The rain continued, but the lightning and thunder had become scarce, and the night became darker.

In the basement of a manor in the suburbs, Fernando sat in the corner with a gloomy face, and Roland walked anxiously back and forth, sneaking out of the city from time to time to inquire for news.

In fact, even the owner of the manor didn't know what to do, and the evil magicians turned the basement of his manor into their stronghold.

"The night watchman was bewitched by our arrangement and chased in the wrong direction. After a while, Roland quietly flashed in, dodging a few traps while telling Fernando what he had heard, "According to the previous training, the others were divided into small groups and hid in other strongholds, and the specific number of mages and apprentices lost will not be known until the matter calms down." ”

Fernando neither nodded nor shook his head: "What I want to know is, what black-clawed dog can find there?"

His bright red eyes seemed to hide a terrifying storm brewing, which made Roland, a friend who knew him very well, subconsciously take a step back.

Roland said with a calm face: "Yes, this is also my question, that stronghold is very hidden, and it is the first time we have opened it, and there is no sign of being followed by the black-clawed dog along the way, I think maybe someone can't hold on anymore and takes refuge in the black-clawed dog." ”

There was not a hint of weakness in his tone, and betrayal, killing, and fleeing were the themes of the later stages of the Dawning War.

"Investigate secretly, don't stir up a big stir for the time being, a good traitor may be able to 'help' us, and now two or three people are hiding separately, except for the two of us, no one knows where the other team is hiding. It's hard for a traitor to lose much. Fernando's attitude was unexpectedly calm, he thought he would be furious, he would roar, he would be eager to find out the traitor, and torture him with all kinds of magic to help Ingrid avenge him.

Roland bowed his head slightly: "I know how to do it, honestly, Fernando, I thought your temper was going to get out of control." ”

There was not the slightest smile on Fernando's face: "My anger is waiting for an opportune time to flare up. ”

He sighed secretly in his heart, although he and Roland had known each other for many years. It's an old friend. But he still doesn't know himself very well, he likes to be picky, he is irritable and eager, and he likes to roar. It's about looking down on others. But you can control yourself. Understand the situation, even if you don't admit defeat in words, you will not stubbornly insist in the face of solid facts and truths. Ranting is mostly right about things and not about people, and now it is best to decide what to do, and I know very well that the anger will slowly accumulate until the day it erupts.

"Judging from the habits and signs of shooting, it is the 'vultures' who command the night watch team today. Roland shifted the conversation to analyzing today's sneak attackers, "He's been hunting us for a long time. ”

"Vulture" is their disdainful name for a high-ranking night watchman, who is one of the top thirty night watchmen, an eighth-level heavenly knight, codenamed "The Hunter".

"Yes, after the last evacuation, he was hit by my 'Shadow Arrow', and he shattered my defenses, and if it wasn't for the spell trigger, maybe I would have to find a way to transform into a lich. Fernando confirmed Roland's suspicions, and then said with an irrepressible rage, "We need to plan an operation to secretly strangle him, so that all the night watchmen, priests, and knights who dare to hunt us down will be afraid and not so hard!"

"Assassinating a ranked Night's Watch will provoke a backlash from the church, maybe there will be a legend coming to hunt us down soon, are you willing to give up the foundation here?" Roland didn't agree with Fernando's idea, the "Wizards' Union" to which he and the others belonged was very weak, and it was the time when it needed to escape attention and grow silently.

"Because we are weak, we need to do something big to make the magicians understand that there is hope for us, anyway, there are traitors, and most of the foundation of Peforshire has to be passively abandoned, and our next goal is clear, which is to win over the nobles who are dissatisfied with the church and hide behind their backs. Fernando said as if he knew Roland's thoughts, his black hair hanging down messily, the previous battle with the "Hunter" was not easy.

Roland hesitated and said, "I'll think about it again, let's discuss this matter when we receive Douglas." ”

"Good. Fernando replied briefly.

Looking at Fernando, who was silent, Roland seemed to see a storm in the shape of a human.

............

The sunshine, the blue skies, and the faint smell of the sea in the wind give Padre Port a charm unlike any other.

Fernando and Roland, disguised as merchants who had come to pick up their goods, walked back and forth in a fixed area of the docks, and out of the corner of their eyes, they focused on the place where the sailboat docked, which would be the meeting place, according to the agreement between Garros and Douglas, and the white gloves they wore and the dark red handkerchiefs in the pockets of their jackets were the identification marks.

A classical sailing ship approached slowly, and Fernando and Roland's eyes lit up at the same time, this was the ship Douglas was on, a day later than scheduled - the weather conditions in the Storm Strait were bad, and it was very normal for ships to be late, and it was not surprising to the two.

"Blackclawed Dog!" Suddenly, Fernando's face changed slightly, and he saw several men covered in cloaks leading dozens of noble knights and squires towards the place where the ship was about to dock, their unique black gloves indicating their identity.

Roland's face was gloomy: "Is it a routine check, or is it specifically for Douglas?"

