Chapter 2667 Bonus Point Conditions <TOC> Chapter 2669 Danger Perception
Translator: SumTLMan
Angel: “Since the Sovereign of Wisdom has said so, it seems we can only try?”
The Sovereign of Wisdom merely smiled without replying.
Seeing the Wise One’s amiable smile, Angel quietly sighed in his heart. Indeed, Cecia truly understood the Wise One: once he made a decision, the Sovereign of Wisdom would never waver.
Just like now, it looked as though the Sovereign of Wisdom was giving them a choice, but after Angel’s verbal probing, he discovered the Sovereign of Wisdom was leaving no room for negotiation.
Those so-called “bonus conditions,” though touted as bonus points, were in fact mandatory.
Cecia’s suggestion was correct: with the Wise One this deeply bound by obsession, it was best not to let him learn about the Wilderness of Dreams.
“Actually, trying isn’t a problem, but first: is the Wood Spirit really still in the Hanging Prison Stairs?” Angel knew outright refusal was impossible, so he might as well give himself an excuse to agree.
This time, the Sovereign of Wisdom finally spoke: “The Wood Spirit is still inside, but every time I leave, it relocates itself to a new place to rest. So even if I go in, I’d still have to search for where it’s hiding. If you want me to tell you exactly where it is right now, that I can’t do.”
Angel: “As long as the Wood Spirit is still there, we can try. Shall we begin now?”
The Sovereign of Wisdom shook his head: “Not all of you, just you.”
“Just me?” Angel looked at the Sovereign of Wisdom in surprise, confirming he hadn’t misheard.
“My disciple’s temperament is strange; you should have heard about it from Cecia. It’s very timid. If all of you storm in together, you’ll frighten it for sure.” After a pause, the Sovereign of Wisdom continued: “I’m not deliberately making it hard on you. It’s because the Wood Spirit has a very strong talent for concealment, and from what I’ve observed, its concealment skill grows in proportion to how startled it is.
“In other words, if you scare it badly enough, next time, even if I go in, I might not be able to find it.”
Though the Wise One put it gently, to be blunt, this cowardly Wood Spirit just gets more skittish the more it’s frightened, and the more skittish it is, the more points it invests in its concealment talent. As a result, even someone as formidable as the Sovereign of Wisdom finds it harder to seek it out each time.
Noting Angel’s thoughtful expression, the Wise One pondered briefly, then said: “At most two people can go in. If two of you go, one must be an apprentice. I can allow three attempts at entry to look for it, but that number of people cannot change.
“Also, if that nose intends to go inside, it must go alone.”
The Wise One pointed at the Black Count. Although the Black Count was only a nose, he posed the greatest threat in the Wise One’s eyes, nearly on the level of a true knowledge wizard. Hence, the nose was singled out.
Angel fell silent for a few seconds: “I need to discuss it with my teammates.”
The Wise One: “Very well.”
Angel exchanged a glance with the Black Count, who immediately understood and set up a mental connection. Only Angel, the Black Count, and Daus were in that connection.
Vai and Kael remained expressionless, like two wooden statues, because their strength was insufficient; if they learned too much, they might inadvertently give themselves away under the Wise One’s scrutiny.
Once the mental connection was established, Angel didn’t immediately propose a plan. Instead, he spoke in a somewhat cryptic manner: “You can call me Gold.”
The Black Count and Daus, both quick-witted, paused for half a second before grasping his intent.
Right now, the Wise One still couldn’t be completely sure who they were or which of them belonged to the Noah family bloodline. If they addressed one another by their true names, they risked exposing themselves in front of him.
Having a simple, equal alias would be far safer.
Daus, realizing this, chimed in at once: “Call me Red.”
The Black Count: “Black.”
They chose different colors as aliases, without any connotation of rank, making it easier to mask their real identities.
“Black, Red, any thoughts you’d like to share?” Now that they had their color-based aliases, Angel spoke without honorifics, addressing them by color directly.
