Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 297 Russian-style Rescue
"Each nobleman usually only has the power to bestow titles upon three lesser nobles."

Bella's sly eyes darted around as she feigned the sentimentality of a young girl listening to a bard, though this "girl" was a bit too mature and beautiful.

"But if these valiant adventurers thwart Luskan's plot to overthrow Neverwinter, shouldn't Lord Nash'er and the restored Mandane family also do more?"

"But who knows what happens between nobles?"

"Don't worry, the order of Neverwinter will not allow such a thing to happen."

Bella smiled radiantly, but when she spoke the word "order," her pronunciation was exceptionally clear.

"Of course."

The extra benefits also meant unplanned tasks and risks. The original mission of the Canaan Squad was to monitor and investigate the Bloodsail Gang, the trading partner of the two noble families of Neverwinter in Luskan, in order to find out the real mastermind behind them.

After all, the power of the Covenant and the Starcloak is not limitless, and dealing with Luskan and the Arcane Brotherhood behind him is not something that can be accomplished by simply talking.

It's better to suddenly strike and break one finger than to injure all ten of their fingers, or even suffer mutual destruction.

Although there are many grudges between the two cities, and they are secretly scheming against each other, on the surface, especially Neverwinter City, is still part of the Order, so it is not appropriate to just overturn the table like that.

This was precisely the purpose of the Canaan squad's mission. A full-scale war was inconvenient, so they opted for a decapitation strike, and they were the ghost snipers who whispered "Nuclear strike locked" and were responsible for guiding the beacon.

However, things always turn out to be more complicated than expected. In order to lure the snake out of its hole, Ophira threw out two baits, and the task of protecting these naive baits from being swallowed whole by the great shark lurking there fell on their own shoulders.

This is a bit tricky. If we follow the original plan and let the kidnapped target be sent to the mage tower, we only need to secretly follow and track him, set up some arrangements around the mage tower of the mastermind, and wait for the big boss to make a move.

But things are different now. Once the bait is delivered to its destination, it's basically up to fate. After all, you can't expect Zhang to force his way into the mage tower just for Ophira's sake, can you?
Just for a few spots and a favor?
His life isn't that worthless.

However, ambushing them halfway is not a good idea. Even if they succeed, their group will still face retaliation and retribution from the Tower Master after being exposed.

We needed to come up with a plan, so we brainstormed at the team meeting, and everyone had many good ideas.

"If you ask me, let's just take action and kill them all. Without witnesses, who will know it was us?"

Kagan's suggestions were always simple and direct, and they seemed to make sense. After all, no survivors meant a perfect assassination. The three berserkers next to him gave him a thumbs up and agreed in unison.

Unfortunately, it won't work. Putting aside whether the other party has any tricks up their sleeve to escape, won't a dead person speak?
The existence of divination and necromancy means that the term "killing to silence" is not so absolute in the eyes of spellcasters.

"Let's split up. Boss, you go set up that beacon spell, and we'll use your summoned creatures to intercept them on the way, okay?"

Lawrence's plan has many feasibility aspects, if the placement of road signs were that simple.

The Beacon is not a single spell, but a sequence of special spells and arrays. With almost the entire Luskan under the control of the Arcane Brotherhood, who use anti-teleportation spells and divination monitoring spells, any unreported teleportation spell being cast or activated will be detected the moment its aura flashes. Subsequent spells to suppress teleportation or block interference can inflict terrible misfortunes on the caster, ranging from spell backlash to dimensional exile. The Starcloaks and the Covenant, as long-time adversaries, are well aware of this, and the Beacon was created specifically to counter it.

Even Zhang Yuan himself couldn't fully grasp the underlying principles, let alone explain them to his teammates. But one thing was certain: setting this up was far more complicated than just a matter of being troublesome.

If they really did that, the bodies of the entire Canaan squad would probably be completely cold by then, enough time for the mastermind behind the scenes to be alerted and empty his magazine.

This won't work either, and for a moment the meeting fell silent.

"Do those mages from Luskan want the dead or the living?"

Suddenly, Nancy's words startled everyone present.

"It depends on the type of spell or ritual being performed, as they vary depending on the requirements. However, considering the lengths the other party is going to, it is very likely that a living being is required."

Even Master Zhang was taken aback by these words. Did they mean that if you can't solve the problem, then solve the person who caused it?

Just as the monk was about to explain why the hostage's death meant the rescue wasn't successful, Nancy continued with her question:
"If they want the target alive, what if they unfortunately get poisoned or contract a serious illness en route? Can they still be delivered to that mage tower?"

"Even so, mages should have healing methods, right? Why make things difficult for something that can be solved with a few spells?"

Lawrence stepped forward to question her, and Nancy was momentarily at a loss for words.

“That’s not how it works!” Zhang Yuan explained instead: “Mages do have specific healing spells, but they also have limitations. Not every symptom can be solved with spells.”

"Besides, it's not a question of whether it's possible or not." Master Zhang adopted the air of a sorcerer: "Think about it, the living material we finally managed to get turned into a dying person on the verge of death, and we have to ask a great sorcerer to clean up the mess. How much credit can we expect from that? How can you do things like that?"

"But boss, hasn't our team always done this? You've handled all the medical matters, and even with Maginot and the others losing their fingers, you personally went to their place..."

Bard, quite tactlessly, brought up Mr. Zhang himself as a negative example.

Zhang Yuan's face darkened. So, the tool was actually himself?

"How can you compare them? They're like lords sitting in mage towers, while our leader is the captain who's been through thick and thin with us."

"Ahem!" Zhang Yuan, who was getting increasingly suspicious, coughed lightly to interrupt the dwarf brothers' conversation. The mage waved his hand and said, "Stop talking nonsense. I think this idea is good. Since the other side went to great lengths to bring people here, there is no reason to let them die so easily."

"Whether they send them to the temple or treat them in the mage tower, it will at least buy them some time. As for the rest, it all depends on whether Tamora smiles at them."

Thank you, Abelus, for your monthly pass!
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(End of this chapter)