Kai had thought it was late night, but as he flew through the sky he realised dawn was almost here. He had been making the wand for nearly an entire day without even noticing it, and the faint glow on the edges of Matilla City told him the sun was minutes from rising. He gave the city one last glance before turning away from it and shooting toward the mountains on the far side.

  He was eager to see how the wand would perform. He couldn’t test it on people, and there were no major beast nests around Matilla, so the mountains were the only real option. Strong beasts lived high up—territorial ones that didn’t mix with humans—and Kai was sure at least one would be willing to “spar.”

  He flew higher and higher until he broke through the cloud layer. His mana reserves weren’t full; the endless carving, engraving and sealing through the night had drained him heavily. Even with the recovery he had gained while working, he guessed he had only about forty percent left. But that was more than enough to test a wand.

  The higher he flew, the colder it became. The mountain ahead wasn’t tall enough to have snow, but the air still bit at his skin, forcing him to run a thin layer of mana around himself for warmth. Below him, the jagged slopes came into view.

  His eyes swept the view.

  Several caves dotted the mountainside, but Kai didn't want to poke his head into random dens. That was the kind of stupidity that got people killed. Instead, he circled the tallest peak, scanning the ledges and cliffs.

  After ten minutes of searching, something made him pause mid-air.

  A wide stone shelf jutted out near the peak, and perched right in the middle of it was a nest—massive, woven from thick branches and bones. And inside it, an avian beast slowly lifted its head.

  Its eyes opened like twin shards of amber, locking onto him in an instant.

  Kai hovered, narrowing his gaze. He recognised the creature immediately—a cliffrend, a Grade 4 avian predator known for speed, aggression, and a tendency to hunt anything that moved.

  It was twice the size of a normal eagle, with a hooked beak capable of crushing bone and wings that shimmered faintly with mana. Even from the air, its killing intent washed over him. Its eyes looked at him with curiosity.

  As Kai was wondering whether he should fight it or not, the cliffrend made the decision for him.

  With a sharp, piercing cry, it sprang from its nest and shot toward him like a thrown spear. Mana flared along its wings, its speed doubling in an instant.

  Kai barely dodged, wind bursting beneath him as he dropped a few meters to avoid the talons that sliced through where his head had just been.

  The cliffrend banked hard, feathers cutting through the air with a hiss, and came rushing back again—faster this time.

  Kai exhaled slowly, watching the creature’s movements, tracing the patterns in the way it attacked. Its combat style was simple but lethal.

  More than once, its talons came close enough that Kai felt the air sting against his cheek.

  But aside from that, the cliffrend had no other tricks.

  Perfect.

  A simple, aggressive opponent was exactly what he needed to test a new wand.

  It even looked frustrated as Kai dodged every time, letting out sharp, furious cries as if ordering him to stay still. Kai almost laughed. For a Grade 4 beast, the cliffrend was straightforward: vicious speed, sharp talons, and absolutely no patience.

  But he didn’t want to waste any more time.

  He lifted his wand and cast a spell from the tip of it. Immediately, he felt the surge. Mana rushed out of the wand’s core like a tide eager to break free, pouring into his forming spell and thickening it far beyond its normal density.

  The cliffrend twisted its wings and lunged again.

  Flames erupted.

  They didn’t shoot forward like a narrow stream the way his old spell did. They flooded outward in a wide arc, swallowing the air in front of him and drowning the entire sky in fire. The beast’s shriek cut sharply through the roar of the flames, echoing across the mountain walls.

  Kai held the spell a few seconds longer, long enough that the cliffrend’s screams thinned into painful rasping. When he finally cut the flame, he saw it clearly.

  The cliffrend wobbled in the air, fighting to stay aloft. Its once-glossy feathers were now blackened and smoking, patches of raw flesh visible beneath. Blood dripped from its wings, trailing down toward the rocks. Even the cliff face behind it was scorched into a wide, smoking arc.

  For a creature to still be flying after that… Kai had to admit, the beast was tough.

  Its eyes flicked toward its nest—a frantic, instinctive look.

