landbeastnovel Chapter 123 The Eve of the Meeting Between the Two Sides!
Chapter 123 The Eve of the Meeting Between the Two Sides!
Chapter 124 The Eve of the Meeting Between the Two Sides!
On the edge of the Silent Forest, deep within the twisted woodland.
The air was filled with an eerie atmosphere of decay and vitality.
Lilith frowned and impatiently kicked away a clump of dark purple vines that were trying to entangle her boots.
Her alluring eyes were now filled with suspicion as she looked at her companion, who was almost blending into the shadows beside her.
"Bones, are you sure they're here?"
Her voice, tinged with barely perceptible anxiety, broke the deathly silence of the forest.
"This godforsaken place is nothing but trees, not even a decent magical beast! Is your broken thing giving me directions again?"
The black-robed necromancer she referred to as "Bones" did not answer immediately.
His withered, pale hands gripped the tracking compass, which flickered with an unstable green light, tightly. The eerie green soul fire in his eyes throbbed violently, revealing the turmoil within him.
The compass needle no longer swung wildly, but pointed firmly in one direction!
Deeper into the Silent Forest, the pointer itself trembled slightly, as if interfered with by some force, or as if the target was nearby but obscured by some power, making it impossible to pinpoint its location.
"Vitis has confirmed that the compass is functioning correctly!"
Bone's voice was hoarse but firm, carrying a hint of displeasure at being questioned, but more so a stubborn conviction.
"It's pointing this way, there's no mistaking it! That aura—though very faint and indistinct, it definitely exists! He, or something closely related to him, must be nearby!"
He raised his head, his cold gaze sweeping over the seemingly calm but actually treacherous woods around him.
"Don't forget that strange spore-like creature! Its appearance was no accident! Someone doesn't want us to go any further, and is using this method to warn and mislead us! This just proves we've found the right place!"
Lilith rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Hmph, it's probably some old monster in the Silent Forest who's behind this! I'm warning you, skeleton, if you lure us into a monster's lair like last time, I'll throw you out to take the hits first, and then run away myself!"
Even so, she still cautiously sensed her surroundings.
She had a very bad feeling about this forest, as if countless eyes were watching her from the shadows, but she couldn't pinpoint their source.
Bones ignored her complaints, his mind completely absorbed in the compass's guidance and his own sense of death.
He tried moving in different directions, carefully observing the slightest changes in the pointer.
Suddenly, he stopped and pointed to an area to his left that looked particularly lush and shadowy.
"Over there! The connection seems strongest over there! It's still blurry, but—it can't be wrong!"
Lilith looked in the direction he pointed, but found nothing unusual except for what appeared to be an ordinary woodland.
But she knew that the bones were so persistent and sensitive in their tracking that they could sometimes even surpass the compass itself.
"You'd better be right."
She muttered to herself, but still followed cautiously. An invisible spiritual charm field around her opened slightly, serving as both a warning and a deterrent, preventing the restless low-level magical plants and insects from approaching easily.
The two of them, one in front and one behind, disappeared silently into the even darker woods, like two ghosts.
However, they were unaware that high above them, several seemingly normal ravens were transmitting their direction of travel and conversations back to the distant, dark canyon in real time.
"So we finally found this place—"
Deep in the dark canyon, Hick put down the ancient parchment scroll left by his mentor, sighed softly, and said with a hint of helplessness and "what a nuisance."
"What an undeserved disaster."
Just then, the laboratory door opened, and Ginny strode in. Her expression was as calm as ever, but her speech was slightly faster: "Sir, Sean has sent an urgent message. It's confirmed that the two unidentified pursuers are continuing to approach the canyon entrance. Their specific intentions and strength assessment—are still not entirely clear."
"I already know."
Hick rubbed his temples, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the table unconsciously, revealing his inner turmoil.
It's impossible that he never considered reporting the two's whereabouts directly to the Silent Forest and using Mokamo to handle the trouble.
But the thought only flashed through my mind.
First of all, he had no idea what the purpose of these two level-two wizards was.
What if they weren't after me, but just wandered into this place by mistake? If I report them, wouldn't I be giving myself away and needlessly attracting the attention and investigation of Mochamo and Silent Forest as their "neighbor"?
This is completely contrary to his current strategy of low-key development.
Although he never expected that the Dark Canyon could remain hidden from the Silent Forest forever, the later it was exposed, the better it would be for him.
"Sir, should we immediately summon all combat personnel and activate the defense plan?"
Ginny asked, her thinking direct and efficient.
"manpower----"
Hick shook his head.
Although the exact strength of these two individuals is uncertain, a conservative estimate would be that they are at the level of second-tier wizards!
Even if all the combat mods and apprentices in the canyon were tied together, they probably wouldn't be enough to be crushed by the opponent's finger.
When there is a significant difference in quality, quantity is of little significance.
"Never mind, it's not of much use. I'll handle it myself."
Hick stood up, and as he did so, Kabu silently appeared in the shadows behind him, as if he had never moved, and followed closely behind him.
These days, besides studying his mentor's notes, Hick's most important task is to continuously pour his powerful magic, which has been strengthened many times and far surpasses that of his peers, into Kabu's body.
It wasn't until he experienced the process firsthand that he truly understood how terrifying a Level 3 wizard was—it was a completely different level of energy capacity!
