Elite Mages' Academy Chapter 77: Hesitation

Chapter 77: Hesitation

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
According to Xiao Lin’s plan, the other Normans were taken hostage to intimidate that woman into helping them complete the infiltration reconnaissance mission. However, completing the second mission was purely a matter of chance.
The two Normans were reunited and embraced each other with excitement. They whispered to each other and Gu Xiaoyue listened quietly with a cold expression. In the midst of the conversation, Xiao Lin came over to inquire several times. He was only relived when he learnt that the two were just talking about their daily torture and concern for each other.
All of a sudden, a strange expression appeared on Gu Xiaoyue’s face. She found Xiao Lin and said hesitantly, “I’m not sure if I misheard, but I don’t fully understand some of the things they said.”
Xiao Lin smiled and comforted her. “Well, your proficiency in their language is only level three; it’s natural you’re unable to fully understand them.”
“That’s not the reason.” Gu Xiaoyue shook her head and explained, “I have the nagging feeling that they’re deliberately communicating in another language.”
Xiao Lin was taken aback. “Another language? Aren’t they speaking standard Normese?”
“Not entirely.” Gu Xiaoyue pondered for a moment and pointed out, “It’s like Chinese dialects. The dialect that we learnt is probably analogous to Chinese Mandarin, and Planet Norma has different dialects too. But this is just a guess, of course.”
Xiao Lin’s face gradually became sullen. He fully understood that logic. As a Chinese person, he would not dare say that he understood the dialects of all of China’s regions. It would have been even worse with Norma’s lingua franca because they were barely skilled enough in the language to begin with.
Soon, the Norma woman was forcibly separated again, and Xiao Lin kept her under close guard at all times. The woman did not ask for anything else and even seemed very cooperative with some of Xiao Lin’s questions. She even said that she was willing to lead the way into the camp of the border garrison as long as Xiao Lin’s group could ensure the safety of the others.
Moreover, the woman seemed very calm after that, and the indifference on her face made Xiao Lin feel a little uneasy, though he was unsure where that uneasiness came from.
Of course, Xiao Lin understood that the woman was extremely dangerous. Once she had recovered enough mental power to release the Flame Shield, they would not be strong enough to kill her. As a result, the woman was still thrown out to the desert every day to wear her spirit down, despite having cooperated very well.
In the afternoon, Zhou Feng finally came back when Xiao Lin was still waiting anxiously. Everyone was quite unsure whether the news he brought was good or bad. A small number of wolf cavalry troops had appeared at the rendezvous point they initially set up!
“That means someone in the group has already been captured and ratted us out? Motherf*cker!” Lu Renyi could not help but yell.
“They did it just to survive.” Xiao Lin looked calm; he expected that result.
“Will the wolf cavalry squadron come here? I’m sure they know about this supply depot too!” Zhou Feng was a little worried. He had been running around all day and his skin was almost tanned.
Xiao Lin unfolded the map again and looked at it for a while before shaking his head and saying, “The possibility is relatively slim. They’ll assume that we’ve left Sunset Canyon because of the misleading information that I gave. Look, the information the academy gave us only says that one-third of the entire canyon is under the Thunder Kingdom’s territory. The number of people in their border troops is small to begin with, and it’s unlikely that they’ll travel long distances across the border just to slowly search for us in the canyon.
“From the intelligence obtained during the interrogation today, this caravan will head to the army camp about once in a fortnight. Each time, it delivers supplies, including wine and meat. There’s still three or four days before the date of their next delivery, which means that the wolf cavalry will most likely come over if the caravan doesn’t arrive at the station in three or four days.”
Finally, Xiao Lin thought for a moment before saying, “Of course, this is all just guesswork. I can’t guarantee that the enemy will act according to my predictions. If they really crossed the border and went deep into the canyon for the past couple of days, it’s entirely possible that they’d find out about us.”
Gu Xiaoyue frowned and muttered, “Whether they’ll send their main wolf cavalry squadron to commence this cross-border reconnaissance depends on the diplomatic relationship between the Thunder Kingdom and America’s Judge Academy. The internal elements of political response within the Thunder Kingdom itself must also be taken into account. If they’re sufficiently cautious against Judge Academy, it will be unlikely that they’d risk cross-border reconnaissance.”
Xiao Lin gestured with outspread palms and blinked helplessly. “We really have to learn our history lessons when we go back.”
He gathered everyone by the bonfire for a short meeting and explained his plan in detail. In another seven days, they would dress up as merchants and follow the Norma woman into the army camp, while another group would stay behind to take care of the other hostages. The key was the Norma woman’s alleged lover—as long as he remained in their hands, the woman was more likely to act in their favor.
Finally, he concluded, “Those are my thoughts. It’s a risky plan and I’m not going to force everyone to do it. Those who are willing to complete only the mandatory tasks can leave Sunset Canyon tomorrow. Those who are willing to try the optional tasks can stay back and sneak into the camp with me on the seventh day.”
“Why wait until the seventh day?”
“Is it because the supply team usually arrives at the border then?”
“No wonder the duration for this mission is only seven days.”
Xiao Lin kept quiet and did not expound on the reasons. His replication skill required a seven-day cooldown, and the infiltration mission was full of uncertain variables. Keeping his replication in hand would allow him more options to deal with anything.
For example, if the Norma woman suddenly changed her mind halfway, he could copy the opponent’s Normese skills and then communicate by himself without immediately being discovered. In another example, if he encountered the squadron captain of the wolf cavalry—who was the biggest boss in that mission’s task—it was very likely that the captain would have some very powerful skills. If Xiao Lin could replicate their riding skills, he might be able to grab a wolf and make an escape.
In short, his replication skill was very useful. Waiting seven days for it was completely worthwhile, but—for obvious reasons—Xiao Lin could not just express his intention to everyone. “My personal opinion is that at least one person should come with me. The minimum number of people who must complete the task is thirty percent, which translates to eighteen people. We have twenty on our team, and the other eighteen can leave Sunset Canyon first.”
To Xiao Lin’s marked surprise however, several people were willing to follow him on the infiltration and reconnaissance mission. He was initially worried about whether he had to force a few people to go with him if there were not enough. However, his decisiveness during the past two days’ battles unconsciously made everyone trust him as the monitor.
However, Xiao Lin was also under greater pressure because of that. He understood that the entire group would likely be killed if he failed. Should that happen, he would lose 10 years of life in addition to failing the required tasks.
He had that nagging concern in his heart, and Xiao Lin knew that the Norma woman was the source of that anxiety. At the end of the meeting, Xiao Lin asked a very strange question, “To what extent do you think that Planet Norma’s people will be loyal to their nation?”
Everyone was stunned. They were roughly able to guess what Xiao Lin meant by that question. After discussing it, they realized they knew little about the Thunder Kingdom and could only analyze it from the perspective of humanity and rationality. After all, they may differ in race and planet, but there could still be some similarities in terms of human attributes and sensibility.