Faced with this sudden upheaval, the other recruited wizards' eyes first flashed with shock and panic.
But they were formal wizards after all; they did not lack the necessary judgment or willpower.
They swiftly suppressed their instinctive emotions and forced themselves to calm down. Cold reason regained the upper hand in an instant as they rapidly assessed the situation before them.
Their gazes sharpened at once. On one hand, they cautiously swept the movements of their other temporary companions with the corners of their eyes, guarding against a possible second betrayal.
On the other, with perfect unspoken coordination, they locked most of their vigilance and surging killing intent onto Levin Mills, who hovered above them with a cat-toying-with-mice smile, and Jack's group.
On the field, only Benjamin appeared exceptionally calm, as though everything before him had long been within his expectations.
This sense that something was wrong had already taken root in his heart when Jack had approached him in the camp square to chat and extend an invitation. If it had merely been a reunion after a long separation, exchanging greetings would have been understandable. But Jack's proactive attempt at conversation in the square had been a little too enthusiastic.
Benjamin had not thought much of it at first. But after learning the details of the so-called "rescue mission," a question had surfaced in his mind:
If they merely needed manpower to assist with the search and expand the scouting range, then from the most basic consideration of cost-effectiveness, hiring a small number of Level 2 Wizards would have been the most suitable choice.
Yet whether it was Jack, Levin Mills, or anyone else in their team, none of them hid their dissatisfaction with the "number" of recruited wizards—they had seemingly never needed mere searchers from the start, but