Chapter 986 The Watchtower Fortress <TOC> Chapter 988 Unceasingly Stirring Up Trouble
Translator: SumTLMan
Duchess Bel’s arrival didn’t matter much to Canter in truth.
Yet, he was indeed taken aback when he laid eyes on the crowd aboard Duchess Bel.
Sineva’s presence was already unexpected, but Sanders being there too? He had inexplicably dashed off earlier, was it to meet Duchess Bel?
Canter, immersed in his doubts, saw from afar Sanders turning his head, engaging in quiet discourse with an apprentice.
An apprentice?
Canter had never seen Sanders show such amicable warmth towards any apprentice, except for that one pupil who never failed to elicit a discreetly proud showing off from him… Suddenly, Canter paused: Could it truly be Angel?
He couldn’t resist using his bloodline gift, his eyes instantly brighter, reminiscent of a hawk’s gaze.
As Canter scrutinized without inhibition, he was spotted by Sanders.
Sanders turned his head to look at the gate of the fortress, his gaze slowly descending, only to fall upon a familiar object.
“Isn’t that Lord Canter?” Angel, following Sanders’ line of sight, also glanced over: “Eh, the thing in his hand seems familiar, why does it look like…”
“The Monument of the Strange Ring.” Sanders voiced out icily.
Was it really the Monument of the Strange Ring? Sanders, who loved to play the role of a tough critic, claimed he would assess and analyze the illusion for Canter to craft the Monument of the Strange Ring, but Angel knew the actual circumstances all too clearly.
Therefore, seeing the Monument of the Strange Ring in Canter’s hand didn’t surprise him in the slightest. Perhaps, Sanders was showing off again?
“Is this trifling item worth flaunting?” Sanders, obviously deciphering Angel’s thoughts, let out a cold snort: “When I discovered a blood essence reaction in the Abyss, I rushed over in a hurry, leaving the door unlocked. I’m certain Canter snuck in and stole it.”
“Is that so?” Angel cast a somewhat doubtful gaze at Sanders.
Sanders let out a cold grunt, his expression full of disdain, but there was a trace of unease in his eyes.
“I originally intended to craft the follow-up ideas of the Monument Valley as well.” Angel murmured softly, seemingly filled with regret.
“Cough, cough… Is that so? Well, that’s perfect. After you’ve crafted it, I’ll help you assess whether there’s been any improvement in your illusion realm over this period,” Sanders paused, coughing twice, “However, I would advise you to engage less with these trivialities that might distract you from your work.”
Angel smirked inwardly but outwardly nodded with apparent acceptance, “Understood.”
On the other hand, Canter, upon identifying the apprentice by Sanders’ side, showed a flash of realization on his face. He had not expected it to be Angel!
How could Lord Rhine send an apprentice, and a precious alchemist at that, into the Abyss? Especially when the current situation in the Abyss was starting to get tense. With Angel’s capabilities, he wouldn’t even qualify as cannon fodder!
Confusion and worry stirred within Canter, but in the next second, he seemed to have a thought.
“I remember Sanders mentioning that this Monument of the Strange Ring was created by Angel…” Canter’s eyes suddenly lit up, “You’ve been hiding it and wouldn’t let me touch it before, but now that Angel is here, couldn’t I ask him to craft me a Monument of the Strange Ring?”
Upon this thought, a smile crept onto Canter’s face. He secretly thought to himself: I wonder if it would be possible to get it custom-made? It would be perfect if the statue of Princess Ida in Monument Valley could be replaced with the image of my dear Cherie!
As Canter was daydreaming happily, he suddenly noticed a few more people around him.
Looking back, he found it was Popoca and his friends. Canter had a rather good impression of Popoca. Firstly, Popoca was from the Savage Grottoes. Secondly, Popoca had a knack for clever ideas, especially in deciphering puzzles.
“What brings you here?” Canter asked, then quickly realized that they were probably here for Duchess Bel too, “Are you guys vying for the position of the guiding instructor?”
Popoca remained silent, but his short, chubby apprentice nodded vigorously, “Yes, your excellency. Could you possibly assign the task to us? We guarantee to get these newcomers on track in the shortest time possible.”
“Shortest time?” Canter’s eyes flashed with amusement, teasingly replied, “I don’t believe you won’t stretch it to the last possible deadline.”
The chubby apprentice chuckled, “Why would we? If we were to stretch it till the last deadline, it would definitely mean that the new apprentices are too dim-witted, and we would have to exhaust all our resources to educate them, only then they would understand.”
Canter snorted, “I know very well what’s on your minds. But, it wouldn’t hurt to let you take a few days off using this opportunity…”
The eyes of the chubby apprentice lit up gradually.
While Canter was arranging the guiding instructors, the sound of the bell from the cathedral on Duchess Bel’s back was drawing nearer. The figure on her back was gradually becoming visible to all.
At first sight, Popoca’s gaze was ensnared by the frosted-haired, fiery-eyed woman, leaning languidly against the pinnacle of the Ice Frost Cathedral. Her seemingly nonchalant demeanor accelerated Popoca’s heartbeat dramatically.
Indeed, she was the Wild Witch, Sineva!
The arrival of the Wild Witch finally heralded her presence!
Her appearance also implied that… ‘he’ would soon grace Watchtower Fortress.
Once ‘he’ made his appearance, the true course of events would begin!
