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Chapter 328: Dinner Party (1)

Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe

It was a peaceful night at Rofo City.

Many carriages adorned with luxurious decorations were parked in front of a manor in the southern part of the city. Two servants in black suits were patiently waiting at both sides of the gate, bowing in greeting to every carriage that entered through it.

The noises made by the rolling wheels and galloping horses were loud. They slowly came to a halt along the grassy field within the manor.

Kids stuck their heads out of the carriage windows while looking around curiously.

The clear moonlight glowed on the green grassy field.

A black carriage slowly entered the manor and traveled down the white path. Then it went around a mermaid fountain and headed to a complete halt at the grassy field.

*KA*

The door was pushed open.

Angele was wearing a silver-hemmed black robe. Behind him was Lyn, also wearing a black robe with her long black hair draped over her shoulders. Angele could see her neck through the gaps in her hair.

'This ought to be the right place.' Angele looked around.

Carriages continued to arrive at the parking area.

A woman wearing a long dress and a brown headdress got off the carriage at the right side. She was also wearing a pair of pearl earrings and a pair of white evening gloves. In hindsight, she looked gentle and cute.

The woman noticed Angele's gaze on her and winked at him in response. She then turned around and left with her butler.

"That is mistress Isabella, the first elder's second granddaughter," Lyn casually explained.

"All right, let us go to the main hall." Angele dusted off his robe and headed to the end of the white path.

There were ten or so carriages parked at the grass field. Many people were asked to get off their carriages before they could enter through the gate. It seemed that they were treating the visitors according to their status in the organization and prohibited them from walking around the manor freely.

Two middle-aged butlers with mustache noticed Angele's presence and approached him right away.

"Master Angele?" The one with red hair bowed to Angele.

"Yes, has master Shozo arrived yet?" Angele slightly nodded.

"Master Shozo will arrive in approximately 20 minutes, but he can only stay here for about 30 minutes. He still has an important meeting to attend to at the headquarters," the butler replied objectively. "Please follow me."

"Certainly." Angele, alongside Lyn, followed the butler from behind.

Several other guests they came across with were greeted by the butlers. It looked like all of them were influential personages.

Guests of lower ranks had to wait for the distinguished guests to enter the main hall first, as a show of respect.

The normal guests smiled and politely bowed when Angele walked past them. They did that to every distinguished guest walking along the white path.

Behind Angele, there were also people guessing his identity.

Suddenly, he heard people screaming when he stepped on the jade stone staircase.

"It's Suman…Did master Shozo really invite him to the party?! How is that even possible!"

"Yes…it is Suman."

"That's crazy! Master Shozo should…"

The guests tried to hush their voices, but Angele still heard every word they said.

"Suman…? Damn! What is master Shozo thinking?" Lyn immediately recognized the name and her expression turned sour.

Angele had no idea who Suman was, so he quickly turned around and looked toward the gate.

He saw a young man in a black outfit enter the gate alongside a tall girl in a long, green evening dress. The servants by the gate stepped aside and the surrounding guests moved away from them.

Angele stood on the staircase listening to Lyn's explanation. His expression changed as soon as she finished. Raising his head, he looked at the young man and the young woman again.

"You must be master Angele." A clear male voice came from behind.

"Yes, I am Angele. You are?" Angele quickly turned around.

It was a man wearing red formal clothes completely fitting his size, a dark cloak, and a gentle smile. Two white-robed wizards were standing behind him.

"My name is Ivan, grandson of the second elder," the man introduced himself. "I've heard master Vivian finally reunited with her only son. I feel happy for her."

"Thank you." Angele smiled as well.

They chatted for a while before moving to the side so that other guests could pass.

"You know who Suman is, right? It is understandable for master to invite us to the party, but I have no idea why he invited Suman here." Ivan's gaze moved toward Suman and toward the girl then squinted.

Angele pursed his lips and nodded. "Suman is the heir of the first lord of Thousand Waterfall City and our enemy. Master Shozo is master Vivian's student, so he definitely knows the situation. This is like inviting an enemy to our own home. However, I hear Suman is just a mortal. The first lord did everything he could, but Suman could not sense the energy particles in the environment no matter what…

"The reason is simple. Did you see that woman in the green dress?" Ivan pursed his lips and looked at the girl. "Her name is Sella, master Shozo's beloved cousin. It looks like Sella fell in love with that weak boy, Suman. The rumors might be wrong, but they are developing a relationship. I think master Shozo wants to test Suman during the party."

"Interesting." Angele felt a tad surprised. Lyn had not told him about this rumor.

"Let us enter the main hall. I saw Bella walking by. It almost feels like this dinner party is being held solely for the heirs of the elders, ha." Ivan turned around and walked to the main hall.

Angele, however, did not go with Ivan but only stood there and looked at Suman once more.

The young man had a somber expression on his pale face. He looked like a patient that should be in his sickbed. Angele even believed Suman would need Sella's help just to stand up if he ever somehow fell.

"Is this kid truly the reason why the council decided to wage war against Thousand Waterfall City? And he is the heir of the first lord? Seriously? I can see the dedication in his eyes, but he is not talented at all." Angele then stopped looking and turned away. "Let's go, Lyn."

"Understood."

They stepped on the jade stone staircase and headed to the hall.

Two maids in white dresses bowed as they stepped into the door.

Angele noticed he was being scanned by someone's mentality wave after entering the door. It looked like the owner of the mentality wave then sent information regarding him to some of the guests inside the main hall.

"Angele Fenrir, welcome to the party." A gentle female voice slowly echoed in the hall. Some of the guests were curiously looking at him but none tried to approach. They only stayed put with the people they knew.

The walls were painted in gold. The wizards wearing luxurious clothes chatted among each other, but the one who attracted the most attention was the man called Ivan.

This grandson of the second elder was courteously talking with several women.

Meanwhile, Isabella, the granddaughter of the first elder, was talking with a blonde-haired, handsome young man. A few people made attempts to intrude into their conversation but were stopped considerately by the servants.

Three black robes and two red robes were sitting on a sofa located at the right corner of the hall, discussion the modification of a certain magic circle. It nearly sounded like they were debating.

Maids walked to and fro in the hall with food and drinks. Guests could take drinks and appetizers from the plates on their hands if they wished so. On one side, many guests of lower standing were conversing with the servants, seemingly knowing each other.

Angele frowned. He loathed places like this since it was too noisy, and he barely knew anyone here. He came to this place only because the invitation was personally sent by the rank 4 wizard, master Shozo.

Glancing around, he soon found an empty table surrounded by several white chairs near the sofa area.

Angele walked to the table with Lyn quickly and sat down in a chair.

The table was right beside the windows. The pure moonlight pierced through the glass pane and shined on Angele's lower body. In contrast to that, his upper body was covered by the shadows, so people could barely see his face.

Lyn silently remained standing behind Angele.

"I think master Shozo held this party just for Sella and Suman," Angele spoke in a low voice. "Suman sure is fortunate. Without Sella, he would never be invited to a party like this. The first lord did not even send guards to protect Suman. Don't tell me, master Shozo is related to the first lord."

"I do not want to comment on master Shozo's decision, but I think he has his own reasons," Lyn replied.

"Perhaps." Angele had nothing else to say.

At that moment, Suman and Sella slowly entered the main hall drawing everyone's attention.

Suman remained his composure and took a quick glance at the guests. Angele noticed another person following him besides Sella.

It was a tall man that had a pair of red, glowing eyes which might have resulted from a Talent Spell or an advanced meditation technique.

Angele's expression abruptly changed after seeing the man's face.

'Mincola?' The tall man was also a member of Dark Wizard Tower. Mincola had left a deep impression on Angele because of the short encounter they had at the Dream Inn. He had helped Angele several times when they were in the aerial port city, but they had not get in touch with each other for a long time now.

Chapter 329: Dinner Party (2)

Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe

Mincola and Suman seemed like close friends. He led Suman to an empty table and settled down together. They were even laughing and patting each other's shoulders while talking.

A handsome man in nobles' clothes walked to the table holding a glass of wine. He was adorned with golden bracelets and a silver necklace. Then, the man greeted Sella and stared right at her.

The man seemed to be Sella's suitor.

Angele had a blank expression on his face. He knew Mincola was, like him, a member of Dark Wizard Tower. Both of them knew that this organization was much terrifyingly stronger than Elemental Hand.

Angele had doubts on whether Mincola had already completed his first mission. He did not understand how Mincola had time to attend a dinner party like this with Suman.

Suddenly, a black flame appeared on top of a small staircase on the other side of the hall. Within seconds, the flame grew from thirty centimeters to two meters.

The flame did not, in any way, bring warmth to the hall—it was cold and mysterious.

The guests immediately stopped talking, then stood up together and bowed to the black flame.

Angele quickly did the same thing.

He could sense the cold, powerful mentality wave coming from it which had the entire main hall covered.

Soon, the black flame slowly extinguished and revealed a man in a formal black suit.

The man had a strangely pale-white skin and had a deadpan expression on his face, as though he was an emotionless zombie. His black hair, eyes, and suit made his skin stand out even more to make it look even paler.

"Master Shozo!" the guests lowered their heads and said the man's name aloud.

"I thank you all for accepting my invitation to attend this dinner party. I apologize for my slight tardiness." Shozo slightly bowed and forced a smile on his face.

