473: Cannon Fodder

Cannon Fodder

"Damn it…"1

Lazart's expression kept worsening as Yass explained everything, a vein started twitching on his forehead. He really hadn't expected Yass to actually charge into this disaster. He roared, upset, "Do you know what you did? Before I left I repeatedly warned you to not let it go to your head and not mobilize the troops without my command…"

Lazart was truly mad, his finger was almost poking Yass' nose. It was clear that this Prophet was extremely angry.

How could he not be.

None of the elite Wolf-Riders had been able to escape, Yass was the only survivor. And that cavalry unit was a great part of the force stationed in the Ghost Valley, such a huge loss would have an impact on the Thawing Fire Tribe's forces.

Even if he doted on Yass, he couldn't help reprimanding him this time...

Most importantly, this matter was very serious, even if Lazart was one of the exalted six Great Prophets of the Thawing Fire Tribe, a loss of a thousand Wolf-Riders was very hard to account for.

"Teacher, I, I… I made a mistake. But, those humans are too crafty, they obviously had only five hundred Great Mages and a few High Mages, yet a few dozen formidable High Mages suddenly appeared…"

Yass was pale, it was the first time he had seen his teacher so angry, and he was really panicking at this moment. He was looking at Lazart with a fearful expression.

"Enough! Shut your mouth!"

Lazart ruthlessly glanced at Yass, before remaining silent. He clearly knew that since it had escalated to this stage, there was no point in remaining angry. The crucial point was looking for a way to solve this issue. No matter what, Yass was the disciple he was proud of. Although he made a mistake this time and cost the tribe a huge loss, as his teacher, he had to help sort this mess.

If the tribe punished him, Yass would definitely be done for...

Thinking of this, Lazart's expression eased up a bit. He looked at Yass and said with a grave tone, "Get back and reflect!"

After Yass left, Lazart let out a deep sigh, worry visible on his face. Sorting this mess wouldn't be easy...

The loss was disastrous, a thousand Wolf-Riders had been exterminated and Lazart wouldn't be able to explain if there were no results, he would end up being severely punished. But if he could get a control over the Ghost Valley, he would be able to recoup the losses.

This plan appeared in Lazart's heart...

But, the difficulty in carrying out such a plan was pretty high, after all, the battle over the Ghost Valley had been in a deadlock for countless years, without domineering power, it would be very difficult to thoroughly control the Ghost Valley.

'It looks like I can only let him make a move…'

Lazart sighed once again, it looked like he had made up his mind as he got up and left his dwelling. After some time, he arrived at a hidden location.

He chanted a long and profound sentence in Ancient Beastman. As he chanted, the dark red runes on his body fiercely flickered, followed by the earth shaking.

...

At this time, the fierce battle near the Ghost Valley had finished. The legion of mages roamed the battlefield, burning the Raging Flame Beastmen's bodies while checking their spoils of war.

Everything was proceeding in an orderly manner.

Lin Yun stood in the middle of the camp, looking at the busy mages. Almost everyone had happy expressions on their faces, after all, the losses had been minimal while they greatly weakened the power of the Thawing Fire Tribe.

As for Thorne who was standing on the side, he had a very sour expression, and it was worsening as his gaze swept through those High Mages busy cleaning the battlefield.

He had originally come to the camp to make discreet inquiries as to the origins of those fifty High Mages, but the young mage gave him a half-hearted answer, not really answering his question. When the Thawing Fire Tribe attacked the camp, he didn't hesitate and participated in the battle, naturally not to assist the young mage, but to inspect the battlefield and observe these High Mages and see if he could find some details which would confirm that those High Mages were members of the Black Tower...

With these thoughts in mind, the battle quickly proceeded and Thorne kept observing these High Mages discreetly, but he soon discovered that those High Mages looked familiar, as if he had seen them before. That discovery shocked him.

Before the battle ended, Thorne remembered something. Two months ago, when the young mage returned to the Family Manor after disappearing for a few months, Thorne had encountered fifty puny Great Mages at the entrance of the Family Manor. Back then he thought that the young mage would lead those people to the Raging Flame Plane.

