Reborn As Noble

”Hmmph! You don’t need to tell me that. Focus on that guy and this war. You said you wanted to prove something, right? So do your job, Kurashan. I don’t care about commanding your army. I’m here with my mage unit to assist under Lord Zurakan’s orders.”

Guranjar glanced at the young man leading the pekko riders, his eyes narrowing with recognition. ”I don’t know who that is, but he just used a skill that those so-called prodigies, Marcellus de Armand, has used before. The protective barrier.”

He smirked, raising his palm toward the distant riders before muttering, ”Instant Dispel.”

A dark, massive magic circle appeared above the thousand pekko riders, its shadow swallowing them for a brief moment before fading. The shimmering barrier buff that Javier had cast flickered and vanished, leaving the riders seemingly unprotected.

Guranjar lowered his hand, a smug satisfaction curling his lips. ”Now, Kurashan. I’ve already debuffed them. It’s your turn.”

Kurashan smirked with confidence, glancing sideways at Guranjar. ”No. I want to test this armor against those Armand so-called mana rifles. The ones everyone talks about but no one has ever seen.”

”Hmmph! Suit yourself. Don’t come crying to me if you lose your hand or die.”

The first explosion echoed across the battlefield. A sharp, thunderous crack that split the morning air. Javier’s bolt-action rifle kicked against his shoulder, the round streaking across the distance in the blink of an eye.

The bullet struck Kurashan’s chest plate dead center. A shower of sparks erupted on impact, the enchanted armor absorbing the blow as the bullet flattened and bounced off, clattering onto the battlement floor with a dull metallic ring.

Kurashan stood still for a moment, the silence hanging heavy. He glanced down at the glowing bullet, watching as its light dimmed and faded into nothing.

”C... Commander?”

Kurashan’s shoulders began to shake. A low chuckle escaped his lips, growing into a booming, triumphant laugh that echoed across the battlement. He pointed toward the distant Armand pekko riders with a smug, arrogant grin.

”Is that it?! Is this what everyone’s been so afraid of?! Those so-called ’mana rifles’ are nothing more than our enchanted flintlock muskets! This means our attack power has already reached Armand’s level! And they don’t even have armor like ours!”

He planted one foot on the battlement ledge, resting his elbow on his thigh in a cocky, arrogant pose, his other hand pointing toward the Armand forces as he barked his orders.

”Everyone! Aim your flintlock muskets at those lowly bastards! Show them our mighty power!”

”Yes, Commander!”

The soldiers’ morale surged as they saw their commander survive the attack unscathed. Arrogance filled their eyes as they aimed their flintlock muskets through the gaps between their tower shields, held firmly by the magic knights beside them.

”Sakair!!”

”Yes, Commander?”

”Tell your cannoneer units to ready and aim at those weaklings! Use the explosive cannonballs. Let them burn in hellfire!”

”As you command, Commander!” Sakair saluted before turning and barking orders across the battlement, his voice booming over the noise. ”Cannoneer units! Move into position! Load explosive rounds! Aim at the riders and fire on my command!”

Three-man teams scrambled around each cannon, pushing the heavy artillery pieces toward the battlement ledge and aligning them with the distant riders.

Just as Sakair was about to give the order, Guranjar raised his palm, signaling everyone to pause.

”What is it, Guranjar?”

Guranjar smirked, stroking his long beard. ”I have a way to ensure none of the enemy can escape. Hold your attack for a moment, and let me and my mage unit deal with them first.”

”Oho? This is what I like about you, Guranjar~” Kurashan raised his palm, signaling his men to hold. ”Then show us what you and your mage unit are capable of~”

Guranjar stepped forward, moving to the very edge of the battlement ledge. Behind him, his mage unit followed, forming a line along the wall. They raised their palms in unison, chanting in low, resonant voices. The air grew heavy with mana, crackling with raw power.

With a final, powerful incantation, Guranjar slammed his staff against the battlement floor. A massive, dark magic circle erupted beneath the thousand pekko riders, spreading outward in a wide, perfect circle. The ground around them began to churn and soften, transforming into a vast, murky swamp that encircled them completely, a wide, circular barrier of sinking mud and grasping mire, cutting off any chance of escape.

Meanwhile.

Javier rubbed his chin while glancing at the dark, murky swamp that surrounded them.

”Hmm~ Bottomless Swamp. Man~ it’s been ages since I saw one like this. But meh~ not as perfect as mine.”

One of the pekko officers moved his pekko to Javier’s side before asking, ”Your Highness? What should we do now? Attack?”

”Hmm? No~ hold the attack for now. Besides, this is just a basic Bottomless Swamp skill. Not really an advanced tier.”

Javier smirked, glancing at the bubbling, churning mire around them. ”It’s a massive area-of-effect crowd control ability. Once someone steps in, they’re trapped, sinking into the goo, completely immobilized and highly vulnerable to follow-up magic or attacks. But it’s still a beginner-level version. If Marcellus saw this, he’d be laughing out loud while skipping across the top of this magic like it was a frozen lake, or even skiing on it.”

He let out a soft chuckle. ”Besides, the majority of Armand personnel and soldiers are trained to handle this in the barracks, right?”

The officer chuckled, shaking his head. ”Yes, we are. But most of us complain because we don’t like the feeling of being inside it. It’s mandatory training in the early stages, but the version we train with is far more powerful than this one, especially since Prince Marcellus’s mage units help with the training almost every day.”

”Blergh~ You all do that every day during the early stages of training when you’re recruits?” Javier stuck his tongue out, making a slightly disgusted face.

The officer let out a soft laugh, nodding.

”Yes, Your Highness. And sometimes, when I’m asked to oversee the training for new recruits, I can see their faces—some look like they’re about to vomit, others cover their noses, and a few just stand there frozen, staring at the swamp like it’s a monster waiting to swallow them whole.”

Javier shook his head, exhaling before a mischievous smirk spread across his face.

”Now that I mention Marcellus skiing on this, I really want to see it happen. Maybe after we’re done here, I’ll go straight to Marcellus, Cedric, and Aelius... ah, I should drag Heres along too, and we’ll go do it on the training ground~”

He rubbed his palms together with a sly grin.

Meanwhile, Buddy glanced down at the swamp, tilting his head before letting out a curious squawk. He stepped toward the edge of the murky mire.

”Oi, Buddy. What are you doing?”

”Cuquawkeddd!!” Buddy let out an excited, triumphant squawk, and in an instant, all the pekkos squawked in unison, their voices echoing across the battlefield.

Before Javier could react, Buddy leaped forward, splashing into the swamp with a massive, joyful splash. The other pekkos followed, a thousand of them diving into the murky water like a flock of oversized ducks at a pool party.

They floated, dipped their heads beneath the surface, and swam around in circles, bobbing their heads up and down in a mocking rhythm, clearly enjoying the enemy’s spell as if it were a refreshing bath. Some even flapped their wings, sending sprays of murky water into the air.

”Cuquawked~ Cuquawked~ Cuquawked~”

( End Of Chapter )