Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 1293: Section 1294 Conniea
 

Gold? Suise’s mind instantly flashed with the image of a stout and portly figure, quite a memorable character from aboard the “Bai Tou Weng Hao”.

However, Suise did not immediately inquire about “Gold” but began to ask the most crucial questions about who were the apprentices on the “Bai Tou Weng Hao” at that time.

Phyline continued to list names blankly, but after mentioning four or five of the more significant individuals, he stopped.

“Just these few people? What about the other apprentices?” Suise frowned.

Phyline hesitated, seemingly trying to remember: “I don’t recall; I was mostly practicing meditation on the ship.”

The few individuals Phyline mentioned were primarily from well-known Witcher Organizations and were not closely tied to the Gumman Kingdom. Suise found it hard to believe that the master of the Crimson Authority was among them.

But that was all Phyline knew, which somewhat irritated Suise.

“Then who do you think would know about the apprentices on the ship, as well as their current whereabouts?” At that moment, Angel suddenly spoke up.

Without any hesitation, Phyline responded, “Gold, Gold would definitely know.”

According to Phyline, this apprentice named Gold seemed to be privy to many secret messages and appeared to have connections with all the apprentices on the “Bai Tou Weng Hao”.

“Who is this Gold?” Angel was somewhat puzzled; this person’s presence felt inexplicably strong.

“I do know some information about this Gold.” Suise paused, and a water mirror with ripples appeared before him, revealing a chubby young man wearing a wide-brimmed hat through the mirror.

This chubby young man’s face had twice the flesh of an average person, which, squeezed together, made his already small eyes appear as mere slits, and he seemed to enjoy laughing, making his eyes almost disappear.

Because his eyes were not visible, it was hard to tell whether his laugh was genuine or fake. But his laughter always gave one the unsettling illusion it was ill-intentioned.

“That’s Gold, a third-level Apprentice from the Song of the Deep Sea. He’s probably the strongest Apprentice aboard the ‘Bai Tou Weng Hao’.” Suise had a quite vivid impression of him, mainly because Gold had once approached him for a chat, where he seemed probing for something.

“An Apprentice from the Song of the Deep Sea?” Sanders asked skeptically, “Then what brought him to Edge Island?”

Suise: “According to him, he came to recruit Talented Ones. But I too found it strange; the Song of the Deep Sea’s previous navigation routes never passed through these waters. However, I didn’t ask much at the time.”

As Suise said this, he turned to look at Phyline, hoping to learn Gold’s purpose from him.

Phyline didn’t know either, but he ventured a guess: “Gold seems to be searching for something. He’s very interested in places on Edge Island where energy fluctuations occur.”

Considering what Phyline mentioned earlier, actually coming to inspect Pat Manor was also encouraged by Gold. It seemed that Gold was surreptitiously up to something behind the scenes.

“Could it be that Gold is the one lurking in the shadows?” White Bear asked.

While Gold came from a large Witcher Organization like the Song of the Deep Sea, considering the organization was almost hollowed out internally by invaders from another world, they couldn’t be certain whether King Gumman had some special connection with Gold.

“We’ll only know if we find this Gold,” a glint of darkness flashed in Suise’s eyes, and then he turned to Phyline to ask about Gold’s whereabouts.

As it turned out, Gold was not far from Gru Town – he was in Conniea, the largest city in Yamei Province.

Having discovered Gold’s location, Suise seemed ready to leave immediately.

But at that moment, Sanders stopped him, “Eulica is in your Exile Space, still somewhat restrained by the sealing circle. If she breaks out of your Exile Space outside, you know well the disaster she could cause.”

“Leave this matter to me,” Angel offered volunteered. According to Suise, since Gold was merely an Apprentice, he should be able to handle him easily. And with the issue concerning the Servants affected by the Crimson Authority, he too wished for a swift resolution.

Suise glanced at Angel, recalling the strength Angel had shown in the fight with Eulica, and nodded, “Then I’ll trouble you with this.”

After Angel took up the task, he didn’t depart immediately but approached Phyline, asking, “What is the purpose of your and Henry’s visit to Pat Manor?”

Previously, they had asked what Phyline was doing here. Phyline’s answer was that he came because of the energy fluctuations and had revealed the existence of Gold.

But rather than that question, Angel was more curious about why they were searching for energy fluctuations and what their ultimate goal was.

Because, if he remembered correctly, Phyline and Henry had already been on the Old Earth Continent for nearly half a year, far too long for merely guiding Talented Ones at one location.

Phyline: “The organization instructed us to stay here for the time being; we don’t know the specifics.”

