Chapter 94 - 93: Clearing Wasteland

Chapter 94: Chapter 93: Clearing Wasteland

After the staff from Bremen City left, Gaode put away the conscription order and immediately took a public carriage to the Magic Pharmacy in the Siren District. Since he had made up his mind to participate in this large-scale hunting and sweeping operation, he had to make ample pre-war preparations. He needed to purchase the supplies required for battle.

First was the Blue Light Potion; Gaode bought five sets in one go. At three Gold Coins per set, it cost him fifteen Gold Coins. In fact, if he wasn’t afraid that carrying too much weight would hinder his mobility, he would have bought even more.

The purpose of the Blue Light Potion was to help a Mage Apprentice replenish Mana and accelerate Mana recovery. When a Second-Class Mage Apprentice’s Mana was depleted, drinking a bottle of Blue Light Potion and then sitting quietly to circulate their Guiding Technique would mostly restore their Mana within half an hour. A Third-Class Apprentice could also recover more than half of their Mana in the same timeframe. The reason it was named Blue Light Potion was probably to make it sound a bit more sophisticated; a more grounded name for it would simply be Basic Mana Potion.

In addition, he purchased a set of Basic Healing Potion, which also cost three Gold Coins. This was applied topically to treat external injuries, but it was ineffective against wounds caused by Extraordinary Power. However, among 0th Ring Earth Vein Creatures, there were still many that lacked Extraordinary Power and merely possessed formidable physical bodies. Therefore, the Basic Healing Potion might still come in handy.

Finally, Gaode wanted to purchase one or two Alchemy Creations to preserve his life. For one, he already had the Hidden Mist Fang, meaning he possessed an offensive Magic Weapon. For another, playing it safe and staying alive was the top priority in this upcoming battle. As long as he kept his life, other Mages would be around to help take down even the most ferocious Earth Vein Creatures. This was unlike venturing out alone, where encountering an Earth Vein Creature would highly likely end in a life-or-death struggle, necessitating both defense and offense.

However, whatever he could think of, others naturally thought of as well. Gaode was not the first Mage to receive the conscription order, so by the time he set out to buy Alchemy Creations, it was already too late. Basically, all the good items had already been snatched up. What remained were either defective goods, things he couldn’t afford, or items of little use to him. After visiting several stores in a row and still coming up empty-handed, Gaode had no choice but to give up.

He rejoiced inwardly, "Fortunately, the Origin Points from the Fierce Bat were allocated to [Blade Protection]..."

Looking at it this way, if nothing else, the city’s Alchemists would at least be able to make a massive profit from this newly born Earth Vein.

He thought again, "Perhaps my repair business can also boom for a while after the battle?" After all, the time Magic Items were most likely to suffer damage was during combat.

By the time he finished handling everything, the public carriages in the city had already stopped operating. Gaode had no choice but to spend twenty-five copper coins to hail a light two-wheeled carriage back home. After returning, he took a quick wash and simply packed his luggage. After hanging a ’Do Not Disturb’ sign on the door, he fell right to sleep. For the next few days, he would be roughing it out in the wilderness, so he had to rest his Spirit well.

The night passed peacefully. When the sky was still only faintly bright, Gaode woke up more than half an hour earlier than usual and prepared a hearty breakfast for himself. After eating, he grabbed his bundle and headed out. By the time he hurried to Black Horn Square, there was still a quarter of an hour left before the agreed-upon time of seven o’clock.

However, a crowd was already waiting in Black Horn Square. Some familiar faces were whispering among themselves; some gathered together to get acquainted on the spot; others stood in corners, observing silently. Yet, no one was making a loud ruckus; everyone maintained a proper sense of decorum. Their behaviors varied, but what they had in common was that everyone carried a bulging bundle on their backs. They were all non-official Mages from within Bremen City.

Normally, finding a Mage wasn’t exactly easy. Now that the conscription order had been issued, Gaode finally realized that the number of Mages in the vast Bremen City was actually quite large. Although they were basically all Mage Apprentices, there probably weren’t many full-fledged Mages among them.

