Chapter 169:

“Report! The spirit communication from Squad 60 just disappeared. They are suspected to have been attacked and eliminated!”

A crisp and decisive report tinged with faint fear and submission interrupted the high-ranking Spirit Mage who was flipping through spell books and copying spirit technique formations in preparation for battle, causing this woman clad in white spirit robes to look up.

She wore a spellcasting crown used to stabilize her mind, with complex and mysterious red engravings on her face.

Like special tattoos.

This slightly strange attire was one of the hallmarks of high-level spirit power, a technique that Spirit Mages of the Circle Tower learned from the White Silver Dwarves. Through these spirit engravings, Spirit Mages could effectively enhance their control over spells and improve their perception in certain spirit domains, and even strengthen certain special spells.

It had myriad uses, though there were side effects as well.

The more powerful a Circle Tower Spirit Mage, the more engravings they had on their body. So when they went shirtless, they could easily be mistaken for little Calamari with tattooed barracudas on their shoulders.

That is, if these etiquette-conscious Spirit Grandmasters would ever actually appear shirtless.

The other high-ranking Spirit Mages were also alerted by this news. They exchanged glances, and finally the female spirit commander in charge of 600 spirit hunters inquired:

“Where were they deployed?”

“The 6th Regiment is in the border area between East Prussia and the Anderma Hills. They were deployed as rear guards to prevent any straggling Witch Hunters from breaking through the battlefield after the interception battle.”

The spirit hunter regimental commander in light hunting armor immediately reported respectfully:

“Therefore, it is impossible for Witch Hunters to have eliminated them, my lady. I suspect that supporters of the White Oak Battalion have appeared near the Anderma Hills, perhaps from Transia.”

“Oh? Are you suggesting that the Witch Hunters and vampires from the dark lands have joined forces? Are you mocking the intelligence of a Spirit Mage?”

The female commander said in an icy tone:

“That’s as ridiculous as light and darkness suddenly shaking hands at this moment. Perhaps these remnants of the old teachings do have supporters, but vampires will always be the least likely possibility. Send two squads of rear guard patrols to investigate the area that Squad 60 was responsible for. I need a detailed mission report.”

“Yes, my lady!”

The Black Iron rank spirit hunter regimental commander didn’t dare argue with the high-ranking Spirit Mage before him. He stepped back and grasped the standard-issue spirit bead hanging on his chest, about to mobilize his troops, but suddenly froze in place.

“What is it now?”

The high-ranking Spirit Mage holding the spell book asked quite impatiently. The regimental commander immediately reported with a strange expression:

“Two more rear guard patrol squads have lost contact, almost at the same time! Their deployment locations are entirely within East Prussia’s borders, so it can be determined that those enemy supporters located behind us are advancing towards our position, my lady.

Their numbers are unknown.

But to be able to eliminate three of our squads simultaneously in less than 3 minutes, even if they were just recruits, this indicates that the enemy is either numerous or has high-level power users.”

“What rotten luck, what a detestable night! A night praised by vampires but should be despised by all daywalkers has never been kind to us.”

The female Spirit Mage finally realized the gravity of the problem.

She conferred quietly with several high-ranking Spirit Mages behind her who were dressed the same but had different engravings on their faces, then turned back to the regimental commander and said:

“Immediately mobilize your entire regiment to support the 6th Regiment in the rear. My companion Cami and his 4 disciples will assist you! Hold back those reckless supporters until the interception at the front line is finished.”

“At your command, my lady!”

The 5th Regimental Commander immediately assembled the hundred spirit hunters under his command to prepare for departure.

These “spirit hunters” were the Circle Tower’s “new attempt” at the art of war during the Ten-Year War. As veteran Porter scornfully remarked earlier, the spirit hunters were clearly inspired by the systems of the Avalon Church and Witch Hunters.

In fact, it was indeed so.

