Whoosh—
The entire Blackstone City lit up in an instant, not as if it were daytime, but even brighter!
Boom!!
Immediately following, a deafening explosion accompanied by a blast of air, fluttering Colin's hair in front of his forehead.
His heart felt as if it had been gripped tightly only to be released again, and he gently exhaled.
'The attack has begun!'
"Ah!"
It was at that moment, much like a droplet of water hitting a pan of hot oil, the surrounding civilians were jolted awake by the loud blast!
From the direction of the distant flames, screams, curses, and the cries of babies rushed forth like a sudden wave!
Hiss!
Colin retracted his gaze and, following the plan, timely lit up the Bright Crystal provided by Regina that came with a hanging cord, jumping gracefully to hang it on a branch of the large tree behind him.
The bright light instantly illuminated the entire intersection.
Like a chain reaction, gentle white lights began to radiate from the intersections to his left and right.
In an instant, a circle of light surrounded the area with the Thistle District at the center.
Some apprentices, like him, hung their Bright Crystals up on trees; others tied them to the tops of sticks and planted them in the ground; and yet others simply hung them on their own bodies.
Initially, Colin had thought to hang it upon himself, recalling how he had employed this tactic when he was in the Wizard Territory.
But upon further reflection, he felt it inappropriate, as such a trick is only effective in close combat.
In the current situation, doing so would doubtlessly signal his position to the enemy, rendering him a target.
After hanging the Bright Crystal, his gaze flickered as he drew out a Cone Bullet and silently stepped back a few paces, blending into the shadows behind him.
After he had done all this,
The nearby civilians slowly began to come to their senses from the drastic change.
Unlike the people near the site of the fire and explosion, they were more silent, with only the babies, naive to the ways of the world, boldly letting out loud cries, which were usually quickly soothed by their parents...
Apart from the babies' wailing, the rest were mostly just whispering quietly with their families.
These voices, quiet and weak individually, collectively created a considerable din.
Relying on his powerful vision, Colin could see many silhouettes appearing in the windows of the stacked shacks before him.
It was the same in the nearest fisherman's shack.
At the dilapidated barred window, cobbled together with sticks, a middle-aged man with a weather-beaten face was peering out.
He looked towards the bright light coming from Colin's direction, his heart filled with alarm, even forgetting to cough.
But after much hesitation, he still did not rashly step outside his home.
Past experience had taught him that during times like these, leaving the house was the worst possible choice... although staying at home wasn't much better.
But... this was the only choice he had,
...He could only choose to believe that the omnipotent wizards would resolve the danger as they had done before.
After all, Blackstone Island was just a small island; if any great danger really were to occur, there was nowhere he could flee to... the seas were even more dangerous.
If it was a minor danger, as long as it didn't spread to his area, then he certainly should not go running around.
Blackstone City had a night curfew.
As an ordinary person, when night fell,
If he still wandered around the city, encountering patrolling guards or wizards... even if he didn't die, it wouldn't end well.
Risking running to the city outskirts was even more dangerous... Meeting demons meant a certain death; encountering the supernatural, certain death; confronting wandering spirits, certain death; coming upon fierce beasts, still, certain death!
As an ordinary person, they were simply too weak, and without the protection of wizards, they were but candles in the wind, soon to be extinguished.
Colin retracted his gaze, paying no further mind to those shadows by the windows, and turned his head to quietly observe the streets.
His main concern was the cultists and gang members who would soon be dispersing from the main battleground.
According to Regina, the Peak Apprentices like Red Flame would try to intercept the Intermediate and Advanced Apprentices on the main battleground.
This meant that they needed to deal primarily with enemies at the Intermediate level and below.
Of course, since it was hard to determine a wizard's Rank before the Spirit Fog dissipated, under normal circumstances, it was difficult to discern between Intermediate and Basic Level Apprentices.
And to accurately judge the realm of Intermediate Level Apprentices and above, one would only be able to do so in the "Super Sensory" state he was now in.
Meaning, only Lap the Wizard had the capability to accurately assess the specific realms of Intermediate Level wizards and above.
The other apprentices, like Red Flame, primarily estimated an enemy's realm through the intensity of the witchcraft they employed.
Therefore, it was likely that with Wizard Lap's assistance, the Advanced Apprentices would hardly slip through.
But it was highly probable that several Intermediate Apprentices would still slip by.
Should he encounter such situations or find himself facing an enemy he couldn't handle, it would be time for him to use the signal flares hanging at his waist.
The Advanced Wizard Apprentices, with relatively weaker abilities like Regina, had been waiting behind them, ready to come to their aid as soon as they saw the signal.
Hum—
The Bright Crystal continued to emit a soft and steady light, illuminating the deserted intersection before him.
At a glance, as far as the eye could see, not a single person was in sight.
Colin did not let his guard down, standing behind the giant mango tree, camouflaged by the dense green leaves, and holding several Cone Bullets in his hand.
The height of nearly four meters afforded him a broad view, allowing him to have a clear view of the situation at the intersection before him.
His location wasn't close to the Thistle District, and considering that the cultists on the frontline might need time to react, it would likely take a while for the dispersing crowd to arrive.
As for the possibility of failure on the main battleground, he hadn't thought of it at all.