Chapter 289 Grandfather <TOC> Chapter 291 Mystery
Translator: SumTLMan
Guided by the stars, the weary were led to distant lands. Accompanied by the celestial bodies in the wilderness, the airship spewed thick black smoke as it sailed into the depths of the canyon.
Wimbledon’s wails and cries when parting with Ananda seemed to have exhausted all his strength. The young soul trapped in a child’s body transformed into fatigue and weariness at this moment, with dampness in the corners of his eyes as he fell back into slumber.
Angel crossed his arms and leaned against the door, his eyes resembling the clear water of a lake with a hint of melancholy. The scene evoked deep emotions within him, revealing his thoughts at that moment.
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed from the end of the corridor and stopped not far from Angel.
“Once we return, I will expedite my research on the enchantment of the Prelude of Death,” Angel paused, “By and large, solving a few difficulties should not pose too many problems. When we return, remember to inform Master Promi.”
“I understand,” the person sighed, “But your tone sounds rather envious. Magical formations aren’t as easy to memorize as other magical patterns. Yet, you respond so nonchalantly… Alas, that is talent – something one cannot envy.”
The individual reached out and placed a hand on Angel’s shoulder.
“Angel, I believe that with your talent, you will surely become the greatest alchemist.”
Angel would always remember this moment – the backdrop of a desolate corridor, the endless stars outside the floor-to-ceiling window, and a pair of eyes filled with hope and emotion.
“You too,” Angel quietly gazed into those eyes reflecting the starry sky, and after a long time, he smiled softly, “David, let’s encourage each other.”
“Let’s encourage each other.”
Perhaps it was the enticing night or the intoxicating starry sky. Two young men, one leaning against the doorframe and the other squatting in the corner, gazed at the eternal celestial dome through the floor-to-ceiling window and discussed a topic that would be difficult to bring up in adulthood – dreams.
Angel spoke of dreams in the distance, while David spoke of dreams of growth. However, distance and growth were merely synonyms.
Just like the distance Angel referred to – so far away that it was probably beyond the imagination of wizards, surpassing time, space, and even dimensions. Or perhaps, distance was merely a concept in Angel’s words.
The two youths spoke the truth, but for various reasons, each withheld a portion. This portion was not selfishness, but a vision, a hope for a better future.
Perhaps the allure of the splendid future they described was so captivating that neither noticed that, just beyond a wall, Wimbledon had somehow crawled out of bed and was crouching in a corner, his eyes glistening and flickering with longing for the magical and wondrous world of wizards.
“Angel, that Wimbledon…” David wanted to say something dismissive, but the atmosphere was perfect, and he swallowed his words. “He’s really troublesome. When we were boarding the airship earlier, if it weren’t for that little girl’s constant persuasion, he might have dared to hit you.”
“Do you think he’ll hate you? Was it a good idea to take him to see Mr. Goode, the butler?”
Angel: “Hate me? Why? Just because I didn’t bring Ananda along?”
“That’s the reason. You know, children’s love and hate are easily generated and extinguished. He thinks you didn’t take Ananda because you wanted to separate them and cut off her path to becoming a wizard, so he’ll straightforwardly hate you.” David recalled the scene before boarding the ship and couldn’t help but sigh: “He doesn’t think about why you would help them over and over again.”
“You admit it too; he’s just a child. He may be older, but his thinking is still very innocent.” Angel: “Children don’t understand the basic rules that make up society; just be more tolerant.”
“You’re quite open-minded. If it were me, and someone cursed and hit me, I wouldn’t bother helping them.”
As the airship moved forward, stars appeared and disappeared among the clouds.
Twilight Deep Well —
With the support of the three great wizard families, this month’s defense was carried out by the Shore Lions on a rotating basis.
The captain of the Shore Lions’ defense team, Walmartson, became an official wizard three years ago and was the sixth official wizard of the Shore Lions.
Due to the Twilight Auction, the flow of people in the wizard market reached its peak during the year. Walmartson guarded the watchtower for half a month, keeping his eyes on the magical reaction in the magic array mirror.
Finally, the auction ended. Nothing significant happened in the last few days, except that Twilight attacked Sanders’ disciple twice today, and the magical reactions detected by the magic array were all normal.
Walmartson had monitored Twilight’s actions but made no defensive moves. That brat dared to disrupt the order of the Twilight Auction and deserved the punishment he got, even if he was Sanders’ disciple.
Moreover, Walmartson didn’t believe Sanders would wage war against Twilight for his disciple. So, he absolutely supported Twilight in killing that kid.
Even Angel’s location information was provided by Walmartson to Twilight. As a Shadow Wizard, Walmartson was not only proficient in shadow magic, but he also transplanted the nose of an Abyssal Bat, allowing him to combine shadow and pheromones to achieve full control of Twilight Deep Well. Thus, Walmartson could locate Angel by capturing pheromones without even using the magic array.
Two hours ago, Walmartson could not detect any trace of Angel’s pheromones within the City of Shadow Demons, which indicated that he had already left.