Since the fall of Antifleur, more and more magicians have come to the Kingdom of Holm, and the church has begun to pay attention to the inspection of ships, of course, with the manpower and energy they allotted, most magicians can still successfully hide their identities, as long as it is not specifically targeted, an archmage is not afraid of this level of inspection at all.

"How do I know what to do!" Fernando roared in a low voice, "You have to look at the strength of the Night's Watch to judge. ”

At this moment, a neatly dressed merchant walked in from outside the docks, and the two immediately stopped their discussion and continued to pretend to be waiting for their goods.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen, have your goods arrived?" the merchant was tall, about thirty years old, with a high nose. The black hair is thick, the forehead is full, and the facial features can only be regarded as upright, not handsome, but those deep blue eyes give him a unique temperament, a temperament that Fernando is quite familiar with.

Roland laughed and said, "Not yet, it is estimated that the sailboat carrying our cargo was blocked by the storm, what about yours?"

He spoke enthusiastically like a real businessman.

"My cargo arrived, right in front of me. The merchant smiled, his tone gentle. It's like a spring breeze.

"What?" Roland was stunned for a moment.

Fernando understood. Whispered, "Douglas?"

Roland looked at the other party in amazement, only to notice that the young merchant was also wearing white gloves and had a dark red handkerchief in his breast pocket.

"Yes, you are friends with Garros?" the young merchant confessed his identity. Asked kindly. It didn't seem to be at all afraid of the night watchman on the other side. There is also no fear of an ambush nearby.

"Yes, you, how did you come in from the outside?" Roland felt a little confused.

Douglas chuckled, "I got off the ship early." Coming from the bottom of the sea, waiting for you in the harbor for a day. ”

His smile was slightly playful, as if there was a childlike cleanliness that was not stained by the world.

No wonder he didn't worry about encountering the night watchman and the ambush, he was afraid that he had already carefully checked the surroundings before, and Roland was suddenly surprised.

"The goods are delayed, let's come back tomorrow, let's go have a glass of wine and communicate. Fernando said in the language of a businessman, slightly disgusted with Douglas in front of him, for he was also a head taller than himself!

While the night watchmen inspected the sailboats, the three magicians left without paying any attention, and left like the other merchants on the docks, and returned to the capital of Peforth in a makeshift carriage.

After changing carriages several times in a row, the coachman became a member of the "Wizards' Union", and it was only then that Fernando and Roland officially introduced themselves.

"I'm the president of the Syndicate's branch in Peforsshire, Fernando Balista, you just call me Fernando, I don't really like my last name. Fernando pouted quietly.

"Fernando?" Douglas repeated in a slightly upward pitch before smiling, "The 'Dark Storm' of the 296th Purification Sequence?"

Roland nodded in place of Fernando, indicating that it was him.

"Being able to enter the high-level at the beginning of the purification sequence, and after reaching the seventh ring, it will rise to the top three hundred, Fernando, your magic strength is probably much stronger than that of a normal high-level mage. Douglas smiled and exclaimed.

During this period, most of the strength of the Magic Empire remained, there were many archmages and high-level magicians, and the purification sequence was seven or eight hundred.

Fernando snorted: "It's just that I've mastered and improved some spells, and I've killed the cardinal, how can I compare to you, the archmage of the Nine Rings." ”

Not paying much attention to Fernando's unconsciously comparative tone, Douglas smiled and said calmly: "I? I didn't even make it to the purification sequence." ”

"I've always wondered about this, you're an archmage, why didn't you enter the purification sequence?" Roland learned about the purification sequence from the night watchman he killed, but it didn't have Derek Douglas's name on it.

Douglas chuckled: " When I was in Antiphre, I was always considered a strange guy, there was no future in magic, and I was able to become an archmage, relying on the accumulation of time, the legacy of my teacher, the tempering in the Dawning War, the adventures I got by chance and a little idea of my own, and it was normal not to be taken seriously by the church, after all, the mages who took refuge in the church would dispel their thoughts and tell them that Douglas guy would never be able to become a legendary magician, nor would he have any ambitions, he would only ask his own questions and wait for death, it was not worth wasting too much effort。 ”

He teased himself, not at all irritated by being belittled.

"Strange?" Roland and Fernando asked at the same time, in the previous conversation, not only did Douglas not show anything strange, but also spoke wittily and with a warm attitude, which made people unconsciously listen to his words, as if there was a natural leadership temperament.

At the same time, Fernando's impression of Douglas is much better, and he admits that he can become an archmage because of the accumulation of time.

Douglas smiled: "Yes, I'm good at asking questions. ”

"What's so strange about that. Fernando was puzzled before continuing to introduce himself.

Douglas suddenly interrupted him, "You should be good at elemental storm and lightning spells, right?"

"Of course, it's rare for a night watchman to get a nickname. Fernando nodded slightly.

Douglas fell silent and muttered, "What lightning can kill...... How does lightning come about......"

Fernando and Roland looked at him in astonishment, isn't it natural for lightning to kill......? (To be continued......)