Water Magician
Chapter 575: Capture

Editor: Tseirp

A man landed in front of the main encampment.

He had dark brown hair and eyes of the same color.

His face could be called handsome, though his expression was somewhat displeased.

“Stop right there, enemy commander.”

Ryo’s voice rang out.

The brown-haired man stopped.

“Your Highness, please leave this to me.”

Ryo immediately said to Prince Ryun, who nodded silently.

“Enemy commander, my name is Henoheno Moheji. You should state your name as well.”

Ryo declared in a dignified voice.

However, to Abel, who knew Ryo’s usual tone and behavior, it all seemed quite forced.

(Probably that’s how military strategists behave…)

Abel concluded.

He wasn’t entirely wrong.

This was Ryo’s idea of what a strategist should act like.

“I have no need to give my name to the likes of you.”

The brown-haired man replied.

He tried to step forward—but froze.

It seemed he had noticed the .

“A trap…?”

“You think we’d carelessly lure a Phantomkin* into our ranks without preparation?” (TLN: Will be going with Phantomkin instead of Illusionkin henceforth. Seems more fitting)

“…What did you say?”

The brown-haired man’s eyes widened in shock at Ryo’s words.

“I said Phantomkin. Didn’t you hear me?”

Ryo repeated it clearly.

Surprise and confidence.

The contrast between the expressions of the man and Ryo revealed a difference in the information they possessed.

“You still refuse to give your name? Let me guess, you were ordered to test Darwei’s strength, weren’t you? Your boss is an awful per… no, your boss is an awful Phantomkin.”

“Just how much do you know…?”

“I know quite a lot.”

These were words that the Phantomkin Garibech had let slip back in Tiger Mountain.

Ryo’s memory served him well at such times.

(That fan-waving action is so annoyingly smug…)

Abel thought privately.

Then, Ryo delivered the finishing blow:

“By the way. Is Marie Cloche your colleague?”

“…”

The man was stunned into silence at the mention of that name.

“It’s nothing to be so shocked about. She appeared at the Darwei imperial palace recently and declared herself: Marie Cloche, one of the Seven-Star Generals of the Choouchi Empire. Apparently, she was ordered to do so. Even I wouldn’t want to say I’m a citizen of the Choouchi Empire. Couldn’t they have picked a cooler name?”

“What is the meaning of this…?”

“Oh? You weren’t informed? Perhaps your rank is lower than the Seven-Star Generals?”

“Don’t mock me… I am one of the Seven-Star Generals…!”

At that moment, Ryo smiled inwardly.

It was that smile Abel and Niels sometimes warned him about—the one that meant he was up to no good.

Of course, that was a misunderstanding.

After all, a harmless magician like Ryo wouldn’t be thinking such things!

“Then let me repeat. I am Henoheno Moheji. And you are?”

“I am Yun Chen, one of the Seven-Star Generals of the Choouchi Empire. Yes, it’s my duty to measure your strength. And that one over there must be royalty. Are you not going to let your master introduce himself?”

Yun Chen looked toward Prince Ryun.

“Very well. I am the Sixth Prince, Ryun.”

“A real royal. And a prince no less…finally.”

“Finally?”

“My duty is to assess your strength. But I also have another: to lure out royalty and kill them!”

With that, Yun Chen chanted:

“”

In that instant, hundreds of flaming projectiles shot out from him—

All aimed directly at Prince Ryun.

But…

Originally, there was a ‘trap’ before Yun Chen.

He had recognized it only as a ‘trap’, but in truth, it was the .

This mine would freeze all incoming physical and magical attacks using steam-based magic.

If the magic was too powerful to be frozen, it would trigger mutual annihilation, erasing both the attack and the trap.

The did its job perfectly.

The densely placed mines emitted brilliant flashes of mutual annihilation, vanishing along with the incoming magic.

Not a single spell made it through.

“Tch…”

Yun Chen clicked his tongue in frustration and leapt into the air.

“”

The semi-spherical ice wall, previously deployed in a 500-meter radius, immediately shrank at Ryo’s command.

BOOM.

The escaping Yun Chen collided violently with the closing .

“”

As Yun Chen began to fall unconscious from the impact, Ryo sealed him in an ice coffin.

Made of magic-resistant ‘multi-layered ice’, in case the Phantomkin could cast spells without incantation.

“A pickled Phantomkin.”

Ryo said proudly, tapping the frozen coffin.

“Uh…I-I see.”

Prince Ryun stammered in surprise.

Ryo had suggested earlier they ‘try’ to capture one… but he hadn’t truly expected it to succeed.

Thus, the disturbance in the Moason region came to an end.

The group now traveled toward the imperial capital.

Whereas Ryo and Abel had followed at the rear during the journey out, they were now encircled from a distance by the Black Banner Army.

The reason lay behind Ryo.

Abel glanced back at it.

An ice coffin, loaded on Ryo’s spell.

The ice was cloudy, obscuring the inside.

“You made it that way on purpose…”

“We’re forced to transport him this way, but he’s technically a prisoner of war. Not a spectacle. We’re treating him as humanely as possible.”

