Chapter 2452 Leaving Princess Town <TOC> Chapter 2544 Return to the Black Market
Translator: SumTLMan
The formations over Princess Town were stricter than imagined, covering the entire town with a large magic formation that had been activated. Vast magic barriers stood around the town like a square dome, enveloping Princess Town like a massive transparent box.
Additionally, being situated in an alternate dimension turned the whole town into an isolated island.
The only exit was under strict military control, allowing entry but no exit.
At this moment, standing at the top of a small hill, Daus looked towards the distant exit, his eyes flashing a fierce red: “Shall we fight our way out?”
Angel: “No need, we can just walk out.”
With that, Angel snapped his fingers, and a light illusion enveloped both him and Daus.
“Let’s go.” Angel communicated to Daus through the mental connection.
“Can we really just walk out without being detected?” Daus was still doubtful, but he followed nonetheless, prepared to force his way if needed.
Angel didn’t respond verbally but demonstrated through his actions.
They weren’t far from the exit, which was heavily guarded, yet as Angel and Daus approached, it was as if they were invisible, unnoticed by any guards.
Most importantly, the magic formation covering Princess Town seemed to have lost its effect on them.
As for the magic barriers, to the two formal wizards, they were merely a triviality.
Without alerting anyone, they easily left the magic formation and emerged outside, near a hunter’s cabin.
However, despite leaving Princess Town, the alternate dimension outside was still guarded.
There were clearly multiple presences around the hunter’s cabin.
But without the magic formation’s surveillance, relying solely on these beings, who hadn’t even reached the level of high apprentices, to detect the traces of two formal wizards was wishful thinking.
When the light illusion was dispelled, Angel and Daus had already appeared atop a high mountain kilometers away.
As Daus looked down at the three hunter’s cabins in the valley, his expression still held confusion: “We just walked out like that? Was that magic formation just for show, or…”
Daus turned to Angel: “Did you tamper with the magic formation over Princess Town last night?”
Angel responded irritably: “Have wandering wizards lost even basic knowledge? It’s already impressive that I could decipher its workings in one night, let alone tamper with it.”
“So why didn’t the magic formation react when we left?”
“Knowledge is priceless, but…” Angel sized up Daus and slowly said: “Considering the future Little Gold’s offspring on your behalf, I’ll answer this question for free.”
While saying this, Angel pulled out the Gondola that Daus envied, signaling the Speedling to take the helm.
After they set off, Angel replied: “Actually, the answer is quite simple. It was all Mordiya’s doing.”
Before Princess Town was called the Mer Landi Market, the magic formation was solely maintained by the Wenlock family, and entering the market did not require any energy payment.
However, after Mordiya took over, she modified the magic formation. She was unwilling to use her own energy for maintenance, so she devised a system where everyone must input a corresponding amount of energy to enter the market. Officially, the energy comes from everyone, contributing to the prosperity of Princess Town.
This change had its pros and cons. The advantage was that those who obediently input their energy had almost no privacy upon entering Princess Town, as they were under constant surveillance by the magic formation.
The disadvantage was that those who used magic crystals instead of energy inputs could avoid being targeted by the magic formation within Princess Town.
This setup was quite covert; if Angel’s rune level hadn’t been up to par, it would have been difficult to notice the play Mordiya was making.
Previously, when Angel and others arrived in Princess Town, not a single person had input energy; they all used magic crystals. Although it was more costly, they managed to escape the surveillance of the magic formation.
Since they were already out of the magic formation’s surveillance, leaving the place was not a concern. As long as one’s invisibility skills were good and the guards didn’t notice, moving around freely was easy.
After hearing Angel’s explanation, Daus’ eyes cleared up: “I see. But I think you’re wrong about one thing. It wasn’t just Mordiya’s doing; she secretly modified the magic formation to better select her prey.”
And the prey was the group of people imprisoned in the dungeon.
“That explanation makes some sense; perhaps you’re right,” Angel nodded seriously: “But overall, she still dug her own grave.”
“Oh, by the way, how are those wandering apprentices you rescued doing in such a dire situation in Princess Town?”
Daus shrugged: “I don’t know, I didn’t follow up after sending them out. But don’t worry, wandering apprentices aren’t like you prestigious organization wizards; they dare to use all sorts of lowly methods to escape tracking. Besides, Princess Town also has ‘The Cross.'”
Angel: “I feel like you’re indirectly insulting me.”
Daus: “Of course not, I wouldn’t beat around the bush.”
Angel fell silent for a moment: “For Little Gold’s offspring’s sake, I won’t pursue this further.”
Daus: “…You just wanted to bring up Little Gold’s offspring, right? Don’t worry, when Little Gold’s offspring is born, I’ll definitely give you one.”
Angel snorted in response.
Next, they were to leave Guman Kingdom and head to the Sandworm Market in Laxum Duchy.
The journey was uneventful, and Angel and Daus casually struck up a conversation.
Daus was particularly interested in Aubrey’s Crowned Parrot. Although he lost the war of words, he managed to glean some information from the Crowned Parrot.
“Previously, that jerk took advantage of my inability to speak and kept mocking me. At that time, it also said something, claiming that if it were a thousand years ago, with a wave of its hand, countless minions would have crushed me.”
Daus: “This is what happens when you get cocky, see, you’ve slipped up.”
