Demon Hunter: School of the Wolf.

Chapter 604 Returning to the Node of Fate!
Erin had no reason to refuse Wigford's offer of service.

Since they are bound by the contract and don't need to worry about Vigfortz's sudden scheming and betrayal, wouldn't it be better to have another sorcerer, especially one with magical power, to assist in rescuing Hen Gedimidis?

The reason Erin returned to Kaer Morhen without inviting Philipba Ahart was because Philipba Ahart was now completely immersed in her personal political ambitions.

Even Tissaya de Veres couldn't take care of Philippa Ehrert, the apprentice she had once been so proud of.

Could he really expect Philippa Ehrert to be completely absorbed in the naive fantasies of Tissaya de Veres that had nothing to do with her?

He never liked being a lone wolf, but fate always forces people to do things his own way.

therefore.

Although he was curious about why Wigfordtz was involved so deeply, Erin didn't ask any questions and simply agreed.

As I walked out of the grove, half the sky was still filled with stars and the moon, while the other half was already showing the first hints of dawn.

The rosy dawn on the horizon bursts forth, igniting layers of clouds.

The clusters of sharp spires, reflecting a keen golden light, stood solemnly like spearmen guarding the city walls, protecting the deep darkness.
"We were actually quite lucky."

Wiggerts squinted, captivated by the scenery in the sky for a few more seconds, before discerning a direction and leading Erin quickly in that direction.

“A little earlier, the male wizards on duty would be at their most alert, but if it’s a little later, the male wizards on the next shift will arrive, and the entire Ban Ade will wake up quickly.”

"The apprentices' regular class time is when Ade is most heavily guarded..."

"Will Ban Ad still attend classes normally?" Erin asked, somewhat surprised.

This is about annihilating the free elves, declaring independence, and establishing a sorcerer kingdom. He thought the entire Ban Ade was already under military control.

Wiggoffts knew what he was thinking and nodded: "Ban Aard is still nominally a wizarding academy, and not all the wizards in the academy—especially those who are not young—are enthusiastic about power."

“Senni needs to maintain a stable order and an environment that hasn’t changed much from the past to win over neutral wizards.”

"Moreover, the apprentices who can study in Ban Ade often have considerable backgrounds. They are either merchants or nobles, and they are also people that Sunny needs to win over."

"Of course, neither of these are the decisive factors."

"Especially after the news came that the Wild Hunt had easily destroyed a large part of Aden's invading army in Cordwin, Sunny did consider categorizing the apprentices into different levels and classes, teaching them practical spells, alchemy recipes, and rituals that could be used on the battlefield, according to their talents and strengths, thus turning the apprentices into soldiers and squads..."

"For example, if you are good at water magic, you will not study the tonal properties, magical phase transitions and structural changes of the water element, but will only learn Kalis's Hailstorm, Daulmont's Mist Spell and Water Purification."

"Someone skilled in alchemy, teach healing potions..."

"Then why didn't you do that?" Erin asked curiously.

Vigfortz curled the corners of his lips: "Because of Ottoran..."

“Ottoran?” Erin was taken aback. He hadn’t expected that it was the leader of the Risberg Civil Partnership.

“Yes, Ottoran,” Vigforts smiled, “that legendary mage quite liked the atmosphere of the academy, and would even set aside a few days each week to teach the apprentices.”

“Ottolan is Sunny’s true reliance, so he naturally wouldn’t dare offend Ottolan because of the Wild Hunt, which hasn’t arrived yet.”

Erin nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

There will inevitably be factional struggles between the Risberg Civil Cooperative and Ban Ade.

I just didn't expect that Ottoland and Sunny would have a disagreement so early.

To be honest, as one of the most powerful sorcerers in the Northern Continent, Ottolan should know that divided factions cannot go far.

Ottoran should either completely subdue Sunny or give Sunny, the future king of the warlock kingdom, more face in public.

This has escalated to the point that even a semi-peripheral wizard like Wiggoffetz knows about it. Not only has Sunny's prestige plummeted, but the conflict between Ban Ad and the Risberg Civil Cooperative will certainly intensify.

