Chapter 130 Night After Discussion

In the end, the speed of pursuit could not match that of escape. After Mage Roman's last defensive spell was exhausted, Shaoke and the others wisely halted their chase and retreated toward the location where they had first encountered the enemy.

The small tents, animal hides, and various other items scattered on the ground were quickly gathered together by the mages. Then, the mages took turns beginning their meditation to recover the spellcasting energy they had just expended.

After Female Mage Roman started meditating, Shaoke checked the positions of each mage team on the magic item, to make a fully informed and correct choice for the next battle.

The mages quickly recovered. On Mage Roman's advice, they decided to advance a bit further to find a suitable spot for their night camp.

Finally, after cautiously traveling for half a day, they found a jumble of boulders just as darkness fell. The mages gathered enough firewood and began setting up simple tents there.

"Mage Xueye, your casting speed felt faster today. It seems your progress is quite rapid," one mage couldn't help but start the conversation as they gathered around the campfire for a meal after setting up sufficient Alert Wards. "Too bad I never learned the 'Blazing Ray' spell. Otherwise, our combat speed would be even faster."

Shaoke smiled slightly, turning the roasted meat in his hands, and replied, "In these circumstances, everyone's progress is rapid. It's just that my initial strength was weaker, so the improvement feels more noticeable now." After speaking, he glanced at Mage Roman and noticed she was lost in thought. "If we all knew the 'Blazing Ray' spell, I believe even the sturdiest Defensive Spells of the enemy's support mages could be easily torn apart, allowing us to take their lives."

The mages chatted quietly for a while longer. Here, they rarely paid attention to the formal etiquette expected of mages, so they had no issue with talking and eating simultaneously.

"I feel that if the war continues, we must find another support mage to join our team. Otherwise, we might suffer casualties again," Mage Roman said, giving a slight smile as she took the roasted meat slice Shaoke handed her. She gently blew on it with her small mouth to cool it down quickly.

Shaoke and the other mages fell silent at once. They knew the Female Mage was troubled by the reappearance of support mages in the enemy ranks over the past few days. They also understood she was referring to a mage skilled in two-handed seal techniques. During a previous battle, that mage had been targeted by three enemy mages, and they had been unable to rescue him in time, resulting in his death.

"If the Second Rank Spellcasters in today's enemy mage team had been a bit stronger, and if there had been a few more mages who mastered the technique of mobile spellcasting, I don't think we would have defeated them so easily today," Mage Roman blinked and sighed softly. "With a support mage, we wouldn't have to worry so much about the enemy's overly concentrated attacks."

The mages gradually stopped talking. They were well aware of the importance of a support mage. The issue was that those support mages in the rear temporary camps had already been recruited by other mage teams. Without special reasons or strong connections, no team would easily give up their support mage. After all, support mages provided safety for their companions, unlike mages like Shaoke and his team, who relished the thrill of battle but often brought chaos to the team's overall strategy, leading to a series of terrible consequences.

Shaoke and the others set up three small tents. These tents were made by compressing hundreds of layers of various magical beast hides using a multi-lamination technique, fusing them together. After inflating the space between the two layers of hides, a portable tent similar to those from Shaoke's previous life was created. Although the craftsmanship wasn't particularly refined, the quality was highly reliable. There had never been reports of such tents being torn by rubble or branches, and it was warm enough for the cold nights.

As before, Mage Roman shared a tent with Shaoke. After laying an additional layer on top of the inflated beast hide that touched the ground, the Female Mage gestured for Shaoke to sit down and began checking the positions of various mage teams on the magic item. After a while, she frowned and said, "Mage Xueye, if the mage teams behind us still haven't caught up by tomorrow noon, we'll have to retreat. No matter how strong we are, we only have half their numbers. I don't want to lose any more companions."

"Have the mage teams intercepting us increased in number?" Shaoke asked, taking the magic item the Female Mage handed him. He noticed that dozens of mage teams that had previously been ahead of them were continuously moving backward in this weather. Only a few teams remained in their original positions. Shaoke suspected they had either repelled the enemy or were too weak to break free from the enemy's attacks and retreat.

The Female Mage leaned gently against Shaoke's shoulder, observing the situation on the magic item with him, hoping to get a rough idea of what lay ahead based on the position markers.

