#112. A Flower Blooming in the Mud (1)
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**Pro-Nishoa’s Hideout, Operations Room.**
Hearing Ray’s words, Colin looked flustered.
“…So, you’re saying we should lure all the enemies to one place and annihilate them in a single strike?”
A sector map was spread out on the table.
Opposite Colin, Ray and Veronica were seated.
On Ray’s hand sat a small mouse, nibbling on a piece of chocolate, stuffing its cheeks full.
“To be precise, the annihilation will be carried out by the magicians, Brook, and his loyalists. The neutral faction members will be included in the lure, but they won’t necessarily be part of the extermination.”
A murmur spread among the squad leaders standing behind Colin.
“Isn’t it a bit unrealistic to annihilate them all at once? Even if we assume we can lure them.”
“You’re a magician, so I’m sure you’re not just saying this thoughtlessly, but…”
“……”
Amidst the confusion, First Squad Leader McCurley recalled the situation from an hour ago.
First and Second Squads, having returned to the hideout, anxiously awaited Ray.
—Shouldn’t we go back to provide support?
—Even if we do, our numbers won’t significantly increase. We can’t afford to pull forces from elsewhere.
—I’ll contact the other squads by radio. Find out their return times and see if reinforcements are possible.
The person who put an end to the commotion and anxiety was unexpected.
—There’s no need for that.
It was Veronica.
—Ray said to wait for him, so we should.
Her face was filled with concern.
Yet, her words carried an unwavering trust in the boy.
—We just need to wait.
Her voice, brimming with conviction, left First and Second Squads with no choice but to accept her decision.
So they waited for Ray.
In the meantime, the squad members transported the seized food supplies to storage, while Veronica tended to the wounded who had returned from battle using her magic.
Almost an hour passed.
—I should have forced the magician to wear a receiver…
—Should we go check on him now?
Just as their suppressed anxiety was beginning to escalate,
A transmission came from the lookout on the rooftop.
“The magician is returning!”
Veronica abruptly dropped the wounded man’s arm she had been treating and strode towards the entrance of the building.
The wounded man, whose arm had been tossed aside, yelped, “Ahh! My arm!” but his cries fell on deaf ears.
First and Second Squads also gathered at the entrance.
Creeeak—
The door opened, and the boy appeared.
—Why is everyone gathered here?
As if he genuinely didn’t understand.
McCurley and the squad members were momentarily speechless.
Meanwhile, the girl hovering around the boy examined him closely and, upon confirming he had no major injuries, looked satisfied.
His dust-covered clothes were stained with blood, but it didn’t seem to be his own.
Bloodstains.
Whose could they be?
Given the circumstances, there was only one possibility.
Gulp.
McCurley swallowed hard and asked,
—The two magicians…
—I took care of them.
‘Took care of.’
Everyone knew exactly what that meant.
A tingling sensation ran through their chests.
A tremendous cheer erupted at the entrance.
Once the excitement subsided, Ray spoke.
—Has Colin returned?
—Yes. He finished scouting Street 37 earlier and came back. Some other squads also returned after securing supplies.
Though they had returned with multiple serious injuries.
—It would be good to gather Colin and the other squad leaders in one place.
—Do you have something to tell us? Shouldn’t you report to Colin and rest first?
McCurly didn’t finish his sentence.
—I’ve thought of a way to end the war.
Because the boy’s next words left him speechless.
“……”
McCurley snapped out of his thoughts.
That was why everyone was gathered in the operations room now.
Because the boy had called them.
But who would have thought his method to end the war was to lure the enemy and annihilate them?
“We’ve considered a lure strategy in our meetings before.”
“Yes, but that was about trapping them in alleys, not buildings. And it only involved a portion of the enemy engaged in battle.”
“This is a bit outrageous…”
The murmurs grew louder.
McCurley observed the other squad leaders’ negative reactions and thought,
‘They don’t understand because they haven’t fought alongside him yet.’
Just how powerful this young magician was.
How quick his judgment and actions were.
Subconsciously, they might still underestimate him because he was a child.
It was an inevitable perception, but McCurley now knew better.
‘He may be young, but he’s a veteran. I don’t know about his strategic planning, but when it comes to combat, he’s unmatched.’
The boy wouldn’t speak recklessly.
Taking a deep breath, he spoke up.
“For now, we should at least hear the magician out.”
“Everyone, quiet down. Lord Ray hasn’t finished speaking yet.”
