Chapter 255: The Contest of Various Forces

One mage died, and none were injured. In that situation, no attack could reach the mages. Shortly after the mages recovered, the crystal ball delivered news again: it confirmed that the three Seventh Tier Mages had died, though it did not mention who had hunted them down.

The Death Mages recovered faster than the mages of the Blizzard Legion. Though their tier was slightly lower, their recovery speed being two-thirds faster still prompted Mage Yisier to sigh in admiration. If she could obtain that meditation method, her combat effectiveness would improve further. Of course, that was just a passing thought.

Day broke, and after collecting the spoils, the mages sprinkled special powders over the corpses, then burned them to ashes with Arcane Fire. Only the scattered broken weapons, bloodstains, and the large pits blasted by spells reminded passersby of what had happened there the night before.

Over the next three months, the mages remained stationed on this hill, continuously ambushing any Mist Trade Guild caravans attempting to pass through. The repeated ambushes inflicted heavy losses on the guild; at least during these three months, no caravan managed to leave the imperial capital, nor could any return from the direction of the Mist Forest.

Instead, the Blizzard Legion’s caravans continually left the capital carrying large amounts of goods toward the Mist Forest. By then, the first caravan that had departed from the capital had already returned from the Mist Forest with a great number of precious items.

During this period, the Mist Trade Guild attempted to use other city gates, but the Blizzard Legion had also dispatched significant forces on other roads leading to the Mist Forest. The Roaring Legion and the Barbaric Legion also assisted the Blizzard Legion in intercepting the guild. This unsettled many large merchants and nobles within the capital, especially those guilds that had clashed with the Blizzard Legion years earlier.

Fortunately, this situation did not persist. After Shaoke and his team intercepted another attack by the Mist Trade Guild, an order from the Blizzard Legion reached Mage Yisier’s magic item. Due to objections from many merchants and attacks from certain nobles and officials—who claimed that the Blizzard Legion’s actions had severely threatened the stability of the capital—the legion was required to withdraw its besieging mages as quickly as possible.

Under repeated pressure from the Imperial Military, the Blizzard Legion had no choice but to decide to withdraw. Yet even then, the Mist Trade Guild still showed no sign of capitulation to the legion. Faced with this outcome, Mage Yisier felt helpless, and Shaoke grew increasingly irritable.

The Mist Trade Guild had repeatedly attempted to assassinate him, and now, before it had suffered proper punishment, he could no longer retaliate. This was deeply frustrating. Of course, by this point, he had selectively forgotten that the conflict had started when he hunted down a noble affiliated with the guild. Despite his reluctance, Shaoke led the Death Mages to follow Yisier and the Blizzard mages as they left the hill and headed toward the capital.

Along the way, merchants quickly cleared the road for this unfamiliar mage caravan. After all, what had happened to the Mist Trade Guild during this period was well known to all merchants. Just as Shaoke and the Death Mages were about to reach the capital, vibrations from the crystal ball indicated new information from the Death Mage Corps.

A series of charges against the Mist Trade Guild appeared before Shaoke through the crystal ball: treason during wartime, price gouging during wartime, endangering soldiers' lives, massive slave trafficking, killing the families of imperial soldiers, and passing intelligence to the Esuoer Empire. Finally, it instructed him to lead the Death Mages to the Mist Trade Guild’s headquarters to completely eliminate them, with assistance from military units.

When Shaoke excitedly shared this news with Mage Yisier beside him, she too was overjoyed. Destroying the Mist Trade Guild had become a primary goal for all mages of the former 33rd Corps. Now they would finally realize that goal.

At the city gate, a lone Sixth Rank Death Mage hid in a corner. When the mage caravan arrived, he intercepted Shaoke. Taking a golden parchment scroll from his robe, he handed it to Shaoke: “An imperial decree. The Mist Trade Guild must vanish from this world today.” He then signaled Shaoke to take the scroll and said, “Follow me to the Mist Trade Guild headquarters. I think they would be very pleased to see you read the imperial decree.” He laughed hoarsely. Clearly, he had become somewhat familiar with Shaoke; otherwise, he wouldn’t have spoken so much.