Now, Thorne understood why they looked familiar, it turned out that those fifty High Mages weren't dispatched by the Black Tower, but were in fact that batch of Great Mages from two months ago!

Although he didn't want to believe this, he was forced to recognize that those fifty shocking High Mages were in fact those fifty Great Mages he treated as "Cannon Fodder" two months ago.

He was stunned, this was too freakish, he could clearly remember that those Great Mages were pitifully pathetic when he met them, the strongest among them hadn't even reached the 5th Rank. Yet, in just a bit over two months, these cannon fodders advanced and unexpectedly became High Mages. 

The most important part was that out of the fifty no one was left behind, every single one of them advanced to the High Mage Realm!

This could no longer be described as shocking...

At this time, Thorne recalled that before the Beastman cavalry unit attacked the camp, he had probed the young mage, and the latter's answer was that a group of Great Mages recently advanced. He hadn't believed him back then, he had thought that the young mage was just shrugging him off. But it now looked like it hadn't been a half-hearted answer, but a fact. 

Thorne was currently looking at those busy High Mages, an extremely complicated expression on his face.

The troubled Thorne naturally didn't notice a few people rejoicing in his misfortune not far away. Although Leon, Ross and a few others looked calm on the surface, they were inwardly laughing, 'Never, even in you wildest dreams, would you have thought that those fifty High Mages were in fact the people you treated as "Cannon Fodder".'

In fact, they had been watching from the side since Thorne arrived to the camp and started making inquiries.

Now, seeing Thorne's sour expression, the few of them couldn't fight the smiles appearing on their faces. They couldn't help recalling what happened two months ago at the entrance of the Merlin Family Manor, when Thorne sneered at those fifty Great Mages and described them as worthless cannon fodder.

Reality was cruel...

The original 'cannon fodder' have already become genuine group of High Mages, and they weren't comparable to ordinary High Mages, even Thorne, a 5th Rank Sword Saint, might not necessarily be their match when they joined hands. 

Lin Yun didn't intend remaining in the camp once the battlefield was cleared, thus, he immediately issued a command and made his mage army tear down the living quarters before the imposing legion marched towards the Ghost Valley.

It was worth mentioning that no one cared about Thorne Merlin in the process. As the army went away, Thorne was once again ignored. He had an ashen expression as he remained dazed in the empty area, feeling as if he had been slapped by the young mage.

In the end, Thorne started walking towards the Flame Demon Fort.

Lin Yun led his army to rush towards the depths of the Ghost Valley and they only reached the area half an hour later. Lin Yun had already dispatched people to examine the power of the Beastmen army stationed near the Ghost Valley. If there was no surprise, the thousand Wolf-Riders they had annihilated earlier should have been the main force of that army.

They could no longer pose a threat after losing their main force, thus, he dared to openly lead his mage army to the Ghost Valley.

In the past, the Merlin Family and the Thawing Fire Tribe never dared to enter the Ghost Valley in large numbers, after all, such an action would easily be met by an ambush from the other side.

But there was no such worry now.

After arriving at the Ghost Valley, the fighting style of the mage army had seen some changes, those fifty High Mages as well as the two Archmages, Yuri and Ida, became the main force of the army. As for the remaining five hundred Great Mages and the weaker High Mages, they were assisting, dealing with everything in their way as they moved towards the depths of the Ghost Valley.

Three days later, the remaining Beastmen troops in the surroundings of the Ghost Valley had been completely annihilated by the mage army. Some of them couldn't bear with it and tried to stop the mage army, but unfortunately, Yass had led a thousand Wolf-Riders to their deaths, making the army lose most of their power. As for the remainder, they simply couldn't stop the Caster Legion as they steadily moved towards the depths of the Ghost Valley. Only a small force managed to escape.

In fact, Yuri and Ida didn't even need to make a move, the fifty High Mages took care of everything, including handling the Raging Flame Beastmen.

The power displayed by these fifty High Mages was making people more and more shocked. In fact, Lin Yun's arrangements were to test the power of the High Mages. The Swift Star Mark Meditation Law Set and the Blazing Storm Magic Conducting Rune were very balanced, and when they combined their power together, even Archmages wouldn't have the confidence to face them.

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