Wizards begin with Occlumency.

Chapter 142 Like Madness

Sandbar in the river.

Underground, behind the bronze door, lies a circular burial chamber.

The empty eye sockets of the withered bones glowed faintly red.

As time passed, the red light intensified, and then with a hiss, it transformed into two flames.

A creaking sound came from the skeleton.

The whitish bones gradually changed, slowly transforming into a crystal-clear jade color.

He raised his left hand, which was resting on the coffin, and placed it on his right hand, which was tightly gripping a large sword, as if he were holding the sword with both hands.

After maintaining this posture for a while, the skeleton began to move again.

Just like adding lubricant to a rusty machine, the movement becomes smooth and fluid instead of slow and sluggish at first.

With a forceful push from his bare hands, the skeleton stood up, leaning on his greatsword.

With a casual sling of his greatsword over his shoulder, the skeleton glanced around the tomb.

My gaze finally settled on the coffin.

The two flames burning and flickering in his eyes, swaying slightly from side to side, revealed a deep sense of remembrance, pity, and sorrow.

"my daughter."

The withered bone jaw opened and closed a few times, its voice hoarse and deep, "It's been 1,627 years."

It's unclear how a skeleton, lacking vocal cord resonance, produces sound.

The small, circular tomb chamber echoed with the soliloquy of the withered bones.

"I have killed all the gods who disregarded the lives of mortals."

But so what?

I still can't save you.

You are still lying here, without a sound.

The gods fell, and the world changed drastically.

The world began to decline.

Humanity is heading towards extinction.

But all of this is no longer my concern.

I only wish to accompany you in your eternal rest here.

my daughter.

More than a thousand years have passed.

This world is about to perish.

I don't care about this world.

Whether it lives or dies is none of my business.

I just can't let you lose your peaceful place to sleep.

my daughter.

wait for me.

I'm going out for a bit to take care of a small problem.

I'll be back soon.

Do not be afraid.

I will definitely come back to you.

I'll stay with you in your eternal sleep.

As soon as the voice fell, the thick stack of reports on the ground flew up automatically.

The report hovered before the skeleton, burning page by page.

The fact that a god-killer doesn't know the language of the wizarding world doesn't mean he can't read its contents.

In particular, all of Link's experiments took place right under his nose.

By comparing the two, the Godslayer can naturally fully understand Link's destructive intention to save others.

And elevate it.

Who understands this world better than the Godslayer?

No more.

The bronze gate opened by itself without any wind.

The god-killer stepped out of the tomb and into the secret passage.

The bronze gate slowly closed, and the god-slayer turned around, glancing at the coffin through the crack in the gate.

With a whoosh, the greatsword burst into black flames.

The fire grew from small to large, gradually transforming into a wing-like shape that enveloped the withered bones.

The pure black flame wings and the pure white jade bones form a striking contrast.

Like darkness and light.

It's like destruction and redemption.

The Godslayer's gaze turned toward Link Grand's location, his jaw slightly clenched, and he uttered a soft sentence.

This is an alien from another world who was able to control his desires and, apart from delivering reports, never stepped into the tomb again.

The impression of the god-killer is not bad.

Because Link didn't disturb his daughter's sleep.

Look away.

Pure black flames spread out, and pure white jade bones shimmered with light.

The slayer vanished instantly from the secret passage, disappearing without a trace.

Only the white walls on both sides remain.

The murals have quietly disappeared.

……

Intermontane basin.

"welcome."

Monroe Briseño, alone, greeted Link and his group at the entrance.

He was still wearing jungle camouflage, with several streaks of paint on his face, but he didn't look as spirited as last time.

A hint of fatigue uncontrollably showed through his eyes and brows.

Despite Monroe trying hard to stay focused and control his facial expressions.

Upon seeing Link, Monroe extended his right hand from afar.

It was as if the mountain basin was his home ground, and he was the master of this place.

Even though he had only just entered the basin and hadn't even set up camp yet.

"Thanks."

Link didn't care about Monroe's words.

These are minor details and can be ignored.

Link shook hands briefly, then his gaze naturally drifted past Monroe.

He glanced casually at the apprentices from the same faction in the North District who remained on guard.

With just a quick glance, based on the comparison in his mind, Link was shocked to discover that two of the people he had seen in the jungle last time were not here.

I don't know if they got separated or were eliminated.

If they are eliminated, then the battles that Monroe's team will face will be very intense.

Suppressing his distractions, Link cut to the chase and asked, "Judging from your condition, things don't seem to be going well. Has something happened?"

Upon hearing this, Monroe gave a wry smile: "We were careless, fell into an ambush, and suffered heavy losses."