This way.

With the compromises made by various forces on the northern continent, it might not be difficult for the Warlock Kingdom to be established.

But the bigger problem lies in the distribution of power after the establishment of the sorcerer kingdom.

Perhaps without any external interference, the wizards could bring down their new kingdom simply by fighting amongst themselves.

Of course, that's still a long way off.

Their mission was to rescue Hen Gedimidis and, through his connection with Tissaya de Veris, prevent the Warlock Kingdom from being established smoothly under the rule of Sunni and Ottolan.

Thinking it over, Erin followed Wigfordts and continued walking forward.

Wiggerts was right; the further they went into the wizarding academy after leaving the grove near the entrance of Ban Ad, the fewer people they encountered.

Most of the people queuing at the entrance were there to queue up in advance at the entrance of the Ban Ade Hall—the place in Ban Ade New City that serves as the city lord's hall and government affairs hall—so they came early.

After walking along three narrow paths, turning three corners, and crossing a plaza that resembled a magic training ground, the area was completely deserted.

Even the noise from the outside world can't get in.

It was so quiet that it truly resembled the mysterious atmosphere of a magic school.

While carefully leading the way, Wigford also introduced the various buildings they passed to Erin like a skilled tour guide.

Wigford explained in great detail, but Erin frowned more and more as he listened.

"What's wrong, Erin?"

Wigford noticed his odd behavior, frowned, glanced around warily, and asked a question.

Instead of answering, Erin asked, "Where is Henry Gedimidis being held captive by Sunny?"

“Actually, we’ve arrived.” Wigford shrugged, and after leading him around a dark green tower, everything opened up before him.

In the empty square, there stands a mountain-like building. The morning sun cannot pass through it, leaving only a dark shadow that completely covers the entire square.

The scaffolding, of varying heights, covered the entire building, making the outer walls of Biban Ade look more like a prison.

The dark figures moved back and forth on the scaffolding, seemingly engaged in repairs, but more like they were on patrol.

“I did run into a lot of trouble while searching for Henry Gedimidis.” “Senny hid his teacher very well and very strictly.”

“I had only been in Ben Ard for a short time—you know I’m not a wizard from Ben Ard—at that time I didn’t even know all the buildings in the college.”

"I finally got to know a few of the radical Sunny's close associates, only to find that few of them knew about that place, and those who did kept it a secret. If it was even mentioned casually, they would immediately become wary..."

Wigfordtze hid in the shadow of the dark green tower, observing the figures on the building as he spoke softly.

"How did you find out later?" Erin observed the enormous building with a complicated expression.

Vigfortz, with his back to Erin, didn't notice the Witcher's odd behavior. He smiled and continued:

"It's because Ottoland came, and he also brought funding from the Risberg Civil Partnership."

"The city of Ban Ade, which was in ruins, was miraculously transformed in just a few months. All other places in the academy were also quickly repaired, but this place has been under construction but has not been very effective."

"Of course, other parts of the academy did not suffer serious damage from the Wild Hunt's magical offensive because of the magical barriers and the open space. Filling in the holes and transplanting some trees would have been enough."

"But the slow progress here is still too risky in the eyes of those who are interested."

"After making inquiries, I learned that this place wasn't destroyed by the Wild Hunt, but rather by monsters during a celestial conjunction several months ago, and even the former king of Cordwin..."

Wigfordts seemed to suddenly remember something, his tone faltered, and he turned to look at Erin:

"If I remember correctly, you should have been there that day."

Arlin looked at the dark arena in the distance with a complicated expression, took a deep breath, and nodded slightly: "That's right, when the celestial spheres converged, when the black sun rose over Kadwin, and when King Harkor of Kadwin was crushed to death, I... was there."

He gently patted the wall of the dark green tower beside him: "This mage tower is the Arzur Tower. We lived here before the Arena Tournament."

A person's life has many milestones.

Outside of those moments, life seems monotonous, a mechanical repetition of routine.

