Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2450: Chapter 2451: Target Shift

”Why weren’t they avoiding the Cloud Whale earlier, and why weren’t they affected at all?” Angel’s gaze shifted to the distant figure of President Zhuguang and others.

”It’s normal, their true form resides within the void layer, this is just a special projection that slightly affects the Material Realm,” the Observer willingly explained.

”Hiding in the void... no wonder they aren’t affected by the attraction and weren’t pushed away by the Cloud Whale. It’s quite similar to the situation when my Mentor rescued Lord Kanter before.”

The Observer nodded: ”The thought process is the same, just the methods differ.”

Sanders used a ceremony, while the group opposite used a special inscription tool. Such inscribed tools are rare in the Southern Domain but are quite popular in the Origin World, especially among the Orderly Guild, as nearly all Mystic Hunters carry such tools. Their functionality is very useful when hunting mysterious objects. Of course, these tools have limitations, but their merits outweigh the flaws.

”I see.”

Angel outwardly showed a look of comprehension, but inwardly he was contemplating other matters.

He was indeed curious about the current state of President Zhuguang and others, but previously he had been in a daze, not merely pondering about them.

It was more that he vaguely sensed an invisible tether, silently connecting him with some presence.

This tether, of course, wasn’t physically real; it was more like a... bond.

Angel felt a sense of clarity: it had already descended upon the Southern Domain.

Although this feeling was inexplicable, Angel was utterly convinced.

...

The sacrifice of the Cloud Whale merely raised the curtain on a brand-new blood feast.

More powerful sea beasts were approaching from all directions. Some of these sea beasts were even swimming from farther sea areas beyond the mist belt.

Among them were sea beasts that could rival the Cloud Whale.

For instance, a torpedo-shaped flying fish shimmering with silver light. Though not enormous in size, it possessed terrifying speed that even traversed space, akin to a bolt of lightning breaking through countless human walls, charging directly into the center of the mist belt.

In this process, a few unlucky Wizards, unable to dodge, exploded into a shower of blood.

If not for the fact that this torpedo-shaped flying fish was drawn by the mysterious fruit and lost its mind, with even a shred of consciousness, a second attack would have made it impossible to save those Wizards whose bodies had burst.

Angel, due to his limited knowledge, hadn’t heard of this torpedo-shaped flying fish, but he was among erudite individuals.

From the overheard information from Diescher, it was known to be a renowned variant of Mozna Blue Flag in the Demon Sea Area, with power comparable to an Official Wizard.

Due to its supernatural speed, it was virtually invisible at usual times, adding to its significant strength, making it elusive. Eventually, it became an unstable factor in the Demon Sea Area.

In the past, many maritime companies dispatched Wizards to hunt it, but all failed. Who would have thought that today this Mozna Blue Flag itself plunged into the mist belt to court death.

Indeed, courting death. And speeding towards it.

In a flash of lightning, Mozna Blue Flag zipped past everyone’s eyes, arriving beside No. 03, then was decomposed by some mysterious force, transforming into a mass of pure scarlet energy, devoured by the mysterious fruit.

Thud—

With the death of Mozna Blue Flag, a stronger heartbeat echoed across the sky.

The heart rate continued to accelerate, nearing the critical point.

Apart from Mozna Blue Flag, other powerful sea beasts continued to thrust forward towards the mist belt. However, most of these sea beasts operated underwater, gaining noticeably less attention than the flying Cloud Whale and Mozna Blue Flag.

Yet, there was an exception; a sea beast, although lurking beneath the sea, drew the attention of everyone.

That was a stingray.

The reason everyone was fixated on this stingray was that it wasn’t an anonymous sea beast; its name was... Biji.

The mount of Siliu, also his self-proclaimed nominal partner.

Siliu’s nickname was ”Great Fish Sorcerer.” Those unfamiliar with Siliu might think he could summon many giant sea beasts, which is not the case.

