novelhk Page 281
Page 281
"Ha ha……"
Wilkin chuckled a few times in agreement, then turned around with a strange smile and whispered:
"If Black Hat had the authority over the magic network, he could easily change the ownership of this country, and the so-called magic capital of Lundia would be nothing more than a piece of cake..."
……
Artemis suddenly stopped in her tracks, turned back to look at Wilkins, and narrowed her eyes slightly.
Although she had no interest in the so-called authority over the magic network, she did not want the Black Hat to gain powerful support, nor did she want to see the possibility of her and Latis's home in Lundia being destroyed.
Her fingers lightly touched the spellbook at her waist. Although she hadn't inscribed many offensive spells yet, she was still unafraid of battle... However, the nobleman was carrying a lot of magical equipment, and she still needed to find the right opportunity.
Arterifus's eyes gleamed. Her solidified "Appraisal" spell had already helped her identify at least five magical items on Wilkins. Although she couldn't identify the specific spell effects, judging from the faint magical pressure emanating from them, these magical items were not to be underestimated.
Just as she was pondering how to steal the key, a sudden change occurred.
Artemis glanced at the sudden commotion in front of the processing table, her eyes lighting up as she quickly realized her chance had come.
……
"I...I successfully synchronized!"
The novice mage shouted with delight as the key he held in his hands slowly merged into his body through the magical resonance he had painstakingly achieved.
"oh?!"
Wilkins rushed to the novice mage, clenched his fists, and shouted with a ferocious expression:
"Quick, let's see what this key does!"
"Okay, okay..." The novice mage was startled by Wilkin's wide eyes and furrowed brow, and his magic power nearly collapsed. He quickly maintained his magic power, trying to sense his surroundings as he stammered:
"Your Excellency, I can sense... how come I seem to see so many prompts... the magic power released from my body seems to be connected to a map, no, the magic network connection here is too weak..."
"Magic network connection?" Wilkin frowned, and was about to order someone to shut down the device that dispelled magic, when he heard a novice mage suddenly let out a sharp scream.
"What, what is that?... Wait, it's the magic net! The magic net pierced through the ceiling, it, it rushed in!"
"what?"
Wilkin's heart skipped a beat. An inexplicable aura made his body freeze instantly, and a silent tremor made him lose the ability to think. Then he slowly sensed that at the top of the field formed by the various devices, which was devoid of magic, something seemed to be hammering at this place like a nail.
Boom, boom...
The non-existent sound of a smashing blow reverberated in his mind. His body trembled, and an indescribable chill instantly spread from his heart to his entire body. So much so that his senses, dulled by the tremors in his mind, could not distinguish whether the chill in his body was due to being soaked in cold sweat or from that moment of boundless fear.
Boom!
In an instant, a crack was pierced through the magic-free field, and a wisp of magic net fell from the top like a light ray of sunlight, shining on the novice mage who was trembling like a sieve.
"Do not!!"
The novice mage cried out miserably. In his perception, the seemingly ordinary magic net gripped him like an irresistible giant hand, and then gently squeezed it.
boom!
The collapsing magic instantly blasted all the equipment in the dungeon apart. Wilkin's vision turned crimson, and the unstoppable annihilation instantly brought him back to his senses. His teeth chattered wildly, and his magic suddenly surged violently, frantically flowing into the magical equipment on his body.
"Defense! Freeze! Control!"
He shouted loudly, his eyes blazing with fury as he unleashed the spells from his magical equipment. With the activation of several high-level spells, the raging magical energy within the dungeon began to calm down rapidly.
However, at that moment, in Wilkin's blurred vision, a slender hand, gradually swept out of shape by the chaotic magic energy, appeared in front of the processing table. The hand seemed unmoved by the power of the magic net, moving forward lightly and firmly.
Then, the hand instantly closed and grasped the key that was suspended in the air by the turbulent magical energy.
"what?!"
Wilkins was shocked and couldn't understand what he was seeing until the black sleeve that gradually appeared behind the hand swept past him, and he finally came to his senses.
"Catch it!"
With that shrill shout, Wilkins and his agent shot out instantly, running madly toward the man in the black coat.
boom!
The sudden appearance of black smoke obstructed their vision. Wilkin flailed wildly, his heart pounding with fear, and shouted:
"It's 'Dark Magic'! He's a mage!"
"It's alright, I've already broken through!" The agent's shout came from the dungeon entrance. He pounded on the wall twice and yelled:
"I didn't see any sign of anyone outside. Please search inside the black fog!"
"You stay outside!"
Wilkins responded loudly, then took a deep breath and sneered.
Although he didn't know how the intruder had sneaked in, he was fully confident that he could subdue the person the moment they made contact. Even though he wasn't connected to the magic network yet, it wouldn't affect his ability to activate his magical equipment...
……
Artemis tensed, watching Wilkin groping through the mist of "Dark Magic".
She hadn't expected that the tiny key would cause such a powerful surge of magical energy, which directly disrupted her "invisibility spell" due to the nearby magical energy. Fortunately, she reacted in time and managed to escape a distance.
Darkvision revealed Wilkin's fearless and arrogant figure to the half-elf, further confirming her assessment of the magical equipment.
If they were to try to escape before the "Dark Magic" was diluted by the turbulent flow of magic, they would inevitably run into Wilkin and the agent guarding the dungeon entrance. The latter was once the leader's henchman of the Dragonhorn Territory pioneering team, and even though he hadn't trained for many years, his strength was not to be underestimated.
"Luckily, I was prepared..."
Artemis stopped observing Wilkins and used "Merge into Stone" to completely hide her body within the dungeon wall. Although the wall wasn't very thick, fortunately, her body didn't have the powerful curves of Serfal's, so the wall's thickness was more than enough for her to hide in.
