Inheritor Of Magic: The Magi King

The captured human mages could clearly hear the Fae next to them discussing their lives future viability once someone explained to the local humans how to use the cultivation technique to gain magical powers. The thought terrified them, that power had allowed their Emperor to conquer the whole world in one generation, but these people already had power far greater than his, and they were not shy about using it in combat.

The incoming radio transmissions, bot their own and the local messages, made it clear that the entire Legion had been routed, and only a few survivors had made it to the fallback points. The mages had never considered that the locals might target their Commanders first.

That level of mage should be nearly invincible, in the minds of the Legion, but with those accursed weapons, these monstrous beings and their human allies had shattered mighty magical shields as if they were glass.

"I heard that a Fae can't break their word if you make a deal with them, is that true?" The Rank Six mage that the Elven Prince captured asked.

"Indeed it is." The Elf replied, while the Demons chuckled.

They wouldn't break their word, but you had to be very sure that you agreed to what you thought that you did.

"Then I would like to make a deal with you. I will teach your people how to become mages, if they are able, and in exchange you will grant me a safe and comfortable life in your town for the rest of my natural life." The mage offered.

He had already made his first mistake and he didn't even know it. The Elf wasn't from Forest Grove, so the phrasing could be interpreted to mean Forest Grove, his hometown, or any inhabited properties he might own in Faerie which would provide a comfortable and safe life for the mage.

That might actually be difficult, as safe and comfortable were difficult for a human to come across in Faerie, but the option was there.

The Elf Prince pretended to consider it for a while, which tempted some others to make the deal instead, but nobody was brave enough to risk angering him.

"Alright, I will agree to have you teach those who can learn your magic among my lands in exchange for a safe and comfortable life." The Elf agreed with a smile.

That was when it dawned on Wolfe that there was one more possible interpretation. He was an Elven Prince, all of Faerie was under his Family's domain, which meant that all the Fae guarded regions on this planet were under their domain as well. The statement could be interpreted to encompassing nearly half of this world's population, since the Faeries had no use of his technique for themselves, and there were no humans in their world, as far as Wolfe knew.

Improving the magical abilities of the humans who lived in the nations they were overseeing would help with most of the issues that those nations were having, as they could start replacing natural resources with magic, the same way that Forest Grove had done.

The Rank Four mage they had captured gave the man a look that promised retribution, but Wolfe was willing to give him a chance.

"You know, there are plenty of students, we could use more than one teacher. What do you think? A teaching position in town, and we don't let anyone dissect you for science or entertainment." Wolfe offered.

The mage looked more than a little bit terrified, but he was still hesitating to do anything that might be seen as a betrayal of his people.

"Look at it this way. Your Emperor was killed in your world, and his successor died just over there. The Legion that you arrived with has been mostly annihilated, and as far as I know, we haven't taken a single casualty.

If they continue the invasion, we will likely send more powerful weapons to your world to wipe out entire cities and military facilities until they get the point that we don't want to be bothered.

It's a good deal for you to stay here and become a teacher." Wolfe added.

They probably wouldn't wipe out entire cities, that would just be wasteful. But the military facilities and wherever they were training, the mages had no guarantees of safety if Forest Grove decided to counterattack.

Nothing that they had in their arsenal was well suited to an offensive war, but it would only take a few hours to make a new cargo plane modified for bombing duties and an entire payload of magical explosives. If you added that to a few transports full of flying witches with enhanced rifles, it should be pretty deadly. That was where they were likely to have progressed in the battle with the One World Army this winter if things hadn't changed, and it would work even better against a force without air defences.

Still, the young man hesitated, too terrified to make an immediate decision, but after a few seconds he reluctantly nodded, and his companion let out a sigh of relief.

"That is excellent. I will have someone escort you back to town, as you will be under guard for the moment, even though your bracelets are still blocking your powers. Once this battle is over, we will return and discuss proper etiquette for interacting with the mixed population of Forest Grove." Wolfe decided.

"It looks like nobody else is coming this way. The surprise attacks were too effective, and now none of the survivors want to fight. I think they might actually take our advice and go home until they've assembled a larger force." Risa noted, as she was the one listening most closely to the radio.

"Well, that makes it easy. You can return to town with the prisoners, and leave some of our force here in case they do attack. Who would like to volunteer to stay?" The ancient Demon Lord asked, with his own hand already in the air.

Most of the Demons, and all but a few of the Fae also raised their hands, which left Wolfe and the twins, plus the Elven Prince and the prisoners as the only ones returning.

"I should have expected that much. Alright, I will lead you all into the forest, and once we are a sufficient distance in I will open a portal. We don't need those marvellous devices of yours following us back home." The Prince announced.

That visibly dimmed some of the light of hope in the prisoners' eyes, but it was for the best. If they had thoughts of escaping, their teaching would be subpar.