Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2563: Chapter 2564: The Flamboyant Hero Squad

Mia seemed to have concluded that everyone was there to avenge their team, and along the way, she not only showed no fear but also walked with an aura of arrogance.

Occasionally, she would rant, using the most venomous words to describe the despicable Hero Squad.

But after listening repeatedly, Angel couldn’t extract any substantial information, only pure resentment. The specific issue boiled down to the fact that the other party came to Zone Three to treasure hunt.

No one interrupted Mia’s words; the others were too lazy to interrupt, while Dox seemed amused. When Angel saw this, he knew that Dox was again in the mood to watch the drama.

However, this time, there probably wouldn’t be any drama to watch, as they were all ordinary people, and the Black Earl likely wouldn’t waste time on disputes among ordinary people.

Mia walked with her chest out and head held high; her demeanor didn’t resemble someone walking in ruins but rather someone attending a ball.

Along the way, people would appear now and then, either taking a glance and then leaving or hiding in the shadows to observe. These were all ordinary people employing very rudimentary hiding techniques, so much so that even Mia spotted a few.

Seeing other people only made Mia more exuberant.

She walked at the front, as if fantasizing herself as the leader of the team. If someone looked over, she glared back, occasionally sneering some words. The most repeated were things like ”stinking groundhogs hiding in the shadows” and ”earthworms too scared to come out in the daytime, twisted and disgusting.”

The tone had a haughty pretentiousness of a noblewoman, but from the deliberate performance, it seemed like she’d overheard a noblewoman speaking similarly and was imitating it.

The tone and expression were similar, but the innate demeanor was entirely absent.

However, none of these were important or a point of focus for Angel. He looked at the ordinary people showing up now and then and suddenly remembered something.

Before Angel could open his mouth, Dox, as if telepathically, asked the question Angel had in mind.

”Mia, according to your classification, which zone is this?”

Though Mia walked at the front arrogantly, she turned back to face Dox with a humble manner: ”Esteemed sir, this is the fourth zone at the lower left of the ruins.”

”And straight ahead is Zone Three, right?”

Mia shook her head: ”Ahead is a forbidden zone, overrun with blood-sucking vines and hallucinatory mist, where no adventure group dares to enter. As for Zone Three, you need to bypass the forbidden area and walk a while to reach it.”

”I see.” Dox nodded, continuing to ask, ”Then who rules this fourth zone adventure group-wise? Why haven’t they come to stop us?”

Dox seemed to ask offhandedly, yet it made Mia’s expression hesitant.

”What’s wrong? You don’t know?” Dox looked over, his eyes still clear as if he was genuinely asking without ulterior motives.

Mia swallowed and, with her head lowered, whispered, ”I don’t know either. It’s chaotic here, probably without a ruling adventure group.”

Everyone was a Transcendent; none were blind, all saw that Mia was lying.

From the people they’d seen before, though ordinary, many had robust auras, clearly skilled warriors or knights. Plus, the adventure group outfits varied, implying that several adventure groups coexisted in the fourth zone.

Among those knights, any random pick could greatly overpower Mia. They might not completely outmatch the full White Crocodile Adventure Group, but certainly wouldn’t fall much short.

Yet, the fourth zone had no monopolizing behavior; paradoxically, Zone Three saw domination by the White Crocodile Adventure Group. The truth was clear at a glance.

Angel had initially thought zoning off for a monopoly was a shared rule among adventure groups; apparently, it wasn’t, just something Mia’s adventure group did alone.

”Is that right? I thought here was like Zone Three, featuring monopolizing adventure groups. Turns out not every area has it.” Dox said, feigning surprise, ”It appears monopolizing isn’t present in every zone.”

That pretentious performance left everyone else speechless and glancing sideways, leaving Mia unsure if Dox meant it intentionally or unintentionally, forcing an awkward smile as a response.

”Let’s continue, faster this time.” Angel spoke, not to bail Mia out but simply because it was getting late, and he didn’t wish the Hero Squad to be asleep by the time they reached Zone Three.

Having said that, Angel’s lips moved slightly, and the hidden Speedy immediately cast a layer of Blessing of the Wind on Mia, along with the apprentices Kaier and Vay.

