Grischa carefully lowered the large ship into the dark sea, then approached Cale and took a seat next to him on the ground. Both High-Magicians closed their eyes and, using Chioni's ability, connected with their colleagues, Rangar and Nora doing the same. After a few minutes, everyone had joined in and Cale could feel how strong the tension was.

<"Eldest...">, Cale began slowly the moment he could sense his mana. His body began to shake involuntarily as he waited for an answer.

<"It's going to happen. The third wave">, the Eldest replied worriedly. His usually neutral, matter-of-fact expression was clearly tinged with concern. He seemed a bit out of breath, probably because his vision from the future was barely 5 minutes old. While Cale didn't know how exhausting it was for the Eldest to receive it, based on his reaction, it hadn't been easy, especially this time.

<"What exactly did you see?">

<"Not the attack itself. A warning from the mages keeping an eye on the creature plane had reached the Magistrat. 10 days from today">, the Eldest calmly explained. 10 days. Typically, the Eldest barely exceeded the 5-day limit, and now it was 10? Is that why he was so powerless?

<"What makes you so sure that the creatures will attack us again?">, Joshua cautiously spoke up. <"What exactly was the information?">

<"They have discovered countless creatures and quite a few Thormods in war paint and immediately started an evacuation of the surrounding regions. Also. I don't get a vision unless it's absolutely necessary.">

<"But not seeing the attack itself at all?">, Rosalie replied in confusion, but instantly goosebumps came over Cale. The meager information and the fact of how far from the future the Eldest had received this vision made him realize one thing abruptly.

<"I fear I will not survive the attack">, the Eldest himself spoke Cale's thoughts aloud. Immediately, an uncomfortable silence arose. One of Cale's greatest worries was just reaching her. The Eldest was destined to die in the 2nd wave. It was only through Cale's intervention that the most powerful mage of the time had survived for several more months. But it was this intervention that led them to find themselves in a completely new timeline, one that was foreign even to Cale. The Thormod's master, Hosik, seemed to run out of patience and completely abandon his plan. Presumably, he had a big problem with the fact that the Mage City had not fallen. But the master should not be aware that his opponent receives visions from the future and therefore surprise attacks do not have much effect. He had not infiltrated any Thormods into Exarion or the Magistrat, and even if he had, the Eldest always kept the truth about his Igrikum to himself. By his own admission, only the High-Magicians and the Dragons know how his ability actually worked. The Thormods, therefore, should have no knowledge whatsoever.

<"We must evacuate Altona. The southernmost regions to Sylve and the rest to Frignez">, Aaron said after a few moments of silence. He was the first to think clearly after the statement and immediately began to initiate countermeasures.

<"By the Eldest's beard...">, Nora merely muttered. She was one of the High-Magicians who had worked for the Magistrat for barely 30 years and seemed to be very afraid of what would befall the country in two weeks. Compared to the five council members, the Eldest, and Cale, the other High-Magicians were still young and inexperienced.

<"I'll take care of the south and contact the royalty",> Odin replied to the 3rd seat's statement, ignoring Nora completely. <"I'll take Sefra, Ziyad and a mage with me. Grischa, is it possible to use your ships yet?">.

<"It's not perfect yet, but...">, Grischa replied, starting an independent conversation with the 5th seat, while the other High-Magicians spoke up in confusion.

<"I'll stay here on the coast with Nora and help with the evacuation to Sylve">, Rangar spoke out confidently. He seemed to be aware that there was no point in using sheer force now. They had to take care of the safety of the people first.

<"Then I will take care of the northern regions and contact Frignez">, Luc announced carefully. He was one of those who had often been in contact with the healers currently living in Exarion during the last weeks.

<"Alright, I'll take care of the capital myself">, Aaron confirmed shortly after. <"Eldest, you should go to Frignez as well. Caleb, can you talk to the dragons?">

<"I'll do that right away. We should draw a defensive line in front of the twin mountains. If it ends up like the 3rd wave, then we need to keep Frignez and Sylve safe.">

<"We will have to split into two groups">, Aaron threw back. <"Our primary goal is to protect the humans and kill the Thormods, most importantly Hosik himself.">

<"This could be quite a problem. We don't even know what he looks like.">

<"We have Velence ability and Nodiavi, it should be doable.">

<"Good point">, Cale replied hesitantly, opening his eyes. He was still sitting on the ship in almost complete darkness, looking up at the pale moon behind the clouds. He had expected his 6th life to change, but now that it had, he was nervous. The Thormods were no longer hiding, and without the Eldest's Igrikum, they would be helpless against the Force. But Cale couldn't stay by his side the whole time as he had to take care of the Thormods, after all he was the only one who could block their mana.

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<"I will speak with Chief Heriog, please excuse me for a few minutes">, Luc's voice echoed in the High-Magician's head. His gaze fell on Grischa, who was sitting next to him with his eyes closed and not making a face.

<"I better contact King Leonhardt immediately">, Odin added, and a few moments later his presence also disappeared.

<"I'll talk to Velence">, Cale finally raised his voice and stood up. He needed to move, just sitting was driving him crazy. Wordlessly, he severed his current connection with his colleagues and sought contact with the leader of the dragons. He felt the dragon's mana and noticed that he seemed to be interrupting a conversation.

