Chapter 152 Hunting in Progress

Not long after returning to the barracks, soldiers helped him pack his belongings. As instructed, they moved his room to another courtyard, where they found a single room for him to use.

This room was slightly larger than his previous one, though the simple interior furnishings were not much different. Sitting quietly at the writing desk, Shaoke took out the letters Mage Roman had entrusted to him and read them one by one.

The first letter was from Mage Yija, who informed him that the situation in the capital was not good. If he could stay at the fortress, it was best not to return to the capital or even the Blizzard Legion for now. Finally, she once again wished him well, hoping he would soon advance to become a third-tier mage.

Reading this, Shaoke decided to inform her of his promotion to third-tier mage. In the letter, he briefly mentioned joining a mysterious mage corps. After some thought, he refrained from asking about the specific events in the capital. He simply hoped Mage Roman would remain safe in the Blizzard Legion and, as she had said, successfully advance to third-tier mage.

The following letters included those from Mage Feiyi and Mage Loki. They simply inquired about his well-being and hoped that upon Shaoke's return to the capital, they could have a detailed conversation together.

Physician Ino, in his letter, mentioned his current situation. It turned out that the elder Inoswan had left the military. After receiving a substantial sum of money from the army command, he returned to his hometown. Ino himself remained in the army command and finally mentioned that he had married a woman, hoping for Shaoke's blessings.

Seeing Physician Ino's joy expressed through the letter, Shaoke felt compelled to offer his blessings. Finally, he took some paper and, using the script of the Blue Feather Empire, meticulously wrote down the uses and identification methods for dozens of magical materials. He also detailed the knowledge about medicinal herbs from a book in the Death Garrison, hoping these would serve as his congratulatory gifts. Of course, the most important blessings were written with great care. He also included a hundred standard gold coins, hoping they would be of some help to Ino's future children.

At the very bottom of the box lay two envelopes side by side: one from Mage Francis Walton and the other from Mage Roman, who had left not long ago.

After carefully reading both letters, Shaoke put everything away, stored the letters from everyone safely, and began his daily studies.

Meditation, reading books, practicing hand seals and techniques, and attempting to practice the newly learned third-level spells on the spell training ground. Of course, these studies occupied almost all his time, leaving him no opportunity to visit the tavern again. Only every night, after finishing his spell practice, would he stand for a while on the city wall filled with the scent of blood, silently reminiscing about the events that had transpired between them.

As time passed, Shaoke gradually mastered the success rate of casting those third-level spells. However, mastering certain techniques was not so quick. At the very least, many techniques required incantations in specific languages to succeed. Shaoke's progress in spellcasting technique was slowed due to those awkward magical languages.

On this day, after finishing his spell practice, Shaoke headed toward the city wall as usual. When he was halfway there, relying on the mental energy he constantly dispersed around him for control practice, he suddenly realized he was being followed. This stretch of road was rarely frequented at this time. Drawing on his past experiences of life and death on the battlefield, as well as memories of being surrounded by enemies, Shaoke concluded that the other party was targeting him.

Upon realizing this, Shaoke did not panic. Instead, he carefully slowed his pace, placed his staff into the leather pouch on his back, and released more mental energy to probe the surroundings. Then, cautiously and quickly, he gathered his own magical power and mental energy to facilitate the timely casting of spells.

A distant corner was approaching. When Shaoke's mental energy extended there, he quickly detected several warriors with aura waiting. Although he only vaguely sensed their positions, he was certain that when he passed that corner, they would easily ambush him and, at such close range, effortlessly kill him.

When the single follower behind him suddenly became two, Shaoke knew he could not delay any longer. He had to launch an attack now; otherwise, in a moment, there would be no chance for counterattack.

Thinking this, Shaoke slowed his pace once more, then shifted slightly to the side. After completing this, he softly chanted an incantation.

The second-rank Blazing Ray, with the strongest penetrating power, was quickly released by him. As the crimson light beam appeared in his hand, the warriors waiting at the distant corner sensed something amiss and swiftly rushed over.

