Under Wirbel's command, his unit assembled with great speed.
Of course, though it was called a mage unit, there were actually very few true mages.
The mages present, besides Fíliya and the other two Second-Class Mages, consisted of only six Third to Fourth-Class Mages.
As for the remaining hundred or so men, they were warriors who served as the vanguard and... ordinary soldiers.
It might have seemed like a meager force, but within human territories, this was actually considered a respectable fighting force.
After all... there were only about 2,000 mages in the entire world... at least, that was the number on record with the Continental Magic Association. Of course, it was possible there were many freelance mages who wished to have no dealings with the Association and thus went uncounted.
According to the Continental Magic Association's statistics, excluding the apprentice-level Sixth to Ninth-Class, there were only about 600 mages of the Fifth-Class or higher.
A Fifth-Class Mage—only at this level could one be considered even slightly useful in the war between humanity and the Demon Race.
When a Fifth-Class Mage encountered an equally weak demon, they would at least not be killed instantly. Of course, if they were forced to fight, the outcome would certainly be death.
In other words, in this world, scraping the bottom of the barrel, there were only a little over six hundred human mages who could even remotely stand against the Demon Race...
The only saving grace was that the Demon Race's numbers were also small. In fact, due to the arrogant nature of demons, there were even records of ordinary soldiers with no mana whatsoever managing to kill them.
...In any case, as Fíliya looked at the troops formed up in ranks before her, she couldn't help but feel it was all a bit of a hassle.
If she could just find the demons herself, she would have even considered charging in alone.
But that wasn't an option now. After all, the people lined up in front of her were all living, breathing humans.
I suppose being a mage sometimes means you have to babysit ordinary people... Fíliya thought with a sense of resignation.
'That's the situation. We must abandon this camp immediately and move out as quickly as possible.'
Wirbel briefly explained the circumstances to his troops, but judging by the expressions on his mages' faces, there were still doubts.
'But Captain, the idea that demons will attack from underground... that's just a hypothesis, isn't it? What if it's completely baseless? If we abandon the camp only to be ambushed in the open, we'll be in a terrible position.'
'He's right, Captain. That moment of 'casting' you mentioned... I was on lookout duty using Flight Magic the whole time, and I didn't sense any mana fluctuations at all.'
...Wirbel listened to his subordinate's objection and simply shot the man a cold glare.
'Are you an idiot? If you could sense it, you'd be the captain. Now all of you, shut up... Listen well. The demons will absolutely make a move tonight. Every second we delay increases our risk of being attacked. Evacuate now.'
'What about the supplies in the camp?'
an ordinary soldier asked.
'There wasn't much left anyway. Just abandon them... Or would you rather be buried with the supplies on your back?'
Wirbel looked at the soldier.
And so, no one raised any further objections. Under Wirbel's command, everyone began moving towards the camp gate.
As they walked, Fíliya took a few steps forward, sidling up to Wirbel and teasing him.
'Quite the commander, aren't you, Wirbel. What's the word... leadership?'
...Wirbel just gave Fíliya a silent look, paying no mind to her idle chatter.
Then, he took a deep breath and asked Fíliya in a very serious tone.
'Fíliya... if we're really attacked in the open after leaving the camp... do you have a way to protect these ordinary soldiers? The mages and warriors can more or less fend for themselves, but they can't.'
Wirbel's tone was grave, and it was clear he cared deeply for the lives of the men under his command.
So Fíliya had to set aside her playful mood for the moment. After scanning the crowd with her eyes, she gave her reply.
'For a short time, yes.'
The moment she finished speaking, an expression of relief washed over Wirbel's face.
Because once they were out in the open, neither he, nor Ehre, nor any of the other mages would be able to look out for the ordinary soldiers.
But with Fíliya, things were completely different. He believed that... although this woman wasn't quite right in the head, she was absolutely dependable.
He finally dropped his worried expression, calmly thanked Fíliya, and then walked quickly to the front of the formation, next to the elderly priest. It seemed he intended to personally protect the man with healing abilities.
...Under the pale moonlight, the unit advanced slowly, everyone's shadows stretching out long behind them.
For some reason, the moonlight tonight felt exceptionally cold... and the surroundings were exceptionally quiet, so quiet you could hear the rustling of leaves.
Ehre subconsciously moved a little closer to Fíliya. She held out a hand, blew a warm breath into her palm, and while it was still warm, quickly rubbed her cheeks.
She was wide awake now and understood the urgency of the situation, so she hadn't stopped sensing for mana for a single moment.
If there really were demons lying in ambush, she was confident she could detect them in advance and give a warning.
After all... the Demon Race was always so arrogant. Even in a war for the survival of their species, they never resorted to petty tricks like concealing their mana.
At least, that's what she thought as she stepped out of the camp.
Then, something beyond her imagination happened.
Several straight beams of pure white light, like sharp daggers, shot out from multiple directions at once.
Such a silent and unheralded attack was, without a doubt,
a surprise attack.
What terrified Ehre even more was that despite being on high alert, she hadn't detected the presence of any demons nearby.
She only perceived the faintest fluctuation of mana at the very instant the deathly light was unleashed, and nothing else.
This meant one thing.
The Demon Race... was actually concealing its mana, and had truly launched a surprise attack.
...What do I do?!
The panicked thought existed in Ehre's mind for only an instant before she cast it aside.
I am... the top student of the magic academy.
A situation like this... was not enough to drive her into a corner.
Years of ingrained habit were enough for her to deploy Defensive Magic with the speed of muscle memory.
But... in the next moment, she had another sharp realization.
These attacks... weren't aimed at her.
The direction of these magic attacks was clearly aimed at... the formations of warriors and ordinary soldiers.
Why?
This was a question Ehre couldn't comprehend.
____
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