Wizard: My magic facility can be upgraded!

Chapter 177 Openly repairing the plank road while secretly advancing the Chencang pass

Chapter 177 Openly repairing the plank road while secretly advancing the Chencang pass

"Okay." Li Ang readily agreed and then asked the shop owner about the price.

These glass balls are quite expensive, costing a full twenty silver coins each.

Li Ang declined Maya's offer to pay, and instead counted out silver coins from his own purse to settle the payment.

After all, Maya had just bought a sword for Li Ang, so they couldn't just keep taking advantage of one person.

Of course, there was another main reason: through the little incident of buying the sword just now, Li Ang realized that Meiya probably didn't have much money left.

Given Maya's personality, even if she only had one hundred gold coins left and was going to go hungry, she would still buy the sword without hesitation.

In the end, Olivia got the biggest glass ball as she wished, and she played with it with great affection, a childlike smile on her face. The commotion finally subsided.

Looking at the beaming Olivia, Li Ang felt a chill run down his spine. What would she have done if he hadn't appeared in time? Would she have transformed into a giant dragon and then—

Li Ang shook his head, banishing those unpleasant images from his mind. He secretly resolved that, as her supervisor, he must at least prevent her from becoming the evil dragon in the storybook.

At this moment, the other team members also came out of the shops one after another.

Eric, Miguel, and Remus each bought a dagger with a rustic, traditional dwarven style.

Helena, Elisa, and Gwen donned newly purchased wool shawls in the traditional dwarven style.

Rudik was carrying two thick volumes, one was "Common Dwarven Vocabulary and Grammar" and the other was "The History of Ironforge," seemingly intending to brush up on his local knowledge.

Celia, however, remained empty-handed; the handicrafts and minerals seemed insufficient to entice the young lady.

After everyone reunited, they returned to the third floor of the Honey and Wine Inn.

When I returned, it was nearly evening.

Li Ang called Nelson over, gave him a few instructions, and then Nelson jogged out of the hotel.

After a night's rest, the next morning, in the command center, the door was carefully closed, and Eric once again set up a soundproof barrier.

Li Ang looked around at everyone and said in a deep voice, "Everyone, so far our plan has been progressing smoothly. Now, let's begin the second part of the plan."

His gaze shifted to Gwen, the witch who had recently joined the Eighth Squad.

"Gwen, we can begin."

Gwen nodded, a hint of nervousness on her face: "Yes, Captain Li Ang."

She took a deep breath, pulled out her wand, and tapped it on her feet.

As she tapped the wand, the shadow beneath her feet seemed to come alive, beginning to writhe.

Then the shadows spread like a black tide, connecting the members of the Eighth Squad and the shadows beneath Celia's feet.

As the shadows beneath everyone's feet continued to wriggle, an astonishing scene unfolded.

The viscous shadow was poured upwards like a mold, and soon, six pitch-black figures slowly emerged from the shadow.

These figures were initially just blurry outlines, but as Gwen continued to pour her magic into them, they quickly became clear and solid, and gradually gained color and detail, just like the five members of the Eighth Squad plus Celia.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Gwen's forehead. She took a slight breath and explained, "These are shadow clones. Only the clone that split off from myself has about 30% of my main body's combat power and can execute some simple commands. The other five clones—have no combat power and can only simply follow my shadow clone. Moreover, they will dissipate if they are attacked by slightly stronger attacks or if they are too far away from my clone."

Li Ang carefully observed these almost indistinguishable clones and nodded: "Well done, that's enough."

Gwen has an extremely rare affinity for dark magic, and one of the spells she knows is [Shadow Clone].

This spell was originally only meant to create a shadow clone of the caster to aid in combat, but after attending Leon's magic lessons, Gwen was greatly inspired. She made some improvements to the spell model and successfully extended the target of the clone to other people.

Although the drawback is that apart from its own clones, the other clones have almost no combat power, it is sufficient for deception and disguise.

After Gwen demonstrated this new spell on the airship, Leon and Eric worked together to devise a plan.

"Next," Li Ang said, looking at Eric and Celia, "our First Action Team, along with these clones, will continue the three trials, drawing all possible attention. Captain Eric, I ask you to lead the rest of the Eighth Squad, along with the sorceress Celia, into the shadows. Use this opportunity to thoroughly investigate the inner workings of the Royal Court, especially the new regent, the secret mission the craftsmen were assigned to, and His Majesty's true situation."

Eric nodded solemnly: "Don't worry, Leon. You'll be drawing fire from the open, so be sure to stay safe."

"You too, safety should be the top priority," Li Ang said solemnly.

After exchanging farewells, the two teams went their separate ways.

The members of the Eighth Squad changed into black robes that could cover their faces and, with the help of Gwen's shadow, quietly left the hotel.

After watching them leave, Li Ang turned to Meiya and said, "Your Highness, there's no time to lose. Let's prepare to head to the first trial site. You know the way best, so please lead the way."

"Leave it to me, Your Highness. The first trial will take place in the library on the top floor." Maya nodded vigorously, shouldered her warhammer, and took the lead.

Instead of heading directly to the library on the upper floor, the group first detoured to a rather lively square in the working-class district.

Following Leon's instructions, Maya found Bronzebeard, who was already waiting there.

"Your Majesty, Advisor!" Bronzebeard greeted them immediately, his brass-colored beard twitching slightly with excitement.

"My esteemed advisor, as you instructed through your brother Nelson, I have disseminated the news that His Majesty is about to begin the Trial of Wisdom. See?"

He stepped aside and saw that a large number of dwarven people who had come after hearing the news had already gathered in the square. When they saw Sandramea, they immediately cheered and talked.

"It is Her Highness the Princess."

"She really is back, and she's about to undergo a trial."

"Look, the Ten Knights from the prophecy are here too!"

"Let's go, let's go check out the library."

Bronzebeard lowered his voice and said to Leon and Maya with a hint of smugness, "Your Majesty, Advisor, the news has spread very quickly. Now, I'm afraid most of Ironforge knows that Your Majesty will be taking the Trial of Wisdom today."

""

Li Ang nodded in satisfaction: "Well done, Mr. Bronzebeard. This is exactly the effect we wanted."