Chapter 472: Let Me See, It's a Survivor Protagonist

"A Lord of Wind sent by the Profound Mechanism Wind King was received by the Elemental Master yesterday?" Great Arcanist Georg's expression grew unsettled as he listened.

It couldn't be false. With the Elemental Master's keen eye, it was impossible for him to be mistaken.

This led the Great Arcanist to wonder—could the Profound Mechanism Wind King be planning to move against them?

Yesterday was, indeed, their most vulnerable moment.

He had left to find Carl, and the Prophet was unable to wield large amounts of Magic Power due to a backlash from fate.

That left the Elemental Master alone. If someone had first gained his trust and then launched a surprise attack, it would have been possible to subdue him in an instant.

After that, spiriting away two Holy Sanctuary Mages without a sound would not have been difficult.

Especially with the Profound Mechanism Wind King's cooperation, it would have been child's play.

But he couldn't understand why the Profound Mechanism Wind King would do such a thing. They were all on the same side. Without the three of them—three Holy Sanctuary Mages—the survivors would surely fall apart.

The Wind King would also lose a powerful asset. It was truly incomprehensible.

From every angle, losing them was a net loss with no discernible benefit.

The Holy Sanctuary Mages did covet the Wind King's power, it was true, but they had only ever coveted it; they had never acted on it.

Given the Profound Mechanism Wind King's personality, he wasn't known for being intolerant.

All of this left the Great Arcanist unable to understand.

'Things have already come to this. There's no point in investigating behind the scenes anymore. I might as well just ask the Profound Mechanism Wind King directly.' He understood this was no time for mind games.

Contacting the Profound Mechanism Wind King wasn't difficult. One simply had to find a windy place, state their request, and the Profound Mechanism Wind King would hear it.

A response would prove there was still room for a resolution. But if there was no response, it would mean the Profound Mechanism Wind King was indeed pulling the strings from behind the scenes.

But just as he rose to his feet, his senses for Magic Power detected something horrifying.

The presences of the Elemental Master and the Prophet had suddenly reappeared—right in their original spots.

He froze, his expression turning dazed.

Their appearance was so sudden and stealthy that he hadn't detected anything amiss.

"This…" He rushed over and saw Elemental Master Nieren at his desk, managing various affairs for the survivors.

"Where have you been?" the Great Arcanist asked directly.

"What?" The Elemental Master looked puzzled. "I've been here the whole time. I haven't gone anywhere."

He looked at the Great Arcanist with utter confusion, momentarily at a loss for words.

Meanwhile, the Prophet walked out and asked casually, "You're back. Did you find the one fate revolves around?"

The Great Arcanist's brow furrowed even more deeply.

"Your eyes are better? I recall you saying it would take at least three days."

He immediately cast a series of spells on himself, trying to find any anomalies.

'Could they be fakes?' he wondered. But within his Soul Vision, the two were undeniably them.

Even their Magic Power and Spirit were identical.

"Yes, I did say that," the Prophet replied, stunned for a moment. Then he asked, "So how did I recover?"

This question left everyone present dumbfounded. You're the one who recovered, yet you don't know how?

But this only underscored the gravity of the situation.

After the Great Arcanist explained what had happened, the two finally understood that they had been missing for a full day.

Realizing they had only just reappeared, the two of them immediately began to search and review their memories.

They confirmed that a section of their memory was missing.

Their minds had jumped directly from yesterday to today, the transition so seamless it had gone unnoticed.

"I'm the one who healed him," a voice drifted from a corner.

Only then did the mages notice a middle-aged man sitting nearby.

"You're… that Lord of Wind, aren't you?" Wariness flashed in the Great Arcanist's eyes.

'The three of us, all Holy Sanctuary Mages, and none of us noticed an outsider was present.'

"The Wind King sent me yesterday. At first, the Elemental Master and I were getting along just fine, but then a conflict arose over this whole situation."

"Then things got a little heated, I accidentally went too far, and ended up giving you two amnesia. You saw the rest," Qi Suian said casually, spinning the tale with ease.

There was nothing wrong with his words on the surface, but he had omitted many crucial details.

"I see. I never expected the Wind King to have such a powerful Lord under his command. With you joining the ambush against the Thunder God, our success is much more certain," the Prophet said, being the first to speak.

His words began to ease the tension in the air.

Of course, the three Holy Sanctuary Mages didn't believe a single word Qi Suian said.

But intimidated by Qi Suian's power, they decided to take the olive branch he had extended and go along with his story.

Continuing the stalemate would only lead to bigger trouble down the road.

"Not at all. You three are the main force for this mission. After all, you're the ones going deep behind enemy lines."

"My strength is a gift from the Wind King. If I get too far from his winds, I'll be completely powerless," Qi Suian continued, laying it on thick.

His words, however, were a mix of truth and lies.

"Hahaha, you have a fine sense of humor, Lord."

