Chapter 154 Continuing the Hunt

After a round of torture on the formation ground, the officer stopped the soldiers' beating. He drew his long knife and chopped at a warrior. With the officer's swings, one warrior's limbs were mercilessly chopped off, though not much blood flowed out; instead, yellow smoke emerged from the severed stumps, preventing the blood from gushing.

The limbless warrior howled madly, with yellow smoke pouring from his mouth, eyes, and nose. As the yellow smoke churned, the warrior, under the gaze of his companions and Shaoke, slowly shrank until he formed a fleshy mass the size of a washbasin.

"Tell me, who sent you to hunt mages here? Don't say the Mercenary Guild—I don't believe they'd dare post mage-hunting tasks here." The officer squatted before the fleshy ball, quietly awaiting an answer.

"We accepted the task in Eryaze City," the Fourth Rank warrior pointed out by the Female Mage, seeing his companion's miserable state, frantically named a city. "A high-rank warrior found us; he didn't give his name."

"How much were you paid? Who here guided you to the target? Have you forgotten, as mercenaries, that hunting mages isn't allowed here?" The officer didn't believe him and instead chopped off the limbs of another Third Rank warrior, quietly waiting as the man's wretched howls turned him into another fleshy ball.

"Stop this foolish method," the physician angrily voiced his opinion. "The newly arrived physicians lately haven't had enough research materials. A living Third Rank warrior is far more valuable than a pile of minced flesh."

Then, under Shaoke's somewhat surprised gaze, the physician once again explained to his collaborator the difference between a warrior and minced flesh, emphasizing the importance of research materials for soldiers and warriors.

The officer looked helplessly at the Blue-robed Female Mage, hoping for new instructions from her.

"Follow his suggestion and stop," the Female Mage said, pointing to the Fourth Rank warrior and addressing the gaunt Male Mage. "Don't delay any longer. I think our victim is eager to know who wants him dead." She then pointed to the remaining warriors and told the physician, "Take them back; they'll keep you busy for a while."

"But Honorable Mage, according to the rules, their bodies must first be used to clean the fortress streets before further punishment can be carried out," the officer squatting on the ground expressed dissatisfaction with the Female Mage's decision but stood up and abandoned his interrogation method.

"I've suggested to the military many times to stop this pointless practice," the physician said, pleased with the Female Mage's decision. He quickly directed several cavalrymen to load the warriors onto horses, preparing to take them back for the young physicians to study as materials. "Can you tolerate flesh chunks scattered randomly on the streets? It would inconvenience the residents, forcing them to spend time cleaning the streets. They might even complain about you, the enforcer!"

Listening to their argument, Shaoke was somewhat shocked. He hadn't expected the military to impose such punishments on these warriors.

Amid the argument, the gaunt mage quickly cast the Spell 'Truth of the Matter,' designed for interrogation. Under the spell's influence, the Fourth Rank warrior's fearful screams soon ceased, and he dully uttered a few names. After the Male Mage dispelled the spell's control, the warrior collapsed limply to the ground, allowing the cavalrymen to haul him onto a horse as instructed by the physician.

A viscount—an unfamiliar viscount's name reached Shaoke and those around him. The gaunt Male Mage forcefully waved his staff. "We must stop this cruel behavior. They cannot attack our mages here. According to the rules, they must pay a sufficient price before we can forgive them." He then looked at the Blue-robed Female Mage and chuckled softly. "Follow the rules; no one has the right to change that."

Shaoke didn't pay much attention to the gaunt Male Mage's words, instead trying hard to recall the viscount's name and figure out why the other party wanted him dead. "Don't dwell on the specific reason," the Blue-robed Mage quickly noticed Shaoke's state and stopped his pointless recollection.

"We'll question that viscount; I'm sure he'll be happy to answer your questions," the Blue-robed Female Mage said, retrieving a sky-blue crystal ball the size of an infant's head from a small pouch at her waist. The pouch was embroidered with countless tiny magic script and arrays. As she chanted an incantation, the blue crystal ball floated into the air and began to rotate slowly.

A moment later, a figure appeared in the crystal ball. The figure nodded to the Female Mage and quietly awaited her request.

