Reborn As Noble

Chapter 1483: Hand Signals and Lazy Smirks ( 1483 )

Marcellus crossed his arms and glanced at Cedric, who was sheathing his sword with a weary sigh. Both of them looked up at Javier, their expressions a mix of amusement and mild annoyance.

”Late to the party as always, little brother,” Marcellus said, his voice dripping with playful sarcasm. ”The enemy’s already gone.”

Cedric nodded, gesturing vaguely toward the empty space where the portal had been. ”Vanished without a trace. You missed all the fun.”

Javier’s eyes widened. ”W... what? Ugh!” He exhaled sharply, climbing down from Buddy, who was puffing his chest out and smirking with his beak, strutting around in a slow, smug walk.

”If I’d known, I would’ve used the Gaasad to get here, but Buddy insisted he could run here faster.”

Buddy tilted his head to the side, letting out a casual, indignant squawk.

”Cuquawked? Cuquawked~” (What? I am fast. Can’t you see how fast we got here? I even showed you how a pekko can ’fly’~)

”Ugh! That’s not flying.” Javier put both hands on his hips, raising one to point up at Buddy. ”It’s the same as running on the ground at full speed. The only difference is you were running on the air while channeling the Mana Shard Path. You just summon controlled structural cracks in the air, creating a flat, brittle surface you can sprint across.”

Buddy puffed his chest out even more, strutting past Javier with an extra bounce in his step, his beak still curled in a smug grin.

”Cuquawked~” (Fancy running is still flying in pekko language, Master~)

Marcellus glanced at Cedric before both of their eyes fixed on Javier, who was still talking to his pekko. Marcellus nudged Cedric’s arm with his elbow, a smirk playing on his lips.

”Look at our little brother... he’s lost it.”

”Yeah,” Cedric nodded, crossing his arms as he watched Javier gesture at Buddy. ”He’s been talking to his pekko like some crazy guy. I mean, I know we all talk to our pekkos sometimes, but he’s having a full conversation with it. Like the bird’s actually answering back.”

Marcellus snorted. ”Maybe he’s been spending too much time alone on those inventions. The isolation’s finally getting to his head.”

They watched as Javier let out a long, weary exhale, his shoulders slumping slightly before his eyes landed on Marcor, who was unconscious, leaning back against a broken wall behind Marcellus. Javier’s expression softened as he noticed Marcor’s chest rising and falling steadily, his breathing even and stable.

”Lucky... he’s still alive. That was a close one.”

He glanced around, his eyes scanning the scattered black blood and the remnants of the corrupted energy that still lingered in the air. His brow furrowed, his voice dropping into a low murmur.

”Dark miasma... corrupted flesh...” He let out a frustrated sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. ”Why does every enemy we encounter already have this disgusting, twisted power? It’s like they can’t fight without relying on some kind of cursed, unholy corruption. And they always leave a filthy mess we have to clean up... Ugh!”

Javier glanced at both his brothers, his expression shifting from relief to focused. ”What exactly did Marcor and Garak encounter? And why couldn’t my mana satellite or Sky Eyes surveillance detect them? They should have shown up on the feed. Unless... they have a way to mask their presence from magical detection.”

Marcellus moved toward a patch of blackened ground, crouching down as he pulled a small box from his coat. He opened it, revealing neatly arranged tools, vials, and a pair of thin, enchanted gloves. He slipped the gloves on with practiced ease, his movements precise as he collected a sample of the corrupted blood and residual miasma from the scorched earth.

”The one who injured our soldier was a girl,” he said, his voice focused as he worked. ”Young-looking, but her body was saturated with dark power. Corruption-type abilities, miasma manipulation, and some form of self-regeneration. She was fast. Strong enough to tear through standard mana shields. She’s not a normal dark mage, that’s for sure.”

Javier rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his gaze shifting to Cedric. ”How did she manage to escape? Was she that powerful?”

Cedric shook his head, his expression serious. ”Not powerful enough. Marcellus had her on the ropes. He was merciless, already made her too weak to fight back. But just as we were about to capture her, someone else appeared on the rooftop.”

He gestured toward the empty building. ”He was wearing a full faceless black mask and a dark robe. He extinguished Marcellus’s white flame from her with just a lazy wave of his hand. Then he opened a portal and took her away.”

Javier quickly took out his notebook, scribbling notes furiously. ”From the sound of it, Marcellus wasn’t using his full power. Those white flames were basic-level purification. Why weren’t you serious, Marcellus? If you’d gone all out from the start, they might not have escaped.”

Marcellus sealed the lid of the vial, channeling a pulse of white light aura over the cap to sterilize and preserve the sample before placing it into a special containment bag. He looked up, his expression bored.

”Huh? Your paladin brother here is the one who said I shouldn’t be too serious.” He jerked his thumb toward Cedric. ”He mentioned we were supposed to capture, not kill.”

Cedric’s brow twitched. ”O... oi. I didn’t say that. I said you should stop.”

Marcellus shrugged, a lazy smirk on his face. ”Yeah. Same thing. Green grape, purple grape. Still grape.”

Javier glanced at them again, his brow furrowing slightly as he processed everything. ”How did you two even get here? And why? Isn’t the mission just for our soldiers to secure the target?”

Marcellus raised a hand, signaling for silence before switching to hand signals, his fingers moving with practiced precision.

[It was Father who gave us this mission. To monitor our soldiers’ progress and the target. So we were stationed not too far from this location, inside those deep forests over there.]

He gestured with his chin toward the dense treeline in the distance.

Javier’s hands moved in response, his gestures sharp and quick.

[Oh. So you knew the unknown enemy was coming to get the target?]

Cedric shook his head, his own hands moving in smooth, deliberate signals.

[No. Since the surveillance couldn’t detect the enemy, we got a call from Father on our radio and mana talkie to rush here as soon as possible.]

Javier tilted his head, his hands moving again.

[Oh... So? How did you two get here?]

Marcellus rolled his eyes, his hand signals turning lazy and dismissive.

[Little brother. Don’t ask stupid questions like that. Of course we came here with our pekkos.]

Javier cupped a hand over his brow, making a show of glancing around the ruined street with exaggerated slowness.

[So... where are your pekkos? I don’t see any.]

Buddy, standing behind Javier with his chest already puffed out, let out an indignant squawk.

”Cuquawked!”

From the edge of the street, two magnificent pekkos emerged with a slow, majestic stride. Their heads were held high, feathers gleaming, chests puffed with pride as they walked toward Marcellus and Cedric. Each step was deliberate, regal, as if they were royalty gracing the battlefield with their presence.

”Cuquawked~”

”Cuquawked.”

They stopped beside their respective masters, their eyes scanning the area with calm confidence, mirroring the same smug energy that Buddy radiated effortlessly.

( End Of Chapter )