Wizards begin with Occlumency.

Chapter 146 Completely Bewildered

People with "pure blood will" have complicated feelings.

Before the start of the spring semester, news was already circulating within the association.

It is said that the highest-ranking officials plan to kill someone during the competition between the two districts.

A mere first-year wizard apprentice, a fresh blood from the Storm Sea.

Such a large-scale mobilization must indicate that the person is no ordinary individual.

Someone specifically looked up the information, and that person was indeed extraordinary.

Among the four levels of aptitude, this is mediocre and there's not much to say.

However, his talent in botany and pharmacology is truly exceptional.

Without receiving formal education in the research system, they were able to conduct research, perform experiments, publish "papers," and obtain patents on their own.

She had excellent academic performance, but only ranked second in the South District grade because of her lack of aptitude.

If we get the score in the North Division, we can secure a top-ten finish and even strive for a top-six finish.

The reason they couldn't make it into the top five is because they weren't as talented as others.

Moreover, this person is ruthless and has already taken three lives.

In short, he's not someone to be trifled with.

With no grudges or animosity, most people genuinely don't want to provoke this kind of person.

If things go wrong and we get eliminated, that's not a big deal.

If the other party were to harden their heart and risk their future to exact retaliation and actually kill them, then they would be at a huge loss.

Therefore, aside from the small group within the Rukia family faction and Trish Rukia, who had no choice but to accept this mission,

The other members of "Pureblood Will" were too lazy to get involved in this matter.

But who the hell knew that Trish Lucia, who always acted so arrogantly, was actually just a show-off?

Upon entering this world, before even seeing the sun on the second day, he wiped out the entire Rukia family faction.

So be it, we're all wiped out.

Before being eliminated, he still had to say in the public channel, "Link Grande and the Madwoman killed me."

Isn't this deliberately pushing the other members of "Pureblood Will" to the opposite side of Link Grand?

It also dragged in a crazy woman named Iris Clark.

With no other option, members of the "pure-blood will" factions from the other major families reluctantly took on this task.

After all, according to legend, the one who founded the "Pureblood Will" personally agreed to kill Link Grand.

These people didn't just kill Link Grande without even seeing him.

Several different groups of people, at different times and in different places, encountered Link Grand, but all chose to remain inactive for the time being.

Perhaps some show-off fool will step forward and take on this arduous and potentially thankless chore.

That way, you won't have to worry about it.

It's a pity that no one is willing to be the fool who steps forward.

In order to avoid being scolded after the competition, these people could only go through the motions and isolate Link Grand and Iris Clark in the positive camp.

Well……

Isolating Iris Clarke had some effect, since the crazy woman wasn't well-liked.

She's erratic and unpredictable; how many people would be willing to risk being beaten at any moment to be around her?

Isolating Link Grand was a terrible move, a completely unnecessary and pointless exercise.

Even half-blood apprentices from the North District rarely form true alliances with new blood.

At most, they can offer some assistance when new blood is dealing with pureblood.

As a newcomer to the Storm Sea, he was isolated from the start!

But bad moves aside, at least this is some kind of explanation, right?

I thought this task would be quietly glossed over by everyone, with everyone tacitly agreeing to it.

To their surprise, Link unexpectedly jumped into their line of sight and announced his progress and discoveries in faction quests on the faction channel.

There's nothing we can do about it.

They single-handedly eliminated Rukia's faction, yet they're still so energetic.

If we don't take some serious action soon, we won't be able to explain ourselves to our superiors after we get out.

I can't even save face.

The thought of future conflicts and verbal sparring with other apprenticeship organizations is unbearable.

No matter what they say, the other side will say, "What? They killed your people and they're still so carefree."

The veins on my forehead couldn't help but bulge.

So, the various factions of "Pureblood Will" held a meeting and reached a consensus.

Each family sends a six-person team to locate Link Grand and launch an attack when the opportunity arises.

It would be best if we could achieve results, but it doesn't matter if we can't.

If you get eliminated, you get eliminated. As long as you don't push the other party to the point of reckless retaliation, it's fine.

The three teams were all temporary groups of six whose members were all randomly selected from unlucky draws.

The search for Link's whereabouts begins from three different directions.

The search didn't take long before it yielded results.

It's unclear where Link Grand got so many enemies, but someone even tipped them off, telling them Link's whereabouts...

Sandbar in the middle of the river!

To be on the safe side, the "Pureblood Will" squad conducted reconnaissance from a distance for several days.

Once the information was confirmed to be accurate, and the siege plan was finalized,

Hey, they've slipped away.

They slipped away incredibly fast.

The "Pureblood Will" team immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

It's better to avoid fighting if possible.

Unfortunately, they didn't get to relax for long before a kind-hearted person came along and helped them swallow their breath.

