Chapter 292: Slippery Hands

The problem has arisen.

What does Forrest Diomand want to catch with this bait?

Is it really as Ragnar Walters said, luring the Michelle Great Sage Tower into the fray?

Given Fletcher Domingo's understanding of Forrest Diomand, he might have this intention, but it doesn't seem to be the main one.

Just as the one who knows you best is your enemy.

Those who cannot obtain what they seek will also rack their brains to investigate and understand everything about the person or thing they desire.

When Fletcher Domingo was young, he wanted to get close to Forrest Diomand but was harshly rejected, so he has always kept an eye on collecting Forrest's deeds, analyzing his character and conduct.

Even he himself knows that such a mindset and practice are not good.

It seems somewhat perverted.

But he just can't suppress the urge to know Forrest's latest news!

Over time, it became a habit.

However, this also has an unexpected gain: Fletcher Domingo can claim that he might be one of the few who understand Forrest Diomand best.

Therefore, Fletcher can conclude that Forrest throwing out such a huge bait is certainly not merely to lure the Michelle Great Sage Tower into the fray—so simple!

(Michelle Great Sage Tower: I thank you for your attention!)

Speaking of which, as the top power in Michelle District, the Michelle Great Sage Tower should rightfully be the arbiter.

Personally stepping down to contend with the area's several top wizard organizations, or other large, medium, and small wizard organizations, for interests would not only look unseemly but also cause the loss of its transcendent status.

Once this "skin" is stripped bare and it suffers a powerful blow, the Michelle Great Sage Tower's position could very well be shaken, even overthrown.

Fletcher Domingo does not believe that such a great Michelle Great Sage Tower would have no one seeing this point.

Therefore, the Michelle Great Sage Tower should ideally respond with stillness to motion, ignoring this bait.

"If there truly is a Saint's Inheritance, then Forrest must be using it as bait."

Thus, Fletcher said, "You surely also have someone who can see this point, so why still bite down on it?"

Ragnar Walters fell silent for a moment, then sighed helplessly: "That is the Saint's school inheritance! The Saint!"

This sigh contained many emotions within, wanting to speak but holding back.

Upon hearing this, Fletcher suddenly thought of something.

Although Michelle Great Sage only became a Level 9 Great Sage two hundred years after establishing Michelle District,

he had already been a Level 8 Great Sage before the apocalyptic war with the God World and even participated in that war.

In other words, the current Michelle Level 9 Great Sage must now face a problem that high-level wizards of the Wizard World must confront—the natural lifespan limit!

As humans are not innately supernatural beings, there is such a thing as natural lifespan.

If one never enters the supernatural in a lifetime, not even achieving the early failed experiments of the Body Refining Wizard school—the knight system—living over a hundred years is already considered long-lived.

The natural lifespan limit of an Official Wizard is around five hundred years;

that of a Sage-level Wizard is between one thousand five hundred and two thousand years;

that of a Great Sage-level Wizard is between three thousand and five thousand years.

Those with short lives desire long life; those with long life desire immortality—this is human nature.

In the Wizard World, unless encountering accidental demise or extinction, only the Saints have truly achieved immortality.

Level 9 Great Sages can of course think of ways to extend their own lifespan.

But each extension results in being assimilated once by the Wizard World Will.

The painstakingly preserved humanity would then lose a part.

After many times, humanity is completely gone—how different is that from the deities of the God World?

They are all executors of Rule Power, or more bluntly, puppets of the rules!

Rumor has it that Michelle Level 9 Great Sage has already extended his lifespan once.

Therefore, when facing the natural lifespan limit issue again, the Michelle Level 9 Great Sage has only two paths before him:

One is to continue extending lifespan at the cost of losing part of humanity; the other is to find a way to break through, ascend to Saint, and achieve immortality.

Who would choose the rough, winding path when the broad, smooth road is available?

The inheritance of the Nostradamus Saint school has now appeared in the world; although the Michelle Great Sage Tower knows entering the fray is improper, it must still enter.

