48: Chapter 48 The Headquarters Has Become Dangerous

Kas Town, town gate.

The sunset was half-gone, casting a red glow that spread out like blood-stained clouds across the sky.

On the open ground in front of the gate, six Fanatics surrounded the townspeople without a word, while Potter and Lake stood silently to the side.

Zhang Mu and Avril had been in the forest for a day and a night, and the howling of wolves continued incessantly.

A confident smile hung on Lake's face: "Mr. Potter, I really cannot understand what you are relying on to make this bet with me."

"This wave of magical beasts..."

Under a gaze devoid of emotion, Lake subconsciously shut his mouth.

Potter bared his teeth: "I'm saying, haven't you thought about the fact that if I lose, I might send you to meet your god before I take my own life?"

"Uh..." Lake was stunned, and upon careful consideration, it seemed not entirely impossible.

"Mr. Potter is not that kind of Magister." He managed a forced smile.

"I am."

Lake: "..."

Isn't this just playing dirty?

Although Potter was speaking in a joking tone, Lake did not have the guts to gamble on whether he was actually serious.

"Mr. Potter, can I trade a secret for my safety?"

"Go ahead and say it." Potter did not care much about the secret he mentioned, his expression bored.

"In the recorded historical data of Kas Town, including this time, there have been a total of three waves of magical beasts. The interval is exactly thirty years. Don't you think that is too much of a coincidence?"

Noticing Potter's gaze sweeping over, Lake raised a relaxed smile and kept his mouth shut, intending to whet his appetite and wait for him to ask before...

"If you drag this out any longer, I will blast you to pieces with a fireball right now."

"If you win the bet, you can check the frequency of the magical beast riots in the Lake Kingdom over the years to see how stable they are. And every time there is a wave of magical beasts, a large number of low-level Magisters accept support missions, except for this time when you were on the scene.

This has to do with your most trusted partner; I can only say this much, otherwise, my life will be in danger."

Potter's two snow-white eyebrows knitted together. He did not doubt that he was trying to fool him, because this was indeed very easy to verify.

If it was really like this, then over at the Royal Capital...

Just as he wanted to ask one more question, the vast Mental Energy shrouding the forest suddenly perceived familiar magical fluctuations intruding.

Coming quite quickly, haha, the timing is perfect.

With his Mental Energy wrapping around the magical fluctuations moving rapidly in the air, Potter transmitted his voice: "Andre, go and help Avril and my new student."

The other party's Mental Energy fluctuated, seemingly very surprised.

After a while, a male voice replied: "Presumably, Mr. Potter has met a genius he cannot bear to give up on."

After briefly recounting what had happened during this time, Potter reminded: "Hurry up."

"Very well, Mr. Potter."

Disconnecting the spiritual link, Potter smiled. He had originally thought they wouldn't be able to hold on for too long, but he hadn't expected them to actually last for a full day and night.

Avril, Zhang Mu, you are both very good.

Watching his smile, Lake looked confused. What was he so happy about for no reason?

...

Avril was sprinting into the depths of the forest.

Behind her, the howling of the Thunder Wolf rang out from time to time, accompanied by thunderous explosions, rapidly approaching her.

"Crackle—"

Turning her head, she caught a glimpse of lightning flashing in her peripheral vision. Avril understood that her escape had reached its end.

But waiting idly for death was not her style. She turned quickly, raised her staff, and prepared to cast her most powerful magic to make a final stand.

Seeing her stop, the Thunder Wolf Leader howled excitedly. With its silver-white eyes filled with lightning, it stared fixedly at her and charged over, its four limbs moving frantically.

"Ice and Snow, congeal..."

"Avril, step back." A familiar voice reminded her from the air. She was stunned for a moment, then reacted and immediately stepped back.

The Thunder Wolf did not pursue. Its greatly enhanced hearing and perception keenly detected something falling from above at high speed.

The sound of breaking air reached its ears. It subconsciously wanted to jump away from the spot, but before the wind arrived, the spear came first.

"Boom—"

It was as if a meteor had struck the earth. Dust filled the air. Just as Avril was preparing to go over, a griffin landed and stood firm in the sky, flapping its wings to blow away the dust clouds that were spreading in all directions.

The Thunder Wolf Leader, which had been terrifying just a moment ago, now had all its lightning disappear. It lay prone, pierced from the top of its head by an iron knight's long spear, and was pinned firmly to the ground.

Its powerful vitality caused its four limbs to claw at the mud in an attempt to get up, but the man holding the spear gave his right hand a slight twist, and the Thunder Wolf Leader stopped breathing.

"Brother." Avril walked over.

Andre's expression was calm: "You have responsibilities you must bear, and for that, you must ensure your own safety, do you understand?"

"This is my own business." She replied with a cold tone.

"Father's health is poor; you must return to the Royal Capital immediately." Andre did not continue the argument and spoke of the purpose of his hurried arrival.

"My junior is still..."

"Avril." Potter's voice came from the crystal ball in the wide sleeve of her robe, "Just leave Zhang Mu to me."

