Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2767: Chapter 2768: Special Intelligence

”Leaving so soon?” Dox: ”I still have a lot of questions to ask.”

Vay murmured from the side, ”He probably still has a lot of rewards to deduct.”

Dox: ”Don’t joke around, I was just acting earlier. Do you think I’m afraid of his deduction?”

Just as the words left his mouth, Dox heard the voice of the Wise Sovereign in his ear: ”One sixth of...”

Dox almost reflexively bowed ninety degrees towards the source of the sound and humbly said, ”I was wrong, Sovereign, please spare me. I promise not to say a single word in the future!”

After Dox rattled off a long string of words, he suddenly noticed an unusual silence around him. The Wise Sovereign hadn’t spoken again. A few seconds later, it was Vay who burst into stifled laughter.

Dox’s eyelids twitched as if realizing something, and he looked up.

In front of him, there was no Wise Sovereign... only Angel leaning lazily against the Alchemy Golem, looking at him with a ”kind” smile.

Seeing that Dox had figured it out, Angel coughed and said earnestly, ”It’s good to know your mistake. But you don’t have to not say a single word in the future. If someone asks you a question, you could answer it.”

Dox straightened his back and made a complex ”tch” sound, not knowing if it was relief or being speechless at Angel’s teasing.

He tidied up his slightly wrinkled clothes to alleviate some of the embarrassment, then faced Angel with a cold expression: ”I promise, after this, I will absolutely not answer your questions!”

Angel: ”Is that so?”

Dox hummed, ”Of course.”

After speaking, Dox noticed that Angel’s expression had turned kindly again, and Dox realized he had just answered Angel again.

With a face full of frustration, Dox moved to stand next to Vay, no longer wanting to speak with Angel.

Angel had teased enough and his expression slowly transitioned from relaxed to serious.

Along with the change in expression, the atmosphere around them gradually grew tense. Clearly, Angel was using the atmosphere to remind everyone that he had something important to say.

Everyone initially thought that what Angel wanted to discuss was related to what the Wise Sovereign mentioned earlier, even the Black Earl thought so.

However, when Angel took out the Magic Energy Array Disk and created a private space that wouldn’t be spied upon, everyone became attentive.

It was specifically sectioned off to avoid the Wise Sovereign’s prying? What Angel was about to say might not be what they had initially thought.

Sure enough, when Angel spoke, everyone’s expressions turned to surprise and suspicion.

”Adanis, that’s her name.”

Angel didn’t say who ”she” was, but everyone understood that the ”she” mentioned so solemnly by Angel could only be the mysterious blonde woman behind the mirror in the underground aqueduct!

Before this, no one knew her name, only that she was in the Relic Place and possibly related to Noah’s ancestor, as well as the female half of the Mirror Demon God. Nothing else was known.

Even the Wise Sovereign hadn’t mentioned her name; how did Angel know?

They were sure that before this, Angel, like them, knew nothing about the Mirror Bearer. Why, after the duel, did he suddenly know this information?

”Did the Wise Sovereign tell you this?” Dox asked.

Angel’s previously serious expression turned into one of ”affection” upon Dox’s inquiry, giving him a deep look.

Angel neither teased nor spoke, but Dox felt insulted...

Black Earl: ”The Wise Sovereign never mentioned this matter.”

After pausing, Black Earl looked at Angel: ”How did you find out?”

Angel didn’t answer immediately but appeared to be seriously pondering, which seemed like he was carefully choosing his words to the others.

In reality, Angel was pondering Black Earl’s question.

From Black Earl’s question, it was clear that the ”consciousness” attached to the whale-like magic creature in the void hadn’t contacted Black Earl.

This was a bit strange.

Angel had always assumed that they might have contacted Black Earl first, since Black Earl was truly a Noah descendant. But now, it seems the answer is quite the opposite.

They had only reached out to him.

Why contact him and not the genuine Noah descendant?

While contemplating, Angel also observed the expressions of others. Not only Black Earl but from others’ reactions, it seemed they hadn’t received any messages from it either.