"But we aren't the main force this time; our young friend here is." As the Elemental Master spoke, he rose to greet Carl, who was just walking in.

Carl had also sensed the shift in the atmosphere, which was why he had hurried over.

But he arrived to this scene, a look of confusion on his face, unable to make heads or tails of what had transpired.

"Let me introduce you. This is Carl, a Tenth Rank Wind Chasing Envoy. I suppose that makes you and the Lord colleagues, in a way," the Great Arcanist said, also rising to greet Carl and spare him any awkwardness.

He then found a seat for Carl, shooting him a look that meant: 'Say little and watch much. This man is trouble.'

"A Wind Chasing Envoy?" Qi Suian said with a faint smile. "If I recall, that's a special power, similar to a class, formed when the wind gifted by the Wind King was integrated by the Apocalypse Game, correct?"

This "class" was akin to a class change, allowing a survivor to gain a new interface called a Class Panel, and with it, more powerful class-specific talents and skills.

Qi Suian had only heard of such things; he had never actually seen one in person.

The requirements for this class change were not something any ordinary survivor could meet; there were various prerequisites and high thresholds to clear.

Therefore, anyone who managed to become a Wind Chasing Envoy was, at minimum, a top-tier survivor. Such individuals were exceedingly rare.

"That's right. Your knowledge of survivors is quite impressive, Lord," Carl said, sizing up Qi Suian as a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

He felt there was something off about the man before him, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was.

"It's decent enough. Seeing as I have to deal with survivors, it's only natural I'd do my research," Qi Suian said, his gaze landing on the top of Carl's head.

His focused gaze naturally drew the attention of Carl and the three Holy Sanctuary Mages. They followed his line of sight, but saw nothing there.

"I'm not sure what you're looking at, Lord. There's nothing on my head," Carl said, a sliver of unease creeping into his heart.

It felt as if the man was coveting something of his, but he couldn't figure out what.

He could also sense a greedy and terrifying malice slowly emanating from him.

Qi Suian made no attempt to hide it, displaying it so brazenly before him.

The Great Arcanist immediately stepped forward, placing himself between the two men.

"Lord, Carl rushed here through the night. He must be exhausted."

"I think he should get some rest," the Great Arcanist said, trying to smooth things over while signaling for Carl to leave as quickly as possible.

In his eyes, Carl had not yet reached the Holy Sanctuary realm; he was no match for the Lord of Wind before them.

Carl was also the one fate revolved around, their key to success. Therefore, nothing could be allowed to happen to him.

So, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and step forward, hoping to dispel Qi Suian's malice.

Even if he didn't know what Qi Suian was coveting.

"Especially since he still needs to join us in completing the task assigned by the Wind King," the Great Arcanist said, this time directly invoking the name of Qi Suian's superior, the Profound Mechanism Wind King.

He deliberately stressed the words "Wind King" and "task" as a pointed reminder to Qi Suian.

Qi Suian just smiled. "Don't worry. I'm just looking, not touching."

'To be honest, I didn't expect to run into a 'survivor protagonist' here,' Qi Suian thought. 'But on second thought, it makes sense.'

'The birth of the Thunder God is both a crisis and a great opportunity. How could a protagonist possibly miss out?'

'Good thing my observational abilities are advanced enough to see his 'protagonist halo,' otherwise I really might have missed him.'

'This protagonist, Carl, is growing incredibly fast. How long has it been, and he's already on the verge of becoming a Holy Sanctuary Mage.'

'But his is different. His protagonist halo is shaped like some kind of fruit, not like mine, which is just a crude pillar.'

'His protagonist halo is also much more intricate than mine. Mine is just plain crude in comparison.'

"That's good. After all, we will be relying on you later…" the Great Arcanist continued exchanging pleasantries with Qi Suian, while the Elemental Master began to lead Carl away.

"Don't be so formal. Still, I believe a young man like him should spend more time communicating with us old-timers. He could gain a little more life experience that way, don't you think?" Qi Suian said, clearly not intending to let Carl go.

But the Great Arcanist deftly continued to exchange pleasantries with Qi Suian.

Meanwhile, the Elemental Master was leading Carl, just about to step out of the tent.

Carl was also wondering where this inexplicable malice was coming from.

Fortunately, with three Holy Sanctuary Mages present, and given that the man answered to the Profound Mechanism Wind King, he surely wouldn't dare to make a move openly.

As for a covert attack? He wasn't afraid of that in the slightest.

But as good as his reasoning was, he had completely misjudged Qi Suian's character.

His left foot had just crossed the threshold of the tent when the malice behind him exploded. A heart-stopping premonition instantly flooded his entire consciousness.

'He's making his move!'

He was absolutely certain of it. He subconsciously turned to look, only to see a fist growing larger and larger in his field of vision.

It was so fast he had no time to react. His consciousness went silent, along with the shattering of his skull.

Before the end, he felt neither fear nor pain.