“You’ve worked hard, Theresa. I saw signs of battle about an hour’s journey from here. Are you… alright?” Leon stood in front of the sorceress.
“Better than you’d imagine,” the sorceress replied, leaning on her staff. Her bright silver eyes, framed by black-framed glasses with butterfly patterns, glared at Leon, clearly displeased with his grand display.
Leon fully understood her frustration.
The sorceress was powerful—extremely powerful. In theory, as someone who had already stepped into the legendary tier, she shouldn’t have struggled so much in this battle. Given enough preparation time, she could have easily wiped out one, or even two or three, beastmen warbands.
The key issue was that Theresa had already fought a battle earlier. On his way here, Leon had noticed extensive traces of spell usage, indicating that Theresa and the Bloodaxe Mercenaries had already clashed with at least one beastmen warband. Moreover, they had fought with overwhelming force, meaning Theresa had been nearly out of mana before this battle even began.
Additionally, during their pursuit of the corrupted hunter, Theresa had expended a significant amount of mana. Unlike hunters, who could track prey through experience, the corrupted hunter was a master of evasion. Theresa had no choice but to use her magical abilities to follow the hunter’s trail, leaving her mana constantly depleted.
Forcing a sixth-circle spell while out of mana? Leon knew that Theresa was barely standing now, and she likely wouldn’t be able to cast spells for several days.
“Better than I’d imagine? Do you know what I imagine?” Leon teased as he led his horse over, hanging the Beastlord’s head on his saddle. “Alright, for now, I’ll ensure your safety.”
“That’s what you should’ve been doing all along. Your reckless pursuit nearly got an entire mercenary group killed!” Theresa was still leaning on her staff, breathing heavily. Her posture slightly bent, her impressive figure was on full display, and Leon couldn’t help but notice the subtle trembling of her ample chest.
“But I did find Belter’s trail… Never mind, it’s pointless to argue now.” Leon noticed Theresa’s inability to move and immediately understood her predicament. He reached out, “Come on, get on the horse. I’ll lead it for you. Think about it—Leon ‘The Hammer’ of Nord personally leading your horse. It’s not beneath your status as a member of the Jade Flame Council, is it?”
“…Let’s find a place to rest first. The Bloodaxe Mercenaries are in no condition to fight anymore, and Boris is injured. Our Jade Flame Council owes them a great debt. I’m really starting to question whether pursuing Belter is worth all this,” Theresa remained motionless, and Leon knew she had exhausted the last of her strength, stubbornly refusing to collapse to maintain her dignity.
This was the sorceress’s talent—when mana was depleted, she could forcibly use her stamina as a substitute.
The mercenaries were busy cleaning up the battlefield. The blood-soaked, frost-covered battlefield was difficult to navigate, but it was necessary. After suffering heavy losses, the mercenaries hoped to salvage something from the wreckage.
Leon had no interest in looting. The beastmen’s crude equipment was practically worthless. Seeing Theresa still unmoving, he sighed and led his horse closer, intending to help her onto the saddle.
“What are you doing?!” Theresa slapped away Leon’s hand as it neared her rear. Her pale face showed anger, but using her staff had drained her last reserves of strength, and she nearly collapsed.
She didn’t fall into the snow, though. Leon simply scooped her up and placed her on the horse before patting her shoulder. “You’d only be happy if I did this, wouldn’t you?”
With that, Leon jumped off the horse. He was fully armored, and the horse couldn’t carry both of them.
“You jerk.” Theresa realized she’d misunderstood. Knowing Leon wasn’t the type to take advantage, she quietly sat on the horse while the mercenaries cleaned the battlefield, cremated their fallen comrades, and buried them hastily. Many mercenaries wore expressions of grief. The imperial merchant, Oliver, and his two guards retrieved their lost carriage, and the group prepared to move on.
The mercenaries, battered and silent, trudged forward. Oliver and his men, relieved to have survived and recovered their goods, kept quiet out of respect for the somber atmosphere.
The group moved through the forest under the moonlit sky.
“No enemy can withstand my Blizzard. If I hadn’t frozen that Beastlord, you wouldn’t have stood a chance against so many beastmen. Once frozen, anyone could have finished it off. Hmph, reinforcements always arrive after the battle’s over,” Theresa suddenly spoke from her horse, addressing Leon, who was walking ahead.
Her stunning appearance, shimmering black hair, sleek black leather outfit, and luxurious white fox fur coat made her look like a goddess under the moonlight.
“If I hadn’t arrived in time, are you sure you could’ve killed that Beastlord? Oh, maybe you could’ve cast another Blizzard, and everyone could’ve rallied to finish off the beastmen. Right?” Leon retorted, feeling exasperated. Everyone knew how formidable the Beastlord was. Even injured and with its legs frozen, Leon had to exert his full strength to kill it. The knight was certain that with its arms still free, the mercenaries would’ve been slaughtered.
Well, maybe Boris, the mercenary leader, had a chance, but by then, he was already seriously injured, Leon thought.
Seeing the sorceress and the knight bickering, someone couldn’t stay silent.
It was the young mercenary, Banda. He hurried over to help Theresa with her horse and whispered to her, “Lady Trovik, you’re right. Once you froze that beast, anyone could’ve killed it. That knight has nothing to boast about. If it were me, I could’ve taken its head too.”
Banda smiled ingratiatingly at the sorceress.
“Hmph.” Theresa merely sneered, glancing down at him and his greatsword before dismissively looking away, not even bothering to respond.
Banda’s attempt to curry favor had fallen flat, leaving the atmosphere awkward.
