The nervousness of those present was palpable. Silently, Cale, Aaron, Rangar and Luc stood at the top of the Magistrat, while the rest of them split up and drew a line as best they could to the west and east. Above their bodies, the dragons circled were drawing their rounds, invisible from the ground thanks to the cloudy weather.

All the inhabitants from Altona were evacuated and the complete country was completely silent. She had set up the second line of defense so far away that Cale could neither see nor feel the people. Only the Eldest himself was at a perceptible distance, despite all warnings. Together with Velence, he circled the exclusion zone between the 1st and 2nd lines of defense and kept the mages at the 2nd line of defense informed about the latest events. He also kept up a constant conversation with Cale.

"If you guys stay silent like this, I'm going to get really creeped out", Luc muttered softly, holding on with his hands. Like the rest of the search party, he was covered in black clothes and hid his face with a half-mask. Only his eyes and individual hairs came out from under the camouflage. What Cale found fascinating, however, was how his own shadow behaved. It moved as if the shadow had a personality of its own and thus showed Luc's emotions as well. Currently, the black mass was crawling up his leg, making it clear that the young High-Magician was afraid. Of all those present, he was probably the one who had the least experience with wars and battles, even though he had been taught at the Magistrat for quite a few years before becoming a High-Magician.

"Having goosebumps is good, sharpens the senses", the 2nd seat Rangar commented, clapping his hands. His posture and facial expression caused Cale and Aaron to sigh simultaneously. Rangar was looking forward to the fight, it was obvious. Since he followed instructions, Cale did not rebel against his support, because despite his carefree nature, he was an excellent mage. However, another reason was his Igrikum. He could use it to alter human tissue and thus strengthen his own body, which was why he was an magnificent close combatant, but was useless for area attacks.

"Don't do anything stupid, Rangar. Our job is to track down and eliminate Chairman Hosik and the other leaders. So don't go on a rampage unnecessarily", Aaron immediately admonished him, causing Rangar to put on an innocent grin.

"Yeah yeah, I know. I'm just happy to finally be able to use my Igrikum again."

"We all know how much you like fighting", Luc remarked. Rangar laughed in amusement and rubbed the young mage's head with one hand, who didn't even try to fight back. With a sympathetic look, Cale looked at his three colleagues. Even though Aaron and Rangar didn't show it openly, he knew they were tense as well. However, they did not show it as Luc did, presumably so as not to frighten him or to reassure themselves by acting that way. The memories of the second wave and the events in Cale's past life were all still relatively fresh.

<"I can see them">, Aforsio, one of the dragons from Velence of his care, spoke up. A few seconds later, he shared what he had seen with Velence, who in turn relayed everything to his siblings and the High-Magicians. At the sight, Cale suddenly got trepidation. Although he had already been able to see and experience the masses more than once, this was not what he had expected.

A large group of Thormod lingered among the masses of creatures. At a distance, it was impossible to tell what rank they were, but their presence did not bode well. They seemed to have given up hiding and now presented themselves openly to the world. While Cale had expected them to show up as well, not like this. And especially not in such large numbers.

<"Keep a low profile until I give the command. We, the search party, will be heading out now">, Cale informed everyone present, hopping down from the roof with a soundless leap, followed by his four colleagues. <"Stick to the plan. Aaron and I will go to the east, Rangar, Luc and you own the west. Suppress your mana and talk to each other only in your minds.">

<"Understood">, a multitude of mages and dragons gave voice in unison and went to their posts. With one last look at the city, they parted ways and along with Aaron, Cale made their way to the creature plane.

Their plan was relatively simple. All four of them would spread out across the plain and lie in wait for the opponents to gather information. Chairman Hosik was their main target, but the number of the rest of the leaders was also important. According to Nodiavi, there were 8 of them in total, all loyal to Hosik. Therefore, Cale did not know if they would be at his side or split up.

With a crouched posture, Cale took position in a bush and watched with his bright eyes as Aaron melted into the surroundings in the distance. Cale could no longer feel his presence, nor could he see the High-Magician, for he had abruptly distanced himself far away. For a moment, Cale stared thoughtfully in Aaron's direction before reality gripped him and he returned his attention to the present situation. He was now sitting completely alone in the middle of the danger zone. Something about the moment reminded him strongly of the time he had hidden under the bridge as a 5-year-old during the attack on Groka. He had never understood how the creatures could have missed him, because he didn't have mana control back then, and he could confirm that with the help of Velence's ability. He should have been seen. But like so many strange coincidences that day, he had survived and become who he is today. A truly desperate man who often did not know where life would lead him.

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Taking a sprinting stance, he hid in the brush and kept his gaze on the mountains of Sylve. The dragon had spotted the march far to the south, it should be a few more minutes before they were in tangible proximity. One of his hands dug into the dry ground as Cale forced himself to breathe calmly. His mind compared the situation to past events, but Cale knew it was very different.

For this time he was not alone.

