“Wilde appeared? In the vicinity of the bookstore?” Joseph narrowed his eyes.
Judging from the amount of ti they had spent trying to hurt each other, Wilde could rightly be called his nesis. Furthermore, that battle he had with Wilde had been a crux mont which forever changed his life.
He wouldn’t have lost his arm if not for that battle and wouldn’t have been plagued by the demon sword’s curse which led to him falling from grace.
Even though Wilde seed to have been blown up by Joseph, the forr still had managed to deal a number on the latter. Even worse was that all the old wounds Joseph had accumulated were reopened, and his ntal state was also greatly affected.
All of this led him to step back and leave the battlefield.
Yet if not because of this, Joseph wouldn’t have co across the bookstore while on his pursuit of Wilde, which ushered in a true turning point in his life — the opportunity to beco a Supre-rank!
After battling the false god within the dream realm, Joseph had truly rediscovered that sword within him.
He could feel that he was already at the final stretch at becoming a Supre-rank.
And this stretch was now his obsession.
Just like the obsession he had with the battle two years ago!
Once he found Wilde and defeated him, Joseph believed he would truly have the ability to ascend to Supre-rank and finally reach the level that countless transcendent beings could only dream of.
Claude thodically relayed the information he had obtained so far, “Wilde materialized a short distance away from the bookstore’s door, we suspected that it’s so sort of technique that has mastery over ti and space.
“But judging from the large canine with him as well as the spatial fluctuations occurring at that mont, we believe that he has obtained a Sky Wolf as a summon.”
“Sky Wolf… Interesting.”
Joseph took so ti to think and had a flash of realization. “Isn’t the original formula used by the hunter organization White Wolf originating from the Sky Wolf? During the battle back then, there were so traces of Wilde, and we didn’t find Heris’ corpse afterwards. I’m afraid… there’s so sort of link.
“In these two years, while laying dormant, Wilde certainly hasn’t been idle.”
Joseph’s inner fighting spirit was burning brighter than ever. He could barely contain himself from unsheathing the sword at his waist. The demon sword had been handed over to Lin Jie, but Secret Rite Tower didn’t lack any high-grade weapons, so Joseph had been reassigned with another. A sword nad ‘Redemption.’
As he had just been involved in an important eting held by the council of elders, Joseph was not in his usual white-collar shirt. On the contrary, he was clad in a set of formal mithril armor, hence the sword at his waist was not out of place.
Paired with his decrepit face that was now filled with resolution and intent, the aura radiating off Joseph was at least three tis stronger than usual. He was like a slumbering lion that had finally opened its eyes, ready to hunt.
Joseph cleared his throat and reigned in his emotions before looking at Claude. “Go on.”
Claude had long grown accustod to his ntor’s ‘worked up’ state every ti Wilde was ntioned and thus continued on, “It seems uncharacteristic of Wilde as he brought four others with him instead of acting alone this ti round. We are currently still investigating the identities of these four.
“Nevertheless, we can basically confirm that Wilde probably intends to convert them into patrons of the bookstore.”
One of the important issues that ca up in this recent eting was how to approach the bookstore owner and maximize their gains from the bookstore’s resources, all while ensuring the safety of the store…
Of course, the last part had been simply ntioned for the sake of it. They had adequately realized the bookstore owner’s true strength; trying to control the bookstore’s actions and motives was sothing that was downright impossible.
They could only… adapt to it.
If Secret Rite Tower could think of this, naturally, it only made sense that the first person who ca across the bookstore could also deduce the sa.
And the easiest thod was for those under their control to enter the bookstore and purchase so books!
Indeed, Secret Rite Tower had been prepared to do it as well, yet they never imagined that Wilde would appear abruptly and get the jump on them.
“He’s still as crafty as ever… In that case, we have to act swiftly. Plan an ambush and seize him the mont he leaves the bookstore,” Joseph said with a chopping motion of his hand, as if it were a guillotine dropping down on the heads of Wilde and his entourage.
Claude nodded. “Understood, I will dispatch our forces right away.”
Patting Claude on his shoulder, Joseph then added, “I still have to report so matters to Elder Solomon. I’ll head over later on and personally take command. Contact imdiately if any situation arises.”
