Chapter 188: Mountain Patrol

Cain stood in the small plaza of the base, which was really just a flat area.

In front of him were Helag, David, and Reese. “You’ve all gotten familiar with the area these past few days. Today, we’ll leave the base for our first mission.”

Cain produced a map, its shape irregular.

Centered on the base, the map showed many unexplored areas, marked as blank.

“Our task today is to map the southeastern terrain. It’s a simple mission with low risk,” Cain explained.

Base 27 was deep in the mountains, surrounded by wilderness, with no paths.

Helag and his companions followed Cain out of the base gate into dense jungle.

To avoid leaving traces, no paths were cleared, making the forest difficult to navigate.

Helag and his companions, being formal wizards, moved through the untamed forest without much delay.

“Deep Blue, activate environmental scan,” Helag instructed.

Helag activated Deep Blue’s environmental scan, staying alert to his surroundings.

The energy particle density here was higher than in the Wizard Plane, or the Barrens.

In the Elven Plane, as in the Abyss, wizard magic was less fluid than in the Wizard Plane.

Magic wasn’t as smooth, and spell effects were slightly reduced.

This was due to the Elven Plane’s world will suppression, though less severe than the Abyss.

Helag had tried sensing his bloodline mark here, finding it still suppressed.

However, due to the royal elf bloodline within, he could tap into some of its power.

Helag hadn’t activated it, being cautious under the base’s monitoring arrays.

Unlike the Abyss, Helag felt at ease in the Elven Plane, with smoother magic flow.

“Must be the royal elf bloodline,” Helag speculated.

Absorbing Shatia’s royal elf bloodline made the Elven Plane feel like home.

The world will here didn’t suppress his magic.

Only the Abyss’s lightning ancestor bloodline was suppressed; other powers weren’t.

Helag and his group traversed mountains to the southeastern area.

They began using magic perception to map the terrain.

The task was tedious but simple.

Cain led them, mapping as they went.

In Helag’s mind, a broader map formed.

Deep Blue’s scan range was much larger than magic perception.

Helag used magic perception, mapping diligently.

Though he knew the wider terrain, he mapped within perception range.

He couldn’t reveal how he mapped such a large area to Cain.

A first-level gaseous wizard’s perception range was 100-200 meters.

Deep Blue’s scan range was 1,500 meters, far exceeding perception.

At their pace, mapping the southeast would take a month.

Using Deep Blue’s range, it could be done in seven or eight days.

Such tasks could be stretched out; finishing too quickly would bring new assignments.

Helag couldn’t explain how he mapped such a wide area.

He proceeded at a normal pace, mapping slowly.

While traversing the forest, Helag noted various plants.

Many were unique to the Elven Plane, and Helag had Deep Blue record them.

***

While Helag’s group mapped, another group struggled through the mountains.

These people wore light armor, carrying bows and packs.

They were border soldiers of the Norn Kingdom, patrolling the mountains.

Carrot, a veteran, had served at the border for ten years.

Mountain patrols were tough, preventing smuggling and detecting enemy movements.

Carrot’s group of thirteen had been in the mountains for five months.

After another month, they’d return to the border camp for rest.

Mountain life was harsh, with difficult terrain and dangerous wildlife.

Wild beasts were manageable, with several formal knights in the group.

Most beasts avoided the large group.

Noisy patrols scared away smart beasts.

The real trouble was insects.

Various bugs were hard to guard against, sneaking into collars and pant legs.

A few bites were manageable, but many bugs were venomous.

Untreated bites could lead to limb loss.

Fortunately, there was no war, and the border was stable.

Patrolling soldiers wouldn’t face enemy troops, avoiding large-scale casualties.

As long as they survived, hardships were bearable.

Carrot brushed off a black bug from his leg, applied ointment, and continued.

Today’s patrol covered an unvisited area, a no-man’s land.

Carrot used binoculars to survey the landscape.

He spotted four people in the distance.

“Come here, there’s someone over there,” Carrot called.

The team took turns with the binoculars, spotting Helag’s group.

“What are they doing here?” Carrot wondered.

He saw Helag’s group in peasant clothes, unarmed.

In a no-man’s land, who could reach here unarmed?

Carrot decided to approach and inquire, as border patrol duty required.

Helag had noticed the soldiers but couldn’t say so.

Cain, a second-level wizard, hadn’t noticed; Helag, a first-level gaseous wizard, had no reason to.