Above the mage

Before long, the guard came back in carrying a yellowed nautical chart.

Leonard took the chart, walked quickly to the table, and slowly unfolded it.

Their capabilities are limited, so even though they have a history of several hundred years, the "fog of war" they have uncovered is actually relatively limited.

Leonard pointed to a cluster of scattered islands in the eastern sea and explained to the six people, "The grayish-green moss you see is called sea mud moss by the fishermen of Grey Reef Harbor."

"As you said, it is an extremely picky plant when it comes to growing environment. It must grow in marl clay rich in salt and humus and cannot survive in other soils."

"In the eastern sea area, within a 100-kilometer radius of Grey Reef Port, there are only three uninhabited islands that meet its growth conditions: Black Rock Island, Mist Island, and Shoal Island."

"While marine mud and moss may exist on more distant islands, this distance doesn't reflect reality."

"Ironfeathered Eagle Beasts frequently raid Gray Reef Harbor, which means their round trips are short."

"If the nest is too far away, the food they eat to fly there to hunt is not even enough to cover the energy consumed during the trip."

"If you search these three islands one by one, you should be able to find the Ironfeather Eagle Beast's lair."

The six people exchanged glances and nodded slightly.

With only three target islands remaining, the workload of checking them one by one was greatly reduced, and it wouldn't take up too much time.

Leonard then provided some information about the Ironfeathered Eagle Beasts he possessed.

There are two main key points.

One thing is certain: the herd of eagles consists of at least fifty individuals.

In addition, their attack patterns are very fixed, usually launching surprise attacks on ports at dawn and dusk.

They most likely rest in their nests during the day.

If their nests can be found during the day, there is a good chance of catching them all.

With the nautical charts in hand and their target locked, the six men immediately began studying them and devising the best route for scouting the three islands.

On the sea shrouded in thick fog, a small fishing boat is speeding along.

The hull is made of hard black oak, and the boat is narrow and long with a shallow draft and extremely fast speed.

It has two pairs of oars on each side and a small sail at the stern, allowing it to sail by wind or be propelled by manual rowing.

The cabin was small, but it was clean and tidy, with simple storage boxes placed inside.

Several spare harpoons and a fixed heavy crossbow were also hung on both sides of the ship to deal with emergencies during navigation.

This is a vessel specifically used by the fishermen of Grey Reef Harbor for deep-sea fishing, and it's also the most suitable means of transportation Leonard found for God and his companions to use for scouting at sea. It's inconspicuous and unlikely to attract the attention of the Ironfeathered Eagle Beasts, allowing God and his team to stealthily infiltrate the beasts' lair.

It is fast enough and flexible enough to help quickly investigate the three islands.

Mist swirled around the ship, and distant islands appeared and disappeared in the distance.

Inside the cabin, Gao De and his six companions sat around a simple wooden table.

A yellowed nautical chart was spread out on the table.

"We'll be at Shallows Island soon. If we're lucky enough, we'll run into that group of Ironfeathered Eagle Beasts there," Cedric spoke first. "Given our strength, I won't waste any more words reminding you to be careful."

"But one thing must be emphasized: these Ironfeathered Eagle Beasts are by no means ordinary low-level leyline creatures. They are numerous and their combat power is considerable." "More importantly, their intelligence is not low." Cedric tapped his finger on the topographic map, paused, and looked up at the crowd.

"Therefore, once the beast extermination operation begins, as long as they realize they are outmatched, they will most likely scatter and flee immediately."

"They are avian creatures that live on the earth's veins. They fly extremely fast and are adept at hiding in the fog."

"We only have six people. If they get away, it will take more than seven days to find and deal with them one by one in the vast shallow island and its surrounding waters."

"If we cannot capture them all, then the mission cannot be considered complete."

"Therefore, we only have one chance to strike. We must eliminate them all before they have a chance to react, giving them no chance to breathe or escape."

"I'll be in charge of the main attack and containment." Cedric nodded slightly, his tone carrying a sense of self-assurance.

"I can hold back at least twenty to thirty Ironfeathered Eagle Beasts immediately, at least twenty and at most thirty, restricting their escape while also directly inflicting damage on them."

"According to Leonard, there are more than fifty Ironfeathered Eagle Beasts in this group. Let's assume there are at most sixty to allow for enough room for error."

"Then the remaining thirty will need to be handed over to you."