Even with his current magic reserves, it took him quite a long time to fully charge Kabu's energy.
But with the fully-formed Kabu by his side, Hick felt confident enough.
Those two uninvited guests, if they hadn't come, fine, but if they really dared to show up at the door—
"We happen to be short of some high-quality experimental materials."
A cold, inquisitive glint flashed in Hick's eyes.
With a thought, a layer of fine and tough dark dragon scales instantly appeared on his skin. A unique aura of dragon power flashed by, and the sharp dragon horns on both sides of his head were ferocious and dangerous. A pair of huge dragon wings even spread out on his back!
But these appeared only for a moment, then receded as quickly as the tide, completely merging into the body and disappearing.
It was as if everything that had just happened was an illusion.
This was a small test of his current control over his power.
After doing all this, he took a deep breath, and the Dragon Heart in his body throbbed powerfully, sending surging power throughout his body, and his condition was now at its peak.
Kabu stood silently behind him, his body brimming with magic power that shared the same origin as Hick but was far more powerful, ready to unleash devastating combat power at any moment.
"Let's go, Kabu."
Hick's voice was calm and even as he walked out of the laboratory.
"Let's go and greet these two uninvited guests. Let's see what they've gone to so much trouble to get here—what do they hope to gain from me, or what do they hope to find?"
Instead of passively staying in the laboratory, he took the initiative to move outwards.
He needs to keep the potential battlefield within the pre-established isolation and defense zone at the canyon entrance, minimizing the exposure of core laboratories and critical facilities.
At the edge of the Silent Forest, Bones and Lilith continued to carefully make their way through the twisted trees.
The deeper one ventures in the direction the bone points, the more bizarre and towering the surrounding trees become, their branches twisted like the arms of monsters, almost completely blocking out the light. The invisible, nerve-wracking sense of being watched in the air almost solidifies into a tangible reality.
"Bones! I'm saying this one last time! This feels awful!"
Lilith tried her best to lower her voice. Her mental perception was far more acute than her bones in sensing active energy and emotions. At this moment, she felt as if countless eyes were staring intently at her, making her feel extremely uncomfortable.
"Something's definitely watching us in this godforsaken place! It's really hostile!"
"Shut up, Lilith! Focus!"
Bones hissed impatiently, his entire mind focused on the compass and his own sense of death.
"The interference is extremely strong! That means we're right next to the target! It's just ahead—below that cliff!"
His thin, bony finger pointed straight ahead, where a massive, black cliff covered in thick, dark green moss and countless drooping vines stood. At the base of the cliff, a figure, partially obscured by dense vegetation, could be vaguely seen.
A deep, dark cave entrance whose destination is unknown.
The compass needle in his hand was firmly fixed on that direction, trembling so much it almost jumped out of the compass!
However, just as they were fully focused and preparing to cautiously approach and investigate the suspicious cave entrance, creak! creak! creak! creak!
The shrill, noisy cawing of crows suddenly rang out from all directions!
A large flock of ravens with jet-black wings and glowing red eyes appeared out of nowhere, taking flight from every corner of the forest and quickly gathering and circling in front of them, blocking their way!
Their flight paths, though seemingly chaotic, subtly form a kind of encirclement.
"Ravens? Common low-level monsters—no! The energy reaction of these ravens—are they level one monsters?"
"How is this possible?!"
The bone was initially puzzled, then the soul fire in its eye sockets suddenly twitched, letting out an incredulous gasp.
It's common knowledge that ravens have limited potential and it's almost impossible for them to break through the apprentice level's upper limit!
"Level 1 Raven?! Are you kidding me?!"
Upon hearing Bone's surprised expression, Lilith immediately sensed it and her pretty face instantly filled with astonishment and a sense of absurdity.
This violates the basic principles they hold in their minds!
Under the bewildered gazes of the two, the astonishingly large flock of Level 1 ravens began to behave even more strangely.
As if guided by an invisible force, they frantically converged, collided, and merged towards the central point!
The crow feathers scattered and dissipated, their forms rapidly deforming and elongating under the influence of an incomprehensible force—
In just a few breaths, the unsettling flock of ravens actually gathered in front of them and sculpted into a tall human-shaped silhouette!
Finally, the flock of crows disappeared completely, and a young wizard with black hair and black eyes, a cold face, and a simple black robe stood quietly in front of them at a distance, blocking the way to the cave entrance on the cliff.
His aura was stable and restrained, just like that of a newly initiated formal wizard.
Looking at the young man in front of them, who seemed to be transformed from a raven and was only at the level of a wizard, Lilith and Bones subconsciously exchanged glances. They both noticed a slight, easily perceptible relaxation in each other's eyes.
Fortunately, it was just one wizard at a time. Although the way they appeared was a bit strange, it was still within a controllable range.
The two of them almost simultaneously had the same thought.
Meanwhile, Hick, who had revealed his true form, clearly sensed the slightest hint of something amiss between the two at close range.
The energy fluctuations belong to two wizards.
At the same time, through feedback from Tong Dongkabu's perception system, which far exceeded that of his own, he confirmed the other party's energy level.
Two wizards, two.
They may be weak, but they are not incapable of dealing with the situation.
Hick's mind settled down as well.
Thus, at the edge of this quiet forest, the two sides sized each other up, and in the eerie atmosphere, they both secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Both sides now share the same thought:
Control it!