Chapter 136: Dispel Magic

Seeing that Xia Duo seemed to have discovered something, Wuke hurriedly told his subordinates to watch the Goblins, then stepped up to help Xia Duo hold the ink bottle, following him as he moved back and forth in the clearing.

As for Xia Duo, after recording the cause of the Magic Net anomaly here (an anomaly disguised as a normal anomaly), he found that apart from this Disguise Magic, he could not understand the other spells at all.

Because the interference of these spells with the Magic Net went deeper than what Xia Duo could observe; in other words, besides a 1st Circle Disguise Magic, there was at least one other mysterious spell of at least the 2nd Circle here.

And these mysterious spells might be the direct reason for attracting the Goblins and driving them to attack the olive grove.

Xia Duo could only record the elements of these mysterious spells regarding the surface and the first layer of the Magic Net, but he could not observe or record the deeper levels.

……

Just like that, until the sunset approached the horizon, Xia Duo rubbed his brow and put away his notebook, "Finally finished recording!"

"Mage Xia Duo, what is this—" Wuke asked at this moment, "Did you discover something? Was the Goblin unrest caused by Magic?"

A series of questions made Xia Duo feel a bit overwhelmed; just now, he had to divide his attention to observe the changes in the Magic Net while maintaining his spell. Fortunately, he was using a Bloodline Ability; if he had cast that 【Steam Ray】, he would have been exhausted long ago.

"Captain Wuke, it was indeed caused by Magic. Go bring the village chief and his son; I have questions for them."

"Understood."

Wuke responded and turned to leave.

Xia Duo prepared to dispel the Disguise Magic here. Although he had never learned specific methods for Dispel Magic, based on the Principles of how Magic is produced, Xia Duo could also deduce some basic methods.

It was nothing more than the reverse operation of Spellcasting. To cast a spell, one must interfere with the Magic Net; the reverse operation is an operation that counters this trend of interference.

For example, one element of the 0 Ring 【Light】 involves overlapping a part of the Magic Net's structure; the reverse operation is to separate it and restore it to its natural state. Of course, all elements must be reversed simultaneously.

This method of Dispel Magic requires the Spellcaster to have a very deep understanding of the specific spell that needs to be dispelled.

If it is during normal times when there is no rush, that is fine; one can study it slowly. If it is during combat, it is fatal if one does not understand the spell the opponent is using.

Therefore, Xia Duo speculated that there should be another type of spell that can be used in combat to directly force the Magic Net structure to be combed and suppress Magic Net fluctuations, similar to the effect of suppressing spell instability in a Spell Laboratory.

Now, Xia Duo could only adopt the first method—dispelling the Magic through an understanding of the Spellcasting elements.

And what he understood best was the essence of the surface Magic Net. The moment this Disguise Magic, whose vast majority of Spellcasting elements were 0 Ring Elements, was dispelled, Xia Duo saw a dim, yellowish spiritual light emanating from that mysterious spell.

It spread to the surroundings, permeating a large area.

From this dim, yellowish spiritual light, Xia Duo felt a desire for food and for becoming stronger. However, Xia Duo did not care at all about this extremely crude temptation; he even inexplicably felt it was somewhat funny.

Once out of the Spellcasting state, these dim, yellowish spiritual lights disappeared, and Xia Duo did not feel that he had been affected in any way; it was likely designed specifically for Goblins.

Just as Xia Duo finished dispelling this Disguise Magic, a commotion came from not far away—

"My lord, why are you arresting our village chief? Our village chief is a good man!"

"That's right, my lord. If it weren't for Hanke from the village chief's family discovering the Orcs in advance last year, our whole village would have been killed by the Orcs!"

……

Seeming to be annoyed by the noise, Wuke patted the sword scabbard at his waist heavily and pointed at Xia Duo, who was checking his notes not far away, saying, "It is the Mage who wants to see your village chief; what else do you want to say?"

A Mage Apprentice might not have much deterrent power in town, but in the countryside, the deterrent power was immense. As soon as they heard Wuke mention that it was Xia Duo looking for the village chief, the few villagers who had followed immediately stopped talking.

But they did not leave; instead, they followed cautiously behind, their eyes meeting as if they were discussing something.

"Mage Xia Duo, the people have been brought."

Once he arrived, Wuke stood by Xia Duo's side and had his squad members separate the villagers from the village chief and Hanke. Facing this situation, the village chief was still somewhat composed, but Hanke was a bit uneasy.

He looked at Xia Duo for a moment, then at the surrounding soldiers, and finally turned his gaze toward his old father, his lips trembling, at a loss.

At first, Xia Duo did not speak, and after seeing Hanke's appearance, he was even less prepared to speak first. Instead, he stared intently at the old village chief while creating a ball of fire in his hand to exert pressure.

Already in awe of Mages, and with a guilty conscience, the moment the old man saw the fire appear in Xia Duo's hand, he plopped down on his knees, "Mage, it has nothing to do with me! I was forced too!"

"……"

Xia Duo hadn't even started questioning yet, and the old man spilled everything about accidentally discovering the mysterious person a while ago. According to the old man, he was completely passive; he had bumped into the mysterious person setting something up in the olive grove and was then threatened that he could not say anything, or else the mysterious person would kill his whole family.

Besides revealing the location where the mysterious person set up the Magic, the old man also took a small cloth bag from his bosom, held it above his head with both hands, and cried, "Mage, these are the Gold Coins the mysterious person gave me, 20 in total. I didn't dare to touch a single one! Everything I said is true!"

Xia Duo did not take the bag of Gold Coins but asked, "Then what is the situation with your son?"

At this moment, the village chief's son, Hanke, had also knelt on the ground, but he remained silent. He dared not do anything to Xia Duo or Wuke, but instead glared at his father.

"Hanke is completely unaware; it is all my fault!" Old Hank took all the blame upon himself, hoping Xia Duo would let his son go.

After hearing his father's words, Hanke no longer glared; instead, he seemed much more relaxed, and even his kneeling posture straightened a bit.

The surrounding soldiers saw this scene clearly and subconsciously placed their hands on their sword hilts. They looked at Xia Duo, hoping he would interrogate Hanke thoroughly.

However, Xia Duo did not want to watch any more family dramas. In any case, he didn't need to be the one to conduct the trial; he was only concerned about the mysterious person's setup in the olive grove.

Ignoring Old Hank's pleading gaze, he ordered directly, "Take me to the location where you met the mysterious person."

"My lord—"

But Xia Duo's attitude was firm; he did not want to, nor could he, decide the fate of the father and son. Old Hank could only rise helplessly and lead Xia Duo toward the olive grove.

……

The sky had gradually darkened. Xia Duo and Wuke's squad led Old Hank and his son, along with two Goblins, walking in the front, with a group of villagers following behind, whispering.

Old Hank's words had just spread, and the villagers had already begun to distance themselves from the matter.