Moon Witch, embark on the journey!

57. The Aging Wizard

There were no more setbacks after that.

After the group arrived at Dark Cliff City, they were greeted by a high-level apprentice of the Sale family, who was also a member of the clan of the local official wizard, Collison Sale.

He was about sixty or seventy years old, with obvious signs of aging on his face. He wore wizard-style robes and had a very obvious aristocratic temperament.

"Welcome to all the apprentices of the headquarters. My name is Ciri, Ciri Saler. I will temporarily serve as the Baron Saler of the family."

For such a wizard family, the one who truly holds power is always the strongest wizard. The title given to anyone else is just an empty title, more for the convenience of handling trivial matters.

However, the fact that the nominal head of the family came to greet him was indeed a great honor.

As the representative, Dole stepped forward and said in a neither humble nor arrogant manner:

"Thank you for the welcome, Lord Baron. We are here on a mission from the organization. We hope to meet Lord Collison as soon as possible and get more detailed information."

"Please wait a moment, everyone. Grandfather has received the news and will come to greet you soon."

Xili had several luxurious carriages around him, and he headed towards the tallest mansion in the city center:

"Please follow me to our family residence to rest."

On the way to the mansion, Xili and Dole, who were at least fifty years apart in age and looked more like grandfather and grandson, kept talking to each other. They seemed to be having a good time, but they were actually testing each other.

Luna felt that the little fat man was relatively reliable, and she didn't bother to listen to what they said. She propped her chin up and looked out of the side window of the carriage.

Although this place is also considered a city, it is a small border town after all. It is completely different from the capital of the eastern province where I came before. There are only earthen houses around, and the residents are all dressed simply.

To be honest, it felt even less prosperous than the port city she had stayed in on the outskirts of the Dusk Forest.

There was no one who looked like a noble or a wizard apprentice on the roadside. The Sale family was the local tyrant here, and one could clearly see the panic and awe on the faces of the people on the roadside when they saw the convoy passing through the city.

After arriving at the mansion, a welcome banquet was held soon. It seemed that it had been prepared in advance. Various precious dishes and expensive wines were neatly laid out, and beautiful maids were waiting on both sides.

In the spacious and luxurious banquet hall, the apprentices of the Sale family arrived one after another, including three senior apprentices and more than ten mid-level apprentices. They all expressed their "welcome" to the apprentice team sent by the headquarters to reinforce.

"We are deeply disturbed by the invasion of the vampires. Thank you for coming to help."

The direct apprentices of the Sale family, led by Xili, warmly welcomed the group. They were all dressed neatly and solemnly, with undisguised eagerness in their eyes.

"I almost believe what you said. Are they all so hypocritical..."

Even Senna noticed the strange sight, and she had an expression that was beyond words.

"It's definitely a bit strange."

Luna couldn't help but be surprised by this. It would be funny for anyone to hear that five apprentices came to support a family with a formal wizard.

What this actually means is that the organization is handing over these apprentices with backgrounds to formal wizards for care, and at the same time allowing them to go out for some training.

But these apprentices of the Sale family were too flattering, far beyond the normal range. After all, Luna and the others were still living under someone else's roof, and strictly speaking, they were under the supervision of the official wizard Collison.

"Anyway, it doesn't seem to be the worst scenario we expected. This makes us feel a lot more relaxed."

Dole whispered to the others, but there was not much of a smile on his face, rather a bit of seriousness.

When the official wizard Collison showed up for the first time, several foreign apprentices couldn't help but sigh when they saw his appearance.

Luna finally understood why there was such an unusual welcome.

Collison was really too old. He wore a top hat, his temples were gray, his face was full of wrinkles, and he was hunched over. Even the gorgeous aristocratic clothes could not hide the aura of decay on him.

As a powerful and official wizard, he actually walked slowly with a cane like an ordinary old man.

Collison slowly walked into the banquet hall, and the people who had been so lively just now suddenly fell silent. He coughed a few times and said slowly and hoarsely:

"I'm sorry, I haven't been feeling well lately and have been resting. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long."