She slowly exhaled, calmed herself, searched her mind for the mental link with the vulture that had previously become an ally, and issued a command to it.
……
"Gawa! Gawa goo goo goo..."
The sudden cry of vultures startled the agent. He quickly stepped out of his tent and looked at the flock of vultures taking flight from the roof of the lord's mansion. A jolt ran through him, and he murmured unconsciously:
"They couldn't have already run away, could they...?"
He turned back to the dungeon, only to find Wilkins standing solemnly at the entrance. The two exchanged a glance, gritted their teeth, and then dashed off towards the lord's manor.
……
Invisible, Ateliers landed on a dead tree, looked at the two figures gazing around from the roof of the Dragonhorn Lord's mansion, clapped her hands, put her leather gloves back on, and a faint smile appeared on her lips.
She took the key out of her pocket, examined it for a moment, and then put it, along with the information she had previously collected, into the interdimensional gap.
Now that this matter is settled, she should hurry back to Lundia.
Artemis shook her head, her gaze searching for the dead trees in the distance before settling on a dead tree in a perfect spot. Pure magic surged into the necklace, and she activated the final "Tree Leap" spell of the day.
……
The flickering shadow in Yu Guangzhong's peripheral vision made Wilkins instinctively turn his head.
He searched for a while under the dark night sky, but saw nothing but withered trees and rough houses.
"Damn it... how could this happen!"
Wilkin cursed, glanced at the agent's back in the distance, and a murderous glint flashed across his face.
He could have delivered the key to "Your Excellency" the moment he got it, but his greed made him miss the opportunity. However, he did not think it was his fault. Instead, he believed that the agent was not skilled enough in combat and had allowed an ordinary mage to escape unimpeded.
"What a waste of effort! What a piece of trash, me too..."
Wilkins clenched his fists, feeling incredibly frustrated. When the agent turned around at the sound, he was about to curse a few times to vent his anger when suddenly he felt a message enter his beacon.
He suppressed his emotions, checked the message, and a look of surprise flashed across his face.
“Bad news.” Wilkin looked at his puzzled agent, took a deep breath, and said in a low voice:
"Fan Yunkun, the young lord of Dragon Horn Territory, will be returning tomorrow."
Chapter 285 The Elf Side Quest Ends: Apprentice Transfer
"Your Excellency, what kind of magic are you casting?"
A red-haired girl, covered in sweat, struggled to climb the boulder, kicking her legs twice but still failing. She could only look at Ateliers, who stood gracefully on the boulder, with an embarrassed expression and ask with reverence.
"Oh, no."
Artemis gathered the large green vine leaf from her hand, tucked it into her sleeve, smiled faintly, and said:
“I’m writing a letter to my lover, Red Lily. Go and tell the apprentices to rest nearby. Lonely High Village is just ahead. After walking a little further, we’ll enter the territory of the Forest Sea Territory. The road conditions won’t be so bad then.”
"Okay, okay!"
Watching Artemis gracefully fly away, a hint of longing appeared in Hongli's eyes. She let go of the boulder, landed on it, and ran down the hillside towards the apprentices who were walking in formation.
Since leaving Daoguan City with her apprentices, this mysterious guide has encountered many monsters on the road. Each time, she subdued the monsters without bloodshed. In some places where there was no magic network, she could even cast spells to help the apprentices in time.
Hong Litt had also heard that the noblewoman named Melmeister was a terrible ferryman, whose apprentices not only had an extremely high casualty rate, but were also inexplicably humiliated and ridiculed.
For example, male apprentices are often ridiculed for their "short casting range and quick ending time" when they use attack tricks such as "Flame Arrow," while female apprentices are ridiculed for their "fat phantom" and "unpleasant words" when they use tricks such as "the phantom is fat and the voice is unpleasant."
So, when she realized she might miss the last extradition before autumn and winter, Red Litte felt much more relaxed. However, when she entered Indah Pass and heard from the apprentices about the legend of the mysterious new extraditionist easily defeating Lord Melmeister and using the apprentice facilities that no longer charged extra by Priest Sonik, she began to regret not arriving earlier and missing the new extraditionist's heroic figure.
In short, along the way, she became more and more certain of her goal: if this temporary new guide was a high-ranking mage living in Lundia, she would do anything to try to become his apprentice... even if it was just to work!
After all, I've heard that the cost of living in Lundia is extremely high. Even if you successfully pass the academy's entrance exam, you might not be able to make ends meet for more than a few months without working part-time. Rather than risking being forced to sell your body to find an unknown high-ranking mage, it's better to stick close to this mysterious ferryman in front of you.
What's more, this lady is very gentle! I just wonder what kind of person her lover is, to be so loved by this lady, he must be a powerful mage who is calm, rational, kind, meticulous, patient, and intelligent!
However, I need to find an opportunity to ask the extradition officer's name first...
Hong Litt couldn't help but chuckle. Just as she was about to wave and shout to the group of apprentices not far away, she wasn't paying attention and slipped on some loose rocks that had fallen down the hillside. She rolled twice, quickly got up, and opened her pouch to check if any of her belongings had fallen out.
"One, two... twenty silver coins, great, they didn't fly away..."
She breathed a sigh of relief, shook her head, and took out something that looked like a knotted rope from her bag.
"Rice straw twists" are one of the most common dry foods eaten by the common people of Dragon Horn Territory. Although the rice straw is not separated from the rice during the milling process, resulting in its coarse and hard texture, it is precisely because of this that it is extremely filling and has a very high cost-performance ratio for the common people.
Hong Litt ground off a small piece with her molars, then stuffed the rest of the twisted dough back into her pouch. While grinding and biting the twisted dough in her mouth with her aching cheeks, she mumbled indistinctly:
"Brothers, let's put the Silver Ferryman aside and rest nearby..."
……
……