Escape

He said nothing more after that. He now had to consider how to hold back those frenzied beasts. First, he circled the area and picked out an escape route, then laid traps nearby. He also smeared some poison on his sword and in the traps. He was not sure whether it would still work on those corrupted beasts, but at least he had done everything he could. The soldiers' survival would be up to fate. He could escape no matter what happened, anyway.

After finishing all this, he intended to give Magg a few precautions, but just then, a jumble of footsteps reached him. Allen turned to look, and sure enough, Ryan's squad was fleeing toward them in defeat. Allen immediately shouted at them, "Don't run through the middle! Get into the woods!"

Then he turned to Magg and said, "Magg, hurry and take them into the woods. Don't let them step on the traps." Magg acknowledged him and immediately went forward to guide Ryan and the others. Behind them, a pack of corrupted beasts was charging madly toward them. Allen made a rough estimate. There were at least twenty or thirty of them, and he inwardly cursed Ryan for being a fool.

Allen immediately released the Wind Blade spell he had prepared beforehand, saving the slowest soldier. The situation was critical. He no longer concerned himself with Ryan's feelings and immediately took command of the soldiers, directing them to fight the Fel Beasts on the move through the woods. These soldiers were all veterans under Lord Pelaven. By the time Allen saved them after their rout, they had already recovered their wits. They immediately took up their weapons and used the wooded terrain to resist the Fel Beasts.

But the situation was still far from promising. Although he had laid traps, they were very simple because of the limited time and would not hold the beasts back for long. He knew it was time to retreat, but they absolutely could not fall into confusion while doing so.

So he loudly ordered the soldiers, "Listen, everyone! Gather together back-to-back and retreat quickly through the woods to the high ground beside us!" The soldiers immediately moved. Once they reached the high ground, he activated the trap before the frenzied beasts could come up. More than a dozen thumb-thick vines immediately barred the beasts' way, but the beasts, already lost to frenzy, charged forward regardless.

"Magg, hurry! Throw the water out!" Allen loudly ordered Magg, who immediately poured all the prepared water toward the beasts. Seeing the water flow toward them, Allen began casting, using a freezing cantrip to turn the nearby water into ice. The ice beneath the beasts' feet immediately weakened the force of their charge considerably.

Allen told all the soldiers, "Quick, everyone, run back! This trap won't hold for long!" With that, he led the way toward the high ground. After running for over half an hour, everyone collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. He still watched their surroundings vigilantly. Although he had scouted earlier and found no monsters nearby, caution was best. After finally confirming that the place was safe for the moment, Allen went over to Ryan.

A look of shame appeared on Ryan's face when he saw him approach. "Have you come to laugh at me?" But he told Ryan very calmly, "I only hope you can learn from this. It doesn't matter if you die, but you let down the soldiers who trusted you. You should feel ashamed before them, not me."

Ryan's face flushed red. He wanted to say something more, but ultimately lowered his head. Ryan's rash advance had left over half the squad dead or wounded, with only six people still alive, including Allen. Seeing the wounded soldiers lying haphazardly on the ground, all looking dejected, Ryan could not help regretting that he had not listened to Allen.

He suddenly stood up and knelt before the soldiers. "It was all my fault. I got our brothers killed. When we reach His Lordship the Highlord, I'll ask him to punish me. Please forgive my foolish actions."

The soldiers said nothing, but Allen stepped forward and pulled him up. "Enough. Stop kneeling. If you feel guilty, bring the people who are left back safely. That's what matters most right now."

Looking at the dejected soldiers, Allen felt this could not continue, so he told them, "What are you all hanging your heads for? Have you forgotten our mission? Stand up and take up your weapons, to find the Magic Source and for the Highlord's glory!" Allen shouted, and the soldiers began to come to their senses and answer him.

After that, they moved with even greater caution, afraid of encountering the same situation again. This time, none of them questioned Allen's judgment anymore. While they cautiously avoided large numbers of Fel Beasts, the other squads were not so lucky. The other mage apprentices did not have his powerful Mental Power. At most, they could sense the strength of the magic nearby; any farther away, and they were completely helpless.

