Chapter 370: Chapter 369: Old Friend, Bilas

The night continued.

In a place within White Stone City, deep underground, a secret chamber.

A long table was placed in the middle of the chamber, where many people were sitting, and a meeting different from that of the White Stone Tower was underway.

Sitting at one end of the long table was the “traveling” Great Scholar Socrates, flanked by Adod and Petra.

The three of them raised the average age of everyone in the meeting, casting an inexplicably gloomy atmosphere over it.

The candle flames, the torches burning on the walls, crackled as they burned. Everyone in the secret chamber was silent until Socrates finally spoke, breaking the deadly stillness.

“Does anyone wish to speak up and discuss the recent situation?” Socrates looked around at the people sitting at the table.

No one answered.

“No one? Alright, then I will speak, since you all are actually aware of the situation,” Socrates said, “For such a long time, I’ve dragged these two old fellows up from underground, but progress is still very slow. We might have had brief encounters with the organization attacking us, but we know very little about the specifics. Seeking contact with the adversary is impossible so far, let alone setting a targeted ambush or dealing with them decisively.

Of course, there was a small breakthrough just yesterday. This breakthrough wasn’t made by us but rather exposed by the other side. The specifics are unclear, but it’s certain that last night, the enemy attacked the White Stone Tower.”

“Huh–”

Socrates let out a breath and continued, “Yes, you heard right, the enemy attacked the White Stone Tower. I must say, I really don’t understand what they are trying to achieve.

I thought they would be on the side of the White Stone Tower, given their deliberate targeting of us. Now it seems they are not allies with the White Stone Tower and stand opposed to everyone else.”

At this point, Socrates paused, his expression turning serious: “Of course, the adversary’s stance isn’t the point. The main purpose of today’s meeting is to discuss a peculiar matter demonstrated by the enemy during the attack on the White Stone Tower:

Previously, we knew that the enemy occasionally left our Council’s symbols at the scene of their attacks. The assumption was that they were deliberately framing us, revealing the existence of our Council.

But this time… after their attack on the White Stone Tower, they left the same symbols, drawn with the fresh blood of the White Stone Tower Wizards they had killed. This has greatly provoked the White Stone Tower; it is said that the Tower is frantically reassessing its strength, preparing to respond to them with full force. So the question is… what exactly are those people trying to do?

Do they genuinely want to frame us and expose us? Judging by the strength they showed in attacking the White Stone Tower and inflicting heavy losses, they’re clearly powerful. Why would such a formidable wizard organization go to such lengths to falsely accuse us, expose us, and act in our name?

What is their purpose in masquerading as us? Come on, speak up, anything at all, just don’t tell me that the enemy wants to provoke a fight between the White Stone Tower and us–if they truly wanted that, they could have accomplished it much more meticulously instead of so crudely.”

With Socrates’ words, the room fell silent.

Socrates couldn’t help but frown, rapping the table with a “bang, bang, bang.” Those attending the meeting quickly lowered their heads, as if they were students fearful of being called upon by a teacher.

“Huh–”

Socrates exhaled deeply, then directly called out, “Chris!”

The one named Chris stood up quickly.

Socrates unapologetically said, “Give us your opinion.”

“I think, I think…”

“What do you think, then? Speak up!” Socrates grew angry.

“I think, I think…”

“Forget it!” Socrates waved his hand in resignation and gestured for the other to sit down, who immediately took a seat.

Socrates looked to his left and right at Adod and Petra, only to see both half-closing their eyes and resting, which annoyed him. “Hey, you two old fellows, we are in a meeting! Pay attention, will you?”

Adod and Petra snapped back to reality and slowly opened their eyes.

Adod glanced at Socrates, his voice deep and haunting, “What image? I’m already a retired old man, not a young person like you anymore, all right, Socrates? You should be understanding of me.”

“Exactly!” Petra chimed in shrilly, “When you dragged me out of my coffin, I thought it would just be a few days of work and then done. Look how long it has been now, and we still have no clue. Are you really planning to make me use up the rest of my life on this? Even if it has come to that, just say what you want to say and I’ll listen; what does it matter if I close my eyes for a bit?”

Socrates sighed. Dealing with two of the same rank, who were even older in experience, he naturally couldn’t afford to lose his temper and couldn’t help saying, “Then can you two at least give me your opinion?”

“An opinion, you say? Well, I’ll give you an opinion.” Adod finally spoke up, pondered for a moment, and seriously said, “Like you said, the enemy is strong, but they are disguising their actions under our name. Given this, there are two possibilities: either the other party is doing it deliberately, or they are not.

If they are doing it deliberately, then there’s no need to think too much about it; they obviously have no good intentions. We don’t need to delve into their motives but find a way to eliminate and resolve the issue. After all, when someone wants to steal from you, do you really need to find out why they want to steal? There’s no need to bother with that; just figuring out how to dispose of them is enough. However, if the other party is doing it unintentionally…”

“If the other party is unintentional.” Petra cut in, ignoring Adod’s disgruntled face from being interrupted, “If it is unintentional, then things get a bit more complicated. I think it’s best if we don’t act rashly because what if they really do come from the same source as us?

Shut up, Adod, I’m speaking!

Socrates, you know that after the fall of the Empire, the remnants of our Council continued to work towards the goal of reviving the Empire. But there could be other organizations with similar goals; after all, the former Empire was too large, and we couldn’t possibly know everything. That great person might have set up many similar contingencies.

Not to mention anything else, but you should be aware that to the north of White Stone City, there’s an organization similar to ours. They are secretive and hide even deeper than we do, but they have also been in contact with us before.”

“We still have contact now.” Socrates said.

“That’s right.” Petra continued, “It’s very possible that the enemy we’re facing is an existence just like ours, but they’ve grown stronger and closer to achieving the goal, and of course, they are more domineering and violent.”

“What should we do?” Socrates asked.

“I suggest that while staying vigilant, we also try to make contact with them to verify their true identity,”

“What if it’s not as you expect?” Adod asked dismissively, “We would all be in danger then. What do we do?”

“What else can we do?!” Petra glared, a commanding presence, “We grind them up, feed them to the dogs! All of us together, even if we can’t wipe them out, we could at least inflict heavy losses, couldn’t we? Besides, it’s not just the few of us…”

“Are you talking about them?” Adod pointed at the regular members participating in the meeting, sneeringly saying, “It’s clear to me, they get worse with each generation; they can’t be relied upon.”

“I’m not talking about them.” Petra said, “I’m talking about my old friend, yes, my old friend. Don’t look at me that way; do I not have any friends? While my friends are very old, I’ll have you know, the power he could unleash is even stronger than mine. The three of us might not be enough, but with him, it will certainly be sufficient.”

“What’s his name? Where is he now?” Socrates asked seriously. “Let’s find this friend of yours first, and then we can try contacting the enemy–sounds like the safest approach.”

“It’s possible,” Petra nodded in agreement, then frowned, “But right now… I can’t quite ascertain where my old friend is. You can’t blame me; I’ve been asleep for so many years, he definitely won’t be living in the same place anymore. It will take some time to find him. His name is… Bilas.”

“Bilas?” Socrates’s eyes twinkled slightly and then narrowed, “All right, we’ll use all of the Council’s resources to find him. Let’s hope he hasn’t left White Stone City.”

…