Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2599: Chapter 2560: Moving Mirage

The illusion barrier blocked the magical creatures’ sight outside, yet it did not affect the people inside from seeing clearly outside.

Kaier and Vay were probably encountering such a surging tide of magical creatures that stacked into a wall for the first time, and their bodies couldn’t help but tremble a bit.

During this heart-pounding moment, Vay couldn’t help but look towards Angel.

The reason for looking at Angel was because he knew Angel’s growth trajectory; the other was terrifyingly young and had cultivated for a mere fraction of his own time. Faced with such a devouring magical creature tide, what expression would this dazzling supernova have? Would he be as panicked and alarmed as himself?

However, Vay did not see Angel in panic; Angel’s expression remained as calm and composed as before.

Vay didn’t feel disappointed; rather, a surge of power welled up within him.

This power didn’t affect his body, but his spirit; Vay felt that his previous panic and trembling had dissipated, and he was no longer afraid of the magical creature tide a barrier away.

Perhaps this was the power given by an idol!

Vay looked thrilled, but completely unnoticed, was Dox beside him, whose eyes were glowing and whose blood aura was bursting.

The blood aura of a Bloodline Wizard changes with the wizard’s mood; now, this aura was filled with passionate movement and a desire for battle.

It was evident that Dox was impatient to face the tide of squirrels outside.

And such blood aura also infected the two apprentices present. So, if dug deeper, the power that made Vay thrilled wasn’t given by an idol, but the effect from his old friend gearing up for battle.

Of course, Vay himself didn’t know, nor did the others know what Vay thought; only the Black Earl knew all of this.

But the Black Earl had long given up on educating Vay; this guy had brainwashed himself, letting him think whatever he wanted.

”It’s about to begin, prepare for battle!” Dox’s blood aura had climbed to its peak; his desire for battle didn’t need emotional perception, just his excited expression showed it.

Angel deeply understood the disappointment when desires are not met; he also didn’t want to dispel Dox’s apparent craving now, so after pondering for a moment, he said:

”This time, let me pave the way.” Angel looked at Dox, who was still somewhat puzzled, and added: ”The bell of battle will ring at the right time. Then, no one will steal your spotlight; your battle prowess will surely leave people in awe.”

Angel rarely gave such cheesy praise, and Dox listened with astonishment, his excitement turning into slight embarrassment as he scratched his head: ”Didn’t expect you to recognize my fighting ability this much. Well, this time, let you take the lead! Let’s witness the combat style of the Alchemy Master!”

Angel calmly said, ”I am firstly an Illusionist Wizard, then an Alchemist.”

After saying this, Angel stepped out of the illusion barrier.

Everyone immediately stayed vigilant; once the illusion barrier broke, it meant the battle was about to start.

However, what puzzled everyone was that Angel walked a few steps forward, already beyond the boundary of the illusion barrier, but the barrier still shrouded around him, while the mad tide of squirrels outside unobtrusively opened a path.

Angel was already ten meters beyond the illusion barrier’s boundary now; he murmured to himself: ”This is probably the limit.”

Hearing Angel mention the limit of the illusion barrier, everyone became alert again, ready for battle at any moment.

However, after Angel murmured, he still did not mean to initiate battle; instead, he turned his head to the others and said: ”Follow me, remember to stay within ten meters around me, that’s the safe range.”

While everyone was still puzzled about what it meant, the Black Earl had already leisurely floated into the ten-meter safe zone that Angel mentioned.

”A movable illusion?” Even though Angel hadn’t yet cooperated with Earl Mi to showcase the Moving Light and Shadow Illusion, the Black Earl evidently already guessed the answer.

”Yes, some adaptation of the Light and Shadow Illusion.” Angel didn’t hide it as everyone would see it shortly.

The Black Earl used his nose instead of eyes to give Angel a deep look: ”An adaptation of the Light Shadow Technique? Then I’ll wait and see.”

After the Black Earl pointed out the truth, the others mostly understood what was happening. Kaier and Vay rushed over without hesitation, occupying Angel’s left and right sides.