“The Crowned Parrot must have had a previous master, likely a summoner wizard from a thousand years ago. The so-called minions, I suspect, are like it, all summons. From its tone, it’s clear there were not a few of them. If we follow this lead, I will eventually uncover its origins.”
After saying this, Daus had a look of someone holding all the aces.
Angel, however, quietly threw cold water on Daus’ enthusiasm: “Are you sure it’s telling the truth?”
Angel remembered the Crowned Parrot saying this too, notably raising its pitch as if to make sure everyone heard.
To Angel, this unusual behavior likely meant it was bluffing Daus.
“The Crowned Parrot is smarter than you think, and its insight is quite strong. It definitely knows we’re questioning its background. So, it gave us a clue on purpose. But do you think, with its intelligence, that the clue it gave would be genuine?”
With this, Daus also felt there was some sense in what Angel said.
“However, my intuition didn’t react at the time. Could it be that it guessed we’d be skeptical, so it deliberately spoke the truth?”
Angel: “Do you think it predicted we’d overthink it?”
Daus: “I don’t know, but I’m still going to check. If it turns out to be nothing significant… heh, White Shell Sea City, is it? I’ll go there myself and show it that birds are supposed to chirp, not talk!”
Angel: “…”
Daus: “What, you think I’m wrong?”
Angel: “I’m just saying, if you really find something, please let me know.”
While Angel wouldn’t compete for Daus’ discovery, he was a bit curious about the Crowned Parrot’s past. If it really had been with a knowledgeable wizard before, perhaps it could teach them something in the future.
Compared to Daus’ obsession with the Crowned Parrot, Angel was more interested in the topic of Kael as a Person.
Kael must have had some distinctive qualities for Aesop to take notice, and Angel was curious about what alchemy blueprint Kael obtained that even Aesop wouldn’t dare to open directly.
Also, could Kael’s stay in the Laxum Duchy be related to this matter?
With these questions, Angel began to inquire about Kael’s character from Daus.
If it had been a day earlier, Daus wouldn’t have spoken, but now that he knew Angel was not an enemy, sharing a bit was harmless.
“How to put it, although Kael is a wandering apprentice, he doesn’t quite fit the mold, seeming more like an academic from the academic faction.”
The term “academic” originated specifically to describe the fanatical researchers within wizard organizations. It’s rarely applied to wandering wizards, so Daus is not wrong in using it.
“However, it is worth mentioning that Kael once shared his dream with me, not to become a researcher, but to be a traveler.”
“In fact, he is indeed pursuing this dream, traveling around the Southern Region. I believe, someday, his travel destinations will extend beyond the Southern Region.”
“His travels are not aimless. He enjoys exploring the ruins in various places. He came to the Sandworm Market because he was interested in the ruins here.”
Angel: “The ruins in the black market?”
Daus shrugged, unsure: “Perhaps, after all, he’s now living in those ruins, so he must be somewhat interested in them. However, those ruins were already explored by the Lawrence family, and I don’t understand why Kael remains there.”
Angel: “Could it be that the Lawrence family missed some places?”
Daus: “That’s unlikely. The Lawrence family has controlled the Sandworm Market for many years, which means their influence is considerable. With their wealth, it wouldn’t be too difficult to invite a prophecy wizard.”
“However, this was a long time ago. I only vaguely heard that at that time, through the lord of Somiya, the Lawrence family had invited an Observer.”
The Eighteen Observers of the Star Crown Church are among the top figures in the prophecy territory of the Southern Region.
Since an Observer had come, the thorough excavation of the ruins was indeed completed, and there should be no omissions.
“So, I guess Kael is just genuinely interested in the ruins. Whether the ruins were excavated or not doesn’t matter. After all, he’s not an adventurer.”
Angel did not agree with Daus’ statement. Kael’s travel destinations are all ruins; he must be either an archaeologist or someone with a purpose, searching for something.
Archaeologists, a rare profession, exist in the Southern Region too, but their focus is generally on ancient, lost epochs rather than modern ruins, showing little interest in the latter.
So Kael must have another purpose in mind.
“Could it be that there’s an undiscovered site near the Sandworm Market?” Angel speculated.
Daus: “You mean to say, Kael stayed at the Sandworm Market to study a site that hasn’t been discovered yet?”
Angel nodded affirmatively.
Daus, irritably: “Impossible. Kael’s life is extremely regular, either he’s setting up his stall on the eighth alley of the Sandworm Long Street or he’s at my bar drinking. The rest of the time, he’s doing some research in that den beneath the black market.”
“If there really was an undiscovered site, wouldn’t Kael go check it out?”
“Moreover, you might not understand Kael well. He’s a very straightforward person, other than being a bit too particular about ‘rules,’ his thoughts are plainly written on his face. If there were a site like you mentioned, he couldn’t keep it a secret.”
Having said that, Daus curiously asked: “Speaking of which, you seem very interested in Kael, why is that?”
“Moreover, I have one unresolved question. Lord Aesop could have easily sent someone else to deliver the message to Kael, so why would he send the renowned Super Dimensional Wizard to take on such a duty?”
Leaning in, Daus whispered: “Do you have some special mission? Like the one at the Zodiac Palace, did Lord Aesop entrust you to test Kael?”
“If that’s the case, please be sure to include me.”
Chapter 2452 Leaving Princess Town <TOC> Chapter 2544 Return to the Black Market