Chapter 284: Accepting the Appointment and Thoughts

Regarding this strange little girl, Shaoke helplessly glanced at Mage Roman. This little girl had black hair, not the snow-white long hair like Mage Roman. At this moment, Mage Roman, who was conversing with two other female mages, gently shook her head, signaling Shaoke to ask later.

Perhaps due to the fatigue of the journey, the little girl Lan Wei'er soon grew tired. She hugged her knees in front of the fireplace and fell asleep with her eyes closed. After wrapping the little girl in a thick blanket, Shaoke placed some soft stools around her to prevent any accidents while she slept. Of course, this was done with Mage Roman's permission.

"Why are you here?" Shaoke asked Mage Roman in a hushed voice. He was very eager to know how long the female mage would stay here. Having not seen her for six or seven years, he missed her deeply. Another major reason was the incidents he had encountered here, which weighed heavily on his mind. The arrival of his beloved made him feel somewhat relieved.

"The task of the Blizzard Legion," Mage Roman said, secretly stretching out her little feet, bare, just as she used to. She then motioned for Shaoke to sit on the edge of the bed, rather than on the high-backed chair in the distance. "This time, we will stay here for a long time. Unless something unexpected happens, we can only leave after advancing to Seventh Tier Mages." With that, Mage Roman gestured for Shaoke to come closer. When he sat by the bed, she put her little feet on his legs and gave him a playful smile, letting him cover her with the down quilt.

Seeing this, Mage Yisier also placed her little feet on Shaoke's legs, but the white-robed cleric did not notice due to the quilt's cover. The mages then began to converse in low voices, and Shaoke learned about the task that brought Mage Roman and the others here.

Due to circumstances unknown to Mage Roman and the others, the Blizzard Legion had suddenly mobilized a group of Sixth Tier Mages from various subordinate legions to perform tasks here. At that time, Mage Roman had received Shaoke's letter and, thinking she could meet him here for an extended period, accepted the task. She also informed the new Legion Commander of the 33rd Corps about Shaoke's presence here, hoping to cooperate with him to some extent.

The discussion did not last long. The high-ranking officers of the Blizzard Legion quickly agreed to this request and ordered these mages to follow Shaoke's leadership entirely upon arrival. Mage Roman and the others did not know the reasons, but after hearing the female mage's task introduction, Shaoke understood why they had done so.

It turned out that Mage Roman's task was to establish a Wandering Mage Alliance here and gather a large number of mages. Their main objective was to suppress the mage alliances of other empires and resist the influence of the Mage Guild here. Another point was to loot some precious resources and hand them over to the Blizzard Legion for distribution.

"That new Legion Commander knows I was once a Death Mage, right?" When asking this question, Shaoke suddenly felt an extra pair of little feet on his legs—these belonged to the blushing, silent white-robed cleric. He also noticed some subtle struggles among the three women, which amused him greatly.

"The Blizzard Legion must have reached some agreement with the Death Mage Corps. Otherwise, they would never let me lead you." Without waiting for the female mages to answer, Shaoke expressed his speculation in a low voice. He recalled the words spoken by that Sixth Tier Death Mage years ago and felt that the Death Mage Corps had collaborated with some legions to establish wandering mage alliances before.

"Perhaps." Mage Roman suddenly blushed, as she had just lost a silent struggle with the other two mages beneath the covers. "We're tired. You should go out and rest." With that, Mage Roman gently kicked Shaoke's leg and asked him to add more firewood before allowing him to leave.

As soon as Shaoke left, he heard slightly louder laughter from the room. Then, perhaps fearing to wake the little girl Lan Wei'er, the female mages' voices quickly died out.

But Shaoke could feel the psychic energy Mage Roman released still floating slowly around him, as if lingering with attachment.

Looking at the maids still busy in the distance, Shaoke suddenly realized that there were too few servants here to maintain the daily life of these mages. More importantly, although the manor seemed large, there were not enough rooms, forcing over a dozen mages to rest in one building—an awkward situation. Of course, the female mages had separate sleeping quarters, as they would gather in the white-robed cleric's room for the night.

