Chapter 40
Chapter 5 – The London Triangle Operation (2)
December 30, 1920 – 9:00
After days of waiting and planning, we finally collected intelligence on all the mages around the Thames.
The final count was 1,675 mages—an astonishing number.
If I remembered history correctly, London’s population in 1920 was only about two million, and here alone—just in this Thames area—there were 1,675 mages. It was terrifying.
“Are you serious?”
Lijedahl shook her head, unable to believe it.
“Why would so many gather here? Is it accidental? Or were they forced here?”
She muttered the question to herself. Captain Sean sighed helplessly and said:
“We don’t know. That’s why we’re going to contact these mages.”
A thought flashed through my mind—could someone be planning an attack? I dismissed the idea quickly; with these numbers alone, we couldn’t start a proper war. I really didn’t understand why so many had congregated here.
“Captain, the task force requests instructions.”
One of the task force members using Perception Magic spoke to Captain Sean.
“Start the operation. Keep it as low-key as possible.”
“Yes.”
The operation began; it was time for us to get busy.
“Miss Lijedahl, Mr. Will, here’s the compiled map.”
Captain Sean handed us a neatly marked map, tidy despite the many notes.
All the mages’ locations were recorded: the north had more, the east the fewest. In the north, most were scattered individually; in the east, they were mostly in groups of two or three and located not far from other mages. The south showed nothing special—just a wide area with a moderate number.
I noticed a mark labeled “North 43,” where four mid-level mages lived together.
“Captain Sean, I think we should hold our position on that spot.”
I offered my suggestion.
“Why?”
“Because we don’t know why these mages are gathered around the Thames. If multiple mid-level mages ambush us, would we risk alarming them and suffering needless casualties?”
“Reasonable. North 43—stand down for now.”
“Yes!”
The task force members relayed the order immediately. I hoped my judgment wouldn’t trigger anything uncontrollable.
“Will.”
Lijedahl called me; I moved close.
“Notice anything?”
“Do you find the distribution of these people odd?”
“Where exactly?”
“Look.”
She took a pen—not uncapping it, only drawing on the map.
I watched as she drew a circle in the middle of the Thames, then another circle encompassing several points in the north, south, and east. Finally, she enclosed the entire area around the Thames.
“The answer is obvious: a magic circle.”
“What!”
Captain Sean realized it and paled.
“This…”
Seeing the magic circle appear on Lijedahl’s sketch, a terrible premonition rose in me.
“Lijedahl, this magic circle is—”
“It’s… an air magic?”
“No matter what it is—Captain Sean! Order an immediate withdrawal!”
“No! Capture the mages now! Destroy that magic circle!”
Lijedahl shouted urgently at Captain Sean.
“Notify all task force members! Take as many mages as you can carry away! Get far from the Thames area!”
“Yes!”
The tension was suffocating.
“Dammit! Our covert operation has failed! Who would set up such a huge air magic circle?”
Captain Sean pressed a hand to his forehead and sank into thought.
“Will, we need to go see for ourselves.”
With that, Lijedahl grabbed my hand.
“Wait, Lijedahl… Miss? Why?”
“Captain Sean, we need aerial reconnaissance.”
“Yes, Miss Lijedahl, please be extremely careful.”
Before Sean finished speaking, Lijedahl dragged me outside and used air magic to fly.
We stopped when a building provided cover but still allowed a clear view of the Thames area.
“Just as I thought!”
“Lijedahl, what’s your plan?”
I looked up and saw her pale blue eyes full of tension. She frowned, and a few beads of sweat rolled down her cheek.
“Will, we have to reach the center of the magic circle.”
“Why—”
“Because I can try to dismantle the circle. Mages of this era don’t fully understand the structure of an air magic circle!”
I finally remembered the lessons Lijedahl had once mentioned about magic circle theory.
"No more talking!"
I shouted; before my words died, Lijedahl sped off with me.
The surroundings blurred, but she dodged obstacles like a bird—slipping through building gaps, weaving around telegraph poles, threading through countless wires.
“Will, look!”
She stopped. We saw a ground-floor rental unit whose wall had been blasted open.
Dust still hung in the air; it seemed to have been blown open very recently.
“There’s a magical flow inside. Let’s check it out.”
Landing had become routine for us. The moment I straightened, my pistol safety was off.
We had fired eight shots before, so with the rounds in the magazine, I only had thirteen bullets left.
“Gotta save them…”
I muttered in Chinese.
We moved toward the dust. Lijedahl used air magic to blow it aside, revealing the interior.
Beyond the breached wall was a room. When I stepped in, two people on the floor came into view.
“Damn…”
I checked for an ambush and pushed forward.
Both weren’t dead—one unconscious, the other writhing in pain. Both were burned and blown open; their wounds were raw. Without immediate aid, they would bleed to death.
I also realized they were task force members.
“Hey, friend! What happened?”
I grabbed the still-conscious task force member and asked hurriedly.
“Cough… two mages—blew us up… damn it! They were driven here by the Academy of Sciences… they were threatened…”
He barked the words through blood-tinged speech; I understood enough from his fragmented sentences.
Damn it! It was true.
“Will, the police are coming!”
“Damn! Hold on, friends. The police don’t know who you are yet. They’ll take you for treatment—don’t give up!”
“All right…!”
With that, Lijedahl swept me away and we flew at top speed toward the circle’s center.
“We must hurry.”
“All right, but how will you break the magic circle?”
She spoke in a rush:
“When we reach the center, the river’s middle, I’ll borrow the mana I left inside your body to modify this air magic circle.”
Suddenly, a massive wall of fire rushed at us from below—unstoppable in its momentum.
“Hmph!”
Lijedahl waved, and the inferno was struck by the air magic and shattered into sparks.
The sudden blaze forced us to pause. I readied my pistol to aim, and then an unexpected voice called out.
“Miss Lijedahl?”
A woman’s voice, full of puzzlement.
“Miss Sofia?”