<"Apostle Caleb Leuen, the gods greet you">, the dragon began politely, giving him his full attention.

<"I'm sorry to ambush you like this. We have a problem">, Cale replied forcibly calm and walked to the other side of the ship. The Holy Island on which his interlocutor was located was now within reach, even if the darkness well obscured its existence. <"Apostle Raphael Maron has had a vision. The Thormods are going to attack Altona.">

<"By the gods!">, Velence exclaimed, and only moments later Cale felt various mana sources of the dragons connecting to him. Among them were Palaios and the representatives of the western region. <"We just received this information. They will attack us in 10 days and we currently cannot estimate how big this attack will be. However, based on my experience from the other lives, we strongly suspect that this will be the 3rd wave.">

<"So the war we mentioned at the beginning will happen soon.">

<"I'm afraid so too, yes. I dare to be so bold as to ask you straight out: Will the dragons support us?">

<"I personally will stand by you no matter what, but I cannot speak for all my brothers and sisters. Without the order of the gods, some will surely refuse to help.">

<"Understandable">, Cale admitted in a mixture of relief and regret.

<"You can count on us as well, Caleb. I'll just keep Chioni out of it all, she's too valuable for that">, Palaios spoke up and a smile immediately appeared on the High-Magician's face.

<"That is only logical. Thank you Palaios. Would you be so kind as to clarify it among yourselves and then report back to me? We are currently working out an evacuation plan for the humans and then we will deal with the attack itself. We would appreciate any assistance, but I am not forcing you. It will undoubtedly be dangerous for everyone involved.">

Cale sensed movement behind him, so he turned to Grischa. The 1st seat had put on a facial expression that Cale was not at all used to from his friend. Cale couldn't even tell exactly what it was. A mixture of fear, desperation and anger, in combination with his posture, Cale guessed he was worried about the safety of his family. Maybe something else too, but with the chaos, Cale didn't dwell on it.

<"I'll check back with you in an hour">, Velence confirmed, and this Cale gratefully accepted. After that, Cale disconnected. For a few moments, Grischa and he stared at each other wordlessly, as if checking to see if the other was still engaged in conversation.

"What did they say?", was the first thing Grischa spoke up.

"They're going along with it, but they'll tell me the exact numbers later. What about you?"

"I have to take care of the ships", Grischa explained, channeling mana into his crystal. "Odin is sending mages to the trading city for me to train."

"Have you finished several flying ships?"

"They are not finished, but all the components would be here. I will see to it right away that they are assembled and ready for use tomorrow night."

The ship took off into the air and made a turn before heading for shore. Holding his long hair out of his face with one hand, Cale stared at Grischa, whose expression couldn't have been more serious. But he could not minimize his concerns; the 3rd wave had been the downfall of the entire continent. Even if the wave did not have its full strength, it would be enough. The Thormods will no longer focus only on the capital. Presumably they have long known of Cale's existence and will focus primarily on where he would be. But Cale was conflicted inside. He wanted to help his colleagues, but at the same time he wanted his Igrikum to keep Frignez and Sylve safe. Cale had to decide where to stay and whether to focus on attack or defense. However, his decision meant that he would give the other part a huge disadvantage.

"I can't believe it's really going to happen."

"Neither can I", Cale confirmed instinctively, not realizing until a few seconds later what his friend had just said.

"Evacuating all of Altona, that's insane. There's never been anything like this before, we have over 200-million residents across the country, not to mention all the Anuxers and immigrants who are unaccounted for. And then the impending attack? Honestly, I don't know if we're up to it all."

Cale listened to his friend's statement, but at the same time reestablished contact with Aaron and the Eldest to inform them of the state of affairs with the dragons. The 3rd Seat was already busy gathering the various pieces of information and organizing a concrete evacuation plan.

"We should first focus on making sure that the evacuation can begin tomorrow without any problems before we focus on the attack itself."

"I know, yet... we can't handle this alone, and I don't know if the dragons can help us that well. We should bring in mages, healers, and Anuxers as well."

"As a second or third line of defense and support, yes. But definitely not on the front lines, they'd be in the way rather than helping anyone", Cale threw back. If the High-Magicians and Dragons were dueling with the Thormod, there was no way they could focus around other people. The residents needed to be moved as far away from the danger zone as possible, so they could fight without worry. If some of them still got through, then the second line of defense would have to take care of them, similar to what he had witnessed back in Frignez.

"I guess that's true, especially when you think about what we'll be facing. Damn, why so early? Because of your aunt? Did they notice she was missing?"

"Maybe, maybe not. We can't change it anyway", Cale calmly returned, stepping up next to Grischa. His friend was definitely nervous and Cale felt the same way. The end of his world was at his feet. No matter how the battle ended, in two weeks they would inevitably consume massive amounts of nature's mana that kept this world alive. Inwardly, Cale knew that he would probably not live to see the summer. His time would soon reach its end, and the question of what would happen after that came to the fore again.

"How can you stay so calm?", Grischa blurted out, glancing at Cale.

"I'm anything but calm, Grin. I'm scared to death, and that's despite having witnessed so many wars. I...", Cale began and suddenly fell silent as a thought flashed through his mind. Actually, he was about to say that he would prefer to go to Sylve to protect William, but that made him realize something else entirely.

He didn't have to be there to use his barriers. He could pass on his Igrikum.