CHAPTER 582: CHAPTER 579: CAPRICIOUS

"Mr. Drake, have you ever been to Barrier Mountain before?"

"I went there not long ago."

"Then have you seen the Wizards on Barrier Mountain? Can they really fly around as the legends claim?"

"Um... not all Wizards can fly."

"..."

On the road to Barrier Mountain, Ronald and the merchant’s child whispered to each other.

Compared to Bapulor and Catherine, Ronald seemed to be more likable to children, thus, after meeting these three strangers, it was mostly Ronald who talked with the child.

However, hidden beneath this seemingly normal journey was the dangerously precarious road ahead.

For the merchant,

Barrier Mountain was no longer a good place at the time.

The underground city structures hidden in the tunnel leading to Barrier Mountain might still allow them to trade and even bring in more substantial profits. However, with the temporary loss of the Wizards’ upper-class suppression, what could happen to the ordinary citizens...

Thinking of this, Ronald couldn’t help but shake his head.

Since their meeting that day, he had hinted to the merchant’s party, suggesting in his words that Barrier Mountain was not a suitable place to go. However, having their own ideas about business, they didn’t consider abandoning the business plan.

On the other hand, the situation at Barrier Mountain perfectly matched the predictions.

The next day, during the daytime, Barrier Mountain confirmed through communication magic that the first group of dispatched Wizards had been ’completely annihilated.’

After that, they indeed did not immediately dispatch a second wave of pursuers.

After reinforcing the Spells protecting Barrier Mountain, they continued to stabilize the internal situation while preparing for the seal break set three days later.

It was not until the second day, as Ronald and his companions accompanied the merchant caravan continuing forward,

that the second wave of Wizards obstructing them was selected.

Then, from the direction in which Ronald and his team had escaped from Barrier Mountain, exactly seven Great Wizards—the original scripture holders of Barrier Mountain—started from the mountainside, advancing in a fan-shaped array.

A reconnaissance magic far beyond the standard level was initiated.

It brought a sufficiently secure reconnaissance effect.

Normally, even standard original scripture holders would find it hard to pass through such high-level searches undetected, but thanks to Ronald and his companions’ earlier counter-surveillance preparations, they were not exposed quickly.

"Um..."

Suddenly, Ronald’s expression changed.

Things had changed again.

Ronald and his companions had made preparations, and the plan to attack these Great Wizards had already been laid out.

However, just as everything was poised to happen,

these seven people stopped!

They suddenly ceased advancing and quickly started to retreat.

In just over a quarter of an hour, all seven Great Wizards who had left Barrier Mountain returned to the academy, then swiftly dispersed back to their original positions, starting to work on integrating personnel.

This behavior...

It was as if Barrier Mountain had decided to abandon the pursuit of Ronald and his two companions!

"..."

There must be a demon when things deviate from the norm.

Especially since the current scene directly contradicted Catherine’s predictions!

Ronald casually comforted the merchant’s young niece and turned to his companions to alert them:

"Hey, something seems off."

"They came down from the mountain, and then they quickly went back."

"..."

"Is this like forgetting your keys when you leave the house?" Bapulor blurted out an impossible guess subconsciously.

Catherine was more direct, instantly reciting the spell of "Psychohistory."

"His name is Gale Donik, originally just a child from the countryside, who had never been to Chuan Tuo before.

Or maybe it should be said, he had never truly been there..."

The girl’s expression gradually darkened.

This time, she barely took any time to break free from the prediction state, and her tone was tinged with irritability as she answered Ronald and his companion.

"No, this has already been obscured by a powerful causal spell."

"There are thousands of possible outcomes in the guess, making it completely impossible to accurately determine the real situation."

"That’s somewhat interesting." Hearing the result, Bapulor was not worried at all, instead, he somewhat praised the actions of Barrier Mountain, "If this had happened in Springs, Dantrian would have immediately used a whole set of counter-causality, counter-prediction, and counter-reconnaissance tactics. Understanding this much in just a few days, that Fake God seems to have made quite the progress."

Catherine immediately contested the heretic Magician’s praise:

"The reconnaissance countermeasures of Barrier Mountain have actually always been effective in the form of enchantments, my prediction was conducted by bypassing their system. Right now, my spells failing means that they have made targeted adjustments."

"..."

The trio locked eyes, and through their gaze, Ronald swiftly concluded:

"There are now two possibilities."

"First, Barrier Mountain has prioritized dealing with us, hence they are currently adjusting their plans targeting us; second, they are preparing to go fully on the defensive, maintaining their maximum vital force until the seal is broken, including the return of their personnel and new shielding spells, all to achieve this purpose."

Ronald’s conclusion came quickly.

Catherine and Bapulor just exchanged looks and immediately agreed with Ronald’s deduction.

Then the question arose:

—Which one is the truth?

Faced with different situations, the response needed from the three of them was completely different. It was the difference between facing an enemy head-on, testing raw power, versus stealth infiltration, testing adaptability.

"I think they must be scared!" Bapulor never hesitated to voice his opinion at such times, he immediately chose to believe the fact he preferred and even drew on his own experiences.

"When I was leading my sect, it was the same."

"If there’s a risk of my people getting wiped out, my usual advise was to run away quickly, preserving vital forces was the biggest guarantee for a comeback later."

Catherine’s view was entirely different:

"The madmen of Barrier Mountain and your kind of madmen are different."

"If those wizards hadn’t been forcibly sealed back then, most of them were actually the type ready to perish together with their enemies. Don’t underestimate their resolution in such matters."

"As for the value of life, whether their own or that of common people, this bunch regarded it as a measurable chip."

"Don’t expect these people to come up with any plan to preserve their strength."

"..."

Bapulor and Catherine each had their own thoughts.

Naturally, the discussion became heated and hard to pause.

However, after not long, Ronald shook his head oddly:

"Let’s stop for a moment, both of you."

"Now... another person has come out of Barrier Mountain..."

With Ronald’s powerful reconnaissance ability, he clearly sensed that more wizards had voluntarily left the academy from Barrier Mountain.

Only unlike last time’s whole six Great Wizards,

This time leaving Barrier Mountain.

There were only three!