Above the mage

Chapter 244 Snowfield Hunter

Its daybreak.

In addition to the guest rooms temporarily provided for Gaode to rest.

Ona and several teachers from the church gathered here, their faces solemn.

Everyone in the church gets up very early, so Ona came early to wake God up so they could have breakfast together.

Then she discovered that Gaode had disappeared.

In the guest room, the message written by Gao De in charcoal was very conspicuous.

"Where did he find something wrong? He seemed perfectly normal last night." Ona was both annoyed and incredulous.

She believed that she had performed flawlessly from beginning to end.

"That's how outsiders are; they're scheming and good at pretending," an older instructor comforted Ona.

"What do we do now?" Ona asked. "Headquarters sent a special message saying that the Guardian Baruch has most likely betrayed the doctrine and is killing for his own benefit. We are to keep an eye on his whereabouts and report it immediately if we find him."

"Although this guy wasn't Baruch, he kept saying he was sent by Baruch to deliver a message, so he must know something about Baruch. In the end, we let him go."

"We can't be blamed for this. This outsider may be young, but the fact that he dared to and was able to enter the North means that he's definitely not as simple as he seems on the surface. And Lord Damon just happens to be away," another instructor said.

The main reason they were chosen as instructors was that their strength was insufficient; they were only equivalent to first-level mages.

Those with sufficient strength become "Guardians".

"If we act rashly, and he resists fiercely, even if we eventually subdue him, we will inevitably injure the children."

As members of the Snowfield Guardians, even if they are not strong enough to become Guardians, these instructors still uphold the doctrine.

Naturally, they also cared deeply for these orphans they had raised from childhood.

Between mages, it is difficult to directly determine the mage level of the other.

It was precisely because of this that the instructors, who were unsure of Gaode's true capabilities and felt inadequate themselves, did not take direct action.

They chose to stall Gaode for now and wait for the return of the Damon Guardian before taking action, in order to ensure a sure victory.

Furthermore, the answer given by Gaode at the time was that they would have to wait for the Guardian of Damon to return and personally deliver the message, which made Ona and the instructors lower their guard.

"The hunters sent from headquarters are already on their way and should arrive in the next couple of days," another young instructor said in a deep voice.

"Once they arrive, things will be much easier, and we won't need to worry too much."

The instructors' task is to teach the children and also to protect the branch.

As for catching the culprit, it's not their responsibility. Even if Gaode gets away, they won't be blamed.

As the only large religious organization on the frozen tundra, the Snowfield Guardians, like other religious groups, possess a well-developed organizational system.

It is not only perfect, but also powerful.

No one knows who founded the Snowfield Guardians, but in the memories of most Northerners, this sect has existed since ancient times and has always taken the protection of the snowfields as its doctrine.

As a religious sect, in addition to the "Guardians" who represent its doctrines, it naturally also has violent institutions used to deter other forces.

Otherwise, the Snowfield Guardians wouldn't have been able to occupy so many good territories with food resources and establish branches to shelter orphans.

The people of the North have a simple and honest side, but they also have an extremely fierce and savage side.

For food, the people of the North are absolutely capable of abandoning all their simple and honest nature.

This violent apparatus, used to intimidate others, is known as the "Hunter" among the Snowfield Guardians.

Hunters and guardians—these are the two most important groups among the "Snowfield Guardians".

The guardians fight individually, spreading their doctrines across the snowfields and protecting them.

Hunters, on the other hand, spend most of their time within the cult, carrying out various tasks according to the cult's needs.

"By the time the hunters arrive, this stranger will have been gone for a long time. Will we still be able to find him?" Ona hesitated for a moment, then couldn't help but ask.

"Tracking prey is a hunter's forte," the instructor said confidently, showing great faith in the church's hunters, unlike Ona's skepticism. "As long as he has stayed here and left traces and scents, whether he has been gone for a day or two or even a month or two, the hunters will find him."

Just one day later.

Two hunters dispatched by the Snowfield Guardians appeared outside the gates of this branch.

When Ona came out to greet them, she saw that one of the hunters was wearing a bronze mask, and she instinctively shuddered.

A bronze mask represents a hunter's extremely high status.