"Lord Collison. Dole from the Pansy family sends his regards to you."

Dole was the first to stand up and salute, followed by the other four. Luna also temporarily untied her cloak to reveal her true face, which was a necessary respect for a formal wizard.

"Good, good, it's gratifying to see the young people in the organization are so energetic..."

The apprentices didn't dare to interrupt and waited quietly for the old man who looked like he was about to suffocate to speak.

The official wizard, Collison, really was like a kind old man, greeting each of the apprentices one by one.

"Dollar, huh? I dealt with Collins Pansy from your family thirty years ago, and it was really... How is he doing recently?"

The little fat boy Dole stood up straight and quickly replied:

"Second Grandfather is still very healthy. He mentioned you to me before coming here..."

Collison greeted everyone one by one, and even Luna was asked about mentor Enissa's situation, but she answered vaguely.

This official wizard really cared about them and seemed to have done his homework in advance.

The more this happened, combined with their eagerly awaited polite attitude, the more Luna felt a sense of foreboding.

Finally, after Collison finished calling the names, Dole couldn't help but immediately ask:

"Master Collison, what's the matter with you now? As far as I can remember, you and my second grandfather are from the same generation."

Collison was about 140 years old, which was not considered young even for a formal wizard. But it was too outrageous to have aged to this extent. Even if there was no way to prolong his life, he should still have several decades to live.

The old man lowered his eyes slightly, and the kind look he had just had disappeared in an instant. The apprentices of the Sale family around him also fell silent, with bad looks on their faces.

The atmosphere of the entire banquet became completely depressing, as if it was shrouded in dark clouds.

"Now that I have revealed myself, I have no intention of hiding it."

After a long while, Collison finally spoke, and he explained in a calm tone:

"Not long ago, I conducted a witchcraft experiment with great risks. I cannot tell you the details. But the consequence of failure is what I am now. I am seriously injured and my remaining life span is not much."

He slowly glanced at these young apprentices from outside:

"I know the organization wants me to take care of you, but it seems difficult to do so now. Instead, I need your help."

58. The last window

"Myself and our Saleh family are in urgent need of your help. If you are willing to lend a helping hand in this critical moment, we will definitely remember this kindness in our hearts."

"Originally, I was enough to guard the surrounding area. But now I am too seriously injured and my fighting power is not enough to maintain peace in this area. This place may be targeted by the enemy at any time."

"If possible, I hope the family and wizards behind you can give you help."

Collison pleaded in a very polite and even humble tone for a formal wizard, which made the apprentices from the formal wizard families look sad and clench their fists.

But Luna and other foreign apprentices only felt their scalps tingling.

Originally, this was just an unimportant remote area. With an official wizard in charge, they could rest easy. Maybe they wouldn't be attacked until the end of the war.

But the current state of this official wizard makes him an excellent target.

"Lord Collison! This time the organization's mission has been sent to almost every member. Our family's official wizards all have urgent things to do and it is impossible for them to come here at this critical moment."

After realizing that something was wrong, Dole looked unhappy. Even though his status in the family had risen after becoming the apprentice of the potion master, he was still only a mid-level apprentice.

How could he possibly have the family's official wizards provide close protection? Even if the family had idle wizards, they would definitely be stationed in some important places, and it would be impossible for them to support a marginal family with whom they had little friendship.

If he is like this, let alone the other apprentices.

"That's really troublesome... Unfortunately, I was injured at such an unfortunate time that I didn't have time to report to the headquarters."

In fact, even if the Dark Ring headquarters was notified, it would still be impossible to mobilize support for a wizard family in a remote area.

These words seemed to threaten them. As apprentices, they could not leave here without permission before receiving the transfer order from the organization, otherwise they would be considered deserters.

Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do anyway.

There was obvious disappointment on the old face of Collison. If any of these apprentices were highly valued by the family, perhaps there would be some chance of a turnaround - he had held this mentality before.

"Lord Collison, as long as your current condition is not leaked, those vampires should not take the initiative to come here to cause trouble, right?"

