Above the mage

Chapter 705: Suppressing Beasts

Gao De finished explaining his thoughts in one breath, and then waited for everyone's decision.

Arya was the first to raise her hand, "I think it's feasible."

Feng Lin smiled demurely and followed suit, "I agree."

The remaining three exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.

Those chosen as members of the Golden Flower Dynasty's mage team may have different personalities, but they are certainly not stupid.

Therefore, everyone knows that Gaode's plan takes into account both efficiency and follow-up matters, is highly feasible, and is the best way to break the current deadlock and complete the task as soon as possible.

There is naturally no reason to object.

"Since everyone agrees, let's get moving and not waste any more time. Let's head to town as soon as possible." Evan was still the most "impatient".

This time, the six of them finally did not split into two groups, one in front and one behind.

Cedric, who had been flying at the forefront, now mostly concealed his movements.

Although he remained indifferent, he at least slowed down his flight speed and traveled with the others.

"I didn't expect you to have this ability, to communicate with plants," Feng Lin said with a smile as she walked side by side with Gao De.

"Generally, these kinds of functional spells or techniques are only learned and mastered by logistics mages or support mages."

There is no doubt that the team selected for the Golden Flower Dynasty's mage representative team consists entirely of battle mages.

Therefore, Feng Lin naturally assumes that Gao De is also a battle mage.

"I've said it before, I've mastered quite a few auxiliary spells," Gao De shrugged and smiled.

He is definitely a battle mage, but he is more than just a battle mage.

If we had to categorize it, it would actually be closer to a full-time mage.

What a team of mages would normally need to do, he can basically do all by himself.

Cedric glanced at Feng Lin, who was chatting and laughing with Gao De, out of the corner of his eye, and snorted inwardly.

He does not deny that Gaode's Nature Language does indeed play an irreplaceable role in such tracking and exploration tasks.

If it weren't for Gao De, everyone would probably still be stuck in front of the cliff, completely clueless.

But their ultimate goal in forming this team is to participate in the French Fighting Championship and win the French Fighting match.

The Magic Tournament will be the ultimate showdown between mages, a contest of spell power, casting speed, and combat skills—a pure clash of strength.

French Bulldogs don't require you to communicate with plants, and there's nothing for you to track.

Gaode's support capabilities can help them complete their immediate tasks, but they are absolutely impossible to win the team's victory in the French Tournament, and may even become a hindrance.

After all, each mage's spell reserve is relatively limited.

For every bit of skill and technique you acquire in these "unorthodox" methods, you lose a bit of preparation for legal combat.

Therefore, Cedric still did not change his mind and never truly included Gao De in the list of teammates.

In his view, Gaode is more like a tool that can play a role in a specific task.

He just couldn't understand why Feng Lin seemed to be particularly close to Gao De from the very beginning.

If that's just her personality, then I haven't seen her interact with Arya that much.

Cedric grew increasingly puzzled, a barely perceptible glint of inquiry flashing in his eyes.

However, out of pride, he couldn't bring himself to ask, and could only ponder it in his heart.

Valles Island is not large; on the map of Nolan's ocean territory, it can only be considered an inconspicuous and remote island.

It is far from the main shipping routes of the mainland, and has neither rare magical plant resources nor abundant mineral treasures.

There are only three truly large towns on the island.

Both were port towns built along the sea, relying on fishing and rudimentary maritime trade for their livelihood.

The other is located in the very center of the island, called Stoneheart Town. It is the island's administrative center and one of the few places protected by a large rune array.

The six of them kept moving and used their flying skills to avoid the reefs and ravines along the way. In less than half an hour, they arrived at a port town that was closest to the fishing village.

The town, called Grey Reef Harbor, is the most remote port town on Vales Island and the place most severely affected by the Ironfeathered Eagle Beast attacks.

From a distance, Grey Reef Harbor is built along the sea.

Most of the houses are built with rough logs and gray-white rocks, and are low and simple.

The rooftops are covered with dried seaweed, densely distributed along the gentle slopes of the coastline, forming an irregular outline that stretches along the shore.

It's called a town, but it's really just a large fishing village.

It should be noted that even ordinary villages in the Golden Flower Dynasty generally have a well-organized layout and wide streets, with houses mostly being neat, exquisite, and uniform brick and wood buildings.

On ordinary days, there are also well-equipped village guards stationed there, responsible for defending against wild animals and maintaining order in the village.

If they are wealthy enough, there might even be low-level mages stationed there to set up simple protective formations.

