"Stay close to me later, and don't wander off."
Beside the hatch, Margaret said to them in a cold voice.
Perhaps due to the passing of a good friend, Margaret's already serious and staid face seemed even colder now.
"Yes," Colin and the others responded in unison.
Arriving at Gubier Island meant that they had left the territory of the Siya Continent Wizard Alliance; naturally, they needed to be more cautious.
However, the wizards at sea were mostly independent and had only loose exchange organizations between islands, without an alliance as vast as that on the Siya Continent.
But there was still a Supreme Council here, albeit one belonging to the Sea Domain.
The actual controllers of Gubier Island were a few councilmen of the Southern Sea Supreme Council.
This time, the wizards from Neustadt City came strictly as military assistance, not as the main force.
The main force currently resisting the Sea Domain Divines were still the wizards of the Sea Domain.
Click.
After a short while, accompanying the noise of gears meshing and rubbing against each other, a pale yellow sunlight suddenly spilled in through the grey-blue steel gaps.
The hatch slowly opened.
The familiar sea breeze, tinged with a hint of salt, immediately blew in, lifting the stray hairs on Colin's forehead, and the cries of seabirds he hadn't heard in a long time echoed in his ears...
Taking a deep breath, Colin felt his heartbeat quicken slightly.
This familiar sensation seemed to bring him back to the days on the island.
"Let's go."
Margaret said faintly, taking the lead to walk forward.
Exiting the hatch, they were greeted by a vast square.
Though the square was large, it was still somewhat inferior to the one in Neustadt City.
Nevertheless, it barely managed to accommodate the landing of three airships.
There were many hatch doors on Neustadt City's airship, and the wizards quickly disembarked.
The vast square was instantly filled with the figures of wizards.
Fortunately, Gubier Island seemed already familiar with such a spectacle; various signs were very clear and conspicuous.
To the left of the airship's hatch, Margaret gathered with them and the other accompanying wizards from the Alus Association.
Colin glanced around; originally, there were thirty-six accompanying wizards from the Achilles Association sent by Neustadt City—wizards from the Nine Major Schools and their affiliated Schools.
But now, at a glance, there were likely only about twenty or so left.
However, it seemed that the only wizard from the Nine Major Schools who had unfortunately died was Morton of Silver An.
While Colin was thinking this, a voice suddenly came from the side.
"Margaret, what exactly happened? Why is Morton dead?!"
A male wizard with a head of silver hair pushed through the crowd and walked forward.
His face showed a hint of sorrow, and his tone was low.
'Perhaps Morton's older brother?' Colin speculated uncertainly in his mind. The newly arrived wizard was wearing the badge of the Silver An School and looked very similar to Morton, whom he had seen before at the duty meeting.
"Please accept my condolences," Margaret paused before speaking, a rare flash of sorrow crossing her stern face.
Then she waved her hand and set up Silence Magic between the two, beginning to converse with the silver-haired wizard.
After a while, the apprentices were assembled, and Margaret also finished talking to that wizard.
"Ladies and gentlemen, let's go, Lord Lin Ke is waiting for us."
At this time, the wizard from Silver An had regained his composure, contained his sorrow, looked around at the remaining wizards of the Nine Major Schools, and said in a grave voice.
Then, taking the lead, he walked towards the square's exit.
Margaret and the other wizards followed without objection... It seemed that this wizard was taking over Morton's role.
Colin followed the other wizards, unconsciously sweeping his gaze over the surrounding crowd.
The wizards were packed closely together, jostling each other and obstructing the view.
But he knew this was only temporary; besides the wizards from the Alus Association, most of the other wizards wouldn't even stop at Gubier Island, and they would immediately head to the next island... the front-line islands.
'I wonder where Sister Lillian will go...'
Colin withdrew his gaze and proceeded in silence.
After a while, the wizard from Silver An led them into a round-domed tall tower.
The style of this ancient tower was incredibly old, with spaces left around for illumination and one could still faintly make out that they were originally designed for torches and oil lamps.
"You and the Apprentices wait in the hall."
Margaret instructed them, and then she ascended the spiraling narrow gray-black staircase with other Wizards from the Nine Major Schools.
After the figures of Margaret and the others had disappeared, Mayer asked in a low voice.
"Have any of you heard of this Wizard Lin Ke?"
"Not very clear, he doesn't seem to be a Wizard from the Nine Major Schools."
A Wizard from an affiliated School shook his head.
"Seems like he's a Wizard from the Supreme Council."
Another voice spoke up.
"A Wizard from the Supreme Council?!", all Wizards were somewhat surprised.
Although the Councilmen of the Supreme Council were mainly composed of High Rank Wizards from the Nine Major Schools and certain High Rank Wizards from Family Schools.
But the Supreme Council was not just Councilmen.
Apart from the Councilmen, the Supreme Council also had relatively Low Rank Wizards.
Just like the Low Rank Wizards from the Nine Major Schools were completely different in status from those from the affiliated Schools.
Low Rank Wizards directly under the Supreme Council obviously stood above all other Wizard forces.
Their numbers were extremely rare, most of them were students of the Councilmen, and it was very difficult to see them on ordinary days.
This was also the reason why the Wizards were so surprised.
After waiting for a while, footsteps came from the gray-black spiral staircase.
The original chatter in the hall ceased immediately, becoming so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
Colin slightly raised his head and cast his gaze over there.
The Wizards from the Nine Major Schools were escorting a very short Wizard in a white robe, who looked like a six or seven-year-old child, down the stairs.
That child-like Wizard, fortunately, also had a face like a child's.
It didn't look so out of place.
The next moment, the child-like Wizard spoke.
"Let me introduce myself briefly, I am one of the presiding Wizards of this Alus Association, Lin Ke."
His expression was calm, looking like a child trying hard to act mature.
But his voice was not at all child-like, instead, it was hoarse and ancient like that of an old man.
Colin's expression was unchanged, and he shifted his gaze away.
Maybe it is because of the Wizard's cultivation that from the Second Rank onwards, Wizards undergo certain special transformations in their bodies.
Some have Mechanical Transformations, some have special bloodlines implanted... The Wizard Lin Ke standing before him was obviously the same.
'It makes one wonder just what kind of transformation was done to end up like this.'
Meanwhile, Lin Ke continued speaking.
"Perhaps you already knew in advance, this Alus Association is not the same as past ones."
"But you might not know just how different it is..." Lin Ke said with a light smile.
His child-like face coupled with the elderly voice made him seem rather eerie.
"Half." Lin Ke raised a finger. "Among you, perhaps only half will live to return!"
His words fell, and the complexions of many Apprentices in the hall changed instantly.
Fortunately, perhaps they had mentally prepared for the changes to this Alus Association.
So, just Lin Ke's few words did not make anyone back out.
Lin Ke surveyed the room and nodded in satisfaction.
"The bad news is out of the way, now for some good news."
He looked at the Apprentices in front of him and said word by word:
"In this Alus Association, the majority of the Wizards who survive in the end will gain access to Alus' qualification... remember, it's not all, just surviving is not enough."
"Alright", Lin Ke clapped his hands, and finally said: "Apprentices, your accommodations for the next few days will be here, within the castle's first, second, and third floors; you can choose as you wish, there will be dedicated servants to serve you.
As for the other affiliated Wizards, you'll stay on the fourth floor."
"Let's go."
Lin Ke turned his head and said to the other Wizards from the Nine Major Schools, "I'll take you to see the other Wizards from the Wizard City, to discuss together the specific assessment content of the upcoming Alus Association..."