Chapter 198: Chapter 197 Cold Night Wind
The sound, all at once, drew everyone’s attention to the battlefield at sea in the distance.
In the pitch-black night, a bright purple light suddenly flashed over the distant sea, obviously releasing some powerful spell.
Then, immediately after, the purple light was covered by a green light, another powerful spell had emerged.
Following that, a third powerful spell appeared, a yellow light illuminating the sea.
Then came the fourth powerful spell, with the sea turning fiery red.
At that moment, a scream rang out, “Ah”, and all the lights on the sea suddenly converged and vanished without a trace, leaving nothing visible.
Everyone was stunned. They looked at each other, not knowing what had happened.
It seemed like the battle had reached its final contest and a result had been determined. But who had won? And whose scream was that?
There was only one scream, so did that mean only one person had died? If one person had died, then the fight was over, which likely meant the deceased was the enemy. So, had the Wizard won?
People tried to hope for the best, but looking at the pitch-black sea, they couldn’t help feeling panicked and at a loss.
Gro and Nancy looked at Richard and asked, “Who do you think won?”
“How would I know?” Richard shrugged with a wry smile. “If I knew, I wouldn’t be here.”
“Just wait patiently, whether we won or lost, it will eventually be revealed,” Richard said.
“Uhh…” Nancy, Gro, and everyone else began to wait patiently.
One minute, two minutes, three minutes…
Five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes…
In the blink of an eye, a whole fifteen minutes had passed, and the sea remained quiet with no one returning to the large ship, neither Wizard nor unknown enemy.
Just as unrest was about to arise among the group, suddenly, a whooshing sound pierced the air.
A figure landed on the deck—Wizard Dempsey!
Everyone’s hearts relaxed, they collectively sighed in relief, already confirming in their minds they had won and were about to cheer. They then looked beyond Dempsey for the other three Wizards, but they were nowhere to be found.
Uncertainty crept back among the group, their eyes now fixed on Dempsey.
Dempsey’s face looked extremely bad, his clothes somewhat tattered, but with no apparent serious injuries, which made the outcome of the battle even more confusing to everyone.
The real result, however, was clear to Dempsey—they had been defeated.
The earlier scream had been his, and the other three Wizards did not even have a chance to scream, as they were instantly killed on the spot by a powerful spell from the enemy.
Recalling it, Dempsey couldn’t help but shudder.
What kind of spell was that?
There was no spectacular display, no light, no explosions, just a terrifying destructive force.
Had he not forcibly increased his level at the last moment and drawn upon his last reserves to resist, he would likely have died. Despite this, he sustained severe injuries. If he allowed the injuries to fester, it was very likely he would drop in wizard level and suffer permanent trauma, greatly affecting any future breakthroughs in his level.
The only reason he didn’t show his serious injuries was that he had managed some treatment and forcibly suppressed them, lest he frighten a bunch of students. After all, he was planning to take this group back with him. Correspondingly, this also caused his injuries to worsen further.
But that wasn’t what was important; what mattered most was that he couldn’t understand why the enemy didn’t choose to kill him in the end.
Even if the enemy was also injured, they still had the ability to kill him. Could it really be as the enemy had stated during their last exchange?
But who was this enemy? Since when had the White Stone Tower had a feud with this foe? Why had he never heard of this enemy, and why was there no record of them in the books of the White Stone Tower?
Doubt filled Dempsey, yet his face remained expressionless, as if wearing a mask, as he looked at many of the students and then spoke.
“I know what you’re all thinking,” he said, “and what I can tell you is that we won the battle—the murderer who has been killing people on board has been killed by myself and three other wizards. As for the rest, I will explain in detail later. For now, I’m tired and need to rest; everyone should return to their cabins. That’s all.”
“Potter,” Dempsey called out, turning his head.
“Teacher, I’m here,” the slender Potter quickly stood up.
“You maintain order,” Dempsey commanded. “If anyone disobeys and tries to take advantage of the situation, don’t hesitate—kill them.”
Dempsey nodded, walking through the crowd with slightly heavy footsteps, heading toward a cabin on the distant deck to rest.
Potter began to move, loudly urging everyone on the deck to leave, with the help of other wizard apprentices.
Before long, the ordinary students had descended from the deck. A few wizard apprentices’ eyes twinkled, but they quickly ran to Dempsey, who hadn’t yet entered his cabin, and tentatively asked in a low voice.
“Lord Dempsey, where is my teacher—Mr. Siv now?” asked Demi, a third-level apprentice and a direct student of Siv.
Luther, also a direct student of Siv, followed beside Demi, not daring to speak, but looking eagerly at Dempsey.
“Lord Dempsey, what about my teacher—Louis? Is he safe?” asked Robin, a third-level apprentice and another student of Louis.
No one asked about the safety of Wizard Quinton, as all his direct apprentices had already died.
Now hearing the wizard apprentices’ questions, Dempsey couldn’t just brush them off as he had with the ordinary students earlier. His eyebrows furrowed, he stopped walking and looked at the wizard apprentices.
“Your teachers, they…” Dempsey began to say, but only spoke halfway when he suddenly coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood, his body going limp and collapsing towards the deck.
Potter, a direct apprentice of Dempsey, reacted swiftly. Using a spell, he moved with the wind, reaching Dempsey before he fell, and quickly asked, “Teacher Dempsey, how are you? What do you need me to do?”
“Help… help me into the cabin, take the elixir from the top drawer of the cabinet in the corner of my bedroom, and have me drink it.”
“Yes, yes,” Potter hurriedly responded, helping Dempsey quickly into the cabin.
On the deserted deck, the remaining wizard apprentices still stood, exchanging glances, seeing the panic in each other’s eyes.
Dempsey had not finished speaking, but he had already given the best answer: even the strongest among them, Dempsey himself, had barely managed not to collapse from his injuries; thus, their teachers were likely… not coming back.
As the night wind blew over the sea, the many wizard apprentices couldn’t help but tighten their collars, feeling the chill of the night, as if a tongue dipped in icy water was licking their skin.