Chapter 101 - Instincts

"Although I said those things yesterday, at the same moment I saw you, I noticed that you could be a fearsome foe if we were on opposite sides," Verkan explained. "That is the instinct veteran warriors develop after fighting for so long. However, when compared to magic things are a bit complicated… my guess is that they found you a year ago, because you used some spell and the traces of the mana stayed on your body and that could be felt by them."

While that did make sense, it seemed too simplistic from Zaos's perspective. If things were that simple, it should be common knowledge among the mages. If it were that simple, Zaos would be able to feel his mother's presence even when she was in other parts of the house, but that never happened before. Unless… Zaos and the demon god's followers had something in common.

"Let's get going," Verkan said. "Try to focus your senses more, and you should be able to detect them before they detect us. Pace yourself because we need to attack them before sunrise."

It seemed like Verkan was expecting too much from Zaos, but in the end, he couldn't complain. There was no time to do that. While they were running, Zaos was trying to understand the logic behind Magic Perception.

Health: 480/480

Mana: 820/840

Stamina: 610/830

Strength: 240

Magic: 420

Endurance: 415

Resistance: 420

Focus: 04 + 01 

Sorcery Lv 37, Meditation Lv 23, Magic Swordsmanship Lv 14, Alchemy Lv 06, Magic Resistance Lv 01, Magic Perception Lv 01, Swordsmanship Lv 33, Axemanship Lv 09, Spearmanship Lv 09, Archery Lv 15, Shield Mastery Lv 18, Pain Resistance Lv 15, Blacksmithing Lv 11

Lesser Heal, Heal, Holy Light, Detoxification, Cold Whisper, Mend Bones, Dispel, Protection, Magic Barrier, Stone Skin, Fire Sword, Water Sword, Earth Sword, Wind Sword, Earth Bullet, Ignite, Spark, Agony,

"As expected, it increased my mana, magic, and resistance," Zaos thought. "Regardless, while I am satisfied that I can learn new things on my own, something feels off here… Anyway, if I and the demon god followers can only feel traces of people who used certain spells recently, then I need to make sure to erase the traces of the spells I used that they can use as well. While I am pretty sure I am the first who is using swordsmanship and magic at the same time, I don't have a spell for that fighting style, only variations. Unless I make my own spell that fits that fighting style, I won't be able to erase my magic presence from them."

Zaos tried to feel the faint traces of mana coming from their footsteps, but he didn't feel anything. He also tried to feel Verkan's mana, but once again, he failed. It looked like Verkan's theory was correct… Hopefully, just like the elemental swords, maybe Zaos will be able to customize that technique, but hoping that he would do it before sunrise was just too much.

When the sky in the east began to change, Zaos and Verkan crossed a hill, and when they reached the top of it, they found some shadows moving around a few hundred meters ahead. They found their targets… fortunately, Zaos didn't have to rely on that skill.

"Let's follow them by using a parallel route," Verkan said.

Zaos nodded and followed Verkan. The plan to pursue them was simple, they just had to follow a parallel path, but they had to stay a few hundred meters behind as well. When following someone, the recruits learned that most people in that region look at their back and at West and East when they try to check their surroundings. Even a cautious foe will need some time to find them by staying in such a position, and finding was pretty hard since the pursuers would have plenty of time to notice their sudden stop.

Although the soldiers of the reason mostly began their morning routines at sunrise, the followers of the demon god still walked for quite a while. They assumed that their enemies wouldn't be so far away from their villages and town at night. Or, at the very least, they would know if some lookouts were lurking around. Against mages, a small group of soldiers wouldn't be able to do anything, and a big number wouldn't be able to ambush them.

When the group stopped, Zaos and Verkan stopped as well and immediately covered themselves with the white cloak. Attacking now that they stopped wasn't a good idea since their guard was raised, so they had to change their plans a little bit. Since they still were four to five hours away from the Salide, they could afford to observe the enemies for a while longer. Thanks to that, both of them couldn't help but frown when the cloaked figures moved the snow by using magic and then created some shelters that could easily be mistaken for piles of snow that fell from the trees. It would be too weird if they stayed in the same place and made a massive hideout, so they spread around the area.

"So, this is how they do it nowadays…" Verkan said.

"You never saw them hiding like that, sir?" Zaos asked.

"They always change their modus operandi in order to fool us," Verkan replied. "That always happens when their numbers suddenly increase to our attacks. Some groups even do different things and keep that type of strategy to themselves. A few years ago, I had a hard time hunting a group of heretics that faked their footsteps with one of the bears."

"I see... anyway, what is the plan?" Zaos asked.

"That is a cautious group, they only had four mages and eight pawns, two for each of them," Verkan said. "They can easily use that number of pawns to protect the whole group. However, as you know, things will become easy if we surprise them with an attack on two fronts. We will change the plan, instead of you being the bait, I will fulfill that role."