Chapter 2696 A Minor Interlude <TOC> Chapter 2698 Teacup’s Test
Translator: SumTLMan
The Sovereign of Wisdom realized he had been careless, and a wave of emotion rose within him. He had spent many years in the underground sewer, rarely interacting with outsiders and never engaging in the collision of new ideas. He hadn’t even noticed how rigid his own thinking had become.
This time was no different. Although this oversight largely stemmed from the information gap between him and Angel, his own lack of caution was also one of the causes.
Just like Angel, who also had an information gap regarding the Sovereign of Wisdom, yet Angel managed to reveal almost nothing. The scraps of information Angel did disclose might very well have been deliberately or inadvertently leaked by him.
When brilliant minds clash, they do not hesitate to show their cards. They compete to see who can manipulate their hand to the greatest effect and whose hidden trump card is the most unexpected. Sometimes, revealing a card is itself a trap.
At present, neither side fully understands the other, so they cannot orchestrate a grand offense with their cards laid bare. Even so, one must admit that Angel, despite being a newcomer, has performed remarkably.
Even the Sovereign of Wisdom could not help but silently praise him.
“You want to ask about the one hidden within the mirror. It can enter my hall, yet it dares not step into my great hall,“ the Sovereign of Wisdom said, his words contradictory enough to confuse everyone else.
But upon hearing them, Angel was struck by a thought: “So what you mean is that it can enter through the mirror, yet its true body cannot enter?“
The Sovereign of Wisdom nodded: “Exactly.“
By now, the Sovereign of Wisdom had begun to adapt to Angel’s extraordinarily swift reactions and leaps in logic. Put plainly, so long as one doesn’t treat Angel like a naive fledgling, communication proceeds smoothly. In fact, the Sovereign of Wisdom’s penchant for withholding half his thoughts posed no issue for Angel at all; Angel could deduce his meaning without further elaboration.
The Sovereign of Wisdom found he did not dislike this effortless give and take.
“One should only compete with peers of similar caliber and never debate with fools.“ That was more or less his frame of mind at the moment.
Angel asked: “What sort of aid will it provide those pursuers?“
Angel skipped directly past any discussion of whether the being in the mirror had bypassed Cecia, thereby allowing the Traveling Merchants to enter through some alternate dimension route. Instead, he went straight to inquiring about what assistance that mirror being might offer the Traveling Merchants. This alone showed that Angel had already concluded the mirror being the instigator behind the scenes.
The Sovereign of Wisdom neither contradicted nor denied it, whether Angel was simply probing or had genuinely deduced the truth.
After all, if they decided to remain here, they would eventually meet that being anyway. For him to refute the mirror being’s involvement now would only invite ridicule later.
So the Sovereign of Wisdom made no secret of it and followed Angel’s line of questioning: “Hidden within the mirror, it can only exert limited influence on the magic formations, and beyond that, it has no other means. Thus, it cannot offer the Traveling Merchants much help.“
Daus, listening in, was somewhat confused, as though his mind kept lagging behind. However, he at least grasped this portion: “Even if it can’t offer the Traveling Merchants great assistance, the fact that it can affect the magic formations is already very unfavorable for us,“ Daus said with a frown.
The Sovereign of Wisdom remained unmoved by Daus’ words, not even turning his head to look.
Angel, as the de facto leader, offered a careful explanation: “If it could substantially alter the magic formations, there would be no need to lure the Traveling Merchants into attacking us. It could deal with us on its own simply by manipulating the formations.“
“And, though it can partially influence the formations, we have someone here who holds complete command over them.“
With that, Angel pointed to the Sovereign of Wisdom.
After giving it some thought, Daus found himself in agreement. The Sovereign of Wisdom held absolute control over every magic formation in this underground labyrinth, whereas that so-called mirror being could only affect them to a limited extent. Stacked side by side, it indeed seemed lacking by comparison.
“If that’s so, then in theory, the Sovereign of Wisdom could just undo any changes that being makes. Wouldn’t that solve the problem?“ Daus asked.
Angel too felt that Daus’ approach seemed workable, but he trusted the Sovereign of Wisdom must have his reasons for not intervening.
It was much like their first meeting, when the Sovereign of Wisdom bluntly stated that he was unwilling to obstruct them.
Meaning someone else was behind the Sovereign of Wisdom. And that someone, almost certainly, was the one in the mirror.
