The Wise Ruler couldn't help but sigh when he realized that he was being too careless. He spent most of his time in the underground sewers without any contact with outsiders, so he didn't even notice when his thoughts became rigid.
It was the same this time. His carelessness was mainly due to the difference in information between him and Angor, but it was also because of his own carelessness.
Just like Angor, Angor also had a gap in information between them, but his performance was flawless. In fact, the Wise Overseer believed that Angor was probably the one who did it on purpose or not.
Wise people were never stingy with showing their cards. They were competing to see who had the best cards and whose hidden cards were the most unexpected. Sometimes, showing the cards was also a kind of trap.
Both Angor and the Wise Ruler didn't know each other well, which was why they couldn't show their cards to each other. Still, Angor's performance was outstanding.
Even the Wise Ruler couldn't help but praise Angor in his mind.
"You're asking about the person in the mirror. It can enter my room, but it doesn't dare to enter my main residence." The Wise Ruler's words were so contradictory that the others couldn't help but feel confused.
"So you're saying that it can enter through the mirror, but it can't?" Angor asked.
The Wise Ruler nodded. "Correct."
The Wise Overseer was starting to get used to Angor's reaction speed as well as the fact that he didn't know how many levels he could jump. As long as he didn't treat Angor like a tiger cub, the Wise Ruler could communicate with him easily. Angor did not even need to ask for an explanation. Angor could simply continue the rest of the story without needing to know what the old man was talking about.
The Wise Ruler didn't dislike this kind of fluency.
He only cared about competing with his own interests, not with fools. That was probably how the Wise Ruler felt right now.
"What kind of help will it provide to the pursuers?"
He skipped the question of "Did the man in the mirror let the Travellers through the dimension" and asked about what the man in the mirror would do for the Travellers. Angor was sure that the man in the mirror was the one behind all this.
The Wise Overseer didn't care if Angor was just testing him or if he really guessed the answer.
Because if they decided to stay here, they would eventually have to meet that person. If he denied that the person in the mirror was behind this, he would become a laughingstock.
"Since it's hiding in the mirror, it can't do anything except affect the magic array to a certain extent. Therefore, it won't be of much help to the Travellers Organization. "
Dorcas was actually listening to their conversation as well, but he was a little confused and felt like he couldn't keep up.
However, at this moment, he understood.
"Even if it can't help the pursuers of the traveling merchants, it can still affect the magic array. That's not good for us," Dorcas said with a frown.
Dorcas' words didn't cause the Sovereign Sage to react in the slightest. He didn't even turn his head to look.
As the leader of the team, Angor explained dutifully, "If it can affect the magic array too much, it won't need to lure the traveling merchants to attack us. It can just use its own magic array to deal with us."
Also, it can only affect the magic array. But there's someone here who can directly control the magic array. "
Angor pointed at the Wise Overseer.
Dorcas thought about it and felt that it made sense. The Wise Overseer had full control over all the magic arrays in the underground maze, while the man in the mirror could only affect them to a certain extent.
"If that's the case, the Wise Overseer can just reverse the magic array while it's doing it. That'll save us a lot of trouble. "
Angor agreed with Dorcas' suggestion, but he believed that the Wise Overseer must have his reasons for not doing it.
When they first met the Wise Overseer, the Wise Overseer clearly said that he didn't want to stop them either. …
This meant that there was someone behind the Wise Overseer. And that someone was almost certain to be the man in the mirror.
The man in the mirror could even influence the Wise Overseer's decisions. There must be some kind of connection between them, which meant the Wise Overseer wouldn't do anything to the man in the mirror.
This was also why he said, "If you choose to stay here, there might be a small incident that you need to deal with on your own."
The Wise Overseer had his own reasons. He couldn't deal with this "small incident" himself, so he had to leave it to outsiders like them.
This was indeed the case. The Sovereign of Wisdom replied, "Firstly, I won't make an enemy out of it. At the very least, I won't make an enemy out of it before I achieve my goals."
Second, I'm not a good person, but I won't kill those who have contributed to my cause. The traveling merchants have contributed greatly to maintaining the balance of the underground water system. For this reason, I won't do anything to them. "
Third, I don't know much about magic arrays. I can control them, but if something goes wrong, I'll need the Wise Overseer to fix it. "
The Wise Overseer paused and added, "I can tell you something else. The Wise Overseer is much better at magic arrays than I am."
"Then why didn't it control the magic arrays?" Dorcas asked.
"It's a secret."
As Dorcas frowned, the Wise Overseer glanced at Angor and considered. "It might be a secret to you, but this one already knows the answer."
Dorcas looked at Angor in the direction Dorcas was pointing at.
Angor didn't know what to say.
"You're trying to drive a wedge between us? That's a little childish." Angor was speechless.
"Drive a wedge between us? No. He doesn't look like someone who studied magic arrays. It's understandable that he doesn't know the inside story. You should have deciphered the murals it left on the Stairs of Hanging Prison. Also, you found the outpost it left on the second floor of the Stairs of Hanging Prison. All of this proves that you're good at magic arrays, so I'm sure you can guess the answer. "
Angor didn't know whether the Wise Overseer was telling the truth or not, but he could guess why the figure in the mirror didn't control the magic array. "You're the only one who can enter the core of the magic array?"
The Wise Overseer nodded. "Yes. But that's not the only answer."
Angor considered for a moment. "So the Wise Overseer's body can't enter the magic array?"
