Chapter 147: This Is the Proper Attitude for an Apology
Saul was a bit dazed.
However, Byron stepped forward, grabbed Saul, and pulled him away before pocketing something. "I'll give it back to you later. There's an enemy—hurry up and leave."
Saul wasn’t sure what was happening, but he instinctively followed Byron.
Their original camp was near the cave, but most of it had been destroyed by the previous bombardment.
Pointing to a cave entrance, Saul told them that he had hidden all the valuable items inside.
But when Wright ran over, he found the cave completely empty.
"It must have been found by the Landship Sail," Nick said. "The wooden spider is gone too."
Wright bared his teeth in frustration as he looked toward the Landship Sail. "I’ll slaughter them all! These guys have been trying to kill us since they showed up—there’s definitely something going on here!"
"Kill them and leave as soon as possible," Byron agreed.
The two third-level apprentices marched over with an imposing aura.
Sensing the danger, the Landship Sail members scrambled to flee.
"Stop!" A sharp command rang out.
Everyone turned toward the voice.
It was Saul.
One hand pressed against his temple as his face twisted slightly in pain, and with the other, he pointed at the cliffside opposite them. "Can that ship still be activated?"
Hearing Saul's voice made the Landship Sail members weak in the knees, but one of them, realizing what he meant, mustered the courage to reply, "A three-masted ship only needs five people to operate. We can sail it for you—please spare our lives!"
Nick immediately warned, "If we take their ship, we might be tracked."
But Wright countered, "Oh, come on! We can’t outrun our pursuers on foot. If an official wizard comes after us, we have nowhere to hide anyway. As long as we escape from Hanging Valley, I doubt they’d dare chase us into the Wizard Tower’s territory!"
Saul agreed with Wright. His suggestion to sail the ship was based on the same reasoning.
Time was tight. In the end, Byron made the final decision—they would take the ship and escape, regardless of whether it had a tracking signal or not. The goal was to get as far away as possible.
Byron and Wright looked fine on the surface, but they had expended a lot of energy.
Meanwhile, Saul’s condition was clearly abnormal. His face seemed normal now, but no one knew if the full-body melting he had just experienced would have any lingering effects.
They had to return to the Wizard Tower as soon as possible.
The four of them forced the remaining Landship Sail members aboard the three-masted ship at top speed.
Upon stepping onto the deck, they were pleasantly surprised to find that most of their equipment and the wooden spider had been moved onto the ship.
There was no time to take inventory; they immediately forced their captives to start the ship.
Conveniently, five Landship Sail members were still alive.
As the injured party, Saul didn’t have to do any work.
He sat casually next to their recovered luggage, rubbing his aching head.
Soon, the ship slowly lifted a meter off the ground.
Then, all three sails unfurled. Despite the lack of wind, they swelled as if propelled by an invisible force.
The ship began moving rapidly.
"Finally, we’re getting away," Saul sighed in relief. "Damn it, my head hurts. Is this some kind of side effect from the battle in my mind?"
A sudden sharp pain struck him, causing Saul to sway and accidentally bump into the Soul Wave Perception Device beside him.
Through the corner of his eye, Saul caught a glimpse of something.
Turning his head sharply, he was startled to see a smooth black shadow reflected in the device's mirror.
The shadow stood right behind him, slightly bowed, as if it had been watching him the entire time.
"Gah!"
Saul jumped to his feet and spun around—
Nothing was there.
He glanced back at the perception device, and the shadow remained in the same spot behind him, moving as he did.
Slowly, he turned his gaze toward the device’s switch.
Sure enough, it wasn’t even turned on!
Then he remembered—this same shadow had appeared in the perception device when they first entered Hanging Valley!
"Did an evil spirit latch onto me the moment I entered Hanging Valley?"
This spirit’s form was solid—completely different from the vague apparition they had encountered later.
Since it had stopped appearing, Saul had gradually forgotten about it.
But now he realized—it had been following him all along.
"One evil spirit already tortured me to near death. If this thing is another one, I might as well give up and wait for the end."
Saul chuckled bitterly and slowly sat back down.
However, his real confidence came from the diary that hovered quietly over his left shoulder.
"As long as I’m not dead yet, I might as well rest a bit."
Another wave of pain struck, and Saul leaned against the perception device’s mirror.
In the warped reflection, the shadow silently standing behind him gradually faded away.
The Landship Sail ship moved swiftly, leaving Hanging Valley behind and navigating through plains and forests.
It could hover up to five meters off the ground, avoiding damage from tree branches.
However, this consumed a lot of energy and had a limited duration.
So far, no pursuers had caught up to them, and the group gradually relaxed.
Their captives were initially anxious but later exchanged glances and seemed relieved.
Despite this, the group remained cautious. They were unfamiliar with the ship, and there was no telling whether the captives were planning any tricks.
The next morning, as Byron was checking Saul’s condition and Nick was recording notes, Wright stormed onto the deck, cursing.
"Those bastards tricked me!"
Nick immediately stood up. "What happened?"
"You don’t need five people to operate this ship—especially after it’s started! One person can handle the steering alone!"
Nick thought for a moment. "Maybe they lied to save their own lives. They might’ve feared that the extra people would be killed."
Byron ignored the conversation, finishing Saul’s examination. "Aside from the skin on your hands dissolving, the rest of your body has returned to normal. But there could still be hidden aftereffects that I can’t detect."
"Your headaches are likely a side effect of being possessed by the evil spirit. When it was inside you, it absorbed a lot of soul fragments. Although most disappeared after the spirit’s death, some might have remained. In short—"
"In short, when we get back, I need a specialist to examine and treat me."
Nick rubbed his forehead, recalling the scene. "At the time, I thought you’d dissolve completely and turn into a skeleton. This mission was an eye-opener thanks to you and Senior Byron."
Saul chuckled and turned to Byron. "Since when did you get so good at acting? You completely fooled the evil spirit."
Byron replied seriously, "I learned from you."
Saul: "…"
Wright let out a short laugh but quickly stopped, casting a look of admiration at Byron.
Byron placed a hand on Wright’s shoulder. "I'll relieve you when it's my shift."
Wright lowered his head. "Oh, I tied up the remaining four captives and told the one steering that if he tries anything, I'll kill him and swap him out."
Byron nodded and stepped off the deck.
A brief silence followed.
As Nick organized their notes, he noticed Wright awkwardly standing in place—neither resting nor meditating.
On the other side, Saul rubbed his head with his skeletal hand again.
Clearing his throat, Nick announced, "I’ll check the lookout for any pursuers."
With that, he quickly left.
After Nick was gone, Wright finally mustered the courage to step forward.
Saul, still dealing with his headache, warily opened his eyes and looked at Wright expressionlessly.
"Uh… I’m sorry!" Wright suddenly bowed deeply. "But I really didn’t attack you in the cave!"
Wright hastily explained what had happened after Saul was separated.
Seeing Saul remain expressionless, he nervously added, "I thought you wouldn’t make it out, so I…"
Still receiving only silence, Wright grew more anxious and quickly apologized again.
"I’m truly sorry! Please forgive me! I’m willing to make amends!"
Saul rested his chin on his hand. "Then write an IOU."
Wright: "?"
"Write that Wright owes Saul 100 academic credits, stamped with your nameplate seal. Two copies."
Comments
Post a Comment