If the being in the mirror could even influence the Sovereign of Wisdom’s decisions, there must be some bond between them. Under those circumstances, it made sense that the Sovereign of Wisdom would be reluctant to oppose the mirror being openly.
Hence, his earlier remark: “If you choose to stay, there may be a minor interlude, and you’ll have to resolve it yourselves.“
That sentence had hinted at the Sovereign of Wisdom’s own standpoint, he could not directly address this “minor interlude,“ leaving it to these outsiders to handle instead.
Indeed, the Sovereign of Wisdom responded: “First, I will not stand against it. At least, not until I have achieved my objectives, so it is impossible for me to oppose it.“
“Second, although I am not a virtuous person, I do not randomly kill those who have made significant contributions. The Traveling Merchants have greatly aided in keeping the underground sewer’s energy from spiraling into imbalance. With that in mind, I won’t act against them.“
“Third, while I have knowledge of magic formations, my experience is limited. Though I possess control, if there truly were to be a problem with the formations, I would need its aid to fix them.“
After a pause, the Sovereign of Wisdom added: “Let me share a tidbit of extra information with you: its comprehension of magic formations far exceeds mine.“
Daus pressed: “If so, why hasn’t it taken control of the formations itself?“
“That’s a secret,“ said the Sovereign of Wisdom.
As Daus knitted his brows at that response, the Sovereign of Wisdom glanced toward Angel, then continued: “To you it may be a secret, but to him, he might already know.“
Daus stared blankly for a moment and followed the Sovereign of Wisdom’s gaze to Angel.
“…“ Angel remained silent.
“Trying to use this to sow discord between us is a bit childish, wouldn’t you say?“ Angel asked, feigning exasperation.
“Sow discord? Not at all. He doesn’t appear to have systematically studied magic formations, so it is understandable for him to remain in the dark. But as for you, your command of magic formations seems quite advanced. You deciphered the murals it left at the Hanging Prison Stairs, and you discovered the hidden lookout on the second level of the Hanging Prison Stairs as well. All of that proves your prowess, so I suspect you’ve already deduced the answer.“
Angel did not know if the Sovereign of Wisdom was speaking truth or not, but he had a hunch regarding why the mirror being had not taken full command of the magic formations: “Is it because the core region of the magic formations can only be entered by you?“
The Sovereign of Wisdom nodded: “That is indeed a reason, though not the sole one.“
Angel mulled it over, then ventured: “Its true body cannot enter the magic formations?“
At that, the Sovereign of Wisdom fell into a lengthy silence before finally replying in a calm tone: “I see I now have even more questions I wish to ask you.“
The Sovereign of Wisdom’s reaction indicated Angel had once again guessed correctly.
Though Angel’s words appeared as pure conjecture, the Sovereign of Wisdom could not label it coincidence, given how many times Angel had proven accurate.
He was convinced Angel must know far more than he was letting on and suspected Angel’s motive for coming here was not so simple.
And the matter that perplexed the Sovereign of Wisdom most was the Wood Spirit! “You are my disciple, not his accessory!“
Had anyone looked downward right then, they would have noticed the Wood Spirit, once standing tall and upright like a slender wooden pillar, had now shrunk into a twisting vine.
If merely turning into a vine were not enough, it had even wrapped itself around Angel’s cane, coiling like a snake!
Earlier, Angel’s staff had appeared remarkably plain, merely a thin, black rod. The somewhat fancy headpiece, meticulously carved, was not easily visible from afar, partly hidden by Angel’s sleeve.
But now the Wood Spirit, transformed into a dragon-like coil of vines with faintly glowing sprouts, was wrapped tightly around the black shaft, the gentle radiance of the buds accentuating the rod’s dusky surface. It looked as though a dragon was carved into the staff, and the softly shining green buds appeared like dazzling jewels.
In the blink of an eye, the once unassuming black cane became a resplendent scepter adorned with living gemstones.
To the Sovereign of Wisdom, however, this only showed how the Wood Spirit was debasing itself, willingly turning from a free spirit into a decorative piece!
He forcibly suppressed his emotions, resisting the urge to open his third eye, though his gaze kept drifting back to the Wood Spirit.
Sensing the Sovereign of Wisdom’s eyes on it, the Wood Spirit reflexively curled in on itself, clinging even tighter to Angel’s staff.
