Chapter 103 – Legion Warfare!

Volume 3: Rising Winds and Clouds

There was clearly a reason the Military had established an entire special operations unit exclusively for Mana Mages.

Fireballs slowly coalesced in their hands. At Shen Yi's command, more than a thousand enormous spheres of flame hurtled toward the Bipedal Lizard swarm closing on the wall.

Skill Two: Fireball Spell (F-Rank, Active Ability): Conjures a fireball… Anyone who has played an online game knows how it works.

Its rank was only F-Rank.

Unlike Mana Domain, which was E-Rank, Fireball Spell was not an innate Skill granted upon becoming a Mana Mage. It was a low-level Skill available from the Exchange Pillar.

The sort nobody would pick up even if they found it lying in the street.

But that also meant one thing.

It was easy to obtain.

And a Skill like Fireball Spell, which could be equipped on a massive scale, was indispensable to Mana Mages.

As more than a thousand fireballs left their hands, Shen Yi and his unit activated their third Skill in unison.

A Skill unique to Mana Mages.

Mana Fusion (Rank C, Active Ability): The Skills of Mana Mages may fuse with one another. Valid fusion targets include magic Skills of the same school cast by a single Mana Mage, or the same Skill cast by different Mana Mages.

Mana Domain and Mana Fusion made the purpose of the Class perfectly clear.

Mana Mages had been created for legion warfare.

Individually, they were weak. For a lone Mana Mage, Mana Domain was all but useless, while Mana Fusion was hardly overwhelming. But once Mana Mages gathered on a large scale, their mutual amplification became terrifyingly powerful.

That was why the Military had asked Shen Yi-one of its original Super Soldiers and special Class Holders-to change Classes.

As Mana Fusion activated, the trajectories of the thousand-plus fireballs in midair abruptly changed.

They converged rapidly around Shen Yi's fireball, merging one after another.

In the blink of an eye, more than a thousand fireballs became a single blazing sphere nearly twenty meters across, radiating dazzling white light and horrific heat.

Then the super fireball crashed down upon the approaching Bipedal Lizards.

…

Shen Yi was a Level 4 Class Holder, and one who had only recently changed Classes. The Mana Mage Special Operations Unit did not contain many Level 4 Class Holders-only a few dozen. The rest were all Level 3 Class Holders.

Their levels were not high. Before Level 5 Bipedal Lizards, such numbers should not have amounted to much.

But if more than a thousand fireballs cast by those Class Holders fused into one, how powerful would the result be?

The Mana Mage Special Operations Unit gave a terrifying answer.

The super fireball struck the leading Bipedal Lizard squarely on the head.

Its terrible heat melted the creature's skull in an instant. The Bipedal Lizard could not even scream before it dropped dead.

Then the super fireball hit the ground.

BOOM!

A violent blast rolled outward with a towering wave of heat. A vast ring of fire erupted around the point of impact and swept madly toward the more distant Bipedal Lizards.

The first Level 5 Bipedal Lizards caught by the flames became charred corpses in an instant. Those farther back were hurled away by the shock wave and left convulsing on the ground.

When the blast finally dispersed, it revealed a crater nearly a hundred meters across. The wave of fire had traveled almost a kilometer before stopping.

Then the second super fireball arrived.

…

Mana Domain did more than negate the Mana Mages' Skill expenditure. Far more frightening was its effect on Skill cooldowns.

Fireball Spell had a short cooldown, expressed as a brief period of physical weakness after each cast.

Under the combined amplification of the Mana Domains, even that reaction was completely canceled.

Before the stunned eyes of the watching Class Holders, super fireballs began launching at a rate of three to five per second.

Their area of effect might not have been especially large, but their destructive intensity was horrifying. Every Bipedal Lizard caught within a blast died.

The solid defensive line formed by the Mana Mage corps became an inescapable nightmare for the Bipedal Lizards charging the Outpost head-on.

Fang Wenhai smacked his lips as he watched the barrage.

"If we had three more units like yours, defending the Outpost would be nothing."

Before Shen Yi could answer, Cao Ling spoke with a sigh.

"This Class may look glorious right now, but the price is steep."

Shen Yi continued hurling fireballs as he explained.

"Becoming a Mana Mage cuts off any path to further Promotion… And the Treasure Land produces very few Class Change Scrolls. Since we discovered the place, this is all we've managed to save up!"

Fang Wenhai immediately understood.

Mana Mages might be formidable in group combat, but individually they were weak.

Neither Mana Domain nor Mana Fusion did anything for a lone fighter's combat power. If a Level 3 Mana Mage wanted a Promotion, he would have to face a Mutant Beast with the same Physical Attribute and four Skills of its own-with nothing but Fireball Spell.

The casualty rate would be horrifying.

Under those circumstances, the Military leadership would never permit Mana Mages to attempt Promotion. It could only use Class Change Scrolls to convert high-level Class Holders who had already reached the desired level.

And when low-level Mana Mages could no longer keep pace with the increasingly powerful Demonic Creatures faced by the corps, they would be eliminated.

First their level would be left behind by the world. Then they would be left behind by the Mana Mage Special Operations Unit.

The Level 3 and Level 4 Class Holders standing here might still be Level 3 or Level 4 years from now. Eventually, the Military would discharge them.

Or they would die in battle.

Fang Wenhai was silent for a long time.

"You've all borne a heavy burden," he said quietly.

Still casting fireballs, Shen Yi burst into laughter.

"Brothers! Let them hear our motto!"

An orderly roar answered from behind him.

"Unseen front! Unsung heroes! Selfless devotion! Supreme honor!"

They were true soldiers.

True heroes.