Chapter 251: Chapter 197: The Knockout (Moral Bottom Line Version)
The Transcendents of this world weren’t like those in the novels of his past life, where one could just level up endlessly as long as they had enough talent and resources. In this world, even with sufficient talent and resources, there were many hard requirements that took a great deal of time to overcome.
For instance, when a Legendary Mage was advancing, they needed to perform numerous rituals. These rituals often had very specific standards regarding time, place, and even the number, occupation, and type of people involved, making them incredibly difficult to fulfill.
Unless, like a Mad Witch, one substituted them with an Evil God Ceremony.
So, the Emperor Talent definitely existed, but no matter how outstanding it was, it would be impossible for him to reach the Demigod Realm in such a short time.
Besides this piece of information, which touched upon some secrets of the Terra Royal Family, the second piece of information was the reason for Isaac’s silence: his mother’s death was related to Norns!
But the letter didn’t give any specifics, only telling him to go to Solomon Fortress to discuss some matters.
"Liu Li, call for Smith and Lorna. We’re going to Solomon Fortress," Isaac said, his eyes lowered.
Liu Li noticed the change in Isaac’s tone. Her gaze toward the letter turned cold. She nodded. Though she could have used Magic to notify them, she chose to turn and leave the laboratory, giving Isaac his space.
’Norns!’ Muttering the name, a flash of killing intent glinted in Isaac’s lowered eyes before quickly disappearing.
’This matter requires careful planning...’
Prince Norns himself was only a High-level Knight, a level of strength that was nothing to the current Isaac. However, his status as a Prince was rather troublesome.
On one hand, his status as a Prince allowed him to recruit many experts, including even Tier Four Miracle Mages!
On the other hand, he was a member of the Terra Royal Family. Isaac’s current relationship with the Terra Royal Family was somewhat sensitive. Even if he didn’t move against Norns himself, but only against his forces, he would have to be extremely cautious.
However...
A dark light flickered in Isaac’s eyes as a Magic Rift silently opened. A three-eyed, muscular man stepped out and knelt respectfully on the ground.
"As for gathering intelligence, start with Prince Norns. And while you’re at it... if you get the chance..." A vicious gleam flashed in Isaac’s eyes. "Kill him on sight!"
"Yes, my Lord." The three-eyed man lowered his head in assent before disappearing back into the Magic Rift to relay Isaac’s orders to the other Dimension Apostles.
Given Isaac’s current delicate relationship with the Terra Royal Family, it was indeed inconvenient to confront Prince Norns directly, but...
’What does an attack by an Apostle of the Dimensional Demon God have to do with Isaac?’
As everyone knew, Mad Witches were impartially despised by all Existences, especially Outer Gods!
Aside from Mad Witches, no other Transcendent could be so universally hated, not even Witches!
While many Witches were mentally unstable, there were still people and Gods who were fond of the dangerously possessive type. Besides, Witches generally didn’t hate other Witches; they would only sympathize with each other.
But Mad Witches were different. A Mad Witch hated other Mad Witches, too!
After composing himself, Isaac’s figure was swallowed by a menacing spatial shadow behind him. He vanished from the Mage Tower and reappeared on the castle’s training grounds.
Here, Smith and Lorna had already packed their bags and were waiting with Liu Li for Isaac.
"SQUEAK! SQUEAK SQUEAK!"
The moment Isaac’s figure appeared, Shushu scrambled onto his shoulder and squeaked loudly, voicing its discontent.
Lately, its frustration with Isaac’s neglect had reached its peak!
When they first went to the Itra Kingdom without it, it understood. After all, it was busy researching Necromancy at the time. But he had been back for so long and still hadn’t come to see it! And he hadn’t even prepared a laboratory for it in the new Mage Tower! It was extremely displeased!
If it hadn’t accidentally overheard Liu Li notifying Smith and Lorna this time, it might not have been able to "catch" Isaac at all!
Looking at the furious Shushu on his shoulder, Isaac was taken aback for a moment, then gave a helpless smile. "Alright, don’t be angry. You can come with us."
