Sorcerer’s Handbook

Chapter 372: Mephila of Belldate

Ashe quickened his pace but suddenly remembered something and stepped back towards Igor.

In a low voice, he said, “By the way, don’t blame Lise. It’s not her fault.”

Igor raised an eyebrow. Before he could retort, Ashe went over and picked up Lise.

Lise, looking bewildered, glanced at Igor and then at Ashe. She asked, “Dad, are you going to use me as an attack companion?” As she spoke, she raised her tiny fists.

“This isn’t that kind of game,” Ashe said. “Come on, use your gaze attack on Aunt Bukin!”

Lise widened her cute eyes at Igor, but it had no effect.

Igor stared coldly at Lise, which was highly effective.

Lise buried her head in Ashe’s arms, trembling. Ashe eagerly asked, “How was it?”

“Are you asking how effective your provocation is? Excellent.”

“Huh!? Didn’t you feel your heart melt? Every time Lise acts up, as soon as she looks at me like that, I can’t even bring myself to take out the belt…”

“Don’t assume everyone’s heart is as soft as ice cream like yours.”

“Wait, Lise has many other talents. Let me have her perform another one—”

“Enough.”

Igor reached out and took Lise, carrying her on his back. Lise instantly stiffened, her limbs going limp, not daring to misbehave. “I’ll carry her.”

Ashe sighed in relief and waved his hand. “Lise, be good and don’t cause trouble for Aunt Bukin!”

“Dad, Daddy…” Lise’s voice trembled as she sought help. However, one look from Igor made her obediently close her mouth. She lay on his back, shivering—strangely enough, whether it was her Bewitcher Lineage or her shampoo, she actually smelled quite nice.

After walking for a while, the group from the funeral finally saw a staircase leading upwards. Banjeet asked, “Young lady, should we camp here or…?”

“Let’s find a short-term rental using other people’s identities as soon as possible,” Annan said. “We’re too tired now. We need a good rest.”

Suddenly, a voice came from above the passage: “My house is big. Why don’t you come rest at my place?”

Snap!

Suddenly, a hidden door opened in the stairway passage, revealing several gun sorcerers in gray bulletproof vests blocking the top of the stairs, assault guns aimed at the Funeral group.

Annan and the others instinctively retreated, but a group of gun sorcerers also appeared at the rear of the passage, their cold steel gun barrels locking onto their flesh and blood.

In an instant, their joyful state of eating cookies and singing songs turned into a desperate situation with no room to maneuver, surrounded from all sides!

Ashe glanced at the ambushers. Besides their bulletproof vests and guns, the most noticeable feature was the transparent protective masks they wore. Inside the masks, two tubes connected their nostrils to compressed bottles on their backs, filled with a blue misty liquid, making them look like they had two blue beards.

Gospel Kingdom, Abyss Suppression Unit, Bluebeard!

As one of the two major violent groups in the Gospel Kingdom, Ashe was familiar with the formation of Bluebeard and Red Hat. Bluebeard got its name because the Abyss was once filled with mental monsters that could affect sanity. The narrow and dark environment of the Abyss required the suppression sorcerers to constantly inhale “Cooling Blue Fluid” to suppress excess emotions and relieve mental stress. The most effective way to inhale the fluid was through nasal tubes, which over time led to the name Bluebeard.

In modern times, while Bluebeard could easily exterminate the monsters on the first layer of the Abyss, mental monsters still frequently emerged, posing a risk of mental collapse. Thus, the Bluebeard equipment had been preserved as a material cultural heritage.

But for Ashe and the others, the most important aspect of Bluebeard wasn’t their appearance or combat power-it was that they were a private armed force!

“Annan, long time no see.”

Tap.

Tap.

Clear footsteps echoed from above, and everyone saw a blue-haired girl slowly descending. Her long blue hair reached her waist, and she wore a black cape over a platinum sleeveless dress. Her arms were covered with black gloves, and her legs were clad in platinum boots. She exuded a noble and pure charm, looking like an angel coming to aid the Abyss.

The most striking feature was her left eye, which was open and had a purple-blue pupil that seemed to draw in one’s gaze; her right eye was closed, with a black mark resembling an eye tattooed on the eyelid, eerie enough to warrant a second look.

Annan let out a long sigh. “So it is you, Yvaren…”

Ashe and the others breathed a sigh of relief—turns out, she was an old friend of the young lady. What a scare.

“So late at night, why are you all visiting my house?” Yvaren asked.

Annan didn’t hide anything. “I came specifically through the Abyssal Passage to get here—I was planning to ask for your help.”

Planning?

Ashe and the others sensed something amiss. The blue-haired girl nodded. “I figured as much. Annan, you really found the right person this time—capture them!”

The Bluebeards swarmed in, subduing everyone. Ashe and the others didn’t resist. The terrain was terrible, and unlike the Red Hats, the Bluebeards’ income came from consortia, so they didn’t have to worry about the Gospel’s opinion of them—they really would shoot without hesitation.

More importantly, Annan and her group had just survived a life-and-death struggle.

Ashe’s stomach was in shambles, his arm was useless; Annan, Banjeet, and Igor were out of spellforce; the only one still combat-capable was Harvey, which is why most of the gun barrels were aimed at him and his coffin.

Harvey’s mist spirit might be immune to physical damage, but gun sorcerers didn’t rely solely on physical attacks.

Ashe and the others complied with the restraints, having grown accustomed to such plot events—after all, it happened every ten days. Ashe now just wanted a “skip” button to fast-forward through the scene.

Ashe looked at Annan with resentment, only to find her looking back at him the same way.

“Young lady, didn’t you plan everything out before you acted?” Ashe shook the spellforce lock on his wrist. “Was this part of your plan too?”

Annan replied, frustrated, “Plans can’t keep up with changes.”

“Changes?”

Ashe looked up to see the blue-haired girl squatting in front of him.

“You’re not that tall yourself,” she said, displeased. “Why are you acting all smug?”

Ashe blinked. “…I, I’m not acting smug.”

The blue-haired girl then walked over to Harvey and examined him for a moment. “Your skin is so dark. Why is that? Do you like dissecting corpses outdoors?”

“When I couldn’t afford to buy corpses, I worked at construction sites to earn money,” Harvey replied.

For some reason, Ashe felt a bad premonition. He exchanged a glance with Igor, and he could see the same intense unease in the Con Artist’s eyes.

“Alright, dear guests, though it’s a bit late, allow me to introduce myself.”

“My name is Yvaren Belldate, heir to the Belldate Consortium, ranked first on the Mephila Beauty Ranking, third on the National Outstanding Youth Ranking, and first on the Mephila Charity Ranking… My personal resume is extensive; you can look it up at your leisure when you go back.”

Belldate…

Belldate!?

“Yes, that’s right. That Belldate.”

Yvaren seemed to hear their inner thoughts, or perhaps their shock was plainly written on their faces. She winked with her left eye. “Yes, the ‘bunch of dwarfs,’ ‘unworthy of inheriting the ancestor’s legacy,’ ‘deserving of eternal rest’ Belldate.”

In the video, I didn’t say dwarfs, did I? Ashe only dared to grumble inwardly, not daring to voice his complaints.

Yvaren stood on her tiptoes and spun around, then bowed to the prisoners:

“Welcome to Belldate’s Mephila.”