Daus said: “I don’t have any concrete ideas yet, but are we sure nobody can listen in on our conversation, Black?”
The Black Count replied: “I can sense if the mental connection is being monitored. If it is, I’ll cut it off.”
“Why cut it off?” Daus asked: “If you just give us a signal, we can spout random nonsense and maybe turn it around on him.”
Hearing Daus’ response, the Black Count sneered: “I won’t bother explaining. Gold, let’s get to the point.”
Normally, Daus would seize the opportunity to talk back to the Black Count, but Angel cut in before he could: “Red, don’t underestimate the Sovereign of Wisdom. Occasionally stirring up confusion can draw his attention, but if you deliberately put on a show of making things up, he’ll only glean more valid information.”
With that, Angel gave Daus no chance to argue and went straight to the main issue: “The Wise One could have just told us his requirements, so why insist that we visit the Hanging Prison Stairs first? There must be some deeper motive beyond getting the Wood Spirit.”
The Black Count: “…He’s observing us.”
Angel: “I agree with Black. The Sovereign of Wisdom likely doesn’t trust us to bring the Wood Spirit out at all; rather, he’s using this as a chance to watch us and gather more precise information.”
Daus: “But what does he want our information for?”
Angel paused for a moment: “I’m not entirely certain, but it should be related to Augustine’s legacy site.”
Daus voiced his biggest question: “What exactly is in there?”
Angel: “I don’t know. But from the Wise One’s reactions, it seems there might be intelligent beings there, and he’s somehow connected to them.”
After a slight pause, Angel said: “Let’s discuss the specifics later.”
“All right,” Daus said, restraining his curiosity since now wasn’t the right time: “So, what do we do next?”
Angel was still thinking when the Black Count spoke first: “We do as the Wise One says. Gold, you decide the order.”
Angel’s plan in asking for time was indeed to coordinate the Order of Entry with the Black Count and Daus, but with the Black Count putting it entirely in Angel’s hands, Angel felt a bit conflicted.
Daus said: “I’m fine with anything. Just don’t make me go in with my old friend. Once he’s inside a ruin, he starts acting up, and if he’s with you, you’ll reveal even more clues.”
Angel, puzzled, looked at Daus: “Acting up?”
“That’s right,” Daus replied: “But never mind that, just keep him with me. The order doesn’t matter.”
After that, the mental connection fell silent. Daus and the Black Count waited for Angel’s decision, while Angel himself was torn.
Though the Black Count didn’t explicitly say so, he strongly implied he should be first.
It was obvious why: his sense of smell far exceeded that of most in his current realm. Purely on olfactory prowess, he stood at the pinnacle of the Southern Region.
Thus, he had the best chance of finding and retrieving the Wood Spirit. If he succeeded, the rest of them wouldn’t need to go in, which would reduce how much the Wise One could learn about them. Besides, the Wise One had specifically limited the Black Count to entering alone, minimizing any risk of leaked intel.
Angel understood that hint but also had another perspective: nobody else knew there was a high chance this Wood Spirit was actually Sanders’ staff transformed. Since Angel was Sanders’ disciple, if the Wood Spirit still recognized Sanders’ aura, Angel might have an even higher success rate in securing it.
However, if it did indeed sense Sanders’ aura, that would expose Angel’s identity. Until now, the Wise One had been uncertain whether Angel was truly a Noah. If Angel used Sanders’ aura to lure out the Wood Spirit, he’d no longer be able to feign being a Noah.
Pros and cons were at odds, leaving Angel undecided.
“You still can’t decide? Perhaps I should go first, to scout the way,” Daus said. Judging by his eager expression, he probably wanted to hunt for treasure more than anything.
Angel realized he had spent a while thinking already, which might arouse the Wise One’s suspicions. Closing his eyes, he took a long breath, then said through the mental connection: “Black goes first. I’ll follow. Red, you’re last.”
In the end, he chose to let the Black Count make the first attempt. With luck, the Black Count would find the Wood Spirit and bring it out, letting Angel keep hiding his own identity. If the Black Count failed, Angel could reveal himself, at least preserving Vai’s anonymity. That was why he wanted to go second.
