Minar Valley.
It was difficult for the bright sunlight to penetrate the dense canopy of the trees, and the forest was shrouded in an enigmatic darkness. A faint mist permeated the forest, and the entire forest was silent. Even the most common sounds of insects and birds could not be heard.
In this deathly silence, a black shadow suddenly emerged from the shadow cast by an emerald poplar tree, and quickly turned into a hazy, illusory human figure.
The mist dispersed, revealing a mysterious Magus in a sky-blue Magus robe. His face was cold and handsome.
After the mysterious Magus appeared, he scanned his surroundings. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, he lightly stamped his foot, and a gust of cold air penetrated the ground, activating a certain rune formation there.
Without a sound, a thick Snake Neck Flower suddenly crawled out of the soil in a clearing in the forest. The petals that had been closed opened one after another, spitting out a brawny man in leather armor who had a golden ring on his head, leopard claws on his hands, and a rough face.
"Hey, is there still no news?" Seeing the silent expression on his companion's face, the burly man immediately became irritated, "It's been four days. No matter how cowardly that bastard is, he still has to come here to take a look! Did he get some information? Why else would he be so calm? "
"We'll have to ask Lamiel!" The blue-robed Magus grumbled unhappily, "She acted on her own and launched a sneak attack. Not only did she not catch that guy, but she also raised his guard."
"Could it be that Lamiel, that bitch, sold us out?" The burly man's thoughts turned, and his eyes gradually turned fierce, "Lamiel, come out right now … I know you're here, hurry up and come out …"
Along with the rough man's roar, the entire forest shook and buzzed. The blue-robed wizard couldn't help but frown. He waved the short handle staff in his hand, and a colorful translucent water barrier sealed off the area.
This place was too close to the enemy's Iron Ring Mining Ground. If the alarm spell formation inside discovered anything unusual here, it would be difficult for them to carry out their subsequent plans.
* Chirp chirp chirp … *
A series of strange ape cries rang out from the depths of the forest. Four to five gibbon hopped over from the treetops as if they were flying. Finally, they stopped on a huge tree in front of the duo, their eyes staring straight at them.
"Lamir, you still dare to come out … Tell me, did you betray us? Otherwise, how could that brat be so shrewd? This place has already been turned upside down, yet he can still obediently stay in the city and not come out … "
The eyes of the gibbon in front of the two suddenly shone brightly. Then, he seemed to have become intelligent and quick-witted.
"Sicar, you barbarian, I can't be bothered to talk to you … I have a part in this mission as well. Could it be that failing the mission will bring me any benefits?" The gibbon suddenly spoke, and the voice that came out was that of a woman.
"Hmph, that's hard to say. Everyone knows that you and Flender aren't on good terms. Who knows if you're plotting something behind his back? "Sicar crossed his arms, his face full of distrust.
"Alright, alright …" The blue-robed Magus, Flender, who had been standing at the side with a cold expression, cut off the confrontation between the two of them. "Regardless of whether that fellow has heard anything, we have to lure him out. Iron Ring is the most suitable place for ambushing people, and we don't have to worry about being disturbed when we fight. We'll still set up this place as the first battlefield. "
"Hmph, the environment here is indeed the best and most suitable for ambushing. We know this, and I'm afraid that brat knows this as well. The mine has been in trouble for a few days now, yet he isn't even willing to investigate. I'm afraid that he has already given up on the Iron Ring Mining Site. " Although Sicar was a Physique Tempering Magus and a muscular man, his intelligence was not inferior to Flender's, who specialized in spiritual force.
"There's still an acolyte of his in the mine. Why don't I lure him out as well? That way, we might be able to force that bastard to show himself! "The gibbon's eyes turned as he suggested.
"Lure him out first, lock him up, and see how it goes!" The blue-robed Magus, Flender, furrowed his brows as he pondered.
Although he knew that Lamier definitely did not have good intentions for coming up with such an idea, no matter how he thought about it, he could not figure out what sort of conspiracy was hidden within.
"We'll wait for another day. If that fellow doesn't come out by then, we'll dismantle the rank 2 resource point. I don't believe that he'll be able to hide in the stone tower under such circumstances. Sicar, you'll have to work harder. Find a suitable ambush spot near the resource point and set up a spell formation. Wait for me there … "
"Then you …"
"I'll go to Gilnis City to take a look." The blue-robed Magus, Flender, gritted his teeth. "If that fellow really doesn't intend to show himself, we'll have no choice but to ambush his stone tower. Fortunately, it's just a simple defensive spell formation and not a Wizard's Tower of War. Otherwise, our mission would be a little difficult! "
They were going to scout out the other party's lair.
Sicar did not ask about the specifics. After all, Lamier was here as well. Regardless of whether she was the one who leaked the secret, it was better to keep his whereabouts a secret.
The three of them conversed briefly before splitting up again, each heading in a different direction.
The forest near the Iron Ring Mining Site soon fell silent once more.
… …
Green Stone Tower.
Grim was not in a good mood.
