Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 312 - 311: Let’s Solve Two Big Problems

Typhon Empire, southwest border.

The winter rain mixed with delicate snowflakes kept falling, casting a hazy curtain under the dim evening sky. The continuous rain, overcast sky, and mountain mist intertwined, making the whole world appear blurred and indistinct.

And in this blurred and indistinct world, the poor border mountain village was plunged into darkness early. The villagers, unable to afford lamp oil, could only hide in their dark houses in this harsh weather, relying on a small hearth for warmth and casting fearful glances at the ancient black tower standing atop the hill.

The few windows at the top of the black tower emitted a strange dark red light, and ominous clouds hovered above the tower’s tip. The chaotic rain seemed to be summoned by those lights, making the entire world dark and damp.

The crazy old mage was at it again—doing those terrifying things. The superstitious villagers closed their windows uneasily, whispering prayers to their gods, hoping the black mage’s curse would not fall upon them.

At the top of the Mage spire, Mary and several other apprentices had no idea what those superstitious and ignorant villagers were thinking, and even if they did, they had no interest in it.

The apprentices were nervously setting up the laboratory, placing various magic materials in their correct places as ordered by their mentor. A large fire pan burned at the center of the stone-made room, its flames flickering in unusually vibrant reds, almost like blood trembling in the air.

The old mage stood in the center of a magic circle beside the fire pan, channeling magic power into the circle while watching each apprentice’s actions with his sullen eyes. He wasn’t wearing his black robe; artificial nerve cords extended from his spine, writhing slowly behind him like serpents.

An apprentice accidentally shook his hand while sprinkling purple-crystal dust into the fire pan, causing sparks to ripple through the air. The apprentice immediately looked fearfully at his mentor, but the old mage just glared at him harshly: "Be careful! You useless fool!"

The apprentice sighed in great relief and continued his work with even greater care.

Mary poured a liquid mixed with mineral powder, monster blood, and magic herb juice into the rune grooves on the floor using special tools while sneaking a glance at her mentor.

Ever since the last "link," the old mage Daniel’s state had been increasingly strange.

Although he was usually mad, punishing apprentices for no reason, conducting all sorts of terrifying experiments, this time his strangeness was different—he seemed greatly frightened, under immense unutterable pressure, appearing extraordinarily neurotic. He drove apprentices to set countless psychic defense arrays in the Mage spire almost without rest, carved numerous new runes on his body, required long meditation to sleep, and often awoke from nightmares...

Other apprentices were clueless, but Mary suspected this series of abnormalities was related to the last "link" her mentor performed.

The mentor said he had made a deal with a terrifying being... so was all this caused by that deal? Was that "terrifying being" the reason this powerful mage was so frightened?

What a horrifying monster it must be...

Mary dared not question her mentor for details, so she kept her head down doing her work silently, praying she wouldn’t make any mistakes in the process and avoid punishment from the old mage, knowing others probably thought the same.

Finally, all magic symbols were set, and the fire pans and ritual implements were in the correct positions and conditions; the old mage looked around the lab restlessly and impatiently waved his hand: "Get lost, all of you!"

The apprentices were relieved, hurrying to leave the lab one by one.

"Mary! You stay!" The old mage’s harsh voice came from behind.

The young low-level female mage shuddered involuntarily, but dared not disobey her mentor’s command, working to calm her heartbeat before slowly turning to face him respectfully.

"You, hold out your hand!"

Mary numbly obeyed the command, lifting her left hand forward, then watched as the old mage grabbed her arm and casually stabbed it with a dagger.

For a moment, she almost pulled back her hand, but ultimately restrained herself from making a move that might bring terrible punishment.

After a sharp pain, the blood flowed from her arm wound, floating strangely in the air.

Daniel used the bloodstained dagger to trace several symbols in the air, drawing Mary’s blood toward the room’s central fire pan, quickly swallowed by the flames within.

"Good... good..." the old mage mumbled nervously, "mixing the sacrificer’s blood into the ritual process should transfer the Wanderers from Outer Realm to the sacrificer’s presence... with these misleading and defensive symbols around me, I’ll be safe, I’ll be safe..."

Mary hadn’t yet grasped what the old mage meant when he suddenly gave her a strong shove from behind: "Go stand in the center of the Array, now!"

