Priya looked down at her aching body with regret. “I will let you do the scouting tomorrow. Even with healing magic, I’m still pretty sore. I don’t know if you will find anything in our immediate area.
But the army should come looking for their missing unit within the next day or two, and it would be best if we had some sort of idea of which direction they were coming from so that we could report it back to headquarters.
If the mutants aren’t waiting to eliminate the search unit, their arrival should be enough of an update on troop movements to keep the Scout Division commanders happy for a little while.
Normally scouts spend almost all their time hiding, but they’re rarely chosen from among the soldiers who are capable of using magic, so they’re in way more danger than you are with your defensive magic and enchanted rifle.
The mutants can sometimes be reasoned with, so don’t make enemies of them if you don’t have to.
The ones who weren’t born here were cast out of the cities because the mutations often cause those who suffer from them to carry deadly diseases, or Noble Families cast them out for the embarrassment of showing obvious damage to the witch bloodlines. But once they reach the Frozen Wastes, a curse comes over them that takes away their ability to speak.”
Wolfe wished he had a notepad for all this new information, but he nodded to let Priya know that he understood.
“The mutants left a man behind yesterday, so they were coming back to loot the camp, but I will scout around the area to see if I can find any more army units.
They seem to like hiding in the trees to avoid attracting attention, so that’s where I will search first. Worst case scenario, they will likely think I’m one of the mutants after they see me using magic.”
“Or a feral demon. If they find you, you had better hope your armour can take machine gun fire. The mundane armies consider Demons a form of undead since they can be summoned back even if they are obliterated.” Priya added.
The armour spell might not stand up to a machine gun, but his barrier spell could. He would avoid that if possible since that much of a show of power would probably just make things worse, but it was still an option.
More importantly, he really didn’t want to find out firsthand if he could be summoned back after death. That wasn’t an experience that he needed to have.
The next morning Wolfe went out to check on the remains of the army camp and see what, if any, changes had taken place overnight.
The misshapen man with clawed hands was still in the same position that he was yesterday, waiting for his team to return, so Wolfe diverted course to give the site a full kilometre of space as he searched for more signs of troop movements.
The major issue was that there had been so much of it since the last snowfall that everywhere he looked was a churned mess of soil and snow.
While he walked, Wolfe worked on rebuilding the link between himself and his familiars, as it was still greatly weakened by distance and the lingering effects of the gas. The effort was working, but it was going to be a long process when they were this far apart.
By the time he stopped for lunch, he could almost sense them clearly again, and he had managed to get a vague sense of their depression and anxiety.
They were constantly using magic as well, not just for armour, but Wolfe couldn’t tell what they were actually doing. Since the radio reports said that they were supposed to be at a military camp for wounded and poisoned soldiers, it was most likely healing spells, so Wolfe increased the flow of mana to them as much as he could.
The more of his mana they used to cast, the less exhausted they would be, and that should help with their mood once they realized what was going on.
After lunch, Wolfe was following the edge of a tree line on his way back toward the cave when he spotted what he had been looking for. A pair of scouts in the uniform of the mundane army were on patrol with their backs to him.
It was a sloppy way to keep their patrol, and they weren’t even using any technological devices to help their vision. Wolfe wasn’t one to turn down a gift, even in the form of another’s carelessness, so he increased the sensitivity of [Detect Hidden] to the maximum and began to follow them toward their destination.
Ten minutes later, he could smell campfires and hear voices in the distance, so he stopped and waited while crouched in the snow behind a bush for them to greet the guards.
Something smacked into his armour, and Wolfe realized that he had just been sniped. The bullet would have gone straight through his heart if he wasn’t armoured, so he faked a few staggering steps into a nearby stand of trees and collapsed behind a fallen log.
He wasn’t sure if his bad acting would pay off, but it was better than nothing, so he simply lay there for ten minutes before he heard voices approaching his position.
“I’m telling you, that suit was too well made to be a witch. They never hide, and they don’t use snipers, but that target had one of our rifles. I say it was a nomad from the mutant clans.” The first voice was insisting.
“It’s got to be a witch. The mutants are more beasts than humans. They wouldn’t come so close to the camp alone. If you’re lucky, she will be alive, and we can take a prisoner.” The second voice chuckled.
“After the gas, they won’t even be able to build an aura, so unless she’s practiced with that rifle, a witch that survived the first wave is no real threat to anyone. But my neck hair is never wrong, and the tingle tells me that this target was dangerous.” The first one insisted.
“Again, with the superstition. The body is just ahead. Get ready to pay up.”
When they stopped three meters away, Wolfe spoke up. “Both very good guesses, but you forgot one very important thing about living here in the Wastes. Not everything dies when you shoot it.”
The two snipers screamed in panic and pulled their pistols, firing wildly at Wolfe while shouting, “Talking Undead. I repeat, talking Undead. No, shooting him isn’t working, even with the special bullets.”
Wolfe got a great idea from that and jumped to his feet, taking one running step and punching the man on his right in the sternum, enhancing the strike with gravity magic to turn the man’s rib cage into a jumbled mess of broken bones and flesh.
The second man screamed even louder and fell to his knees, then turned the pistol on himself.
*click*
He had emptied the magazine at Wolfe, and there was nothing left to give himself an easy out.
“Please, no. Not like that. I don’t want to be eaten alive.” He begged as Wolfe approached.
“You don’t look particularly tasty, so if you answer some questions, I will let you go. How many other annoying humans are in the area? How many groups and how many armoured vehicles?” Wolfe asked.
“It’s just us. I swear it is just us.”
Wolfe stepped on his leg and enhanced the gravity under his foot, shattering the man’s femur. He didn’t say anything and just kept staring at the panicked sniper, waiting for him to change his mind and tell the truth.
“Alright, there are seven units stationed along the Engengen River, but they’re just waiting to attack the witches. They won’t bother you at all. I promise we’re not going to try to herd the undead again.”
That gave Wolfe a lot of useful information, but he wasn’t done yet.
“When will they leave? You don’t belong here.” He demanded, playing the part of an angry local.
“Spring. As soon as spring comes and the snow melts, the runoff will carry the leftover toxins from the gas away to poison the witches’ cities, and we will leave. Now please.” The man begged.
ƥαṇdαηθνε|
“Why does everyone think I’m going to eat him? First off, he smells terrible. Secondly, just no. He’s not even clean. Now, human, give me your radio, and I will let you leave.” Wolfe responded before turning to face his new visitor.
