Run After Fighting (Seeking Recommendations)

They were standing on a dilapidated dirt road overgrown with weeds, beside a patch of rocky ground. It was also the end of the road.

Li Yun, the Light Mage, cast a Light Radiance into the sky.

Not long afterward, a group of visibly travel-worn mages approached. They were the patrol mages of the Fourth Team.

One of them, clearly the leader, called out loudly:

"Old Chu, why are you so pathetic today?"

Chu Yunlong slapped the man on the shoulder irritably.

"What the hell do you know? I'm being unconventional."

As they watched the Fourth Team drive away in the vehicle they had arrived in, Chu Yunlong's playful expression turned serious.

He said to Bai Mo and the other two:

"The Demon Beasts of Nine Peaks Mountain mainly consist of the wind- and earth-element Nine Peaks Raccoons and Swiftwind Wolf packs. Since there are more raccoon demons here, they're called the Nine Peaks Raccoon pack. Most of them live on the mountain. The same goes for Third Peak, though there are also some other solitary Demon Beasts. Our main purpose in patrolling is to determine the movements of these Demon Beasts."

"Over the course of one night, we'll scout around Third Peak three times. Sometimes we'll run into Demon Beasts head-on. Usually, we decide whether to kill them based on the circumstances."

Chu Yunlong paused slightly, giving the three of them a few seconds to process the information before continuing.

"Tonight, we'll try to avoid fighting Demon Beasts."

Zhong Ling and the others nodded in understanding. However, Jiang Cheng looked up at the sky. Dark clouds had gathered again over what had originally been clear weather.

"The weather's bad."

Hearing that, Chu Yunlong glanced at the sky as well. "It might rain tonight. Rainy weather makes it harder to detect Demon Beast movements, so be prepared."

Bai Mo and the other two nodded.

The group began climbing the mountain, heading deeper into its interior.

As they walked, Zhong Ling had unknowingly moved to the very front of the formation. The other mages skilled in movement had each taken positions suited to them.

They surrounded Chu Yunlong, Bai Mo, and the other two in the middle.

The mountain paths were difficult to traverse. The weeds even reached past their knees. Only with their night-vision equipment could they maintain their formation in an orderly manner.

"There are eight Demon Beast nests on Third Peak. They are our primary targets."

Through the Mind Element, Chu Yunlong's words entered Bai Mo and the other two's ears.

Bai Mo calculated silently. Fifty Demon Beasts made one nest, and eight nests meant four hundred Demon Beasts. It did not sound like much.

But a few minutes later, through the trees, they saw a field of Demon Beasts playing and roaring in an open stretch of mountain terrain.

Hidden in the shadows, he felt a terrifying demonic aura, like a raging storm bearing down on him or a massive boulder crashing straight onto his head.

The terror of having his life threatened nearly caused the magic he had prepared in his hand to dissipate.

That was the aura of a Commander Level Demon Beast! Bai Mo stared fixedly at the two Giant-Palm Raccoon Demons sleeping soundly in the center of the clearing.

They had fox-like faces, but their bodies resembled dogs. Their four enormous paws, each larger than an off-road vehicle, were folded before them. Even lying prone, they stood two stories tall.

An invisible wind swept across the lake of their minds, relaxing Bai Mo and the other two, whose bodies had been tense. Then Chu Yunlong's voice echoed in their hearts.

"Nine Peaks Mountain is the best habitat for the Nine Peaks Raccoon pack. Under normal circumstances, they are quite willing to stay on the mountain. What you're seeing now is normal. If we find them becoming restless, or if their numbers increase or decrease on a large scale, we'll need to determine the cause in case of unexpected developments."

After recording information on this group of Demon Beasts, the nine of them headed for their next destination.

With a rumble of thunder, raindrops began striking the ground in increasing numbers.

The group had no choice but to stop and let Zhou Tianyuan and Chu Yunlong place Water Barriers around them before continuing onward.