Although Cedric often maintained a haughty demeanor, he was truly a professional in combat, living up to his title of battle mage. Moreover, he had enough confidence to shoulder half the pressure alone.

Then, he looked at Gareth beside him, his tone softening slightly: "Gareth, your magical style is relatively less effective in large-scale beast-hunting missions like this."

"If we assign you too many Ironfeathered Eagle Beasts, we won't be able to keep up with them. But if we assign you too few, it would be a waste of your talents." He revealed the arrangement he had already thought of: "So you shouldn't take the initiative to attack. Leave the main task of beast extermination to us. You'll mainly be responsible for distraction and defense."

"Your core task is to prevent any Ironfeathered Eagle Beast from interfering with Feng Lin and me casting spells, so that we can unleash our full power without any worries."

"Once the battle breaks out, given the intelligence of those eagle beasts, they will definitely try every means to ambush me and Feng Lin."

"Once any eagle beast breaks through our control and gets close to us, you must immediately take action to eliminate it."

"how?"

Gareth, being a calm and collected man, simply replied in a flat tone, "Sure, no problem."

He wasn't burdened by much, and he knew that, as Cedric had said, he was indeed better at dealing with single elite leyline creatures. He wasn't sure he could handle ordinary leyline creatures that were determined to flee.

Cedric's arrangement was reasonable, so he naturally had no objections.

Cedric was satisfied, then looked at Feng Lin: "Feng Lin, you are in charge of overall control."

"Although you are not as good as me in terms of magical damage, your control spells have a wide range and a long duration, and you can actually control far more Ironfeathered Eagle Beasts than I can."

"You are responsible for containing the remaining eagle beasts. Your core task is not to kill them, but to trap them and prevent any of them from escaping."

"Once I've dealt with the eagle beasts on my side, I'll immediately deal with the eagle beasts you're holding back."

"Remember, control of the field is the priority. Don't let any eagle beast escape. Killing them is secondary. As long as we don't let them escape, we've won half the battle." "Okay, leave it to me." Feng Lin's eyes were bright and full of confidence.

Finally, Cedric's gaze fell on Evan: "Evan, since you are good at ambushes and advancing, given the size of this eagle pack, there is most likely a leader."

"As soon as the battle begins, you should immediately stealthily locate the eagle beast leader. If the opportunity arises, it would be best to carry out a decapitation strike and kill the leader in one fell swoop."

"With the leader dead, this group of eagle beasts will be leaderless and their formation will be in chaos, making our subsequent cleanup work much easier."

"If there's no chance of beheading, don't force it," he specifically instructed, his tone unusually concerned.

"At the very least, we must keep it pinned down, disrupt its commands, and prevent it from attending to the other eagles and beasts, thus hindering its ability to mount an effective counterattack and escape." "Once we have cleared out all the other eagles and beasts, we will immediately come over and join forces to deal with it. Do not be reckless."

"I understand," Evan replied crisply.

After assigning roles to Gareth, Feng Lin, and Evan, Cedric surveyed the group once more.

His gaze swept quickly over Gao De and Ailiya without lingering, and he asked in a deep voice, "Everyone's tasks have been assigned. We'll execute this strategy accordingly. Is everyone clear?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Arya frowned and raised her hand to ask, "What about me and Gaudí? Don't we have any specific tasks?" Cedric glanced at Gaudí and Arya and said in a nonchalant tone, "You two can do whatever you want."

While they claimed it was a free-for-all, in reality they didn't take the two from the Third Ring into account at all, assuming their strength was too low to keep up with their pace and they wouldn't be of much help.

Arya was lively and outgoing, but not stupid; she immediately understood Cedric's unspoken meaning.

A sense of dissatisfaction arose in her heart, and she pursed her lips slightly.

On the other side, Gaode remained calm.

For him, freedom of movement was more to his liking.

After all, a "full-time mage" like him can do anything.

Pre-determining his role and positioning actually hinders his performance.

A free agent is the best fit for him.

Although that was not Cedric's original intention.

The fishing boat sailed for another half hour.

Finally, the faint outline of land appeared in the distance.

We've arrived at Shallow Beach Island.

Just before the fishing boat broke through the last layer of thick sea fog and was less than 100 meters from the shore, about to slowly approach the land, Feng Lin condensed a wisp of magical light at her fingertips.

The faint light spread instantly, completely enveloping the entire fishing boat and the six people on board.

【mirage】.

It can create an illusion, disguising ships as harmless, driftwood-like objects.

