When they walked through the forest again, the three of them were even more silent. Fernando was like a human-shaped storm that was about to explode. The more depressed he was, the more terrifying he would be.
The secret base that they provided to Douglas was a secluded cave. There were only traces of magic circles in the deepest part of the cave. It was a natural cover on the surface.
"Mr. Douglas, you can stay here for a few days. We'll come to you when we're done with our business." Even though Douglas's attitude was warm and pleasant, Roland still chose to address him politely when he was about to say goodbye. After all, he was an archmage.
Douglas didn't feel left out at all. He knocked on the cave, nodded slightly, and said with the same smile, "I'm already very satisfied to have a place for me to conduct my research."
He did not mind being wary of. On the contrary, he was quite satisfied, because the organizations that did not guard against or test the sorcerers who joined them had mostly perished and become dust in history. He did not want to join such an organization, which would be no different from committing suicide.
Before Antiffler fell, he, who was good at observation and thinking, had already understood the cruelty of the situation. Under the temptation, oppression, and coercion of the Church, parents abandoned their children, disciples assassinated their masters, friends attacked each other, and so on. Also, it did not disappear with the collapse of the Magic Empire. On the contrary, it was even more brutal, because for most sorcerers, there was no reason to hesitate anymore. They could either betray the Church or die.
"You'd better not do any magic experiments. The black-clawed dogs have a keen sense of smell." Fernando reminded him solemnly, fearing that the archmage from Antiffler was too confident in his own abilities.
Douglas took out a thick stack of papers from his magic pouch and put them on the stone table in the cave. He looked at them as if they were his most perfect lover. "Rest assured. I have enough mathematical research to consume all my energy."
"Mathematical research … You're from Tower?" Fernando asked with great interest. In his impression, Tower Geometry was the first thing that frustrated him in his magic studies. Also, the sorcerers in Tower were passionate about mathematics, just like Douglas in front of him.
The sorcerers of the ancient Magic Empire had long attached importance to mathematical research, because it was closely related to the construction of spell models. They had achieved a series of results, such as Tower Geometry. However, most of their attention was still focused on the study of spells and blood power. After all, the results of mathematical research could not be seen immediately. Only a few sorcerers were interested in it. Most of them were astrologers, and Tower was one of the most famous organizations of astrologers.
When the War of Dawn broke out, the Church began to gain the upper hand. There were even fewer mages who were willing to study mathematics. At least, Fernando had never seen anyone who was so passionate about mathematics.
Douglas raised his head and said in a self-mocking smile, "As a matter of fact, I wanted to join Tower very much, but they didn't want a weird guy like me. I never saw them again after Antiffler fell."
"I'm glad that you've always recognized your weirdness. If you ask fewer questions, you'll be a great friend." Fernando had always been happy to criticize other people. He would not change even if the guy was an archmage.
Douglas smiled and didn't respond to Fernando's words.
Lauren looked at Fernando in complaint. Why was he always the one to make up for his mistakes? Did he not know how to talk if he did not mock other people? What a waste of a handsome face that was so lovable!
He coughed and said, "Mr. Douglas, don't mind Fernando. He's a descendant of Arthur, a barbaric empire. You can tell from his accent. Right, if you need anything, you can make a list in the next few days. If there's anything urgent, you can tell me right now."
"No." Douglas shook his head and watched Fernando and Lauren leave. He knew clearly that it would be the time for him to be tested when they returned.
What kind of test would it be?
… …
Fernando and Lauren left the forest in silence. Neither of them said anything, but they changed their hiding place tacitly. They hid in the city and walked to Viscount Erekam's villa, which was their safest hiding place. Only the top leaders of the organization knew the place. It was also a place that the night watchers could not imagine.
Before the noble inherited the title of baron, he had hooked up with a senior-rank sorcerer from the Union of Sorcerers during an operation to eliminate sorcerers. Then, with the help of the sorcerer's strength, he eliminated a powerful enemy and successfully obtained the title of baron. Later, he made contributions with the intelligence of the Union of Sorcerers again and again and became a viscount. He was the first influential noble that the Union of Sorcerers had won over since they implemented the new strategy.
Fernando and Roland had already changed their appearances. Everyone was familiar with the viscount's steward's appearance. They swaggered through the front door. No one doubted it, because it was indeed them. It was their identity on the surface.
The old steward kept his silence as always. He did not ask anything about the two guys who often received special orders from the viscount.
After returning to his room, Lauren had just washed himself when he heard Fernando's familiar knocking on the door violently.
"What's up? Are we discussing how to test Douglas? "Lauren asked in confusion. After a few days of stressful life, he only wanted to have a good rest.
Fernando spread out his spiritual power and closed the door. He roared in a low voice, "Lauren, we have to fight back!"
"Assassinate Vulture?" It was something that they had discussed a long time ago. So, after a brief daze, Lauren realized what was going on and said cautiously, "We have to make a thorough plan. Lure Vulture with other people's whereabouts and then surround and kill him?"
