Chapter 1001: Chapter 58: Down-and-Out Merchant_2
The middle-aged man’s body trembled slightly as he struggled to suppress his towering rage. The influential powers backing the Dark Magician were something he dared not provoke, even the Duke had to rely on them. He tried to keep his voice as calm as possible and said, "The carriage has been ready, you can leave now."
The Black Robed Magician spoke indifferently, "We’re leaving," and led the way to the door. He stopped when opening the door, under the outside light, his long silhouette fell upon the middle-aged man. With his back to the middle-aged man, he said, "Considering you are a direct vassal of the Duke, I’ll give you a heads up. Within the Mage Guild, there’s a young magician with superb martial arts. Our operation was foiled by him. I didn’t see his magic, but his martial prowess is extremely skilled. Moreover, I used a demon summoning at the Mage Guild, yet during the wait for news, we discovered that the forbidden demon summoning didn’t cause any casualties to the Mage Guild. Think about it." After speaking, he left with the four magicians and the remaining assassins. With a bang, the last person out the door slammed it shut, leaving the room to the middle-aged man known as Viscount, alone.
The middle-aged man’s anger was quelled by the Dark Magician’s final words. Murmuring to himself, "Demon summoning? That guy actually used demon summoning. Doesn’t he realize how dangerous that magic is? And the Mage Guild actually managed to counter that spell. A young magician skilled in martial arts... it seems this operation wasn’t a complete failure. At the very least, we’ve probed into Washington’s depth. Unexpectedly, they also have hidden forces." With these thoughts, a sinister look crossed his somewhat pale face.
"Someone come here," the middle-aged man called out loudly. A slender figure pushed the door open just enough to slip through. A pleasant yet cold voice answered, "Master?"
"Pass my order: cancel all previous deployments, everyone is to return to their posts and stand by. Also, command the Hawk to sneak into the Province of Light to gather information on a young magician skilled in martial arts and report back immediately upon discovery. In addition, have the scouts monitor the movements of the troops gathering in the Province of Light. Report back immediately if anything unusual occurs."
"Yes, Master." The figure vanished in a flash, and the slender silhouette disappeared. The middle-aged man’s lips curled into an evil smirk and followed the slender figure out of the room. The dark room fell silent, void of any sign of life.
The day had already turned to dusk, and Ah Dai and his two companions found a wind-sheltered hill to stop for the night.
Yan Li sat down with a thud, complaining, "It would have been nice to stay overnight in the barracks. Instead, we had to travel at dusk. Great, now we’re stuck without a village in sight, without a store behind, and have to sleep in the wilderness again."
Ah Dai said apologetically, "I’m sorry, Brother Yan Li. But those generals were just too enthusiastic. I was afraid that if we didn’t leave, they’d pester us and we wouldn’t get any sleep tonight."
Yan Li laughed heartily, "It’s okay, no need to explain. I was just teasing you. Come on, light a bonfire with your Fire Magic. It’s only March, and it’s still quite cold." He pointed to the branches and leaves the three had just gathered.
Ah Dai agreed, and began to chant a spell he hadn’t used for a long time. "Oh Fire Elements that fill the heavens and earth, please grant me your warm strength. Gather into a ball and appear in my hand." Ah Dai clearly felt the Fire Elements condensing around him, tiny red sparks converging. With a pop, a bright light appeared in Ah Dai’s hand, a Deep Blue Fireball about ten centimeters in diameter, burning like it was from Hell. Ah Dai was startled; had his spiritual power improved again? The fireball was much larger than expected, and it seemed the heat had significantly increased as well.
Ah Dai’s Magic Power had augmented, or more accurately, his spiritual control had. During the last six months, while practicing life creation, he had been concentrating fully on controlling his inner True Qi to transform into a solid form, then changing into various shapes. This honed his spiritual power continuously. Although he hadn’t meditated on purpose, his spiritual power had improved to some extent, making his command of the Magic Elements even more adept. Ah Dai raised his left hand, channeled his True Qi, and with a faint white glow on his fingertips, he lightly flicked at the fireball. A speck of blue fire burst forth and, despite being just a spark, when it landed on the pile of branches, it ignited the entire stack. The dark night lit up instantly, and warmth spread to the three of them as they placed their hands by the fire to warm their bodies. Yan Li said, "Ah Dai, I’ll go and get some more branches. This fire is big, and I don’t think we have enough wood to last the night." With that, he turned and headed towards a nearby grove.
Since the three had eaten well that day, they weren’t feeling hungry, Ah Dai and Yan Shi gathered some leftover dry leaves from winter and piled them up to temporarily serve as a bed, preparing to sleep.
Yan Shi said, "Brother Ah Dai, finding the Elf Clan might not be so easy this time. If we plan to cover every corner of the Empire of Sunset City, two years might not be enough. Moreover, we still don’t know if other nations have laid their hands on the kidnapped Elves. If so, it would complicate things even more."