Leon found the situation amusing.
Theresa Trovik, from the Jade Flame Council, was the daughter of Elder Aurora Trovik.
The Jade Flame Council, also known as the Council of Sorceresses, was renowned across the continent.
One hundred and fifty years ago, the Savior Ludvig led the forces of order to crush the Chaos armies, pursuing them to the northern Chaos Wastes before retreating due to supply issues. The sorceresses played a crucial role in that war.
After the Second Chaos Invasion, eighteen sorceresses of legendary tier or higher held a council at Skyreach Keep to discuss the injustices faced by women in the field of magic. After several days, they formed the Council of Sorceresses, an organization exclusively for female spellcasters. Their goal was to promote equality between male and female mages and unite the power of female spellcasters to challenge the male-dominated magical community.
The Jade Flame, like a burning fire, symbolized the strength and independence of women. Thus, the Council of Sorceresses was named the Jade Flame Council, gaining partial recognition from Emperor Ludvig and becoming an official organization. Skyreach Keep became the holy land for female spellcasters.
Theresa, raised in such an environment, naturally adopted these ideals.
The sorceresses of the Jade Flame Council didn’t despise men—they never said things like “all men are trash.” Members of the council weren’t forbidden from marrying.
They simply looked down on “useless men.”
Unfortunately, in Theresa’s eyes, Banda was a “useless man.”
From his aura, Banda was only a common-tier warrior. Having never seen him fight, Leon guessed he was at best a high-tier common warrior. Even Boris, the elite-tier berserker and mercenary leader, wasn’t taken seriously by Theresa, let alone a mere common-tier warrior.
Trying to use me to win Theresa’s favor? You’ve chosen the wrong target, Leon thought, shaking his head. He didn’t bother confronting Banda, as Theresa was exhausted. Instead, he struck up a conversation with Oliver. “Mr. Oliver? We meet again.”
“Ah! Yes, yes! We meet again, Mr. Leon. Thank you so much this time!” Oliver exclaimed, relieved to have survived.
“We were lucky. The beastmen aren’t as strong in Nord. We only encountered Chaos warhounds, Razorgors, and Ungors—small fry. The Gors were the only real threat, and even the Beastlord was just an evolved Gor. Truly powerful beastmen tribes have Warhorns, Trolls, Cyclopes, and even Chaos Giants. If we’d encountered such a tribe, I’d have turned and run,” Leon chuckled, though his words sent chills down everyone’s spines.
“What’s there to fear? Mr. Leon, you’ve heard of the Battle of Bloodpine Forest, right? Our new emperor, Franz Friedrich, led an army of 100,000 into Bloodpine Forest and annihilated over 30 warbands of 50,000 beastmen. It’s said the corpses were piled into mountains. If such a beastmen tribe existed, our great emperor would surely roast them all!” Oliver boasted proudly.
“True,” Leon said no more.
The Empire, located south of the Kingdom of Nord, was the most powerful human nation on the continent. Nord was originally part of the Empire but became a vassal state because the Empire grew tired of defending against endless raids and invasions from the northern barbarians. Thus, the Savior Ludvig appointed his deputy, Harald Frank, as the Grand Duke of Nord, granting it independence.
Leon and Oliver chatted for a while. About two hours later, Leon estimated it was around seven in the evening.
It was time to set up camp. With Boris still recovering from his injuries, the deputy leader, Wilt, took charge. Wilt, an elite-tier veteran mercenary, was a swordsman who wielded a greatsword. Banda seemed to be his apprentice.
The group found a spot near a rocky hill and a water source to set up camp. With the Beastlord dead, the beastmen tribe was likely in chaos, so they weren’t too worried about enemies.
Everyone busied themselves with pitching tents and building fires. The two-day snowstorm had finally stopped, but the weather remained gloomy. The mercenaries took out pots and pans, boiled water, and ate dry rations soaked in hot water. In the wild, they’d usually forage for herbs or other ingredients to make soup, but in the dead of winter, such things were scarce. They’d have to make do and wait until they reached a town tomorrow.
“Lady Trovik, let me help you dismount!” Banda, seeing Theresa still on her horse, hurried over and said respectfully.
Once again, he was met with a cold face. Theresa still held the reins, not even glancing at him. Instead, she called out to Leon, who was surveying the terrain in the distance. “Leon? Make the arrangements!”
“Alright, alright, I got it!” Leon approached and helped Theresa off the horse, ensuring her high-heeled boots touched the ground before letting go. “Do you need me to find you a comfortable spot?”
“Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do?” Theresa, despite her pale complexion and reliance on her staff to walk, still refused to back down.
“Haha, using your staff as a cane now? Multitasking, I see,” Leon teased.
“Oh? Isn’t that warhammer of yours just a glorified poker?” Theresa shot back, and Leon burst into laughter. “Hahahaha!”
Earlier, he’d used his fire-imbued warhammer to start a fire, and Theresa had apparently noticed.
The banter between the knight and the sorceress made Banda seethe with jealousy. Damn knight, always trying to win Lady Trovik’s favor. And Lady Trovik seems to trust him more. I need to find a way to get rid of him, or I’ll never have a chance to win her heart.
“Master Wilt, can you do me a favor?” Banda quietly approached his mentor, Deputy Leader Wilt. Wilt, around the same age as Boris but less rugged, was organizing the camp and arranging for everyone to eat. Hearing his apprentice’s request, he shook his head with a wry smile. “Banda, understand your place. Lady Trovik is a member of the Jade Flame Council. Do you really understand the gap between your statuses?”