Chapter 218: Adjustment and Mission Execution

For these reasons, the mages on the battlefield could almost be said to be practically shielding the clerics.

During a rest break, Mage Yisier and a few companions went to Shaoke's room to ask about his relationship with the Eighth Tier Mage. Seeing the knowing looks from these female mages, Shaoke shrugged and explained to them how he had met the Blue-robed Mage in the Bloody Fortress, and casually warned them the war was dangerous, hoping they would be careful.

Over those three days, the mages did not stay indoors resting. Instead, taking orders from a Seventh Tier Mage who was temporarily in charge, they split the two hundred mages into small groups. After pulling in some mages from the Military Mage Corps and some Wandering Mages from other camps, they ended up with three small teams. The clerics were assigned to each of the three mage teams. However, due to an extra cleric, Shaoke asked, and the Blue-robed Female Mage agreed to let Shaoke's team have three clerics. That made their team the only one in the ruined city with three clerics.

During these three short days, the mages in the small teams tried to get familiar with each other, talking about the spells they knew and what they were best at. Mages with a knack for command took careful notes on all this, so they could make quick calls in battle.

Since Shaoke got an extra cleric for their team, they bumped him up to squad leader. However, as squad leader, he didn't have to lead; he just had to rack up kills. After all, no mage wanted to take orders from a clueless leader, only to lose their life unjustly.

Three days to get to know each other wasn't that short for the mages. Since they couldn't practice spells in the small city, the mages grouped up based on their spell types and habits. They stuck the clerics and a few female mages on the rear flank, since a mage who knew command said his ancestors had all fought in battles and participated in large-scale mage battles as commanders. He figured that spot was the safest.

All the mages from the Blizzard 33rd Corps were in Shaoke's team, except for Mage Roman and a few alchemists, who weren't there. The remaining mages were mostly from the Blizzard Legion, with only a few Wandering Mages and mages from the Mage Corps joining Shaoke's team. Fortunately, due to the war, the mages tried to set aside their differences to work together better, thereby killing enemies.

After a quick getting-to-know-you period, the mages got ready to head out, but it ended up being nearly two days later than the Blue-robed Female Mage had said. The Eighth Rank Blue Robe Female Mage came to Shaoke's camp again, blessing each of the mages who were about to join this battle. Finally, she explained their team's mission.

"According to the route on the map, you are to kill all living beings without our empire's mark along the way, whether they are fleeing soldiers, merchants, or even nobles." Saying this, the Blue-robed Mage hesitated slightly before slowly revealing a task most mages found unacceptable.

"I mean, as long as they are not humans from our Blue Feather Empire, you must erase their existence." At this, the female mage slightly shook her staff. "If you are capable of taking prisoners, I suppose you don't have to kill them." She then raised her voice to add, "This is a war where no loser survives." With that, she waved her staff, signaling the mages to leave.

The White-robed Cleric beside her was about to say something, but was stopped by Mage Yisier, who was close by. Thus, the team left the ruined city, carrying the magic item containing the map, heading toward the battlefield.

As soon as they left the ruined city, some mages couldn't help but start discussing. "Why are we being ordered to kill ordinary people? This war has nothing to do with them." Just as that mage finished speaking, the Fourth Tier Mage serving as commander calmly replied.

"Although they haven't participated in this war, their children or friends have. They provide manpower and supplies for this war. They pass messages for their country. Do you want our whereabouts to be leaked by the civilians you might release?" The commander's words gained approval from some mages, but others were still dissatisfied with the order. The commander raised his voice, "Don't forget, we are still soldiers."

"Leaking our information through civilians wouldn't be a problem," a mage frowned and quietly retorted.

"Yes, no problem at all," Shaoke interrupted their discussion. "Can you be sure that the Esuoer Empire hasn't trained some combat-capable teams among the civilians?" After saying this, Shaoke ignored the arguing mages and took out the disc-shaped magic item marked with the map to check the positions of other mage teams or large armies.

The red dots indicating identities came in several types. Shaoke's team was the smallest. Of course, not all the dense small red dots were mage teams; many were small groups of ordinary soldiers and merchants transporting supplies. Slightly larger dots indicated larger teams, while the red lines represented armies engaged in large-scale battles at the front. Shaoke's team's task was to follow behind these red lines for cleanup operations.

Although they knew the area just outside the city was safe, the commander mage still required three to five mages to simultaneously release their mental power or magic power to detect the surroundings, to get used to basic battlefield precautions. Thus, the mages quickly headed toward the main force ahead.

Though the mages were on foot, with the help of support spells, they could cover a day's journey quickly. Since the clerics couldn't cast speed-enhancing support spells, the mages took turns casting them on the clerics. Of course, those casting were Fifth Tier Mages, as they had the most mental power and magic power.

After a month of rapid marching, Shaoke's team encountered only some groups escorting prisoners and transporting supplies to the front, with no other discoveries. However, the mages knew this was because they were still in the rear. Once they approached the red line marked on the map, they would definitely encounter enemies.

After another half month of travel, Shaoke's team reached an even more ruined city. Large numbers of prisoners, under the watch of soldiers, were firing clay and quarrying stone to repair the city. But more prisoners, under the threat of blades, were desperately repairing roads heavily damaged by mage battles, to facilitate the smooth passage of supply convoys. Of course, some prisoners refused, but they paid the price by being cruelly buried in those pits by their own countrymen. The perpetrators did this for the empty promises made by the Blue Feather Empire. After all, not every civilian was satisfied with their country or had ancestors who served in the empire's military.

The mages rested for a day in this ruined city. The first thing the female practitioners did was soak in hot water to rest properly. Although their robes had dust-proof arrays, the feeling of not bathing for over a month was unbearable for the female mages.

After resting for a night, Shaoke's team continued their journey. This time, just three days after leaving the ruined city, while using a transparent crystal ball to detect, Shaoke noticed faint mental power fluctuations in a forest not far from the road. This news made all the mages in the team nervous. The commander mage thought for a moment and quickly issued new orders based on Shaoke's discovery.

The mages quickly moved toward that area, with several Fifth Tier Mages detecting the specific situation. When they reached the edge of the forest, the mages began preparing spells. Here, even the Fourth Tier Mages could cast spells to attack the hidden people inside.

The mages spread out, locking onto that area. Nearly a hundred spells landed in succession, instantly clearing a space. Of course, the mages quickly detected that area, while others who hadn't cast spells frantically searched the surroundings to prevent any other enemies from staying there.

After a brief discussion, the mages decided to enter and investigate. Over ten mages fully released their mental power to detect the surroundings. Some Fifth Tier Mages used spell retention techniques, preparing Third Rank and Second-level Spells and maintaining them with magic power, so they could release them quickly if an unexpected situation arose.

The mages quickly covered the three thousand meters. Shaoke didn't inspect the scene but used the crystal ball to detect the surroundings, mobilizing his magic power and mental power to release spells as quickly as possible.

"Will our future battles always be like this?" the White-robed Cleric softly asked Shaoke, looking at the nearly minced corpses on the ground, feeling very uncomfortable. Although she had participated in many wars before, she had always been in the rear, treating the mages.