Chapter 81

"Yes, Lord Gervas, I was already at a bottleneck before, but after these days of brewing Dino Body-Refining Elixir, the sensation has grown even stronger—yet..."

"Yet, although the feeling is intense, a thin mist still obscures it, preventing me from truly breaking through!"

Previously, I asked my mentor about it; though he didn’t answer directly, he seemed to imply that transitioning from an apprentice to a wizard requires a catalyst.

"With this catalyst, breakthrough may come instantly—but without it, it might take months, even years, of insight!"

Isabella answered honestly, though she was also deeply anxious inside.

If she could break through sooner, not only would she grow faster, but she could also make greater contributions to Lord Gervas.

Gervas understood clearly, "Isabella, are you free now?"

"I am free, Lord Gervas!"

"Good. Come with me then."

Soon after, Gervas rode away from the castle with Isabella, who wore a look of confusion.

No knights accompanied them—just the two of them.

Isabella, having long traveled with her mentor, was as skilled on horseback as Gervas.

The two quickly reached the shores of Tianehu.

It was already evening; the rainbow-winged swans, out foraging, were returning in succession.

Their rainbow-like wings shimmered beautifully under the sunlight.

"Rainbow-winged swans! Lord Gervas, your domain has rainbow-winged swans!" Isabella was surprised—she knew their value well.

"Correct. A spiritual spring flows within Tianehu, which is why the rainbow-winged swans chose to make their home here. Come, we’ll proceed on foot from here."

They followed the stream upstream along Tianehu.

As the surrounding weeds and trees grew denser, Isabella grew increasingly puzzled.

Why has Lord Gervas brought me here?

Could it be...

No, Lord Gervas is such a good man—he could never be a villain.

Isabella immediately dismissed the fleeting thought.

Even one extra second of such a thought made her feel guilty.

Gervas had no idea that in the witch’s mind behind him, he had become the sun itself—a paragon of righteousness.

He had originally worried Isabella might feel uneasy due to the solitude of the place.

But after glancing back several times and seeing her eyes bright and her expression calm, he felt considerably reassured.

It spared him the need to explain further.

"We’re here!"

They had finally reached the waterfall from before; Gervas immediately pulled aside the vines concealing the cave entrance.

To Isabella’s astonishment, he said, "Isabella, this was the former laboratory of Wizard Nodi—the alchemy journal was found right here!"

He then led Isabella inside the stone house.

Though the stone house was empty, containing only a few crystal vessels, Isabella still approached curiously to examine them closely.

Gervas ignored her, focusing instead on tapping and probing the ground near the wall.

After a moment, he heard a different echo beneath a stone slab in the corner.

With a light flick of his dagger, the slab lifted easily, revealing an iron box.

Inside the box lay Nodi’s cultivation journal.

And it wasn’t just one volume—it was three.

Each recorded Nodi’s insights from his stages as a magic apprentice, junior wizard, and intermediate wizard.

"My lord, these are Wizard Nodi’s cultivation insights—extremely precious, as they also contain numerous elixir formulas and wizard spells!"

Isabella glanced briefly, then reverently returned the journals to Gervas.

"Isabella, you don’t need to give them back to me. I brought you here specifically to give them to you."

"Your mentor never told you, but that veil of mist is easy to dispel."

"Either through direct guidance from a true wizard, or by studying the journals of other formal wizards!"

"Lord Gervas..." Isabella froze, her body trembling slightly, her eyes glistening red as she looked at him.

Having lost her parents early and suffered betrayal from her beloved mentor, Isabella’s soul had been deeply wounded.

Had it not been for her unyielding desire to find her mother, she might have lost the will to live.

Yet this nobleman, within just a few days, had given her affection she had believed she would never feel again.

For the first time, her shattered heart felt a warmth.

"Isabella, don’t live in the past. Everything will become better."

"I said it before: no one in Stormhold will ever bully you again. And when you grow strong enough, even if you leave Stormhold, you won’t need to fear others’ cruelty."

"Thank you, my lord!"

A thousand words condensed into a single thanks.

Isabella would forever remember this debt.

That night.

"Depart!"

Gervas gave the order, and with his knights and the Magic Swift-Eagle squad, they slipped out of the castle into darkness.

Their destination, of course, was the Scorpion Bandits’ stronghold.

The Scorpion Bandits’ base had always been public, located on a ridge in the Chaos Wastelands.

Yet despite their countless crimes, they had never been eradicated.

Previously, Gervas assumed it was due to their combat strength and the treacherous terrain.

Now he saw it also stemmed from certain nobles within the kingdom who didn’t want them destroyed.

After over three hours of travel, Gervas halted the party.

The Magic Swift-Eagles had returned with reconnaissance: the Scorpion Bandits’ lair lay ten li ahead.

He ordered the knights to stop, then mounted Zuiyue and soared into the sky, joining the Magic Swift-Eagles as they headed toward the bandits’ nest.

After roughly ten minutes, Gervas and Evlan circled above the Scorpion Bandits’ stronghold.

The bandits’ position was indeed perilous—a fortress built atop a sheer cliff.

The encampment spanned over ten mu, easily accommodating three to five hundred people long-term, surrounded by cliffs dropping a hundred meters on all sides.

Only a narrow, winding mountain path, two to three meters wide, spiraled upward from the front.

At the path’s end, the bandits had erected a six-meter-high stone wall—solid, thick, and utterly impregnable.

Without a force of one or two thousand soldiers, no one could breach it.

Of course, Gervas was here only to scout—he had preliminary ideas for an assault, but would wait for further developments.

"Stay at altitude. Do not descend without my order!"

After instructing the Magic Swift-Eagle squad, Gervas commanded Zuiyue to descend.

Compared to the loud wingbeats of the Magic Swift-Eagles, Zuiyue’s wings moved with near-silent precision.

This not only avoided alerting the bandits, but allowed Gervas to land silently atop their rooftops.