In front of a workshop in Night Forest, seven sorcerers from Mongna Ant Land Cottage gathered together.
“Did you find any clues?” Christian asked everyone.
“We found some information about the overview of Night Forest’s territory, but it’s not very valuable,” Bernardson said.
“Just some raw materials found in a hidden compartment of a sorcerer’s residence, unrelated to Star Moon Alliance,” Abel slightly shook his head.
“No matter, Sorcerer Ivan and I found a Twilight Stele, a special item coveted by Star Moon Alliance,” Christian said unconcerned, also mentioning the team’s findings.
At the residence of another sorcerer’s great family, the two didn’t find the second Twilight Stele.
“You are indeed the chief steward, your actions are extraordinary,” Wayne said, his eyes slightly deep, not sparing in his praise.
“It’s not just my credit alone,” Christian answered unchangingly.
He still hadn’t figured out why the Wayne before him wanted to betray Mongna Ant Land Cottage. If there were other tricks, such as identity impersonation, this method definitely wouldn’t deceive the Steele family.
However, with this insider present, Mongna Ant Land Cottage was bound to become livelier. All they needed to do was wait and see.
Now that they had gained something, there was no need for the group to stay long.
The seven people left the Night Forest area and went outside the cemetery, heading towards the outskirts of Black Forest.
Suddenly, Christian acted, sending a bolt of lightning towards a Night Shadow Tree on the side, which knocked down an unknown surveillance method originally hidden there.
This place was a land of contention; it was normal for others to leave measures behind, and many things remained likely hidden around them.
He said nothing and continued forward with the others.
Two or three kilometers away, six masked sorcerers waited there, their outfits making it difficult to discern which power they came from.
“My Graywood Eye was discovered. They have seven people, one more than us; academy sorcerers aren’t easy targets. Should we still intercept that person?” one of the sorcerers said.
“The previous three fools must have died; otherwise, we might have had a chance.”
“Academy sorcerers are tough to deal with, what a pity for those six mental power potions, we can only wait until he is alone next time.”
As Star Moon Alliance rose, the situation in Moon Pincer Peninsula changed, and wandering sorcerers grew bolder, daring to directly block academy sorcerers – something rare in the past.
But they were not brash; they wouldn’t underestimate any sorcerer from the academy. Seeing the other party’s greater number, three of them immediately began to back off.
Seeing this, the remaining three could only helplessly abandon their initial plan.
Meanwhile, Ivan was unaware that people were coming to intercept him, ultimately choosing to give up, thus avoiding a disaster.
After leaving Black Forest, Ivan and his companions returned to the giant bird they had arrived on. The giant bird flapped its wings and took to the skies, embarking on the road away from Night Forest.
Before they could enter the cottage, a slender flying beast sprang from the ground, heading straight for them.
“Sorcerers of Mongna Ant Land Cottage, I am Kim Hawley of Thunder Pillar, with urgent matters to discuss.” Before he got closer, the sorcerer riding the flying beast called out to them.
At a signal from Christian, the giant bird slowed down its flying speed, allowing the flying beast carrying Sorcerer Hawley to come near.
“So it’s Sorcerer Christian, long time no see, your elegance is still enviable.”
“Sorcerer Hawley flatters me. I don’t know what important matter you have, but feel free to speak.”
“To be frank, we have discovered a fairly large stronghold of Star Moon Alliance, planning to head out and attack them as a tribute to the sorcerers who died in Night Forest. Hearing that you from Mongna Ant Land Cottage have arrived, I specially came to invite you.”
Sorcerer Hawley’s voice clearly reached their ears, revealing that he was inviting them to attack the Star Moon Alliance, suggesting from his words that it was one of the wandering sorcerer organizations under Star Moon Alliance.
The few exchanged looks, feeling it inappropriate to commit to this venture, especially since they had already found a Twilight Stele. It seemed prudent to escort this item back to the academy sooner rather than later.
“Sorcerer Hawley, I regret I cannot agree,” Christian said.
“Star Moon Alliance is so rampant now; your academy will be affected sooner or later. If you shrink back now, how will you avoid Star Moon Alliance’s blade in the future?”
“Sorry, it’s not possible this time. The academy has called us; we must return as soon as possible.”
Several people showed no sign of agreement, and Hawley, having no choice, could only somberly make the flying beast depart.
