Chapter 2585 Starshine Stone <TOC> Chapter 2587 True Depths
Previous page password is bold portion: 5*lfe_Atr?B3
Translator: SumTLMan
After Angel fell from the sky, the air was steeped in silence. Everyone silently watched Angel, and no one spoke.
The reason for this situation was that the apprentices dared not speak, and Daus felt like a failure, embarrassed to say anything; while the Black Count felt a great disparity in his emotions and preferred to remain silent. Moreover, he had praised Angel not long ago, and now if he were to speak, it could only be in praise, which made him feel awkwardly conflicted internally.
Angel, unaware of the differing thoughts among the group, decided to break the silence.
“The magic formation has now been activated, and from the current situation, it won’t be hidden any longer,” said Angel: “Even if we use illusions to cover it, as soon as the Traveling Merchants come to trade, they will feel something is off. The Hero Squad will likely have to move their base.”
After finishing, Angel sighed lightly.
The group looked on blankly: …You break the silence, and the first thing you’re concerned about is those ordinary people.
“Vai, talk to the people outside about the situation here. Suggest they move quickly… and, consider agreeing to some of their reasonable requests,” said someone other than Angel.
It was the Black Count.
After speaking these words through the mental connection, the Black Count, in his way, expressed his support for Angel. This was roughly——
I don’t want to praise you, but I can support some of your foolish ideas.
Angel was unaware of the Black Count’s haughty side, but since the suggestion aligned with his own thoughts, he did not object, and his respect for the Black Count grew a bit.
Rhine and the Black Count had been friends for many years, and it seemed there was a reason for that.
While it was unclear what the true disposition of the Black Count was, at least for now, he proved to be a good collaborator.
After resolving the issue with the Hero Squad, Angel looked up at the brightly shining magic formation above: “I initially thought this magic formation would function like a short-range teleportation, transporting people deep into the labyrinth. But from the runes that have appeared, there are very few related to space; it’s not a teleportation formation but a decryption formation.”
“Decryption?” Daus finally found an opportunity to make his presence felt.
“It’s using one magic formation to decode another,” explained Angel.
The truly deep underground labyrinth has a vast and complex magic formation that has operated for thousands of years, which speaks to its power. To think of fully decoding it a thousand years ago would have been even more unrealistic.
However, the cultists of the Demon God of Mirrors found a loophole that the massive magic formation had not completely covered, creating a “lever” with one magic formation against another, secretly prying open a Passage.
To put it simply, this magic formation was like an insignificant termite lodged on a massive magic formation, and as long as it was not too aggressive, it would not attract internal attention.
This shows that the mysterious person who originally chose the site for the underground church was certainly no ordinary individual.
The person who constructed this magic formation was quite average in skill, with notably weak encryption and an energy projection podium as the master control rune being somewhat obvious.
However, this was a good thing for them; it didn’t take too much time to find a suspected still-usable underground passage.
“Now we can try this magic formation; I don’t know if it will still work after so many years,” Angel said, turning to look at everyone: “Before activating, I need to remind you that although this magic formation is not particularly complex, once it is fully activated embedded in the underground labyrinth, there will inevitably be energy fluctuations escaping.”
“I don’t know how strict the monitoring of energy fluctuations in the Traveling Merchants monitored underground labyrinth is, but as soon as we enter this passage, there is a high chance we will be detected.”
“So, if this passage really works, once we enter, we need to accelerate our exploration. If we encounter magical creatures, we should bypass them if possible to avoid wasting time.” Angel’s gaze then turned to Daus, who as a bloodline wizard could potentially fight non-stop, thus he preemptively cautioned him.
“Also, if we come across suspected ancient ruins like murals and characters, don’t stop to study them. If you really can’t resist, bring a shadow stone and study them later when we return.” This time, Angel looked at Kael.
Kael, knowing Angel was referring to him, quickly nodded: “I understand.”
As for Vai and the Black Count, Angel didn’t say much. With more experience and knowledge than him, the Black Count naturally could manage himself and Vai.
“So, should we set up some obstacles here to block the Traveling Merchants organization?” Vai suggested.
Angel: “It doesn’t matter whether there are obstacles or not, but we can leave some signs for those who come later. I’ll set it up.”
