Chapter 153 : Chapter 153

Chapter 153. Divination

The Northern Pass was what Antir called the entrance to a certain canyon. Once one passed through this canyon, they would arrive at the northern frontier of the continent.

The environment there was entirely different. The temperature was lower, and only a few types of plants could survive. Most of the time, one would see nothing but a vast expanse of white.

Even here, it was already quite cold, and no civilians lived in the area.

Further north lay the frigid frontier, while slightly south offered a warmer place to live. As such, people rarely chose to settle here.

Yet now, the sound of continuous hoofbeats echoed through the area. Only when the group approached the canyon entrance did the sound begin to fade.

This squad had gone a long time without proper rest. Those clad in armor looked exhausted, their bodies stiff.

But when the cold wind from the canyon swept over them, they shivered violently and snapped back to awareness.

“We’ve arrived, Captain,” one knight said, not even willing to turn his head as he stared at the canyon entrance.

Connor did not blame him. He knew that these knights had been traveling day and night alongside him. Even a first-tier professional would be utterly fatigued by now.

As for himself, being a second-tier professional, he only felt slightly tired and was otherwise unharmed.

He immediately took out the tracking insects from his pack and fed them an enhancement potion. After consuming it, the insects darted directly toward the south.

“Good. That mage hasn’t gone into the northern frontier.”

He let out a breath of relief. He had been worried that the mage had already entered the northern frontier, making their three days of pursuit meaningless.

Connor began issuing orders.

“All of you, settle the horses. No more stimulants—just give them some nutrient potions, then rest. I’ll take the first watch.”

Upon hearing that they could rest, everyone dismounted and led their horses aside.

Connor looked at the still overexcited horses and sighed. If he had not been afraid that the mage would reach the northern frontier too quickly, he would not have resorted to such measures.

After all, stimulants had side effects. They harmed the horses to a certain extent, and after three days of frantic galloping, they would need three days of rest.

At that moment, a knight in silver-white armor forced himself over despite his drowsiness and spoke:

“Captain, since we’ve already gotten ahead of that mage, should we pursue her directly after resting…?”

Connor immediately rejected the suggestion.

“That won’t do. Not to mention that the mage could arrive here at any time, but those tracking insects cannot withstand continuous high-intensity searching…”

He knew the limits of the tracking insects. If they were fed enhancement potions too frequently in a single day, they could simply die on the spot.

Moreover, Connor had no intention of chasing a target blindly across the wilderness based only on a general direction. That would be far too inefficient.

“As long as we feed them an enhancement potion once every three days, the tracking insects won’t die.”

“As long as their direction doesn’t change significantly, we stay here and wait.”

“Even if the mage takes another route, that will only slow her down further. We will definitely catch her before she enters the northern frontier.”

The silver-armored knight hesitated, but eventually spoke.

“But what if the mage didn’t take another route and just lingered somewhere along the way? Are we supposed to keep waiting here?”

His armor was already freezing cold. Although his physique allowed him to endure it, it was still uncomfortable—and prolonged exposure would eventually cause problems.

It was simply too cold here. Even two kilometers south, the temperature was no better. To block the mage, they had no choice but to camp in this region.

They were not adapted to this climate, nor had they brought sufficient cold-weather gear. Staying here would only drain their strength.

“We wait,” Connor said firmly. “Trust me. That mage from Ged Town may not know this, but I do.”

“The Northern Society is also a major organization—its threshold is even higher than that of the Skull Society, because it lies outside the standard Alliance regions.”

“Unless you know someone, it is almost impossible to join the Northern Society.”

“I understand a mage’s thirst for knowledge. Unless something even more interesting appears along the way, they will head straight to their destination at full speed.”

“Just wait. Perhaps tomorrow, those tracking insects will start reacting.”

The silver-armored knight had no way to refute what he did not understand. He could only withdraw and go rest.

---

Fulan lay on the bed in the mage reception quarters, quietly sensing the movements transmitted by Divination.

Ever since using it once, she had practiced repeatedly, raising Divination to the Mastered level.

However, when she had previously predicted the steam engine, she had not used Divination.

First, there had been nothing particularly pressing at the time—once she completed it, she could simply begin practicing spells.

Second, she had been so engrossed in building the steam engine that her focus caused her to forget about it entirely.

But now, she intended to use Divination once more.

Because she would soon encounter a second-tier enemy.

This time, it would not be in the Spirit Realm. Although she could now use Blood of the Furnace, it was better to take precautions.

She poured her mental power into the spell and began casting Divination.

The moment she started, she felt her mental power draining rapidly.

She understood why—this moment she was trying to foresee lay somewhat far in the future, leading to the heavy consumption.

After a rough estimation, she determined that the point in time was more than a month away.

Knowing this, she relaxed. There was still plenty of time to prepare.

As long as she completed the Gale Swordsman profession, she would have the strength to contend with a second-tier opponent.

Of course, if she wanted to defeat them, she would still need to use Blood of the Furnace.

A peculiar sensation arose, and a blurred image began to form before her eyes. She knew the spell had succeeded.

The scene of the canyon reappeared before her, but this time, it was no longer a mere standoff.

She saw herself gripping a longsword. Her robe was torn in many places, exposing her arm, which was covered in magically formed scale-like rock.

She felt that she had expended some energy, but her overall condition was still stable.

Around her lay severed limbs and broken bodies. Fragments of armor and shattered swords littered the ground.

Flames, frost, and erupting animated earth elements filled the battlefield. Even through the vision, she could feel the intense fluctuations of magic.

And across from her, only one person remained standing.

He wore black armor. The wolf-head ornament on his shoulder had already disappeared, and a massive gap had opened in the center of his armor, exposing a gruesome wound beneath.

At that moment, he spoke.

“Mage, it seems this was your final trump card. Now, it’s my turn.”

The runes on Fulan’s longsword had dimmed. Clearly, what he referred to as her “final trump card” was that very weapon.

In the vision, Fulan spoke, her voice cold and clear.

“You could have taken that token and let me go. Do you regret it now?”

The man did not respond directly. Instead, he drew another sword from his back and pointed it at her.

“Enough, mage. I will send you down to join them.”

The vision ended there.

Fulan’s sight returned to the ceiling of the mage reception quarters.