Speedy’s combat power hadn’t reached the Wizard Level, but its auxiliary ability and the intensity and density of the Wind Element within were on par with a wind-based wizard. The Blessing of the Wind provided was akin to the spell-level Wind Walk, allowing them to stride vast distances with every step while having counterbalancing winds to maintain their balance.

This experience was rare even for Kaier and Vay, who were gleeful in their swift run. Mia, too, was astounded by this remarkable ability. Previously, she might have flaunted herself like a peacock displaying its plumage, showing off her uniqueness to others. However, after Dox’s seemingly performative yet subtly cautionary remarks, she dared not act out, obediently riding the winds.

”Your Wind Element partner is quite something; in pure speed, it’s surpassed many of its kind.” The speaker, Black Earl, had returned to Vay, still displeased with him, but hitching a ride on the ”windmill” consumed far less energy than flying alone.

”However, if you only pursue speed, understand that gaining insight into the Wind Sequence is improbable. For Rhein’s sake, here’s some advice: in fostering it, let go of chasing ultimate speed. Instead, focus on short-term bursts.”

Angel didn’t elaborate on Speedy’s connection with him, nodding respectfully: ”Thank you, sir, for your guidance. Since you’ve mentioned Speedy, perhaps you could also advise on Dangross?”

Angel grabbed Dangross by the little finger, shaking it for Black Earl to see.

Dangross, not knowing what was happening, bewilderedly wanted to resist but stopped upon seeing Angel holding it, assuming it was a playful act, and started swinging side to side enthusiastically, using its little finger as a pivot and its entire body as a pendulum until the motion exceeded the limit, turning into a spinning top in Angel’s hand.

Angel watched it silently, quite embarrassed, but as it was his family’s child, he remained outwardly calm while looking at Black Earl.

Originally, Black Earl wanted to tell Angel he seemed ”overly greedy,” but upon witnessing Dangross’s curious antics, he stayed silent for a moment.

Let it be; given Dangross’s intriguing display, Black Earl decided to play along and began speaking: ”It remains a spirit; the nurturing phase for spirits is predominantly about experience. Judging by its appearance, it’s undergone considerable flame tempering, right? But mere flame tempering isn’t enough. It needs experiences with other elements, which won’t lower its developmental ceiling but will instead enhance it. The sole downside is a slower ascent to the summit.”

”Of course, if you’re merely using it as an Alchemy flame tool, you can disregard what I’ve said. The way you nurture it is up to you.”

Angel contemplated for a moment; Black Earl’s so-called flame tempering seemed like the cleansing of quenching fluid, as Dangross had indeed become overly fond of it recently. However, for Dangross’s greater future potential, preparing experiences with other elements seemed necessary, and such trials couldn’t cease, requiring constant intensity enhancement.

But, is this what Dangross wants?

After all, Dangross wasn’t his Element partner, and initiating such trials now seemed inappropriate. Perhaps this matter requires consultation with The Sage Magu in the Tidal World.

With this thought, Angel bowed respectfully to Black Earl, this time sincerely heartfelt.

The Black Earl snorted coldly and said nothing more.

Angel silently added a new tag to the Black Earl in his mind—tsundere. Prior to this, the Black Earl’s tags included: recluse, split personality, descendant overseer...

After receiving some guidance, Angel didn’t say anything to Dangross but instead hung it back onto the Blood Night Shelter, with a practiced hand, as if he were hanging a pendant.

As Dangross climbed back onto the Blood Night Shelter, it showed a hint of silence. It was playful, but it heard Angel’s question and the Black Earl’s words just now.

So, Angel actually wanted it to be his elemental partner?

Experiencing other elements, though annoying, seems worth a try?

For now, let’s put aside Dangross’s thoughts. Outside, with Speedy’s assistance, Mia took less than three minutes to move from Zone Four to Zone Three. These three minutes even included Mia learning the technique of maintaining balance.

Thus, it can be seen that Speedy’s Blessing of the Wind is frighteningly fast.