With that, Angel casually flicked Nightmare Aura that began swirling around the magic formation.
“Is that it? Why not place some poison or something, like those that make people grow mushrooms…” Daus murmured on the side.
Angel glanced at him, and Daus just grinned foolishly. By saying this, Daus was letting Angel know he was aware of the situation in Princess Castle and that Angel had once tricked him into going there with no good intentions.
Daus wasn’t using this to threaten Angel; instead, it was a display of openness.
Wanting to make friends… cough, any potential source of conflict, suspicion, and clues should be dealt with openly to avoid the snowball effect, where things could get out of hand.
“There are no such poisons left,” Angel replied calmly.
“Then how about some powerful traps? I have some self-destruction puppets here; maybe hide them in the illusion? It might be a stretch to kill a formal wizard, but blowing one half to death should work.” Daus suggested again.
Before Angel could respond, the Black Count interjected: “There’s no need. Setting up the traps you mentioned just shows your insecurity.”
After speaking, the Black Count continued: “What Angel did was good enough, there’s no need for flashy stuff.”
Others might not have seen what Angel did in the illusion, but the Black Count, being very familiar with Sanders’ created illusions, could recognize the guidance Angel left within… the Nightmare Illusion.
Yes, there are only guides, no traps, and no deliberate illusions to confuse people.
The guide is also simple, just a few sentences: it explains the background of this underground structure; it states that the magic formation was repaired by them, and the podium was made by him; at the same time, it also mentions the matter of the transcendents, to be resolved by the transcendents.
Apart from the last sentence, which tells the newcomers not to trouble the members of the Hero Squad, everything else is plainly stated without any personal opinion, purely a “guide.”
In simple terms, it leaves the choice to the newcomers. Whether you choose to believe or not is up to you. The magic formation has been fixed by me, but whether or not there are contingencies left behind is also for you to judge and make decisions.
If someone is very suspicious, they would naturally conduct various checks first, which is essentially just a delay.
Of course, if a suspicious and ruthless person uses human lives to test, their encounter might happen sooner, and even if they kill them, Angel would have no objections.
Simply put, their strength is originally stronger than that of the Traveling Merchants organization, so why fear them? It’s just that they don’t want to be disturbed.
Angel’s approach not only shows respect but also subtly anticipates the opponent’s mood, and it is also filled with strong confidence.
Because his guidance is all true, and he did not create any contingencies in the magic formation.
This approach is even more to the liking of the Black Count.
Daus’ approach could perhaps more effectively stop the pursuers, but since they are not afraid, there is no need to resort to violent means beforehand, which would only show a lack of confidence.
Of course, the above is the Black Count’s conjecture.
Is Angel really thinking this way? Actually… pretty much.
However, the reason Angel does not employ lethal traps is not because of “insecurity” but because, prior to this, the behavior of the Traveling Merchants organization did not cross Angel’s bottom line.
Moreover, from what Angel has heard from the Traveling Merchant and Magic Craftsmen, he does not think the Traveling Merchants organization is overly domineering.
Although they exchange artifacts from adventure groups and make huge profits, they do not forcibly take them but achieve their goals through transactions. Otherwise, the weapon made from the rare Sphinx Harpy demon blood stone ore that Raven holds would not have been preserved.
In Angel’s view, the Traveling Merchants organization has its merits.
They might treat the adventure groups as tools in their hands, but the adventure groups also gain significantly by associating with the Traveling Merchants organization. Many members of the Hero Squad have, in a short time, earned enough gold to last a lifetime, left this place, and returned to a prosperous life as ordinary people.
From this perspective, Angel does not dislike the Traveling Merchants organization.
Without any obvious dislike, he does not employ lethal traps but actively guides, which is both to create a mystery and to express a certain self-attitude.
…
“So what should we do next?” Vai asked his friend Daus.
“Even your family’s ancestor thinks this is fine, what else can we do? Stop setting traps then, let it be.” Daus seemed helpless, but his eyes betrayed a hint of excitement.
If the Traveling Merchants caught up, he would have a reason to act.
