Chapter 2717 Trial’s Rules <TOC> Chapter 2719 Blood Source and Pure Blood
Translator: SumTLMan
Everyone naturally understood what the Sovereign of Wisdom meant, and the moment the subject of exploiting loopholes came up, with Daus in the lead and Vai as his lieutenant, their enthusiasm soared. One after another they listed the gaps they had found and how those gaps could be leveraged for maximum gain.
Yet as they eagerly hunted for cracks in the rules, all of them could not avoid pondering one question:
When she drafted those rules, could she truly have been unaware of the loopholes?
After mulling it over for a moment, Angel still voiced this doubt.
Sovereign of Wisdom: “She doesn’t know loopholes can be exploited? Of course she knows.“
Angel frowned: “Then why establish such rules?“
Sovereign of Wisdom: “Because Gray Merchant and the others are merely pawns she is using to probe you. Whether this trial ends in victory or defeat, she loses nothing. If Gray Merchant wins, her goal is achieved; if Gray Merchant fails, she still gauges your trump cards through that group. For her, either outcome is profit.“
Put plainly, the Traveling Merchants are neither her personal guard nor her devotees. Manipulating Gray Merchant and his people to fight Angel is simply moving a chess piece, one that can be abandoned at any moment.
This is the so-called dead-soldier feint: the queen sits back and watches, testing the waters before arranging a targeted strategy.
The Black Count said in a low voice: “So, while we battle Gray Merchant, even if loopholes exist we must not reveal all our trump cards?“
The Sovereign of Wisdom nodded: “Exactly. Whatever trump cards you unveil in the coming fight will soon bring a challenge aimed precisely at them. This test measures not only combat prowess but also strategy and choice.
Oh, and Gray Merchant’s team knows the rule as well. She will work behind the scenes to push them into forcing you, at any cost, to expose your trump cards. They will gamble with their lives, you will hold back your strength; who wins and who loses is still uncertain.
Also, do not underestimate Gray Merchant’s team. As a demon-extermination unit within the Traveling Merchants, each possesses extensive battle experience, and their trump cards may be no fewer than yours. Among you are many academic faction wizards. It is far from certain you can withstand their offensive. A timely retreat, trading the smallest price for the greatest benefit, is also a valid choice.“
After hearing the Sovereign of Wisdom’s words, everyone’s mood grew heavy.
How to choose trump cards that could defeat Gray Merchant’s party without exposing their own depth became the greatest dilemma before them.
Earlier, inside the mental connection, they had been enthusiastically discussing tactics and hunting loopholes, but now an oppressive silence reigned.
“Silence won’t help, think about what can be sacrificed and what cannot.“ Daus broke the hush. Conversation within the mental connection resumed to some extent, though the former clamor did not return.
Angel, however, did not join that discussion. Instead he continued questioning the Sovereign of Wisdom: “I don’t understand, why would Gray Merchant’s party obey her orders?“
From what the Sovereign of Wisdom implied, Gray Merchant’s party might even stake their lives against them… Something was clearly off.
Sovereign of Wisdom: “I don’t know the exact methods. Likely a mix of favor and fear. Why, do you intend to act outside the rules?“
With a glance, the Sovereign of Wisdom pierced Angel’s thoughts.
Gray Merchant would not obey her for no reason; she must have used enticement or threats. If so, turning them could be possible, which counts as another solution.
Angel: “Does that violate the rules?“
Sovereign of Wisdom: “It complies with the rules. Yet do you think simple enticement or threats are enough to make two formal wizards bend the knee? You may try to subvert them, but I doubt that path will be smooth.“
Angel pondered for a moment and did not pursue the topic. Without knowing why Gray Merchant and the others were under her control, such talk was premature.
Angel: “Sovereign of Wisdom, are you familiar with this Gray Merchant team?“
Sovereign of Wisdom chuckled: “So now you want to cheat off the judge?“
“Gray Merchant’s people have prowled the sewers for years; I do know a thing or two about them.“ After a pause the Sovereign of Wisdom looked at Angel: “I can share some information, but I want one piece of information from you in exchange.“
As soon as the Sovereign of Wisdom spoke, Angel sighed: “I don’t know.“
The Sovereign of Wisdom raised an eyebrow.
