Chapter 110 Mountain Ridge Kill

The warrior quickly convinced his companions to agree to carry the female mages on their backs up the mountain. Exhausted, the female mages eagerly jumped onto the warriors, allowing themselves to be carried swiftly uphill.

Relieved of the female mages' burden, the speed of the fleeing group, which was pieced together from several scattered teams, increased again. At least the male mages such as Shaoke had better stamina than the female mages. After all, the female mages had channeled some of the energy meant for physical enhancement into skincare instead, gradually weakening their physique compared to the male mages over time.

The higher they climbed toward the summit, the fiercer the snowstorm became, and the trees grew increasingly sparse. Thick snow severely hindered the mages' progress. Even the warriors carrying the female mages, though strong and supported by their aura, slowed down, panting heavily just like Shaoke and the other mages.

"We should rest now," Shaoke said, seeing the warrior carrying Mage Roman gasping for breath and realizing the warriors' stamina was beginning to wane. He hurried to catch up with a leading third-tier mage and voiced his concern: "The warriors must preserve their strength. If the enemy has set up a sniper team here, we won't be able to withstand their close-range attacks."

The mage leading the way glanced at the magic item in his hand, nodded at Shaoke, and stopped to wait for the others to catch up.

"What's going on?" asked the third-tier mage who knew Mage Roman, rushing forward from the rear of the group in confusion.

"We need to carefully study the positioning magic item now. Damn it, how did this happen?" The mage cursed without regard for decorum. "Everyone, be careful. There must be enemy ambushes in this area. Damn it, how could they survive the freezing nights at such a high altitude?"

Shaoke approached the mage and looked at the disk in his hand. Some red dots had already surpassed their current position and paused ahead. As Shaoke watched, a red dot on their side of the disk vanished abruptly, followed by others disappearing on a nearby ridge.

"Mage Roman, quickly, scout the surroundings!" Shaoke rushed to the female mage, who had just gotten down from the warrior's back, and told her what needed to be done. He then signaled the other second-tier mages to stay alert, ready to cast spells at any moment to attack any enemy that appeared.

Mage Roman leaned on the warrior's arm, catching her breath, before retrieving a frost crystal from inside her robe. She used her enhanced mental power to probe the surroundings. The other two mages weren't idle either: one repeatedly pressed something on his magic item, occasionally uttering spells to operate the disk, while the third-tier mage who knew Roman began chanting incantations in the biting wind, staff in hand.

Shaoke watched as a green flame, similar to the one the female mage had conjured the previous night, materialized before the mage. With a wave of his hand, the green flame emitted ripples of green light before fading into the air.

Another detection spell unique to the military. Seeing this spell, which wasn't recorded in any basic spellbooks, Shaoke immediately recognized it as exclusive to the military.

Shaoke tensed up, scanning the surroundings carefully like the other mages. Apart from sparse, stunted trees and endless white snow, he saw nothing. Yet, he couldn't shake the feeling of being watched—a sentiment mirrored by the uneasy expressions on the other mages' faces.

"Enemy attack!" Mage Roman lunged at Shaoke, yanking the staff from his back and swiftly activating the second-rank defensive spell on her robe.

Shaoke's already tense nerves snapped at the female mage's warning. He turned sharply and spotted a glint of light on the snow—clearly the reflection of a weapon.

Shaoke quickly activated the defensive spell on his robe. Using a unique hand-sealing technique, he expended three times the usual mental and magical energy to prepare the second-level spell "Blazing Ray" in half the normal casting time.

The other mages activated their robes' defensive spells and, under the protection of the warriors, began preparing additional support spells.

Just as Shaoke locked onto the enemy hidden beneath the snow, he felt intense magical vibrations underfoot. The mage who knew Roman shouted, "Get away from here! It's the third-level spell 'Shatter'!"

Before the words faded, a white, spear-like whirlwind shot toward their position.

Shaoke unleashed the spell hovering between his hands at the enemy concealed in the snow. Without waiting to see the result, he hurried after Mage Roman, fleeing the area of the "Shatter" spell.

The spell's range spanned over ten meters. Mages caught in the center couldn't escape in time. Fortunately, Shaoke and Roman were yanked to safety by the warrior who had been carrying her, narrowly avoiding the sudden attack.

The pristine ground shook violently, splitting open into several gaps wide enough for a person. One mage failed to escape in time, screaming as he fell into a crevice, never to be heard from again.

Meanwhile, Mage Roman and the other two third-tier mages had completed their spells while on the move. A white, smooth, and transparent spear formed at the tip of Roman's staff—the second-level spell "Crystal Spear," a destructive spell similar to "Ice Spear" but far more powerful.

The spear spiraled toward the oncoming whirlwind, while another mage released a massive wind blade to help Roman counter the enemy's spell.

The remaining mages didn't panic. Instead, with the warriors' assistance, they quickly found cover and carefully searched for the enemy's position.

Shaoke glanced at the spot where he had targeted the enemy earlier. A patch of bright red stained the white snow, vivid and eye-catching like a piece of fiery gauze.

"The enemy is under the snow! They're within our casting range!" Shaoke shouted, warning the other mages to watch the snowy ground. The warriors swiftly formed a loose defensive circle in front of the mages, ready to repel close-quarters attacks.

By now, the third-tier mage who knew Roman had conjured a green fireball the size of a washbasin. Though Shaoke stood close, he felt no warmth emanating from the eerie flame.

The mage's eyes once again glowed with two slowly rotating green triangular arrays. After scanning the snowy ground, he directed his staff, and the green fireball split into over a dozen fist-sized flames, hurtling through the snowstorm toward the snow not far away.

A figure clad entirely in white leaped from the snow and sprinted toward the summit, glancing back repeatedly as if terrified of the green flames.

After running some distance, the figure was struck by an arrow shot from above. The immense force sent him flying backward instead of forward.

Mage Roman, having neutralized the enemy's spell, witnessed this. "There's an archer! Everyone, be careful!" Her hoarse voice caused the mage preparing another spell to tremble momentarily before continuing. The other second-tier mages heard the warning. Though terrified of archers, none dared to turn and flee—doing so would only hasten their deaths.

"They only have one archer. There can't be more. Remember, the Desasi Empire has never had many archers. They wouldn't deploy a large number here to hunt us down," Shaoke reassured everyone, hoping the knowledge of only one long-range sniper would calm their nerves. "He's far away; otherwise, he would have attacked us earlier."

"Desasi Empire archers are notoriously cowardly. They only strike from the farthest distances. If we stay cautious, we needn't worry," agreed the mage who had released the green flames to burn the enemies hidden in the snow. He, too, didn't want the second-tier mages to panic over the threat of sniping.

Enemies struck by the green flames frantically leaped from the snow. Some erupted with aura in an attempt to extinguish the flames, while others rolled desperately in the snow, hoping to smother them. But no matter how they struggled, the green flames quickly engulfed them. Over a dozen enemies were soon entirely wrapped in green fire, writhing on the ground before slowly burning to ash.

The mages' counterattacks didn't deter the enemy assault. A large group of warriors burst from the snow, brandishing weapons as they charged at Shaoke and the others. Shaoke and the other second-tier mages began frantically casting spells to snipe the approaching enemies. With so few warriors left to protect them, if the enemy closed in, they would all surely perish here.

Mage Roman temporarily halted her offensive spells, retrieving the frost crystal to enhance her mental power and locate the archer's position, allowing the third-tier mages to prepare defenses and counterattacks.