Aleks Kotov

Vol 5, Chapter 19

"And what if I refuse?" I said slowly, weighing my options.

Could I even kill a mage of his level with a regular pistol, or would I need something stronger?

The Rector smiled pleasantly, but there was ice in his eyes. "Well, why refuse, when you're being asked politely?"

He clapped his hands, and the crowd began to disperse quickly.

"In that case… I can politely refuse." I gave the slightest nod of my head in place of a bow and tried to blend into the retreating crow...

Vol 5, Chapter 18

"Time to get up, Viscount. The opening ceremony of the tournament begins in half an hour," a female voice said.

Only half an hour? They should have woken me earlier.

I pried my eyes open, only to cover them with my hand as someone yanked the heavy curtains open in one motion, and the soft semi-darkness of the bedroom was pierced by sunlight. It split the gentle, blending tones into stark contrasts: shadow and light.

A vague premonition made me focus on the figure by the wind...

Vol 5, Chapter 17

"Hey, wait. What peasants?"

"Who else is there to hunt? They've even wiped out the goblins in the vicinity of the Academy."

"Stop, stop, stop. This was a bad idea, forget it," I tried to backpedal, cursing the ambassador in my mind.

"Come on, it's a great idea, Randal. Besides, I've already promised this lady. If you've changed your mind, you don't have to come."

The Prince waved dismissively and prepared to leave, the girl tugging him by the other hand.

"Killing...

Vol 5, Chapter 16

◆ Village near the Goblin Forest, Captain Kurt's POV. ◆

The goblins appeared earlier than he had expected.

The last rays of the sun vanished beyond the horizon. The pounding of hooves from the horse carrying the messenger with his report faded away, and the dust settled, barely visible in the darkness.

Soldiers were setting up tents, lighting their way with torches. The cook poured salt into boiling water, squinting to measure the right amount in the firelight. A young ...

Vol 5, Chapter 15

The estate prepared by the mages for the delegation's stay was not only luxurious but also radiated with an excess of enchantments, from harmless ones meant to maintain optimal temperature and humidity, to protective spells promising intruders dozens of diverse deaths.

Death from excessive blood alcohol content wasn't among them, but the ambassador clearly intended to add it to the list!

To my surprise, he was the first person I encountered upon arriving at the estate after dark.<...

Vol 5, Chapter 14

A dead-end alley where street sweepers rarely came. Between stone buildings hung a torn web, black with soot. The workshop door, crudely built from darkened wood, stood out only because of the new sign nailed directly to its boards. It was wedged between two large buildings, likely warehouses. The neighborhood was far from pleasant: this was the "garage" district. I wouldn't have been surprised if graffiti covered everything, though fortunately, mages didn't indulge in that.

"This is th...

Vol 5, Chapter 13

But we didn't get to see the spider gladiator fights.

As we passed through the corridor, we ran into Nala, who was leading a team of mages. Strangely, there were no servants on this floor, so the mages themselves had to haul some very suspicious crates behind their mistress. The cargo emitted a crackling hiss and scratched audibly at the steel containers from inside.

"All done? I'm afraid I can't accompany you any further: there were more specimens than I expected, so we'll have t...

Vol 5, Chapter 12

A girl in an aquamarine robe approached our carriage, so saturated in color it seemed even her hair had a bluish cast… Wait… no, not "seemed." It did. Dye?

"Good-day-father asked me to look after you. Where would you like to go?" she said.

I stalled for a few moments. For two reasons at once: first, "good day" or "good Father"? Because she didn't pause and said the first word softly, I didn't immediately understand what she meant. And when I did, I stalled again. Father? N...

Vol 5, Chapter 11

◆ Ordinary Goblin's POV, outskirts of the Goblin Forest. ◆

Sharp ears rose above the thick grass. The wind masked sounds, the rustle of leaves muffled footsteps, but it carried scents.

He sniffed, drawing in the wind. His long nose caught the stench of iron coming from a group of pale-skinned beings moving along the road.

The goblin lifted his head to look at the prey. The pale-skins walked openly, holding long, round, iron clubs. The goblin stared at them wit...

Vol 5, Chapter 10

"What happened to your Source?"

The sudden question made me pause for a moment. Meanwhile, the old man squinted, his gaze boring into my chest, and I was certain that the doublet wouldn't protect me from the perverted old man.

