How to Survive as a Mage Inside a Game-Chapter 20: Orc Invasion (5)

At that, the knights each spoke up.

Their names were Lonte, Fonn, and Jeraph.

The one with the most striking look—fiery red hair and a long scar slashed across her eye—Jeraph, looked at Karl and spoke.

“I’ve heard the stories. I was told you rescued the young lady and Yurie.”

“Ah, yes.”

“I’m Yurie’s mentor. It’s late, but allow me to express my respect and gratitude for what you did.”

Her tone, in contrast to her fierce appearance, was controlled and formal.

“If this mission succeeds, it’ll be as if you personally led us to victory in this war.”

Well, that was obvious.

If Karl hadn’t identified the shaman, the war would’ve ended in total defeat.

Still, he shook his head humbly.

“It’s only because everyone risked their lives and fought with everything they had. That is, if the mission succeeds.”

The five of them reached the southern gate—opposite from where the shaman was.

“H-Here you go.”

A soldier who had hauled horses up onto the wall per orders looked thoroughly confused.

“But why the horses...?”

“Thanks. You can return to your post,” Mayer said.

The five climbed into their saddles directly on the wall.

Only five of them were exiting.

There was no reason to open the gate and risk exposure.

Mayer looked at Karl with a sly [N O V E L I G H T] grin.

“I noticed earlier—you handle force magic quite well. Want to do the honors?”

Karl nodded.

“You’ll need to raise the shield, Mayer. The Orc Warriors will throw spears the moment they spot us.”

“Leave it to me.”

The task was simple.

Use force magic to wrap the five of them—horses included—and land softly beneath the wall.

Doing it with five people and horses would require intense concentration.

“This side’s less crowded. We’ll descend here.”

After ordering the archers and mages nearby to provide covering fire—

“Then let’s begin. Hold the reins tight—don’t let the horses panic mid-air.”

Karl cast the force spell.

The invisible force enveloped the group, and they slowly descended the outer wall.

KRRRRRRAAAHH—!!

Five figures descending from the sky.

Naturally, the orcs below noticed immediately.

KWAANG! CRASH!

Spear attacks came flying instantly.

All of them blocked by the shield Mayer had cast.

Even with the archers and mages providing cover, and even with most orcs gathered at the northern and eastern gates, the numbers were still overwhelming—dozens of orcs quickly swarmed the landing zone.

They’d need overwhelming firepower to break through.

“Mayer.”

“Already done.”

FWOOSH!!

A massive cyclone of blue flames erupted where the orcs had clustered.

The orcs caught in the center were incinerated so completely they left no trace behind.

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Judging by the sheer force, Karl figured it had to be a 5th Circle spell.

A clean, open path formed.

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The five of them touched down on the scorched earth, smoke curling around them.

No more words were needed.

The plan was already set—they just had to carry it out without delay.

Before the orcs could regroup, the five immediately spurred their horses and began their charge.

KRRRAHH!!

And standing in their path—Orc Warriors.

They had stayed at the rear, throwing spears, so they hadn’t been caught in Mayer’s spell.

But it didn’t matter.

No one here was weak enough to be slowed down by mere orcs.

The knights in the lead drew their swords.

Each blade shimmered with a dense, blood-red aura.

It was a concentrated sword aura—on a completely different level from ordinary knights.

FWHOOOSH!!

What followed was a slaughter.

The elite knights tore through the Orc Warriors as if cutting down bundles of straw.

Limbs and heads flew in every direction, blood spraying the air and splattering the ground.

Following from the rear, Karl offered silent respect.

‘Damn... they’re terrifying.’

Most knights would struggle to take on even one Orc Warrior because of their raw power and resilience.

But these three were slicing them apart like they were nothing.

And honestly, that made sense.

These were elite knights—monsters among monsters. Even among the great noble houses, you’d find maybe one or two.

Darkan had clearly mobilized the best warriors his house could offer, betting everything on Karl’s information about the shaman.

Thanks to the knights, the path cleared quickly.

Glancing back at the orcs and Hawk Riders tailing them, Karl shouted:

“We can’t let them follow! We’ll deal with them once we’ve pulled farther from the wall!”

If they didn’t shake the orcs, the plan to circle around and ambush the shaman would be blown.

After eliminating the pursuers, the group stopped at a spot well outside the city.

“Hmm... I’d say we’re about halfway there?” Mayer commented.

Karl replied with a slight smirk.

“We’re just getting started. Halfway’s generous.”

“They say the first step’s the hardest, ha-ha!”

To be fair, in terms of progress, it was around halfway.

All that remained now was to circle around the plains and kill the shaman.

Which, of course, was the hardest part.

“It’s too open out here—an ambush won’t work. If only there was some cover, like a thicket or tall grass.”

“Just being away from the orcs is already lucky enough. And besides...”

Karl glanced at the four others, hesitating for a moment.

‘I should tell them the shaman’s attack patterns... but this’ll sound sketchy as hell.’

Having played as a shaman and even cleared the game’s ending, Karl knew Garduka’s patterns and counters intimately.

He’d been a pain in the ass to beat, so Karl had tried every strategy under the sun. He remembered them all clearly.

Sure, this wasn’t the game—but even so, that knowledge would help immensely.

The problem was, if he shared too much, they’d start wondering how the hell he knew all that.

‘Well... so what if they’re suspicious? I just need to end the war.’

Even if they thought it was weird, how long would they actually dwell on it?

Karl decided to just bluff his way through and opened his mouth.

“I’m only saying this just in case, so pay close attention.”

He began laying out everything—one by one.

The others looked at him strangely.

It was one thing to know about the shaman’s existence. But this level of detail? No way you learned that from a book.

“How do you know all that...?”

“I read it. I’ve got a serious interest in shamanism, you see.”

“No offense, but there’s no way you learned that much from books...”

“Mayer, does that really matter right now? Soldiers are dying as we speak. We need to kill that shaman—fast.”

“W-Well, yes, you’re right...”

After running through the plan one last time—

“Everyone clear on what I said? You must not forget any of it.”

The knights and Mayer all nodded.

The five of them continued their wide detour across the plains, careful to stay out of sight.

Toward the shaman.