Chapter 216: Mage Yija and the Gathering

It is possible." Shaoke tried to force a smile, but he simply couldn't. "Do you think the three most powerful institutions of the empire lack the authority to command a minor magic family to join this battle? If that were the case, they wouldn't have the power to suppress those mages who refuse to fight. I believe the number of mages unwilling to participate in this war far exceeds the total mages of several hundred magic families, many times over."

"Some noble mages and mages from magic families, during wartime, hold positions that are relatively much safer." Mage Yijia, with half-closed eyes, finally spoke. "Mage Xueye, although our family is small, I believe after this war ends, we will surely become a mid-sized family."

"Mage Yijia, if there's nothing else, I hope you can leave. I have more important matters to attend to." After saying this, seeing Mage Yijia's displeased expression, Shaoke added, "I hope things are as you say, but I don't think it's that simple." With that, Shaoke waved for the mages to leave, as he really wasn't used to others showing him a sour face.

The conversation among the four mages this time was quite unpleasant. Perhaps due to his increased involvement in family affairs, Mage Yijia had developed an air of superiority, gradually abandoning the attitude he had in the Misty Forest. As for Mage Fei and Mage Loki, who were once Mage Yijia's seniors, they had to bow and cling to him because of his family's power. Shaoke felt it was unfortunate for the two mages, but he knew it was a matter of personal choice. After all, everyone's values differ, so they handle the same situation differently.

As the war approached, the number of mages in the capital began to dwindle. First, the wandering mages disappeared on a large scale, followed by the mages of the Mage Guild, and then the mages from the Military Mage Corps summoned from various regions. Shaoke and the other mages belonging to major legions, along with some noble mages and mages from magic families, left the capital together. Whether more mage groups would join later was beyond Shaoke's knowledge.

Nearly ten thousand mages gathered in an underground space of the military department. Shaoke and several hundred mages of the Blizzard Legion assembled together. After passing through a short underground passage, a space with a massive teleportation array appeared before them. As the group advanced, the huge teleportation array could transport hundreds of mages at a time. Soon, it was their group's turn.

Standing on the array, Mage Roman tightly gripped Shaoke's arm and another female companion's arm, looking somewhat nervous. "Xueye, I'm worried," the female mage said, lowering her voice as much as possible. "I don't know if we'll ever return to the capital this time." She looked down at her flat stomach and sighed in disappointment.

Shaoke gently comforted her, reiterating that they would return safely. Of course, this was just Shaoke's reassurance, as he wasn't the one making the orders and tactics.

A mage, seeing the array full of mages, activated the teleportation array. A purple crystal the size of a human head was placed on a stone pillar nearby. After a few adjustments, the array began to operate, surrounding the mages with countless white lights. Shaoke felt a familiar dizziness, and then they appeared on the ground.

The air carried a familiar smell—a thick scent of blood. This smell made many mages uncomfortable. Fortunately, the female mage Roman had spent many years in the Bloody Fortress, so she didn't find it troubling. However, Mage Yisier, who had been stationed at the capital's military department, turned pale and grabbed the arm of the white-robed cleric, trying to distract herself from the discomfort. The white-robed cleric gently comforted her, and another golden-robed mage also softly reassured her.

"Leave the array; there are more groups behind!" the mages guarding the teleportation array loudly reminded Shaoke and the others. A black-robed mage led them toward a nearby camp.

"Death Mage Corps," Shaoke quickly identified the mages guarding the teleportation array. Based on their staffs, he recognized them as all Fifth Tier Mages. The Death Mages guarding the array also quickly spotted Shaoke among the hundreds of mages. After leading them a short distance from the array, the guiding mage stopped and questioned Shaoke.

"Which garrison are you from? How did you end up in this kind of group?" the Death Mage asked with no emotion, making the mages around Shaoke uneasy. Fortunately, Shaoke stepped forward to answer.

When the Death Mage learned that Shaoke had been promoted to Fourth Tier Mage and left the Mage Corps, he fell silent for a long time. Finally, he said that if Shaoke ever wanted to return to the Death Mage Corps, he would always be welcome. For now, Shaoke politely declined the invitation. Without further comment, the mage led them to an open area with nearly a hundred tents, pointed to it, and gestured for them to rest.

The camp seemed small, but if you connected this small area with the adjacent tents, you'd realize the tents stretched for an unknown distance. Mages of all ranks came and went here. As Shaoke's group entered the camp, a patrol of several hundred Seventh Tier Mages on horseback roamed the camp to prevent unnecessary conflicts between mages of different schools.

Around the teleportation array camp, numerous tall towers stood. Occasionally, flying practitioners would take off from or land on these towers. All of this amazed the mages, who rarely saw so many high-order practitioners.

The Fifth Tier Death Mage led the group to their assigned tents but didn't wait for them to settle in. He nodded to Shaoke and quickly left to continue guarding the massive teleportation array.

The six or seven hundred mages briefly surveyed the surroundings and then assigned themselves to tents. Most mages shared tents in pairs or trios, while only a few, like Shaoke, chose to live alone. These were mostly high-rank mages.

Throughout the night, most mages didn't rest, as intense spell fluctuations and loud explosions came from the west, not far from the camp. The mages knew these were battles among top-tier mages. Shaoke spent the entire night wrapped in his cloak, standing alone outside his tent with his staff, silently sensing the spell fluctuations from afar. Few other mages did the same.

In the following days, groups of mages were assigned new posts and left the temporary camp. Mage Roman and some other alchemists were also reassigned to safer logistical positions. However, the white-robed cleric and other support mages were kept, even though they were fewer in number.

The departure of the female mage Roman relieved Shaoke. He had feared the military would send her on missions with them. In intense battles, alchemists, who had lost most of their offensive spell abilities, would have little protection.

After another four or five days, two Eighth Tier Mages arrived at Shaoke's camp. They reassigned the mages based on their ranks. Shaoke and the other Fourth Tier Mages were sent away from the camp, along with the low-tier clerics. Not far from the camp, an Eighth Tier Mage led them into a massive tent.

The tent was empty, except for a large obsidian slab engraved with a teleportation array on the ground. Some white-robed Seventh Tier Mages stood guard at the array's edge.

"You will use this teleportation array to reach a new location. There, an Eighth Tier Mage will give you your tasks," the floating Eighth Tier Mage said, scanning Shaoke and the others. "I hope that there, whether you're from the Mage Guild or wandering mages, you won't clash with each other. If you violate what I've said today, you will face severe military punishment." He then gestured for the four to five hundred mages to step onto the array for teleportation.

"And if they clash with us?" a Fifth Tier Mage asked, thinking it over.

"Then they will also face military punishment," the Eighth Tier Mage replied indifferently. He added, "If there are no enemies there, I hope you won't release any spells in any form." With that, he again gestured for the mages to step onto the array.

Shaoke stepped onto the array first, and the other mages followed. The Eighth Tier Mage gave a location name to the white-robed Seventh Tier Mages guarding the array. They stood up, adjusted some stone pillars around the array, placed a few special crystals, chanted an incantation, and teleported Shaoke and the others away.

"I hate this kind of teleportation," the white-robed cleric said, tightly gripping Mage Yisier's arm, very uncomfortable with the brief dizziness caused by the teleportation.