Murphy whirled around, his icy gaze sweeping across the field like a blade.

Standing there were the seven High Level Apprentices who had originally followed Mitchell, having just arrived to regroup.

"Speak!" Murphy’s voice was hoarse and bone-chilling, filled with boundless fury.

"Where did Mitchell go? How dare you leave him behind?"

At that moment, the seven High Level Apprentices were trembling uncontrollably, terrified by the Liquidation Wizard’s formidable pressure and overwhelming killing intent.

The one at the head of the group barely managed to compose himself, replying with a quaver in his voice:

"R-Reporting to Lord Murphy, the Young Master... he... he took the defector, Leon, and went... went southeast to pursue a Shadow Moon Apprentice."

"Southeast... the Stone Forest..." A blood-red glint flashed in Murphy’s eyes, and he didn’t ask another word.

’The sensation he had received before the mark dissipated indicated a location not too far from here!’

His figure suddenly blurred into a blinding crimson streak, shooting off toward the southeast.

The moment he shot into the air, his withered fingers casually flicked toward the ground below.

A cluster of hair-thin threads, glinting with an eerie crimson light, rained down silently.

The seven High Level Apprentices had no time to react before the crimson threads easily pierced through them.

The next moment, seven living bodies, like snowmen under a scorching sun, rapidly melted and collapsed.

Amidst shrill, short-lived wails, they dissolved into seven pools of foul, steaming blood, leaving not even bones behind.

Nearby, Sares and Phantom witnessed the entire scene, discreetly exchanging a glance.

Both saw deep apprehension in the other’s eyes.

They had a good guess as to what had happened. Only one thing could make Murphy so furious that he would vent his rage by killing their own apprentices: something had happened to his beloved grandson, Mitchell.

Mitchell was, after all, Elder Murphy’s most beloved grandson, the one in whom he had placed the greatest hopes. His aptitude was exceptional, and his power was considered top-tier among High Level Apprentices.

Besides, Murphy had equipped him with a host of life-saving Witchcraft Tools. In theory, very few people on this battlefield should have been able to threaten him.

But this was a battlefield, where anything was possible.

It was just that Mitchell’s killer... now stood no chance of escape.

To fall into the hands of an enraged Liquidation Wizard... their fate would be too gruesome to imagine.

The pair suppressed their thoughts and spoke no more, resuming their task of clearing the battlefield. Their movements were now noticeably more cautious.

...

After killing Mitchell, Ian didn’t even dare to spare a moment to loot the body. He bolted eastward, putting more and more distance between himself and Gray Rock Castle.

He didn’t dare to stop for a single second, forcing down the dizziness and fatigue from his expended Spiritual Power as he sprinted away from the scene.

After running for about two or three miles, a terrifying and heart-stopping surge of Energy suddenly erupted from the sky far behind him.

Even from such a distance, Ian felt his heart clench violently, as if seized by a merciless, giant hand.

An icy, furious, and bloodthirsty wave of Spiritual Power swept across the horizon like a tsunami.

The mere aftershock washing over him was enough to make his hair stand on end, his body trembling almost uncontrollably.

’It’s the Liquidation Wizard! He’s here! And he’s utterly enraged!’

Ian immediately stopped his frantic sprint and forcibly suppressed the terror in his heart.

He knew that with a Liquidation Wizard’s terrifying Perception and tracking abilities, continuing to sprint at full speed would make him as conspicuous as a torch in the night.

’I can’t keep running!’

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

His gaze swept the area, quickly spotting a natural crevice in the rock. The opening was narrow, but it looked deep and dark inside.

A few clumps of dead brambles, close in color to the rock, covered the entrance.

He quickly squeezed inside and curled up in the deepest shadows.

With a thought, he silently recalled the [Eye of Vigilance] hovering high in the sky.

At a time like this, any outward fluctuation of Energy would be a fatal giveaway.

Next, he began to circulate his Meditation Method at full power, desperately reining in his own Spiritual Power, which had become agitated and unstable from the fight.

His breathing became long and faint, his heartbeat gradually slowed under the control of his powerful Will, and his blood flow nearly came to a standstill.

He suppressed all his vital signs and Energy fluctuations to the bare minimum, as if he were a lifeless piece of Rock.

At the same time, he mobilized his nearly Vaporized Spiritual Power, spreading it over the surface of his body like the finest of nets to further seal his aura. He then attempted to mimic the ancient, deathly stillness of the surrounding Rock.

This was a little concealment trick he had figured out, combining the powerful Spiritual Control Power he gained after Limit-Breaking with the physical control granted by the [Rock Bear Potion].

Although it was far from being as effective as a specialized Concealment Witchcraft, in such a critical moment, it was the absolute best he could do.

Just as he finished, that terrifying Spiritual Power once again swept over the area like a tangible tide.

This time, it was closer, and he could feel it much more clearly.

It was cold and brutal, carrying an unconcealed, frenzied killing intent as it meticulously "caressed" every single Rock, every crevice, every inch of soil.

Ian could even "hear" the faint rustling it made as the Spiritual Power brushed against the Rock walls, like the hiss of a viper.

The Spiritual Power swept over the entrance to his hiding spot and paused for a fraction of a second.

Ian’s heart almost stopped. Every muscle in his body tensed, and he didn’t dare to make the slightest movement. Even his thoughts seemed to freeze.

He imagined himself as part of the Rock, an unyielding stone, ancient and unchanging.

The Spiritual Power lingered at the entrance for a brief moment. It seemed not to have detected the anomaly deep within the narrow crevice, behind the clumps of dead brambles. Finally, it slowly moved on, continuing its sweep farther away.

Ian didn’t relax, remaining absolutely motionless.

Sure enough, less than ten minutes later, the Spiritual Power swept back again. It performed a much rougher scan this time before finally departing for good.

But he knew the danger was far from over.

An enraged Liquidation Wizard’s search would never be this simple.

For the next half-day, Ian felt as if he were dancing on a razor’s edge.

Centering on the spot where Mitchell had died, the powerful Spiritual Power swept back and forth like a fine-toothed comb, its range ever-expanding.

Sometimes it swept through like a violent gale, crude and direct. Other times, it was like a trickling stream, seeping into every conceivable hiding spot.

On three separate occasions, he relied on a near-masochistic stillness and his formidable Spiritual Control Power to narrowly avoid detection.

The sweat that had long ago soaked his undershirt grew cold against his skin, but he was completely oblivious. All of his mental energy was focused on maintaining his fragile, rock-like state.

This was a twofold torment of the mind and his Will, more draining than an intense battle.

Time seemed to stretch, each minute and every second dragging on to a suffocating length.

Not until dusk began to fall, when the setting sun draped the desolate Stone Forest in a crimson afterglow, did the frequently sweeping Spiritual Power finally shift its focus elsewhere.

Ian continued to wait patiently long after, until night had completely fallen and his surroundings were plunged into total darkness.

Only then did he finally confirm that the most intensive part of the search seemed to be over.

He slowly and very carefully moved his stiff limbs, sliding out of the rock crevice as silently as a ghost.