"Quiet."
The middle-aged wizard's voice was not loud, but its effect was even more powerful than the booming shout of the burly man. The bustling crowd instantly fell silent.
The wizard seemed quite pleased with the result, tapping his staff, and everyone turned their attention toward him.
The tip of the staff faintly emitted a greenish glow, further enhancing the wizard's mysterious aura.
"Hiss—"
The snake-boy began flicking his terrifying snake tongue again, his snake eyes fixed intently on the middle-aged wizard.
The wizard, however, remained unfazed, as if everything were under his control.
"The Redstone Snake Monster has already been slain by Knight Raphael. You, a mere serpent kin, dare cause chaos in the city?"
He seemed pleased to have the opportunity to capture the boy, adding, "I will take you and deliver you to the Nine Rings White Tower as a test subject!"
The mention of the Redstone Snake Monster's kin and the Nine Rings White Tower… everyone understood. This man was undoubtedly a noble wizard—except for Reg.
To Reg, the middle-aged wizard's actions didn't feel like those of a revered "Wizard Lord," but rather like a clumsy imposter trying to mimic something they were not.
What's more, with his magical vision temporarily enhanced by the scroll, Reg could directly see the radiation field around the "Wizard Lord."
And that radiation field…
It was practically nonexistent.
"Still not surrendering?"
The middle-aged wizard suddenly bellowed, raising his staff high above his head. The greenish glow became even brighter.
The burly man, standing behind the wizard, twisted his wrist sharply, hidden from everyone else's view.
The snake-boy immediately showed signs of fear, his legs giving way as he knelt, seemingly trying to say something, but his snake tongue kept flicking uncontrollably.
The crowd grew bolder. Some approached cautiously, and others began to beg the wizard to kill him on the spot.
But Reg's expression turned cold.
He had already figured it out. The middle-aged wizard and the burly man were nothing more than complete frauds.
As for the snake-boy on stage, he was most likely a poor tool in their hands, much like the street children who were cruelly blinded or had their limbs amputated for profit…
The thought made Reg's eyes flash with a murderous glint.
As the bizarre second son of the former Viscount, life in the Viscount's domain hadn't been great for him.
Though his father didn't overtly say anything, he had certainly been influenced by the rumors about "bad luck," "demon child," and "monster." He kept his distance, and Reg had been treated coldly.
After his older brother, the heir, reached adulthood, the invisible rift between them became more evident.
Reg had been sent to the farthest edge of the territory, where he encountered a similar "false wizard" while trying to enroll in a wizarding academy.
Had he not been mature enough and prepared several means to deal with such situations, the result might not have been much better than this poor snake-boy's fate!
He took a deep breath, suppressing his murderous intent, and instead quietly observed the "middle-aged wizard" and the surrounding crowd.
The wizard continued to spin lies, occasionally conjuring "flames of magic" that caused the crowd to gasp in amazement.
"Exactly right, the damned monster must not be allowed to live!"
Finally, when he thought the time was right, he pointed his staff at the boy.
"Boom!"
In the blink of an eye, a flash of fire erupted from the snake-boy's body, and he vanished without a trace.
Reg's heart skipped a beat, fearing for the boy's safety, but he quickly regained his composure.
The "staff" the so-called wizard wielded was certainly not a real artifact, and as for the flames…
If they could truly burn a person to nothing in an instant, the confined space would likely cause the curtains to fly off. It was impossible for it to make such a small sound without causing more commotion.
It was more likely that some kind of trap had been set up below.
Reg waited patiently for a while, and sure enough, the middle-aged wizard wasn't as simple as he seemed.
Among the crowd, a plump merchant, who appeared to be trying to leave, suddenly started convulsing, foaming at the mouth, and collapsed to the ground.
The wizard, from a distance, glanced over, and without a second thought, declared:
"Don't get close to him. It's likely the venom of the serpent kin that was sprayed before death, turned into gas by my flames. He must have inhaled it and been poisoned."
"W-Wizard Lord, what should we do?"
The onlookers, terrified by the merchant's symptoms, turned pale. When they heard the venom had turned into gas, they began to feel faint themselves, as if they, too, might collapse at any moment.
"Do not fear. I have magic potions to cure this!" the wizard said nonchalantly, ordering the burly man to feed a dark green "potion" to the merchant.
The merchant came to his senses in less than three seconds.
The crowd's expressions shifted, with many deep in thought.
"Wizard Lord, I… I have twenty copper coins. Could I buy a bottle of your potion?"
"Hey! Wizard Lord, I too! Can I trade for a bottle?" "Me too, me too!" "And me!"
The mention of venom gas meant that everyone in the crowd had been poisoned to some degree.
Those who hadn't collapsed probably only had milder symptoms, but who wouldn't fear for their lives? Who dared to gamble that the "Wizard Lord" would help if they fell unconscious?
Thus, when one person spoke up, the entire crowd began shouting for their chance.
The burly man chuckled, then coldly shouted:
"The Lord only has ten bottles of magic potion for now. I'm afraid there's not enough for everyone…"
"Hey! I'll offer forty copper coins for one!" "What's your rush, forty's nothing, I'll offer sixty!" "Sixty? You dare? I'll offer a silver coin!"
Before the burly man could finish, the shouting from the crowd grew louder, with one person outbidding the other.
"Quiet, listen to me…"
At this point, the wizard spoke again. His voice seemed to possess some kind of magic that immediately silenced the crowd.
"Here's the deal… I'll give the ten bottles of magic potion to the highest bidders. As for the others, I'll go get the ingredients and brew more for you. How does that sound?"
With over a hundred people bidding for just ten bottles of potion, the price skyrocketed. Soon, some who couldn't afford the potions prepared to resort to violence.
However, the wizard's offer swiftly cut off their intentions, and they obediently handed over their money to the burly man.
The bag of glimmering copper coins quickly filled, and the burly man couldn't suppress the glee in his face.
Reg, too, smiled.
A scam operation with only three or four people was playing the entire crowd for fools.
Too bad… they had run into him!
He had already confirmed the situation and hesitated no longer. Reaching out to touch his ruby ring, an invisible force surged.
The burly man seemed to notice something and looked up, meeting Reg's smiling gaze. His brow furrowed.
"What are you staring at me for?"
Before he could finish his sentence, someone in the crowd suddenly recognized Reg's appearance and exclaimed:
"Wizard Lord!" "Another Wizard Lord?"