Angel continued: “I have never met the one behind the scenes, never exchanged a single word. She named me as a mandatory combatant and I was just as baffled.“
Without the Sovereign of Wisdom spelling it out, Angel had already guessed the question.
After hearing Angel’s candid answer, the Sovereign of Wisdom nodded and spoke with meaningful undertones: “It seems there’s still a secret here…“
Angel’s brows knit; he was about to reply when the Sovereign of Wisdom waved him off: “I believe you. My remark was directed at her.“
Though he said so, Angel sensed that the Sovereign of Wisdom’s gaze carried more scrutiny than before. Perhaps the Sovereign of Wisdom believed Angel harbored a secret even he himself did not know.
Angel could only feign ignorance.
Sovereign of Wisdom: “Since you have answered my question, it is my turn, as promised. Regarding Gray Merchant’s party…“
…
Hanging Prison Stairs, Second Level.
A squad clad in gray uniforms and assorted masks raced downward along the suspended staircase.
Their speed was astonishing; amid flickering shadows they had already swept past several bends. Ordinarily such haste, especially considering their leader was a burly giant who could make the earth quake with every step outside, would have produced a thunderous din, yet at this moment, though they flew like wild geese, not a sound could be heard.
Not only were there no footfalls; no one spoke either.
The suffocating, oppressive atmosphere lasted until they reached a shattered platform.
“Lord Gray Merchant, there is a pheromone reading here.“ The silence was broken by a man wearing a half-face musk-ox mask; the two upward-curving tusks had been polished to perfection.
Beneath the tusks lay the man’s real features, though only the lower half of his face showed. From the hue of his lips and the faint wrinkles at their corners, one could tell he was no longer young.
The one addressed as “Lord“ was the towering figure in the gray mask leading the charge, the mainstay in tracking Angel’s party and the Gray Merchant among the Traveling Merchants’ triad of Black, White, and Gray.
Gray Merchant strode to the spot indicated, closed his eyes, and quietly sensed for a moment.
“The aura of an apprentice, lingering no more than half an hour. It should be one of the two apprentices she mentioned.“ A few seconds later, Gray Merchant gave his judgment.
With that, Gray Merchant produced a small bundle wrapped in parchment.
He carefully unfolded it, revealing a shard of mirror with a faint metallic gleam. A misty film that no cleaning could remove veiled the surface; through that haze one could vaguely see a silhouette within the glass.
And the outline of this figure… was identical to Gray Merchant.
Gray Merchant, seeing the figure inside the lens, felt the atmosphere around him grow ever more frigid. After a long while, he injected the pheromones he had collected into the shattered mirror surface.
The mirror surface produced no reaction.
“The mirror has shown no blood-red hue; it’s not the person we’re looking for.“ Gray Merchant finished speaking, put the broken mirror back into the parchment bundle, and then solemnly stored it in the space within his earring.
“Move on.“ Gray Merchant paused, turned to the man wearing the brown mammoth mask, and said: “Mammoth, you did well this time. If you detect any pheromone residue again, alert me at once.“
Mammoth nodded gravely.
“Let’s go.“ Gray Merchant said no more and continued sprinting downward.
Perhaps because Mammoth had broken the silence earlier, the atmosphere was finally less strained this time.
A short girl, who had pinned her mask to her pink hair like a mere accessory and at first glance looked underage, pouted and complained: “We actually found plenty of pheromones along the way; we should have collected them on the spot.“
“What good is it to talk about that now?“ asked a green-haired man wearing a goat-satyr mask, twirling the flute in his hand: “Who could have imagined we’d run into that… mad woman.“
Mammoth frowned: “Shepherd, keep it down.“
The green-haired Shepherd muttered resentfully: “What’s wrong with calling her a mad woman? Am I wrong?“
Mammoth was about to intervene, but Gray Merchant spoke up: “Shepherd isn’t entirely wrong. White Merchant told us from the start that those people kept leaving clues along the way and didn’t seal the entrance behind them, most likely a goodwill gesture. Making allies with them is more valuable than fighting them.“
Shepherd replied gloomily: “Exactly. We thought we could avoid a fight, but who would’ve thought we’d meet that mad woman hiding in a mirror…“
The pink-haired girl forgot her earlier complaints and fulminated alongside Shepherd: “Right! She actually locked Lord Gray Merchant inside a mirror and used it as leverage, utterly despicable!“
As she spoke, the pink-haired girl stomped her foot, her fluffy hair bobbing up and down.
