“He’s gone berserk, he’s gone berserk.” Countless people cried out in alarm.

Thud, thud... Heavy footsteps echoed as the mountain berserker appeared once more, flames of rage burning as if fueled by some medium. His body had doubled in size, bursting through the upper half of his clothes, every pore oozing red sweat, and a purple gash appeared on his abdomen where the sword had just struck. His blood-red eyes seemed about to burst from their sockets.

“You... all... must... die...!!!!” Ignoring the tables, chairs, and guests before him, the berserker charged at Amy like an enraged bull, the tables and chairs of hard pinewood splintering like paper in his path.

In an instant, Amy’s mind flashed with Ethan Brooks’s description of berserkers from the troop-countering lessons: If a berserker is a “war machine,” then a berserker in a berserk state is a terrifying “machine of destruction.” Berserk is a unique skill of berserkers—trading their life to the god of war Asok for more than ten times their normal combat power. Some berserkers who go berserk frequently can never return to normal. A berserker in this state ignores all ordinary attacks—unless his head is severed, he will continue to wield his immense destructive power. Any commander treats berserker barracks with extreme caution; in regular siege warfare, deploying berserkers is strictly forbidden. Otherwise, if even a few berserkers go berserk, what you’ll get is not a city, but ruins.

First time traveling far from home, first time fighting someone, and already encountering such an opponent—must be a stroke of wild luck. Amy gripped the sword tightly, black lightning flashed in the air once more, kill~~~ “Enough~~” a commanding voice rang out.

The berserker collapsed like a mountain into the wreckage of tables and chairs.

An old man walked out from the Mage Guild, clad in a red mage’s robe, the insignia on his chest marking him as an archmage: “With mercenaries present, we cannot stop your private duels, but if a spectacle turns into a destructive war, that is something we do not wish to see. Once again, let’s applaud the warriors who gave us a free show of the sword’s afterimage and the berserker’s afterimage today. Oh, and that noble beast knight and his adorable phantom wolf—let’s all applaud together.” After speaking, the old man returned to the Mage Guild building.

Several of the berserker’s companions rushed over, trying to help him up, but found that he had solidified like stone, still in his berserk state.

“He’s been petrified. He’ll return to normal in about two hours,” someone nearby, clearly an intermediate mage, kindly informed them.

With the archmage from the Mage Guild stepping in, unless there was a mage of equal power, no one would dare stir up trouble again. A few little elves quickly cast restoration magic at the large hole in the wall, and the pine tree supporting the bar soon responded, sprouting new branches and leaves to patch up the opening.

Until now, Amy had always doubted the offensive power of mages. As a traditional knight, Ethan Brooks had rarely spoken of mages in his professional lectures, but seeing a seemingly invincible warrior become utterly helpless in an instant was simply unbelievable.

“Hey, don’t just stand there in a daze.” Ethan Brooks pushed a glass of wine in front of Amy. “Try this, it’s really good. This is the Treehouse Bar’s specialty—Thousand Herb Leaf Infused Wine. It refreshes the mind, beautifies the complexion, and boosts recovery.”

“...Actually, you don’t need to be so surprised. Today, we’ve encountered opponents you’d never meet under normal circumstances. The total population of mountain berserkers is only about three hundred thousand. Those who serve in national armies number less than a hundred thousand. Berserkers who can perform four afterimages number fewer than 500, those who can perform five afterimages are fewer than 100, and those who can reach the top level of six afterimages at once are fewer than 10. As for archmages, there are only five in the current Amy Empire, and one has entered the Wishing Tower, so only four remain. Including the reclusive archmages, the total shouldn’t exceed 100.”

“Amy~~ did you hear what I said?? If you become a beast knight, you can use your beast’s levitation to easily kill that berserker. As for dealing with an archmage, well, as long as he doesn’t attack you and your mount at the same time, if you can’t win, you can at least run away quickly~~ sigh—” The noble of the empire let out a long sigh, trying to comfort himself but clearly unwilling to accept it.

“Mind if I sit here?” An old, withered, dry, dirty, black hand rested on the edge of the table.

“Pfft~~” The imperial noble, who had just been close to a beautiful woman, couldn’t handle such a stark contrast and spat out his entire mouthful of wine onto the owner of the hand.

“It’s fine, I don’t mind, I’m used to it—especially with you.” Beneath a head full of foam was a mass of wild, gray hair. A mage, but compared to the dignified archmage in the red robe just now, this mage was simply—too pitiful to look at. His face was covered in wrinkles, his eye sockets deeply sunken, his eyes showing only a thin slit, a hooked nose, a flat mouth, and his clothes were... not exactly