Chapter 435: Master and Apprentice Turn Against Each Other
The fact that Councilor Weiss managed to escape the pursuit of the Avatar of the Wasteland Lord was already astonishing enough. After all, those three magical beasts were each stronger than Weiss, yet even so, none of them escaped their grim fate.
From the moment the Avatar of the Wasteland Lord appeared, Leon knew that this manifestation was at least on par with Star Sage Joey...
Yet Weiss survived an encounter with such a terrifying entity—just thinking about it feels unbelievable.
Even Leon himself thought that, under the Wasteland Lord’s relentless pursuit, Councilor Weiss of the Black Tower didn’t stand a chance.
But now, Councilor Weiss seems to be in serious trouble. Those two embers of Grayfire are constantly eroding his soul—even with Weiss’s strength, it’s only a matter of time before his soul is utterly consumed, unless a Sky Rank powerhouse is willing to extinguish the Grayfire for him...
"Solan Monty!"
Just out of the furnace, Weiss was momentarily stunned to see so many familiar faces nearby. But his gaze quickly locked onto Solan Monty, eyes blazing with fury. With a roar, a violent surge of magical energy erupted from him; countless wind spells, like a raging storm, swept toward Solan Monty.
Has this old man lost his mind...?
Everyone was dumbfounded by the scene unfolding before them. No one could have predicted things would turn out this way—weren’t Weiss and Solan Monty both from the Black Tower? And weren’t they master and apprentice, having spent three or four decades together? Their bond should be deep, so why did Weiss attack Solan Monty without a word, striking so viciously?
The only explanation is that the old man must have lost his mind—why else would he suddenly attack his beloved apprentice?
With Solan Monty’s current achievements, he ranks among the top talents in the Black Tower and stands a good chance of joining the Sevenfold Council in the future. As his teacher, Weiss should be proud—having such an outstanding disciple, he should be pampering him, not trying to kill him! But the way Weiss struck just now, he clearly meant to take Solan Monty’s life.
Besides, in any faction, infighting is unforgivable. Even if Weiss is a member of the Sevenfold Council, he’d have to give a proper explanation for this—or he’d be expelled from the Black Tower.
"Serves you right for always doing such rotten things—now karma’s come for you…"
But Hubert the Dragonblood Orc, standing beside Leon, didn’t look surprised at all when Weiss attacked Solan Monty—in fact, he wore his trademark schadenfreude grin, muttering under his breath with a smirk.
"What did you say?" Leon caught every word, frowning—Hubert seemed to know something.
"Uh?"
Seeing Leon’s frown, Hubert was clearly startled. He stood rooted to the spot, not daring to make a sound.
"What do you mean, 'uh'? If you know something, spit it out…" Leon frowned and glared at Hubert, shaking his head internally. This guy’s already a ninth-level Swordmaster, and he’s still so timid.
Hubert exhaled in relief, looking much more relaxed on the surface. Of course, he had no idea Leon was silently judging him. After a pause, he pointed at Solan Monty and said, "That guy’s even worse than us Highland Orcs. Back then, he was lying on the ground, about to be killed by the Avatar of the Archdemon. It was Weiss who saved him and tried to help him escape. But when Weiss wasn’t looking, Solan Monty threw Weiss toward the Archdemon’s avatar and ran off on his own, then followed us into the cave…"
Leon couldn’t help but show a wry smile—he hadn’t expected Solan Monty to do something so utterly deranged, betraying even his own teacher and throwing him straight into danger. No wonder Weiss ignored everyone else and charged straight at Solan Monty the moment he appeared…
Even Solan Monty probably hadn’t expected this outcome. For one, he’d been discreet—Hubert only saw it by accident. And being thrown at the Wasteland Lord, Weiss was almost certainly doomed.
But then, the unexpected happened…
Now that the truth is out, even if Weiss doesn’t kill him, Solan Monty won’t have a place in the Black Tower anymore.
In short, Solan Monty’s luck has run out…
Weiss and Solan Monty were locked in fierce combat in the spacious Alchemist Workshop, while Leon and his group sensibly stood aside to watch—none of them had any intention of intervening.
There was nothing they could do—no one present had much fondness for Weiss or Solan Monty of the Black Tower…
The members of the three mercenary companies resented Weiss and Solan Monty for conscripting them and delaying their search for that item. Right now, Dalson and the other three watching the fight were secretly wishing both Weiss and Solan Monty would destroy each other…
As for Leon, his dislike for the two Black Tower mages ran even deeper. Solan Monty’s actions had long since exceeded his tolerance—if they weren’t in the perilous Wizard’s Spire and Solan Monty didn’t still have some use as an ally, Leon would have killed him outright.
