Wizards begin by accessing the Inspiration panel.

Chapter 171 An Unavoidable Battle

"Who's lurking around there like that!" Stephania shouted, seemingly sensing something.

Richard and Stephena continued to travel in a two-person team, with Stephena in front and Richard behind.

Stephania, who was in front of her, was also quite puzzled and surprised. If she hadn't been keenly aware that something seemed amiss in the scene before her and hadn't shouted a reprimand, she wouldn't have expected that such a large group of wizard apprentices would suddenly appear right under her nose.

It should be noted that her level of perception surpasses that of the vast majority of third-level wizard apprentices.

Meanwhile, the group of wizard apprentices not far away were extremely surprised that the beautiful woman had discovered them, even though they were under the cover of a low-level wizarding artifact—a cloak of concealment.

They traveled all the way here, and even when they entered the territories of many powerful monsters, they were not discovered.

How did this beautiful woman in front of them discover them?

In fact, it was by using their cloaks to conceal themselves that they were able to spot Stephena before she could find them.

They didn't expect Stephanie to be so perceptive. They only intended to get a little closer to observe her, but she immediately noticed them.

The cloak of concealment has only one function: to hide the figure and aura of the user and all teammates within a few meters.

As a low-level magical artifact, it only has this one function, which shows how strong its concealing effect is.

This is why Stephena couldn't discover the group of wizard apprentices beforehand.

One of the leading third-level wizard apprentices from the North Ring glanced at the exceptionally beautiful Stephania and stammered, "Which academy are you from? Why are you here alone?"

"Hmph! What do you care which academy I'm from?" Stephania rolled her eyes at the third-level wizard apprentice and said disdainfully.

"You! I'm not qualified, but surely the rescue team members sent by the three academies are qualified?" the third-level wizard apprentice said, his face flushed.

Donato, with a smile on his face, slowly stepped forward from behind the crowd.

Donato was quite interested in the beautiful woman who could be seen through the cloak, as she was much more alluring than the female apprentices in the group.

The moment Richard saw Donato emerge, he immediately recalled the scene he had witnessed in Robert's memory.

He thought to himself, "This is bad. How could I have suddenly run into this person—Gildas's son Donato?"

"This is Lord Donato, a full member of the rescue team," a wizard apprentice from the North Rings solemnly introduced.

Donato gave a polite bow and said to Stephania, "Beautiful lady, I am a member of the rescue team sent by the three academies. Please be sure to tell us which academy you are from; this is very important."

"What the hell is important? Do you think I can't see what you're thinking? You pervert!" Stephania cursed inwardly.

However, the question left Stephanie momentarily at a loss for how to respond.

The main reason was that she didn't know what attitude her master, Richard, held towards the so-called official representative in front of him.

Seeing this, Richard thought for a moment, then used his mimicry bracers to conjure a mask and put it on. He then came up from behind to help Stephanie out of the predicament, saying, "We are wizarding apprentices from the Ignis School, and we are heading ahead to find a friend of ours."

Donato had assumed the beautiful woman before him was alone, but the sudden appearance of a companion made him quite annoyed.

Moreover, Donato was suspicious when he saw Richard wearing a mask, since what proper wizard apprentice would wear a mask?

With a glint in his eyes, Donato turned to several Ignis School wizarding apprentices in the crowd and asked, "These two claim to be from your Ignis School. Has anyone seen them before?"

The group shook their heads, indicating they had no recollection of the event, which only made Donato more suspicious.

Asking the other party to remove their mask directly would be a bit abrupt, but it seemed like he could test the waters. After thinking for a moment, Donato spoke again: "I am Donato, a formal member of the three major academies' rescue team. I am now temporarily summoning the two of you to join us at the rendezvous point to meet up with the rescue team."

Richard sensed that Donato might not let them go easily when he questioned the others, and he was right.

Upon hearing these words, Richard frowned even more deeply.

Although it was unclear whether Donato had guessed his identity or if there really was such a conscription order, it was obvious that he could not possibly go with him to the rendezvous point.

