Elite Mages’ Academy (Web Novel)

Chapter 64: Xiao Lin’s Plan (II)

After a brief argument, Xiao Lin and the others finally stepped into Sunset Canyon. Although he was not that confident himself, he first had to find a supply depot unless he wanted to die of thirst.

The entire Sunset Canyon was V-shaped and the entrance was relatively narrow. After turning the first corner, his field of vision immediately became wider. The canyon was winding as one looked into the distance and the surrounding rocks were stacked on top of each other. The twists and turns of the huge canyon were like a tie snaking and dancing on the Earth.

Although the heat was unbearable, clusters of plants grew in the crevices of the rock formations. Some even produced light-red, thumb-sized wild fruits. Despite Xiao Lin’s repeated warnings, some people could not help but taste one. Barely minutes later, the hapless guy grabbed his stomach, rolled on the ground in pain, and his face turned pale. In the end, Xiao Lin could only knock him unconscious and hesitated before asking everyone to take turns helping him move forward.

That episode slowed the team down considerably and increased their water consumption faster than expected. In particular, many people did not know how to ration their limited water and drank most of it in one gulp. After only about two hours, half of the people had finished all their water.

The heat and thirst tortured them all, but there was no sign of the supply station that Xiao Lin spoke of. Some people had already begun regretting it. “I actually think we should’ve gone all the way with Wang Dalin. The most important thing is that the area behind us was the plains. I’ve looked at the signs on the map. The water sources are practically distributed in that area.”

Xiao Lin looked at the idiot and said angrily, “If you can think of this, why can’t the Thunder Kingdom’s troops think of it? The climate around here is incredibly dry, and the garrison will surely build their camp near the water source to ensure a steady supply of water. It’s impossible to escape once they enter the lion’s den.”

“How are you so sure they can’t escape? Even though I don’t want to take any risks, Wang Dalin actually made sense. The success rate is at least fifty-fifty. It’s risky, but if you’re not discovered…”

“It’s impossible to succeed!” Xiao Lin sighed. “Have you noticed how the mandatory mission is written? We’re supposed to escape the pursuit of the kingdom’s army. That is the precondition for this mission, which means that the enemy already knows that we’re coming from the beginning.”

Xiao Lin scratched his head in annoyance. “I’ve been thinking about this problem since just now, because this precondition is a contradiction. If what is being simulated now is the actual battle that happened in history, then the enemy should only know about our presence after the exam started.”

“How did they know? We didn’t notice any scouts or anything.”

Xiao Lin gestured with his palms up. “I can’t wrap my head around it either, but if my guess is true, we’ll be walking right into death’s door if we do reconnaissance right now.”

“That can’t be right? Even if they discover us by accident, we could just disperse and retreat—”

“Wolf cavalry squadron,” Xiao Lin shook his head and interrupted the other party. “Didn’t you read the information? This garrison includes two light infantry squadrons and a wolf cavalry squadron.”

“What about the wolf cavalry—Uh, okay…” The man who spoke was a dark-skinned male with a longbow on his back. He was very frank, as he proactively offered an apology to Xiao Lin after realizing that his thought process had been far too simple.

Anyone with a little bit of military knowledge could understand how formidable a squadron was on the plains in terms of the impact and speed. Xiao Lin did not know much about the wolf cavalry since there was no detailed description in the information, but he was quite sure that the students—with their two legs and a strength that barely reached Black Iron rank—were unable to outrun the cavalry of four-legged wolves.

The boy hesitated, then asked, “If the Thunder Kingdom’s troops were prepared for this right from the start, why didn’t you remind the others that they might not be able to escape the cavalry?”

Xiao Lin smiled bitterly. “I’m sure Wang Dalin never thought of this, but I can’t say the same for others. This is all pure guesswork from me. To put it bluntly, there is still a risk.”

