Chapter 342: Movement

Daina looked deeply in agreement, her eyes shimmering with admiration. She adored Ace’s confidence and the way he reasoned through things. Blushing, she said:

“Teacher Ace, I understand. We imitate the Divine Descendants because theirs is a path proven to succeed. Some have already ascended to the divine throne this way. Walking a path known to work—that is the wisdom of Wizards.”

Ace nodded approvingly. “Your understanding is mostly correct, but we must always maintain independent thought and an objective, neutral spirit of research. We strive for the optimal solution—that is our intellectual advantage.

“Imitation isn’t the ultimate goal. The ultimate goal is to imitate them, then surpass them. Walk their path until we leave them with nowhere to go.

“Divine Descendants are limited by their bloodlines; their choice of Mental Imagery World is restricted. We are different. Born mortal, we are unbound by blood. We can choose the path best suited to our talents and research. This is our strategic advantage.

“Wizards are versatile and unpredictable—that is our tactical advantage in combat.

“With advantages in intellect, strategy, and combat, we are destined to be invincible.

“I will strike first now, aiming to defeat the enemy outside the High Tower.”

After that mental massage, everyone felt reassured and went back to their tasks according to Ace’s arrangement. Ace himself used the Portal spell to move rapidly, preparing to ambush the Punishers directly.

With the 3-Ring Portal spell, I gain extreme mobility at the cost of high mana consumption. This is my biggest edge right now. I’ll use this mobility to crush the Punishers quickly, then return to the High Tower!

Ace activated the 3-Ring Portal. Accompanied by the rhythmic pulse of magic, a stable, oval-shaped spatial gate appeared before him. He stepped through, instantly appearing 1 km away.

Casting continuously, Ace reached the northern edge of the Larr Mountains in just one day.

Meanwhile, the Punishers had just set out from Milne City-State, led by Karim, heading for the northern Larr Mountains. Advanced Warlock Apprentice Turion sent one final signal via his Grimoire—they had departed.

Ace lay in ambush, having received the intel forwarded by the High Tower, quietly awaiting their arrival.

According to the exploration in the fate phantom, they should hunt a high-level monster first to sacrifice for the high-mystery item, the “Life-Hunting Arrow.” If they do hunt a monster, Karim will inevitably be the main force. As long as I seize the opportunity to sneak attack while he’s engaged, preventing him from using his Quasi-Noble Phantasm, I can absolutely kill him!

Ace had clashed with Karim several times in reality and thrice in the fate phantom—killing him once. He was intimately familiar with Karim’s fighting style.

Yet, unease still gnawed at him. He still had no leads on the terrifying black shadow at Mt. Baal. Ace was certain that this shadow was the reason Alex hadn’t attacked the High Tower Territory in the first playthrough.

I must order Ancestar to be extremely cautious. If anything unusual happens, he should retreat while fighting! Time-wise, it should be enough. The existing Magic Ships are already moving a large portion of the magical population. These people can go to the various city-states of the New and Old Continents. While sowing the seeds of magic, we also preserve the fireseed.

Ace urgently contacted Betty via his Grimoire, ordering her to organize the outstanding seeds and send them to infiltrate the city-states of the New Continent.

The High Tower’s fleet moved quickly. Although most hadn’t traveled beyond Salia, there were a few experienced sailors.

Three days later, following an emergency mobilization and hoisting the flag of Cimali, nearly one-third of the Wizard Apprentices left the High Tower. They would first head to the Salian city-states, then journey to the New Continent to establish regional Magic Councils and go underground.

Meanwhile, Ace finally spotted the Punishers’ column. They wore black hooded robes, wielded massive scythes, and marched barefoot like a winding black snake.

“About three hundred people. One Great Hero, over fifty ordinary Heroes, and two hundred and fifty Quasi-Heroes. They really don’t think much of us, do they? If eight Great Heroes had actually shown up, I would have just grabbed my people and ran.”

Ace quipped with a relaxed air. In reality, even if eight Great Heroes had come, with his 3-Ring Combo Spell “Spatial Banishment” and the 4-Ring Spell “Fixed-Time Stagnation,” he could create mobile space to divide and conquer them.

Karim didn’t detect Ace, who was spying from a distance using the Eye of Truth (Pseudo). Following the plan, he led the Punishers to set up camp.

“Turion, you’ve performed well on this journey. I’m going to take you to see a legendary high-level monster, the Earth Giant Bear,” Karim said heartily, slinging an arm around Turion’s shoulder.

Turion suppressed a look of disgust and seized the opening. “My Lord, forgive my bluntness, but I don’t think creating side issues right now is a good idea. We might waste precious time or suffer unnecessary losses. Striking the blasphemers before they can react is what we should be doing.”

Turion wanted to fish out Karim’s true intentions.

Karim laughed loudly, not feeling offended in the least. Instead, he appreciated Turion’s boldness.

“Since we’re here, I’ll tell you. We are making a vital preparation. Intelligence says the ‘Dark Raven Devil’ is only at the Hero level, but his methods are bizarre, and he’s an expert at escaping. We need a weapon he cannot evade to eliminate him!”

Turion nodded as if realizing the truth, though internally, he sank into deep worry.

Karim left the camp with five Heroes, Aleias, and Turion—a group of eight. Before leaving, Karim activated the Quasi-Noble Phantasm, “City of Protection,” ensuring the safety of the Punishers at the camp, then headed toward the Earth Giant Bear.

Runes flickered in Ace’s eyes as he stared at the direction Karim’s group was moving, slowly trailing them.

He left the Quasi-Noble Phantasm at the camp. He’s practically a walking target now. All I need to do is wait quietly for the right moment.

Karim’s group was completely oblivious. Led by Aleias, they slowly approached the habitat of the high-level monster, the Earth Giant Bear.

“The Earth Giant Bear has a very fixed habitat and routine. It generally lives in the swamp lands of the western Larr Mountains, near the West Coast where the climate is mild. The Earth Giant Bear excels at controlling the power of earth and relies on the earth for perception. Once we reach a certain distance, do not approach the swamp!”

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