There was no concealment, which can be considered a positive admission, but not everything that happened was revealed.

Their ordeal was far more complex than simply being ambushed.

The events that occurred during that time, such as the use of spies, counter-spies, bait, ambushes, counter-ambushes, counter-counter-ambushes, pursuit, counterattacks, and further pursuit, cannot be explained simply by saying "we fell into an ambush."

Monroe simply didn't want to dwell on painful memories.

Ultimately, they had fallen to such a state, being chased and routed, fleeing in panic and looking north.

The biggest reason was that he had too much success in stealing monsters in the early stages, which made him arrogant.

Upon seeing a plump and tempting bait, one cannot resist the urge to eat it.

Several friends advised him not to get carried away, saying there might be an ambush.

But he just wouldn't listen.

Stubborn to do things one's own way.

As a result, they ended up giving away a bunch of kills.

It was only thanks to the desperate rearguard action of two close companions who urged him to be cautious that he was able to lead the main force out.

Not all of them were broken there.

Later, Monroe's team encountered Iris's team, who, despite being ambushed, managed to escape unscathed after incurring some costs.

The two teams merged into one and engaged in a fierce battle with the pursuing forces that had also merged.

It wasn't until late last night that they temporarily shook off their pursuers.

However, even without Monroe's detailed explanation, Link could roughly guess what had happened.

"There should still be pursuers behind you."

After thinking for a moment, Link tentatively asked, "What are the chances that the other side will discover us?"

Link had an idea; he felt this was an opportunity and planned to pull off a heist.

I haven't had any contact with them, so I don't know what kind of reconnaissance equipment they have.

Then we'll have to ask Monroe, the person involved.

All are not fools.

Listen carefully to the underlying meaning.

Monroe immediately understood Link's meaning and excitedly said, "Not likely, almost zero probability."

"Well……"

Link pondered for a moment and said, "Let's discuss with our teammates and see if we can launch an ambush, a surprise attack."

"Can."

Monroe clenched his right fist and slammed it heavily into his left palm, looking excited, before turning to find his friends.

Link led the two groups of men into the mountain basin in single file, and instead of staying in a conspicuous place, they moved to the foot of the mountain where they could be more concealed.

After settling in for a while, Link spoke:

"Personally, I think that if this situation continues to develop, a conflict with the opposing camp will occur sooner or later."

It's better to fight sooner rather than later, and it's better to ambush the enemy than to engage in a skirmish or be ambushed.

Take advantage of this rare opportunity to gain the upper hand, go all out and have a good fight with the opposing camp, accumulate experience, and test your skills.

To avoid being caught off guard later.

This is, of course, only the superficial reason.

What is the real reason?

It was because of that murmur I heard before entering the basin.

On his way into the basin, Link repeatedly checked the information in the Temple of Thought.

That murmur was not in any language he knew; it was completely foreign.

He could understand the meaning purely because "murmuring" had the extraordinary effect of "language comprehension".

Link immediately guessed that the god-slayer in the tomb had awakened.

Their confidence to cause trouble suddenly increased significantly.

As usual, Buck was the first to stand up and support his boss: "I agree!"

Then came four other gentlemen.

Even the three socially awkward individuals mustered the courage to speak out their opinions:

"The boss is right, we firmly support the boss."

Jasmine didn't say anything, but quietly stood closer to Link, almost shoulder to shoulder.

Lani was somewhat envious of the atmosphere in Link's team.

Unite as one and live in harmony.

She also knew the trio of socially anxious people.

The three, who are usually quiet, have changed so much after only hanging out with Link Grand for a short time. They even dare to speak loudly in front of many people.

And they weren't embarrassed or ashamed at all.

That's absolutely outrageous!

She glanced at her teammates behind her, who never seemed to be working together, and felt inexplicably weary.

Even his voice sounded weak and listless: "I have no objection."

Lanny Taylor agreed, and the 10 people who followed her, regardless of their own differing opinions, couldn't very well disagree.

Especially the five new recruits from the other apprenticeship groups.

He has become increasingly taciturn.

They simply echoed each other.

Link sensed something was off, but didn't say anything, only keeping a watchful eye on things.

At this moment, Monroe and his friends discussed it and waved to Link from afar.

Link gestured for everyone to take a break during this free time, and then went over.

"How so?"

Monroe asked with concern.

"No problem, we can pull this off."

Link gave an affirmative answer.

Do you have any good ideas?

Monroe remembered that Iris had mentioned that under Link's planning, a trap would directly eliminate Trish Lucia and six members of "Pureblood Will," and he wanted to hear if Link had any plans.

