Wizards begin with Occlumency.

Chapter 141 Turning Point, Like the Wind

This operation was somewhat abrupt.

Link himself knew this.

But there's no way around it, there's not enough time.

Neither the opposing nor the pro-opposing local apprentices from the North would allow Link to continue his research and experiments in a leisurely manner.

Then, leisurely carrying his fruitful research results, he concluded the competition and won first place.

What's more, there's also a "pureblood will" lurking in the shadows, ready to pounce and bite at any moment.

This "world" has a limited area, and the location of the sandbar in the middle of the river is not remote, so the reconnaissance-type magical artifacts are not just for show.

It's no secret that Link's team is stationed on the sandbar in the middle of the river.

It wasn't just Lani Taylor and her team who knew.

In the past few days, many people have been scouting the situation of the sandbars in the middle of the river on both sides of the river.

If we delay any longer, what we'll receive won't be reconnaissance, but an attack.

Furthermore, Iris Clark sent a private message late last night saying that "Pureblood Will" had unexpectedly learned that Link was stationed on the sandbar in the middle of the river and was formulating an attack plan.

This news is highly credible.

Among the people who came to investigate, Link discovered a member of "Pureblood Will" whom he had met once before.

He then decided to speed things up, finish the research and experiments as soon as possible, and produce some preliminary results to verify his hypothesis.

Regardless of the verification result, proceed immediately, the sooner the better.

Exit the tomb chamber and stand outside the bronze door, ready to close it at any moment.

Link held his breath and waited quietly.

I don't know how much time passed.

Even with Link's physique, he felt his body becoming somewhat stiff.

This is caused by standing in one position for too long.

"Isn't that right?"

Link felt a slight disappointment as he looked at the motionless skeleton of the Godslayer.

It seems we still need to think of a way to find other special "places" or "roles" to verify the speculation about submitting the "report".

This will inevitably create many more complications.

After all, looking around, all they could find were either the enemy camp or their own camp, the Northern District apprentices, who were destined to be unable to work together.

The only people I could barely trust were Lani Taylor's team.

This is truly a case of choosing the best among the worst, making do with what you have.

Link slowly closed the bronze gate, walked out of the secret passage, and then closed the iron gate behind him.

Call everyone back and have them fill in all the pits near the secret passage and carefully remove any traces of excavation.

After thinking it over, Link set up several hidden traps along the only route to the secret passage.

In this way, anyone who is not part of Link's team or someone Link specifically told the location to come will receive a warm "welcome".

Even if you can't stop them from exploring secret passages and tombs, you still have to disgust them.

Afterwards, Link organized his team to miniaturize the three sets of commonly used experimental equipment, pack up other things that could be taken away, and bury the things that could not be taken away.

The experimental logs and experimental data drafts were burned in one go.

Anyway, Link has already memorized it firmly in his memory palace, and can retrieve it whenever needed.

"Fill it out."

At the entrance of the tunnel, Link glanced towards the tomb chamber, but still didn't wait for any movement before giving up and speaking to Jasmine.

"it is good."

Jasmine responded and, along with several earth-elemental "workers," filled in the laboratories and tunnels they had painstakingly excavated, restoring them to their original state.

"Let's go, let's meet up with Lanny Taylor."

Link waved his hand and led the way out of the tunnel to the surface of the sandbar in the middle of the river.

The circular flying saucer and four reconnaissance puppets were deployed ahead of schedule.

They are conducting real-time reconnaissance of the surrounding area to prevent anyone from ambushing them while they are crossing the river.

Upon arriving at the riverbank, they were still prepared to use ropes to cross the river.

This time, they didn't use the central flying saucer with a rope to cross the river first.

Link used a levitation + double-layer water shield version of "Lingbo Weibu" to skim across the river, bringing a long rope to the hill and securing it tightly.

Jasmine, the five gentlemen, and the three socially awkward individuals crossed the river in an orderly fashion.

Once everyone had climbed the ropes and reached the hill, Link made another trip to the sandbar in the middle of the river.

Firstly, to retrieve the ropes;

Secondly, he was still somewhat unwilling to give up.

He wanted to check whether the Watermark spell, which he had cast on the report at level 0, had been triggered before its effects wore off.

Unfortunately, the report remains in its original state, neither picked up nor read.

With a sigh, Link returned to the hill in disappointment.

"Let's go, Lanny Taylor is waiting for us at their base."

Link glanced at his teammates, who were all ready to go, suppressed his other thoughts, and pointed in a direction.

After spending these days together and working together, the team members have developed a tacit understanding.

No need for Link to assign tasks; everyone should form their own groups.

They might clear the way, guard both sides, conduct real-time reconnaissance, or cover the rear.

