Supreme Magus novel Chapter 141

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Said a raspy voice coming from behind Lith’s back.

"I’m Lith from Lutia, coming from the White Griffon academy on Her Majesty’s service." Lith appeared to be calm, but he was actually seething with anger. He had expected for someone to come and identify him, not to be treated like a criminal.

"Really?" The voice sneered. "Then why are you dressed like a farmer? Since when the White Griffon has stooped so low that they can’t even afford uniforms anymore?"

For a moment, Lith was tempted to break the ropes with brute strength, and then pull their guts through their mouths.

- "Stay calm, you idiot. This isn’t your village or the academy. In the outside world you are a nobody, and you will be treated as such." –

"My uniform got heavily damaged." He replied calmly. "What’s left of it is on my shoulder. Headmaster Linjos should have already contacted your supervisor."

Someone searched him, while another hand picked the rag that was his uniform. Being on his finger, Solus could see one of the three robed magicians cast a spell. It made Lith and the uniform emit a light glow at the same time.

The mages looked at each other, nodding, before letting Lith stand up.

- "Amazing. It seems there is a way to make apparent the link between a magic object and the one it is imprinted with." –

Lith didn’t share her enthusiasm, he was more interested in looking at his captors.

There were five soldiers and three mages. They were all of different heights and builds, but were dressed almost in the same way. They were all clearly part of a military unit.

They all wore leather boots, grey linen pants and shirt, leather gloves and what resembled a plague doctor mask, making their faces unrecognizable. The only differences between them was that the mages wore a robe, while the soldiers had weapons and a thin metal breastplate.

"Sorry, sir." Said one of the soldiers, his voice distorted by the mask.

"But this is not enough proof of identity. No one gets in or out of the quarantine zone without the proper clearance."

One of the mages took out a communication amulet, from which emerged the small hologram of a handsome man in his late thirties. He had thick blonde hair and beard, with the stern look typical of someone being used to complete obedience.

"Why did you leave your post, sergeant?"

"We had a perimeter breach, sir. We are currently dealing with it." _{freewebnøvel.coɱ}

"It". The way they had pronounced that word, not referring at him like a person but as a thing, sounded ominous to Lith’s ears.

"Is it perhaps a tall kid, dressed like a farmer, with a bald head and a tattered White Griffon uniform?"

If the sergeant was surprised by the accurate description, he didn’t let it show.

"Exactly, sir."

"Bring him to me."

Lith used that short exchange to use Invigoration on the ropes binding his hands. They had no enchantment whatsoever, and that let him sigh with relief. If necessity arose, he could easily free himself.

One of the mages took out gloves and a plague mask from under his robe, making Lith wear them. The beak like mask had two small holes, from which the air would enter at every breath, making a hissing sound.

Lith had the impression of having lost his sense of smell. The air didn’t carry any scent anymore, except for that of some kind of disinfectant.

- "This thing must be some sort of gas mask." He thought.

"The situation must be much worse than I expected, if even this far from Kandria no one dares to move without it." -

The soldiers positioned themselves so that two walked in front of Lith, two behind, together with the mages, and one alongside him, keeping the ropes in check.

Once they got past the checkpoint, Lith could see a military encampment the size of a small city stationed behind the wall. It was comprised by several tents divided in two blocks. One block had only circular shaped tents of various height and size, but none bigger than a house.

The other block was situated farther inside. It was heavily guarded as the wall itself, and it was comprised only by large rectangular shaped tents. The smallest one was at least one hundred square meters big.

Each tent of the encampment had small flags near its entrance, probably to indicate its purpose. Lith was led to one of the small circular tents, about 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) high with a diameter of 5 metres (16.5 feet), marked with triangular golden flags.

The space inside was perfectly lit, thanks to glowing gems masterfully placed on the ceiling.

The floor was entirely covered by a thick carpet, that muffled their footstep. Seated behind a hardwood desk, there was the man Lith had previously seen in the hologram.