The storm was still raging, but the lightning and thunder were fewer and fewer. The night was even darker.
In the basement of a manor in the suburb, Fernando sat in a corner gloomily. Lauren paced back and forth anxiously, sneaking out now and then to gather information.
As a matter of fact, even the owner of the manor did not know that the evil sorcerers had turned the basement of his manor into their stronghold.
"The night watchers were bewildered by our arrangement and chased in the wrong direction." After a while, Lauren flashed in. While avoiding a few traps, he told Fernando what he had heard. "According to our previous training, the other sorcerers and apprentices have been hiding in other strongholds in different groups. We won't know exactly how many sorcerers and apprentices have been lost until everything calms down."
Fernando neither nodded nor shook his head. "What I want to know is, how did the black-clawed dogs find that place?"
His bright red eyes seemed to hide a terrifying storm that was brewing. Even Roland, a friend who was extremely familiar with him, subconsciously took a step back.
Lauren said gloomily, "Yes, that's what I'm wondering too. That stronghold is very inconspicuous, and it's the first time that we've used it. There was no sign that the black-clawed dogs were following us on our way. I think that some of them couldn't persist anymore and joined the black-clawed dogs."
There was not the slightest weakness in his tone. Betrayal, slaughter, and escape were the main themes in the latter part of the War of Dawn.
"Investigate in secret. Don't raise too much noise for now. A good traitor may be able to 'help' us. Also, now that we're hiding in groups of two or three, nobody knows where the other groups are hiding except for the two of us. The traitor can't cause too much damage." Fernando's attitude was out of Lauren's expectation. He thought that Fernando would burst into fury, roar, and impatiently find the traitor and torture him with all kinds of magic to avenge Ingrid.
Lauren nodded. "I know what to do. To be honest, Fernando, I thought that you would lose control of your temper."
There was no smile on Fernando's face. "My anger is waiting for a suitable time to erupt."
He sighed inwardly. Although he and Roland had known each other for many years and could be considered old friends, Roland still didn't quite understand him. He loved to nitpick, had an irritable and impatient personality, liked to roar, and looked down on others, but he could control himself and understand the situation. Even if he didn't admit defeat verbally, he wouldn't stubbornly persist in the face of hard facts and reason. Most of the time, he roared at the situation, not the person, and he knew very well what the best decision to make now. His anger would slowly accumulate until the day he exploded.
"Judging from their habits and signs, it's Vulture who's commanding the night watchers today." Roland changed the topic to the analysis of today's ambusher. "He has been chasing us for a long time."
'Vulture' was a derogatory nickname they gave to a high ranking Night Watcher. He was ranked in the top thirty of the Night Watchers, an eighth level Sky Knight. His code name was' Hunter '.
"Yes. At the end of the retreat, he was hit by my 'Shadow Arrow'. He broke my defense too. Had it not been for the magic trigger, I might've had to find a way to transform into a lich." Fernando confirmed Roland's guess. Then, he said in fury, "We have to plan an operation to kill him in secret so that all the Night Watchers, Priests, and Knights who dare to hunt us will be scared and stop working so hard!"
"Assassinating a ranked Night Watcher will raise the Church's backlash. Chances are that legends will come to hunt us down very soon. Are you willing to give up the foundation here?" Roland didn't quite agree with Fernando's idea. The Union of Sorcerers that they belonged to was very weak. It was the best time for them to avoid attention and grow in silence.
"It's exactly because we're weak that we need to do something big to show the sorcerers that there's hope if they follow us. After all, now that there's a traitor, most of the foundation in the Paphos County will have to be abandoned. Also, our next goal is very clear, which is to attract the nobles who are dissatisfied with the Church and hide behind them." Fernando said as if he knew what Roland was thinking. His black hair hung down messily, indicating that the battle against the 'Hunter' was not easy.
Roland hesitated. "Let me think about it. Let's discuss it after we meet Douglas."
"Good," Fernando replied curtly.
Looking at Fernando who was silent, Roland felt that he was looking at a human-shaped storm.
… …
The sun was bright, the sky was clear, and the vague smell of the ocean was brought over by the wind. All those things made Padre Port different from other places.
Fernando and Roland, disguised as merchants who were here to pick up goods, walked back and forth in the fixed area of the dock. They glanced at the place where the sailboat was docked. According to the agreement between Jarrosus and Douglas, this was the place where they would meet. The white gloves that they were wearing and the dark red handkerchiefs in their pockets were their identity marks.
A classic sailboat slowly approached. Fernando and Roland's eyes glittered at the same time. It was exactly the boat that Douglas was on. It was one day later than scheduled. The weather in the Storm Strait was bad, and it was perfectly normal for boats to be late. The two of them were not surprised.
"Black-clawed dogs!" Suddenly, Fernando's face slightly changed. He saw several men in cloaks leading dozens of noble Knights and squires to the place where the boat was docked. Their unique black gloves revealed their identities.
Roland's face was gloomy. "Is this a routine inspection, or are they targeting Douglas?"
