Chapter 95

"Each person leads a team of about twenty mages, and every kilometer, a team will spread out to both sides for clearing work."

Here, Mage Velsa had already issued instructions in an orderly manner, "If you encounter trouble you can't solve, send a signal immediately, and I will arrive as soon as possible."

Those receiving the instructions were 1st-circle mages who also belonged to the Bremen City officialdom, numbering twenty in total.

Under Velsa's signal, each 1st-circle mage picked out more than twenty non-official mages to form twenty teams.

All teams followed the order; for every kilometer advanced, two teams would leave the convoy and enter the mountains and forests on both sides of the official road.

After six mage teams had left the convoy one after another, it was finally Gao De's turn.

A middle-aged mage appeared and pointed at four carriages, including the one Gao De was in, "You, you, you, and you, get off and come with me."

The mage apprentices on the four carriages had also long been mentally prepared.

Upon hearing the order, they jumped off the carriage one after another and followed the middle-aged mage into the mountains and forests.

And the four carriages they had been riding in, including the dozen or so city guards following, would wait for them on the official road.

One was to provide necessary logistical support, and the other was to transport the corpses of valuable ley line creatures.

Leaving the official road and entering the mountains and forests, the scent of decay rushed towards them.

The lush leaves were airtight, and the light was slightly dim.

The crowd shuttled through the dense forest, their footsteps stepping on the thick fallen leaves and dead branches, making a rustling sound.

Gao De followed in the team and found that at this moment, although he was a bit nervous, he was surprisingly more eager to try.

The leading middle-aged mage had already cast a spell the moment his footsteps left the official road.

His eyes became deep and bright, as if he could see through all illusions and disguises.

Gao De, who noticed this scene, knew in his heart that this was clearly a detection spell.

Compared to "wild mages" who learn spells here and there, mages under the official system have a great characteristic in the spells they learn and master: they are systematic.

From reconnaissance to combat, it is very complete.

"Pay attention to the surroundings, especially overhead; I only have one pair of eyes and can't guarantee that I can take care of every aspect." Seeming to notice that everyone was a bit lax, the middle-aged mage reminded them.

Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but feel a tightness in their hearts and raised their vigilance one after another.

However, the moment the words fell.

Whoosh! A black shadow suddenly swooped down from the shadows of a towering tree, with incredible speed.

It was a huge bird of prey.

Its trajectory of swooping was precise and swift, having already locked onto its target—a mage apprentice at the very back of the team.

And the mage apprentice who was viewed as the target seemed to have been scared silly, actually standing there blankly, motionless.

The next moment, the bird's sharp claws suddenly swung out, like a sharp dagger, slashing across the mage apprentice's chest.

In an instant, blood splattered, and the mage apprentice didn't even have time to scream before he fell down, life or death unknown.

The whole process happened in the blink of an eye.

This sudden attack made everyone's minds instantly clear.

After this bird of prey succeeded in its sneak attack, it let out a sharp cry, as if to demonstrate.

Its feathers were pitch black, and its eyes flashed with a cruel light.

"Beast!" the leading middle-aged mage shouted angrily.

He took a deep breath, raised his right hand, and blue light flickered at his fingertips.

Following the middle-aged mage's angry shout, the blue light suddenly erupted, turning into an ice blade, shining with cold light, and shot towards the bird monster in the air!

The ice blade drew an elegant arc in the air, as if even the air had been frozen somewhat.

The bird monster felt the threat in the ice blade and let out a piercing scream, trying to avoid this spell through rapid flight. However, in the middle-aged mage's hand, a new blue light was already shimmering.

Whoosh! The ice blade brushed past the feathers on the bird monster's belly; although it didn't hit the bird monster directly, the chill transmitted from the ice blade made it shiver all over.

But before this bird monster could make its next move, another ice blade had arrived.

It accurately hit the bird monster's left wing.

A burst of ice crystals splashed, and along with a shocking wound, a thin layer of ice crystals also covered and spread over the monster's left wing.

In an instant, the bird monster lost its balance and fell downward uncontrollably.

During the fall, it struggled to stabilize its body, but it was all in vain, and finally, with a bang, it landed on the ground, letting out a painful scream.

"Go to hell!" The mage apprentices who had just been startled, seeing the bird monster land on the ground, also cast spells to attack in anger.

For a time, several or even dozens of attack cantrips landed on the bird monster one after another.

Even though this bird monster had amazing resistance, it couldn't withstand the continuous spell impact from the apprentices and was immediately blasted to death, becoming a dead bird.

Even Gao De took a hand in it.

It's just a pity that he wasn't the lucky one who dealt the final blow, so he didn't gain any Origin.

But now these are not the most important things.

Everyone looked at the mage apprentice who had been sneak-attacked by the bird monster.

At this moment, he was lying on the ground, the clothes on his chest were broken, revealing a terrifying wound deep enough to see the bone.

He was already unconscious, his consciousness unclear, and his life was fading away.

The leading middle-aged mage saw this scene, his brows slightly furrowed, but that was all.

He took out a "Primary Healing Potion" he had prepared from his bosom and applied it to the wounded mage apprentice's wound to help him temporarily stop the bleeding.

"Send him back to the convoy; the convoy is equipped with mages who have mastered healing spells."

The middle-aged mage didn't have much psychological fluctuation; he casually pointed at one of the remaining mage apprentices and instructed.

"Okay!" The mage apprentice who was pointed at felt like he had been granted amnesty and hurriedly agreed.

—Anyway, you get paid for every day you work, so not having to fight is naturally a good thing.

"Everyone else follow me to continue the mission; learn a lesson—these beasts have always liked to ambush and sneak attack. If you get hit and the injuries are too severe, even healing spells might not be able to save your lives," the middle-aged mage reminded the team that had suffered a setback before they even started.

Everyone nodded silently, clearly keeping this reminder firmly in their hearts.

Experience teaches people; once taught, they learn.

Witnessing their companion get hit with their own eyes, all the relaxation in everyone's hearts disappeared.

A repressive atmosphere permeated the team.

Everyone was thinking about the same question: if the target locked by the bird just now had been themselves, what would their ending be at this moment?

Once this assumption was made, no one could feel relaxed anymore.

Gao De's concept also changed:

He had ultimately thought of hunting ley line creatures in the wild too simply.

He thought that with many people and official mages leading the team, safety should be worry-free.

But the fact was that in the wild, anything could happen.

Teaming up only increases safety a little, but if you only think about relying on others, you won't even know how you died.

You can only rely on yourself.

(End of chapter)