Because Michelle Level 9 Great Sage cannot ascend to Saint as an Elementalist Wizard.

Otherwise, is he preparing to kill the current Elementalist Saint and take his place?

Michelle Great Sage wants to ascend; either he creates his own school and walks the path to the top himself, or he inherits the positions of the four fallen Saints.

The transmission of the fallen Mysterious System Nostradamus Saint has now appeared in the world, fitting the timing perfectly.

Forrest is fishing with a straight hook, employing an open scheme.

The Michelle Great Sage Tower has no choice but to bite the hook.

Having figured this out, Fletcher Domingo reviewed his own straightforward conduct and, for who knows how many times, lamented, no wonder Forrest has always looked down on him.

His heart is still not dirty enough!

Fletcher narrowed his eyes, shifted the topic, and asked: "Stop the idle chatter, you've come to find me—what's the matter?"

But after figuring out the whole story, Fletcher couldn't be bothered with those sordid scheming matters and just wanted to quickly dispatch Ragnar Walters.

As for which organization will ultimately seize the Saint's inheritance, Fletcher doesn't care.

After all, as a Body Refining Wizard, he cannot switch to Mystic Wizard no matter what.

Who cares whether it's a Saint or not, inheritance or not.

Ragnar Walters smiled: "I want to make an agreement with you."

"What agreement?"

"I won't move against you, and you won't move against me."

"Okay."

Fletcher agreed immediately.

As mentioned earlier, Fletcher had fought side by side with Ragnar and was very familiar with Ragnar's strength.

If they fought to the death, it would be normal to fight for several years.

If it were a life-or-death battle, they would at least have to fight for ten days to half a month.

By the time the outcome or life and death were decided, it would be too late for anything.

However, the two Level 5 Sages sent by the Flame and Metal Trading Company and the White Tower Alliance were not taken seriously by Fletcher.

Even among Sages, there are differences.

Some Sages are always in a state of conquest, while others indulge in ease, or attend to family development, staying in the rear.

Even if their levels are the same, their combat strength will naturally differ.

Quite coincidentally, or perhaps fittingly, the two Level 5 Sages sent by the Flame and Metal Trading Company and the White Tower Alliance are exactly the latter kind.

In the eyes of Fletcher and Ragnar, who had just returned from the frontline battlefield, they were not even worth mentioning—like chickens and dogs.

"One word, set?"

This matter is of great importance; Ragnar Walters needs a definite commitment.

"One word, set?"

Fletcher solemnly gave a definite commitment.

Regardless of how the Riverside Academy and the Michel Great Sage Tower contend with each other, these Sages who are active on the frontline battlefield against the God World still share a mutual understanding.

Battlefield conditions change instantly; no one knows when they might need the other's support.

Therefore, these Sages regard commitments as extremely important.

Once a commitment is made, they never regret it.

"Thank you."

Ragnar Walters took a half-step back, his entire body merging completely into the void, disappearing without a trace.

Fletcher Domingo did the same, concealing his form, yet continuously monitoring the hiding places of the two Level 5 Sages from the Flame and Metal Trading Company and the White Tower Alliance.

He wanted to see how Ragnar, who had once assassinated several demigods, would deal with them.

In the cockpit of the Lark-class Interstellar Warship.

Lin Ke, through Flandre's vision, carefully observed the warship dispatched by the Michel Great Sage Tower for a while, and his brows involuntarily furrowed tightly.

That warship actually barged into the "pocket" with an extremely arrogant posture.

At the same time, it continuously broadcasted to the surrounding star fields.

Through Flandre's relay, Lin Ke clearly heard the broadcast content.

"Michel Great Sage Tower on duty, idlers begone!"

"Repeat."

"Michel Great Sage Tower on duty, idlers begone!"

"..."

This broadcast content, combined with the warship's arrogant intrusion into the pocket, is extremely fitting.

It blatantly displays a domineering style of overpowering others, clearing the field immediately upon arrival.

"Flandre, check if those two warships have any movement."

"Yes, sir."