"Squeak~" Hearing Isaac’s words, Shushu nodded in satisfaction, then squeaked again with a serious expression, "Squeak squeak! Squeak! Squeak!"
"Fine, I’ll have Liu Li set up a laboratory for you. It’ll be ready for you when we get back."
"Squeak squeak!"
"Yes, I’ll get you more and bigger pieces of Divinity."
"Squeak!"
"Necromancy Magic? Okay, this trip to the fortress will be a perfect chance to make another deal with the Black Orc God. I’ll get it for you then."
"Squeak~" Having received a series of promises from Isaac, Shushu finally nodded in satisfaction. It then lay quietly on Isaac’s shoulder, shooting Liu Li a faintly triumphant look.
It was as if to say, ’See? The master likes me best!’
However, Liu Li paid no mind to Shushu’s provocation. She maintained her usual stoic, icy expression, but as she watched Isaac’s warm smile, an imperceptible hint of a smile surfaced in her own eyes.
"Alright, let’s go." After the playful banter with Shushu, Isaac waved his hand. Liu Li and the others quickly moved behind him, and the menacing spatial shadow reappeared, swallowing them all in one gulp!
When they appeared again, they were already at Solomon Fortress!
But just like the last time he came home, he had appeared outside. The fortress itself was enveloped by a Mage Tower’s Barrier, one even stronger than the one at the Lord’s Mansion!
Of course, under normal circumstances, as long as one registered with the Barrier, Teleportation Magic wouldn’t be blocked. But that only applied to *normal* Teleportation Magic.
And Isaac’s Teleportation Magic was not normal. It originated from an Evil God, so he couldn’t rule out the possibility that the God’s other Believers also possessed this ability.
In any case, it was just a short walk, so there was no need to take such a risk. That was why Isaac hadn’t registered his teleportation with his home’s Barrier.
But this wasn’t a major issue. The guards at the fortress gate recognized Isaac and Smith, so they opened the main gate the moment they appeared, while also sending a message into the fortress.
But sending a message was clearly redundant. In the next moment, a flash of Arcane Radiance appeared, and his older sister, Cheryl, materialized before Isaac and the others.
While long-distance travel through Phase Space was convenient, fast, and consumed little energy, its one drawback was that it created a bit of a disturbance—at least, for a Grand Arcanist like Cheryl, it was a *huge* disturbance.
"You’re here?"
"Yeah, I’m here."
"Then let’s go. I’ve already notified Father and Caesar. We’ll go to my Mage Tower; they’ll be there shortly."
Hearing Cheryl’s words, Isaac’s eyes narrowed slightly. ’They’re going to talk in her Mage Tower. It seems what’s to be discussed is truly important. After all, a Grand Arcanist’s Mage Tower has an extremely high level of security. Not even a Tier Four Miracle Mage from the Prophetic School would be able to probe what’s happening inside!’
"Smith, take the others and get some rest first." As he spoke, Isaac casually tossed out a pumpkin, transforming it into a pumpkin carriage. Then, he set Shushu down and followed Cheryl, turning into a flash of Arcane Radiance and heading toward her Mage Tower.
...
「Cheryl’s Mage Tower – Top Floor.」
"You’ve... changed a lot..." After arriving at the Mage Tower, Cheryl conjured a chair for Isaac to sit on. As she poured him some fruit juice, she spoke while looking at the Demon Eye on his forehead, which was darting around.
"Have I? I feel fine." Isaac touched the Demon Eye on his forehead. Understanding the concern in his sister’s words, he gave a casual smile. "I feel like I’m still me."
Cheryl gave Isaac a long, deep look. The Isaac she used to know would never have unscrupulously performed human experiments—live human experiments, at that. But she didn’t say anything, because she knew it would be useless. Every madman claims not to be mad.
And besides, this was...
...not that big of a deal, really. This was just how Wizards were. As their knowledge grew, their moral baseline would inevitably drop. This was true even for Arcanists; it just happened a bit more slowly for them. As for Mad Witches...
...their morals just plummeted a bit faster, that’s all.
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