Supreme Magus novel Chapter 359

"The orcs have the home advantage, are physically superior, and have a magician on their side. We can’t set a trap without being noticed nor can we handle eight adults at once. Also, the children’s position is highly suspicious.

"I don’t think they are close to the tent to keep them safe, but rather to use them as sacrifices. A single one could throw our formation into disarray and doom us all. Not to mention we cannot even bombard the shaman’s tent without the crystal exploding."

"I agree with your analysis, Corporal." Tepper nodded. "Their behavior is highly unusual, even for the presence of a shaman. The orcs were supposed to send another wave of warriors and attempt to escape after their second failed attack.

"Orcs being cautious is almost unprecedented. They regard humans as food, not enemies. Yet they are acting as if they are afraid of us. We need reinforcements. Lith, you can use dimensional magic, right?"

Lith nodded while watching his companions’ expression turn to a mix of surprise, envy, and hate. Tepper noticed it too.

"He is not a noble. Lith comes from a family of farmers. He became a magician thanks only to his own hard work. Show some respect." The Sergeant’s words left everyone dumbstruck.

To them meeting a magician of commoner origins was like finding a unicorn under a rainbow with a pot of gold in its mouth.

"Bring us back to the camp." Tepper ordered.

Lith attempted to open a Warp Steps, but the dimensional door quickly became unstable, shattering before it was fully formed.

"This is bad." Lith clicked his tongue. "Something like this has only happened to me once in the past. It means the orc shaman is preparing something big and powerful enough to upset the normal elemental balance."

’Solus, why didn’t you warn me of the array?’ Lith was surprised, it wasn’t like her to make such a rookie mistake.

’There is no array.’ She explained. ’Nor any significant disturbance in the world energy. Quite the contrary, the air is really quiet and the mana thin.’

’How thin?’ Lith asked.

’Not much, but now that you mention it, there is something wrong.’ Solus needed to focus her mana sense to the extreme to separate the world energy into the six elements that composed it.

’By my maker! This is exactly the opposite of what that wyvern did. There is no abundance of an element this time. The earth magic in the air is less than half of what it should be. I can see it being siphoned towards the orc encampment!’

"Do you mean you can’t Warp us back?" Tepper inwardly cursed. Even if he called for reinforcements, it would take them too long to find the unit’s actual position.

"I think I can, but it will take time and effort. I need you to watch my back." Lith said to his comrades, but he meant those words for Solus alone. She was still tired from the overuse of her mana sense, yet Solus reassured him and kept watch.

***

<"now, my="" warriors!="" receive="" the="" power="" of="" the="" earth="" god="" and="" become="" their="" avatars!"=""></"now,> Ragh’Ash had used Invigoration though the mana crystal as if it were a part of her own body.

With the combined effect of Invigoration and the natural ability of purple crystals to absorb the world energy, the shaman had collected an enormous amount of mana. Ragh’Ash had called upon earth magic in particular, to make her pawns invincible.

The world energy seeped into the warriors’ mana cores, temporarily boosting them from the red level to the yellow one. Such unnatural status would have been their demise if not for the orcs’ peculiar physiology.