Chapter 77: Chapter 72: The Defense Zone with the Most Pressure

"The operation will begin at midnight sharp. At that time, two Wizards from High Tower Academy, along with the Military Governors and Centurions present, and the elite main force of the City Guard Army, will raid this manor together."

"Your mission is to coordinate with other members of our City Guard Army to form a defensive line around the manor and eliminate any heretics who try to escape."

As the tall officer spoke, two yellow circles—one inner, one outer—instantly appeared on the map, centered on the manor.

The outermost yellow circle was divided by lines into 120 wedge-shaped sectors of equal area, each marked with a number.

The division was simple and clear, and the Wizard Apprentices quickly understood the plan.

The outermost yellow circle was the area they were to defend.

There were 120 teams in total, and each team would defend a small sector according to its number.

Seeing this, many of the Wizard Apprentices breathed a silent sigh of relief.

Their greatest fear was being assigned to the assault on the stronghold, which would be incredibly dangerous.

If they ran into a Berserker, they probably wouldn’t even get a chance to escape.

Hunting down fleeing heretics on the perimeter, however, was far less dangerous.

"There will be two defensive lines. The first will be handled by us, the City Guard Army. The rest of you will be primarily responsible for the outermost line."

The tall officer scanned the room, his expression grave.

"We will now begin assigning the sectors for each team."

"Sector 1 will be handled by Team 1."

"Sector 2 will be handled by Team 2."

"Sector 3 will be handled by..."

During a pause in the officer’s assignments, Gu Lin suddenly whispered, "Our luck is good. We got Sectors 32 and 33."

Pei Ze gave a slight nod and a smile but didn’t say anything.

Even though it was all part of the outermost defensive line, the level of danger in each sector varied enormously.

For example, to the north of the manor was a heavily guarded city gate. No heretic in their right mind would run that way.

To the west was the City Guard Army’s garrison, so it was also unlikely that heretics would flee in that direction.

Overall, aside from a few heretics who lost their heads in a panic, not many enemies were expected to attack the defensive lines in those directions.

Furthermore, with the City Guard Army forming the first line of defense, they would act as a "filter," significantly reducing the pressure on the second line.

The Wizard Apprentices assigned to those directions would face almost no pressure at all.

In contrast, the south and east would face much greater pressure.

This was especially true for the east. Beyond the second line of defense lay a residential district with numerous buildings and complex terrain. If a heretic escaped into that area, it would be like a fish swimming into the ocean; catching them would become exponentially more difficult.

Therefore, a considerable number of heretics would surely try to break out in that direction.

Although the Wizard Apprentices and Knight Students present were all eager to earn more Merit Points and Contribution Points, none of them wanted to risk their necks for them. Naturally, they hoped to avoid the most dangerous sectors.

"The team in Sector 28 is going to be under a lot of pressure," Gu Lin said in a low voice.

Pei Ze glanced at the Wizard Apprentice from Team 28, whose expression had become extremely grim.

Sector 28 was located right in front of the entrance to the residential district.

Of the 120 sectors in the outer perimeter, Sector 28 was, without a doubt, the one under the most pressure.

Even with the City Guard Army absorbing some of the pressure from the front, the sector was still extremely dangerous.

Judging by the Wizard Apprentice’s expression, he was most likely already regretting his decision to join this operation.

Unfortunately, the operation had already begun. No matter how much he regretted it, he couldn’t back out. Otherwise, the punishment from the City Guard Army and High Tower Academy would be no laughing matter.

Before long, the tall officer had announced the teams for the first 27 sectors and arrived at Sector 28.

"Sector 28 is assigned to Team Twen—"

"Wait."

A voice suddenly rang out, interrupting the tall officer.

The officer looked back, stunned. When he saw it was Military Governor Huo Nan who had spoken, a flicker of confusion crossed his face.

"Military Governor..."

Huo Nan raised a hand, silencing the officer. His gaze swept over the crowd before finally landing on Pei Ze, an ominous glint in his eyes.

"Sector 28 is crucial. It would be more prudent to have a stronger team handle it. In my opinion, it should be assigned to Team 32."

The moment Huo Nan finished speaking, the hall fell silent.