And if neither Angel nor the Black Count could retrieve the Wood Spirit, then sending in Vai and Daus would likely accomplish nothing anyway, so they could simply exit and claim failure.
“Putting me last? I really wouldn’t mind going earlier,” Daus complained.
“I’m certain the Wise One can monitor us once we enter. If he sees someone ignoring the Wood Spirit just to rummage for treasure…” Angel paused, casting a meaningful look at Daus.
Daus said righteously: “How could I possibly do something so inappropriate at a critical moment?”
Angel: “Then shall I put you first?”
Daus was silent for two seconds: “No, we’ll go with your plan.”
Angel smirked softly and glanced at the Black Count. Neither spoke; they merely “looked” at each other and turned away.
Now that the decision was made, they ended the discussion and turned their focus to the Wise One.
“I’ll go first,” the Black Count announced.
The Sovereign of Wisdom nodded casually: “All right.”
Even so, the Black Count didn’t depart at once. Right before the Wise One’s eyes, he repeatedly reinforced the Earth Rampart. The reason was simple enough: if the Wise One struck after the Black Count left, at least the Earth Rampart would buy Angel and the others some time to escape.
He stacked the Earth Rampart up to eight layers. Although the Wise One watched carefully, he couldn’t fathom how the Black Count accomplished it.
Earth Rampart isn’t a mere trick; it’s close to a second-level spell, and stacking multiple spells is fraught with hidden pitfalls. One small miscalculation would cause backlash. Formal wizards can usually handle such backlash without dying or becoming critically injured, but suffering injuries is still almost certain.
For an ordinary formal wizard, even layering two first-level spells is extremely difficult. Yet the Black Count managed eight stacks in succession.
That kind of stacking didn’t merely add up numerically; it changed Earth Rampart’s very essence, essentially upgrading a near level-two spell into a level-three spell.
Its power rose dramatically, a clear leap in rank.
Watching this, the Sovereign of Wisdom began to doubt his previous assumptions about the Black Count’s identity.
He had assumed this strange nose, although hailing “from” the Noah family, might not actually be a Noah, perhaps just a bodyguard. Otherwise, at their initial meeting, it wouldn’t have acted ready to sacrifice itself at any moment.
But now, it seemed that assumption might be off.
What mere “sacrificial” bodyguard could wield such intricate and extraordinary ability?
Exactly who was this nose? A shape-shifter? Or perhaps part of someone else?
The Black Count had long expected the Wise One’s suspicions, but he still had to make preparations. No one could guarantee the Wise One wouldn’t turn hostile the moment the Black Count disappeared inside, baring his fangs at everyone else.
The Three-Eyed Blue Demon was originally a man-eating monster. Just because it gained wisdom, did that mean it forgot its primal desires?
In a situation like this, it was safer to assume the worst than to rely on the Wise One’s rational goodwill, especially since the Wise One had shown little benevolence so far.
“Who are you?” For the first time, the Sovereign of Wisdom gave the stone slab bearing that unremarkable nose a serious once-over.
The Black Count: “Who am I? As I said before, I come from the Noah family. My name isn’t worth mentioning.”
Then he gently released a bit of his own aura. On the surface, it appeared to unify the power of Earth Rampart, yet the Wise One sensed a faint menace in it.
A warning?
The Sovereign of Wisdom detected the warning and, rather than taking offense, seemed even more intrigued.
Where did a mere nose find the confidence to warn him? If it wasn’t sheer ignorance, the only possibility was that it possessed the power to stand on equal footing, or else had a mighty backer.
Either possibility promised an even more fascinating show.
The Wise One let out a light chuckle and dropped his questioning.
The Black Count paid no further heed to the Wise One’s reaction. He only nodded at Angel, then maneuvered the stone slab and flew into the Hanging Prison Stairs.
Chapter 2667 Bonus Point Conditions <TOC> Chapter 2669 Danger Perception