Close Combat Mage
chapter-200

Suddenly seeing the Angelic Six-Winged Phoenixes pull out those rumored emblems, the Blackbeard thief group was momentarily dazed. These were the tyrannical powers that had conquered the Gold Triangle! Even the Great Tri-Alliance couldn’t do anything against them. Now they had even come here; did that mean they didn’t care about their agreement with the Great Tri-Alliance at all?

The 36 Angelic Six-Winged Phoenixes opened the cloaks behind them. All 36 figures rose up into the sky, drawing out paths of light, whizzing as they leapt down from the city walls and directly charged at the Blackbeard thief group.

“Mother of…hurry up and run!” After the slightest contact, the black-clothed thieves were cut up into pieces like mere vegetables by the Angelic Six-Winged Phoenixes. Seeing this scene, how could anyone dare to stay any longer? A single shout was enough to send all the thieves scurrying for their lives in all directions.

Against the fleeing thief group, the 36 Angelic Six-Winged Phoenixes were reluctant to chase them around all over the place, and directly beheaded over 100 of them. Only a few dozen tiny pests had successfully escaped.

Of course, if these women really wanted to chase after them, none of them would be able to even dream of running. However…running away wasn’t anything major. If they fled, then they fled. No one was willing to chase after them; there would surely be another chance to meet. The Angelic Six-Winged Phoenixes wanted to spare some to bring back a message; otherwise, if nobody knew what happened, no one would come after for revenge.

After hacking up the last enemy, the Angelic Six-Winged Phoenixes turned around and flew back to city walls like birds. Going into battle and back, they were like the wind, both light and unrestrained, not at all like they had just killed enemies.

Seeing how overpowering the Angelic Six-Winged Phoenixes were, Naifa Lian’s face turned deathly pale. Originally…her opinion on herself had been quite high, and she believed that she was still quite a figure. However, after seeing the actions of the Angelic Six-Winged Phoenixes, she suddenly realized that she was pretty much nothing!

Before, Naifa Lian had thought that after following Suo Jia, she’d surely be one of the top numbered figures in his group. However, she was now certain that her own power would rank below the Angelic Six-Winged Phoenixes’. She just wasn’t sure how many such figures were exactly by Suo Jia’s side.

Seeing Naifa Lian’s deathly pale face, Suo Jia couldn’t help but smile. Comparing to the Angelic Six-Winged Phoenixes was something this girl was still unable to do. Their talents were definitely the children that the Heavens were proud of. They also wore semi-Epic ranked equipment. Although the enemy numbers were high, even the Empire’s marshals weren’t as highly ranked as the girls were. Their surroundings and equipment that had been growing were all enough to flabbergast a marshal. Suo Jia could no longer keep track of how much money he had spent on them. In addition, they’d undoubtedly keep spending more and more in the future.

Suo Jia looked towards Naifa Lian at the city entrance and said, “Alright, I’ve already saved your family. From now own, you are my person. Mn…how about this; for the moment, act as my follower!”

“Eh!” Hearing Suo Jia’s words, Naifa Lian couldn’t help but be shocked. She hadn’t ever imagined that she’d only become a follower, not much more powerful than a maid. However, when she recalled the Angelic Six-Winged Phoenixes’ display, how could she possibly refute?

Naifa Lian bitterly chuckled as she shook her head and helplessly said, “Alright, Viscount Suo Jia. From now on, I’m your follower. But what about my family? What arrangements have you planned for them?”

Suo Jia replied, “You’ll all station yourselves outside the city for now. I’ll send people to bring you tents. In a few days, I’ll dispatch people to escort you guys out of here to wherever you guys want to be. As for where that is, it is your decision.”

Suo Jia paused slightly, then told Naifa Lian, “Ok, for now…you should enter the city. I have matters to discuss with you.” Suo Jia turned around and leapt off the wall, heading back towards the city lord’s mansion.

Following closely behind, Duo Mei teased, “What? Did that little beauty catch Young Master’s eye?”

