Above the mage

Chapter 787 Sentinels

Judging solely from the conditions offered, the Silver Dragon Cavalry is no stronger than the Vanguard of Justice; they are simply each in their own way.

But what Lake said is their biggest bargaining chip and the source of his greatest confidence.

Now all three military mages know that Grand Duke Wang Mian is willing to use his authority to make an exception and vouch for Gao De.

This is enough to prove that Gaode has a close relationship with the Wang Mian family, which has a profound history.

Richard Wang Mian, the heir of the Wang Mian family, is also a general of the Silver Dragon Cavalry and one of the most powerful figures in the Silver Dragon Cavalry.

If Gao De can join the Silver Dragon Cavalry, with the backing of General Richard's top-tier connections, all institutional constraints and seniority-based suppression will disappear, and his path forward will be unobstructed.

This is something that neither of the other two companies possesses, and something they absolutely cannot promise to provide.

Compared to fixed resources and benefits, this growth guarantee that breaks through the shackles of the system is the real top-tier opportunity.

Under normal circumstances, the Silver Dragon Cavalry is definitely the best choice for Gaode.

Faced with Lake's suggestion, Gao De nodded seriously and said, "I will consider it carefully and give you an answer as soon as possible."

"Okay." Seeing that his sincerity had been conveyed, Lake stopped trying to persuade him.

As a lieutenant general of the Silver Dragon Cavalry, he naturally possessed a high sense of pride. Taking the initiative to strive for it was already an exceptional act, and he would never go to great lengths to persuade others.

Like Xiao Lai before him, he acted decisively and swiftly, leaving no unnecessary details, and turned to leave.

However, this time after Lake left, Gao De did not return to the second floor.

He asked the staff to hang a "Closed" sign at the door, and then waited on the first floor for the last customer.

Sure enough, about fifteen minutes later, soft footsteps were heard again at the shop entrance.

A figure in pure white pushed open the unlocked door and slowly walked in.

This time, a female mage has arrived, and she is the youngest among Xiao Lai and Lake.

After entering, she stood inside the doorway, her gaze slowly sweeping across the entire shop before finally settling on Gaode, who was clearly already waiting for a long time.

Gao De looked up and met his gaze calmly.

"Asia, the Sentinel of Light," Asia introduced herself calmly.

Gaode is not surprised.

He had guessed this after Lake arrived.

In this regard, the three military mages must have reached some kind of tacit understanding.

As Ya Si finished speaking, she lightly raised her fingertips, and a translucent white jade plaque slowly floated out and landed in front of Gao De.

This also shows that the three major military mages have very different styles, to the point that even their nameplates are different.

After confirming the identity, Gao De returned the nameplate to Ya Si and nodded slightly, saying, "Lieutenant General Ya Si."

Yasi nodded slightly: "Actually, I've been paying attention to you for much longer than you think, and much longer than those two guys."

.

Gao De paused for a moment, then suddenly understood: "Is it because of my background as a sea sentinel?"

"That's right." Yass answered frankly, and slowly explained the reason: "The Light Sentinels were originally derived from the Sea Sentinels, and they share the same bloodline."

"Therefore, we have always been lenient with new recruits from the Sea Sentinel background and will lower the entry threshold slightly. This is a factional tradition that has been continued."

"But even with this preferential treatment, no one from the Sea Sentinels has been able to knock on the door of my Light Sentinels for decades."

"So after we learned that you, a former Sea Sentinel mage, had joined the Golden Flower Dynasty mage team as a substitute, we started to keep an eye on you."

"At first, I only thought you were a promising newcomer among the Sea Sentinels, with potential, but I never expected you to get this far and have such an amazing performance."

Her tone was candid, without any deliberate flattery, only an objective recognition of Gaode.

"I know that both the Vanguard of Justice and the Silver Dragon Riders have offered you good terms."

Yass said slowly, "To be frank, the preferential treatment given by the Sentinels of Light will not exceed their standards."

"Our three factions have their own unspoken rules for recruiting talent. We can make exceptions to a certain extent, but we will never engage in endless infighting."

"I know," Gao De nodded in understanding.

Just like in the past life when Tsinghua and Peking Universities competed for the top scholar, although everyone displayed their unique abilities, they all kept it within a certain range, adhered to the bottom line, and did not exceed the limit.

Compared to the other two's direct verbal promises, Ya Si's actions were more meticulous and thorough.

She reached out and took out a complete roll of frosted parchment, handing it to Gao De: "This is the official preferential treatment document drafted by my Light Sentinels. All the exceptional rights, resource quotas, and privileges are listed in detail, and there is a basis for it."

Gao De took the parchment, ran his fingertips over the delicate paper, and quickly unfolded it to read.