When everyone arrived at the so-called ”Zone Three,” they found that it looked no different from other places in the ruins: decaying buildings, overgrown moss, rubble everywhere, and dense trees.

Likewise, there were many people here too, all of them just ordinary adventurers.

”It seems there are a lot of people here...” Dox’s vague comment echoed in Mia’s ears.

Mia quickly said, ”Ever since the White Crocodile Adventure Group fell apart, this place turned into a chaos zone, just like Zone Four. Various adventure groups dare to come here, and it’s all the Hero Squad’s fault!”

Dox responded with an ”Oh” as if he heard but didn’t give a proper reply, instead asking, ”Quickly look around and see who belongs to the Hero Squad.”

Mia glanced around, ”None of these are them.”

Mia’s words made everyone frown slightly. They originally thought there would be few people in Zone Three, so using Scout Puppets with the Wizard’s Eye to spot someone should easily identify the Hero Squad members. But it seemed this wouldn’t work now.

There were too many adventurers.

”How many people are in the Hero Squad? Do they have any shared clothing or symbols?” Angel asked.

Mia shook her head, ”They have no shared symbols. There are roughly sixteen members or more, and I’ve heard some with auxiliary abilities never appear in public. So I don’t know the exact number, but it shouldn’t exceed twenty.”

Angel frowned, ”That makes it hard to find them.”

As Angel pondered whether to fully unleash his spiritual power and use Illusion Technique to simulate each person’s appearance for Mia to identify, Dox spoke up.

”No shared symbols, but do they have common clothing styles?”

”Common styles?” Mia thought for a moment and shook her head again, ”No common styles.”

While everyone felt disappointed, Mia suddenly added, ”Although their clothing styles aren’t the same, there’s something very distinctive about them. They all dress very flamboyantly, like they want to look like heroes.”

”But our previous leader said that real heroes are unknown. Their style is just gaudy and attention-seeking, like street jokers.”

Mia took the chance to mock the Hero Squad again, but everyone else didn’t care, because Mia mentioned a crucial point.

—The Hero Squad’s outfits are very flamboyant!

Angel glanced at Dox, who asked the key question about clothing style but still seemed oblivious. Angel silently gave him a thumbs-up in his heart.

The timing was just right; a moment later, he would have had to release his spiritual power.

”Since the target individuals dress so uniquely, we can still use the original plan to find them.” Angel glanced at Dox, who also understood and nodded in response.

Angel released a large number of Scout Puppets and applied some Illusion Technique to them to avoid alarming anyone.

Dox released the Wizard’s Eyes, equal in number to the Scout Puppets, which were also masked by Angel’s Illusion Technique, letting them fly outward.

After doing all this, they found a slightly secluded, half-dilapidated building and quietly waited.

During the wait, no one else spoke, all eyes were on Angel and Dox.

Angel and Dox had their eyes closed, constantly sensing their respective Scout Puppets and Wizard’s Eyes.

Comparatively, Dox’s forehead was sweating, as maintaining so many Wizard’s Eyes and checking their findings consumed both magic power and heart power. In contrast, Angel was much more at ease. His magically modified Scout Puppets could already be set to search for specific targets.

Angel set them to search for living humans, so whenever a Scout Puppet discovered one, it would give feedback. All he needed to do was wait for the feedback, glance at it, determine if it was the target, and continue to wait.

Soon after, both Dox and Angel opened their eyes.

Dox glanced at Angel, panting and seeing Angel unchanged, said somewhat jealously, ”Your alchemy constructs consume so little; why did you ask me to join in?”

Angel replied, ”With larger numbers, it’s easier to find people. Did you discover anything?”

Both Dox and Angel had opened their eyes, indicating they had found people with flamboyant outfits.

Dox was about to describe the person’s appearance, but Angel directly used a phantom puzzle. Dox just needed to think about it, and the person’s image would appear.

Soon, Dox constructed a figure.

It was a woman dressed like a flamingo, wearing a fiery red feathered cloak, a sultry, curvaceous red sequined tight hip dress, along with large wavy curls, and flaming red lips.

She looked more like a socialite attending a ball to show off rather than an adventurer in the ruins.