This Bastard is Too Competent

Chapter 59: How To Use Them

Look at these guys? 

Ian’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the merchants.

Where would the evil energy be?

‘Well, that might be true.’

The opponent was not an ordinary beast but a dragon. But if the opponent was those guys, the story would be different.

‘Those tattoos. It is obviously the runes that wizards engraved on their bodies.’

Wizards of a certain level or higher used the engraved characters on their bodies. Its purpose was to shorten the activation time required for long casting magic. If a particular spell was engraved, they could activate the magic engraved only with magic power.  

In short, it was like a magic tool.

But their acting was not good enough to pretend to be merchants. 

‘And the dragon’s miasma and evil energy? Are they trying to trick us with something that doesn’t work to begin with?’

Dragons did not spout miasma and evil energy.

The blood and flesh had some poison, but it didn’t devastate the surroundings.

Therefore, Ian knew exactly how absurd the words these people claimed were. 

But it was really weird. 

Drip. Drip.

As they said, the place where the dragon’s blood and saliva touched was becoming corroded.

It really seemed like it was full of miasma and evil energy.

Those people pretending to be merchants even covered their mouths and shouted.

“Be careful. Don’t breathe it in.” 

Ian and the knights followed suit, though.

‘Suspicious. Very shady.’ 

It seemed that this dragon had a special secret, enough for the Kingdom of Magicians to look into it personally. 

Hence, Ian looked at them and sighed, pretending to be deeply frustrated.

“I need the meat. I don’t know if I can eat it as it is.”

“Hahaha, please worry not. Using the secret medicine we have here, we can get rid of the miasma and evil energy.”

“Really?” 

“It takes a little bit of time, though.”

They curled up their lips. Ian’s reaction was not bad in their eyes.  

However, Ian narrowed his eyes slightly so as not to alert them. 

‘Oh? I see. You need some time, is that it?’ 

Ian could see what kind of trick they had up their sleeves. 

Still, he needed to ask just in case. 

Ian sighed heavily.  

“I wish I could leave it to you, but unfortunately, we don’t have time.” 

“Yes?” 

“We have to go to the capital right now.” 

“Pardon?” 

“His Majesty has told me to catch the dragon. So, the dismantling of the dragon should be left to the royal chefs.”

“Ah… You see… What I’m saying…” 

They looked a little flustered as if they didn’t expect Ian to respond like this.

They finally sensed that things were not going as smoothly as they thought.

The moment a few guys tried to move their hands.  

Smirk. 

Ian suddenly smiled brightly. 

“Still, there are a lot of injured people, so I think I’ll stay here for a few days. We will also prepare a place for all of you who have helped the territory. Take a good rest. We’ll talk about dragon handling later.”

“Uh… huh? Will you really do that?” 

“Of course. You’ve given us plenty of herbs.” 

Ian flashed a friendly smile. 

But inwardly, he was clicking his tongue. It was a close call.

‘I didn’t expect them to try to use their hands right from the start. These guys… They’re more dangerous than I thought they’d be.’ 

The Kingdom of Magicians and the Kingdom of Swordsmen were not on good terms. Therefore, the existence of wizards was also rare. That’s why other people might not know. 

Ian, who had fought against this Kingdom of Magicians enough to know their ins and outs, knew well.

‘Finger seals are more dangerous than spells or engravings.’

They were just about to try creating such a seal. 

‘They must be at least a three-star wizard who is comparable to a senior knight.’

Unlike knights with classes ranging from the lowest to the highest and the master class beyond, wizards had a five-star rating starting from one star.

And a three-star wizard could be regarded as a battle wizard.

It was unknown how great the magic they had prepared was. 

‘Wizard’s specialty is wide-area attacks. Everyone here was almost in danger.’

Just looking at the number of people scattered around, they must be very formidable. Much less fighting in his own territory with many wounded was the loss on his side instead.

Ian smiled unconcernedly.

‘Once we lay the stage, we will strike them from this side.’

And right at that moment. 

“Your Highness, the deputy lord is up.” 

“!” 

Galon found Ian as if he had read Ian’s mind.  

“The deputy requested to have a face-to-face meeting with the prince. Would you like to meet him?” 

Looking at Galon, Ian tilted his head again.  

This was because he saw the thread of light he saw earlier again. It was shining clearly as if a single thread connected to him remained.

But having no way to know it, Ian immediately told the merchants to rest for a while and followed Galon. 