Although the rain made scouting somewhat troublesome, Chu Yunlong's Mind Element made things much easier for them along the way. They avoided the hunts and battles that occasionally broke out between Demon Beasts in the forest.

Even hunters hidden in the dark could not escape Chu Yunlong's perception, but there were always exceptional circumstances.

For instance, Swiftwind Wolves, which were incredibly fast. Their keen sense of smell, lightning speed, and sharp eyes in the darkness—

made them kings of the jungle at night.

By the time Chu Yunlong sensed it, it had already arrived before them, leaving them no room to maneuver.

Bai Mo finally understood why, even with so many mages skilled in movement and Chu Yunlong, a Mind Element mage, they could still encounter Demon Beasts head-on.

The Swiftwind Wolf before them was only about twice the size of an ordinary wolf. What drew attention were its limbs, which were more slender than those of ordinary wolf demons, and its pair of eerie sapphire-blue eyes.

The sudden encounter caused the Water Barrier around Zhong Ling to burst apart.

"Water Barrier—Cycle!"

In an instant, a ribbon of water wrapped itself around Zhong Ling at the front once again. The ceaselessly circulating torrent blocked the Swiftwind Wolf's claw strike.

Then, with a bang, it exploded into countless splashes, concealing a blazing ball of fire as it rushed before the Swiftwind Wolf's eyes.

"Fire Seed—Burst!"

With a snap of Zhong Ling's fingers, the scarlet fireball suddenly exploded.

Their coordination was far too seamless. The Swiftwind Wolf had only just recovered from the awkward sensation of its claw missing its target, and its agile body allowed it to dodge the fireball with ease.

But what it had not expected was that this was Burst Flame. The exploding fireball tore apart nearly half its body, while the remaining waves of fire steamed up a vast amount of water vapor and set its body ablaze.

Though it was not dead yet, with half its body gone and trapped in this forest, its fate was already sealed.

"Transfer!" Chu Yunlong barked sharply, with no intention of having anyone finish it off. Zhong Ling had no such thought either. She took two steps back, ending up right beside the Shadow Mage.

Wind Track came first, Earth Wave followed, and shadows rippled. The group vanished from where they stood as though they had never been there.

Only a dying Swiftwind Wolf remained, along with the bloody stench covering its body, which flowed farther and farther away under the rain.

"There are plenty of speed-type Demon Beasts on Nine Peaks Mountain, so we can't get bogged down in battle. We need to finish fights within seconds. If we can't, we retreat immediately!"

After the nine of them had moved away from the site of the previous battle, they continued onward. Chu Yunlong took the opportunity to say this to Bai Mo and the other two.

The three nodded, showing that they understood. At the same time, they now understood why a single team needed so many mages capable of movement.

The feeling of running right after a fight—well, you know, it really was pretty thrilling!

Zhou Tianyuan and Zhao Qingying, however, felt it was a little too thrilling. Several times, they had brushed right past Demon Beasts' heads, tails, and asses.

That was a bit too much for them.

Bai Mo was doing better. He was already Elementary Level 3, and although the Commander Level Demon Beast had startled him earlier, facing these servant-class creatures now made him feel like he could leisurely use Void Claw to give their heads a good rub.

They would run after rubbing them anyway. So what if they were speed-types? Six out of the nine of them were too.

After circling Third Peak and completing one round of reconnaissance, the group began their second sweep.

This time, their main objective was to observe conflicts between the Demon Beasts. If they were fights driven by natural instincts, such as hunting, there was naturally no need to interfere.

If there was another reason, such as some special natural treasure, they could record and observe it, then turn it into a mission for the Hunter's Union or handle it internally.

If they encountered two species of Demon Beasts slaughtering each other frequently, that required special attention.

The strength of the various Demon Beast populations on Nine Peaks Mountain was maintained in a relative balance. If two or more groups of Demon Beasts truly began fighting—

—it meant that one of those groups had greatly increased in strength, or was about to. This was something the stationed Military Mages paid particularly close attention to.