Sure enough, before long, the red dots representing the few teams in the initial positions disappeared. Shortly after, except for the mage teams retreating backward, all the others had perished. Well, at least the leading Third Tier Mages had died.

"Mage Roman, you should rest early. If enemies continue advancing in our direction during this time, I estimate they'll arrive here by dawn. We'll need you to hold off their strongest attacks then," Shaoke said, gently pulling Mage Roman into his arms. He casually draped the only remaining beast hide over the Female Mage, signaling her to rest as soon as possible.

"Mhm!" The Female Mage curled up as much as possible to let the not-so-wide beast hide cover her entire body. After adjusting her position, she lay down on Shaoke's leg and fell asleep. Before drifting off, she complained, "If there wasn't a risk of them attacking, we could all rest in this sleeping bag." She then gave the hide a firm tug. She was already tired of keeping watch alone.

Shaoke gently placed his hand on the Female Mage's face and comforted her in a low voice, "Rest quickly. We might have to fight again soon." As he spoke, he gently combed through the Female Mage's long hair. Although her hair was somewhat dirty, he didn't mind. As usual, he massaged her scalp with his fingertips in specific areas while combing her hair, as this could help speed up fatigue recovery and restore energy to some extent.

The Female Mage gave Shaoke a grateful look and slowly fell asleep.

After Female Mage Roman fell asleep, Shaoke continued massaging her scalp with one hand while using the other to take out the magic item to check on the other mages. Then, at regular intervals, he began scanning the surroundings of the camp with his spiritual power, thus starting his night watch duty.

The howling wind battered the tent fiercely. If not for the sturdy ropes securing the inflated tent, Shaoke was certain that even with both of them inside, they would have been blown away by the mountain wind.

The bitter wind occasionally whipped up small stones and slammed them hard against the tent. After a dull thud, they were bounced off to who knows where.

Although no candles were lit inside the tent, Shaoke occasionally used a feather pen to jot down scattered combat experiences under the glow of a luminous night crystal.

Before he knew it, three magic hours had passed since midnight. During this time, Shaoke only meditated a few times to recover his spiritual power. The rest of the time, he continuously observed the surroundings of the camp and the entire front line through his spiritual power and the magic item. However, he never detected any signs of enemy invasion at night, which put him somewhat at ease.

"Mage Xueye, why didn't you wake me up in time?" Mage Roman had woken up at some point. She tilted her head up, holding Shaoke's hand, which had been massaging her head, and placed it under the beast hide to warm it. "Any changes?"

Shaoke chuckled softly. "No changes. The enemy has given up on continuing their attack at night. But there are still a few magic hours until true dawn. I think we need to remain vigilant during this time." As he spoke, Shaoke placed the magic item and the frost crystal aside, organized some papers, and then switched positions with Mage Roman to begin his proper rest.

He held the Female Mage's slender waist. If not for the chill of the dagger at her side, a constant reminder, Shaoke might have lost control and done something reckless!

As dawn broke, Shaoke was awakened by the Female Mage's gentle massaging movements. Seeing her weary face, Shaoke quickly sat up and draped the beast hide over her. "Any situation? You should rest a bit more."

The Female Mage shook her head and pointed to the red dots on the magic item. "No need. The enemy has begun their attack." She then picked up her staff beside her and started preparing the items she carried, getting ready for battle.

After hurriedly checking the red dots, Shaoke noticed that some teams positioned ahead on both mountain ranges had disappeared, and a large number of teams were retreating backward. He knew this must be the result of a sudden enemy attack launched at dawn, which had caused some losses on their side.

After hastily informing the other mages about this, they began nervously preparing for battle. Using auxiliary drugs and repeatedly scanning with their spiritual power kept the whole team on edge.

After quickly packing everything up, Shaoke and the others cautiously advanced forward, hoping to catch the enemy by surprise in return.

After advancing for about half a magic hour, Mage Roman detected a mage team from the Desasi Empire approaching in their direction. "Prepare for battle. The enemy has appeared," she said, pointing to the mountain at the bend ahead, promptly alerting her companions.

Immediately, the mages quickly cast the few Support Spells they had on themselves, and they released their spiritual power or magical energy to probe the situation ahead.