Then, his chance would come!
With this thought, a hint of wildness flashed in Popoca’s eyes, as he subconsciously gripped the roving crimson chains adorning his body.
“Popoca? What’s the matter?” The short, chubby apprentice gazed questioningly at Popoca, “The list has arrived, Canter has requested our presence to verify the registration.”
Popoca was slow to respond, only then realizing that Duchess Bel had halted at the gates of the fortress, and the apprentices were disembarking one by one.
They were holding the newly arrived list. Canter had promised to appoint them as guiding instructors, so they needed to verify the credentials with the apprentices who had accepted the front-line mission.
“I understand, I will go right now,” Popoca sighed. Truthfully, he didn’t want to draw attention, but if he had refused the position of a guiding instructor earlier, it might have attracted even more scrutiny.
Feeling helpless, Popoca followed suit.
“The number of apprentices this time is quite scarce, only sixteen,” The short, chubby apprentice, holding the list, grumbled to Popoca, “It would have been better if more had come.”
“The location of Watchtower Fortress dictates the number of apprentices.” Popoca responded tersely, then stood by Duchess Bel’s side, ready to verify the identity of each incoming apprentice.
With the relatively low number of people and three of them to check, the process was quick.
However, after all sixteen apprentices had been verified, and the chubby apprentice decided to show them around the fortress, a child with braids suddenly pointed at Duchess Bel’s back, “There’s another apprentice there, doesn’t he need to register?”
Another apprentice? Popoca looked in the direction, and his pupils contracted the moment he saw the figure.
“It’s him?” A trace of gloom flashed in Popoca’s eyes. Angel had surprisingly appeared here…
“Popoca, do you know him?”
Popoca hesitated momentarily before nodding, “He’s a disciple of the Phantom Master. Seeing as his name isn’t on the roster, he likely hasn’t taken any front-line missions. We don’t need to concern ourselves with him. We should head to the fortress with these sixteen.”
With that, Popoca, without awaiting any rebuttal, took the lead towards the fortress.
However, the look in his eyes betrayed a shadow of uncertainty, and he gripped the chain wrapped around him tighter, murmuring, “Let’s hope there are no more unforeseen issues… it would be best if everyone remained compliant…”
…
Angel was oblivious to the fact that he had a past ‘client’ in his midst.
At present, Angel was standing behind Sanders, observing the dispute between him and Canter. The bone of contention being the “Monument of the Strange Ring.”
Sanders, with a chilly voice, declared, “You infiltrated my room today and stealthily took away the Monument of the Strange Ring. You have the audacity to seek Angel’s help in crafting it?”
“This is a separate matter; there’s no logic to your argument!” Canter retorted indignantly.
“I said it’s non-negotiable, and that’s final.”
“I’m not asking you to craft it!” Canter shot a furious glare at Sanders, before his expression softened, addressing Angel with a gentle tone, “Angel, when Cherie came back from the Purification Garden last time, she didn’t express it verbally, but I could tell she has a fondness for you. Accept this commission of mine, and the next time I see Cherie, I’ll put in a good word for you.”
Angel: What does this have to do with Cherie?
Although Canter’s tone was frivolous, considering he was a good friend of his mentor, Angel found it hard to outright refuse. He turned back with a touch of resignation, curious about what Sanders had to say.
“As I’ve said, it’s non-negotiable. You have a new mission recently, you don’t have the time to assist Canter in crafting,” Sanders stated.
“A new mission?” What new mission? Why was he not aware of it?
Sanders raised an eyebrow, “You just mentioned it yourself. I’ve promised to give you feedback on the Illusion Realm…”
Angel: “…” Now he understood. Apparently, Sanders forbade him from helping Canter with crafting, purely because he wanted him to focus on crafting the subsequent version of Monument Valley first.
With a deep understanding, Angel pivoted towards Canter, articulating, “Lord Canter, my journey into the Abyss is to seek crucial answers from Mentor. However, my paramount priority currently is my promotion, and any indulgence in alchemy can be postponed until after my advancement.”
Upon digesting Angel’s words, it was only then that Canter realized Angel had incredibly managed to approach the Great Barrier. When he had departed from House of Lilith, Cherie had barely grazed the edge of the Minor Barrier!
In this fleeting year, how had Angel trained to have made such remarkable progress? This gap was truly astounding!
Canter exhaled deeply, finding himself utterly unable to counter Angel’s reasoning. The most crucial stage on the path of wizardry was indeed the first Great Barrier.
If Angel was dedicating all his mental resources towards breaking through this barrier, how could Canter in good conscience divert his focus?
On this thought, Canter could only give a helpless nod, turning instead to Sanders, “Then… may I borrow the Monument of the Strange Ring for a while? I am on the verge of clearing it. I won’t be at peace until I do!”
Sanders scoffed, “Nearly a year has passed, and you still haven’t cleared it.”
“You haven’t lent it to me more than a few times in the past year! Treating it like some precious gem, hoarding it away…”
Canter’s grumble was cut off as Sanders coughed, interrupting his tirade, “If you want to borrow it, take it. Why the needless chatter? Don’t block the way, I have matters to attend to.”
“Oh, and remember to return it after half a month,” he added.
Chapter 986 The Watchtower Fortress <TOC> Chapter 988 Unceasingly Stirring Up Trouble