p.s. A little addition to the leave note the day before yesterday: Ye Yue underestimated the severity of her illness, and had to delay it for an extra day, thank you for your understanding and forbearance. I feel better today, so let's send a chapter first, please believe in Hazuki's credibility.

I hope to return to my usual state as soon as possible, and I hope everyone will always support me~

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"Put the staff down!"

At this moment, a crisp order sounded from a certain boat, and the unexpected situation made the wizard elders who were a little slow to react couldn't help but stop what they were doing and look behind them in unison. An elder in white robes like them raised his hands tremblingly, and beside him stood a soaking wet young man, whose right hand was hidden behind him, as if something had been pressed against the elder's heart.

"Put the staff down!" repeated the young man, a fierce smile rising from the corners of his mouth, "or your companions will die!"

"Raven!" Aisha quickly recognized the black-brown hair illuminated by the kerosene light, and the chicken-like crow smiled back at her, and gently kicked the hostage's calf as if threatening.

The elder, who had never experienced such a situation, immediately shuddered, and glanced at the crow with slanted eyes, his mouth crooked in anger.

"I'll count to three—" The crow jerked his face, he didn't raise his hand, presumably holding more daggers in his other hand, "do you hear me......?

"Everyone, please put your staff down. ”

Hearing this, Clarence turned around first, then Daphne and Sylvia.

The voice that appeared behind them was far kinder than that of the crow, but it was also extremely strict and solemn. In the collapsed ruins, the white robes full of solemnity fluttered with the old man's stumbling steps. Another elder of the Wizarding Society, Algernon, with a broken wooden staff in his hand, walked towards the place step by step.

"Alas, there is no longer the need to continue fighting, we have been, nothing can be changed. Algernon seemed to be trying to persuade the other elders to lay down their arms, but when his gaze touched Clarence, Devonne, Sylvia, and Aisha were too complicated to tell whether it was grief or hatred.

"Like you, I desire to dedicate my own qiē to our most glorious tradition, which we believe in - the people who have the blood of the ancient sages who have lived to carry on this tradition. We, we never pay attention to the eyes of the world, because we believe that one day, the ancient gods will lead us back to the glory we deserve!"

Algernon held a wooden staff and shouted loudly, like an ancient king, but he was making a tragic announcement to the defeated soldiers. Clarence grabbed Sylvia with one hand and motioned for her to step back.

"But this kid, he made me see a different world than I imagined. ”

As soon as Clarence stepped aside, Algernon turned his head sharply and stared at him intently. "Clarence Milton, who has spent longer than the average townsfolk traveling 'outside', who has seen the other side of the world with the eyes of a young man, I know that none of the elders present agree with Clarence's ideas, even I find it difficult to accept...... It's very, very hard to change the world as you see it......

"The world is too big. Even the thousands of ancient books we hide in the castle can't remember the whole history, and each of us is too small, too small. Is the wisdom that we have spent all our lives pursuing really the most noble wisdom? Is it because we were born to stand in this position, that we cannot see far away? The ancient mountains have blocked the way out of the Takamo, and have blinded the eyes ......of many, many people."

"Algernon, what do you mean by that?"

As the elder at the front asked sternly, several quite senior elders surrounded him with indignant expressions, "You want to say that our wizard tradition is not the most noble? You want to say that there are people in this world who are more intelligent than us? What do you mean? Are you going to succumb to that kind of demonic power?"

"Oh, you are mistaken, my dear Elder Wordsworth. "Algernon's face doesn't change.

"You! I've long since noticed that your ideas are becoming more and more dangerous—"

"Oh, oh, I admit it......"

"Huh. ”

Just as the two elders began to argue, the crow, who had been standing in the boat, let out a short sneer, and just as the Elder Wordsworth was about to rush in front of Algernon, a sharp sword fell from the sky, and the dagger swirled in the wind went straight in front of him.

"Be careful, although I don't want to ask about the private affairs between you elders, there are still my friends over there. The crow said in a playful tone, but there was a very serious glow in his eyes, "The 'power of the devil' can take your life at any time, or do you want to die for your great 'wisdom' now?"

"Crow, don't be impulsive!" shouted Clarence, turning his head.

What happened to Elder Algernon? In Clarence's memory, although he never felt like he was in the position of elder, he was not a very enlightened wizard, at least in his view of the "outside", he was just as paranoid as everyone else, no, Algernon was actually more pessimistic.

He always felt that he was no longer young, and that he would never see the day when the wizarding tradition would re-emerge. What is this Algernon trying to express when he stands here?

“...... I'm old, Elder Wordsworth, and you're not young either, but don't be stunned by the 'gifts' that fall from the sky. Algernon said, turning his face to look at the Feather Traveler Devany Snowling, "That power doesn't belong to us, I've seen everything here, and you can't control the elemental elves you're so proud of." ”

Suddenly, Elder Wordsworth's thin face showed a dejected expression, and the atmosphere became extremely stiff for a while. Devany looked back blankly at Elder Algernon.

"—And our Grand Elder, the Venerable Wizard Ulysses Milton, won't he?"

His gaze wandered, not knowing who he was asking.

Sylvia lowered her head and bit her lower lip tightly. Aisha's hand that had already drawn her gun hung limply, and she turned her face away from Algernon's gaze, staring at the lake farther away. Clarence held Sylvia's hand, but both hands were shaking.

"Now, there are already executors of the Magic Wizard Alliance who can blend into this Takamo Town, and I believe that in the future, there will be more, more. Oh no, it should be said, there is no future, our Great Elder has already given the Wizard Alliance an excellent reason to start a war. We killed their clerks, and the battle was inevitable, but, but can we still win? Can we still protect our traditions?"

Algernon, who suddenly became agitated, waved his hand holding the broken wooden staff violently. "Ulysses, he failed, we failed, the whole wizarding guild failed!" Algernon's face sank, "I expected this day to come...... However, as the guardian of ancient wisdom, I will live and die with this sacred land that belongs to us!"

"No ......"

Clarence let out a vague sigh full of sorrow in a low voice, "Please don't say that, Elder Algernon, please...... And you all join me...... Get out of the town of Takam. ”