An old, messy-haired wizard came to him and handed an item over.

Shozo took the item and looked at it, then he immediately turned to Angele and nodded slightly at him.

Angele noticed Shozo's eyes falling on him, so he gently smiled.

Shozo's particular behavior drew everyone's attention.

Mincola soon noticed Angele's presence finally, resulting in him becoming a bit surprised.

"What happened? Mincola?" Suman noticed that Mincola's countenance changed. During the trip, he had saved him from many dangers and became more familiar with him.

"Nothing…I am just a bit…tired." Mincola rubbed his temples and smiled.

Shozo asked the old wizard several questions, and the smile on his face disappeared. He quickly questioned several servants and greeted a few of his friends.

"Help yourselves! I must leave for a minute." Once he finished speaking, he left the hall through the back door.

The heavy atmosphere eased up once again after he left, and the guests began to chatter with each other again.

*Crack*

Near Suman's table, a wine glass dropped to the floor and broke into pieces. The red wine splashed everywhere.

Sella's suitor was coldly glaring at Suman, with his nose twitching.

Angele's brow furrowed as he noticed the scene, too.

He quickly activated a white communication rune and was about to communicate through it.

*PA*

Another crisp noise.

Sella, who now seemed angry, had slapped her suitor's face with great force.

"Sella! Why are you protecting this untalented bastard?!" The man was shocked.

His friends who heard the argument came to Suman's table as soon as possible.

"What happened? This is master Shozo's dinner party. We should not start a scene here," a silver-haired man spoke with a deep voice.

"I am Sella's fiancé! Damn it! Yet she slapped me for the sake of that untalented bastard?!" the man started yelling and he waved his hand. "Guards! Guards! Help me!"

"Something's not right…" Angele activated the communication rune and listened to the message Mincola had just sent him. His expression soon changed upon listening to Mincola's explanation.

"Master?" Lyn walked closer and asked.

"I am fine. This man is trying to make a scene at a dinner party held by a rank 4 wizard. He must have a strong background." Angele pursed his lips.

"He is the youngest son of the leader of the organization called Black Earth. Master Shozo is a member of that organization. If I recall correctly, Black Earth's leader has at least a hundred children." Lyn communicated through energy particles.

"Black Earth? What is the vision statement of their organization?" Angele had never heard of this organization.

"They wish to recreate the world the ancient wizards lived in. In the ancient Rondo language, 'Black Earth' means rebirth, which some people nicknamed this organization 'Rebirth'," Lyn explained. "We, the Watchers, have once served master Shozo during a mission related to Black Earth. It is a powerful organization within Molten River, with a size similar to Elemental Hand."

Angele had heard a lot of rumors about the relationship between Shozo and master Vivian. But after seeing him in person, his opinion on him changed. An emotionless man like Shozo would not spend that much time just to have a romantic relationship with his teacher.

For some reason, Angele was thinking that Shozo might have a similar personality to him.

He sat down in his own chair, wanting to exchange more information with Mincola through the communication rune.

However, the old wizard who talked to Shozo suddenly appeared outside the window.

"Master Angele, master Shozo wishes to see you." The old wizard communicated with him through energy particles.

Angele looked at behind the old man and saw Shozo standing on the grassy field under the moonlight, waving at Angele with a wineglass in his hand.

"With pleasure." Angele bowed slightly and stood up. He went out of the main hall through the side door with Lyn following behind him of course.

He was still a bit concerned about Mincola's situation but did not care too much about the argument between Sella and her suitor. Angele was certain Mincola could easily solve this problem.

Members of Dark Wizard Tower all had either strong backgrounds or great potentials. All of them were elites of the elites that had been selected from different divisions. Talented wizards from normal organizations were incomparable to them.

Although most of the members never revealed themselves to the general public, they were still considered as the most talented wizards in the normal organizations they joined in.

Angele took a deep breath and walked toward Shozo.

The cold air outside was quite refreshing. It was a tad humid but still perfect for a night like this.

Angele stopped when he was about two meters away from Shozo.

After greeting each other, Shozo immediately went straight to the point.

"Angele, I heard a lot of great things about you from Seth." Shozo looked at Angele as if he reminded him of something. "I was but a rank 3 wizard when you had been taken away by someone. At that time, I was still an assassin in the Watchers. Vivian should have told you about Master Henn, right? Forty years have passed in a blink of an eye…"

"Yes, time does fly. I heard that master Henn and master Arisma were ambushed and killed while they were fighting." Angele nodded slightly.

"Indeed, the situation back then was complicated. I have watched the scene several times using a visualization spell…Master Henn and Master Arisma were two of the strongest wizards in the central continent, so it was…sad. Are you trying to figure out the one responsible? Their faces were blurred in the light screen created by the visualization spell. I cannot help you." Shozo's voice was soft and gentle, not in the slightest bit of the man Angele had seen back in the hall.

"Yes, it is fine. I am still too weak to avenge Master Henn anyway." Angele shrugged. "I have already brought too much trouble to Master Vivian. I do not want her to worry too much."

"You are Master Vivian's only son. She loves you more than anyone…she is just trying to protect you from danger." Shozo chuckled.

Angele nodded slightly. "I…understand."

"Take this." Shozo suddenly retrieved an item from his pouch and threw it to Angele.

Angele carefully caught the item. It was a fist-sized, black ball which looked like a strange fruit. "What is this?"

"A Giant Star Grass's seed from the dark lands. Plant it into the soil and imagine the creature you want in your mind. Human or monster, it does not matter. Cut the bud open when it grows, and you will find the creature you have imagined lying within. The creature is alive but has no soul. You can play with it if you want," Shozo explained.

"Interesting. Thank you, Master Shozo." Angele recognized it immediately after listening to his explanation. This particular seed was often sold as an adult toy in the dark lands. A "toy" without a soul, most people would use it to vent out their sexual desires.

Angele soon asked Shozo the questions he had regarding the Molten Core River technique, and the latter told him everything he knew about the advanced meditation technique.

"Do not hesitate to contact me if you have questions. I think we can become good friends." Shozo took another glass of wine from the table on the side.

Angele did the same and raised it up high.

"Cheers. Thank you for your help, Master Shozo."

"Just call me Shozo. I am Master Vivian's student, and she is your…"

*BOOM*

An explosion interrupted Shozo.

Angele immediately turned to where it occurred with a frown.

The main hall's windows had been blown into pieces by the impact. White smoke was drifting out of the doors and broken windows. It nearly looked like the hall had been set alight.

*WOO*

The entire thick smoke was blown out of the hall with the wind spells cast by the wizards inside.

"Let me go check the situation." Shozo narrowed his eyes. His body then turned into a black flame which disappeared into thin air before Angele could say anything.

White communication rune flashed on the back of Angele's hand.

He checked the message quickly and squeezed the wineglass into pieces. Angele's expression turned serious.

"Let's go back to the hall."

Once Angele stopped speaking, he returned inside the hall with Lyn following him quickly.

Chapter 330: Conflict (1)

Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe

It was deadly silent inside the main hall.

All the guests were looking at a corner without making a sound. Many of them were communicating through energy particles; only their lips were moving.

As Sella helped Suman stand up, she furiously glared at the son of Black Earth's leader.

There was a black footprint in the middle of Suman's chest and blood was trickling down his chin. The cakes, glasses of wine, and roasted meat on the table had all been blown into pieces.

The fruit wine's aroma drifted in the air.

"That is enough, Doris," Suman said with a deadpan expression. "Sella is but a good friend of mine." He might be an untalented mortal, but he showed no fear standing up against a formal wizard.

"Are you mocking me?!" Doris's face turned red from rage. "You have never treated me seriously, even when we were in Coran City…You must learn to respect me…" He rubbed his cheek and looked daggers at Sella.

"Master Doris, please do not…" A girl wearing a long dress came to Doris and tried to calm him.

"Get away from me!" Doris shoved the girl, and she fell to the ground.

The wineglass she was holding fell from her hand and drenched her dress wet. A maid walked to her at once and lent her a helping hand to clean the mess.

The other guests decided to stay away from Doris upon witnessing what happened, knowing that Doris had lost his mind.

"Doris…" At this instant, Shozo entered the main hall apace after he stepped out of a ball of black flame that appeared beforehand.

"This is my party…" he warned with a deep voice.

A black shadow appeared behind Doris and released a strong mentality wave.

"Master Shozo, it's not that I'm disrespecting you, but it's the girl who hit Doris first."

Two incredibly powerful mentality waves clashed.

The atmosphere inside the hall was growing increasingly heavier as the two mentality waves tried to overwhelm one another.

An invisible vortex was created between Shozo and the black shadow.

But as soon as Angele stepped into the hall, the two calmed down and the hall became silent once again.

Mincola, standing behind Sella, shook his head slightly. All the guests were looking at Mincola, Sella, and Suman.

Mincola only gave Angele a slight nod when he saw him look at him. Both exchanged eye contact without being noticed by others.

Angele immediately walked to the crowd and stepped forth.

"Master Shozo, what happened?" he asked in a low voice.

"Do not worry about it, Angele. There is just a small problem. I will take care of it," Shozo replied with a forced smile.

"Actually, a friend of mine is part of that group…" Angele turned to the side and his eyes fell on Mincola.