Do you have any magical artifacts that can conceal multiple people?

Link didn't answer but asked a question instead.

"have."

Monroe nodded.

"That makes things easier."

Link was confident and said,

"My teammates and I hid by the river beforehand."

If the pursuers do catch up, hold them off at the entrance for a while, then feign defeat to lure them in. When you reach the riverbank, spread out to both sides and then turn around to attack from the side.

We are now acting as a fresh force, launching a frontal assault.

As he spoke, Link cast a secondary mist spell, using mist of varying thicknesses to display the layout, positioning, and routes.

Clear and concise, easy to understand at a glance.

"Okay, let's do it this way."

Monroe thought about it carefully and felt that although Link's plan was simple, it would be effective if strictly implemented, so he immediately agreed.

After a pause, Monroe suggested, "You're here to help, so we can't let you contribute both your labor and resources. Here's what we'll do: we'll send you a batch of runic items and magical artifacts."

This is actually a rather euphemistic way of putting it.

How could Link not understand the meaning behind it?

Since the other party has given us face, we should just accept it.

"Can."

Link agreed readily and without any sign of embarrassment.

New recruits in the South District are generally poor; they can't even afford many rune items, let alone witchcraft artifacts.

Afterwards, Link suggested, "If you have enough supplies, you could consider setting up some traps."

"Um."

Monroe accepted the suggestion but didn't discuss it further.

These are all standard tactics.

Those who know, know; there's no need to waste time.

"This is a concealment artifact that can last for 24 hours, shielding it from detection by all first-level reconnaissance artifacts."

Monroe took out a cylindrical object resembling a flashlight from his leather pouch at his waist, handed it to Link, and explained in detail how to use it.

Then she added, "Iris will come to find you later and bring you some supplies."

"Um."

Link nodded.

After finishing their business, the two got back to their respective tasks.

Monroe went to communicate with his teammates about tactics, arrange positions, and set traps.

Link led two teams straight to the riverbank to find a suitable place to lie in ambush.

It's basically all standard setup, nothing special.

Apart from all the scouting artifacts.

They defend not only from the outside, but also from within.

Harmfulness is not allowed, and defensiveness is indispensable.

Link had no intention of betraying Monroe and Iris, nor did he want to be betrayed by Iris and Monroe.

"Wow, you're actually wary of me?"

The crazy girl Iris flew over and landed next to Link in a flash. Seeing Link's setup, she started shouting loudly.

The tone was merely playful, with no hint of blame.

These are just human nature.

Everyone is the same, there's nothing to blame.

Didn't Monroe also arrange for a spy artifact to monitor Link and his group?

After saying that, without waiting for Link's reply, Iris turned to look at Jasmine beside her and immediately grinned.

The smile was rather eerie, as if the person had seen something interesting and was inexplicably excited.

Iris pounced on Jasmine's side, and without waiting for Jasmine's reaction, put her arm around Jasmine's shoulder and asked casually, "Hey, do you like that Link guy? You're always sticking together, don't you get tired of it?"

Jasmine's face flushed slightly.

Fortunately, the "sunlight" was quite bright and not very noticeable.

She broke free from Iris's embrace and retorted, "What? Who would like this blockhead? Don't talk nonsense."

"Hehehe..."

Once Iris gets going, she won't let it go easily. She laughed wickedly, "Still trying to argue. Look at the way you look at Link, you're practically drooling! If you didn't like him, would you care this much? I don't believe it."

"You're lying! I didn't!"

Jasmine grew a little anxious, her eyes widening as she scolded, "Don't spout nonsense and spread rumors!"

Seeing that Jasmine kept clarifying and wouldn't admit it, Iris pouted and said, "How boring."

After saying that, she darted over to Link and asked curiously, "Hey, do you know she likes you? And do you like her back?"

Jasmine's ears perked up immediately, and she secretly glanced at Link's expression out of the corner of her eye, waiting for Link's answer.

Link didn't answer, but just looked indifferently at Iris, who had been causing trouble as soon as she arrived.

"Even less fun."

Iris and Link exchanged a glance, knowing they weren't going to get an answer. They pouted and grumbled, "You're both such good actors! When are you going to be able to hold a baby? Don't wait until you're officially promoted to wizards and then not be able to have a child for decades!"

After saying that, Iris pulled a large amount of supplies from her small pouch, placed them on the ground, and then flew away in a flash.

They came like madmen, and they left like madmen.

I carelessly disturbed a tender, pink heart.

After the initial excitement and anticipation came a chilling sense of disappointment.

Sigh, it's happening again.

always like this.

(End of this chapter)