After walking for a short while, the group arrived at a mountain stream with a narrow entrance, which was easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Link and his group remained outside the entrance, without going in directly.

We'll wait quietly for Lani's team to come out on their own.

Why reunite with Lani's team?

This moment, that moment.

The situation changed too quickly and too drastically in just a few days.

The whole "world" is in complete chaos, with fighting happening everywhere.

Link stirred up trouble in the faction channel every day, and he succeeded.

It's not just the Monroe team that's fighting the opposing faction for "monsters,"

More and more teams on the positive side are choosing to get ahead of the negative side by causing destruction and engaging in "devastating rescues".

It's just that Monroe's team consisted of elites and top-notch fighters, resulting in greater achievements and attracting more hatred.

In addition, the academy's main quest 2, Factional Conflict (what the enemy wants to do, you must destroy), adds to the excitement.

The conflict between the two camps suddenly escalated.

They don't just kill on sight.

More and more people, like Iris Clarke, are putting aside faction quests and focusing solely on fighting and faction conflict.

I'll consider it a success as long as I kill all the enemies.

Failing to complete faction missions or successfully save or destroy the world only results in a lower score.

It's nothing serious.

Not long after, Lani Taylor's team, who were also preparing to move forward, emerged from the ravine.

"I'll follow your orders."

Upon seeing Link, Lanny immediately made her stance clear.

Either don't do it at all, or do it drastically.

Now that she has given up on completing the main quest independently and intends to rely on Link Grand's help, Lanny will not easily change her mind.

Even if you have any emotions inside, you keep them to yourself.

"If any of you are outwardly compliant but inwardly disobedient, verbally agreeing to follow orders but secretly shirking your duties, don't blame me for kicking him out of the team."

Lani not only expressed her stance to Link, but also turned around and gave her teammates a very serious warning.

Whether it was genuine or just for show, Jasmine, who had originally wanted to find fault, had nothing to say.

"Yes."

"no problem."

"It's settled then."

The five members of the "New Blood Mutual Aid Association" responded quite uniformly, while the other five members of the other apprentice organizations were scattered.

Two teams with only one person in their numbers still have some differences, even a significant gap, in this respect.

Lani Taylor is somewhat lacking in team cohesion.

Link observed Lanny's performance throughout and had mixed feelings about her.

There was a slight sense of apprehension, but mostly admiration.

Not all twelve or thirteen-year-olds are able to recognize the times and adjust their strategies in time according to the changing winds.

Not everyone, regardless of age, can adjust their mindset in time and shift from resisting the silky smoothness to cooperating.

To put it nicely, this shift is called surrender; to put it bluntly, it's called defection to the enemy.

In return for her kindness, Link did not take over Lani's team.

Instead, Lani was appointed as the vice-captain, responsible for leading the original team.

This arrangement achieves multiple benefits.

The specific gains will not be detailed here.

After the two teams merged, the first issue was deciding which direction to move in.

Link had already made his decision, but still exercised the spirit of democracy by drawing a few simple lines on the ground to outline the terrain within a radius of 30 miles.

Pointing to a basin not too far from here, bordered by a river on one side and mountains on two sides, with only one entrance between the two mountains, he said:

"I plan to move here, build a base and defenses, then observe the situation and adjust my strategy as it changes. What do you guys think? Feel free to share any different opinions, suggestions, or ideas you may have."

As he spoke, Link looked at Lanny Taylor.

Lanny glanced at the topographical map and compared it with the terrain she had memorized, and realized that Link had indeed chosen a good location.

It is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and is no less formidable than the mountain ravine behind it.

The question is, hasn't such a prime location been taken by someone else yet?

She immediately replied, "It's a good place, and I agree if it's not already taken by someone else."

After that, no one spoke.

Because Lani Taylor raised the most crucial question.

Everything else is trivial and unimportant.

Link explained, "I went to scout late last night, but I didn't find any signs of human activity. I don't know the current situation either; I can only play it by ear."

After receiving a private message from Iris last night, Link immediately began preparing to relocate his base.

After scouting several potential locations, they finally found that the mountain basin was the most suitable.

After a pause, Link emphasized, "Regardless, this place has been discovered, and we can't stay here any longer."

After the words were spoken, their thoughts were unified, and they set off immediately.

The two groups did not run parallel; instead, they split into front and rear teams, forming an "I"-shaped formation as they searched and advanced.

Even with a circular flying saucer overhead, four reconnaissance puppets around him, and a reconnaissance artifact that Lanny Taylor had somehow acquired, Link dared not relax for a moment.

