Chapter 397 - 395: Assault
The camp was on the mountain outside the Golden Apple Stone Forest.
The Golden Apple Stone Forest was like a basin struck out of the land; most of its edges sloped gently downward, but in a few places, like where the camp was, it formed sheer cliffs.
Standing atop the cliff and looking down, everything below was shrouded in mist, and through it you could vaguely see lofty stone pillars rising from the ground, as if a forest made of stone pillars.
This was why the place was called the Golden Apple Stone Forest.
After setting out from camp and entering the Golden Apple Stone Forest, the chatter gradually died down.
Hilia’s team also began to separate from the other squads.
Each group was assigned to a different area, but students from the Divine Magic Academy were all responsible for cleanup operations on the outskirts.
The main offensive launched from base camp was up to the Law Enforcement Knight Order, had nothing to do with them.
If a Tier Six battle were to occur or anything like that, they’d be notified and told to get the hell out, watching from outside the Golden Apple Stone Forest to broaden their horizons.
Alina had scouted ahead and returned by flying device, speaking to everyone: "The Golden Apple Stone Forest is relatively safe today. We can fly low. Everyone, board your flying devices and follow me. Remember—no high-altitude flight, or you’ll attract the attention of aerial predators."
Everyone quickly took out their own flying devices.
If you could work yourself up to become a Tier Three Mage, you wouldn’t be dead broke like the First and Second Tiers anymore. Each person had a customized flying device they adored, and some had even used runes to bind it to their magic puppets, so their flying device could be stored in the puppet’s storage space, ready to summon at any time.
Only Hilia was still using the starter flying broom.
Unfortunately for her, everyone here knew about their championship-winning Holy Maiden Squad, so nobody came to make fun of her.
On the contrary, some classmates next to her looked at her flying broom and sighed in admiration.
"Hilia really hasn’t forgotten her roots."
The others immediately joined in:
"I’ve tried so many types of flying devices, but I still think the flying broom is the most reliable. It flies purely, and the speed’s not bad, either."
"Yeah, plus the flying broom can be used for sweeping the floor. Those other devices are so big—I don’t even know how people carry them."
Hilia: "..."
What’s wrong with you people?
Hilia rolled her eyes inwardly, but on the surface, she just smiled awkwardly.
That little smile totally stunned her classmates—some of them nearly crashed into the stone pillars.
Along the way, it was peaceful—no demon attacks. Maybe it was because there were just too many of them to mess with, so nothing dared approach.
Soon, after a little over half an hour, they arrived at the appointed location.
Through the mist, they could vaguely make out a site ahead that looked like a camp.
Hilia glanced at it, surprised. "They’re actually setting up a camp as a base on the surface? That’s rare."
Phil looked confused. "Aren’t all bases just camps?"
Benovia explained, "Of course not. Each sect has its own aesthetic for bases: The Polar Blood Alliance likes to hide theirs in subspace or natural caves, the Dusk Sect likes disguising their bases as small villages, and the Deep Sea Mutual Aid Association likes building theirs into secret tunnels they dig out—but nothing’s absolute. They all adapt to local conditions; they’ll use whatever works best."
Doris nodded, enlightened. "I see."
Alina looked at the base not far off and said lightly, "Our arrival’s already alerted them. They’re mobilizing people as we speak. Listen, your job is to purify the Tier Two and Three heretics, and rescue the Tier One heretics."
Someone asked, "Aren’t we banned from using Purification Skills? If we can’t purify, how do we purify them?"
The classmate beside them scolded, "Dummy, ’purify’ is just what we’re supposed to say. We’re all Holy Court reserves—how can we talk about ’killing’ people? Of course we say ’purify’!"
The questioner suddenly got it. "Oh, that’s how it is. Got it."
Alina was speechless, pretending not to hear.
Right then, a surge of magic power came from the base, the corruption within spiking wildly.
In the next moment, a powerful figure burst out of the base.
A voice boomed forth.
"Lapdogs of the Holy Court, you’ve finally arrived. We’ve been waiting a long time for you."
The voice was female, but as Hilia heard it, it was far from pleasant—if anything, it made her skin crawl, way worse than Suna when disciplining Mier.
Alina quickly said, "Deploy as planned. I’ll hold off this Tier Four Mage."
With that, she charged forward and crashed directly into the Tier Four heretic.
The fifth-year Leica said to everyone, "Just stick to the tactics we went over. Fifth-years on offense, fourth-years on support. Second and third-years, focus on rescuing civilians."
Doris snorted and muttered to the Holy Maiden Squad, "They’re obviously trying to steal all the credit. The main assault team always gets rated the highest."
Benovia smiled, "It’s fine, it’s just a performance review. They need it for their school applications, to break into Tier Four. We’re not in a rush; let them take it."
Doris huffed, "They’re not necessarily stronger than us. What if they can’t deal with the Tier Three heretics?"
"We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it," Benovia replied.
"Fine."
According to plan, as the two teams of fifth-years charged into the base with fanfare, Hilia and Doris circled to the left, using the polluted fog for cover as they slipped into the stronghold.
The base was a bit like a mercenary camp, divided into a "field" pattern, with a lot of crisscrossing narrow paths and one-story houses made of piled stone on either side.
At this moment, heretics were bursting out of every house—at least a hundred of them, at a glance.
They seemed to have been ordered by high-tier heretics, their eyes bloodshot, all itching for a fight; but affected by corruption, all they could do was run around the base shouting, making quite a ruckus even though they couldn’t spot a single enemy.
Hilia even saw two heretics blunder into each other, then just start biting and tearing right there on the ground—their bodies spewing clouds of demonic qi at each other.
Benovia whispered, "That’s basically the attack method for ordinary heretics. They’ve been forcibly boosted up to Tier One, but they don’t have any corresponding spells, so all they can do is unleash the corruption inside as an attack... Sort of troublesome, but some immobilization magic will handle them."
Phil looked on, visibly upset, faint Holy Light shimmering over her.
Hilia noticed and reminded, "Phil, don’t use Purification Skills. Wait until we’ve escorted them back before we think about purification."
Phil closed her eyes, took a long moment, then nodded and replied in a low voice, "Okay. I understand."
"All right, let’s do this! Even if we’re rescuing ordinary heretics, let’s make it look good!"
Doris raised her hand, summoned her magic puppet, and charged forward first.