"Yes, in the future, whatever concerns the Wanderl.u.s.t Team also concerns us!"
Oscar was visibly moved. Frankly speaking, no matter whether it was his personal feelings or long-term plans, he should be worried and thinking about w.a.n.g Zhong's safety, not the Wanderl.u.s.t Team. But no matter what, the reactions from Hyde, Vladimir, Noraba, and the dimensional humans who had been saved touched him.
"How do you know that w.a.n.g Zhong will definitely be able to return safely?" Scarlet's voice trembled as she spoke.
When she received the news that the prisoners in the Shadow Moon Fortress had returned, she immediately put down what she was doing and rushed over. She had just squeezed into the center of the crowd and heard the conversation between Hyde and Oscar. She did not care about Hyde and the rest joining the Wanderl.u.s.t Team. She was only concerned about w.a.n.g Zhong. Luring the Warlock Saint? Challenging the Warlock Saint by himself?
Scarlet knew clearly how w.a.n.g Zhong had killed the Sword Saint. In terms of strength, although w.a.n.g Zhong was very powerful for someone in the Heroic Soul Stage, he was still not strong enough to challenge a Heavenly Soul expert, let alone someone like the Warlock Saint. When she heard this news, she felt as if she was about to faint.
"Scarlet, believe me." Napier joined in the conversation. "w.a.n.g Zhong will be fine. Back then, we were trapped on both sides, but the Warlock Saint used the conch to call for help. Thus, the guards at the Shadow Moon Fortress abandoned us and left."
Beside him, Mu Zi nodded his head. "Although we don't know what happened, but since the Warlock Saint was in trouble and had to call for help from his soldiers, no matter what, this means that w.a.n.g Zhong will not be captured by him that easily."
Hyde, Vladimir, Noraba, and the dimensional humans also nodded their heads and proved that this was true.
Scarlet was dumbfounded. The chattering in the surroundings instantly fell silent. It was as if the hundreds of people at the entrance of the campsite had turned dumb.
Everyone heard what Mu Zi said. He was very clear.
w.a.n.g Zhong had challenged the Warlock Saint by himself, and the Warlock Saint had called for help! Was the Warlock Saint trying to kill w.a.n.g Zhong, or was w.a.n.g Zhong trying to kill the Warlock Saint? Were they reading heavenly texts? This was like a dream!
If those present had not mentioned this, everyone would have thought that it was a fantasy story. Even those who had been rescued felt as if they were living in a dream. They had been in despair, but they had returned to the base alive. They had truly escaped from a calamity!
George and Odin, who had been talking and laughing in the bar as if nothing had happened, were dejected and hid in the crowd, afraid that Oscar and the others from the Wanderl.u.s.t Team would see them. A Heroic Soul had been able to corner a Warlock Saint to such an extent. Who could judge someone like him? Who could predict what someone like him could do? At least, George and Odin felt that they did not have the right to do so.
"Then, w.a.n.g Zhong…"
"Relax, Scarlet. Perhaps something is holding him back, but I believe that w.a.n.g Zhong will definitely return safely!"
The news that Hyde and the rest had returned spread throughout the entire Exploration Team Department. Soon after, it was reported to the higher-ups. The Seekers were the first to go to the Shadow Moon Fortress. Thus, the mission reports were handed over to the Shadow Moon Fortress. Great Teacher Sophia was not in charge of them, someone else — Mo Fei — was.
Mo Fei was a new Great Teacher in the northern base. The Patriarch Society was in charge of allocating manpower in the Holy Battle, but Mo Fei had done this out of his own accord. He did not even need to partic.i.p.ate in the Holy Battle, but the northern area was in trouble. Great Teacher Leyson had done a favor for Mo Fei. Thus, he could not remain indifferent in this situation. As an alchemist, he would be able to support the Holy Battle. After he came to the base, he was immediately placed in an important position.
He had even more authority than Sophia in the base as he could directly report to the Sacred Teacher. Typically, the Sacred Teacher could not be disturbed, but this piece of news was of great value, especially because it concerned w.a.n.g Zhong. Back then, Mo Fei had given w.a.n.g Zhong face because of the Sacred Teacher. The Sacred Teacher should be willing to hear news about him.
...…
Muwei City, residence of the Warlock Saint, laboratory.
Sauron had tried to draw out w.a.n.g Zhong's soul twice, but he had failed on both attempts. He could not draw out his soul, but he knew what state w.a.n.g Zhong was in.
Back when his spiritual energy had infiltrated the depths of w.a.n.g Zhong's body, he could sense the presence of w.a.n.g Zhong's soul more than once. However, even he could not come into contact with it.
w.a.n.g Zhong must have wanted to escape being detected by his divine sense and used some sort of secret technique to disperse his soul. However, his soul was too spread out… Sauron could not imagine how a human, who could not even come into contact with his own soul, could do this. But there was no doubt that this fellow was playing with fire and had perished. If Sauron's Soul Separation Technique could not even draw out the pieces of this soul, nothing in this world could save this human's soul.
