Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Lin Li had totally no idea what Old Grimm had in mind. He was in a hurry now.
After returning to the Emerald Tower, both of them had been trying to contact Gerian. But on the crystal ball, there was not a single tree or stone of the Demon Fall Valley. The crystal ball in the Emerald Tower was placed by Gerian personally; it was connected to the Demon Fall Valley through a hundred Warlock’s Eyes spells. Such situation would not be happening as long as there was even one Warlock’s Eyes.
Moreover, the Warlock’s Eyes was a level-ten magic. With Gerian’s level-fifteen strength, he could easily restore one with no effort.
The fact that the crystal ball was completely silent only meant that the battle in the Demon Fall Valley was far more intense than in the news Kevin had received.
“What do we do now?” Kevin’s face was already strained after waiting for an hour in the guild’s hall.
“We’ll wait and see.” Lin Li hesitated slightly. “If there is still no news by tomorrow morning, we’ll have to make a trip down to Demon Fall Valley.”
“Alright!”
The two of them waited by the crystal ball till the wee hours. Just as the two of them were in a state of extreme anxiety, the crystal ball, which had been silent, lit up finally!
“Felic, look, there’s news!”
“I see it!”
Both of them rushed forward almost at the same time, only to see Gerian’s chubby face.
Gerian looked exceptionally haggard in the image within the crystal ball. His usually rosy face was now frighteningly pale and he looked short of breath. This was the result of an overexertion of the mental strength. The old fellow took some grass off his hair and forced a smile at the two of them. Only then did he say in a weak voice, “Good morning...”
“...”
“What exactly happened?” Lin Li was worried sick; he was not in the mood for any greetings.
“What else can it be...” Gerian rolled his eyes. “It’s all because of that rascal from the Shadow’s Nest, looking for trouble in the Demon Fall Valley of all places.”
“What about now?”
“Now? I just brought a bunch of people with me to fight back. I guess things will quiet down for the next ten or more days. Eiserhol, that jerk, really doesn’t know how the word death is spelled. Just watch, I’ll flip the Shadow’s Nest over sooner or later...”
Seeing how Gerian still had the energy for big talk, the two of them who had been waiting in the hall for half the night were relieved at last.
“All’s well as long as nothing happened to you. Other matters can wait till you come back. I’m deadbeat now after waiting for you for so long. You can restore the Warlock’s Eyes slowly, I’ll go sleep first...”
“Uncle, I’ll go to sleep too...”
“Hey! Hey! I’ve not finished... You two little rascals, this is too much!”
...
Gerian returned to the Emerald Tower at noon the next day.
Gerian walked into the guild’s hall with a murderous look on his face, asking people to find out where Kevin was. Unfortunately, Kevin knew he’d return today, so he had hidden away from the Guild of Magic early in the morning. Gerian couldn’t find him anywhere in the Emerald Tower, and at last he had no choice but to knock on Lin Li’s door.
“So early?” Lin Li had waited almost the whole night for news the day before and didn’t wake up until noon today. He opened the door for Gerian with a sleepy face.
“I hurried back after I’ve restored the Warlock’s Eyes. I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open on the road...” Gerian walked into the room and lay down on Lin Li’s bed regardless of his protests. “It’s so comfortable lying down...”
“Forget it, take a nap first. I’ll let you have the bed...”
“No, I can’t sleep yet.” Gerian lay for a while, then sat up from the bed. “The more I think about what happened in the Demon Fall Valley, the more it feels wrong. I won’t sleep today if I don’t get to the bottom of it!”
“What’s wrong?”
“Warlock’s Eyes.” Perhaps it was due to him being over-exhausted, but Gerian’s voice sounded slightly hoarse. “Damn it, there were so many Warlock’s Eyes; even I can’t remember clearly where they were. How did the people from the Shadow’s Nest know?
“Anyhow, something must be wrong. 125 Warlock’s Eyes were destroyed almost at the same time and the Shadow’s Nest arrived soon after, killing a dozen of our mages in the blink of an eye. If it hadn’t been for my timely action, who knows how long the situation would have dragged on...”
“Could it be... They, too, have mages helping them?”
“That’s possible. The Shadow’s Nest has been expanding ferociously these few years, and could have recruited a few scums...” Gerian pondered, then shook his head and dismissed the speculation. “But it still isn’t right. There were 125 Warlock’s Eyes. Even I myself couldn’t have possibly destroyed them all at the same time. If the Shadow’s Nest really has such a formidable character, why would they still do a sneak attack? They could just kill me directly.
“Other than the Warlock’s Eyes, there was something else that’s abnormal too... These few years, because of the Shadow’s Nest, I’ve spent a great deal of effort on the Demon Fall Valley. Apart from the 125 Warlock’s Eyes, about 20 additional sentry posts were set up as well. But last night, these 20 sentry posts were as if nonexistent. The people of the Shadow’s Nest had sneaked in all the way, but I didn’t even receive any news...”
At this point, Lin Li sort of understood what Gerian was trying to say. The Warlock’s Eyes were destroyed all of a sudden and the people from the Shadow’s Nest had gotten ahold of the way to bypass the sentry posts. Almost all the signs were pointing to within the Guild of Magic.
“Mole!” Gerian made his judgment with clenched teeth. “There’s definitely a mole!”
“No wonder you rushed back early in the morning...”
“Can’t be helped. I’m worried there will be a greater disaster if I don’t get rid of these guys.”
“You have a clue?”
“Not currently. But it’s not hard to look into. Apart from me, you, and Kevin, anyone that has access to the secret of the Warlock’s Eyes has to be at least a Magic Shooter. And then, think again, among the Magic Shooters, who is the most likely to betray the guild?”
“Or, who are the people unhappy with you?” Lin Li had understood at this point.
“That’s right!”
In that instant, both of them were invigorated. Gerian did not sleep; the old and the young conspired in the room to catch the mole. The discussion between the two men lasted until the evening. When Gerian was unable to hold out, Lin Li helped him pull up the blanket and quietly walked out of the bedroom.