Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 3003: Chapter 3004: Faction-Detection Domain

Angel was certain that he would definitely not stand with King Gumman’s faction, but he also didn’t think he would join the Didia faction.

The reason was simple; there were no benefits sparking Angel’s interest here.

The chaos in the Gumman Kingdom was created by the combined efforts of three factions. The core element of this ’disorder’ was the abyssal ritual of King Gumman.

To put it bluntly, King Gumman attempted to use some ritual knowledge obtained from the Abyss to break through his bottleneck.

And this bottleneck was: the Legendary Divide.

King Gumman’s approach was somewhat similar to what Lord Monty did in the past. Lord Monty ventured into the Abyss to capture a Demon God’s offspring, also to break through the Legendary Divide.

However, King Gumman’s method was more cruel and even less reliable.

At least, Lord Reine was willing to involve the Barbarian Cave to cooperate with Lord Monty for preparations in the Abyss, but he was definitely unwilling to cooperate with King Gumman.

That’s because, although Lord Monty’s idea was naive, it had a chance of realization; meanwhile, King Gumman’s method, whether through prophecy or deduction, had nearly zero probability of success.

Since it was impossible to achieve, and would result in a large number of deaths, Lord Reine naturally was not willing to get deeply involved.

However, on the other hand, even though King Gumman’s ritual had a near-zero success rate, it was ultimately not zero. Therefore, those deeply eager to ascend to Legend still wanted to see if there was a breakthrough opportunity in King Gumman’s ritual.

This is also why King Gumman is still alive and well.

Because Lord Monty and others do not want King Gumman to die now. If he must die, it would be after they have comprehended the ritual.

And in this chaotic event, there are indeed many profits to be gained, especially for the Carabits who are keen on human experimentation; this place is paradise to them. But the greatest interest, undoubtedly, lies in King Gumman’s abyssal ritual.

Yet these interests hold no attraction for Angel.

Even if the abyssal ritual really had a way to break through the Legendary Divide, it was still far away from Angel, not something he needed to consider now.

There’s no need for such extreme foresight.

Moreover, when the time really comes to break through to Legend, Angel would definitely not stay in the Southern Domain.

He has his own channels to other worlds. By then, wouldn’t going to the Origin World be better than scrounging around in the Southern Domain for some backdoor method?

”I will not be pulled into the Didia faction, nor will I get involved in the Gumman Kingdom’s affairs,” Angel resolutely stated.

Ironclad Granny nodded with a smile, ”I agree with your choice. However, your decision doesn’t conflict with the actions of Starlight.”

”For the people of Starlight, what they are doing is just a cheap investment. As long as you don’t join King Gumman’s faction, even doing nothing is okay.”

The tactic of Didia is laid plainly: to overthrow the tyrannical rule of King Gumman, you must unite all living forces that can be united. Even if you can’t unite everyone, at least don’t push people into King Gumman’s camp.

This is an open strategy.

Even King Gumman knows the strategy of the Didia family, but he cannot counter it. Because the ”faction identification field” not only identifies your faction but also predicts hostile actions against Starlight from enemy camps in advance.

So, even if King Gumman’s people found the Starlight entrance, they would be discovered by Starlight in advance.

This way, it also prevents the guests of Starlight from being infiltrated because if infiltrated, they will be discovered by the ”faction identification field.” This means that King Gumman can’t even send spies, knowing well that Starlight is under his nose, with intention yet powerless.

And all those who do not stand on King Gumman’s side can be easily identified by Starlight and then accepted by them.

Even if these people ultimately do not stand on the opposing side of King Gumman, as long as they are not on his side, it is a victory for Starlight.

King Gumman cannot order people not to go to Starlight, because Starlight has a presence in all the major Wizard Markets, and the Wizard Markets that can open in the Gumman Kingdom have been almost completely infiltrated by the major Witcher Organizations.

He can’t forbid it, nor can he advertise against it, because Starlight holds very top-tier resources — merchant caravans.

For many resource-poor wizards, advertisement would just push more people towards Starlight.

Ironclad Granny: ”As long as you enter the industries of Starlight, you not only get various protections against prophecy and detection but can also connect with the merchant caravans of Starlight. For many wizards, this is a very good avenue.”

