Fire Mage-Chapter 668: Expenditure
Chapter 668: Expenditure
"Hmm, the question is: who will betray us and side with that Devil Crow?" Erwin sighed deeply.
"I don’t think anyone’s foolish enough to miss this opportunity," one voice muttered.
"But before that," Erwin mused, "I need to deal with the human from another world. I want to help him wholeheartedly, but his ultimate goal unsettles me. If he gets his hands on the ’Sacred Oath’ spell model, he might become the next Devil Crow. And he seems to be hiding more secrets. Should I accompany him on this expenditure and find out?"
A plan formed in his mind, but he shook his head, dismissing it.
"Let Nick and Heath handle this. Hmm... I should send at least a hundred members to support him during the expenditure. And if the plan goes as expected, I’ll have the ’Eye of God’ team ready to stop the Guardian from interfering with the main battle."
As he spoke, he released his wisdom power into the surroundings, quickly locating Charles in a house on Fourth Street.
At that moment, Charles, sitting inside Alistair’s house, suddenly glanced toward the mansion and smiled faintly. Without warning, crimson flames enveloped his body, and in an instant, he vanished—only to reappear before Erwin.
"You have an interesting flame teleportation ability," Erwin chuckled, then cut straight to the point. "Preparations will be ready by tomorrow evening. One hundred people will accompany you, along with my two trusted aides. All of them are Legend Rank powerhouses with years of battle experience. You can command them as you see fit."
"That’s good," Charles nodded, then added, "But be careful not to get in my way. If your men dare trouble me, I won’t hold back."
Despite Erwin’s obvious strength—far beyond Alistair and other mages Charles had seen in the dungeon—Charles had his own counters.
A single question with the ’Burning Thoughts’ spell could easily harm him, thanks to the contract’s penalty. I doubt he has any mental resistance artifacts to cover that weakness.
Shaking his head, Charles wrapped himself in crimson flames again and disappeared.
He returned to Alistair’s house on the fourth street and took a long rest. Afterwards, he visited the Baston Fort library, poring over information about the Fortress of the Soul Graves and the dense forest surrounding it. He took careful notes about the types of Magical Beasts residing in the forest, dangerous areas, and lairs.
...
The next day, around 4 P.M.
A hundred people stood outside Baston Fort, eyes fixed on the blonde-haired young man with curiosity and confusion.
Charles faced them, expression stern, then turned toward the two black-robed mages standing beside him.
One was a chubby-faced man with golden hair; the other, tall and muscular with short black hair.
"Nick... tell me more about the expenditure team."
Nick stepped forward. "Our team consists of one hundred elite Battle Mages, sir. Under Commander Erwin’s orders, we will follow your commands until the expenditure concludes."
Charles raised an eyebrow, scoffing inwardly.
He doesn’t give any real details about his team, huh? Well, I don’t need his help anyway.
Just then, countless blue icons flickered before Charles’s eyes, revealing everyone’s personal information.
"Hmm... Ten Light Mages, seven Dark Mages, fourteen Warlocks with various bloodlines, five Water Mages, nine Fire Mages, eleven Thief-class Mystics, ten Ranger-class Mystics, two Druids, twenty Soldier-class Mystics, four Madkillers, four Swordsmen, and finally, four Knights. And you two are the only Dual-Class Mystics, right?"
His words made Nick feel like Charles had seen straight through him.
Charles turned to the assembled group, his voice booming.
"Dark Mages, four Warlocks with stealth abilities, a Druid skilled in taming, and the Thief-class Mystics will form the Scout team. I’ll divide them into four groups—each responsible for scouting one direction every fifteen minutes and reporting back to me.
"The Support squad will include two Curse-removal Light Mages, three Water Mages, a Druid with nature healing, and the Seven-Headed Python Warlock skilled in poison removal.
"The Long-Range Attack Squad will consist of nine Fire Mages, eight Light Mages, two Water Mages, and ten Ranger-class Mystics, with Nick leading.
"Finally, the Short-Range Attack Squad will be the remaining Warlocks, Soldiers, Madkillers, Swordsmen, and Knights, led by Heath."
Nick, Heath, and nearly everyone else exchanged surprised looks.
Under Charles’s leadership, the expenditure group departed Baston Fort and headed toward the Fortress of the Soul Graves.