Having experienced Trish Lucia's long-range bombing and witnessed Iris Clark's dive bombing, Link deeply understood what beyond-visual-range combat was.

If you relax even slightly, someone will discover your mistake before you even realize it.

What followed was a relentless bombardment.

Perhaps Link can survive the bombing by skillfully using the "Defender 3202" armor set, life-saving artifacts, and water shield spell.

But everyone else, including Jasmine who was also equipped with the "Defender 3202" suit, would "die" on the spot.

The set's defense is not a problem.

The weakness lies in the physical strength, impact resistance, and defensive capabilities of wizard apprentices.

If he were to devise an attack plan now, he would most likely start with impact and shock.

Link isn't so arrogant as to think that only he can understand this.

Otherwise, why would someone as wealthy as Iris carry seemingly inexhaustible, enhanced versions of self-destructing fire grenades in her small pouch at her waist?

We proceeded cautiously and quickly, avoiding obstacles and taking detours whenever possible.

In short, there's only one principle: avoid any unexpected events.

Just as they were about to reach the mountain basin, an unexpected incident occurred.

The two groups of people, covered in dust and looking somewhat disheveled, entered the basin ahead of everyone else.

It looks like they're planning to rest here.

As Link spotted the other party, the other party also clearly spotted Link and his group.

Both sides became alert.

The other person's movements were very skillful, and their teamwork was excellent.

They rushed into the basin in an instant, then scattered and hid, setting up defensive lines and preparing for a counterattack.

Several others rapidly ascended into the air, hovering above the mountain peaks on both sides, ready to launch a surprise attack at any moment.

Link saw a familiar figure.

"Do not attack rashly. Only act upon my command."

He first gave orders to his two teams, emphasizing, "Do you understand?"

"clear!"

Jasmine led the group of men and the social anxiety group in a unified response.

"clear."

Lanny Taylor was a half step behind and shouted loudly as well.

However, her 10 teammates failed to respond promptly, which was quite disorganized.

This annoyed Lanny.

Link spoke again, shouting angrily, "Did you understand?"

At the same time, he exuded a cold and chilling murderous aura, enveloping the 10 people who were confused about the situation.

"Understood!"

At this moment, Lutz Berry and Bamir Valvez, two people who had witnessed the explosion in the valley from afar, were the first to come to their senses and led their eight companions to answer loudly.

He waved his hand forcefully, signaling the formation to spread out and remain vigilant.

Link made some adjustments to his watch and sent two private messages.

One message was for Iris, and the other was for Monroe Briseño. Both messages read: "You are the ones I met?"

Shortly afterward, the two replied almost simultaneously.

Iris simply replied with a "yes".

Monroe replied: Yes. Cooperation? Or retreat?

The sensitivity, tension, and pre-emptive response revealed in the reply prompted Link to make a judgment immediately.

The other party has obviously encountered something, and is even very likely in a state of being pursued by a powerful enemy.

A rather difficult choice lay before Link.

Should we withdraw from this agreement, or reach a temporary cooperation agreement?

Logically, Link should have chosen to retreat without hesitation, based on the principle of avoiding trouble.

But Link did not make that decision immediately.

If Iris and Munro's team are indeed being pursued, Link's retreat at this point would only allow them to return the way they came, and they could not continue forward.

Otherwise, they would very likely run right into the group chasing Iris and Monroe.

He became a scapegoat for Iris and Monroe's team.

"Hold on."

Link replied to Monroe with two more words, then shared his deductions and concerns with everyone, seeking their opinions once again.

"There's no need to hesitate, let's cooperate with them."

After listening to Link's words, Lanny Taylor was the first to express her opinion.

She has her own set of thought processes.

The reason we left the sandbar and mountain stream where we were staying was because we discovered that people with unclear intentions had been scouting us multiple times, so we definitely couldn't go back.

Now we can't go any further.

Caught in the middle, in an awkward position.

There is no other option but to team up with fellow apprentices from the North.

Jasmine simply said softly, "I'll do whatever you say."

The Brothers and the Social Anxiety Group followed Link, while Lani's team listened to Lani.

Opinions were instantly unified.

Link glanced at everyone, including Lanny's team members, making sure no one was missed, and said in a deep voice, "Since that's the case, then let's cooperate with them. But everyone needs to be careful, understand?"

"clear!"

This time, everyone responded in unison.

They really understood.

"action."

Link gave the order and took the lead, guiding two teams cautiously towards the mountain basin.

Preparing to meet up with Iris and the Monroe team.

As they were about to enter the basin, Link paused slightly.

They quickly covered it up again and continued forward.

Just now, it seemed as if someone whispered in his ear, like a breeze, saying:

"You are very good."

(End of this chapter)