Chapter 109: The Caravan

Seeing Daina win a crushing victory, Sulu quickly ran over. He shoved his companions aside and cheered loudly.

“Steel Fist Iron Face! Steel Fist Iron Face!”

The other Wizard Apprentices killed the remaining enemies one by one and joined the cheering.

“Iron Face Boss, what was that blood-red liquid spell you used just now?” Sulu asked ingratiatingly, massaging Daina’s leg.

Daina looked at Sulu with annoyance. She disliked this sycophantic fellow who was loud with flattery but silent in battle. Since he was a shrewd person with a thick skin, she could only treat him with cold indifference and had no other choice.

“You bootlicker, get lost! All you do is slack off during combat. The Iron Face Boss won’t tell you anything!” A vibrant young female Wizard Apprentice, dressed in a standard female Monster Hunter outfit, shoved Sulu away.

“That’s not true! I fought seriously. My Enchanted Martial Arts are just not yet refined,” Sulu argued shamelessly.

“Enough. I am a bit tired. Polina, come with me,” Daina said with a cold face.

Sulu watched the two walk away, his face still smiling, but his eyes were ice-cold.

Polina was the only one Daina found among the muscle-brained Enchanted Wizard Apprentices who could grasp Logic and Mathematics. Daina always made time to teach her a bit of knowledge.

“Teacher Ace, I miss you so much…” She desperately missed him. She wanted to see him and tell him everything that had happened.

Ace, using the signal high tower, peered through his Grimoire at everything that was happening. He checked the relevant records and gradually understood the cause and effect.

The Enchanted Wizard Apprentices were, as he expected, rapidly expanding, collecting a large number of Lesser Runes and even a few Soul Runes. This greatly enriched the content of the Rune Page in the Grimoire and led to the development of some interesting spells and applications.

The Academic Wizard Apprentices in the Northern March Fortress, with the increase in their research ability and Mana, were also gradually leaving the fortress to research Monsters.

Because of the difference in their covenants, the Academic Wizard Apprentices were more strictly bound by the Grimoire and were therefore not detected by the legion. The Enchanted Wizard Apprentices, however, were frequently active and slowly drew the attention of the military.

The legion’s reaction was extremely swift. They began their investigation while simultaneously reporting to the Royal City.

Soon, a reply came from the Royal City: Any phenomenon of using supernatural power by non-Divine Descendants is desecration!

The legion’s investigation immediately turned into a annihilation operation, dispatching Heroes to raid and attempt to annihilate the Monster Hunter camps of the Enchanted Wizard Apprentices.

Daina, having stayed in the fortress, narrowly escaped.

The people in the camp, once attacked, immediately sent warnings to Daina and others through the Grimoire, allowing these dozens of Enchanted Wizard Apprentices to escape. Daina finally met up with them.

Now, the entire city-state was hunting the apprentices, excluding Daina. Their family members and friends had been taken by the city-state for questioning and were now under strict surveillance.

Ace recalled the conversation between the mirror image and Solon during their last drink.

“It is a good thing the mirror image warned Daina, or I would have been implicated too! From now on, any news concerning the supernatural or the gods must be taken seriously.”

“Although the Enchanted Wizard Apprentices are only the periphery, the reason for this immense loss, in the final analysis, is that I let down my guard. I stopped being cautious! I must remain cautious at all times and remember the lesson of letting arrogance take over!”

Ace’s expression was grave and resolute.

“First, the Enchanted Wizard Apprentices have been completely exposed and labeled as Devil worshipers. The legion is actively working to annihilate them.

It is temporarily inappropriate for me to contact Daina and the others. After this blow, they have formed a cohesive unit. I must appear at the most opportune moment and in a suitable identity.”

“Second, my relationship with Daina is close. Fortunately, Daina seems not to have been exposed yet. To be cautious, I cannot openly enter the fortress with my real identity. I need to sneak in under a disguise and investigate the situation thoroughly.”

“Finally, the Academic Wizard Apprentices must have heard rumors. Some will be vigilant, and some will be panicked. These precious seeds of fire should not remain in the fortress! I need a safe place to house them and organize them along with the Enchanted Wizard Apprentices.”

With his plan clear, Ace decided to infiltrate the fortress first.

His first objective was to observe whether the underground magic laboratory had been discovered. If it had, he certainly could not appear openly as Ace.

His second objective was to find out the legion’s or the city-state’s attitude toward himself. If the laboratory was safe, he could create a new mirror image to probe the situation.

Ace used the Transformation Spell to turn into an ordinary stone, and had the Spirit of the Book mask his Mana fluctuations. He began waiting quietly at a crossroads far from the fortress.

Borg’s caravan was slowly approaching the Northern March Fortress. It was late, and he tightly wrapped his thick fur coat around himself.

“The Northern March is still so cold. I never expected to meet you in Cimali. It truly is thanks to your protection on this journey! I will have to trouble you tonight as well. We should reach the fortress early tomorrow morning.” He sat in the carriage, speaking to the knight in broken armor beside him.

“That’s right! Uncle Ancestar is the best. Strong and gentle. He is my ideal man to marry!”

Donna’s eyes sparkled. She shoved Borg aside and stretched her head out, saying to the knight.

“Miss Donna,” Ancestar removed his helmet, revealing his golden, wavy long hair and handsome face. He said to Donna with a melancholic gaze, “That is too dangerous. Also, I have sworn an oath of celibacy. Thank you for your misplaced affection.”

“I love you even more now!” Donna screamed loudly. Borg used all his strength to pull her back into the carriage.

Ace watched the approaching caravan. He sensed the distinctive magical mark. Not only Ancestar, but another old acquaintance, the long-unseen Bayen, was also in this caravan.

Bayen, who had quietly transformed into a piece of ordinary luggage, was sitting on a sack of salted fish in the caravan. He had chosen to go south but found that Cimali Port, which appeared peaceful, concealed countless undercurrents.

Since observing Ace’s fresco on the Cimali Port wall and discovering the Soul Rune structure on it, Bayen had almost confirmed that Ace was likely the great and mysterious Torch-Bearer!

The framework for researching Magic was closely linked to the Logic and Mathematics that Ace had proposed. Many rune problems were essentially mathematical problems—algebra and geometry.

This realization immensely excited him. Ace was so young. What kind of superhuman wisdom was required to pioneer such a systematic and scalable path to the supernatural for mortals?

It has been 100,000 long years. If Mr. Ace had not emerged, the eternal night of the supernatural would have continued indefinitely!

Driven by this intense emotion, he desperately wanted to go to the Northern March. The dark worshipers blocked his path, forcing him to decide to travel by sea. Unexpectedly, he was targeted by the Half-Merfolk Priesthood. In a strange twist of fate, he discovered the greatest secret of the entire city.

The residents there were no longer human. They were all Merfolk!