215: Chapter 213 The Mage Zhang Mu: His Ability to Fight Against Magicians

War on the Saul Continent is very different compared to Blue Star.

This is not only shown in the strategy of surrounding cities without attacking them due to Church regulations—a direct violation of common military sense—

but also in the bizarre phenomenon where field battles rarely occur and very few people actually die.

Most importantly, the armies of the Saul Continent do not require supply trains when marching.

As everyone knows,

logistics are a key factor for any legion, and even determine the outcome of an entire war.

Whether on Blue Star or the Saul Continent, wars lost due to raided supplies are as numerous as the sands on a beach; they simply cannot be counted.

Both sides in a conflict love to raid logistics units.

There are many reasons, the main one being that without food, Soldiers go hungry; hungry Soldiers have no combat effectiveness, which leads to mutiny and collapse without a fight.

Additionally, supply convoys generally do not move very fast, making them easy targets for ambushes.

This is common sense on Blue Star, but things are a bit different on the Saul Continent.

On the Saul Continent, raids on supply convoys basically never happen.

It's not that the generals don't know how to fight.

The reason everyone gave up on 'winning through surprise' lies entirely with the 'World'.

The preciousness of the 'World' Zhang Mu obtained in the Silent Forest goes without saying.

As an item used to store treasures by the strongest Magic Family in the former First Empire of the Saul Continent, it couldn't possibly be a cheap product.

Naturally, very few magic families or kingdoms could possess one.

But while they might not have the best ones, they could still get their hands on inferior versions.

Usually, when a kingdom starts a war, they will equip at least their main forces with a sufficiently large 'World' to carry military supplies.

Kept on the person of the army's strongest Professional, this not only avoids the trouble of disrupted logistics but also makes replenishment convenient.

A single person can travel back and forth between the rear and the front line.

Zhang Mu did exactly this.

Initially, to lure Joy to Moza Village and send the pre-modified firearms to the Kingdom of Lagu—misleading the enemy's assessment of his combat power—he had directly mobilized a convoy in the city to transport the firearms to the village.

This time, he had to hide it from all outsiders, so he obviously couldn't be so blatant.

Early morning.

Zhang Mu and Solon walked through the gates of Gur City one after the other.

It wasn't something worth noting.

Although many people in Gur City were watching him right now, the 'City Lord' had been leaving the city every few days for several months to inspect construction sites.

Especially recently, perhaps because the project was nearing a stage of completion, he had been going even more frequently.

He went almost every day.

Therefore, leaving early this morning didn't seem abnormal to anyone.

Even so, Zhang Mu did not lower his Guard.

To ensure he wasn't followed, he had arranged a time with Mihe several days in advance.

Just a few steps out of the city, Mihe, dressed like an ordinary Farmer begging for food in the fields, was waiting by the roadside not far away.

"Mr. Mi He, sorry to trouble you."

"The City Lord is too polite." Since Solon was following, Mihe did not call him by name.

After the pleasantries, Mihe stood directly between the two, grabbed their wrists, and activated the Swift Travel Technique.

The surrounding scenery blurred, and space began to distort.

Worried that Solon, a non-Professional, wouldn't be able to handle it, Zhang Mu asked Mihe to slow down slightly.

He was told that his perception had been shielded with Mental Energy, so his body would suffer no negative effects.

Zhang Mu frowned: "I remember that time in the Silent Forest..."

Back then, he had almost vomited his guts out.

"You were too reckless; I hope you've learned to be calm."

His mouth twitched twice, but Zhang Mu didn't speak further, instead studying Mihe's footsteps.

It was exactly the same as normal walking.

Lift the foot, step out, land.

After watching for a while, Zhang Mu suddenly felt that, aside from the name, the effect of the Swift Travel Technique seemed identical to 'Shrinking the Earth to an Inch'.

Worrying that he didn't have many spells that could pass for 'Immortal Arts,' he asked shamelessly, "Mr. Mi He, where did your Swift Travel Technique come from?"

Realizing it was a bit embarrassing to covet someone else's signature skill, Zhang Mu's tone was much softer.

Mihe looked at him in confusion: "From a labyrinth, of course."

"Uh, it's like this: I was wondering if I could learn it from you?" After saying that, Zhang Mu quickly emphasized before the other could speak, "I won't learn it for free; I'll pay tuition."

"Hehe, Ar... City Lord.

You have helped us a lot, saving us from the brink of extinction and helping us gain a foothold. It's just a spell; there's no problem teaching you. It's just that the Swift Travel Technique..."

Mihe suddenly paused, glanced at Solon, and sent out Mental Energy to block his hearing before continuing: "The Swift Travel Technique is a Magister-level spatial magic.

Zhang Mu, you indeed have great talent as a magician, but you still need time..."

"I'm already a Magister."