"It looks gnawed, only the core remains. Of course, it's hard to say exactly what happened, but you're very lucky. You're literally in the very heart of all magical science in our world. We'd be happy to offer you our services. Completely free of charge. Res...

Vol 5, Chapter 9

What is the most dangerous weapon in war? A spear? A sword? An axe? Pfft…

A mage? A weapon in human form is, without a doubt, a formidable force. Depending on talent, one can strangle, tear apart, freeze, or burn anywhere from a few people to hundreds.

What could be more dangerous than a mage? Only several mages together.

By gathering in a ritual circle, they can overcome the main drawback of most spells: relatively short range.

Launched from the rear, tactical-level...

Vol 5, Chapter 8

◆ The next day, His Majesty's POV. ◆

…the Five-Element Godleaf saplings were also damaged. Absolute vandalism!" the junior earth mage, serving as the royal gardener, concluded his report emotionally.

"I see, I see…" the King muttered and gestured for the gardener to leave.

The man swallowed the rest of his tirade, gave a short bow, and left the office. Silence fell, broken only by the King's heavy sigh.

Just one night in the Capital, and already, Merlin take i...

Vol 5 Chapter 7

Night had fallen over the capital, and nearly all the streets were empty... except for one utterly unremarkable intersection in the craftsmen's quarter.

Between a bakery and a tailor's shop, five carriages and over a dozen young aristocrats from the golden youth had gathered, surrounded by a crowd of servants… and clearly, they weren't here for bread. One servant checked the harness of a team that looked absurdly small on a massive, muscular warhorse. The mighty Detrian, bred to carry...

Vol 5 Chapter 6

Needless to say, the very first thing that happened was being summoned before the King.

All I had time to do was send Asha to the capital's healers, change clothes, and order the wheels moved into the palace's guest room. There were only a couple of days left before departure to the Commonwealth, and I still needed to convince my grandfather. Doing that without samples would've been a lot harder. So the poor griffon had to carry not only an unconscious girl, but also four whole wheels.<...

Vol 5, Chapter 5

"And this is your plan to avoid bankruptcy?" Tamilla said, twirling a pneumatic carriage wheel in her hands.

"Well... yeah, basically," I replied, surprised to see no trace of enthusiasm. It was a plan as reliable as a Swiss watch, guaranteed!

She sighed and dropped the wheel. It wobbled cheerfully and rolled into a corner where dozens of its brethren lay.

"And who exactly are you planning to sell this to?"

"The nobility, of course. Do you have any idea how annoying th...

Vol 5, Chapter 4

◆ Some time later ◆

"Increase the temperature by another fifty," I ordered Asha, and she sighed as she pressed her hands to the boiler.

The turbine blades roared louder, spinning a shaft as thick as a man. Something creaked deep inside, and I winced.

"Alright, stop it. Just don't cool the shaft itself like last time... or we'll have to reheat it again."

Jets of heat burst upward, spreading a shimmering haze over the river. The pressure from the superheated steam d...

Vol 5, Chapter 3

◆ Ancestral castle of House Short, Laslo and Kazimir's POV. ◆


"Have some cheese, don't be shy," Marquis Laslo said kindly, extending a silver plate to the trembling Kazimir.

"Thank you, but I'm not hungry," Kazimir tried to refuse.

"I insist. It's the finest cheese from your father's cellars. Who knows if you'll ever have the chance to taste it again… so don't test my patience."

Kazimir obediently accepted the plate and began chewing, unable to taste a thing...

Vol 5, Chapter 2

The closer Erin's squad came, the clearer it became that something had gone wrong.

One of the knights was carrying his severed arm, another's armor was crushed. Several knights were on foot, and their horses were dragging improvised stretchers on which bodies lay.

Improvised stretchers made of silk! Apparently, they had been fashioned from the marquis's tent. There were no more tents visible on the horizon, and the fabric dragging behind the horses was the same color…

Vol 5, Chapter 1

◆ Command tent of Marquis Short, Countess Erin von Klaus's POV. ◆

"You killed him!" Erin pointed her blade, slipping into crudeness from sheer shock.

"Me? Hardly, it was the men of House Condor. The commoners, you see, don't know the rules," he countered, slowly pulling a dark glass vial from his belt.

Aristocrats rarely killed each other. Honorable capture and ransom: that was the usual fate of the defeated. At worst, one would be stripped of land and t...