Shozo noticed Mincola's presence when he looked at the three. He nodded slightly and looked at Angele again. "Like I said, I will take care of it."

"Thanks."

Angele no longer said anything else but nodded and retreated into the crowd. He wanted to steer away from trouble but Mincola had helped him a lot back in the aerial port city.

The black shadow must be someone part of Black Earth and seemed to have personal issues with Shozo, so the situation at present was quite complicated. It was no longer simply a conflict between heirs of their respective organization and Thousand Waterfall City, but this conflict had already touched the political conflicts within organizations.

Angele was the third elder's, Vivian's, only heir, so he was far more notable than anyone else inside the hall. Isabella and Ivan were merely one of the children their parents had, easily replaceable if anything happened.

Angele decided to make use of his backing to help Mincola when necessary. Vivian had won the war against the lords for Elemental Hand. Everyone inside knew about her achievements, so they would not give Angele too much trouble if he desired anything.

Wizards' strength was not simply determined by their own rank. Vivian herself was a rank 4 wizard, but her mentality and spell power were both at the summit at this rank.

The young man called Doris finally settled down a bit and began exchanging words with Shozo through energy particles. The black shadow behind him started releasing their mentality again as if to showcase their power to everyone else in the hall.

"Fine, you are right. I should have thought twice before inviting them here," Shozo said aloud. An agreement seemed to have been reached. "Sella attacked Doris first, so she should be the one to apologize."

Doris rubbed his cheeks once more. It seemed that the girl had slapped him too hard.

"Master Shozo and I have reached an agreement." He suddenly pointed at Suman. "This untalented bastard is the reason why I got slapped! I think you all witnessed this unpleasant event. Sella, if you leave Suman, I will not punish you for slapping me in the face!"

"That is impossible!" Sella bit her lips. "Suman and Mincola are my best friends!"

"Sella." Shozo scowled. "Whatever, do what Doris says and leave Suman now. I love you, but you cannot act too selfishly. Also, do not hit Doris ever again."

"Master Shozo!" Sella paled. It seemed that Shozo was not going to cross swords with the son of the leader of Black Earth. Even though Shozo loved Sella, she was merely one of his many cousins. Shozo was a wizard, so he would go with the decision that would benefit him the most.

Sella was someone important to Shozo and sending her to Doris would resolve the matter at hand. He did not want to fight with that black shadow at a dinner party he himself hosted.

Standing at the side, Angele had just finished communicating with Mincola.

"I told Master Shozo that you are my friend, so you will be fine. But I suggest you do not try to help that girl. This is none of your business."

Mincola knew Angele was helping him. He only shrugged when he looked at Angele.

Shozo and Doris had already decided how to peacefully resolve the issue while Angele was communicating with Mincola.

"All right then. I will leave Sella to you. You can do whatever you want with Suman and that young man. This matter ends here now. I do not owe you anything anymore."

Shozo did not mention anything about Mincola. He hesitated for a second before he finished speaking, but it seemed as though he did not care too much about Angele's friend.

"Thank you, Master Shozo. Capture them for me now!" Doris commanded after nodding to Shozo's words.

Both Mincola and Angele's expressions changed.

Angele no longer had any other choice if he wanted to uphold his promise.

"Master Angele." Lyn immediately grasped Angele's hand and shook her head.

Shozo realized what Angele was about to do, so he quickly communicated with him through energy particles. "Come on, Angele! This is not a joke. Step down and calm yourself. Forget about your friend." Shozo could not comprehend why Angele was insisting on helping out Mincola.

Angele knew that the black shadow behind Doris was a rank 4 wizard and was uncertain if that person would not kill him simply because he was the only son of the third elder. It was impossible for him to best a rank 4 wizard. When Vivian learned of the situation, he would already be long dead.

Mincola was his friend at Dark Wizard Tower and had gifted a lot of important resources to Angele.

Angele was doubtful of what would happen to Mincola if he got captured. It looked like Doris was mentally unstable. At any time, Mincola could possibly be executed.

Angele squinted his eyes, hesitant on what right choice to make.

He was currently a rank 1 wizard. Members of Elemental Hand treated him simply because Vivian was his mother. Members who had helped him were merely currying favor with Vivian.

Shozo had his own plans and had only done what Vivian would do in such situations. There was no point in becoming enemies with Black Earth's leader just for a friend. The benefits would never justify the cost of a trade like that.

Angele was slightly dejected knowing that if he was the strongest wizard in the hall, then the outcome might have been completely different.

Several guards wearing black armor that had dark flame symbols on their chest entered the main hall. They were holding black spears of great length and quickly surrounded the three "culprits" in the middle.

*CHI*

Purple flames gushed out of the tips of their spears.

The flames connected with each other and formed a chain, preventing the three from escaping.

The black shadow was pressuring them with the strong mentality wave. They could only watch the flame chain approach.

Doris's expression changed several times as he stared at Sella. He looked depressed, excited, and happy at the same time. It seemed like he was trying to recall the days he had with the girl.

Angele was still trying to figure out a way to help Mincola but knew that Doris probably would not ask the guards to stop even if he asked.

He looked at Mincola. The man had already lowered his head as if he was about to give up.

The purple flame chain would tie them up in seconds.

There was no time to waste. Angele stepped forward and yelled, "Wait!"

His voice attracted all the guests' attention.

Angele had a blank expression on his face as he stared at Doris. It seemed like Doris was woken up by his loud voice.

"Master Doris, that man is my friend. He didn't try to help Sella or Suman after the unpleasant event happened. I'm wondering if you can forgive him and release him from the chain." Angele pointed at Mincola.

It meant nothing to Shozo even if Doris decided to kill Mincola. However, Angele would never just stand there and watch someone that helped him die.

Doris glared at Angele and a guard approached him, telling him who the young man was. He pursed his lips after learning about Angele's background.

The other guests were curious about how Doris would deal with the situation.

Doris shrugged and waved his right hand. "Take them away." He stopped glaring at Angele and turned his head around after giving the order.

The result was not what Angele had expected.

Angele was the only hope the three had but it seemed like Doris was not afraid of Vivian's power.

Angele watched Mincola, Sella, and Suman being tied up by the purple flame chain. They could barely move under the strong pressure from the black shadow's mentality wave. The guards dragged them out of the hall with the chain as though they were dragging dogs.

He gnashed his teeth as his expression turned grim.

Chapter 331: Conflict (2)

Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe

Without uttering a single word, Shozo glared at Angele while shaking his head and disappeared into the air as he stepped into a ball of black flame.

The rest of the guests looked at Angele as if they were watching a clown performing.

The scene was absolutely humiliating.

Lyn stood behind Angele and pulled his sleeves.

"Master Angele, I think we should just leave."

Angele nodded and gave Doris one final glance. "Let's go."

He turned around and departed from the main hall, with Lyn swiftly following him from behind.

Outside the main hall, Mincola, Sella, and Suman had already been shoved into a black carriage. The door was closed instantly. "Go!" the coachman shouted. The carriage soon started moving.

Angele looked at the carriage sighing with mixed emotions. He then began heading to his own carriage.

Suddenly, he heard a loud noise coming from an explosion before he entered.

*BOOM*

The black carriage was set into a ball of conflagration after blowing into pieces. Sparks of the orange flames fell and lit some of the grass. Angele heard the butlers near the gate shouting in fear.

The light of the flames illuminated the grassy area.

Red mist quickly left the exploded carriage then sank into the ground.

"What happened?"

"They escaped?!"

"The carriage exploded!"

Two shadows jumped off the hall and landed in front of the exploded carriage which reformed into two human beings.

The one on the left was Shozo, whom Angele thought he had already left the place. The one on the right was a man in a tight black suit with a mask holding two crimson tridents.

Doris, too, rushed out of the hall with a disappointed face. The guards and the guests swiftly ran outside through the side door.

Shozo pointed at the burning carriage.

At once, the carriage was quickly enveloped by his mentality wave.

The flame weakened and soon extinguished several seconds later. Only green smoke continued rising from the remains of the carriage.

"They are gone. Three guards have been killed," a guard checked the remains and reported back.

"They broke the flame chain then cast a short-distance teleportation spell. We can still find and capture them," the masked man spoke in a deep tone.

"Guards! Search the entire mansion!" Doris pointed at the guards and commanded.

Angele and Lyn stood beside the carriage watching the guards running around like chickens that had their heads cut off.

"They have already escaped anyway…Let's go." Angele opened the door and jumped into the carriage. Lyn nodded and jumped onto the driving seat.

"Let us return to Elemental Hand. Tell Hakeem to wait for us outside the city," Angele commanded.

The carriage started moving toward the exit slowly.

No one paid too much attention to his carriage. Many guests had lost their initially higher opinion to Angele due to the way Doris had treated him inside the hall. In any case, Angele did not want to deal too much with those people. There was no longer any point for him to remain.

The carriage left the mansion.

Angele sat on his seat quietly while he listened to the noise of the rolling wheels.

Lyn was not sure what she should say, so she decided to focus on driving the carriage instead.

"Wait! Stop!"

A deep voice came from outside.

Lyn suddenly stopped the carriage, and Angele pushed the door open.

He saw Doris and the rank 4 masked wizard standing in front of their carriage. Their carriage was also surrounded by a troop of guards in black armor.

