Chapter 268: Encounter and Discussion

Shaoke quickly acted on his idea. After purchasing some food in this nameless small city, he resumed his journey.

As he traveled farther from the imperial capital, the road conditions deteriorated. This deterioration was not only due to poor road conditions but also the increasing number of bandits. Because of this, no carriage was willing to travel alone with Shaoke on this route. Helpless, Shaoke had to walk alone toward his destination.

Perhaps because he was alone, many bandits appeared to intercept Shaoke. Many of these bandits were even warriors who had activated their Aura. Shaoke guessed that these bandits were remnants of the Esuoer Empire organized to carry out these mad robberies. Of course, there were also some domestic bandits seeking a living here, but they were few in number. Shaoke almost never let a single bandit who intercepted mages escape. He killed them all with spells.

However, today was somewhat exceptional. Shaoke had only been half a day's journey away from a small city when a group of bandits intercepted him on the road ahead. No conversation took place, only simple spellcasting attacks. Seven or eight low-order warriors had not even reached Shaoke when they were blasted into pulp by his spells. At this moment, Shaoke, who had been continuously releasing his mental power to observe the surroundings, fixed his gaze on the area behind a large tree not far away, because he detected traces of a spellcaster there.

After a warning spell attack from the mage, two spellcasters emerged from behind the tree. These two mages were simply dressed and appeared to be middle-aged, each holding a staff that was crude relative to their status. Wandering mages! Upon seeing these two mages, Shaoke quickly identified them because only wandering mages dressed so plainly.

Moreover, during the war against the Esuoer Empire, many wandering mages had joined the mage corps that Shaoke belonged to, so he could quickly identify them now.

"Do you also want to join this battle?" After slaughtering the bandit group composed of ordinary people and a few warriors, Shaoke slowly twirled his staff and looked at the two mages who had appeared. "What is it?" As he spoke, Shaoke abruptly released his mental power to lock onto the two silent mages, thereby applying pressure to them.

"Honorable Mage, I believe the previous incident was just a misunderstanding," said a slightly younger-looking wandering mage, quickly performing a salute before revealing their intention. "We are both wandering mages, so according to the rules, there is no need for conflict." The mage felt very uncomfortable under Shaoke's mental lock, but unfortunately his mental power and mana were not as strong as Shaoke's, so he could not resist.

"Did you participate in that war back then?" Shaoke frowned as he sensed the two mages, because he realized they were from the Blue Feather Empire and were merely fifth-tier mages.

"Yes, Honorable Mage," the slightly older mage quickly saluted and replied. "We once followed some legions and participated in the war." He then looked at Shaoke with some doubt and said, "If I'm not mistaken, you were once a military mage. Only military mages possess spells that ordinary mages do not." After saying that, he sighed softly and then gave up resisting Shaoke's mental lock. Because he felt that the opponent's rank was definitely above the sixth rank. If that were the case, they, as two fifth-tier mages, could not offer any resistance under this mage's attack and would be killed.

"Why did you leave the military? Their treatment is quite good!" After a long silence, Shaoke suddenly withdrew his mental lock and broke the silence by asking. Because he noticed that the robes and staves of these two mages were even shabbier than his own attire when he was at the third rank. Moreover, their robes were only embedded with a few simple support spells, and among these spells, only one was a defensive spell, and that was merely a third-tier defensive spell.

"It's just that we weren't used to the life there," the slightly older mage shook his head with a bitter smile. "Moreover, we couldn't communicate well with other mages there." As he said this, he shrugged and gave a helpless smile.

For this older mage, Shaoke understood what he meant. After all, some of the wandering mages who had newly joined their team at that time also could not communicate and cooperate well with them. However, since the now-deceased necromancer appeared, those wandering mages, with his help, had continuously tried to have deeper conversations with Shaoke and the others.

And the military mages also made efforts to communicate with them. This continued for a long time, until the mages in their team got to know each other much better, and the estrangement caused by their different identities largely disappeared.

"Honorable Mage, can we find a place to talk properly?" the younger mage suddenly interrupted the conversation. He really was not used to talking with others on the street. It made him feel as if he was being spied upon. Of course, this was just because he had long been accustomed to hiding in the shadows.

"No, right here," Shaoke refused the younger mage's proposal without hesitation. "Why did you become bandits?" Shaoke turned his gaze back to the older mage. "I recall that the Military Department and various legions distributed a large amount of precious materials to us back then." After speaking, he quietly waited for the other's reply.

"The Military Department did distribute a large amount of precious materials and rewards," the older mage gave a helpless smile. "Unfortunately, after leaving the army's protection, we suffered organized robberies." As he said this, he waved his worn-out staff agitatedly. "There were robbers from the Mage Guild, mages from other empires, and even some mages from the Wandering Mage Alliance." He paused to calm his heavy breathing. "Back then, we low-rank mages had to surrender all our rewards." After saying that, he let out a long sigh. It seemed the venting had helped him a bit.

The three mages fell silent again. After nearly half a magic hour, Shaoke once again broke the silence. "Join the team I just formed. We must take back what we lost. We must also take what is not originally ours." As he spoke, Shaoke abruptly released his mental power to lock onto the two fifth-tier mages. He knew that if these two mages considered and then refused after a while, he would definitely kill them. "I don't want to hear the word 'no'." With that, Shaoke slowly rotated his staff.

"We join." Under Shaoke's full mental pressure, the older mage forced out his answer. Because he felt that if they delayed any longer, this black-robed mage would, worried about depleting his mental energy, attack and kill them as resisters.

"Mm." Shaoke acknowledged softly, then withdrew his mental pressure. "How long have you been at the fifth tier?" he asked, pulling his cloak tighter. At this moment, he realized that his outermost garment was just a simple ordinary cloak with no magical effect—no wonder those bandits and these two mages had dared to rob him.

"Honorable Mage, I advanced a bit earlier—fifteen years ago—while he has only been a fifth-tier mage for ten years," the older mage quickly replied. He then intended to say more, but Shaoke interrupted him.

"Follow me," Shaoke said, glancing at the two mages. "I think only by uniting as many wandering mages as possible can we deal with those large organizations that rob us of our materials and oppress us." After speaking, Shaoke walked ahead first. He didn't care whether the two mages followed. Just like when he made them choose earlier, if these two mages did not follow or had other issues, he would immediately kill them.

The three mages remained silent along the way, and Shaoke did not sense any tricks from the mages following him. Therefore, when setting up camp in the evening, he relaxed a bit. After a simple small tent was set up, the two mages finished preparing their food. Shaoke cast a quick Detect Poison spell to check the food before eating it with confidence. The two mages kept their eyes fixed on Shaoke's waist, where they spotted a magic bag.

After eating some simple food, Shaoke took out three goblets and poured fine snow wine. Toasting, he said, "To our meeting, cheers." He drank first. The other two mages checked the wine and then drank as well. It was the first time they had tasted such precious snow wine, so they politely thanked Shaoke for the gift. However, Shaoke did not care about this.

After the small jar of wine was finished by the three mages, Shaoke added some wood to the fire and then began a speech he had long planned: "Didn't you ever consider joining some Wanderers Alliance? With your status as two fifth-tier mages, I think some organizations would accept you."

First release