Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 331 - 324: Summoner

Chapter 331: Chapter 324: Summoner

The camp was located just outside the Otherworld Gate. Although from afar it reminded one of the impressive gate of Yazhi city, viewing it from bottom to top was always awe-inspiring. Even calling this gate "small" was a stretch - it was huge enough to fit an aircraft carrier, let alone airplanes and artillery.

At this point, both pillars of the Otherworld Gate were built up with scaffolding. Magicians were standing within the scaffolding, creating sketches from, and zealously discussing something with their peers.

"It seems they’re searching for something," Cheng Ziang raised his head to look at them, then made a remark.

"They are probably trying to find some sort of coordinate." Yalunte had overheard a part of their conversation, and thus speculated accordingly.

There were many kinds of Runes inscribed on the Otherworld Gate. Finding a coordinate rune among them was a difficult task that required extensive decoding and calculations. Of course, if they had a supercomputer from Earth, it would only take a second to work out a solution. As a result, the magic theory created by the Otherworld was way behind.

Just as they were contemplating this, they suddenly noticed a group of people coming towards the Otherworld Gate. In the midst of the crowd was a man around fifty years old with a shaved head and a goatee.

He had a wild look, sharp and ferocious eyes, high cheekbones and a chiseled face that made him appear exceedingly harsh. He was wearing an exquisitely tailored mage robe. But from Yalunte’s worldly perspective, this robe showed an unusual style - it was an assembly of the styles of the Aud people, Bobulu people, and even the Ancient States. Notably, the Church Court viewed the Ancient States as heretics. As such, his outfit seemed like a deliberate provocation towards the Church Court.

This man held a high position. Even the officers accompanying him treated him with much reverence. The magicians went as far as to almost lie flat on the ground in front of him as footstools.

"Who is this person?" Seeing the man with the goatee, Cheng Ziang couldn’t help but ask.

"I don’t recognize him. He’s probably not from the academies." Yalunte glanced at the man, then responded with a furrowed brow.

"So he’s a solo practitioner?" Cheng Ziang asked.

"Yes," Yalunte nodded, then pointed at the man’s robe and said, "His robe has the style of the Ancient States. This is deemed heresy by the Church Court. It’s clear he uses his clothing as a means to express his personality and challenge the authority of the Church Court."

"Interesting, he seems ruthless," Cheng Ziang stated, then suddenly remembered something and turned back to ask him, "Have you been to the Ancient States?"

"Of course, several times." Yalunte sighed deeply when he brought up this topic, "It’s true what they say, the officials only move their lips while the mercenaries run their legs ragged."

He was referring to the duties assigned by Headquarters. They required him to shuttle back and forth to the Ancient States multiple times. That was a very long journey, crossing nearly the whole continent to reach. Whilst the sea route might have been quicker, the Leviathan in the ocean was not to be taken lightly.

"I see." Cheng Ziang nodded, his face lighting up with a strange smile.

"What are you smiling about?" Yalunte looked at his smiling face, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"Nothing much. It just reminded me of when we’d just arrived here. Whenever someone asked about our identities, we would always say we were Southerners, but not one was able to identify us." Cheng Ziang spoke, shaking his head.

"Hehe," even though it wasn’t a joke, Yalunte couldn’t help but chuckle.

"These people are all conservative and stubborn. It’s actually the mixed-breeds who like visiting the Ancient States the most, especially the half-elves." Yalunte explained.

"Why is that?" Cheng Ziang inquired.

"Because the Ancient States don’t discriminate against mix-bloods or half-elves, making it a holy land for half-elves. There are many half-elves in the Ancient States - one out of every ten locals is one." Yalunte elaborated.

"Really now," Cheng Ziang nodded, suddenly remembering something then asked, "Have you ever been to Ilanadale? It’s near the Ancient States?"

"I’ve been to the border, but didn’t go in. It’s full of deep forests and the locals aren’t hospitable." Yalunte shrugged as he said this, then looked at Cheng Ziang, unable to resist asking, "Why do you ask?"

"Luo’er’s home lies in Ilanadale. His mother should be waiting for him there now." Cheng Ziang stated.

"Ah, that little elf," Yalunte paused, then began to speak, "his mother must have abandoned him which is why she can wait for him in Ilanadale."

"How do you know?" Cheng Ziang questioned.

"If his mother brought him back into Ilanadale, she would most certainly be driven out. Ilanadale isn’t welcome to half-elves. She could only return to Ilanadale if she gave up her own child," Yalunte explained. As he spoke, he couldn’t help but sigh, "And because of that, many elves have never been able to return to their hometown Ilanadale after leaving. Even if they lived by the border, they could never step foot into Ilanadale as long as they had a half-elf child."

