Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Chapter 1350: Delusions of Grandeur

The clash of steel and spells rang across the battlefield. Men shoved, slashed, and grappled in tight formation, their boots slipping on blood-soaked dirt.

Shields shattered. Blades scraped against armor. Guttaral cries of help mixed with the desperate screams of pain. Bodies collided, fell, and were then trampled. The air stank of sweat, blood, and dust.

Everywhere, men fought at arm’s length, faces contorted with rage or fear, the melee surging like a chaotic tide with no clear line between living and dying.

In a Magus army, warfare operated on a completely different scale than in conventional mortal forces.

A single Magus could alter the battlefield, unleashing elemental spells, wide-area attacks, barriers, curses, or support magic that shifted momentum instantly. Their individual power was equivalent to dozens, sometimes hundreds of ordinary soldiers.

By contrast, normal armies relied on cohesion, formations, shield walls, coordinated charges, disciplined ranks, and teamwork. Their impact came from collective effort, not individual strength.

In Magus warfare, battles hinged on timing the entry of high-ranking Magi, countering enemy spellcasters, and managing the devastating consequences of large-scale magic.

Here, one mistake from a Magus could annihilate entire squads, and one well-timed spell could decide the outcome, making the nature of war faster, deadlier, and less forgiving than any mundane conflict.

But whether they were Magi or mortals, death claimed them all the same.

Kazuma Tsuitsui was a late teenager who had just advanced to the Neural Stage of the Mana Foundation Rank. Though this was his first time participating in a war, his movements on the battlefield were practiced and disciplined, like he had prepared for this moment for all his life.

He quickly sidestepped, dodging a sword attack from a Mana Foundation-level mercenary from the Tiehsa Tang. His twin daggers were coated with poison as he stepped forward and lodged them into the enemy’s chest.

Kazuma took in ragged breaths as he drove the man to the ground, looked him dead in the eye, and watched his life fade away.

His lips quivered, and he murmured, ”Forgive me... but I... I must do this...”

Amidst the cacophony of screams and explosions, Kazuma doubted that the bandit would have heard his words. But that apology was meant more to soothe his own guilt than to seek forgiveness from his enemy.

Kazuma quickly found his next target and engaged in another round of brutal and bloody combat.

Eyes full of bloodlust, he couldn’t help but think to himself even as he was killing the man standing before him:

I must kill all who stand before me! I must make a name for myself in this battle! Only then... only then will my family and I rise through the social ranks.

For my father! For my mother! For my little sister! And... for my beloved.

The image of a beautiful brunette flashed across his mind.

When I return from this war, I shall ask your hand in marriage, my love!

Kazuma finally killed his foe and rose to his feet, drawing deep and ragged breaths. His eyes were bloodshot, and his body was riddled with scars already, yet he could not stop thinking about the life his loved ones would be able to live after he returned from the war.

Not all clan members of the Tsuitsui were treated the same, after all. The closer one was to the main bloodline, the higher their prestige. Similarly, the further one’s family was from the main bloodline, the lower their status. Kazuma and his family belonged to the latter.

”Just you wait!” He growled as he crouched behind an unsuspecting enemy.

Then, with a mighty push of his feet, he drove his poison-coated daggers into the man’s back. After snuffing the life out of the mercenary, he threw his head back and let out a guttural roar:

”Wait for me, everyone! I will make you proud—”

Suddenly, Kazuma felt the world around him spin rapidly. Shortly after, with a dull thud, his vision came to an abrupt halt, and the world stopped spinning.

Confusion flashed in his bloodshot eyes as he saw his headless body kneeling on the ground.

A bald mercenary of the Tiesha Tang stood beside his decapitated body, blood dripping from his blade. He then flashed a ferocious grin and stepped forward. He raised his foot over Kazuma’s severed head.

And then...

Stomp!

Qin Hua applied pressure to his boot and smashed Kazuma’s severed head into meat paste. Then, he spat on the bloody remains and sneered, ”Delusions of grandeur in the midst of battle? You deserve to die, punk!”

He then quickly found his next target, a Tsuitsui Mana Foundation Magus, who was overpowering his ally. The moment he joined their battle, the two of them quickly worked together, and before long, the Tsuitsui Magus had met his end.

Qin Hua wasn’t an official member of the Tiesha Tang. No, he was a hired mercenary. This war was his chance to prove his strength and usefulness to the powerful organization.

If he made it out of this battle alive, there was nothing stopping him from joining the Tiesha Tang.

Qin Hua was a sly man. He never attacked an enemy alone. He hid amongst the corpses and took them by surprise, killing them in one blow. Or he joined his allies and overpowered the foe.

After stabbing a Tsuitsui Magus through the back, his lips curled into an expectant grin.

Once I’m part of the Tiesha Tang, all the money, the booze, and the women will be mine, he thought as he quickly slipped into the shadows.

I just need to somehow survive this war. I’ll stick close to my allies, and only prey upon foolish youngsters of the Tsuitsui... huh?

He suddenly felt a shadow loom over him. His back was drenched in a cold sweat as he slowly turned to the side and saw an enraged Magus, wearing dark green and white robes, aim his index and middle fingers at his head.

When did he—

Qin Hua didn’t even have enough time to finish his thought when a brilliant magic circle lit up at the tips of the Tsuitsui Magus’s fingers.

Rank 1 Spell: Magic Missile!

Qin Hua’s head burst open like a watermelon, and his lifeless body tumbled onto the blood-stained, muddy ground.

The Tsuitsui Magus spat on the headless corpse, then muttered under his breath:

”That was for Kazuma...”

Holding back his tears, the Magus rejoined the battle.