Vol 4, Chapter 22. END OF VOLUME FOUR

◆ Half an hour before the battle, Countess Erin von Klaus's POV. ◆
​
​

Some time before the battle.

​​​​​

Creaky floorboards, a large stove in the center of the room. Although the peasant house was fairly spacious compared to city apartments, it was nothing like the estates of the nobility. And once thirty men in full plate armor had squeezed inside, it became insanely cramped.

"...there's a bed in the far room where you can rest wh...

Vol 4, Chapter 21

◆ Battlefield, Soldier Kurt's POV. ◆

"Ready! Aim!"

Kurt obediently rested his musket on the edge of the parapet, aiming it at the approaching enemies.

His ears were still ringing from the recent artillery volley that had mowed down dozens, maybe even a hundred, soldiers. Yet the enemy, like madmen, kept charging forward, trying to reach his trench.

A gust of wind struck his back, hurling thick clouds of smoke into the faces of the attackers. Kurt glanced sidewa...

Vol 4, Chapter 20

◆ Battlefield, Baron Aluin’s POV. ◆

"Nice day today, isn't it, Baron?"

"Couldn't be better," Aluin grunted, avoiding the speaker's gaze. Just the persistent attention from Count Gaston already made the day unbearable, and that was the least of the baron's problems.

His presence in an army marching willingly to its death, a force he was nominally supposed to lead, was a much, much bigger issue.

The Marquis refused to listen to reason, obsessed with dreams of vict...

Vol 4, Chapter 19

"To hell with the concrete; it won't set in time. Cover the embankment with logs!" I ordered the soldier lugging the bag of concrete.

The fortifications, planned as a series of earthen steps, currently appeared as a modest earthwork behind two rows of trenches. The first trench was deep, while the second, shallower trench had a small concrete wall allowing fire to be directed without risking friendly fire on those in the front trench. Essentially, it formed a very long redoubt.

Ch...

Vol 4, Chapter 18

The body lay about a hundred meters from the checkpoint. The pool of blood beneath the torso had already congealed and now resembled dark red jelly. From a distance, the splatters on the stones looked like black flakes.

"He ran far," I noted, squinting into the distance. "So, it was you three on duty?"

The soldiers nodded almost in unison. Two of them wore ragged peasant clothes, while the third strutted in a new uniform of a brownish-green hue. The black-and-white colors of the H...

Vol 4, Chapter 17

The door closed, leaving Erin and me alone. I sat down at the table and picked up the breech of the future pneumatic rifle. I had to finish it: today the aerostat would rise into the sky again. By then, we needed at least one prototype for testing.

I opened the desk drawer and pulled out a piece of rubber. There was no way to proceed without a proper seal.

"Is that what you were talking about?" she asked, pointing at the metal parts I was assembling.

"Mmm, not exactly. D...

Vol 4, Chapter 16

"Your fortifications are a joke," Erin said, angrily crossing her arms.

"Yes, yes," I replied absentmindedly, turning a piece of metal in my hands. At that moment, thanks to our horned ally, an interesting valve design had come to mind. I needed to bring it to life before I forgot it...

"Are you even listening to me?" Her irritated voice echoed across the office, where I had retreated right after greeting her squad.

"Of course, of course," I muttered, molding the metal. A fe...

Vol 4, Chapter 15

◆ Not far from the city of Eagle's Cliff, Erin von Klaus's POV. ◆

"My lady, it seems the city is intact. The enemy forces haven't reached it yet. Perhaps we should conserve our strength?" the knight addressed her with all due respect, raising his voice over the wind howling in their ears.

"No! Only a few kilometers left. The horses can handle it," Erin replied, spurring her steed forward.

"They might, but do you truly want to arrive at the city on lathered and exhausted...

Vol 4 Chapter 14

◆ Some time ago. Prison of Eagle's Cliff. Kazimir Short's POV. ◆


The city prison was never meant for long-term detention, yet it was never empty. Few inmates stayed longer than a week, since feeding them became a concern in that case. Usually, within two or three days, the prisoner either paid a fine and walked free, or they were executed. Unlike the other vassals of the First Duke, Short rarely sold prisoners into labor. If he needed manpower, he simply seized random peasants ...

Hello everyone!

For now, I’m trying to figure out how everything works here...