Faerun: The arcane mage is still too imprisoned.

Several other soldiers were also awake and witnessed this scene.

Their reaction was similar to the centurion's—puzzled, but not daring to ask.

A young soldier muttered under his breath, "Why haven't the two lords returned?"

The veteran next to him glared at him: "Shut up! The superiors have their own plans!"

The young soldier shut his mouth, but was still wondering to himself: Arrangements? What arrangements require leaving both of you in the woods? And Lord Hans doesn't look well; is there really some danger in the woods?

But... if there was really danger, why did Lord Hans come back alone? Shouldn't he be fighting alongside his companions?

The more I thought about it, the more something seemed off, but I didn't dare to ask.

It couldn't be that Lord Hans killed the other two, could it?

How could that be? Lord Hans doesn't have that kind of ability.

Never mind, time to sleep.

The convoy remained silent in the darkness.

Only occasionally would the draft horses snort or flick their tails to shoo away mosquitoes.

……

Lance's Arcane Power is almost gone, and the Arcane Echo effect was used up in the early morning.

He wouldn't have wasted his time using [Advanced Illusion] if it weren't to minimize the commotion and avoid being discovered, and to prevent the remaining people from escaping.

The obvious opening move is Fireball, followed by two free Mana Blasts.

"Restore mana. Restore mana."

Lance swaggered toward the tent that had been set up with the help of professionals... Even non-professionals couldn't set it up that quickly.

He plopped down on the simple cot, let out a long breath, and closed his eyes to rest.

……

Three hours later.

Lance opened his eyes, a glint of shrewdness flashing in them.

He stood up and stretched his limbs, his bones cracking and popping.

Little Black jumped down from his shoulder, tilted its head back, and asked, "Master, what's next?"

Lance's lips curled up slightly, revealing a smile that was extremely sinister in the cat's eyes.

"Meeting."

"A meeting?" Xiao Hei was taken aback, not understanding.

[First-level spell - Disguise!]

……

The convoy camp.

The soldiers on night watch were dozing off in twos and threes by the wagons. The campfire had burned to a dark red ember, occasionally crackling and sputtering a spark or two.

The centurion, who was supposed to be on night watch, was fast asleep against the wheel of a cart, and the other soldiers, whose strength and status were inferior to his, dared not wake him.

He was in his dream embracing a young widow from his hometown when he was suddenly awakened by the sound of horses' hooves.

He groggily opened his eyes and saw Lord Hans riding over.

The centurion rubbed his eyes, making sure he wasn't seeing things, and quickly got up and jogged to meet him.

"Lord Hans!" he bowed respectfully. "What are your orders?"

Lance, mounted on his horse, looked down at him.

After wandering around for a while, I finally found a level 4 professional...

He should know all the professionals here.

Lance said bluntly, "Go and inform all the professionals to come to my tent for a meeting. There's something important."

The centurion was taken aback: "All professionals? Now?"

"Now," Lance said impatiently, "hurry up, don't dawdle. This isn't war, let them come lightly equipped, no armor required."

The centurion had some doubts.

A meeting in the middle of the night? It's not wartime, no need to wear armor?

But before he could think it through, Lord Hans was already getting impatient. Asking too many questions would get him a beating, so he quickly replied "Yes" and turned to run away.

Lance watched his retreating figure, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Soon, the professionals in the camp were woken up one by one.

"Get up! Get up! Lord Hans, let the meeting begin!"

"Huh? Now? What time is it?"

"Don't ask so many questions, hurry up! The adults said we don't need to wear armor, just travel light."

"No need for armor? That must be an internal meeting, not a battle."

"Who knows... Let's go, let's go."

The professionals grumbled as they crawled out of bed, some rubbing their eyes, others yawning, and walked in twos and threes toward the center of the camp.

On the way, a few acquaintances huddled together and whispered among themselves.

"Why are you waking us up in the middle of the night?"

"Who knows? Maybe they really found something in the woods."

"What could possibly be in that grove? I just glanced at it as I passed by, and it was pitch black, completely empty."

"I find it strange too. The three of you went in together, but only Lord Hans has come back. Lord Gray and Lord Lina are still inside... This isn't right."

The young man lowered his voice, looked around, and whispered, "Do you think... it's possible that Lord Hans has betrayed us and killed the other two lords..."

Before he could finish speaking, someone next to him slapped him on the back of the head.

"Bullshit! Lord Hans may have a bad temper, but he's a veteran of the Northern Legion. Betrayal? What good would betrayal do him?"

"Exactly, exactly, don't talk nonsense."

"I was just saying, in case..."

"What if you're kidding me! If you keep talking nonsense, I'll beat you up!"

The group walked forward laughing and joking, but they were all a little uneasy.

After all, it was rather unusual that only one of the three adults returned from a meeting in the middle of the night.

But then I thought about it again. Lord Hans is a level 5 warrior, Lord Gray is also level 5, and Lady Lina is a level 5 wanderer.

Even if the other two were combined, Lord Hans probably couldn't defeat them.

Even if Lord Hans wanted to betray us, he would have to consider whether he could defeat the other two.

And they even ordered us to go... There are a hundred professionals here. Although they are not wearing armor, most of them must be carrying weapons. That's their custom.

Lord Hans definitely can't win.

Even if there are Exemplary-level professionals lying in ambush, they might not be able to kill them all before their strength is exhausted.

Thinking about it that way, it doesn't seem like much.

"Alright, alright, stop overthinking it, let's go to the meeting."

"Yes, yes, I'll go back to sleep after the meeting."

The professionals quickened their pace and headed towards the center of the camp.

But what they didn't know was—

Just as they arrived, a transparent film silently unfolded, like a giant bowl, enclosing the entire conference area inside.

[Third Ring Spell - High Illusion!]

From the outside, everything in the camp appeared normal. The soldiers were still sleeping, the campfire was still burning, and the wagons were still in place.

But in reality, this area has been isolated by illusion magic, so nothing that happens inside can get out.

Lance stood in the center of the crowd, watching the professionals gather one after another, silently counting them.

One, two, three...

Soon, hundreds of people filled the central open space.

There were warriors, wanderers, rangers, and even a few guys who looked like low-level spellcasters—probably apprentice mages or warlocks accompanying the army.

Most of them are level 1 or 2, while level 3 or 4 are considered relatively rare experts.

But even the least skilled professional is still a professional. When hundreds of people gather together, the aura of those professionals is still quite intimidating.