Wild Hunt: What Sorcerers Covet-An Old Friend's Legacy

"That's right, Greater Griffin."

Since the target was the promising source of magic, Senne explained it in great detail:

"This is information we learned just a few days ago from several enemy soldiers who defected from the front lines."

"However, because the coincidence is somewhat absurd, we sent a male wizard to verify it yesterday, but he hasn't returned yet. As soon as I heard that you came back from Ard, I came straight here."

"Is this important?"

"It's very important!" Senne sighed. "The academy needs more wizards now than ever before."

Vilgefortz understood.

Ban Ade Academy wants to withdraw the wizards from the front lines and return to defend Ban Ade, but they lack an excuse.

He frowned and thought for a few seconds:

"I only stayed in Vengerberg for less than ten minutes, and as soon as I entered the city on horseback, I went straight into an inn."

"But now that you mention it..."

"Vengerberg was indeed in a terrible state of disrepair, and security was lax. There were very few pedestrians on the roads. At the time, I thought it was due to the effects of the war..."

"As for the Greater Griffin..."

Vilgefortz paused for a moment, then reached out and summoned his staff. After uttering a few mysterious incantations, a mist filled the room, and the environment around the two wizards instantly transformed into the appearance of a city street.

The view is very high, and the regular bumps suggest that the rider is on horseback.

There were few pedestrians on the street, and most of them were pale-faced, with fear in their eyes, and hurried along.

After the swaying illusion appeared, the rustling sound of the wind swirling around them, then the wind suddenly disappeared, and the whispers hidden in the wind were amplified, and amplified again.

It became so noisy that it felt like being in a bustling market, and the empty streetscape around it made it look especially strange, even giving off an eerie feeling of spirits whispering between the stone slabs.

Vilgefortz frowned and waved his staff again.

The noisy sounds were immediately filtered down to just a few.

"... When will this ever end?"

"... Mom, is the monster gone?"

"... The house of the Hodon family in the east of the city was demolished by that beast this morning..."

"... Why haven't you called a hunter yet...?"

"When will Demavend II finally drive the Greater Griffin away? With war and monsters raging, this business is simply unsustainable..."

Before the sound had even stopped, Senne jumped up excitedly and clapped enthusiastically:

"Exquisite magic, Vilgefortz, is this the result of your research into the ancient elven tombs?"

"The stone slabs unearthed from the White Stone Tomb near Ed Genavill in the kingdoms of Covir and Kingdom of Poviss, that was two years ago." Vilgefortz waved his staff, nodded elegantly, and the illusion and voice vanished instantly.

"The ancient elves' tablet magic is profound and obscure, requiring extremely high affinity and analytical skills with the elements. Only your Magic Source could decipher it within two years."

Senne gazed at Vilgefortz's tired yet spirited face, paused for a moment, and sighed with a complex tone, "How enviable."

Vilgefortz smiled and shook his head, "Your Excellency Senne is truly enviable. You've only been in the Sorcerer's Council for fifty years, yet you've risen from a low-ranking Sorcerer's Council. When we meet again at the end of the year, I should address you as Your Excellency, Grand Councilor."

"Who can have absolute confidence in the face of Bloody Red Fox?"

"It's not like there's only one seat. If even Lord Senne can't get in, what's the point of Supreme Council?"

"You..." Senne laughed heartily, pointing his index finger at Vilgefortz, without denying it.

Vilgefortz smiled gently, his brown eyes darting around in their sockets, and said regretfully:

"It's a pity we were so close to catching those witchers the day before yesterday, otherwise..."

"It's alright..." Senne waved his hand dismissively. "They're just some experimental subjects destined for destruction. What threat can ants pose to dragons?"

"If you see it, just crush it; if it's out of sight, just let it go."

"Right now, the most important thing is still the affairs of the academy."

He paused for a second, then glanced at Vilgefortz:

"Don't worry, this won't affect our commitment to you."

"You are a source of magic just like Dean Hen Gedimidis, and you are so actively involved in the affairs of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers. I will vote for you at the year-end conference."

He finished speaking.

Without waiting for Vilgefortz's thanks, Senne glanced out the window and said, "Since the intelligence that Vengerberg is being harassed by monsters is true, a ceasefire is inevitable, and the front lines no longer need so many warlocks."