At present, Nine Peaks Mountain had only one Commander-in-Chief Level Wind Spirit Raccoon. If another Commander-in-Chief appeared, war would inevitably break out here.

Nine Peaks Mountain was not far from Modu.

The final round was for filling in any gaps. The thunderclouds dispersed, and by the time they finished their last circuit, the horizon had already taken on the pale white of dawn.

After staying awake all night, the group watched Light Radiance rise into the sky. They completed the shift handover with Sixth Team and returned to Middle Town.

Inside the dormitory, Zhou Tianyuan, lying on his bed, quietly spoke up.

"Bai Mo, why do I feel like this field assessment isn't that difficult?"

"It's only the first day, Old Zhou. Captain Chu didn't have us do anything last night. Mages like you and me, who have defensive or destructive abilities, will have to follow movement mages like Sister Zhong Ling deep into certain areas for reconnaissance. How could we see things clearly just by looking from the outskirts? Sister Zhong Ling had it rough last night."

Bai Mo said lazily, "And once the adjustment period is over, we'll definitely have to face Demon Beasts. We encountered them six times last night, and that was with Captain Chu doing his best to avoid them."

"Hey, can't you say something nicer? You're just trying to scare me."

"I'm only stating the facts."

Of the other three Fourth Group trainees silently listening to the two talk, one pale-faced student said in surprise, "You only encountered Demon Beasts six times last night? We ran into them more than ten times and nearly got surrounded."

"That dangerous?" Zhou Tianyuan cried out.

"Their captain isn't a Mind Element mage, and it rained last night. That's normal."

Bai Mo said flatly, then closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Over the next two days, under Captain Chu's arrangements, Bai Mo and the other two found their own roles and responsibilities within the team. They were no longer being protected like they had been on the first night.

Two days of patrols also gave the three of them a basic understanding of what they were supposed to do.

Zhou Tianyuan and Zhao Qingying still couldn't help feeling a little nervous when facing Demon Beasts, and their spellcasting speed was also slower than those veteran mages.

But in Chu Yunlong's words, "You're starting to look the part!"

The days that followed were about getting familiar with things and persevering. Bai Mo felt that Nine Peaks Mountain, rather than being a Demon Beast gathering ground guarded against by humanity—

—was more like a training ground for Modu's Military Mages. After these past few days, he had gained some understanding of the nine peaks around Middle Town.

The nine Patrol Teams assigned to each peak were not fixed; they rotated every month. The teams that rotated out spent their time cultivating, while every team captain was a Mid-Level Mage who had yet to master Mid-Level Magic.

The military commander of each peak was a High-Level Mage who had yet to master High-Level Magic. As for Gu Changying, the highest-ranking commander they had first met, Commander Gu was a Super Tier Sound Element mage, though she had yet to master Super Tier Magic.

Bai Mo knew that although Mo Fan had mastered magic quite quickly in the original novel, for ordinary Mid-Level Mages, the time required to master a Mid-Level Magic was no shorter than the time it took novices who knew no magic at all to become Beginner Mages capable of using magic haltingly.

So there was no need to even mention High-Level or Super Tier Magic.

And Nine Peaks Mountain had such a deployment just to guard against one Demon Beast population?

Bai Mo found that a little absurd.

Just as Bai Mo thought he would spend this half month peacefully, what happened before his eyes gave him fresh doubts.

"Mind Control—Void Claw!"

An invisible force lifted a gray, fox-faced Demon Beast before the group. It was dead, and its heart was missing.

"Another dead Dustwind Raccoon, and its heart is gone too. Judging by the wound, it was done by a Swiftwind Wolf!"

After examining the dead Dustwind Raccoon, Bai Mo recalled what Chu Yunlong had told them on the first night about watching for frequent conflicts between two populations. He turned to Chu Yunlong, who stood in the middle of the group, and said, "Captain Chu, haven't we been finding rather too many dead Dustwind Raccoons like this lately?"