Others nodded profoundly. Compared to Wang Dalin’s radical approach, they admired Xiao Lin’s steadiness and conservatism. Xiao Lin’s choice was based on the premise that his side had been discovered, in which case they entered the canyon to avoid the wolf cavalry’s pursuit. That was the best choice.

Xiao Lin glanced at Gu Xiaoyue for a moment. She looked at him with a frown too, but her expression was far from good. Xiao Lin smiled at her, but he had to admit that Gu Xiaoyue’s lifespan made him feel like he had a bone stuck in his throat. He could not approve of taking risks at all. Extra rewards could be gained by completing those optional tasks, but if they failed, it was important to note that the girl had only two years of her life left!

The man who spoke patted Xiao Lin on the shoulder and said, “My name is Lu Renyi. I’m taking the Basic Archery course. If you need anything, just let me know, Class…Class Monitor.”

The man was in his thirties and looked quite strong. He seemed a little embarrassed to address Xiao Lin as monitor and Xiao Lin did not mind that at all. “Just call me by my name. Lu Renyi, is it? If I remember correctly, your Basic Archery skills are already at level two.”

“That’s right. I was randomly assigned a saber during the admission test, then I rushed out and killed a few zombies before being killed myself,” Lu Renyi complained regrettably. “I learned from that painful lesson and felt that close combat was too dangerous and easy to get yourself killed. That’s why I took the Basic Archery course as an elective.”

Xiao Lin was not quite sure how to react when he learned that the man was afraid of death. There were far fewer people taking the Basic Archery course compared to spells and melee classes. Xiao Lin occasionally used his monitor’s authority to view other people’s skill information, and he paid special attention to those who chose to take Basic Archery as a course.

Xiao Lin’s explanation temporarily relieved everyone of their irritability. After a short rest, the team moved forward again. If Xiao Lin’s map was marked correctly, they would have about half a day to reach the suspected supply depot.

“This road seems to be quite far from the agreed meeting place,” Lu Renyi said all of a sudden. He also had a quick hand-drawn map, which was not very detailed. He vaguely noticed that they were going further and was asking out of curiosity rather than having any other thoughts.

“According to Monitor Xiao’s speculation, retreating from the plains is impossible once those people are discovered. There is no need to gather for the time being. Let’s just go our own way!” Another girl helped Xiao Lin answer.

“That’s right, what’s important is that we survive the task!” Lu Renyi did not think much of it, or in other words, the people who followed Xiao Lin placed survival as the ultimate goal of their exam.

Gu Xiaoyue cast a strange look at him again but kept quiet. Xiao Lin smiled wryly, for he might not necessarily be able to conceal his meticulous thoughts from that girl.

Gu Xiaoyue opposed the establishment of an assembly point and Xiao Lin insisted on doing so, but the two people were actually thinking in the same direction. They scarcely believed that Wang Dalin’s group could actually complete any reconnaissance under the enemy’s gaze, or even leave safely for that matter.

Xiao Lin took many things into consideration after the conversation between himself and Song Junlang the day before the exam. They were invaders of that world. If the exam was a near 100% simulation, then it would not just be the environment that was simulated—their enemies might be NPCs too, albeit with high-level intelligence.

The Thunder Kingdom they were going to face were also humans. They were not zombies without intelligence and reason. Would the enemy kill a group of unidentified invaders on the spot if they found out? Xiao Lin put himself in their shoes and thought about it. If he was the commander of an army who caught a spy or a scout of the invader, he would definitely put priority on finding out the other party’s intelligence and intentions.

The method of obtaining information was not really important, whether it was torture or using special spells. In any case, Xiao Lin did not think Wang Dalin and the others would die rather than submit once they were caught. When Wang Dalin decided to proactively carry out reconnaissance, it almost certainly meant that their group would be exposed.

Xiao Lin agreed to set up a rendezvous point not to fool Wang Dalin and the others, but to deliberately relay that information to the enemy garrison’s commander should any of the students be captured!