Elite Mages’ Academy (Web Novel)

Chapter 76: Loyalty

More people joined the argument. There was confusion in the eyes of the other Norma people; they did not know what Xiao Lin’s group were talking about.

Xiao Lin remained undecided and thought for a moment before finally saying, “The interrogation will continue tomorrow, but we’ll change the focus of the interrogation. I’ll write down the questions and Gu Xiaoyue will translate them. You’ll learn these Normese sentences for the time being and ask them… And Zhou Feng, you don’t need to participate in the interrogation anymore. Just head here and observe the situation, but remember not to get too close. Just look for a hidden corner in a distance and hide.”

Xiao Lin’s prestige in the team prevented everyone from rejecting his order. Zhou Feng nodded happily and agreed, then glanced at Xiao Lin’s map on the ground. He was slightly taken aback by it. “Isn’t this the rendezvous point?”

Indeed, the place Xiao Lin told Zhou Feng to check was the rendezvous place agreed upon after Wang Dalin’s group parted ways with them. Ever since it had been determined that their whereabouts were discovered, they believed that the other team would not be spared and had little—if any—chance of escaping and retreating.

If the Thunder Kingdom were adamant on capturing them, they would then send the wolf cavalry squadron into the canyon within the next few days.

Xiao Lin deliberately set up that rendezvous point to mislead the opposing commander and prevent the wolf cavalry from discovering them too quickly.

The sun had yet to shine the next day when Zhou Feng departed early under Xiao Lin’s urging. Before leaving, Xiao Lin repeatedly asked Zhou Feng to place utmost importance on safety and leave as soon as he felt that something was wrong.

“I can’t possibly outrun the cavalry if I’m discovered. But in any case, I won’t bring the chasing soldiers to this place.” Zhou Feng was not an idiot and he immediately understood what Xiao Lin was trying to say. In spite of that, he laughed heartily and patted Xiao Lin on the shoulder to ease the latter’s worries. “You saved my life last time, and I don’t like owing others. I consider this a chance to pay my dues.”

Xiao Lin sighed apologetically. There was a risk of being discovered if he sent someone to investigate, but within the two days, Xiao Lin discovered that Zhou Feng was ruthless and was unsure of what his profession on Earth was. Therefore, such a plan was very appropriate for Zhou Feng.

Of course, Xiao Lin was also well aware that Zhou Feng was the most likely person in the team to accede to his orders, since Zhou Feng had been saved by him.

The interrogation at the supply depot went on. The main point of that day’s interrogation was about the deployment of the army camp or the wolf cavalry’s garrison. According to Xiao Lin’s request, everyone began to interrogate their captives’ personal information, as well as who they knew in those garrisons and the personal information of those individuals.

“How old are you this year?”

“What’s your name?”

“Do you know the archer who guards the archer tower? What do they look like?”

“What? You had drinks with the captain of the infantry team before? What’s his name?”

“How many times have you delivered wine to the garrison?”

“How often do you send it?”

…

Only a few words were required to convey such basic information, and Gu Xiaoyue’s last-minute all-night crash course enabled everyone to speak in an understandable manner.

The Norma people, who have been tortured all day, did not dare conceal any trivial information. Xiao Lin specifically separated them during the interrogation, and if the information was found to be wrong, the person would immediately be subject to a severe beating. Everyone gradually became more used to the tactics after some practice. The occasional screams and wails coming from the cave made Xiao Lin feel as though he was transforming into the spy chief in a anti-Japanese war drama…

No one knew what Xiao Lin wanted to do and Xiao Lin himself did not say anything. He and Lu Renyi were still guarding the Norma woman and kept a certain distance. She was already in a semi-dehydrated state after being exposed to the sun for a day and given insufficient water. She was already very groggy and could barely stay awake.

Lu Renyi’s heart softened a little, but he did not dare provide the woman with more water and food under Xiao Lin’s order. Xiao Lin sighed slightly after seeing the woman’s tragic situation and had mixed feelings. As an ordinary person who had lived on Earth for more than 20 years, he could not possibly lose his basic compassion just because he had trained in the academy for a month.

After having suffered a loss once however, Xiao Lin was very much wary of feeling pity for the woman. He repeatedly reminded himself that the woman was their enemy, and a very dangerous one at that. When he recalled the Flame Shield spell, which had both offensive and defensive qualities, it could have killed at least half their team if Xiao Lin had not replicated it in time!

The success rate of a spellcaster correlated directly to a person’s mental state. The woman was already near death, so the possibility of her using the Flame Shield again was reduced to the absolute minimum.

Xiao Lin then compiled all the interrogation information collected by everyone else, supplementing it to the army camp map in his notebook using additional drawings. For example, there were four archer towers in front of the camp, and someone happened to know the soldier atop one of those towers. Xiao Lin would use an arrow to mark the person’s name on the tower. It was written in Norma, so of course Xiao Lin did not recognize those words. Nevertheless, it did not matter as much because he simply wanted to record notes.

Gu Xiaoyue was responsible for running errands back and forth to correct Xiao Lin’s grammatical errors. If he encountered something that Gu Xiaoyue did not know, all they could do was ask the Norma woman.

He tried his utmost best to get a good understanding of the enemy’s garrison.

“@#￥%…&*!” The Norma woman mustered all of her strength and said something sarcastically.

Xiao Lin put down the pen and paper, rubbed his temples, and sighed. “I don’t understand what you said. It’s useless, even if you do curse my ancestors.”

“She’s not scolding you.” Gu Xiaoyue came over and could not help reminding him.

“Huh? She wasn’t cursing us this time?”

“She said she’ll obediently listen to your orders, but she hopes that you’ll let her meet that man.”

“Which man? Oh, her suspected lover?” Xiao Lin was briefly stunned before shaking his head subconsciously.

“She also said that she would rather commit suicide if you don’t allow them to meet,” Gu Xiaoyue continued to translate.

“Damn it!” Xiao Lin felt irritated. He mulled over it for a moment and felt that it was fine. The Norma woman had been tortured for several days already, and her spirit was extremely weak. In such a state, she had no energy to resist them and it was useless, even if she had any tricks up her sleeve.

“Let them meet then, but you have to observe them from the side and write down what they say,” Xiao Lin instructed Gu Xiaoyue.

Whether or not the Norma woman was willing to help was the key for them to sneak into the enemy’s quarters. Otherwise, they would not even be able to enter the army camp. It went without saying that she could not possibly be willing to help, because her actions would be considered treason. Even though Xiao Lin was unsure whether Norma’s humanoids understood the concept of loyalty and patriotism, it was almost certain that their direct attack against the invaders.