From the outside, to other creatures, the fishing boat looks like just a piece of trash on the water.

Even the Ironfeathered Eagle Beast, with its keen eyesight and extremely strong perception, could not detect their presence.

Under Feng Lin's magical cover, the fishing boat quietly docked at the shore.

One by one, the group disembarked from the fishing boat and stepped onto the land of the shallow island.

Shallow Beach Island, as its name suggests, has a very shallow beach that stretches for hundreds of meters.

The seawater was clear yet murky, with the seabed covered in tiny pebbles and shells, making your feet ache when you stepped on it.

There was no vegetation on the beach, only a thin layer of grayish-white fine sand, forming small sand pits.

This island is a small, uninhabited island that is completely unsuitable for human habitation.

The island's rocks are exposed, their surfaces covered with mottled marks.

Whether it's the exposed rock crevices, the roots of shrubs, or the low-lying areas where the beach meets the land, everything is covered with a thick layer of grayish-green sea mud and moss.

It was damp, with a faint smell of seawater and humus.

It was the same sea mud and moss they had previously seen on the feathers of the Ironfeathered Eagle.

Upon landing, the group was still somewhat cautious and nervous, walking very quietly and scanning their surroundings warily.

But as they walked several hundred meters along the beach and stepped into the low bushes on the edge of the island, everyone's spirits instantly lifted, and the caution on their faces was gradually replaced by joy.

Large patches of poultry droppings were scattered on the ground. They were grayish-white, sticky, and had a pungent, fishy smell, indicating that they had been left recently.

A closer look reveals that the feces also contain some undigested clothing fibers.

These were fragments of clothing from the murdered fishermen or guards.

Without a doubt, this must be the masterpiece left by the Ironfeathered Eagle Beast.

"Found it!" Arya said in a low voice, a hint of excitement flashing in her eyes.

Just then, Evan, who had been walking at the front of the group and was in charge of scouting, stopped.

He turned slightly to the side, his fingertips lightly brushing across the surface of a bare rock beside him: "Look, this claw mark."

Following Evan's gaze, everyone saw a faint claw mark clearly imprinted on the surface of the grayish-brown rock.

The claw marks are sharp, hook-shaped, and consist of four toes with clearly defined edges.

Their size and shape are identical to the claw marks of the Ironfeathered Eagle that they had previously found on Valles Island.

"So lucky?" Cedric smiled, a rare smile appearing on his face, but he quickly suppressed it.

"We've only searched the first island, and we've already found their trail. It seems we'll be able to complete the mission soon." Gao De, however, was not so optimistic. He frowned slightly and looked towards the central area of ​​the island.

From the very first moment he learned of this mission, he was thinking about one thing:

For hundreds of years, there had never been any trace of Ironfeathered Eagles in Valles Island and the surrounding waters. Why have they suddenly appeared here now?

There must be a demon in the abnormal situation.

From the moment he landed on the island, Gao De opened his Mandora's Eye.

Sure enough, he discovered something unusual.

At the center of this island, a faint yet violent wind elemental energy spreads outwards like invisible ripples.

This energy is different from natural wind; it is extremely destructive yet remarkably stable, like an inexhaustible source.

Moreover, the closer the island is to the center, the more concentrated this energy becomes.

Using the far-sightedness and microscopic abilities of Mandora's Eye, God could see that the closer one got to the center of the island, the finer the cracks on the rock surface, like a spider web covering the stone.

In addition, a layer of fine white stone powder floated in the air, and a light inhalation would cause one's throat to tighten.

These are traces of rocks eroded and weathered over a long period of time.

Natural weathering is normal, but the density of the stone powder before them was far beyond what was expected, so dense that it could form a thin mist in the air, something that could not have been caused by natural forces. This anomaly was not noticed by Gao De alone; although the others did not have the Mandora's Eye, they each had their own specialties.

Evan, especially, is skilled in tracking and investigation, and his sensitivity to detail far surpasses that of ordinary people; no subtle anomaly escapes his notice. "The rocks here are weathered too severely, contrary to the laws of nature."

"Furthermore, the soil here was originally clay rich in humus, which is sticky and extremely difficult to weather." "But just a hundred meters away from the beach, it already shows signs of slight sandification, becoming loose and dry."

Something's not right about this island.

"The source of this strangeness might be the reason why the Ironfeathered Eagle Beast suddenly appeared," Evan said with a serious expression, picking up some dust from the rock and showing it to everyone.