Chapter 141: The Meeting
Daina looked at the serious mirror image Ace, staring straight at him for a moment. Suddenly, she smiled gently, then knelt on one knee and declared loudly: “Respected Lord Torch-Bearer, your apprentice is here to heed your command!”
Polina’s mouth dropped open into an ‘O’ shape, her lively eyes darting around in surprise.
The Wizard Apprentices hiding in the cave heard Daina’s voice and walked out one by one. They watched their respected Big Sister Daina actually kneeling before a man.
Hearing the footsteps of the crowd, Daina turned her head and shouted: “All Wizard Apprentices, present your knees to the respected Lord Torch-Bearer!”
Hearing Iron Face Daina’s words, the confused Wizard Apprentices hesitated no longer and knelt down one after another.
The mirror image Ace smiled as he watched this. He hadn’t expected Daina to have such authority among these apprentices; it felt a bit like a kitten showing off to its owner.
He walked forward gently and activated a silent incantation of Advanced Magical Trickery, creating a quasi-Suggestion effect.
“Fellow Wizard Apprentices, I am the Torch-Bearer, Ace, your contractor.”
Upon hearing Ace’s words, the hearts of all the apprentices, including Daina, gradually calmed. Recalling the joy of being chosen and the fortune of stepping onto the path of Magic, they were suddenly filled with gratitude and reverence for Ace.
“Respected Lord Torch-Bearer, you are the only light in the dark night. It is you who illuminated our path forward. I, Sulu, am willing to serve you for the rest of my life!”
As Sulu scrambled to crawl toward Ace first, the other Enchanted Wizard Apprentices, though not as shameless as Sulu, successively expressed their gratitude and reverence.
Ace activated Advanced Magical Trickery again, chanting the incantation just as before: “Illusion · Charm · Will · Loyalty Check!”
Among the fewer than thirty Enchanted Wizard Apprentices, not a single one was a traitor—not even Sulu!
But upon reflection, it made sense. If there really were traitors, they wouldn’t have needed to fight a guerrilla war; they would have been slaughtered by the legion long ago.
Subsequently, Ace woke everyone up and asked Daina about the specific situation of the legion’s pursuit force. In total, there were about three hundred troops, equipped with six additional Pseudo-Heroes, hunting down the Enchanted Wizard Apprentices.
“They have been chasing us for several months. I ambushed a portion of them a while ago, so now they are very cautious,” Daina told Ace.
“They must have also noticed the great upheaval in the Northern March. I will go scout the movements of these three battalions and guide another group of Wizard Apprentices to rendezvous safely with you. As for the legion’s hunters, if they don’t follow us like jackals, fine. But if they do follow, it will be their death date.”
The cowlick on the mirror image Ace’s head swayed. He had already received information from the host body that the trap at Mount Baal was set. He spoke to Daina with confidence.
On the other side, after setting the trap, the host body Ace did not linger. He continued deeper into the Larr Mountains. He was going ahead to find a suitable location to establish the Wizard Academy.
There were several valleys within the Larr Mountains and coastal valleys to the east that were unaffected by the central wind tunnel. The climate there was relatively habitable. Once the barbarian tribes there were conquered, there would be no obstacles.
The mirror image Ace transformed into an eagle, soaring straight up and circling in the high altitude.
He activated the Soul Spell Advanced Magical Trickery. Using the eagle’s beak, he emitted a strange cadence in the high sky. Accompanied by a unique Mana rhythm, the entire eagle danced with the flow.
“Organ Enhancement · Sharp Eye!”
Accompanied by the incantation, Mana gathered in his eagle eyes, reinforcing and modifying them, allowing him to see farther and clearer. Ace estimated the effect had improved by three or four times.
His Transformation Spell was a transformation without Casting Materials, so the duration and effect were limited. If he could obtain a powerful low-level eagle Monster as a Casting Material, the transformation effect would be greatly enhanced.
In the future, he could even use the Transformation Spell as a foundation, supplemented by Monster Casting Materials, to develop a new branch of magic schools. This was also one of the research directions for the future Wizard Academy.
The eagle Ace circled in the sky, overlooking the Monster Wilderness.
The Monster Wilderness, once ravaged by low-level Monsters, was now covered in mottled black shadows. The shadows were constantly expanding, Abyssalizing more than half of the Monster Wilderness.
The hill where the Northern March Fortress once stood was unrecognizable. A massive Abyssal Lair spewed intense corrosive aura and a thick stench of sulfur, radiating bizarreness and ominousness.
Staring at it for too long caused dizziness, nausea, irritability, and even an impulse for self-destruction.
The mirror image Ace suddenly thought of a saying from this world similar to one from his past life: “When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back!”
This invisible transformation was chilling. Staying in this environment for too long would likely result in corrosion by the Abyss, leaving a shadow on one’s soul.
The mirror image Ace suddenly shuddered. His very existence was due to the Projection Ritual.
And the Projection Ritual was developed from the forbidden knowledge learned from that bizarre and evil ritual!
“Assuming this forbidden knowledge itself carries the influence of the Abyss, perhaps the host body and I have already been affected by the Abyss. For example, the host body’s sudden bloodthirsty and even tyrannical Blessing Ritual experiments a while ago!”
The mirror image Ace felt even more wary. He firmly committed this suspicion to memory, planning to perform a soul synchronization and contemplation when he reunited with the host body.
Now, he scanned the surroundings and finally found the three battalions chasing the Wizard Apprentices. They were engaged in a fierce battle with a group of Little Demons (Imps).
Little Demons are the most basic creatures of the Abyss; lower than them are only the Human-Faced Worms, demonic vermin inferior even to mortals.
The strength of Little Demons varies greatly. The weakest are equivalent to peak mortals, while the strongest are equivalent to powerful Pseudo-Heroes. Legend has it that Little Demons are actually divided into more detailed categories, with different characteristics for each strength level, but humans know very little about this.
These nearly three hundred soldiers were likely the last remnants of the Northern March Legion. They fought bravely, with the few Pseudo-Heroes leading the charge. In the end, they lost nearly half their soldiers but finally repelled the Little Demons.
After circling in the sky a few times, the mirror image Ace used Advanced Magical Trickery to apply a quasi-Mana Fluctuation Concealment effect on himself. From high altitude, he transformed into a feather, drifting down to the battlefield, flowing along a pool of blood to the vicinity of the legion troops.
The feather mirror image Ace sank into the blood, transformed into a stone, and rolled over.
…
“We cannot go on like this. We must survive. We head north.”
The leading captain spoke. He wore a helmet with a red tassel, held a long spear in his left hand and a round shield in his right. The power of shadow corroded the wound on his face, making him look exceptionally hideous.
“Anhel Bain! We still have the mission to hunt down the Devil worshipers!” another man said. He had sky-blue hair and handsome features.
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