"Wind Creation Magic – Amplify!"
Whoosh!
Taking a deep breath, Ethan Hayes opened his mouth and shouted, "This is Ethan Hayes, Captain of the Clover Kingdom's Tenth Magic Knight Squad! What you're looking for… is with me! If you're not afraid to die, come and take it!"
Originally just a loud voice, it became thunderous as it was carried by the wind magic, echoing throughout every corner of the capital like a sweeping storm.
The invading forces ravaging the city all froze for a moment, frowning in thought as they heard the announcement. It seemed they were contemplating whether to continue their assault or to follow the voice to its source.
"Do you think it's true?"
"I think so. The Clover Kingdom doesn't even know what our real objective is, but this guy named Ethan clearly does."
"But we can't trust it completely. Let some of us continue attacking the inner city. The rest will go after him."
After a brief exchange of opinions, the members of the Eye of the Midnight Sun split into two groups. This decision unexpectedly eased the pressure on the inner city's defenses.
Marx, who was overseeing the defense, wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked a nearby guard, "The Tenth Squad has arrived. That means the others might not be far behind. How many people did Ethan bring with him?"
"O-One... just one person!"
"…One person?"
Marx was stunned. What good was one person? The enemy could probably drown him with a mouthful of spit.
Hovering mid-air, Ethan swept his gaze around. From every direction, people were converging on his position—just as he had predicted. The Eye of the Midnight Sun wasn't here for fun; they were after the Elf Stones.
To carry out an Elf Reincarnation, these stones were indispensable.
But one thing puzzled Ethan—these stones were supposed to be with the Crimson Lion King, Captain Fuegoleon. Why attack the capital instead of going directly for him?
"Diversion tactic? Divide and conquer?"
The thought came to him instantly.
If they attacked Fuegoleon's base directly, reinforcements could come swiftly from the capital. But by creating chaos here, they'd force all squads to prioritize defending the capital. Then, they could ambush Fuegoleon on his way to help.
"Tch. Not a bad plan," Ethan muttered. "But I doubt Licht told them the exact location of the Elf Stone. Otherwise, they wouldn't be converging on me—they'd focus solely on wrecking the capital."
Floating high above, Ethan remained calm, quietly assessing his situation as the enemies closed in.
One after another, they arrived—first a dozen, then two dozen…
Within moments, over a hundred enemies surrounded him.
Among them were elite members of the Eye of the Midnight Sun: the spatial magic user Valtos, the eccentric research-obsessed girl Sally, and many others from the original story.
Some were entirely new faces, not seen in the manga.
A hundred-plus enemies made sense to Ethan. The capital, no matter how weakened, was still vast. A mere handful of intruders couldn't possibly cause large-scale destruction.
Still, Ethan hadn't expected this many people.
"Damn it… maybe I played this a little too big. Over a hundred?!"
Even he was starting to sweat.
He had anticipated two or three dozen at most. But this… was five times that.
Just then, a cheerful voice rang out.
"Hey little brother, was that you talking earlier? We're here now—hand over the goods!"
Sally grinned playfully, but her gaze locked onto Ethan's grimoire.
"Wait, wait… a Four-Leaf Clover grimoire?!"
Her eyes sparkled with excitement. As a researcher, she knew exactly what that symbol meant.
"Ohhh~ Little brother, can I have your grimoire? I promise I won't hurt you. You can leave peacefully. Oh, and don't forget to hand over the Elf Stone too~"
She smiled innocently, almost convincingly.
But to both of her requests—whether for the Elf Stone or the grimoire—Ethan had only one answer.
"Spirit Magic—Spirit Descent!"
Fwoosh!
Brilliant emerald light burst forth from Ethan's body.
Torrents of mana exploded outward.
Dozens of wind blades danced around him like silk, swirling in graceful but deadly patterns.
From his shoulder sprouted transparent wings of wind.
A crown shimmered atop his head.
Floating midair, Ethan's royal cloak billowed behind him as he hovered with majesty and menace.
He looked like a king descending from the heavens.
"Oooooohhhh~!"
Sally squealed with glee. Not only the grimoire—now even Ethan himself was worthy of study!
"What incredible wind mana…"
"He's strong—really strong!"
"So what? There's over a hundred of us!"
Encircling Ethan, many invaders were shocked by his aura. But reassured by their overwhelming numbers, they steadied themselves.
Yes, he was powerful. But they weren't weaklings either.
They weren't a hundred pigs—they were a hundred trained mages.
"Water Magic – Water Bomb!"
"Fire Magic – Blazing Comet!"
"Lightning Magic – Wrath of Thunder!"
All at once, over a hundred different spells were unleashed.
The sky lit up in a rainbow of destructive color.
Even miles away, one only had to look up to see the explosive magic lighting up the heavens like fireworks.
But Ethan knew the beauty was deceiving. Behind it lurked tremendous danger.
His expression turned grim—this was no time for pride.
No matter how weak individually, quantity breeds force. Even a hundred puddles of water could drown a man.
"Spirit Magic – Spirit Tempest!"
Harnessing his mana with expert control, Ethan summoned the storm like a true King of the Wind.
Black clouds swirled above.
Lightning cracked through the sky.
A massive twister descended from the heavens, whirling in a wild spiral.
Each enemy spell slammed into the hurricane with deafening bursts.
Yet none could pierce through to reach the eye of the storm—where Ethan stood alone.
With a single spell, he had neutralized the attacks of over a hundred mages.
But inside that storm, Ethan was not unscathed.
These weren't just water drops—they were spells.
His mana was draining at terrifying speed.
Every half-second of maintaining the storm consumed as much mana as an elite mage's full reserve.
Within just a few seconds, a third of his total mana was gone.
Sometimes… sheer numbers do matter.
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