He had the High-Magicians and he had the Dragons to back him up. Even the normal mages and humans were not as helpless and outmatched as they had been in the other lives, and communication was also a given. He trusted that they would not just die without having fought at least. Not this time.

<"They are passing the desert border>, Lofonus announced at the same moment.

<"Confirmed, they are in sight">, Luc added seconds later. Wherever the young High-Magician was at the moment, he was closest to the danger.

<"Confirmed">, Rangar now also announced calmly and at the same moment Cale felt the concentrated power. He did not dare to avert his gaze when the first enemies appeared on the horizon behind rock and tree. They seem almost harmless at the distance, if Cale could not already feel how massive their numbers are.

<"Confirmed">, he announced in sync with Aaron.

<"Information about Sylve?">, he immediately added.

<"Unchanged. They seem to be concentrating only on Altona at the moment">, a dragon unknown to him replied, which drew its circles over the mountains of Sylve.

<"Info to Fengari, please. Defense line A...">, Cale continued to speak as the creatures came uncomfortably close. <"... 7 minutes max. They're coming fast.">

The other High-Magicians merely confirm, with Grischa at the front of the pack. Unlike Rangar, Grischa specialized in area combat, so he had to stay on the defensive line itself. His ice would stand out far too much anyway, which was unsuitable for the plan. Even if he did not like it at all. In the past days, Grischa had often asked to come with him to the plains, but Cale stuck to his decision. Since Aaron and the Eldest also agreed with him, Grischa had no choice but to hold back and wait for his opportunity.

When the first creatures stepped right next to Cale, he automatically held his breath. He was not used to being so close to danger and hiding instead of actively intervening. Silently, he watched as the monsters passed him by and spotted the first Thormod striding with their heads held high.

As Cale watched them, he realized that many of them had weapons. For some reason, he had not thought that there would be any among them who did not specialize in magic at all. Probably it was just because he had only seen them three Thormod so far and all three of them possessed mana.

But when he suddenly perceived an enormous source of mana, every limb in his body froze. His head focused on the figure that slowly came into his field of vision, accompanied by dozens of Thormod.

<"I see two leaders">, Rangar reported at the same moment. This only confirmed Cale's suspicions. He stared at the bounced existence approaching him. Only when he was relatively close and Cale also recognized the decorations on his body, he was sure. Examining, he let his gaze run over the other Thormod, but after a good minute he was sure that the leader before him was the only one. At least in his vicinity.

<"I'll look around">, Luc reported, as if he had read Cale's mind. Quickly, Cale guessed that there were not many creatures near Luc, nor was there a leader to be seen.

<"There is a leader with me and he has a lot of mana">, Cale clarified calmly. He was a little skeptical about how well Luc could move unnoticed, but he didn't want to start a discussion now. Rangar seemed reluctant to leave his post, presumably because, like Cale, he was fairly centered in the action. The young High-Magician, much like Aaron, was more on the periphery, trying to get an overview of the breadth.

<"Border eleven, maybe twelve">, Luc spoke up again shortly after.

<"Alright">, Yoshua and Rosalie replied in unison. They had to get moving now. She had previously agreed that they would get a rough idea of the situation and move accordingly. The two young mages on the defensive line would now move closer to the capital to get to the scene faster.

<"Aaron, what's the situation with you?"> Cale asked, following as the group moved past him. They seemed far too relaxed for what they were about to do. Why were they walking so calmly and not saying a word to each other? Was that just their way or could it be that they were nervous too? Or did they know something?

<"I count three leaders here">, Aaron spoke out hesitantly. Astonished, Cale clung to the ground as he processed the statement. They had only discovered 6 leaders so far and half of them were with Aaron. That was more than just dangerous, because Cale was the only one who was near Aaron.

<"Do you guys see any other leaders or the chairman himself?">

<"No">, the three High-Magicians of the search party returned in reply.

<"Aforsio, you may begin your search. Be careful">, Cale commanded the dragon above their heads. They could not wait to locate Hosik's positions, for that might severely weaken the 1st line of defense, which inevitably ran the risk of being overrun.

<"I'm on my way">, the little dragon steadily said, and when Cale took a quick look at the sky, he also spotted this dark spot relatively quickly. However, a soft scream caught his attention at the same moment and as he followed the sound, he spotted some Thormods launching wide-eyed into the sky and not moving.

<"Luc, go to Rangar. Aaron, you wait. We'll take out the three leaders here first, then deal with the rest. Concentrate on the Thormods in first lines.">

<"Understand">, the three confirmed, and Cale began to change his appearance at the same moment. With a weak burst of mana, he followed the wave of attack toward the capital.

"There's a dragon!", he heard the voice of a Thormod say as he used his shapeshifting and became an Elosien.

"Shhh!", the warrior right next to him scolded. "Ignore him and keep walking."

"So it's true? The dragons are helping the humans? Is that why we haven't run into any humans yet?", the warrior inquired nonetheless and started moving again, followed by his colleagues, while Cale blended unobtrusively into the crowd.

So far, everything was going according to plan.