Taking the parchment scroll, Shaoke followed that mage, and together with Yisier, they led the other mages toward the Mist Trade Guild’s headquarters.

The Mist Trade Guild’s headquarters was huge, situated on a bustling street that was essentially a gathering place for various guilds and trade associations. It was a massive manor with several towering spires, where important figures and high-level professionals usually resided. Whether any high-level professionals still remained there, Shaoke harbored doubts.

A force of several thousand red-armored cavalry had already surrounded the area. After verifying Shaoke’s credentials, they allowed the mage group to join the encirclement. Their leader was a knight, though his mount was not a magical beast, but rather a precious split-horned horse. This horse’s endurance and speed surpassed those of ordinary low-level magical beasts, and the large horn on its forehead could release a supportive recovery-like spell, enabling both the horse and its rider to fight and travel over long distances.

A large crowd of merchants gathered around the perimeter, but none dared approach the cavalry. Unlike the earlier Black-armored Cavalry, these riders—who had only appeared in the capital after the war—were known for annihilating families. For this reason, people kept their distance.

Three to five hundred people, dressed in various garments, stood at the manor’s entrance. Although their attire reflected their various noble positions, their faces no longer bore arrogance or smiles—at least for the merchants and young nobles. The women could barely stay on their feet, as the red-armored cavalrymen’s earlier words had left them utterly despairing.

It turned out that just after the military had ordered the Blizzard Legion to abandon its absurd vendetta, these red-armored cavalry had surrounded the manor. They offered a choice: either walk out and accept death with dignity, or resist inside the manor and then face death. Facing a cavalry force composed entirely of Sixth-rank Warriors, the Mist Trade Guild had panicked upon learning that the Blizzard Legion had withdrawn. They couldn’t understand why the situation had temporarily eased, only to have soldiers surround them now, intending to wipe them out.

Using their unique information channels, the guild master contacted military officers and influential nobles and merchants with whom he had connections. Only then did he learn the true identity of these red-armored cavalry: they belonged to the Bloody Citadel’s Bloody Cavalry Regiment. Having arrived in the capital, they now only obeyed imperial commands and dealt with threats to the empire’s security. This news filled him with despair.

The Bloody Citadel was a special institution. In his family, which had endured for tens of thousands of years, some specific knowledge about it survived. That place was merely a training ground for promising warriors and mages. It obeyed no command and simply consumed lives. As for the ultimate fate of High-rank Warriors or other professionals trained there, no one knew.

Before the Bloody Cavalry Regiment, which had no connections with any faction, no one could plead for them—not even high-ranking military officials. Moreover, they had made it clear that they came on the emperor’s orders. This made the guild master even more desperate. If only there had been top-tier professionals in the family back then, perhaps this wouldn’t have happened. But then he recalled that even the empire itself had few such top-tier professionals, and so he gave up complaining.

After a silent wait, the one to deliver the orders finally arrived. The mages of the Blizzard Legion were recognizable, but the Death Mages under Shaoke were not. Their black robes, black cloaks, black staffs, and eerie flames—these a hundred or so mages dressed like this made him realize these were the so-called Death Mages. However, he could not know their specific mission. Even after the battle began, the families with whom he had formerly maintained good relations refused to explain the Death Mages’ specific duties, while higher-ranking nobles and merchants remained silent about everything concerning the Death Mages.

This had puzzled and worried him earlier, but once the conflict escalated to that point, escaping became impossible. He had delayed until now, only to realize that everything was already too late.

Now Shaoke arrived. Gazing at that old, enormous merchant, he felt strangely conflicted. Regardless of the guild master’s original motives for attacking him, it was clear that the man would never again pose any threat. “You are the master of the Mist Trade Guild, I presume.” Shaoke glanced at the merchant, then shifted his gaze to the others.