"Mr. Drake, what is going on here..."
The sudden change in Ronald’s group’s demeanor was also noticed by the merchant traveling with them. The owner of the small caravan approached the trio with his daughter to make a conversation.
However, the situation was special now.
As the Barrier Mountain started presenting new challenges, Ronald and his companions were visibly tense.
The merchant was about to ask.
Catherine gestured with one hand and with her eyes, she blocked him from saying anything further.
"Listen, ahead is where the wizards fight, it’s not a place you should go to."
"If you still want to keep your child alive, then leave right now!"
The merchant looked stunned.
Although he had known Ronald’s group for less than two days, he could tell these people were extraordinary. Now that Catherine bluntly revealed the truth, all the previous subtle hints came flooding back to the merchant’s mind.
"Let’s go, let’s leave!"
Without much hesitation, the merchant, realizing the danger, turned around to redirect his carriage and left without a trace of doubt.
They watched as the merchant and his carriage disappeared into the distance.
Catherine breathed a sigh of relief and then turned her gaze to Ronald:
"So three wizards, huh? What characteristics do they have?"
Hearing this inquiry, Ronald seriously recalled everything he had noticed before:
"Beforehand, all three were in quite high positions at Barrier Mountain, roughly at the positions to the east, northeast, and west of the Judgement Well. They also seemed to be in complex buildings, as I noticed them frequently passing stairs or corners..."
Ronald recounted in great detail.
Catherine’s expression grew more serious as he spoke.
Finally, when he mentioned that the three wizards were coming towards them in a pattern of two on ground and one in the air, Catherine’s eyes exhibited minimal confusion.
Although the "Psychohistory" abilities were temporarily ineffective,
Having served for many years as the head of the Astronomical Department enabled Catherine to gather enough information to discern the current situation.
"How diligent indeed..."
"Half of the Council of Six coming out to deal with us, this is unprecedentedly generous treatment!"
"Council of Six?" Ronald furrowed his brow upon hearing this term.
"Yes, the Council of Six," Catherine nodded in confirmation, and then rattled off a list of titles, "The six who have lived from the Sealing Era to now, the founders of the Barrier Mountain Academy, the highest rulers of all wizards, the six known strongest Casters... and now, our enemies in pursuit."
Catherine’s increasingly serious tone prevented even Bapulor from making any jokes. Instead, he asked immediately after she finished speaking:
"How well do you know them?"
"Like their strengths, spell systems, stuff like that?"
Catherine straightforwardly introduced:
"The strength of these old timers is beyond doubt. Although I can assure a victory in a one-on-one fight, it would definitely take a considerable amount of time."
"As for the spell systems—of the three today, I know one old hag named Ella who plays with body modification spells; one named Glenta, skilled in barriers and word spells,"
She identified two Council members’ identities and abilities in succession.
However, when it came to the last one, Catherine unusually hesitated:
"The last one... is probably Alston. This individual has never leaked his spell system, but based on some clues, I suspect Alston might have been involved in the early Fake God creation project."
"Three against three, shall we each take care of one?"
The atmosphere among Ronald’s group was indeed tense at the beginning, but listening to Catherine’s briefing, Bapulor quickly returned to his usual pace, with a noticeably relaxed tone in the conversation.
"Each to their forte, I suggest you two handle that old woman called Ella, and I’ll pick one of the other two guys to deal with,"
Although there was some suspicion of not being confident in his own spells,
Bapulor’s suggestion was very constructive.
In Ronald’s experience, in normal movies or games when facing such situations, it would usually involve like battling like; muscle against muscle, spell specialist against spell specialist, the protagonist would definitely have to confront the enemy boss.
However, if they approached the problem with the strategy of "using inferior against their superior" as in the racehorse tale,
then, after actual implementation, it would indeed determine the outcome to a great extent.
Shortly thereafter, Catherine also spoke up:
"I am still not comfortable about Alston, so I’ll take him on."
When it came to battle, Catherine’s attitude was much more serious and earnest. She took on the most troublesome enemy directly before leaving the other choices to Ronald and his companion.
With Bapulor’s earlier reluctance to confront Ella, it was left to Ronald to handle this wizard of physical enhancement.
After allocating their respective opponents,
the three began to discuss the method of battle following.
Since the enemies they were facing this time were of extraordinarily high quality, the main plan was quite straightforward:
— Fight, and then win.
In the face of powerful enemies, tricks would actually not be very effective. The upcoming battle would ultimately test the hard power of the participants.
If one side could quickly dispose of their enemies...
Then forming a three against two numerical advantage, the difficulty of battle would naturally decrease immediately.
Ronald and his companions reminded each other of the details of the battle.
The three councilors from Barrier Mountain were also quickly approaching their location.
It was unclear what type of spell they used, but they seemed certain of Ronald and his companions’ direction.
In just over two hours,
Ronald spotted in the air one of the three wizards, flying.
Unlike other wizards from Barrier Mountain, this ’big shot’ from the council of six wore a snow-white wizard’s robe and his aged face showed the wisdom accumulated over the years.
As a wizard who mainly fights with spells,
This kind of opponent, possessing both strength and wisdom, was definitely the most troublesome type!
"Bapulor, Catherine."
"They have arrived..."
Ronald alerted his companions, and their preparatory spells began to activate one by one.
The distance between them and the enemy wizard flying in the air closed further.
The next second, the old wizard’s gaze locked onto the three.
Although he had never seen these three unfamiliar faces, his years of experience let the old wizard quickly understand—
"About seven hundred meters ahead, the enemy!"
With a similarly simple reminder to his companions below, the old wizard also decisively began to chant a spell:
The guilty shall be imprisoned, and their spouses detained; the wicked shall extend to their families!"