21st Century Archmage

Swoooooosh.

Flying high above the mountains further north, where the wind was getting colder and colder, the air outside my helmet looked so frigid that I would have frozen to death long ago if not for my airplate.

‘Shit, I only got a few potatoes.

After suffering a defeat from me, Kantahars father, the Chief of the Aishwen, obediently listened to what I had to say. Or rather, the way the chief looked at me so earnestly while speaking about their truly difficult circumstances made me wonder if Id been the one who got caught by the chiefs bait.

‘Yeah, when I think about it, I won too easily.

He was still the chief of a tribe forged from constant battles in the perilous mountains. He might have just let me win so that he could have an excuse for later.

Flap flap flap flap.

‘Still, its a relief that I got the tribal flag.

The Great Shaman, Lokoroïa, was located several hours by flight from the village of the Aishwen Tribe. On the way, we passed by several other Temir villages on the way, because some of those tribes had wyverns, the appearance of a foreign wyvern might have invited meaningless fights.

However, a large boulder drawn atop a white demon beast hide, the flag representing the Aishwen Tribe, prevented possible fights. It was a flag granted to the tribe by Lokoroïa herself. Anyone who attacked a person with that flag was deriding Lokoroïa, so the other tribespeople couldnt carelessly attack me.

‘Theyre closer than I thought.

The tribes were spread out in the Litore Mountains region next to the border with the Bajran Empire, but the Great Shaman Lokoroïa had her base set up pretty close to Nerman, only a 5 hours flight away from Orakk Castle. I thought she would be located deep into the north, but she wasnt.

‘A large tribe has tens of thousands of warriors, huh. In total, theyve got maybe 200,000 men in total.

In the chiefs tent, I was offered a fishy-tasting mountain potato to eat. It wasnt even a regular potato, but a mountain potato harvestable from the wild. It was edible, but had a strong, fishy flavor, making it an offensive food that the people would only eat when there was nothing else. That was the kind of food the chief shamelessly presented to me, a guest. From the looks of it, if action wasnt taken soon, they would soon starve to death or be reduced to fodder for the monsters.

‘Like holy water, without the totems made by a shaman, the demon beasts will attack.

There was still a silver lining. Like the holy water that repelled demon beasts, the totems made by a shaman could keep demon beasts at bay. That was the reason why the Temir tribes had no choice but to submit with absolute obedience to the Great Shaman.

‘Hm?

After passing a few tribal villages, as we flew into an enormous mountain range the size of the Himalayas, I saw a flock of wyverns far into the distance.

‘W-Wild wyverns!!!!

My eyes grew to the size of saucers. On the continent, wyverns couldnt be easily acquired even with money. It wasnt just one or two wild wyverns, either—over a hundred wyverns ranging in size were flying in a group. With those numbers, if we could catch them, all my wyvern problems would be settled. I gulped.

‘!! Theyre wyverns, not sparrows, so why the fuck are there so many!!

More surprisingly, the first group I saw wasnt the only one. Far, far into the enormous mountain range was yet another flock. Like a flock of sparrows flying over empty fields in late autumn, their numbers were jaw-dropping.

‘Kyaa, it would be frickin awesome if I made a base here and hunted wyverns.

If they werent soaked in holy water in the shell, the moment they hatched, the wyverns were merely savage, wild monsters. Just an impossible dream, like the sexy models that appeared on alcohol posters.

“Its over there! That is Mothers Village!”

While I was busy drooling over the wyverns, Kantahar used mana to shout from behind my back. He had followed me all the way to this dangerous place in order to act as my guide.

‘Wow!

While I was busy looking at the wyverns, we turned the corner of a mountain, and came face to face with a temple that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

‘Pyramid?

It wasnt as big as the Egyptian pyramids, but the temple was a massive pyramid that stuck out like a sore thumb among the mountains.

‘G-GOLD!!! OH MY GOD!

More astonishing was the fact the pyramid, which glowed a dazzling yellow under the sunset, was topped by a moon statue easily 10 meters large and made of pure gold.

“T-Those are the Mothers Guardian Warriors!”

Guooooooooooo!

Spotting enemies, Bebeto followed up Kantahars surprised shout with his own cry.

‘Kek…

Wyverns were quickly going aloft at the sight of Bebeto. Over 100 Temir Greys were flapping towards us.

‘What to do?

Even for me, 100 wyverns was too much to handle. I had to make a decision, and fast. I put the latest model of wyvern armor on Bebeto because we were going somewhere dangerous, but if dozens of spears were hurled at us in unison, we would still have to bid adieu to this world. If we were going to flee, now was the time, while the wyverns were still lifting off.

‘Whatever, here goes nothing.

Ignorance makes one brave. I decided to brave this trifling(?) danger for the sake of my goal.

“Who are you!”

‘Is it because theyre elites?

We had the flag of the Aishwen Tribe, but were attired like an imperial Skyknight, so the Guardian Warriors addressed us with Kallian Common. They surrounded us perfectly in no time.

“I am Kantahar, Big Finger of the Eldest Son Before the Sacred Boulder, Chief of the Aishwen Tribe. We have come to seek an audience with the Mother of the People for an important matter!!!!”

Kantahar shouted with mana to the Guardian Warrior aiming an old model of spear at Bebeto as he flew in place. If we didnt have the Aishwen Tribes flag, things would have definitely gone to hell already by now.

“Who is he! Why is the Big Finger of the Eldest Son Before the Sacred Boulder, Chief of the Aishwen Tribe, dressed like an imperial soldier? Luatikapa daanonia harpatia!!”

After shouting the first part in Common, the Guardian Warrior switched to the Temir language.

“Atipao… Lukasha, Kyre!”

Kantahar yelled something in the Temir language, with my name at the end.

Flash!

As soon as Kantahar finished speaking, the Guardian Warriors put mana into their spears, ready to fire.

‘You wanna go, bitches?!

I wasnt about to sit around and let myself be skewered. Defensive spells and offensive spells were instantly written out in my head. If I took advantage of the moment they let down their guard, we might be able to escape using spirits and magic.

Peeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!