  Kai exhaled softly. Even if he flew away now, the beast would die within minutes. Burn wounds that severe didn’t heal in the wild. Pain and gravity would finish what he’d started.

  So he decided to give it a cleaner end.

  He angled his wand, channeled wind through the enchanted pathways, and let the spell take shape. This time, he felt the wand guide the mana, sharpening it, accelerating it—

  And then the blades launched.

  They burst out like slashes of pure destruction. Faster, sharper, heavier than anything he had managed before. They streaked through the air, cutting through the mountain’s mist as if slicing the world itself.

  The cliffrend tried to move, but the [Wind Blades] were already on top of it—slicing through the air. They reached its neck in a heartbeat and cleaved straight through, ignoring the thick hide and muscle as if they weren’t even there. The beast’s head dropped first, tumbling down the mountainside, and its body followed right after, wings limp as it fell. Some land beast below would have a feast today.

  Kai watched it fall until it vanished behind the cliffs, then turned toward the nest. He didn’t expect much—Cliffrends weren’t treasure gatherers—but he still checked. As he guessed, the only thing inside was the half-eaten remains of a mountain goat. Nothing worth taking.

  He stood on the edge of the nest, the morning wind brushing past him, and replayed the spell he had cast. That wasn’t a 20 or 30 percent amplification. The flame had roared out like a tide, and even the [Wind Blades] had moved faster and heavier than anything he had cast with bare hands.

  Why? His amplification seal wasn’t perfect—he knew that. It wasn’t even the most complex one he could have carved. Yet the wand had boosted the spells far beyond what he expected.

  Kai crouched, holding the wand up to the light as mana trickled across its carved lines. He checked every seal, traced every thread of mana, went again and again over the amplification array. Nothing seemed off. Nothing seemed better either.

  Everything was correct… but the output wasn’t normal.

  In the end, the only explanation he could think of was the Elder Tree wood itself. Its magical nature was probably feeding the seal, strengthening it in ways he couldn’t detect yet. That was possible—likely, even. But without speaking to the Elder Tree directly, he couldn’t be certain.

  For a moment, he wondered about the elves. They hadn’t answered him in a long time. Something was happening in Sylvastra—he felt certain of it—but he pushed the thought away. He would deal with it later and the elves were not weak. The civil war came first. He had enough to handle without adding elven politics to it.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  With that, Kai rose into the air again, wand in hand, ready to hunt a few more beasts and test every spell he could before sunrise.

  ***

  Baron Rydell yawned so hard his jaw cracked, stretching his stiff back as a cool wind swept across the riverbank. Midnight had long passed. At this time of night he should’ve been in bed, lying between his two wives, not crouched in damp grass like some fresh recruit.

  But orders were orders, and King Thalric himself had chosen him for this task.

  That thought alone forced him awake.

  The other barons and viscounts had been jealous when he bragged about the assignment earlier. They pretended otherwise, of course—nobles always pretended—but he saw the envy in their eyes. A mission that could “change the tide of the war” was no small matter. And he, Baron Rydell, had been trusted with it.

  So he refused to complain, even if his knees hurt and he hadn’t felt this level of discipline since his army days.

  There was a time, years ago, when he had been Captain Rydell, a man praised for clearing bandits off the southern roads, smashing river smugglers, and dragging criminals back to Lancephil bound in chains. Those stories were still told, though Rydell himself had grown softer after settling into a noble’s life.

  Maybe that’s why Thalric chose him. Or maybe the king simply liked his reputation. Either way, Rydell wasn’t going to fail.

  He rubbed his tired eyes and looked toward the dark river. Moonlight glimmered faintly across the slow-moving water. Hidden among the bushes and boulders along the bank were nearly two dozen men, all holding their breath, all waiting for the same thing.

  Their target.

  The river, however, remained still.

  Rydell frowned. Hours had passed without even a ripple. He couldn’t help wondering whether the king had been given wrong information about Arzan Kellius supposedly using this river route to move supplies for a massive siege on Fort Kaelgim. It was a believable tactic, but the stillness of the night made him doubt.

  Still, King Thalric had never sent men on a pointless mission. The boy was ruthless, but not careless.