Regarding this, Walmartson was indifferent. A mere insignificant apprentice was within the grasp of his palm whether he lived or died.
Once the auction ended, Walmartson breathed a sigh of relief and left the Guard Tower after half a month. Before leaving, he instructed his subordinates to continue monitoring, while he returned to his laboratory to research his self-created magic spells.
Walmartson had lofty aspirations, seeking to enter the path of true knowledge through his self-created magic spells. However, not just any self-created spell could lead to the path of true knowledge, such as Angel’s modification of the “Cleaning Spell” into the “Wind Tornado.” Although this barely qualified as a self-created spell, it was based on the theories and models of predecessors, thus offering little chance of leading to the path of true knowledge.
A truly self-created spell required its own theoretical foundation.
There were only a few wizards on the path of true knowledge, and there were reasons for that.
Just as Walmartson returned to his laboratory and began drafting his shadow magic theory, his communicator began to wail.
“Sir! There’s a massive magical reaction at the Twilight Auction House!”
Walmartson’s expression changed dramatically, and he flew out of his laboratory without a second thought, disregarding the iron door he had smashed to pieces.
Upon arriving at the Guard Tower and checking the magical energy array’s surveillance mirror, Walmartson’s expression turned to one of extreme terror.
The location of the Twilight Auction House was enveloped in layers of red and black energy reactions. Walmartson felt a wave of dizziness, sensing that this was a magical reaction at the peak of a second-level wizard’s power!
Could there be a second-level wizard at the Twilight Auction House?
“Could Lord Phantom Master not have left?” Even if he hadn’t left, he shouldn’t have acted at the Twilight Auction House, right?!
“Lord Sanders left immediately after the auction ended and hasn’t been detected returning by the magical energy array!” a subordinate reported.
Anxiety flashed across Walmartson’s face: “No matter, leave two people here to watch, and the rest come with me to the auction house!”
Under the starry sky, streaks of light flew towards the metallic, ruin-like iron square tower.
The moon tonight was unusually large, serving as a brilliant backdrop. As Walmartson flew towards the iron square tower, he even faintly felt as if he were flying towards the moon itself.
The iron square tower, aerial staircase, and tattered flags in the wind; the auction house, which already had an air of metallic ruins, appeared even more desolate under the moonlight.
Approaching the auction house, Walmartson sensed something amiss.
Despite the alarmingly high energy reaction, why did the auction house seem eerily silent, as if devoid of people?
As if there were a massive barrier, the auction house was split in half from the outside world; on the outside, everything was normal with lights, shadows, and noises, while inside the barrier, it was pitch-black and eerily silent, like a graveyard.
At this moment, outside of this “invisible barrier,” more than ten rays of light had already come to a stop.
Walmartson saw the head of the Shore Lion family: “Azure Lion” Daedweia, who was also one of the highest leaders of the Twilight Auction House.
Walmartson flew to Daedweia’s side and whispered, “Patriarch.”
Daedweia had just received Walmartson’s message and hurried over. He looked at the silent auction house with a flicker of doubt in his eyes, “What’s going on?”
With a hint of anxiety, Walmartson said, “Not long ago, I received a message from my subordinates that there was a high-energy reaction in the auction house. When I went to check, the energy intensity had already approached the maximum capacity of the magic energy array.”
“A peak second-level wizard?” Daedweia exclaimed.
“Yes, I have asked around,” Walmartson lowered his head, “Recently, the only second-level wizard who has come to our Twilight Well is Lord Phantom Master.”
Without hesitation, Daedweia said, “Impossible. I know Lord Sanders; if he wanted to take action against our Twilight, he would definitely notify me.”
Daedweia also hailed from the Savage Grottoes and, as a wizard on the path of True Knowledge like Sanders, had always maintained a good relationship with him.
“According to surveillance, Lord Phantom Master left the Twilight Deep Well two days ago and has not returned,” Walmartson continued, “But if it’s not Lord Phantom Master, I don’t know who it could be.”
Daedweia’s eyes narrowed slightly, “We’ll find out once we go in. The energy reaction of a peak second-level wizard doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the work of a second-level wizard.”
Daedweia could accomplish it with full force, or even with alchemical artifacts. To find out the situation inside, they had to see for themselves.
Daedweia led Walmartson, and then commanded the remaining people to split into three directions and enter together.
As Walmartson entered the range of the Twilight Auction House, the “silence” he had perceived from the outside was merely an illusion. In reality, the Twilight Auction House was not as quiet as he had imagined.
Upon entering the main hall, they heard a faint, eerie melody.
This music was not unpleasant to listen to.
However, it was extremely bizarre, like a deliberately insane adult fairy tale musical, with a fast tempo, high notes, and long tails.
Such a style of music might not be out of place in a circus, but when played in a metal tower, it seemed to be strikingly discordant.
“Who could it be?” As Walmartson was still questioning himself, a figure suddenly blocked Daedweia’s path.
“Patriarch, it’s terrible! The young lioness is dead!”