Chapter Thirteen: Head-On Collision (3)

In fact, Rebrí had already spotted familiar faces among those who had appeared. Clarence, the chief mage of Homer’s Mage Corps, a master of earth magic, rumored to have connections with important figures in the Light Church though not being one of them; Buljin, a skilled member of the Light Church, whose light magic was said to be on the verge of reaching the level of a grand mage. Although Rebrí thought there was still a gap before he reached that level, Buljin was undoubtedly a strong opponent; Dravak, also from the Light Church, though reportedly more inclined to idle pursuits, with average light magic skills but great expertise in certain support spells; and Shafrey, who seemed highly skilled in wood magic. Rebrí knew this man but had never dealt with him before.

The rest of the people were unknown to Rebrí, likely all members of Homer’s Mage Corps. He estimated that the strength of these mages far exceeded that of their three. Clarence might not be as strong as him, but he was certainly close, and Buljin was equally formidable. With Dravak’s assistance, he would be utterly defeated alone. Moreover, the enemy had five mages, and Rebrí didn’t think Shatima could handle them all by herself. Even their seven knights, led by Vladkov, might not have a sure victory. Rebrí didn’t know much about knights and couldn’t judge their strength, but the fact that Vladkov mentioned one of them possessing the Holy Light Spear proved their considerable strength.

“Mr. Vladkov, I’m afraid we’re really lucky. These guys must be from Homer’s side. I know a few of those mages; they’re all members of Homer’s Mage Corps. I guess those knights are also top performers from Homer’s Knight Corps. It’s unclear why they came to the Ice Lake—maybe they want to take this opportunity to hunt here,” Rebrí said, squinting and stroking his beard as he pondered.

“Mr. Rebrí, what should we do now?” Vladkov cut to the point without any unnecessary talk—fight, retreat, or observe from afar?

“Vladkov, aren’t you just talking nonsense? Kill them! Is Comer’s top target really Homer’s magicians? With these guys right here, it’s a golden opportunity—why not act now? What are you waiting for?” Shatima was furious. What were those two up to in such secrecy? They were missing such a perfect chance just to talk nonsense here.

“Miss Shatima, you seem to think it’s too simple. Not to mention their knights, there are eight magicians on the other side. As far as I know, a few of them are roughly as strong as me. Even if we launch a surprise attack, it will be difficult to succeed. We might even get trapped here. We need to seize this great opportunity carefully, so we can’t act rashly. If we do anything, it must be well-planned to take them all out at once.” Rebrí glanced at the beautiful dragon woman with a smirk and said, “Miss Shatima, those magicians are quite strong. You’re not planning to take them on alone, are you? If you’re confident enough, I’m willing to help Mr. Vladkov deal with those seven knights.”

Even if Shatima was foolish, she could tell the mockery in his words. Her face turned red for the first time. “No, human magicians use too many tricks. I can’t handle eight of them. One or two might be okay, but since it’s a surprise attack, I believe I can take care of two or three.”

“Hmm, if we’re going to do it, we must take them all out at once. We can’t leave any loose ends, or it will only ruin everything,” Rebrí shook his head.

“Then what should we do? Just watch these guys slip away right in front of us?” Shatima couldn’t accept such an outcome.

After briefly assessing the strength difference between the two sides, Rebrí decided they couldn’t act rashly. A magic message was sent immediately, and Comer would receive it within a few minutes. Now it depended on whether they could arrive in time.

“Miss Shatima, stay calm. I’ve already sent a message to Lord Comer. It now depends on whether they can arrive in time. If he, along with Mihajic and Sorenberg, can make it in time, I think a fierce battle awaits us. If they don’t arrive, with just the three of us, we might have to watch them leave.” Rebrí’s gaze remained fixed on the group of figures across from them. The magicians and knights were clearly separated into two groups. It seemed they were trying to catch some prey. Perhaps they were also new here and hadn’t taken any major action yet, still observing the situation.

