Chapter 2689: Chapter 2690: Matchman

To say it’s a wooden figure is actually not quite right. Because it only has limbs resembling bamboo sticks, with no distinct head or neck.

It looks more like a large matchstick man made up of five sticks.

One stick is the body, while the other four sticks are the limbs.

Setting aside the peculiar appearance of this "matchstick man," its reaction alone left Angel somewhat puzzled.

When he turned around and suddenly saw a matchstick man nearby, it should have been him who was startled. So why was it now the matchstick man’s limbs trembling in fear?

Yes, at this moment, the limbs of the matchstick man, or rather its four sticks, turned from rigid to limp. It appeared like the shape of a large letter "X" suspended in mid-air, with limbs rippling like waves in a state of excessive fright.

The "startled" matchstick man began moving its wave-like arms in small circular motions.

A series of quivering "ah" sounds erupted in the air, starting at a high pitch and then gradually descending...

Finally, as the matchstick man vanished from view, the sound also disappeared without a trace.

Staring at the now empty space before him, Angel’s thoughts were still struggling to catch up.

When did it appear?

And, when did it leave? How did it leave? Why did he feel nothing, as if it had appeared and vanished out of thin air?

And most importantly: Who is it?

It had clearly appeared and followed behind him, yet he was completely unaware of its presence.

If he hadn’t seen it running before his eyes, Angel might have thought it was a brilliant illusion technique.

Now, confirming that it truly existed, only with an incredibly strong concealed presence, its identity seemed somewhat apparent.

"Is it a Wood Spirit?" Angel turned his head to look in the direction of the Wise Sovereign.

The Wise Sovereign was still in a daze at this moment. Or rather, everyone watching the "live broadcast," as well as the other onlooker, Kaier, seemed frozen in place as if immobilized.

Although initially only the Wise Sovereign and Kaier saw the Wood Spirit, after Kaier recounted through the Mind Ribbon, and Angel witnessed the matchstick man, the Illusionary Realm updated, and everyone saw the scene just now.

After a long while, the Wise Sovereign finally snapped out of it: "It, you... how did you call it out?"

"I didn’t do anything." Angel looked innocent: "Is it really a Wood Spirit?"

The Wise Sovereign paused briefly before nodding: "Yes."

He actually believed that Angel hadn’t done anything because he could observe Angel’s actions directly through the Magical Energy Array. Indeed, Angel did nothing but utter some seemingly profound sentiments.

And these sentiments, in the ears of the Wise Sovereign, aside from being pleasant, were utterly worthless.

Yet paradoxically, the Wood Spirit actually appeared, reluctantly following Angel attentively for a long stretch of the road.

You see, even when the Wise Sovereign came to the Hanging Jail Stairway to find the Wood Spirit, it wouldn’t willingly follow the Wise Sovereign. One reason was its timidity, and the other was its fear that once it left its "comfort zone," the Wise Sovereign might forcefully take it out of the Hanging Jail Stairway.

What the Wise Sovereign couldn’t achieve, Angel did. Moreover, the Wood Spirit even stepped out of its comfort zone on its own to follow Angel.

If Angel hadn’t turned back then, perhaps the Wood Spirit would have followed him all the way out of the Hanging Jail Stairway.

This was simply unimaginable to the Wise Sovereign.

This time, when setting the so-called "bonus condition," the Wise Sovereign never expected this group to accomplish it. In his view, there was a 99% chance they wouldn’t find the Wood Spirit; even if they found it, the possibility of taking it was extremely slim, less than one percent.

But now things have taken an unexpected turn.

Not only did they really find the Wood Spirit, they even almost managed to take it out.

How did they do it? Was it really just with words? But those words were not all that moving; frankly, some trickster’s rhetoric would be more compelling than those remarks.

Or is it... have I been too detached from reality? Perhaps the Wood Spirit truly responds to this, preferring these crafty words over elegant praises?

But thinking about it carefully, something still seems off. Because over these years, I haven’t taught the Wood Spirit much about transcendent knowledge, but rather a lot about understanding the world.

This understanding leans more toward the reflective. The Wise Sovereign provided the Wood Spirit with numerous books, the vast majority being mortal literature.

To nurture an understanding of the world, it cannot look at just one facet—instead, every angle should be considered. Therefore, the Wise Sovereign, when selecting books, never did much screening; inevitably, these books ranged from the elegant and noble to the crude and base.

From this, it was evident that the Wise Sovereign genuinely intended to cultivate the Wood Spirit as a successor. Not imparting direct conclusions but encouraging thought for the Wood Spirit to form its evaluations and engage in dialectic with him.

