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Volume 7 Chapter 6 Part 2

Translator: Kell

The next morning.

I and the rest of Count Meigis’s troops gathered in the forest near Tiagra. Now that we’ve recovered from the fatigue of travel and replenished our mana, we’re ready to go and get Raijis back.

“We proceed as planned,” I said. “All hands to battle positions. And stay away from the field of battle. I mean it.”

“Yes, sir!”

With that, the Count’s army scattered throughout the forest. We’re going to be separated for now, but they each have their own roles to play.

“Take care of yourself, Sir Eld.”

“I will. I’m counting on your backup.”

Sachylis and I start walking towards Raijis. Only I will be entering the city. I have given strict orders to my troops to stay away from Raijis no matter what.

This arrangement would ensure that we could deal with the most devastating attack the enemy could throw at us, taking into account all the enemy’s possible makeup. Honestly, if the enemy is just a Sage who can use Sandstorm, we can choose other ways to fight them. What I’m really worried about, however, is the possibility that the person who used the Skill Awakening system is among their ranks.

Common sense does not apply against opponents that had undergone Skill Awakening. Their class would still play a factor, but the most terrifying thing is that whatever class they have, it barely matters. Sages are way more powerful compared to other classes, but the difference between those who have Awakened and those that had not is greater than the difference in power between Sages and other classes.

On a side note, when comparing Awakened classes, the strongest would be a Sage, but the chances of the enemy having an Awakened Sage is not that high. I mean, it’s unlikely that an advanced class, known as a special class in this world, would have undergone Awakening. That’s because you only need one Wisdom Stone to Awaken a normal class, but you need two for a special class.

Wisdom Stones are incredibly valuable items. It’s not something that can be easily obtained, even for the Empire. If they have two, common sense would dictate that Awakening two normal classes is better than Awakening one advanced class. While an Awakened Sage is strong, if they don’t know how to fight effectively, it’s better to have two Awakened normal class, and if you only have one Awakened, you would be devastated if they died due to some accident or illness.

Although, it’s highly possible that the Empire don’t have any Wisdom Stone in the first place, or that they only have one.

“Sir Eld, we’re about one kilometer away from Raijis now,” Sachylis said.

“Copy that,” I replied. “Did you pick anything up with your Search Enemy?”

‘Nothing so far. I’ll inform you if I find one.”

“Thanks.”

Sachylis role is to lurk just far enough that her communication Skill still reaches me, and passing information she obtains using Search Enemy. At the same time, she also serves as an intermediary for information among our allies scattered around Raijis. With this, we’ll be able to locate the enemy with Search Enemy the moment they become aware of my presence.

Search Enemy is really only necessary when the enemy is extremely far away, or if there’s a possibility that they’re holding hostages. The advantage of Search Enemy is that it can distinguish between friend and foe, and it has a large area of effect. If you simply want to locate humans, Sage Skills are much easier to use.

“Magic Search.”

As I activated my detection Skill, I picked up mana signatures from Raijis. Three of them, each about two hundred meters apart, in an equilateral triangle formation. Based on their location and numbers, they’re probably all enemies, not hostages.

With that in mind, I unfolded the map that Count Gaze had given me. It’s a map showing the building layout and other aspects of the city of Raijis. Now I just need to match the enemy’s location with the map.

“If the map’s right, they’re all indoors.”

The fact that none of them were outside suggests that they’re wary of snipers. If they just want to protect themselves from snipers, putting up magic barriers that consumes little mana should be enough. If the enemy doesn’t even know that, fighting much just be easier than expected.

Looking at the map, the house where the enemy is hiding is not that big. That is, I could blow up the whole building if I want. They were not close enough that I could take them down at once, but reducing the enemmy from three to two is huge.

Surprise is one of the few advantages that the attacker has, so you want to make the most of it. I cast Mana Invisibility.

This magic spell does not consume any mana at all and allows you to hide yourself. However, it gets dispelled if you move around too much, like running, or when you cast a spell, but it should be enough to aid in launching surprise attacks.

“Begin infiltration of Raijis.”

As I informed Sachylis, I drew closer to Raijis. If the map is correct, the tall buildings such as the church should come within view soon. But even when I arrived at the edge of the forest, I still couldn’t spot anything that resembled a building.

As I got even closer, I began to understand what was going on with Raijis. Correction: what was once Raijis.