”The ten-meter range is the safe zone, there’s no need to stick so close to me.” Angel looked at the two apprentices.

Kaier cautiously stepped back a few steps, but Vay didn’t move, because the Black Earl was beside Angel, and he, as the Earl’s designated tool person, should be able to stay beside his idol, right?

Angel truly didn’t say more but instead looked at the stunned Dox behind him and said: ”Let’s go, don’t daze.”

Dox hesitated for quite a while before lifting his foot with difficulty, like a warrior burdened with despair, each step exuding a suffocating aura.

Angel pondered for a moment and said: ”If you really want to kill those mutant carrion squirrels, you can. But only we can witness your heroic battle, and if the merchant organization comes, it will only benefit them.”

Dox was extremely sensitive about the merchant organization possibly taking advantage of them.

Angel’s words hit right on the mark of Dox’s heart.

Yeah, if he cleared out the tide of squirrels, the ones benefiting would be the guys behind.

No! Must not kill, absolutely must not kill! The more squirrels the better; best to drown all those who profit!

Thinking of this, Dox was no longer dismayed; the dejected expression re-energized, and he strode over to Angel, placing one hand on Angel’s shoulder and giving a thumbs-up with the other.

”I said, back in Princess Town, you were subtly bad and crafty, how could you turn so carefree here. Didn’t expect you to be using tricks underneath; good, I admire it.”

Faced with Dox’s praise, Angel simply gave a polite smile and then had Dangross remove Dox’s hand.

Whatever Dox imagines is his business, as long as he doesn’t waste time on killing magical creatures, he’ll accept that he imagines himself as the mastermind.

”Let’s go, one last reminder, don’t try to leave beyond ten meters around me.” After saying this, Angel walked forward.

Everyone promptly followed.

Soon, everyone understood why Angel said ten meters was the safe zone, because as Angel advanced, the illusion membrane around them would automatically separate from the fixed illusion behind, transforming into a small moving illusion that surrounded them.

They could occasionally see flashes of light and shadow within the illusion, while outside the illusion, there was absolutely no awareness of the swarm of rats actively moving aside to make way for them. Moreover, the rat swarm didn’t find anything strange about the sudden space in the middle.

This was not just a moving illusion but also influenced what the magical creatures saw and thought. However, this wasn’t the ability of the illusion but rather a natural feature of Nightmare Illusion.

It was the first time for everyone to experience a moving illusion, and they observed their surroundings curiously. However, they could only vaguely see illusion nodes appearing and being retrieved continuously from Angel’s body; the specifics of how it was implemented were unclear.

The only one who understood was the Black Earl.

The Black Earl looked down at the shadow beneath Angel’s feet and chuckled softly, ”You take on the light, while the demon people bear the shadow. Is this your own creative idea?”

Angel nodded, as they were surrounded by a rat swarm and didn’t know what lay ahead. Angel decided to chat: ”It’s not exactly a creative idea; it’s simply applying the cooperation between wizards and elemental partners to working with Earl Mi.”

”What you said is not exactly right; it seems Sanders didn’t teach you about this at all.”

Angel looked at the Black Earl in confusion: ”Does this have anything to do with my mentor?”

Black Earl: ”Sanders also played with this moving illusion once. Initially, he, like you, tried to find elemental partners for cooperation because mental communication made it easier to command. However, when fixed illusions are involved, cooperation with elemental creatures is fine, but it becomes difficult when it comes to moving...”

”Did my mentor fail?”

The Black Earl snorted softly: ”Not a complete failure, he managed to succeed three or four out of ten times because, although there was mental communication with elemental partners, illusion nodes aren’t so easily operated. It’s like asking a wizard from the elemental side to cross-realm and learn illusion technique, requiring long-term study to reach a level where they can cooperate with Sanders.”

”Moreover, even if they learned how to operate illusion nodes, elemental creatures struggle to understand the significance of placing illusion nodes in certain areas. This involves computing power, spatial sensitivity, and geometric shaping ability.”

”You are aware how complex illusion nodes are; a single error can collapse the entire illusion.”

”Thus, Sanders achieving three or four successes out of ten attempts is an impressive accomplishment.”

