“Good. Now demonstrate.”


    Lawrend watched them from afar.


    …


    They finished by morning. Lawrend was still not satisfied by their performance, but it was already better than nothing.


    The journey continued silently. Lawrend meditated again. This time, he focused on understanding how to be an Earth Mage. He was still stuck as a Grand Mage.


    It was already hard to be a Grand Mage. It would definitely take him longerpared to before to be an Earth Mage. Not to mention, he also had to be an Earth Mage in both Lightning and Fire magic.


    Otherwise, it would result in an imbnce in his magic. One mana would suppress the other, which would either force him to remove the suppressed mana or lower his strength by two levels.


    For example, if he became a Lightning Earth Mage and he neglected his Fire mana, his strength would fall to Arch Mage level. It was something he didn’t want to see.


    He didn’t even think about pushing out his fire mana. It was very hard for him to drain his mana thest time he did it. And now, that would be impossible.


    His death was assured if he attempted it, no matter how strong he was.


    That was also why Lawrend practiced magic using his soul. He wasn’t able to practice all of the other elements, but he could still do it in his soul. He just didn’t expect the great benefits it gave him.


    …


    The rest of the journey took four days in total. They had to take a sleep break in between. If the mages didn’t get adequate rest, it would affect their performance in the uing battle.


    They might be High Mages that didn’t need as much sleep, but they were still exerting their mana and bodies as they traveled through the forest.


    When they arrived at Tropical City, Lawrend’s mage army was ready for battle. They stared at the city in front of them with squinted eyes. They were all eager to try out their army formation.


    “Your Imperial Majesty, we’re ready for battle,” Julianne said beside him.


    “Inquire the scouting party first,” Lawrend replied.


    “Yes, sir.”


    Julianne lifted a metal prism with a blue gem engraved at the top. She closed her eyes and sent her mana into it.


    She did that for a whole minute while everyone eagerly waited for her.


    “They have 8 Earth Mages. Three from the Blumin Empire and five from the Crescent Empire. As for the rest, not worth mentioning,” Julianne said.


    “E-eight…”


    The high morale of the soldiers took a hit. They looked at each other, unsure about the uing battle.


    “That’s perfect. Bring our captive here,” Lawrend ordered.


    A mage flew forward and pushed a tied olddy to him.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    “Olddy, ask one of their Earth Mages to leave with you, or we will execute you here,” Lawrend said to her coldly.


    The olddy’s back shuddered. She initially allowed herself to be captive because she wanted to live. She wasn’t confident that eight Earth Mages wouldpromise themselves for her.


    “Fly slowly together. Let’s approach the city till they get a good enough look at her,” Lawrend said.


    They slowly approached Tropical City. Arge barrier was already erected even before they arrived. It was a bluish barrier oozing with water mana.


    “Beast! We are here to give retribution for Old Mud and Auntie Relief! Fight to the death!” an Earth Mage shouted. He was wearing the crest of the Blumin Empire.


    “Wait! I’m still alive!” the olddy shouted.


    “Ah! Auntie Relief, the sacred healer of the Blumin Empire, has appeared before us in her soul form! That only means we should exact revenge even more!” the Earth Mage shouted.


    “Trou!? What are you saying?!” the olddy shouted in disbelief.


    The guy called ‘Trou’ ignored her and nced at his teammates.


    “Attack!”


    “Why!? I have healed and even regrew severed limbs from all of the Earth Mages in the empire!? I also healed the emperor before! You can’t pretend that I’m dead!”


    Trou’s face suddenly became sinister.


    “Auntie Trou, we won’tpromise! We can already tell that he has you as a hostage to make uspromise in this battle! We won’t do that! He will not live another day!” Trou snarled solemnly.


    “Where is your guilt!? Did I heal all of you for nothing!?” Auntie Relief shouted in disbelief while looking at the two other Earth Mages from the Blumin Empire.


    The two avoided her eyes, and a sh of guilt appeared in Trou’s eyes before it quickly disappeared.


    “This is a direct order from the emperor and the Crescent Emperor,” Trou replied in a low voice.


    He lost all of his confidence when he revealed it to her. It was hard betraying your benefactor. He kept reminding himself that it was worth it once they won.


    “I was wrong! I was so wrong! Your Imperial Majesty, free me! I will fight together with you!” Auntie Relief turned to Lawrend.


    She was at her wit’s end. She was a healer. She had seen many deaths and gore. Those kinds of things made her unable to ept death.


    Many of her friends and rtives had already died of old age. It was also one of the reasons why she didn’t turn her body back to her youth using her healing magic.


    At her level, that was very easy. It was only a matter of will. But to pay respects to her deceased friends and rtives, she didn’t reverse her age.


    “No. For all I know, you are an enemy. I can’t trust you before, so I still can’t trust you now,” Lawrend replied and shook his head.


    Lawrend was upromising. It was an interesting development, but he knew her rtionship with the Blumin Empire runs deep. She grew there for who-knows-how-long.


    “Please! I will even be your maid! I-I’m beautiful in my youth! I-I’m willing to serve you at night!” the olddy said without any shame.