"Huh? Master Doris? What are you doing?" Angele asked innocently.

"It was you, right? Where did you hide them?" Shozo revealed himself from the shadows and questioned in a grim tone. "You were the one who blew up the carriage."

Angele was not sure why Shozo was treating him as if he was nothing. If the man truly was still trying to develop a romantic relationship with Vivian, then he should be helping him resolve the matter at hand. But instead, he chose to help Doris, a man that was not even a part of Elemental Hand.

The rumor telling that Shozo was a cold-blooded bastard seemed to be actually true. A wizard who only cared for things and people that would bring benefits to him.

"Me?" Angele chuckled. "Master Shozo, I am but a rank 1 wizard. Do you really think I can cast such a powerful spell without being noticed?"

"Shut it. You are the only one who tried to lend them a hand." Doris walked to the carriage. "Get off the carriage. I know you are the third elder's son. Hand them over to me, then I will let you go."

"I told you already. It wasn't me," Angele coldly replied.

"Cut the crap. We have already searched every nook and cranny of the area. Your carriage is the only we have yet to check." The masked man raised his tridents.

"You will not trust me no matter what I say, will you?" Angele shook his head and jumped off the carriage.

"Hand them over, then I will let you leave." Doris's cold gaze fell on Angele.

"What if I don't want to?" Angele knew that there was no longer any point in arguing with him. Black patterns flashed in his eyes.

"Well, if you don't…" Doris pursed his lips.

"You will regret your decision!"

A sharp spark manifested out of Doris's shadow as soon as he finished speaking. Angele quickly conjured a silver shield to block the attack.

*CLANK*

Flames sparked between the two.

With a flick of his finger, countless silver metal needles appeared in front of Angele.

*BAM*

Silver light flashed in the air and countless silver needles rained above Doris. There was a black needle mixed in with the silver needles, aiming at Doris' chest.

Doris was not fast enough to react, but the black spikes from his forcefield blocked most of the silver needles for him.

*BAM*

Nevertheless, Doris had still gotten struck by the black needle. He lost consciousness while his chest was constantly being petrified.

"How dare you!"

The masked man raised his right hand and aimed at Angele.

The powerful mentality released by a rank 4 wizard restricted Angele from making any movement.

He could only watch as the masked man grasped his neck, while the trident's tips were infused with dark red energy particles. Angele was uncertain of his metal barrier being able to handle the attack.

The man had gotten completely infuriated that he was now actually trying to kill Angele.

"Wait!" Shozo nervously shouted from one side.

"Arrogant bastard!" Suddenly, a deep, hoarse voice echoed in Angele's ears.

A translucent blue hand appeared in front of Angele's chest and seized the incoming trident.

*BAM*

A noise that sounded similar to metal being squeezed by an immense force reverberated.

The masked man grunted, and he almost looked as if he had been struck by lightning. He retreated several steps. Blood was leaking out of his eyes and ears.

His hand holding the trident melted like candle, falling to the ground and turning into a puddle of red sticky fluid.

Shozo's black energy barrier finally arrived and somehow hindered the blue hand from striking the masked man once more.

Then, the blue hand lightly tapped on the energy barrier, causing it to break into pieces in but a moment. It was still going after the masked man.

*CHI*

The blue hand increased in length from one meter to ten meters. However, it had been blocked once again, now by a black vortex that had appeared out of thin air.

There was noise coming from the black vortex which sounded like a beast roaring in pain.

The vortex disappeared immediately.

The blue hand swung to the right and almost struck Shozo.

Shozo's expression changed. His right hand reformed into black mist that contained flashes of lightning within.

Red light flashed in the air as the blue hand made contact with the black mist.

*BAM*

The shockwave from the violent explosion blew everyone away.

Angele noticed that his body was covered by a thin layer of energy barrier while he was flying away.

His sight blurred, and his head ached. Angele could not see what was happening in front.

"Henn, was that you?" he asked.

"I was the only one who could help you in that situation." Henn sounded exhausted. "Escape with your friend now. Shozo and the masked man are severely injured. This is your chance. I wasted too much mentality during that fight. There will be nothing else I can do after two minutes."

"Thanks." Angele knew it was not the right time to talk and he could finally see things clearly again.

Most of the people had been blown away by the impact. The blue energy barrier around Angele absorbed most of the shockwave and protected Lyn from the explosion.

Blue mist permeated the air and the visibility was extremely low.

Lyn was still feeling dizzy. Angele grabbed her right hand quickly and ditched the carriage. He checked the direction using Zero and ran into the undergrowth.

'Shozo should never be trusted.' Angele confirmed his conjecture. He was not certain just what Shozo was up to but his 'love' towards Vivian was most likely fake.

Shozo hesitated when the masked man attempted to kill Angele. He had plenty of time to release that energy barrier earlier, yet he had not done so. It was almost as if he was trying to protect that man from being killed by Henn instead. Those two must be very well acquainted with each other.

Angele knew for sure that it was Mincola who destroyed the carriage and cast the teleportation spell. He was an elite of Dark Wizard Tower, so he definitely had the capability to break the chain.

Angele took one final look at the middle of the explosion radius. Shozo and the masked man were both lying on the ground coughing loudly as if they had caught a bad cold.

Blood also trickled out of their eyes, mouth, and ears every time they coughed. Such a scene was terrifying to behold.

"Move." Angele turned around and dragged Lyn away from that place.

With but a few moments, they soon disappeared into the blue mist.

Chapter 332: Mission Complete (1)

Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe

Two blurry shadows were moving swiftly along a dark path between the trees of the forest.

Even though it was supposedly dark, the glowing blue mushrooms on both sides of the path provided them with minimum visibility.

Angele, who was advancing at full speed, swiftly checked the sky. Several specks of red light that looked like fireflies were chasing after them.

In reality, however, these were fully-armored knights riding enormous red eagles. The knights were wearing glowing red helmets that looked like a bunch of light bulbs flying in the night sky.

The cries of the eagles were piercingly sharp and loud.

"Master, what should we do?" Lyn communicated with him through energy particles—she sounded nervous.

"I have already notified Master Vivian. She will send a team to help us."

Angele maintained a calm composure, organizing his thoughts before he spoke, "I severely injured Shozo and that masked man using a magic device Master Vivian has given me. They will not be able to catch up in two hours. They need that amount of time to recover, so we must leave the area before they completely recover."

"Two hours?" Lyn knew there had been a fight earlier, but her head was aching. Thus, she was completely clueless regarding what happened. She only saw something blue flying around then at the next second, Angele had already dragged her into the shrubberies.

Their conversation ended there. Both of them knew that the best option they had was to return to the headquarters of Elemental Hand since it was also the main base of the Watchers, and they would certainly lend them a hand.

Each elder of Elemental Hand had their own private army. The Watchers that Master Vivian had founded would comply only with her commands. They were members of Elemental Hand, but they had the privilege to ignore direct orders from the council. This kind of situation would change only if Vivian somehow lost her life.

Wizards and wizard apprentices all needed to sign a special contract upon joining the Watchers to ensure that their loyalty lay with the third elder.

****************************

"What? Angele nearly killed Doris?!"

Inside the secret chamber of the ruin underneath the volcano. At present, Vivian was rubbing her temples in disbelief at what she had just heard. The message had been delivered by a translucent human in front of her.

It was a young woman wearing a tight black suit and a silver headband. Her body was surrounded by thick, black mist.

"Yes, master. Master Angele injured Doris and even used a strange spell to heavily injure Shozo and a rank 4 wizard from Black Earth. He is being pursued as we speak, though I think they will not be able to catch him. He is running towards us while being accompanied by Lyn," the woman responded.

"Are you sure it was Doris? The beloved son of Black Earth's leader?"

"I'm certain."

"All right…I think I am getting used to Angele getting into trouble…" Vivian sighed with mixed feelings. What Angele had done definitely was giving her headache.

"The strange spell should be a special rune that was applied to him by Master Henn. Otherwise, it would be nearly impossible for him to injure two rank 4 wizards at the same time. A long blue hand, huh? Anyway, just tell me what's going on now."

"Master Angele has already left Rofo City. It will take him about two days to reach the closest Watchers guard post. Doris's guards, the flying knights of Black Earth, are still pursuing him but I have not seen Master Shozo," the woman spoke objectively.

"Give me a break…" Vivian closed her eyes for a second and continued, "Send the 'Triumvir' out to help Angele stop the pursuit of the flying knights. Be careful when interacting with them. I do not want the situation to get any worse. We still need to focus on the problem with Thousand Waterfall City first."

"Understood."

*PA*

The translucent woman disappeared.

Only Vivian remained inside the chamber. She walked to a chair and slowly leaned her back as she sat down.

"Black Earth…Perhaps I should never let Angele leave the mansion again…" It was not that Vivian wanted to be seen as overprotective, but Angele was her only son.

She did not bother herself too much with the blue hand that Angele manifested.

Wizards at higher ranks often had stronger power but it also depended on the spells they knew and how high their mentality levels were. Vivian still had the advantage facing the six lords, and all of them were rank 4 wizards. She had also driven the storm giant away. Had Angele not touched the birth flower, she could have ended the war then and there.

The five elders were the reason why Elemental Hand was considered as one of the most powerful organizations within the region.

The council would only send out elders to fight in a war when it was necessary. Each elder had their own unique abilities and magic devices.