If this were the Nightmare Realm, perhaps Angel would understand; however, this was just the real-world underground aqueduct, and Angel didn’t think he was particularly special here.

If he truly were special, Angel wouldn’t have needed to rely on the Ironclad Granny as a backup plan.

There must be some hidden reason. Did he possess something that caught their attention? Could it be the key?

There are too few clues now, so he couldn’t make an accurate judgment... he’ll just have to wait until the next meeting to inquire.

...

Since they didn’t contact Black Earl, whether unnoticed or for other reasons, it suggested they weren’t interested in contacting a Noah descendant.

If so, Angel thought it best to keep their identity temporarily confidential, especially since they hadn’t introduced themselves.

Angel: ”I’m sorry, but I can’t disclose the source of this information for the time being. I need more evidence to verify whether this information is true or false.”

In Angel’s remark, there were, on the surface, two pieces of information: first, he wasn’t sure if the information was true; second, besides her name, he controlled additional information.

However, everyone could still detect a third piece of information hidden in the shadows: the time he received the intelligence must not have been too long ago.

In other words, it was very likely obtained during the duel on the arena stage.

As for how Angel obtained it, since he was unwilling to disclose, everyone tactfully refrained from inquiring further. Although they hadn’t spent much time together, they had a lot of trust in Angel... He must have his own reasons for doing so.

Even the Black Earl didn’t pursue the matter further but asked, ”Any other intelligence?”

Angel nodded: ”Currently, I know of two more pieces of information. One pertains to the source of the intelligence, which I will further verify before discussing in detail with you; the second piece is that after passing through the Hall of Wisdom, on our way to the remnants, we are likely to encounter a powerful creature from another world.”

”A creature from another world?” Even the Black Earl showed surprise upon hearing this term.

It’s worth noting that even Void creatures wouldn’t prompt much surprise from the Black Earl because Void creatures don’t depend on the land and prefer to roam and live in the Void.

Due to this trait, occasionally Void creatures enter the Southern Domain, and as long as they don’t cause significant destruction, wizards also don’t bother with them. After all, they usually leave soon.

Even the Extreme Sect doesn’t want to spend a huge effort dealing with Void creatures.

Even though, by the doctrine of the Extreme Sect, Void creatures are considered non-native life forms to be exterminated mercilessly. However, as long as Void creatures don’t directly bump into the members of the Extreme Sect, they won’t intervene.

The reason is the same: they are bound to leave anyway.

Since Void creatures don’t linger long and the damage to the Southern Domain isn’t substantial, expending great efforts on them is less meaningful than dealing with Demon God believers... Of course, generally speaking, the Extreme Sect also doesn’t bother with Demon God believers.

However, if it’s a creature from another world, that’s entirely different!

Creatures from another world, whether they are intelligent beings, plants, or monsters, can potentially cause devastating impacts on the native world’s ecology.

The Extreme Sect prioritizes handling this category at the highest level.

Take the Glowing Fluff Grass as an example, initially an otherworldly magic plant and a primary material for Glowing Fluff Potion. Though it doesn’t severely harm the world, if the Extreme Sect hears of its cultivation anywhere, they swarm to eradicate it.

They are much more proactive in this regard than in dealing with Demon God believers or Void creatures.

Many apprentices find the Extreme Sect’s stance hard to understand, considering it excessive. Jon would say, it’s like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

But Angel understands the Extreme Sect’s approach. Any invasive species can disrupt the local stable ecological chain, and any problem in the ecological chain is like pulling a single thread that affects the whole fabric. Here, the invasive species are not even creatures from another world; different continents have their unique ecological chains, and intercrossing poses a high risk of issues arising.

However, no matter how problematic the internal ecological chain of one world becomes, it is always under the growth laws of that world, any issues are temporary, eventually leading to self-repair, either by completely repelling alien species or by restructuring the ecological chain.

But if the invasive species are replaced with otherworldly beings, the scenario changes.

Even a tiny Glowing Fluff Grass could possibly destroy an entire area’s ecological chain.

Therefore, even when dealing with Glowing Fluff Grass, the Extreme Sect handles it with seriousness. Let alone otherworldly monsters.

