Chapter 227: Conclusion and Injury

It's okay." Mage Yisier, who was about to advance to a Sixth Tier Mage, reassured the female mage and signaled for her to cast a Support Spell. At this position, the Fifth Tier Mages were already capable of launching an attack. But just as she finished speaking, a warrior standing in front of the mages suddenly shouted loudly, a faint red Aura enveloped him and formed a thick layer of red light on his shield. A long arrow that had pierced through dozens of trees slammed heavily into his shield, the immense impact force pushed him back three or four steps.

"A Sixth Tier Archer." The warrior glared fiercely in the direction the arrow came from. If he hadn't spotted it by chance, that arrow would have killed him with minimal Aura protection and harmed the mages behind. This near-miss infuriated him. But as a newly promoted Sixth Tier Warrior, he was indeed incapable of hunting down an Archer unless he could engage in close combat.

The White-robed Cleric hesitated briefly but quickly cast spells on Mage Yisier and Shaoke to reduce their energy consumption, leaving the matter of the archers' attacks to the warriors in front and the archers behind.

At that moment, the Fifth Tier Mages began their assault. Although the enemy's attack was scattered, under the commander's orders, the Fourth Tier Mages and a few Fifth Tier Mages refrained from attacking, serving as a reserve force. If more enemies appeared, they would need to be at full strength to counter them. This had become a routine.

Gray-black beams of light flew from Shaoke's hands. With nearly two hundred mages attacking, the pursuers couldn't effectively dodge. With the help of several high-grade rune stones, Shaoke relied on his powerful mental control to repeatedly hunt down enemy warriors. This continued until the Priests appeared.

Shaoke quickly cast a Fifth Tier Death Slash. Due to the vague targeting, the warriors who had charged close didn't notice the spell. Five or six warriors close together had their Aura-protected bodies easily severed by the black threads. After a brief run, the soldiers of the Esuoer Empire realized their bodies had been cut in two. Only then did the massive trees, after a slight impact, fall down.

"These warriors aren't using that strange power," a Sixth Tier Mage observing the battlefield loudly informed the commander of his findings. "No enemies in other directions." Without acknowledging the commander, he continued channeling his magic into a high-grade crystal ball to scan the surroundings.

Orders were issued by the commander. The warriors protecting the mages began to split off in large numbers to attack the enemies who had closed in, creating opportunities for their own mages. Some mages who had been targeting warriors ceased their spells under orders, now forced to face the enemy ritualists' attacks. Fortunately, the ritualists' attack range was shorter than the mages', giving the latter some relief.

The ritualists' attacks were strange. Though their methods were simple, their power far exceeded most spells. Moreover, the ritualists had greater endurance in sustained attacks.

The green flames falling from Shaoke's staff quickly formed into a spear shape as he made hand seals. Under his direction, the spear bypassed several trees and slammed heavily into a ritualist protected by a white light barrier. The barrier, which ordinary spells couldn't break, shattered easily. The green flames rapidly spread across the ritualist's chest, and within moments, he vanished from this world.

As the battle intensified, large amounts of fire began to spread through the forest. Fortunately, the snow on the ground hadn't melted, so the flames didn't introduce unnecessary variables to the fight.

Common spells like Wind Strike, Flame Manipulation, and Snow Dance proved highly effective in this situation. Without mage support, the pursuers from the Esuoer Empire could only use their Aura to defend against the area attacks. Though these attacks weren't very damaging, they created conditions for other attacking mages.

Head-sized orbs of light were released by the ritualists, while some mages were tasked with intercepting them. Fortunately, the ritualists weren't too numerous. Although the orbs appeared quickly and occasional interceptions failed, the mages managed to use spells sealed in crystals or had warriors block them with Aura-coated shields, preventing major casualties.

"Let the remaining mages attack. No other enemies nearby," a Seventh Tier Mage who had finished casting and scanning the area quickly suggested to the commander. "And over a dozen mages are injured." He then repeatedly cast spells at the ritualists. Though a Seventh Tier Mage didn't have many special spells, with his high rank, the ritualists couldn't withstand him.

Many warriors who had been blocking close-range attacks lost their lives to the enemy. But as the archers in the rear disappeared, casualties from arrows decreased. The Infiltrators, using trees and bodies as cover, swiftly struck at the enemy.

The battle lasted half a magic hour. After losing nearly three hundred warriors and over a dozen mages, the fight finally ended.

Shaoke and the others didn't pursue the fleeing enemies. This battle had cost the mages heavily due to the enemy's archers and a few Infiltrators. Shaoke's three layers of Defensive Spells had been shattered by the ritualists, and a spear thrown by a warrior had pierced his shoulder. Fortunately, the spear carried little Aura, so it didn't kill him.

The dead on their side were coated with special chemicals, quickly burned to ashes, and placed in small boxes. These would be taken back by the survivors for collective burial in the empire's cemeteries after the war. Seeing familiar faces disappear, some of the more fragile professionals wept quietly. One archer tightly clutched a small box, crying almost nonstop—it held his brother, who had saved his life many times. The brief outburst soon ended, as everyone had experienced this many times and had enough self-control to move on quickly.

Despite the warriors' help, the large number of wounded severely slowed the retreat. Yet even in this hasty withdrawal, the Necromancer took time to cut off the heads of many ritualists. According to him, the heads of these mages-turned-ritualists were still usable and even more powerful in some ways.

This explanation left Shaoke, carried on a warrior's back, feeling helpless. After nearly two magic hours, the group emerged from the forest. At a temporary camp near the forest edge, the stationed warriors quickly welcomed them and summoned healers to treat the wounded.

The White-robed Cleric treated Shaoke first. As she chanted, golden threads flew from her hands into Shaoke's shoulder, slowly extracting the lingering Aura. Watching the white specks dissipate in the air, Mage Yisier let out a long sigh. This was Shaoke's eighth injury. Compared to him, she was incredibly lucky. In the four or five years since joining missions with the Blizzard Legion, she had never been injured.

This led other mages to joke that they should get close to the female mage Yisier to gain some of her luck. But when she revealed that she often had close contact with Shaoke, the mages wisely dropped that idea. After all, Shaoke had suffered more injuries than most mages here. However, one mage was almost always injured whenever enemy professionals appeared, and each time severely. Yet, oddly, he always recovered quickly under the healers' care, earning the envy of others. Many mages, after their first serious injury, either died or permanently lost their ability to cast spells or advance.

The White-robed Cleric repeatedly complained about Shaoke's habit of staying too close to the front lines during battle. With warriors present, mages in front were the first targets. But this habit had been cultivated over a decade in the Death Mage Corps and couldn't be changed quickly.

A young healer applied medicine to Shaoke's wound and quietly stated the recovery time needed. Listening nearby, Mage Yisier gripped Shaoke's arm worriedly. She knew that being unable to meditate for a month due to injury was a tough trial for any mage. Fortunately, due to the many wounded, the commander decided to fall back to the rear for a brief rest and to question senior officers about the repeated intelligence mistakes.

Originally, they had only attacked a large town. Based on past experience, such raids should have caused no casualties, and there shouldn't have been many enemy professionals nearby. Yet this time, after clearing the town, they were once again pursued by a large enemy force. This was the third time this had happened this year.