"You mean, just the two of us?"
Su Ya was dumbfounded. When Merlin looked back at him, he raised a hand to point at himself,
Then at the army in front of them,
"Cross this army of nearly ten thousand!?"
Isn't that asking me to fight Sun Wukong (the Monkey King)?
"That's right," Merlin nodded.
"Behind us is the sea, and there are no ports or ships here. We've been cornered."
"However, we're not crossing, we're going through from this direction, the flank."
Merlin pointed west, in the direction parallel to the army's advance. Then, she turned back with a troubled expression.
"My King... Su Ya, if it were just me, I could easily escape using suggestion and flower magic, but—"
But not with me, this burden?
Su Ya's chest tightened.
"My spell slots are limited. I can only use the two recorded suggestion spells once a day, and in terms of magic, I specialize in enhancement, spiritualism, spell chanting, elemental conversion, illusion, and flower magic."
"Suggestion magic has already been used on you once; I can only use it one more time now, and I don't have replenishment materials or books in the short term."
"So, we have to take a risk!"
"Please prepare yourself mentally."
Merlin's gaze was incredibly serious, her rosy-red eyes fixed on Su Ya.
If Su Ya didn't brace himself and continued to be as indecisive as before, they could die among the chaotic soldiers at any moment.
"Suggestion, enhancement magic?" Su Ya thought for a moment, then understood with a start.
"Is that the magic that helped me get out of the mental shock from those two Tamarchi?"
Merlin had used suggestion magic to dispel Su Ya's [Stasis] state, then chanted an enhancement spell to boost Su Ya's physical abilities, giving his weak body the basic strength to confront those two professional soldiers head-on.
"It's not magic, suggestion is a spell... though the distinction isn't too significant," Merlin shook her head, instinctively correcting the common misconception, but she didn't elaborate. Instead, she continued,
"In any case,"
"I'll use an illusion to disguise you as the Macedonian Tamarchi(mounted scout/reconnoite) you just killed. With that Tamarchi leather armor as material... it shouldn't be difficult."
"What about you?"
Su Ya understood. Merlin meant for him to impersonate an enemy Tamarchi.
Tamarchi were the most mobile units on this battlefield. If they just followed established patrol routes, it wouldn't arouse suspicion, and they wouldn't encounter too many enemies, minimizing the risk of exposure.
But the true risk of this approach lay in:
Tamarchi operated in groups of three.
The captain of the two Macedonian Tamarchi killed by Su Ya, the professional assassin Merlin mentioned, could discover the anomaly of his team members at any time, leading to an uncontrollable incident.
Furthermore, Tamarchi's reconnaissance had its own procedures and scope.
Su Ya didn't know the army's specific arrangements for the Tamarchi he was impersonating, so he could be exposed at any moment.
And the most dangerous part was,
Upon reaching the limit of their operational range and attempting to break away, they would inevitably be discovered by other Tamarchi and pursued.
"I'll use flower magic and illusion to disguise myself. Hold this."
Merlin pulled a cluster of white hair from the back of her head and offered it to Su Ya.
Su Ya grasped the cluster of bright white, soft long hair with his left hand.
"This way, when others see me, they'll see you holding a bouquet of white roses in your hand."
"Also, during our progress, I can use suggestion magic one more time—the target can be an enemy or you. The remaining magic power in my body is only enough for one more enhancement spell and one flower magic. If I continue to cast spells..."
Merlin didn't finish her sentence.
Most mages were absolutely self-serving, or rather, cold-blooded beings who would stop at nothing to reach the Root.
Merlin considered herself no exception.
At this moment, even if Su Ya offered a heap of empty promises, he wasn't worth that level of sacrifice from her.
She had only temporarily believed Su Ya's identity; she wasn't fooled by him, and she certainly wouldn't sacrifice herself for a potential money-making opportunity.
If her life was in danger, she would abandon Su Ya without hesitation and escape alone.
The two of them were more like collaborators now.
And Merlin was merely offering Su Ya a possibility.
