Chapter 2767 What Shrew Ponders <TOC> Chapter 2769 Encirclement Hunt
Translator: SumTLMan
「Leaving already?」Daus:「I still have many questions I haven’t asked yet.」
Vai said quietly at the side:「There should still be a lot of payment not yet docked.」
Daus:「Don’t joke, I was just acting just now. Would I fear him docking it?」
As soon as he finished speaking, Daus heard at his ear the voice of the Sovereign of Wisdom:「One sixth……」
Daus almost reflexively bowed ninety degrees toward the source of the voice, then humbly said:「I was wrong, Lord Sovereign of Wisdom, spare me, I’ll shut up, I guarantee I won’t say a single word in the future!」
After Daus crackled out a long string of words, he suddenly found the surroundings abnormally quiet; the Sovereign of Wisdom did not speak again. After several seconds, instead it was Vai who let out pfft-pfft sounds of suppressed laughter.
Daus’ eyelid twitched, as if realizing something, and he looked up.
Before him there was no Sovereign of Wisdom at all…… only Angel, lazily leaning against the alchemy puppet, looking at him with a smile full of 「kindness」.
Seeing Daus catch on, Angel coughed once and said in all seriousness:「Knowing your mistake is good, but there’s no need to say not a single word in the future; if any of us ask you, you can answer a bit.」
Daus straightened his back and let out a complex 「tch」; whether it was relief or speechlessness at Angel’s teasing, no one could tell.
Tidying his somewhat wrinkled clothes to ease the embarrassment a little, Daus then put on a cold face:「I guarantee that after this, I absolutely won’t answer your questions!」
Angel:「Is that so?」
Daus snorted:「Of course.」
After finishing, Daus noticed Angel’s expression grow kindly again, and only then did Daus realize he seemed to have answered Angel again.
With a face full of dejection, Daus walked to Vai’s side, not wanting to speak with Angel anymore.
Angel had just about finished teasing as well; his expression slowly shifted from relaxed to solemn.
Along with the change in expression came the surrounding aura that gradually stagnated. Obviously, Angel was using the aura to remind everyone that he had something important to say next.
Everyone at first thought what Angel was about to say was related to what the Sovereign of Wisdom had said earlier; even the Black Count thought so.
However, when Angel took out a formation disc and, on the spot, partitioned a private space that could not be spied upon, everyone at last took it seriously.
To deliberately section off space, was this out of worry about being spied on by the Sovereign of Wisdom? Then what Angel was about to say was likely not as they had thought.
Sure enough, when Angel opened his mouth, everyone’s expressions showed surprise and doubt.
「Aedannis, this is her name.」
Angel did not say who 『she』 was, but everyone knew that the 『she』 whom Angel mentioned so solemnly could only be one person in the underground sewers: the blonde woman hidden behind the mirror！
Before this, no one knew her name; they only knew she was in the ruin site, possibly related to the Noah ancestor, and was the female half of the Demon God of Mirrors. As for other information, they knew nothing.
Even the Sovereign of Wisdom had never mentioned her name, how did Angel know?
What they could confirm was that before this, Angel, like them, knew nothing of the hidden Mirror Dweller; why, after the duel, did he then know this piece of information?
「Was this told to you by the Sovereign of Wisdom?」Daus asked.
Angel’s originally serious expression immediately turned 「benevolent」 after Daus’ question, and he gave Daus a deep look.
Angel neither teased nor spoke, yet Daus felt insulted……
The Black Count:「The Sovereign of Wisdom never mentioned this matter.」
After a pause, the Black Count looked to Angel:「How did you know?」
Angel did not answer immediately; instead he pondered with a grave expression, which to the others seemed like he was organizing his wording.
But in fact, Angel was reflecting upon the Black Count’s question.
From the Black Count’s question it could be inferred that the 「consciousness」 which had previously attached itself to that whale-shaped monster in the void should not have contacted the Black Count.
This was a bit strange.
Angel had always thought the other party might first contact the Black Count, after all, the Black Count was the descendant of Noah. But now it seemed the answer was precisely the opposite.
The other party had contacted only himself.
Why would it contact him and not the orthodox descendant of Noah?
