Wizard Hume wasn’t just talking to Abel. He also wanted to let the two archpriests hear what he was saying, which was very infuriating for archpriest Ferguson. archpriest Horace didn’t know what to say.
Wizard Hume had this slimy smile on his face, “I’m interested in going to the frontline, Master Bennett. You want to see a great war?”
Abel asked, “Is something big going to happen?”
Strange, especially given how Abel was just promoted to be a grand druid. He shouldn’t be allowed to the frontline until he mastered the advanced spells. He’d imagined if he went, he’d be staying at some sort of protection zone, where he might have the chance to participate by casting long-distance spells or summoning spells.
Wizard Hume kept the smile on his face, “You have a Beamon giant beast that’s capable of teleporting itself, a king grey bear who’s strong with melee defense, and a law-defying wizard who isn’t willing to reveal his identity at any time. I think you’ll do quite safely on the battlefield, all things considered.”
Wizard Hal added, “Yes, Hume. Actually, Master Bennett’s much safer with you than with us.”
Right. Anywhere was safer than being with the lightning clan. That was what Wizard Hal thought. Abel didn’t know what the situation was, but as of now, the Wizard Union was just ready to commence a big sweeping movement to occupy the resources over at the frontline. They’ve already told their members and allies about it, but they chose not to tell Abel because, well, he just got promoted.
It wasn’t easy to make this sort of decision, by the way. They only started this operation after counting the numbers eliminated in the last fight between the elves and the holy crusaders. They managed to eradicate 5000 sacred knights and two fanatic knights in one go, which gave them the confidence to keep pushing. As far as Hume was concerned, Abel’s Beamon giant beast might be just the extra help that they needed. No, there was not really the need to worry about Abel’s safety. As far as he was concerned, Abel was pretty much fine as a fighting force himself.
archpriest Horace didn’t seem to agree with the idea, “We don’t want Master Bennett involved this, Wizard Hume.”
That was also a valid view. It wouldn’t seem right to have a potions master in the most dangerous area of the conflict. No archpriest could bear the consequence if anything happened. It’s not like they’d have another potion master in replacement.
Abel didn’t know who to agree with yet, “Can I just get to know what’s going on first?”
Wizard Hume smiled and explained, “Because of how bravely the elves fought, Master Bennett, we’ve managed to retrieve a lot of the resources on the frontline as the nation of Evil was in its weakened state. This time, we’ll deploy the Wizard Union and the forces of each of our allies. We’ll give them a hard one with as much force as we can.”
“Frontline?”
Abel’s heard of the name before. It was supposed to be the most gruesome part of the entire central continent. He was about to worry about his own safety, but then again, he did have all these skills to protect himself with.
Abel thought that something was odd, “I thought there was supposed to be a team for this. Right, Wizard Hume?”
“Uh-hum,” Wizard Hume became quiet for a bit, “So, the grand druid is a support unit. There is not supposed to be a team accompanying you.”
Abel was a bit surprised but replied nevertheless, “I’ll be joining the lightning clan group, then. Is Wizard Hal’s invitation still in effect?”
Wizard Hal laughed and said, “Of course! We’ll always welcome you to join, Master Bennett.”
Despite having just been promoted, Wizard Hal was a host among the lightning clan. He felt really honored to have the chance to converse with Master Bennett. Better yet, he didn’t have to think too much to serve as a bodyguard. Abel could do pretty fine in a fight of his own. He’d actually do great to increase their overall strength, both as support that could attack and heal if anyone needed potions.
During this time, Wizard Hume, Wizard Hal, and the two archpriests saw Sainte Loraine coming over. They both smiled mysteriously towards Abel and left on their own.
Lorraine seemed to have heard what Abel and the other were saying, “Are you going to fight on the frontline.”
Abel reassured her, “It’s fine, Lorraine. I’m a grand druid now. I have Doff and a new friend. He’s a law-defying wizard, by the way. Don’t let the others know that.”
Lorraine took a sneak peek at Frankenstein. She knew how powerful law-defying wizards could be, but she just didn’t know how the mysterious man became Abel’s follower.
Lorraine spoke very softly, “I’m not going to stop, but make your own plan and be as careful as you can.”
She trusted Abel. Abel went from a regular knight to one of the leading figures throughout the central continent. He had his ways of sorting things, and it wasn’t like she agreed with each one of his decisions. Still, she wanted to know that she was there to care for him.
Abel tried to change the subject, “Were the dishes I sent you good, Lorraine?”
Ever since he left, he’s been teaching the two elven chefs he’s signed a magical contract with. Those two were quite skilled before they attended his tutoring, and after three days of the workshop, they managed to discover cooking methods that were in congruence with what Loraine might want. After that, followed by some of Abel’s teaching, they’ve arrived at the same level as the chefs over at Harry Castle. Once that was done, he’s been telling them to send meals over to the temple every day.