"No." Fernando's red eyes were full of seriousness and fury. "Benson has defected. The black-clawed dogs know very well how many of us are here. Chances are that it will not be us who besiege Vulture, but them who besiege us. You know that such sordid methods are the black-clawed dogs' specialty. Also, I want to kill Benson as well!"
"How is it possible? Benson must be hiding in the Inquisition right now. It is impossible for us to lure him out and kill him! " Lauren rejected Fernando's proposal without any hesitation. "Why don't we wait a little longer and contact the headquarter to send a few more senior-rank sorcerers? That way, we will be more confident in killing Vulture."
Fernando held back his fury and shook his head. "Vulture has a keen sense of smell. After a few days, he will not attack so recklessly anymore. Instead, he will cooperate with the local nobles and clerics. He might even go to other areas."
"Then what are you going to do?" Roland asked, puzzled. What did Fernando mean by this and that?
Fernando almost roared, "Attack the Inquisition directly and kill Vulture and Benson! They must be there! "
"You're out of your mind!" Lauren felt that either Fernando was out of his mind, or he was out of his mind.
When the Magic Empire still existed, there were cases where the Inquisition and even the cathedral were breached. However, in the past hundred years, no sorcerer dared to attack the Inquisition directly. The Inquisition was the nest of the black-clawed dogs, with powerful divine power circles and senior-rank night watchers. It was not a place where the sorcerers, who were running away like rats in the gutter, could lay their hands on.
Fernando's slightly messy hair fluttered in the breeze, as if it was the prelude of a storm. "If you can't think of it, the Church and the black-clawed dogs can't think of it either. The Inquisition hasn't been attacked directly for more than a hundred years. Their reaction will be slow, and it will be very chaotic. As long as we kill Vulture and Benson before the Church and the nobles realize what's going on, we can leave easily!"
"Well, well … But, but we are not strong enough …" Lauren felt that his head was in a mess. He felt that it was indeed something that Vulture could not even dream of, but he also felt that it was too crazy and ridiculous.
Fernando said without a smile, "We have an archmage."
"Douglas?" Lauren was immediately back to himself. His sorcerer's instincts were back. He said to himself, "The most powerful sorcerer in the city is Vulture, a level-eight Knight. The rest of them are newly promoted red robes or Knights. Maybe there are a few senior-rank sorcerers who betrayed us, but there are no archmages. Otherwise, we wouldn't have escaped so easily. At least two-thirds of our people would have been killed."
He paced back and forth, "Ninth-circle magic is weird and powerful. An archmage is much stronger than a senior-rank sorcerer. It won't be a problem for them to break the Inquisition in an ambush. It would be even better if they know 'Time Stop'. Well, Benson has no idea that we are going to pick up an archmage. Except for Jarrosus, only Mr. President knows. Well, there's no problem about their strength. But Douglas hasn't been tested yet. Will he betray us? "
Fernando was still serious, "This is the test. Kill Vulture, and he will be one of us."
"Is that so …" Lauren felt that it was possible to succeed, but he was not sure. "But it will infuriate the Church. I'm afraid that 'Heart of Time' will be sent over."
Speaking of "Heart of Time", he was scared that he did not realize himself. That legendary Knight built his glory with the bones and blood of sorcerers and even killed a legend. He was the nightmare of countless sorcerers and the real abyss demon in their hearts.
As he spoke, he suddenly realized that he had been led in circles by Fernando. "We have Douglas. We can totally kill Vulture with bait. Even if they were tricked on purpose, they wouldn't know that we have an archmage. Why would they attack the Inquisition directly? Fernando, don't be blinded by fury. We'll find a chance to kill Benson next time. "
Fernando snorted. "Ask other people to evacuate from Paphos County in advance. You should leave in advance too. The Church will have to find us before they retaliate."
His face became more solemn. "We have to kill the traitor immediately. Only by proving that we are capable of killing the traitor and causing trouble for the Church will the nobles be willing to cooperate with us in secret and support us to cause more trouble. They will not betray us easily!"
"Lauren, you should know how perilous the situation is right now. If we are unwilling to take risks, we can only wait for death. We have to show our value in order to get help. If we flinch, we will lose all the chances of cooperation."
Gritting his teeth, Lauren thought for a moment. "Fernando, you have to be careful, especially in case Douglas is a traitor."
He had sort of agreed with Fernando's suggestion. According to the rules of the Union of Sorcerers, as long as the two leaders of the branch both agreed, they could take action.
Fernando did not smile because of Lauren's agreement. He clenched his fists and held back his fury, ready to burst out when the time was right.
… …
Inside the forest, near the secret hideout.
"I'll stay outside," Lauren said to Fernando, fearing that night watchers were ambushing them.
Fernando nodded and entered the hidden cave.
Hardly had he passed the last barrier when he suddenly stepped on a piece of paper that was full of words. Such papers were everywhere on the ground.
Fernando looked at Douglas, who had his head buried in writing, and saw that his neatly combed hair was already very messy. He curiously picked up the paper by his feet and looked at the content on it.
After he read it, Fernando was stunned. He had always been a well-acknowledged genius in magic and mathematics, but the formulas, words, and symbols on the paper made him feel that he had never learned mathematics before!
What was Douglas studying exactly?
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