Chapter 253: A Series of Preparations

In the morning, the mages simply ate a light breakfast before gathering and heading out of the city. Over two hundred Fifth Tier mages from the Blizzard Legion participated in this act of retaliation. Although they were not yet capable of conducting assassinations within the city, the garrison troops outside would not trouble the Blizzard Legion, as they were all of the same kind.

They camped by the roadside, no more than three magic hours away from the capital. Here, members of the Death Mage Corps had already gathered. One hundred Death Mages, draped in black robes, each holding a burning flame staff. Shaoke, after careful identification, ignited the flame on his own staff and took out a crystal ball to indicate his commanding identity.

After a few simple syllables, the transparent crystal ball suddenly emitted a burst of pitch-black light. The light twisted and spiraled in the air, forming a peculiar pattern that radiated strange fluctuations. The Death Mages acknowledged Shaoke's command. The entire Death Mage Corps was composed of Fourth Tier Mages, which excited Shaoke. Although their tier was not high, the power of the spells they wielded was far greater than that of ordinary Military Mages. Moreover, the ability to hunt mages above their tier was already a basic skill for every Death Mage.

Since the two commanders were very familiar with each other, after a brief discussion, the two groups of mages decided that the Blizzard Legion mages would maneuver around to encircle and intercept the Mist Trade Guild's convoy, while the Death Mage Corps would remain stationed on the road at the North Gate, as these Death Mages were not fond of riding horses.

According to information from the Death Mage Corps and the Blizzard Legion, a convoy of the Mist Trade Guild was definitely passing through here today, which excited the mages. After all, many of these mages were hunting a large trade guild within their own country for the first time. However, Mage Yisier did not intervene, but stood quietly to the side, resting with her eyes closed.

The crystal ball suddenly gave a slight vibration. Shaoke quickly checked it and then said to Mage Yisier, who stood beside him, "They have left the city. A group of three thousand, with one Seventh Tier Mage accompanying them. The rest are mostly warriors." After a moment of estimation, he continued, "We still have plenty of time to rest. That Seventh Tier Mage will be ambushed and killed by the two of us."

"The Blizzard Legion has dispatched six Sixth-Tier Mages this time. With their help, I think it will be faster," Mage Yisier shook her head, declining Shaoke's suggestion. "This will reduce the delay. What do you think?" She looked at Shaoke, waiting for his answer.

"Alright," Shaoke agreed without much hesitation, knowing that this was not a time for regulated single combat but for total destruction. "Should we communicate with them?" He turned to look at the other Sixth Tier Mages, most of whom he recognized; they had served in the 33rd Corps and had formed a team with Shaoke before.

"Do you think it's necessary?" Mage Yisier let out a soft laugh. Having been away from battles of this scale for a long time made her a bit nervous, so she tried to ease her mood with a smile. Just as she finished speaking, the Blizzard Legion also sent her information. A small disk displayed a line of text, its content not much different from that of the Death Mage Corps, though the numbers in it were not accurately estimated.

The mages stood openly by the roadside. Passing caravans, upon recognizing this large group of mages as being from the Blizzard Legion along with others, hurriedly accelerated their pace in some panic. This development made it easy to sense that something was amiss.

An aristocratic carriage of modest size emerged from the capital and passed by. A middle-aged nobleman with graying hair, seeing the Death Mages standing silently by the roadside through the carriage window, frowned deeply. Finally, he ordered his guards to step up security and not to pay attention to these gathered mages. Under his command, the carriage also quickened its pace.

Seated beside the nobleman was a young girl. She quietly asked about the situation outside, but the nobleman shook his head without answering. Finally, he handed her a book, saying, "Read more books. When you arrive there, be sure to get along well with others. That place is not ours. If anything goes wrong, it will be hard for me to help you from the capital." He then glanced back at Shaoke's group and said softly to the girl, "The situation in the capital is very complicated now. Once you reach the Academy City, do not think of returning to the capital for at least the next ten years. If you miss your mother, I will have her come to see you." With that, his furrowed brows relaxed. These Death Mages had not emanated any hostility toward them.