In another squad, a soldier told his captain, "Captain, we're surrounded. What do we do?" The captain angrily looked at the mage apprentice accompanying them. "Mage, why did you lead us into a ring of beasts?" The mage apprentice beside him immediately grew nervous. "Captain, th-this... I didn't lead us the wrong way. Doesn't the presence of so many Fel Beasts show that there's a Magic Source here?"

The captain had no time to pay him any more attention, because the beasts began attacking. In less than ten minutes, the squad perished amid the beasts. Many squads met much the same fate. Only a very few survived because they encountered fewer beasts. Even so, every one of them was wounded, and their situation remained far from promising.

Back with Allen's group, a soldier told Ryan, "Captain, we're almost out of medicine." Ryan was startled. "So soon? Didn't we still have a few bottles of Healing Potion?" The soldier immediately reported, "Those were all used on the wounded a few days ago." Ryan fell into thought. A few days earlier, they had encountered some Gnolls. Those Gnolls, who lived year-round in Silverpine Forest, were both sinister and cunning. During an ambush, they discovered Allen, a mage, among the group and actually retreated without hesitation. It was on that occasion that they had used up their medicine.

Just then, Allen came over and saw the bandages wrapped around the soldier's leg. Without medicine, blood had begun seeping out, staining the white bandages red. If the wound still received no medical treatment, it would definitely become inflamed under these conditions, and then it would be difficult to deal with.

"Quick, take off the bandages," he ordered the soldier. The soldier obediently unwrapped them. A large patch of his leg was red, and blood kept seeping out. Allen forced the wound open, and the soldier immediately cried out in pain.

Ryan, standing beside them, saw this and wanted to stop him, but Allen immediately interrupted him. "Ryan, quick. Find me a clean piece of gauze. Remember to soak it in alcohol." Ryan thought for a moment, then did as he was told. After the lesson last time, he no longer dared underestimate Allen.

After removing the dirty bandages from the soldier, Allen began gathering the magic in the air and used a cantrip to form a ball of water. This water was created through magic and was extremely pure. After he washed away the blood with it, the wound was exposed.

It was a wound resembling an arrow wound. The most important thing now was to stop the bleeding, so he took out a Healing Potion and dripped two drops onto it. Before long, the wound stopped bleeding. Finally, he wrapped it in the disinfected gauze Ryan was holding.

"I still have a few vials of Healing Potion. We have no choice but to use them sparingly," he told the soldiers. The soldiers and Ryan were clearly very grateful for his selflessness and expressed their hope that they could repay him in the future.

"Captain Ryan, our soldiers are too tired, and they're all wounded. If possible, let them rest for a day." He offered Ryan his suggestion. Ryan looked around at the soldiers and saw that they really could not keep going, so he agreed. Afterward, they found a clearing nearby and planned to camp there.

The soldiers moved to the clearing and slept on the ground in groups of two or three, while he and the uninjured soldiers stood watch nearby. "Mage Allen, thank you for all your help these past few days. Without you, the beasts would have eaten us long ago." Ryan came over just then.

"Don't thank me. I'm doing it for myself too. Without you, I'd have a hard time getting out of here." He did not think much of it. When faced with something like this, he helped if he could. If he could not, there was nothing he could do. Ryan sighed. "Ah, I wonder whether His Lordship the Highlord will send us reinforcements."

Pelaven certainly would not send reinforcements. He could guess that without even thinking. Lord Pelaven was probably already too overwhelmed to look after himself. His eagerness to seize Silverpine Forest had led him too deep inside. Otherwise, he would not have been caught between magical beasts and Fel Beasts, while stubbornly holding on because he could not bear to give up the rich prize within his grasp.

He had long since given up hope in these nobles, and Pelaven was no different. Sending these ordinary soldiers here was simply sending them to their deaths. His only thought now was to finish this damned mission as quickly as possible and leave.