There were too many similarities between spirit hunters and Witch Hunters, with the biggest difference being that Witch Hunters were strengthened by natural spirit enhancements, while spirit hunters could be enhanced by almost all spirit domains. This gave them much higher growth potential and malleability compared to Witch Hunters as the “original profession template”.

However, since spirit hunters were a new profession that had only appeared less than seven years ago, their professional system was not yet perfected. Moreover, this was the Circle Tower’s first large-scale training of spirit warriors, causing their performance in actual combat to be not as impressive as Witch Hunters.

But their advantage was in numbers, or rather, the Circle Tower created them to be used as “consumables”.

For example, in the current interception operation, the Circle Tower casually dispatched six regiments totaling 600 spirit hunters for six high-ranking Spirit Mages in charge of the interception to command.

It was completely a demonstration of their abundant resources.

And if you savor the meaning of “command” here a bit more deeply, it’s not hard to see that it’s basically a condensed version of the order “I don’t want casualty numbers, I just want the White Oak Battalion annihilated.”

“Report! White Oak Battalion hunter scouts spotted ahead! Our vanguard has made contact with the enemy. The enemy scout numbers are around 50. It is judged that their main force has left the Pioneer Fortress.”

Minutes later, a report from the front battlefield sounded in the large Computation Bead in the high-ranking Spirit Mage’s hand. The female Spirit Mage, as the overall commander, nodded with satisfaction.

She instructed:

“Immediately activate large-scale spirit detection formations. I want to know the Witch Hunters’ movements at all times!”

“Unable to activate, Lady Beryl!”

The 1st Regimental Commander responded with a hint of anger:

“The Pioneer Army has activated tactical-level spirit interference and blockade arrays in their fortress. Due to the influence of those matrices, we are unable to conduct large-scale spirit reconnaissance on the battlefield. Those soldiers claim they are capturing vampire spies in the fortress and have rudely rejected our reasonable requests for cooperation.

Our spirit users sent to communicate were even detained in their military camp on the grounds of ‘obstructing military affairs’.”

“Those damned military ruffians!”

The high-ranking Spirit Mage named “Beryl” clenched her fist angrily, but as a Spirit Mage, she quickly adjusted her mindset and instructed:

“Continue clearing those Witch Hunter scouts. Order the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th regiments to disperse their forces and form an encirclement. Release the spirit cavalry to begin hunting! The White Oak Battalion’s main force must not be allowed to pass through the ambush zone!

The order given to us by the Shaper Grandmaster is to completely eliminate these defiled beings tainted by the sub-space here! We cannot disappoint the Shaper Tower!”

Precipitation Niuniu beside her soothed Amber’s surprise, then stepped forward to join his brothers. He said with a serious expression:

“Battalion Commander Natalie is leading the main force behind, but the Circle Tower has deployed an encirclement. If we don’t break through this area, we won’t be able to return to Transia.

The enemy has high-ranking Spirit Mages in reserve. These spirit hunters are just cannon fodder to buy time for them to release large-scale formations.

So, where is Lord Murphy?

Those tough nuts need to be dealt with by NPCs, we’re not quite up to it yet.”

“Lord Murphy has already crossed the border. All our brothers and sisters have come to support you! Maxim has mobilized all the veterans in the Kadman Civilian Self-Defense Force, and Lady Tris has also brought along a few clan members from the bottom of the Blood Vulture Clan’s reserves.”

Brother Stick replied:

“Just for these Witch Hunters, our side has basically gone all out. They are pressing towards the Circle Tower’s encirclement from behind, and part of their forces have already been drawn away.

But breaking through the lines is something the Witch Hunters have to do themselves.

My idea is, since the Circle Tower has split their forces, the White Oak Battalion should do the same!

Divide into five teams and disperse!

The ten of us will act as guides, paired up two by two. Relying on the relative coordinate guidance of our Computation Beads and Lord Murphy’s core bead, we can definitely lead them to the rendezvous point.