Her eyes were somewhat puzzled, and she wanted to ask, but since her teacher hadn't explained the reason directly, she probably wouldn't get an answer.

"Please, Teacher, bring my junior out of the forest as soon as possible. There are still magical beasts here, and he is still in a coma, so it is not very safe."

"Rest assured."

Hearing Potter agree, Avril did not say anything more and jumped onto the griffin's back to sit firmly.

Her gaze swept obscurely in the direction where Zhang Mu was lying. Junior, become stronger quickly, and then, take control of your own destiny.

Pulling on the reins, the griffin soared into the sky.

The massive figure with its wings spread soon rushed into the night sky.

Andre stepped on the Thunder Wolf's head, pulled out his long spear, shouldered it, and walked toward Zhang Mu.

It wasn't far; he could get there in a few minutes.

...

【Abnormal Status — Dizziness (00:01:05) will be removed afterwards】

Zhang Mu was extremely anxious in his heart. He didn't know the strength of a Tier 4 Thunder Wolf Leader, but based on the combat power displayed at Tier 3, Avril wouldn't be able to hold on for more than a few minutes.

Huh? Who is this?

Zhang Mu's soul body was counting down the seconds when he suddenly saw a man carrying an iron long spear walking to his side.

He made no other movements, just planted the butt of his spear on the ground and stared at him.

Zhang Mu looked him up and down.

The man was wearing simple light armor without complicated decorations, had short black hair, looked to be in his thirties, had a straight and upright posture, and exuded a capable temperament throughout his body.

If you count one minute second by second, it feels very slow, but in fact, it didn't take long. Zhang Mu scanned the man, and in the time it took to lose focus, the abnormal status had already been removed.

Opening his eyes, Zhang Mu grabbed his staff and jumped up, about to rush in the direction Avril had left.

"Avril is already safe and has returned to the Royal Capital a step ahead."

The man's expression was calm, sounding somewhat strange—not particularly warm, but one couldn't call it cold either.

To describe it specifically, it was like looking at a weed on the side of the road while taking a walk—an indifference devoid of emotion.

"I am Andre, Avril's eldest brother." Andre was straightforward and got straight to the point, "I do not need to doubt your magical talent to be acknowledged by Mr. Potter and accepted as a student."

"It is just that, in the Saul Continent, many things cannot be properly resolved just by having talent."

After listening, Zhang Mu got the drift and curled his lips: "Don't tell me it's some cliché story about an arranged marriage."

"Heh." Andre gave a light laugh, without any sarcastic meaning; his tone was like playing with a mischievous child, "A marriage contract? Such boring things are a burden to Avril. The King would not agree to her entering into a marriage contract, and neither would I."

"By the same token, you are also a burden to Avril."

He shouldered his spear, turned around, tilted his face, and gave an indifferent reminder: "You can go to the Royal Capital; I won't do anything to you. It's just that please understand that if you get too close to Avril, you will become her weakness.

A version of her with a weakness will die by my hands."

"Perhaps you think your magical talent is very strong, but what you have to face is not just a few people, but a group—a number so huge it would make you despair.

I hope you stay alert. Even Mr. Potter, the number one Magister of the Lake Kingdom, can only crawl beneath the majesty of the church's branch established in the kingdom's region.

I cannot predict the height of your future, but as you are now, you cannot even face any well-known magical family in the Lake Kingdom."

"Zhang Mu, Mr. Potter said your name is Zhang Mu, right." Andre shouldered his spear and walked into the darkness, "Mr. Zhang Mu, perhaps you will become a more powerful Magister than Mr. Potter in the future, and fantasizing beyond the logic of reality, you might even be able to fight the church's branch in the Lake Kingdom alone.

But I implore you to understand that reality is not a play. Enemies will not wait like idiots for you to slowly become strong; they will only take advantage of your weakness and eliminate you in your budding state by any means necessary."

"A lone traveler without a background, connections, and a magical family cannot help Avril. The only way you can help is by staying away from her and not letting her divert her energy for you."

"Mr. Andre." Zhang Mu looked at the back that was about to disappear into the thick night, "You are a knight, what rank?"

"Great Knight, why do you ask?"

A Great Knight, a rank comparable to a Magister in the Magister hierarchy, was five levels higher than the Magic Apprentice shown on Zhang Mu's panel. Even counting the amplification of the Meditation Method, it was still four levels higher.

As the First Prince of a kingdom, he likely wouldn't lack resources for Knight Techniques, and he must have learned the divine skill for Magisters—the Thrust.

He couldn't beat him.

Zhang Mu calmly lowered his raised staff: "Nothing, just asking."

Turning back and glancing at him strangely, Andre turned and strode into the pitch-black forest.

Standing in place and pondering, Zhang Mu felt that since the atmosphere had reached this point, should he throw out a line like "Thirty years east of the river"?

Forget it, better not be awkward; he probably wouldn't understand what that meant anyway.

Not lingering here any longer, Zhang Mu identified the direction and rushed toward Kas Town.