Chapter 192: Forest Clearance Mission

The Ashenvale forces didn't usually hide in large groups, as that would draw too much attention, but they were numerous. Once the fighting began, the stragglers would likely gather, abandoning any pretense of stealth to use their numbers to overwhelm their opponents. At least, that was how Damian expected things to go.

But something about the situation still nagged at him—like the monster they had encountered the day before. Its appearance didn't feel like a coincidence. And the reports of strange monster activities. Could the Ashenvale forces control the monsters?

Damian had to admit, these Ashenvale people, they really had unending supply in their bag of tricks. No wonder they were so eager to wage a war, they had too f*cking many advantages, and numbers to top it off. They could not imagine a scenario where they could lose at all.

Still, winning or losing didn't matter much to Damian. He had just one task and that was surviving with the people he was charged with and saving as many people as they could along the way. He won't chase after the Ashenvale people with vengeance but he would also show no mercy to those who are needlessly killing innocents.

'When the f*ck did I start getting corrupted by those naïve idiots like Sam and the rest?'

Guess it wasn't so bad. As long as there wasn't a rogue third-ranker running around, he could handle anyone—or at least escape alive with his friends if things went south. Discover exclusive content at m,v l'-NovelFire.net

Damian spent half the night copying and pasting the same runic circle repeatedly. The spell was a demanding one and required at least three parchments sewn together. He had help from Tristan's household maids and soldiers, who sewed the parchments for him so he could continue drawing without pause. He wasn't getting paid enough for this shit.

Tristan, however, was oddly cheerful, observing and praising Damian for finding such a unique solution, even though the fool was dead tired from all the work he was doing. Damian really felt like the guy was a bit too comfortable in his crazy uncle role.

The next morning, they set out together along with Vidalia's army. Like all captains and vice-captains, Damian was on a horse, along with Sam and Einar. Yovan, however, was using Sam's horse, as Sam himself chose to walk beside Damian.

Damian had split the unit's responsibilities into three sections: Einar took the enthusiastic pugilists and close-combat soldiers, while Yovan commanded the mages and long-range fighters. Both groups had half the Spellswords since the long-range units still needed protection.

Damian kept the rest with him, though he mostly let Sam take command. Damian was too busy running around, distributing the runic scrolls and activating them for each unit, then granting authority over the spell to their chosen member.

The spell would last as long as the caster's mana held out, which for a high-level third job holder first-ranker's mana pool should be around 12 to 16 hours, depending on the individual of course.

They were moving in a wide arc, covering most of the forest. Each unit stayed at least 1-2 kilometers apart. Damian, however, with his mana sense, could cover four times that range. Royce had positioned him in the center of the arc, with the two units on the edges, meaning they would face the brunt of the enemies.

But with his mana sense, better than even the heat vision he had recently gained, they couldn't surprise him or hide. His awareness extended in all directions, covering even his surroundings.

After finishing casting the snake vision mimicry spell for all the units, Damian returned to his own group, reclaiming his position. The area a few kilometers around the camp as they began was relatively safe, so Damian relaxed as they moved slowly through the dense, vegetation-choked forest.

"Do you think they have a chance?" Sam suddenly asked, walking alongside him.

"The army?" Damian asked, receiving a nod from Sam. "Well… they have a chance, as long as Vidalia prepares like hell. Ashenvale doesn't have a close-quarters third-ranker, so Bonecrusher could wreak havoc among their people, forcing them to confront him. If the restrictions weren't in place, it would be a guaranteed win.

But with the limitations on one side and the disadvantages on the other, it's hard to say. It'll depend on how they approach it. The side with the better strategy will win. Ashenvale won't have much time to prepare, though. Even with their spies, Vidalia has the waygate tool, so…" Damian trailed off, sharing his thoughts.

"The only certainty is that thousands will die," Sam concluded.

Well that was the truth, and Damian wasn't going to sugarcoat it. This was war, and people die. It would feel nice to live in a world without conflict, but that was a fantasy. No such place existed. Even with all the advancements in science and improvements in living standards back on Earth, wars still happened. Conflict was a human thing; the two could not exist without the other.

The only thing one could do was decide who would fight it and reduce it to just necessary people.

This however was pure waste. He could see why such a powerful organization as The Highswords came to existence and were served by few of the most powerful people in this world. It was probably founded by someone who had grown too tired of seeing the endless cycle of conflict.

Suddenly, Damain sensed the thing he was keeping an eye on—a group of Ashenvale soldiers at the edge of his mana sense, ahead of them.

"Send word to Einar and Yovan. Fighting in 15 minutes," Damian said, his posture shifting from lazy and sleepy on his horse to one of readiness and alertness.

"Yes, Captain," Sam responded with a salute, then left in a cheerful mood.

That was cringe as hell. Why would anyone want people to salute them every time they spoke? He had already forbidden them from doing that, but Sam was clearly a different breed. Damian was sure he was doing it just to mess with him. seaʀᴄh thё nôᴠel Fire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.