This way, even in the worst-case scenario, we won’t be completely wiped out.”

Niuniu thought this method was reliable and immediately relayed Onboard Joy Stick’s idea to Amber, who then contacted Natalie through the Witch Hunters’ secret method.

A few minutes later, the hunter squad leader turned back and said:

“The Battalion Commander agrees!

But she made some modifications to your plan. She will lead 50 combat-ready people to charge directly at the Spirit Mage formation’s core, attracting the enemy to contract their encirclement. The other routes will be led by you to break through and retreat quickly!”

“She’s only taking 50 people?”

Niuniu exclaimed:

“Isn’t that suicide! Last time in the Smuggler’s Woods, three high-ranking Spirit Mages held off 60 Midnight Hunters. The power of these spellcasters can’t be overcome just by numbers!”

“No, this is a necessary tactic.”

Onboard Joy Stick shook his head and said:

“As a leader, she’s taking the initiative to bear the risk, which can effectively reduce the danger for others. It’s also very beneficial for our withdrawal mission. Shall we proceed? Let’s quickly rendezvous with them and set off as guides!

Brothers and sisters, now is the time to test our luck and strength.

See you all in Transia!”

——

On the supporter’s position near the Anderma Hills, the “Transia army” led by Murphy was already engaged in fierce combat with nearly 200 men from two regiments of spirit hunters.

Both sides had about the same number of people, but the trouble was that the enemy had one high-ranking Spirit Mage, four formal Spirit Mages, and ten Spirit Apprentices. Their spellcasting power was clearly higher than Murphy’s side.

That high-ranking Spirit Mage was also a tough one. Seeing both sides engage, he immediately began summoning dimensional meteorites, a regimental-level spell, intending to wipe out both the enemy and his own men.

These madmen didn’t care at all about the spirit hunters’ casualties! Their tactic was to smash everyone they could see into meat patties with meteorites!

But the good news was that Murphy’s side had a “super spellcaster.”

The moment the first meteorite was thrown onto the battlefield, Tris captured the spirit vibration. Then the hot-tempered Blood Vulture Grand Duchess spread her dragon-like wings and flew into the sky. A precise, large-scale spirit countermeasure silenced the other side.

The rest didn’t require the esteemed grand duke to personally deal with. Murphy led Maxim and Adele to attack.

The “NPCs” didn’t intervene in the players’ battles, and the melee scene of over 400 people was indeed intense.

Especially for those new players who had never experienced large-scale team battles, they experienced for the first time tonight what a “real battlefield” meant.

Tactics, cooperation, cover fire, all gone! Now the only thought of these fired-up folks was to slash! Follow the main force and charge up to slash!

Wherever there were many people, charge there! Raise your blade and bring it down to slash!

Cutting down everyone dressed differently from your own side would be a glorious victory!

“Awooo!”

The Astral Manticore cub “Stinky Treasure”, fed for three days and now able to glide, made a silent pounce in the darkness onto the back of a spirit hunter in front of it. The venomous stinger that had just grown on its tail pierced into the opponent’s neck with a “poof”.

The juvenile stinger was not lethal, but the Astral Realm venom in it still made the spirit hunter curl up in pain.

Feel You Poor, holding a war spear, suddenly sprang up from his “corpse” state, let out a howl and charged forward, wildly and clumsily stabbing his spear into the enemy in front of him, making a mess everywhere like an idiot.

But his “human-pet cooperation” sneaky combat method was extremely effective. He had already achieved an astonishing three kills by ambush.

“This is so exciting! This is the game real men should play!”

Little Rich Brother wiped the blood on his face and summoned back the little manticore with a bloody mouth. Man and pet began to skulk around the chaotic battlefield again, choosing their next unlucky victim.

Decided!

Although it might be a bit early, he would complete the little manticore’s first hunt right here! He was now one step closer to becoming a formal Summoner.

Yay!