Due to the Extreme Sect’s high level of suppression against otherworldly beings, the emergence of otherworldly monsters in the Southern Domain is very low. Furthermore, when powerful otherworldly monsters descend, the space waves they generate can be detected by the Extreme Sect through special means.

Thus, when the Black Earl heard Angel say they might encounter a ”powerful otherworldly monster” next, he was somewhat surprised.

If this powerful otherworldly monster is real, there can be three different scenarios based on its manner of arrival.

First, if the otherworldly monster forcefully crossed worlds to reach the Southern Domain, the Extreme Sect would certainly pick up its scent and follow.

Second, if the otherworldly monster arrived early, initially weak, and time gave it the opportunity to grow stronger, this would mean they could be facing an old monster that has lived for a very long time.

Third, otherworldly life forms can descend in a manner that conceals them from the Extreme Sect, which would be... through summoning and sacrifice. Summoned creatures can be set aside; like void creatures, they are temporarily descended and will eventually return to their original world.

However, with sacrifices, faith becomes heavily involved. Demon God believers are manageable because no matter how much they believe in the Demon God, if the Demon God wants to enter the Southern Domain, there will be an active warning from the World Will; but if it involves other miscellaneous believers, like those of Wild Gods or Outer Gods, it becomes tricky because these deities and Demon Gods differ. A Demon God arrives bringing a legion of demons, while these Outer Gods, Wild Gods, never come in person to the Southern Domain, but secretly send various minions to infiltrate.

As for how infiltration occurs? Just look at the factional struggles in the Song of the Deep Sea. The faction opposing the Sea God is almost entirely related to otherworldly matters.

Additionally, Baruba is also considered a product of infiltration. He personally may not favor the other world, but the fact remains that he carries Barbarian bloodline.

Baruba is now almost not resisted by the World Will any longer, which means the Barbarians’ infiltration was highly successful.

If Baruba’s bloodline continues for several generations, the World Will would no longer classify them as of otherworldly origin.

Yet, they still possess an otherworldly bloodline, and even if not rejected by the World Will, there’s a significant chance they become ”spies,” infiltrating deep into the Wizards’ Realm, even reaching high levels.

This becomes a very difficult situation to handle.

Thus, the Extreme Sect’s actions against Demon God believers are more akin to ”training” or ”rehearsal,” driving out but not killing, and killing but not exhausting; while for followers of Outer Gods or Wild Gods, it’s straight execution without pardons regardless of the reasons.

All three arrival scenarios, in the Black Earl’s view, are quite troublesome. Either they risk encountering the Extreme Sect or face an ”old-timer” who has mingled in the Southern Domain for countless years. None of which are easily dealt with.

The Black Earl shared his analysis: ”If it’s truly an otherworldly monster, then specifically which kind?”

Angel listened and shook his head: ”Unknown which kind, it needs further confirmation. However, there probably won’t be interference from the Extreme Sect; if they were to come, they should have already arrived.”

Black Earl: ”So, the greatest possibility is that we will encounter an ’old monster’?”

Angel: ”Indeterminable, further observation is needed.”

Angel’s answer seemed noncommittal, but the Black Earl could sense that Angel was also filled with helplessness, not appearing to be lying.

Having considered this, the Black Earl decided to cease further questioning and temporarily trust Angel.

At this moment, after a brief pause, Angel continued: ”Also, there’s something regarding this intelligence that needs to be explained. This otherworldly monster, though powerful, unless absolutely necessary, try not to drag the battlefield to the Hall of Wisdom, nor seek the assistance of the Wise Sovereign.”

As for the reason, Angel didn’t elaborate, and everyone was accustomed to it. After all, they didn’t intend to seek help from the Wise Sovereign; wizards prefer to rely on their own power and believe firmly that fate is in their own hands.

”Regarding the source of the intelligence, once we encounter the otherworldly monster and further ascertain its authenticity, I will elaborate.” With this, Angel concluded the brief confab.

However, Angel did not immediately remove the spatial isolation but continued discussing the next itinerary arrangements.