Chapter 148: Pursuers

Because four of the five apprentices from Landship Sail had been tied up by an angry Wright, guarding them became significantly easier. As a result, Nick also took part in the watch rotation.

After Nick took over from Byron, Wright pulled Byron aside midway and smugly showed him a promissory note.

“Saul has forgiven me.”

“Huh?”

“One hundred academic credits, and my previous debt is cleared.” Wright patted his chest. “Now I can finally sleep well when we return to the tower. Ever since I found out Saul is the Tower Master's student, I've been thinking about how I would die once I got back…”

“I made that up.”

Wright was confused. “Huh?”

“I said Saul was the Tower Master’s student just to make his identity sound more important. I was hoping the evil spirit would voluntarily leave his body. Unfortunately, the spirit wasn’t willing to let him go.”

“AH! AHHH!” Wright screamed, staring at Byron in disbelief. “You’re so cunning!”

He suddenly tore the promissory note in half and howled, “Damn it! Saul tricked me! If I had known he wasn’t the Tower Master’s student, I’d have only given him twenty credits at most!”

Just as Wright rushed to the deck to demand the note back from Saul, an immense mental pressure descended from the sky.

The moment Wright and Byron stepped onto the deck, they felt as if a mountain had crashed down on them.

They barely held out for a few seconds before being forced to the ground.

Two Level 3 apprentices had no way to resist, and the others were naturally no better off.

The rapidly moving sailboat suddenly lurched left and right before crashing into the forest, sliding across the ground for quite a distance until a thick tree finally stopped it.

Only Saul, seated on the deck, remained mostly unaffected. He could even lift his head to see who was attacking them.

Fortunately, as soon as the ship stopped, the mental pressure was withdrawn.

Byron and Wright, looking grim, rushed over to Saul.

“That pressure just now—it was definitely a formal wizard!”

“We’re already near the Wizard Tower. Could it be that our mentor saw a Landship Sail ship and mistook it for an enemy?” Wright asked nervously.

But Saul shook his head. “That mental force came from behind us. If it were our mentor, they wouldn’t have withdrawn their pressure even after stopping the ship—they would’ve kept it up to prevent us from counterattacking.”

The two were surprised that Saul could determine the origin of the mental attack, but now wasn’t the time to question him.

Byron spoke in a deep voice. “Abandon the ship. Run.”

Saul shook his head again. “It’s too late.”

Sure enough, in the direction Saul was watching, a rapidly approaching figure appeared.

The person wore a black robe with a purple cape, which clung tightly to their body as they flew at high speed, revealing a strong upper body—and strangely deformed legs.

“A formal wizard from Landship Sail,” Wright said grimly, recognizing him. “I can’t believe he dared to venture this deep into the Wizard Tower’s territory.”

There was no time to escape—the opponent’s mental power had already locked onto them.

A true wizard was nothing like Morten, whose mind was chaotic and strength diminished.

Byron immediately took out a signal flare and fired it into the sky.

But before the black flare could even rise, an invisible force erased it.

Everyone’s expressions darkened.

By then, the enemy had already arrived above the ship.

He looked down at the three apprentices on the deck as if gazing at corpses.

“Apprentices from the Wizard Tower…” His voice was hoarse, like air leaking from a broken throat. “You dare to steal our Landship Sail ship? Bring everyone else on board up here.”

Wright had no choice but to go below deck and summon Nick, who was trembling in fear, as well as the captives who had been steering the ship.

He also woke up the four unconscious Land Boat apprentices and brought them onto the deck.

“Yesterday they were prisoners. Today, I’m going to be one.” Wright sighed in resignation.

When Wright returned, he saw Byron and Nick already pressed to the ground.

Only Saul remained seated, barely holding on.

The wizard’s eyes gleamed. “This little guy’s mental strength is already this strong?”

He stared at Saul, lost in thought, before unexpectedly withdrawing the pressure on Nick and Byron, allowing them to struggle back to their feet.

Wright’s face twisted in concern, but he had no choice but to step forward.

“Sir, these are all the people on board.”

But when the formal wizard’s gaze swept across the five Land Boat apprentices, his brow furrowed.

“Where is Herman?”

The five apprentices immediately dropped to their knees, no trace of joy from their reversal of fortune.

They looked even more terrified than when they had been captured.

No one dared to speak right away.

The wizard narrowed his eyes at them. “Are you deaf?”

Finally, one of them collapsed onto the ground, his voice trembling. “Lord Bedi! Herman… was killed by an evil spirit in Hanging Valley.”

After speaking, the apprentice shot a fearful glance at Saul before quickly lowering his head again.

“Hanging Valley? Why would he go there?” Bedi didn’t seem to truly care about Herman’s whereabouts. “What about the cargo he was transporting?”

“G-Gone… Herman entered the valley to investigate.”

“Hmph! Useless!” Bedi looked angry, though not overly so—his expression was strangely complicated.

Floating in the air, he seemed lost in thought.

No one dared to move or speak while he pondered.

Saul observed Byron and the others, seeing the deep unease on their faces.

But Saul himself wasn’t as worried.

His diary had not issued a death warning.

However, he did worry about the others. Just because he wouldn’t die didn’t mean they were safe.

He also feared being taken away by Bedi, whether as a prisoner or an experimental subject—either fate was undesirable.

Unexpectedly, after a moment of hesitation, Bedi raised a hand toward them.

“Forget it. I can’t leave any of you alive.”

A murky gray mist began to form in his palm.

“What a pity. This little guy has potential.” Bedi cast Saul a regretful look before preparing to unleash his spell.

The moment the mist appeared, everyone felt an overwhelming surge of magical energy.

Even the Landship Sail apprentices realized—they were about to be killed as well.

Despair filled their faces. Some even closed their eyes, trembling, waiting for death.

“The diary hasn’t warned me…” Even Saul grew anxious. “A formal wizard’s attack is no joke. Apprentices have almost no way to resist it.”

“Will I be the only one to survive?” Saul’s worried gaze swept over Byron and the others.

Just then, he sensed something and abruptly looked up.

At that moment, a gentle voice echoed.

“What are you doing?”

Everyone turned toward the source of the voice.

Standing atop the tallest mast of the sailboat was a figure wrapped in a reddish-brown cloak.

Despite the occasional strong winds at that altitude, their robes remained perfectly still.

No one could see their face—only a hint of a pinkish chin between the hood and the collar.

Bedi’s face flushed red as he trembled, lowering his hand.

“Master Gorsa.”

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