The voice of the tall figure had just ceased when Colin's heart suddenly stirred.
That voice... It was mysteriously familiar.
He subconsciously turned his head to look.
A curly-haired man with a refined and tranquil appearance caught his eye.
'Nois City Lord?'
Although he had never seen this face before, the familiar voice made the name suddenly emerge in Colin's heart.
"Nois Councilman."
And the greetings from Windsor and Terry beside him also confirmed his thought.
"Windsor, Terry." Nois's expression was calm as he greeted the two, showing no pretense.
He glanced around the secret chamber, pausing for a moment on the charred corpse of Yeats, then at Zehtti, with not much expression on his face.
He seemed not to care much.
"Nois Councilman, the Parra Islands are safe, and we have extremely important information to report!"
Windsor didn't bring up Yeats's death either, staring at Nois's projection above the crystal, and quickly spoke in a grave tone.
She felt somewhat relieved... They hadn't known in advance which Councilman of the Supreme Council would be contacted by activating the Rescue Crystal.
But Councilman Nois was undoubtedly one of the best options.
"Oh... What kind of important information? To the extent that you would not hesitate to activate the Rescue Crystal." Nois raised his eyebrows slightly.
He looked around, his gaze seeming to fall inside the chamber and elsewhere, before he muttered to himself, "Could it be related to the current war?"
Through the projection in the crystal, one could vaguely see that he seemed to be standing alone in the night sky... perhaps on one of the Southern Seven Islands.
"The Tree Elf Clan has fallen to the Divine.
Windsor didn't beat around the bush, she lifted the papers she had collected in her hand, showed them to Nois, and spoke briefly.
Upon hearing this, Nois's brows furrowed slightly.
He was the creator of the Deep Red Marking Technique, and thus his research on the Divine's deception was naturally profound.
When the Elf Clan suddenly appeared, the Wizard side naturally had suspicions and conducted many checks. Only after confirming there were no abnormalities did they recommence embracing the Elf Clan...
'The Elf Clan... has betrayed us for the Divine?'
Nois looked at the papers in Windsor's hand.
And Windsor continued to recount:
"This news comes from the little Wizard behind me, who during the battle of ancient Gubiel, mistakenly entered the abandoned Elf Kingdom corrupted by the Divine and discovered this secret."
Windsor said and cast her gaze towards Colin.
Colin paused, intuitively organizing his thoughts, and added in a serious voice:
"In the Elf Kingdom, I learned that after the war a thousand years ago, the Tree Elves became obsessed with pursuing knowledge and were seduced by an unknown Divine, eventually leading to their downfall.
After that, the fallen Tree Elves, along with the High Level Elf's family member Liya'er, betrayed the High Level Elves and the Ancient Tree of Life, even going so far as to completely eradicate the High Level Elf Clan."
"Nois City Lord, I cannot be sure if the Tree Elf Clan are hidden spies.
But if they are from the Elf Kingdom, then they must have already been seduced and corrupted by the Divine!"
"Amis, the Wind's Painter..."
At that moment, having glanced at the papers, Nois suddenly murmured and stretched out his hand to draw Windsor's papers towards him.
He was evidently a mere projection, yet as the papers approached him, they seemed to traverse space to reach the real him.
"Ah, it's the exquisitely skilled painter... No wonder she could evade my Deep Red Marking Technique." After receiving the papers, Nois's calm expression gradually began to ripple.
He could see that neither Windsor nor Colin were lying, and the text on the paper was clearly influenced by the Divine, hence its oddity.
"I am now aware of this matter." Nois was already convinced to a great extent, and he looked around at everyone slowly.
His calm demeanor allowed Colin's anxious heart to gradually relax.
'Everything that I could have done has been done; what happens next is not for me to intervene in.'
On the other hand, after Nois had finished speaking, his figure began to gradually fade, apparently not as unhurried as he seemed.
But it seemed he remembered something else, and before his figure disappeared, he quickly added another line:
"If the information is confirmed to be true and accurate, the Supreme Council will remember the contributions each of you deserves... Ah, and tell me your names, both of you Wizards."
Nois's gaze fell on Colin and Zehtti.
"Colin Leonard." Colin promptly responded.
He did not dwell carefully on the so-called contributions that Nois mentioned... It wasn't that he didn't look forward to it, but such matters should not be overly anticipated; what was due would naturally come.
Besides, his initial motive wasn't for the sake of personal gain.
"Zehtti... Shanyin."
Zehtti hesitated but eventually spoke her full name.
