They were in no hurry, with ample resources and manpower in hand, sooner or later they could easily take the Toulouse territory.

With the Wizard Plane and numerous sub-planes as backup support, they were not afraid of a war of attrition.

In contrast, on the Devourer Plane side, their degree of unity was very low.

The Devourer Plane was originally centered around various city-states, developing independently without much connection.

Now the disadvantage of this structure was evident, there was not enough trust between the various powers, making it difficult to trust each other completely and work together, let alone provide unconditional support.

They were all thinking about their own interests, and the fate of other city-states had little relation to themselves.

Moreover, there were already some grievances and conflicts between many city-states, and now they were eager for the other side to die.

This provided convenience for the United Legion's attack, as they were not considering whether they could capture these city-states, but how to do it with the lowest cost.

The Toulouse territory could have been easily taken long ago, but for the sake of caution, the United Legion was still waiting for the attacks from several nearby united legions to be completed, before joining forces for the assault, ensuring certainty in victory.

Thus, there were no combat operations on the Goose Peak Castle side for now, although the war was not far off.

It wouldn't be long before the war against the Toulouse territory began, currently still in the preparation stage.

Then there was the situation on the seventh squadron side, which Vivian was also somewhat familiar with, having gotten a general understanding of the situation here during this time.

The seventh squadron consisted of a total of one hundred and twenty people, most of whom were young Level 1 Mages, executing tasks with lower degrees of danger.

Since most of the Wizards here were connections, brought in through various channels, Catherine wouldn't let them execute overly dangerous tasks.

This was also a source of frustration for Catherine, as higher-ups frequently arranged for connections to be placed here, and she couldn't refuse.

She herself was only a squadron leader, without much power, making her feel like she was babysitting.

Things on Catherine's side seemed the easiest, but were actually the hardest to handle, involving too many powers.

Doing a poor job would offend people, especially if anything happened to these individuals, causing a heap of trouble.

Catherine preferred leading people directly into battle rather than maneuvering through these tricky situations, as it was too exhausting.

This was why she maintained a stern, indifferent attitude when meeting Duke, regarding him as another connection to take care of without much goodwill.

After Duke realized this, he naturally understood Catherine's attitude, as well as the difficulties she faced.

Vivian's dormitory was also on the second floor, just in a more secluded area, where a row of dormitories was occupied by girls.

This was intentionally arranged by Catherine to prevent any inappropriate incidents between these connections, thus separating the dorms by gender.

Basically, the boys were on the left, and the girls on the right.

Duke even took a walk around Vivian's dormitory, which was similar overall to his own.

Of course, his hands were not idle during the stroll, causing Vivian to blush bright red.

...

Two days later, Duke received his first task at this place, a reconnaissance mission to the northern border.

This task appeared to be directed towards the border, but was actually very safe, with almost no danger.

This was because the Toulouse territory's defense was still catching up, lacking the ability and courage to launch an attack here.

As long as Duke and the others didn't foolishly walk to the opponent's city walls, they were unlikely to be in any danger.

This task was actually meant for them to gain credentials, making the report look better, and to facilitate the summary of merits and contributions later.

This was another challenge for Catherine, as she had to ensure these people were neither in danger nor inactive with tasks.

Because all missions were ultimately presented in report form, having specific accomplishments made it easier to discuss recognition and rewards.

This mission was conducted in squad form, with a total of seven people in the squad, led by a Level 2 Mage named Richie, and the other six were young Level 1 Mages.

Richie was nominally the leader, but actually played a babysitter role, keeping the group safe from accidents.

At dawn, with the sky still grey, Duke met his fellow teammates at a small gathering point on the west side of the base.

The team leader, Level 2 Mage Richie, appeared to be in his thirties, with unremarkable features and eyes holding a subtle hint of fatigue and helplessness, a middle-aged warlock.

He wore the standard grey robe of the Thorn Holy Tower, with a calm aura but lacking sharpness, resembling a dutiful clerk more than a Mage battle-hardened on the battlefield.

When Duke and Vivian arrived, the team was not yet complete, with only Richie and a youth present.

Duke recognized him as Samuel from the Crawford Clan.

The Crawford Clan had a close cooperative relationship with the Thorn Holy Tower, so his presence was not surprising.

Duke noticed Samuel from afar, maintaining composure with no emotional fluctuation, pretending not to know Samuel.

As long as he didn't mention Dog-man Reed in Samuel's presence, Samuel wouldn't associate Bell with him.

From Samuel's perspective, Duke was a complete stranger, never seen before.

Regarding Duke's conflict with Bell, Samuel was unaware, due to Bell having conflicts with many, and he had no interest in understanding them.

When Duke and Vivian arrived, Samuel merely glanced at them before shifting his gaze.

Samuel wore a finely tailored dark blue Wizard Robe adorned with the Crawford Clan emblem, casually playing with a ring that shimmered slightly, showing evident impatience as if having no interest in such a dull task.

Duke knew of his strength, uncertain whether he could best him in a real fight.

Under such circumstances, naturally, Samuel found the reconnaissance task dull, but had no choice for gaining credentials.

The Crawford Clan placed him here precisely to garner credentials, obtain more contributions, and pave a smoother path forward.

After waiting a while, the other three gradually arrived, with some even yawning and displaying some complaints in their expressions, evidently believing they had gotten up too early and hadn't had enough sleep.

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