Shang waited a couple of kilometers away from the base for another six hours.
And after these six hours, his escort to the Storm Eagle Zone finally arrived.
When Shang saw the group, he raised an eyebrow.
'That's quite a strong escort.'
In front of Shang stood six people. Five of them were True Mages, with four of them being at the Mid True Mage Realm and the leader being at the Late True Mage Realm.
The last person wasn't a Mage, but someone Shang knew very well.
In front of Shang stood a red-haired man who looked to be in his early thirties. He wore powerful red armor, and his eyes were cold.
Shang only smiled a bit. 'Seems like reaching the True Path Stage made Vice-Dean Ranos younger.'
Yes, it was Vice-Dean Ranos.
Vice-Dean Ranos and Shang's Spirit Senses had already sensed each other earlier.
Shang wasn't exactly surprised when he felt Vice-Dean Ranos' Spirit Sense, but Ranos was very surprised.
According to his estimates, Shang was in his early thirties, but he had already made progress on establishing his True Path.
Additionally, when Vice-Dean Ranos felt Shang's power, he could barely believe his senses.
Right now, Shang felt like an incredible threat to Vice-Dean Ranos. He felt so dangerous that Ranos wasn't even sure if he could beat Shang.
Lastly, Shang felt very different from the young boy he used to know.
Shang felt much colder.
The two of them only looked at each other for a while.
"Congratulations on reaching the True Path Stage," Shang said.
Vice-Dean Ranos' eyebrows furrowed. "I'm not sure if I should gratulate you or pity you," he said.
The other Mages were also shocked when they felt Shang's pressure.
How could a warrior at the Mid Commander Stage feel so incredibly powerful?!
After the short exchange, silence returned.
Instead of talking like old times, Shang and Ranos only looked at each other with evaluating gazes.
"Let's go," Ranos said as he turned around to leave.
"You don't want to know what happened?" Shang asked.
"You are you. I am I," Ranos answered before leaving.
"Fine," Shang said.
Then, the group traveled southward towards the Storm Eagle Zone.
On the way, some of the Mages asked Shang some questions, but Shang only gave them quick and curt answers.
They realized that Shang wasn't a big fan of talking, and they focused on telling Shang about what had changed in the last ten years.
Shang already knew all the changes, but he still acted like he hadn't heard of these things before.
"Are the warriors that underwent the Bloodline Infusion still being hunted down?" Shang asked after a Mage told him that some warriors were vanishing.
"Yes," the Head of the Circle of Mages said. "Nearly all the General Stage warriors that underwent the Bloodline Infusion don't dare to exit the Storm Eagle Zone or even the academy."
The Mage narrowed his eyes. "Recently, even some of the warriors in the Storm Eagle Zone started vanishing. It's not as bad as in the other Zones, but it's worrisome."
Shang slightly narrowed his right eye. "Sounds like I should investigate."
"You don't need to investigate," Vice-Dean Ranos chimed in. "We basically know who is doing these things."
"And why are you not attacking them?" Shang asked.
"We can only defend ourselves," Vice-Dean Ranos explained. "If we take up the initiative and kill them without them directly threatening us, the Council will accuse us of treason. They will make it look like we attacked an innocent group of Mages that were just minding their own business."
Shang looked at the back of Vice-Dean Ranos' head, who was currently running in front of Shang. "Who gave that order?"
"This is a joint decision between Vice-Dean Soran and me," he answered.
'Thought so,' Shang thought. 'Duke Whirlwind told me that I can't accept being pushed around, but this sounds exactly like being pushed around.'
"Does Duke Whirlwind know?" Shang asked.
For a while, Vice-Dean Ranos didn't answer.
"Most of it," he said.
However, at the same time, Vice-Dean Ranos' voice appeared inside Shang's head. Obviously, he didn't want the Mages around him to know.
"Duke Whirlwind might be an ally, but he is still a Mage," he said via voice transmission. "Right now, he is helping us, but if we warriors actually become strong enough to threaten the Mages' supremacy, he will stand with his kind."
"In his eyes, we are illegal mercenaries to him. He will keep helping us, but as soon as things actually become serious, he will abandon us."
"If we attack the Mages, he will wash his hands off the matter and throw us in front of the Council with a smile," he explained.
Shang looked at Vice-Dean Ranos with a curious gleam in his eyes. "How did you come to that conclusion?"
"He's a Mage," Vice-Dean Ranos answered via voice transmission. "That's what Mages do."
"That seems like an overgeneralization."
At that point, Vice-Dean Ranos glanced at Shang with a cold light.
"You might be powerful, but you are still young, boy," Vice-Dean Ranos transmitted. "When you've lived as long as me, you will see that the Mages are all of a piece."
'Interesting,' Shang thought without answering Ranos. 'So, it's not only the Mages that view the warriors in an unfavorable light, but the warriors also see the Mages in this way.'
'I'm convinced that Duke Whirlwind is not like Vice-Dean Ranos makes him out to be. I gave him the suggestion to frame Vice-Dean Ranos for something that happened, but he was adamantly against it.'
'Duke Whirlwind would throw the warriors in front of the Council?'
'I doubt it.'
At that point, Shang also remembered that Vice-Dean Ranos' entire existence was built around killing Mages.
What led him to choose such a path?
'He must have been betrayed and attacked by Mages more than once. His negative experiences with Mages clouded his judgment until he believed that every Mage is a selfish monster.'
At that point, Shang had a funny thought.
'In Earth-terms, he could be compared to some form of bigot or racist, right?'