But once these nodes are encountered.

Whether good or bad, the rhythm of life can change abruptly in an instant, as if the entire meaning of a person's existence is waiting for these turning points.

But if we were to recount his life after arriving in the world of Witcher...

Countless turning points in his destiny converged in this short year, more than the thirty years of his previous life combined.

Looking back, only two cases show the most significant changes in fate.

One reason is that he drank the milk tea given to him by the department mascot as hush money, which led him to the world of Witcher and where he obtained the Witcher's Handbook.

The other one is the "Hunting Mission: Water Ghost II" that I completed here, at the apprentice duel between the Wolf School and the Cat School.

Although he was unaware of it at the time and even felt smug about Haxor's death, in retrospect...

The ripples he stirred up in the river of fate that day have not only not dissipated to this day, but have instead stirred up towering waves...

Harkor is dead, Aden wages war, the Wild Hunt is drawn in, the Great Griffin is subdued, Cordwin's kingdom falls, the exiled king flees, the Sorcerer Kingdom...

It all started on March 21st, his first spring equinox in the Witcher world of Ban Ad, right in the nearby arena...

The cruel twists of fate...

"What a pity," Wigford sighed regretfully, pulling Erin back to reality.

Erin asked curiously, "What's there to regret?"

“Unfortunately, I was still in Temuria at the time and couldn’t witness that scene firsthand,” Vigforts shrugged. “However…”

He changed the subject abruptly: "At this point, there's no time for sentimentality..."

"Although there should still be plenty of time before Sunny and Ottoran return, due to the rush, a significant portion of the routes haven't been fully investigated, so..."

“Then let’s hurry up.” Erin pulled out “Night Color” from his chest, interrupted Vigforts, and then vanished in front of him.

Vigfortz paused for a moment, raised an eyebrow, and after chanting a few difficult incantations in a low voice, he also disappeared into the shadows of the tower.
-
Infiltrating the arena was easier than I had imagined.

As day turns to night and shifts are about to change, those who appear to be repair workers on the scaffolding are actually disguised male witch guards, and their vigilance is beyond description.

Those tall, upright figures seen from afar turned out to be rather low-level black humanoid illusions upon closer inspection.

The person in question was either leaning against the wall dozing off, reading books, meditating, or even sleeping soundly on a bed of weeds spread out on the ground.

Erin felt that using the "Night Color" gift from Francesca was unnecessary; he could simply walk in openly and no one would notice.

“When I first discovered this place, the guards weren’t this vigilant,” Wigfordts’ voice echoed in his mind. “But as Sunny focused his energy on building the sorcerer kingdom and scheming against Ottolan and the Risberg Civil Cooperative, he rarely came here anymore.”

"Of course, we're never this... lax usually..."

“They obviously knew that Sunny wasn’t ‘home’ tonight…”

The Witcher, hidden by "Night and Color," had a strange expression. For some reason, listening to Vigfortz's description, he felt that the guards in front of him were just like a middle school student in his previous life who overheard that the teachers had gone to a meeting during evening self-study.

However, upon closer inspection, it became apparent that the guards all had rather youthful faces...

Ok……

He is indeed a student, but a student among sorcerers—a male wizard apprentice.

No wonder the illusion magic is so clumsy, not even as strong as the Witcher's before the Mirage Pearl was upgraded.

“Don’t let your guard down,” Wigfordts noticed Erin’s movements and reminded him in his mind, “The guards aren’t the problem; the problem is the various magical traps that Sunny has set up in the arena, in that vast, palace-like area, as well as the gargoyles, colossi, and genetically modified monsters of the Risberg Civil Cooperative Organization…”

“Traps and monsters won’t become lax or lose their effectiveness just because Sunny is gone, unlike these guards…”

Erin took a deep breath and nodded gently: "Don't worry, I know."

Just as Vigfortz and Erin knocked out the two guards who were feigning sleep and pried open the door to the underground palace...

Sunny and Ottolan, having returned from their journey, went back to Ban Ade...

(End of this chapter)