Chapter 128: Preparation (1)
Ten days later.
In the evening.
A brown four-wheel carriage pulled by two black horses slowly approached the soldiers assigned to the outer area of Lennon City.
There were burning torches on the towers beside the entrance, and the flame was dancing.
Two chubby soldiers wearing white leather armor suits walked to the carriage. They were holding torches in their hands.
"Please show us your entry permit," they spoke with a loud voice.
The window of the carriage was opened by a pale hand. There was a young man sitting inside. He had no expression on his face. The soldiers could see his brown and white hair.
"Permit? What permit?" the man asked in a deep tone.
"Sorry sir, the order comes from the Lord himself, it’s to prevent the plague..." The soldier suddenly stopped talking after seeing the young man’s face, his expression looked quite surprised.
"Are you... Master Angele?!" He raised his voice.
"I am. What? You know me?" Angele’s eyebrows furrowed.
Angele heard people chatting outside the carriage.
"Mr. Tinos sent your pictures to all the guard posts and asked us to memorize your face. Let the carriage pass! It’s Master Angele!" the chubby soldier shouted and waved his hands.
"Tinos?" Angele rubbed his chin with his right hand and closed the window.
The soldiers outside drew their swords together to show their respect.
They watched the carriage moving to the direction of the city until it completely disappeared in their sights.
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The carriage traveled on the bumpy road. Angele sat on his seat with his eyebrows furrowed. He looked at the road ahead and realized that the horses were not going to the direction he wanted. With a flick of his finger, a thin layer of green glow exploded on his palm and the horses immediately changed the direction.
‘The explosive spell on the note Master has given me was quite powerful. Without that, I probably could not finish them off easily. My initial plan was to do something with all the materials I have and then find a ship to take me back home. However, it seems like there’s something going on in the city. I hope I don’t need to spend too much time there.’ Angele rubbed the silver metal on the back of his right hand. It was the enchanted item Liliana gave him to help lift the curse. His Metal Mastery did not absorb it.
Complex patterns were engraved onto the diamond-shaped silver metal piece, which it looked a bit strange on the back of his hand.
‘I’m actually 18 years already. Time flies... I wonder how my family is doing overseas.’ Angele leaned to the window and watched the trees passing by.
He came to this land when he was almost 15 years old, and after about four years of hard work, he finally became a formal Wizard. Angele’s progress was much faster than most of the talented Wizard apprentices.
Formal Wizards could live for at least 300 years, and he had more than enough time to visit his family. However, there were no materials, no potions, no Wizardry books over the sea, and he had no place to trade. He just could not stay there for too long.
Angele laid his back on the seat and sighed. He suddenly heard a bird making noise outside the carriage.
He opened the window and a white pigeon landed on his legs. The pigeon’s eyes were completely black. They looked like two empty holes filled with darkness.
Angele stared at the pigeon, reminding him of something. He touched the pigeon’s head and a sigil created out of some dark mist suddenly flashed below the tip of his finger.
A blue electric image shone upon the pigeon’s chest. It was a fine magic circle.
"Long time no see, Benedict." Angele smiled.
"Long time no see. You already became a formal Wizard huh?" The pigeon opened its beak and it started talking.
"I hate using this method to contact you, but you’re out of my telescope’s range. I had to do it."
"Well, yeah. Where are you now? We need to meet if possible. I left the school and I need your help." Angele still needed to improve as a Wizard. Ramsoda’s best spells were either Shadow spells or Necromancy spells. The school did not carry that many low-level spells, and Wizards were not doing too much research on the spells from unpopular categories. Liliana’s special spells were not suitable for him to learn, so he had to find other ways to collect Wind or Fire spells.
"You left your school?" Benedict stilled for a second.
"I have some Wind and Fire spell models in my school, and I can sell you some basic ones, but it’ll take months for me to travel to your location..."
"Is that so?" Angele thought for a second.
"Do you know which organization has the largest Wind and Fire spell collection?"
"Sure. Cross the Northland Alliance. There are two federal countries. The Six Ring High Tower there has the largest collection, but it’s funded by Wizards of Light. Be careful if you really want to go there," Benedict warned.