Richard knew all too well that if he went to this so-called rendezvous point, he would encounter Gildarts' werewolf clone.

Although he was not afraid of him, a conflict was bound to break out, which was not in line with his expected goal.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Donato, but we received a request for help from a friend, and we must go to their aid now," Richard politely declined.

At this moment, several wizard apprentices chimed in:

"There are only two of you, do you think you can handle the rescue?"

"Yes, let's stay with us and join the rescue team as soon as possible. We can make plans after we've joined them."

"For two people to encounter members of the Spider Knights is simply suicide."

"I really don't know what those two are thinking."

"You may not know this, but the direction you're heading is a heavily guarded area by the night elves. You should come with us."

A very small number of people offered advice to Richard and Stephanie out of good intentions; most simply watched coldly or even mocked their overestimation of their abilities.

Richard's refusal only strengthened Donato's suspicions, and he said, "Sir, could you please remove your mask? I have heard that there are night elves posing as our wizard apprentices within the secret realm, luring and ambushing others."

These words immediately filled Donato's group of wizard apprentices with fear, who glared angrily at Richard and Stephanie.

It was as if Richard and Stephania had now been identified as spies of the Night Elves who had infiltrated their ranks!

Richard hadn't expected Donato to outmaneuver him so easily.

Now, if he doesn't take off his mask, he will inevitably be targeted by everyone.

Richard sighed, exchanged a glance with Stephanie, and instantly, the two of them flew backward.

As Richard's experience and mental strength increased, he became more and more able to control his emotions. Basically, as long as he set a goal, he could achieve it step by step.

So even at this point, Richard didn't want to have a direct conflict with the other party.

Firstly, as a member of the surface-dwelling human race, he did not want to fight to the death with his own wizard apprentices in the Norman Secret Realm, surrounded by enemies.

Secondly, as the son of Gildas, a formal wizard who entered the secret realm, Richard frankly did not want to have a direct conflict with Donato.

Because killing the opponent would inevitably lead to a direct confrontation with Gildarts, who was assigned by the three academies to rescue the many wizarding apprentices trapped in the Norman Secret Realm.

Even if he were to manage to kill the opponent's clone by the surge in strength he gained upon becoming a formal wizard, he would still be completely on the opposite side of the three major necromancer academies.

How can you secretly kill the other party so that the three major academies can't find out?

That's absolutely impossible!

Not to mention that it was only Gildas's werewolf clone that entered the secret realm, once the werewolf clone died, the real Gildas would definitely sense it or, through some hidden connection, directly lock onto himself as the murderer.

Secondly, Gildarts' werewolf clone was the commander of the rescue teams from the three academies. Richard was almost certain that a second-level wizard would also intervene in such a major event as the commander's death.

Even if Richard were to advance to become a full-fledged wizard, he currently has no chance to contend with the immense power of a Grand Wizard.

But Donato was relentless, mistaking Richard's retreat for fear. Seeing Richard and Stephania quickly retreating, he immediately roared, "Everyone, attack! These two must be spies from the Night Elves!"

At this point, the official influence became apparent, since Donato was now representing the rescue team and the authorities.

Most of the wizard apprentices began to chase after Richard and Stephanie, with only a very few standing still, looking at each other, and not following.

Donato then swiftly pulled out a low-level magical artifact resembling a pair of shackles—the War Shackles—that he had secretly prepared long ago.

At the same time, he quickly chanted a short incantation and forcefully threw the War Shackles at Richard.

The shackles rapidly expanded in mid-air, emitting a dazzling purple light. One end of the shackles shot towards Richard, while the other end shot towards Donato.

Suddenly, Richard felt a jolt throughout his body, as if his soul had been bound by something in the dark, and no matter how he ran, he could not widen the distance between himself and Donato.

"Hehe, don't waste your energy. This is a low-level magical artifact, the War Shackles. Even a formal wizard wouldn't be able to break free so easily, let alone you who are just a wizard apprentice," Donato said smugly.

At this point, Donato was certain that even if the masked man opposite him wasn't Richard, he was clearly a suspicious person; otherwise, there would have been no reason for him to run away.

