Limit Breaking Genius Mage Chapter 275

Episode 275: To the Autonomous Territory (1)

“What? You want me to get ready right now?”

The smugglers looked bewildered at the sudden news of departure.

But that confusion was only temporary.

People began to move in unison at Padreld's command. No one raised any strong questions.

The ability to survive with all your limbs intact despite being in this industry for over a decade.

It was a solid organization built on the leadership of rough and tumble smugglers and Padreld's skills in dealing with many customers, from nobles to commoners.

“Move! Move!”

“Line 3 is full!”

Materials are loaded one by one into the ship's warehouse.

Soon the six ships at anchor were fully loaded. The sheer weight caused parts of their hulls to sink.

'I guess this is enough.'

Meanwhile, Verden had carved a complex magic circle on the deck of the ship by overlapping the magic circles, Connection and Release.

The ability to simultaneously generate attractive and repulsive forces between identical magic circles, thereby fixing the distance between them. In addition, a protective magic circle was added on top to prevent damage from unexpected external impacts.

Smugglers glanced furtively at each other as they passed by the boat.

They reacted with horror and amazement at the geometric shape of the magic circle, which was so terrifying that just looking at it made them feel dizzy.

This was especially true of some wizards who were involved in smuggling.

Finally, the creation of the magic circle was completed.

As Verden remotely activated all the magic circles, waves of magical power rippled between the ships lined up in a row.

This eliminates the possibility of colliding with each other or colliding with the waves that come crashing in. Also, if you only operate medium-sized ships, the smaller ships will naturally follow.

Time passed like that.

“Ugh, ugh……! Everything, everything is ready, Asher-sama……!”

The smuggler came after completing his inspection.

Padreld exhaled, wiping the thick beads of sweat off his forearm.

Because the humidity was higher than outside, it wasn't a very good environment for moving around vigorously.

“Yeah, good job.”

“Oh, no. Um, but are we really going to set off? Well, no matter how I think about it, this seems like a very reckless attempt…….”

Padreld expressed his concerns until the very end.

It's not that I don't understand that worried complaint.

The underground water flowing far away would be extremely dangerous even for a medium-sized ship. A smaller ship would capsize in an instant.

It might be hard to understand with just words.

One way to allay these complaints is simple.

“Take it.”

Bam.

Verden threw down a leather pouch.

It was small enough to hold in one hand. Padreld, who had received the pouch without thinking, instinctively felt its weight and looked down.

A bright light sparkled through the gap.

“Hey, jewel?”

“It’s a deposit. The balance will be paid after the work in the autonomous territory is finished.”

Padreld bit his lips.

Even at a glance, it was worth it. To be honest, it was an unexpected harvest that I had not expected at all.

‘This… wasn’t just making me do work?’

From the beginning, Verden had intended to pay the compensation, but in fact there was room for misunderstanding.

Grond, the king of the underworld, who cruelly executed the sinners who opposed Wintert by hanging them in the middle of the underworld.

It was a natural prejudice to think that the person who killed him would be even more vicious. Naturally, I thought he would only suppress the smugglers by force and exploit them… … .

“If there’s anything you want, just ask.”

Padreld smiled broadly.

Keep your pockets tightly packed in your bosom so you don't lose them.

'Money is a convenient means after all.'

Verden caressed Reindia.

To him who had acquired the vault of Grond, the bag of jewels was but a speck of dust.

“Let’s go now.”

“Understood. Everyone! Let’s set sail!”

As soon as the signal was given, all the smugglers gathered on board the ship.

They tied themselves tightly to avoid being hurt by the violent shaking. Then, those in charge of the helm each took their seats in the captain's cabin.

“Hmm? Mr. Asher, aren’t you going in?”

“I don’t care.”

Before we knew it, Verden, with his head covered by Einver's hood, stood at the center of the deck.

Could it be… … that they were going to endure that rapids on a boat without any safety measures? It was an unsound thought, but Padreld didn’t bother asking.

'I'm sure you have some thoughts.'

Not only did they pay the price, they even engraved some kind of magic circle on the ship.

In every way, it was not the attitude of a person facing death. So it was clear that he had his own plan.

The new ruler of the underworld was a being of a different class from the wizards Padreld had encountered so far.

“Even if you worry, it’s not something you can avoid.”

So I'd rather accept it.

Phew.

At Padreld's signal, the two main ships started their engines.

Although it has poor performance compared to a flying boat, it is capable of maintaining balance, changing direction, and accelerating forward.