Siliu was indeed adept at controlling sea beasts, but the ”Great Fish” in his title wasn’t a generic reference but had a specific pointing.

The pointing was exactly at Biji.

A short time ago, Siliu discovered that Biji was tempted by the attraction of the mysterious fruit, becoming a bit out of control. With unease, Siliu decided to have Biji withdraw from the mist belt first.

He placed Biji near Sidro Island outside the mist belt, allowing it to rest temporarily, planning to retrieve it after matters concluded.

Thinking everything would be fine, Siliu returned to the mist belt, but unexpectedly, shortly after, the deaths of the Cloud Whale and Mozna Blue Flag instantly amplified the attraction of the mysterious fruit.

Humans could temporarily resist because the attraction’s enhancement to humans wasn’t immense. But the attraction to sea beasts soared to unimaginable heights.

It spread beyond the vast mist belt sea area, permeating into distant sea regions. Quickly, it covered Sidro Island.

Even Biji, possessing human Spirit Intelligence, succumbed under this attraction.

Its eyes turned crimson as it charged back into the mist belt.

At this moment, it had already arrived again at the center of the mist belt. Siliu immediately noticed it and, in shock, rushed into the depths of the sea, attempting to stop Siliu.

Siliu’s actions drew everyone’s attention to Biji.

”Chief Editor, do you think Siliu can stop it?” Rivetta asked quietly.

Diescher: ”I don’t know, maybe?”

After all, they were merely Phantom Shadows, unable to feel the increased attraction personally. Although they could discern based on details, without personal experience, empathy was hard to achieve.

”Can he really?”

As Rivetta muttered to herself, a deafening explosion erupted from the sea floor. Blood surged skyward, swirling into dragon serpents.

These crimson dragon serpents twisted menacingly in the air, then transformed into fanged beasts, lunging fiercely at the sea bottom.

After the thunderous crash, a blood-drenched human figure was catapulted into the air, then crashed heavily down.

That human, undoubtedly, was Siliu.

His intervention failed.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t handle Biji, but that the current sea bottom was terrifying. Numerous sea beasts were stirring, among which those comparable to the earlier Mozna Blue Flag were no longer few.

Biji mingled among the tide of Sea Beasts.

Slieu wanted to stop Biji from advancing, which was like trying to halt the entire tide of Sea Beasts. No matter how strong he was, he could not face such a frenzied group of Sea Beasts!

Not to mention Slieu, even if a True Knowledge Wizard were to enter the water at this moment, they wouldn’t have a good outcome.

When Slieu fell heavily, his expression was still filled with shock and hopelessness. He muttered Biji’s name while watching her swim towards her end.

The moment Biji transformed into endless flesh and blood, Slieu seemed completely lost.

But quickly, Slieu composed his expression and returned to mid-air. He appeared outwardly unscathed, and his gaze was calm, as if nothing had happened before.

However, everyone quietly distanced themselves from Slieu.

The most terrifying person is one without any restraint or scruple. If this person watched their ties being severed right before their eyes, their level of terror would rise even further.

Those who understood Slieu knew that Biji had been by his side since he was an Apprentice, accompanying his growth. Biji was both his aid and his Achilles’ heel.

When the Achilles’ heel disappeared, no one knew what kind of path the inherently ill-tempered Slieu would take.

...

Biji’s death, except for Slieu, was a minor episode for everyone else present, including Angel.

However, the death of another Sea Beast caused everyone to have a foreboding sense.

This happened after Biji’s death.

A silhouette holding a small silver Round Shield arrived upon the boiling waves.

At first, everyone thought it was another wizard coveting the Mysterious Object, but when the figure rushed directly at Number 03, they realized something was amiss.

That wasn’t a human, though she had beautiful features akin to human females, her head was not hair but covered with eerie Blue serpents, and below the waist was a deep blue-scaled snake tail.

It was a half-snake person, or more precisely, a snake-haired Sea Demon.

