The Night at Oziloth Forest

Katarina gazed at the blazing fire. The palm of her hand could feel the spreading heat. The reddish-orange light illuminated the human camp in the dark night.

"Are you okay, Katarina?" James asked, patting her shoulder. Over the years, James had cared for Katarina as his own child.

"I'm fine. It's just that I didn't expect some of my friends and acquaintances to become casualties in this war," Katarina replied.

Arkmenom's fierce attack targeting the mages resulted in significant losses. Despite Felicia's strength, it was undeniable that casualties would continue.

"That's war. It's not as beautiful as people talk about. Heroes glorified after the war sometimes appear as cold-blooded killers on the battlefield. Casualties are inevitable; it's a grand war, and the toll won't be small. All we can do is fight our best and end this war as soon as possible."

"You're right, uncle."

Katarina tried to calm herself. She was no longer the little girl who would rage upon learning bitter truths. She couldn't remember when her eyes had stopped shedding tears.

That night, Katarina fell asleep in her dreams, dreaming of those who died on the battlefield.

The next day, Felicia summoned mages with S-class talents, including Katarina. Among the three hundred thousand mages in the Florent Kingdom's forces, only 1,500 had S-class potential. Less than half of them were truly fit for battle.

Felicia, the only mage with SSS-level combat abilities, was the only one capable of facing General Arkmenom in a one-on-one fight. However, in the war, she was always busy managing Florent's forces and her mage subordinates.

After discussing with Prince Claudio, the general leading Florent's defense forces, Felicia decided to change her strategy. She opted to lead an elite force consisting of S-class mages, infiltrating and ambushing the enemy, targeting other high-level Arkmenom generals.

She chose this strategy to unleash the full potential of S-class mages while preserving other mage forces to aid Florent's troops.

Felicia announced the formation of this special force to the S-class mages and instructed Olivier to gather a list of names along with each mage's talents.

Felicia knew that not all S-class mages were suitable for her planned special force. In her plan, about two-thirds of the special force members would be mages with strong combat abilities, while the remaining one-third would be S-class mages supporting the unit.

After some time, Olivier and Felicia's subordinates successfully gathered the names and talents of the selected mages. Mages with elemental manipulation talents were promptly included in the special force, as they generally possessed strong combat abilities.

Additionally, mages with body manipulation talents were also included, covering abilities like strengthening body aspects, growing new organs, resizing the body, changing body structure, and more.

Besides these two types, there were several other types. Felicia carefully observed all mages' talents.

After an hour passed, she finally had the complete list of the planned special force, consisting of around 500 selected mages. Felicia had chosen each one carefully.

"Olivier, announce those names, let the ones not selected return to their respective tents. Meanwhile, gather the chosen ones," Felicia ordered her apprentice.

"Alright, Master."

A few moments later, the selected mages had been assembled. Once again, Felicia stood tall in front of them.

She looked at their faces one by one. Many familiar faces she had seen at the association's headquarters.

Felicia then said, "Alright, those whose names I mention, please step forward."

She took a piece of paper from her pocket and opened it. After reading, she said, "Nevada Flaviston, Tyrone Alliosy, Hugo Rogers, Diana Remose, James Maddistech."

The five mages then walked forward, separating themselves from the others.

One of them was James, a senior who had been active in the Florent mage association for decades, from the time Alphonso was young to when his daughter, Katarina, had grown up.

James's talent, vibration, was an S-class mage talent. However, James couldn't reach its maximum potential; his combat power was not even S, but B class. Of course, his rich experience was one of several things he could be proud of.

"Each of you has rich experience in fighting against Arkmenom. So, I appoint the five of you as squad leaders in this special force. Nevada, you'll lead the first squad; Tyrone, the second; Hugo, the third; Diana, the fourth; and James, you'll lead the support or fifth squad."

Seeing none of them nervous, Felicia nodded in satisfaction.

"Alright, that's it for now. Rest well for today; we'll depart in the evening."

On that night, the special force led by Felicia was ready. Each of them sat on horses, with Felicia and the five squad leaders at the forefront.

Although most mages here had excellent physical condition, Felicia didn't want them to expend their stamina on the journey. Riding horses was a good choice.

There weren't many cavalry in the combined Florent forces due to the less-than-ideal forest terrain. However, for S-class mages, challenging terrain could be destroyed or altered at will. Felicia's S-class mages had no shortage of individuals who could reshape forest areas.

"Ava, Julian, Grey, the three of you are tasked with overseeing from the air. Inform us if there's any enemy movement."

The three flying mages followed Felicia's order, swiftly taking to the skies.

"For those with earth-related talents, lead and flatten the ground ahead so the horses can pass smoothly. I don't want any of us stumbling into swamps or holes."

"Alright, let's go."

Several mages immediately led their horses forward, using their mage powers to alter the terrain, making it denser and flatter. They continued moving forward while changing the surface of the ground.

The sound of horse hooves in the night made some animals in the forest noisy. Some mages promptly killed those animals with their powers.

The continuously vibrating ground due to surface shifts makes the forest seem as if it's swaying. These vibrations continue to propagate from one location to another, in tandem with the progress of the special force led by Felicia. Their target was Arkmenom's camp, this night is the right time to take action.