Chapter 608: The Past (1)
In the coconut forest by the beach, there were two group of knights wearing different uniforms that were fighting against each other.
*Clank*
The metal weapons and the arrows were making noises constantly. The knights in white uniforms had the advantage—the knights in black uniforms were losing the battle.
Strangely, the knights in black uniforms had not given up yet. They were trying their best to protect a man with red hair that was standing behind them, however, they were losing their members every minute.
One of the knights in black uniforms had a long beard and his body was surrounded by a white glow. He held the scimitar and the shield in hand tight while shouting.
"Run! Mike!" He failed to block an attack and his back was hit. The wound was coated by a thin blue glow. It seemed like the weapons used by the white uniforms were poisoned.
"Someone ahead will help you! Go now!" the man shouted again.
The man with red hair glanced at the man with a long beard for the one last time and started running. They had already repeated this process multiple times and traveled all the way to here from the Labyrinth School. He just wanted to make sure that he could bring the item in his arms back safely. It was the only valuable item he had, and he needed to trade it for the medicine that would help his family members.
Five of their family knights sacrificed themselves on the way; the man with a long beard was his best friend.
The man with red hair tried his best not to cry as he held the black pouch in his arms tightly. He turned around and started running to the forest.
"Stop him!"
The white uniforms quickly noticed what he was trying to do.
The man with red hair just kept running; he'd already cast a speed spell on his legs, however, the effect was running out.
'Our family gathered all the knights and apprentices for this mission. We must bring this thing back!' This was the only thought in his mind.
The trees around him were moving backward in his sight. There was a woman with clean skin who was wearing a tight suit waiting for him in the forest ahead. She was holding two scimitars in her hands. Her long silver hair trailed over her shoulders and her blue eyes were glowing slightly. It seemed like her eyes were modified by spells.
The man with red hair sighed with relief. He threw the black pouch to the woman and fell to the ground.
"You did a great job." The woman caught the pouch and was about to leave. However, she suddenly turned around and stared at the bush before she started walking.
A man in a long purple robe was standing by a coconut tree behind the bush quietly. The man's face was covered by a mask. He was only about ten meters away from the two, surrounded by a strange aura.
The woman had no idea when the man approached them. She was a rank 3 apprentice and a formal knight. She assumed that she could detect the threats around her, however, she did not notice that man at all.
"Who're you?" she questioned in a low voice.
"I only have a simple question." Most of the man's face was covered but his voice was clear. "Do you know the way to the Ramsoda Empire?"
"Ramsoda? This is the Six-Ring High Tower's territory. You need to head to the southeast if you want to go to Ramsoda," the woman responded in a calm tone. It seemed like she was not worried about the white uniforms who were looking for them.
"Much appreciated." The man nodded and turned around.
He suddenly stopped and looked at the woman in black.
"These energy waves..."
The woman's expression changed. She quickly turned around and looked to the side. A team of white uniforms appeared, and they quickly noticed her presence.
"Hurry! We found them!"
"Inform Master Fin now!"
The white uniforms charged to them and surrounded the area. They also blocked the way of the man in a purple robe.
"Labyrinth... They were the ones who put a prize on my head..." the man suddenly spoke in a cold tone. "Alright, you told me the way to Ramsoda; I'll pay you back now."
Raising his right hand, he pressed down.
*BAM*
The ground under the white uniforms' feet collapsed and turned into black tentacles. The tentacles grabbed their feet while they were screaming.
The woman was surprised, she quickly checked the surroundings and noticed that all the white uniforms were dragged into the ground. The woman and the man with red hair were the only two left.
The man in a purple robe already disappeared into the deep forest.
Angele figured out the correct direction and thought for a while. He decided to visit the Six-Ring High Tower first and see how Isabel was doing.
He changed the direction slightly and started teleporting to the destination.
***********************
Several weeks later.
Somewhere in the Six-Ring High Tower's territory.