Then Nathan approached him, his eyes twinkling with interest.  

“Your Highness, are they dangerous? Otherwise, Your Highness who is in a hurry would not order to take a break.” 

“Yes, they seem to be the owners of this dragon.” 

“!?” 

Nathan’s eyes turned as round as rabbit’s eyes as if he never expected that answer.

For a second, his face hardened like a slaughterer ready to kill anything. 

“Those bastards are the dragon’s owners?”

When Nathan was about to unsheathe his sword, Ian blocked him. 

“Wait a minute. They are not ordinary people.” 

“!” 

Then Nathan and even Galon, who was already suspicious of the merchants due to Ian’s reaction, narrowed their brows. 

“Your Highness, do you know something?” 

“Those guys… I think they’re wizards. They are also three-star or higher wizards.”

“!?” 

At that moment, the two’s faces hardened. 

Although they had never encountered one in person, they were well aware of the rumors about a three-star wizard.

Those people were hard to deal with head-on, even for knights like them.

Ian whispered as if guessing what the knights were thinking. 

“Tonight we’ll get rid of them.” 

“Yes.” 

“One mouth to yap is enough.”

Noticing the meaning in Ian’s words, the knights’ expressions lit up. 

*** 

Helgaia quickly began to regain its normalcy. It was thanks to Ian’s soldiers. 

Of course, the destroyed buildings remained as they were, but they had no problem treating the injured.  

And if there was any problem, it was the children who lost their families…

“People will be coming from the capital soon. Build an orphanage together when they come.” 

“But Your Highness, the Helgaia territory is very poor, so such facilities…”

“The necessary goods will also come, so don’t worry, just set it up.”

“I am so grateful for your thoughtful grace, Your Highness.”

A young man bowed his head deeply to Ian. He was Albert, the current acting lord of Helgaia. Unlike the other nobles who ran away, he was a man brave enough to set out to watch over the land to the end.

‘Well, he got caught by the dragon.’

It was reckless of him to rush to the dragon when he was just a civil servant.

In any case, it seemed he had quite a good head on his shoulders, or he survived by using some trick.

“So, why did you request to see me?” 

“I requested to see you in a matter regarding territory management, but the truth is…”

Albert looked elsewhere as if something bothered him more than answering.

His eyes were glued to the wizards pretending to be merchants.

“Your Highness, by chance, they are…” 

“Yes, they are our enemies. I think they’re the ones who controlled that dragon.” 

“…!” 

Albert’s face hardened for a moment. But, leaving him behind, Ian approached the wizards with a friendly smile.

“Do you like it?” 

“Ah, you and the deputy lord came?”

“Rest well. How shall I thank you for all your hard work for my land?”

“No, it’s only natural to help injured people. You can speak more comfortably, Your Highness.” 

“No, you are the benefactors who saved my people.” 

“Come on. Here’s some cool liquor. Let’s have a cup while we have dinner.”

Albert also casually brought out alcohol. Anyone could see he was treating the benefactors.

But Ian’s eyes gleamed, and he naturally approached them.

“Looking at your skin color that I’ve never seen before, you don’t seem to be from this area, so you must have come from a very distant place, no? Did you cross the continent?”

The knights flinched, shocked that their prince went straight to the point, but the wizards only laughed.

“Haha, no way. We are from the east of the Kingdom of Swordsmen. The climate is different there, so our skins tan easily.”

“Is that so? I was looking forward to it because there are so many stories I want to hear if you are from a distant continent.” 

At Ian’s remarks, the wizards changed the subject.

“Anyway, Your Highness, are you really going to take that dragon to the capital? Either way, it’s dangerous…”

Then Ian chuckled softly.

“Ah. In fact, I came here thinking if I should sell it to you.”

“Yes?”  

“I thought it would take a lot of money to renovate this territory. We just need a chunk of meat anyway. If you’d pay a good price…” 

The wizards raised the corners of their mouths.

If they made a deal, they could get close to the dragon as an excuse to dismantle it and let it escape.

Thus, they instantly broke into a smile.

“Very well! We will give you as much as you want—” 

Ian raised his hand to interrupt them. He still had something left to say. 

“Oh, but now isn’t a good time to buy and sell things. We need to renovate this place first. I think it’ll be over soon if someone helps me.” 

“Ah, if that’s the case, we will help you.” 