They were informed of Link Grand's latest whereabouts.

The three six-person squad leaders, feeling helpless, met to discuss how to deal with this intelligence.

"What did you say?"

"In my opinion, we should just ignore him."

"I also agree with ignoring it."

"The information should be accurate, but they have ulterior motives and want to use us as pawns."

"Hmph, they're not just using us as scapegoats, they're treating us like fools! With all that commotion over there, are we blind? Can't we see anything? The messenger just wants us to be their scapegoats."

"Then just ignore it?"

"ignore!"

"But how do we explain this to our superiors?"

"explain?"

"What's there to explain? Just report the whole story directly."

"On what grounds?"

"Isn't the reason readily available? Just say that Link Grand has joined forces with Iris Clark and Monroe Briseño, and their strength is formidable. They just wiped out a large group of over sixty people from the opposing camp. We are outmatched and dare not launch an attack rashly."

"This... isn't a good idea? It makes us seem irresponsible."

"Then how do you suggest we report this?"

"The beginning is fine, but it would be better to change 'dare not launch an attack rashly' to 'do everything possible to monitor their movements to prevent them from escaping'."

"That's settled then."

"Um."

"Agreed."

The three team leaders reached a consensus, ended the meeting, and left happily.

Another day without having to work yourself to the bone.

Happy!

This left the few people secretly observing the movements of the "Pureblood Will" squad with mixed feelings.

They remained huddled in the mountain stream where Lani's team had stayed, and apart from sending two people to report to the main force, they did not move for a long time.

They had absolutely no intention of launching an attack.

They were unwilling even to conduct close reconnaissance.

"Are they just going to give up like this?"

The effeminate man asked a question, his tone revealing deep disbelief.

You guys were sent out specifically to deal with Link Grand, at least make a move.

What's the point of hiding here?

"It seems we overestimated the determination of the 'Pureblood Will' members to deal with Link Grand."

The tall, burly man responded, "These people are probably no longer needed."

"snort!"

The cold woman scoffed, saying sarcastically, "Why bother with all this fancy stuff? We should have gathered another group and charged in while Iris and Monroe were weakened. Now look what we've done, wasting a golden opportunity and giving them time to recover."

"Alright, enough with the sarcastic remarks. You agreed to this strategy back then, so stop showing off how clear-headed you were."

Seeing that the effeminate man and the burly man both had somewhat gloomy expressions, the fair-skinned, chubby man stepped in to smooth things over, "Let's think together about how to continue dealing with Iris and Monroe."

"In my opinion, there's no need to keep harping on Iris and Monroe."

The effeminate man stroked his chin with his right hand, his fingers twirling the soft leather, and said thoughtfully, "Now that I think about it, Monroe Briseño's logic is somewhat different from that of that crazy woman, Iris."

"What's the difference?"

The burly man asked curiously.

"That crazy woman Iris is just causing trouble; she doesn't have a strong purpose. Munro, on the other hand, has been vying with us to kill the giant beasts."

I know Munro quite well; he's very goal-oriented, including his pursuit of that crazy woman, Iris.

There's no plausible reason why he'd be so keen on killing giant beasts.

Therefore, there must be secrets here that we don't yet know.

"After all that talk, you've said nothing at all. Everyone knows there's a secret here, right? The question is, what secret is it? Just tell me!"

The fair-skinned, chubby man, who had just spoken up for the effeminate man, subtly mocked him with this next sentence.

"Oh!"

The effeminate man was unfazed, gave a cold laugh, and continued, "The secret that makes Monro so enthusiastic about killing giant beasts is, of course, related to faction missions."

"Couldn't he just be trying to create conflict between factions, or simply to hinder us?"

The cold-hearted woman offered a different perspective.

"Please use your brain. Our faction's mission is to destroy the world. Their mission is to save the world. If it's just about obstruction, as you say, they should be rescuing those behemoths from our clutches, not rushing to kill them. For the sake of factional conflict, the target should be all opposing factions, not just the teams hunting behemoths."

The effeminate man rolled his eyes and said speechlessly.

"So you mean they killed the giant beasts to save the world?"

The burly man seemed thoughtful, but still couldn't grasp the key point. He asked疑惑地问道, "Killing for salvation, that logic isn't entirely flawed, but how do you transform it?"

"right."

The effeminate man nodded, confirming the burly man's question, and then said, "I don't know how to transform him, but it doesn't matter. It won't hinder our next move."

"So, what do you think we should do next?"

The fair-skinned, chubby man then asked, "Even if we don't have a specific plan, we should at least have a general strategy."

"I think we should focus on faction missions rather than faction conflicts, try to uncover Monroe's secrets, or simply think in the opposite direction."