At the entrance of the square, several tables had been set up. Behind each table sat a few staff members, and long queues formed in front. Gaode chose the queue with the fewest people and lined up. The entire process was very simple: he just had to present the conscription order he received yesterday, sign his name and Mage Level, and then the staff would stamp the departure date on it and issue the corresponding tier of remuneration.

By the time all the Mages who had received the order and were scheduled to gather at Black Horn Square completed their registration, it was already half past seven. After another half hour of dull waiting, right when the blazing sun hung high in the sky and everyone was starting to grow irritable, a Female Mage wearing a dark cyan Magic Robe finally arrived late.

"Is everything settled?" she asked softly. There was not a hint of apology in her tone; instead, it exuded an unquestionable authority.

The Female Mage looked to be in her thirties. Her face was lean with prominent cheekbones, and her eyes were as sharp as an eagle’s. Although she was a woman, no one dared to underestimate her in the slightest—this was the majesty that belonged to a Mage. Her arrival seemed to instantly bring a breath of cool air, abruptly calming the restless atmosphere in the square.

"Everything is ready. We can depart at any time," the manager in charge of registration stepped forward and replied in a low voice.

The Female Mage nodded slightly, her gaze sweeping across the area. Wherever she looked, the complaints that had arisen from the wait instantly died down.

"Prepare to depart," she said softly, but her voice echoed across the entire square as if magically amplified.

"I know her. That’s Mage Viersa, a Second-Ring Mage of the Law Enforcement Team," someone in the crowd whispered.

Gaode felt a jolt of reverence in his heart. A Second-Ring Mage! A First-Ring Mage was already enough to command Gaode’s awe, let alone a Second-Ring Mage. At the same time, Gaode felt a sense of reassurance. With a Second-Ring Mage leading the team, as long as he was a bit careful and didn’t actively court death, nothing bad should generally happen.

Following Mage Viersa’s order, the crowd of Mages in Black Horn Square formed two long lines under the direction of the official personnel and departed in a mighty procession.

Outside the city gates, the City Guard and a convoy of carriages were already waiting. The team was still primarily composed of Mage Apprentices. During the apprentice stage, a Mage’s Physical Strength was not much different from that of an ordinary person. In fact, because their status was generally higher than that of commoners, they usually didn’t need to do any work requiring Physical Strength, meaning their physical attributes were often slightly weaker than those of ordinary people. Therefore, if carriages and horses were not properly arranged and they had to rely purely on walking, the journey alone would be enough to exhaust the Mage Apprentices. How would they have any Energy left to slay monsters?

However, although carriages were arranged, they couldn’t expect too much in terms of comfort. The carriage frames, made of Solid wood, could bear heavy loads and the bumps of a long march, but their shock absorption was highly questionable. The wheels were wide with wooden hubs, capable of traveling on muddy or uneven ground. The carriages were covered with a thick layer of canvas, under which supplies were stored. The Mages sat directly on top of the canvas, with eight Mages assigned to one carriage.

Compared to the Mages who had carriages to ride in, the City Guard had it much harder. Most of them could only follow the convoy on foot. However, since the City Guard was only responsible for logistics and the Mages were the main combat force, their fatigue wouldn’t hinder the operation.

Once all the Mages were settled, the convoy officially departed. What followed was a long, arduous journey.

The battle traces left by the Fierce Bat’s attack on the city yesterday had not been completely cleaned up despite more than half a day’s work. Occasionally, the remains and severed limbs of the Fierce Bat could still be seen on the road. The destination of Gaode’s convoy was Camond City. Their main task was to sweep out the wandering Earth Vein Creatures near the official road between Bremen City and Camond City, in order to restore traffic between the two cities.

In the very beginning, the road was wide, and they occasionally spotted farmers in the adjacent fields who had mustered the courage to come out and harvest their wheat. About an hour later, the convoy officially entered the depths of the mountain forest, and no more people could be seen on either side of the road.

According to the operation’s requirements, once they reached this point, the Mages in the convoy had to spread out along both sides of the official road and hunt down any wandering Earth Vein Creatures. They needed to ensure that not a single Earth Vein Creature was left within a two-kilometer radius on both sides of the road. Only by meeting this standard could the safety of the official road be preliminarily guaranteed.

In Gaode’s understanding, this operation could simply be referred to as "clearing the wilds and fixing the roads."