It is the result of Padreld's great efforts and investment of a large sum of money in the past.

It crosses a calm underground lake at the marina.

The moment I joined the strong waves without hesitation, the hull began to shake violently and accelerate.

“This, this is okay, right?”

“Isn’t it okay to ride with the king of the underworld?”

“I’ll believe it because Padreld told me to…… Ah, this is seriously f*cking scary……!”

A heavy atmosphere settled inside the hull.

I've been through the underground passages dozens of times, but this was the first time I'd felt this tense.

It was the same with Padreld.

He had become somewhat accustomed to the shock, so he raised his head slightly and looked out the window.

Verden was still on deck.

The hull was rocking like crazy and waves were crashing on the side, but it looked calm as if nothing was wrong.

“Crazy, what kind of sense of balance is that…….”

It was a moment when surprise turned to amazement.

Kuuung!

Suddenly my stomach tilted downward.

The ranks were not broken by the magic circle, but the problem was below.

The rapid currents created changes in the level of the underground lake.

This created a small waterfall, bringing rocks that would normally be hidden beneath it closer to the water's surface.

Even if it hits you, it won't be completely destroyed, but damage is unavoidable.

That's why I said not to set out when the current is strong… …! During times of strong currents, unpredictable risk factors increase rapidly.

It was at that time.

Suddenly the waterfall became gentle and covered the reef.

The ships passed the obstacles with such ease that they moved forward with the current.

"……what?"

Padreld blinked.

What you just saw was definitely not a natural phenomenon, much less a miracle.

All he could see was a wizard surrounded by magical powers. The lips revealed beneath the platinum robe were twitching.

“It’s not as dangerous as I thought. I guess I can increase my speed a little.”

… … What did you say?

It was a small sound, so I couldn't hear it, but my anxiety was rising. And unfortunately, my anxiety hit the mark.

Verden unleashed his magic.

Magic that manifests through the will contained in one's mind.

Then the rapids carrying the ship began to surge even stronger, and the surrounding scenery quickly passed by.

"100 million!!!!"

Unfortunately, the ship's ride was not very comfortable.

Padrel's jaw clenched under the pressure that was being applied in real time. Naturally, his face was pulled up and flesh gathered under his chin.

I barely opened my mouth to let out a sound.

“Save me……!!”

Even if I apply strength to my muscles, my body does not move.

All he could do was desperately move the corners of his mouth.

Among the smugglers waiting below deck, some began to faint because they could not hold out any longer.

An underground cruise led by a semi-transcendent being.

Smuggler's ships cut through the straight line at unprecedented speed.

* * *

The Smuggler's Hollow near the Midloth Dominion was so quiet.

There was no need to prepare any smuggled goods now that the current was flowing from the Kingdom to the Dominion, and it was still a long way before Padreld arrived from the other side.

An underground lake unaffected by rapid currents.

The smugglers, who had nothing to do, settled down and spent their time fishing.

That was when.

“Huh? What is that?”

"what?"

The smuggler without a pinky finger pointed ahead.

A huge shadow emerged from the rapids and raced toward the anchorage. I squinted my eyes because it was too far away to see clearly.

After a while, the outlines began to emerge.

Yes, those were six ships.

But with huge waves.

“Huh, huh? Hey, hey! F**k, get out! Get out of the moorings now!!”

“Waves! X huge waves are coming!”

If you get swept away, you might get crushed.

The startled people desperately retreated.

But the situation I was worried about did not happen.

The waves that were expected to overturn the entire area had already disappeared, and the approaching ships were able to anchor safely.

“What is going on…?”

No one answered. Only a subtle silence flowed.

Kuung!

Then suddenly a staircase came down from the deck.

The people who appeared immediately jumped down onto the land as if they were jumping. The face of the man at the head of them was all too familiar.

“What, Padreld?”

Isn't it time to leave yet?

No, rather, did you mean that you came through that rapid stream? I approached and asked, but Padreld didn't have time to answer leisurely.

“Whoa! Whoa!”

I vomited out my churning stomach.

The same was true for the other smugglers who got off with him.

Although I was fine on the boat, I couldn't stand it once I got to land.

The rapid movement of the ship and the stillness of the land.

It was motion sickness that arose because the gap between the two did not disappear.

At times like this, the psychic wizard would relieve the dizziness, but he too could not bear the feeling of nausea and would bang his head on the floor.

Finally, Verden disembarked.

He looked normal, as if it was a given. No, he seemed satisfied.

'A ship racing underground. It's quite charming.'