The content and entries are numerous, detailing in detail the exceptional resources he can obtain after joining the Light Sentinels.

Each one is generous and extremely tempting.

However, a closer look reveals that all preferential treatment comes with a dynamic assessment mechanism:

If he is unable to maintain his current top-tier combat strength and growth rate, his resource allocation will gradually decrease.

However, Gaode can understand, after all, examples of prodigies who failed to live up to their potential exist in every world.

After Gao De carefully reviewed the documents, Ya Si spoke up again: "Compared to the Silver Dragon Cavalry and the Vanguard of Justice, the biggest characteristic of us Light Sentinels, and what I think is probably the most attractive thing to you, is that we Light Sentinels are relatively the most free."

"You are an extremely rare all-around mage, with a complex and well-balanced system, and you need ample room for growth and time to develop independently."

"Silver Dragon Cavalry's heavy dragon-bird cooperation: although joining the team will grant you precious dragon-birds, you will also have to spend a lot of time and energy training to cooperate with the dragon-birds and master a large number of supporting enhancement spells, which will limit your growth path to some extent."

"The mission of the Vanguard of Justice is arduous. Behind the massive amount of combat experience and military merit resources is a time that is almost completely filled, leaving very little room for personal study and independent research."

"Only we, the Light Sentinels, are a product of the Sea Sentinels' system, which is based primarily on voluntary missions and supplemented by regular assessments."

"In the Sentinels of Light, if you want to accumulate resources quickly, you can accept high-intensity missions to exchange for them, just like you would in the Vanguard of Justice."

"If you feel that you need a period of reflection and in-depth study, you can temporarily reduce your workload and focus your time on areas that you feel require more investment."

"Here, you will have a choice."

"You can carefully weigh the pros and cons of all three parties; there's no need to make a hasty decision."

Yass finally spoke calmly, her demeanor dignified and poised, "We, the Sentinels of Light, await your reply."

After speaking, she said no more and prepared to turn and leave.

Gao De glanced down at the parchment on the counter.

The Light Sentinels, Silver Dragon Cavalry, and Vanguard of Justice are the three top military mages of the dynasty, and their selection criteria have always been extremely strict.

They select only the most outstanding talents from the military mages' organizations and mages' academies in each prefecture, and conduct rigorous assessments at every level, preferring to leave no one unqualified.

If someone doesn't meet the entry requirements, they'd rather leave the position vacant than lower their standards to accept someone.

For decades, no military mage has received a nomination for recruitment by the three major ranks, such as the Sea Sentinels.

Today, the three top military mages have actually come to him with generous offers to recruit him.

If this gets out, I wonder how many people will envy it.

Choosing which one to choose is indeed a difficult decision.

The three military mages each have their own characteristics and advantages.

However... Gaode actually made its decision a long time ago.

As Yas said, the Sentinel of Light values ​​"freedom" most highly.

Although his need for freedom was not for the reasons that Yas thought.

He did it simply to make it easier to return to the North.

Gao De placed the documents on the counter to the side and called out to Ya Si, who was about to leave.

"Lieutenant General Yass, there's no need to wait any longer, I can give you an answer now." His voice was crystal clear in the quiet shop.

"Hmm?" Yass paused, turning back with a hint of confusion.

"I choose the Sentinels of Light." High Dee's tone was firm, without the slightest hesitation.

If you already have a choice in mind, waiting for the best price is just pretentious.

Gaode is not that kind of person.

Moreover, the Light Sentinels had already shown great sincerity, and the fact that Lieutenant General Yass personally came to recruit them gave them a lot of face.

He responded immediately, which also showed his sincerity.

As expected, after a brief moment of surprise, Ya Si immediately smiled upon receiving Gaode's immediate reply.

She became increasingly satisfied with Gaode.

"Gaode, welcome to the Sentinels of Light."

Yass said, "I believe you definitely won't regret this decision."

"If you ever have any trouble with the Sentinels of Light in the future, you can come to me."

"Thank you, Lieutenant General Yass." Yass's promise was quite a big one, making Gao De feel "flattered" and he quickly replied.

Normally, since he had already decided to choose the Sentinels of Light, As didn't need to be so polite to him.

"I really look forward to your future performance." Yasi was in a good mood and gave Gao De another word of encouragement.

"Your schedule has been incredibly packed this past year, from the gymnastics challenge to the magic fighting tournament, with no rest all year round. I can give you a long vacation first. You can report to the Light Sentinel within three months," Yass said after a moment's thought.

"I will go and report as soon as possible," Gao De readily agreed.

A biting wind swept across the land, carrying fine snowflakes, but it couldn't dispel the breathtaking scene before my eyes.

