Cadis was hiding inside the hollow trunk of a towering tree in the Black Castle Forest.
He hadn’t been a Third Rank apprentice for long.
But he was eager to prove himself.
Lately, their Land Drifters had been having a streak of bad luck. In just a few months, they’d lost two Third Rank apprentices and several Second Rank apprentices.
Losing Second Rank apprentices wasn’t too big a deal. The captain had a thod of mass-producing them—just pile up lives, and in a year or two, the losses could be replenished.
But Third Rank apprentices weren’t that easy to co by. Especially since Second Rank apprentices produced that way had an even lower success rate for advancing. That made Third Rank apprentices highly valued among the Land Drifters.
Because of that, each Third Rank apprentice held considerable authority. But only the best among them were given special training by the captain, and had the chance to beco a frigate captain.
When Cadis was promoted to Third Rank, all the frigate captain spots had already been filled. On top of that, he wasn’t particularly outstanding, so he’d never managed to snatch that lucrative post.
Now, with the two Third Rank apprentices who’d been blocking his path both dead by accident, this was his chance to stand out and receive the captain’s favor. Whether he could rise above the others depended on whether he could drive the temporary master of the Black Castle into his trap tonight!
What Cadis didn’t understand was—why had the captain gone so far, using these kinds of tactics, just to deal with a Second Rank apprentice?
He looked down at the seed in his palm, unease rising in his heart. “Holding this Soul-Devouring Flower seed feels… off. I hope I can catch that Second Rank apprentice soon. Better get this hot potato off my hands as quickly as possible.”
Their Land Drifters were known for three unique products: the Slender Wraith, the Thousand-Eyed Banshee, and the last—Soul-Devouring Flowers.
But most people had no idea what those three were actually used for. Cadis himself had only recently learned the purposes of the first two. As for the Soul-Devouring Flower seed he now held—he still had no clue what it did.
Still, once he beca a Third Rank apprentice like Herman once was—able to independently command a frigate—he’d definitely earn the right to learn its secrets.
Just then, noise stirred from inside the Black Castle. It seed that, following his orders, the Slender Wraith had made an even bigger commotion, enough to rouse the Devil Vines.
Cadis frowned.
He wasn’t afraid of disturbing the Devil Vines. With help from a certain mysterious ally arranged by the ntor, as long as he withdrew before dawn, it wouldn’t alarm the people down in Borderfall City.
“Still haven’t found him?” As ti passed, the confidence Cadis had felt at the start began to fray. “ntor said if I don’t complete this mission, the chance to be promoted to frigate captain is gone for good.”
He wavered.
“Should I go take a look? But I’ve already laid the trap in the forest. If I just leave…”
The crescent moon hung low. Cadis lingered in place, pacing back and forth.
“No, sothing’s clearly gone wrong with the Slender Wraith. If I stay here, this mission is going to fail. That Second Rank apprentice is tougher than I expected, to stay hidden this long even with the Wraith searching!”
Cadis decided to go personally—whatever it took, he had to flush the enemy out.
He slowly raised a hand, and the tree trunk in front of him split open.
Cadis leapt out. But the mont his feet were about to touch the ground, sothing suddenly coiled around his waist.
A chilling aura swept straight for his head.
“An ambush!” He’d seen battle before and reacted instantly.
Without looking back, Cadis raised his hand. A silver round shield materialized above his head.
First Rank spell: Magic Shield.
Though it didn’t cover as much area as Soul Armor, its defensive strength was notably higher.
The enemy had waited for the perfect mont to strike—it would be a powerful blow. Cadis had no idea who the attacker was or how strong they were. He could only counter with one of his strongest defenses.
Clang!
A crisp sound rang out. The attack was blocked.
Cadis frowned. Sothing was off. The attack wasn’t strong at all. “So they just wanted to bait out one of my defenses?”
The thing wrapped around his waist suddenly tightened, yanking him upward. The chilling aura swept toward his legs this ti—not a vital point, but the power behind it was clearly greater. The attacker was trying to cripple his legs and prevent him from escaping!
Caught off guard, Cadis was now at a disadvantage, each move restricted. If he wanted to turn things around, he had to launch a major counterattack. Otherwise, this would end in total defeat.
Then, as he hung midair, Cadis twisted his waist with force and flipped his body over, now facing the sky.
At the sa ti, a layer of fine yellow grease instantly spread across his skin—like cheese seeping through gauze.
Two black tentacles lashed down onto his legs the next mont. But the impact was dull, and they caused no real harm.
The mont the tentacles touched the greasy layer, they froze. But then, it shattered into pieces, revealing undamaged skin beneath.
His pants were torn in two places, but his legs were completely unscathed!
At that mont, having taken three blows, Cadis grinned nacingly.
He’d endured that ambush not just to buy ti to flip around and locate the attacker, but also to prepare his next strike.
His hands, still coated with yellow grease, snapped forward the mont he spotted a black figure among the leaves. His lips moved rapidly, and then—whoosh!—the grease on his palms shot out like bullets.
The figure didn’t stop attacking either. Though the earlier blows hadn’t landed cleanly, those black tentacles whipped down again toward the yellow bullets.
But the mont grease t the tentacle, the bullets pierced through them with ease, continuing their deadly path toward the figure in black.
A faint aura shimred around the figure—a Soul Armor Spell.
A gleam flashed through Cadis’s eyes. If the enemy dared to rely on Soul Armor to tank the hit instead of dodging, then this would get interesting.
This yellow grease wasn’t just any ordinary spell—it was sothing Cadis had crafted himself, combining a targeting spell with a rare material. It had both offensive and defensive capabilities.
Without this unique spell, he might never have beco a Third Rank apprentice!
But to Cadis’s disappointnt, the figure didn’t recklessly take the hit. Instead, with impressive caution, he dodged every single grease bullet, not even letting one brush his clothes.
As the enemy moved, he erged from the shadows. Moonlight spilled across his face, revealing a calm, expressionless boyish face.
“You?” Cadis narrowed his eyes. He hadn’t expected the very person he’d been searching for to be right in front of him.
“Well, that saves so effort.” Though the plan hadn’t gone quite as expected, Saul had finally left the Black Castle.
That’s right—the one who had ambushed Cadis from the treetop shadows… was Saul.
The mont Saul saw the change in Cadis’s gaze, he knew it—this man had been after him all along.
(End of Chapter)
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