”But if you think carefully, you’ll find that the Didia family hasn’t paid any price at all, because those entering Starlight still have to pay, even when purchasing products from the merchant caravans; nothing is free. They just hold an entry qualification, that is, a ticket, and the ticket can be issued without limit, being the cheapest.”

”With just a cheap ticket, they exchanged for a significant blow to King Gumman. Not only did they divide the internal factions, protecting those who wanted to resist, but also prevented many wavering individuals from joining King Gumman’s camp; it was a profitable business with no losses.”

After Ironclad Granny’s explanation, Angel understood the key points.

— This is the advantage of having control over the platform!

Mona the Witch used her qualification for True Knowledge to exchange for the ”faction identification field,” which is the best ”platform rule.”

In this platform, all outsiders are excluded, and only our people come. Whether in terms of the trading atmosphere or the joining benefits, they are immeasurably huge.

It can be said that just with a domain, they mastered a quality platform, attracted quality resources, and found clients who agree with their ideology. And whether platform, clients, or resources, they will eventually become the straw that crushes King Gumman!

Thinking carefully, Mona the Witch’s move is indeed an in-depth thorn for King Gumman.

Of course, all of this is based on the fact that the Didia family does not force newcomers to deal with King Gumman. They created the best, most covert environment with Starlight’s industries, and most importantly... their philosophy does not conflict with the public.

The three-way gamble in the Gumman Kingdom represents three different factions. The weakest is actually King Gumman’s faction; he is only forcefully highlighted because of his abyssal ritual mastery.

And the Didia family is targeting this weakest faction of King Gumman, and their philosophy does not conflict with the ”Wizard Faction led by Lord Monty” or the ”Extreme Sect Faction,” even slightly fitting, without worrying about being expelled by the other two factions.

Moreover, the Didia family has no intention of expanding Starlight outside the Gumman Kingdom.

Combining these details is the biggest reason they can thrive for a long time.

”So, is it because the ’faction identification field’ discovered me early and determined I wouldn’t join King Gumman’s faction that Buru came to guide me? Not the ’being by coincidence’ I imagined?” Angel murmured softly.

Ironclad Granny nodded: ”That’s right, the area covered by the ’Faction Determination Field’ radiates outwards from the Starlit and has a discernment mechanism and a preemptive mechanism. Because it comes from the power of a mysterious object, it doesn’t trigger anti-prophecy.”

”Under these circumstances, it’s completely normal for you to be discovered. So, you don’t need to worry or pay attention to Didia’s ideology. As long as you don’t join King Gumman’s faction and stay comfortably in the Starlit, there’s absolutely no problem.”

Knowing that he wasn’t ’planned’ by fate, Angel also breathed a sigh of relief. However, he was still somewhat puzzled about being taken to the Starlit: ”If the effect of the ’Faction Determination Field’ is really so strong, why didn’t anyone from the Starlit contact me back when I was in Princess Town? Also, the first time I came to Bilun Tree Court, they didn’t come to find me, but Buru sought me out after I left the relic?”

Ironclad Granny chuckled: ”For this question, if you stay in Starlit for a while, you will have the answer. But judging by your appearance, you have only been to Starlit and haven’t deeply interacted with the people of Starlit, right?”

Angel nodded: ”After I came to Starry District, I went to the Traveler Inn to open a quiet room, apart from Buru, I haven’t interacted with anyone else.”

Though Angel briefly interacted with two strange guests at the Traveler Inn and met the innkeeper, these encounters don’t really count as ’contact’, at most, it was just a chance meeting.

Ironclad Granny: ”Actually, the answer is simple, it lies in your heartfelt intentions.”

Lies in heartfelt intentions? Angel looked at Ironclad Granny with puzzlement.

Ironclad Granny: ”What were you thinking when you went to Princess Town?”

Angel responded without hesitation: ”Rescue the talented ones, then leave Princess Town.”

Ironclad Granny continued asking: ”What were you thinking the first time you went to Bilun Tree Court? And what were your thoughts this time when you went to Bilun Tree Court?”

Angel: ”The first time I went to Bilun Tree Court, I was probably thinking about finding a place to buy a map and then exploring the Garden Labyrinth relic. As for this visit to Bilun Tree Court, I was thinking about finding a place... to rest and settle.”

