Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 1057: Section 1058: The Time Has Come
 

The ruins lay in decay, only a few large candlesticks still burning with embers. Sparks rose into the air, entangled with the heavy snow.

Standing on the high walls of ruins, leaning among the remnants of broken walls, coiled within the dirt-stained pits, each Wizard remained in a long, silent vigil amidst the rubble. Recall the prosperity of Sky Island not long ago, the bustling scene of peers, and then behold the present desolation; even the coldest of Wizards would feel a hint of emotion.

The wind lifted the hems of their clothes, and snow landed on the brims of their hats.

In this moment, there was an inexplicable sense of time worn thin.

It was unknown who began, but the haunting melody of the Requiem rose with the smoke and mournful wind, reaching every corner of Sky Island.

As the melody came to an end, the Wizards in the ruins slowly recovered from the sorrowful tune. Monty, who stood at the heart of the ruins, spoke his first words at this time.

“I am very sorry,” uttered Monty, clad in a Frost Gown adorned with crescent moon imprints on both the front and the back. His face was masked by a silver visage that melded seamlessly with the Frostmoon silver crown atop his head, ornate and magnificent.

“This unforeseen catastrophe was an oversight of Frostmoon. Once these matters are concluded, I will compensate according to the terms previously agreed upon with everyone.” Monty paused, his gaze shifting towards Sanders in the dim shadows, then turned to look at Mute Rhein beside him: “This time, we owe much to the both of you. Without your assistance, Sky Island might have completely fallen.”

Sanders had a cold expression and nodded in acknowledgment. Rhein Mute smiled faintly, his gaze involuntarily glancing toward the side of the ruins. Through a wall of colored glaze, he could vaguely discern the figure of a woman.

Rhein Mute: “It was merely coincidental.”

“I will honor our previous arrangement. Should I achieve a breakthrough, I will share the details of my advancement with Mr. Rhein,” declared Monty, his words brightening the placid features of Rhein Mute.

After this brief introduction, the crowd expected Monty to lay out plans for the reconstruction of Sky Island. However, to their surprise, he took an unexpected turn.

“My haste in returning was not solely due to the distress signal from Sinafa; I also received a piece of news…”

Demon God descendants are coming to the surface soon?!

As Monty’s words settled, every Wizard present furrowed their brows. Monty’s intention was clear; he had spent so much time in the Abyss to capture news of the Demon God descendants, and now that he finally had a concrete answer, it was only natural that he planned to take action against them.

Though everyone knew such a day would come, the reality of its arrival brought complexity to their hearts.

Expressions varied as the Wizards began to murmur amongst themselves. Monty did not continue speaking but instead waited for the noise to subside naturally. He knew well that despite any objections, these people would eventually agree to his course of action.

The reason he had managed to garner the strong support from the majority of Witcher Organizations in the Southern Domain was because he had entered into a Tarot confidentiality agreement with the most sought-after figures in the Wizards’ Realm, including more than a dozen luminaries like Rhein Mute. Should he actually surpass the limitations of Legend status, he would record all his insights, energy transmutations, consciousness perceptions, and data onto a scroll and share them with the signatories.

This world was inherently a Darwinian struggle—the top echelon had already given their tacit approval, reaching a consensus was only a matter of time.

Indeed, after a short while, the hustle and bustle gradually subsided, and the focus of every Wizard once again gathered on Monty.

“Since we’ve already signed the agreement, we will naturally abide by it. However, hunting the descendants of the Demon God is a defiance of the heavens. Even if successful, the aftershocks will continue and could bring grave disasters to the Wizards’ Realm. Mr. Monty or the Frostmoon Alliance, do you have any appropriate measures to address this?” The question came from a middle-aged Wizard with a hooked nose, his sullen eyes and the cross emblem on his robe identifying him as a wandering Wizard.

Wandering Wizards were free from organizational constraints and enjoyed freedom, but without the protection of a Witcher Organization, their risk would increase significantly should the shadow of the Demon God descend upon the Southern Domain.

The wandering Wizard had asked this question out of concern for his own safety, yet the other Wizards present inwardly agreed with the query. They might be protected by their organizations and their lives secured, but the Southern Domain was, after all, their home. Many times, it wasn’t just about immediate security. A single thread pulled could affect the whole body; even if they could survive the calamity of the Demon God, the subsequent repercussions would be significant.

It’s like an ecosystem—one problem could harm the entire system. Similarly, market prices can be affected by climate and taxes, let alone a major disaster.

In response to the wandering Wizard’s question, Monty replied calmly: “I have already received communication from Lapuye. Even though the shadow of the Demon God hangs high, ever since the horror of the Demon God wreaked havoc in the Southern Domain a millennium ago, the world’s will imposed certain constraints on such external invaders. Should a Demon God descend upon the Southern Domain, turning continents upside down and reversing rivers, it won’t be simple. Moreover, Lapuye also mentioned that the catastrophe of a Demon God might not truly befall the Southern Domain.”

