Chapter 229: Reasons and the Legion Commander’s Decision

Night. The female mage, Yisier, did not sleep; she merely lay on a crude cot, recalling the companions who had died earlier, while Shaoke spent the whole night sitting with her in a daze. Though he too was furious, in his position, aside from refusing to carry out missions, there was no other means of resistance.

Perhaps the other mages figured out why the commander was so pissed. In the following days of travel, the whole team went dead quiet. Even the wandering mages, who often argued with others, skipped their usual marching drills. The necromancer, though, started sticking ritualist heads onto his staff.

Any stragglers they ran into on the road were torn apart by the warriors and mages, their remains ground into the dirt of this continent.

That day, Shaoke's crew finally arrived at a newly relocated logistics point. This small city was a temporary garrison for the alchemists under the jurisdiction of the Blizzard Legion, guarded by a large number of ordinary soldiers. They were tasked not only with watching over the prisoners building the city and roads but also with thoroughly scouring the surrounding hundreds of miles to prevent sudden enemy attacks.

The eighth-rank blue-robed female mage greeted Shaoke's crew. Upon seeing the loss of so many professionals, her face fell. She directly summoned the commander, as this time he had not reported the battle's specifics as before and had been evasive on certain issues, which had already displeased her before the team's return. Now, seeing that a two-thousand-strong force had still suffered such casualties on that mission, she couldn't take it anymore. This was the third time such a situation had occurred. Shaoke and the others headed back to their tents to crash, preparing for the next mission.

After a quick rest, Shaoke went looking for Mage Roman. When she saw the male mage hurt again, Roman's eyes got all red, but she held it together thanks to Shaoke's comforting.

Of course, she couldn't help but warn him. Finally, the female mage sat quietly beside Shaoke, resting her head on his shoulder, listening quietly to his story of the recent battles.

When she heard what Shaoke had gotten from the commander, Roman let out a helpless sigh. "Back when we were still in the back, those nobles started chewing us out. Luckily, there were a lot of high-rank mages around back then, so nothing unexpected happened. Later, after those high-rank mages left, that situation arose." She paused briefly, then raised her voice slightly: "If everything is true, I really don't get why the brass lets book-smart nobodies boss us around. Are we just expendable or what?"

Hearing Roman's words, Shaoke did not voice his own speculations. He merely stroked the female mage's slender neck, and she obediently stretched it, allowing the male mage's hand to roam over her sensitive areas. The cluttered laboratory, with papers and books strewn about, precious materials and various organs in vessels kept burning by arcane fire, slowly rotating magic arrays carved on stone slabs, and a mutated spider continuing to weave its web in a glass bottle—all of this made the female mage's moans, tinged with slight pain, sound so alluring.

This time, Shaoke rested in the small city for nearly a month. His wounds had fully healed, and his broken bones had perfectly mended, restoring his ability for intense physical activity. However, such activities were infrequent, as the atmosphere in the small city grew increasingly oppressive with the gathering of many wounded and large teams.

One day, while resting in a log cabin, a messenger brought him an order from the legion commander. It turned out that a large number of troops from the 33rd Corps had returned to this small city, along with all the teams that had been on small-scale raiding missions. However, other Blizzard sub-legions had also gathered here, and the small city could not accommodate hundreds of thousands of people. Thus, some Blizzard warriors set up camp outside the city.

It was still a large tent, but this time, hundreds of Blizzard warriors, over three meters tall and clad in heavy armor and visors, stood guard outside. Several seventh-tier mages sat quietly nearby, their detection waves constantly scanning Shaoke and others entering the tent. An eighth-tier mage moved slowly in the air, apparently on guard duty. As for the infiltrators, who usually preferred the shadows, they unusually revealed themselves this time.

Though the tent was large, it was not crowded. There were only a few hundred mages, all of whom had served in the Blizzard Legion for a long time. No other classes appeared in the tent, and Shaoke guessed that the archers and infiltrators were also mages who had long served in the Blizzard Legion. However, no clerics or other support professionals were present this time.

Hundreds of Blizzard warriors tightly guarded the officers seated in the center. Shaoke quickly recognized the commander of the Blizzard 33rd Corps. He remembered that four or five years ago, the commander's figure was still relatively straight, but now it was severely bent, and his once-smooth face was covered in wrinkles. The other commanders were in a similar state, except for one middle-aged commander whom Shaoke did not recognize and could not identify by his uniform.

The sleazy officer, whom Shaoke had not seen for years, was also spotted. But this time, Shaoke had to stare for a long time to recognize him. His once lecherous face was mostly gone, replaced by large patches of skinless flesh, and Shaoke could even see something resembling bone. One eye and one arm were missing, and he stood upright, no longer making strange gestures as before.

The sleazy officer's appearance shocked Shaoke. Perhaps his prolonged gaze caught the officer's attention, and he soon noticed the mage carrying the flaming staff. He tried to twist his mouth into a smile, but blood dripped from his face onto his straight uniform. Despite this, he managed an extremely ugly, even terrifying, smile. This made Shaoke feel deeply uncomfortable, wondering how many others had become cripples like the sleazy officer in this battle.

Only one eighth-tier mage was present in the tent. After chanting a spell, a black barrier enveloped the tent, and the youngest commander stood up. "The content of this meeting must not be known to other mages. If anything goes wrong, I trust you will personally kill the culprit." He added, "Whether it's your friend or anyone else, I expect you to fully comply."

After a brief silence, the commander continued, "Recently, the military command has been feeding us false intelligence, causing severe losses. Therefore, the Blizzard Legion has decided to refuse all missions for the time being. Unless ordered directly by the legion commander, none of you are to carry out any missions." He then sat down, and another commander stood up to elaborate.

"We hope you can all adhere to this," said the visibly aged commander hoarsely. "If anything unexpected happens, we hope you will continue to follow the Blizzard Legion's orders." He looked calmly at the crowd, his gaze so intense that Shaoke almost felt the urge to lower his head, but he managed to endure it.

Several commanders then spoke, generally urging everyone to accept the Blizzard Legion's orders under any circumstances. Finally, the long-silent commander of the 33rd Corps straightened his back and spoke in a resounding voice that reached Shaoke's ears.

"Barring any surprises, the military command will soon send people to pressure us into battle. I'm telling you now: do not heed any orders from them. Only accept orders bearing the seal of the Blizzard General Legion." He forced a grim smile. "There have been some issues within the military command, so we must preserve our strength for the coming war. Only after the command stops feeding us false information will we follow their orders."

After repeated confirmations, an aged commander signaled for everyone to leave the tent and rest in their quarters. But Shaoke did not return; he lingered outside the tent, waiting for the sleazy officer.

"Can you tell me the specifics?" Under the greenish flames, the sleazy officer looked even more terrifying. But Shaoke paid no attention to that, staring intently at the officer, who no longer had Blizzard warrior protection, hoping for a detailed explanation.

"What do you want me to tell you?" the sleazy officer said in a low voice, pointing to the edge of the tent for them to talk there. He then sat down on the ground, leaning his entire body against the tent, and Shaoke did the same. However, instead of looking at the sky like the officer, Shaoke turned his head to gaze at him.