The port, which should have been bustling and lively, was now eerily silent.

Most of the fishing boats moored on the shore were badly damaged.

As we approached the town, the scene became increasingly chaotic.

The narrow streets were littered with messy footprints and claw marks, and the ground was scattered with various ruins and debris, as well as some dried bloodstains.

The dark red marks stood out starkly against the gray-white rocky ground.

The faces of passersby were filled with exhaustion and fear, and the shadow of being attacked by the Ironfeathered Eagle Beast still lingered in their eyes.

The entire town was shrouded in a depressing and bleak atmosphere.

"This is the tragedy of small places: they have extremely poor ability to withstand risks, and even survival is difficult."

"Without the support of our dynasty, the Ironfeathered Eagle Beasts could have completely destroyed them, erasing their name and turning them into an uninhabited island in the vast ocean." Evan looked at the scene before him with some emotion.

At the very center of Grey Reef Harbor stands a relatively orderly two-story building, which is also the ruling center of Grey Reef Harbor. The island's administrator and the ruler of Grey Reef Harbor is named Renlaude, who is responsible for managing the daily affairs of Grey Reef Harbor.

But at this moment, this usually composed middle-aged man had lost his usual calm and was pacing anxiously back and forth in the hall, his brows furrowed tightly.

His face was full of anxiety, his hands were behind his back, and his eyes were filled with worry.

Inside the stone house's main hall, several guards in simple uniforms stood with their heads bowed, barely daring to breathe, their expressions extremely solemn.

They were all guards of Grey Reef Harbor, but they were powerless against the Ironfeathered Eagle's attack.

They could only watch helplessly as fishermen were injured or killed and their homes were destroyed.

"Has the distress call been sent out?" Leonard stopped and turned around abruptly, his voice urgent and hoarse.

"Although the rune array in Stoneheart Town has weakened, it is still a rune array and can still slightly resist the attack of the Ironfeather Eagle Beast."

But we have nothing in Grey Reef Harbor. If this continues, Grey Reef Harbor will be completely destroyed!

The guard at the front quickly stepped forward, bowed, and said, "The message from Shixin Town is that they sent out a distress signal two days ago."

"Logically speaking, the dynasty's reinforcements should arrive soon, but—but we don't know exactly how long it will take them to arrive." The guard's voice was hesitant, and his tone was full of helplessness.

Valles Island is remote and lacks resources and value, so it remains to be seen how much the Plantagenet dynasty will actually value them.

Leonard naturally understood this principle as well.

He sighed heavily, slumped against the stone wall behind him, his anxiety deepening: "We can't wait any longer! If the eagle beasts come again, the people of Grey Reef Harbor might really not survive—"

His tone was full of despair.

Just then, a young guard rushed in.

His expression was flustered, but a faint glimmer of hope shone in his bloodshot eyes as he bowed to Leonard and said, "Sir, someone is looking for you outside!"

"Looking for me? Who is it?" Leonard frowned. The people of Grey Reef Harbor were in a state of panic. Apart from the patrolling guards, who would come looking for him?

The guard quickly replied, "They claimed to be hunter mages who roam the seas. They happened to pass by Vales Island and sensed something unusual about it, so they went ashore to investigate."

Then they discovered the devastation in the town and, hearing that we were being harassed by Ironfeathered Eagle Beasts, offered to help eradicate them!

Upon hearing this, Leonard's eyes lit up instantly, as if he had grasped a lifeline. He asked eagerly, "Hunter mages? They're really willing to help? What's their background? What's their combat strength?"

He didn't have time to think about anything else at that moment; as long as someone was willing to help, that was fantastic news.

"There are six of them in total. They all look very young, but they have a calm demeanor and all have the magical power fluctuations of mages. They should all be legitimate mages, not just random thugs."

The young guard recalled carefully, not daring to miss a single detail.

"Only six people?!" Leonard's brows furrowed again.

This group of Ironfeathered Eagle Beasts is extremely large. Logically speaking, it would take at least a mage army to fight against them. Six people just don't seem like enough.

However, he only hesitated for a moment before saying, "Quickly, invite them in."

Six people is better than none.

Even if it's just to hold back some of the eagle beasts and buy them some time until the Golden Flower Dynasty's reinforcements arrive, that would be great!

The guards withdrew in response.

Before long, the hall door was pushed open again, and a guard stood to the side, raising his hand in a gesture of invitation.

