Wizard's Journey

Chapter 273 Malignant Tumor

Fifteen days later.

Having investigated several cities that were conducive to the hiding and breeding of dark wizards, Green still had no clue about Raffi, which made him increasingly anxious.

According to Yokliana, these black witch apprentices were somewhat unusual, seemingly appearing to have suddenly surged in at some point in time.

Moreover, they had no contact with each other, could not obtain any clues from each other, and could not even exchange experiences or learn from each other.

These black magic apprentices are easy to deal with. Although they pose a serious threat, they are not a difficult problem for any formal wizard. They can only lurk like parasites in the blind spots of the wizarding academy's investigation.

However, the terrifying black wizard Hattori Hizo was different.

He was not only the source of the spread of black magic apprentices, but the Seven Rings Holy Tower also registered that this black wizard had killed a total of six official wizards, one of whom was even a practicing demon hunter wizard.

But over the past few days, Green has come to realize that these are simply figures that the Bone Tower Wizarding Academy has been concealing and falsifying in order to cover up its scandal.

The actual situation is far more serious than what has been registered.

As a result, Green couldn't help but become a little more cautious.

Having once extensively collected "Amonro's Despair" in the Shadow Mystery world, Grimm could unleash hundreds of degrees of sorcery attacks on Amonro with a wave of his hand. At his peak, he even fought Amonro at level two several times head-on. Grimm was well aware of the terror involved.

As a dark wizard who specializes in understanding the mysteries of graduate students and death, and who has been collecting "human despair" in the wizarding world for a long time, his upper limit of degree is definitely not just two or three hundred degrees like Grimm's.

In addition, given Hattori's talent for secretly tracking people during the academy's new recruit trials, Green couldn't help but be extra cautious.

At this moment, Green and Yorkleyana were cruising in a large swamp area called the Withered Swamp.

The withered swamp is shrouded in billowing mist year-round, with visibility less than twenty meters. The rolling mist contains substances that cause hallucinations and excitement, and the creatures here often kill each other in a state of extreme ferocity when they are starving.

In this unique food chain, a creature called the Flower-scaled Lizard occupies the top of the food chain.

Whoosh, whoosh.

Grimm and Leona flew close to the ground, trying to find clues about the dark wizard in the thick fog.

A flock of dead leaf butterflies flew past Green and Yorkriana, disappearing into the thick fog in the blink of an eye. With a sigh, Green suddenly stopped moving forward.

"What's wrong?"

Turning around, Yokliana looked at Green with a puzzled expression.

Shaking his head, Green said, "We're not good at perceiving environments like this, so searching like this is like looking for a needle in a haystack."

Yokriana said with difficulty, "However, this swamp is a place where dark wizards are very likely to hide. It is said that the Bone Bell Tower Wizarding Academy has listed this area as a key area and implemented a strict investigation system. It is also one of the places where we are most likely to find traces of dark wizards."

Green lowered his head and remained silent, as if deep in thought.

After a while, Green suddenly called out, "Little Eight."

The space above his shoulder distorted, and a beautiful, plump myna bird with red and green feathers appeared. The myna, like a puppy, stuck out its tongue and said obsequiously, "Caw caw, young master, what is it?"

As it spoke, the myna bird widened its eyes with a teasing grin.

Grimm, his eyes fixed on the myna bird beneath his True Face, said calmly, "In this environment, what is the range of your perception?"

With a sigh, Green made a plan in his mind to complete the Endless Eye and Eagle Eye as soon as possible in the second phase of the Face of Truth project.

"The Great Steel Emblem Myna clan senses through the aura of living beings, and this environment poses no obstacle to them whatsoever."

The myna bird wagged its tail smugly, slowly turning its head. It seemed only then that it noticed the witch beside it, exclaiming in surprise, "Gah? Young master, this...this...this female human, La...Lafie?"

The myna bird asked, its speech unclear.

Yorkriana stared in astonishment at the myna bird on Green's shoulder, her cloudy eyes wide with surprise. A primordial soul companion?!

Seeing the myna bird's surprised reaction, mistaking him for Lafite, he shook his head and smiled, saying, "Hello, I'm Yorkriana, a friend of Green's."

As she spoke, Yorkriana took out a magic stone and placed it in her hand.

After learning that the old witch before him wasn't Raffi, the myna bird gave a curt "Oh," somewhat disappointed. But seeing Yokliana holding a magic stone in front of it, it asked in surprise, "What's this for?"

For a moment, the atmosphere became a little awkward.

Yorkriana glanced at Green, then at the myna bird, and asked in equal surprise, "Aren't you going to eat?"

"Pah! You're the one who eats stones! Eighth Master... Waaah..."

Green tapped the myna bird on the head and said fiercely, "If you don't want to eat, then don't eat. Stop with the nonsense. Help me check if there are any human signs nearby."

After saying that, Green said apologetically to Yorkriana, "Don't mind this guy. He's just like Dean Peranos's Gahei, a glutton."

Yorkriana gave an awkward laugh and put the magic stone away.

The more I looked at this myna bird, the more I felt that it was unusual and mysterious.

The myna bird, however, covered its head with one wing and pointed to the left front with the other, saying aggrievedly, "There are a few human presences over there."

"Walk."

As soon as the myna bird finished speaking, Green and Yorkriana flew over together.

After about half an hourglass.

Yorkriana and Green stood respectfully, performing the wizarding rituals.

