Chapter 303 Preparations for Expulsion

After handling some trivial matters, Shaoke returned to the low-rise mage tower and sent the pastries he had inspected to Man Fashi and the others. Of course, this gesture made Mage Roman happily kiss him as a reward, and even the White-robed Cleric and Lan Wei'er did the same. However, Lan Wei'er's kiss was a bit excessive, as she brushed against the corner of Shaoke's mouth.

Regarding Shaoke's embarrassment, Lan Wei'er didn't say anything. She finally curled her lips, stuck out her tongue at Shaoke, then pulled the White-robed Cleric and Mage Roman and ran out, leaving Shaoke alone in the lonely room. After spacing out for a moment, Shaoke closed the door and sat down to begin meditation to recover.

Shaoke had become familiar with all the changes in the meditation space after his advancement. He first meditated for a short while, then concentrated on inlaying magic scripts into the thin lines connecting the altar and the Seven-pointed Star Magic Array. This work had been ongoing continuously since his advancement. According to the records of the Death Mage Corps, the more magic scripts on the connecting lines, the greater the chance for a mage to advance to the Eighth Tier. Of course, the increase was very small, but it was still much better than nothing.

Inlaying magic scripts was not easy; it consumed not only mental energy but also stamina, because when ancient magic scripts were condensed with mental energy, they caused slight disturbances in the meditation space. To calm these disturbances, the silver light that had been integrated into the Arcane Fire was needed.

Following his usual routine, Shaoke stopped after inlaying five magic scripts and devoted all his energy to the Arcane Fire burning around the altar. After more than three years of burning, the Arcane Fire in the meditation space had completely turned a light blue. Perhaps because of the integration of silver light, this blue fire had taken over most of the functions of the silver light, such as enhancing the effects of potions and meditation.

In the following days, the entire Fallen Imperial Capital became increasingly chaotic. Fortunately, Shaoke's organization had allied with other organizations. Fifteen or sixteen large organizations gathered a large number of mages and warriors to patrol the areas controlled by the Blue Feather Empire according to a certain schedule. Although some civilians, merchants, and even patrol members still died, it was still better than the areas controlled by other empires or alliances.

In the following days, a large number of flying professionals flew recklessly in the air, and some even started fighting with others over the Fallen Imperial Capital. Fortunately, they were high above the ground, so there were no major casualties among the ordinary people below for the time being. During this time, Shaoke, like Mage Roman and the others, spent most of his time in the mage tower, as it was the only place that seemed safe. However, Shaoke still took some time each day to lead the wandering mages in his organization on brief patrol missions. Of course, the compensation for these mages was doubled.

This crazy situation lasted only half a month, then gradually calmed down.

Just when Shaoke thought everything was over, the scepter given to him by the Eighth Tier Female Mage transmitted a message, telling him to go to the manor used for gatherings immediately. Upon receiving this message, Shaoke executed it without hesitation.

This time, fewer than ten leaders gathered here; the rest did not come. Shaoke did not inquire about this situation, as it was not his concern. After a short wait, a very old mage, hunched over, stood up and said hoarsely, "Tonight, I want you to gather all your people and begin attacking the areas controlled by the Mage Guild." After speaking, the Elder Mage straightened his back with effort and added, "This battle will only stop when one side completely disappears. This operation will be carried out together with organizations from other empires."

Everyone understood the Elder Mage's words. It meant that tonight, either the Mage Guild's power in the Fallen Imperial Capital would disappear, or the major organizations of their empires would completely vanish. Of course, if they won, the territories they seized would also represent the amount of rewards they would receive in the future.

"What about the other leaders?" It was again the elderly scholar leader. He leaned forward slightly, hoping to get an answer from the other party. Unfortunately, he was disappointed. The Eighth Tier Elder Mage and the other Eighth-order Practitioners completely ignored him and instead signaled him to stop such questions.

After quickly and thoroughly discussing the specific details of tonight's operation, the group dispersed, as it was already afternoon, and they still needed to go back to deploy their subordinates and let them rest sufficiently before the fierce battle tonight.