The Wise Overseer didn't answer Angor's question. After a while, the Wise Overseer said, "Looks like I have more questions to ask you."
The Wise Overseer's reaction meant that Angor was right again.
Angor acted as if it was just a coincidence, or a guess. However, the Wise Overseer couldn't convince himself that everything was just a coincidence.
The Wise Overseer believed that Angor must know something. Angor didn't come here for a simple reason.
And there was something else that the Wise Overseer couldn't understand. You're my student! It wasn't his pendant!!
If everyone lowered their heads at this moment, they would discover that the Wood Spirit had transformed itself from a tall and upright bamboo stick into a small vine that resembled a dragon.
Not only did you turn into vines, but you also coiled around Angor's cane like a snake?!
His cane looked simple from afar. It was a long, thin stick. Even the slightly luxurious tip of the cane was covered by his sleeves, which made it hard to see from afar.
But now, the Wood Spirit's dragon-like vine was coiling itself around the black cane. The dark green buds on the cane glowed faintly, which made it look like a walking stick carved with a coiling dragon. The glowing green buds looked as beautiful as gemstones.
From an inconspicuous black cane, the Wood Spirit transformed into a luxurious gemstone cane.
In the Wise Overseer's eyes, the Wood Spirit had chosen to become a pendant instead of a proper spirit.
The Wise Overseer forced himself not to open his third eye, but he still couldn't help but look at the Wood Spirit.
Under the Wise Overseer's gaze, the Wood Spirit couldn't help but curl up and wrap itself around the cane even tighter.
The Wise Overseer took a deep breath and looked away from the Wood Spirit to Angor, who had an innocent look on his face. "Now that you know it's behind all this, are you sure you want to talk here?"
Angor didn't look back immediately. Instead, he looked at Black Earl. The Black Earl said softly in the Spirit Bond, "You make the decision."
Angor considered for a moment. "Let's do it here."
Ever since they entered the underground waterway, Angor's plan was to avoid interacting with the Traveling Merchants as much as possible. This was because the local tyrants often had some kind of obsession. They would only explore their own territory and leave when they were done.
Even when the Traveling Merchants came after them, Angor left a message beside the magic array to warn them of the danger. Dorcas' speech was a psychological attack, and Angor believed that the Traveling Merchants weren't bad at all. Still, Angor felt that the Traveling Merchants were a decent organization. They didn't enslave, kill, or restrict the mortals' freedom. These three qualities alone were enough to make Angor respect them. Therefore, Dorcas' message was more for the sake of those who came after them.
If they really wanted to deal with the Traveling Merchants, they would have done so already. There must be a reason why they didn't do so.
But now, they had no other choice. They would have to fight the Traveling Merchants no matter what. Since they couldn't avoid it, they had to do it.
Angor didn't choose to go to the Wise Overseer's Hall and let the Wise Overseer use his authority to expel the Traveling Merchants. Angor was thinking about the mirror man behind the Traveling Merchants.
Angor didn't know the identity of the man in the mirror yet. If the Wise Overseer expelled the Traveling Merchants, it would be like slapping the man in the mirror in the face.
It sounded great, but Angor's group would have to pay for it.
After all, the Traveling Merchants were after them, not the Wise Overseer. If the Wise Overseer helped them, they would owe him two favors. First, they owed him the favor of expelling the man in the mirror. Second, they would have to pay for what the Wise Overseer would do if they disobeyed the man in the mirror.
They didn't even know what the Wise Overseer wanted them to do. If they already owed him a favor, they would feel guilty when refusing, and they might even lose the right to refuse.
Considering all the factors, Angor preferred to talk here. If they really ran into the Traveling Merchants, they would deal with them here.
Since the Wise Overseer already said that the man in the mirror couldn't help the Traveling Merchants much, it shouldn't be too hard for them to deal with the pursuers.
The Wise Overseer didn't object to Angor's decision. He knew that this was just a small talk. If they really wanted to talk more, they would have to deal with the "small interlude" first and return to the Wise Overseer's residence first.
But even so, the Wise Overseer still had a lot of questions. "Now?"
Angor looked around. The place was in ruins. It was hard to even find a flat ground, let alone a good place to talk. "You don't mind entering my illusion, do you, Wise Overseer?"
"Of course," the Wise Overseer nodded.
They already entered the illusion during the livestream.
Since the Wise Overseer agreed, Angor immediately opened his Nightmare Domain. Also, this Nightmare Domain was surrounded by the Earth Ring Wall.
This allowed other people inside the Earth Ring Wall to see and hear their conversation.
Angor's attentiveness was evident.
The moment the extravagant Nightmare Domain appeared, the Wise Overseer's brows furrowed. He already noticed that Angor's illusion was nothing special. But this time, it was even stranger.
It looked like a traditional noble's castle hall, but much more exquisite and luxurious.
The chandeliers were made of all kinds of gems, which shone brightly everywhere. The piano moved without any wind, and a beautiful melody flowed around the hall like flowing water.
Specks of light floated in the air like fireflies, which only added to the dreamy beauty of the place.
Everything looked very beautiful, but the Wise Sovereign could sense a deep sense of danger hidden behind this beauty. The Sovereign of Wisdom couldn't even see through the floating specks of light, and the more he looked, the more frightened he felt.
The illusion — no, it was no longer an illusion. It was like a real noble's castle hall.
And it was filled with a strange aura.
This was the first time the Wise Overseer saw such an illusion. Did an illusionist of this era create it? Or was it something unique to Angor?
(End of Chapter)
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