The sun peeked from the horizon and quietly changed shifts with the night, scattering its brilliance to those in need. At the same time, the figure of a young man was seen walking across the stone pavement towards his destination.
An empty building at one secluded corner of Zodiac City.
Emery arrived at the designated place for the meeting. The five magus he saw yesterday had already gathered. Magus Michela, who took initiative to have a conversation with him before, enthusiastically beckoned her hand to him. Alas, the same couldn't be said to the leader of the team, Magus Leon, who acted completely indifferent.
He already came wearing plain, normal clothes that would certainly make him inconspicuous. However, he still received some scolding from Magus Leon. This treatment couldn't help but make him think the other party had some kind of personal grudge with him.
Magus Michela, on the other hand, just had a cheeky smile on her face as she watched the occasion.
Out of the five people, other than Magus Leon and Magus Michela, the other three were Jasper, a long-haired male with a slender build, Garnet, a muscular middle-aged man with many scars all over his body, and Laban, a rather handsome man that had a striking tattoo on his arm.
All of these people were powerful, Half-Moon magus, a level of strength that was probably stronger than his master, Magus Xion. The serious expression on their faces and how earnestly they prepared their weapons successfully made Emery a little nervous.
Not long after, the two bloodline magus King Alduin decided to send in his stead finally arrived. But unexpectedly, the two of them did not come alone. They came bringing 10 half-blood warriors with them, all peak saint level figures.
"What is the meaning of this?" Magus Leon asked in a dissatisfied tone, sweeping his gaze over the uninvited people.
One of the bloodline magus, the female one, calmly answered his inquiry.
"The king insisted on bringing more people. You don't have to worry too much, as they will just help watch the perimeters from a distance, making sure nothing is missed."
Even though Emery saw Magus Leon nod his head, he could clearly see the latter was not happy with the way the half-blood suddenly and unilaterally altered the plan.
Next, Magus Leon took out a map and showed the group of half-bloods the location they were going to and how he wanted the plan to go.
"We are going to wait for more news from the wolves at this coordinate, please make sure none of your warriors dies anything hasty"
After he was done talking, Magus Nameria accepted the instructions.
"Remember, we do not want to make those wolf clans become even more distrustful than they already are," Magus Leon said in a stern tone, as he stored the map again.
The huge, black skin goat half-blood magus named Jugo just stood there without saying a word, it was Magus Nameria who responded and agreed to the terms Magus Leon had set.
Seeing there were no tiresome demands coming in his way, the frown on Magus Leon eased a little. "Alright, if there are no more issues, let's get ready. We are heading toward the gate now."
However, just before the group left, Emery approached the magus.
He took a deep breath and said, "Magus Leon, I actually came to say that…"
Hearing that, Magus Leon turned his head towards him and looked at him intently.
"...I have decided not to join the mission."
Emery's words echoed in the air and were quickly heard by everyone present. Magus Nameria and Magus Michela seemed to be surprised by it, while Magus Leon surprisingly took it much calmer than he thought.
"There's no need for you to come only to tell me that. You should have just returned to the academy, as I told you before."
After saying that, Magus Leon didn't even wait for his reaction, immediately going back to checking his preparations. Emery didn't mind the other party's attitude, it was all as expected.
He also noticed how the female half-blood magus was looking at him with a mocking smile, as if ridiculing him for being a coward. But he paid the other party no heed.
The group quickly left the place after making sure they were ready, leaving Emery behind.
He stayed there until the group disappeared from his sight. Afterwards, he walked out the secluded street the old building was located at and entered the lively streets again. He made his way towards the nearest tavern and sat on a table, where a figure dressed in a cape was already waiting for him.
It was a young woman, who looked at him with a faint smile on her face.
"I really hoped you decided not to go... But I guess it's going as planned, isn't it?"
Emery was silent for a moment, before nodding and saying, "Yes... it is..."
The mysterious figure was none other than Klea. She had been waiting in the nearby tavern, concerned about Emery's decision. As if she had no energy to start another debate of why he shouldn't go, she brought out a bag and pushed it in Emery's direction.
Receiving the bag, Emery looked at her with gratitude, before quickly walking towards the back room. When he returned, he wasn't just wearing different clothes but looked completely different as well.
To be exact, anyone in Briton would recognize him as the famous knight Lanzo.
Klea, realizing her worries were about to happen, sighed deeply again and looked at him.
"Are you sure you have to go? I really have a bad feeling about this."
Emery didn't answer her question. He just grabbed the girl's hands and gave her a tight hug, "Don't worry. When I see the first sign of danger, I will immediately retreat and come back to you."
Klea let out another deep sigh before looking away and muttered, "Just go before I change my mind."
Emery wryly smiled at her reaction. Still, he did as she asked.
This was the plan that was agreed upon by them both. Emery would go to the meeting to learn a little more of the plan. The map Magus Leon showed to the half-blood group before was enough for him to proceed with his personal plan.
As much as he wanted to help the mission to the best of his abilities, with so many suspicious things running around in the back, Emery knew he had to find a different way. Otherwise, he would be just going straight into whatever was prepared for him.
Emery still planned to help, but this time on his own terms.
He used his innate wolf skill [Shapeshifting] in order to follow the group secretly. From then on, he decided what his moves would be. If it was too dangerous, he would naturally retreat, but if it all went as planned, he would observe the situation and determine if his presence would help create trust with the wolves. If that was the case, then he would show himself.
With his [Spatial Gate], [Blink], enhanced battle power, and counting the live-saving item given by Headmaster Delbrand, Emery believed his plan would be successful.
He stood up and walked out towards the tavern entrance. As he reached the door, he turned around to give one more glance at the girl before making his way to the portal gate and to the planet mentioned by Magus Leon.
It was a small settlement in the center of a forest. There were dozens of people around, but little enough to make people's eyes immediately fixed at his figure, who just came out of the gate.
Emery saw one of the bloodline warriors standing near the portal, presumably assigned to watch. Fortunately, with his new face, the other party didn't seem to recognize him.
A faint smile appeared on Emery's face, as he walked past the bloodline warrior.
Time to see where Magus Leon and the others were going.