The slow footsteps suddenly froze. From extreme speed to an instantaneous halt, if not for his rapid progress in strength, this sudden stop would have made Zhang Mu faint.

Tossing Solon to the side, Mihe stared at Zhang Mu: "Are you joking?"

"When have I ever joked with you?"

He fell silent.

In his memory, Zhang Mu indeed did not like to joke.

But... the first time we met, he told me he was a Beginner Magician.

How long has passed?

Has it even been half a year?

A Magister?

How is this not a joke?

"A joke," Mihe began to laugh, "A joke? What kind of joke is this!"

The moment his voice fell, violent Mental Energy surged from his body.

The weeds by the roadside flattened outward with him as the center. In the blink of an eye, they were uprooted and blown away along with grass clippings and dirt.

Mihe consciously avoided Solon, but the man still blacked out and collapsed.

A special skill for magicians of Magister rank and above—Spiritual Storm.

Zhang Mu remained very calm. At the same time his panel promoted him to High-level Magician, he had already mastered Spiritual Storm.

Knowing Mihe wanted to verify his words, he didn't react too violently and simply mobilized his Mental Energy to meet it.

"Vroom—"

Invisible Mental Energy collided and tore at each other in the air; a low, piercing hum even echoed around them.

It only lasted about three seconds.

Any longer, and it wouldn't matter if the dirt road beneath them started to crack, but Solon's life would be in danger.

The weeds that were nearly pressed into the ground slowly stood back up, the sound in the air vanished, and the hair dancing wildly behind Mihe gradually settled.

After a moment of silence, he asked: "A Magister?"

"Yeah, just a few days ago."

"Did you eat a dragon?"

Hearing this, Zhang Mu became interested: "Are there dragons in the Kingdom of Lake?"

He hadn't eaten one.

True, a Magister couldn't take down a giant dragon.

Mihe's shoulders suddenly slumped a bit.

Zhang Mu, standing opposite him, noticed immediately.

"What's wrong, Mr. Mi He?"

"I... feel like I've lived two hundred years for nothing."

"Eh—" Zhang Mu waved his hand, "You can't say that.

Calculating by three meals a day, you've also wasted two hundred and nineteen thousand meals' worth of food."

The forced smile on Mihe's face froze.

"Are you good at math?"

"Just a little bit."

"Hmph."

With a flick of his hand, his face darkened as he picked up Solon. His figure vanished, leaving behind a fading voice: "Walk to Moza Village yourself!"

...

By the time Zhang Mu reached Moza Village, Solon and Domit had already finished lunch.

Looking at the porcelain plates with only sauce left, he was very angry.

What's wrong with that old man?

I saw he was feeling down and deliberately told a joke to cheer him up. Not only did he not thank me, he didn't even leave a bite of food for me?

Solon's expression was indifferent: "City Lord, Mr. Mi He specifically instructed us to eat everything clean."

In the end, it was Domit who kept Zhang Mu in his heart.

He pulled Zhang Mu into the kitchen and lifted the lid of the earthen stove; the food inside was steaming hot.

After wolfing down the meal with a grin, Zhang Mu contentedly chewed on a toothpick and walked to the training ground, with Domit and Solon following behind.

The open space was no longer as empty as it had been months ago.

The exercise equipment Zhang Mu had purchased back on Blue Star had all been installed.

Soldiers were moving quickly across bars, single-plank bridges, and various other obstacles.

The Soldiers now looked more like actual Soldiers.

Because they had abandoned cold weapons as their primary means of engaging the enemy, Zhang Mu had them all change into jungle camouflage uniforms that were easy to move in.

When he arrived, none of the Soldiers in formation or training looked at him or greeted him. Zhang Mu wasn't angry; instead, he nodded in satisfaction.

They were starting to look the part.

Clapping his hands, Zhang Mu shouted loudly: "Assemble!"

...

Damu was an ordinary Soldier in the second platoon of the first company of the third regiment, under the newly formed First Army Corps of Gur City.

Before joining Mr. Zhang Mu's army, he never thought the Resistance Army would actually one day become a real "army."

During the ten-plus years hiding in the Silent Forest, Damu had grown from a mischievous child into a young man.

During this time, he also came to understand what the "Resistance Army" actually did.

He had no intention of leaving, even though Mr. Mi He allowed everyone to come and go as they pleased.

Damu remembered very clearly why he and his mother had come to the Resistance Army.

All the food in their village had been stolen—not by bandits, but by the Kingdom's Guards.

The lord who ordered the Guards didn't actually lack the small amount of food stored in the village.

His mother said—he wanted to see us tormented by hunger, looking miserable and in pain.

Would that make the lord happy?

Damu didn't understand how seeing others' misery could bring pleasure.

But he knew one thing: if he left the Resistance Army to farm in the Kingdom, he would die sooner or later.

