Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2162: Chapter 2163: Awakening of the Demon People Earl Mi

The dark sky was covered with oppressive clouds as rain fell like beans.

The sea churned in the storm, appearing as if this normally tranquil region had transformed into the Devil’s Sea.

However, if a ship were sailing nearby and looked through a telescope, they would find that at the horizon’s edge, the extremity of the cloud cover was visible, and the shimmering sunlight reflecting off the sea could be faintly seen.

The turbulence in the weather was confined to this small maritime area.

For mortals, this region might be considered the Sea God’s prison, but those truly within it would realize that this maritime phenomenon was not the work of natural forces.

Angel was now riding the Gondola, slicing through the gloomy sky dome.

”There should be a Nameless Isle with red soil nearby. Sail straight in the direction of the abandoned tower on this island, and you’ll enter the trade route of the Whisker Sea,” Angel murmured, squinting into the distance, searching for the rumored island to correct his course.

However, the sky was so dark, and the sea so turbulent, that any island would be obscured from view.

Unable to find the island after a long search, Angel sighed in resignation and looked back at the horizon behind him: ”Can’t you guys take a break?”

A few nautical miles away from the Gondola, in the downpour, a massive gryphon with its tail and mane blazing with fiery flames was battling a strange creature.

This flaming gryphon was one of Toby’s incarnations: the Berserker Gryphon.

The creature battling Toby looked much smaller than the gryphon, like the difference between an elephant and a baby. However, even with such a vast difference in size, its combat prowess was extraordinary.

They appeared evenly matched, yet in reality, the smaller creature was completely dictating the battle. Toby’s furious attacks were effortlessly evaded, and the fiery assaults were frequently doused by the rain.

Even when Toby used the Gravity Meridian, far surpassing others of his rank to unleash terrifying force, it merely struck through the creature’s phantom shadow.

Without a doubt, Toby’s speed far exceeded his opponent’s, but his reaction time lagged significantly.

If not for some unknown reason that kept the opponent from attacking Toby while he was in a weakened state, it would have already won.

Any Wizard with keen eyesight could tell that the true strength of this smaller creature vastly surpassed Toby’s.

But Toby didn’t see it that way; his large eyes glowed with the fire of obsession, believing that with just a little more speed, he could pummel this detestable ”flowering wildcat.”

After yet another easy evasion by his opponent, Toby stamped and roared angrily.

—If it weren’t for being restricted from using my Snake Bird form, I would have smashed you to the sea floor!

Faced with Toby’s roar, the ”flowering wildcat” he cursed remained silent, as if oblivious to Toby’s anger.

”Enough, come back.” A clear voice pierced through the rain and waves, falling clearly into their ears.

Though Toby was furious, snorting flames from his nostrils, he didn’t disobey Angel’s command. He grunted, spun around, and transformed into a sea bird. With a loud sonic boom, the sea bird vanished instantly, returning to the Gondola in the blink of an eye.

Toby hummed and ruffled, hopping onto Angel’s head. He gripped Angel’s red hair tightly with his claws, expressing his protest against the restriction on his Snake Bird form.

Angel wasn’t annoyed; he even felt a trace of joy at Toby’s long-missed childlike behavior, yet he still exhibited restraint in the face of Toby’s anger.

Shortly after Toby returned, a ghostly shadow fell onto the Gondola’s edge.

This ghostly shadow was Toby’s previous adversary.

Before landing on the edge, it was a formless black shadow. Upon touching the edge, it naturally transformed into an odd creature, turning from ”nothing” to ”something.”

The creature, at first glance, resembled a wild leopard. But its skin was a ghostly blue, emitting a crystalline shimmer in the dark like a jellyfish.

Moreover, unlike a leopard, its tail was a phantom black mist, without substance; on its head bloomed a peculiar blue lantern flower, which jetted bubbles.

Angel shifted his gaze from its oddities to the leopard’s eyes.

These eyes were unlike any beast’s, containing myriad complicated emotions, mostly negative. Compared to the fury in the Berserker Gryphon’s eyes, its rage was even greater.

However, all those emotions were suppressed by a silence enveloping it.

This silence emanated from a tentacled spherical body on its chest— the Seed of Distortion.

”Earl Mi, assume a defensive state,” Angel said softly.