Since the fall of Antiffler, more and more sorcerers had come to the Kingdom of Holm, and the Church began to pay more attention to the inspection of ships. Of course, with the manpower and resources that the Church allocated, most of the sorcerers could successfully hide their identities. As long as they were not specifically targeted, an archmage would not be afraid of such an inspection.
"How do I know?" Fernando roared in a low voice. "Only the strength of the night watchers can tell."
At this time, a well-dressed merchant walked in from outside the dock. The two of them immediately stopped their discussion and continued to pretend that they were waiting for their goods.
"Good afternoon, sirs. Have your goods arrived?" The merchant was tall and strong. He was about thirty years old. His nose was high, his black hair was thick, and his forehead was full. His facial features could only be described as regular but not handsome. However, his deep blue eyes gave him a unique temperament that Fernando was rather familiar with.
Roland chuckled. "Not yet. I'm afraid that the sailboat that carried our goods was blocked by the storm. What about yours?"
He interacted with the enthusiasm of a true businessman.
"My goods are here. They're right in front of you." The merchant said with a smile. His tone was as gentle as a spring breeze.
"What?" Roland was briefly stunned.
Fernando, however, immediately realized what was going on. He asked in a low voice, "Douglas?"
Roland looked at him in shock. It was not until then that he noticed that the young merchant was also wearing white gloves and had a dark red handkerchief in his chest pocket.
"Yes. Are you friends of Jarrosus?" The young merchant admitted his identity frankly and asked warmly, as if he were not scared that they were night watchers at all, nor was he worried that there might be an ambush nearby.
"Yes. How — how did you come in from the outside?" Roland felt that he was more or less confused.
Douglas chuckled. "I got off the boat in advance and came here from the bottom of the ocean. I've been waiting for you in the port for a whole day."
His smile was slightly teasing, as if he were a child who was untainted by worldly affairs.
No wonder he was not worried about night watchers or ambushes. He must've checked the surroundings carefully before. Roland was immediately enlightened.
"The goods are delayed. Let's come back tomorrow. Let's have a drink and get to know each other." Fernando spoke in the language of merchants. He was more or less disgusted by Douglas, who was also one head taller than him! Also, he was not as skinny as Roland!
When the night watchers inspected the sailboat, the three sorcerers left the place without attracting anyone's attention like the other merchants on the dock. They took a coach that they hired and returned to the capital of Paphos County.
After changing a few coaches, the coachman became a member of the Union of Sorcerers. It was not until then that Fernando and Roland formally introduced themselves.
"I'm Fernando Balista, the president of the branch of the Union of Sorcerers in Paphos County. You can just call me Fernando. I don't like my last name very much." Fernando secretly sniffed.
"Fernando Balista?" Douglas repeated in a slightly raised voice. Then, he smiled and said, "'Dark Storm', who ranks 296th on the Cleansing List?"
Roland nodded on behalf of Fernando, indicating that it was him.
"You were listed on the Cleansing List when you just became a senior rank, and you rose to the top 300 after you became a seventh circle sorcerer. Fernando, I'm afraid that you're much stronger than regular senior-rank sorcerers." Douglas complimented him with a smile.
At this time, most of the forces of the Magic Empire were still alive. There were many archmages and senior-rank sorcerers, and there were almost eight hundred of them on the Cleansing List.
Fernando chuckled. "I've only grasped and modified some spells, and I've killed a red robe. How can I compare to you, a ninth-circle archmage?"
Not bothered by Fernando's subconscious comparison, Douglas said with a peaceful smile, "Me? I'm not even on the Cleansing List. "
"I've been curious about that too. You're an archmage. How come you're not on the Cleansing List?" Roland learned about the Cleansing List from the night watchers that he killed, but Derek Douglas's name was not on it.
Douglas chuckled in a low voice. "When I was in Antiffler, I was always regarded as a strange guy who had no future in magic. I became an archmage with the accumulation of time, my teacher's legacy, my training in the War of Dawn, my fortuitous encounters, and my own ideas. It's perfectly normal that the Church doesn't pay much attention to me. After all, the sorcerers who join the Church will tell them that Douglas will never become a legendary sorcerer and that he will never have any ambitions. He will only ask his own questions and wait for death. It's not worth wasting too much strength on."
He mocked himself, not angry at all that he was despised.
"Strange?" Roland and Fernando asked back at the same time. In their previous conversation, Douglas did not show anything strange. Instead, he was humorous and amiable, making people listen to him without them knowing. He seemed to be a natural-born leader.
In the meantime, Fernando's impression of Douglas was much better. He admitted that he became an archmage with the accumulation of time.
Douglas smiled. "Yes, I'm good at asking questions."
"What's so strange about that?" Fernando asked in confusion and continued his self-introduction.
Douglas suddenly interrupted him. "You must be good at the storm and lightning spells of the elemental class, right?"
"Of course. The night watchers rarely get their nicknames wrong." Fernando nodded his head.
Douglas was caught in silence. He mumbled to himself, "Why can lightning kill people … How is lightning created …"
Fernando and Roland looked at him in shock and confusion. Wasn't it natural that lightning could kill people? And he was asking why? What a weirdo …
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