Later, as he got older, he also knew that staying in the Resistance Army meant he would also die sooner or later.

He also realized that everyone in the Resistance Army knew this.

We are Farmers; we wield iron hoes. We've never even swung a longsword or a spear. How can we fight the Kingdom and protect ourselves?

We are alive now simply because the Kingdom hasn't found us.

Therefore, Damu waited every day, every single day, for Soldiers to burst through the magic circle and slaughter them.

Tormented by fear, he sometimes wished that day would come sooner when he couldn't sleep late at night.

Later, things seemed to change.

Mr. Domit, who had been gone for a long time, returned and brought back a man named Zhang Mu.

He said he could save us.

Please, how is that possible? Even Mr. Mi He couldn't do it. He looks so young; it's even more impossible.

Damu knew everyone thought the same as him.

But after interacting with Zhang Mu, who wandered around the village all day, Damu was surprised to find that he was a man of profound knowledge.

"Profound knowledge" was a term Domit had taught him.

The reason he thought so was because one day, Damu sat on a field ridge and asked Zhang Mu—why do the noble lords all like longswords?

He thought it would be because they were "elegant" or "cool" or something like that.

However, the answer was far from what he had imagined.

"They are trying to start a trend of using longswords.

Compared to spears and pikes that can be made from sharpened wooden sticks, favoring longswords that require a full set of iron-smelting technology to forge makes it harder for you to actually do anything."

Damu didn't quite understand, but he felt that someone who could speak "truths" he didn't understand must be a very impressive fellow.

Because Mr. Mi He was always like that.

A strange hope welled up in his heart—perhaps Mr. Zhang Mu really could save us.

Later, he was saved.

He didn't know how Mr. Zhang Mu became the City Lord of Gur City, but that didn't matter.

In short, everyone in the Resistance Army could leave the Silent Forest to reclaim farmland, build houses, and store grain in a safe place.

They didn't have to fear being slaughtered by Soldiers, and no lords who loved "pain" would come to steal their food anymore.

At that moment, Damu swore that if anyone dared to harm Mr. Zhang Mu, he would use his iron hoe to smash their head in.

Soon, the opportunity came.

Mr. Domit gathered everyone one evening a few months ago and said Mr. Zhang Mu needed a loyal army that was not afraid of death.

Damu was stunned; wasn't he talking about me?

The Resis... it was called Moza Village now.

In Moza Village, was there anyone more loyal or less afraid of death than him?

So, Damu quickly raised his hand and said, "If I'm not enough alone, I'll get married and have children as soon as possible."

He seemed to have misjudged; several people had already raised their hands before him.

And so, the Gur City First Army Corps, personally named by Mr. Zhang Mu, was established.

Undoubtedly, the marching training that followed was exceptionally hard.

But Damu never complained, and not just because of Mr. Zhang Mu.

The Soldiers' working meals actually included eggs!

He worked hard to perfect every step, waiting peacefully for the day he would swing a spear to kill the enemy.

However, the weapons that arrived were neither spears nor longswords.

It was... a strange thing Damu had never seen before.

It had no sharp edge and some weight, but it would take a lot of effort to use it to smash a head.

Fight the enemy with this?

Before he could ask his question, Mr. Domit picked it up, held it with one hand in front and one behind, and aimed the round tube at the front toward a tree outside the training ground.

He didn't see what happened, but a loud bang and a flash of fire appeared at the same time.

Coming back to his senses, Damu saw in shock that the thick, sturdy tree from a moment ago had been snapped in half.

With his legs trembling, he threw himself into the subsequent practice, seeking only to master the terrifying weapon Domit called a "gun" as quickly as possible.

Just as he became proficient in using the firearm, Domit announced: "This is only for becoming familiar with the usage and structure of firearms."

Then what was the real weapon?

Damu was very anxious; if he couldn't use it well, Mr. Zhang Mu would surely be disappointed.

After spending several months in a state of uncertainty, Mr. Zhang Mu arrived at the training ground today at noon, watched for a while, and issued the assembly order.

He knew that the "real weapon" must have arrived.

Sure enough, Mr. Zhang Mu produced a large number of wooden boxes from a light gate, stacking them neatly in front of the formation.

Mr. Domit went over and pried open the lids with his bare hands.

Seeing the items placed inside, Damu breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Although the details were a bit different, the general appearance was still the same.

The guns began to be distributed.

Before long, Damu held one in his hands.

It felt like... the usage wouldn't change much.

His eyes scanned the body of the gun, seeing the trigger and the bolt as he muttered to himself.

"Soldiers."

Zhang Mu's voice at the front of the line was very loud, and he busied himself by focusing on the speech.

"From now on, you possess the ability to fight against magicians!"

Damu's determined gaze, developed over months of training, wavered violently.