"Can Lord Black Earl discern the situation with Speedy?" Angel asked.
Angel’s question carried a hidden implication: Why is Black Earl suddenly interested in Speedy’s situation?
It’s worth noting that Black Earl has never shown much concern for the war situation before, even when Vay, a descendant of Noah, took the stage. Black Earl simply watched silently without offering any opinions.
In the Mind Ribbon, apart from Dox’s chatter, no other voices could be heard.
This time, however, Black Earl suddenly joined their discussion and directly inquired about Speedy, which aroused Angel’s curiosity. Did Speedy encounter something that attracted Black Earl’s attention?
Black Earl mused, "I only see that it did not actively attack that group of strange sheep."
Black Earl’s answer was concise, but Angel detected two layers of meaning in his words.
First, why didn’t Speedy attack these four black-faced sheep?
This was also Angel’s confusion. So far, those four black-faced sheep were still frolicking on the arena, which indicated that Speedy had not attacked them. In fact, Speedy was even trapped by them.
Speedy is not an unintelligent being. As a mature elemental creature that has lived for a long time, its wisdom is no less than that of humans; its only shortcoming is its lack of experience with human society.
But in dealing with these four black-faced sheep, the so-called "experience" isn’t required. Moreover, having accompanied them all along, Speedy is aware of the importance of this duel. Suddenly going offline at this moment is clearly strange.
However, what concerned Angel more was another point of doubt he discerned from Black Earl’s tone.
Second, strange sheep?
Listening carefully to Black Earl’s words, it was clear that his focus was not on Speedy, but rather on the group of black-faced sheep. This suggested that Black Earl was more concerned not with Speedy but with those black-faced sheep.
Furthermore, it was rare for Black Earl to describe the group of black-faced sheep as "strange."
Although Black Earl is not famed for his encyclopedic knowledge, his experience certainly belongs to the top tier of the Southern Domain. If even he describes them as "strange," it’s worth investigating.
Angel himself hadn’t paid much attention to this group of black-faced sheep, as the Shepherd had previously summoned a black-faced sheep to the edges of the arena, simply to sleep.
At the time, Angel glanced over and didn’t find anything particularly remarkable, only noticing that the black-faced sheep didn’t seem like ordinary life forms. Other than that, there wasn’t anything noteworthy. Plus, Angel wasn’t about to delve into researching a sheep summoned by an apprentice.
As for whether having "sheep" on the arena seems a bit abrupt?
Not really. The name "Shepherd" suggests sheep, so wouldn’t it be normal for him to have a few sheep?
Moreover, the Shepherd had previously summoned a large number of insects hidden in the dark through a whistle, indicating that he had expertise in controlling life forms. Controlling a few sheep wouldn’t be difficult.
From the name, to the ability, to the logic, everything checks out. Therefore, Angel naturally wouldn’t overly focus on this group of black-faced sheep. But now that Black Earl has highlighted them, it suggests there really might be something peculiar about them.
Angel took another close look at those four black-faced sheep.
Initially, Angel still couldn’t discern anything special about these four black-faced sheep. The only noteworthy thing was that they could all manipulate the Wind’s Force, and from an efficiency standpoint, they were nearly identical, working together with incredible coordination, which elevated their combat power by a whole level. However, comparing their overall strength to Speedy, it was still lacking.
But as Angel began to focus on the energy flow patterns of these black-faced sheep, he suddenly discovered that they were somewhat different from ordinary extraordinary creatures. The energy they manipulated came almost 90% from the external environment.
In other words, they were more like wind element messengers, being the endpoint of energy release in the entire energy cycle.
Ordinary extraordinary creatures generally absorb external energy into their bodies, transform it, and then release it back into the external environment, functioning more as an intermediary.
There is a fundamental difference between the two.
After realizing this, Angel began to investigate the reasons behind the black-faced sheep’s method of energy manipulation. This observation brought about even more mysteries.
Angel couldn’t see inside the black-faced sheep!
To be precise, the inside of the black-faced sheep was too ordinary. It was indistinguishable from regular sheep, with no detectable traces of the extraordinary.
All the Wind’s Force seemed to exist outside the black-faced sheep.
Previously, he thought the black-faced sheep had arranged the Wind’s Force externally, but now it seemed the external Wind’s Force might actually be the black-faced sheep’s "true body"?
If that’s the case, what species do they belong to? Are they even extraordinary creatures?
Angel studied them carefully for quite some time but still couldn’t accurately determine the black-faced sheep’s species.
Even further, he couldn’t even determine if the black-faced sheep were physical beings or energy beings, leaving him unable to give a definitive answer.
This was truly an incredible phenomenon.
After all, distinguishing whether something is a physical being isn’t a difficult task. Wizards possess a Spirit Sea and can cultivate spiritual power. By using the vision granted by spiritual power, one can clearly differentiate physical beings from energy beings.
Even without using spiritual power, the degree of interference with the Material Realm can provide a rough assessment.
But these few black-faced sheep, whether viewed from the perspective of physical or energy beings, exhibited some characteristics of both yet didn’t fully adhere to either.
In such an ambiguous situation, Angel found it truly challenging to make a judgment.
This was likely the reason Black Earl referred to these black-faced sheep as "strange."
"Strange sheep?" Dox also heard the conversation between Angel and Black Earl. He pondered for a moment, then, after observing the black-faced sheep on the arena, suddenly realized Black Earl’s intention.
"They do seem a bit strange," Dox murmured, frowning as he gazed at the black-faced sheep.
Though Vay’s expression was vacant at the moment, he did not miss the conversation in the Mind Ribbon. He followed Dox’s gaze, looking towards the black-faced sheep on the field.
"Sir, is there something wrong with these sheep?" Vay couldn’t discern the anomaly of the black-faced sheep and approached Angel to inquire in a low voice.
Previously, Vay would have certainly asked Dox outright, but given the current unique circumstances, he trusted his idol over Dox, who would certainly highlight his shortcomings.
Vay had consistently made a good impression on Angel, so in response to his inquiry, Angel didn’t hold back, sharing his observations and speculations.
After hearing Angel’s explanation, Vay still couldn’t perceive the anomaly of the black-faced sheep, but he at least understood the current situation.
"Now that you mention it, it does seem a bit strange. But could it be that those few unidentifiable sheep are summoned creatures brought by the Shepherd from the outside?"