Reincarnated as the third son of the Duke-Chapter 65 - The Sorcerer’s Deception

65 The Sorcerer’s Deception

Deciding to dig a little deeper, William opened his mouth again.

"Of course, this is just my speculation," he said, feigning nonchalance. "I’m no mage, so I can’t say for certain what kind of ritual it was."

He left himself an escape route, ensuring he wouldn’t overcommit to an act he couldn’t maintain. If his words strayed too far from the truth, the ruse would crumble instantly.

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"You were just trying to deceive me, weren’t you?!" The young man’s distrust deepened, but that was a minor issue.

Compared to William, this man knew even less about magic. That ignorance was William’s advantage.

Lowering his voice, William created an ominous atmosphere as he continued, "However, there’s only one way to make monsters that should be enemies move together in such large numbers—black magic. Didn’t that mage order you to place something at various locations?"

The man’s reaction was immediate. His lips parted in shock, but no words came out.

"If such orders were truly given, then it confirms the mage is a black sorcerer. Unlike regular mages, black sorcerers must first taint the natural flow of mana before they can cast their spells."

"No… it can’t be!"

The young man’s eyes darted wildly as if struggling to grasp the implications. The installations ordered by the mage had been a tightly held secret, known only to a select few within the Imperial Liberation Alliance. And yet, here was an outsider—someone who had never even approached the Yellow Forest—somehow privy to that knowledge.

"If… if what you say is true… what happens then?"

"What happens?" William’s voice was grave. "I told you already. It’s a large-scale sacrificial ritual. The only thing I don’t know is what exactly it’s meant to achieve."

Silence fell between them.

William’s piercing gaze bore into the young man, whose head lowered in contemplation. Suspicion still clouded his expression, but doubt now gnawed at the edges of his certainty.

If we’ve all been deceived by a black sorcerer…

If even the commanders had unknowingly fallen for a lie…

This has to be stopped!

If it had been a sacrifice for the liberation of his homeland, he would not have hesitated to give his life. But dying simply to fuel a black mage’s selfish ambitions? That would be nothing but a meaningless death.

Teeth clenched, the young man lifted his head.

"If I tell you everything I know… can you stop this wicked ritual?"

William met his gaze, his expression unwaveringly firm. "I will make sure of it."

A deep sigh escaped the young man’s lips, his shoulders sagging slightly as if he had finally made up his mind. And then, at last, the truth began to spill forth.

"I don’t know much about magic," the young man admitted. "But one day, our superiors brought in two mages. They called them reinforcements."

One was a man in his early thirties, while the other appeared somewhere between middle-aged and elderly.

The younger one introduced himself as a mage of the Celestial School, while the older one claimed to belong to the Beast School.

"We had no idea what those meant," the young man continued. "Magic itself is rare enough as it is—how could we possibly understand the different schools?"

William nodded in agreement, encouraging him to continue.

Seemingly reassured, the young man’s tone grew steadier. "The Celestial mage hardly did anything. He claimed he had to accumulate mana for the future, so he focused on gathering power. In contrast, the Beast mage was highly active."

It had been the Beast mage who controlled the monsters, carved the totems, and decided where they should be placed. While the Celestial mage remained passive and uninvolved, the Beast mage took an overly enthusiastic role in the preparations.

At some point, he even began demanding freshly captured animals, claiming they were necessary to strengthen the spell.

"Naturally, people weren’t happy about some stranger giving us orders," the young man said bitterly. "But we were instructed to comply with his requests as much as possible."

"And so, you did everything he asked?" William pressed.

"If we didn’t provide the sacrifices, he said the magic wouldn’t work properly. And he insisted they had to be animals—not monsters, not humans—only beasts touched by nature."

Despite their growing frustration, the soldiers had obeyed, begrudgingly hunting the creatures he demanded. Fortunately, once he had received a few sacrifices, the Beast mage had seemed satisfied and made no further requests.

"For days, he left the totems inside the bellies of those beasts," the young man recalled. "When they had turned completely red, he retrieved them and distributed them among us. Then, he gave us our final orders—to place them at specific locations."

"And today was the day of the setup," William concluded. "You were caught while returning from your assignment."

The young man shut his mouth. Though he wanted to prevent the black sorcerer’s ritual, he was still reluctant to reveal more than necessary.

William frowned and crouched down in front of him. "I understand the need for caution between enemies. But even in a situation like this, you’re still withholding information?"

The young man remained silent.

"You don’t know much about magic, and neither do I. Even if we lay out everything we know, there might still be gaps. And yet, you’re choosing what information to reveal? Do you really want to stop this catastrophe?"

The young man bit his lip so hard it nearly bled. It was clear he still clung to the hope of their ’plan’ succeeding, while also fearing that his actions might be considered betrayal. William said nothing, simply waiting for him to reach his own conclusion. If he pressed too hard now, the man might shut his mouth completely.

After several tense seconds, the young man finally spoke, his voice strained. "In three days, the mages will lead the monsters to attack Greve City, behind Bornholm Castle."

"Greve? That’s just a regular city. Its population is dense, but it holds no real strategic value."

"Exactly. The attack is just a feint. Since it’s the largest city in the area, if monsters attack, Bornholm Castle will be forced to send reinforcements. The real target is the castle itself, once its defenses are weakened."