The Wizard's Secret Journey

Chapter 223 Countermeasures (4.4k)

A faint light shone from Lynn's fingertips, and the position of the note-writing artifact changed accordingly.

"Alright, he's taken the bait! Let him follow us around for a while, then we'll disguise ourselves and head straight to the Tai'an Road intersection ahead to wait for him!"

Daphne nodded vigorously, took out a new gray witch's robe from her storage ring, and put it on. The next second, her whole body swelled up, and her hair color changed from a warm gold to an inconspicuous grayish-brown. Her delicate face was hidden in the shadow of the hood.

Lynn didn't have such magical tools; he simply changed into a set of the most common wizard robes. His joints cracked, his muscles rippled, and his facial features were subtly adjusted. In an instant, he transformed from a tall young wizard into a short, middle-aged wizard.

Daphne couldn't help but take a second look, thinking it was just that she had poor eyesight and couldn't see the special features of Lynn's witch robe.

In reality, Lynn accomplished all of this entirely thanks to his primordial first-tier physique. His physical body, enhanced by the Black Moon Spirit Body, was quite versatile, with no particularly outstanding features but also no weaknesses. It represented the most balanced and moderate path, making these changes a piece of cake for him.

"Let's go," Lynn said in a low voice.

The two quickly left the Tilo shop and, using the crowd as cover, headed straight for the Taian intersection via another road.

This intersection has moderate pedestrian traffic and a wide field of vision.

After arriving, at Daphne's suggestion, who was more familiar with the area, the two went to the Rolling Stone Bookstore on the street, each picked up a book, and found a seat by the window.

The Rolling Stone Bookstore is located on the third floor, offering a panoramic view of the entire intersection.

"He's turned!" Daphne telepathically communicated, her voice filled with tension and excitement.

"Hmm." Lynn activated the active sensing state of his Black Moon Spirit Body and waited silently.

Before long, the familiar aura of a Black Moon relic gradually approached.

"He'll be here soon," Daphne said telepathically at the same time.

Lynn did not reply, but silently enhanced his secondary true vision.

A kilometer is a distance a wizard can cover in a moment, but this is the central city of the Silver Ring, where speed limits apply. The two waited for quite a while before a gray-robed wizard came into view.

Both the location indicated by the note and the aura of the Black Moon relic that Lynn sensed overlapped with it.

Clearly, this is the wizard who has his eye on Daphne!
The gray-robed wizard was well disguised; he had an ordinary face, walked at a leisurely pace, and occasionally glanced around, like an ordinary passerby.

He was also very cautious, always moving along inconspicuous edges or gaps in the crowd.

When he arrived at the building where the bookstore was located, the gray-robed wizard was walking close to the wall and barely entered the range of Lynn's secondary reality vision.

'Just a mid-level first-tier wizard?' Lynn took the opportunity to observe carefully, surprised.

'Perhaps he's just keeping watch, or maybe he's overconfident in his abilities... Considering Daphne is only a beginner-level first-tier wizard, a mid-level first-tier wizard would be more than enough to deal with her.'

Watching the grey-robed wizard chase after the false coordinates and gradually disappear into the distance, Daphne asked telepathically, "What should we do now?"

Lynn fell into thought, and after a moment he said telepathically, "This wizard's cultivation level is mid-level one. I suspect he has accomplices."

"Next, I'll make him think you've returned home, and we'll secretly follow him to see if he goes looking for his accomplices."

"I understand," Daphne transmitted her voice, then stood up and put the book she had picked up back down.

The two traveled together, keeping a distance of about seven or eight kilometers behind the gray-robed wizard to avoid being discovered.

In fact, the grey-robed wizard had also deliberately distanced himself from the false location, following about three kilometers behind.

Daphne's residence is located on the edge of the central city, where she lived during her apprenticeship.

On the one hand, it was because this was the old house left by Daphne's parents, and she was reluctant to move away. On the other hand, Daphne had spent most of her funds on the expansion of the Tilo shop in the past year, and she was not financially well-off.

In addition, first-tier wizards have very little need for sleep, and Daphne spends most of her time meditating and resting in the office of the Tylo shop, rarely returning, so she doesn't care that her residence is far away.

"The fake location is currently at the Craven Building. How do you usually get back from there? Do you take the No. 16 public shuttle from Wennan Station?" Lynn asked.

“No, I’ll take the No. 12 public shuttle to Fleven, it’s closer to where I live,” Daphne replied.

Lynn nodded to indicate that he understood, and picked up the badge.

The real-time location of the Silver Ring public shuttle can be found on the badge, and it's very easy to simulate.

Sure enough, after discovering that "Daphne" seemed to have boarded a public shuttle, the gray-robed wizard noticeably increased his speed, as if he had taken a new public shuttle at Wennan Station.

“The wizard wasn’t actually on the run after all!” Daphne scoffed.

If they were on the run, they would never take a public shuttle that requires identity verification!

"Let's go, keep up," Lynn urged.