Could the other party really be a spy for the Night Elves? You know, I just made that up on the spot.

It seems I can earn quite a few points before I even meet my father.

Richard sighed deeply; there was no way he could become a formal wizard here.

Because if he were to be promoted here, he might be forced out of the Norman Secret Realm before he even reached the supply point to defeat the Night Elves.

so.

He had no choice but to...

Richard suddenly removed the mask he was wearing, revealing a handsome face.

Donato was overjoyed when he saw this. He never expected that he would encounter Richard, whom his father had instructed him to capture alive, so easily.

I was quite suspicious of the other person just now, and it seems that my premonition was very accurate.

I couldn't help but feel a surge of joy!

Donato certainly didn't expect that, although he had never met Richard, Richard had already recognized him long before he recognized him.

Moreover, Richard's avoidance was not at all because he was afraid of him.

But

Richard, however, was still struggling internally, and sighed deeply, saying:

"Why are you forcing me, especially you, Donato!"

"Isn't it better to keep your life?"

Richard's words immediately enraged the group of wizard apprentices.

"Traitor! What did you say?!"

"How dare you speak to Lord Donato like that!"

"Stephena, keep her alive!" Richard's face was ashen.

"Yes, Master!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the ground beneath Stephania's feet suddenly exploded, and in an instant, Stephania disappeared from her spot. The next second, she reappeared behind a level three wizard apprentice.

"Pfft!" Stephania's incredibly sharp arms pierced the unfortunate wizard apprentice's lungs and abdomen simultaneously, instantly rendering him incapacitated.

"This is indeed a night elf spy!"

"That's a spider woman!"

The seven or eight wizard apprentices who had caught up immediately screamed in terror.

The name of the Spider Woman is as famous as the shadow of a tree; all wizard apprentices have heard of her. She is a powerful force comparable to a formal wizard!

Donato's mind was also on high alert. He hadn't expected that Richard would have a Spider Woman guarding him.

However, the next second, he realized what he meant and said:

"What's the panic? This is the Norman Secret Realm. Even the Spider Woman can only exert the limits of an apprentice!"

Upon hearing this, the remaining people suddenly understood, their expressions of fear lessened considerably, and they became much more organized in dealing with Stephania's attacks.

At this moment, Donato's mind was rapidly considering a question: Could it be that Richard really had something to do with the underground races?

It seems I might have caught a big fish this time!

Richard frowned, then immediately waved his mutated summoning staff, summoning an abomination that was over 2.8 meters tall and incredibly obese.

After scanning the surroundings with its hateful little eyes, it fixed its gaze on Donato, and with its short, thick legs, it charged forward with a "thump thump thump" sound. Each step it took caused the ground around it to tremble slightly, and its momentum was extremely fierce!

"Disgusting! So it was you who killed that piece of trash Joachim."

"You also obtained his damaged magical artifact!"

Donato's eyelids twitched violently!

Because he discovered that the abomination summoned by Richard was far more powerful than the abomination summoned by Joachim, and seemed to be approaching the summoning level of a formal wizard.

-

Just as Richard and Donato were clashing, Gildas' werewolf clone, along with two other team members, arrived near the cave where the Golden Scale Lizard was located.

Seemingly sensing that something bad was about to happen if he continued forward, Gildas slowly stopped.

Harley, however, continued forward nonchalantly, assuming that Robert must be inside.

After all, this guy is notorious for being a womanizer. He has already imagined the whole story. Most likely, Robert met a beautiful witch apprentice on the way to meet her, and then the two of them had some fun in the cave!

The thought of how he was nearly killed by the Spider Knights when he teleported into the secret realm, while Robert was enjoying life here, immediately made Harley feel annoyed. He shouted irritably at the cave entrance:

"Robert, you get your ass out here right now!!"

Gildas stared intently at the deep cave not far away, a sense of doubt and worry inexplicably rising in his heart.

Something's not right!

Because it was so quiet all around!

Oh no, this seems to be the territory of some powerful monster!

(End of this chapter)