Chapter 620: Volume 16: Mists and Illusions, - 13: Head On Collision (3)
In fact, Rebury had already identified familiar faces among the group that had appeared. Clarence, the Chief Magician of the Homer Magic Team, a master of earth-based magic, was rumored to have some connections with significant figures within the Church of Light, yet he wasn’t a member of the Church; Burqin, a master within the Church of Light whose light magic was said to be close to the Archmage level, and although Rebury thought he still had a way to go before reaching the Archmage status, he was indeed a formidable figure; Deravak, also from the Church of Light, was said to be a bit of a slacker who had only average proficiency in light magic but was quite skilled with certain support magic; there was also Sheferley, who seemed to have quite an expertise in wood magic—Rebury knew of him but had never dealt with him.
The rest of the individuals Rebury did not recognize, and he guessed they must be members of the Homer Magic Team as well. He estimated the combined strength of these magicians to be far beyond what the three of them could handle. Although Clarence might not be quite as powerful as himself, the gap wouldn’t be significant, and Burqin was equally formidable. If Deravak were to assist as well, he would be undoubtedly defeated alone, and the other five magicians were not likely to be handled by Shatima alone; he wasn’t entirely convinced that Vladimir Koff could ensure victory against their seven knights. As for the knights, Rebury wasn’t well-versed in their capabilities and thus couldn’t make definitive judgments, but the fact that Vladimir Koff claimed to possess the Holy Light god-spear was testimony enough to the opponent’s formidable power.
"Mr. Vladimir Koff, it seems we’ve really hit the jackpot. These guys must be from Homer’s side. I recognize a few of the magicians; they are members of the Homer Magic Team. I guess those knights must be masters from the Homer Knight Order. What they’re doing at Ice Lake remains unknown—perhaps they’ve come to hunt here for the opportunity," Rebury mused, squinting his eyes and stroking his chin.
"Mr. Rebury, what do we do now?" Vladimir Koff asked directly, forgoing any superfluous talk, wanting to get to the heart of the matter: fight, retreat, or observe from a distance?
"Vladimir Koff, aren’t you stating the obvious? Take them down. Isn’t Homer’s magician our primary target? Now that these guys are all here, it’s a golden opportunity. Why the hesitation, why stand around doing nothing?" Shatima was furious. What were these two plotting secretly? Such an opportunity had literally come knocking at their door, and here they were, exchanging banalities.
"Miss Shatima, you seem to think it’s too easy. Let’s not even mention their knights. They have eight magicians on their side. To my knowledge, some possess strength comparable to mine. Even if we ambush them, it’s unlikely we’d succeed, and we might end up trapped here. We need to be cautious and ensure that we capture them all in one fell swoop," Rebury glanced sideways at the beautiful dragon woman and said with a sly smile, "Miss Shatima, these magicians are not weak. You don’t plan to take them all on by yourself, do you? If you’re confident about that, I’m willing to leave the seven knights to Mr. Vladimir Koff and myself."
Even Shatima, as naïve as she might be, could detect the mockery in his words and blushed, "No, you human magicians have too many tricks; I can’t handle eight, but one or two would be manageable. And since we’re talking about ambushing, I believe I can take down two or three."
"Hmm, if we act, we must eliminate them all, leaving no future troubles, or it would only spoil everything," Rebury shook his head.
"Then what should we do? Are we supposed to just watch them slip away from right in front of us?" Shatima couldn’t accept such an outcome.
After a brief assessment of the relative strength of both sides, Rebury determined that they shouldn’t act rashly. The magic message was sent out at once, and Lord Komer would receive the transmission within a few minutes. Now it all depended on whether they could arrive in time.
"Miss Shatima, keep calm. I have already sent a message to Lord Komer. Now we just have to see if they can make it in time. If he, along with Mihailovich and Solonberg, can arrive promptly, we may have a fierce battle awaiting us. If they can’t make it, then with just the three of us, we might have no choice but to watch them leave," Rebury said, his gaze still fixed on the group of people moving opposite, where the boundary between magicians and knights was clearly divided into two groups. It seemed they were attempting to capture some prey and, perhaps being new to the area, had not made any significant moves, still appearing to be observing the situation.