This status may stem from immense strength, a prestigious identity, or enormous potential.

Regardless of the reason, it was enough to command absolute respect from someone like her, who held a managerial position within the branch.

The two hunters waved their hands, indicating that Ona didn't need to be so polite.

"I received information that you have news related to the Guardian Baruch?" the masked hunter spoke up. To Ona's surprise, judging from the voice, the hunter was actually a woman.

However, neither gender diminished Ona's awe of him, and she quickly replied, "That's right. Just the other day, a stranger who claimed to be entrusted by Baruch to deliver an important message to the Guardians of Damon came to our door."

"Outsider?" Another male hunter, who wasn't wearing a mask, squinted and repeated himself to confirm.

"Yes, he's a stranger. His appearance is so different from that of people from the North, and his Ace language is very broken, obviously he's just started learning it," Ona nodded in affirmation.

She was certain of that.

"It seems the news about Baruch's betrayal of the faith might actually be true. He's already involved with these despicable and shady outsiders, so it's quite possible he's been influenced by them," the male hunter whispered to the female hunter wearing a bronze mask beside him.

It's clear that the male hunter harbors a strong prejudice against outsiders.

"Don't jump to conclusions. Seeing is believing. If we wrong the guardians, how can we face their dedication to the snowfield?" Compared to the male hunter, the female hunter seemed much more objective.

"And where is he now?" the hunter asked again.

"They ran away." Ona seemed a little embarrassed.

"They got away?" The male hunter frowned, but didn't blame Ona. "What exactly happened?"

"Please come with me, you two," Ona gestured, leading the two towards the guest room where Gaode had previously stayed, while briefly explaining the situation.

"That outsider seemed to have discovered something. Anyway, he said he would wait for the Guardian of Damon to return so he could personally deliver the message. Since he said that, we didn't think much of it and felt we had already appeased him."

"The next morning when I went to wake him up for breakfast, I found that no one answered. When I went back in, the room was already empty."

"Then, we found some marks near the corner of the wall of his room, which must have indicated that he climbed over the wall and left while everyone was asleep at night."

Before they knew it, Ona had brought the two hunters to the outside of the temporary guest room.

Upon opening the door, the first thing that catches the eye is a line of large characters written in charcoal on the floor.

"What is this?" the male hunter asked, frowning.

"It was left by that outsider," Ona replied.

Gaode is a beginner in Ace language and can barely speak it, so he left a message using the common language script instead of Ace language.

However, as a mage, the ability to "understand languages" not only allows a mage to understand other languages, but also allows a mage to understand the literal meaning of written words by touching them.

So, the next moment, the male hunter squatted down and gently touched the line of large characters with his hand.

He quickly understood the meaning of the large characters left by Gaode.

The male hunter stood up, walked to the female hunter's side, and whispered:

"Some members of the Snowfield Guardians practice forbidden necromancy and manipulate beast tides to attack the Northern tribes in order to practice necromancy."

"Catherine, these are the words left by that stranger."

"A guardian practices forbidden necromancy?" The huntress called Catherine pondered for a moment, then asked, "Loich, what do you think?"

"Although these outsiders are despicable and shameless, this outsider came all the way here, saying that he was asked by Baruch to deliver a message, and it seems that this is the message he was supposed to deliver."

"I can't think of his purpose in fabricating such a false message. Perhaps it really is true?" The male hunter named Loych thought for a moment and answered cautiously.

"But according to reports from other guardians, this Baruch may have betrayed the doctrine. Could it be that he is the one who falsely accused others to confuse the public, and that the guardian who practiced forbidden necromancy and caused the beast tide to slaughter the northern tribes is actually himself?" Catherine also offered her speculation.

"It's not impossible," Loich nodded in agreement.

"The truth will be revealed once we find Baruch."

"Baruch, as a guardian, roams and patrols the snowfields, and his whereabouts are unpredictable. Finding him is not an easy task. Since this stranger claims to have been entrusted by Baruch, he should know Baruch's whereabouts. Let's find him first."

After saying that, Loich turned to Ona beside him and asked, "What exactly does that guy look like?"