……

About two kilometers from Daphne's residence, in a tavern, the grey-robed wizard sat alone in a corner, occasionally fiddling with the brass pocket watch in his left hand.

In another hotel suite about a kilometer away from the grey-robed wizard, Lynn and Daphne sat facing each other by the window, staring at the note and sorcery tools on the table.

Two full hours had passed since Daphne returned to her residence.

The gray-robed sorcerer didn't move an inch, except for initially searching for a suitable spot.

Lynn and Daphne were both very patient.

But as the night passed, the grey-robed wizard remained in the tavern.

"We can't keep waiting like this." After thinking for a long time, Lynn made a decision.

Such waiting would undoubtedly stifle the initiative that the two of them had worked so hard to gain.

“I’ll have the fake location lead him to a remote lower town, making it look like you’re scouting the meeting place.” Lynn picked up the note and his somber voice again.

“Yesterday when I went to scout 78 Wutong Street, I passed through several abandoned neighborhoods. One of them, called Guning, was almost deserted and would be a perfect ambush location.”

"You mean we should take the initiative and attack him?" Daphne asked in surprise, hesitatingly, "Isn't that a bit too risky?"

“He’s just a mid-level first-tier wizard, so it’s not really an adventure.” Lynn slowly shook his head and emphasized, “We can’t just wait like this. Once we subdue him, we’ll naturally find out everything.”

"I know we can't just wait like this, but..."

“We have no other choice, Daphne,” Lynn interrupted the witch, his tone firm. “We cannot reveal our identities as members of the Black Moon Exploration Association, otherwise, given the Silver Ring Academy’s current attitude, our fate will not be good.”

"We must kill him, and we must kill them all!"

Daphne remained silent for a long while before raising her head to look at Lynn: "Then let me go alone, Lynn. If I fail to kill him, then you should leave immediately and sever all ties with me."

Daphne was not unaware that she only had one option: to kill the wizard.

She just felt that Lynn had better options.

Ultimately, this matter concerns her own affairs; the gray-robed sorcerer only knew her identity.

He didn't know that Lynn was also a member of the Black Moon Exploration Association... so Lynn didn't need to take this risk with him.

That's a mid-level first-tier wizard.

Although Daphne knew that Lynn had also recently advanced to the intermediate level of the first tier, there were still differences between intermediate level first tier wizards. Lynn had only just advanced, so how could he be compared to a normal intermediate level first tier wizard?
Even with her added, they would probably lose more often than they win against the grey-robed wizard.

Daphne's words startled Lynn, and his gaze towards the witch softened. He understood her concerns and said gently:

"Don't worry, Daphne, my strength is much greater than you think."

“But…” Daphne still wanted to refuse.

Lynn deliberately frowned and feigned anger, saying, "If you go alone, what's the difference between that and going to your death?"
"Have you ever considered that what if he didn't intend to kill you, but instead imprisoned you and found out my identity?"

Daphne's lips moved, but she didn't speak. Lynn waved his hand and said in an unquestionable tone, "Time is precious, it's settled then!"

Having said that, he grasped the note and the sorcery tool and began to create new false locations.

To increase realism and reduce the possibility of the Grey Wizard becoming suspicious, Lynn deliberately had Daphne overlap with the virtual location, passing by the tavern where the Grey Wizard was, until she was well out of his sight before having Daphne stop and return.

The grey-robed wizard only got up to pay the bill leisurely after Daphne had gone about three kilometers away from him, and then chased after her.

What the wizard didn't know was that when he left the tavern, the target he was tracking had already come up behind him.

And so, about half an hour later.

Lynn stopped first and telepathically told Daphne, "That's about it."

Daphne understood, and the two quickly turned into a small alley, taking a shortcut to reach Guning Street ahead of time.

This place used to be the old mine of Silver Ring Academy, but now only rusted machinery and collapsed factory buildings remain. Not even mortals, let alone wizards, would want to live here.

Only the main road running through the middle, being a shortcut to the lower city, is occasionally used by people.

However, they only pass through and almost never stop.

Lynn quickly scanned his surroundings and chose the narrowest part of the road as his ambush point.

He took out some materials and, under Daphne's surprised and admiring gaze, set up a simple binding magic array in just a few seconds.

After doing all this, Lynn hid with Daphne in the half-collapsed factory building next door, while simultaneously casting Phase Shadow and Hidden Thread on himself and Daphne.

Although Daphne couldn't discern the specific levels of the two spells, she could sense their exceptionally powerful effects, which reassured her somewhat.

"They're here," Lynn whispered.

A familiar figure in a grey robe appeared on the horizon. The male wizard had an ordinary face, but his gloomy, light brown eyes scanned his surroundings warily.

Daphne held her breath, watching the grey-robed wizard rapidly approach the magic circle set up by Lynn.

Soon, the gray-robed wizard arrived at the ambush formation.

As Lynn had anticipated, the gray-robed wizard's mastery of magic spells should have alerted him, and that moment would be the opportune moment for him and Daphne to make their move.

