Chapter 102 Canyon Rules

After the Desasi Empire's forces lost another Second-tier Mage, both mages and warriors panicked. Shaoke and his companions seized the opportunity to frantically attack the remaining two enemy mages. In the end, one of the enemy mages had his defensive spell pierced by Shaoke's "Blazing Ray," which blasted a large hole in his head. The other mage was struck by a fireball and blown apart.

The mages did not stop there. They took up careful positions on the periphery of the battlefield, continuously using spells to harass the enemy warriors engaged in combat with their own fighters. As for the Third-tier Mage, he was not a target they were permitted to eliminate. Shaoke and the others didn't understand why; they only knew it was a rule.

With the mages' assistance, the Desasi Empire's warriors were quickly cut down. However, three to five of their own warriors fell, with several others injured. The enemy's Third-tier Mage stood his ground unfazed, casting a spell to counter Mage Roman's attack. He then cautiously watched Shaoke and the others as he quickly retreated.

As the Third-tier Mage withdrew, Shaoke and the others could only watch silently. Although the combined efforts of several Second-tier Mages might have been enough to kill him, they refrained from doing so in accordance with Mage Roman's earlier instruction.

After the last enemy departed, the mages, under the protection of some warriors, began meditating quickly to recover from the spellcasting exertion. Another group of warriors returned to the hillside to protect Mage Roman during her meditation.

By the time Shaoke and the others finished meditating, the warriors had already finished policing the battlefield. The bodies of fallen warriors from both sides and the deceased mages were buried in a large pit. The valuable loot was routinely stripped by the warriors and piled on an animal hide, laid out before Shaoke and the others.

After a short wait, Shaoke and the other three mages, accompanied by warriors, returned to the hillside with the spoils. Mage Roman was still meditating on an animal hide, with several warriors cautiously standing guard nearby.

Mage Roman did not keep Shaoke and the others waiting long. She soon emerged from her meditation. "Everyone, you performed excellently," she said, in good spirits, her excitement evident. "Mage Xueye, it seems you still need to better coordinate with your companions. I noticed your reaction was a bit slow during your first spellcasting."

Shaoke nodded, understanding that Mage Roman was offering guidance, and politely thanked her.

After the sudden battle, Mage Roman decided to take advantage of the remaining daylight to advance further, ideally meeting up with the mage team ahead and replacing them to return to the small camp in the canyon. Both mages and warriors unconditionally obeyed the commander's decision, as they could find no fault with the order.

Shaoke slowly moved closer to Mage Roman and lowered his voice. "Mage Roman, did you recover so quickly in such a short time? I sensed you cast a number of spells earlier, all of them Third-tier spells."

To Shaoke's question, Mage Roman simply smiled without giving a direct answer. "Mage Xueye, what are your thoughts on the battle just now? Can you tell me what you observed during the fight?"

"A mage can prepare spells while moving, and no one used targeted attack spells," Shaoke recalled the issues he noticed during the battle clearly and quickly answered her question. He then tilted his head, hoping to hear the correct explanation from her.

Mage Roman nodded. "Casting spells while moving is a special spellcasting technique provided by the Military Department after a mage has been a Second-tier Mage for some time, intended for solo-combat mages to practice. Of course, the Mage Guild also has this technique, but I've heard it's not as good as the military's." She pointed to the backs of the three mages ahead and continued, "Those three have already started practicing this technique, but only the female mage has succeeded so far, and even then, her rate of success is still low."

In truth, relying on memories from his past life, Shaoke had long attempted to cast spells while moving. However, without understanding the technique, he only repeatedly disrupted his meditation space without any other gains. Thus, he temporarily gave up and focused on practicing the hand-sealing technique, for which he had a training method.

"Mage Roman, how long does one need to serve before learning this technique?" Shaoke wanted to know if he could master this spell in a short time. He was already tired of standing motionless while casting spells, as it made him feel like nothing more than a small, immobile, living turret.

