Chapter 103 Defeat in Battle

Mage Roman shook her head, "Mage Xueye, it's not what you think. It's not that the military department deliberately sent you here to die, but that far too many Second Tier Mages and warriors have died here over a long time. Even among us Third Tier Mages, many have lost their lives here." Mage Roman gave Shaoke a brief explanation all at once, then pointed at the meat he was roasting and smiled, "If you don't want to eat it, give it to me. Why let it burn?"

Shaoke looked down at the slightly charred meat slice, smiled awkwardly, quickly flipped it a few times, and handed it to Mage Roman. He then began roasting another piece for himself.

"I don't know when it started, but a rule was established in this canyon that neither side is allowed to kill the defeated Third Tier Mages of the other side. Moreover, the escape of the defeated is not to be hindered. Of course, this mainly refers to the Third Tier Mages." Mage Roman tore off the charred parts of the meat with her small hands, picked off a piece that was still good, and tasted Shaoke's cooking.

"It seems being a Third Tier Mage is much better; at least you don't face threats to your life." Shaoke focused on roasting the meat this time. Although he had little appetite today, he still needed to replenish some food in preparation for tomorrow's battle.

"You won't say that when you reach the Third Tier." Mage Roman gave Shaoke a sidelong glance, then asked another mage to prepare some food for the Second Tier Female Mage, as she didn't know how to roast these portable rations.

After dinner, the mages returned to their small tents. Although the tents weren't large, Shaoke still found them quite comfortable. Thick animal hides were spread on the ground, keeping out the cold, and a low portable writing desk was placed beside the bedding.

In his 'spell record', Shaoke carefully documented the battle that occurred today and some of the questions he had discovered.

Throughout the entire night, Shaoke couldn't calm his mind enough to sleep, constantly replaying the day's battle in his head. Finally, as dawn approached, he recovered some energy through Meditation. He was then roused by the early-rising warriors, as they needed to eat early to embark on a new day's travel.

Led by Mage Roman, Shaoke's team set off again. Along the way, Mage Roman continuously rotated warriors to act as Scouts, investigating the situation ahead, while occasionally taking out the disc-shaped magic item to determine the positions of other teams and stay in sync with them.

Around noon, the warriors acting as scouts discovered a team from the Enemy Country not far to the side. Upon receiving the news, the mages quickly prepared for battle. The warriors discarded their heavy loads, took up positions they were all too familiar with, and quietly awaited the enemy's arrival.

That team also spotted Shaoke and his companions, but they occupied a favorable position—a hillside covered with boulders and trees for cover.

"Are we supposed to just bombard each other from here?" Shaoke glanced at the small hillside indicated by the scout. Seeing that the distance was well outside his Spellcasting range, he couldn't help but voice his doubt.

Mage Roman didn't answer Shaoke's question. She just quickly cast Support Spells on herself to prepare for battle, as she had already sensed the familiar Spell fluctuations coming from that hillside and felt herself being locked onto by the enemy's mental power.

"Mage Xueye, we must leave here first, otherwise we'll affect Mage Roman." The Second Tier Female Mage quickly placed a 'Spell Interference' field around Mage Roman and then suggested leaving. They needed to approach those enemies and eliminate them successfully.

Leaving two warriors to guard Mage Roman, Shaoke activated all the magical arrays on his robe and cloak. Since he hadn't learned any Second Rank Defensive Spells, he could only cast a First Rank defensive spell on himself again. The Female Mage hesitated for a moment, called Shaoke over, and cast a Second Rank defensive spell on him. "Mage Xueye, I think you must learn Second Rank defensive spells. Otherwise, it's very dangerous on this battlefield, unless you can perform Mobile Spellcasting and cast spells faster than your opponent."

In this battle, Shaoke wasn't as distracted and impulsive as yesterday. Maintaining a certain distance from the warriors charging ahead, he cast 'Spell Interference' on himself and, along with the other mages, rushed towards the enemy in an irregular pattern.

The warriors from both sides finally collided. A hazy white Aura protected their weapons as rapid slashes and parries were exchanged between the combatants. Since Shaoke's team had lost several warriors in yesterday's battle, they now had to use fewer warriors to hold off the enemy's attack.

Using his strong mental senses, Shaoke perceived they were almost within Spellcasting range. The other mages also stopped, maintaining sufficient distance between each other. "Mage Xueye, prepare for battle! I can already feel the enemy's spells are nearly ready. Damn it, there must be someone in their team capable of Mobile Spellcasting."

