This was his bottom line.
Just as he had once carried Erica's bones across thousands of miles of ocean, tonight he would not stand idly by and watch Atbolde die.
Colin silently clenched his fist.
Emerald-golden Fighting Aura surged in his lower abdomen.
After advancing to a First Rank Wizard and undergoing a complete bodily transformation, he could no longer estimate how many times stronger the current Bronze Fighting Aura was compared to his old Great Knight days.
All he knew was that he was much stronger than before.
His Blood Qi Armor, which had previously not even matched a Zeroth Rank Defensive Witchcraft, now almost possessed half the strength of a Steel Temperature Resistance Field.
His Strong Life Talent had broken limits once again, with the Knight Aura imposing powerful debuffs on enemies without any expenditure...
Of course, he still wasn't completely sure in his heart.
After all, that was a Second Rank Wizard, even if it was only a Basic Level Second Rank Wizard, it was still a Second Rank Wizard!
Between each rank of Wizards, there was a profound chasm.
Colin exhaled a breath of turbid air lightly.
The Tin Saint School was now within reach.
He thought for a moment, took out the Silver Feather Token, and hung it around his neck.
Five minutes later, he arrived near Atbolde's residence with Marjorie.
A hundred meters from Atbolde's residence, they came upon a hazy, grey Protective Shield, its top flickering with pale golden characters—
"Witch Array Maintenance in Progress, Please Do Not Enter."
"This is a temporary Protective Shield that was only there in the evening; that Field Steward responsible is a member of the Hidosh Family," Marjorie spoke, almost forgetting this detail.
Field was evidently also a Second Rank Wizard, though it was unknown whether he was lurking nearby at this moment.
Perhaps the flight over had allowed reason to take control once again.
When Marjorie thought of the existence of Steward Field, his mouth opened slightly, wanting to persuade Colin again.
However, before he could speak, he heard Colin whisper, "Stick close!"
The next moment, all he saw was Colin stepping forward and throwing a right punch, emerald-golden light shining mysteriously from his arm.
Boom!
The misty grey Protective Shield was immediately blasted open with a large hole, and Colin did not stop, charging straight through.
Marjorie hurriedly followed, but in his mind, he marveled, wondering what kind of witchcraft this was, as he had not felt the slightest fluctuation of Magic Power.
He racked his brains and speculated in secret,
"Could it be Bloodline Power?"
Whoosh!
Just then, as Colin was about to reach the entrance to Atbolde's residence, a powerful figure suddenly soared into the sky and appeared before them.
"Steward Field," Marjorie exclaimed.
Field was a lean middle-aged man with a small mustache on his upper lip and slightly small eyes.
Dressed in a gray Wizard Robe with golden embroidery, his face holding anger, he questioned loudly,
"Why have you trespassed into the Witch Array maintenance area?!"
Colin squinted at Field.
The Steward's expression was genuine, his brows were furrowed, an image of someone who knew nothing and was just doing his job.
Next to him, Marjorie, intimidated by the other's presence, looked somewhat pale.
He was, after all, only an Advanced Wizard Apprentice.
Colin shifted his gaze away, not responding, and continued forward in silence with Marjorie as if he saw nothing.
Watching his actions, Field's expression of anger did not deepen; instead, it dissipated like smoke, as if performing a face-changing act in Sichuan opera.
He squinted carefully at Colin.
His gaze particularly lingered on the Silver Feather Token hanging on Colin's chest.
By now, Colin had walked past Field without the slightest pause, continuing forward without a sideward glance.
As they drew near to Field, Marjorie felt his heart suspended in midair, almost breathless.
However, this feeling was fleeting, and before he could react, Colin brushed past Field, arriving at the entrance to Atbolde's residence.
Swoosh!
A faint glow of witchcraft shone forth.
This was a minor trick for opening the door.
However, there was no slight response from Nado standing in front of the door.
Colin took a step forward, the repelling force that should have been there had disappeared.
His heart sank, knowing that the battle inside must have reached an intense stage.
"Let's go," he said in a low voice, ready to quicken his pace.
It seemed he thought of something, and before stepping forward, he unconsciously looked back.
Field, the steward who had been behind him, had also vanished without a trace.
"Junior Colin, how did you know Field would let us through directly?" Marjorie asked as she followed his gaze, murmuring with surprise.
"I didn't know," Colin shook his head and quickly walked forward.
He was telling the truth.
Although he had speculated that Field, the steward, was very likely not to stop them, he was not certain.
From the attitude Field had shown upon leaving, and the stance of the Hidosh Family, it was easy to guess that Field might have been asked by Yasi, through his own connections, to help.
And this help was probably just to create an undisturbed environment for dealing with their mentor.
As for other matters, such as helping to deal with Atbolde, Field would most likely be unwilling.
Similarly, when facing the two students of Atbolde, Field might use the pretext of repairing the Witch Array to hinder them but was very unlikely to personally deal with them.
After all, the current situation was just a dispute between Yasi Hidosh and Atbolde, not between the Hidosh Family and Atbolde.
If he rashly intervened, he could easily get himself into unnecessary trouble.
Conversely, if he just followed the rules to check the Witch Array, should any problems arise later, he could absolve himself completely.
However, no matter how much he speculated, it was still just speculation.
The exact nature of the relationship between Field and Yasi, whether the Hidosh Family would help Yasi deal with an old and severely injured Atbolde, these were still unknown.
Of course, he could not be entirely sure Field wouldn't stop them.
He just felt that whether Field intervened or not, he had to go over; getting closer would be more advantageous for him.
Thus, there was no need for further thought, he just silently prepared for combat and continued forward.
The mentor's estate wasn't small, surrounded by a ring of tall trees, with dense shrubs underneath that completely blocked the outside view.
Passing through this "wall" of the front gate was a huge botanical garden, filled with flowers and other shrubby plants, and even a few fruit trees.
To reach the central villa, one had to cross a path stretching across the botanical garden.
Of course, for Colin, he could have flown directly there—but he had tried earlier, and flying was prohibited by some force.
However, it didn't matter, the running speed of a First Rank Knight wasn't bad either.
Stepping onto the path inside the garden, the dense vegetation made everything around seem quieter.
The snow was still falling, seemingly heavier now, slowly draping a layer of white veil over the entire botanical garden.
As they delved deeper, the dim light from the street lamps outside was gradually completely obscured by the dense vegetation behind them.
The silent night enveloped the surroundings.
Colin and Marjorie exchanged a glance, both harboring some doubts—
The mentor's estate was too quiet, without any sound of battle.
Colin pursed his lips, suddenly recalling the slight cold smile he had glimpsed when he brushed past Field.
A faint unease pervaded the surroundings.
He once again quickened his pace.
Moments later, they passed through the garden path and emerged from the dense vegetation.
It was then that they both noticed something amiss.
A black hemispherical mist barrier came into view.
It wasn't very large, just barely covering Atbolde's villa and some of the surrounding area.
'And the area with a huge ancient tree in the backyard,' Colin observed carefully.
The gray-black mist on the surface of the shield, which resembled the outer body of the dark monster they had seen before, was churning and trembling.
Faint energy fluctuations were emanating from it.