Many understandings only become clearer with debate.

In the process of dialectical engagement, the Wise Sovereign naturally learned about the Wood Spirit’s reading preferences.

Among these books, there were many resembling spiritual quotations. However, the Wood Spirit showed no interest in them. What intrigued the Wood Spirit were topics centered around "nobility," whether it be the etiquette of aristocrats, power struggles, or even the romantic tales of noble ladies, these were of the Wood Spirit’s interest.

Thus, it seemed the Wood Spirit’s fondness for refined and cultured topics overshadowed the common and popular.

How could a Wood Spirit like that be moved by just a few words from Angel?

The Wise Sovereign truly couldn’t fathom this—or perhaps, Angel did something secretly? Did he threaten the Wood Spirit?

However, when Angel turned around, the Wood Spirit was scared into running wildly. The Wise Sovereign, well-acquainted with the Wood Spirit, understood this to be its instinctual response, showing no sign of threat.

It seemed more like the Wood Spirit actively decided to follow Angel, only to be unexpectedly frightened.

"Did you do something secretly?" The Wise Sovereign still doubted Angel did nothing.

Angel responded dumbfoundedly, "What could I have done? Clearly, I’m the one who was startled, so how could I have done something?"

Wise Sovereign: "Since you didn’t do anything, how did you know the Wood Spirit was hiding here?"

"I thought the bonus condition was just to find the Wood Spirit and bring it out, with the process and method being irrelevant." Angel remarked, "I didn’t realize the method for finding the Wood Spirit also needed to be reported?"

Angel’s words had an implicit message: If a result is desired, then a result is given, without questioning the means. However, if both the method and result are required, why not clearly state it from the start? As certain methods may involve personal privacy or private capabilities, revealing them means not utilizing these methods at all.

The Wise Sovereign knew he was somewhat at fault, but he didn’t want to retract his statements.

He even considered, should he just use power to pressure them? After all, on his turf, these people were merely ordinary wizards...

However, he was already convinced that Angel’s background and identity were anything but simple. If they were indeed allowed to escape, the consequences would be unimaginable.

After weighing it over, the Wise Sovereign said, "I know your intentions and that you wish to go to the remnants, I can exchange information on the remnants with you."

Angel raised an eyebrow: "Didn’t you say I’m not of the Noah Clan? Since I’m not of the Noah Clan, my need for intelligence about the reliquary isn’t that great. What does the Wise Sovereign think?"

Angel’s words weren’t wrong here.

The Wise Sovereign had basically confirmed that Angel was not of the Noah Clan. Since he wasn’t of the Noah Clan, was his purpose here really for the reliquary?

Moreover, the Wise Sovereign knew a secret.

The reliquary isn’t accessible to just anyone. If anyone could enter, the Wise Sovereign would have gone in long ago.

Only those with the Noah bloodline and who gain recognition can enter.

The "recognition" mentioned here isn’t about recognition from the Noah Clan, but from the one who created the reliquary. In other words, one must either gain Augustine’s recognition or Margaret’s recognition; only with these two recognitions can one enter the reliquary.

And Angel, obviously, couldn’t gain recognition from those two, nor was he a Noah descendant, so his need for the reliquary was indeed not as great as that of a Noah descendant.

Considering this, the Wise Sovereign really didn’t know what method to use for inducement.

After pondering for a moment, the Wise Sovereign spoke again: "Then how would you like to exchange?"

The Wise Sovereign’s words surprised everyone. Because his speaking meant he conceded, which also implied he agreed with Angel’s words.

At the same time, it also showed one thing: the Wise Sovereign acknowledged Angel didn’t need the reliquary much.

In other words, the reliquary doesn’t hold much value for non-Noah Clan members.

Although this kind of extreme equivalence easily leads to fallacies, combined with the current situation, and the Wise Sovereign’s inflexible nature, it can basically confirm that this exchange of concepts is correct.

Angel, of course, could think this far, though he didn’t show it on his face, he felt some disappointment in his heart.

If the reliquary was really set just for the Noah Clan, then wouldn’t the wall behind the Nightmare Realm remain forever inaccessible? Unless he brought along a Noah descendant?

While Angel was deep in thought, the Black Earl next to him felt his heart skip a beat.

If the reliquary held no meaning for Angel, would he choose not to proceed further? Even though they had come this far and were already close to the reliquary, perhaps they could still find its location even without Angel.

However, the "key" was still in Angel’s hands!

