Chapter 110: Convergence

After Andy and Catherine left the city, Andy unleashed all his acceleration spells, taking a detour that quickly brought them ahead of Peter’s group.

They then proceeded to observe the route Peter’s team was about to take. Andy wanted to find a good sniping spot—one with a clear line of sight, ideally a place that was both easy to conceal himself and to retreat from.

Unbeknownst to Andy, someone was already ahead of him, doing the very same thing. Sherlock and Vivienne had already secured an excellent sniping position up ahead.

It was a canyon terrain, with a dense forest not far from the gorge. Sherlock chose the highest point on the left side of the canyon as his sniper perch, because it offered not only a great view but also close proximity to the forest.

Sherlock felt that after taking his shot, he could rely on his Wind Ranger speed to swiftly vanish into the forest. Once inside the jungle, it would become his domain, where he could advance or retreat at will.

The reason he didn’t just ambush from within the forest was that the visibility there was poor, which would impair his ability to monitor the enemy and limit the effectiveness of his extraordinary archery skills.

This assault would be a coordinated effort between him and Vivienne. He would handle long-range sniping, aiming to break through Peter’s protective force fields and magical shields, while also trying to tie down the defensive members of the team. Vivienne’s role was to seize the right moment for a close-range, surprise assassination. Being a Shadow Assassin, she was renowned for her stealth and magical assassination skills.

At this moment, Vivienne was already stealthily trailing Peter’s team.

Even with such a prime sniping point, Sherlock wasn’t very optimistic about their chances. Peter had been constantly reinforcing his team’s defenses since yesterday. Every increase in their defensive strength meant fewer opportunities for Sherlock.

Feeling the likelihood of failure, Sherlock decided to test the waters today, gauging the target’s defenses to find a better opportunity later.

He had already instructed Vivienne to be patient and not act rashly. If a good chance didn’t present itself, they would abandon the attempt.

Their plan was to retreat immediately if the strike failed.

Sherlock wasn’t overly worried about Vivienne’s safety, as her Shadow Assassin skills endowed her with remarkable survivability.

While Sherlock avoided the forest, someone else chose that very spot. In the dense foliage of a sturdy tree within the forest, Alvis was hiding, dozing amid the thick branches.

This woodland had long been transformed by him into a lair of danger, a trap that would surely give Peter a nasty surprise when the time came.

Of course, if things went awry, Alvis had no intention of dying for Peter. After all, this was merely about his animated corpse puppet; nothing could compare to the value of his own life.

He planned to test the situation first, having already prepared escape measures to retreat swiftly if needed.

Andy positioned himself on another high ground to the right side of the canyon. He chose this spot because it was less conspicuous than the one on the left, though the view was slightly inferior. Andy believed his eagle-eyed vision would make up for the difference.

Andy lay in wait here, patient for Peter’s appearance, ready to launch a fiery sniper shot from afar. Whether the assassination would succeed was actually secondary for him. His main goal was to test his new magical abilities; if it failed, he would devise another plan.

At the same time, Catherine had already stealthily approached Peter’s group. Their plan was for Catherine to use curse magic to disrupt and restrain the team, while Andy took the opportunity to snipe.

Once Andy reached his chosen sniping spot, he began his patient vigil. Sherlock and Alvis were also on constant alert. But soon, their moods grew complicated.

Peter’s group moved at a snail’s pace. The deeper Peter went, the stronger his palpitations grew. He found every excuse to slow the team’s progress, frequently looking back, hoping Dyna and her squad would catch up quickly.

This slowly wore down Bell, the Silver Mage’s patience. Time was precious to him, and he could not afford to waste it on pointless delays. Especially when, halfway through, Peter suggested they return to the city today and only set out again tomorrow after proper preparations.

Bell harshly reprimanded Peter. Everyone in the team—the academy teachers and students assigned to the mission, the members of the Wind Spirit Society, and even the Clark family’s scions—urged Peter to keep moving. Even Eber, captain of the Earth Dragon Knight Order, whom Peter had borrowed, told him that the knights had other duties tomorrow, and if they returned now, they might not be able to escort Peter again.

In the end, Peter had no choice but to continue. Yet he stubbornly insisted on sharing a carriage with Mage Bell. He also demanded that the knights and academy members surround his carriage for protection before agreeing to proceed.

This left the others speechless, but since he finally agreed to move, they just went along with it, eager to complete the mission.

At last, the group slowly approached the ambush points set by the three parties. Peter was restless, while Mage Bell frowned deeply beside him. Yet Bell said nothing further; his experience had already revealed a glimpse of Peter’s latent talents.

“Stop! Stop quickly!” Peter suddenly shouted twice, making the whole team tense up. They braced themselves, but nothing happened.

Under a strange collective gaze, Peter climbed out of the carriage. He surveyed the terrain ahead and said to Bell, who had accompanied him, “Look at that forest and canyon ahead—that’s dangerous ground!”

Peter braced himself for another scolding, but to his surprise, Bell nodded in agreement. “Yes, it’s best to send scouts forward to investigate.”

Together, they turned their gaze toward Eber, captain of the Earth Dragon Knight Order. Compared to the academy’s mages, they clearly felt the knights were better suited to such expendable tasks.

Eber smiled awkwardly but still selected a twenty-man squad to scout the forest ahead.

Meanwhile, Dyna and her combat squad had finally calmed Frade enough to break free. After leaving the city, they cast acceleration spells on their warhorses and began chasing in the direction Peter’s group was heading.

Andy could already see Peter’s team and was about to get within shooting range—yet unexpectedly, the group stopped.

This irritated Andy deeply. Sherlock shared the same frustration on the other side. But despite their annoyance, they had no choice but to wait for the right moment to strike.

They only needed Peter’s team to move just a little further—just a little…

Seeing the team halt, Catherine couldn’t resist approaching them. She wanted to hear what they were doing now. Vivienne, who was stealthily following Peter, had the same thought.

The two passed each other silently, both cloaked in invisibility...