Monty’s final words caused all the Wizards present to be momentarily stunned. How could hunting a descendant of a Demon God not provoke its wrath? But judging by Monty’s demeanor, he didn’t seem to be lying.

Besides, Lapuye was the “Immortal Coronastar,” the true leader of the Crown Star Church.

His words shouldn’t be wrong, should they?

Could it be that the calamity of the Demon God really won’t come?

While the crowd buzzed with discussions, Monty’s eyelids drooped slightly. It was true Lapuye had said that a Demon God might not descend, but it didn’t mean there would be no trouble at all. At least Lapuye’s concerns had not diminished in the slightest, and were even more than Monty had anticipated. However, Monty couldn’t possibly reveal this now.

After all, his goal was directed towards becoming a Legend, and he was prepared to temporarily cast aside any other concerns.

However, Monty did not completely disregard the Southern Domain, at least he had prepared some contingencies, such as the Mysterious Object from the Song of the Deep Sea.

At this moment, Sinafa also stepped forward to detail the interference and compensation measures Frostmoon would take if a disaster truly descended, which gradually calmed the wizards present.

Monty then began to assign tasks. The reconstruction of Sky Island was temporarily shelved, and the most pressing matter had become the Hunt Plan!

Monty’s arrangements in the Abyss had been in place for many years, and the original plan was already near perfection. Now, only the last adjustments needed to be made according to where the offspring of the Demon God emerged from.

“Lord Monty, after all this time, we still do not know from which front the offspring of the Demon God will come. Is it from Mechanus Gate, or from the Cavern of Malevolence?”

This question was also the focus of everyone’s attention. Fuyi asked, and all eyes once again converged on Monty.

Monty spoke softly, “Neither, it’s Demon City—”

“Lassudral.”

…

In the shadowy crevices of the ruins, Sanders listened expressionlessly to Monty’s hunt plan.

In the previous discussions, Sanders had not expressed any opinions. He knew his personal will could not change the general trend, and he simply waited in silence for the meeting to end.

To him, Monty’s Legend plan was indeed enticing, but Sanders was very aware that Angel’s Wilderness of Dreams held even more potential, and it was potential that could be seen with the naked eye. As for Monty, whether he could break through in the end remained a question mark.

Monty wanted to use the Bloodline of the offspring of the Demon God to achieve a breakthrough, based on an ancient Wizard’s scroll that recorded a similar case. But whether the experimental data in that scroll was outdated was hard to say.

At least for now, Sanders had no interest in pursuing such unconventional methods.

As soon as the meeting ended, Sanders immediately went to Rhein’s side. However, Rhein’s gaze was fixed on Samantha, who approached gracefully through the snow.

In Rhein’s eyes, Samantha was as stunning as a Frost Princess.

But in Sanders’ eyes, Samantha was like a shattered piece of glass, the kind that could not be put back together.

When Samantha approached, she cast a disdainful sidelong glance at Rhein and curled her lips in a mocking smile. She seemed about to say something scathing but upon seeing Sanders, she swallowed her venomous words and just scoffed, turning to head toward Lord Monty’s location.

Rhein sighed helplessly.

After wallowing in self-pity for a while, Rhein turned and said, “You see, Samantha was about to curse at me just now, but she held back, which means she wants to maintain a ladylike image in front of you. Are you sure you don’t want to consider her? Maybe if you were to get together, Samantha might return to Barbarian Cave.”

Faced with Rhein’s matchmaking intentions, Sanders’ response was decisive and cold: “No.”

Seeing that Rhein wanted to continue, Sanders cut him off bluntly, “What should we do about Angel’s situation now?”

At the mention of Angel, Rhein’s expression also grew more serious. After all, it was he who had personally brought Angel into the inner circle, and he valued Angel’s potential greatly.

Sanders revealed that he had sensed the location of the vital blood essence and that it seemed to be on the third level of the Abyss: “If Angel is still safe for now, then it’s possible he’s no longer in Ice Valley. But even if we know he’s on the third level of the Abyss, precisely where he is, remains unanswered.”

Whether to search for clues in Ice Valley or for Angel’s trail on the third level was a difficult choice for Sanders.

Rhein pondered for a moment, “The current situation is indeed hard to say, but, there are ways to approach it.”

After a while, Rhein led Sanders to a corner of Sky Island.

Originally, this was an open space, close to the Inverted Waterfall, and not long ago, it was a popular viewing spot on Sky Island. However, at this moment, a considerable number of tombstones stood there.

Most of those who had perished in the Evil God’s turmoil were buried here.

In this newly established cemetery, a hunched old man with a cane was slowly walking amidst the tombstones, facing the snowstorm…