Angel had previously thought that elemental creatures could, indeed, cooperate with illusions, but didn’t expect it to be so difficult with moving illusions...

However, when he released the illusions himself, it didn’t seem that difficult; his cooperation with Earl Mi was seamless. Why was that?

”Your situation is a bit unique, you seem to have complete control over this demon from Panic Realm, resulting in your words being an absolute command for it, and it won’t defy you. The demon people can simulate any element, including mysterious side powers, which you should understand, and this saves them from having to learn illusion techniques. Moreover, after long-term companionship with you, it is familiar with your illusion nodes, making cooperation naturally stronger than Sanders attempting to find elemental partners.”

The Black Earl: ”Of course, the most critical reason for your success is that your illusion happens to align with the inherent attributes of the demon. You as light, it as shadow, greatly increasing the success rate of the light and shadow illusion.”

Angel hadn’t realized that the light and shadow illusion he created had so many layers of reasoning and knowledge and that it was the Black Earl who told him!

Furthermore, from the Black Earl’s tone, it seemed he was very familiar with Sanders. Angel initially thought the Black Earl and Sanders were enemies, but now it sounded like they were friends.

What was going on?

In rare occasions of the Black Earl being so forthcoming, Angel decided to voice his doubts.

The Black Earl snorted coldly: ”The person who understands you the most is your enemy. You shouldn’t be unfamiliar with that saying, right?”

Angel: ”...” It indeed seemed that way, but the Black Earl didn’t appear to have much deep hatred towards Angel.

The Black Earl: ”Let me share a secret with you.”

The Black Earl snapped his fingers gently, and the previously open Mind Ribbon instantaneously turned into a private chat room for Angel and the Black Earl.

The crowd, initially eavesdropping silently, groaned inwardly. Why was the connection cut off critical points?!

Ignoring the thoughts of others, the Black Earl spoke to Angel inside the Mind Ribbon: ”Actually, Sanders can now perfectly release moving illusions. I initially thought he taught you about moving illusions, but seeing how you perform it, I realized he certainly hasn’t mentioned it to you.”

”My mentor can perfectly release moving illusions?”

Black Earl: ”That’s right, he releases not this kind relying on demon attribute bonus light and shadow illusion... You’re lucky to have chosen a moving illusion highly compatible with yourself as your first attempt.”

Angel, quietly pondering inside, realized: This wasn’t luck; it was just childhood obsessions achieving a resonant echo now.

When Angel first learned about the Wizards’ Realm’s existence, he was still a fledgling, deeply curious about everything magical. Especially during the time on the Bauhinia Vessel heading to the Origin World. Moro, for his own reasons, did not teach the Guiding Method to Angel, which left him insatiably curious.

Meanwhile, an incident occurred on Bauhinia Vessel: the third prince of the Silver Heron royal family, Dev Silver Heron, was assassinated aboard by his former slave using a trick.

The person who killed Dev was named Isril, and the trick he used was—Interlace of Light and Shadow.

This was the first trick Angel saw executed by a peer.

Guides were high above, often using tricks, which was normal. But Isril, similar to him, learned the Interlace of Light and Shadow quickly to avenge himself.

Thus, Angel remembered the Interlace of Light and Shadow, the trick allowing invisibility.

Ever since then, whenever it involved invisibility techniques, Angel first thought of the Light and Shadow series. This also led to today’s Light and Shadow Illusion.

Angel didn’t express his thoughts as there was no need; it was purely a passing story from youth leading to later consequences.

The Black Earl didn’t pursue it further; even if this Light and Shadow Illusion wasn’t due to luck, eventually, Angel would have grasped it himself with a shadow persistently hovering beneath his feet.

”Returning to the topic, Sanders can perfectly release most illusions and have them move with him. Since he didn’t tell you about moving illusions, I assume he also hasn’t informed you how he achieves moving illusions.”

Angel nodded; indeed, he wasn’t aware of this matter.

The Black Earl: ”I can tell you this secret, but in exchange, you need to tell me what you know about this place and the Noah Clan.”