"Boom!"
A faint wave of energy rippled from the distance. That it still carried this level of intensity after traveling so far only confirmed the newcomers' suspicions about who lay ahead.
"There are Wizards! Full-fledged ones, from the looks of it — and they're fighting! Do we press on?"
A sect master at the peak of the first rank stepped up to Raylin's carriage and bowed respectfully.
"Of course."
Raylin replied without a hint of concern. With their combined strength, they could roam the Eastern Region without the slightest worry. There was nothing to fear.
The sect master clearly shared the same assessment. After a brief pause, the caravan resumed its advance toward the front.
The energy fluctuations drew steadily closer, and the combatants had obviously noticed the approaching group.
One of the two sources of power clearly grew wary, while the other hesitated only a moment before hurtling straight toward the caravan.
"Trying to use us as a shield?" The Wizards inside the convoy exchanged cold, knowing smiles, then settled in to wait in silence.
Whoosh!
A few seconds later, a streak of crimson light shot in from the distance and resolved into the figure of a young
His appearance was thoroughly unremarkable, but his eyes burned with steely resolve. On the index finger of his right hand, a black ring glinted.
The moment he spotted so many full-fledged Wizards, his pupils contracted sharply. He veered to the side, attempting to detour around the group.
"You won't escape! You thief who dared covet our family's treasure!"
A woman's voice rang out from behind him. The young man shuddered, gritted his teeth, and changed course — flying straight toward the caravan instead.
"Please, help me! I'm a wandering Wizard, and I have no idea why that lunatic woman back there is hunting me down! She's even accusing me of stealing her treasure!"
This young Wizard was none other than Aileen.
After recovering from his wounds and venturing back out, he had suffered the misfortune of running into yet another Wizard of the Manbo family — and had been chased all the way here.
As for blocking the way? Naturally, it was
"
"Rest easy! I've completely masked the aura of the Tear of the Soul gemstone, so that crazy woman behind us won't discover anything!" Merlin guaranteed with absolute confidence.
As for where that confidence came from? Naturally, from someone in the caravan.
"Heh... Not a bad little one. He actually helped me gather the Tear of the Soul gemstone. I didn't even know the Manbo family had such a treasure before!"
Lei Lin chuckled lightly, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
Whoosh! Just at that moment, a streak of pink light shot over from that direction, revealing the female Wizard who had been chasing Aileen through the city.
Upon seeing a caravan composed of so many Wizards, she clearly felt a jolt of apprehension.
"I am Ephelis of the Manbo family! I didn't mean to offend you all, but please don't stand in my way as I pursue this despicable thief!"
The composition of the caravan was very mixed; the front was merely a few small academies, so Ephelis's tone was naturally not very polite.
After all, the Manbo family was quite famous in this region.
"Despicable! Who do you think you are?"
"The Manbo family? Never heard of them?"
Although only a few small academies were in the lead, their respective leaders were watching from behind, and moreover, there was a rumored second-rank Wizard from the Alliance of Nature present, so they naturally rebuffed her without any courtesy.
"You..." Ephelis's voice was low, and a dangerous aura faintly emanated from her.
Back in her family, who would dare speak to her like this?
But just at that moment, more carriages arrived. The emblems on them made Ephelis swallow the rest of her words, leaving her looking as if she had been struck dumb.
"The Bell of Dissipation, the Twisted Black Cloud, the Blood of the Underworld... and, the Alliance of Nature!!!"
Ephelis's eyes widened instantly. These were all mid-sized academies. Any one of them could crush the Manbo family, and especially the last one, the Alliance of Nature, was rumored to be backed by a powerful second-rank Wizard.
If she offended them, crushing her would be as easy as crushing an ant.
Meanwhile, Ailin also had his mouth wide open, standing there in a daze.
"So many! So many Wizards and apprentices! Are they all migrating?"
"Ephelis did not mean to offend — please forgive me, my lords!" Cold sweat poured down Ephelis's body. She quickly landed on the ground and bowed.
"Hasn't this been dealt with yet?"
At that moment, from the largest and most luxurious carriage in the middle of the Alliance of Nature's convoy, Raylin pushed open the door and stepped out.
"Lord Raylin!"
The Wizards present immediately bowed in greeting.
"Ra... Raylin! The legendary second-rank Wizard — the one who gravely wounded the
Ephelis was screaming inside, but outwardly she had stopped even producing cold sweat.
"What's going on?" Raylin frowned, asking even though he already knew the answer.
"S-sorry! My lord!" A Wizard of the Alliance of Nature standing before Raylin was so frightened he could barely form words.