“Hehe, it seems these guys have no defenses at all. If we attack now, I’m confident we can kill two or three of those mages in one go!” Shatima licked her glaringly red lips resentfully, her ice-blue eyes darting around nonstop. “Wait for Komer and the others to arrive? Where are they now? What if they’re still south of the Nise River?”
“What can we do? Miss Shatima, then we’ll have to give up and look for another chance.” Vladkov also understood that they couldn’t afford to take risks in this battle. With so many mages involved, it wasn’t a one-on-one fight. In such a situation, one could still escape using other methods if defeated. But in front of so many mages, any knight would have to first withstand magical attacks to possibly escape.
“Hmph! Cowards! Idiots!” Shatima muttered angrily.
“Miss Shatima, speak more politely. Who’s the coward and who’s the idiot?” Vladkov grew angry—this woman was too presumptuous!
“Not daring to challenge because the opponent is strong— isn’t that cowardice? Why is Komer lagging behind and not joining us? Isn’t that stupidity?” Shatima argued stubbornly.
Faced with this unreasonable woman, Vladkov was so angry he had nothing to say. At Rebrī’s signal, he could only grit his teeth and endure it. Being around such a woman was truly painful.
Komer received Rebrī’s magical message right away. At that moment, he, along with Mihajović, Uma, as well as Newman and Sorenberg, had just crossed the Nise River and entered the Greenland Forest. This kind of magical communication required high standards—both parties needed to master specific magical transmission techniques, and the purity of their magic power was also crucial. If the magic power was impure, the transmission effect would be poor. Currently, only Komer, Rebrī, Lomei, and Uma in the Caucasus could barely accomplish this, with even Mihajović not being familiar with such special magical techniques.

The message transmitted by Rebrí through magic communication was quite vague, as magic communication could only convey relatively simple information. This magic technique required a significant amount of mental energy and had a high failure rate. Therefore, as a precaution, Rebrí sent the message twice. The message simply stated that a magician named Homer and knights had been found by the ice lake, and Komer and his group were ordered to go there immediately to set up an ambush—nothing more. Although Komer wasn’t sure how many magicians and knights there were or how strong they were, since Rebrí, Shatima, and Vladkov all requested assistance, it was clear that their opponents were quite powerful. The fact that Homer’s magician group had gone to the ice lake area seemed like a golden opportunity.

Komer and his group rushed through the Greenland Forest at an almost unimaginable speed. Whether it was Komer, Mihajić, Sorenborg, or the several men in black behind them, along with that expressionless, strange man, everyone made use of their unique abilities under Komer’s wind-based flight magic, without being left behind by it.

As he flew through the Greenland Forest, Mihajić also quietly observed those men in black. As he had expected, although they were trying to conceal the source of their magic, some clues were still revealed under his careful observation. Without exception, they were all practitioners of dark magic using dark magic as their foundation. Although he couldn’t determine their full capabilities just yet, Mihajić was certain that the leader among them was no less skilled than himself and Rebrí.

The origin of these people piqued Mihajic’s interest. It was truly astonishing that such a large group of dark magic practitioners had suddenly appeared in the Caucasus. Mihajic knew that even in the north and central regions of the Azure Continent, dark magic practitioners could only survive under the strict surveillance of the Light Church, hiding in remote and desolate places to practice secretly, otherwise they would be hunted down by the Inquisitors of the Light Church, who would bring death upon them. Many dark magic practitioners in the northern regions of the Azure Continent had lost their lives at the hands of these Inquisitors, who acted as butchers defending against evil. If such a powerful group of dark magic practitioners were operating in the north of the Azure Continent, it was impossible for them to go unnoticed by the Light Church’s agents everywhere, not even in the Caucasus. This could only mean they came from the south. At this thought, Mihajic realized something.

Komer and his group rushed straight from the southeastern part of the Greenland Forest, crossing the forest paths, toward the ice lake in the western part of the forest. They knew that the Homer Mage Group couldn’t stay by the ice lake for long; once they completed what they wanted to do, they would leave. It would be a great shame to miss such a good opportunity. Just as Rebrí and Shatima were growing increasingly anxious, Komer and his group finally arrived.