Supreme Magus novel Chapter 2182

"This full-scale attack is nothing but a diversion. I have no idea what the Kingdom's real goal is, but the moment they make their move, we can't afford to be caught by surprise.

"To put everything on the line like this, they must have found a way to tip the scale of the war in their favor. If they succeed, we might lose one or more key assets if not even the war itself."

***

Golden Griffon academy, at the same time.

Lith's group had reached the second floor for a while, but they were having a hard time navigating it.

'So much for a skeleton crew.' Lith grumbled as they were forced to wait behind a corner for the umpteenth time.

The second floor hosted just a few living quarters that belonged to the criminals that had been "promoted" from the scum of Mogar to loyal soldiers via various forms of torture and manipulation.

The rest of the floor had been arranged into huge classrooms where the now willing recruits were taught the basics of magic and military strategy. Due to their role as foot soldiers, their training focused on teamwork, combat drills, and the best timing to use their breathing technique during battle.

Much to Kalla's surprise, the soldiers had been enslaved but not made immortal by the lost academy whereas their equipment had been marked for retrieval upon their death.

The two-bit mages were expendable whereas Thrud couldn't afford to lose artifacts she had worked hard to craft every time she suffered human losses. Adamant and mana crystals were hard to find whereas the Kingdom was full of prisons.

The group had easily gotten past the living quarters since they were all empty. The problem was not being noticed while moving around the classes. Hystar had fused several rooms together to give the instructors the space they needed and even removed the walls.

The classes were open fields that left Vladion little room for maneuver. Even with Blindside, he couldn't risk their smell getting caught by one of the Emperor Beasts training the Awakened or being bumped into during a drill.

Every time they found a classroom, the Firstborn had to wait for an exercise that would move the students away from his group's position and that would keep the teachers focused.

Even though his powers weren't hindered by daylight thanks to the lack of windows inside the Golden Griffon, he couldn't afford to use his bloodline ability non-stop. Escaping the notice of so many powerful creatures required a lot of energy and they were still on the second floor.

Vladion had brought nourishment with him, but using it so soon would have meant to risk of running on fumes once they reached the higher floors or during the exfiltration phase.

If that happened, discovering how to safely destroy the lost academy would have been meaningless since they would die without sharing the information with anyone.

They needed to move slowly and carefully, getting close enough to the hidden stairs for the third floor for the map to reveal them. Once they finally reached their destination, they could finally catch their breath.

The third floor was reserved for the Forgotten corps and it was empty.

The former students of the Golden Griffon had fought for hundreds of years so they needed no further training.

,m Lith's group passed in front of several bars, spas, and gardens. They were perfectly maintained with all kinds of amenities one could wish for. They stopped in a lounge to rest and recover.