"Sigh, all for their child..." Cheng Ziang too sighed. He seemed to remember something and then explained, "Luo’er’s mother didn’t want him to be bullied in the Otherworld, so she handed him over to his father. On Earth, half-elves don’t face discrimination."

"I know. If that kid were in this world, he would certainly suffer. His mother’s decision was the right one." Yalunte affirmed with a small nod.

"It seems we’ve gone off-topic, we were discussing this guy right before us." Cheng Ziang said, coming back to his senses.

"He’s right there, he won’t run off." Yalunte pointed to the bearded man in the distance.

"Can you gauge his magic level?" Cheng Ziang asked.

"Not unless he casts a spell, my magic power sensing is quite impressive though." Yalunte honestly replied.

"Aren’t you worldly and experienced?" Cheng Ziang rolled his eyes in disappointment.

"I only get along with the academy types, I’m not familiar with these self-taught folk magicians." Yalunte responded.

"What if we come a bit closer, inquire about his background," Cheng Ziang said, his brow furrowing as he stared at the bearded man, "I have a hunch this guy is a big fish!"

"You go ahead, I’ll wait here." Yalunte glanced around and then said to him.

"What, are you afraid of him?" Cheng Ziang asked, somewhat surprised.

"Sort of," Yalunte shrugged, then said, "Don’t forget my title is the number one swordsman on the continent, I think there should be quite a few people who recognize me. If that guy happens to recognize me, I’m in trouble."

"Alright then," Cheng Ziang looked at him and then said, "I’ll go by myself, you should figure out a way to disguise your face, preferably with a mask, you don’t want to be recognized."

Regarding the selection of the reconnaissance team, Luo’er made a medium to big mistake. There are too many people and too many eyes in Lipei City, ensuring no one recognized Yalunte would be difficult. If he were to be recognized, the reconnaissance team would be in danger.

"Go ahead, I’ll wait for you here. Be safe, don’t expose yourself, son!" Yalunte emphasized the last two words and gave a slight smile.

Upon hearing these two words, Cheng Ziang was taken aback, gave him a glare and walked away without retorting, heading towards the bearded man.

As he drew closer to the crowd, he heard the various chatter amongst the people. He noticed, be it the mages or officers; everyone spoke respectfully to the bearded man.

"Mr. Fu’en, how long do you think we will need to open this door?" An officer from Odelanqi respectfully asked.

"Don’t be in such a hurry. We are currently locating the coordinate runes. Once we find them, opening it will be a simple matter." The bearded man, known as Fu’en, confidently replied.

"But our troops have been waiting for a long time, and Masya’s troops have already joined ours. If we don’t find a way to open it, the Church Court might spot us," the officer said worryingly.

"Don’t worry, the Church Court can barely save themselves right now. They have killed hundreds of thousands of Earth people, and now the entire Earth is ready to retaliate. They are having a hard time handling Yazhi City alone, how can they possibly notice Lipei?" Fu’en said, still unperturbed, making it seem like everything was going according to his plan.

"But I’ve heard that someone from the Church Court was approaching here recently." The officer’s worries didn’t cease.

"I have already sent someone to deal with that person, you have no need to worry." Fu’en said, dismissing it with a wave of his hand.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Ziang froze for a moment, immediately thinking of Shariya. If he wasn’t wrong, this Fu’en was referring to none other than Shariya as the person in the Church Court who he had sent someone after.

At this thought, he involuntarily stepped back, hiding behind the crowd. He was still wearing the clothes of the mages; if Fu’en recognized him, there would be serious trouble.

His backward movement caught the attention of a mage, who asked with curiosity, "What are you doing?"

"I’m sorry, I’ve taken a wrong turn," Cheng Ziang apologized. He glanced at Fu’en in the distance then couldn’t help but ask, "Excuse me, is that gentleman a high-ranking official of Odelanqi?"

"You don’t even recognize him," the mage frowned at him and then explained, "He’s the strongest summoner on the entire continent, Mr. Fu’en Frok!"

The mage looked quite pleased as he introduced Fu’en, as if he was introducing himself.

"Summoner?" Cheng Ziang mumbled this somewhat unfamiliar term. He pondered hard for a moment, then dredged up an explanation from an old textbook.

The Summoners were a branch of mages, which was once powerful. But ever since the Church Court banned summoning magic, summoners had become a thing of the past. They either changed professions or became rogue folk mages not under the Church Court’s control. Due to the Church Court’s prohibition, many summoning magic were lost.