Chapter Twenty-Three: Advanced Apprentice of the Sorcerers

The night brought no tranquility to Dallas City. Teams of city guards patrolled the streets with blazing torches, their frequency multiplied several times over.

Not long after another patrol passed by, a shadow emerged from the entrance to the sewer—it was the masked knight, Schmidt. Schmidt had resumed his true appearance, though he was still utterly baffled as to how he had been exposed. He had convinced himself that his masquerade as John had been flawless. After all, he had done ample research, possessed a talent for acting, and felt certain that even John’s wife would not have detected a flaw.

Yet today, he suddenly found himself wanted by the city guard. Not only was his identity as Knight John compromised, but his real name and likeness were plastered across the city. It all happened so abruptly that Schmidt nearly lost everything.

Last night, Viscount Colin had sent Knight Macon to summon John for an urgent discussion. Schmidt had almost fallen into the trap, walking straight into the net. Fortunately, he had just finished attacking Macon alongside a knight from the Gillian Brotherhood. Seeing Macon made him uneasy, so he took extra precautions. This allowed him to detect the city guards’ attempt to surround him, and he escaped before the trap closed.

He had suspected Bill or someone from the Gillian Brotherhood had betrayed him, but quickly ruled it out—they didn’t know about his “John” identity. He even worried that someone within the organization had sold him out, but after long deliberation, he could think of no one with a motive.

Despite his confusion about how he was exposed, Schmidt knew that the Storm Knights would enter the city tomorrow, making his situation even more perilous. Completing the task assigned by his leader would become nearly impossible. Tonight might be his last chance.

Schmidt analyzed the situation in silence. Though his identity was blown and he could no longer use John’s persona, the city lord’s mansion was not faring well either. During the “Thousand Disappearances” incident, most of the missing were Gillians, and the lord’s mansion had offered no response, breeding deep dissatisfaction among the city’s Gillians. Schmidt and the Gillian Brotherhood had stoked the flames, and the city guards, while searching the city with increasing brutality, acted especially harsh toward Gillians. The mounting resentment among the Gillians was like a volcano ready to erupt.

Two-thirds of Dallas City’s residents were Gillians. If he could incite them to rio