However, the actual situation was different from what was expected. The gray-robed wizard was completely unaware of the ambush formation and plunged into it!
hum!
The ground lit up with eerie blue patterns, and dozens of energy chains burst forth from the earth, instantly binding the sorcerer's legs.

"What?!" The gray-robed wizard was shocked.

"A great opportunity!" Daphne's eyes lit up, and she rushed out first!

Lynn snapped out of his daze, activated Thunder Leap, and arrived not far from the gray-robed wizard, his right hand flashing with the light of lightning chain thorns.

With a sizzle, chains of lightning instantly enveloped the gray-robed sorcerer, binding him firmly to the spot along with the azure magic array!

The wizard tried to struggle, but a lightning bolt, even more profound and dangerous than the lightning chain piercing technique, pointed directly at his pupils.

First-level advanced level, Thunderclap Technique!
The gray-robed wizard froze on the spot, his eyes filled with astonishment.

Lynn narrowed her eyes slightly and asked in a cold voice, "Who are you, and why are you spying on Daphne?"

Daphne arrived at that moment, staring warily at the wizard: "Who exactly are you?"

"I didn't expect you to find such an accomplice, Daphne." The wizard's lips suddenly curled into a sinister smile. "It seems I'm destined to exceed expectations..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lynn's expression hardened, and he decisively controlled the lightning bolt to pierce the gray-robed wizard!

Crack!

The lightning bolt pierced the wizard's eye sockets and scattered like birds.

"Ah!!" the wizard roared in pain, and soon collapsed to the ground, no longer moving.

Lynn let out a soft breath, then heard Daphne suddenly exclaim, "Watch out!"

The silent sorcerer slowly stood up again, his body emitting strange black smoke.

"You think this is the end... Ah!"

Where did this chatterbox come from?

As Lynn retreated quickly, he unleashed a new lightning spell.

Stab! Stab!

Blinding bolts of lightning struck the gray-robed sorcerer one after another!

"Damn it, a mere first-tier mid-level wizard, I'd like to see how many times you can unleash such an attack!" The gray-robed wizard withstood the lightning spell, the black smoke on his body constantly dissipating and reappearing.

But his expectations were destined to be dashed, regardless of the fact that Lynn was already a first-tier high-level wizard.

Even though Lynn was only a first-tier intermediate wizard, the immense magical power that the Black Moon Meditation Technique granted him, surpassing that of wizards of the same tier, allowed him to unleash at least twenty or thirty such attacks.

Finally, after the tenth lightning strike, the gray-robed wizard's face turned ashen: "No, this is impossible!"

Lynn remained silent, continuing his attacks with such speed that Daphne, standing nearby, couldn't even get a chance to intervene.

"Damn it! Damn it!" A hint of resentment flashed in the gray-robed wizard's eyes, and he suddenly gave up resisting.

The smoke around him gathered in an instant, transforming into a streak of black light that shot toward Lynn at incredible speed!
The black light was so fast that it even reached the second-tier level. Lynn almost didn't react in time, but fortunately, at the last moment, he still managed to unleash Thunder Leap.

The brilliant lightning spread out, revealing Lynn's figure. Just as he was about to turn around to observe the black light, he suddenly felt a pain in his chest.

"Lynn!" Daphne exclaimed anxiously.

Lynn looked down and realized that the black light had actually hit him.

The gray-robed wizard, still clinging to life, laughed heartily: "A gift from the... the master! You, a mere... a lowly first-tier wizard, dare to try and dodge it? Ha... haha!"

"Damn it!" Daphne was furious, almost wanting to kill the gray-robed wizard on the spot!
"I'm fine," Lynn's voice came through.

He slowly straightened his body, and the flesh and blood at the wound were surging and gradually healing.

'Is this the effect of strengthening the body and forging a resilient spirit? It seems even better than I expected.'

“It’s useless, completely useless!” But the gray-robed wizard still smiled, staring intently at Lynn as if expecting something.

Lynn's heart sank as he examined himself inch by inch.

However, he did not notice anything unusual until the wound on his chest had completely healed and the black aura had completely disappeared.

Lynn raised his head, stepped over to the gray-robed wizard, and intended to extract more information from him.

But the next moment, Lynn met the gray-robed wizard's blank stare.

The wizard stared intently at Lynn's chest, then looked up at Lynn, muttering repeatedly, "Impossible, impossible... How could anyone resist the glory..."

During this process, the gray-robed wizard's eyes gradually dimmed, and he eventually lost all life.

After releasing that black light, his life seemed to have already begun its countdown.

"Glory?" Lynn frowned deeply, recalling the wizard's strange behavior just now, and felt a sense of unease.

'That black smoke, that powerful physical defense and regenerative ability... I feel like I've seen it somewhere before...'

As Lynn pondered this, his expression quickly turned grim. He stared intently at the grey-robed wizard, muttering to himself:
'Could this be... Saint Mi's Ring contamination?!'

(End of this chapter)