Upon hearing Zehtti's name, Nois visibly paused.
He looked at Zehtti, but in the end, he said nothing more and gradually disappeared.
The light from the Rescue Crystal slowly extinguished, and the Bright Crystals on the walls of the secret chamber began to light up again.
In the interplay of light and shadow, the secret chamber was nearly silent.
"Phew—"
It was a while before Colin let out a long sigh of relief, feeling the pressure on his shoulders suddenly vanish, as if a heavy stone in his heart had clunked to the ground.
Inside the secret chamber, he couldn't hear any noise from the outside world; he had no way of knowing the current state of the battle for the Southern Seven Islands...
Perhaps... he didn't need to know.
Colin pulled up the corners of his mouth, silently laughing at himself with a hint of self-deprecation.
Being just a First Rank Wizard, this was as far as he could go...
"What do you two plan to do next?" asked Windsor, who suddenly spoke up from beside the Rescue Crystal.
Beside her, the Male Wizard Terry had just managed to process the unexpected news and came back to his senses.
But his face still held traces of bewilderment...
He seemed to have unwittingly become involved in a shocking and astonishing incident that was not only closely related to him!
"If everything goes as expected, I intend to continue holding my position, guarding the Rescue Crystal for Parra Islands, just in case," Windsor said before they could answer, her expression far from optimistic.
Were there traitors among the Wizards? How could Councilman Nois avoid detection by the Elves and get the message out?
And once the message was out, how were the Wizards commanding the battlefield supposed to relay orders to the Low Rank Wizards without the Elf Clan noticing?
Moreover, the battlefield was so dispersed—the Southern Seven Islands consisted of seven large islands, all spread out. The distances between them were not small; they were referred to as the Southern Seven Islands only because drawn together, they roughly formed a straight line.
Time... Windsor sighed.
Time was the greatest difficulty.
The operation in the south was originally supposed to be a surprise attack, ideally concluding within an hour. But by now, almost half an hour had passed since the start of the war...
If the Elf Clan really had something up their sleeve this time, then those hidden thorns had likely already sunk deep into the flesh... The situation was truly grim.
Fortunately, at least she had managed to get the message out before the dust could settle...
Thinking of this, Windsor suddenly said with gravity, "Thank you both for conveying such important information."
After speaking, she pulled Terry toward the charred corpse of Yeats nearby and continued, "We all witnessed Yeats's attempt to disrupt the Rescue Crystal and attack you both. We will report his actions to the Supreme Council truthfully, and you need not worry about his Family behind him."
Both of them were members of the Supreme Council, and they were right in this matter, naturally having no need to fear the Family behind Yeats.
Furthermore... given Yeats's actions, his Family wouldn't be left unscathed, and they were bound to suffer for it.
"Thank you both," Zehtti nodded slightly and then said calmly, "As my mission here is completed, I intend to leave Parra Islands now."
"Oh right—" She looked at Colin as if she remembered something, then quickly added, "That Silver Ball, I made it by chance. It might help strengthen the foundations of your body."
'Golden Pattern Silver Ball?'
Colin's heart stirred.
But at that moment, Zehtti nodded to Windsor and the other behind her, apparently ready to leave.
Therefore, he didn't rush to examine the Silver Ball but quickly made his request,
"Ms. Zehtti, I also plan to leave Parra Islands and return to the Siya Continent.
If possible, could you please take me along on your way back?"
Colin felt the Ancient Tree Spring on his chest, his thoughts turning to his mentor back in Neustadt City.
"I wonder how Master Atbolde is doing right now."
The words Yeats had said earlier brought an inexplicable worry to his heart.
On the other hand, Zehtti saw no reason to refuse his request.
After bidding farewell to Windsor and the other, she took Colin and strode out.
Exiting the building, the moonlight was clear, and the night sky was pure.
In the silence, only the distant south still faintly carried on with intense clamor...
But by the time these originally deafening sounds reached Parra Islands, they had also grown weak.
"Let's go," Zehtti said softly.
The familiar ribbon suddenly wound up around their bodies.
Then,
Zzzt!
A streak of light flashed across the pitch-black night sky, then returned to darkness.
At such speed, the sounds of battle from the Southern Seven Islands could no longer reach Colin's ears.
He looked down at the vast, dark sea beneath him.
Clear moonlight scattered like silver dust, spreading resplendent and shimmering waves, hiding the tumultuous and enigmatic depths beneath.
"Today is the original owner's birthday, it seems—" Colin suddenly thought and murmured inaudibly,
"Yanan Calendar 3585, October 11th…"