Chapter 294: Battle Mage Regiment

At the southern foothills of the snow mountains, in the Staya camp.

The Wolfgar offensive was still ongoing.

Undead creatures surged forward like a relentless tide, their assault never ceasing. The defending Staya warriors, however, were long past the point of exhaustion, and the hands of most men holding weapons were trembling slightly.

More despairing still was the fact that the main force of the Wolfgar wolf cavalry had been lurking behind the undead, ready to launch a surprise attack at any moment.

The Staya camp could no longer hold.

The commander, his arm bandaged from a wound, walked hurriedly toward Freya's parents, supported by a guard. He looked at the equally anxious Callen and Isera and asked urgently, "What about Leo, Morris, and Freya? Still no news?"

Isera sighed and shook her head gently. "No, they haven't returned yet."

"Have faith in them." Callen took a deep breath, both to soothe the commander and to bolster his own spirits. "As long as they can take down Gulzan, the tide of battle will surely turn!"

"But we can't afford to wait anymore." The commander shook his head with a bitter smile, his tone growing increasingly pessimistic. "We were already besieged on all sides, and Leo and the others took the most elite transcendents with them. The enchanted potions Morris left behind are nearly gone, and the warriors are at their breaking point..."

Before he could finish, panicked shouts echoed through the camp.

"The walls are breached! The walls are breached!"

Everyone looked over, and a scene of despair met their eyes—countless undead had already submerged the walls. Enemies were everywhere, a dark, suffocating mass like a black tide.

All the warriors were retreating in panic, but their homes were right behind them; there was truly nowhere left to run.

The commander and the other two immediately rushed forward.

"Hold your ground!" The commander drew his sword and charged toward the battlefield, roaring to boost morale. "The Chosen faction squad will be here soon! Everyone, hold on!"

Amidst the chaotic battle, a blade suddenly swung in from the side.

Callen, wielding an exquisite and ornate rapier, parried the Wolfgar's scimitar. With a flick of his wrist, the rapier precisely pierced the opponent's throat.

Amidst the roars and snarls, another Wolfgar wolf cavalryman galloped over, his scimitar slashing directly at Callen's back.

"Watch out!" Isera quickly pulled him back as she began chanting.

As a former Divine Maiden candidate for the tribe, she had never neglected her cultivation over the years. A surge of primitive, savage witchcraft power condensed at her fingertips. She made a grasping motion in the air, and an invisible, massive claw tore both the wolf cavalryman and his mount to the ground.

Callen immediately stepped forward to finish them, cutting the throats of both the warg and the Wolfgar.

The two looked up; the enemies were growing more numerous, and the encirclement was constantly tightening.

The cries of children deep within the camp grew clearer. If they retreated any further, the tribe's elderly, weak, women, and children would be right behind them.

Callen and Isera exchanged a glance, both offering a faint, bitter smile.

Regret filled Isera's eyes. "It's a pity... we won't get to see Freya and the others return in victory."

In that atmosphere of utter despair.

Isera suddenly felt something and abruptly looked up toward the sky over the snow mountains.

Boom—

High above, it was as if a massive rift had been torn open by an invisible hand, and a terrifying, chilling divine aura swept down.

The ground shook violently, and pebbles jumped.

Then, an even more astonishing sight appeared.

One fully armed figure after another burst into the battlefield out of thin air. They shifted from phantom to physical form, landing from mid-air like divine soldiers descending from the heavens.

These uninvited guests wore uniform heavy armor with faint magic light patterns flowing across the surface. Dark red cloaks snapped in the gale, and the sleek lines of the armor outlined tall, majestic figures.

Every one of them was imposing and radiating murderous intent; it was clear at a glance that they were top-tier elites.

This sudden turn of events caused the battlefield to fall into a brief, dead silence.

No one knew if they were friend or foe.

But soon, this mysterious unit provided the answer with their actions.

One magic spell after another landed in the ranks of the undead and the Wolfgars, a relentless bombardment that crushed everything in its path.

They kept their magic shields active the entire time, rendering them invulnerable. Within the originally brutal battlefield, they moved for a time as if no one could stop them.

The commander's face was full of disbelief. "Is it... reinforcements?"

"Are these warriors... all here to help us?"

But why would we have such powerful reinforcements?

Callen's gaze was fixed on the weapons held by the mysterious unit, his tone uncertain. "Wait, they aren't warriors!"

"They are..."

Callen's expression grew increasingly strange.

"Mages?"

Isera realized it too. "Yes! They're all mages!"

Everyone noticed that each of them held a long-handled staff, but the style of those staves was incredibly bizarre—metal-forged shafts set with many orderly magic crystals, and... the front ends were ringed with protruding spikes? And... an obvious counterweight ball meant for smashing?

It looked like a mace...

"Who designed this staff..." Callen couldn't help but mutter. "This thing looks like a blunt weapon. Are they supposed to use it to smash people's heads in after their mana runs out?"

Mages have to know close-quarters combat too?

"I think I've guessed... whose people they are." Isera watched a mysterious magic warrior nearby, carefully scrutinizing the rest of his gear.

The luxury of this mysterious unit's equipment was staggering. Aside from the obviously expensive magic armor and standardized metal staves, each person also had a large-caliber alchemical revolver hanging at their waist.

That design was somewhat similar to Ansu Morris's sidearm...

Callen and Isera silently exchanged a look, having a faint idea of where this team had come from.

After all, their daughter had told them that Ansu's background was quite incredible, and he had even organized people to solve the magic pollution problem... Could this mysterious unit be the one he called in?

...

In a treacherous part of the distant snow mountains, the temporary command post of the Echoes of Truth cult was hidden.

Outside the tent, Elder Barnes and Elder Matthew looked out over the distant battlefield, closely monitoring the situation.

When they saw the cult's newly formed "Battle Mage Regiment" slaughtering everyone on the battlefield, the two nodded repeatedly, their eyes full of satisfaction.

"It seems the Hermit was right. A mage who can fight in close quarters is the way to go!" Elder Barnes remarked with emotion.

Just a moment ago, they had personally witnessed a battle mage who was entangled by a wolf cavalryman. The mage had swung that mace-like standardized staff backhand and cracked that Wolfgar's skull wide open on the spot, quite cleanly and efficiently.

Every battle mage in this unit was practically the most terrifying individual combat unit of this era. They could release dense magic from a distance and fight in close quarters with their armor and staves.

Equipped for both offense and defense, they were flawless.

Elder Matthew rubbed his hands together excitedly. "This is what fifty people can do. If we expanded this team by another ten..."

"Forget about just taking down a measly Wolfgar tribe; we could march all the way to the Royal Capital and tear through the Church of Holy Light and the Imperial Army!"

Elder Barnes, however, looked troubled. "But this team is too expensive... and fifty people like this aren't that easy to select."

The cult had drawn a group of the best executors from all over the country. Not only did they have excellent magic talent, but they also had to be obedient and brave in battle.

Looking across the entire continent, no other organization could produce so many high-quality mages to support such an army.

Except, of course, for magic academies whose situations were unclear.