He had just received a message from Meryl via a spell from Ferdinand. Kodar's funeral would be held in three days at a small place called Morloi.
That was where his family's tomb was!
Kodar had died during a failed advancement ceremony ten days ago.
It was said that when his clansmen carried him out of the secret chamber, all the flesh and organs in his body had been sucked dry by the advancement ceremony. His body was so thin and withered that it looked like a skeleton.
With the loss of Kodar, his family would inevitably decline for a period of time. Although there were still some talented juniors in the family, they needed time and resources to grow.
So when Meryl faced the old clan leader who was crying bitterly, she was obviously not good at dealing with such a situation. So when she returned to Ferdinand City, she had a little girl called Mona with her.
Mona, 18 years old, beginner apprentice …
This short amount of information was enough to sentence Mona to death!
She was already 18 years old, but she was only a beginner apprentice. This was enough to show that her talent and potential were very low. To train such a beginner apprentice, the amount of resources needed was enough to train three to five people with extraordinary talent and potential.
Meryl was simply looking for trouble for herself!
As a newly advanced Magus, she did not have many resources, and she had a group of apprentices from her family waiting to be nurtured. Now that Kodar's half-sister had appeared, this huge burden would likely slow down her own development plans.
Although he did not approve of Meryl's actions, Grimm thought about it and sent a message to the goblin Kabi and the Flame Monarch's Gargamel, increasing the amount of resources allocated to Meryl.
As members of Grimm's faction, he wanted to maintain a close relationship with them. Apart from the nominal relationship of teacher and disciple, Grimm would also give them a huge discount when it came to purchasing resources and teaching knowledge. This would also help them save a lot of resources, allowing them to strengthen themselves and increase their knowledge. This would also indirectly increase their personal strength.
Hence, the amount of resources needed to gather a group of people was unimaginable to outsiders.
For example, there were many sorcerer-apprentices who would rather accept the harsh witchcraft contract and join a sorcerer family or a witchcraft organization. What was the reason for that?
It was to obtain a certain amount of resources and to receive a free promotion ceremony sponsored by their family when they reached the threshold of a Quasi Wizard. If the magic materials and resources used in this advancement ceremony were to be converted into mana crystals, the base value would be around 10,000 mana crystals.
For a wandering Quasi Wizard to gather 10,000 magic crystals on their own, it would take at least seven to eight years. Considering that many of the resources needed for the promotion ceremony could not be found on the market, most of them were monopolised by the Magus families.
This made it even more difficult for them to obtain the items for the promotion ceremony!
Many helpless wandering acolytes could only take the risk and barge into a Magus family's resource point in order to steal some of the rare resources that could not be found on the market. However, many acolytes were killed because of this.
This was how the hatred between wandering acolytes and Magus families came about.
Just as Grimm was lost in thought, Sabrina came to report.
The two acolytes, Yuri and Moss, were here again!
This … was the 12th time they had visited Wizard Grimm in five days!
From their expressions, it could be seen that the situation at the frontline was getting more and more urgent. In the past, only some hired workers and guards had gone missing, but in these two days, the number of people going missing had spread to the group of acolytes.
In just two days, 2 intermediate acolytes and 1 advanced acolyte had gone missing at the Iron Ring Mining Field, and an intermediate acolyte had also gone missing at the level-2 resource point.
These guys had gone missing in a very strange way. There were no signs of fighting at the scene. It was as if they had slipped out of their residences and walked out of the protection of the defensive spell circle.
Grimm knew what was going on here, but he did not reveal anything to his' subordinates'. After all, it was hard for him to tell who could be trusted and who could not, so for the sake of secrecy, he did not see anyone and sent them away with a message from Sabrina.
In the hall on the first floor, the two acolytes were restlessly looking up at the door.
When they saw that only Sabrina had walked in, and there was no sign of Wizard Grimm, they could not help but show a look of despair and resentment on their faces.
Not too long ago, they had even regarded this famous Lord Fire Demon as their idol. But now …
"Master Grimm is still busy with his own magic experiments, so he has no time to see you." Sabrina paused for a moment, and her scarlet red mechanical eyes flashed a few times, "He wants me to tell you that this is just a harassment tactic of the enemy, as long as you …"
"Harassment, harassment …" Yuri, who was under the most pressure, was the first to break down, "In order to prevent the enemy from invading, us acolytes have already moved to the same room, but we still can't stop acolytes from disappearing. Although it is my duty to protect the Iron Ring Mining Field, Master Grimm also has to bear some responsibility. If he still does not show up, we can only ask for help from our families … "
After saying this, he did not look at Sabrina's expression and angrily turned around and left the stone tower.
That acolyte Moses also sighed and silently walked out with his head down.
On the top floor of the stone tower, Grimm stood in the shadows by the narrow window, silently watching the two leave, and silently communicated with the A.I. Chip.
"A.I. Chip, how much longer do I need to complete the data model?"
[Beep. 36 hours 49 minutes 52 seconds …]
If he added the time needed to complete the Wind Dragon Magic Puppet, it would take at least another 48 hours before he could take action.
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