After a couple of minutes, the horrifying screams of the High Mage stopped.
Jerald stood up and stepped away from the desecrated corpse. He cleaned his robes of the blood and looked at Shang.
"The next phase of the plan needs another two hours of preparation. For now, I only need you to stay with the three High Mages. If we need you, someone will call you."
Shang nodded.
He knew the plan, and he knew that the next step was crucial.
Shang walked away and entered Swamp Lake City.
As he walked through the streets, he saw many uncertain and terrified commoners. The assault had only happened two hours ago, and they were still uncertain about what would happen to them.
Yet, they were not the ones that had to be afraid. Jerald didn't care about them.
The ones that had to be afraid were the True Mages.
A True Mage already counted as someone quite powerful in the five Kingdoms, and many of them were already decision-makers.
Right now, all of the True Mages in this town were put into magical restraints that made it impossible for them to cast any Spells or use their Focus.
They were all waiting in terror.
Over 100 True Mages were currently waiting in front of one building with fear. All the True Mages in the entire Empress Cobra Zone had been gathered in this spot.
Inside the building were five of Jerald's Inquisitors, and they would read the minds of all the True Mages.
Of the True Mages that entered, only about 60% came out.
The other 40% had been killed.
The Inquisitors judged the True Mage's past actions and gave one of four different judgments.
If a Mage had actively been going against the warriors without only following orders, they were put to death.
If a Mage had only followed the orders and carried them out dutifully, they would be put to work for 50 years, after which they would be free.
If a Mage did their best to screw up the orders to kill the warriors, declined a couple of them, or just showed kindness to the warriors they were sent to kill, they would be allowed to join as a citizen, which meant that they were completely free.
Jerald and the Inquisitors knew that they couldn't expect everyone to put the lives of the warriors above their own. Sometimes, refusing an order could result in the Mage going to prison, the frontlines, or directly being executed.
The crux of the matter was if they supported the war against the warriors or not.
On very rare occasions, a Mage might have even helped the warriors secretly. Maybe they helped one of them flee? Maybe they purposely acted like they didn't find the warrior? Maybe they warned them beforehand?
These kinds of Mages were allowed to join Jerald's army, of course only if they wanted to. They would also receive payment, referrals, and maybe even a title.
Of the 100 Mages, around 40 were directly killed, around 35 were put to work, around 22 became citizens, and only three of them received rewards and status.
Was it wrong to punish someone for only following orders?
That was debatable…
On Earth, that is.
In this world, power ruled. If there were two powerful beasts in a fight and a hunter had to attack one of them, they could only hope that they attacked the beast that would lose the fight.
Because if they didn't, the hunter would die.
"I don't care about your reason. You went against me, and for that, you deserve death."
That was the general ideology of this world.
In comparison to the True Mages, the Adepts and Apprentices were ignored. Even if they harbored hatred for the warriors, it wouldn't matter. They couldn't have done too much harm with their power, and by only leaving the pure leaders alive, the pack would eventually adapt to reflect the same mentality.
And if they didn't, the leaders would be the ones cleansing them.
What about the warriors that hated Mages and tried their best to kill every Mage they could find? After all, it wasn't only the Mages that hated the warriors.
If there were Mages that hated warriors to such a degree that they would kill every warrior they saw, there were also bound to be warriors that did the same but against the Mages.
What happened to them?
Nothing.
Was this hypocritical?
Yes.
So?
It didn't matter.
The warriors were Jerald's people, and he wouldn't persecute them as long as the Mages they killed didn't belong to Jerald.
Of course, now that some Mages were part of Jerald's territory, these warriors were not allowed to touch them without a very good reason.
In short, the Mages were not allowed to vent their hatred on warriors, but the warriors were allowed to vent their hatred on Mages, as long as these Mages didn't belong to Jerald.
Naturally, the warriors that were mentioned here weren't at the True Path Stage. The commanders knew what was important. They wouldn't allow their most powerful warriors to act like bloodthirsty savages.
Shang stepped past the building and stopped at a random place in the city.
No one dared to interact with him.
For the next two hours, Shang only waited while talking to the three High Mages beside him.
And then, it was finally time.
Everything had been prepared.
The war had only started around five hours ago, but over 20 High Mages of the Skythunder Kingdom had already been killed.
And now, the next part of the offensive would take place.
But this part was not a physical attack but a mental one.
20 True Path Stage warriors gathered in front of Jerald, and he handed each one a Space Ring.
After that, he gave his orders.
The warriors quickly went into formation, jumped on their weapons, and flew away.
Shang watched them fly away with an interested gaze.
'I wonder how effective this will be.'
Shang knew a lot about fighting, but he wasn't involved in politics or planning an entire war.
The only thing he could rely on was his personal power, and this part of the plan didn't need Shang's power.