“Mn…” Nodding his head, Suo Jia smiled, “She did catch my attention. You’re quite perceptive, hehe…”

“Ah!” Duo Mei’s jaw dropped in shock. Originally…she had just been poking fun at Suo Jia. She hadn’t imagined that Suo Jia would just admit it. For a moment, Duo Mei could feel some unknown, aching feeling in her heart. It was slightly depressing as well.

Suspiciously glancing at Duo Mei, Suo Jia continued, “However, what caught my eye wasn’t her beauty, but her magical footwork. No matter what, I must learn it from her. Could it be that you hadn’t noticed? Her footwork is quite strange; it makes it hard for others to lock onto her body’s location!”

Duo Mei naturally regained her spirits at Suo Jia’s words, and nodded, “That’s what I was saying; how could Young Master be infatuated by a girl? There was surely some other reason.” Duo Mei patted her chest and heaved a sigh of relief.

They rushed back to the city lord’s mansion and soon after, Naifa Lian entered the doors as well with her strange steps. She respectfully greeted Suo Jia, then said, “Viscount Suo Jia, please tell me if you have any matters you’d like me to attend to.”

Suo Jia shook his head and said, “Don’t. Don’t call me Viscount Suo Jia; just Suo Jia is fine. If you aren’t used to it, calling me Young Master is fine too, I like that form of address.”

Naifa Lian nodded with a smile and said, “Alright Young Master. May I ask what business you have with me?”

“Mn…” After a bit, Suo Jia replied, “It’s like this; I just arrived at Dawn City, so I’m not familiar with the area. I want you to help show me around, then gather everyone together so that you can help me quickly take over Dawn City. You are also aware that because of you, I’ve already irritated the Thief Alliance. We must hurry up and raise defenses!

Naifa Lian shot Suo Jia a shamed glance. She knew that for the sake of saving her family, Suo Jia had made a huge risk. He’d even gone and provoked an Alliance with over 180 thief groups. The resulting consequences were extremely grave.

Naifa Lian then said, “That’s no problem, Young Master. The regular soldiers are all within the army camps on the left and right sides of Dawn City. There are 5,000 of them on each side. As for the slave soldiers, they all live in buildings within the city. As long as you sound the alarm bell, they’ll quickly gather in the plaza.”

Suo Jia immediately turned around to say to Duo Mei, “Immediately send someone to ring the alarm bell. We don’t have any time to waste.”

Soon after Suo Jia made the command…the heavy sound of the bell rang through the entire city. Hearing this, numerous figures poured out of the run-down houses in Dawn City. Like a river, they all flowed through the alleys and quickly gathered at the plaza.

After half an hour, Suo Jia, accompanied by the 36 Angelic Six-Winged Phoenixes and Naifa Lian, arrived at the plaza’s inspection stage. Suo Jia couldn’t help but gasp at the sight of the densely packed crowds of people. This was the first time in his life that he’d ever seen so many people gathered together.

How could 100,000 people be described? They were as many as the mountains and the seas. However…although the number of people was great, they all looked emaciated. They didn’t have anything resembling armor on their bodies either. Majority of them were only wearing coarse clothing, and the wooden sticks in their hands were their weapons.

It was disappointing, very disappointing. Suo Jia didn’t have any expectations for the slave soldiers, but he still hadn’t imagined that their situation would be bad to such an extent. How could they even count as soldiers? If they were sent to battle like this, it’d just be sending them to their deaths. He couldn’t count on them being of any use.

Suo Jia tightly knit his brows and closely examined the crowd. It was evident that these slave soldiers weren’t adequately provided for. Once a battle started, they’d end up as the first line of defense and use their own bodies as shields to block the enemy’s advances. Although they could damage the enemy to some extent, 100 slave soldiers could only be exchanged for a single enemy’s life. Pounding wooden sticks against a steel armor wouldn’t be enough at all. Especially now that these soldiers were in a state of hunger, what kind of hopes could Suo Jia possibly have for them?