Vivian's unique skill lay in drawing power from the gravitational magic circle. It could double or even triple her spell power and it could be activated anywhere as long as it was within Elemental Hand's territory. This aspect was what drew a line between her and the other rank 4 wizards.

The gravitational magic circle could still be activated outside the organization's territory, but it would no longer have the same potency.

'I should keep him within the headquarters. I have won the war for the council, so they probably will not question my decision. It will be much easier for me to train him properly if he's in the headquarters. Other members of the organization will also treat him well because I'm his mother…'

Vivian had already deduced a plan in her mind.

The only reason she decided to serve in the war for the council was to help Angele reach a higher position within the organization. Vivian herself knew that she might one day leave the council, but everything would be fine if Angele succeeded her to become the new third elder.

'I loathe politics but at least Angele will be safe in the headquarters…' Vivian rubbed her temples again. She walked to the table and started writing a letter addressed to the leader of Black Earth.

Vivian was not actually afraid of the Black Earth organization, but she did not want to initiate a war merely because the Black Earth's heir had been injured by her son.

*******************************

It was late at night.

Angele continued traveling at full speed within the forest. It looked like he was nervous about the current circumstances.

Blue light dots were flashing in front of his eyes which looked a bit queer in the dark night.

Lyn was having difficulty keeping up with his speed. Angele's Agility stat was 12 units, so he looked like a blurry shadow while running at full speed.

Angele had gripped Lyn's right hand and used his other hand to cut down the undergrowth in front of him.

They were running so fast that the thorny bushes might injure them. Angele had his metal barrier and an extremely high Stamina. He did not care too much about the thorns but was not sure if Lyn could properly handle the thorns.

Lyn's barrier from her forcefield was not built for withstanding relentless attacks. She did not have enough mentality and mana to support her barrier, so the thorns had already left several wounds on her arms.

Angele noticed this issue and decided to clear the path for her.

They had been running nonstop for about two hours already. There were not many red specks of light, which were the helmets of the flying knights, left in the sky. It seemed that they had already lost track of Angele and Lyn.

"I probably cannot win against the flying knights, but I am confident in my speed." Angele could still talk without him getting out of breath while running.

However, Lyn shook her head. She was crazily panting, so it was impossible for her to respond at the moment.

'This is ridiculous…'

Lyn realized that Angele was a much stronger wizard than her. Angele's speed was much faster than the flying knights. She could not believe how much distance they had covered in such a short amount of time.

Lyn tried to push herself forward using energy particles. That was the only speed boosting technique she knew, yet she was still much slower than Angele. Moreover, the energy particles generated a lot of unnecessary noise. Right now, she wished she knew a better speed boosting spell.

The specks of red light finally disappeared from the sky after several hours of continuous running.

Angele checked the sky and suddenly turned towards his right.

More and more trees, strange trees appeared on both sides of the path. These strange trees had uniquely-shaped, enormous roots.

'That is…the Sherry Forest?!' Lyn instantly recognized those roots, knowing that only trees of the Sherry Forest had such characteristics. She wanted to communicate with Angele through energy particles, but she did not even have enough mentality to manipulate them.

Lyn had used most of her mana and mentality to support her own energy barrier.

Sherry Forest was one of the most dangerous locations within Elemental Hand's territory. There were countless mutated creatures and human beings living within. The five elders once explored the forest together but found no valuable resources, so they marked it as a forbidden area. Lyn did not expect Angele to lead her to this place.

Several minutes later, Angele suddenly released Lyn's hand from his grip.

She only heard a calm voice coming from the darkness. "Have some rest. I will find some dried branches." When Angele finished his words, he disappeared.

Lyn sat on the ground heavily panting. Beads of sweat kept dripping down her hair. Her long robe was completely soaked, so it was sticky and uncomfortable.

There was still dim light coming from the glowing mushrooms on the ground, but she could barely see her surroundings.

Lyn stood up but then decided not to move around anymore since she no longer had mentality left to manipulate fire energy particles. She leaned against a giant tree and took out an enchanted item to prepare for any possible attacks from mutated beasts.

**************************

Angele walked for another several minutes before stopping under a gigantic tree.

He rubbed the ring on the middle finger of his right hand three times.

*CHI*

Rays of white light were released from the ring and brightened up the surroundings.

Angele soon noticed that a mysterious energy wave appeared on his left, and it was connected to the ring.

He turned to his left and quickly rushed towards the source of the energy wave.

Several minutes later, he found the place where he first met Mocco.

Chapter 333: Mission Complete (2)

Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe

Many fruits completely identical to each other were hanging from the trees.

Under those brown fruits, there were many black flowers the size of a carriage wheel.

Translucent fluid was dripping down from the fruits which were quickly absorbed by the flowers' pistil.

One of the fruits cracked open as soon as Angele entered the area, revealing the glowing flesh inside.

Several seconds later, a strange human face manifested on the white flesh.

"Hey, you. We meet again," the face greeted Angele. Angele could only see its eyes and mouth. It had no nose or ears.

The green eyes of the face were glowing. Angele tried his utmost to avoid eye contact with it since the green light was making him feel uncomfortable.

"Mocco, long time no see." A gentle smile appeared on Angele's face. He then stepped forward and stood in front of the cracked fruit. "I am here to complete the mission."

"Mission?" Mocco was a tad confused. He started checking the database immediately. "Don't tell me you have already finished concocting the Poison Cloud Potion."

"Yeah, it is done." Angele shrugged.

Mocco hesitated but ultimately scanned Angele with a pair of its emerald-like eyes. "Do not even attempt to trick me. No offense, but I do not think you could possibly finish concocting that potion that quick."

"See for yourself…" Angele did not want to waste any time and quickly retrieved a small tube from one of his pouches.

The tube was sealed with a wooden stopper and there was a boiling, sticky, brown fluid contained inside. This was the concentrated Poison Cloud Potion.

"Drop this small tube to the ground. Most creatures will die within its effective range. It is not effective on wizards above rank 2, but it is still quite potent. I invested a lot of time and resources into this," Angele explained as he tapped on the test tube. "Hurry up. Someone is still waiting for me in the forest. I need to keep my identity a secret."

"Ah…alright…" Mocco was still completely shocked. "Your talent on potion concocting is incredible. Three years, and you actually completely concocted a Potion Cloud Potion. I will immediately report back the situation to the headquarters. Actually, you know what, I am not 'alone' here. Mocco is actually the combination of 32 wizards' mentality waves from the headquarters. The information you told me will be disseminated to the 32 wizards. They gave you this mission. I have not seen a Potions Master with such talent in at least 50 years now…The last one was the son of the grand wizard, Finn…" Mocco spouted a bunch of facts and trivia to Angele.

Angele scanned Mocco using Zero and it detected ten different mentality waves. Perhaps they were the wizards who wanted to talk to Angele and were fighting with each other to gain control of Mocco.

"Sorry for the delay. All right, your mission points have been sent to your ring. Please do keep the ring with you always. Once you lose it, you will have to fill out a pile of complicated application forms. You can exchange items and services using the points you earned from the first mission. Here is the list."

Mocco opened its mouth at a strange angle, and a long, brown leather scroll slowly rolled down its tongue.

The scroll was tied with a black string and there was a metal shoulder piece inside.

Angele took the scroll and removed the seal. The benefits of being a core member of Dark Wizard Tower were listed on it alongside the required mission points that were marked on the side.

He needed to return to Lyn's side before she could completely recover her mentality. Angele then tied up the scroll again and hid it underneath his sleeves.

Angele picked up the piece of armor that had dropped to the ground and did a quick inspection on it.

"What is this?"

"You are now an authorized member of the organization, so we have sent you a small gift. It is called the 'Crystal Spaulder'. This spaulder may seem like a chunk of metal, but it is made from black crystal and is enchanted with a buff spell. The spell can improve your offensive or defensive spells by 50%."

"Crystal Spaulder…" Angele was inspecting the armor piece using the biochip.

"Remember, this armor is only gifted to the members who have completed the first challenge. Do not wear it like a normal piece of armor as you may be recognized by people who have knowledge of our organization. With this armor piece, you can hire mercenaries of the Shadow Company, but you must use your mission points in order to do so. One or two shadow mercenaries will be sent to you in a week by the headquarters. The cost is already covered by the organization. Also, information regarding ruin exploration, treasure hunting, and secret meetings will be delivered to you from different divisions. You are, however, not forced to attend any of these events since they all have an admission fee."

"That means I can hire mercenaries, purchase intelligence reports, and join in special events as long as I have enough mission points, right?" Angele was curious about these.

"Yes—all the intelligence reports, secret events, and special items. You only need to exchange them with your mission points. Secret treasures and ancient techniques found from the ruins will not be sold to the public. Only the strongest members of the organization have the right to purchase them. The concoction of the Poison Cloud Potion was not a simple mission but was a truly difficult challenge. You are one of the most talented potion masters in our organization. Work hard and keep on improving. Then your future will become as bright as the sun…" Mocco smiled and disappeared into the fruit's flesh.

The crack on the fruit closed and the white light disappeared.

Angele pondered for a short while before keeping the crystal spaulder into his pouch. Then he turned around and began returning back to Lyn's location.

He acquired 10 mission points by completing the challenge. There were many things he could do using the points he currently had according to the information on the scroll.

