Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 1254: Section 1255: Plateau Ruins

Regarding the matter of Anada, Angel had brushed it aside upon leaving Shepherd City. For one, he had not recognized Anada, and secondly, even if he had, it probably wouldn’t have made much of a reaction.

After leaving Shepherd City, they flew towards the direction of the Pamiji Plateau.

Along the way, Sanders did not bring up the ‘surprise’ of the previous night but instead mentioned some matters that Angel must pay attention to.

“Once we return to Barbarian Cave and have finished our business, we had better leave at once, otherwise, if we stay too long, Frostmoon’s people will definitely come.”

It was quite possible that Frostmoon’s people were not coming for Angel but for Popota’s business. But it’s always good to have a contingency plan; Angel’s survival from what everyone considered a ‘certain death’ event would definitely catch their attention.

That’s why Sanders mentioned this.

...
“Then, when we go back, should I hide myself?”

“No need, when you were at Morlay Land, if you had hidden your presence in front of those apprentices, now you could try to conceal yourself. But since you have already appeared, they will eventually know through various channels that you are still alive, hiding now would make it look like you are secretive and suspicious,” said Sanders.

“What if Frostmoon looks into it?”

“At most, Frostmoon might find it odd that you are still alive, and want to learn about some subsequent developments from you. But they would never think that you are the central figure in this event,” Sanders paused and then joked, “Your strength has now become your camouflage.”

Embarrassment showed on Angel’s face.

Then, Sanders continued, “It’s simple to deal with Frostmoon, you just appear openly, speak a few ambiguous truths to the public, and then we leave Barbarian Cave. By the time the news reaches Frostmoon Alliance, they will verify it themselves.”

“Ambiguous truths?”

“For instance, you could claim that you have won the friendship of Odeclass. You could also reveal, to some extent, that the Lord of the Flameless might be in trouble.”

As Sanders explained, Angel gradually understood his meaning.

The information he released had to be true and verified. Whether by Divination or other means, Frostmoon Alliance could be sure of these truths.

By then, Angel would leave with Sanders, and with a cloak that shielded him from prophecies, Frostmoon would not be able to find Angel; they could only speculate based on these limited pieces of information.

For example, perhaps Angel was unharmed because he had won Odeclass’s friendship; whether Odeclass himself went to save Angel or it was done by Odeclass’s subordinates, having such a powerful backer could be interpreted in various scenarios.

And with the Lord of the Flameless in trouble, once Frostmoon confirmed it as real news, the room for imagination would be even greater.

What happened to the Lord of the Flameless? Did something occur while he was chasing Angel and the others, or did it happen after the chase?

Anyway, no matter how one thinks about it, nobody would guess that the Lord of the Flameless was killed by a mere apprentice.

The mystery of the Lord of the Flameless’s trouble would surely stir up confusion and attract the attention of individuals like Monty.

At that time, even if Angel, the “little shrimp,” was spotted and received attention again, he would not become the center of the event. It would be much easier to resolve than it is now.

Angel suddenly realized that the main core of Sanders’s solution to this matter was to use real events to mislead and to dilute influence with time. The murkier the waters, the less they had to do with Angel, the Wizard Apprentice.

Once Angel understood, Sanders added a supplementary explanation, “However, you need to be careful when spreading the news of the Lord of the Flameless’s trouble, not to make your own perspective too clear, and to dissociate yourself from this muddy water.”

“In other words, it would be best to let others think that another person told you about the Lord of the Flameless’s trouble, not that you experienced it yourself. Otherwise, even if you managed to deal with Frostmoon, you are likely to be targeted by other big names from the Abyss.”

As for who this other person might be, let the Wizard imagine it; it seems Odeclass is going to take the blame.

Angel nodded in understanding, as the memories left to him by the person likely to be Shava made it clear that the events occurring on the Continent of Yuantan were being watched by countless big names. If they discovered Angel was among the witnesses, he reckoned he might become a target.

Having digested this information, Angel was somewhat hesitant, “Isn’t it somewhat wrong to set up Odeclass like this?”

Sanders shrugged, “You’re not setting him up, you are only speaking the truth.”

Angel sighed deeply, and said nothing more. For now, he could only mentally apologize to Odeclass, but then again, there were probably not many who would dare disturb or challenge Odeclass.

For the handling of the matter, according to Sanders, this approach could avoid many subsequent issues and allow them to show themselves with dignity.

