Advent of the Archmage

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Valley

Dadara was full of regret now. The summoning was his idea, and he’d done it himself. As the most powerful summoner in Blacklan Kingdom, he’d summoned countless creatures before. Though he’d failed sometimes, it had never been embarrassing.

But today, things were completely beyond his expectations. Blacklan Kingdom was in a crisis, and Troym was already at the city walls. As an important member of Blacklan, he volunteered bravely to use a ritual summoning spell that had been banned.

But it only succeeded halfway!

The summoned creature was very powerful—so powerful it stole their breaths. But they didn’t seem to be able to restrict the other… It was strange.

There was a head the size of a mountain before him. The mouth was wide open, revealing each tooth that was as sharp as a sword. Smoke came out of the thing’s nostrils. Dadara could vaguely see dark red flames flickering inside. This reminded him of an active volcano he’d visited with his tutor when he was young.

The other’s eyes shone with silver flames. Dadara couldn’t see the other’s eyes, but they were definitely waiting for his reply. He was forced to brace himself and reply, “Majestic dragon, it is I who summoned you.”

Snort. The dragon pushed air out of its nose. The air before its nose distorted visibly and the gust of air rushed out. Dadara, kneeling on the ground, rolled backwards.

Even a slight exhale is this powerful. Oh my god, did I summon the king of dragons? Dadara thought as he fell back.

It wasn’t that he’d never summoned a great dragon before. Actually, he’d summoned a demon dragon to fight for Blacklan Kingdom ten years ago. That dragon had been very powerful. It had been Level-7 and had been the ruler of the skies in the Fedaro Continent (what the natives called the realm).

But compared to this black dragon, the demon dragon was like a little chicken.

As the most prestigious master in Blacklan Kingdom, Dadara usually dressed in elegant clothing and used fancy carriages. He never had to do anything and was always high and mighty. It was the first time he was sprawled so pathetically on the ground. But he couldn’t care about that. He only wished that the dragon wouldn’t put its claw on his back… Seeing the claw that was many times stronger than his body, he knew that he would be flattened even if the dragon just placed it down gently.

Just as everyone was in terrified silence, Dadara heard a voice from above him. “You wish for me to defeat Troym’s army?”

“Yes…” Dadara was overjoyed. The Warriors nearby who were close to breaking down were slightly relieved. It seemed that things could still be negotiated.

“Oh?” Link snorted in dissatisfaction. Air came out of his nose again, making Dadara too fearful to move. Of course, the Magician couldn’t protest either.

Link’s actions weren’t breaking the contract. He was just breathing normally and didn’t hurt his summoner at all. The other was only affected because he was too weak. Thus, Link didn’t feel any reaction from the contract inside him.

However, his actions had still expressed his intent. He wasn’t happy about Dadara’s request. Dadara wasn’t stupid either. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have become a Master Summoner. Now that he had to protect his life, his mind whirred quickly.

Once the current pressing down disappeared, he said, “Majestic dragon king, you misunderstood me. I do hope that you can defeat Troym’s army, but I know that’s unrealistic. I can’t help it though… sniff, sniff. I just wish for you to save the kingdom I’m loyal to.”

As he spoke, Dadara became emotional. He really didn’t want the Blacklan Kingdom to be defeated. His heart felt a twinge, and his tears and snot came out. Sprawled on the ground, he started sobbing.

Behind him, King Morahan of Blacklan Kingdom was also in the army. Seeing Dadara, he couldn’t help but think, Ah, I didn’t think he was so loyal…is my kingdom really going to end?

Thinking of this, he forgot his fear too. On impulse, he walked out from the rings of guards. When he was around 150 feet before Link, he started regretting this. He didn’t think the dragon’s aura would be so scary.

But it was too late. Gritting his teeth, he knelt on the ground and copied Magician Dadara and cried, “Your Dragon Majesty, I beg you to save my kingdom! The people of Troym are cruel. I cannot let my people live under their rule!”

When he knelt, everyone in the valley also knelt down. It was such a sight.