After over four hours traversing rocky terrain, they spotted the forest and mountain range ahead. A few Chaos Magical Beasts attacked, but the Swordsman Attack Squad quickly dispatched them.
By the time they reached the dense forest entrance, darkness had fallen.
Charles wasn’t foolish enough to enter the forest at night. He ordered everyone to stop and set up tents. No one disobeyed.
...
The next morning 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮
The expenditure group ventured into the dense forest, closing in on the Fortress of the Soul Graves.
Thanks to Charles’s leadership, killing Legend Rank Magical Beasts was no challenge, and they advanced rapidly.
What surprised Charles most was how his wisdom power increased each time the Attack Squad took down a Magical Beast.
By the end of the day, the group had hunted over 1,300 Rank-5 Magical Beasts and seventy Legendary Magical Beasts, pushing fifty kilometers deep into the forest.
As darkness fell, Charles cast [Ignis Sanctuary], creating a large protective barrier.
Though several Legendary Magical Beasts attacked the shelter more than seven times, Charles, Nick, and Heath repelled every assault.
The next day passed smoothly, without casualties.
But on the third day, the first casualty struck—a sudden ambush by a Legendary Lizard-type Magical Beast.
Not only did it conceal its presence, but its wisdom power made detecting it nearly impossible.
If Charles hadn’t noticed a subtle change in a future vision just in time, the entire scouting team would have been annihilated.
Afterward, their progress slowed drastically.
No sooner had the Lizard attack ended than over 400 Rank-5 Wolf-type Magical Beasts, led by five Legendary Humanoid Wolf-Headed Magical Beasts, surged against them.
What startled Charles most was a mutant humanoid wolf with rainbow-colored eyes.
"It’s almost as strong as the Fallen Jinn we faced in the previous layer."
Though prepared for a large-scale monster wave, even Charles struggled to contain the assault despite hundreds of Legendary Mystics.
Explosions rocked the battlefield as countless spells, glowing skill-infused arrows, and aura energies rained down. Normal low-rank beasts would have been shredded in seconds, yet the vast majority of the Rank-5 beasts survived.
The Humanoid Magical Beasts matched the power of the most potent spells, blocking and retaliating.
"Nick, Heath, Joseph, David — each of you take one and stall for time. I’ll deal with that Rainbow-Eyed Wolf Beast."
Instantly, Charles cast [Fallen Angel’s Wings] and soared upward to confront the boss. Nick and the others engaged the other Humanoid Wolves.
Charles didn’t waste a second. Unsheathing Grace, he activated its first skill, Madness Berserk.
The special effect doubled his attack power and status.
Sacrificing his lifespan, Charles overwhelmed the Rainbow-Eyed Humanoid Wolf and ended the battle in less than twenty seconds.
Though the leader’s death threw the other beasts into panic, the low-ranking ones remained relentless.
With no choice, Charles regrouped with Nick and the others, cutting down the remaining wolves.
The battle dragged on for over three hours.
Though Charles’s team won thanks to his intervention, they lost more than half of the Close-Range Attack Squad and three Warlocks.
"Out of the 45 people in the Close Range Attack Squad, only 24 survived. That’s not a good outcome," Nick said, starting to store the dead bodies in his space ring.
Though the loss of 21 comrades might have seemed like a small sacrifice to Charles, the rest of the expenditure squad felt quite the opposite.
They had seen each other every day, living together in that cramped fortress for over a year. Seeing their friends lie dead, without even accomplishing anything, filled everyone with fury.
Charles noticed the heavy silence but said nothing.
Despite having killed the Mutant Humanoid Wolf and aiding others single-handedly in a short time, the other legend-rank warriors failed to defeat even 400 Rank-5 Magical Beasts. That disappointment weighed on him.
Nick, Heath, and the other four Legend Rank Mystics are the only ones as powerful as Alistair—Expert Level at best. When I enter Berserk State, my strength matches a Master Level powerhouse, but I lose several years of lifespan each time. Not something to use often. The rest barely reach Intermediate power.
Not everyone on the Truelords Expenditure team is as strong as Alistair. Still, they’re strong enough to handle Jinn alone.
A trace of disappointment flickered across Charles’ face.
