In the captain's quarters, as Ante finished his words, an eerie silence unexpectedly fell.
Ante cautiously glanced at Colin, sensing the mysterious wizard's expression dark as the deep-sea night.
...This abrupt demeanor left them so intimidated that they dared not even breathe out loud, only silently waiting for Colin's instructions.
'The Elf Clan... Tree Elves...'
At this moment, Colin felt a shiver running down his spine, an inexplicable sour sensation... His fair little arm tensed unconsciously, the hand hidden beneath the loose Wizard Robe already clenched into a fist.
'The Tree Elf Clan has sided with the Divine...
Although I don't know exactly which Divine it is, any Divine, after all, is a wizard's enemy!'
'And the enemy's dogs, would they actually fight shoulder to shoulder with a wizard?!'
Thinking this, a heavy boulder seemed to weigh down on Colin's heart.
Though many doubts remained unanswered, one thing was certain—
This suddenly appearing Elf Clan was clearly not any ally, but spies!
'...No, that's not necessarily true, perhaps some elves haven't succumbed to the Divine.'
He consoled himself subconsciously, but the anxiety within him crinkled like folded paper... and was always difficult to soothe.
"I promise you."
Giving himself no more time for wild thoughts, Colin took a deep breath, his gaze fixed sternly on the three people before him.
He had never felt too personally involved in the wars between wizards and the Divine.
If he had to say, the most memorable impression of the Divine was still from his encounter on Blackstone Island when he was weak and young with that golden Divine.
But with the nest turned over, not an egg remains intact—this war concerned the life and death of the wizard community!
And now, being a wizard himself, the success or failure of the wizards was also his own…
'I must get this message out...'
His heart growing more anxious, Colin's expression became even more serene, awaiting the reply from the three before him.
Anna, hearing Colin's answer, felt a rush of relief, though her face then turned somewhat forlorn. She paused, turning her head to look at Ante, about to instruct him.
But Ante kept shaking his head, "Anna, I won't leave alone."
He then turned to Old Jack, "Jack, you know, once I leave, Anna definitely won't escape Lian's clutches..."
Colin inwardly sighed, then steeled his resolve, preparing to interrupt Ante.
There wasn't much time to delay, and they couldn't afford any unnecessary complications.
He understood the importance of the news he held—it might be the key piece of information that could influence the current war's outcome!
By all logic and sentiment, what he needed to do most was pass this message to the Supreme Council!
"Wizard sir!"
But just as he was about to speak, Ante suddenly turned around and thudded onto his knees.
"Ante?!" Anna exclaimed softly, her face changing slightly.
Old Jack glanced at Anna—this young girl he had watched grow up, his face flickering indecisively, remaining silent and motionless in place.
As for Ante, he naturally ignored Anna's shout.
He raised his head, his lips tightly pursed as he gazed at Colin, then said:
"Sir, I implore you to take all three of us away, to escape this Sea Domain, back to the wizards' realm!"
Colin, silent, might have softened and agreed if he had not learned of the Elf Clan's situation.
But now... with such news in his possession, felt like carrying an invisible mountain, making him wary of taking any unnecessary risks.
Ante bit his lower lip, continuing to speak.
"Sir, although Anna lacks the Talent of a wizard, she is a peak Knight, and old Jack is a Great Knight..."
"I'm sorry..." Colin slowly shook his head.
Ante's complexion immediately turned pale, and his expression sank.
At that moment, he even thought about threatening the wizard in front of him by not using the Sigh Blood Crystal seriously when the time came.
Unfortunately... he knew this was the worst of the worst ideas.
His brain was rapidly spinning.
The next second, a spark of Spiritual Light appeared in Ante's heart. Thinking of something, he persevered and continued,
"Wizard Sir, I also know of a method that can allow you to reach Quinte Island without having to cross the battlefield lines!"
'Without having to cross the battlefield lines... Quinte Island?'
Upon hearing this, Colin, who was about to outright refuse, suddenly swallowed his words, instinctively searching for the location of Quinte Island in his mind's sea map.
The name Quinte seemed quite rare.
A moment later, he found an island called Quinte southeast of Gubier Island.
Not too excited... In such circumstances, people are most likely to tell lies or speak without certainty.
Colin's expression didn't change. He paused and with an intentionally more stern tone, he looked straight into young Ante's eyes and asked word by word firmly,
"Are you sure... that everything you have said is true?"
Ante swallowed nervously, his body trembling slightly, but he still nodded hesitantly, stammering, "I'm sure, Sir."
He paused and then added, "But to be precise, it leads to a concealed island next to Quinte Island."
'Not Quinte Island, but a concealed island... That doesn't matter as long as it reaches the sea domain controlled by the wizards' side.'
However... Colin's eyebrows knitted together.
At least for now, Ante's demeanor didn't seem to be lying.
"Ante, what are you doing?"
Beside him, Anna couldn't help but ask quietly. She had no idea about the method Ante mentioned...
Moreover, if there really were a way to directly reach Quinte Island behind the wizards' lines without crossing the frontlines, they would have escaped long ago and wouldn't still be struggling here relying on the Sigh Blood Crystal.
"Anna, I'm not lying. I only learned about this when I was once following my father..." Ante quickly explained.
Old Jack beside him seemed to have thought of something too, his brows slightly furrowed, lost in thought.
"So, is what you know about some nearby transmission array or some special transmission gates? Tell me everything in detail."
Colin relaxed his brows, calmly looked at the young man in front of him, and continued to press.
"Alright, Sir." Ante nodded, his lips barely moving as he was about to elaborate further.
But Colin suddenly raised his hand to stop Ante.
"Someone is coming." He looked up, pointed towards the outside of the captain's cabin, and then waved his hand to dismiss the 'Silent.'
Stepping into the corner, like a wisp of green smoke, he abruptly disappeared into the shadows...
Young Ante, watching Colin vanish, finally realized why Colin could identify their identities...
He thought about his conversation with old Jack earlier; the mysterious wizard might have been nearby all along, which was still somewhat eerie.
Anna and old Jack felt the same, with old Jack making more efforts to observe, trying to find traces of Colin.
However, the visitor approaching the captain's cabin didn't give them more time for that.
"Knock, knock, knock."
Just two or three seconds later, a rapid knocking sound resumed, accompanied by a deep voice.
"Captain Jack, I'm very sorry to disturb you, but we... I'm afraid we've encountered some trouble."