The giant bird strenuously flapped its wings, accelerating back towards Mongna Ant Land Cottage.
Half a day later, Wayne showed up outside the cabin and noticed that the route was different from the last time, a hint of gloom flashing in his eyes.
“Wolban, isn’t the return route different?” he asked.
“It’s the chief steward’s arrangement. This is our Hunting Team’s style of operation, to avoid revealing our tracks,” Wolban casually explained.
“Your Hunting Team is indeed meticulous,” Wayne said, his expression as cold as ever. He stayed outside for a while before returning to his own cabin.
In another cabin, Ivan heard Sorcerer Christian’s cryptic voice in his ear.
‘You’re right, Wayne indeed has problems.’
Upon hearing this, Ivan was slightly stunned. Were they really this impatient?
It seemed that the Twilight Stele was truly important to the Star Moon Alliance. They wouldn’t come to attack Mongna Ant Land Cottage, would they? If it were an attack like that night raid in Night Forest, that would be troublesome.
Considering that the Twilight Stele was sealed in a scroll, he pondered repeatedly and felt that the Star Moon Alliance would probably not start a major conflict. However, this was under the assumption that there was nothing else in the Mongna Ant Land Cottage that the Star Moon Alliance coveted.
As far as he knew, there were some differences between the colleges of the Flash Vortex Alliance and those of the Half Moon and Highland Alliances.
Originally, the Sea Race, taking advantage of the ocean and its waters, became a great threat to sorcerers. To keep the Sea Race in the ocean, the original sorcerers took great pains in developing the Power of Flash Vortex, using innumerable resources to achieve this famous maritime defensive barrier.
The Power of Flash Vortex is not only used to stop the Sea Race at sea. If it is really put into use, without saying it can reach too far, it should definitely cover various places in the Ant Beings Tidal Flats.
But it would require a huge effort.
Continue your adventure at empire
“Hopefully, the Star Moon Alliance won’t be too rash. Mongna Ant Land Cottage is solely owned by the Three Great Families.” Weighing the pros and cons, Ivan was not too keen on seeing Mongna Ant Land Cottage fall.
During the return journey, Sorcerer Christian changed directions many times. After more than ten days, the group safely returned to Mongna Ant Land Cottage, their mission coming to an end with seven people.
The next day, Ivan received two thousand credits but was required to sign a confidentiality agreement, clearly mistrusting them.
In the following days, he exchanged the credits for magic stones and raw materials.
On the eighth day after returning to the academy, Ivan reminded Randall to be careful and then left Mongna Ant Land Cottage once more. Once outside the academy, he changed his appearance completely, both in aura and appearance, assuming a totally different look.
Three days later, Ivan arrived near the suburbs of the Half Moon Alliance, where Silkworm Queen transformed back from a giant strange bird into her original form.
“Sorcerer Ivan, what are we doing here?” she asked.
“I was disguising myself,” he replied.
“Hehe, I forgot. What should I transform into? Maybe I’ll just stay as I was just now,” she mused.
As they spoke, Silkworm Queen transformed back into the form of a grey strange bird, drastically smaller than before, and carefully landed on Ivan’s shoulder.
Ivan walked towards a nearby mountain. Upon reaching it, he took out an iron token embedded with gem fragments and threw it, creating a ripple in the air as it surged into it.
The air rippled like water, revealing a doorway.
“This is a large square. We’ve come here to buy some materials,” Ivan whispered to Silkworm Queen before stepping through the doorway.
Behind the doorway was a proper entrance inscribed with: Floating Clouds Square.
Further inside was a bustling square, established between three adjacent mountains, resembling an ancient town. Taking advantage of the locality, someone had constructed an extensive runes sorcery array that enveloped the entire square.
“Sorcerer sir, welcome to the largest square on Moon Pincer Peninsula. You need to pay twenty low-grade magic stones,” a large dragonfly-like creature with multifaceted eyes said in front of the gate.
Ivan paid the entry fee of twenty magic stones as instructed. The iron token, a pass for easy future access, was returned to him; it was given to him by Sorcerer Christian.
In fact, this was a square established by the Wandering Sorcerer Fellowship, although many academy sorcerers came here to trade as well.
His reasons for coming to the Floating Clouds Square were twofold: he was missing a few materials for setting up a large Black Magic Wind Fire Array and it was conveniently on the way to explore this square reputedly the best in Moon Pincer to find some useful things.