Indeed, there was concealment.
Seeing that she was not pleased but rather had a stern face, Ivan knew there was something hidden, and the situation seemed not too good.
Moreover, this person had some quirks.
At that moment, Heidi raised her head, and their eyes met, leading Ivan to unconsciously force a slight smile.
“I hope you’re not thinking of anything bad,” Heidi suppressed the unease in her heart and said in a calm tone, “You did well this time; once we finish studying, these magic stones will be your reward.”
Ivan said, “Of course, after all, I found them by myself; I don’t think anyone can deny that, right?”
Heidi glanced at him; she could hear the barb in his words but given that he had indeed made a significant contribution, she didn’t bother to argue with him.
Seeing the two bicker like old adversaries, Gina at the side pursed her lips and smiled briefly, while signaling Ivan to quit while he was ahead.
“There’s another thing; the Hunting Team didn’t return to the city last night either.”
“Don’t worry about Wolban and the others; right now, our focus is on studying these runes.”
Upon hearing this from Heidi, no one else objected, as they weren’t familiar with the Hunting Team.
The Enchantment Group’s study of runes was indeed a serious matter; they believed that solving the runes before them would resolve the issues inside and outside Swamp Forest City.
However, deciphering a runes sorcery array without the corresponding spells and activation methods often proved challenging.
Heidi had someone above send down a box, then carefully removed the low-grade magic stones around the circumference, placing them inside the box, revealing the rune lines on the side of the Array Plate, which were different from those on the surrounding stone piers; these seemed like naturally occurring patterns rather than carved with a rune brush.
Hawtherley offhandedly asked, “What material is this Array Plate made of? It feels strangely familiar.”
Heidi answered, “It’s an ore that hasn’t fully transformed into a magic stone.”
Hearing this, the three were startled, particularly Hawtherley and Gina, who had just returned from Stone Town, making it hard for them not to speculate.
The two exchanged a glance at Heidi involuntarily.
Heidi said nothing, as she didn’t know what to say either, only hoping that it wouldn’t involve the Kanda magic stone mine, otherwise, the problem would become complicated.
Among the four, only Ivan was unaware of the existence of the magic stone mine, hence he was not very moved.
As the few dived into deciphering the runes, the basement became silent, and nobody outside dared to disturb them.
As members of the Enchantment Group, the four had considerable expertise in Runes Skill and Enchantment Skill.
The most skilled, naturally, was Heidi Lidia, born into a sorcerer family; she could see that the runes before them were related to mental power, involved the use of magic stones, and could collect a certain type of resentful aura.
Time passed unnoticed.
Nearing evening, the four withdrew their gaze from the Array Plate and stone piers, looked at each other, and shook their heads in resignation.
Such a foreign and complex runes sorcery array, devoid of any relevant information, was not something they could decipher in a short time; perhaps an official sorcerer might have been sufficient.
Ivan suggested, “Why don’t we try activating it?”
If the runes sorcery array were in an active state, then using the “Light of Wisdom” would definitely yield some results; the previous experience on Lahr Island had proven this.
Heidi objected, “That’s not appropriate; activating it recklessly could easily lead to the collapse of the runes and might also cause unknown consequences, such as contamination of spiritual power.”
“Do you have another solution?”
“No, let’s dismantle everything and take it back.”
“Including the stone piers?”
“The runes on the disc are key, and the role of the stone stump is to amplify, spreading the influence of the runes sorcery array to most of the city.”
Although Heidi said this, eventually they took everything out of the basement, including the cumbersome stone stump.
After dismantling the arrangements here, the enemies behind the scenes should no longer be able to control more people, and the collapsing situation within the city was brought under control, only leaving the residents who were already under control.
Seeing that she was unwilling to activate the runes sorcery array, Ivan did not continue the topic.
The four of them took the items back to the original residence.
Ivan remembered something, “Last night, someone sneaked in, two apprentices and four Knights; they must be skilled.”
The three of them turned around in surprise, looking around the residence, but found no trace of a fight.
Guessing what they were probably thinking, Ivan said with annoyance, “Coincidentally, I wasn’t here either; they found nothing and left Swamp Forest City overnight. Where they went after leaving the city, I do not know.”
“Smart.”
Gina gave him a thumbs up.
After a few seconds, Heidi said seriously, “Don’t get me wrong, I, Heidi Lidia, don’t have a habit of using companions as bait.”
Who knows?
Ivan didn’t mind assuming the worst about a person; once the others had left, he was continuously attacked, making it hard to say there wasn’t some calculation involved, especially since they had disliked him from the start; the word ‘companion’ might not apply to him.
Seeing his distrustful demeanor, Heidi frowned and said no more, as she always disdained explaining herself to others unless it was her brother, Carmel.
Long into the night, there was still no sign of the Hunting Team’s return to the city, and Heidi couldn’t contact them using the Secret Method Seal, indicating they were no longer nearby.
Late at night.
A figure in an apprentice robe appeared beneath the walls of Swamp Forest City; someone from above assisted, allowing the apprentice below to sneak smoothly into the city.
“Just as expected, the Array Plate hidden in the manor was discovered, likely ending up in the hands of the apprentices at Mongna Ant Land Cottage,” Allen thought as he approached South City, pausing near the manor. Upon activating a technique, he immediately realized the problem.
Since there was an issue with the Array Plate, the pieces deployed nearby had certainly suffered losses.
“Well, let them be reckless this time. I’ll settle the score later,” Allen muttered bitterly as he turned to leave. The city was currently unsafe, and there were more important things for him to attend outside.
Simultaneously, shortly after Allen sneaked into Swamp Forest City, Ivan and his companions began their action.
An important control node had been removed, and the group guessed that the person behind the scenes might have snuck into the city to check the situation. They had spies set up around the city, mostly consisting of Ivan’s rapid wood silkworms.
As expected, a rapid wood silkworm hurried back with a message.
Ivan immediately called the others, and the four of them quickly left their residence, heading towards the location of the person behind the scenes. Continue your journey on empire
Halfway there, another rapid wood moth landed on Ivan.
“They’ve headed out of the city.”
“Chase!”
Not wanting to miss the chance at catching the person behind it all, Heidi led the change in direction towards the outside of the city.
Gina also had a few insects deployed, but her insects were not very good at hiding; they were a type of flying ant, small in size, with a flame-like color, clearly venomous insects.
Along the way, as Ivan kept retrieving rapid wood moths, Gina realized he also had an insect nest on him. This apprentice brother was no ordinary person.
Watching the rapid wood moths returning, Gina felt envious; these insects were much faster than her venomous fire ants and were skilled at concealing their presence, almost undetectable when still, a testament to the insects’ extraordinary nature.
Guided by the rapid wood moths, the four pursued relentlessly and soon left Swamp Forest City.