The bookcase then opens to reveal a small room behind it, it is a secret door. To be honest, I am a little disappointed, I now feel like I am in a silly mystery novel. Inside the small room is a pedestal with a single large white book sitting on it, nothing else.

After scanning to make sure there are no traps, I pick up the book and put it in my pouch. Then I use mana to grab all the other books in the library and put them into the backpack. I can still hear sounds of fighting from outside so it is probably a good time to leave.

However, I was expecting the battle to have ended by now and I am curious as to why it hasn't. So I move up to the second floor and start looking for a window with a view of the fight. Instead, I find a balcony that is right above where the fighting is still going on.

As soon as I step onto the balcony I can see why the fight isn't over yet. The mages are trying to recapture all of the beasts instead of killing them. Of course, the mages aren't taking any risks, they are making the guards do that.

Currently, about half of the beasts have been recaptured, but numerous guards have died. The courtyard and surrounding area where the fighting is going on is covered in bodies. At least a hundred guards are dead or wounded, but none of the beasts are dead.

It looks like some of the beasts have fled into the city because there are only around sixty left in sight. Of those, a little over forty have been recaptured while the rest are still fighting. There are only ten mages keeping the captured beasts suppressed, the rest are trying to subdue the others.

As I watch I can't help but feel bad for the beasts, they only had a small taste of freedom. If they were in some kind of zoo and being well treated I probably wouldn't interfere. However, the mages do not treat them well at all, at least not from what I saw.

Since the humans are our enemies, I don't see any reason not to take the beasts' side. So, I turn my attention to the ten mages who are keeping the recaptured beasts suppressed. They are watching the fighting and not really paying attention to anything else.

Unfortunately, a few of them still have magic shields up, making them harder to deal with. Without the shields I could probably kill them with a single spell, but the shields will block at least one spell. Having to hit them with a second spell will give them time to react and even counterattack.

However, if I instead dispel their shields first and then attack, it might buy me time. A large dispel would remove their shields but not point directly at me, not until I attack. Then I realize that I am an idiot, a large dispel would have another effect, it would free the beasts.

From the looks of the ones that have been recaptured, they still have plenty of fight left in them. The mages that are trying to capture the other beasts are also using magic to aid the guards. If I dispel that as well at the same time, then the free beasts would gain an advantage.

So, I take my remaining mana, except a little for emergencies, and start building a massive dispel spell. Some of the mages sense that something is wrong and start looking around. However, it is far too late for them to do anything, because I release the dispel before they spot me.

The dispel hits so hard that not only do their shields disappear, but some of their magic items crumble. The mages are all shocked and confused, but the beasts don't have any such problems. While the mages are still trying to figure out what just happened, the beasts pounce.

The mages are torn to shreds before they even realize that the beasts have been freed. Casting such a big spell was more draining than I expected, so I just watch while I catch my breath. Without the support from the mages the guards quickly fall to the beasts.

Once all the mages and guards are dead, the beasts move together towards the city wall. In the wild these beasts would probably be trying to kill each other, but now they are of one mind. They are intelligent enough to know that this is their one and only shot at freedom.

Luckily, they are headed away from the gate that the elves have taken over. Now that the chaos is over, I need to head there and meet up with everyone. So, I spread my wings and take off, I don't bother hiding my true form this time.

As I am flying over the city I notice several small fires scattered about. There is no way the beasts could have done all that already, it must have been the elves. They have quite a bit of hatred for the humans and I can't really blame them for it.

So, I am not all that surprised that things have gotten a little out of hand. This is only the first operation for the elves, things will be smoother in the future. When I reach the gate I find it abandoned, only Brightfire is still there.

Brightfire says "Everyone else has already returned to the ship! What took you so long?"

"I found a chance to cause a little chaos."

Brightfire says "A little chaos?! The alarms throughout the city have all been going off!"

"I just freed a few beasts, nothing more. How did everything go on your end?"

Brightfire says "Perfect! We not only saved every single elf, but we also did some looting!"

"Yeah, I saw the fires!"

Brightfire says "A few of us might have gotten a little carried away!"

"It's alright. Everyone was overly excited with it being their first mission. It's understandable. They will be more controlled next time."

Brightfire says "So, we won, right?"

"Yeah, mission completed. Climb on, let's go."

Brightfire nods then climbs onto my back, then I take off and fly back to the ship. Despite leaving last we are still the first ones to make it back to the ship. The excitement on the ship skyrockets when we report the success of the mission.

It climbs even more when the rowboats return to the ship carrying some of the freed elves. There are many tearful reunions between the elves of the ship and those just freed. I stay on the top deck and just watch, it is not my place to interfere.

Very soon it turns into a full fledged party, but I make the sailors get to work. We turn the ship north and start following the coast towards the next port city. From the look of the map, it will take us a couple of days at most to be within range of the next city.