Lorraine had this satisfied smile on her face, “It’s such a waste, though! But I’m not saying they weren’t good.”
While she was alone on the central continent, the elves inside the temple had treated her very well, but it seemed like nothing could replace loneliness. Now, with so much food from her home, she’s been much happier. That was especially when it came from Abel himself. She felt like it was a waste since the teleportation circle had to be used every time Abel sent a meal over, but she felt very, very satisfied with the food itself.
“As long as you’re happy, Lorraine,” Abel smiled and continued, “What’s this about the temple? I’ve never been there before.”
Lorraine blushed quickly after hearing that.
Abel seemed to have understood something, “Does that have something to do with you?”
Lorraine spoke in a very quiet voice, “That’s…. To make you safer. That’s what Grand Druid Lucia said. Now you have the temple as your protector. No one will declare you an enemy in public.”
The guests were careful not to interrupt them, by the way. Many of them wanted to talk with Abel, but they were more concerned about offending him and ruin their chances of getting their potion. So, they sort of waited until the promotion ceremony ended . Once the music performance was over, the whole thing ended over in the afternoon. Some of the stronger ones remained, though. There was Wizard Hal and Wizard Merton. There was also archpriest Ferguson and archpriest Horace from the Crazy Heart Valley. Lorraine left already. She didn’t want to, but Druid Lucia sort of pushed her out after Abel agreed to see her at the temple when he had the time to.
Once all the guests were gone, Abel and the remaining guests changed to talk over inside a meeting room, where the guests came to deliver fruit juice.
Wizard Hal sipped his juice and smiled, “Prepare a few days, Master Bennett. After seven days, you’ll be sent over to the Land of Lightning to depart with us.”
Abel nodded and inquired, “Please tell me more about the frontline, Wizard Hal. I’m not very knowledgeable about it.”
The two law-defying wizards remained to talk to him about the frontline anyways. They all wanted to get to the topic, which was the fact that although his promotion happened very quickly, he was still not very knowledgeable about the battlefield. There was a lot of guidance needed to prepare for his future service for the lightning clan.
Wizard Hal introduced, “The nation of Evil is a closed area, Master Bennett. We’re not allowed to be inside, but the evil knights can come out from within. They’ve constantly been trying to stop us from digging up the top-level resources over at the areas two hundred miles outside the Nation of Evil’s border. There were many resources there for reasons we don’t know of, but they’ve been trying really hard to stop us from getting anything over there.
And it’s not just us that needs the resources. The Wizard Union and its allies need those as well. We can’t have the Nation of Evil taking up too much of the stuff to make it too powerful for us to handle. Out of several concerns we’ve had in the past with several of our men fighting over there, we’ve marked the area to be a battlefield. For now, it’s pretty much the frontline by consensus of our entire group. ”
Abel couldn’t help but sigh, “That’s really good for the Nation of Evil then, I thought. They have a bunch of resources in their front and back yard, and if anyone tries to fight them, they have all the space they need to either advance or retreat.”
Wizard Hal nodded, “That’s precisely the case. We can’t kill the evil knights, but what we can do is strip their resources. That will weaken them and make us stronger.”
Wizard Merton spoke openly, “If Wizard Abel didn’t go missing, we would’ve asked his stone giant to collect the resources by mining up the whole area. The Nation of Evil will be in a lot of trouble.”
There was a bit of sadness from the way he spoke. Abel would’ve become a law-defying if he didn’t go missing. That’s probably what he was thinking. As for Abel, that just got him wanting to tell them the truth right here. He wasn’t going to, though. He realized that he was still getting stronger, and he needed to wait until he was more used to the two rules he acquired. That was when he could fight with his name open to the public.
Wizard Hal shook his head continuously, “We’re not going to go into that. Wizard Malon abducted Wizard Abel because of the stone giant, and it’s not like we had ways of locating him now. It’s… We’re still mourning for having lost Wizard Abel, but we’re doing our best to get over it.”
Wizard Merton turned to speak to the servants beside him, “That’s not good to get into. Agreed. Does anyone have some wine? I can use some of that wine.”
Abel hadn’t given out wine for a while. Some of the stuff he got was when he was about to leave the Holy Continent. Some of it was left inside the family to help his family, while others were left inside the portal. He had the best stuff out here, knowing that he would build a good relationship with the two law-defying wizards of the lightning clan.
Having received the bottle, Wizard Merton opened the cork and poured the red wine into a crystal cup. After sipping it, he widened his eyes and looked into it.
“Have some of this, Hal,” he quickly poured one for Wizard Hal.
The two archpriests became very confused as they saw the look on his face. Wizard Merton didn’t intend to pour wine for these two, though.
“This wine…”
Wizard Hal wanted to say something as well, but he stopped as soon as he looked over towards the two archpriests. The red wind was improving his health. He could feel it. The effect might not be as strong for law-defying wizards, but it would help those in advanced rank and above.