Simply said, the experiment value of this human had decreased greatly. Sauron felt that this was a pity. He had wanted to forcibly pull off the mask, but the value of handing him over to the royal family was much higher in comparison. Whether the royal family would be able to take off the mask had nothing to do with it. Although his soul was done for, it was worth keeping him alive.
Once Sauron had determined his value, w.a.n.g Zhong was no longer Sauron's objective. Instead, Sauron's goal was to get what he wanted from the royal family. He had taken great losses from this and hoped to be able to make up for it as much as possible.
On the other hand, to w.a.n.g Zhong, this was also an opportunity. He just had to wait.
The news from the Mizobudapi royal family finally arrived.
It could be seen that even in front of the Mizobudapi royal family, Sauron had to play his cards well. Ever since the arrest warrant was issued, there had been many false bounties from the Octopus people, causing the royal family to be very frustrated. However, a Warlock Saint would not come for no reason. In particular, the Warlock Saint said that he had obtained the sword of the Sword Faction.
The messenger was not just a slave, but a Great Warlock from the royal family. He was not very tall and looked rather young. Although he was only wearing a platinum robe, the phoenix designs on the robe hinted at his ident.i.ty as a member of the royal family. This was also a form of respect to the Warlock Saint, even though he did not have a good reputation.
"Great Master Sauron." The Great Warlock from the royal family flashed a respectful smile, but this smile did not show any flattery. "Some of my uncles have asked me to come and take a look at the condition of this culprit for their reference. You do know that the recent situation has been rather complex. Hm? Can the human's mask be removed?"
He was sure about the sword as a treasure of the Sword Faction could not be copied. A Sword Saint would have been very particular about such a treasure, but to a Warlock Saint, the sword of a Sword Saint was of no value.
Sauron smiled. "This mask is connected with his nerves and is a treasure. If you do not want him to be alive, I will definitely take it off. Of course, if you are worried, as long as the deal is completed, you can deal with the mask in whatever way you like. If there are any inconsistencies, you can find me anytime. I, Sauron, will not go so far as to trick you."
"Sir, you must be joking. The sword is real, and the physique of the human is completely alike. Furthermore, with your ident.i.ty, we naturally trust you. As for how we will deal with it, it is not up for me to decide." The young Great Warlock smiled back. "It is just that your conditions have exceeded what we expected. The people in the royal family, especially the Sword Faction Suzerain, are still full of hatred over the fact that this human killed Heinrich. They probably want to vent their anger and might not think too much about the value of this human."
Sauron was prepared for these official words and would not waste time arguing with him. Although he was a son of the royal family, he was simply a messenger in front of Sauron. As long as he reported how important this human was to Sauron and how valuable this human was to the royal family, those old men would naturally understand where Sauron was coming from. He was asking for an exorbitant price, but so what? Don't just mention the Sword Faction Suzerain for no reason. Sauron had no obligations. The Warlock Saint was unconstrained and free to roam anywhere he wanted. If he was p.i.s.sed off and the talks fell through, he would not be afraid of them!
"You just need to deliver this message to them. I will personally talk to them tomorrow night. I hope that they can consider it seriously," said Sauron calmly. There was no need for him to waste time with some old people. It was fine as long as they confirmed the goods. He knew that the royal family was not just venting their anger. They had issued the arrest warrant on a very large scale. There was probably another reason, but he did not know what that reason was.
Simba immediately informed w.a.n.g Zhong about this piece of information. They finally knew the exact time they would be able to escape. Furthermore, the situation was surprisingly smooth, to the point that even w.a.n.g Zhong felt that his luck was slightly ridiculous.
Firstly, Sauron had fixed the meeting to be at night. It was much easier for them to escape at night compared to in the day. Furthermore, Sauron said that he would go to the royal palace and discuss things with the royal family. This meant that the royal palace was not in this city. No matter how close the royal palace was, there would certainly be some distance between this city and the royal palace. This was their chance.
"Look after him and don't stop the experiments. I need as much data as I can get." Sauron informed Tatamu before he left. "Besides that, do not allow anyone to enter the laboratory without my permission. If anyone tries to force their way in, just lock the laboratory door and activate the defensive array. I will be able to sense it when it happens. All you have to do is to wait until I come."
Sauron was rather cautious and took precautions even before leaving. The royal family would not use force against him, but he was prepared for the possibility that the royal family would send someone to take the human or propose an average price during their negotiations. If they called in a mediator, he would not be able to fight back even if he wanted to. He would definitely not allow that situation to happen. A journey from Muwei City to the palace would take less than one hour. Furthermore, he had put tremendous effort in creating the arcane arrays for his laboratory.
Tatamu was extremely excited. Its owner had left the control of the arcane array in the laboratory in its hands. This was a ma.s.sive responsibility! It was so excited that it swore never to let anyone even step into the laboratory!
