I didn't waste any more time training and returned to the barracks. I managed to pull it off and remain unnoticed. The next day, we were woken up quite early, literally with the first rays of the sun, but fortunately, after two months of walking through the jungle, we got used to it. Immediately after breakfast, Xu Zhao Ting and I were summoned to headquarters. It so happened that when we arrived, there was only one person in military uniform. Judging by his epaulets, I could assume he belonged to the junior officer corps, and by the aura he exuded, that he was approximately at the second stage of the middle level in two elements.
"Hello, are you hunters?" he asked as soon as he saw us.
"Few people agree to come and help us; mostly locals help."
"We are also from Bo City, but we left after the catastrophe and became hunters," Xu Zhao Ting replied, shaking the soldier's hand.
"Seeing the mission to help the military, we decided to help restore our homeland."
"I see. My name is Luo Dong, I am a lieutenant and a middle-level mage of the second stage of earth and fire," the soldier introduced himself in a confident and kind voice.
"I have been appointed head of the operation to destroy the lair of the one-eyed wolves. Presumably, a pack of wolves with one leader lives there. Besides me, there will be three junior lieutenants and a squad of ten sergeants, as well as you two. I would like to know what elements you possess and at what level; this is necessary for developing a competent action strategy."
"I am a beginner-level lightning mage of the third stage," Xu Zhao Ting declared confidently.
"Wind mage of the middle level, cannot release magic, and also lightning mage of the beginner level, cannot release magic," I said dryly, then asked.
"If a soul appears from the killed wolves during the raid, can I take it for myself?"
"I see, quite good," Luo Dong said, thinking, then answered my question.
"If you have everything necessary for this, then please do. Our goal is to destroy the lair, not to obtain souls. Wait a moment for the others to gather."
"Thank you, of course, can I sit down?" I asked, pointing to the sofa on the wall. After an affirmative nod, Xu Zhao Ting and I sat down, waiting for our future colleagues. Lieutenant Luo Dong himself sat at the table to our left. Soon, the first members of the operation appeared, to my great surprise, they were Zhang Xiao Hou and He Yu! No, is it fate that brought us together, or someone from above? There are over a thousand soldiers at the military base, and we end up together on the very first operation?
"Hi, Jiaxing Yun, Xu Zhao Ting," He Yu waved at us, approaching us.
"Hi," I replied dryly, examining the soul containers, comparing the instructions and reality. The Chinese don't even explain things properly to themselves, what's going on?
"Hi, how are you? Has the wound healed?" Zhao Ting asked, bored of just sitting there.
"Hi, are you also participating in the raid on the one-eyed wolves' lair? After the tragedy, these beasts settled very close to the city, and the military still hasn't managed to drive them all back to their former places," Zhang Xiao Hou said, approaching He Yu and hugging her by the waist. She didn't resist, as if it were normal, and instead responded to the gesture by hugging him back. Zhao Ting was in quite a shock from what happened. I just glanced at them; it was obvious.
"So, we've been getting a lot of..."
"Are you together?" Zhao Ting asked in surprise, interrupting Xiao Hou. I continued to ignore them all, dealing with the soul containers.
"Yes, she responded to my feelings after the tragedy, and when we were together..." Zhang Xiao Hou began, but He Yu immediately elbowed him in the side, and she moved away from him.
"Don't talk nonsense! You just annoyed me, so I agreed," He Yu said, crossing her arms and pouting.
"Stop cooing; you weren't called to the lieutenant for this," said a soldier, about thirty to thirty-five years old, who had just entered the room, followed by a young girl no older than twenty-five.
"And you must be the hunters from Shanghai who arrived yesterday? I am Junior Lieutenant Yang Dei, and I'll say right away, I thought you would be older, but you're the same age as these school kids. What a pity, we could use good hunters."
"We'll see how useless we are," I said, putting the soul containers back in my backpack. At that moment, both Xiao Hou and Zhao Ting were about to object and start an argument. Have they caught Mo Fan's hot-headedness?
"Excuse me, and who are you? Also a junior lieutenant?" I addressed the girl, while Yang Dei took a seat at the table in front of Luo Dong.
"Yes, my name is Zhu Suiyin, don't pay attention to this grumbler; he's just jealous of your talent," she replied, smiling, and sat down next to Yang Dei.
"I'm not grumpy," Yang Dei muttered under his breath, after which he and Zhu Suiyin began to whisper about something, resembling a couple in love. Yes, a cheerful pair of lieutenants.
"She's Zhu Min's cousin," Xiao Hou whispered in my ear.
"She stayed here because she's in the military and can't change her deployment location at will."
"I see, and what are their elements and at what level?" I asked, addressing him, then added in a whisper.
"And what's their relationship?" This couple had piqued my interest slightly.
"Both are middle-level mages of the first stage. Zhu Suiyin's main element is light, the second is healing at the second stage of beginner. She is one of the few healer mages on our base. And Yang Dei's main element is fire, and the second is earth at the first stage," Xiao Hou replied, then added in a whisper.
"They say they were going to get married before the tragedy, but then decided to postpone it..."
"Yes, shut up; it's not polite to talk about other people's relationships next to those you're talking about," He Yu poked Xiao Hou in the elbow again.