I've been on an airplane several times.

It was my first time on a boat and racing across water like this, especially passing through a huge underground cave.

It was definitely a memorable and unique experience.

'The other smugglers seem to be quite burdened, though.'

Since the travel time was drastically shortened and the ship was preserved intact without anyone dying, there shouldn't be any complaints.

I lightly generated magic power.

Since Verden learned magic to strengthen himself, he was not very good at using magic to influence others.

However, if it is a low-level magic, mental magic is also possible.

<True>

2nd tier magic.

As the cast was repeated continuously, the number of smugglers who stopped feeling seasick increased one by one. Verden, who had put an end to the commotion in an instant, approached Padreld.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, yes…… Thanks to you, I’m fine. Thank you.”

Hoo. Padreld took a deep breath.

Color returned to the pale complexion.

As his trembling senses calmed down, he felt like he was going to live. He soon came to his senses and spoke.

“When can we depart for the autonomous region?”

“How long does it take to prepare?”

“If we move the supplies to the ground and prepare the carriages… we’ll be done in about six hours. I guess the facilities here are better and we have more manpower.”

“Then let’s leave in half a day.”

To take some rest.

Padrel was relieved that he could get some decent sleep, even if it was just a little.

He nodded and politely guided Verden to the hideout, then called the officer in charge of the canyon in the Dominion.

An order to immediately move all supplies and load them onto wagons.

The executive, who had accepted the sudden request without the slightest complaint, casually asked a question.

“But who is this person you came with? Judging from the robes he’s wearing, he doesn’t seem like an ordinary person. Are you an illegal immigrant of noble birth?”

“That… Ah, it’ll be hard to explain, so I’ll tell you later. Anyway, I’ll take care of it myself, so tell them to just forget about it and do their work.”

“Oh, yes. I understand. But before that, I have something to report to you.”

“……?”

“Aside from the turbulent atmosphere in the autonomous territory, the atmosphere among other smugglers has been quite tense recently. I heard that they are even wielding knives at each other, desperate to steal the smuggled goods.”

You committed looting?

“What is the cause?”

“I haven’t figured it out yet.”

Padreld licked his lips.

It is a smuggler's taboo to target each other's smuggled goods. The fact that they are blatantly breaking that rule means that there is something going on…

“Well, I don’t think they’re targeting us. Unless they dare to die. Just figure out the situation. First, take care of the urgent matters, and then we’ll decide whether or not to get involved directly.”

If you interfere rashly, you may see blood.

Padreld decided to stay away from whatever conflict he knew as much as possible. At least for now, he had to make sure nothing happened.

The cadre gathered all the smugglers in the territory.

Those who had just warmed up quickly boarded the ship. There was no time to waste if they had to move the supplies by the time Padreld had said.

“…….”

The man who was looking at them disappeared without a trace.

* * *

A man named 'Oel', who escaped the Smuggler's Canyon, ran through the forest.

Recently, a party of gold-rank adventurers had been dispatched to wipe out the nearby Ainz races, so it was relatively safe and they moved without hesitation.

The man who had been skillfully riding along the mountain path clicked his tongue nervously.

“They said they’d be leaving the kingdom in two weeks at the earliest… Padreld, how did that brat get here so soon?”

It's an unexpected situation.

I worked hard to infiltrate, but I never thought things would go wrong like this. And on top of that, they're trying to move the smuggled goods to the autonomous territory in a hurry.

'Did you notice?'

… … No, that can’t be it.

It's very possible that it's just his unique caution. He's called a smuggler, so he probably has some kind of sixth sense.

Whatever it was, missing the carriage would have been a disaster.

If only I had the cargo that Padreld had, I could retire with a dozen times more wealth than usual… … I absolutely could not miss this opportunity.

So, we must definitely take it away.

“But who the hell is that guy wearing that robe?”

A pure white robe decorated with gold that was so splendid that even when viewed from a distance, your jaw would drop in amazement.

I couldn't see his face clearly because his hood was pulled down too low, but it was clear that he was no ordinary person. Could he be a guest of Padreld?

I was curious about who it was, but I had no choice but to come out right away.

Except for the guards, everyone in the canyon was moving.

If they had delayed any longer or had been sweating it out trying to transport the smuggled goods together, the raid would have gone down the drain.

But if you are a noble… … .

“Hehehe, it would be good as a side income.”

You might get an unexpected harvest.

Oel, who had whetted his appetite, ran along the forest path where the sun was beginning to set and headed to the campsite where his group was.