The Sovereign of Wisdom inhaled deeply, prying his eyes away from the Wood Spirit and turning to Angel, who wore an innocent expression: “You already know it’s the hidden manipulator. Are you certain you still want to talk here?“
Angel did not immediately answer. Instead, he glanced at the Black Count. Through their mental connection, the Black Count said quietly: “It’s up to you.“
After some thought, Angel finally responded: “Yes, here.“
From the moment they had entered the underground sewer, Angel’s strategy had been to avoid the Traveling Merchants as much as possible. Locals often came with ingrained convictions, so they had planned to explore on their own and quietly leave.
Even when the Traveling Merchants followed, Angel left a message beside the magic formation he had unlocked, cautioning future arrivals of lurking dangers. Daus had called that a psychological ploy aimed at testing their courage, yet Angel personally believed the Traveling Merchants were generally decent. Certain individuals had issues, but overall, they ensured the livelihood of ordinary adventurer teams without enslaving them, slaughtering them indiscriminately, or curtailing their freedom. Just for that, Angel held them in relatively high regard. Consequently, his message was genuinely intended to help anyone who came later.
Had they truly wished to deal with the Traveling Merchants, they would have done so immediately. Their choice not to was already telling.
But now, there was no avoiding it. One way or another, they would inevitably clash, so they might as well confront them here.
Nor would Angel ask the Sovereign of Wisdom to banish the Traveling Merchants from his great hall. That would be a direct affront to the mirror being behind them.
While that prospect might be appealing on the surface, Angel and his group would be the ones ultimately held accountable.
After all, the Traveling Merchants’ target was Angel and his people, not the Sovereign of Wisdom. If the Sovereign of Wisdom took it upon himself to handle the situation for them, they would instantly owe him twice over: once for expelling their pursuers, and a second time for any repercussions he might face from the mirror being. These favors would all rest squarely on their shoulders.
They had no idea yet what the Sovereign of Wisdom actually wanted of them. Owing him a debt before even hearing the request would make them feel guilty later if they refused, and might leave them with no recourse to refuse at all.
Considering everything, Angel still preferred to talk here. If the Traveling Merchants arrived, he would deal with them directly.
Besides, the Sovereign of Wisdom had already said the mirror being couldn’t provide the Traveling Merchants with any significant advantage. Given Angel’s own group, handling the pursuers wouldn’t be overly difficult.
The Sovereign of Wisdom also had no objections to Angel’s decision. He knew that any discussion here would be a mere prelude, true in-depth talks would have to wait until that “minor interlude“ was resolved and they moved on to his real hall.
But even a preliminary conversation raised a flood of questions for the Sovereign of Wisdom: “Shall we begin now?“
Angel surveyed the ruin around them, desolate, not even a level surface to stand on comfortably. After a moment’s thought, he asked: “Sovereign of Wisdom, would you mind entering my illusion realm?“
The Sovereign of Wisdom responded: “Of course.“
He had already experienced Angel’s live broadcast illusion. Why worry about another?
With the Sovereign of Wisdom’s consent, Angel unfurled a lavish, resplendent Nightmare Domain that encompassed even the Earth Rampart.
This allowed those inside the Earth Rampart to see and hear everything, too.
Such a painstakingly thorough approach demonstrated Angel’s meticulousness.
The instant this Opulent Nightmare Domain appeared, the Sovereign of Wisdom’s brow creased. He had suspected Angel’s illusions were unusual, yet this time it was more evident than ever.
It was as if they had stepped into a grand, traditional noble’s castle hall, only more immaculate and ornate.
The chandelier was fashioned from brilliant gems, radiating light in every direction. A piano played itself, drifting out a graceful melody like a flowing stream.
Countless dots of light, like fireflies, floated in the air, adding an extra layer of dreamy splendor.
Everything looked dazzling and magnificent, yet the Sovereign of Wisdom could sense an underlying peril to this splendor. In particular, those floating specks of light were entirely unfathomable. The more he tried to observe them, the more unsettled he felt.
It went beyond a mere illusionary space. It resembled a tangible, luxurious hall.
An unusual energy also permeated the place.
It was the Sovereign of Wisdom’s first time encountering such a realm. Was it an invention of the Wizarding World in this current era, or was it unique to Angel alone?
Chapter 2696 A Minor Interlude <TOC> Chapter 2698 Teacup’s Test