"Vilgefortz, thank you for the information."

He nodded to Vilgefortz and walked toward the door.

"I'll see you out."

"No need," Senne smiled amicably. "Get some rest. Now is the time when the academy needs another source of magic."

"Vilgefortz, you have a bright future ahead of you!"

"Bang!"

The exquisite wooden door opened and closed again.

The room remained quiet for a long time.

"Experiments destined for destruction?"

Vilgefortz, smelling the faint scent of blood in the air, shook his head with a half-smile.

After leaving the tower in Vilgefortz, Senne did not, as he had just said, notify the front lines to withdraw the wizards who were confronting Ard. Instead, he went straight to a ruin near the southwest corner of Ban Aard College, close to the college gate.

He waved his wand, moving aside the surface rubble to reveal a deep, hollow, rotating stone staircase.

As Senne stepped into the corridor, from near to far, wall lamps lit up, spiraling downwards like a coiled snake.

He spiraled down the corridor with a clear goal in mind.

"Ta-da~"

The eerie echo of his footsteps reverberated in the empty space, and the dim lights went out behind him.

After walking for a long time, he stopped on the middle level of the spiral stone steps, facing the empty wall, chanted a few incantations, and then waved his staff.

"Bang—"

A brass door suddenly appeared on the previously empty stone wall.

The moment the door was pushed open.

"Swish, swish, swish~"

Strangely, the sound of countless pages turning suddenly came.

Under the pale purple magic lamp, countless ancient books, waving the dust accumulated over the years, flitted between bookshelves three or four people high.

Fourteen male wizards in long robes stood beneath the bookshelves, rapidly flipping through the seemingly winged books.

This is Ban Ad's library, one of the few places in the entire Northern Continent with the most complete collection of books. In some aspects—such as magic, elves, and alchemy—it can even be considered the best in the Witcher world.

Because it is deep underground and encased in sturdy enchanted brass.

Even though this library was near the college gate, it was only damaged on the surface and was not completely destroyed like the other buildings.

"Has it been found?"

Senne's face was cold as he scanned the wizards before walking over to an old, green-robed wizard. "What exactly is this 'Gate of Ade Gais' that those skeletal monsters made us hand over?"

The aged, green-robed wizard was immediately startled from his book, turned around, and bowed deeply in greeting. "Mentor."

Senne waved his hand impatiently. "Get to the point!"

"Yes," the wizard said in a panic. "We have searched 650 books using indexing techniques and found that the Gate of Ade-Gais means ' Grand Gate ' or 'great gate' in Elder Speech. It should... it should be related to the elves."

"Elves? Those Long-ears hidden deep in the Blue Mountains?"

"Yes, mentor."

"What about the elves' collection of books? There's no power in this world that Elder Speech texts than our Ban Ad. Isn't there any clue at all?"

"The ' Grand Gate ' and the 'Great Gate' were obtained by searching ancient elven texts using indexing techniques; they come from an epic praising warriors returning from a distant expedition..."

"Is there nothing else?" Senne interrupted.

"Currently, we are only using indexing techniques to filter, which will definitely miss a lot of content, but if we really want to investigate in detail..." The old wizard looked up.

Senne followed his gaze and his face darkened.

The ancient books floating and gathering overhead have truly formed a "sea of books" in the sky.

"Mentor, even with reading techniques, it's not something that can be checked in a short time."

"Speed up."

"Yes, mentor." The old wizard immediately waved his worn wooden staff, summoning a book from the sea of books to fly down.

Senne's expression shifted between light and shadow, appearing grim and menacing under the purple magic lamp.

I don't know how much time passed.

"Click~"

The solid bronze door opened again, and a sorcerer dressed in a black robe adorned with stars appeared in the doorway.

Senne's expression changed again. He took a few steps, walked out, and closed the bronze door.

Without the sound of pages turning, the spiral stone steps were even quieter than the wilderness at night.

"Pfft~"

After Senne came out, he put his index finger to his lips, signaling the black-robed wizard to be quiet, just as he was about to speak.

After looking around, he walked to the edge of the stone steps, looked up and down carefully, and then waved his staff.

A pale red soundproof barrier enveloped the two male witches.

"Well, Miguel? Do you know what the Wild Hunt stole?" Senne asked anxiously before the soundproof barrier was even closed.