The female mage gestured for Shaoke to quicken his pace and raised her voice slightly. "The Military Department only provides this spellcasting technique after a mage has been a solo-combat mage for five years. Of course, if you can't learn it, the opportunity hasn't arisen. However, this technique becomes largely useless by the Fifth Tier. By then, a Fifth-tier Mage can forcibly cast low-tier spells while moving." Mage Roman glanced at Shaoke, who was staring intently at her face, and lifted her head before continuing, "This technique is only effective for spells below the Third Tier. When you cast higher-tier spells, you'll use this technique to some extent as well, though not frequently."

Mage Roman then explained why no one used targeted attack spells during the battle. Such spells create intense magical fluctuations around the target, which are easily detectable by mages, allowing them to vacate their spot before the spell fully forms and thus avoid danger. After all, targeted spells cannot change their location.

When Shaoke's team reunited with the other mage team using a magic item, the scene before him stunned him: the other team had only a few warriors protecting two mages. One of them, a mage with a Third-tier insignia, lay unconscious on a makeshift stretcher, while the other was a Second-tier Mage, though his face looked extremely pale.

Mage Roman quickly questioned the Second-tier Mage and learned that the other three mages had been killed by an enemy team. The Third-tier Mage on the stretcher had also been injured by an enemy spell, though his exact condition was unknown.

Although the few warriors were injured, their hardy constitutions allowed them to persist in escorting the injured mages back. Mage Roman examined the Third-tier Mage and said to the other mage, "Have the Cleric treat his meditation space when you return. His space is too severely disturbed. As for the rest, it's up to the physicians."

Watching the team that had suffered heavy losses slowly disappear, Shaoke turned to Mage Roman and asked, "They shouldn't have been able to escape from the enemy like that. And the enemy wouldn't let a team like theirs go."

"Mage Xueye, you don't understand," Mage Roman smiled, reminding Shaoke. "Don't forget, we just let an enemy Third-tier Mage go earlier. In this canyon, Third-tier Mages are forbidden from dying."

Seeing the other mages looking completely unfazed, Shaoke forcefully suppressed his doubts, deciding to find time later to ask Mage Roman more questions.

After taking over from the retreating mage team, Mage Roman continued leading Shaoke and the others forward, though they advanced with far greater caution. Following standard marching procedures, she sent several warriors ahead as scouts to detect enemy mages early and prepare for battle.

From time to time, Mage Roman pulled out a circular magic item from her robe, checking the light dots on it and observing the surroundings. Shaoke glanced at the disc and saw it covered densely with red dots, with one particularly large red dot positioned ahead of the others.

"This is a magic communication disc," Mage Roman explained, noticing Shaoke's observation. She pointed to the large red dot. "This represents us. Look! The other red dots represent other teams." She then looked at Shaoke with slight surprise, noticing he wasn't shocked by her explanation. Seeing Shaoke merely nod calmly, Mage Roman almost couldn't resist asking if he had seen such a thing before. After all, this was a magic item exclusive to the Military Department and rarely circulated among other mages.

When the red dot representing their team aligned with the foremost red dots on the disc, Mage Roman signaled the team to halt temporarily. She fiddled with the disc a few times before tucking it away and addressing the warriors, "We'll camp here tonight and continue advancing early tomorrow morning." She then turned to the other mages, "Rest as quickly as possible tonight. I think we'll face new battles soon tomorrow morning."

The warriors quickly set up enough tents and assigned temporary lodgings to the mages.

Dinner consisted of simple rations. The five mages gathered outside, silently toasting their bread over the campfire. Shaoke struggled to swallow a small piece of meat. "Mage Roman, why can't Third-tier Mages be killed here?" He finally couldn't suppress the question buried in his heart, hoping she would tell him something rather than leaving him completely in the dark.

Upon hearing Shaoke's question, the other mages merely lowered their heads and sighed, ignoring his inquiry.

"Mage Xueye, because this canyon is only a graveyard for Second-tier existences, not a burial ground for us Third-tier Mages or those warriors," Mage Roman fell silent for a moment before finally explaining to Shaoke why there were so many strange rules here. She felt there was no need to hide it anymore, as Shaoke had already become a member of this mission and could no longer withdraw.

"A graveyard for Second-tier existences?" Shaoke glanced at the other mages still silently eating nearby and forcefully suppressed his anger. "Mage Roman, does the Military Department intend to leave us here forever? Bury us here without any value?" He pointed to the warriors eating on the outskirts. "Are they also here to die?"