Versatile Mage (Web Novel)
chapter-2308

Chapter 2308: Savage Bull Riders

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“An Advanced Necromancer could already use the swamp to kill so many Federation soldiers,” Mo Fan sighed.

He was seriously worried about the Federation.

The Federation Army had reacted too slowly. The army they had gathered within ten hours after the war broke out was lacking in strength and discipline. On the other hand, the Brown Rebels had clearly come prepared. The Frenzy Liquid had also turned them into heartless murderers.

An Advanced Mage could normally only kill a few hundred weaker Mages at most. Only strong Advanced Mages could kill a thousand enemies.

Even if a Necromancer had the advantage of the environment and the element of surprise, it was still impossible for him to kill four thousand people by himself. It meant the Federation’s soldiers were no different from common militia.

They just had to watch how the soldiers reacted to learn the truth. Their first reaction when they saw the Skeleton Demon Trees was to flee for their lives, instead of putting up a fight.

The more they ran, the deeper they sank into the mud. Their only outcome would have been dying of suffocation under the mud and being turned into the Necromancer’s skeletons!

“The Brown Rebels must have a lot more people like him. I wonder how many soldiers the Federation Army will have left after we pass through the woods and the swamp!” Mu Bai rubbed his temples.

The three of them had to use Advanced Magic to take down Bucker.

The enemies surely had scouts in the vicinity. They must have reported to their superiors that the enemy troop had three Advanced Mages.

It was like playing a game of Land Battle Chess. A player would probe the enemy with their expandable pieces when they had no idea what the enemy’s pieces were. However, they would keep an eye on the pieces that ate their Platoon Leaders.

{TL Note: Land Battle Chess is a Chinese board game similar to Stratego.}

The player would send a piece higher than the rank of a Platoon Leader next.

The trio did not want to expose their strength too early, as it would only alert the Brown Rebels that a strong enemy piece was getting closer to their flag, and they would respond by sending out stronger troops and pieces. A few regiments a thousand strong would be enough to wear them out.

Unfortunately, the Federation Army was unreliable. It had already suffered great casualties before the real battle took place!

——

“Are you done with the headcount?” Mo Fan asked Lt. Colonel Mason.

“I did, we only have around two hundred men left… Hang on, shouldn’t you be the one doing the headcount? Shouldn’t I be asking you that question, since I’m the commander?” Mason realized.

“Fine, I won’t ask the question, but you will fend off the skeletons when they come again,” Mo Fan acknowledged.

Lt. Colonel Mason immediately lost his airs. “Our superiors have asked us to cross the swamp. We have to keep going,” Mason sighed.

“Of course, for the better future of the Federation!” Mo Fan nodded cynically.

“But there are obviously a lot of enemy soldiers waiting for us ahead. If these are the only men we have…” Mason said.

“Can’t you request backup? You can send Bucker’s head back. Someone should recognize him. I don’t think he’s just a nobody,” Mo Fan hinted.

“Yeah, I did something impressive! I killed an enemy general who massacred four thousand of our soldiers!” Mason blurted out excitedly.

Mason was immeasurably pleased with himself. It did not matter how it happened, but he had indeed killed the Necromancer with his own hands, so he could claim all the glory!

Mo Fan could not be bothered with claiming the glory. It was more important to protect his cover.

—

As Mo Fan suggested, Lt. Colonel Mason sent Bucker’s head back to the main camp.

A full division around twenty thousand people strong had entered the swamp. It seemed like the main force of the Federation Army had chosen to advance through the swamp after Lt. Colonel Mason eliminated the Necromancer. However, the assault troops no longer had enough Mages to scout the path ahead.

——

As Mo Fan thought, Bucker’s head was surprisingly valuable. In just a few hours, a huge troop of Savage Bull Riders hurried into the swamp!

“Who’s Lt. Colonel Mason?” the captain of the troop demanded haughtily.

“I am!” Lt. Colonel Mason reply.

“Here is your medal. You are now in charge of our troop of Savage Bull Riders. The Division Commander wants you to find the enemy’s base!” the captain of the troop of Savage Bull Riders said arrogantly, like he was giving Mason an order.

1

“A troop of Savage Bull Riders? Does that mean I now have a troop of magic riders under my command?” Mason was surprised by his sudden good fortune.

Tamed Beasts were quite valuable to an army. Few Mages in an army would be granted one.

Most Mages were not good at covering long distances, especially the Elemental Mages without movement spells. Traveling long distances would only wear them out eventually, let alone having to look out for ambushes while they were not protected.

Only Intermediate Mages who had been in the army for some time were qualified to own a Tamed Beast. Riders in an army were the real elites!

Mason had gone from being cannon fodder to leading a regiment of a thousand Mages, and now had a troop of elite Riders. He was rising through the ranks at an incredible pace!

The captain of the Riders glanced at Mo Fan beside Mason and ordered him, “You, do the headcount!”

“Oh. You, do the headcount!” Mo Fan delegated to the man standing beside him.

The man was a squad leader. He had been following Mo Fan since the battle of the Cold Storage Fort. That being said, he was also among the soldiers who had been fleeing for their lives just a short time ago.

“I ordered you to do it! We are Riders! Each of us is stronger than a little soldier like you, do you understand?” the captain of the Riders snapped.

The captain did not dare take over Lt. Colonel Mason’s role right away, but he did not mind teaching Mason’s assistants a lesson.

Normally, only a full bird Colonel or a General was worthy to lead a troop of Riders, yet they were assigned to a Commander who had only risen through the ranks via luck. It was a humiliation to the Riders!

“My rank is the same as yours, isn’t it?” Mo Fan raised his brows. He did not show any respect to the captain as he displayed his newly-issued captain’s bars.

“You!” The captain was about to snap his whip at Mo Fan.

“Calm down, I’ll do it myself. Now that we have a troop of Riders, I believe we can clear the darkness of the swamp ahead and claim our victory before the next dawn!” Lt. Colonel Mason intervened.

Whether Mo Fan was possessed by Forneus or not, Lt. Colonel Mason had witnessed how Mo Fan took on the Skeleton Demon Trees all by himself. He did not dare step on Mo Fan’s tail, and he had even given a battlefield promotion to the three of them!

That being said, he did not want to offend the troop of Riders, either!

Their Captain Benson was currently taking orders from Lt. Colonel Mason, meaning that his rank was merely equivalent to Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Zhao Manyan, since the three of them were brevet Captains directly taking orders from Lt. Colonel Mason, too!

As for the rest of the Riders, they were a rank lower than Mo Fan. Mo Fan might not have the right to order them around, but he could just ignore them!