Mary glanced at the Array, drawing on her knowledge of mystical studies and recalling her mentor’s earlier words, coming to a terrifying realization of what the old mage intended—

The old man intended to deceive that terrifying being he had dealt with, using her as the sacrifice, as the scapegoat!

But it was too late for her to resist; she had already stepped into the magic circle, a powerful force anchoring her firmly in place!

Moreover, even if she wasn’t held by the magic circle, she knew the outcome wouldn’t change; she didn’t dare, nor did she have the strength to resist...

Daniel watched as those dark red magic symbols lit up one by one, while the normally silent female mage apprentice obediently stood within the Array’s range, and he couldn’t help but breathe a little easier.

The time he agreed upon with the Wanderers from Outer Realm was fast approaching, but he still had to make one last struggle—he already laid down dozens of layers of protective arrays within this Mage tower and set up numerous protective spells on himself, such protection perhaps would be enough to resist the descent of the Wanderers from Outer Realm...

Moreover, he had pushed Mary into the Array as a misleading medium, an additional insurance.

What if the Wanderers from Outer Realm discovered this "fake"?

Then he would push all the blame onto this female apprentice, saying it was her who recklessly rushed into the Array at the critical moment of the ritual, causing trouble to the great Wanderers from Outer Realm...

Daniel felt his mind swelling, his thoughts slowly becoming chaotic; he looked at the female apprentice within the Array, suddenly filled with doubt, wondering when she became his apprentice, confused about why he was standing there, puzzled about why he was harming an innocent child...

Suddenly, scattered and broken images popped into his mind, he saw a younger version of himself standing in a rundown Mage spire, saw a little girl about ten years old recklessly running up to him, saw himself preparing food for the little girl...

Daniel froze for a moment, immediately rushed forward wanting to rescue Mary, but just at the instant he took action, his mind plunged into chaos once more.

The desperate spell research, the mystical power of the Eternal Sleepers, the joy of seeking truth and gaining great success...

He viciously stared at Mary, awaiting the moment his arranged protective measures would block the Wanderers from Outer Realm.

Then, his vision shook, a boundless world composed of a clear sky and endless water swiftly unfolded around him, countless massive metal platforms floated to the surface, and that Wanderer from Outer Realm stood smiling before him.

The protective methods he set up had absolutely no effect—Mary, used as misdirection, played no role whatsoever.

"Master... my Master..."

The old mage’s eternally muddled thoughts had finally cleared in this virtual world; he instantly realized the foolishness of his actions and tried to undo them.

However, Gawain didn’t care about the old mage’s attitude, nor did he notice any prior protective measures by the other party—

Because he fundamentally wasn’t connecting to the old mage through "intrusion"; the last time he kicked him out of the network, he left an open port in the other’s mind, and even dug a corresponding backdoor in the network...

This was one of the results of his research on the Eternal Sleepers’ psychic network technology for a period.

He believed those Eternal Sleepers who were always focused on enhancing personal power, and still only knew how to use traditional mental protection spells to safeguard their minds, certainly wouldn’t discover this new network-based operation...

The old mage looked slightly surprised at the "Wanderer from Outer Realm" before him, a doubt emerging in his heart—why wasn’t this non-human entity before him angry? Could his protection and misdirection not be seen as an offense and betrayal to him?

Gawain finally noticed the old mage’s oddness and casually asked, "Why are you nervous?"

The old mage paused for a moment, quickly lowered his head, "I... no, I just feel somewhat uneasy at being summoned by you again."

Suddenly, he understood, understood why the Wanderer from Outer Realm before him ignored his "little actions."

Because this formidable entity hadn’t felt any of his minor resistance at all...

The dozens of psychic defense barriers in the Mage spires, the countless protective symbols on himself, Mary used as bait, the specially arranged ritual site—combined, the obstructive power hadn’t reached the level where the "Wanderer from Outer Realm" could perceive it...

"Don’t be nervous, let’s sit down and talk slowly." Gawain, with his eternally gentle smile, waved his hand to create items like a tea table, chairs, tea and snacks, and gestured for Daniel to sit.

Daniel cautiously sat down, feeling guilty; he didn’t even attempt to meet Gawain’s gaze.

He heard that calm voice coming from across: "I have some tasks for you."

"Just give your orders..."

Gawain smiled slightly, casually materializing a pile of scrolls and blueprints: "No hurry, let’s tackle a couple of major tasks first."