Warlock Three

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Setting aside the fact that the upper echelons of North Shire were in an undercurrent of turmoil over a bottle of Moonlight Wine, Donald, the culprit behind it all and the creator of said wine, had just finished his copying work and was preparing to board his carriage to return to his manor.

As he left the clubhouse and was about to step into the carriage, a commoner child suddenly came running and bumped into him.

Donald was instantly on alert. Regardless of whether the other party was an assassin, he activated his Mage Armor to protect himself. In the movies and novels of his past life, such scenarios were often depicted where targets would dismiss a child, only to lose their lives due to carelessness. After the previous assassination attempt, he had become increasingly vigilant about the safety of his surroundings.

However, before the child could get close to Donald, he was intercepted by his loyal steward, George.

The child glared at George indignantly, quietly tossed a bundle of something at Donald's feet, and then turned and ran away without looking back.

Donald scanned his surroundings vigilantly, noticing that no one was paying attention to him. He spread his mental energy across the nearby houses but found no signs of any snipers.

Feeling somewhat bewildered, he picked up the item the child had dropped, only to discover it was a crumpled piece of parchment.

Once inside the carriage, Donald unfolded the parchment. A single, tiny line of text was written on the small, narrow slip.

"Macbeth, assassination, beware of Warlocks and Mages!"

There were only these thirteen characters, and the signature at the end was Black Jack.

Donald quickly reacted, grasping the meaning the sender intended to convey.

So, the last assassination was carried out by that old man Macbeth?

And "beware of Warlocks and Mages"—could it be that he hasn't given up and wants to eliminate me, and this time he has sent a Warlock and a Mage?

Who exactly could it be?

After understanding the general meaning of the letter, Donald felt even more puzzled, and he became quite interested in the person who had sent him the message.

Although he had never heard this name before, he kept it in his heart, determined to meet this person in the future to ask what this was all about.

Regarding the term "Warlock," Donald had only learned about them from a book in the clubhouse library. It was said that they were a group of people who had inherited supernatural bloodlines. Donald's impression of Warlocks was limited to the evil and bizarre innate spells described in that book, as well as their typical ability to summon and control demonic creatures. He didn't have much understanding of their specific strength.

Therefore, naturally, he brought this question to his teacher, Messer.

When the old Mage heard his apprentice mention the term "Warlock," he frowned immediately and said with some concern:

"To think it's a Warlock. North Shire hasn't seen this profession appear in over a decade. These reclusive and evil fellows prefer to operate in the chaotic, densely populated areas of the central and southern parts of the continent. It is said they enjoy harvesting the souls of the living to trade with demons!"

According to the old Mage, there were many unconventional spellcasting professions outside of the four standard Mage paths, such as Sorcerers—innate spellcasters who utilized bloodline power—Druids who worshipped the forces of nature, and Necromancers who manipulated the undead.

Warlocks were a branch of Sorcerers, but unlike Sorcerers who simply inherited powerful bloodlines, the power they inherited leaned more toward the spiritual level. They belonged to the evil, chaotic alignment, and some even sought powerful strength by borrowing from evil, chaotic entities outside the main world, such as demons.

"If it is a Warlock, you must be careful. Although a single Warlock's abilities are not as diverse as a Mage's, and they are better at mental control spells rather than powerful attacks, they can also manipulate terrifying Hellfire. Many Warlocks prefer to drive demons and other creatures, so their strength is often greater than what you can see on the surface!"

Unlike Priests or Mages, Warlocks do not need to rely on any external aids, such as gestures, incantations, prior prayers, or equipment like staves that enhance spell effects. They can unleash powerful magical forces solely through their own will combined with the power of the bloodline within them.

Under the control of their powerful will, Warlocks can use their innate magical power to carry out covert operations, control weak-willed souls, or directly eliminate enemies with Hellfire.

