nyslfriends Chapter 27 The Alliance of Cultivators and Druids
Chapter 27 The Alliance of Cultivators and Druids
After hearing Kieran's words, Ronan thought to himself, "If this is truly the reason why the Baal followers have been hesitant to act, then there's no need to panic."
Then, he said to Kieran, "If you need help from other druids, please take me with you, because you don't know how many shapeshifters are still in the camp."
Upon hearing this, Kieran broke out in a cold sweat and followed Ronan's advice. He immediately took Ronan and headed to other parts of the camp.
Kieran found five more druids.
These five druids include men and women, humans, teflins, and half-elves.
Ronan looked at the data of these five druids, and none of them were shapeshifters.
Of the five druids, two are level 2, two are level 3, and one is level 4. With the addition of the level 4 Zilean, they can be considered a formidable force, fully capable of going toe-to-toe with the level 6 assassin "Ethan Thorne".
However, what they had to do was to ensure the safety of everyone else in the camp while taking down "Ethan Thorne".
Kieran told the five that Ethan Thorne was a shapeshifter.
The five people looked surprised, initially finding it absurd.
But when I learned that the source of the news was Ronan, for some reason, I suddenly felt that the news was very likely true.
Upon closer examination, it becomes clear that it is entirely possible for the shapeshifter to infiltrate by transforming into any one of them.
After all, they never detected good or evil in their companions.
So, the six druids, including Kieran, along with Ronan, discussed how to capture "Ethan Thorne".
After discussion, they decided that they absolutely could not take action if there were still people around Ethan Thorne.
According to Ronan's information, given Ethan Thorne's close-combat abilities, he could potentially harm others if startled.
Therefore, they can only wait for an opportunity for "Ethan Thorne" to act alone.
Afterwards, the seven exchanged their skills and discussed the matter further. They then decided that Ronan and another druid who knew how to cast the second-circle spell "Immobilize Humanoids" would cast the spell on "Ethan Thorne" first.
Then, the other druids used Entanglement to control Ethan Thorne.
After discussing it, Ronan and Kieran returned to the clearing in the woods.
The other five druids then silently approached the open space.
When Ronan and Kieran returned to the clearing, they found Ethan Thorne still sitting at the low table, chatting and laughing with Cuthbert and the others.
Ronan and Kieran, with no change in expression, joined in as well.
Before Ronan left, Zane, whom Ethan Thorne had mentioned, was now sitting at the low table.
Zain was a slightly chubby guy in his thirties with a thick beard and a kind face.
Ronan glanced at the level and saw that Zane was a level 4 professional, the highest-level druid in the camp besides Elder Reynolds.
After chatting for a while, Ethan Thorne said, "Friends, please excuse me. I have a few ideas that have suddenly popped into my head that should be helpful for my and my teacher's research. I need to go back and write them down."
Ronan and Kieran were just starting to think things were looking promising when Elder Reynolds said, "I've rested enough and should go back to my research. Ethan Thorne, tell me your thoughts later."
Just as Ronan was thinking about how to persuade Elder Reynolds to stay, he heard "Ethan Thorne" say, "Teacher, you have been studying for seven hours today. Take a rest for now and continue studying tomorrow."
Ronan and Kieran didn't know why Ethan Thorne didn't want Elder Reynolds to continue his research, but if it would be advantageous for them to stay, they followed Ethan Thorne's advice and persuaded Elder Reynolds to rest.
Elder Reynolds chuckled, "Alright, then I'll take a rest." He then looked at Ronan and his group, "It's getting dark, why don't you rest at the camp for the night and go back tomorrow?"
Cuthbert, Ramir, and Zane all lack dark vision, so they would be in danger if they encountered monsters while traveling in the dark.
Furthermore, Elder Reynolds and Zane inquired in detail about Thea's father's condition and learned the general outline of his illness. They stated that it could be cured with the prescribed medicine. Even if they returned a little later, Thea's father would not be in any danger.
Ethan Thorne has left.
Ronan and Kieran kept their eyes subtly following Ethan Thorne.
Once Ethan Thorne had gone a little further and they felt that the shapeshifter couldn't hear them, Kieran said to Elder Reynolds, "Elder, Ronan seems quite interested in the camp. I'd like to take him for a look around."
"Alright, you can go ahead. You don't need to keep this old man company," Elder Reynolds said.
Ronan and Kieran then stood up, and Kieran gave a wink to each of the five druids standing in different directions in the distance.
The five druids understood and walked together in the direction Ethan Thorne had left.
After following for a while, they saw in the distance that "Ethan Thorne" walked into the tent where Elder Reynolds usually conducted his research.
They also walked towards the tent.
Druids could be seen coming and going around the tent from time to time.
When the passing druids saw Zilean and the others, they were about to greet them when Zilean made a shushing gesture.
The druids who were passing by immediately shut their mouths and looked at Kieran and the others with suspicion.
Kieran waved for the passing druids to leave, then walked to the tent entrance with Ronan and the others, lifted the lid, and went inside.
They saw Ethan Thorne with his back to them, writing furiously, and only stopped writing when he heard their footsteps.
As Ronan shone his divine light, the image of Ethan Thorne closing a book and tucking it into his clothes flashed into his mind.
He guessed that the shapeshifter had probably wanted to leave alone to copy Elder Reynolds' research notes while Elder Reynolds was away.
Ethan Thorne turned his head, about to ask, "Why did you come in?", but seeing so many people, he immediately became alert as soon as he uttered the word "you," and asked, "What do you want...?"
Before he could finish speaking, Ronan, who possessed the three feats of [Instant Casting of Magic], [Silent Casting of Magic], and [Material-Free Spellcasting], simply pointed a finger and cast a [Freeze] spell on Ethan Thorne.
Meanwhile, the other druids began chanting incantations and performing spellcasting actions.
Compared to [Immobilize Humanoid], [Entanglement] is a lower-level spell, being a first-level spell. Therefore, [Entanglement] was cast first.
The frozen "Ethan Thorne" felt the ground beneath his feet bulge, and then vines sprouted and began to coil around him.
The vines grew extremely fast, and in just a few breaths, they completely wrapped around Ethan Thorne.
Although Ethan Thorne is a level 6 professional, assassins are not known for their strength. Therefore, even though Ronan's [Immobilize] spell had lost its effect, he still could not break free under the combined spell of the five druids.