Mystic Overlord: Reading Gives Strength-Chapter 1225 - 1219: Hint

A strand of red hair lay quietly in front of him.

Although its owner was not present, scenes from their initial meeting floated before his eyes.

Ronald only needed a brief moment of recall to confirm one thing.

This strand of hair should have been left here directly by Catherine during their conversation in the tower.

After all, this spot was where she had been sitting, and the surroundings of the tower matched Ronald's memory exactly, with no signs of anyone having visited.

Combined with Catherine's foresight ability in Psychological Historiography...

It was likely that after the identity in the Infinite Negative Field was first revealed, the head of the Astronomy Tower had already been orchestrating a grand plan.

Even Ronald arriving at this abandoned tower now was a part of her plan.

"Predictive spells, they're really quite exaggerated..."

Understanding all of this, Ronald couldn't help but marvel.

In the regular mystical systems outside, predictive spells are exceedingly difficult to use and come at a high cost. So despite their powerful effects, they can't be used at will.

However, in Catherine's hands,

thanks to the special nature of Psychological Historiography, she can foresee the future without paying much of a price, almost akin to casting an ordinary spell.

This unique advantage creates exceptionally exaggerated effects.

However, Ronald's thoughts didn't just stop there. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

While marveling at Catherine's powerful abilities, a familiar figure appeared in Ronald's mind—Nicole.

This genius caster who mastered the rune system had also demonstrated a somewhat inaccurate prophecy spell to Ronald some time ago.

If given enough time to grow,

this little girl, already an ace investigator, might also become a unique presence unparalleled by elite casters.

"Ronald, what is this?"

In the midst of Ronald's emotions, Heloise noticed the strand of red hair and instinctively moved forward to pick it up.

"Heloise, wait a moment!" Ronald hurriedly stopped her.

This hair, being a gift from Catherine to him, needed careful handling, and it was dangerous for others to touch it rashly.

So Ronald himself stepped forward and cautiously picked up the strand of hair Catherine had left.

"Hmm..."

The expected impact came from the hair in his hand.

A latent aura of magic reacted with Ronald along the strand, still carrying that special magical aura he had witnessed before, belonging to Catherine's original essence.

Upon recognizing Ronald's identity, the magic showed no intention of attack. It directly merged into Ronald's body, ultimately forming a brief message.

"Inside the mountain..."

Ronald slowly recited the content of the message, his gaze following it downward.

The message left by Catherine was extremely brief but clearly pointed the way.

To understand everything that has happened in Barrier Mountain,

one must venture into the mountain's heart to find a certain special item of proof.

"Inside the mountain?" At this moment, Patricia heard Ronald muttering and asked proactively, "Is the message left by your 'friend' here telling us to go inside?"

"Exactly." Ronald nodded and then began to lead the way inside the mountain.

Although his interaction with Catherine was brief, he didn't believe the master of the Astronomy Tower would deceive him.

Or to think of the worst-case scenario—

Even if he truly was stepping into a trap, Ronald didn't believe he lacked the ability to deal with it!

...

Following the abandoned Astronomy Tower, Ronald and his two companions descended, eventually entering the interior of Barrier Mountain via a corridor along the mountainside.

From here, the situation was completely different from before.

In contrast to the completely desolate Astronomy Tower, the main activity area of pirates was located in this part of Barrier Mountain.

Although many areas remained unaffected by the pirates under the protection of autonomous spells,

over seventy percent of the mountain's interior had already been explored by these people.

Ronald and his companions continued down the corridor to a platform and, after descending two long staircases, directly encountered a group of pirates gambling in a classroom.

However, their stakes were neither gold coins nor fine wine.

Instead, they gambled with scrolls they'd discovered in Barrier Mountain, now in their pockets.

Desperate and vicious pirates were actually gambling with knowledge as their currency.

This really was a rare sight to behold!

"..."

"Hmm? Are you under that captain's command?"

Ronald and his companions swaggered in with arrogance, immediately grabbing the attention of the gambling pirates and then...

Just like the pirates on the ship,

they quickly focused their eyes on Patricia and Heloise, unable to tear them away even a centimeter.

"These... these two..."

"Stay where you are!" Ronald's voice was loud and clear, and he was quite familiar with the situation.

He didn't bother to look at the pirates' faces again.

After subduing them, he immediately began to question:

"During your time in this mountain, have you seen or heard of a red-haired woman appearing here?"

"Yes!" "No!"

Different voices came from the pirates, so Ronald naturally separated them.

"Tell me where you saw her and provide any information about her."

The pirate who had answered 'yes' immediately responded:

"There's a very beautiful red-haired woman over by Captain Soya. It's just that Captain Soya enforces strict management, so no other information has been leaked."

"..."

"Where is this Captain Soya?"

"The captains are holding a banquet in the large plaza at the mountain's center."

"..."

Ronald pursed his lips.

With Catherine's status and power, saying she was working under a pirate leader was something Ronald couldn't believe.

However, this was at least a useful lead, so he decided to give it a try.

Having made up his mind, Ronald was ready to set off.

Yet he was still concerned about the safety of his companions on the [Grede] fleet, so he asked one more question:

"Do you know anything about the iron fleet that arrived here yesterday?"

"Tell me everything now!"

The pirates answered in a confused manner:

"It seems everyone on that ship mysteriously disappeared!"

"My captain said not to worry about those on the ship; they won't be coming back."

"The things inside the mountain are what really hold value."

"Those iron ships are indeed peculiar, but here, we can learn spells!"

"..."

Ronald took note of and briefly organized this information.

Then he didn't draw his longsword but instead waved with one hand to summon a hellish black mist, engulfing all the pirates within.

Without looking back, he led Heloise and Patricia away from the area.