Miguel shook his head. "The research projects of my other colleagues have all been sealed off by Dean Henry Gedimidis. No one can access them without his permission."

"What about the Dean?" Senne asked again. "He certainly wouldn't ignore something that's hidden in the Talent and Skill Association's ' Dangerous Experiment Alert Warehouse '."

Miguel gave a wry smile, "I didn't see the dean."

"How could that be?" Senne exclaimed, his mouth agape in surprise. "You're not me. You never cause trouble..."

"It's not just me."

Miguel glanced around guiltily, his eyes narrowed, into the darkness where the dim candlelight couldn't penetrate, and whispered:

"Dean Henry Gedimidis did not meet with anyone, nor did he send any message."

"His office was sealed off by a powerful security barrier..."

"What!" Senne exclaimed in surprise.

"How could such a powerful spell come without any cost?" Miguel said.

Thinking of the unprecedentedly grand scene the night before last, he still feels a strong sense of dizziness and has to lean his back against the wall.

"Yes, the dean is quite old." Senne nodded.

Then, he paced back and forth inside the pale red soundproof barrier, his expression changing with each step.

Fear, excitement, anxiety, ambition...

Miguel, standing to the side, looked at Senne in this state with a sense of unfamiliarity and fear, and quickly changed the subject. "But I didn't come away empty-handed."

"Although Dean Hen Gedimidis has locked up all the files, I learned from Druid Sorcerer —who has been working closely with the Dean recently—that the missing items came from a project of one of our acquaintances."

"Who?" Senne stopped and looked at him sharply.

Miguel, stared at by bloodshot red eyes, suddenly dared not keep them in suspense any longer:

"Vice Dean Ban Ad, who was buried with the former king... that's Jens's research project..."

"Thump!"

Just then, they heard a thud from above.

"Who goes there!"

The two male wizards, who were startled, immediately cast colorful magic shields around themselves.

"Thump~"

The empty space echoed, but no one answered.

Senne and Miguel exchanged a glance and carefully made their way up the spiral staircase, finally reaching its entrance after a long while.

There, a black-robed sorcerer covered in wounds lay sprawled on the ground not far away.

He held the broken mahogany staff in his right hand and pointed it at the spiral staircase.

Upon seeing the staff, Senne immediately rushed over.

"Who?" Miguel asked, following behind.

"Lian," Senne said, his face grim, "I sent him to track down the Wild Hunt who stole the goods..."

——

A crystal ball atop a tower in ruins.

This was Ailin's first impression after carefully making his way through the thick smoke and seeing Ben Ade.

A familiar blue spherical light curtain enveloped the towering wizard academy.

Outside the light curtain lay ruins, burning ruins.

Yes.

Two days have passed, and nearly a quarter of Ban Ade is still burning. If it weren't for the blue light curtain standing in the center, Ailin would have almost thought that the entire Ban Ade had been destroyed.

The vast ruins resembled a grievous, deep wound, lying across the earth, utterly ugly.

Ailin squinted and peered into the distance, trying to find some familiar buildings, but he couldn't even find the city gate. Apart from Ban Ade Academy, there were basically no intact buildings left in the entire city.

Moreover, even inside the academy, it was clearly perceptible through the light screen that at least half of the various towers inside the "blue crystal ball" were gone.

"There was no Wild Hunt attack," he glanced around, "But the Warlock Academy still raised its protective shield, not only failing to rescue the city's citizens and buildings, but also failing to extinguish the flames that were burning the city."

"Is it a case of 'what's the use of trying,' or are the casualties so severe that it's impossible to determine the manpower involved?"

The blue light distorted the light, allowing him to see the top of the tower, but not the movements of the wizard inside.

They wanted to lower their altitude, but having just suffered a devastating attack from the sky, the wizards were certainly extremely sensitive.

That's too dangerous.

but.

Even without taking any extra steps, the goals set before coming here have already been achieved.

The Wild Hunt was very powerful; a large city with nearly 10,000 people guarded by a powerful sorcerer was destroyed in an instant.

But it wasn't powerful enough to instill despair; at least the sky above Ban Ade Academy still shimmered with the blue glow of magic.

This gave Ailin some confidence; at least they could be defeated.

So now only one question remains...

Should we leave now, or risk staying?