Chapter 50: Raid!
Kane Family Estate
The moment he returned from Yassen's place, Reis headed straight for the underground laboratory the second he stepped through the front door.
Locking the door securely behind him, he needed a quiet space to process the crucial information he had just acquired.
After jotting down every name, social standing, and agenda on a sheet of paper, Reis tapped his right index finger against the wooden desk, calculating quietly in his mind.
What Yassen had told him certainly shed light on many things.
It seemed this war was unavoidable; the only variables were when it would erupt and what would serve as the catalyst.
Staring at the notes detailing Yassen's intelligence, Reis felt a mild headache coming on. Too many individuals were involved.
Duke Ram of the Eastern Territory certainly possessed the strength to secretly drive all of this behind the scenes, but at most, he could only stir up trouble at the borders. To orchestrate everything right here in the capital city of Splendor, the Duke's power alone fell short.
As for the kingdom's Minister of Finance—it was not that Reis looked down on him, but an old man devoid of titles or real influence was nothing more than a mouthpiece for whoever stood behind him.
Regarding the numerous court nobles, their combined influence carried substantial weight, yet Reis knew their factional leader was Duke Hard.
Had Duke Hard been the one arranging this, Yassen would never have shared such intelligence with him.
A headache, truly a headache!
If none of the people Yassen mentioned were responsible, then who could it be?
Who possessed the capability to orchestrate an assassination during the capital's Holy Festival, coupled with the power and wealth to manipulate the wholesale prices of the kingdom's grain and weaponry?
Who on earth was it?
Where else could he obtain intelligence?
Reis shook his head in frustration, feeling as though he had overlooked something.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck his mind, and he slapped his thigh.
Right, how could he have forgotten about this person?
Camus from the academy!
He had felt that something was amiss with this individual before; now that he thought about it, he ought to be able to extract the identity of the mastermind from him.
What should he do?
Should he have Velf kidnap Camus and drag him back?
That would be far too dramatic. What if it genuinely alerted the mastermind and got him killed off prematurely?
Take it slow, take it step by step...
He still had time; two months remained until the Holy Festival.
He needed to plan this carefully.
Reis was deep in thought over how to extract the desired information from Camus's mouth, unaware that Camus was being pressured to the point of seeking him out voluntarily very soon.
---------------
Several days later.
Reis spent another few days holed up at home studying arcana, neither stepping outside nor receiving visitors, as if he had returned to the gaming marathon days of his past life.
That was to say, a grind-focused powerhouse like Reis was perfectly suited to becoming a mage.
They were all shut-ins who could sit still for ages, feeling nothing after pulling an all-nighter of pure grinding.
Today, however, Reis emerged from seclusion. Yassen had sent someone to notify Reis to visit the villa on Gedo Street.
Perhaps there was new information regarding the matter they discussed last time?
He changed out of his colorful, arcane-experiment-scorched garments, cleaned himself up, and prepared to head out.
As per usual, he had Velf inspect the perimeter for him. After confirming that no one was lingering around the estate, he waved off Velf's offer to accompany him and slipped out gracefully through the back door.
Following several days of torrential rain, the entirety of Fiss Street looked freshly washed, the air still carrying a hint of dampness.
Should he research a rain-repelling arcane spell for next time? When he had rushed to find Yassen previously, even with a cloak, it failed to block such heavy rain, and he had returned soaked to the bone.
Having developed a few new arcane spells over the past few days, Reis felt a surge of overflowing confidence and even considered sparring with Yassen to test his skills.
Heh heh~
Just as Reis reached the alley entrance, preparing to turn toward Gedo Street, a figure in a black cloak suddenly flashed out from a side alley, rushing to within five meters of him.
The figure first pressed their palms together, then slammed their right hand onto the ground. A complex magic array radiating a brilliant white light instantly enveloped both Reis and the figure in black.
Elation surged through the black-clad figure's heart: I've finally caught you alone, Reis!
To avoid detection by that Gold-tier warrior, I had to stake out this alley far away from the estate for days!
Seeing the familiar setup on the ground, Reis's expression changed drastically.
"Damn it, a short-range directional magic teleportation array?"
Although he had half-intended to give potential enemies an opportunity, he truly had not expected them to open with a lethal blow.
Reis didn't even bother looking at the system prompt popping up at that moment; he dared not waste a single second, as there was no telling where a teleportation array might send someone.
Furthermore, running was completely out of the question. The moment the array locked onto a target upon activation, even if one immediately fled outside the city of Splendor, they would be yanked right back to complete the transmission.
With a flash of green light, the Emerald Staff materialized in Reis's hand, and a wind blade slashed toward the figure in black.
Without waiting to see if the wind blade took effect, three blue fireballs exuding a dangerous aura condensed around Reis and hurtled toward the intruder.
He then casually tossed his Emerald Staff aside, and with another flash of spiritual light, a longsword gleaming with an intimidatingly cold edge appeared in his grasp.
This was a longsword Reis had specifically had Velf prepare for him after acquiring the [Master of All Arms] specialization. Although un-enchanted, it was sharp and sturdy enough for his current needs.
Reis raised the longsword and slashed fiercely down at the white magic runes on the ground.
Flying stone chips scattered as Reis's blade sliced a small notch into the centimeter-thick magic runes.
There's a chance!
Reis's eyes lit up. This teleportation array seemed to feature only the most basic rune defense; he stood a chance at shattering it before the array activated!
Judging by the looks of it, this must be a low-level teleportation array with an activation time of at least fifteen heartbeats—there should be enough time!
Simultaneously as he attempted to destroy the array's runes, his preemptively cast spell attacks reached the figure in black.
The leading wind blade crashed directly into the defensive spell the figure had cast beforehand, shattering into nothingness without stirring the slightest ripple.
Yet Reis had never expected a single wind blade to interrupt his opponent; the crucial factor lay in the three blue fireballs following closely behind.
The first blue fireball collided with the figure's defensive barrier. The fireball exploded, blue flames spreading along the edges of the magical shield, and the initial defensive spell was swiftly beaten back and shattered by the blue fire.
What is going on? Isn't he an elementary mage?
How could a single blue fireball so easily shatter the magical shield cast by an intermediate mage like myself?
Something's wrong! This doesn't make sense!
The figure in black had no time to ponder further, however.
Only a single layer of elemental shield remained before them, utterly incapable of blocking the remaining two blue fireballs!
Regrettably, needing to maintain the activation of the teleportation array left them with no hands free to cast counter-spells.
Gritting their teeth, the figure in black retrieved two magic scrolls from their storage ring and, gritting against the heartache, poured mana into them to activate the pre-inscribed spells within.
"Tier 4 Spell: Advanced Elemental Shield!"
"Tier 4 Spell: Advanced Defensive Field!"
In truth, the [Advanced Defensive Field] offered poor protection against magical attacks, but the figure could no longer afford to care. Having paid the exorbitant price for a directional teleportation array, they would truly be left with no way out if they failed this mission.
A single Tier 4 spell scroll meant nothing by comparison.
Under the figure's tense gaze, the second blue fireball slammed into the remaining elemental shield, which shattered with a resounding crash after offering virtually negligible resistance.
The momentum-carrying blue fireball smashed squarely into the newly formed Advanced Elemental Shield.
Boom!