The wizard standing atop a giant beetle wearing a straw hat was actually a level two wizard, prompting Grimm and Yorkriana to adopt a humble posture.

Behind the second-level wizard were seven or eight wizard apprentices, who were looking at Green and Yorkriana, the two wizards who had suddenly appeared, with surprise.

buzzing...

The giant beetle's wings vibrated at an incredibly fast frequency, causing the surrounding clouds to churn violently. The Straw Hat Wizard glanced at Grimm and Yorkriana, then asked in surprise, "Witch hunters? You're here to hunt dark wizards too?"

Besides the wizard's shield, the best way to identify a witcher is by the power of despair collected from unknown creatures from other worlds. The despair of Amonro that surrounds Grimm's body is the best proof of a witcher.

Of course, this is a high-level wizard probing a low-level wizard.

"Master, we are from the Blacksorta Wizarding Academy, and we have come to find a fallen former companion. If necessary, we hope to see him one last time," Green said respectfully.

The Straw Hat Wizard said, "In the past three years, this area has been thoroughly searched by the Bone Bell Tower Wizarding Academy, and four dark wizard apprentices have been hunted down. See if you can find the one you are looking for."

After saying that, the giant beetle under the Straw Hat Wizard gurgled and gurgled, spitting out four pieces of black ice crystals in succession.

Green and Yorkriana's hearts were in their throats.

With a bang, four pieces of black ice crystals scattered. The heads of three male black witch apprentices were automatically ignored by Green. The last female black witch apprentice's head, with a face of over forty years old, was not Raffi, and there was nothing noteworthy about it.

Quietly, Green breathed a sigh of relief and calmly said, "Thank you, Master. My companion is not here."

"Oh, that's good."

As the Straw Hat Wizard instructed the giant beetle to collect the heads of the four dark wizard apprentices, he said with a solemn expression, "Actually... if it were a former comrade, you would still have a sliver of a chance to save his life."

Green and Yorkleyana, who were about to say goodbye and leave, were both startled.

Green stared in disbelief, exclaiming, "Master, what does this mean? Is it possible to repent and atone for one's sins through other means?"

"No, no, no!"

The Straw Hat Wizard shook his head, said "no" three times in a row, and then said solemnly, "Under normal circumstances, once an elemental wizard on the Wizarding Continent falls into darkness, he will be hunted down by bounty hunters from the Wizarding Academy and the Holy Tower. But there is one exception: when a wizard falls into darkness against his own will."

"You mean..." Green asked nervously.

The Straw Hat Wizard held the last head of the dark wizard apprentice that hadn't been swallowed by the giant beetle in his hand, and pointed to a throbbing tumor behind the head.

"They... were actually enslaved by Hattori Hikō; their path to becoming dark sorcerers was not of their own volition."

The Straw Hat Wizard shook his head and said regretfully, "I never imagined that he could combine his symbiotic insects with his own talents to create such powerful magic that enslaves highly intelligent and spiritually powerful wizard apprentices. He is a genius wizard that the Bone Bell Tower sees only once in ten thousand years! It's a pity... that he chose to fall into self-destruction."

"This is a secret I discovered three months ago, and I'm now preparing to report it to the Seventh Ring Holy Tower to launch a true demon-hunting operation!"

Green's pupils contracted in disbelief!

A sorcerer who enslaves his apprentice wizards?

It's important to understand that wizard apprentices serve as a bridge between ordinary humans and formal wizards. Due to their high intelligence, strong mental power, and protection from the fundamental will of the wizarding world, enslaving them is no less difficult than a first-level wizard attempting to enslave a third-level soul slave!

However, this newly born dark wizard from the Bone Clock Tower of the Seventh Ring Holy Tower, District Twelfth, actually...

Historically, the Wizarding Continent has also produced several terrifying dark wizards with similar abilities. These dark wizards all became legendary figures of their time, and their harm was second only to a few evil dark wizards in the history of the Wizarding World who betrayed the world's interests.

creak...

The straw-hatted wizard covered the black wizard apprentice's head with black ice crystals and threw it into the mouth of the giant beetle beneath him.

"I've named these malignant tumors 'Hidden Worms.' Their function is to enslave wizard apprentices and transmit the power of despair to the Hidden Worm Mother. In other words, these black wizard apprentices are actually just collectors of 'human despair' scattered by Hattori Hidden Worm, while he himself remains hidden."

With a sigh, the Straw Hat Wizard continued, "There's only one way to save your companion: have Hattori Hizo control the mother insect and retrieve the offspring from your companion. Remember, don't take them out yourself, or you won't even be able to collect the bounty..."

After saying this, the Straw Hat Wizard smiled sadly, ignored Grimm and Yorkriana, and left with his group of wizard apprentices.

"Young Master Green..."

"Green, we still have hope. If we find the Ghost Thief and offer him some of the benefits in exchange, maybe..."

Green stopped the myna and Yorkriana from comforting him, his calm demeanor chilling, and said indifferently, "Continue, we must find Raffi!"

Green understood what the Straw Hat Wizard meant by not being able to receive the reward. What he meant by not being able to receive the reward was that the black wizard apprentice's head would explode with a "bang".

I'll be going home on February 9th, to the beautiful and bountiful XJWLMQ, a trip that will take a day and a half. Please forgive any breaks in updates; I'll try to write another chapter tonight and save it for tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)