"Increasing the control center of Magic Power, huh..." Nois stroked his shallow beard and interrupted.
After pondering for a moment, he exclaimed, "A genius idea."
"Alright, go save your mentor now, those Pureblood Families are nothing but hyenas!" Nois continued, "Turn right after leaving the door, Theodore will arrange everything for you."
Upon hearing this, the weight in Colin's heart finally plummeted, and he hurriedly said with respect,
"Thank you, Nois City Lord."
Nois hummed affirmatively, then continued,
"After dealing with your mentor's matter, come back here."
"Yes." Colin was somewhat puzzled, but he did not continue to inquire.
"Colin—" However, as he turned to leave, Nois called out to him again.
Colin turned his head to look, and Nois had already returned to the high desk. A faint light converged in his hands into a feather pen, and beneath his calm expression was an undeniable weariness:
"The situation for Wizards is not optimistic," Nois said calmly while writing, "In the battle at the Southern Seven Islands, we lost too much strength."
"However, the visible losses are secondary, the invisible threats are the real danger."
"If Divine can allow the Elf Clan to perfect their disguise, deceiving all the methods of Wizards, then naturally, they can also allow ordinary Divine Believers to perfectly disguise themselves.
In Neustadt City today, any Wizard who has recently arrived in the past two years or has been to the Southern Sea Domain recently has been thoroughly screened."
"But this does not enable us to find all the believers. The Elf Clan has been fallen for a long time. No one knows if Divine had planted believers in Neustadt City a hundred years ago."
"We can no longer distinguish."
Nois's words were calm, but Colin felt a tangible chill creeping towards him.
The battle he encountered while the Alus Association traveled to the Southern Sea Domain by Airship was still vivid in his mind.
That betrayal forced the Wizards' side to pay a bloody price, which then led to the successful development of the counteracting Deep Red Marking Technique.
But now it seemed that Divine had another, even more sophisticated means of disguise.
This might have been a specific improvement Divine made after the appearance of the Deep Red Marking Technique.
Or perhaps such disguise methods had always existed, only deployed in critical locations for reasons such as high costs.
But regardless, in this war, if one could not ensure the reliability of those fighting beside them,
The Wizards would soon be lost in a dark forest of suspicion.
Of course, this was the worst-case scenario.
But even if only a few traitors were among the Wizards, the damage they could cause might be catastrophic.
Nois continued to speak:
"So, in order to deter the Divine side, when exposing the elf traitor, I did not reveal that you had obtained the information from the Elf Kingdom. Instead, I claimed to the public—
that you are a witchcraft prodigy who modified the Deep Red Marking Technique and then, by means of the modified witchcraft, accidentally discovered the message that the Elf Clan were traitors."
"Of course, now it seems you truly are a talented individual in the realm of witchcraft, you just haven't modified the Deep Red Marking Technique," Nois said, smiling at him.
Colin suddenly realized why Nois chose to completely conceal his information, not revealing it to the outside world at all.
"So, Colin, I hope you won't resent me for keeping your identity as a Heroic Wizard secret," Nois said with a smile, lifting his head, "Along with the honor comes the thorns."
Colin nodded his understanding. Keeping his identity secret was, in fact, for his protection.
"However, once you reach Second Rank and I have truly modified the Deep Red Marking Technique, all the honors you deserve will come to you."
Nois looked at the manuscript in his hands, then at the Divine Undercover's body hanging beside him, and said,
"Until then, let's keep this secret for now, hmm... as well as the purpose of the Deep Red operation. I believe you've guessed it by now, keep it secret as well."
"Understood, Nois City Lord," Colin replied gravely.
The so-called purpose of the Deep Red operation was not only to screen for potential Divine Believers but also to collect materials for Nois to research and modify the Deep Red Marking Technique.
It was for this reason that he underwent stringent interrogation on the sixth floor of the Black Castle.
The interrogators, unable to judge the veracity of his testimony, reported upwards with uncertainty and trepidation, and only then was he allowed to meet with Nois.
"But... to modify the Deep Red Marking Technique?"
Colin turned and walked towards the laboratory's exit.
Pale golden particles congregated in front of him.
He watched the nearly Limit Breaking Deep Red Marking Technique, his gaze flickering.
Yet his footsteps didn't falter.
The current priority was to rescue his mentor, and according to Nois's instructions, he would return here afterward.