“Yes, Teacher.”
Claude suddenly hesitated. “lissa seems to be feuding with so people from the Combat Division lately. Would you care to intervene?”
“Oh?” Joseph was caught by surprise.
Although Joseph knew how badly he had neglected lissa in the past and was trying his hardest to repair the damage, lissa still had already grown up into soone he could no longer decipher.
lissa wasn’t willing to share with him anything regarding the Combat Division and this father-daughter duo didn’t communicate much either.
“What’s the situation… Nevermind, who are they?” asked Joseph.
“She had a quarrel with so teammates during a recent mission. She’s been receiving too much lilight recently and has been acting… eccentric. She’d often use arm wrestling as an excuse to challenge others, and her overall evaluation in the Combat Division isn’t too good,” Claude said.
He tried his best to phrase it as euphemistically as possible.
In truth, eccentric was an understatent. Ever since she had laid in bed for a week after returning from the bookstore, lissa’s temperant had seen a drastic change.
Once aptly described as a quirky brat, she had now beco a fighting addict. Yet at the sa ti, her talents seed to have been suddenly unlocked and she excelled in many different combat techniques.
To describe it literally… She was like the younger version of the prickly Joseph.
Boundless brilliance, yet capable of easily blinding others.
“Teammates? That’s just so trifles among children. So what if her evaluations are negative, it’s all good as long as she’s happy,” grunted Joseph.
He had thought that soone from the Combat Division who formally held a grudge against himself was tripping up llissa.
To encourage team chemistry, mbers of a similar age range and skill level were usually grouped together to conduct the sa mission. As all of them were young and energetic, conflicts were bound to arise.
Haa… This can be an opportunity for her to train.
This was what Joseph thought.
——
lissa didn’t think of this as an opportunity to train.
She’d only felt the people before her were too boisterous.
“Your father is no longer a Great Radiant Knight. Everyone knows of Joseph’s fall of grace after he lost his arm; of how he’s fooled around at the Intelligence Division for two years. He’s definitely proficient at being a leech, especially to the loyal fans of his. Do you know how much money they splurged on him every year… I really don’t know how much weight those titles of his held in the past, but since he’s sooo proficient at intelligence, he’s a natural cheater, right?”
The youth before lissa told his comrades around him and the whole group burst into a chorus of laughter.
Although they were not the sa colleagues Joseph had worked with in the past, they were children of the colleagues Joseph had worked with. Since young, all they had heard regarding Joseph was negative.
The one leading, a young man by the na of Todd, was even the grandson of a Great Radiant Knight.
lissa was calm. She had heard slanders regarding Joseph that were a hundred tis worse than this, and it simply wasn’t worth getting angry over.
“Are you done speaking? Because if you are…”
lissa unsheathed her knight’s sword. “Are you ready for the duel you previously promised?”
All the youths subconsciously took a step back. Todd suddenly exclaid, “Like father like daughter, running around recklessly like a freight train and spreading lies!”
With a rather complacent look on his face, he added, “I’ve heard from Selena the reason behind your sudden improvent was because you bought so mysterious books from a random bookstore. She said you even tried to get her to read them with you.
“What utter nonsense!” Todd asserted in a self-righteous tone.
“Surely these so-called books are so sort of forbidden magic scrolls. You must be cheating!”
This was the first ti the other onlookers heard of this, and they exchanged glances and started whispering in discussion.
Feeling extrely pleased with himself, Todd turned to them. “lissa is a chronic liar; that bookstore is just ordinary and isn’t special in any way. I’ve already sent Francis and those other Official Knights on their way to the bookstore.
“Rest assured, I won’t do anything illegal. I’ve only reported the bookstore was hiding scrolls of forbidden spells. But if any property damage occurs during the investigation, that’s none of my concern.
“In no ti, you will see that bookstore being closed down!”
Todd had felt his plan was flawless. When he looked toward lissa, he knew that this arrogant young lady had taken a huge blow this ti.
Indeed, his lips curled up to a grin when he saw lissa turning pale as she watched them with a look of utter terror.
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