The ”leopard” did not resist, its body gradually turning into a shadow, which adhered directly inside the Gondola, leaving only the bubble-breathing blue lantern flower unchanged at the prow.

As it assumed a defensive posture, the clouds began to disperse slowly, revealing a clear sky.

Throughout this process, the blue lantern flower continued emitting a certain wave, clearly responsible for the cloud’s changes.

Angel quietly watched the blue lantern flower, contemplating this parasite he had brought from the Filth Wing Outpost.

Just then, Toby atop his head uttered ”chirp chirp” noises.

A master of bird language, Angel naturally understood Toby’s inquiry about this ”flowering wildcat’s” identity.

”Stop calling it a flowering wildcat. Its true name is Earl Mi, a demon person from the Panic Realm, or rather, an awakening demon person driven by a sealed creature to madness.”

The Panic Realm is a world far from the Wizards’ Realm. Due to the distance and lack of useful resources, few wizards venture there.

Additionally, the Panic Realm is an extraordinarily powerful world, with a level of energy not inferior to the Wizards’ Realm, filled with peril, making it less attractive to wizards.

Demon people of the Panic Realm were originally ordinary humans, but the realm’s extreme danger, with demons rampant and bizarre entities lurking, forced ordinary people to devise a survival method by sealing creatures within them, using the power of these creatures to scrape by in a precarious world.

The Sin Hunting Group Angel created, particularly the Demon Hunter subsection, borrowed this very method from the demon people.

Those who accepted the creature’s seal were called demon people. They served as both guardians of the town and objects of scorn from ordinary citizens. Excessive use of a creature’s power led to full ”awakening,” where demonic nature replaced humanity, turning them from human to demon.

Such awakened demon people not only had greatly enhanced abilities but also retained human intelligence, making them more formidable than typical creatures. In the Panic Realm, a single awakened demon person could destroy a mid-to-large city.

Such power and danger naturally kept ordinary people at a safe distance.

And this ”blooming wildcat” Earl Mi is an awakened Demon Person.

According to Rhein, its strength has almost reached the peak of Level 1 True Knowledge, and if it performs without regard for life, it might barely wield the power of a Second Level True Knowledge.

Back when the Tainted Wing Trading Group tried to capture Earl Mi, they lost two Official Wizards, and only under the suppression of the deputy leader of Tainted Wing did they finally capture Earl Mi.

Awakened Demon People are very powerful, but their fiendish nature equals their strength. To control it, one must not suppress its fiendish nature, but all control methods must fully suppress it. Because there is no perfect control method, the Tainted Wing Trading Group has always been unable to handle it.

The Tainted Wing Trading Group has been holding it, waiting for a Carabit interested in Otherworldly beings to buy Earl Mi. But unfortunately, those interested can’t afford it; those who can afford it aren’t interested.

Until recently, when Rhein made an offer, Earl Mi finally found a way out.

After obtaining Earl Mi, Angel immediately fused it with the Seed of Distortion. The Seed of Distortion, nurtured by the Boiling Gentleman, truly controlled Earl Mi, without suppressing its fiendish nature.

After a period of slumber, Earl Mi finally awakened.

Just as Angel was returning to the Old Earth Continent, surrounded by the vast sea and no one around, he released Earl Mi, planning to take this opportunity to experiment with its abilities.

Toby volunteered to battle it.

The facts proved Rhein’s judgment correct, awakened Demon People did indeed make the perfect parasitic host, with astonishing strength.

If not for Angel making Earl Mi control its power, Toby might have been defeated early on.

”Chirp chirp...” Toby’s calls gradually lowered after hearing Angel’s introduction of Earl Mi. Although it still said it would perform better as a Snake Bird, it was no longer blindly confident that the Snake Bird form could defeat Earl Mi.

After all, Earl Mi was specially prepared by Rhein to protect Angel.

Angel turned his gaze back to the Blue Lantern Flower, recalling Earl Mi’s abilities.

According to the Tainted Wing Trading Group, Earl Mi’s most crucial ability lies in this Blue Lantern Flower that spits bubbles, which possesses the effect of forcibly altering the battle environment.

