Chapter 77: Battle of Wits

Chapter 77: Chapter 77: Battle of Wits

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The sound of explosions ahead was incessant.

With each explosion, Jesse and his companions felt the sense of danger around them growing ever stronger.

It felt as if their lives could be snuffed out at any moment.

"What could he be setting up?"

Jesse cautiously took a shield from his Storage Ring. He infused it with Magic Power, preparing to activate the Witchcraft inscribed on it for protection.

"How should I know? He specializes in Demon Pattern Study. It must be related to Witchcraft."

Rite also pulled out a circular disc and held it in front of himself.

"Now we’re in deep trouble." Ferguson’s expression was grim.

To get the Divine Blood, they had to get close to Andre and check if he possessed it.

But Andre had certainly set up something in the area. If they wanted to get past, they would first have to disable whatever he had arranged.

But now, night had fallen, and it was impossible to see anything in the jungle.

Even with the moonlight, they couldn’t see what Andre had arranged in the jungle. Their only option was to use Witchcraft to smash his preparations, but that would surely alert him.

If they startled Andre and he slipped away, they had no idea how long it would take to find him again.

"Let’s see if we can get around it. He couldn’t have set traps everywhere, could he?"

Ferguson took a step back. When he felt the sense of threat lessen slightly, he quickly retreated several more paces and gestured to Jesse and Rite.

Jesse and Rite both nodded and followed Ferguson, backing away.

Only when the sense of threat completely vanished did they begin to probe the perimeter.

"What could he have set up?"

Ferguson took a Magic Energy Lamp from his Storage Ring to light the path ahead.

At the same time, he pondered what Andre could have possibly set up to defend against intruders.

The more he thought about it, the more lost Ferguson became.

He couldn’t even begin to imagine what Andre might have arranged, because the possibilities were simply too numerous.

Andre was Radak’s disciple and had access to the legacy within the Wizard Inheritance Hall.

Every book and repository of knowledge within was open to him. In other words, the number of techniques Andre could employ was immense, possibly even beyond their imagination.

Given the circumstances, their only chance of getting the Divine Blood from Andre was to use the Witchcraft Tools their family elders had given them—to overwhelm him with brute force and destroy whatever he had set up.

But that was a step they could not take unless it was an absolute last resort.

After all, Andre was a disciple of both Radak and Krell. With the backing of two powerful Wizards, it was best to avoid offending him if at all possible.

Their families might be able to withstand the wrath of two such Wizards, but the three of them certainly could not.

Besides, none of them could claim that their own family’s legacy was more complete than the one at the academy.

Because of this, when members of their families encountered difficult problems, they often had to go to the academy to consult its archives or even request Radak’s help to resolve them.

If, during such a time, Andre or Radak decided to make things difficult for their kinsmen—or worse, mislead them—their family members would end up wasting a great deal of effort going down the wrong path.

While their families were backed by several Morning Star Great Wizards, rumor had it that Radak had an even more powerful figure supporting him. Otherwise, how could Radak, a mere Level 3 Wizard, be in charge of the vitally important Wizard Inheritance Hall?

Therefore, they would not resort to that final step unless they absolutely had to.

And yet, the way Andre was carrying on was enough to drive a person mad with curiosity, making them desperate to know what he was up to.

"What on earth could be so important that Andre would dig for it at night, even at the risk of enraging the Magical Beasts?"

Ferguson was intensely curious. He moved cautiously through the jungle, constantly probing for the boundary of Andre’s setup.

Soon, the three of them regrouped on the far side of the jungle.

"Did you sense any gaps?"

Ferguson asked, looking at Jesse and Rite. Both shook their heads.

Just as Ferguson was about to say something, an earth-shattering explosion erupted to their left.

The three of them whipped their heads around, only to see massive amounts of earth and rock flying everywhere.

"Is this how you search for Divine Blood? Why would he cause such a huge commotion?"

The three of them scattered, ducking and running for cover, terrified of being hit by the flying debris.

As they ran, doubts about their own theory began to creep in.

"It’s not on him? Then who has it? Quint?"

Rite shouted in response to Jesse’s question, quickening his pace to escape the area being showered with rock and dirt.

"You know, that’s actually possible. If the Divine Blood was on Quint, and he couldn’t handle its power... that could explain his severe injuries. It’s not out of the question."

Hearing Rite’s words, Ferguson’s eyes lit up. He thought it was a real possibility that Quint had the Divine Blood.

"If the Divine Blood were really on Quint, his family’s elders would have detected it long ago. Would they really have let him get so badly injured?"

Rite shook his head at Ferguson’s words and just kept running. Just then, a streak of cyan light flashed over their heads.

"Is that Selena? Where has she been these past few days?"

The three of them saw the light streak over their heads and paused, but the subsequent rain of dirt and pebbles clattering down on them sent them running again.

"HACK! PTUI!"

In the center of the deep pit, layers of yellow light pulsed around Andre, absorbing the shockwave from the Witchcraft Scroll’s explosion.

’I can’t believe it. Combining a few Air Burst Technique Witchcraft Scrolls to create an Atmospheric Burst Technique... the power is immense.’

Once the surrounding dust and smoke had settled, Andre coughed up two mouthfuls of blood. He immediately took a Healing Potion from his Storage Ring and downed it.

Just then, a pale cyan light shot toward him.

"What are you doing?" Selena asked, hovering in the air as she looked down at Andre at the bottom of the pit.

"Mining. What are you doing here?"

Andre waved his hand as if to clear away the thick dust, asking Selena with feigned confusion.

’Let’s play mind games. Let’s test each other. We’ll see who comes out on top!’

After thinking this, Andre coughed a couple more times.

Hearing Andre’s words, a blush crept onto Selena’s cheeks. Fortunately, it was night and the sun had not yet risen, so Andre couldn’t see the change in her expression.

"Mining? You’re mining in the middle of the night?"

Selena descended into the pit. She looked at Andre, extremely skeptical of his claim. ’Mining? Who mines at night? And who uses such powerful Witchcraft to do it?’

Selena considered this for a moment. To verify his words, she took out a Witchcraft Tool and illuminated the entire pit.

As light flooded the pit, Selena’s eyes went wide, and her jaw dropped.

’Andre really is mining... but isn’t the value of these minerals a little too high?’

’So many Earth Element Crystals?’