Shortly after, in Flandre's shared vision, the main ship of the Flame and Metal Trading Company that Lin Ke had once stabbed in the buttocks appeared.

It was seen that this main ship actually turned and retreated without hesitation, and at an extremely high speed.

It seemed as if it had truly been frightened by the name of the Michel Great Sage Tower.

Even the ambush mission was neglected, and it fled in disgrace.

"Sir, should we pursue it and continue monitoring it?"

Flandre asked.

"Monitor."

Lin Ke thought for a moment and gave a reply.

He did not believe that the Michel Great Sage Tower's warship was merely a verbal threat, causing the Flame and Metal Trading Company's forces to simply give up.

There must be some deception.

As for the White Tower Alliance's warship, Flandre's clone is insufficient, and Cornelia is not yet useful, so for now, it is left unattended.

Dividing his attention three ways, Lin Ke maintained contact with Flandre, checked the group assignments, and pondered how to respond to the sudden intrusion of the Michel Great Sage Tower's forces.

Just as he was thinking, the self-selected group assignments results came out.

Lin Ke focused his gaze and discovered that all Level 1 Wizards had chosen the bait group, and all Level 2 Wizards had chosen the main attack group.

Looking at this, the 11 team members all had self-awareness, clearly knowing their strength and the most suitable positioning.

This is truly worthy of being the elite selected by the Academy to carry out this mission.

"There is a new situation that needs to be reported to everyone."

Without just accepting or rejecting the self-selected group assignments, Lin Ke said in a deep voice, "The Michel Great Sage Tower has also dispatched a team to participate in this Saint's Inheritance seizure. Their warship is extremely arrogant, currently broadcasting threats, and clearing the field in a domineering manner."

"Michel Great Sage Tower?"

"How did they also get involved?"

"Exactly, according to the Supreme Council's regulations, whether it's our academy or other organizations, we all pay tribute to the Michel Great Sage Tower every year. How dare they show up?"

"Is saying this useful? They've already shown up—what can you do? Let's discuss how to respond instead."

"Are we not going to execute the plan we just set?"

I actually think we should stick to the original plan, just tweak it a bit—no matter what bait team or assault team, they should all be in one group.

Lin Ke sparked discussion among the team members, yet he didn't truly listen, instead focusing intently on studying the star chart he had pulled up.

Lanny. Tai Le noticed this, pondered for a moment, then walked to the captain's seat and whispered: "Captain, you already have a countermeasure, right?"

This voice was low, but the other ten team members engaged in heated discussion heard it crystal clear.

They didn't stop discussing either.

Instead, they kept muttering meaningless nonsense while letting the ever-running camera in the cockpit record it, all the while cocking their ears to hear how Lin Ke would answer Lanny. Tai Le's question.

Lin Ke was fully aware of this, and replied softly:

"Similar to the previous plan, we still need to split into two groups.

Only now, we should divide evenly, rather than having a bait-and-assault dynamic.

One group stays in the meteorite belt, waiting for the right moment; the other pilots the warship along this route to bypass, intercept the Shadow City Otherworld Reclamation Team, explain the situation, and reach a cooperation."

As he spoke, Lin Ke drew a winding route on the star chart that perfectly avoided the maximum detection ranges of the Flame and Metal Trading Company, White Tower Alliance, and Michelle Great Sage Tower—without wasting too much time detouring.

The Lark-class Interstellar Warship's performance can be maximized, allowing us to slip past right under the noses of three warships along this route.

The eleven team members watched Lin Ke's casually projected route on the large main screen and couldn't help but marvel at the meticulousness of his thinking and the strength of his computational power.

Lin Ke said, "Multi-threaded Thinking" is truly useful.

"Why still split into groups?"

Lanny. Tai Le suppressed her astonishment and asked doubtfully, "At this moment, shouldn't we be concentrating our forces instead?"

Lin Ke explained: "He does his thing, I do mine. Even though Michelle Great Sage Tower is interfering, we must not throw our own formation into chaos."

"I see."

Lanny. Tai Le nodded thoughtfully.

