Chapter 705: Chapter 436: Removing the Undercover Agent
However, the dark energy in his sight lasted only for a moment before it vanished without a trace, and with it, the inexplicable palpitations disappeared as well.
Colin carefully felt out his surroundings, but even in a state of world perception, he was no longer able to sense the feeling as if he was being targeted.
The evening’s golden sunlight streamed into the study through the window, casting serene patches of light on the desk... Everything that had just happened seemed like an illusion.
Yet, such a sensation made Colin more convinced that the malice he had sensed earlier was not an illusion.
After all, the world perception bestowed upon him by the World’s Will could only be misguided by one factor—interference from divine power!
Such speculation cast a dark shadow over Colin’s heart.
’Still, I cannot let my guard down. I must spend more time enhancing my strength!’
...
Colin’s speculation was not unfounded.
The next day, an announcement from the Supreme Council arrived, bringing news that there had been sudden changes on the warfront.
The divine beings had retreated!
They had returned to the area behind the thirteen Sky-reaching Grey Towers, lying quietly in wait, brewing some unknown conspiracy.
The Council’s announcement also presented a hypothesis.
The reason the divine beings suddenly retreated—they proposed—was that the crop contamination in both Merredith and Neustadt had been resolved.
According to the announcement, the reason was—
The day the divine beings launched their offensive was also the day when the crop contamination was orchestrated.
Clearly, there was a connection between the two.
On that day, as the divine forces launched their offensive, they deliberately made a significant display of power, arriving leisurely to allow wizards ample preparation time. They did this so that wizards from both Merredith and Neustadt could come to their aid, with the obvious intent of leaving both cities with weakened defenses, making it easier to contaminate the fields!
And the divine beings were successful, as most of the farmlands in Neustadt and Merredith were contaminated.
After that, the divine side temporarily slowed down their aggression, merely hovering around the Teiya Strait, encircling but not attacking.
Their purpose was quite evident—to wait until a food crisis and internal chaos erupted in Merredith and Neustadt before launching a total assault!
It was an open scheme, and nearly all wizards were aware of it... yet there was nothing they could do.
The land was finite, as were the fields suitable for growing crops, and very little time was left for the wizards.
To eradicate the potential famine, they needed to do it before the autumn planting season.
If they failed to make it before autumn planting, regardless of whether they could sow the seeds, even if they eventually did, the harvest would likely be delayed.
Even a delay of half a month could cause an unimaginable disaster... Ordinary people could not survive half a month without food.
Putting away the Supreme Council’s announcement... Colin gave a soft sigh, feeling even more certain that he was probably being targeted by the divine beings.
The feeling he had during that moment of world perception yesterday was most likely accurate, he lamented, wished it had lasted longer... Colin speculated that it might have been noticed and disrupted by the divine beings, or perhaps the skill of world perception was only capable of such an instantaneous awareness on the first encounter, with no further perception possible afterward.
But regardless, even without such perception, he should have foreseen that solving the crop contamination would make him a thorn in the side of the divine beings.
He continued to read through the rest of the newspaper, which mostly discussed the changes on the warfront...
Colin slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, but the irritation in his heart was hard to dispel.
After sitting quietly in his study for a while, he abruptly rose and made his way to the Silver Chamber.
Sitting cross-legged on the grey cushion at the center of the chamber, Colin lit Calming Incense and slowly closed his eyes, sitting quietly like this for ten minutes.
When the chaos within his heart had subsided, he allowed a thought to move gently and summoned the Golden Paper, preparing to organize his own strength.
[Name: Colin Leonard]
[Rank: Third Rank Basic Level Wizard (2/100); Second Rank Knight (?/100)]
[...]
He was now a Third Rank Wizard and a Second Rank Knight.
In wizardry, though he had just entered the basic level, his spiritual power and Magic Power were by no means inferior to a Third Rank Intermediate Wizard.
As for the way of the knight, since it was a path he had created himself, each new step was unprecedented, and so the exact progression on the Golden Paper often changed with his evolving understanding.
For instance, his current understanding of the power division of a Second Rank Knight wasn’t clear, hence the progress on the Golden Paper was still unknown.
With this in mind, Colin had a sudden thought.
’Why not use this opportunity to briefly organize the path of the knight?’
No sooner had the thought occurred to him than he took action, extracting a blank Knowledge Crystal. However, he didn’t hurry to inscribe it, instead gently caressing it in his hand while drafting his ideas mentally.
’The path of the knight can be divided into two parts—Official Knight and Knight Apprentice.
From probationary knight to Great Knight, they all fall under the Knight Apprentice. The Official Knight part is what I am currently forging—the First and Second Rank Knights.’
"A First Rank Knight is achieved by compressing Blood Energy to achieve a qualitative change, so the Second Rank Knight is about awakening Will Power?"
Colin stroked his chin, then shook his head.
"Based on previous tests, one can awaken Will Power before compressing Blood Energy on the knight’s path, as there’s no rule stating Blood Energy must be compressed before Will Power can be awakened."
"However, there is one thing I can determine—Will Power can aid in compressing Blood Energy."
Colin carefully recalled the time he advanced to a First Rank Knight.
At that time, it was the Traction Technique from the Golden Paper Limit Breaking that kept rotating and compressing the Blood Energy until it underwent a qualitative change.