"Maybe."

The old wizard whispered.

It doesn't seem too outrageous for a formal wizard to seclude himself for a few years, but not showing up even once will always arouse suspicion.

The most important goal was not achieved, and Collison seemed to become less polite. He looked at the foreign apprentices and said:

"Then, I hope that the apprentices who are assisting our family will actively initiate the cleanup and prevent the blood clan's spies from approaching the core of Dark Cliff City. Once I am forced to show up, the consequences will be disastrous."

"Of course! We'll do our best!"

Dole responded somewhat helplessly.

The idea of ​​hiding under the protection of the official wizard and avoiding the battlefield has completely failed. As Collison said, not only can they not give in, but they must be particularly tough to eliminate all the vampires' tentacles so that the official wizard who is in poor condition does not have to take action.

This grand banquet ended in a whimper, and all the participants looked heavy-hearted.

"Please do not reveal my condition."

"Of course! This is also for our own safety."

After some unpleasantness, Luna and the others did not plan to live in the Saler family's mansion, so they immediately said goodbye and left, looking for another place to stay in the city.

"Damn it, how could something go wrong at a time like this!"

Dole had a rare bad temper; the chubby apprentice had always been very gentle.

"That old...that man is going to force us to go to the front line!"

"Brother Dole! If there were no noble blood clan nearby, we could actually handle it."

The tall young man Elder came out to persuade them.

Luna also spoke at this time:

"This is not something we can control. There is no point in complaining now. We can only do our own thing."

Dole took a deep breath, gave a forced smile, and said:

"I will break through to the advanced apprentice level in the near future. I originally wanted to wait another two years. But now I can't care about that!"

When these words were spoken, the others were a little surprised.

Luna suspected that this guy was planning to use some quick and easy means. He had a powerful family behind him, a master of potions as his mentor, and he had already touched the threshold of a high-level apprentice when he first entered school, and now it has been quite a while.

So it turns out that a talented apprentice from such a big family would normally need about three years to break through the bottleneck?

Luna's current mental power progress is that she can perform seven tricks in a short period of time, which is a big improvement compared to the four she had when she first became an intermediate apprentice. This is considered to be a very outstanding level among intermediate apprentices.

However, after the rapid growth period immediately following her promotion, even her progress had noticeably slowed down.

It would take at least half a year to reach the bottleneck of a mid-level apprentice, and it was unknown how long it would take to truly break through to a high-level apprentice.

Most apprentices will never be able to break through the bottleneck of high-level apprentices in their lifetime, and many apprentices with decent talents can only be promoted after they are in their forties or fifties. Apprentices of this age begin to age physically and mentally, and it is almost impossible for them to become formal wizards.

Only large organizations and families would have high-level apprentices in their twenties or even teens.

Luna still had a bottle of precious spiritual potion in her hand, but she couldn't take it immediately. She had to save it for when she broke through the high-level bottleneck. If the war lasted for a year or even several years, she would have no other way to get such a potion.

"Everyone, please prepare yourselves. I have a feeling that our lives will not be very comfortable in the future."

After several apprentices agreed on the time and place for future meetings, they went their separate ways.

"Luna, what are you going to do? Aren't those vampires going to attack us soon?"

After seeing the others leave, Senna felt a little at a loss and subconsciously looked at Luna.

"What are you thinking? No matter what, it's impossible for you to be in danger right away. Otherwise, why would Dole say that he wants to take this opportunity to retreat and break through?"

"Now is our last window of opportunity. We must do everything we can to practice and improve our combat capabilities. Only then will we have the capital to survive when we are really in danger."

Luna and this follower wandered around the city center. She found a house that was for sale and planned to find a place to stay.

This is a remote and quiet mansion surrounded by a large courtyard, located on the edge of the noble district.

Having been in the wizarding organization for more than half a year, she had completely forgotten the normal prices. It was not until she took out a magic stone and saw the uncontrollable ecstasy on the face of the destitute lord that she realized something.

With just one magic stone, he bought the entire mansion, including the maids, cooks, and servants inside.