McCurley locked eyes with Colin as they both spoke almost simultaneously.
They exchanged a knowing glance and a faint smile.
Ray continued.
“I used this mouse to cast a familiar spell and scout the enemy’s area.”
At that moment, Nero, who had been wandering around the hideout, leaped onto the table.
The cat sat in the middle of the table and stared intently at the mouse in Ray’s hand.
The moment the two animals locked eyes.
…….
…….
The black tail swayed with interest.
The small, nibbling snout froze.
The mouse, clutching its chocolate piece, fled into Ray’s coat pocket, while the cat climbed onto Ray’s lap, trying to reach for it.
“No. You can’t eat it.”
While Ray set Nero back on the floor and scolded him, Veronica finished explaining the familiar magic to the others.
“So, you’re saying you saw everything happening inside the enemy’s base?”
“Yes, exactly.”
Ray described what he had seen.
“The enemy was working in teams of five, digging into the floors of various buildings using drills and magic.”
The unexpected information momentarily halted everyone’s thoughts.
“They were… digging into the floor?”
“From their conversations, it seemed like they were searching for something.”
Four members from the opposing faction.
One magician from Murcred.
Each team was structured that way.
The magician’s role wasn’t just to assist in digging but also to oversee the workers, likely to prevent them from stealing whatever they uncovered.
“So, Brook isn’t the one who ordered the digging.”
“Then it’s the Murcred magicians directing it?”
“That seems likely.”
“Could that be why they’ve been dragging the war out? So they could search more easily with civilians evacuated?”
Murmurs spread among the squad leaders again.
Ray put an end to the debate.
“It’s true. Brook was among the workers, under supervision.”
Ray recalled what he had seen and heard through the eyes and ears of the mouse.
A street near the border region.
It was the first floor of a general store that had temporarily closed.
Brook, along with his subordinates, was digging up the floor using drills and pickaxes.
“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Why the hell am I doing this?!”
“B-Boss, maybe you should lower your voice a little… T-The mage might come back and hear us.”
“Shit! Let them hear it if they want! We’re the employers here! We’re the ones who paid to hire them!”
Brook struck the ground furiously with his pickaxe.
*Clang!*
“That damn Collin bastard!”
*Clang!*
“We could have wiped them out completely!”
*Clang!*
“Why the hell are we wasting time like this?!”
Brook threw his pickaxe in frustration.
It hit the wall, bounced off, and struck the back of its handle squarely against Brook’s forehead.
*Thunk! Crash!*
Caught off guard, Brook stumbled backward and fell.
*Whoosh! Whoosh! Crack!*
The pickaxe embedded itself in the exposed dirt floor where the tiles had been pried off—right beside Brook’s fallen face.
“…….”
“…….”
The digging stopped, and silence fell over the room.
“B-Boss, are you okay?”
“Heh… Hehehe… Hahahaha…”
Brook let out a low chuckle.
His body shook with laughter.
“Shit! You think I’m going to die? After coming all this way?! You think I’ll go down that easily?!”
Brook’s subordinates remained silent as they watched his manic outburst.
“You think I’m going to die?! Do you know how much effort I put in to get rid of that bastard Niles?! I spent years building everything up, only to have to kill that useless fool who didn’t even know how to use it properly!”
It was strange.
The boy was a good few hundred meters away from the mouse, yet, all of a sudden, he felt a surge of anger.
He already knew that Brook had betrayed Niles.
He wasn’t focusing on his emotions to draw anything out.
Yet, why was he so furious?
He didn’t know the exact reason, but there was no doubt that the emotion he felt in that moment was genuine.
*Chirp!*
Between the store shelves, the mouse that had been watching Brook and his men bared its teeth menacingly.
Its tiny, white, razor-sharp incisors were a ferocious and intimidating sight.
But unfortunately, that terrifying weapon didn’t sink into the neck of the human before it.
Ray had forced himself to calm down, immediately suppressing his anger.
Brook then began to vent his inferiority complex toward Niles without restraint.
“What was I worse at than that bastard? What did he have that I didn’t?! That stiff-headed fool—what did he have over me?!”
“Fine, I get it. Maybe in the beginning, things had to be that way. But once the organization grew, the tax rate should have gone up with it. Do you know how many people we had? What were we supposed to do with the meager scraps we were getting?!”
“Everyone thought they weren’t getting paid enough. Right? Didn’t you?! So why the hell is everyone still hung up on that bastard?!”