"Greetings to all!" said a cheerful young man, about twenty years old, entering the room. Judging by his epaulets, he was the third junior lieutenant.
"Sei Lei, introduce yourself to the hunters," Luo Dong said, tearing himself away from looking at papers for a second.
"Yes, of course," the young man replied, and then, approaching us, added.
"Are you hunters? Hello, my name is Sei Lei, I am a junior lieutenant, a middle-level lightning mage, and I also wield shadow magic," he said confidently. Sei Lei was clearly not deprived of good looks; a rather handsome face and a strong body, all combined emphasizing his masculinity. His hair is black, combed to the left side; a strand of hair on his bangs is purple.
"Yes, nice to meet you," I said, extending my hand to him.
"You don't look particularly strong, kid," he said, shaking my hand, then looking at Zhao Ting, he added, "And you're even weaker. What a shame that normal hunters are too lazy to deal with such petty matters." He said all this with a hint of arrogance and contempt, but at the same time, he didn't show his emotions too much.
"We'll see who's not particularly strong," I said, releasing his hand.
"Se Lei, stop bothering these school kids, you were just like them yourself not long ago," Yang Dei called out to the mage, inviting him to sit down.
"Are you sure you're on par with him?" Zhao Ting asked with doubt and in a whisper when Se Lei walked away. "And who is he anyway?"
"He became a junior lieutenant right after the catastrophe, distinguished himself in defense, quite arrogant and conceited, but a strong guy, became a mid-level mage at nineteen, and reached the second stage a year later. The only thing separating him from a lieutenant is years of service, a couple more months and the rank will be in his pocket," Xiao Hou replied to the question, lost in thought.
"Don't worry too much about him, he's quite kind, at least everyone who went on raids with him says that he strives to protect everyone, sometimes even putting himself in danger," He Yu added.
Soon, eight more people arrived, with ranks ranging from private to senior sergeant. Three were ice mages, two more were fire, one water, and two earth. There were no wind or light mages. The composition turned out to be quite interesting, not counting the junior officer staff. Firstly, there was only one, well, with me, two wind mages, then two earth, water, and fire mages each. The latter is likely due to the small number of such mages at the initial level, and also three ice mages, who together can quite hold back a crowd of one-eyed wolves. As for the absence of light mages, they won't help much in battle, but they are necessary in patrol teams. It's a pity that we're not on patrol, but on an excursion. All mages were at least second stage and approaching the third.
As soon as everyone gathered, Luo Dong conducted a short briefing on our expedition. The lair was only a couple of days' journey away, which was incredibly close, considering that before the catastrophe, students were sent on a ten-day journey to reach the wolf lair. The information about their approximate number and strength was also repeated. The main responsibilities of the squad members and an approximate plan of combat operations were distributed. Xiao Hou and I were to scout the path ahead the entire way, leading everyone along a safe route, so no one would get tired before reaching the goal. Zhu Xiuyin simultaneously served as a light mage, giving signals to the fortress in case of anything, and also as the squad's healer. Se Lei, Yang Dei, the fire mages, and Xu Zhuo Ting were part of the attacking unit. He Yu, along with another water mage, was responsible for defense. Earth mages were supposed to help others by speeding up their movement, and ice mages by slowing down and freezing enemies. A good strategy, now it just needs to be implemented.
Since the clean-up did not require delay, immediately after the briefing, an order was given to take all necessary items and meet at ten o'clock in the morning at the exit of the military base. Xu Zhuo Ting and I quickly returned to the barracks, grabbed some food, sleeping bags, and various small items. I immediately hung my daggers made from the teeth of alligators from Lake Taihu on my belt, and also grabbed a whetstone. After all, daggers are not eternal and wear out and become dull, unlike magical artifacts, which are renewed by the owner's energy, only in case of major damage, they break and need to be repaired by a master. I should look for materials for new ones, I'm already used to fighting with them in my hands. When we arrived at the assembly point, Se Lei was already there.
"Oh, did you take those knives to prepare food?" he asked with a smirk, pointing at my daggers. Zhao Ting wanted to object.
"Yes, wolf meat makes excellent cutlets," I quipped in response, thereby stopping Zhao Ting, after which he began to observe our bickering.
"Can you even cut anyone with those? They're made of bone, what are you going to cut with?" he continued to mock.
"Yes, from bone, sharpened like a razor. Want to check?" I asked, I wasn't going to be afraid of him at all, of course, he has more experience than me, but in terms of strength, if necessary, I surpass him, thanks to the seeds and wind blades.
"No, thanks, show them on the wolves, you won't run away from them like all other beginner wind mages, will you?" he chuckled slightly, then stopped paying attention to us.
"Jiaxing Yun, what are those daggers?" Xiao Hou asked, approaching with He Yu, the same question written on her face.
"He's going to cut wolf cutlets with them," Se Lei's voice was heard.
"Can you really kill them with those?" He Yu asked with doubt.
"Yes, why not?" I asked, after which we talked for a short while, waiting for the others.
"Is everyone ready? Let's go," Luo Dong said when he checked that everyone was in place and ready, and our squad left the gates of the military base.