Warlock Apprentice - Chapter 2044: 2045: Rhein's Return

Chapter 2044: Chapter 2045: Rhein’s Return

The Star Pond during the day reflects the clear blue sky, looking like a mirror of the heavens from the edge of the pond.

Unfortunately, such a stunning view cannot be appreciated by the Wizards guarding near the Star Pond at the moment.

“You’re awake?” Inside the Observation Pavilion, Ironclad Granny set down the tea powder ground into fragments and looked up at Sanders, who had just awakened from his slumber across from her.

Sanders opened his eyes, his expression slightly thoughtful, seemingly pondering something.

“Your apprentice is missing, yet you still have the heart to rest, even using the Dream Entering Technique to aid your sleep. You’re really calm, I can’t compare,” a voice tinged with teasing came from near Sanders. The speaker was a small old man with gray hair.

In the Barbarian Cave, the only one who dared to joke with the Illusion Master apart from Sanders’ old friend Nis, was Nis himself.

“Your apprentice was killed, and you seemed indifferent,” Sanders replied calmly.

Sanders was referring to Hook Dick being killed by Angel, and Nis understood but still showed an unconcerned demeanor: “He brought his own death upon himself. He was given a chance to live and couldn’t seize it, he can’t blame anyone. Let’s not talk about him. Back to Angel, aren’t you at all worried about him?”

Sanders pondered for a moment: “Of course I’m worried. The situation on his side…”

Before he finished speaking, Sanders suddenly paused, his gaze fixed on the center of the Star Pond. A misty shadow emerged from the relic passage, slowly forming a tall figure under the dazzling sunshine.

“Lord Rhein has come out!” The speaker was “Fire-stepper” Ferro, who had been in low spirits ever since learning that the missing red-haired man was actually Angel. The news of Lord Rhein returning was the only good news in the past few hours.

Once Rhein appeared, everyone immediately gathered around.

Rhein looked uninjured from the outside, but his expression was very solemn, silently staring at the relic passage beneath the Star Pond, as if confronting someone. However, when everyone followed Rhein’s gaze into the passage, all they saw was an empty corridor, with no sign of any life form.

“Lord Rhein, what’s the situation with that invisible creature? Could it be right outside the passage now?” The old man Wallace stared at the empty passage, suspecting the invisible creature might have come out for a confrontation with Rhein.

Rhein said, “It shouldn’t have come over. I briefly made contact with it just now, and somehow it returned to the relic.”

Seeing the opponent leave, Rhein also breathed a sigh of relief. The invisible creature in leather shoes was one of the most powerful entities Rhein had ever encountered. Its strength nearly matched his own! Meaning this was an opponent at least at the pinnacle of the Third Level of True Knowledge power.

Faced with such a formidable adversary, Rhein dared not fully engage in combat, instead skirting the peripheries, trying to glean information through conversation while figuring out a way to keep the battle confined within this “fragile” passage, where the opponent’s power could be limited.

Later, the opponent inexplicably retreated, which Rhein found curious, but it indeed allowed him to relax a little.

“I wanted to extract some information from it, but it was very strange, its words and actions extremely absurd, yielding no useful intelligence… From its personality, it likely wouldn’t shed its coat and hat to sneak outside the passage completely invisible. It probably did return to the relic.” Rhein sighed, then shifted his gaze from the passage to the people around him.

Spotting something amiss, Rhein suddenly asked, “Hey, where is he?”

Since Angel wanted to hide his identity, even though Ironclad Granny and Wallace had guessed it, Rhein refrained from naming him, referring only using “he” instead.

After Rhein asked, he noticed a change in everyone’s expressions, even Ironclad Granny’s ever-calm eyes slightly darkened, causing a bad premonition in his heart.

“Angel has gone missing,” Sanders broke the silence.

“Angel is missing? What happened?” Although Rhein’s voice sounded calm, his aura shifted dramatically. As a key figure in the future layout of the Barbarian Cave, Rhein held Angel in high regard. Hearing of his disappearance stirred Rhein’s emotions.

“Let me explain, here’s what happened…” Ironclad Granny began to recount the events that transpired.

After listening to the entire story, Rhein said nothing, re-entering the passage to sense near the spot where Angel vanished, then returned to the present Star Pond, only to shake his head at everyone.

Ten minutes later, back in the Observation Pavilion, everyone wore serious expressions.

“This incident was an accident; no one expected Angel to encounter the Void Traveler at the last moment,” Wallace shook his head and sighed. “Even though Sanders said the Void Traveler might not be aligned with the creatures inside the relic, was there really such a coincidence that led to Angel’s disappearance? I think Sanders might have been mistaken; they could be aligned, perhaps just with differing auras…”

Ironclad Granny glanced at Wallace and said flatly, “Indeed, it’s possible, but Sanders understands the creatures of the Nightmare Realm better than you do.”

“Since it’s already happened, these questions aren’t very important. There’s no need to get hung up on these details.” Rhein gestured for everyone not to argue on this point and continued, “The more important issue now is, where is Angel, and how do we rescue him?”

Indeed, assigning blame or pursuing details isn’t what needs to be done now. Everyone knew Angel’s importance to the Barbarian Cave; figuring out how to rescue him is the top priority.

“I’ll go to the Crown Star Church; the Star Observation Day isn’t completely over, and the Observers are basically still at the Crown Star Church. I have some contacts among them and can ask them for a prophecy,” Wallace proposed. Though he often opposed Sanders, his opposition was merely ideological; understanding the bigger picture concerning the Barbarian Cave, Wallace knew what ought and ought not to be done.

“Involving this relic, even the Observers are unlikely to be useful,” Rhein shook his head.

“Moreover, Angel himself has a tool to avoid being prophesied about. Prophet Wizards are unlikely to be effective,” Ironclad Granny added, “unless there’s a Mysterious Object with a prophecy effect; otherwise, it’s difficult to use prophecy to find Angel’s situation.”

But such Mysterious Objects are rare. Currently, only the Mystery of the Stars is known, yet it can only be opened once every six months. With the recent end of the Star Observation Day, it can’t restart immediately, so the path of prophecy seems difficult to pursue.

But if they don’t seek Angel’s whereabouts through prophecy, what else can be done? Even forcibly entering the relic without knowing Angel’s location would make it hard to quickly find and extract him.

For a moment, everyone fell silent.

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