"That guy was a stranger, very young, probably only seventeen or eighteen years old, and had a handsome appearance," Ona described Gao De's appearance in detail based on her memory.

After all, Gao De had only been gone for a day, so Ona's memory was still very clear.

Loich took out a piece of animal hide from his pocket and began to draw on it according to Ona's description.

Soon, a clear portrait appeared on the paper.

"Is this what it looks like?" Loich showed the portrait to Ona.

Ona looked at it carefully for a couple of seconds, then nodded vigorously and said, "Yes, that's him!"

"Good." Loich nodded in satisfaction, showed the portrait to Catherine again, and then rolled up the animal skin and put it back in his pocket.

"Have you locked onto his scent?" Catherine asked.

Loich sniffed and said confidently, "I've already locked onto him. He's an outsider. Outsiders have a completely different diet than us, so his scent is also completely different from ours in the North. It's not a strong smell, but rather a fresh, plant-like scent."

"Such a distinct scent, especially in the remote snow-covered plains, makes tracking it incredibly easy!"

As a "hunter" who guards the snowfield, the training method he practices is the most common "wilderness secret art" among the "hunters" in the church.

This training method can enhance a mage's performance in "tracking" spells, and also allow the mage to gradually gain various special abilities, including the ability to "enhance their sense of smell".

It perfectly matches the identity of "Hunter".

"Then let's go. He can't escape," Catherine said, her voice filled with coldness.

Although she didn't have the same extreme prejudice against outsiders as Loych, her attitude towards them certainly wasn't much better.

Therefore, Catherine still leans more towards the view that Baruch, who mingled with outsiders, had abandoned the doctrine.

As for the line of text left by Gaode, while not entirely denying it, they certainly still don't quite believe it.

A cold wind blows across the rolling white snow-covered hills.

The howling of the cold wind continued.

But if you stay on the snowfield for a long time, these sounds will gradually be filtered out by your ears and brain.

Gaode Maps, on the other hand, has already gotten used to these sounds.

After filtering out the sound of the wind, the vast snowfield seemed a little too quiet.

It was afternoon.

The sun, which doesn't bring much warmth, hangs high in the sky.

Below, a giant blue lizard burrows its head into the thick snow, searching for some rare snowfield plants hidden beneath the snow.

It is also a relatively common leyline creature in the snowfields, called the Dragon Tongue Blue Lizard.

Of course, their numbers are far fewer than those of the "Snow Wolves," who are known as the dominant force in the snowy plains.

But their rank is what it is, which means they're not someone to be trifled with.

Just then.

Gao De suddenly emerged from a nearby snow hill and then slid down at an incredibly high speed.

The tranquility was shattered in an instant.

The blue lizard reacted quickly, noticing the unusual movement from the slight tremors on the ground the moment Gao De appeared.

It quickly poked its head out from under the snow, its wary eyes scanning the surroundings. Then, it stuck out its long tongue at Gao De, who was "rushing towards it," and charged towards him.

The moment the blue lizard charged, magical energy surged in Gao De's hands.

The next moment, he had already pointed his finger at the rapidly approaching blue lizard.

Then, some key information emerged from Gaode's mind:

Ice resistance. Extremely high physical resistance. Weakest points in its defense are the head (eyes), abdomen, tail, and limbs.

[Seize the initiative!]

Extend your hand and point your finger at a creature within casting range, instantly seeing through the target's defenses with magic.

Knowing the specific weaknesses of the Blue Lizard, Gao De unleashed his next spell.

A small acid ball containing corrosive power flew out from his fingertip and flew straight toward the blue lizard.

[Acid Splash+]!

The aim is to utilize the full coverage characteristic of [Acid Splash] to deliver a full-coverage attack on all the vulnerable parts of the agave blue lizard.

The blue agave lizard seemed to be aware of the impending threat, but it did not stop its charge.

Just as the little sour ball was about to touch it, it suddenly opened its mouth and stuck out its tongue.

A cold, blue aura was exhaled from it, enveloping the small acid ball.

The small acid ball, made of acidic liquid, was frozen solid by the icy aura, turning into a green ice ball that fell onto the snow.

(End of this chapter)