Angel once saw a snake-haired Sea Demon named Silver Star, apart from differences in appearance and hair color, the rest were almost identical.

Snake-haired Sea Demons devour humans for sustenance, and for those who dwell in the sea, they are terrifying existences. Even Transcendent beings harbor annoyance and aversion toward them.

But at this moment, the appearance of the snake-haired Sea Demon made everyone’s hearts skip a beat.

Especially as they watched the snake-haired Sea Demon rush straight at Number 03, to transform into flesh and blood for sacrifice, an overwhelming uneasiness arose in all of them.

Because, despite the odd appearance and feeding on humans, the snake-haired Sea Demon is still humanoid.

Humanoids are extremely close to humans, but the differences from Sea Beasts are vast.

Moreover, snake-haired Sea Demons aren’t low-intelligence creatures.

Now, when humanoid snake-haired Sea Demons can’t resist the fruit’s allure and turn into blood food, it strikes a massive blow to other humans.

The wizards present were not foolish, they also realized that the fruit’s attraction differs in strength against humans compared to Sea Beasts.

Previously, the fruit had targeted Sea Beasts. But now, when even humanoid creatures like snake-haired Sea Demons can’t resist its allure, what about humans?

Will the fruit soon exert the same irresistible lure on humans as it does on Sea Beasts?

”Will humans become the focus for the Mysterious Fruit after Sea Beasts?” asked Diescher to the somewhat grim-faced Zhuguang Speaker.

Rivetta and Adelaide also looked at Zhuguang Speaker, seeking the answer.

The Zhuguang Speaker shook his head: ”Unable to be certain... However, my other projection has contacted Senator Vila, she may provide an answer.”

Vila, one of the Council of Truth senators, was also one of the Observer of Crown Star Church, known as the Faceless Amnesiac.

Zhuguang Speaker realized the situation here was becoming increasingly bizarre, hence contacted Vila immediately. Vila’s prophetic abilities were highly reputed.

But Vila had yet to respond.

While they awaited the answer, Angel also forwarded Diescher’s question to the Observer.

”Will humans follow in the wake of Sea Beasts?”

”Haven’t humans long been part of ’its’ menu? The Kanter you previously intended to save was just such,” the Observer replied indifferently, ”Furthermore, from the beginning, Kanter was food for the Mysterious Fruit. Only when the Mysterious Fruit’s influence was limited did it abandon Kanter, focusing on Sea Beasts instead.”

”If the Mysterious Object has consciousness, in its eyes, how are humans different from Sea Beasts?” The Observer sighed at this point.

The answer was already clear.

Humans will inevitably become food for the Mysterious Fruit.

Only because Sea Beasts were numerous before, the Mysterious Fruit initially regarded them as sacrifices. But as the mysterious fluctuations intensify, more humans gather here.

Humans daring to come here are generally of Wizard Level.

So many wizard-level beings, naturally becoming more ”tasty” in the ”eyes” of the Mysterious Fruit, while Sea Beasts, having been consumed heavily, are dwindling nearby, forcing the fruit to extend further to attract more Sea Beasts.

One side, more numerous and close, with also good quality; the other side, fewer Sea Beasts, and far distance.

Comparing slightly, humans naturally seem better.

Thus, it adapted strategically, shifting its target from Sea Beasts to humans was not challenging.

The turning point for all was the snake-haired Sea Demon.

Transitioning from Sea Beasts to humanoid beings, then shifting to humans appeared so natural.

Of course, the above is the Observer’s speculation, anthropomorphizing the Mysterious Fruit. Whether the fruit possesses consciousness in reality is another issue, but the speculation should be correct.

Humans present here, hoping to safely wait for the fruit to mature to harvest the final outcome, is almost impossible.

What they will soon face is a disaster too horrifying to imagine.

To profit from this calamity, considering what these wizards now observe, is practically impossible. Their sole option is wholeheartedly... seeking survival.

The nightmare is approaching.