Just like before when Toby battled Earl Mi, since it transformed into a Berserker Gryphon, a fire attribute Magical Creature, Earl Mi created a stormy weather to perfectly counteract the Gryphon’s fire. In fact, as long as Earl Mi wishes, the Blue Lantern Flower can turn greenery into deserts, make magma surge from the earth, turn day into night, allowing Earl Mi to naturally hold the initiative in battle.

Moreover, Earl Mi’s ability to alter the environment is a near-rule-level ability, capable of suppressing space disturbances, calming chaotic spaces in a short time, or even restoring blocked space to a moment of connectivity.

At that time, even if a powerful Transcendent truly attacked Angel and sealed the space, Angel could use Earl Mi’s abilities to stabilize the space and escape through doors.

This is also the reason Rhein said Earl Mi is very suitable for Angel.

Aside from that, according to the Tainted Wing Trading Group, the Blue Lantern Flower also has unparalleled uses needing deep exploration. However, Angel believed this might be a marketing strategy by the Tainted Wing Trading Group. But merely altering the battle environment is already very formidable.

Besides the Blue Lantern Flower, Earl Mi’s physical defense is very strong, its power reaching the level of Bloodline True Knowledge Wizard; it can also transform into a shadow form, which is immune to most physical attacks; its reaction speed is incredibly fast, as already evidenced during the battle with Toby.

The combination of these abilities makes up the current Earl Mi.

From observing Earl Mi, Angel also glimpsed the fearsome nature of awakened Demon People and the terror of the Panic Realm.

Indeed, it is a Transcendent World comparable to the Wizards’ Realm.

Angel is very satisfied with Earl Mi, but at present, Earl Mi also has a weakness, which is the Seed of Distortion in its chest. Once this Seed of Distortion is destroyed, Earl Mi will immediately suffer backlash and perish.

Although Angel has instructed Earl Mi to protect the Seed of Distortion, to be cautious, Angel thought he should add another layer of insurance.

It would be best to refine a special tool to obscure and defend against targeted damage to the Seed of Distortion.

After some thought, Angel asked Toby to seek islands to correct the course, while he pondered and started designing on paper.

While Angel was busily writing at the desk, the Gondola leisurely flew above, with Toby occasionally diving into the sea to fish. Clouds reflected in the sea, the Flying Boat casting its shadow on the waves, everything so leisurely.

From dawn to dusk, then from midnight to the reappearance of the Morning Star.

Only then did Angel lift his head from bending over. The design on his paper was now a draft. He asked Earl Mi to relax from its defensive posture and compared it with its true form, then instructed Earl Mi to stay on guard.

As Angel prepared to continue designing, Toby flew to his shoulder, chirping to signal Angel to look below.

Angel clung to the ship’s railing and looked down to see many dolphins chasing a young Island Whale below on the sea, and the Island Whale gracefully following the shadow on the sea.

This shadow was the black silhouette of the Gondola cast on the sea.

On either side of the Island Whale, there were four cargo ships heading into the distance, sounding their long horns.

Angel could clearly see that many people on these cargo ships were pointing at the Gondola in the sky, with expressions of surprise.

”These are the cargo ships of the Island Whale Chamber of Commerce.” Angel determined the truth of these ships by looking at the flags onboard and the Island Whale tearing the waves.

He recognized the Island Whale Chamber of Commerce because this chamber is actually a part of the White Shell Maritime Company.

And standing behind the White Shell Maritime Company is... the Sky Mechanical City.

As Angel pondered, two figures on broomstick-like vehicles rose from the cargo ship.

Angel glanced at them, two Third Level Apprentices, without any evident organizational insignia, likely employees under the White Shell Maritime Company.

Their target was clearly the Gondola, but before they approached, black mist churned, and Earl Mi’s scarlet eyes peered straight at them from the mist.

An extremely dangerous feeling froze them instantly, not daring to move any further.

Angel could sense that these two probably meant no harm and were only trying to inquire about his situation.

However, even so, Angel couldn’t be bothered to engage. He instructed Toby to continue steering, and the Gondola flew away right before their eyes.

It was only several miles away that the two apprentices snapped out of the dangerous premonition. They exchanged a look without saying a word, landing back on the cargo ship without daring to pursue further.

Meanwhile, Angel sat on the Flying Boat, murmuring, ”Island Whale Chamber of Commerce regularly travels between the Revelation Continent and the Old Earth Continent. Encountering them here suggests the Old Earth Continent shouldn’t be far now...”