The brief conversation quickly ended.
Merlin closed her eyes and began chanting an incantation that Su Ya couldn't understand.
When the incantation finished,
They would have to depart.
Su Ya roughly understood their situation and the cards they had to play.
Staying put meant discovery was only a matter of time; disguised escape came with many unknown risks.
He could only use three spells from his temporary teammate.
Suggestion magic, enhancement magic, and a bullet-like flower magic that could be fired.
But this wasn't necessarily an action that would lead to combat. If calculated correctly, most unnecessary battles could be avoided entirely.
Moreover, fighting in the enemy's stronghold would be nothing short of foolish.
So,
Planning a route that would take them through the ten-thousand-strong army to the enemy's rear was what Su Ya had to do now.
Merlin's answer was—go west, moving in reverse parallel to the army, betting that their route would be within the Tamarchi's operational range.
But—
"Prayer, prayer, prayer!"
"From the perspective of Paradise, I beseech you,"
"Comb my hair, draw my brows, adorn me in robes,"
"Before facing ultimate annihilation—"
"Grant me a pleasant dream!"
The magician girl, a genius wherever she went for simplifying the complex composite magic engineering of transformation, spiritualism, and illusion into five verses, finished her chant.
A shimmering white-gold magic circle, visible only to them, appeared at their feet. Then, the white-gold ring slowly rose from the circle.
The white-gold ring floated and stopped around them, within a half-meter radius centered on the two.
"Anyone outside this range will see our image shaped by the illusion, but the illusion is generated based on the leather armor you're wearing, so it maintains the appearance of the Tamarchi when he died, including the bloodstains on the leather armor, which cannot be concealed," Merlin explained, pointing to the circle.
"As soon as you enter this range, the magic's disguise effect will fail, and enemies will see our true faces."
"So, don't have any other ideas; we have to take a gamble!"
"From here, just keep going west—"
"Good luck, my king!"
"I understand," Su Ya nodded, forcing a slightly trembling smile.
"Give me the reins."
Merlin turned her head.
She could see Su Ya's trembling lips and feel the fierce pounding of his heart against her back.
The boy's inner thoughts were laid bare by his physical reactions,
But he had no other choice.
"Are you alright?"
"It's fine."
"But, you... don't know how to ride a horse, do you?"
"I've learned."
"Really...?"
Su Ya nodded, smiling as he took the reins from Merlin's hands.
All this time, Su Ya was performing an analysis of Merlin's riding movements, as if seeing an overlay of game-like information, while simultaneously observing her every action.Constantly discerning, discerning, discerning!
To go right, gently pull the right rein; to go left, pull the left. It's simple, easier than driving lessons. Squeezing the horse's flanks makes it go forward; squeezing hard is like a nitro boost; pulling the reins back is braking...
All the key points were etched in his mind, all the movements fully memorized.
Then,
He transformed this newly acquired knowledge into control over his own destiny, holding it firmly in his hands—
Just as he had done countless times before,
Perfectly replicating it!
[You have mastered: Riding (F)].
"Giddy up!"
He powerfully squeezed the horse's flanks with both legs, his F-rank strength bursting forth, the rivets on the stirrups digging into the horse's flesh!
"—Whoa!"
The warhorse's eyes widened, it neighed, and its four hooves pawed the ground, leaping forward,
Down the slope at a 30-degree angle,
Launching itself!
With a nearly out-of-control momentum, the warhorse galloped like mad!
During this process, Merlin's face, almost flattened into a biscuit, instantly froze and distorted.
Then, she lost her composure.
"No, Su Ya, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, are you f-ing crazy!?"
Merlin's eyes widened suddenly as she looked at the direction they were heading.
"That direction is, is—"
It was the straightest path, with no turning back.
The end of that path was the Conqueror King's divine chariot, where her proudly fluttering Sun King's banner stood!
Su Ya bit his lip, jaw clenched, trembling.
His words were torn into a long string by the wind rushing past his mouth.
"Don't be afraid! Because... I'm even more afraid, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"