After Angel finished stating these four points, he stopped and looked at everyone, waiting for their feedback.
For once, Dox didn’t voice any opposition, he simply nodded: "I said earlier, you two can decide. As long as Lord Black Earl agrees, then we’ll battle with those vines... But honestly, your first three reasons didn’t really convince me. It’s the so-called tenuous fourth reason you mentioned that has a great possibility."
Angel raised an eyebrow, not responding to Dox’s comment.
From Dox’s words, it was clear that even if he temporarily lost inspiration, he was still an intuitive wizard. Rather than believing Angel’s listed "evidence," he trusted an unsubstantiated deduction more.
On the other side, the Black Earl thought for a moment before saying: "I thought about it and couldn’t find a reasonable argument to refute you. In that case, we will do as you suggested."
With the Black Earl also making a decision, everyone no longer hesitated and decided to take the path sealed by the vines!
Dox had already started rolling up his sleeves, the red sword at his waist was trembling incessantly, and his fighting spirit was continuously rising.
Angel looked at him and said calmly: "Take it easy, it might not come to a fight."
Under Dox’s puzzled gaze, Angel’s form suddenly changed into a young, vibrant youth, wearing a green robe, with a bow and quiver made of vines on his back, and a slanted green hat on his head.
The most distinctive feature was a crystalline, shimmering leaf full of natural aura in the center of Angel’s hat.
The others didn’t recognize this appearance, but Black Earl did.
"You’re holding a Tree Spirit’s leaf, trying to mimic a Tree Spirit? Although I think it’s unlikely the vines will be fooled, if you intend to impersonate a Tree Spirit, then don’t wear clothes, and certainly don’t wear a green hat."
Yes, Angel’s current appearance was that of a Tree Spirit. However, Tree Spirits tended not to wear anything and only had a leaf floating around crucial parts, but Angel’s sense of shame prevented him from being as open as Tree Spirits, so he still transformed into a set of clothes.
Angel treated Black Earl’s "suggestion" as if it was the wind passing by his ears. Even if he had to face the vines head-on, he wouldn’t stroll around naked with the shamelessness of a Tree Spirit.
After dressing up as a Tree Spirit, Angel motioned for everyone to remain inside the Moving Mirage and to follow behind him, not straying too far.
Then, Angel took a deep breath and stepped out of the mirage.
Even though he made thorough preparations and had a Tree Spirit’s leaf purifying the surrounding air, the overwhelming foul odor still rushed into his nasal cavity unexpectedly.
While Angel himself was fine, Dangross, who was resting on his shoulder, rolled its eyes back immediately.
"Oh, I forgot you were there..." Angel said, intending to place Dangross into a bracelet, but hesitated at the last moment.
Dangross seemed to have been "dyed" by the stench; if put into the bracelet, it might foul the inside too. Forget it, Angel thought, better hold on for now and purify Dangross later.
With this thought, a vine extended from Angel’s back, carefully wrapping around the fainted Dangross.
Having done all this, Angel continued onward.
Because Angel had revealed himself and the rich Tree Spirit aura was radiating natural force all around, the distant vines immediately noticed Angel.
The vines had been moving slowly, but Angel’s appearance sped up their pace.
Angel didn’t know whether the vines were preparing for battle or trying to make peace; either way, he’d find out by advancing. If it did lead to battle, he’d wake Dangross to resolve it with fire.
However, even as Angel got within twenty meters of the vines, they still showed no sign of aggression.
Mind you, these vine structures, each as thick as boa constrictors and at least hundreds of meters long, formed a tight wall; if they intended to fight, they could’ve attacked from a distance.
But they didn’t, which seemed to confirm one of Angel’s guesses: plant-type Magical Creatures might actually be more approachable to Wood Spirits.
It wasn’t until Angel came within ten meters that the vines began to react intensely.
Most vines started to move, clawing at the air as if threatening not to take another step closer.
Even then, the vines didn’t make a move.
This made Angel even more convinced that, as he suspected, these vines were "guards" similar to those of the day rather than bloodthirsty, murderous vines.
And while the vines appeared to be clawing ferociously, they weren’t actually aimed at Angel, but at what was behind him.
Though Angel was confident in his illusion, the endless network of vines here had a collective spiritual force vast as the sea. Just standing in front of them, one could feel the oppressive level of spiritual power.
While spiritual power doesn’t equal strength, such massive suppression of spiritual power was enough to reveal flaws in Angel’s illusions.
Or rather, it caused a slight deviation in Earl Mi.
Earl Mi was the main component of the Moving Mirage; if Earl Mi was slightly off, the Moving Mirage naturally showed signs of weakness.
"They seem not genuinely wary of you but are quite hostile to us," Dox whispered through the Mind Ribbon.
"Yet, with you blocking the way, they haven’t made a move... Seems disguising as a Wood Spirit pays off."
As Dox said this, his eyes began to shift.
Black Earl immediately saw through Dox’s thoughts, sneering: "If you had millennia-old Tree Spirit leaves to mask your aura, you could impersonate a Wood Spirit. Absent something akin, dismiss such notions."
Spirits aren’t easy to fake. Their aura is drastically different from ordinary beings, and even the most advanced Shapeshifting Techniques can only mimic their appearance, easily seen through.
With the backing of the three Ancestral Spirits of the Barbarian Cave, each a rare super-monster level spirit in the Wizards’ Realm, anything from them, even a single leaf, allowed Angel’s mimicry to nearly reach true deception.
Dox attempting to mimic a Wood Spirit was mostly hopeless. Even Black Earl himself couldn’t impersonate a spirit like Angel did.
That leaf was just too important.
"Don’t make a move yet, I seem to sense a ripple. It looks like those vines are preparing to communicate with me."
After Angel spoke, everyone saw a slender vine emerge from the massive vine wall, snaking through the air until it reached Angel.
The vine stopped just under half a meter from Angel’s brow.
As it approached, the sensations of the ripple Angel felt grew stronger.
It was like someone whispering in his ear.