The other ten team members, upon hearing this, had varied thoughts.

Since this mission had been thrown off rhythm from the start by Lin Ke, no one was thinking of following the academy's mission details to "snipe" the Shadow City Otherworld Reclamation Team.

Instead, they were thinking of negotiating and cooperating to peacefully take a share from the Shadow City Otherworld Reclamation Team.

This was indeed feasible.

So let's just go along with Team Leader Linke Grande's "trouble" for a while.

Worst case, the mission fails.

Anyway, the main responsibility falls on Team Leader Linke Grande, who devised this plan.

Lin Ke had already, based on the self-selected group assignments, redone the grouping.

Level 1 and Level 2 Wizards were mixed and evenly split into two groups; excluding Lin Ke, this supermodel existence, the two groups' combat strength is roughly equal.

"I decide that Lanny. Tai Le will serve as Group Leader of Group One, leading five members, piloting the interstellar warship according to plan. I myself will serve as Group Leader of Group Two, leading five members, lying in wait in the meteorite belt, acting at the opportune moment."

Displaying the new group assignments on the large main screen, Lin Ke announced his decision.

The eleven team members, including Lanny. Tai Le, looked at the grouping and felt no surprise.

Especially Lanny. Tai Le being appointed Group Leader of Group One.

Everyone is perceptive—how could they not notice Lanny has been consistently supporting Lin Ke?

"Time waits for no one—act now."

After saying this, Lin Ke granted command of the warship to Lanny. Tai Le, then rose from the captain's seat and led the way out of the cockpit.

The five members of Group Two selected by Lin Ke immediately followed.

Six shuttles detached from the interstellar warship, heading toward the concealed meteorite belt location Lin Ke arranged, scattering to lie in wait.

To avoid detection, Group Two will maintain silence throughout.

Not to mention sending out reconnaissance witchcraft tools—even communication between each other cannot proceed.

Until Lin Ke, based on the latest situation, issues action orders.

Only then will the five members of Group Two break silence and act according to instructions.

The Lark-class Interstellar Warship, under Lanny. Tai Le's team's control, will follow Lin Ke's planned route and stealthily advance toward the Shadow City Otherworld Reclamation Team.

Although the route was brilliantly planned and theoretically able to evade detection by three warships, Lanny. Tai Le dares not be careless.

Only after passing through the area most likely to be detected does she finally relax.

On the other side, after arranging the concealment points for the five members, Lin Ke did not linger longer in the meteorite belt.

He once again detached from the team, acting alone, to close in for reconnaissance.

"Sir, sir."

Flandre's voice rang out in time: "They've taken a big detour, preparing to loop around to the rear of Michelle Great Sage Tower's team."

"Hmm."

At this moment, Lin Ke was hidden, moving toward the previous hiding position of the White Tower Alliance team's warship, and mentally instructed: "Flandre, you return, go monitor Michelle Great Sage Tower's team."

"Yes, sir."

Flandre sweetly agreed, immediately entered the Real Small World, then appeared beside Lin Ke, and vanished in the blink of an eye.

The wind elf, in space, still comes and goes freely.

The "solar" wind is also wind, after all.

By the time Lin Ke finally found the White Tower Alliance team's warship, which had also shifted position, Flandre had already set up surveillance on Michelle Great Sage Tower's team.

Perhaps knowing their broadcast threat could only drive off, not completely dispel other organizations eyeing the Saint's Inheritance, Michelle Great Sage Tower's warship has now ceased this arrogant behavior.

Instead, it has become even more arrogant—swaggering openly, unashamedly lingering on the essential return route of the Shadow City Otherworld Reclamation Team.

Unlike Rivors Academy, Flame and Metal Trading Company, and White Tower Alliance, which engage in ambushes and sneak attacks,

they simply want to come hard—frontal assault, head-on confrontation.

Watching this scene, Lin Ke instinctively felt he could take advantage of it, but in the end he still suppressed the idea of joining forces with the Flame and Metal Trading Company and the White Tower Alliance to pull a heist on them.