Weiss, back in Skyline Gorge, had first attacked Leon and then, at the critical moment, sabotaged him. If Leon had been any slower to react, he’d have been killed by the Avatar of the Wasteland Lord.
And as Weiss was Solan Monty’s teacher, he was likely privy to some secrets about the Bone Plane.
"What’s going on here…?"
At this moment, Leon clearly noticed that Weiss was attacking Solan Monty with everything he had, yet couldn’t even scratch him. This discovery surprised Leon—he’d experienced Weiss’s strength firsthand. Back then, his calculations with the mana array showed Weiss was at the peak of sixth-level Title Archmage, and with his uncanny wind magic, he could almost match a seventh-level Title Archmage. Otherwise, Leon wouldn’t have been so thoroughly overwhelmed…
But now, facing Solan Monty, Weiss couldn’t gain the upper hand at all.
That was just… odd.
Even if Solan Monty’s strength had skyrocketed, he was still only a fifth-level Title Archmage, and his control over power was far from mature. Yet here he was, fighting Weiss to a standstill—something about this didn’t add up…
Weiss’s injuries seem severe—who knows what happened in the last two months…" Leon frowned, watching Weiss in the dueling circle, casting spells nonstop. Soon, he noticed the problem: Weiss’s rank had fallen to fifth-level Title Archmage, and much of his strength was spent suppressing the erosion of Grayfire. That’s why he couldn’t defeat Solan Monty; at this rate, he might even lose to him…
"Solan Monty, you bastard! I swear I’ll kill you today!"
Weiss’s face was ashen. As he spoke, several tornadoes appeared out of thin air around him. With their arrival, the surrounding mana surged wildly, as if pulled by an invisible force. Countless wind elements erupted from Weiss, and a barrage of high-level wind spells swept toward Solan Monty.
Weiss was truly on the verge of madness now. The memories of that day kept flashing through his mind—after Solan Monty threw him out, it took Weiss ten whole days to shake off the Avatar of the Wasteland Lord’s pursuit. The price he paid was steep: not only was he gravely wounded, but he was also burned by two embers of Grayfire. If he couldn’t quickly find a Sky Rank powerhouse to extinguish the Grayfire, his soul would soon be consumed.
Even in his fight with Solan Monty, Weiss had to divert part of his strength to suppress the Grayfire, lest it erode his soul too quickly and cost him his life…
The moment Solan Monty threw him out, Weiss swore that if he survived, he would kill Solan Monty!
To have your apprentice of decades betray you at a critical moment and throw you into mortal danger—anyone would be driven mad. If Weiss hadn’t been through so many storms, he might have coughed up blood from sheer rage.
Fortunately, his luck held—he escaped the Wasteland Lord’s pursuit and even found Solan Monty!
The moment he saw Solan Monty, all of Weiss’s resentment erupted at once.
But after crossing swords with Solan Monty, Weiss’s heart sank halfway…
He realized that Solan Monty didn’t seem to be the same person as before…
A fifth-level Title Archmage!
A genuine fifth-level Title Archmage—now that Weiss’s rank had fallen to the same level, he couldn’t even handle Solan Monty. He found that hard to accept.
"Foolish…"
Solan Monty snorted coldly, a sneer curling at his lips. When he first saw Weiss appear, he’d panicked a little—he knew his teacher’s strength. Normally, no sixth-level Title Archmage could survive against Weiss, let alone a mere fifth-level like himself.
But then he realized Weiss’s condition was poor—his rank had dropped to fifth-level Title Archmage, and his actual strength was even a bit weaker than Solan Monty’s.
That discovery made Solan Monty ecstatic.
"Weiss, do you remember? Three years ago in the Azure Plane, I entered a ruin and barely escaped with my life, bringing out an Essence Relic. But you forced me to hand it over. Honestly, I’ve had enough of a teacher like you. If it weren’t for your strength, I’d have turned against you long ago! As for what happened two months ago, you don’t need to be so angry—we’re even now. I won’t pursue the Essence Relic anymore…"
"Besides, you’re already as good as dead. Your rank’s fallen to fifth-level Title Archmage, and you’ll almost certainly lose your seat as a councilor. Meanwhile, at forty-five, I’ve reached fifth-level Title Archmage—my potential far exceeds yours. I’m sure your vacant council seat will be mine. Weiss, just give up. You don’t have any chance of stopping me now, hahahaha…"