Chapter 2182: Part 4: Saving Elder Erwin

Forbidden Island

Elder Level Wizard Marveth waited for some time before bringing the 100 imprisoned wizards to the mainland.

He had failed to find that one missing person. Marveth then brought them to the main underground hideout. They were going to be locked inside the underground prison cells.

The hundred wizards were following the Elder Level Wizard without making any noise. Earlier, they had seen the Elder Level Wizard’s mood getting worse.

None of them wanted to offend the Elder Level Wizard right now. The arrival of the wizards was already known by the other Elder Level Wizards.

Boom!

A small part of the barrier opened. Marveth led everyone inside the underground hideout. It was the first time the imprisoned wizards had come here.

Everyone was greeted by the sight of the ruins above the surface. They were surprised to witness the place.

Creak!

The entrance to the underground door opened. Next, everyone was led inside the hideout.

There were many pathways inside the hideout, resembling ant colonies. Marveth was familiar with the place.

So, he led them toward the prison cells. It didn’t take long for them to arrive in front of the prison facility.

Forbidden Wizards were stationed as guards here, and they greeted Elder Marveth.

The hundred wizards behind them were terrified. The prison cells here were extremely cold. The wizards were shocked to the core.

Marveth raised his eyebrows. He had already sensed the presence of another Elder Level Wizard nearby.

He quickened his pace and soon arrived at the warden’s office. He instructed everyone to wait outside.

Creak!

Next, he stepped inside the room. He saw Elder Muriel sitting behind the desk.

"So, how did it go?" Muriel asked.

Elder Marveth nodded to her before pulling out a chair to sit down. He didn’t know whether it was safe to tell the truth to Elder Muriel.

Next, he thought of the magic artifact. He took out the artifact and handed it over to Muriel.

Elder Muriel raised her eyebrows. She found something amiss with Elder Marveth’s expression.

Elder Marveth was not responding to her question at all. She accepted the artifact without asking any further questions.

Instead, she began to use her magic artifact to uncover the truth. She had every detail about the underground prison cell recorded.

She poured her mana into the artifact. Once the magic artifact was activated, she began to receive the information from it.

It didn’t take long for her to figure out the truth.

Elder Marveth was still hesitating over whether to tell the truth or not, unaware that Elder Muriel had already discovered it.

"One Forbidden Wizard is missing," Muriel said.

Hearing that, Marveth raised his eyebrows. He kept his expression neutral, but his heart churned with turmoil. He didn’t know how she had found out.

Just then, his gaze fell on the magic artifact. He understood immediately, yet he still decided to deny it.

Since there was no proof or evidence, he did not need to say much.

"What are you talking about?" Marveth asked.

"I have brought the hundred imprisoned wizards with me. You can lock them inside the prison cells." After saying that, Marveth prepared to leave.

He was afraid. If he continued to stay here, Elder Muriel might uncover the full truth.

This time, Elder Muriel didn’t stop him. She knew that one of the wizards had disappeared from the area.

However, she couldn’t find any evidence. Her magic artifact didn’t reveal anything, and the Elder Level restrictions had not been triggered.

This meant that no one had physically tripped the wards inside the prison cell. Consequently, she couldn’t question Elder Marveth further without proof.

She also quickly connected the dots with recent incidents: patrolling wizards had gone missing, and a core member had died.

Now, one of the captives was missing as well. She didn’t know whether the captive had simply vanished or had been rescued.

She then recalled Elder Marveth’s words at the blast site.

"Marveth suspects it could be the work of the Mage Union," she muttered to herself.

She reached a decision: if such incidents continued to happen in the future, she would summon the other elders.

It was unwise to disturb Elder Level Wizards during their experiments. No one liked to be interrupted; it was an unspoken mutual understanding among them.

Furthermore, she lacked evidence. She deemed it better to collect solid proof before notifying the others.

Her eyes flashed with a glint when she thought about Marveth.

She assumed Marveth was staying quiet because he lacked evidence as well. Otherwise, he would never have remained so passive after the death of his relative.

Elder Marveth left the prison facility and headed to his own lab. He was relieved that Muriel hadn’t pressed the issue.

He realized the situation mirrored the disappearance of the patrol teams. He believed this incident was linked to the demise of his only relative.

"Something is happening that we are completely oblivious to," Marveth thought to himself.

He suspected that only the Mage Union could pull off something like this. If he brought it to the others now, he wasn’t sure how seriously they would take it.

Lacking evidence, he resolved to maintain a strict watch around the island.

Once he found concrete proof, he would inform the others.

...

Meanwhile,

I reappeared outside on the prison island. The system didn’t detect the presence of the Elder Level Wizard; it had been some time since he had departed.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, I decided to leave. I rushed toward the barrier, taking cover whenever patrol wizards crossed my path.

I waited for them to pass. Once they were clear of the area, I moved up to the barrier.

I immediately used the black scroll to activate it. A second later, an opening formed within the barrier.

Creak!

The passage opened.

I slipped through the opening. Once outside, I didn’t linger and pressed forward toward the vast sea, eager to escape the surrounding waters.

I was worried the Elder Level Wizards would uncover the truth. I was unsure of Elder Marveth’s whereabouts, and I feared Elder Muriel might return to the island at any moment.

Getting spotted by her was the last thing I wanted.