The effeminate man once again stroked the soft skin of his chin and said thoughtfully.

"Thinking in reverse?"

The cold woman scoffed, "What do you mean by 'thinking in reverse'? Explain yourself clearly."

The effeminate man chuckled sinisterly:

"Since Monroe is so eager to complete the faction mission, then let's reveal his intentions to everyone."

Tell everyone on the opposing side, and those on the opposing side who have differing opinions, that the team centered around Iris Clark, Monroe Briseño, and Link Grand is about to complete the faction's mission.

What do you think their reaction will be?

Upon hearing this, the cold-blooded woman couldn't help but shiver and moved a little further away from the effeminate man.

I knew he was malicious before, but I never saw him be that malicious.

Upon hearing this, the cold woman finally realized the true extent of the effeminate man's cunning.

What was the reaction?

Those on the opposing side who didn't initially consider Iris and Monroe as major enemies will now attack like madmen.

Those on the positive side who ostracized and isolated Iris and Monroe will also come charging in like madmen.

The "Pureblood Will," who wasn't particularly aggressive in dealing with Link Grand, would attack like a madman.

There is absolutely no way we can just sit idly by and watch those three complete their faction mission!

"Wonderful! Absolutely brilliant!"

The burly man clapped his hands and kept praising him.

"Why didn't you say so sooner? Otherwise, we wouldn't have wasted our time looking for this spineless 'Pureblood Will'!"

The fair-skinned man appeared to be complaining, but in reality, he was flattering the effeminate man, implying that his ideas were more righteous than the other three.

The cold woman pursed her lips, offering neither praise nor flattery, nor did she habitually utter a sarcastic remark.

The effeminate man smiled slightly: "I just thought of that myself."

After exchanging pleasantries, the four immediately got to work, with clear division of labor.

The effeminate man first posted an announcement on the public channel: Monroe is about to complete his faction quest.

They never mentioned Iris.

As everyone knows, this woman is mentally ill.

If you said she wanted to destroy the world, everyone would absolutely believe you.

If someone says she's going to save the world, people will first doubt whether the person who spreads this news is mentally ill.

Afterwards, the effeminate man posted two more announcements in the opposing camp's channel:

Monroe's motives for killing the giant beast were ulterior.

It was precisely to complete the faction mission

The burly man then sent a message to the "Pureblood Will" once again through a special means.

This time, the burly man bypassed the three groups that were loafing around in the mountain stream and directly contacted the leaders of the various factions of "Pureblood Will," informing them that Link Grand and Monroe Brisenio were together and about to complete their faction's mission to save the world.

The fair-skinned man and the cold-blooded woman then recalled all the members of their four families.

As a result of these actions, news spread throughout the "world" that the team, centered around Monroe Brisenio, Iris Clark, and Link Grand, was about to complete the mission for the good guys.

In an instant, the world became increasingly turbulent, and the situation was more chaotic than before.

Those who were working on the faction missions, whether on the side of victory or defeat, all sped up their progress.

Those engaged in factional warfare tacitly ceased fighting, disengaged from the battle, and headed towards the mountain basin.

The one in the most urgent situation, with the fastest marching speed, is "Pureblood Will".

Previously, they could have been less aggressive in dealing with Link Grand, or even given up.

But now, this is truly a matter of life and death.

If we continue to "indulge" Link Grand's antics, we'll lose the bet with Wizard Peter Lionel.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

Paley Percival kept urging the team, whose speed had already reached its limit, onward.

He was extremely worried and could only vent his anxiety in this way.

If Link Grand really does complete the faction mission, wins first place in the first-year two-district competition, and wins the bet...

Paley Percyville didn't know how to face the disappointed look in his cousin Henry Percyville's eyes.

It was he who single-handedly instigated the remaining members of the "Pureblood Will" to passively oppose Link Grand.

Despite their best efforts, "Pureblood Will" finally arrived at the mountain basin ahead of all the other teams.

Palle Percyville breathed a sigh of relief; as long as he killed Link Grand in time, everything would be fine.

"Ready..."

Palle looked back at the members who had organized their attack formation, then exchanged glances with the leaders of the other factions, and was about to give the order to attack.

Suddenly, everyone's watches started vibrating.

The positive faction sees a notification that their faction mission has been completed.

The opposing faction saw a notification that their faction's mission had failed.

For a moment, everyone was dumbfounded, stunned, and bewildered.

Especially the four who single-handedly orchestrated the siege of the mountain basin by the opposing camp and the "pureblood will".

The cold-blooded woman, the fair-skinned fat man, and the burly man stared blankly at the effeminate man.

The effeminate man was also completely bewildered.

He was certain that no one had slipped away from the mountain basin.

How was the task completed?

(End of this chapter)