Phyline claimed that her backing Witcher Organization, the Hurricane Tower, had requested her to remain on the Old Earth Continent without providing details. Their search for energy fluctuations was entirely at Gold’s instigation, and they also hoped to encounter some fortune.

The circumstances of the mute Treant Henry were similar to those of Phyline.

“So it seems that Hurricane Tower and Gravity Forest are both interested in the Old Earth Continent?”

Unable to get more information, Angel could only give up, thinking that perhaps from Jin, some news could be obtained.

With this in mind, Angel didn’t linger in the manor for long. Instead, he briefed Lyon on some of the taboos of the “Star Frost Meditation Method” and then, under Lyon’s slightly worried gaze, left the manor.

Leaving with Angel were Sanders and White Bear.

With Angel’s current strength, dealing with a Wizard Apprentice should not be a big problem. Sanders didn’t really need to come, but the main reason he did was because of the person hiding in the shadows.

If Jin really is the true master of Crimson Authority, then the nature of this matter changes.

King Gumman would not let someone so important come here alone without any concerns, there must be precautions in place, and it wouldn’t be impossible for King Gumman to come in person.

Therefore, to be on the safe side, Sanders followed along.

As for White Bear, although his Divination wasn’t as brilliant as Dororo’s, he knew that the destination was Conniea. So, allowing him to find Jin should be feasible. Furthermore, since he had already obtained the blood information of the true master of Crimson Authority, he might even be able to find the person lurking in the shadows in one fell swoop.

…

Conniea is the largest city in Yamei Province. When Angel was young, he visited Conniea. Departing from Gru Town in a carriage, it had taken them over ten bumpy days to reach their destination.

But now, traveling by gondola without using the acceleration mode, it would probably take just one or two hours—closer than even Sea Moon City.

Throughout the journey, Angel was silent, his brow furrowed with an inextricable sorrow.

After much contemplation, White Bear couldn’t help but ask in a low voice, “Angel, do you… hate Eulica a lot?”

It took a while for Angel to look up at White Bear.

His emotions towards Eulica were complex. To say he hated her was true, of course. Even though he knew that Eulica was a victim too, she had indirectly harmed the servants of Pat Manor—that was a fact.

Moreover, had Eulica not stayed at Pat Manor, such consequences would not have followed.

But Angel was not one to see things in black and white. Even though he hated Eulica, he also knew that if it hadn’t been for Eulica staying in the manor, noticing Jon’s abnormal condition, performing the Tri-State Equilibrium on him, Jon might well have died before Angel could fulfill the promise of five years.

If Jon had truly died like that, it would likely cause Angel long-lasting guilt, and it could even become an indelible scar on his heart, difficult to heal.

Therefore, from this point of view, he couldn’t help but be grateful to Eulica.

Hate and gratitude intertwined; the hate was greater, but the gratitude did not diminish. That was why Angel’s emotions were so complex.

“Hate or not hate, it’s all relative,” Angel said lightly, “I can’t give you a definite answer right now. But you are you, and Eulica is Eulica; I will not conflate the two.”

Angel’s answer was ambivalent, and White Bear couldn’t pursue the matter further, only sighing silently to himself.

He knew the things Eulica had done, and it would be hard for Angel to let go. However, Eulica was after all his sister. From his standpoint, it was difficult on both sides. Moreover, Eulica was currently in a state of madness, so even if he wanted to discuss right and wrong with Eulica, it was not currently possible.

To truly unravel these tangled emotions, White Bear was clearly incapable. This topic had to be closed for the time being.

They arrived at their destination before the sky grew dark.

Overlooking from high above, Conniea was smaller than most cities Angel had seen. Yet in this not-so-large city lived close to six hundred thousand people. In the entire Yamei Province, besides Sea Moon City which engaged in sea trade, Conniea had the most inhabitants.

Furthermore, compared to other cities of the Goldfinch Empire, Conniea was indeed very prosperous.

“This is indeed what a qualified city should look like,” Sanders suddenly commented at that moment.

White Bear didn’t understand what he meant. Weren’t all cities like this? Besides, compared to the cities of the Flourish Continent, Conniea really didn’t seem impressive.

It was Angel who understood what Sanders meant. He guessed that overlooking Conniea reminded Sanders of the recent view from Sky Tower over Originheart City.

“Urban planning is a rigorous discipline that indeed requires serious study,” Angel replied, pretending to misunderstand, seriously responding. But under Sanders’ meaningful gaze, he couldn’t hold out and averted his eyes, coughing discreetly.

“White Bear, now that we have arrived in Conniea, the task of finding someone is up to you,” Angel said, turning towards White Bear.

White Bear didn’t know what riddles Angel and Sanders were exchanging, but he was clear about his job. He nodded and said, “I understand. Destiny will guide me to find the answer.”