All eyes instantly snapped toward Pei Ze, their expressions distinctly odd.

On the surface, Huo Nan’s words were praise for Team 32’s strength and their ability to handle greater responsibility. But anyone with eyes could see he was targeting Pei Ze.

Some of the more perceptive students noticed both Yan Zhen and Dai Long frown. Clearly, Huo Nan hadn’t discussed this decision with them beforehand.

Under the scrutiny of the entire hall, Pei Ze’s eyes only flickered slightly; he showed no major reaction.

Across the way, Yan Zhen gave Huo Nan a deep look but said nothing.

The tall officer saw that neither Yan Zhen nor Dai Long spoke up to object. After a moment’s hesitation, he announced loudly, "Sector 28 will be handled by Team 32."

At this announcement, the crowd’s gazes toward Pei Ze were instantly tinged with pity.

"He must have offended Military Governor Huo Nan, right?"

"Who knows? In any case, he’s in trouble now."

"The location of Sector 28 is awful. It gives me a headache just thinking about it."

"Yeah, one wrong move and he could lose his life!"

There were also quite a few people who were secretly gloating over his misfortune.

The Wizard Apprentice from Team 28 visibly sighed in relief.

"Silence!"

The tall officer cleared his throat, suppressing the crowd’s chatter, and continued the announcements.

"Sector 29 will be handled by Team 29."

...

"Sector 32 will be handled by Team 28."

Except for the switch between Team 28 and Team 32, the sectors assigned to the other teams all matched their team numbers.

After announcing the assigned sectors, the tall officer’s face turned stern, and he said in a deep voice, "All teams must do their utmost to eliminate the heretics. If any dereliction of duty is discovered, it will be handled according to military law!"

"When the operation begins, everyone will be issued a Recording Ring. It will be used to record your actions and calculate merit."

"Additionally, after this operation concludes, all Wizard Apprentices will receive a base reward of 10 Merit Points, and all Knight Students will receive a base reward of 200 Contribution Points."

As soon as he said this, the faces of most of the Wizard Apprentices and Knight Students lit up with joy.

Only a few, including Su Ya and Gu Lin, had grave expressions.

"Pei Ze, do you have some history with Huo Nan?" Gu Lin asked.

Pei Ze shook his head. "I didn’t even know who he was before today."

Gu Lin frowned. "Then that’s strange. Why would he target you for no reason?"

"Maybe it wasn’t for no reason," Pei Ze said meaningfully.

Gu Lin froze for a moment, but then she quickly understood, a thoughtful expression crossing her face.

A Legendary Knight’s status was indeed higher than a Third-level Wizard Apprentice’s, but that only applied to ordinary Third-level Wizard Apprentices.

A Third-level Wizard Apprentice like Pei Ze, with his outstanding talent and status as a Tier Five Alchemist Student, wasn’t someone even a Legendary Knight would dare to offend lightly.

Huo Nan had just targeted Pei Ze so blatantly. She would never believe he didn’t have a Wizard backing him.

As for which Wizard would orchestrate such a thing, the answer was all but obvious.

Gu Lin’s brows furrowed tightly. "Even if we know why Huo Nan is targeting you, we can’t change the arrangements now."

Beside him, Su Ya’s expression was just as grim. She looked like she wanted to speak, but hesitated.

Even someone as simple and honest as Peng Yan realized the gravity of the situation, his broad face pulled taut with worry.

Among them all, only Pei Ze remained calm. He smiled faintly and said, "I joined this encirclement operation for Merit Points in the first place. I couldn’t be happier to kill more heretics. Isn’t this perfect?"

"Maybe after the operation, I’ll be able to exchange them for a spot in the Realm of Truth."

Seeing that Pei Ze’s composure wasn’t just an act, Gu Lin couldn’t help but admire his confidence and calm. She smiled and said, "Then you’d better make it through. I don’t want to come back to news of your death."

"Don’t worry," Pei Ze said with a smile.

Gu Lin said no more and left the hall with her two companions.

Pei Ze glanced in Huo Nan’s direction, smiled, and also headed for the hall’s entrance.

Su Ya and Peng Yan hurriedly followed.