Night soon fell. The mages were called to dinner by the maids who had prepared the meal. After dinner, the mages did not leave but waited silently for the maids to clear the remnants, then sat quietly in their places. At that moment, a mage approached Shaoke, took out a scroll of alternating white and black from his robe, and handed it to him. "Mage Xueye, the military headquarters sent me to deliver this message to you." Then he returned to his previous position. These mages had long known Shaoke's past and future identity, so they simply waited for his reaction.

Following the usual procedure, Shaoke inspected the scroll and found the marks of the Death Mage Corps and the Blizzard Legion floating above it. He gave the mage who handed him the scroll a strange look, then opened it for a detailed reading. Beside him, the little girl Lan Wei'er watched the scroll curiously, occasionally tugging at Mage Roman beside her. Mage Roman leaned down to explain the spell's function and principle to the girl in simple terms.

The scroll clearly expressed the hope that Shaoke would lead this team, as it would greatly benefit his future tasks. A member of the Death Mage Corps mentioned that they had already learned of Shaoke's current situation and would prepare medicine and precious magic materials for him as soon as possible.

Finally, the scroll's writer reminded him that the family of the mage he had killed in the small town had begun searching for him and was preparing for revenge. However, they had not yet found him, so he should be cautious. The Death Mage Corps's forces could not enter this region for various reasons.

"Can you follow my commands?" Shaoke carefully put away the scroll and glanced at the mages, excluding Mage Roman and those he already knew. He knew that these mages had acknowledged him in the past and would not abandon that recognition now.

"A Death Mage who can kill a Seventh Tier Mage," a slightly elderly mage said in a low voice. "With strength and authority, can we resist?" He then respectfully performed a mage's salute to Shaoke. All the mages, including Mage Roman and the others, followed suit. Even the little girl Lan Wei'er saluted Shaoke correctly, which delighted him greatly.

"On this first night in the Fallen Capital, our most urgent task is to find enough rooms and servants. I don't want so many of you crowded into one building." Shaoke's words relaxed the atmosphere a bit. The mages found that this mage was not as stern and rigid as those who knew him had described. They did not mind some minor issues and occasional rigidity.

"Many of us haven't recovered yet," Mage Yisier said with a soft sigh. "I think searching for rooms tomorrow might be a better choice." She then explained their journey to Shaoke. These mages had walked all the way from the capital. Though they hadn't experienced major battles, the mental fatigue of the long journey could not be eased in just an afternoon.

Facing this, Shaoke had no choice but to abandon the idea of leading the mages to hunt down the mercenary group that had clashed with him. He couldn't be sure if the mages were truly as mentally exhausted as Mage Yisier claimed. If any accidental losses occurred because of this, it would be detrimental to his future leadership.

Shaoke sent the mages to their rooms and returned to his own. Because Mage Roman had to accompany the little girl Lan Wei'er, and Mage Yisier, at Mage Roman's request, did not join Shaoke either. Under these circumstances, the white-robed cleric didn't dare to rest in Shaoke's room, even though nothing had happened between them.

Late at night, while Shaoke was reading a book, the door gently opened, and Mage Roman, dressed in a golden sleeping gown, entered alone. "Why didn't you lock the door?" The female mage locked it, then climbed onto the bed, tightly hugging Shaoke and curling up in his arms.

"I knew you would come," Shaoke put away the book and boldly slipped his hand into her sleeping gown, kneading without restraint, occasionally tugging at her sensitive spots. This quickly excited Mage Roman, who clumsily caressed Shaoke's body and hesitantly removed his robes.

Soft breasts, a shapely butt, firm thighs—all of this deeply captivated Shaoke. After two passionate rounds, the female mage let out a faint sob and finally stopped moving her hips, pressing her lips tightly against Shaoke's as if she didn't need to breathe.