"Unlike Mages, Warlocks do not need excessive meditation. Instead, they attack, defend, or achieve other effects by gathering the wild magical power flowing through their souls. This ability is called 'Witchcraft.' Witchcraft is also a spell-like ability; like spells, it can be interrupted. If hit while casting, a Warlock must rely on their willpower and focus to maintain the casting, but Warlocks usually prepare in advance to avoid being attacked."

"The good news is that spell resistance is effective against Witchcraft. In other words, defensive equipment and similar means are equally effective against most Witchcraft, so you must make more preparations!"

After listening to his teacher's explanation, Donald had a deeper understanding of the Warlock profession. He knew that they did not cast spells in the traditional sense; they used spell-like abilities similar to those of magical beasts. This ability to control their own minds and bloodline power to perform a limited variety of special techniques was known as Witchcraft. At the cost of flexibility and diversity, Warlocks were more suited for sustained combat than Mages or Sorcerers; they excelled at sneak attacks and trickery rather than head-on confrontation or powerful sieges.

Even more terrifying was that, except for a very small number of good or neutral Warlocks, most never worshipped true gods or demon lords; they had direct knowledge of the power of supernatural entities. Evil Warlocks would attempt to please those brutal, bloody dark gods or certain ancient evil entities through sacrifice in exchange for power. While good Warlocks could not deny the power in their bloodlines, they would choose to worship gods who were not hostile to them and draw strength from their faith to fight against the twisted, dark side of their souls.

Outside of demon-calamity periods, any demonic creatures appearing in the main world should have been summoned. Although this was slightly different from a Summoner's interplanar summoning, when it came to summoning, Donald believed no one could compare to him. He did not believe the cost and summoning limits of the other party were lower than his Book of Truth.

When Donald finally asked about the name on the note, the old Mage said with some confusion:

"Black Jack? This name is very unfamiliar. There are many people named Jack, but I haven't heard of many who are powerful or belong to an organization. There is a thieves' guild in the North Shire area that has been quite prominent in the last two years; their leader seems to go by that name. Could the person who sent the message be the leader of the Black Knight Brotherhood, Black Knight Jack?"

The situation had clearly exceeded the old Mage's control, but as the leader of the largest and only Mage organization in North Shire, Messer had his own channels to find answers.

"You don't need to worry about these things. I will assign the Mages of the clubhouse to investigate. Just focus on your cultivation after you go back!"

"Although a Warlock shouldn't come knocking directly under normal circumstances, Donald, you must still be careful. I think it is necessary to invite two Mages to be guests at your manor for a few days!"

Donald's face lit up upon hearing this.

"That would be great! I was just worrying about the safety of the manor! Please trouble yourself with this matter, Teacher. I will pay double for all expenses!"

"There is no need for payment; just treat them well. Your Moonlight Wine is very popular among the Mages! I will go and see which Bronze-tier high-level Mage in the clubhouse has time these next few days. I assume the possibility of the other party sending a Silver-tier is extremely small."

"Thank you, Teacher!"

Donald's respect for his teacher grew even more. Aside from Code, the steward he regarded as family, this was currently the person he was closest to in this world.

The old Mage smiled: "We are old friends; they will give your teacher this much face!"

"Remember, once you go out, you must bring enough guards with you, and keep your guard up and stay safe!"

Then, the old Mage gave some instructions regarding his cultivation and urged him repeatedly before finally letting Donald return to the manor.

This conversation put Donald's mind at ease. Although the origin of the unknown enemy remained a mystery, he had taken note of Warlocks, Witchcraft, demons, the Black Knight Brotherhood, and the name Black Jack.

In reality, he wasn't overly worried about his own safety. What he was concerned about was the unknown threat. There was no such thing as a thousand days of defense against a thief; his actual strength was far greater than what he had revealed, and with the ultimate life-saving skill of Teleportation at his disposal, he was fearless.

Thinking that rather than living in constant anxiety because of these things, hiding in his manor or the clubhouse, it would be better to go about his business as usual. Perhaps he could even lure the snake out of its hole and eliminate those potential threats in one fell swoop.