His interest was also piqued due to the shadow mercenaries Mocco had talked about.

Several minutes later, Angele found Lyn leaning against a large tree with her eyes closed. Her mentality seemed to be recovering.

Angele brought back several dried branches he found along the way and quickly built a campfire.

The orange light from the flame brightened up the surroundings and brought warmth to the two wizards.

Lyn slowly opened her eyes. She lightly bit her lips as she watched Angele build a campfire.

"Master Angele…I should be the one building the campfire…I am sorry, and…"

"Get some rest. It was I who brought you into this mess. We are in the Sherry Forest where there are countless mutated beasts roaming around. We cannot stay here for too long." Angele stopped Lyn from continuing.

The light from the dancing flames illuminated their faces. They no longer continued their earlier conversation.

Lyn rested for a while and decided to cook food with the ingredients she had on her.

They began to travel once more the next day and finally saw several archers in black armor suits near the forest's edge.

"It's the 3rd regiment of the Watchers." Lyn immediately recognized their identities and approached them.

The archers surrounded Angele and Lyn with them right in the middle of the encirclement. They wanted to make sure that there were no enemy scouts around. A tall man carrying a black bow on his back walked to Angele and bowed.

"Master Angele, I am the captain of the 3rd company. We are here to escort you home. Let's move now." The man's voice was deep and loud. He called Angele "master" but did not express too much of a fawning attitude.

"Sure. The flying knights have already lost track of us. Do not be too nervous." Angele sighed in relief.

"Our mission is to escort you to the second secret guard post. Majority of the Watchers are still serving in the war, so this is only a temporary company. Please hurry, we still need to join in the war after we finish escorting you," the man explained with a face devoid of any expression.

"All right, let's go." Angele nodded. He himself knew just how crucial the war against Thousand Waterfall City was, so he did not want to waste their time.

More or less a hundred archers were part of the company. All of them were rank 3 wizard apprentices but all of them possessed a body comparable that of knights'. Angele also noticed that the archers carried a lot of low-level enchanted items with them.

Angele was ambushed by a black boar that was five meters tall on their way back.

However, searching for the boar's weak point had only taken the archers several seconds.

Hundreds of black metal arrows escaped from the bows and rained on the boar's head.

The boar's Stamina stat was over 19 units—it was a terrifying number. The arrowheads had been infused with fire energy particles, so they exploded together resulting in the boar being blown into pieces. Only a pile of black ash was left on the ground.

Not a single arrow released by this company of archers missed. The accumulated damage their arrows dealt was over 1000 degrees.

Angele would not even believe that a company of trained rank 3 wizard apprentices possessing attributes at a similar level that of a knight could deal such a high damage had he not witnessed the battle with his own two eyes.

He initially never once thought wizard apprentices could actually aid him during a battle, but this company of wizard apprentices could easily ambush and even kill a formal wizard with such a formidable teamwork.

Lyn, too, finally showed her full capabilities after her mentality had fully recovered.

She applied a speed boost to everyone in the company. With the aid of energy particles, they were now traveling at an incredibly fast speed.

Although it was slower compared to Angele's speed, they still arrived at Angele's mansion in just two days, with Vivian there awaiting his arrival.

Chapter 334: Rank Up (1)

Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe

It was noon. The hot sunlight shone across the land.

Angele and Lyn, who were right in the middle of the formation, were being protected by the archers as they traveled back to the mansion directly. Angele looked tired, adding to the fact that his black robe was completely in tatters.

He looked ahead towards the mansion and noticed someone in red standing beside the lake looking at them.

The red robe was eye-catching while beside the green lake under the golden sunlight.

"It's Master Vivian." Lyn communicated through energy particles.

Angele nodded, not expecting Vivian to return from the battlefield just for him.

The captain of the archer company bowed to Vivian from the far side and activated the communication rune to report the situation.

The archers moved aside and cleared the way for Angele and Lyn.

The two hesitated for a moment before they directly came to Vivian quickly.

"Lyn, get some rest. Thanks for your service." Vivian's voice echoed in the air.

Nodding in response, Lyn bowed to Vivian and waited at one side.

Angele stopped in front of Vivian and cleaned his robe.

"I have already told you to think twice before doing anything," Vivian reprimanded him in a calm manner, though it did not sound like she was blaming him.

She crouched by the river and scooped up some water with both of her hands. There was a four-legged, black fish swimming in the water slowly.

"I'm sorry for doing what I did." Angele was not sure how to explain the situation to her.

"Yeah, you should be sorry." Vivian rolled her eyes. "Doris is a renowned troublemaker in the Black Earth. Furthermore, his father never questions any action he makes. I do not fear their organization but right now is not the right time. Elemental Hand still needs to deal with the lords first."

She soaked her hands in the clean water thereby causing her sleeves to become wet. Angele noticed that there were two black bands around her ankles, but it looked like they were just normal accessories.

"I was only trying to save a good friend of mine, but it looks like Doris does not even care that I'm your son," Angele explained in a low voice as he shrugged. He knew he would have been successfully tracked down by the assassins of Black Earth had Vivian not come to his rescue.

Vivian shook her head looking a tad speechless. "How important was that friend to you? In any case, I know you regret your decision. That is a good thing." She stood up, and the water on her hands had been evaporated by the fire energy particles.

"All right then. Let me check your progress with the Molten Core River technique since I am here already. Just ask me if you have any question."

"Sure." Angele nodded then he started asking the questions he had in mind regarding the fourth and fifth stages of the technique.

Time continued to flow. The sun began to set and the orange light it released shone on the surface of the river.

They talked for several hours just standing beside the river.

"All right, that is enough for today. I still need to talk to Black Earth's leader. Doris's bodyguard did not hesitate when he tried to kill you, so I need to teach them some manners…" A golden glow surrounded her eyes. "Stay in the mansion, and do not leave until you completely master the fourth stage of the Molten Core River technique."

She rubbed Angele's cheeks with both of her hands before pulling and kneading them into a strange shape.

Angele tried to escape Vivian's hands, but she suddenly released her powerful mentality wave just to stop him from moving away from her.

'That's one way of utilizing mentality waves…' Angele tongue-tied but there was nothing he could do about it.

Angele's face should be covered with a thin layer of metal, but Vivian seemed to completely ignore his barrier.

"I have also learned of the portal to the fairy realm. Do not worry too much about it. Many portals have opened during the recent years but none of them stabilized."

"Got it."

Vivian continued to play with Angele's cheeks for a short while before she turned away and disappeared into a ball of dark red flames.

There was a wry smile on Angele's face. He himself knew Vivian was merely protecting him from any harm, but he did not want to stay put in the same place forever.

He shook his head and rubbed his chin. Angele soon walked to the mansion as he activated a red communication rune.

Lyn received his message and headed to the mansion as well. Under Vivian's direct command, the archer company had already left.

The mansion was completely empty except for the two maids who were waiting for them in the living room. They were the only two wizards left here.

Angele entered the living room and sat down on a sofa.

"Lyn, pick any room you like. Thanks for attending the party with me."

"My pleasure." Although Lyn looked tired, she still replied to Angele in a courteous manner. She bowed after she finished speaking and went to check out the rooms.

Angele leaned his back on the backrest of the sofa and spread out his arms.

*CHI*

Suddenly, two communication runes flashed on the back of his hands simultaneously.

The one on the left looked like a white toad, while the one on the right was a green spider.

Angele tapped on the white toad rune. It was a message coming from Mincola.

"It's me, Mincola. Thanks for the help Angele. I met Suman and Sella along the way to the party, but never did I expect for the situation to be so complicated. I apologize for bringing you into this. We have already left Rofo City. I will contact you later. We will repay you in the future."

Angele slightly nodded before he tapped on the green spider rune.

"Dear Angele, this message is sent in February from the aerial port city. Although I used the signal tower, it will still take several months for this to be delivered to you. I am glad that you wrote a letter to me. Master Arisma wishes to talk to you one day, thinking you are more talented than me. Also, please inform Master Henn that Master Arisma said she wanted to first track down the people who ambushed them before continuing their fight, but they have a powerful background. By the way, I have already advanced to rank 2. I hope you are doing well…"

It came from Stigma. The Wizard of Destiny, Arisma, was currently inhabiting in his body. He stayed in his family's territory and wanted to gain control of the family when the time was ripe.

"She wants to work with me?" Henn heard Stigma's message as well. Angele had deactivated the crystal scorpion since he knew that there would be information related to Arisma.

"It should be a real problem if that old bastard says those people have a powerful background…" Henn's tone of voice sounded grim.

"It is way too early to think about it. If you want me to fight for your sake, I will have to rank up first." Angele deactivated the communication rune.

"You have already found the advanced meditation technique suitable for you. I am certain that you can advance to rank 3. Rank 1 is the hardest to surpass as a wizard but ranks 2 and 3 are relatively easy with the help of your meditation technique. Then things will become more difficult again once you attempt to advance to rank 4. But as long as you can progress in the Molten Core River technique and be given enough time, ranking up will not be too much of a problem to you," Henn explained.

"Does this rule apply to other wizards who possess advanced meditation techniques?" Angele asked.