Just as Shaoke returned to the newly built manor, Lan Wei'er rushed out of the mage tower. She came up to Shaoke and, under his gaze, Lan Wei'er reluctantly bowed to him, then took his arm and told him about the changes that had occurred after he left.

It turned out that shortly after Shaoke left, the mages patrolling the streets suddenly returned. According to them, someone had come in the afternoon bearing tokens from the various allied organizations of the Blue Feather Empire, telling them to come back and rest. Moreover, those who replaced them had also performed patrol duties before.

After hearing this news, Shaoke nodded in agreement. He felt that those people were probably from the few factions that had not attended the meeting today. Some organizations had more infiltrators, others more warriors, and when combined, they were quite suitable for defensive tasks. Thinking this, Shaoke gently shook his head and walked toward the newly built pond nearby.

Some young grapevines had been planted by the newly purchased maids in a certain pattern by the pond. Seeing these, Shaoke recalled the shy little girl who used to attend him during his baths. He never expected that years later, she would lose her life in the prime of youth in a sudden attack. He still remembered that the little girl had always wanted to give herself to him, but he refused because Mage Roman had already come by then.

Seeing her nominal father in a daze, Lan Wei'er quietly crouched down and slowly fiddled with the grapevines by the pond, saying, "Thinking about the past?" Then, using the reflection in the water, she observed the movements of the male mage behind her. "Mother often spaces out too. When I ask her, she tells me she's thinking about the past. The Cleric is the same." Saying this, Lan Wei'er, out of boredom, took off her boots and gently swayed her fair little feet in the pond.

"When you've experienced many things, you can't help but recall them." Shaoke ruffled her hair. "How many ancient magic scripts have you learned recently?" The reason he asked was that the little girl had successfully advanced to a Third Tier Mage last year, and under Mage Roman's guidance, she had begun to practice ancient magic scripts.

Facing Shaoke's way of treating her like a child, Lan Wei'er was very dissatisfied, but for now she dared not resist in any form. At least that was the case. However, she still shook her head to dodge his hand. "I've already learned more than one-tenth." She quickly stated her progress. Then she lowered her head and silently watched the ripples caused by her feet in the water.

"Do you love Mother?" Lan Wei'er suddenly looked up at Shaoke. In fact, she could not feel any love from Shaoke toward her mother. Because she had never seen this male mage say such words of love to her mother. This made her doubt the male mage's sincerity.

"Some things don't need to be said out loud." Shaoke smiled. In fact, he himself didn't know whether he loved the Female Mage or not; he only knew that he couldn't bear to be without news of her. After saying this, Shaoke couldn't help recalling the scene of first meeting Mage Roman and the time they hid from enemy pursuit in the canyon outside the Bloody Fortress. Thinking of this, Shaoke gently shook his head to dispel these thoughts. Always falling into memories was a bad thing, at least he thought so.

Lan Wei'er rarely had such conversations with Shaoke, and this time the talk lasted until nightfall. Because it was now dinner time.

After dinner, Shaoke chatted with Mage Roman and the Cleric for a while, then gathered the nearly two hundred wandering mages in the hall of the mage tower and began issuing orders. Of course, for tonight's operation, Shaoke promised these mages generous rewards. These included high-level meditation methods for the Sixth Rank, as well as knowledge and items for high-level advancement.

Not a single mage withdrew, because the rewards Shaoke offered were what they desperately desired. At least some mages who were about to advance to the Sixth Rank estimated that, barring accidents, they would never be able to record those high-level meditation methods and advancement methods in their spellbooks in their lifetime. And this time, they only needed to perform a task similar to a robbery to obtain them. Even though there was great danger, these mages agreed without hesitation. After all, such opportunities were rare.

After confirming their participation in the battle, Shaoke prepared a large number of potions and had them consume them immediately. Some of these mages were taking so many auxiliary potions at once for the first time, which made them feel that everything was worth it. Of course, if they could survive tonight's mission, they would feel it was even more worthwhile.

A huge Blue Rhombus Flower appeared in the sky, and the immense magical fluctuation spread almost throughout the entire Fallen Imperial Capital. At the same time, similar magical signals appeared in several other directions, marking the start of tonight's attack.