Old man Oscar opened the wooden box, seeing inside a rolled-up piece of Star Pattern Paper, a small bottle of Starry Sky Ink, and a gold-tipped Quill.
"Sir, what’s this?" Guard Zonghu looked over, somewhat puzzled.
The elder explained to Guard Zonghu: "As you mentioned, we’re almost safe now and soon returning to Soma. Given this, let’s bring things here to a close. The pieces we’ve placed need to play their role, ideally helping us learn more about Pompeii, which is what’s meaningful to us."
After speaking, the elder dipped the Quill into the Starry Sky Ink and began writing on the Star Pattern Paper, carefully writing: "I have safely left. I hope you act as agreed, and if possible, pay extra attention to a small volcanic town in the northwest."
The elder originally intended to write the town’s name—Pompeii. However, recalling the recipient’s previous warnings about "potential interception and decryption," he prudently chose to substitute "small volcanic town" instead.
After writing, the elder watched the words slowly fade, confirming the message’s successful delivery, and exhaled deeply.
He did not notice an invisible presence above him suddenly departing.
Due to serious injuries, Guard Zonghu, a Level 4 Wizard, had significantly reduced perception in a non-combat state and also failed to notice.
Watching the words on the Star Pattern Paper fade until nearly disappearing, the elder reached out to roll up the paper for the next opportunity to use it.
But as soon as his hand touched the Star Pattern Paper, it buzzed, the silver patterns on its surface lighting up swiftly, and a new line of text replaced the nearly vanished one.
The transmitted text was simple but a bit shocking: "Message received, wish you safe departure. Also, be wary of a hundred-person interception in the due north."
Even with the elder’s composure, his body faintly trembled, revealing a look of shock. He took a deep breath, attempting to suppress his astonishment, but the more he thought, the more incredulous it seemed, involuntarily exclaiming: "This!"
Noticing something amiss, Guard Zonghu came over, asking the elder: "What’s wrong, sir?"
Old man Oscar made no concealment, directly handing the Star Pattern Paper to the guard.
Guard Zonghu swiftly glanced over the contents of the Star Pattern Paper, his eyes narrowing instinctively, his eyebrows lifting, and more blood suddenly seeping from his chest wound on the right side.
However, he ignored the wound, his eyes suddenly brightening as if two bolts of lightning flashed by, lifting his gaze towards the due north.
One second, two seconds, three seconds.
After three seconds, the light in Guard Zonghu’s eyes dimmed, he withdrew his gaze, frowning slightly.
Then he crouched, solemnly pressing one hand on the ground, as if sensing something.
One second, five seconds, ten seconds.
After more than ten seconds, Guard Zonghu stood up, his expression somewhat complex.
The elder realized a possibility and inquired: "Could it be that the message on the Star Pattern Paper is true?"
"It’s true." Guard Zonghu nodded, his expression serious, "There are indeed enemies interdicting in the north, still a distance away. Even with ’Divine’s Eye,’ I couldn’t see them. However, using ’Earth’s Breath,’ their presence is faintly detectable. It’s unclear if the numbers reach a hundred, but there are indeed many, far more than any group intercepting us. It’s likely a deliberately set trap, waiting for us to run into it."
"What does this imply?" the elder asked.
"On the enemy’s side, it implies they are more cunning than we imagined. As for the messenger, it implies we may have greatly underestimated them. The fact that they could warn us suggests they know our situation clearly and understand the enemy’s setup.
They either infiltrated the enemy within a day or possess astonishing means unknown to us," Guard Zonghu responded.
"Astonishing means unknown to us?" the elder murmured, contemplating and speculating, "Could it be what they mentioned, about intercepting and decrypting the message? Maybe they successfully intercepted and decrypted the enemy’s communication, figuring out their setup, and then informed us."
"Perhaps," the guard said, not very certain.
"Alright, regardless, it seems we’re past just considering them a mere pawn," the elder said, "Previously, we intended to encourage them by offering a degree of respect. Now, we might need to offer them more respect due to their capabilities."
"So, sir, should we follow the advice of the messenger?" Guard Zonghu asked.
The elder laughed: "Don’t ask me about this; in the matters of combat, I am far beneath you, Zonghu. Handle it as you deem fit. At best, I’m just a burden, unable to offer much help."
"Alright then." Guard Zonghu took a deep breath, speaking earnestly, "In that case, sir, we must interrupt our rest and continue on. We need to avoid contact with the enemy, make a large detour to enter the Soma Alliance. You might have to bear some hardship."
"It’s no matter." The elder shook his head, "I’ve endured enough hardships in my life; a little more now will not matter."
"Then great. Sir, let’s set off then."
With that, the two rose, covering their tracks, quickly shifting direction, and headed towards the northeast.
After a considerable time had passed.
Two members of the Truth Society swept down from mid-air, lowering their altitude until they landed with a "snap" at the spot where old man Oscar and Guard Zonghu previously stayed.
One member scanned the surroundings before crouching down, clearing a layer of soil from the ground, and found a nearly dried bloodstain.
He pinched a small amount and sniffed it under his nose, then looked at his companion, frowning: "The scent of blood has faded quite a bit; they’ve been gone for some time. They should have run into our encirclement by now."
"But they haven’t," the companion replied.
"So they must have changed direction."
"Changed direction? Could they have discovered our setup in advance?"
"Maybe, since, after all, the opponent is a Level 4 Wizard—it’s best not to underestimate them. Even though they’ve been injured by Supervisor Long Mei’er, they’re not ones we can handle," said the speaker, discarding the small pinch of blood-stained earth, and advised his companion seriously, "This situation needs to be reported."
"Alright, I’ll report it," the companion said, taking out a Crystal Ball from his bosom, channeling mana into it, and several bright lights flashed quickly across its surface.
After completing that, the two rose and chose a direction to quickly pursue, hoping to find more clues.
Whether they can truly find anything depends on their luck.