Ironclad Granny smiled and shook her head, not responding directly. Angel is still young, with a limitless future. Such sentiments of the past can be left to these old bones, while Angel should focus on the distant future.
"You said it’s rare for you to see me here. Actually, it’s rare for me to see you come looking for me twice in a short time," Ironclad Granny chuckled, "So, is there another problem? Speak up, and if I can answer, I will tell you."
Angel felt a bit embarrassed inwardly, since he always runs to the Wilderness of Dreams whenever there’s a difficult issue. This is somewhat like Docks’ "spiritual perception," becoming a dependence.
"What is the matter? If it’s about Princess Town, you don’t have to worry. Wizards from the organization have already gone over there."
Angel shook his head: "It’s not about Princess Town. I want to ask Granny if you know about the Black Earl?"
Ironclad Granny was momentarily stunned. She had considered any possible question Angel might ask, but completely didn’t expect Angel to suddenly mention this person.
"Do you mean ’Black Duke’ or ’the Black Earl’?" Ironclad Granny asked.
Angel: "Not Lord Adelaide, it’s the Black Earl of the Noah Clan."
After confirming she hadn’t heard wrong, Ironclad Granny’s expression turned a bit peculiar: "The Black Earl is quite... "
Ironclad Granny pondered for a long time, seemingly contemplating the wording, and only continued after a good while: "He can be considered enigmatic, a peculiar and mysterious wizard."
"In the region where the Noah Clan resides, all sorts of bizarre things can be seen. And being enigmatic seems to be the Black Earl’s personal pursuit as well."
Ironclad Granny paused: "As for him personally, I’m not sure which aspect you want to know about, so it’s hard to describe."
Angel: "I also don’t know to what extent I should understand. How about this, I’ll talk to Granny about the whole matter, and Granny can help me analyze it."
Since Angel had already told Ironclad Granny about going to the ruins before, there was no harm in mentioning it.
After listening to Angel’s account, Ironclad Granny pondered for a moment and asked: "So, you’re saying, you actually don’t want to stop exploring the possible ruins, but with the addition of Vay, a descendant of the Noah Clan, you’re worried there might be changes."
Angel nodded.
Ironclad Granny thought for a moment: "I’m not very familiar with the Black Earl, but the Black Earl is a friend of Rhein. How about this, I’ll go offline to ask Rhein for you."
Lord Rhein is actually friends with the Black Earl? This was the first time Angel heard of it. But thinking about it, it’s not surprising; among the top of the Southern Domain’s pyramid, it’s normal for these few to have connections with each other.
"But didn’t Granny say Lord Rhein is currently away on some business?"
Ironclad Granny: "I’ll have the Tree Spirit pass a message. The Tree Spirit has an avatar with Rhein."
With that, Ironclad Granny slowly disappeared in front of him, apparently going offline.
Angel pondered over Ironclad Granny’s words—have Tree Spirit pass a message?
Angel knows some of the Tree Spirit’s abilities; the range his true form and avatar can cover does not exceed the Pamiji Plateau.
Which means, Lord Rhein is actually also at the Pamiji Plateau?
Earlier, Granny mentioned there was an issue on Rhein’s side, saying there was an infiltration of spies, and Rhein went to attack their nest. Was the nest of these spies also on the Pamiji Plateau?
Isn’t Pamiji Plateau dominated solely by the Barbarian Cave? Besides the Star Pond Ruins, what kind of spy nest would require Rhein to personally take action?
Angel had a feeling that this matter might not be as Granny said, merely a "small matter."
After waiting for over ten minutes, Ironclad Granny and Lord Rhein came online together. Sensing this, Angel changed the entry location of Lord Rhein to the Rose Garden on the aerial sky bridge.
"I’m sorry to have disturbed Lord Rhein." Angel quickly bowed.
Rhein waved his hand: "It’s okay, the external matters are just troublesome to handle in the end, but whether there’s one more or one less of me doesn’t really matter in the process."
Angel curiously asked: "Is it troublesome to handle? What exactly happened outside?"
Rhein chuckled: "Didn’t Granny already tell you? You don’t have to worry about this matter. After all, it’s nothing major, so let’s talk about your issue."
Upon hearing Rhein say this, Angel understood that this definitely isn’t a minor issue, and the fact that he should specifically not interfere implies that it likely involves him?
While Angel was pondering, Ironclad Granny glanced at Rhein in a not very pleased manner: Angel is not a fool, the more secretive you are, the more he’ll mind.
Rhein, however, didn’t care. The reason for keeping this from Angel was simply that, initially, Angel was the primary target of this bud of followers, but now, after various forces got involved, Angel, this "nobody," had long been completely forgotten by them. They are now in a gambit with various forces.
At this point, whether Angel knows or not doesn’t really matter anymore.
Rhein actually looked forward to Angel continuing with questions, but it seemed Angel already guessed something and didn’t ask further about things on the Pamiji Plateau, instead shifting the topic to the situation of Vay Noah.
Rhein: "Granny briefly explained to me what happened on your side. I’m very familiar with the Black Earl, and I can pretty much guess what he’s up to by letting his descendant follow along."
"Simply put, the Black Earl has sniffed out a scent he loves."
Angel questioned: "A scent he loves?"
Rhein nodded: "You previously told Granny that Docks said Vay is a person who doesn’t like going out. Actually, it’s not just Vay. Most of the Noah Clan has this trait. The Black Earl is also a lazy person. The reason he came up with this ’he-consciousness’ was to avoid going out himself, letting others take part of his body out instead."
Angel: "..." This counts as insider information, right?
Rhein: "I’ve said enough, and this really isn’t related to the matter. Anyway, you don’t have to worry about the Black Earl coming personally to deal with you. Even if a Demon God descended, he might not leave his door. It’s just an organ, and it’s a ’nose,’ not a hand or foot, making it even easier to deal with."
"Do you still have the Demon of the Panic Realm you bought from the Foul Wing Trading Group last time?"
Angel nodded: "Earl Mi is still around."
"If that nose really causes trouble, using Earl Mi to handle it would suffice. If you also have Red Sword Docks, you might even destroy that nose."
Rhein made it sound simple, and it seemed quite easy to handle. But the fact that the nose of a top-tier Third Tier wizard could be on par with Earl Mi, comparable to a True Knowledge Wizard, is already quite terrifying. If it were a hand or a foot of the Black Earl, Earl Mi probably wouldn’t stand a chance.
"I understand, but it’s not about combat right now. Is letting Vay follow us good or bad? You previously mentioned knowing the Black Earl’s purpose. What exactly is his purpose?"