.

An endless expanse of golden wheat fields stretches across the frozen ground.

This frozen tundra in the north, which should have been barren and desolate, gave birth to vast tracts of fertile land, a miracle for the entire continent.

After a brief silence, Kana snapped back to reality, the astonishment in his eyes turning into intense surprise and realization.

He murmured to himself, "No wonder—no wonder they were willing to pay such a huge reward just to gather intelligence on the northern border."

Corwin's pupils suddenly brightened as he stared intently at the boundless wheat fields before him.

"The North has changed." His voice trembled slightly, tinged with barely concealed excitement. "It's no longer isolated from the world..."

Barren, frigid, and desolate frozen soil.

"To cultivate such a large-scale wheat field on permafrost is no simple matter of improving crops."

Corwin's gaze swept greedily across the entire field: "There must be some incredible secret hidden here, such as a rare magical mineral vein, a special phenomenon, or an unknown treasure."

"Moreover, with a stable food output, all the rich, untapped resources in the North have the capital for large-scale mining and long-term cultivation."

The mercenaries standing behind him were also unable to contain their excitement.

Their weathered faces were filled with ecstasy and greed, and the gloom that had been building up for days vanished completely.

"We're rich! We're really rich now!" a mercenary couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice, his tone burning with excitement.

"For a vast expanse of fertile land to spring up from the frozen wasteland, this is nothing short of a miracle! It must be an incredible stroke of luck and a priceless treasure appearing in the North!"

Everyone's minds started to wander.

Everyone knew perfectly well that simply discovering the anomalies in the northern border and finding vast fields of frozen wheat would be enough to secure an exorbitant reward from their employer, enough to make the entire team rich and secure their livelihood for the rest of their lives.

But this is only a safety net.

The real allure lies in the ultimate secret hidden beneath this mutated land.

The source of the ability to overturn the millennia-old landscape of the North and create extraordinary wheat fields must be an unparalleled opportunity far exceeding any reward.

If they could uncover the truth and even seize a sliver of opportunity or treasure, their gains would be a hundred or a thousand times the reward.

Adventure and greed are instincts ingrained in the very bones of mercenaries.

After two days of trekking through snow-covered mountains, losing half of their companions, and paying a heavy price to reach this point.

After discovering something so astonishing, no one wanted to simply accept a guaranteed minimum payment and call it a day.

Corwin took a deep breath, suppressing the surging greed in his heart, and quickly regained his composure. He ordered in a deep voice, "Kana, you and I are good at stealth and evading detection. Go forward and investigate thoroughly to find out the details and intelligence of this wheat field."

"The rest of you shall remain in place and keep your positions strictly hidden. No one shall make any rash moves or utter any unauthorized sounds."

Everyone quickly composed themselves, suppressed their restless joy, and held their breath, gazing intently at the distant wheat field.

Just as Corwin and his companion bent down, preparing to step forward to investigate...

Phew! ! !

A clear, sharp cry of an eagle, piercing through the wind and snow, suddenly resounded from the high heavens.

The high-pitched and passionate voice shattered the silence of the entire snowfield.

The hairs on everyone's bodies stood on end instantly, a chill ran through them, and all their movements froze.

Everyone instinctively looked up.

A silver-white figure swirled rapidly in the sky, its movements as swift as lightning.

It was a falcon covered entirely in frosty white feathers.

With wings as white as snow and a streamlined body cutting through the cold wind, its sharp eagle eyes were icy and piercing. It looked down at the mercenary squad below with unwavering focus, making it impossible for anyone to look directly at it.

Magic Falcon, Azure Sky!

Falcons are among the most adept at reconnaissance.

As a mutant species, Canglan possesses astonishing reconnaissance abilities.

Its usual task is to patrol the vast wheat fields and around Phoenix, looking for anything unusual.

Especially after the appearance of Void creatures, Sunefa placed even greater emphasis on vigilance.

Canglan conducts high-intensity patrols every day.

Therefore, it wasn't just good luck that they were able to find the mercenary group so quickly.

Everyone in the mercenary group felt their hair stand on end under the lock of Azure Eagle Eye.

The appearance and imposing presence of the Azure Mist bird clearly indicate that it is no ordinary bird.

"Damn it, we've been spotted! Let's retreat!" With his rich experience, Corwin immediately judged that Canglan might be a sentinel in this wheat field and made a decisive decision on the spot.

The team reacted quickly. Although they were momentarily stunned, they immediately prepared to evacuate after Corwin's low shout.

But it was too late.

Canglan flapped its wings and let out another sharp cry.

The sound carries a special magical energy, penetrating the wind and snow and traveling far away; it is a precise warning signal.

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