Six figures walked in one after another, their footsteps steady.

Leonard looked up, and his heart sank again. The glimmer of hope that had just ignited in his heart was almost instantly extinguished.

The six people in front of him were younger than he had imagined, so young that it was hard for him to believe it.

Even the most mature-looking burly man in the team looked to be no more than twenty years old.

The chubby-cheeked female mage looked like a minor.

Leonard instantly felt an instinctive distrust, and even became secretly wary.

Grey Reef Harbor is currently in a difficult situation, and people are filled with anxiety. It is inevitable that some opportunists will take advantage of their desperation to swindle money and property.

Could these six young people in front of me be scammers?

They could barely protect themselves, so how could they possibly face the ferocious Ironfeather Eagle pack?

His doubts churned, but Leonard, being the governor of Grey Reef Harbor, showed no sign of them on his face: "I am Leonard, the governor of Grey Reef Town. May I ask which hunter-mage guild you belong to? How much reward do you require for clearing out the eagle beasts?"

Furthermore, I must remind you all that these Ironfeathered Eagle Beasts are not ordinary leyline creatures; they are ferocious and incredibly powerful. Are you truly confident in your ability to deal with them?

"Commander Leonard, we don't need any reward. We just need you to provide us with assistance in two ways. That's our condition for taking action," Gao De replied directly as soon as Leonard finished speaking.

Leonard's heart skipped a beat. He suppressed his doubts and gestured for Gao De to continue.

Gao De nodded slightly, his words clear and logical: "The first is intelligence support, including all the information you currently have about the Ironfeather Eagle Beasts, their attack patterns, and their approximate numbers."

In addition, there's the situation regarding the uninhabited islands in the eastern seas. Based on this information, we need to find the Ironfeathered Eagle Beast's lair and wipe them out completely to prevent them from returning in the future.

"Secondly, we need one of your best, undamaged fishing boats, which will be used for scouting and traveling to the nest."

Gao De paused and added, "In addition, our ships sank for some reason. After we finish clearing out the Eagle Beasts, you need to arrange ships to send us back to the Golden Flower Dynasty."

Apart from that, we do not need any compensation or supplies.

After hearing Gao De's words, Leonard felt a weight lift from his shoulders, and his tense nerves relaxed slightly.

He originally thought that these six people would either make exorbitant demands for a huge amount of gold and silver.

Unexpectedly, their requirements were so simple and practical.

The only extra expense was sending back the golden pheasant, which was done after the eagle beasts were wiped out.

These conditions are completely inconsistent with the scammer's modus operandi.

This largely ruled out the possibility that they were trying to swindle money from him, and it also gave Leonard a greater sense of genuine trust.

Even so, Leonard was still somewhat uneasy.

Looking at the young faces of Gao De and his companions, he couldn't help but remind them, "I must warn you, these Ironfeathered Eagle Beasts are no ordinary ferocious beasts. They are numerous, at least fifty in number, and each one is extremely strong. Their feathers can withstand attacks from ordinary spells."

"Even our guards, equipped with runic weapons, couldn't save a single Ironfeathered Eagle Beast despite their best efforts."

"If they hadn't come only to find food and hadn't deliberately slaughtered or destroyed anything, we would probably have been wiped out long ago and would no longer exist." Leonard's voice was tinged with helplessness and lingering fear.

"There are only six of you. If you venture too far into their lair, you might all be wiped out and lose your lives in vain."

Leonard's actions were a rare display of compassion; he couldn't bear to see such a group of young mages sacrifice themselves in vain.

But his reminder only elicited a hint of impatience from Cedric.

"You don't need to worry about that for us. We dared to take on this job because we are fully confident in our abilities."

"You just need to cooperate with us by providing intelligence and preparing ships according to my requirements."

"The rest of you, just sit here and wait patiently for our good news," Cedric said coldly.

"Okay, okay, I understand. I was overthinking it." Cedric was so blunt, but Leonard wasn't annoyed.

As long as the Ironfeathered Eagle Beasts can be wiped out, he'll be willing to smile and agree even if Cedric is arrogant, let alone speak rudely.

He immediately ordered someone to retrieve a nautical chart of the waters near Valles Island.

During this brief interval, Gaode also shared the information he currently possessed.

He then showed Leonard the gray-green moss behind the Ironfeathered Eagle's feathers, allowing Leonard to help pinpoint the target based on the available intelligence.

This detailed investigation and methodical approach immediately increased Leonard's trust in him.

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