"Six Ring High Tower..." Angele sighed.
"Fine, I’m going to visit my family anyway. I can probably take a boat there first, but I need to check with the Wizards around me first. I can save some time if they have what I want."
"Well, just be careful if you really want to go. Some of the Wizards of Light are extremists, they are dangerous and they despise Dark Wizards the most," Benedict advised again.
"I have to go now. I’m following the old guys to the abandoned land. I’ll tell you if I find something there."
"Cool. Good luck then." Angele nodded.
"Wait, do you know what’s going on with the plague? Around the south side of Ramsoda?"
"Plague?" Benedict was a bit surprised.
"I thought you were the expert on something like this. I don’t know anything about it. Wizards will help those mortals for sure, don’t worry. They are important to this land, and I think your school has already sent someone to investigate."
"I hope so." Angele knew Benedict was probably right.
"I’ll talk to you later."
"We will meet again soon." The pigeon shook its wings and flew out of the window.
The pigeon exploded into a pile of white feathers and dropped to the ground after leaving the carriage.
Angele stopped looking at it and sat in the carriage quietly. He was approaching the main city gate of Lennon.
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"Angele! Welcome back." Harland hugged Angele and smiled.
Tinos, Harland, and Lord Alford met in a meeting hall full of golden decorations.
There were dishes and drinks on the long table. It looked like they prepared a lot to welcome Angele back.
Angele walked to Lord Alford and hugged him as well. Alford was still sitting in a wheelchair.
Alford’s nickname was ‘Melodize’, which meant rich and peaceful. People called him that as a praise for what he had contributed to the city.
"You’re stronger than before. Welcome back. If you don’t mind, this castle can be your second home." Alford smiled.
"Thanks." Angele straightened his back and looked at Tinos.
The pretty blonde man was smiling at him.
"Welcome back." Tinos stepped forward and hugged Angele.
"Remember, I’m your friend. I’m glad that you finally came back."
"Thanks." Angele nodded and smiled.
After the greetings, Angele sat down at the long table, and the maids removed the lids off the metal plates. He could smell the aroma of the food in the hall.
Angele grabbed some food. He remembered what happened at the guard post.
"Tinos, tell me what happened. I thought the plague was far from the city. Why are you looking for me?" Angele sipped the blue liquid in his glass. The drink was minty and sweet, it was quite refreshing.
Tinos’s creased his eyebrows.
"Several travelers brought the plague into the city not so long ago. More than 300 citizens are already infected and 70 of them already passed away. The doctors in the city have no cure for it."
Harland and Alford’s expressions changed. They looked serious.
"That’s a problem." Angele was a bit surprised.
"It is, so we are wondering if you know how to deal with it," Harland added.
Angele’s eyebrows furrowed, "There’s nothing I can do at the moment, but someone will take care of it for sure. Don’t worry too much. Make sure you burn the bodies and set up quarantines. Otherwise, the plague will continue to spread."
The plague had been spreading around for a while. Wizard organizations had already sent Wizards to the south to investigate. However, since the plague was still spreading, those Wizards probably did not find the cure. Furthermore, Angele had just become a Wizard not so long ago, so he did not think he had the ability to solve the problem.
"If it’s just Blood Boil Blisters, it’ll be solved soon I believe," Angele spoke.
"I hope so..." Alford sighed.
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Angele returned to the manors he bought after leaving the castle.
The guards he hired were still patrolling around the district.
Most of the manors had red roofs, and the street was covered in black bricks. The place was beautiful yet strangely silent.
It was night.
Angele crossed his legs and sat in the living room on the first floor. He had just taken a shower. Tia prepared a cup of hot chocolate for him. He was wearing a white bathing robe and his hair was still wet.
A young girl was focusing on practicing sword skills in the middle of the living room. The silver sword was dancing in her hand.
The girl was about ten years old. She had a black ponytail on her head. She was about 1.4 meters tall and was wearing a gray tight swordsman’s suit. Angele could saw her dedication to his sword skills just by watching her accurate moves.