There was no need to force himself forward.

If the teams from the Flame and Metal Trading Company and the White Tower Alliance intended to deal with the Michel Great Sage Tower team, they would act on their own without Lin Ke taking the lead.

If they had no such intention, Lin Ke taking the lead would only expose his presence and serve no purpose.

Inside the warship of the Flame and Metal Trading Company team.

Wizard Vina stared angrily at the image displayed on the main screen, wishing she could immediately launch an attack on the warship of the Michel Great Sage Tower.

Having just been remotely controlled by the company headquarters, the warship fired not a single shot before fleeing in disgrace—this experience was truly infuriating and suffocating!

When has Vina, since her birth, ever suffered such humiliation?

Inside the warship of the White Tower Alliance team.

Scholar Silvano, who had switched to another warship, looked at the main screen showing the Flame and Metal Trading Company warship displaying a tendency to attack, and couldn't help but shake his head, letting out a sigh: "Vina, Vina, you still don't think things through, do you?"

Although the alliance between the Flame and Metal Trading Company and the White Tower Alliance had been slightly stirred up by Forrester, it was not so easily broken.

This time, the two organizations advanced and retreated together, acting in coordination.

Therefore, when Lin Ke first discovered the two teams, their warships were positioned at 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock respectively, perfectly placed to launch a pincer attack from two directions.

Waiting for the Michel Great Sage Tower team to barge in, broadcast threats, and arrogantly clear the field.

Scholar Silvano voluntarily chose to retreat and informed Vina, asking her to maintain consistency.

As a result, Vina's anger flared up, and she actually thought of not retreating a single step, even wanting to clash head-on with the Michel Great Sage Tower team.

This provoked the Flame and Metal Trading Company headquarters to intervene, remotely controlling the warship to perform evasive maneuvers.

"Hmph!"

Upon hearing Scholar Silvano's mocking tone, Vina let out a cold snort in reply: "I only know that, according to the regulations of the Supreme Council, their team size is not much different from ours. Two against one, we are sure to win!"

"And then?"

Silvano calmly countered.

"What 'and then'?"

Vina, slightly puzzled, said: "Then we just win—what else is there?"

"Tsk tsk..."

Silvano sighed: "Are you genuinely stupid or just pretending?"

Vina gave no response, falling silent.

Silvano then said to himself:

"We've scattered so many reconnaissance witchcraft tools, and each warship's reconnaissance system is already at maximum, yet we detected no teams from Mesopotamia University or Riverside Academy—isn't that strange?

Mesopotamia University has fully shut down and dispatched no teams, which is understandable.

But would Riverside Academy really not send any teams?

That's simply impossible to imagine.

As you said, according to the Supreme Council's regulations, all organizations dispatching teams to seize the inheritance should have roughly equal strength.

So, under what circumstances would we fail to detect Riverside Academy's team?"

Saying this, Silvano brought up the star map of this star field, marked several positions, one of which was precisely that meteorite belt:

"Only if they are hiding in these several relatively distant, hard-to-detect, easy-to-conceal locations would we have failed to detect them just now."

Vina looked at the points Silvano had marked and asked doubtfully: "Since you already have suspicions, why not dispatch more reconnaissance witchcraft tools to these areas?"

Silvano smiled and countered: "Even if we found them, what then? What would be the point?"

Vina was left speechless by this question.

She took a deep breath, still unable to suppress her anger, and gritted her teeth: "Stop pretending to be profound—speak plainly."

Silvano collected his smile and spoke seriously: "Because from the very beginning, I never intended to join the fight for the Saint's Inheritance."

"Why? What about the mission?"

Vina asked, confused.

Silvano shook his head, the corner of his mouth twitching with a mocking smile:

"Because the waters here are too deep—if you and I get involved, we'll easily drown.

How easy could it possibly be to seize the inheritance of a Mysterious System Saint?

Even if we got our hands on it, what benefit could we possibly gain?

Dare you take it?

I don't dare!"

(End of Chapter)