Chapter 230: The Sleazy Officer and Conflict

"How did you end up like this? None of this matches my memories," said the cloaked figure.

"It was a bad combat mission." The Sleazy Officer chuckled softly, blood dripping from his face again, though a faint golden light quickly sealed the wounds. However, as the muscles of his face moved, the exposed flesh split open once more.

"Some high-ranking Ritualists surrounded us, and those so-called holy warriors joined the battle." The Sleazy Officer paused slightly at this point. "In that fight, the Legion Commander was severely injured. If I hadn't led the Blizzard Warriors to intercept, the Commander wouldn't have made it to today's meeting."

"The Blizzard Warriors of the 33rd Corps are all dead, only I, the commander, survived." He sighed softly. "Now I just want to know why the military command made such a mistake. If it weren't for these constant screw-ups, our progress would have been smooth, and maybe the war would've ended sooner!" With that, he chuckled again.

"You're losing way too much blood." Shaoke calmly took out some military-issued medicine, hoping it might help. But the other refused.

"This won't work. A Ninth Rank Ritualist's attack isn't that easy to get rid of." The Sleazy Officer suddenly shifted his gaze to Shaoke's face. "It was only that time in the tavern that I learned of your temper; at other times and places, I never picked up on it. Maybe it's 'cause I haven't fought with you long enough to know?"

He then returned to his previous posture, not waiting for Shaoke's reply. "You interested in taking over the Blizzard Warriors? The first mage to lead 'em—I bet those bastards in the other legions'll be floored." He laughed loudly, as if recalling something amusing.

"Especially that old fool from the Barbarian Legion—I bet he'll start second-guessing himself."

"I don't want to lead a unit that's already gone." Shaoke looked at him calmly. "I think you're still the right guy for the job. In your shoes, I would've run first, not stayed to intercept the pursuers."

"I used to think the same way." The Sleazy Officer drew the pale blue dagger, waving it lightly. "But in that situation, turning to flee only meant dying faster. Heh! We even hunted down a Ninth Rank Ritualist that time!" He let out another crazy laugh.

"Hundreds of Blizzard Warriors for one Ninth Rank Ritualist?" Shaoke looked at the officer in surprise, barely believing that a bunch of Sixth Rank warriors could take down a Ninth Rank.

"Three Eighth Tier Warriors, plus yours truly, the great commander." The officer quickly gave his answer. "In that situation, fleeing was impossible. You had to kill—kill everything in sight that wasn't an ally. Don't worry about rank differences; look at your opponent with pity in your eyes, because you'll be the one to cut off his head and hand it to the necromancers to make a staff." He burst out laughing again, the faint golden light on his face flickering to heal his wounds.

"You should go back and take some blood-replenishing meds." Shaoke pointed at the blood on the officer, standing up to leave.

"I haven't talked like this in ages. Feels good. Can you hang out a little longer?" The Sleazy Officer also stood up, staring intently at Shaoke with a hopeful look in his one remaining eye. Shaoke couldn't say no. As a result, the officer rambled on all night about weird stuff, only stopping when he'd lost too much blood and had to head to the healers' camp for medicine. The mage was right.

When he got back to his room early in the morning, Mage Roman and Mage Yisier were curled up in his bed, their soft, pale bodies tangled together. As Shaoke was about to cover them with a blanket, both mages quickly woke.

"Can you tell us what happened?" Mage Roman looked at him helplessly, noticing that his gaze lingered longer on Yisier's chest. Of course, she didn't account for the allure of the faint blue marks on Yisier's pale skin.

"Orders from several legion commanders. Anyone who leaks this will face death." Shaoke handed the clothes on the floor to the two women. "Don't ask about this; everything will have its outcome."

"I don't care about anything now, just when this battle will end." Mage Roman shook herself, quickly donning her golden robe. "Making those talismans all day will drive me mad." She muttered softly, saying she missed the days when she freely crafted various magic items.

After Mage Yisier dressed and quickly left, Mage Roman suddenly whispered, "When did you start sleeping with her?" She stared at Shaoke. "I've known for a long time, but I want the exact time."

Somewhat embarrassed, Shaoke hugged the female mage Yisier and quietly explained the situation. Since he didn't know what Yisier had told Roman, he simply gave the specific time. Female Mage Roman's vigorous slaps were unavoidable.

In the following days, the Blue-robed Female Mage gave no orders to Shaoke and the others. According to the commander leading them, this Eighth Tier Mage had temporarily abandoned the idea of assigning them tasks, as the numerous intelligence errors causing unnecessary casualties in the Blizzard Legion were unacceptable to most high-ranking leaders.

Shaoke didn't know the specifics of the front lines, and he no longer wanted to.

With the arrival of high-rank mages, nobles, and merchants from the capital, the atmosphere in the small town quickly tensed. The Blizzard Legion stationed here deployed almost all low-order warriors to patrol the streets, while the Blizzard Warriors themselves often walked the streets—all of which seemed abnormal.

One day, Shaoke was trying to recite some complex Ancient Magic Script when news reached him that the capital visitors, who had been idly enjoying themselves, had finally clashed with the town's mages. The exact reason was unclear, but he knew that a large number of mages had surrounded the visitors' residence, and in the recent conflict, several mages had been killed by the visitors' high-level mages.

Seeing the anxious look on the reporting mage's face, Shaoke agreed without hesitation. Regardless of who was at fault, he just wanted to know why mages who hadn't died in battle were now being killed by their own countrymen. For whatever reason, he felt he should go observe the situation to avoid a similar fate happening to him without anyone to help.

Hundreds of mages gathered before a large manor. The manor had been somewhat dilapidated, but when the capital guests arrived, the Blizzard Legion had sent many prisoners to repair it. However, without skilled craftsmen to guide them, the manor now looked bizarre.

Two mages floated in the air, confronting each other. One was unfamiliar to Shaoke, the other was an Eighth Tier Mage from the Blizzard Legion. Nearly a hundred Blizzard Warriors surrounded the manor, commanded by the severely injured Sleazy Officer. Outside were many mages and other practitioners, and Shaoke even sensed Mage Yisier's magical fluctuations among them.

Worried she might get into trouble, Shaoke quickly pushed toward her. Fortunately, most mages recognized him and made way. At that moment, more mages gathered from other directions, and even the Blue-robed Female Mage and other Eighth-order Practitioners from the Bloody Fortress floated in the distance, watching. They seemed unwilling to get involved in the conflict between the Blizzard Legion and some in the military command.

None of the legion commanders appeared, nor did the legion's other Eighth-order Practitioners. Even so, the gathered mages glared fearlessly at the other Eighth Tier Mage from the capital floating in the sky, who had personally killed several mages.

Shaoke finally reached Mage Yisier and asked what had happened. After her brief explanation, he fell silent. The dead mages had clashed with some young mages from the capital in a tavern. Though no fight broke out there, the mages had challenged the capital guests to a duel outside the town.

Such verbal provocations were common among the mages and other practitioners here. However, the capital guests didn't respond to the dead mages' words but left the tavern first. As the mages passed this manor, the Eighth Tier Mage suddenly appeared and quickly cast spells to kill them.