The two individuals following Shaoke also felt something wrong as he began preparing the spell. However, they had only just activated their aura and taken a few steps forward, intending to interrupt his spellcasting, when Shaoke, utilizing the newly learned magical language and combining it with dual-casting techniques, quickly completed the spell preparation. Unwilling to risk spatial disturbances, he rapidly infused the maximum amount of magical power into this spell structure, maximizing the spell's potency.

Shaoke's mental energy instantly locked onto the follower who reacted the fastest. He abruptly turned and blasted the spell toward the other's chest. The follower had not expected Shaoke to release a spell so quickly. In panic, he desperately concentrated his aura to protect his body and twisted his torso, hoping to evade the mage's sudden counterattack.

Although the follower possessed third-rank aura, he still failed to completely avoid the spell enhanced by dual-casting techniques and the Abyssal language. The crimson light beam struck the warrior's shoulder, dispersing his protective aura and leaving a fist-sized hole in his shoulder.

The other follower paid no heed to his companion's fate. Seizing the opportunity, he sharply increased his speed, rushing rapidly toward Shaoke's direction. He drew a small shield, infused it with a large amount of aura, and held it before his chest. He believed that a shield concentrated with half of his body's aura would surely withstand the opponent's attack.

To his surprise, Shaoke showed no panic. Instead, he uttered a few syllables, activating the third-level defensive spell on his robe and cloak, along with other connected auxiliary spells.

After completing this, he quickly advanced toward the other, drew a golden dagger from the pouch at his waist, and charged forward, holding it.

The distance of over a hundred meters rapidly closed under the mocking gaze of the warrior. As the distance narrowed, the warrior suddenly swung the shield on his arm, crashing toward Shaoke. He believed that in such a situation, even if the defensive spells on the opponent's body were sturdy, they could not withstand the desperate impact of a third-rank warrior.

Confusion—this was the warrior's final thought. He did not understand why he uncontrollably crashed onto that golden dagger, why his shield did not strike the mage, or why the short sword hidden in his sleeve did not slip into his hand. Doubt and confusion—these were questions he would never have answered.

Utilizing the third-rank Death Gaze, Shaoke successfully killed the other while he was off guard. His running did not stop; instead, he quickly prepared the first-rank Web spell. Under his rapid spellcasting, white web strands instantly entangled the tracker writhing on the ground in pain. Then, choosing a relatively distant position, he swiftly ran toward the barracks.

Several whistling sounds rapidly pursued from behind. A slender longsword, infused with a small amount of aura by the injured warrior trapped in the web, was thrown. Although it caused no harm to Shaoke, it still somewhat disrupted his balance.

After being struck by the slender sword, Shaoke quickly regained his balance. But at that moment, several steel heavy arrows fiercely slammed into Shaoke's defensive spells. One layer of the third-level defensive spell blocked a few before being shattered. Fortunately, an additional arrow-deflecting spell had been added to the cloak by Mage Roman's uncle, weakening the power of those arrows. This allowed the third-level defensive spell on the robe to remain intact.

Drawing on past experience, Shaoke quickly ran irregularly along the street and rapidly released a distress spell signal. A green flame, under the effect of a few brief syllables and a hand seal, quickly formed at the tip of his staff, flew into the air, and exploded, forming a huge blue diamond-shaped flower floating in the sky. He then took out a third-level defensive scroll stored in his pouch and swiftly tore it. A thin layer of energy protection rapidly enveloped him from the outside.

Just after completing this, the warriors waiting at the street corner swiftly threw several steel javelins infused with aura, transforming into several white streaks of light as they shot toward Shaoke.

Relying on his mental energy perception, Shaoke frantically changed direction. After dodging two javelins, the remaining ones once again shattered the third-level defensive spell formed by the scroll. Before Shaoke could replenish his magical power in time, they broke through the third-level defensive spell on his robe. Fortunately, after breaking through two layers of defense and the arrow-deflecting protection, the javelins no longer had the power to harm the mage. Shaoke used the impact force of the javelins to frantically roll forward several times. Then, crushing a Mist spell sealed within a magic crystal, he fled madly into the distance under the cover of the mist.