As Angel spoke, he understood Ironclad Granny’s meaning!

Lies in heartfelt intentions, in fact, it depends on your motivation.

If Angel was merely passing by or had no intention to stay for long, there’s no need for the Starlit to bother him. Just like when he went to Princess Town, Angel hadn’t considered staying; the first time he came to Bilun Tree Court, he was thinking about leaving soon. In such scenarios, there’s no need for the Starlit to seek out Angel.

But if Angel intended to stay for some time, the Starlit would naturally sense it and seek out Angel.

Angel somewhat understood the ”invitation mechanism” of the Starlit, but this also surprised him: ”Looking at it this way, can the ’Faction Determination Field’ also probe into people’s minds?”

Ironclad Granny shook her head: ”If it really could probe minds, the three factions would not allow this field to exist.”

”It doesn’t have the ability to probe minds. It relies on a special mechanism based on prophecy algorithms.”

In conclusion, although the Faction Determination Field is powerful, it is not powerful enough to spy on thousands of hearts. It is strong enough to differentiate factions and deal with King Gumman, but its use is limited to that.

Of course, if King Gumman falls in the future, whether the Faction Determination Field will change its underlying rules is difficult to say. Moreover, when that day comes, there will be others to deal with it anyway, and it won’t have any relation to Angel.

...

”I remember you mentioned earlier that an avatar of Black Earl is also among the members exploring the relic this time.” Ironclad Granny looked at Angel.

Angel nodded, not denying it.

”Actually, these things, Black Earl’s avatar also knows... He hasn’t told you, could it be that you’ve already separated from him?”

Angel: ”Not yet, Lord Black Earl went to meet people from the Birlos Family due to some matter and didn’t come with me.”

”Birlos Family?” Ironclad Granny raised her eyebrows: ”It seems that Black Earl must have gained a lot from this relic expedition.”

Though Ironclad Granny didn’t know the inner details, under normal circumstances, Black Earl would not go to meet the Birlos Family. Only if Black Earl had obtained significant gains, or intended to continue drawing gains from the relic in the future, would he consider meeting the Birlos Family; otherwise, there wouldn’t be any necessity.

Angel stroked his chin: ”For Lord Black Earl, this relic expedition did yield quite a nice bounty.”

”You dare to evaluate Black Earl?” Ironclad Granny teased: ”So it seems your gains must not be less than his.”

Though Angel didn’t speak, the gleam of confidence at the corner of his eye was caught by Ironclad Granny.

”It seems your harvest is indeed substantial.”

After pausing, Ironclad Granny softly said: ”Generally speaking, significant harvests entail corresponding costs.”

Angel: ”Costs? That’s not quite large.”

Ironclad Granny raised her eyebrows: ”You haven’t caused any trouble?”

”How could I possibly cause trouble?” Angel suddenly felt something was off—that kind of talk isn’t quite Ironclad Granny’s style.

Ironclad Granny also caught the suspicious look in Angel’s eyes. She took a sip of floral tea, glancing at the Little Garden where rose petals drift: ”Sanders asked me to inquire.”

...So it was indeed you!

Angel: ”Has Mentor gone online?”

Ironclad Granny: ”Not yet. These were words he specifically asked me to pay attention to your situation before you left the Barbarian Cave.”

In Sanders’ view, Angel would cause trouble as long as he ventured out solo, and there’s a good chance it would be a major problem. Thus, it’s best to prepare ahead to avoid being unprepared when faced with a big incident.

Initially, Ironclad Granny didn’t quite believe it, but recalling how Angel ventured out and ended up causing the Tidal World and bringing back a Nami Midori akin to a legend...

Up to now, Sanders is still being dragged by the matters of the Tidal World, while Angel just left without any concern, which makes understanding Sanders’ feelings quite justifiable.

Therefore, Ironclad Granny specifically inquired this time.

Angel muttered: ”How could I be causing any trouble... Mentor always slanders me.”

Ironclad Granny watched Angel’s innocent expression and felt Sanders seemed too cautious... However, she suddenly remembered something.

”By the way, I have a question for you. The last time you came here, you seemed to mention a name, Cicia?”