About ten minutes later.
Gnarl and his companion arrived in the dense woods and stealthily approached Colin.
Colin was sitting under a lush, leafy tree, holding a Demon Release Ring, apparently recovering his magic power.
"Where's his maid?" Bale wondered.
"By the lake over there. I saw her. Seems like she's playing in the water with that little elf... Don't mind them; they're not important."
Gnarl took a deep breath, exchanged a look with Bale, and suddenly broke away from hiding.
"Now is the time, attack!"
They shouted loudly first and then cast their witchcraft.
Boom!
The birds perched in the dense woods sensed the threat and flapped their wings to flee into the distance.
"Who are you?"
Colin, sitting under the tree, saw Gnarl and his companion coming at him enveloped in a hazy glow, widened his eyes in shock, and hastily put away the Demon Release Ring. He quickly fortified himself with a layer of defensive witchcraft.
His movements were swift, but the defensive witchcraft he invoked shattered like fragile paper under the assault of Gnarl and his companion's attack.
Bang!
Colin was sent flying backward, the massive impact even snapping the innocent tree he hit in two, and the Demon Release Ring in his hand was flung to the ground, breaking into several pieces.
Whoosh!
At the same time, a Second Rank Basic Level Fire Element materialized in front of Gnarl and Bale.
However, it was exterminated by the duo in the very next second.
Colin, lying on the ground, propped himself up with his right hand, struggling to his feet, as his left hand's palm began to glow with the light of a new witchcraft.
Swoosh!
Bale sneered and waved his hand, releasing a cone-shaped shockwave.
Pfft!
The witchcraft in Colin's hand dissipated before it could fully form, and the backlash of magic power combined with the impact of the shockwave forced him to spit out a mouthful of blood.
He exerted force to raise his head, looking directly at Bale and Gnarl, gasping for breath.
Gnarl glanced at Bale, the illusion on his body preventing his expression from being clear, but his spirit communication still came through unhindered.
"He's too weak... Such strength couldn't have killed Joyce."
"It's like he's hardly a match, and here we've been so cautious, what a waste of effort!" Bale grumbled telepathically, pausing before asking,
"What do we do next..."
"What are you going to do next?"
Colin tried to maintain the look of pain and dishevelment on his face, watching Gnarl and Bale while inwardly asking coldly.
His Strong Life Talent was suppressed to the extreme, but his injuries were still slowly healing.
He had underestimated the durability of his own First Rank Intermediate Knight body, or perhaps, overestimated the attack power of Gnarl and Bale.
The birds of the dense woods had already fled earlier, and the occasional small animals hid in panic. Slivers of sunlight filtered through the dense leaves, forming a golden path as they landed on the dusty ground, adding to the depth and serenity of the woods.
Above Gnarl and Bale's heads, in front, behind, and upon them—in the unnoticed dark shadows—six Frost Shadows had them completely surrounded.
Colin remained silent, without a word.
Before Gnarl and Bale had come over, the Frost Shadows had faithfully relayed the duo's plans to Colin.
The time went back to ten minutes ago.
After Bale nodded in agreement to formulate a simple plan first, Gnarl pondered for a moment and set the tone:
"Let's not forget our ultimate goal is to obtain Joyce's Magic Stone."
"Of course I remember, why mention this?"
"My point is... never mind, let's formulate the plan. What's the first step?" Gnarl furrowed his brow.
"The first step... of course, is to sneak up on Colin and then find an opportunity to attack."
"The crux is this; our initial attack must be carefully considered. It must be strong enough to force out any hidden strength Colin may have but also ensure that it won't kill him in case he doesn't have any."
Bale pondered for a moment and then, uncharacteristically, nodded.
If Colin had no hidden strength, then he likely wasn't the murderer of Joyce.
Joyce probably died in a dangerous area of the Extreme North... Lately, hadn't the Family been saying the traditional half-month of cold nights extended to two full months this year? Of the humans living there, at least nine out of ten perished.
The abnormality in the Extreme North might be related to Joyce's demise.
Putting his thoughts aside, Bale continued to agree, "That Golden Feather's apparent strength is that of a First Rank Advanced level, aside from being able to summon a Second Rank Lower Fire Element. He is not much different from a First Rank Wizard.
I think a joint Second Rank Lower attack from us should be sufficient."
"That's too strong... If Colin only has First Rank power, he definitely won't react in time if caught off guard, he could die on the spot." Gnarl shook his head.
"Then we should shout before we attack, to give him a chance to cast Defensive Witchcraft..." Bale suggested.
"We need to think this over..." Gnarl said cautiously.
"Think over what?!" Bale's mouth twitched, "By the time we finish discussing, that Golden Feather might have already recovered his magic power..."
Gnarl wasn't offended; after contemplating briefly, he suggested, "Let's communicate telepathically, it will be faster."
Colin didn't know the specific details of the plan that Gnarl and Bale went on to formulate.
But after weighing his options, he came up with his own plan.
In his eyes, Gnarl and Bale were already dead men, but he needed to first try to clear his own suspicions.