It was raining. A ray of red light appeared above the endless forest and small lakes that varied in shape, then rotated around the area and slowly landed by a lake. A man in a long purple robe appeared after the red light faded away. It was Angele, who did not rest for one second while traveling.
Angele raised his head and looked at the tall white towers. There were wizards flying in the sky.
'It has been years, but their defensive system didn't change at all...'
Shaking his head, Angele stopped looking. He started heading to the forest in the front.
Some metal fences appeared ahead and there was an iron gate in the front. A sign was standing by the iron gate; the engraving on the sign said "Isabel".
Angele inhaled deeply; the chilling air was quite refreshing. He walked to the iron gate slowly and knocked on it several times.
*Knock Knock*
The iron gate made some strange noises. Blue light flashed on the iron gate, and Angele heard a female voice coming from the gate.
"This is Isabel Family's territory. Who're you and why are you here?"
"I'm here to visit Miss Golan Isabel. I'm her mother's student and I'm here to talk to my teacher." Angele already did his research before he got here.
After Isabel left her family, the war against the merfolk started. A lot of wizard organizations lost many wizards during the war—like Isabel's grandmother, who died in the battle. Isabel's family was almost eliminated. She decided to return to the family and rebuild everything. Several hundred years later, she renamed the family as Isabel Family as she was the one who contributed the most.
She took many apprentices into the family and single-handedly rebuilt it. She passed away after her lover from the White Tooth Castle died. Isabel selected one of her cousins to be the leader of the family before she passed away.
Angele visited Isabel Family because he wanted to see the last thing Isabel left to this world.
"Miss Isabel's student, you must be a formal wizard. Please wait here. I'll inform Miss Lina now."
The blue light faded away as the woman finished her words.
Angele was not in a hurry. He just stood there and waited quietly.
Several minutes later, a light energy wave scanned his body, and the iron gate opened. An old woman with messy white hair was standing behind the gate with a cane in hand. She was observing Angele carefully.
"I'm sorry. I think I know most of my students, but for some reason..." the old woman looked confused.
"I look familiar but you don't know my name?" Angele smiled; the invisible energy waves he released were affecting all the creatures in the area.
"Yeah. I'm sorry. My mother has too many students, so... I'm getting old and I'm forgetting things. Please follow me. I live here alone." The old woman stepped to the side and waited.
"I could be a bandit, you know." Angele chuckled slightly.
"There's nothing valuable here. Also, you don't seem like a young man based on the energy waves you're releasing, and you have the mentality of a strong formal wizard. If you really want to break in, there'll be nothing I can do." The old woman was supported by a maid in a white suit. They slowly walked down the stone plated path and headed to the white buildings ahead.
It was raining, but the old woman's clothes were not wet at all.
Angele followed after her and the iron gate behind slowly closed.
"May I pay my respect to Miss Isabel?" He lowered his voice and went straight to the point. "I've been traveling for years and I'm sad that I didn't have the chance to talk to her before she passed away. I returned to this place because I want to give my condolences."
"Of course. Many of her students visited this place. You're probably hundreds of years old if I'm not mistaken. You can just call me Golan if you want." The old woman smiled.
"Sure. Golan, did the teacher say anything to you before she passed away? Did she have any last wishes?" Angele asked as he walked.
"She didn't have many friends when she was alive. Her best friend was exploring the world when she passed away. Her last wish was to see her best friend again. Sadly, we failed to find her best friend while she was still alive." Golan shook her head.
Angele felt a bit depressed. Isabel's last wish was probably to talk to him again.
He sighed with mixed emotions and stopped talking. He just followed after Golan and the maid quietly. They walked to a small patio behind the buildings.
The patio was surrounded by a dark fence, and there was a small gray house in front of it. There was a garden with fragrant white flowers inside on the right.
There were only some grapes on the left; the vines were quite strong. Angele could see the tiny green grapes on the vines.
"This was the last home of Miss Isabel. You can have a look." Golan opened unlocked the entrance and stepped to the side.
Angele glanced at Golan, nodded, and stepped into the patio.