As Angel pondered, he also observed everyone’s expressions. Not only the Black Count, from the reactions of the others, none had received its message.
If this were the Nightmare Plane, Angel might still have understood; but this was merely the underground sewers in reality, and Angel did not consider himself particularly special here.
If he truly were special, he would not have needed to pull Iron Armor Granny as a trump card.
There must be some hidden reason in this. Could it be that something on him drew the other party’s attention? Was it the key?
With too few clues now, he could not make an accurate judgment…… he could only wait to ask upon their next meeting.
……
Since the other party had not contacted the Black Count, whether because it had not noticed or for some other reason, it all revealed that it did not wish to contact the descendants of Noah.
In that case, Angel felt it would be better to keep the other party’s identity temporarily confidential. What’s more, the other party had not declared a name.
Angel:「As for the source of the intelligence, forgive me for being unable to answer for now. I still need more evidence to confirm whether this information is true.」
In Angel’s words there were, on the surface, two pieces of information: first, he also did not know whether the intelligence was true or false; second, besides her name, he possessed other intelligence.
But everyone could in fact hear a third message hidden in the dark: the time when he obtained the intelligence could not have been long ago.
That is to say, it was very likely obtained during the duel on the arena platform.
As for how Angel obtained it, since he was unwilling to say, the others tacitly did not press. Although they had not been together long, they trusted Angel very much…… he naturally had his reasons for doing this.
Even the Black Count did not continue to press but instead asked:「Any other intelligence?」
Angel nodded:「As of now, I know of two more pieces of intelligence: one concerns the source of the intelligence, I will further confirm it and then explain to you in detail; the second intelligence is that, after we pass the Wise One’s Grand Hall, on the way to the ruin site, we may encounter a powerful otherworldly monster.」
「Otherworldly monster?」Even the Black Count showed surprise upon hearing this term.
You must know, even void monsters would not particularly surprise the Black Count. Void monsters do not rely on the land; they prefer to cruise and live in the void.
Because of this trait, when a void monster occasionally breaks into the Southern Region, so long as it does not wreak wanton destruction, wizards cannot be bothered to manage them. After all, before long, they always leave.
Even the Extreme Sect does not wish to expend great effort dealing with void monsters.
Even though the definition of void monsters in the doctrine of the Extreme Sect counts them as non-native beings, to be killed without mercy, generally speaking, so long as a void monster does not directly run into the Extreme Sect’s personnel, they will not intervene.
The reason is the same: they will leave anyway.
Since void monsters will not linger long, the harm to the Southern Region is not that great; expending great effort on them is less meaningful than going after the believers of the Demon God…… of course, generally speaking, the Extreme Sect is also lazy about dealing with Demon God believers.
However, if it is an otherworldly life-form, that is entirely different！
Otherworldly life, whether sapient beings, otherworldly plants, or otherworldly monsters, can inflict devastating blows on the ecology of the native world.
The Extreme Sect ranks the handling priority of this category at the highest level.
Take a plant like Glistening Velvet Grass: originally an otherworldly demonic flora, and also the main ingredient of Glistening Velvet Potion. By itself it does not much harm the world, yet if the Extreme Sect hears of any place cultivating Glistening Velvet Grass, they will swarm to eradicate it.
This is far more proactive than dealing with Demon God believers or void monsters.
Many apprentices cannot understand this stance of the Extreme Sect and feel it is somewhat excessive. In Jon’s words, it is using an ox-cleaver to kill a chicken.
But Angel understood the Extreme Sect’s approach: any invasive species will disrupt the stable local food web, and any link in the ecological chain that goes wrong pulls the whole body with a single hair. The invasive species here are not even otherworldly organisms; different continents have their own unique chains, and crossovers among them have a very high probability of problems.
However, even if a world’s internal ecological chain goes awry, it is still within this world’s growth laws; the problem is temporary, and later it will ultimately self-repair, either completely rejecting the invasive species, or reorganizing the ecological chain.
But if the invasive species here are replaced by otherworldly life, then the situation is different.
Even a small Glistening Velvet Grass can utterly destroy a local ecological chain.
Therefore, even when facing Glistening Velvet Grass, the Extreme Sect treats it with gravity, let alone otherworldly monsters.
