Wizard: Starting from the Skill Tree

Chapter 673: The End

The battle, essentially ended within less than three minutes.

Three prisoners were taken, with one Level 2 injured and having escaped.

Although that Level 2 warrior is unlikely to survive, without seeing the body, it’s not considered dead.

The task for Duke and the others was not easy; even though they faced fewer numbers, the pressure was still significant.

The enemies they encountered here were mainly desperate to escape, willing to use any means to get away quickly, some even resorting to desperate measures to buy time for others.

This forced Duke and his companions to remain vigilant, focusing their spiritual power, unable to be careless.

As the front battle progressed steadily, occasional enemies passed through here too and were dealt with by Duke and the others, although some managed to slip through.

While handling these occasional enemies, Duke was pondering about the Moon Well.

He didn’t exert much effort, only doing his part, avoiding a life-and-death struggle with those Night Elves.

After all, even though he was hired this time, he wasn’t there for the hiring fee.

Duke’s goal has always been clear: to seize a Moon Well.

But that’s not an easy task; a tribe usually has only one Moon Well, and many have their eyes on it.

Though wizards get to keep their spoils in planar wars, you need the capability and opportunity to take them.

During this mission, they were assigned to the periphery for menial tasks.

This was mainly because their group lacked connections, unable to secure more rewarding tasks.

Recalling Duke’s time at the bottom of the sea with the Sea Race against the Void Insect Race, he led a slave creature battle troop on the front, sweeping the battlefield freely.

Back then, the Black Sail Commerce Association also had hired peripheral wizards, but they could only do menial tasks, much like Duke’s current situation.

Duke wasn’t anxious, knowing the Moon Well wasn’t easy to seize.

This time, he seemed to have no chance, only hoping to approach the Moon Well’s surroundings for observation and research to prepare for seizing it later.

...

The silver hues of Suren’s Moon, after several long hours, gradually began to weaken their dominance. On the horizon, the faint purple glow of Elistraee started to permeate and spread.

This synchronized assault targeting four Night Elf clans also approached its end amidst the lunar phase transition.

In the distant forest, the persistent rumble of spells, energy explosions, and faintly heard shouts of slaughter finally began to taper off and settle into a deathly silence.

Now, only sporadic short screams or the muted echoes of residual spell impacts announced that some final cleanups might still be ongoing in localized areas.

The direction of the Mu Ye clan, managed by the Thorn Cluster, was among the first to see the battle subsiding.

When Master Ted received the brief notification from Vika through a special channel—delivered in a fatigued yet unmistakably satisfied tone—"The frontal clearance is basically complete, outer interception units may proceed to the main battlefield to aid in cleanup and resource collection," they were already repelling the seventh or eighth wave of Night Elves attempting to pass through near the Wind-Eroded Pass with their interception team.

The results were significant, capturing over ten individuals and killing more, although they suffered two minor injuries themselves. A small number of Elves, leveraging their knowledge of the terrain and reckless desperation, managed to break through or bypass the blockade, disappearing into the expansive forest.

Upon receiving orders, Master Ted didn’t move immediately, instead sending Una and Shadow Raven towards the original site of the Mu Ye clan for preliminary reconnaissance.

About an hour later, they returned with more definitive news: "The village core of the Mu Ye clan has been breached, the area of ancient trees where the Moon Well is located is surrounded by layers of the slave legion, and the few remaining Elves have retreated to the strongest tree forts and burrows near the Moon Well for their last stand.

The main attacking wizard team is organizing the final sweep and suppression; most areas are under control, but resistance hasn’t ceased completely, especially near the Moon Well."

"Let’s go, we’ll head over too," Master Ted put away his magic wand, expressionless, "Be careful, our task is to assist in clearing, don’t rashly enter areas still engaged in crossfire. Prioritize collecting scattered supplies, valuable plant or mineral samples, and inspect those Night Elves who have lost the ability to resist."

Everyone understood the unsaid meaning in his words.

The so-called assistance in clearing actually meant tacit approval for these peripheral or supporting personnel to enter the war zone to scavenge after the main battle ended.

They could take what the main wizards overlooked or didn’t have the time to thoroughly loot, items from corpses, possibly remaining magic materials in destroyed buildings, and even wounded but non-threatening Night Elf captives, as in some cases, they’re more valuable alive than dead. These are all potential spoils of war.

For most hired wizards, this counted as a bit of compensation and welfare after laborious task execution.

Though the major part was certainly claimed by the main attack team and the backing commerce guild, cumulative fragments can amount to a substantial extra income or, perhaps, a lucky discovery of an overlooked treasure.

The team maintained a vigilant formation, advancing towards the direction of the Mu Ye clan.

The closer they got to the destination, the more glaring the traces of war became.

The once lush, vibrant forest had turned in vast swathes into scorched earth and fractured trees.

Many ancient trees were blown in half or burned into black charcoal by powerful elemental magic, the ground littered with craters and signs of spell corrosion.

The air was thick with the sharp odor of burning, blood, and the acrid smoke typical of burning wood and leaves, almost entirely masking the forest’s original scent.

Corpses of slave creatures were seen scattered along the charge paths or felled by Elvish arrows and spells, dying in agonizing poses.

Occasionally, the bodies of wizards wearing robes of various colors could also be seen, lying silently by tree roots or amongst ruins, reminding everyone of the price of this victory.

The corpses of Night Elves were relatively scarce, likely cleared out beforehand or comrades took the bodies away in the final moments.

Nonetheless, a few Elves in broken leather armor or Priest’s robes were occasionally spotted collapsed behind defensive works, their surroundings saturated with dark purple blood.

The team first arrived at the outskirts of the village.