“Will you? I heard merchants have magical tools to climb safely. Can you help me with that? I think we will have to clear up the whole building.”

“Ah! That much is nothing.” 

The wizards dressed as merchants immediately began to use magic.  

They didn’t forget to act as if they used it through a magic tool.

Finally, they raised their hands and waved the seal.

Boom! 

The collapsed buildings surged in a flash. The melted bulwarks crumbled away, and new soil began to build up in that place. 

Ian smirked with great satisfaction at the scene. 

‘What, wizards are more convenient than I thought, huh? Should I use them some more?’

Well, having experienced the war, Ian thought these guys would be quite useful, and a wizard alone could do what dozens of people could.

Of course, it was not without disadvantages at all. 

“Pant, pant… huff!” 

Magic took up both mana and physical strength. That might be why the wizards seemed to be losing their strength. 

However, Ian, the one deliberately ordering them to slave away here and there, pretended to be absolutely clueless. The little boy had a worried expression on his face.

“Are you okay? It’s strange, is it really that hard to use magic tools?”

“No! Of course…” 

As they were gasping for breath, they flinched as soon as they saw the knights.

“Th, that! Our magic tools are a little special. It uses the user’s stamina.”

“Oh! I see. Then please take it easy.” 

“I can’t do that. We have to finish quickly so we can buy the dragon. We don’t refuse to…” 

“Oh, really? Then please help over there, too.” 

“…” 

When Ian pointed in the direction of the landslide, the wizards gritted their teeth.

They thought it was a good thing they came to the prince at the command of their leader, but this was not the case.

Of course, the dragon was very precious to the Kingdom of Magicians. They wanted to ignore all this and break into the cage keeping the dragon right away.

‘Two knights are guarding the dragon. We can’t seem to get the chains off without catching their eyes.’

‘It’s safer to just do the prince’s request, pretend to buy the dragon, and break the chain.’

The three knights Ian brought were high-ranking knights.

They might have a slight chance against the two handsome men who looked like nobles, but the most striking one was the brown-haired knight, Galon. 

‘I think it would be better not to touch that man.’

They felt a sense of danger. 

Well, if things went wrong, they could use wide-area magic to get rid of the knights. Still, it would be troublesome to have the existence of the Kingdom of Magicians discovered. 

Not to mention by the royal family.  

‘Hold on a little longer. And we will use the dragon to kidnap this prince as well.’

They sensed a strange power from Ian. 

But no matter how hard they worked, Ian’s instructions were never-ending. 

‘Leader, stop him now…’

‘Isn’t it enough to say that there is a limit to the number of magical tools?’

The wizards were in tears. 

Even worse, that was not the only problem. 

“I thought it would take some time, so I sent a telegram to the Lavaltor duchy. It’s nearby, so help will come here. Then you will be a little more at ease.”

“…!” 

To call that Lavaltor the Destroyer of all things!

They had to finish their work before the forces of Lavaltor, who mercilessly killed their youngest prince in the past, arrived.

In other words, they had to finish their work quickly even if they used up all their mana. 

Of course, the wizards didn’t intend to just let themselves get beaten. 

‘How’s the condition of the dragon right now?’

‘Actually, I think I can control it from this distance.’ 

The wizards smiled insidiously. 

And at that time.  

Fiosen, who was watching the huffing wizards, whispered. 

“I think their physical strength has reached their limit. What should we do, Your Highness?” 

“We will just let them restore that plaza and attack them. Get ready…” 

But right at that moment, Ian flinched. 

He had no choice but to do so. 

‘No way, these guys…’ 

He spotted them making some suspicious moves while pretending to help rebuild the territory.

Small lines were gradually gathering. Others would have thought that it was just the tracks, but Ian didn’t think so.

He was not sure exactly what it was, but at a glance, it was an explosion-type magic circle.

It was similar to the one that blew Garcia’s harbor in the past. 

They had to watch out. 

‘The magic circle will be completed soon. Then everyone is in danger!’

He had to strike them right now.  

It was the moment when Ian was urgently about to call the knights.

[Do you need help?] 

“!” 

Ian heard someone’s voice. 

It was not the usual voice of <Faith>. The voice was as if someone spoke directly to his brain. 

[If you hand me that dragon, I will help you.] 

Surprised, Ian looked in the direction of the voice as if in a trance. 

A stranger was standing in an alley not far away. 

At first glance, it seemed human, but it wasn’t human. 

‘…A dragon?’