The mouse couldn’t see the emotions that filled Brook’s vessel.
But the venom in his words and the agitation in his voice were more than enough to convey how much resentment he held.
“O-Of course, Boss, you’re far superior to Niles.”
“I never liked the way Niles ran things either.”
His subordinates, though visibly tense, soothed Brook in a practiced manner.
Once he seemed somewhat calmer, one of them swiftly changed the subject.
“But, uh… Boss, do you really think that thing is buried here?”
“Yeah, and somewhere in this entire sector? Isn’t that a little too vague?”
“Seriously, at this rate, we’re going to have to dig up the whole damn sector.”
Brook got to his feet.
He bent down, picked up the fallen pickaxe, and spoke.
“Mages are always an unpredictable bunch. But if they say it’s buried, I believe it. They described it in so much detail—there’s no way it’s not real.”
Brook paused for a moment as if recalling something, then continued.
“A gem that shines as brilliantly as the sun. A yellow jewel that radiates an intense glow. And we need to be careful when we find it because it might release electrical discharges.”
*Zzt! Crackle!*
“…….”
In the operations room, the lights flickered before returning to normal.
Ray snapped out of his thoughts and parted his lips.
“The item they’re searching for appears to be a gemstone. A gem that emits a yellow glow.”
The murmuring stopped.
Everyone turned their full attention to the boy.
“If I pretend that I’ve secured that gem, we can lure the enemy in. The location for the trap…”
A small sphere of light formed at Ray’s fingertip and moved across the map.
“…is here.”
The light stopped at the outskirts of Street 38, a part of the border region.
To be precise, it was a basin surrounded by barren rock hills, with a few abandoned buildings within.
It was also just outside the observation range of the enemy commanders—something Ray had intentionally left unsaid.
“I went there myself. The area is quite spacious. The buildings are all four or five stories tall. If we lure them in, there’ll be more than enough room to trap them all inside.”
Collin and the squad captains had a lot of questions they wanted to ask.
Keeping up with the boy’s thoughts wasn’t easy.
But they remained silent, believing that he would explain everything in due time.
“We will eliminate all enemy mages and force the neutral faction to switch sides and join us. To do that…”
Ray took a deep breath.
“We will select a building and inscribe a magic circle throughout the entire structure.”
“A… magic circle?”
“Yes. A pre-drawn array that enhances the power of spells cast within it.”
It sounded almost improvised.
But every word Ray spoke was based on careful analysis of the situation.
‘The longer this war drags on, the worse it is for the loyalist faction.’
The enemy was waging a war of attrition, slowly bleeding the loyalists dry.
With their mages—walking weapons of war.
And their familiars, providing them with near-unlimited reconnaissance.
‘Even if I join the battlefield, I can only tip the scales in certain fights.’
The problem was that battles were breaking out simultaneously across multiple locations every day.
The enemy had around 30 mages.
On their side, only one—him.
‘…Veronica still isn’t ready to fight on her own yet.’
Ultimately, the disparity in coverage was insurmountable.
Moreover, today’s skirmish confirmed that the enemy had multiple 2nd-circle mages.
…No, it was almost certain they had several.
Before returning, Ray had used his mouse familiars to check other battle zones.
Some of the enemy mages there had demonstrated considerable skill.
‘If I get surrounded by multiple 2nd-circle mages during a skirmish…’
Even he wouldn’t be able to guarantee victory in that scenario.
Thus, the conditions in Ray’s mind were clear.
End the war in the shortest time possible.
And prepare for a scenario where he has to face multiple 2nd-circle mages simultaneously.
During his return to base, he had carefully thought through the situation.
“Of course, drawing a magic circle is no simple task. In fact, it’s extremely difficult.”
Ray recalled the method he had used to fight Walter.
A magic circle.
“But there’s nothing to worry about. After all, we have an expert in magic circles.”
Ray turned his head.
Veronica, meeting his gaze, gave him a startled look.
Then, as she realized that everyone was now staring at her, her face flushed red.
Her shoulders, however, unconsciously lifted by about three centimeters.
Clearing her throat to regain composure, Veronica said,
“Drawing it isn’t the problem. Just tell me what kind of magic circle, where to place it, and how big to make it. Besides, I won’t be drawing it alone… Right, Ray?”
“…….”
“Ray…?”
“…….”
“I’m not drawing this alone… am I…?”
Her pupils trembled.