"Mage Limore, dispatch some high-ranking mages. A viscount attacked our mage tonight; he must face due punishment," the Female Mage stated the viscount's name and again requested that mages be sent to accompany them to the viscount's residence, as none of them knew its location.

"As you wish, Honorable Ward," the mage named Limore promptly noted the Female Mage's instructions, bid farewell, and went to make preparations.

"Honorable Mage, can we retaliate under these circumstances?" Shaoke asked the Female Mage doubtfully. He didn't believe the military would retaliate against a viscount without concrete evidence.

The gaunt Male Mage, after seeing the physician off, answered Shaoke's question. "In the past, we'd have needed to do some necessary work before retaliating. But these times are different. Since the last large-scale war ended, mages have often been attacked at night." Here, the mage stroked his white staff and chuckled. "You're lucky now; at least you don't have to delay your revenge by fabricating evidence."

Hearing the Male Mage's words, Shaoke tightened his cloak and casually touched the broken staff on his back. "Can I meditate to recover for a while?" He cast an inquiring glance at the Blue-robed Female Mage, quietly awaiting her response.

"If you wish, you can personally use spells to destroy everything belonging to that viscount," the Female Mage said, looking at Shaoke's calm expression; she already knew the choice this mage before her had made. "We can wait here. Once the other mages arrive."

Shaoke quickly outlined the top-tier Third Rank meditation recovery array in his meditation space. With the infusion of spiritual power and mana, it began to spin wildly.

The rapid fluctuations in spiritual power and mana instantly caught the attention of the other two mages. The gaunt Male Mage carefully sensed the recovery-induced fluctuations and quickly identified the other's Meditation Method. "I hope his other meditation methods aren't of this type; otherwise, he has no chance," the gaunt Male Mage said regretfully, carefully stroking his staff.

The Blue-robed Female Mage silently estimated the time Shaoke would need to recover with this meditation method, ignoring the gaunt Male Mage's comment.

Shaoke awoke only when a burst of hurried hoofbeats arrived. The first thing he saw was the Blue-robed Female Mage smiling with a slight upturn of her lips and the gaunt Male Mage's somewhat surprised expression. But before Shaoke could ask what had happened, the cavalry arrived.

Nearly a hundred Fourth Rank Black-robed Mages and several hundred Fifth Tier warriors. An officer dismounted, saluted, and after inquiring about the Blue-robed Female Mage's opinion, followed the earlier officer toward the viscount's residence.

With the help of a cavalryman, Shaoke shared a warhorse with him. The team began to accelerate gradually, while the Blue-robed Mage floated in the air, tilting her head back slightly as if enjoying herself, swiftly following the cavalry toward their destination.

After a rapid advance of nearly half a magic hour, the team finally stopped on a broad street. Tall, sturdy walls lined both sides of the street, at least in Shaoke's view.

The guards protecting their masters' residences on those walls quickly noticed the arrival of this large military force. Seeing a Blue-robed Female Mage floating in the air particularly alarmed them. After all, Eighth Tier Mages rarely appeared; even when the military destroyed hundreds of noble and merchant families in the fortress months ago, no Eighth Tier Mages had shown up!

Based on their experience here, when an Eighth Tier Mage appeared under such circumstances, the military either demanded money from nobles and merchants or someone had hunted mages belonging to the military within the fortress.

The team paid no heed to the guards protecting the nobles' and merchants' residences. Following information provided by a warrior, they continued along the broad street inward, finally stopping before a luxurious wall. The guiding warrior quickly informed the officers that this was the destination.

The officer who had earlier chopped off the captives' limbs quickly ordered the cavalry to prepare for battle. Hundreds of cavalrymen, under another officer's command, swiftly surrounded the viscount's estate. Heavy bows, steel arrows, and javelins carved with simple patterns were quickly equipped, awaiting the order to attack at any moment.

"Alright, now it's up to you to wake the master here," the officer said, seeing his mage partners with their eyes closed, indifferent to the situation, so he reminded Shaoke. But as Shaoke prepared his spell, the officer quickly added, "It's best not to cast large-scale attack spells. I think other nobles would be quite willing to purchase some items from inside."