Chapter 217: Teleportation, Arrival, and Adjustment

You will gradually get used to this kind of teleportation." The Eighth Tier Mage tugged at his robe as they were about to leave, replying to what the White-robed Cleric thought was a quiet complaint. Of course, he was just giving these mages an early warning, since this war would inevitably involve long-distance travel via teleportation arrays.

As Shaoke and the others emerged from the subtle dizziness, the White-robed Cleric patted her ample chest and playfully stuck out her tongue at Mage Yisier beside her, saying, "I thought he couldn't hear that!"

"If I were standing in his position and released my mental energy to sense the surroundings, I would have heard it too." Mage Yisier gently flexed the arm that the White-robed Cleric had been gripping tightly; the Cleric had been holding on too firmly, but she didn't say anything to the Cleric about it.

The teleportation array here was underground, and Shaoke quickly realized their situation. Seven or eight Blue-robed Mages stood around the array, and one of them reminded them to head up a nearby passage to the surface. "Someone will meet you on the ground. I'll say this once: if there are no enemies here, it's best not to cast spells, because some reckless mages will immediately attack the source of any spellcasting." He then produced a light blue token, waved it in his hand, and locked his gaze on Shaoke. "Death Mage Corps? If you're still staying with this group, keep this token for now." He handed the token to Shaoke and gestured for them to leave. Shaoke had no idea what the token was for.

The passage to the surface wasn't long, just a few hundred meters. The mages stayed silent the entire way, unsure of who or what awaited them above—perhaps enemies had already taken the exit, waiting for these low-rank mages to fall into a trap.

There was a token-shaped indentation on a stone door blocking the passage. Seeing no other way, Shaoke placed the token into it. After a short wait, the stone door opened, and a strong smell of blood rushed into the passage with the cold wind. But as the crystal lamps on both sides flickered, a faint ripple spread from the walls, pushing the smell of blood back out.

The mages released their mental energy or magic to probe the outside. A few mental signatures from the guards outside reassured them. Shaoke stepped out of the passage first. In a modest courtyard, a figure in a light blue robe stood with her back to them, a small blue staff slowly rotating in her hand. Beside her were dozens of towering warriors, each at least six or seven meters tall—taller than any barbarian warriors Shaoke had seen.

These warriors blocked the light in the courtyard, making the mages feel gloomy.

Though Shaoke couldn't identify their race, the sight of their two-to-three-meter battle axes and the white aura occasionally flaring from their bodies quickly conveyed their formidable fighting strength.

"Welcome," a familiar voice came from the Blue-robed Mage. "Follow me. I'll get you your tasks as soon as possible." Without looking back at the mages behind her, she led the way out of the courtyard.

"Lady Mage, I believe I've seen you somewhere before," Shaoke said, quickly spinning his staff and hurrying to keep up. The other mages followed without hesitation, knowing that any delay here could be seen as defiance of orders.

"Many people recognize me," the Blue-robed Mage's clear voice came again. "You're a Death Mage. Why join a group like this? Did you leave the Mage Corps after your promotion?"

Hearing this, Shaoke was even more certain of her identity. "Yes, Honorable Mage of Binding." His respectful reply didn't make the Blue-robed Female Mage stop. After leaving the courtyard, they found themselves on a wide, empty street, with only soldiers and mages of various professions hurrying by, with no ordinary pedestrians in sight.

"How have you been doing these days?" The Blue-robed Mage, still not turning around, softened her tone slightly. "I think this kind of war suits you. What a familiar smell!" She suddenly hopped onto the shoulder of one of the giants and sat down. "We must get to the camp quickly. I hope you'll keep the same luck you had at the Bloody Fortress in the upcoming tasks."

Due to the giants' speed, the mages had to jog to keep up. The Blue-robed Mage offered no assistance. Fortunately, these were military mages, and though their physical fitness was far inferior to the warriors', they could manage a jog. Some mages reminded the group not to cast any auxiliary spells, so they relied solely on their physical strength to follow.

After nearly a magic hour of jogging, some mages were completely exhausted. The weakest were the female practitioners; the White-robed Cleric was practically being carried by Shaoke as they moved, while Mage Yisier gritted her teeth and kept going until they reached the camp. Many mages were in the same state. Shaoke, even while dragging another mage, wasn't too affected, having done this often years ago.

Simple, dilapidated buildings appeared before them, surrounded by numerous soldiers. The giants' arrival quickly identified them, so Shaoke's group entered the area without inspection.

"Lady Mage, is this our camp?" a Fifth Tier Male Mage panted, looking up at the Blue-robed Female Mage sitting on the giant's shoulder. Though he knew battlefield conditions were tough, this was hard to accept, and many mages shared his sentiment.

"This is just a temporary camp," the Blue-robed Female Mage floated down and, for the first time, turned to look at Shaoke's group. When her gaze fell on Shaoke, she nodded slightly, acknowledging him. "But in a few days, you'll leave here and move forward with the army, where you'll stay in tents." She then directed the mages into the damaged buildings.

Shaoke didn't follow the others. Instead, he gestured for Mage Yisier and the others to find rooms first, intending to approach the Blue-robed Female Mage for a conversation.

"Honorable Mage of Binding, may I know our tasks in advance?" Shaoke performed a formal salute, trying to keep his voice steady.

The Female Mage smiled faintly, pointing to a still-crumbling city wall in the distance. "Follow the army and hunt down stragglers and rescuers. In every war, many soldiers, mages, and other professionals are scattered behind our lines, greatly slowing our advance." She paused, then warned, "Remember, you might encounter strange mages on the battlefield who draw power from peculiar entities. They are not easy to kill."

"Gods?" Shaoke twitched his lips, realizing that after all these years in this world, he was finally dealing with beings related to so-called gods.

"Yes, gods." The Female Mage tilted her head slightly, letting her long, light blue hair fall over her pale neck. "You should know how to handle this. I don't want to hear other mages discussing it." Though she knew how a Death Mage operated, after a few years, she worried he might leak this information. Most low-rank mages didn't know about the gods' existence, treating ancient texts as mere legends.

"Is this war because of the gods?" Shaoke thought for a moment, then voiced his new question. "Can you tell me about the methods of attacking through the gods?"

"I don't know. The military only says the Esuoer Empire is invading us on a large scale, sending disruptors into our empire for brutal hunts without rules," the Female Mage frowned slightly. There were more reasons, but she didn't share them with Shaoke.

Still, Shaoke sensed from her expression that the war's cause was more complex than she let on. Otherwise, the two countries they'd been fighting for years wouldn't have ceased hostilities with the Blue Feather Empire and even sent mages to fight alongside them against the Esuoer Empire.

"Go rest well. If all goes smoothly, we'll leave this small city in three days and head to the front lines," the Blue-robed Female Mage sighed softly, then quickly flew away. The towering warriors picked up their axes and headed back toward the courtyard.

Shaoke's room was not far from the White-robed Cleric's and the others. The Fifth Tier Mages guarded these female practitioners, as there were seven or eight clerics among them. They had to protect these clerics, who were invaluable to mages. With a cleric's blessing, mages could reduce spellcasting costs and even shorten incantations. More importantly, clerics could speed up mages' recovery by three to four times and heal the spatial disturbances caused by prolonged spellcasting.