"It depends on the resources you have and your talent level. Average wizards normally need one or two hundred years before they can rank up even with the aid of advanced meditation techniques. You will be able to rank up relatively easier if you know how to completely master each stage. But if you have trouble comprehending and mastering one stage of the technique, then it might take you forever to reach the next rank," Henn continued.

"So most wizards in the central continent can reach rank 2. Then, they will be considered elites in their respective organizations?" Angele narrowed his eyes.

"You are correct. Every time you fail to advance to the next rank, there is a possibility of losing your physical form and you will have to give up. There are many wizards who meet the requirements in order to advance to the next rank but are too afraid to attempt. Anyway, I still need more rest. I wasted way too much mana and mentality in that last encounter. Do not disturb me if you do not have anything of importance to say." Henn soon stopped talking after she gave an explanation.

Angele activated the crystal scorpion once again and started examining Zero's analysis progress.

A maid brought him a hot cup of tea and desserts.

Just then, Angele realized that there should be more workers in the mansion.

"Wait, where are the other workers? They should have come here with you, right?" Angele took the teacup.

"Many of them died from the plague while you were away, and we buried them in the forest…Master Liv also had to ask several workers to leave," the maid answered sheepishly. "We are the last two maids remaining."

The adolescent woman was about 19 years of age. She was speaking with a shaky voice, seemingly afraid of talking to Angele.

"Plague?" Angele had not received any information regarding such situation. "Why are you still here, then? You might die too, you know."

The maid opened her mouth, seemingly a bit low-spirited, "We do not have anywhere else to go…"

"So Liv could not cure the plague…" Angele closed his eyes and sighed. "You may leave now. Talk to me immediately if you don't feel well."

"Yes, master!" The maid raised her voice slightly. Angele was her final hope, and she believed that this master wizard could stop the plague if he wanted to. She bowed to Angele and swiftly left the living room.

Angele leaned back on the sofa again and rested for a while. He stood up after several minutes and returned to his room.

*KA*

The door was pulled open.

Angele stepped into the room and locked the door. With a flick of his finger, a flickering black rune was imprinted on the middle of the door. The rune looked like a twisted black snake.

Chapter 335: Rank Up (2)

Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe

Angele carefully retrieved the small, white jade box. This was the Abyssal Box he found in the Spiral Garden.

He reached for a small cylinder from the bookshelf inside the room. The cylinder was made out of yellow bamboo.

*PA*

Angele removed the seal and saw several colorful magical cubes inside. The cubes had gathered together and formed a figure of a child's head trying to peek outside.

"Queen Christina's Cubes and the Abyssal Box. I can now build the energy conversion magic circle…" Complicated formulas were displayed in front of Angele's eyes. Concurrently, Zero was still simulating the most optimal method of building the magic circle.

Henn had already transmitted all the necessary information regarding the magic circle to him. There was no longer any point for him to continue training in the Mask of the Black Wing technique, ergo Henn decided to help him out in training in the Molten Core River technique.

The figure of a child formed by the cubes' fusion slowly crawled out of the bamboo cylinder and climbed up Angele's hand.

After thinking for a moment, Angele carefully placed the child in his right palm then covered it with a thin layer of silver.

He collected all the required materials and started to prepare the building of the magic circle. He had made a resolve to advance first to the next rank before doing anything else.

****************************

It had taken Angele approximately half a year to finish all his preparations, including the concoction of several potions.

Meanwhile, the Dark Wizard Tower's Shadow Mercenary had already been sent to him and arrived several months ago. It was an unusual entity covered in black mist and looked like a terrifying shadow that had a pair of glowing red eyes.

This Shadow Mercenary technically had no soul. Nevertheless, Angele made sure it had not been sent to him as a spy of the organization. He could command the Shadow Mercenary using the ring used to store his mission points. Angele tried to damage the creature using every means he had yet nothing worked. The creature seemed to be at a much higher level than him.

Most importantly of all, the Shadow Mercenary would only reveal itself to Angele while others, including Lyn, could not even see it at all.

His days living in the mansion were eventful but peaceful. He had asked Lyn to purchase the strongest magic matrices she could from in the public market since he needed these to fight against the black beetles inhabiting in the Nightmare Realm.

He opted to advance to the next rank once he was in the Nightmare Realm in order to keep his methods a secret. Angele similarly wanted to experiment if it was possible that the ancient bloodline he possessed would mutate if he were to successfully advance to rank 2 in the Nightmare Realm.

*****************************

It was currently night time. The floor's surface was reflecting the pale white moonlight.

Angele was seated at the table without a noise, delicately inspecting three unknown items using a magnifying glass.

Three items were laid out on the table. There was a striped wristband, a wooden plank covered with tiny green roots, and a black plate covered in tiny white dots arranged from left to right, respectively.

"These are the best offensive and defensive magic matrices I could buy in the nearby cities. I could design matrices myself, but I do not have sufficient professional knowledge." Angele put down the magnifying glass and sighed.

The wristband was the Rippling Matrix, the wooden plank was the Twisting Matrix, and the plate was the Light Voice Matrix.

The Rippling Matrix and Twisting Matrix were mainly used to damage targets, while the Light Voice Matrix was used for general area defense and scanning.

The three magic matrices had been improved by countless wizards to the point that their energy lines and runic structures were nearly perfect.

Angele could find magic matrices far more powerful than what he had right now if he contacted Dark Wizard Tower or Vivian. Yet, that would be overkill for the black beetles in the realm. Besides, he wished to see if he could create low-level magic matrices himself.

Angele did not rely too much on Vivian. After all, he was not her real son and was unsure of what would happen if Vivian ever found out about the truth one day. He wanted to learn as much as possible so that he could modify and improve the magic matrices to the way most suitable for his use.

Angele soon finished inspecting the materials and the magic matrices.

He then took out a small, white jade box from his pouch and tightly held it in his hand.

"Everything has been prepared. Time to start the final step."

Angele enveloped all the items with a silver fluid.

He lightly tapped the middle of his chest with his hand.

*CHI*

A ray of red light was unleashed from the signet, and his body disappeared from the room.

***********************

The Nightmare Realm.

There was dark red mist drifting around in the air.

Right beside a black table in the study, Angele's initially distorted physical body slowly stabilized.

He opened his eyes and looked around. The mansion was deafeningly silent. He did not hear any noise of the beetles roaming outside. Angele picked up all the items he needed before opening the door.

He once again saw the familiar hallway and was the only human being in the building.

The white floor of the hallway was covered in black dust, seemingly as if no one had ever stepped foot on it.

Angele soon walked to the end of the hallway and went downstairs. The red carpet in the living room was rotting in decay.

The main door was open, incessantly shaking in the midst of the cold gusts.

Most of the glowing crystals in the room were broken.

Angele used his stealth technique and walked to the center of the room, and then he slowly took out the three magic matrices.

He held the black plate in his hand and pressed it against the red carpet.

The Light Voice Matrix was surrounded by a white glow but did not produce any noise. The white glow started expanding after several seconds and manifested a large circle on the floor.

Something was beginning to slam upward coming from the center of the circle.

Approximately one minute later, a black pillar about one meter tall stood in front of Angele. There was a small map on top. The internal structure of the building was clearly drawn on the map and the area outside the fence was also within the range.

There was nothing around the main building, but there were countless red dots moving outside the fences. On the top-right corner of the map, there was a signature of someone named Angie, who was likely the wizard who created this magic matrix.

Angele looked at the dark forest outside before ramming a piece of high-quality magic stone into the stone pillar.

*PA*

It sounded like an egg being cracked.

A translucent energy barrier appeared around the mansion.

The energy barrier surrounded the whole mansion, including the fences.

Suddenly, he heard approaching noises produced by the beetles that were swiftly moving towards the mansion from all angles.

Angele's expression became alarmed and he quickly set the two other matrices.

*KA*

The offensive matrices generated a lot of noise. Two more stone pillars began rising from beneath the floor.

*PA*

A black beetle had forcefully smashed against the energy barrier form by the Light Voice Matrix.

*PA PAPAPA *

More and more beetles started smashing onto the energy barrier.

However, it seemed as if the magic matrix was strong enough to hold against the damage done by the beetles.

Angele checked the map on the first stone pillar once more. It would still take some time for the other two matrixes to be activated. There was a small bar on top of the map.

The length of the white bar was slowly decreasing and it indicated the amount of energy left in the high-quality magic stone.

The magic stone's energy would be consumed completely once the bar disappeared.

"Approximately ten minutes. One magic stone can support the matrix for ten minutes." Angele did a quick calculation using the biochip.

*KA KA*

The control panels of the Twisting Circle and Rippling Circle were fully activated.

Angele took out two more magic stones and inserted them into the control panels.

He quickly finished setting up the effective area and strength of the two offensive magic matrices.

*Woo*

Under the night sky of the Nightmare World Realm, distorted energy waves were released from the main building of the mansion.

The energy waves were slowly expanding like water ripples.

All the beetles that touched the distorted waves were slowed down and their bodies started glowing.

Countless green vines had also begun growing around the mansion. Materializing out of the mud, these climbed onto the black beetles' bodies.

Some of the vines had been torn by their sharp teeth. The vines still successfully killed many beetles nonetheless.

The advance of a large number of black beetles was hindered by the energy waves and green vines. The corpses soon turned into acid pools with some of it splashing onto the energy barrier.

Angele was standing in front of the three stone pillars constantly checking the information displayed on the control panels.

