6: Intermediate Mage

The sound of iron chains hitting the ground exploded in the dark and damp cell, making Wei He shudder. The rusted cell door slowly opened, and blinding sunlight poured in through the gap, shining on his blood-stained prison uniform. Tom, holding a dagger, cautiously leaned halfway in: "Let's go! Brad and the others won't be able to hold out for long!"

Wei He staggered and leaned against the wall; days of torture had made his legs weak. But as he stepped out of the cell, the sight before him made his breath hitch—over a hundred Conscripts in bright red uniforms were carving a bloody path through the armored soldiers and longswords of the Riquan City army with their ppsh-41 submachine guns. Brad was kneeling on one knee, his precise shots taking down enemy soldiers one after another, as shell casings fell like rain onto the bluestone pavement.

"My Lord, keep up!" a Conscript suddenly lunged forward, using his broad body to block an arrow aimed at Wei He. Warm blood splashed onto Wei He's face. Looking at the soldier's blood-soaked back, a strange surge of power welled up in his heart. At this moment, he finally understood that the red alert system had given him more than just cold war machines; it had given him a group of loyal and brave men willing to die for him.

Meanwhile, Seryn Village, a hundred miles away, was shrouded in gunpowder smoke. Three hundred Conscripts were waiting in full battle array, relying on crude defensive fortifications. A marker made of red cloth strips hung from a withered tree at the village entrance; it was the blocking order Wei He had issued through the red alert system.

General Charlie was like a sculptor's meticulously carved incarnation of the God of War. His tall figure stood at 1.8 meters, with lean, well-proportioned muscles hiding explosive power beneath his skin, every inch of his physique silently speaking of years of tempering on the battlefield. Under his sharp brow bones, a pair of amber eyes seemed to burn with an unquenchable fire of war—deep and sharp, their gaze carrying both the majesty of a commander of thousands and the hidden edge of one who sees through human hearts. His high nose and thin lips outlined a resolute profile, and every movement carried an awe-inspiring kingly demeanor, like an unsheathed legendary sword—its edge restrained yet intimidating to all. Charlie was a great general of the Southern Province, and all the armed forces of Riquan City and its surrounding cities were under his jurisdiction.

At this moment, Charlie looked at the battle report on the table and fell into deep thought. Long before Brad had entered the city disguised as a merchant caravan, Charlie had already known about it. He had remained motionless until last night, when he finally learned that Brad intended to break into the prison. Only then did he split his forces into two routes: one to reinforce the Riquan City prison and the other to attack the bandits in Seryn Village.

"I didn't expect the brothers sent to reinforce the prison to be completely wiped out. Have these bandits from Sentry Mountain lost their minds? And who are those people holding the iron lumps? Are they bandits who just joined Sentry Mountain?" Charlie asked, muttering as he looked at the scout who had run in.

"They seem to have appeared out of thin air; I've never seen them before. There was a battle at Sentry Mountain just two days ago, and then they appeared, along with Tom's group of bandits. Moreover, their combat strength is very high, and our brothers are almost unable to hold them back," the scout replied respectfully. Despite saying this, the scout wasn't worried at all, because General Charlie was an Intermediate Magician of the Magic Empire. Although his level wasn't extremely high, he was not someone a few bandits could match. After all, magicians in the entire Magic Empire made up less than one percent of the total population; they were the elite of the elite.

"They attacked the prison just to rescue one prisoner. What does he do that would make these bandits and superhumans so crazy?" Charlie said with a face full of doubt.

The scout snapped out of it and told Charlie the information he knew: "The person rescued was Aaron from Seryn Village. It's said he was just a craftsman usually, but who would have thought he was actually a bandit? He was even imprisoned for the crime of rape—a shameless scoundrel."

While the scout was still reporting, the officers and soldiers near Seryn Village were falling in waves on the path of their charge. They had no idea what was happening; they only knew that before they could even get close to the village with their spears, dense sounds like firecrackers erupted from within. This was immediately followed by shoo-shoo-shoo sounds, and then their comrades fell to the ground, their bodies riddled with blood holes, deader than dead.

Charlie saw everything clearly from the mountain next to Seryn Village. He immediately ordered the attack to stop and for everyone to withdraw. He felt that these people in red didn't seem to be from the Magic Empire, but rather from the Lingshu Kingdom. The superhumans of the Lingshu Kingdom always had some peculiar ways of attacking.

Under the cover of Brad and Tom, Wei He finally reached Sentry Bridge by carriage. At this time, he noticed the changes in Seryn Village through his mind. He keenly sensed that things were starting to go wrong, so taking advantage of the moment the soldiers stopped their attack, he immediately ordered the Conscripts in Seryn Village to quickly retreat and regroup at Sentry Bridge.

Just as the Conscripts had stepped out of Seryn Village and were advancing toward Sentry Bridge, "Trying to run? It's not that easy!" Charlie raised both hands, chanting under his breath, "Great God of Flame, please lend me your divine power and light the fire that tears through the darkness—Ignis!" Charlie's hands gestured in the air, and then a circular Magic Array appeared in front of him. The Magic Array was crimson all over, covered with runes unique to this continent. As the incantation ended, a pillar of fire several hundred meters long roared out. Wherever it passed, trees were instantly turned to charcoal, and three hundred Conscripts let out desperate screams amidst the flames. The entire Seryn Village was instantly swallowed by a sea of fire; the cries of children and the sound of collapsing houses intertwined, like a living hell.

Wei He saw all of this clearly in his mind with the help of the red alert system. While hurrying on his way, he simultaneously commanded the few rhino tanks and grizzly tanks he had from the start to rush to the vicinity of Sentry Mountain.

By the time Wei He and the others finally reached Sentry Mountain, Charlie had also caught up with his soldiers. With his amber eyes, he calmly looked at Wei He opposite him and said: "You think you've succeeded just by snatching away a few prisoners? You're nothing but jumping clowns making a deathbed struggle! Pass my order: no need for a hard pursuit. Just cut off their supplies, besiege their mountain stronghold, and let's see how they starve to death on that tiny hilltop!"

"Yes!" A group of soldiers holding spears and wearing steel helmets received the order and began to surround Sentry Mountain, blocking the main entrances and exits. Someone in the crowd whispered: "Those superhumans with the iron lumps only know how to hurt people with hidden attacks. If we go up now, we'll probably end up with a few more blood holes in our bodies." Soldier B: "Exactly, exactly. Now that we've trapped them, even if they don't starve, they'll be too weak to lift their blades." Soldier C: "With General Charlie here, even if the superhumans from the Lingshu Kingdom are present, they will be turned to ashes."

Below Sentry Mountain, in Charlie's temporary camp, a young officer carrying twin sabers asked in confusion: "General, why not just use magic to destroy them? If they escape, it will be hard to find them in these deep forests." "That's right, their strength is not to be underestimated; our ordinary soldiers are simply no match for them!" another general with a fleshy face chimed in.

Charlie toyed with the magic crystal in his hand and sneered: "He's just a rapist; what kind of waves can he make? I want to capture him alive to find out the origin of those iron lumps and his relationship with the Lingshu Kingdom." A glint of greed flashed in his eyes, "If I could master this kind of power..."

Little did they know that at this moment, Wei He was in the command room at the top of the mountain, analyzing the enemy's deployment through the red alert system. Looking at the brightly lit military camp below the mountain, a cold sneer curled the corner of his mouth. This young man, misunderstood as a "rapist," was brewing a counterattack sufficient to change the landscape of the entire continent—when the steel torrent of technology meets the mysterious power of magic, the real war has only just begun.