Leo opened his eyes and rose from the riverbank, then continued in a sorrowful voice:
“Kozmo and I were at the rear during the march. You know, Major, Kozmo’s health has never been very good. He couldn’t walk fast.
“When we reached the river channel above the waterfall, I heard a splash behind me. I turned and saw the current knock Kozmo over. I tried to save him, but drowning people thrash around wildly, and the river swept me away too.
“After we went over the waterfall, we were separated.
“I searched along the river for a long time, but I couldn’t find him...”
Major Willy Belloc had no reason to doubt him. Everyone at the Military Academy knew that Leo and Kozmo had been very close, so it never occurred to him to suspect foul play.
Seeing Leo’s sorrowful expression, Major Willy Belloc felt miserable as well.
To be honest, he had never liked Kozmo. The cadet was always slow and lax during training for reasons no one understood, and he did little to inspire goodwill.
Still, as an instructor, Major Willy would do his duty and search in earnest.
He surveyed the surroundings. Marks left by a weapon covered a huge boulder. Major Willy assumed that someone, frustrated and angry, had taken out their feelings on the stone.
Major Willy Belloc said, “The chances are slim, but it’s too soon to give up. Let’s try again.”
Leo rallied his spirits and looked downstream. “Yes, Major. We should try again.”
The tall Major Willy extended his right hand toward Leo. “Grab my arm.”
Leo hurriedly slung the round shield and longsword over his back, then seized Major Willy’s right arm with both hands.
Before Leo’s eyes, the chain dart coiled around Major Willy’s left arm clattered with a metallic ring and shot upward like a silver dragon, stabbing into a tree trunk above them.
With a dull thud, the iron dart at the chain’s tip sank into the trunk. Major Willy had not moved, yet the chain suddenly drew taut and pulled him into the air.
Leo gripped his arm with all his strength and was pulled up as well.
The chain dart guided the two of them nimbly. Following Major Willy’s will, it swung them between the trunks and carried them forward as though they were riding a swing.
The complicated terrain below posed no obstacle. Wind roared past Leo’s ears.
Watching Major Willy move like Tarzan, Leo marveled inwardly.
So this is what makes a C-grade mage formidable.
The Iron Chain Silver Dragon Technique was the signature spell of a C-grade Form Mage. It could freely manipulate iron chains, changing their shape according to the mage’s will.
This was only its use for travel. In combat, with two chain darts swinging, it would be like having two venomous snakes constantly searching for the weakest point in an enemy’s defenses.
Judging by the way Major Willy used one spell after another, he had to be a high-level C-grade mage. After each period of sleep, he could use his spells dozens of times.
The Military Academy was crucial to the Count of Blackport County and even to Duke Blois Cavendish, so its instructors held very high military ranks.
Whether they were mage majors or field-training instructors, they were at least majors and C-grade mages. Even the officers who taught humanities courses such as military history were field-grade officers.
The only sound in the forest was Major Willy’s chain whistling through the air. Soon, it carried the two of them out of the woods.
Once they emerged, Major Willy’s method of travel was no longer suitable.
Ahead lay a long slope descending diagonally. The nearby farmers had cut down every tree on the hillside.
A small mountain stream ran down the slope and joined the Menau River at the foot of the mountain.
Neither the stream before them nor the Menau River showed anything unusual. That was bad news. If a corpse had been floating in the water, plenty of people would have gathered to watch.
Major Willy and Leo exchanged a glance. Clearly, neither of them had found anything.
The chain dart sprang into action. The first dart shaved away the entire crown of a tree, while the second severed the trunk from its roots. The chain wrapped around the trunk and threw it into the river.
Major Willy reached out, tucked Leo under his arm, and leaped onto the log canoe he had just made.
The canoe sank low in the water and carried them downstream.
Leo clung tightly to Major Willy’s elbow, struggling to keep his balance.
Major Willy could no longer stand watching Leo wobble. He said, “Leo, a mage’s soul is far stronger than an ordinary person’s, and a mage has much greater control over their nerves. After deliberate training, a mage’s control over their muscles should also be far more precise than an ordinary person’s.
“Your bodily coordination is still a problem. Relax first, then feel your muscles as they exert force.”
Leo focused on his muscles. He adjusted those in his thighs and along his sides to keep himself balanced. Gradually, he began to understand how to apply force.
When they reached the confluence of the unnamed mountain stream and the Menau River, Major Willy used the chain dart as an anchor and secured the log canoe in place.
He questioned a farmer on the bank. When the farmer saw Major Willy’s officer’s uniform, he hurriedly said that he had not seen anyone float downstream.
The two continued searching along the Menau River.
The Menau was a fairly large river within Blackport County. It eventually flowed into the much wider Loire River.
The Loire was the largest river in the Kingdom of Manchel, running almost from north to south through the entire kingdom. It was said that Duke Blois Cavendish had been born beside the Loire and that his baron father had named him Blois after the river.
Who could have imagined that the baron’s son would grow into the respected Duke of the Peninsula during the Order War fifty years earlier?
Major Willy continued drifting with Leo toward the lower reaches of the Menau River.
Major Willy muttered to himself, “The Menau is only twenty meters wide, while the Loire is a full eighty meters across. If he reached the Loire, finding him will be difficult. We’ll have to contact the fleet of Blackport County for help...”
As a C-grade mage and a major, submitting an official request to the navy would be easy for him.
However, according to Leo’s memories, the Unicorn Legion’s navy was not very strong. It operated mainly in coastal waters and along the Loire River.
At the confluence of the Menau and the Loire, Major Willy and Leo both leaped ashore.
The log canoe drifted away on its own, heading toward the broad waters of the Loire.
The river rolled on in torrents. No one could easily find anything within it.
Major Willy threw his cigarette butt into the Loire and exhaled his last breath of smoke. “All we can do is report Kozmo Enwei’s disappearance to the Academy. Once I’m back, I’ll contact the navy and ask them to lend a hand too.”
Leo swept his gaze from side to side. “In a situation like this, people along the banks would usually be the first to find a body floating in the water...”
Major Willy nodded. “We’ll also have to offer a reward. Major General Stuart will certainly be happy to pay for it.
“In any case, let’s return to the Military Academy first. Once we’re back, write me a report on the Kozmo incident immediately. Get it to me as soon as possible.”
All awakened mages from the six counties of the duke’s domain were sent to this Military Academy. Major General Stuart, whom Major Willy had just mentioned, was the academy’s superintendent.
It was said that the old duke did not want young reserve mage officers to have their eyes dazzled by gold, silver, and fine wine. That was why the Military Academy had not been built in Coldlance City, the capital of the duke’s domain, and instead stood a considerable distance from Blackport City.
The two turned and headed toward the Military Academy.
Comments