But were the Troyms cruel? His words were nice. Link scanned the mountainous piles of corpses in the valley and found it ironic. However… had the contract been changed to saving the kingdom?

The contract’s content was very broad. Loosely, as long as the royal family didn’t disappear, it was alright if the so-called Troyms took over the capital temporarily. They could still get it back later.

Even more strangely, this request had no time limit. He could save them in a month, a year, or a decade. The contract could keep going until Link could find a safe way to leave the realm… No, there was something else. If possible, he also had to research the origin of magic here. This would help him with understanding the mysterious gear.

These thoughts flashed past Link’s mind. He didn’t hurry to speak. Instead, he just looked at the mortals kneeling before him.

This went on for more than ten minutes. When the king was covered in sweat, Link finally said, “You mortals are as idiotic and weak as ants. I can help you, but you must listen to my orders!”

Dadara winced. How did things turn into this? They’d summoned creatures to help fight. How come it was like they’d found a conqueror?

However, he understood the situation. King Morahan was clueless about summoning magic and had completely surrendered to Link’s power. He was grasping this last bit of hope right now. He couldn’t care about the future.

Hearing Link say this, he immediately said, “Your Dragon Majesty, from now on, you are the protector of the Blacklan Kingdom. As the king, I will do my best to satisfy your every need!”

This king was very good, and Link was satisfied. However, he didn’t show it. His face was still expressionless. He scanned past everyone in the valley and finally stopped on the unconscious woman from earlier.

Judging from her skin, she was very young. Her features were similar to the king. Compared with the king’s age, she was probably his daughter. Judging from how the king brought her with even in crisis, she was probably well-liked. She must be very important to her.

Thinking of this, Link straightened a 15-foot-long dragon finger and pointed at the unconscious woman. “Then from today on, I am Blacklan Kingdom’s protector, and she will be my only royal servant.”

The king obviously would be generous during these times. Serving such a strong figure was a great thing too. He immediately said, “Protector, I have 13 daughters. If you wish, I can have them all serve you. I also have 16 sons. If you need—”

Hmph! Link huffed, and the king was silenced. He pointed at the six summoners beside him. “You six will be my magic servants. Without my permission, none of you are allowed to be one mile away from me. Otherwise…”

These six were helping him with the realm’s resistance and maintained the contract. If they ran into trouble, he wouldn’t have the upper hand.

As he spoke, he waved his claw at the cliff before him and cast the spatial spell Vacuum Blade.

Crack. A 30-foot-wide tunnel opened up in the 600-foot-high cliff. The cut was smooth as a mirror.

Wow…

Every mouth in the valley dropped open. Their faces reddened as if someone was strangling them. This power was beyond imagination.

Seeing their reactions, Link knew everything was set.

Just as Link became the protector Blacklan Kingdom, 12 Magicians completed a summoning seal near Troym’s camp.

Three demons appeared from the center. The leader was demon Magician Glyn.

Glyn was different from Link. As a demon who just wanted to take over other realms, he was experienced with being summoned. Ten seconds after he entered the realm, he figured out his strength compared to his summoner.

Damn, I shouldn’t have had three people enter. This realm is too powerful. With us three, the resistance is too powerful. My strength is repressed too much!

Now, he was only at the beginning of Level-9. The other two demons were Level-7. On the other hand, the summoners were taking too much of the resistance. They all spat out blood and were greatly injured. If only one person came, Glyn estimated that he would be at Level-11. His summoner wouldn’t be so hurt either. It would be much better than now.

Even worse, this realm was much stronger than Glyn had predicted. If the natives weren’t sharing the resistance, he would probably be even more repressed. It would be a feat if he was just Level-7.

I’ve miscalculated. I wonder how the Ferde lord is now.

Glyn scanned the 12 exhausted Magicians around him. The most powerful seemed to be at Level-6. Judging from things, they were probably the strongest in this realm. It was easy to deal with these 12. However, the army nearby had more than 150,000 well-fed and equipped soldiers… Things were troublesome.

I won’t be able to use brute force to complete Master’s mission. F*ck. Glyn’s expression darkened. He was pissed.