Anna hastily picked up the quill and wrote:
"Rein, by the time you read this letter, Aunt Delanna and I will have already set out back to the Druid Circle in Ferdinand Forest. I will work hard to improve my abilities, hoping that I can be of assistance to you the next time we meet."
"Also, let me tell you a small secret: I can now visualize eight Will runes at once, Anna."
Anna carefully placed the letter, the Beast Taming content on the imprinted paper, and the hide scroll that contained the record of fire-based witchcraft, neatly on the bedside table in Rein's room.
Then, with a lingering glance around Rein's room, she turned to Delanna and said:
"Aunt Delanna, shall we go then?"
"Yes, good," Delanna nodded.
However, just as Delanna was preparing to take Anna away, she abruptly sensed someone lurking near their dwelling.
Delanna signaled Anna to stay in the room, and the next second, she transformed back into a squirrel, zipping from the room to the rooftop.
Following that, an eagle took flight from the roof!
Before long, Anna heard the sounds of fighting from not far to the southwest!
But it quickly returned to quiet, as if the battle was over in a short while...
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In the alleyway to the southwest corner, the black-haired elf Delanna, looking at the black flames surrounding her, said in a low voice: "This is Black Flame, could it be a follower of that deity?"
While these black flames could not harm her in the slightest, only serving to hinder her movement, she had already discerned their origin.
"It seems Lord Windwalker's warning was correct, the sleeping gods are showing signs of awakening...." Delanna appeared to realize something and, for a moment, her face showed concern.
A short while later, when Delanna returned to Anna's room, her expression was serene.
"Aunt Delanna, what just happened?" Anna asked anxiously.
At that moment, a number of peace officers were hurrying toward that area on the street.
"Nothing, it's been taken care of. Anna, we need to leave!" Delanna shook her head without elaborating.
In the woods to the north of Flashgold Town.
A lithe knight bearing a 'scythe'-shaped weapon was running swiftly, his hand pressing against his continuously bleeding abdomen, cursing under his breath as he ran: "How could a Druid suddenly appear near the Rein residence?"
This man was the leader of the Wilderness Brotherhood, known as 'Knight of the Wild,' Giovanni!
Inside the Wiggins family library.
Unaware of what had happened at his home, Rein was diligently searching through ancient books in the library.
Unlike the Crowley family, although the Wiggins family's library was somewhat larger, the books were not sorted separately according to whether they were written in Lingwen, hence Rein had to search shelf by shelf.
Flipping through one book after another, Rein found himself shaking his head most of the time.
After a while, Rein suddenly stopped because he came across a travelogue written in Lingwen that contained a section on the Mother Tree cult.
The travelogue outlined the core tenet of the 'Mother Tree cult': at the beginning of the world, a Mother Tree from the distant void descended upon the world, scattering seeds that became the origin of life.
However, according to the sayings of the ancient Sages, the so-called 'Mother Tree' was actually a powerful entity from an alien void, beguiling sentient beings into worship and sacrifice.
Of course, all the sacrificial practices of the Mother Tree cult's followers could receive rewards and gifts from the Mother Tree to varying degrees.
Several hours later, after having gone through all the ancient books written in Lingwen (Akkadian) in the library, Rein found that the only useful one was the travelogue he had just read.
The rest were either ancient sacrificial ceremonies long vanished in the river of history, or eulogies from some bygone personage, leaving Rein somewhat disappointed inside.
Although this result was within his expectations.
But facing the actual result, Rein couldn't help feeling an inevitable disappointment.
"Perhaps, I should take a different approach to my search for witchcraft...."
Rein realized that his current method of searching for witchcraft was like a person looking for something in a primeval forest obscured by tall trees.
Since he could not see clearly all around, it was difficult to determine where the object was, so he could only try his luck everywhere.
This clearly wasn't a good method.
A more effective way would be to first climb to a high place, like a watchtower, then look from afar and locate where the desired object is, or at least determine the direction.
Then, when searching for it, it would be 'with a clear goal in sight'!
"Currently, my level within the Empire seems similar to a watchtower," Rein thought.
"Once I pass this ennoblement examination and become a formal noble, I should come to know many more secrets. Perhaps the direction to proceed with witchcraft or even the path of a Wizard will gradually become clear."
Just like Adams's inheritance, which actually came from a Wizard faction known as the 'Igne School.'
But how to connect with such a school of Wizards is what Rein needs to consider now.
However, as long as Rein continues to rise within the Empire's power hierarchy, he will inevitably come across related information at some point in time.
And if Rein wants to ascend quickly within the Imperial power structure, the invitation from the 'Sword Bearer' mentioned last time by Hamilton and Colonel Connar of the Imperial Military might serve as a stepping stone to a fast-track promotion.