"What's going on?" Raylin repeated, but the air instantly grew heavy and still. The entire convoy fell silent, and even the faction leaders of mid-sized schools who had reached peak first-rank dared not make a sound.
"My lord! It's like this..." Ephelis did her best to keep her voice steady and briefly recounted the entire sequence of events.
"Oh! Is that so?"
Raylin turned his head, and by now Ailin had already been crushed to the ground by an invisible pressure.
"I'll give you a chance! You claim your family's secret detection technique identified him — then repeat it in front of us right now! If the Tear Drop Gem really is on his person, he will face judgment under our tribunal. But if it isn't..."
Raylin's dangerous gaze shot toward Ephelis, making her scalp go numb.
"If it isn't! Ephelis willingly accepts punishment!" Ephelis gritted her teeth and declared.
"Not only that! Our entire convoy is made up of combat personnel responding to the Central Region's call to arms. If your actions are proven to be wrongful, you will be charged with obstructing military operations before the War Council!"
Raylin added with a faint smile, "Well then — let's begin!"
"What do I do? What do I do?" Elian looked at Ephelis, who had already started her search, and at the group of formal Wizards nearby who wore expressions of watching a show. He bombarded Merlin with questions in his mind, while he didn't even dare to glance at the legendary Second Tier Wizard in the center.
"Relax! I am the legendary Grand Wizard, Merlin. What does a mere Second Tier count for?" Merlin said boastfully. "With my Soul Power concealing things this time, that little girl won't discover a thing!"
"Then why didn't you use it before?" Elian felt he had been deceived in an instant.
"My Soul Power hasn't been replenished; I've already used up a lot..." Merlin explained lightly, making Elian feel instantly guilty. How could he be so distrustful of Grandpa Merlin, who had accompanied him since childhood?
"You're dead!"
Ephelis laughed lowly, pointing a ring on her hand at Elian.
"I placed a tracking rune on the Ancestral Tearstone Gem. As long as he carries it, my ring will emit a red glow. My Lords, look!"
Ephelis aimed the ring at Elian and loudly chanted a syllable: "Mambo!!!"
Elian's heart shot to its limit; he nearly closed his eyes, awaiting fate's judgment.
"Huh?" "Oh!" "Ah?"
All sorts of noisy sounds rang in Elian's ears, but not the accusation he expected.
He stole a glance at Ephelis, who at this moment looked completely vacant and dejected.
"How is this possible? How is this possible? It wasn't like this those few times before!" She raised the ring again, sweeping it over Elian several times.
But the ring remained utterly unresponsive, as if it were truly just an ordinary ring.
"Hahaha! See? Isn't my concealment technique amazing?" Merlin laughed heartily in Elian's mind.
In truth, it was all Raylin's manipulation. If he hadn't been right there, Elian would have been exposed.
"How can this be?" Ephelis screamed, unwilling to give up, and directly dismantled the ring to inspect the mechanisms inside.
"It must be you! You must have hidden the Tearstone Gem on the way!"
A moment later, Ephelis shrieked.
"No! The gem must be on you, hand it over!" Pink flames once again erupted around Ephelis.
"Enough! What a farce!"
Leilin was still playing the role of the fair and impartial judge.
"No! My lord! You have to believe me!" Ephelis's voice turned shrill, tinged with a hint of hoarseness.
Boom!
A burst of brilliant silver light flashed past.
The flames on Ephelis were extinguished instantly. Not only that — she stumbled backward several steps and collapsed to the ground, a stubborn expression forming on her face.
"Haha! That girl actually dares to resist — she's in for it!"
Merlin gloatted in Ailin's mind.
"What happened?" Ailin asked immediately.
"That Lord Leilin is a Second-Rank Wizard! His manifested Spiritual Power is something this girl simply cannot withstand. But she actually dared to resist — what was originally a light disciplinary injury will definitely be aggravated. It could even spread into her consciousness sea..."
"What? What's going to happen to her?" Ailin felt a twinge of guilt.
"What can she do? If a Second-Rank Wizard decides to punish her, she has to take it — even if he's in the wrong! And she can't even complain!" Merlin continued to gloat while taking the opportunity to educate Ailin. "These are the rules of the Wizard world!"
"Leave this place! Don't ever appear before me again! I'll chalk this up to a genuine mistake on your part — I won't report this to the War Council!"
Leilin gave a cold snort and returned to the carriage.
"Truly a merciful lord!" His actions quickly drew a round of praise.
Ephelis departed in a dazed, hollow state. If she dared to stay any longer, she wouldn't even need to face Leilin — several peak First-Rank Wizards would make her regret it.
"What are you looking at? Move out!"
Soon, the caravan was once again on its way.