118: A variety of ways to escape

Captain Andre's prediction was not wrong.

In the following days, the Devil Squad was incredibly busy.

They were constantly hunting down the emerging Black Wizards.

They were like groundhogs popping out of the earth, appearing here and disappearing there.

Some were in teams of two;

Some were in teams of three or four;

But most were solitary... indiscriminately hunting Demonic Beast near the entire potion resource transportation route.

As if they were afraid the White Wizards wouldn't discover them.

It seemed they weren't attacking the supply convoys, but no one dared to ignore these security risks.

The Academy's command center also knew this was an overt strategy by the enemy.

But the more open and straightforward an overt strategy was, the harder it was to break, and so they could only counter it with force... During these repeated pursuits,

Greene's worldview was once again refreshed by these Black Wizards.

Indeed.

Those who could become Black Wizards and survive all had a few tricks up their sleeves.

Especially when it came to escaping.

The various elaborate escape methods opened Greene's eyes.

Most Black Wizards would run at the first sign of a major disturbance, like startled rabbits.

Some used earth escape, burrowing into pre-dug tunnels, passages, or natural caves... Some used water escape, specifically running into swamps, ponds, and lakes, directly diving into the water...

Some flew, darting among the big trees, more agile than monkeys...

And some were even more extreme... The ones causing trouble were vengeful spirit puppets, undead skeletons, tamed Demonic Beast, Knight dead slaves, blood-refined zombies...

They themselves hid in the shadows, very safe.

The Devil Squad knew they must be near these controlled objects, but they just couldn't find them.

Nor did they have enough time to search.

And so.

The Black Wizards, with a few Intermediate Wizard Apprentices and most Low-level Wizard Apprentices and ordinary Knights, stubbornly played hide-and-seek with Greene and the others.

For seven or eight consecutive days.

Greene and the others were like a fire brigade captain, rushing around everywhere.

Greene was so tired he didn't even have a chance to miss his delicious food... One day.

Greene and the others had just given up chasing a Low-level Wizard Apprentice who had dived into a deep pool.

"Stop."

Captain Andre instructed.

"All personnel, resume squad formation, advance in a triangular formation."

"Proceed to Safe House No. 2."

"Phew..."

"It's finally over."

As soon as Greene heard this order, he knew there was a major turning point in the mission.

"Now, everyone, in order, assess your combat status and recovery time."

"No. 1 assessment, Control Wizard Andre, combat status 45%, estimated recovery time 27 hours."

"No. 2 report, Scout Wizard Bernat, combat status 32%, estimated recovery time 70 hours."

"No. 3 report, Support Wizard Monica, combat status 56%, estimated recovery time 26 hours."

"No. 4 report, Assault Knight Anthony, combat status 33%, estimated recovery time 86 hours."

"No. 5 report, Guardian Knight Adler, combat status 51%, estimated recovery time 24 hours."

"No. 8 report, Bio-armor Knight Greene, combat status 58%, estimated recovery time 18 hours."

...Captain Andre's steady voice came from the communication crystal ball.

"Attention everyone, now reporting the latest mission progress."

"The potion transport convoy has reached the third leg of its journey, and is currently blocked at the midpoint between the Corrosion Poison Swamp and the Harpy habitat."

"Those Black Wizards, using some unknown method, attracted a large group of Corrosion Poison Rong from the Corrosion Poison Swamp, destroying the original road, and now they are still on the road and won't leave."

"The command center requires our squad to go and provide support."

"The enemy has made its second move."

...Everyone remained silent.

They continued to advance quietly.

This feeling of being led by the nose by the enemy was really unpleasant.

The Wizards of Plant Heart Academy could only passively respond to each move, after all, the enemy was in the dark, and they were in the open.

After another day of travel, everyone's condition worsened.

That evening, the Devil Squad finally arrived at the second safe house.

This was a huge underground chamber, also a small supply base.

The space inside was enormous, with complete facilities, capable of accommodating nearly a hundred people for rest and resupply at one time. According to Captain Andre, the Academy had dozens of such supply points in the Mist Forest.

As soon as Greene and the others arrived, they were arranged to rest.

Captain Andre, meanwhile, went to a meeting. Greene didn't bother with much else, finding the Academy's Bio-armor logistics team here.

Hmm, there was a familiar face, a Enchanted items manufacturer who maintained Greene's Bio-armor, so Greene felt relieved and entrusted his Bio-armor to them for maintenance.

bio-armor no. 8 had been used by Greene at high intensity for half a month straight. During this half-month, Greene had never taken it off, traveling over a thousand kilometers, experiencing dozens of battles, and blocking dozens of Black Wizards' desperate counterattacks for Greene.

Although it hadn't undergone any particularly large battles, it had various minor damages and was in urgent need of maintenance.

After giving instructions for the Bio-armor's maintenance, Greene opened the quiet room assigned to him and immediately fell asleep.

He slept for an entire day and night, oblivious to everything... "Greene, good morning."

"Adler, good morning."

Having just had a full night's sleep, Greene's condition had recovered by more than eighty percent, though his mental fatigue still needed some time to dissipate.

"Adler, it seems you recover faster than I do. You truly live up to the bloodline of the Earth Bear."

"Haha..."

Adler chuckled honestly, very pleased with Greene's praise.

Although his combat power was not as good as Greene's, his recovery ability could leave Greene in the dust. The Earth Bear, standing on the earth, could continuously draw power from it.

Although Adler was not that exaggerated, his physical recovery ability was famously fast.

"Ah..."

Following the signs, Greene and Adler walked to the restaurant.

A rich aroma of roasted meat mixed with the charred scent of cumin, the unique smell of fried eggs, the fragrance of steamed crab... various delightful food smells rushed towards Greene, making him involuntarily perk up and exclaim in surprise.

The next moment.

Greene pounced like a hungry tiger.

Grabbing a dining plate, he frantically piled various cooked dishes onto it, continuously shoveling them into his mouth.

"Mmm..."

"Mmm mmm mmm..."

"Delicious, delicious..."

"Refreshing, refreshing, comfortable..."

Heaven knows what kind of life Greene had been living for the past half month?

Coming out of the Wizard Tower, where he could eat his fill every meal, to this dark forest shrouded in mist and full of dangers, he couldn't make a fire, couldn't catch wild rabbits to roast, and could only sip the water he brought.

Especially during the last week, Greene was busy playing whack-a-mole, constantly on the go. When hungry, he could only drink a mouthful of the satiety potion he refined; when thirsty, he drank a mouthful of his own water.

For a foodie, how painful was this?

Now, with so many delicacies before him, Greene didn't care. Today, he was going to eat to his heart's content...