There might be other ways to deal with the situation, such as hiding and letting time smooth things over. However, after weighing his options, Angel still felt that Sanders’s method was the best one he could think of in the short term.

Seeing Angel deep in thought, Sanders smiled and said, “Actually, all these matters are minor in my opinion. If worst comes to worst, there’s always Illusion Demon Island and Barbarian Cave as our front, so you don’t need to worry too much.”

“Moreover, since the Origin of Aoluxiya has not perished, the Observers of the Crown Star Church will likely notice. When that time comes, Monty will be even less likely to focus his attention on you.”

“Compared to these, the matters concerning you, if just one were to be exposed, whether it be in the Wilderness of Dreams or on the Continent of Yuantan, that would truly shake the entire Wizards’ Realm.”

…

Soon, they ascended upon the Pamiji Plateau.

As soon as they reached the Pamiji Plateau, Angel felt somewhat uncomfortable. Initially, Sanders thought Angel was worried about the wizards patrolling the plateau, but after communicating, he discovered that Angel was sensing extremely chaotic energy in the space around them.

Sanders raised an eyebrow: “Your perception of spatial properties is quite sharp.”

As far as Sanders was aware, it was very difficult for other apprentices who were not of the Space Series to sense changes in spatial energy. Moreover, since the Pamiji Plateau had undergone plane fusion a long time ago, the chaotic energy had substantially diminished.

Sanders took a deep look at Angel, pondering in his heart: Was it due to the Fusion Projected Bloodline, or perhaps, some other reason?

Angel also felt that his perception of spatial properties seemed to have improved. When he first left the Pamiji Plateau with Madeline, although the plane fusion had not started, the spatial energy had already begun to become disorderly, but at that time, Angel did not feel uncomfortable.

Why had his perception improved? He did not think it was due to the Projected Bloodline; perhaps it was… the effect of the still-unfinished Gate Model in his Mind Space?

As Angel contemplated, the daylight suddenly changed.

The originally clear sky was suddenly covered by thick clouds. The color of the sky turned oppressively dark, and the already thin air took on a moist feeling.

Shortly after, a torrential rain poured down.

Angel hurriedly activated the waterproof force field of the gondola. As he was busy with this task, he noticed Sanders leaning back in his seat, gazing at the sky with a somewhat strange expression.

“Mentor, is there something amiss with this rain?”

“A bit peculiar,” Sanders replied, but without elaboration, he instructed Angel to continue flying forward.

After flying at full speed for about five minutes, they left the area covered by the rain clouds. Sanders looked back and saw the clouds rolling, with the daylight casting a gradient hue over them, which looked grand.

“This rain seems to have a touch of magical properties,” Sanders said hesitantly.

“Does Mentor mean that a wizard is casting a spell?”

“It doesn’t look like it,” Sanders immediately denied, “It’s more like…”

Just as Sanders was halfway through his sentence, a staircase suddenly materialized out of nowhere in the midst of the heavy rain, leading from the ground up into the thick clouds.

At first, Angel thought it was an unreal illusion, but upon closer inspection, he noticed the clear ripples created by raindrops falling on the staircase.

The staircase was not an illusion, it was real.

“What is this?” Angel asked, his eyes filled with wonder and suspicion.

Sanders looked at the staircase, his eyes flashing with realization: “Just as I thought, it must be that some relic hidden in the Pamiji Plateau has been opened, triggering some mechanisms within, and that’s what caused these rain clouds.”

“Relics on the Pamiji Plateau?”

Sanders nodded: “There are many unknown relics on the Pamiji Plateau; this is recorded in the books. Most of them are left by ancient wizards, and many are from ancestors of the Barbarian Cave. However, most of these relics are of no use; they are basically independent chambers or labs built by wizards.”

Angel: “Should we go in and explore?”

Sanders glanced at Angel, “Not only are the relics here unlikely to hold anything good, but many are also unsafe, with a high mortality rate. There’s no need to investigate, and if there was anything valuable, it would have been found long ago by others.”

With that, his meaning was quite clear.

Angel didn’t say anything more, although he was still curious about what could be in the relics, Sanders knew the Pamiji Plateau far better than he did.

With that thought, Angel continued to pilot the gondola away from the area.

After leaving, Sanders pondered, “Although there’s nothing in most of these relics, many were sealed off a long time ago. Why would they suddenly open now? Could it be after-effects of the plane fusion?”

Whether it was an after-effect of plane fusion or not, Sanders did not know, and he was not going to dwell on these questions any longer. Because, they had already seen the formidable natural barrier ahead.