Gray Merchant sighed softly: “Pink Jasmine, I’m right here, don’t talk as if I’m already dead.“
The girl called Pink Jasmine muttered under her breath: “But, but…“
Gray Merchant understood what she meant and said gently: “Honestly, I feel better than before. After those memories disappeared, I only feel a weight lifted off my shoulders.“
The others, however, remained silent in response.
That woman hiding in the mirror had somehow sealed Gray Merchant’s most important memories within it.
The figure within that fragment of mirror was in fact Gray Merchant’s memory.
Indeed, with that memory gone Gray Merchant appeared much gentler, no longer the cold-faced demon he had seemed before. Yet his subordinates knew all too well that this Gray Merchant was merely suppressing his emotions.
Between the emotionally stifled Gray Merchant and the cold-faced demon who let his emotions run free, they actually felt closer to the latter.
That crucial memory, painful though it was, had been the key to his transformation into “Gray Merchant.“
The present “Gray Merchant“ might claim he felt relieved, but his careful handling of that broken mirror shard betrayed his bravado.
With his emotions bottled up, how could he truly feel relieved? The calm and gentleness were only a façade.
“I can already see the first level, be ready for whatever awaits us.“ Seeing the group still silent, Gray Merchant dropped the subject.
“Mammoth, stay alert for pheromones.“ Upon reaching the first level, Gray Merchant immediately issued orders.
Their eagerness to collect pheromones was not merely because they could identify whether it was the person they sought.
There was another crucial reason: the “Shrew“ could use her ability to directly curse the owner of a pheromone.
However, Shrew’s power derived from organ grafts, not the undead curses of the Western Lands lineage, so it could not kill outright; but weakening, agony, pestilence… such afflictions were plenty. Sometimes the slightest flaw could spell defeat, let alone so many curses.
“Still only that apprentice’s pheromone.“ Shortly after, Mammoth reached an unwelcome conclusion.
Gray Merchant fell silent for a moment: “If there’s none, so be it. We can collect pheromones during the fight. Let’s move.“
The others nodded and continued onward.
Upon seeing the winding staircase, Pink Jasmine massaged her throbbing temples: “There are clearly only three levels, this is the first, so in theory we should be out. Why are we going downstairs?“
Though she grumbled, Pink Jasmine did not slow, darting downward at speed.
…
Meanwhile, outside the Hanging Prison Stairs.
The Sovereign of Wisdom had finished recounting what he knew about Gray Merchant’s party.
To be precise, only Gray Merchant and Shrew were formal wizards; the other four, Pink Jasmine, Mammoth, Shepherd, and Ghost Shadow, were still apprentice wizards. The Sovereign of Wisdom had mentioned only their branches and nothing more, for apprentices offered little worth noting.
Besides, Angel was hardly going to fight that group of apprentices.
“Gray Merchant and Shrew are both bloodline branch wizards?“ Upon hearing the Sovereign of Wisdom, the two apprentices showed worry even before the principal had spoken.
Among practitioners of the same realm, the bloodline branch was the strongest, an undisputed fact.
And now two bloodline branch wizards had arrived at once, which alarmed them greatly; even if they themselves did not have to face formal wizards, Angel did!
Originally, if not for the third rule, Daus and the Black Count could have each taken on one bloodline wizard: Daus was bloodline as well, so neither side would be disadvantaged, and as for the Black Count, his vision, breadth, experience, and insight far surpassed his opponent’s; in a one-on-one he would hardly lose.
But as things stood, whether it was Shrew or Gray Merchant, Angel would have to face one of them, and this had Vai and Kael increasingly worried.
Yet compared with the apprentices’ anxiety, the three formal wizards showed little reaction.
Angel was deep in thought, the Black Count was spacing out, and only Daus stroked his chin and mused: “Between Gray Merchant and Shrew, Gray Merchant should be the stronger. But if you’re the one fighting, Angel, I think you’d better take on Gray Merchant. Shrew belongs to the remodeling branch, her methods are far more unpredictable…“
Chapter 2717 Trial’s Rules <TOC> Chapter 2719 Blood Source and Pure Blood