Chapter 146: 146

Leonard retreated as he looked behind him.

When he noticed that two bronze-tier mages had turned their heads and started to cast spells at Watson, he cursed silently in his heart. ‘Idiot.’

He had struck Watson on the orders of President Audrey. He started fleeing without even looking after he had attacked. That was due to the fear he felt in his heart. He had a strong feeling that if he attacked Watson at that time, he would be fatally wounded.

The truth was not dissimilar to what he had anticipated.

The silver-tier spell he had cast, a chain of exploding fireballs, landed on Watson’s body. It was like a stone sinking into the sea—it was absorbed quickly.

The spells cast by the two bronze-tier mages were also absorbed. Watson stood in the sky as he looked at them. He did not counterattack, as if he lacked the strength to do so.

That scene did not pique Leonard’s desire to fight. It instead caused his hair to stand on end. His ominous sense of despair grew stronger. He used to be a hunter in Monte Town before becoming a mage in the Mage Guild after his magical talent was tested in his teens. Outstanding hunters would usually show weakness to their prey before catching them. They would kill their prey after they let down their guard.

“If those idiots believe that the opposing party is easy to bully, then let them go! I do not think I will be able to complete the mission that the President has assigned to me.”

He only wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. He did not mind who carried out the mission as long as it was not him.

Soon after, he dashed to the door near Blackmoon Castle, right in front of Audrey. “According to my observations, President Audrey, the opposing party has lost his combat capability, indeed. It could not even withstand our mages’ attacks. I believe that now is the best time to attack Blackmoon Castle.”

He lied about everything. However, he did not give a hoot about it because he needed to survive. It was better for others to die than him.

“Do you understand what you are saying, Leonard?”

Audrey was infiltrating the Blackmoon Castle. When she heard Leonard’s words, she narrowed her eyes and fixed her gaze on him. “You already know how much I despise liars. You have not even used your full strength yet, and you already know the enemy has lost his fighting ability?”

Leonard’s face froze, and he quickly explained, “I was able to make such a judgment precisely because I did not use all of my strength. I did not even dare to fight back because I was not using my full strength. Does that not show that the other party has lost the ability to resist?”

“Leonard—” Audrey was about to say something when Ron cut her off. “Audrey, you said you would give me a thousand gold coins if I killed the youth in the sky. Is that right?”

Ron had stayed by Audrey’s side for his own safety after she had asked the astrologer about the battle plan. Audrey would never lie to him. If anything were to happen, he would be sure to be by Audrey’s side.

He could not hold back any longer after he heard Leonard’s report.

He was not an exceptionally bright individual. Despite being the largest mercenary corps in Monte Town, he knew that the North Wind mercenary group’s only had tens of thousands of gold coins in savings. The 1000 gold coins represented one-tenth of their total assets.

Furthermore, he had witnessed Leonard’s attack and the subsequent attacks of the bronze-tier mages. Watson had only resisted the attacks, not retaliated. Even a platinum-tier elite who did not know how to retaliate would be a target.

“Of course, I’m a man of my words.” Audrey turned to look at Ron with a strange gaze.

“I shall accept that mission. There’s no need to say any superfluous words. You should prepare the 1000 gold coins.”

Ron turned around after he said that. He spread his snow-white combat aura wings and flew straight toward Watson.

“Idiot.” Audrey made a snide remark. She had only wanted to scold Leonard because she was well acquainted with him. He was as astute as a fox. He had to have discovered some danger because he ran back so quickly. Only a fool like Ron would be fooled. Of course, she did not have to stop Ron from going on his own initiative.

“I will settle the score with you when the matter is over,” she said as she glared at Leonard. Audrey took the initiative to approach the astrologer and said respectfully, “You have not made a move, Lord Astrologer. Instead, you have been standing around, staring. Do you have any ideas?”

The astrologer had been following her and stroking his beard ever since she had devised the battle plan. His gaze was fixed on the young man atop the castle. She had no idea what he was looking at. Her original plan had been to destroy Blackmoon Castle. Then, she desired to learn how the youth reassembled the Great Sin Mask. Perhaps she could persuade the astrologer to assist her in completing the mission.

If she could get information from Watson while he was alive, she certainly did not want to get it from a corpse.

“I am looking up at the child in the sky. Amazing, truly amazing. To be a gold-tier mage at the age of ten! He appears to have also cultivated a combat aura. His achievements in the field of warriors are also not insignificant either. That kind of talent is something I have never seen before in my life.”

The astrologer’s deep eyes shone as he looked at Watson. His right eye was brilliant gold, and his left was milky white. The Eye of Insight was a gold-tier spell that could detect the enemy’s information.

He had not used it when they had exchanged blows earlier because they were too far apart. He used it when they were close to see if Watson had indeed lost his combat ability, and he had discovered something very interesting.

Gold-tier?

Audrey did not seem to believe what she was hearing from the astrologer. “That young man fought you for more than ten minutes. He has the potential to be a platinum-tier mage. What makes you think he is gold-tier?”

When was it appropriate for a gold-tier warrior to engage in combat with a platinum-tier elite? It was not an exaggeration to say that a platinum-tier elite was equivalent to a hundred gold-tier elites.

“Aside from the fact that the dragon in that castle cast the majority of those spells, a person’s strength is dependent on a variety of factors. If a gold-tier mage has a lot of magic in his body, then it is not unusual for them to cast a platinum-tier spell. But the power of the spell would be weaker. Then there is the use of potions to boost one’s strength quickly or enhance a weapon. There are as many options as one requires,” the astrologer explained patiently.

He noticed a short figure standing above Blackmoon Castle as he cast a few kilometers away. He had assumed it was a dwarf or a demihuman, but only after seeing it up close did he realize he was mistaken. The Eye of Insight could see not only the flow of magic elements and combat aura in a person’s body but also their bones.

In his eyes, the young man’s body was wrapped in different colored lines. That was the path of the combat aura and magical elements in his body, particularly the abdomen. The color looked intense, as if it concealed terrifying energy.

Snow-white bones were hidden beneath the colorful lines. The bones in the youth’s body were thin and fragile. They were still in their infancy and belonged to a child.

It was possible to fake one’s appearance and age, but not one’s bones. The astrologer found it difficult to believe that the person who had fought him, the kingdom’s oldest and most knowledgeable mage, for so long was actually a child.

Should he try to recruit him?

When he discovered the mage who had altered the world’s structure, he had two thoughts. The first was to recruit him, and the second was to kill him. After learning that Watson had killed a silver-tier mage in Monte Town, the decision to kill him had sounded better.

However, the idea of recruiting Watson became appealing when he realized his opponent was a child. At his age, he was already a gold-tier mage who could cast platinum-tier spells. If they were to nurture his talents, perhaps he could reach diamond-tier in a period, or even starlight-tier?

The astrologer’s breathing was labored. He had been alive for hundreds of years, and his strength would last the rest of his life. He could train a disciple and add to his illustrious titles.

He saw Watson as a world treasure. He could not take his gaze away from him, so he cleared his throat and said thoughtfully, “Audrey, please call off your subordinates. There is no need to continue fighting for the time being.”

Audrey was dumbfounded.