Elite Mages’ Academy (Web Novel)
chapter-78

Chapter 78: The Final Madness

“I don’t think the woman will lie unless she really doesn’t care about her lover’s life!”

“He’s a secret lover too! That man looks like he’s a guard and the woman looks as though she’s the heir to a big family. Knowing usual plot developments, their love affair will definitely be forbidden in all aspects, and the woman might even have a grudge against her family and country…”

“Do you think this is a f*cking Korean romance drama! What if this woman is a fanatical patriot?”

“Reality is often more unpredictable than a TV series… But the human countries in the Norma world seem to be similar to the Earth’s ancient feudal and slavery systems. I don’t think their loyalty to the country is high in any way.”

“Why not! Are you saying that there are no real patriots in China’s thousands of years of history?”

“That’s not what I meant!”

…

Xiao Lin smiled wryly and stopped everyone when he saw that they were all arguing in the midst of the discussion.

Regardless of whether or not he would end up implementing the infiltration plan, he made ample preparations for it during the next few days. The caravan contained about a hundred barrels of wine, the barrels of which were made of oak-like materials. Some of it was damaged in the previous battle, and everyone drank a lot in the past two days, leaving only about 70 to 80 barrels remaining.

The animal that pulled the caravan was called a camel fowl, but that was no doubt the nickname given by the academy and its actual name in Planet Norma did not really matter. The creature looked like a rooster but ten times bigger. Most notably, it had a huge brownish-yellow fleshy crown on its head and vestigial wings. After asking the Normans about the creature, he learnt that it inhabited the canyon’s nearby rock formations and fed on the lithophytic plants present there.

Everyone was busy feeding those animals and waited until the last day arrived.

The past few days had been rather calm. Zhou Feng went to the nearby areas to scout a few more times and the situation was far from optimistic. The wolf cavalry entered the canyon more frequently, and each time, they were expanding the scope of their reconnaissance. It remained unknown what the captives said to make the enemy so interested in them.

When the last day arrived, everyone got up early and packed everything up while the sky was still dark. According to their plan, Xiao Lin would bring a couple of people to escort the Norma woman to the camp of the border garrison. If everything went well, they would complete the gathering of intelligence on the defense layout and bring the woman back safely.

If they were lucky enough and happened to encounter the wolf cavalry squadron’s captain, Xiao Lin would consider poisoning the wine. So long as the other party drank the poisoned wine, Xiao Lin was confident that he could use his Ice Bullet to kill the opponent in seconds then, no matter how strong the opponent was. In that case, the second optional task could also be successfully completed.

As time went by, the anxiety that lingered in Xiao Lin’s heart became stronger and stronger, making him a little irritable. Other people could sense that he was not in a good mood and the atmosphere before their departure was a little tense.

“The woman said that she would like to see that man again for the last time.” Xiao Lin was vehemently opposed to Gu Xiaoyue’s inclusion in the infiltration plan and forcibly excluded her from it. The others were somewhat puzzled, but it was inappropriate for Xiao Lin to explain it to the others. In fact, the girl has only two years of life left and she could not afford to waste it.

Xiao Lin was in a petulant mood after listening to Gu Xiaoyue’s translation and was about to wave his hand to refuse. All of a sudden, he became suspicious. “Hold on, are you sure that the Norma woman said ‘for the last time’?”

Gu Xiaoyue adjusted her glasses and thought for a moment before nodding with certainty. “I’m certain that there’s no error in translation for this term.”

Xiao Lin felt the uneasy shadow in his heart was expanding rapidly. He seemed to have caught on to something, but he could not put his finger on it for certain. Logic told him to immediately abandon the optional tasks, but the rewards for the mandatory tasks were very limited. Anyone who had even a sliver of ambition would not give up those rewards so easily.

“Do you think the woman still has any mental strength?” Xiao Lin asked. He acknowledged that he was inferior to Gu Xiaoyue’s understanding of spells.

Gu Xiaoyue answered with certainty. “Her body is already in a state of collapse. In fact, I suspect that she’ll die on the road before getting to the barracks. She can no longer cast spells, especially spells with a higher need for mental power like the Flame Shield!”

“Let that woman see her lover!” Xiao Lin finally agreed, but he also followed the Norma woman. The woman just glanced at him indifferently and her haggard face was completely without feeling. It was as though she had zero attachment to anything.

The two Normans met again, though there was a distinct lack of excitement that time. A trace of sadness appeared on the man’s face and there was a long silence. Neither said a word, as if they were speaking only with their gazes.

Just as everyone was getting impatient, the Norma woman suddenly spoke up. Days of torture made her voice very hoarse, but her tone was still firm and low. Every time she uttered a word, her whole body trembled slightly, as if she was exerting her utmost best.

Xiao Lin instinctively turned to Gu Xiaoyue. The girl frowned, shook her head, and said, “I don’t understand any of it, but I’m pretty sure that these words are not ordinary Normese. The language is completely different from Norma’s common language. Could it really be a regional dialect?”

Xiao Lin hesitated for less than a second before his gaze became determined.

[Replication skill, activate!]

[Target: Scanning Basic Linguistics]

[Passive skills: Ancient Normese (Northern Dialect) MAX]

[Evaluation level: F. Replication is possible!]

Ancient Normese? Although it was not Standard Normese, Xiao Lin hesitated no more and decisively chose to copy the Ancient Normese skill.

Replication was successful! The obscure vocabulary immediately became clear.

The Norma couple looked at each other affectionately and with resolution. Every single Ancient word was uttered very slowly, “… O Almighty Ancient One… I am willing to sacrifice my soul and my life…in exchange for the power that I beseech…”

Xiao Lin barely heard a few words and the hairs on his body were already standing on edge. The woman was not saying goodbye to her lover at all. Those words were clearly some kind of spell, or some kind of curse prepared before a sacrifice!

It was already too late for him to analyze why the Norma woman who had near-zero mental strength could still use it. Xiao Lin quickly pulled out the novice wand from his waist. Under everyone’s shocked and puzzled gazes, as well as the bewildered and angry gaze of the Norma man, an ice bullet shot out and struck instantly at close distance.

The woman stared in disbelief at the ice blade that penetrated her chest and her chanting stopped abruptly. She looked at the man before her and opened her mouth to say something, but in the end, she could only spit out a mouthful of blood and fall limply to the ground.

The Norma man went berserk, as if about to rush toward Xiao Lin. Zhou Feng and the others reacted in time and held the man back, but their punches and kicks proved useless against the man’s frenzied struggle at that point. Aside from him, the other captive Normans in the cave tried to stand up after witnessing the death of the woman. Despite having their hands tied behind their backs, they even attempted to bite at them with their mouths.

Someone’s ear was bitten off amidst all the wailing and screaming.