Dox said to walk separately, without any hesitation at all. But before leaving, he linked minds with Angel, to determine the departure time.
Dox always claimed his concealment method was quite good, and Angel was also curious about how he managed to conceal himself.
Under Angel’s gaze, Dox stepped into the woods, and upon reaching a certain point, his figure suddenly blended into the shadows of the trees, completely disappearing.
"Is it shadow magic?" Angel whispered to himself, but then shook his head: "It doesn’t quite seem like it."
Although he didn’t know shadow spells, Earl Mi dwelled in the shadows, and Angel understood much about shadow applications.
Just earlier, Dox disappeared into the tree shadows, appearing as if he had merged with the shadows, yet the tree shadows here weren’t dense enough to seamlessly move within them.
Rather than shadow spells, it seemed more like...
While Angel was still speculating in his mind, Dox’s thoughts were transmitted through the Mind Ribbon: "How about it? I told you my concealment ability was strong, right!"
Even though Dox restrained his emotions, Angel could still guess Dox’s secretly smug expression.
Angel was silent for a moment, then softly said a name: "Shadow Demon."
Dox over there suddenly went silent.
After a long while, he finally spoke with a hesitant tone: "How did you think of that?"
Angel thought to himself: I guessed it right.
Indeed, it was a guess, but with some basis, though not conclusive. Now, with Dox’s feedback, Angel felt he must have guessed correctly.
"I have seen Shadow Demons in the Abyss," Angel said casually.
"Shadow Demons wouldn’t appear on the surface; you’ve been to the deep Abyss?" Dox asked curiously.
Angel: "Kind of, I ran a shop in Lassudral for a while, once a Shadow Demon came as a customer."
Angel’s tone was so calm, without any fluctuation, but Dox felt as though he had... lost. He wanted to boast about his concealment magic, yet it was seen through, and the opponent casually mentioned an incredibly terrifying event.
Running a shop in Lassudral for a while? That’s an unfallen Demon City... Although it’s fallen now, to go to the demon’s home base to open a shop, is that even something a person can do?
"Are you, are you serious?" Even through the Mind Ribbon, Angel could hear the tremor in Dox’s voice.
Angel pondered for a moment: "I was kidding."
Hearing it was false, the part of Dox’s heart that had risen to his throat finally sank back down.
Dox felt that his voice had been somewhat shaky earlier, severely affecting his personal image, so he deliberately used a teasing tone: "You look serious, act normally, why is there an underlying mischievousness, are you secretly strange?"
Angel had planned to stop at "kidding," but Dox suddenly teased him further.
Angel: "No Shadow Demon ever came as a customer."
Dox was confused for a moment, why suddenly say that: "What do you mean?"
Angel calmly explained: "When I said I was kidding earlier, I meant no Shadow Demon ever came as a customer. But during my shop’s operation, I saw a Shadow Demon using its ability on the street."
The Shadow Demon’s abilities, resembling shadow abilities, doesn’t merge with shadows but with gloom. As long as it’s in a gloomy, dim environment, even if that dimness doesn’t severely impact visibility, it can effortlessly merge into it.
While Phantasmal Beast Forest has sparse tree shadows, the high tree leaves provide some cover, plus occasional clouds drift by overhead, which led Angel to guess in the direction of Shadow Demon. Unexpectedly, the guess was correct.
Dox at this moment wasn’t concerned about how Angel knew the Shadow Demon’s abilities; he focused on: "Did you really run a shop in Lassudral?"
Angel: "Yes, it was quite popular. When I left, one of my employees was reluctant to part, hoping I would return to open shop again. Oh, that employee was a Sea Demon."
Angel internally added: Although it was a half-blood Sea Demon.
At this moment, Dox was somewhat confused inwardly; he couldn’t judge whether Angel’s words were true or not, though he was beginning to believe them.
If the wandering wizards in the Cross Bar had said this to him, undoubtedly, they would be bragging. But Angel was different, he seemed to be secretly strange, yet acted and spoke very seriously. He was one of the serious ones Dox rarely interacted with.
The so-called seriousness actually refers to the Academy Faction. Academy Faction wizards are either immersed in research or on the path to research, rarely leaving the organization. Dox’s contact with the Academy Faction is limited.
Therefore, Angel is not like a wandering wizard who can casually lie the sky blue.
Since he said so, even mentioned specifics like the shop assistant, maybe, likely, possibly true?
Besides, wizard magazines once mentioned when Lord Monty attacked Lassudral, Angel was there too...
If all this is true, Dox feels his years lived have been wasted, cultivating for so long yet not as splendid as Angel’s few short years.
Running a shop in Lassudral, that’s simply... indescribably strong.
At this point, Angel didn’t know Dox’s inner thoughts, as Dox had been silent after Angel had finished speaking. Angel wasn’t bothered to speculate on Dox’s mind; since he guessed Dox was using the Shadow Demon’s concealment ability, the rest was irrelevant.
Still, it’s important to focus on business.
Angel considered his concealment ability wasn’t as silent as the Shadow Demon’s, but with Nightmare Illusion attached, even Sanders would need some effort to find him, let alone others.
His body wrapped in gentle Power of Nightmare Illusion, Angel stepped into the Phantasmal Beast Forest.
Nightmare Illusion shifted in real-time, simulating the surrounding environment, light sources, even insect chirps and wind noises. Even when Angel moved through the center of multiple Phantasmal Beast groups, he didn’t attract any attention from them.
This was his concealment ability.
Passing through Phantasmal Beast Forest, Angel headed straight for the extensive Princess Castle.
Though Old Porter discovered that those imprisoned in Princess Castle were held in underground dungeons, finding where the dungeon was and how to enter still required "confirmation" from someone.
Of course, Angel could find it using other methods, such as spiritual power, Wizard’s Eye, Scouting Puppet, etc. But these methods weren’t as straightforward and simple as asking directly.
Angel, on one side of the Princess Castle, saw a group of armored guards patrolling.