  And if this was merely one sleepless night? Then Rydell could endure it. For glory, for reward… and for the story he'd be able to tell the jealous barons later.

  But Baron Rydell had to admit—it was painfully boring to wait for a ship that might never appear. The night air was cool, the river quiet, and he had already yawned so many times his jaw hurt.

  Even if the shipment did come, Rydell doubted a man like Arzan Kellius would send it unguarded. Rumour said the ship carried mana cannons and mana guns—weapons every noble in the kingdom drooled over now that war had swallowed the land. Rydell himself had tried to buy one months ago, but the price had nearly made him faint. And he wasn’t the type who knew how to flatter Arzan into lowering it either.

  But now? Now he didn’t need to. If fate was kind, he would steal them all tonight.

  He forced down another yawn—his eyes watering—as soft footsteps sounded behind him. His hand instantly flew to his sword, but a familiar voice followed: “Lord Rydell, the scouts have returned.”

  Rydell exhaled, lowering his hand, and turned to see his Knight standing with two dirt-covered scouts.

  “Try approaching from the front next time,” Rydell muttered, rubbing his eyes. Then he shifted his attention to the scouts. “Well? Did you find anything?”

  One of them nodded. “Yes, my lord. We spotted a ship. It’s about five miles out. Around twenty men on deck. It’s small—no cargo visible—but the goods are probably stored below.”

  Rydell’s tired face brightened immediately. So King Thalric had been right after all.

  “And any Mages or Enforcers among them?” he asked, voice sharp now.

  Both scouts shook their heads.

  “There was one man who looked like the leader,” the scout said. “But… we couldn’t tell. Mage or Enforcer, he didn’t show anything.”

  Baron Rydell frowned at the news. They would have planned this ambush far better if they actually knew what kind of warriors were on that ship. A Mage? An Enforcer? Or just regular soldiers? But luck rarely handed anyone a full deck, and tonight was no different. With a quiet breath, he pushed the thought aside.

  “Tell Mage Loun to drop the trees into the river,” Rydell said, lowering his voice so only the men closest to him heard. “When the ship stops, we’ll skewer those bastards with arrows. Make sure everyone understands.”

  His Knight and the two scouts nodded and slipped away through the brush, moving quickly to pass the orders. Rydell remained where he was, gripping the hilt of his sword. The cold wind stung his face, but beneath it his blood buzzed with a mix of excitement and fear.

  He needed to win for King Thalric, for their faction, for the future they were gambling everything on. But he also wanted to survive. And Arzan’s forces… gods, they terrified him.

  The reports about Aldrin’s defeat still lingered in his mind and then there were other stories too. Rydell didn’t know how much of it was true, but even half of it was enough to keep him awake at night.

  Still, he couldn’t back out now.

  As the men worked, he heard faint cracks echo across the river. One by one, thick trees toppled into the water under Mage Loun’s spells, drifting and jamming together until the river narrowed into a messy blockade. Archers climbed up the remaining trees, hiding among thick branches, bows already drawn.

  Rydell checked everything once more: Men hidden behind boulders. Archers ready. The river blocked. His sword in his hand.

  A simple plan, but simple plans often killed the most people.

  He forced himself to breathe slowly and waited.

  It didn’t take long.

  A dark shape appeared on the river, lanterns flickering across the water. The ship. It rolled gently with the current until it neared the fallen trees and slowed, the men aboard shouting in confusion as they tried to steer around the sudden blockage.

  Rydell lifted his eyes.

  The archers were ready—bows pulled, strings tight, their silhouettes barely visible in the moonlight.

  On the deck below, one of the men stepped forward, carrying a wooden ramp to check the obstacle. He looked cautious, but unaware. As he lowered the ramp, Rydell saw three bows released.

  Three arrows whistled down.

  Three men fell before they even understood what was happening.

  The ambush had begun.

  Rydell didn’t wait a second longer. Heart hammering, he drew his blade and charged forward with a single desperate thought, Let my wives not be widows by sunrise.

  ***

  A/N - You can read 30 chapters (15 Magus Reborn and 15 Dao of money) on my patreon. Annual subscription is now on too.

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