The young girl obediently nodded. Through some friends, she had learned that many families in the capital were being eliminated by the royal family and the military ministry, and a large number of young nobles had gone missing. This situation had persisted ever since the large-scale war ended and has continued to this day. All this information made her feel the danger, given her family's somewhat awkward position within the country.

"Another aristocratic carriage. I really don't understand why they have so much time to travel around," Mage Yisier said somewhat disapprovingly, looking at the carriage that had just passed by. "A duke's carriage? Very odd. That family crest looks very ancient, but I can't recall its specific name."

"Sword, Rose, Snowflake, and Staff," Shaoke had just seen the emblem and thus described the depicted items in some detail. "Most importantly, there was a crown insignia from the former empire. I believe that ducal family must have connections to the former imperial family." He shook his head, puzzled as to why members of the former empire's royal family still existed within the Blue Feather Empire. Such a situation was rarely seen on Earth.

"Mm," Mage Yisier nodded and then ignored the carriage that had just passed. The mages continued to stand quietly, waiting for the arrival of the Mist Trade Guild.

After nearly two magic hours had passed, a large trade convoy emerged from the direction of the capital. Leading the convoy were cavalry from the Blizzard Legion, all with their visors down, their expressions hidden. Behind them were hundreds of four-wheeled carriages loaded with luxury goods intended for delivery to the Mist Forest region for wealthy consumers. After all, in the far north, there were many affluent people, and they also needed to go there to purchase large quantities of local specialties.

A scroll was handed to Mage Yisier by a Fifth Tier Mage within the convoy, who then returned to the group and continued forward silently. Soon, this Blizzard Legion convoy disappeared from Shaoke's sight.

"About half a magic hour left," Mage Yisier read the text message and then mobilized the mages to prepare for battle. "When we conduct the scan later, the group with a large number of warriors and mages will be our priority target. Barring any accidents, there will be a Seventh Tier Mage in that group. However, Mage Xueye and I will deal with him." She closed her eyes and rested quietly.

"Target group: a large trade convoy of three thousand people with numerous warriors," Shaoke gave a brief cue to the Death Mages. Whether or not there would be collateral damage was not a concern for the mages, as there were many caravans along this road, so some unintended casualties were unavoidable.

After a short rest, Shaoke took out a light purple crystal ball to scan the road ahead. His powerful mental energy swept along the road without any concealment, carefully identifying the unique mark left by the Death Mage Corps on that specific convoy, to ensure precise targeting.

Some guards in passing caravans clearly sensed this mental energy scan and reported it to their employers in panic. The caravans heading toward the capital were not too alarmed, knowing that this was from the mage group they had just seen. However, those caravans that had just left the capital were unaware of the situation. Some smaller caravans quickly stopped and moved to the roadside, waiting for developments.

The scan did not last long. Shaoke then stopped his probing and, following the previous plan, swiftly led the mage group toward the Mist Forest. They needed to advance about a day's travel to a suitable ambush site, where they would carry out this interception operation.

There were no complaints among the mages about the change in orders. After all, they had encountered similar situations on the battlefield before. The Death Mages showed no resistance either; obeying orders was the basic requirement for their participation in this mission. Even if they had any dissatisfaction, they would not voice it here. Completing the mission perfectly was their primary consideration.

Although the Death Mages had no horses, with the help of Support Spells, the mage group moved at a good pace, at least three to five times faster than the heavily laden trade convoy.

During this journey, Shaoke's group made no stops. Even if the Mist Trade Guild detected the Blizzard Legion's ambush ahead, they had to proceed, as failing to deliver a large amount of goods to the Mist Forest would result in substantial losses. Moreover, there were no other roads leading to the Mist Forest within a short distance.

The long trek did not overly