The Snake-men's campaign of destruction in the northern Pate Plain forced the originally scattered temple garrison to concentrate along the southern line. Wislin also received a batch of new soldiers, making the strength of the Five Realms Fortress increasingly formidable. Contrary to what one might expect, Wislin felt no joy, only an increasing weight on his shoulders. Facing the Snake-men's aggressive offensive, he couldn't think of any effective countermeasures. Launching an attack might very well fall into the enemy's trap, as the destruction of village after village also dwindled their sources of intelligence; yet merely defending wasn't likely to lead to final victory. The only hope now rested on Lynch's plan. So whenever the Commander had a moment, he would ride his griffin to the All-Knowing Tower to inspect the warriors in training.

After assembling all the necessary magic equipment, Lynch once again devoted himself fully to guiding the training. This time, he used the gnome's teleportation device to summon some Devils from Bator Hell to Anriel World, serving as opponents for the warriors.

When Wislin arrived at the training field, he saw the warriors erecting shields to encircle the Lemures, which the Mages would then eliminate all at once with the Frost Ice Technique. After a month of hellish training, their tactical skills had greatly improved.

However, this level was still far from meeting Lynch's requirements. Because once the sneak attack plan really commenced, beyond each Teleportation Gate, there might only be a few small squads in action at a time. Without numerical superiority, could they sustain their efforts long enough during the raid?

Wislin took a turn around the field and found Lynch sitting with a troubled face on the bleachers, dark clouds cast over his tightly furrowed brows. The excited cheers of the warriors on the field seemed to have no effect on him at all.

"Looking like this isn't good for you," Wislin said as he approached him.

"It's nothing; I'm just feeling a bit tired," Lynch replied. "It's very likely influenced by the Magic God; I find it increasingly difficult to control my emotions, always fluctuating. By comparison, the Great Serpent should feel the same; the recent attacks might be related to this. Now is the time when both of us are most prone to making mistakes, so I can't be sure whether this raid plan will be effective."

"I also will be leading a cavalry unit to support Haisas, leaving the defense here to my deputy. Likewise, I don't know if I'll be able to come back alive," Wislin said with a smile. "It's like in the past, when we were always worried about making a living, not knowing if we'd have enough to eat the next day."

"Indeed! Also, that guy Morgan had a particularly big appetite; even if Anna and I ate very little, the daily rations still weren't enough." The Mage's mood improved as he recalled the old days. "If it weren't for Littlefinger always finding some 'unexpected' food, there were several times we might have starved to death."

"So, what's there to worry about?" said Wislin. "Even if things get bad, at least we'd have a decent way to die, with our names remembered by future generations—maybe even leave a mark in history."

"Exactly," Lynch said, patting his cheeks to rouse himself. "Whether it's Hell or Heaven, I have acquaintances in both. What's there to continually worry about?"

"Now, we just have to wait for Regula's map."

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