Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 1587: Section 1588: Joining Forces

Nausicaaʼs conversation with Reynaud came to an end. Reynaud bowed to Nausicaa one last time before turning around and leaving.

When Reynaud arrived at the courtyard, he saw Angel, who had returned to his normal state. Reynaud immediately bowed respectfully to Angel.

Angel nodded with a smile. Reynaud had offered many insights to Lyon before, regardless of whether he knew Lyonʼs identity or if it was intentional. From this point of view, Angel could not possibly look on him with indifference.

Shan had originally planned to invite Reynaud to stay for a barbecue in the courtyard. However, after seeing Angel, Reynaud seemed a bit reserved and shook his head to refuse, only saying he had things to do before leaving first.

Watching Reynaudʼs departing figure, Shanʼs expression revealed suspicion: “Was he rejected by Nausicaa?”

Shan pushed open the big door and looked at Nausicaa, who was sitting in the hall.

Nausicaa still held her smoking pipe in hand, and the air was filled with the exotic scent of the tobacco. Amidst the smoke, Nausicaaʼs eyes appeared hazy, as if she was pondering, yet hesitating.

“You look hesitant. Donʼt tell me Reynaud confessed his feelings and youʼre uncertain about whether to be with him?” Shan lifted the curtain of the hall and ran next to Nausicaa.

Snapping out of her reverie upon hearing Shanʼs words, Nausicaa couldnʼt help but laugh lightly: “What are you imagining? Reynaud was just discussing some matters with me.”

“Discussing matters? What matters?” said Lyon, who had followed Shan into the hall.

Nausicaa glanced at Lyon, then fixed her gaze on Angel who was beside Lyon. She exhaled a puff of white smoke and lazily waved her hand towards Angel.

“Itʼs rare to see you come over.”

Angel: “Iʼve been working on some casting experiments lately.”

Nausicaa stretched lazily: “After the New Stars competition ended, Iʼve been planning to seriously study tricks. After Second-Level Tricks, trying to learn each new one feels like itʼs draining my essence. If I donʼt enrich myself, I might not even make it into the top hundred if thereʼs a similar competition next time.”

Strong as Nausicaaʼs bloodline abilities were, she wasnʼt at the point of being overwhelmingly powerful on her own and certainly needed tricks to supplement her abilities.

After some simple pleasantries, everyone sat down, and Nausicaa began to answer Lyonʼs question.

“Reynaud came to see me because he wants to collaborate with me on something.” Nausicaaʼs fingers lightly touched her forehead. “Iʼm hesitating about whether to go.”

Nausicaa did not specify what it was about, probably because it involved Reynaudʼs secrets; nobody pressed for more details.

“Why doesnʼt Reynaud partner with someone else? Why specifically seek you out?” Angel asked.

“Because the place Reynaud wants to go has something I need as well.” Nausicaaʼs response was still vague, but it clarified that Reynaudʼs and Nausicaaʼs needs might be different, yet their goals aligned, so Reynaud invited Nausicaa.

Seeing Nausicaaʼs hesitance, Angel refrained from giving any advice.

Weighing the pros and cons, Nausicaa did better than he could himself, knowing what she was pursuing and never acting impulsively. Thus, there was no need for Angel to instruct Nausicaa on what to do.

However, as a close friend, Angel still remarked: “If you encounter any difficulties, feel free to seek me out.”

Nausicaa paused for a moment, then smiled: “Of course, itʼd be a waste not to rely on a golden thigh when itʼs right beside me.”

Nausicaa didnʼt want to dwell on Reynaudʼs matter and quickly changed the subject: “Speaking of which, Ganke is grilling meat today. Itʼs great timing for you to join us.”

Angel caught Nausicaaʼs drift and didnʼt say more. At the upcoming barbecue, Angel encountered Serum and the rarely awake Xiliu.

Serum appeared somewhat downcast, not because of consecutive losses in the competition or plummeting rankings. He was simply saddened by the prospect that the Black Classic showed no signs of awakening.

Concerning this, Angel suggested: “If the Black Classic has said heʼll come back, then perhaps you should believe in him. If youʼre truly worried, next time if you see the Book Elder, you could ask him. If all else fails, thereʼs also Dororo.”

Serumʼs expression eased somewhat upon hearing this. He might not be able to meet Book Elder; as for Dororo, Serum only knew that Dororo was a Prophecy Apprentice and had a very close relationship with Angel, but beyond that, he knew nothing of Dororoʼs abilities. However, knowing that the other person belonged to the Prophecy line was still a pathway.

After Serumʼs mood brightened a bit, he became more talkative. The atmosphere at the barbecue also became lively from its initially silent state.

Thatʼs when Angel voiced his own doubts: “Do you have any more matches coming up?”

Nausicaa had no more matches unless someone challenged her. But her ranking was already among the bottom hundred, so it was unlikely that anyone would challenge her.

Serum, on the other hand, had several matches coming up, though all were challenges from others. Serum himself said he didnʼt plan to participate and would concede directly. Therefore, there was no need for Angel to go watch specifically.

From this perspective, Angel could completely avoid watching the ranking matches.

Having reached this conclusion, Angel asked about the last sixteen ranking competitions and their respective brackets. After all, Xiliu was still in the competition.

“I donʼt know who I will be up against; the list will be released tomorrow evening,” Xiliu spoke methodically, as if he could fall asleep at any moment.

Xiliu didnʼt seem to care about his final ranking, but with Barbarian Cave having only Xiliu left, everyone still hoped Xiliu could rank higher.

After leaving Fangling Hall, Angel returned to the estate, continuing his research in the Wilderness of Dreams with Frode.

The next night, Angel left the Wilderness of Dreams and took out his communicator to check the top sixteen tournament brackets.

On this list, the ones he cared about most were naturally Xiliu and Qi Li.

He also hoped that the two of them wouldnʼt have to face each other since both were friends to him, and with one being fire and the other water, neither could prevail over the other.

After looking through it, he breathed a sigh of relief.

The sixteen contestants were divided into two brackets, and Xiliu and Qi Li were not in the same one; unless they both made it to the final, they would not meet.

Xiliuʼs first match was against the “Sparkling New Star.”

Angel remembered that this Sparkling New Star had played against Reynaud before and Reynaud lost. Everyone thought Reynaudʼs “Johnʼs Counterattack” luck had ended, but actually, Reynaud avoided a battle with Jiebo because of that loss.

Sparkling New Star lost to Jiebo in combat. Nevertheless, he was still judged to be in the top sixteen, indicating that his skills should not be underestimated.

Angel was also familiar with Qi Liʼs opponent, known as “Spring Waltz” Dominico.

Angel estimated that the outcome between Xiliu and Sparkling New Star was unpredictable, since he didnʼt really know what kind of person Sparkling New Star was, but if it were Qi Li versus Dominico, Qi Li almost certainly had the victory in the bag.

The ranking matches were not yet over, and the eight bracketed matches all kicked off on the same day.

The popularity of the Infinite Battle Tower peaked on this day. Angel hadnʼt entered the Infinite Battle Tower yet, but just soaring through the sky, he felt an overwhelming enthusiasm.

Within a 300-meter radius of the Infinite Battle Tower, it was nearly a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd, which showed how many people came to watch the matches.

The sensational matches also led to a scarcity of tickets.

Particularly for a few eye-catching matches, like those of Jiebo, Kavoline, Dong Liz, and Onassis, tickets were sold out in an instant.

Angel didnʼt need to buy a ticket, however; he went to watch the matches with his status as a special judge.

The match he chose to watch was Xiliuʼs.

“Xiliu VS Sparkling New Star.”