One-Eyed Monster

After leading everyone out, Leader Igor did not entirely relax. He knew the long journey had only just begun; there was much to do and much more to worry about.

”Elders, maintain formation. The enemy will certainly sense our movement, but we cannot let them confirm our location,” Igor carefully reminded them. Under his guidance, everyone performed their duties methodically and in an orderly fashion.

Frankly, even Igor himself didn’t know how he could command so many seniors so adeptly. At first, he just wanted to tell Kadi what had happened, but things went beyond his expectations. He never thought that through his connection with Kadi, he could enter the Inner World again. After entering the Inner World, he discovered the intruder’s intentions. At that moment, his first instinct was to quickly lead the elders out of the safe house. Not knowing where this feeling came from, he had blurted it out spontaneously. Surprisingly, none of the elders objected to his abrupt suggestion and acted accordingly. Igor found it baffling how he had unintentionally become the commander, and so far, he hadn’t made any major mistakes.

After Great Mentor Guzan emerged, the pressure on him significantly lessened, and his body felt freer, but he was still unable to speak. He couldn’t figure out how the enemy had rendered him mute. What purpose would restricting his speech serve when he could still communicate through body language and Spirit Power? He didn’t know what the enemy intended.

Igor’s camouflage seemed to have successfully fooled the intruders. After they left the safe house, they didn’t encounter any strong resistance. Instead, their movement seemed to lessen the attacks directed at Great Mentor Guzan.

What surprised Great Mentor Guzan more was that Igor’s connection to the Inner World wasn’t entirely an Inner World connection; part of it was through the Alchemist’s Connection. This was the first time Great Mentor Guzan had seen this technique employed.

Everyone’s Spirit Power, under Igor’s link, seemed to form a single, complete entity. This entity was slowly moving forward, a slow movement that temporarily confused the intruders.

This was how Great Mentor Guzan interpreted the fluctuations in the intruder’s Spirit Attack.

The intruder had originally pursued him, the Great Mentor, using a spell—achieved, he suspected, by binding to his residual Spirit Power. The intruder had studied Guru Mountain in depth, especially knowing his, Guzan’s, significance to it. Therefore, the intruder was constantly pursuing this connection. Furthermore, the intruder apparently believed that, having broken free from their bonds and being seriously injured, they would remain stationary to recuperate. So, the intruder must have concluded they had effectively hidden after escaping their confinement. In short, the intruder likely thought that by merely ”hooking” him, Great Mentor Guzan, they could capture everyone. But now, Igor had set these people slowly in motion. This puzzled the intruder: was their target hiding in one place or several? This slow movement likely caused a moment of confusion for the intruder. The intruder might even take their reasoning further, speculating that Guru Mountain could conceal secret rooms or mechanisms—essentially, anything was possible. He, Great Mentor Guzan, could only speculate this far about the intruder’s thoughts. While he couldn’t be 100 percent certain of what the intruder was thinking, he trusted his basic deductions. After all, he possessed vast experience. Though this experience might not offer significant direct aid, it still provided some assistance, at least in terms of speculation.

”Igor, we need to probe them now. We must confirm if the intruder is merely feigning ignorance,” Great Mentor Guzan continued to communicate with Igor using Spirit Power. By this point, he and Igor had already formed a tacit understanding.

Igor’s previous delegation of tasks had been very reasonable, and the entire Spirit Power collective was now functioning well. Even Kuruto, who was usually clueless about everything, selflessly contributed his Spirit Power to Igor. It was evident that the charisma Igor displayed had completely won everyone over.

Now, Great Mentor Guzan also needed to guide Igor towards the safest approach. They couldn’t afford to stray from the correct path due to impulsiveness; if they did, there would be no turning back.

Igor understood Great Mentor Guzan’s earnest efforts, so he listened very carefully to his advice. At the same time, he wasn’t blindly convinced he had completely fooled their opponent. No matter how one looked at it, this little bit of camouflage was still rather crude. If the enemy used their head even slightly, they’d realize how strange this situation was. Or perhaps, the enemy was completely feigning ignorance, just waiting for them to walk right into a trap. Igor felt Great Mentor Guzan’s suggestion was perfectly timed; he himself hadn’t known what to do just then. Now, it was settled: they would set up a probing attack, a sort of trap for the opponent.

Just as Igor was preparing to consult Great Mentor Guzan again on how to conduct the probe, the Great Mentor’s body suddenly tensed, as if he had been struck.

Igor didn’t know what had happened, but Great Mentor Guzan understood perfectly.

In fact, Great Mentor Guzan was laughing inwardly. Though his body had sustained some injury, he felt a sense of profound relief. Clearly, this attack from the intruder was also a probe. He could feel that the intensity of the opponent’s Spirit Attack was noticeably stronger than before, but it was fleeting, quickly returning to calm. Thankfully, he had managed to conceal his own position and everyone else’s; otherwise, the intruder could indeed have found them easily. His concealment was naturally inseparable from the World Setting Technique. He hadn’t just hidden his own position but also those of the others. The intruder could only use their residual Spirit Power to launch small-scale attacks; confirming their exact location, however, would require more effort from the intruder. Clearly, this probe from the enemy confirmed his earlier deductions: the intruder couldn’t ascertain whether their position was mobile or static. Judging by the increased intensity of the attack, the enemy seemed to lean towards the idea that they were moving. If he, Great Mentor Guzan, were to offer a counterattack in response at this moment, he would undoubtedly fall into the enemy’s trap. But what if they offered no Spirit Power response at all? Would the enemy be utterly baffled?

Great Mentor Guzan quickly conveyed this idea to Igor.

The real confrontation had yet to begin. They were still probing each other, and this clash of tests was bound to be intense.