Because the Extreme Sect suppresses otherworldly beings to an extreme degree, the probability of otherworldly monsters appearing in the Southern Region is very low. Furthermore, when powerful otherworldly monsters descend, the Extreme Sect has special methods to perceive the spatial ripples.
Hence, when the Black Count heard Angel say that they might next encounter a 「powerful otherworldly demon-beast」, he was somewhat surprised.
If this powerful otherworldly demon-beast is real, then according to the modes by which such beings descend, three different scenarios would arise.
First, if the otherworldly demon-beast forcefully traversed worlds to descend upon the Southern Region, then the Extreme Sect would certainly catch its scent and follow upon its heels.
Second, if the demon-beast descended long ago and was very frail at first, with time granting it the chance to grow strong, that would mean they were very likely to face an old monster that had lived a long time.
Third, there is also a mode of descent for otherworldly life that can blind the Extreme Sect, namely…… summoning and sacrifice. Summoned entities need not be discussed, because like void monsters they descend only temporarily and will in the end return to their original world.
But with sacrifice, it is very likely to involve questions of faith. Demon God believers are actually manageable, because however much they believe, when the Demon God wants to enter the Southern Region there will be proactive warnings from the World Will; but if it is other miscellaneous believers, such as primitive-god believers or outer-god believers, then it is troublesome, because these deities are different from the Demon God: when the Demon God enters, he brings a horde of demons; whereas these outer gods and wild gods will not bring their true bodies to the Southern Region, but will only, in secret, dispatch various underlings to infiltrate.
As for how they infiltrate? Look at the factional struggles within the Song of the Deep Sea and you will know. The faction opposing the Sea God is almost entirely connected to the otherworldly.
And Baruba is actually also a product of infiltration. He himself may not lean toward the otherworldly, but he has barbarian blood in him, an indisputable fact.
Baruba is now scarcely resisted by the World Will, which means the barbarians’ infiltration has been very successful.
If Baruba’s bloodline continues for several more generations, by then even the World Will will no longer class them as otherworldly beings.
Yet they do bear otherworldly blood; even if not rejected by the World Will, there is a high probability of becoming 「spies」, infiltrating the interior of the Wizarding World and even its upper echelons.
This is a very difficult situation.
Therefore, the Extreme Sect’s strikes against Demon God believers are more like 「drills」 and 「training the troops」, drive them off without killing them all; but toward believers of outer gods and primitive gods, regardless of any reasons, it is direct slaughter without mercy.
In the Black Count’s eyes, all three modes of descent are troublesome: either they may run into the Extreme Sect, or they may encounter an 「old hand」 who has drifted in the Southern Region for countless years. Whichever it is, it will not be easy to deal with.
The Black Count gave his analysis:「If it really is an otherworldly monster, then which specific kind is it?」
After hearing this, Angel shook his head:「I don’t know which kind; this still needs further confirmation. However, there should not be intervention from the Extreme Sect, if they were truly coming, they should already have arrived.」
The Black Count:「So the greatest possibility is that we will run into an 『old monster』?」
Angel:「Cannot be determined; we still need to observe further.」
Angel’s answer looked perfunctory, but the Black Count could feel that Angel was also full of helplessness; it did not seem like a lie.
Thinking of this, the Black Count set aside the intention to pursue questioning and temporarily chose to trust Angel.
At this time, after pausing for a moment, Angel added:「Also, there is one point that needs to be explained regarding this intelligence. However strong this otherworldly monster is, unless absolutely necessary, try not to drag the battlefield over to the Wise One’s Grand Hall, and also try as much as possible not to let the Sovereign of Wisdom help.」
As for the reason, Angel did not say, and everyone was used to that. In any case, they had not planned to let the Sovereign of Wisdom help; wizards believe more in their own strength, and are more convinced that destiny is in their own hands.
「As for the source of the intelligence, after we encounter that otherworldly monster and further ascertain its truth or falsity, I will then explain in detail.」Angel used this sentence to end the brief secret meeting.
However, Angel did not immediately remove the spatial isolation, but continued to speak about the itinerary arrangements to come.
Chapter 2767 What Shrew Ponders <TOC> Chapter 2769 Encirclement Hunt