fight, but a question of whether to fight. It wouldn't be too late to consider strategies after.

"May I say something, then? Your Highness, Saintess."

Hillis nodded at Mac's words. "Of course."

"If you decide to attack, I'd like to move separately."

"Yes?" Hillis didn't understand just who he wanted to move separately.

Knowing that his explanation was probably lacking, Mac explained further. "So what I mean is that I'd like for Miss Saintess's party and us to attack from different directions."

Having gotten the point now, Hillis shook her head. "No, this is our work. We can't put you in danger because of our situation." She was already feeling bad about getting them involved with the black magicians previously, so she definitely didn't want to make them do this.

But Mac put on a sly smile. "No, aren't we already in the same boat? Let's just go together." He couldn't miss out on such a fun opportunity. In particular, he wanted to fight against Malecia again, the so-called Mercenary King. He was annoyed when they fought, but on second thought, he thought it seemed fun.

It was shallow, but even in the Crow Tribe village, there were only a few who could last that long against Mac.

"How about Sir Diplomat? Don't you want to fight?"

"I don't really—"

Mac put his arms around Lancelot's shoulder and cut him off from saying that he didn't want to.

"Hey, Sir Diplomat says he wants to fight too."

"Nuoo!" Lancelot denied it but couldn't get the words out properly because his cheeks were being sandwiched by Mac's arm.

Leisha smacked Mac on the back hard with her magic wand.

"Ow! It hurts! Why are you hitting me?"

As Mac rubbed his back and looked at Leisha, she prepared to swing the magic wand again. She said, "Did you or did you not say that you would follow Lan's opinions?"

"Oh haha, I did. But—" Mac looked towards Lancelot with a sad face.

Lancelot sighed seeing Mac's face which resembled that of an abandoned puppy. "Phew, let's fight together if you decide to fight."

"Hahahaha! Thank you!" Mac hugged Lancelot as if he had barely managed to receive the present he wanted.

Lancelot spoke in a tone of 'since I'm giving you a puppy as a present, you should be the one to take him for walks'. "If they decide not to fight, then we are just leaving."

"Of course!" Mac was all smiles.

"Will it be ok?" Leisha asked with a look of concern.

"Yes, we're late anyway. If we split here, we will have to go back to the oasis village and find a guide first anyway."

Lancelot wanted to quickly go to the capital and find Denburg. He didn't want to waste any more time.

"So what would Miss Saintess like to do? We can give you advice on how to fight, but there's nothing we can say about whether to fight or not since we don't know how important the Holy Land is to Miss Saintess and your paladins."

For the Crow Tribe, if the Holy Land Zaharam was like Doomstone or his successor Denburg, they would send out everyone, weak and strong, to defend them no matter how many died.

Hillis was troubled by Lancelot's words.

"I... want to protect the Holy Land."

It may have been just greed, but it was what Hillis really wanted. She didn't want to see the Holy Land in the hands of those insolent people even for a moment. It was all the more so when the hands belonged to the evil black magicians.

The paladins affirmed Hillis's desire. "Our swords will always carry out the will of the Saintess." They drew their swords in unison and saluted Hillis.

Hillis spoke with a hardened face, "Get some rest for now. Save up your stamina. The attack will be at dawn." Then she lowered her head towards Lancelot's party. "We will gratefully receive your help."

-o-

"Are you going to let him leave just like that?" a black magician asked the old black magician guarding the altar.

The old man clenched his teeth. He was the only one who could stop Malecia by force, but his mana was all tied to the altar. He sighed as he glanced over the surrounding black magicians.

They had no talent. Even if they went out to stop Malecia right now, would they be able to even deal with his soldiers, let alone the man himself?

No, the old man was doubtful. If it weren't for the fact that this place was Zaharam, he felt that defeating the soldiers would not only be a simple task but he could also make Malecia crawl in between the black magician's legs.

But Zaharam was a place that the temple called the Holy Land. The power of the World Tree that filled Zaharam was deadly to the black magicians.

The old man rubbed his chest. On it was a necklace similar to the one that hung around Malecia's neck.

The power of that person, a great magician, did not yield to the power of the World Tree. Rather, it was a power that even forced the World Tree's power into submission.

The old man had no doubt in his belief. The ceremony he was doing now would create a new future for black magicians. It would make that sl*t and her followers that threatened them, kneel before them.

In his heart, the existence of that person was already a belief like faith. And he was the truth.

The old man closed his eyes and swept over the altar. This beautiful formula was the path to believe and follow. It was the target of reverence. He opened his eyes and spoke in a low voice, "We are starting the ceremony now."

The other black magicians were agitated.

"No, the preparations are not ready yet!"

"Even if we were ready, what about the carnelian crystal necessary for the ceremony?"

The old man passed between the black magicians and approached the two corpses of the black magicians that were laying on the floor. He then put his hand on the chest of one of the bodies and began to absorb the mana.

"Kulkulkul, greed is the essence of man."

The black magicians turned pale watching the old man's behavior and tried to run away. What he was doing was something that even black magicians regarded as an implicit taboo.

"You dare! This is a place where the great darkness dwells, so everyone stop moving!"

With the old man's magic incantation, everything was shrouded in darkness except for the altar and the black magicians.

The black magicians despaired as they were surrounded by endless darkness. They wanted to tremble in fear, but even such an instinctive act could not be done in this space.

"Keulkeulkeul, yes, yes. I'll give it to you quickly so don't rush me."

The old man felt that when mana was created, it was quickly absorbed into the altar. He looked dotingly at the altar that was greedily extorting mana and slowly approached the black magicians.

They wanted to yell, "Get away from me right now!" but couldn't budge as if time had stopped. Without being able to move a single eyelid nor even their pupils, the black magicians died like mummies after having their mana drained.

When all the black magicians died, the old man sucked in all the darkness and it disappeared.

He shouted with a joyful voice, "Starting the ceremony!"

As if resonating with the shout, the altar trembled and began to emit light from the magic formula that filled the altar.

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