The Light Voice Circle's bar almost stopped decreasing but the other two circles' bars still continued to decrease at a fast rate.

However, the energy consumption of the three magic circles slowed down after about ten minutes. It seemed like the first wave of the beetles were either cleared or trapped.

Angele maintained his composure as he stepped out of the door and walked to the fences. He surveyed the situation outside the barrier.

Countless black beetles were either slowed down or trapped by the green vines. Although more beetles were moving out of the darkness, the two offensive matrices were holding up well.

The ice waves from the Rippling Magic Circle were ceaselessly injuring the beetles trapped by the green vines. More beetles were being killed than beetles moving out of the darkness from the other side.

An unusual harmony was produced on the battlefield.

"Great. I should be fine for at least three days if everything goes as planned." Angele was satisfied with the result.

Then with a flick of his fingers, red flames were thrown outside the barrier and fell on the acid pools.

*BAM*

The acid pools ignited in flames even though the beetles remained unaffected by such scene. They continued moving across the flames without taking any damage.

Angele took out the Abyssal Box and Queen Christina's Cubes and began drawing runes on an area within the confines of the energy barrier.

Once the energy conversion magic circle was completed, the flames from the acid pools would directly be converted into his own mentality. This was the most powerful function of the secret magic circle that had been designed by Henn. His progress rate with the Molten Core River technique would substantially accelerate.

Minutes later, a glowing red energy barrier appeared inside the defensive energy barrier. The red light shone on Angele's face.

Chapter 336: The Second Body (1)

Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe

Within the endless blue sky, golden sunlight shone upon the thin clouds.

A black airship was traveling amidst the clouds in the sky.

The airship's control center was located right at the tip of the ship. It was an average-sized room that had minimum visibility due to the lack of light.

A woman in a long, crimson dress stood in front of the glowing control board, her hands rapidly moving around its surface.

The walls of the control center were embedded with glowing white crystals. The gentle glow it produced cast a light on her body.

*CHI*

A translucent image of a human being appeared beside the control board.

It was a bald woman wearing a tight black suit.

"Master, the Lords of Thousand Waterfall City are mustering their army at the Ana River. Black Earth seems to thirst for waging war against us as well." The bald woman sounded unfazed.

"We have defeated the lords during the last battle, so they should be recovering from the damages. The problem is their city's magic device that can hold the line against us for a while. But what I do not understand is why they decided to rendezvous at the river…" Vivian sounded surprised. "Did Black Earth summon their Earth Legion led by Rumpetto, the Stone-caller?"

"No, it is the Lightning Legion," the bald woman immediately replied.

"That is strange. The Earth Legion should be their strongest army. They must have forgotten how I annihilated their aerial knights years ago…They cannot do anything to us if it's the Lightning Legion…" There was a confident smile on Vivian's face.

Suddenly, Vivian detected movement in front.

A black string appeared just a meter right in front of her face and moved towards her forehead at lightning speed.

"Again?" Vivian raised her hand and released a ray of red light that blocked the incoming attack.

*CHI*

The black string disappeared after it touched the red light.

But at the same time, a translucent hand appeared behind about to grasp her neck.

*BOOM*

Another ray of red light was released from her hand.

The translucent hand was destroyed by the light.

*Roar*

A clamor that of a beast's roaring reverberated not far from their location. The translucent hand shattered into pieces and soon vanished into the air.

Vivian turned around; her face had now turned cold-blooded.

"There is a spy in our airship. Check each and every one's identity immediately!"

"Understood!" The bald woman nodded in affirmation and disappeared. She seemed to be used to seeing such assassination attempts.

Inside the control center, Vivian turned and started modifying the control board again while looking at the map of the scanned terrain nearby the airship.

After a while, she slowly raised her head and gazed at the endless sky ahead.

"He is coming…Justin, the Storm Giant…"

The situation was increasingly worsening. Vivian's army was being targeted by three different enemies. Even if she was confident triumphing against them in the upcoming battles, she was uncertain if she had brought enough manpower to war.

The lords were assembling their army, while the storm giant was a well-known rank 4 wizard. Justin was comparable to Vivian in terms of their level of skill and his army was well-trained.

The biggest problem lay in Black Earth's Rumpetto, the Stone-caller, though the Earth Legion itself was not a big problem. Vivian was the second most powerful council elder of Elemental Hand and had rarely lost battles.

The positions of the council elders were not determined by their skill levels. Instead, it was hereditary as all elders had their own successors who would take over once they retired or died. Molten Core River had been passed on to Vivian. The same thing happened with the gravitational magic circle that had been continuously improved over the years by her predecessors, the former third elders. This was the strongest magic circle that could aid in increasing the overall power of Molten Core River. Without it, her power would greatly reduce.

The other elders were similarly successors of certain advanced meditation techniques and special abilities.

Vivian thought for a while, feeling a bit anxious at this time. 'The situation is getting worse for Elemental Hand. Good thing is, Black Earth did not target Angele. He should be fine.'

Angele had still been receiving assistance from Henn, but she needed more time to restore her mentality. Average wizards could not possibly handle her attacks.

Aside from that, Vivian had sent a special troop that would patrol around the mansion without her telling Angele.

*********************************

The Nightmare Realm. The mansion by the river.

The mansion was being protected by a transparent energy shield. The entire shield looked similar to a glass dome which reflected the image of the surrounding trees.

Distorted energy waves were extending to all angles. Green vines were rapidly growing to form into green undergrowth that encircled the entire mansion.

When dawn arrived, the black beetles finally began to retreat as they feared the light.

There was a bell-shaped, red energy ball on the ground.

It was flashing rhythmically as though it was breathing.

But as time passed, its surface turned transparent.

After ten minutes, it completely dissipated only to reveal the person standing inside.

Short brown hair, silver skin, and a muscular body.

It was Angele, who had stayed inside the ball for three days.

He opened his eyes slowly and checked his body.

His appearance seemed to have slightly changed and he seemed to have gotten more handsome than before.

"The magic circle is more effective than I expected." With a flick of his finger, silver metal formed a white shirt and white pants on his body.

There was a dark red band on his naked right arm.

The surface of the band was covered with complicated runes. The Abyssal Box and Queen Christina's Cube had already disappeared from the ground, forming into this metallic armband.

"Henn has told me how to create this. I can now absorb the flames from the beetles better." Angele lightly patted the armband.

"But something does not seem right. My mentality only increased slightly." Angele knew he had nearly mastered the third stage.

He practiced the engraving process of the magic circle as he absorbed the flames.

After completing the second stage of Molten Core River, he needed to master the magic circle and rune engraving technique in order to progress to the next rank.

Angele only stood there for a while thinking, but he was still not sure if his flame absorption rate was normal. At this rate, it would take him about an hour to fully master the third stage then he would become a rank 2 wizard.

Taking a deep, long breath, he turned around and walked to the main building of the mansion. The magic stones used to supply energy to the matrices needed to be replaced. He needed to return to the real world to see if everything was fine.

The mansion in the Nightmare Realm was relatively safe since the beetles could do nothing to him. Angele could merely enter the realm if ever the mansion in the real world was invaded by enemies.

With the defensive and offensive magic matrixes, the black beetles were no longer a threat to him. The only problem was if his opponent's mentality wave was too strong, he would not be able to enter the realm instantly.

Angele still carried more than sufficient supply of food and water to the Nightmare Realm. The bloodline extraction method and the Nightmare Realm were two of his biggest secrets at the moment.

He spent most of his time in the Nightmare Realm for the next week.

Angele rested at daytime and killed countless black beetles during the night.

The flames created by burning the dead black beetles were absorbed into the energy ball by the armband. The energy was then converted into fire mentality that was required by the Molten Core River.

Angele needed to infuse his mentality with fire energy particles as soon as possible.

He had never stepped out of the mansion in the Nightmare Realm. He decided to advance to the next rank first before doing anything else after the encounter in the dinner party.

*****************************

Ten days later…

The Nightmare Realm.

Inside the mansion.

*BOOM*

The windows on the second floor were blown into pieces.

The broken glasses fell to the field of grass like it was raining.

Angele stuck his head out of the window and coughed several times.

There were tears in his eyes, but there was a grin on his face.

The scorpion mark on his forehead was as crimson as fresh blood.

White smoke was slowly coming out of the room through the broken window.

After the thick smoke drifted out, Angele turned to look at the middle of the room.

There was a complicated magic circle on the floor, a combination of runes and a hexagram. The three largest runes looked like the sun, the moon, and the stars.

Countless tiny runes and complicated strings surrounded the three major runes.

There was a tiny red bird flying around right in the center of the magic circle.

The bird was enveloped in flames and its tail was glowing. It looked like a mutated wild goose but smaller in size.

Angele observed the flying bird carefully.

The bird was approximately the size of his palm. Its feathers, claws, and eyes were completely enveloped in golden flames. From time to time, it would breathe out flames from its beak.

Angele felt puzzled. Was it him or the advanced meditation technique that decided the appearance of his second body?

According to the book of Molten Core River, the second body's appearance depended on the owner's personality and properties of their soul.

'This bird looks familiar…' Angele hypothesized in his mind after observing the bird for a time. He was now becoming excited.

Angele could control the beautiful and mysterious creature using his mind and if he did not command it, the bird would just fly around him.