Actually, Shaoke had sensed the Spell fluctuations from the opposite side even before the mage's reminder. He saw a Fireball hovering at the tip of a mage's staff. Seeing this, Shaoke hurriedly began preparing his own spell. Fortunately, thanks to his relentless efforts and the hand-seal technique, just as the enemy's roaring Fireball had covered half the distance, his own newly formed Fireball shot out from between his hands to intercept the enemy's spell.

That mage clearly didn't want Shaoke's Fireball to intercept his spell, constantly making subtle adjustments in its flight path through mental manipulation. However, he never expected Shaoke to possess mental power significantly stronger than ordinary mages. Combined with Shaoke's focus on mental cultivation, he easily manipulated his Fireball to make corresponding adjustments.

The distance of over a hundred meters didn't allow the mages to make multiple adjustments. Shaoke's Fireball, under his mental control, still managed to intercept the enemy's Fireball. Unfortunately, that Spellcaster was evidently experienced in battle. At the last moment, he expended some mental power to adjust his Fireball's trajectory. It crossed paths with Shaoke's Fireball and continued roaring towards Shaoke's position.

The mage who had been locked onto calmly chanted an incantation. A silver stream of light burst from the tip of his staff, accurately striking the Fireball that was too late to adjust, successfully canceling out the spell.

After Shaoke's Fireball failed to intercept, it immediately locked onto the mage standing within Spellcasting range. However, that mage, with great experience, rapidly retreated backwards and hid behind a large boulder.

Upon reaching the maximum Spellcasting range, the Fireball helplessly struck the ground, leaving only a large crater without any other gains.

Seizing this opportunity, the three mages from Shaoke's team quickly advanced forward. Upon reaching the edge of the Spellcasting zone, they began preparing spells while diverting some attention to observe the enemy's situation.

Shaoke didn't take the chance to enter the Spellcasting range. Instead, he stayed back and quickly prepared a 'Fireball' spell, intending to intercept the enemy's spell attacks as they had previously agreed.

Sure enough, the enemy finished preparing their spells first. After Shaoke neutralized one enemy spell, he prepared a Zero-level Spell 'Frost Ray' to neutralize another. The final one was timely intercepted by the Female Mage, whose casting speed was somewhat faster.

Combat between Low-rank Mages is quite tedious. Without mastering Mobile Spellcasting or long-range attacks, only this dull, rigid exchange of bombardments can determine the true victor.

Shaoke didn't know how the battle between Mage Roman and the other Third Tier Mage was going. He only noticed constant streams of cyan-colored vortexes roaring from the enemy hillside towards Mage Roman's location.

Finally, after blocking another Wind Blade from the enemy, Shaoke felt his mana could only support one more Zero-level Spell. He hurriedly alerted his companions ahead. Although those mages wished to continue fighting, with their side lacking one mage to intercept enemy spells, there was no possibility of victory. So, after releasing their prepared spells, they quickly signaled the still-fighting warriors to retreat.

Under the harassment of the mages' Zero-level Spells, the warriors managed to withdraw successfully, though two warriors were still killed by the enemy. The mages carefully retreated towards Mage Roman's location. The enemy country's warriors, under the cover of their following mages, trailed from a distance, looking for an opportunity to wipe out Shaoke's entire group.

Mage Roman quickly noticed Shaoke's retreat. After completing one spell, she swiftly released a special signal indicating their defeat and that they would no longer engage in combat. The enemy country's mage honorably followed the local rules, notifying the Second Tier Mages and warriors to cease pursuit. He didn't want to break the rules today and face retaliation later, as many precedents had shown that mages who violated the combat rules in this canyon never met a good end—either punished by their own side or subjected to large-scale retaliation on the battlefield. Of course, if one could eliminate all witnesses and erase all traces, that would be fine. However, that Third Tier Mage couldn't be sure he could intercept and kill Mage Roman under the protection of her warriors.

Shaoke and his companions retreated in disarray for a full half magic hour's journey before temporarily stopping under the Female Mage's command.

Mage Roman stared at Shaoke with a tense expression. Although she knew Shaoke had only recently been promoted and couldn't sustain spellcasting for too long, she didn't expect him to lose his casting ability so early. "Mage Xueye, I think you should strive to increase your mental power and mana. The number of spells you can cast now is too few." Mage Roman rubbed her temples in frustration and continued, "If you could have held on a little longer, I believe this battle wouldn't have been so disgraceful."

Listening to the Female Mage's reprimand, Shaoke remained silent. He also knew his total mana was somewhat lower than other mages, but he never imagined the gap would be so significant when actually fighting the enemy on the battlefield.