The Black Earl hadn’t even seen the key yet, only knowing it was an exceptionally special key. In Red Sword Docks’ description, no one but Angel could craft it, and its usage method was extremely unique, requiring Angel to operate it.

If Docks had been talking about someone else, the Black Earl wouldn’t have believed it. But he was talking about Angel, so this matter needed to be taken seriously.

As a member of the Research and Development Institute, Angel surely had an expertise. From all that Angel had done along the way, it was clear he wasn’t in the Research and Development Institute by mere luck; in Enchantment Studies, he was worthy of being called an Alchemy Master.

Therefore, Angel did have the strength and confidence to say that only he could refine the key, and only he could open the reliquary.

If Angel chose to give up the search for the reliquary now, that wouldn’t be good news for the Black Earl.

After all, putting himself in Angel’s shoes, there was no need for him to engage in this thankless task.

Moreover, the Black Earl also understood their position. They had forcibly joined halfway, and previously, there were shared interests, so Angel could turn a blind eye to them joining. But now, with no shared interest, there was a high chance Angel would give up the search for the reliquary.

And once Angel chose to give up, this operation would inevitably fail.

Put simply, Angel was the key fabricator, holder, and the one necessary to open the door to the reliquary; Kaier was the true owner of the key; Red Sword Docks could be considered the escort.

The three of them could conduct this exploration without a hitch.

But the Black Earl and Vay were just "attachments" in this relic exploration; their presence made things easier, but even without them, it would be fine.

However, now the problem had changed. The owner of the key, the holder of the key, and the escort could not gain any benefits from the reliquary; instead, the "attachments" who joined halfway could gain the most benefits, which would make anyone feel uncomfortable.

Empathetically, the Black Earl was very worried that Angel might decide to turn back.

The most important thing was, the Black Earl’s demand for the reliquary changed from indifference at the start to a necessity now.

It was the reliquary of the Noah ancestors, there might be something crucial for the Noah Clan.

The Black Earl had already set the reliquary as his short-term biggest goal, and he couldn’t let go.

It could be said that the one most affected by the Wise Sovereign’s words wasn’t Angel, but the Black Earl.

The Black Earl knew he had to do something now, at least show Angel that even if the reliquary didn’t benefit him, he would find a way to compensate Angel’s gains.

Thinking of this, the Black Earl spoke: "If the Wise Sovereign wants to exchange, at the very least, you should put forth an exchange offer. When I exchange with others, I always present the conditions I can offer, such as exchanging technology, passing on some of my unique secret techniques, or other valuable items. If you speak of exchange without saying anything, isn’t that thinking too highly?"

It seemed like the Black Earl was talking to the Wise Sovereign, but in reality, Angel caught his true intention.

Because Angel had previously complimented the Black Earl’s Avatar secret technique as impressive. At that time, the Black Earl also said it could be shared with him.

However, neither of them had taken it seriously, as such secret techniques aren’t things one could just exchange casually.

Yet now, the Black Earl directly suggested an exchange of unique secret techniques, obviously hinting to Angel and echoing their previous conversation.

Angel initially didn’t understand why the Black Earl suddenly said this, but upon considering the current situation, he understood his intention.

Did the Black Earl think that Angel no longer had shared interests with him, so he quickly expressed compensation, signaling Angel not to give up halfway?

But the Black Earl didn’t know that regardless of whether the Wise Sovereign said those words, he would go to the reliquary anyway.

From the beginning to the end, his concern wasn’t the items in the reliquary but the structure of the reliquary. It would allow him to correspond to the Nightmare Realm and give him a general concept.

However, Angel wouldn’t refuse the benefits delivered to his door.

Angel was well aware that for a Wizard like the Black Earl, acceptance could sometimes be more useful than rejection. Compared to sentiments, they believed more in benefits.

"Indeed, I agree with Black on this point. If you don’t present your terms, how can I exchange with you?" Angel replied.

The Black Earl and Angel spoke to the Wise Sovereign as a proxy for addressing each other. Essentially, the Wise Sovereign became a mediating medium.

The Wise Sovereign, in fact, felt their conversation was a bit odd, but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was strange.

In the end, the Wise Sovereign didn’t fully understand, so he temporarily set it aside and said, "I don’t know what you want, but if you wish to exchange knowledge and technology with me, I can do so with you. I can also lend you my handbook to peruse."

"But the premise is, your answers must be truthful."

After a pause, the Wise Sovereign asked the initial question again: "How did you discover the Wood Spirit?"

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