Until then, he’d appeared as useless, with Angel and the Black Count leading. But if the Traveling Merchants did show up, he, the strongest bloodline wizard of his realm, would have a role to play. Taking down the pursuers would prove his visit wasn’t in vain.
That was Daus’ true intention, but if Angel and the Black Count could hear him, they would likely sigh deeply.
Daus didn’t come here as a useless figure; his spiritual perception was like a beacon in the fog, guiding them forward.
Indeed, Daus’ importance was no less than theirs, only he hadn’t realized it yet.
“I’ll activate it, if anything unexpected happens with the magic formation, lord, please ensure Vai and Kael’s safety,” Angel approached the master control rune podium and said to the Black Count.
The Black Count had no objections and stepped aside. Meanwhile, Vai, looking at Angel, admired him even more, considering his safety even in such moments, a truly admirable wizard.
After settling in place, Angel took a deep breath and placed his hand on the master control rune.
Previously, the Black Count had merely activated the magic formation’s manifestation, but this time, it was a complete activation.
As magic power surged into the master control rune, it wasn’t long before a beam of light shot up towards the magic formation above. This time, instead of slowly revealing the runes as before, it immediately lit up all the runes.
The entire magic formation emitted a dazzling light mid-air.
The effectiveness of the magic formation was now at stake.
The brilliance was unparalleled, and the swirling energy caused the entire underground church to start experiencing energy fluctuations. Plaster fell, dust swirled, and pots and pans clattered noisily… all results of the energy fluctuations.
When the energy dissipated to its apex, a dark passage appeared in the lower left of the magic formation.
“Is this a failure?” Vai asked, puzzled.
“No, it’s not a failure. That is… a passage,” Daus said softly, looking at the dark portal.
“Let’s go in, there are no spatial fluctuations, it shouldn’t cause any major problems,” the Black Count said.
Everyone nodded, and with the wind energy provided by Speedling, they ascended into the high sky.
From below, they had seen a black portal appear in the lower left of the magic formation, but only upon reaching high altitude did they realize that it wasn’t the magic formation that had a black portal, but the spire behind it.
“Three spires, one large and two smaller ones; the largest spire serves as the mainstay of the magic formation, the smaller right spire houses the ‘Goddess’ Purification’ inscription card, and the smaller left spire, where the portal is located… is the actual passage into the underground labyrinth!”
Without hesitation, everyone flew into the portal.
Meanwhile, outside the Garden Labyrinth, in a certain metallic building, a group dressed in “Traveling Merchants” uniforms hurried toward the energy fluctuation area.
The energy fluctuation area was a large sand table.
The sand table simulated the entire Garden Labyrinth.
At that moment, in a corner of the sand table, a faint light was shining. This place was the location of the underground church.
“There’s an energy fluctuation!”
“The energy fluctuation isn’t strong, but it’s strange. It doesn’t seem like it was caused by a demon burrowing up from underground.”
“Does anyone know if there’s an adventure group nearby?” asked a person wearing a white mask, inscribed with the strange character for “merchant.” From his attire and demeanor, it was clear that he was the leader among these Traveling Merchants.
“I know, this is the location of the Hero Squad’s supply depot. I’ve been there once; it’s an underground structure.”
“Was the energy fluctuation directly in the underground structure?” The man in the white mask pondered for a moment: “That’s interesting.”
“We’ve checked that underground structure before; there was nothing.”
The man in the white mask replied indifferently: “Remember my advice, never be absolutely confident in your judgment, Truth is never where you can see it.”
The correctness of the man in the white mask’s words aside, it revealed his pursuit of “Truth,” positioning him in——the idealist faction. He believed that Truth is an ideal concept, not a tangible object, and pursuing Truth is actually about seeking oneself and exploring the limits of one’s capacity to accommodate knowledge.
This type of profound insight into Truth is most typical of academic faction thinking.
“My vision is too narrow.” A member of the Traveling Merchants, touching his chest and half-kneeling, faced the man in the white mask with a gesture of thanks.
The man in the white mask glanced at him, sensing that there was still resistance in his heart, and said lightly: “Come, you come with me. Go with me to see if your judgment is correct.”
“There’s no need to mobilize the big main force for such an energy fluctuation, sending two teams over should suffice…”
“Never mind, I have a feeling something interesting will happen there.”