Ryo answered solemnly.

A noble sentiment—but the contrast between his expression and the surreal sight of the ice coffin being pulled behind made the whole scene oddly comical.

“Also, unlike my usual , this multi-layered version blocks sound. So we can speak nearby without worrying. He’s unconscious for now, but still—safety first.”

Ryo explained.

Otherwise, the prisoner might overhear critical information.

“But wasn’t that fight…too easy?”

“Too easy?”

“Yeah. That battle just now.”

“You think… he let himself get captured?”

Ryo’s face froze in shock at Abel’s suggestion.

Pretending to be a strategist, only to be outwitted by his enemy? Understandably upsetting.

“You mean he’s better than me? I can’t accept that! I should just crush him in the ice and pretend he never existed…”

“Hey, idiot, stop!”

Abel quickly shut him down.

The execution of the prisoner was narrowly averted.

“Of course, I wasn’t ‘really’ going to do it!”

“Really…”

“Look into my eyes!”

“Your mouth says, ‘I was this close’, though.”

“That’s slander!”

Apparently, confessing makes you powerless—no matter the era or world.

“Though honestly, the guy didn’t seem that smart…”

“Abel! That’s discriminatory speech!”

“I just think… the real mastermind hasn’t shown up yet.”

“I see. A schemer, or as we say in the East, a strategist.”

Ryo nodded thoughtfully.

“This guy’s headed to the palace, right?”

“Probably. Or the adjacent Censorate’s High-Security Prison—you know, where Lord Von Debout was held.”

“Magic doesn’t work inside the palace…I wonder if the Censorate is the same? That would explain why they think it’s safe to keep him there.”

“Prince Ryun did say so. Last time, when the Starry Veil was broken, Marie flew right into the palace.”

“Yeah, that’s it. I remember now.”

Abel suddenly recalled something.

“The guy in the ice…Yun Chen—wasn’t he wearing something like flight rings on his hands and feet?”

“Well spotted. Yes, he did seem to be wearing something like that.”

Ryo confirmed Abel’s observation.

“You noticed?”

“Not at first. Only after putting him in the coffin and investigating. Though I should mention— his version is different from the ones we bought.”

“Oh?”

“They’re what you might call. Peak performance but hard to handle…”

Like Formula One cars compared to regular vehicles.

Formula One cars go fast, steer well. Too well.

So they’re difficult to handle…

“Once I understand it better, I’ll let you know.”

“Looking forward to it.”

Abel smiled and nodded.

Naturally.

These Phantomkin could likely fly even outside Darwei’s core region of ‘Chuo Chuang’.

In fact, most of the Moason region wasn’t even part of Chuo Chuang.

If they could fly here too…

Then they might be able to fly anywhere in the world.

Abel smiled at the thought.

And Ryo understood as well.

That’s why, even while traveling, he kept researching the captive through the .

And such study also helped him improve his mastery of magic—making it a worthy endeavor.

After spending one night on the road, the suppression army returned to the capital.

They arrived at the great plaza in front of Taiji hall, the imperial audience hall and center of morning government affairs within the Forbidden City.

The vast plaza could hold tens of thousands, and aside from imperial inspections, it usually remained empty.

“Well done, Ryun.”

Emperor Tsuin grasped the prince’s hands in praise.

A rare gesture that surprised the courtiers.

“Your Majesty, your praise is too kind.”

Ryun bowed humbly.

“Not at all. Minimal losses, and you even captured the enemy commander. You couldn’t ask for better results.”

“…Ha.”

Though Ryun looked like he wanted to say more.

He held back.

He had been told by Ryo in advance.

All credit goes to the commander.

Of course, Emperor Tsuin understood to some degree.

At least in terms of the capture, Ryo must have played a key role.

After all, the Phantomkin remained sealed in ice.

His titles weren’t for show after all.

The ‘Ice Fall’ and ‘Silver Duke’.

The ice coffin fit the name of his other title: Ice Fall, that is, a frozen waterfall.

As the reports concluded and they reached the topic of the prisoner’s confinement, Ryo requested to speak.

“What is it, Duke Rondo?”

“Your Majesty, I have a request. May I keep the Phantomkin at my estate, sealed within the ice coffin?”

“Hmm.”

Emperor Tsuin considered Ryo’s request.

“You believe other Phantomkin might try to reclaim him. And wish to prepare for that?”

“Yes. It is only a possibility, but still.”

“Very well. Indeed, your estate is the safest place. However, there are things we wish to learn from this one. The Censorate may send officials to question him…”

“Of course. I will fully cooperate. Thanks to Your Majesty’s generosity, my estate is quite spacious. Please use it as needed.”

And so, Yun Chen, the Phantomkin, was placed in the garden of Ryo’s mansion.

Still sealed inside the ice coffin.

Golems, made of ice, continued tending to the garden.

The ice coffin sat among them.

And the estate’s master looked on with satisfaction.

Abel, seeing all this, could only shake his head quietly.

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