Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2956: Chapter 2957: Infiltration

What Julie referred to as "when the sky is dyed red" should refer to the sunset glow.

However, the phrase "if you want to enter the castle, prepare first," what does it mean, Angel couldn’t understand for a moment? What do they need to prepare?

Angel was about to ask when the rabbit Cha Cha tugged at his sleeve: "Follow me."

After speaking, the rabbit Cha Cha waved at Julie and then pulled Angel back to the edge of the Black Tea Forest.

After confirming no one was around, the rabbit Cha Cha finally spoke: "This should do. Those man-eating crows aren’t on this side."

Why mention crows again? Angel was full of doubts and pondered: "What are we going to do now?"

The rabbit Cha Cha naturally replied: "Of course, prepare to enter the city."

Angel: "How do we prepare?"

The rabbit Cha Cha looked at Angel with annoyance: "You’ve shrunk, why has your brain shrunk too? Of course, we need to find a way to disguise ourselves."

At this, the rabbit Cha Cha pointed at Julie in the distance: "Haven’t you noticed, Julie is just the size of an average pony. If we want to follow Julie inside, we definitely need to disguise ourselves, or else we’ll be discovered and it’s all over."

Angel understood Cha Cha’s meaning when it came to disguises. But how can the two of them, being alive and well, disguise themselves without being discovered?

Angel originally thought that Julie would pull some carts or trailers back to the castle, which they could use as cover. But now, from what Cha Cha said, Julie was returning to the city lightly? Julie didn’t have a saddle, reigns, or any hiding places on her, how could they disguise themselves...

No, there is a disguise that might work! Angel suddenly thought of something.

"Do you mean we disguise as a teapot and a cup?"

Angel thought he had the right answer, but in the next second, the rabbit Cha Cha scoffed: "Have you seen a horse without a saddle with a teapot and teacup on it?"

Angel: "Never seen it."

The rabbit Cha Cha: "Exactly, don’t underestimate the castle guards!"

Watching the rabbit Cha Cha righteously chastise him, Angel’s expression became peculiar. A teapot and teacup on a haystack seemed normal, so why was it abnormal when on a horse?

Angel found himself increasingly confused about this Teapot Country.

It seemed to have consistent logic, but it couldn’t withstand scrutiny, entirely absurd.

Angel did not argue further and instead asked: "Then what should we disguise as?"

Facing Angel’s confusion, the rabbit Cha Cha pointed to the forest directly ahead: "Have you forgotten the forest’s purpose?"

Black Tea Forest?

Angel was stunned for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up: "You mean, using the power of the forest to make our bodies smaller, hide on Julie and sneak into the castle?"

"Not entirely dumb," the rabbit Cha Cha nodded: "Yes, if we become small enough, we can hide in Julie’s mane and won’t be discovered."

Small enough, then it would be almost like becoming a Carabit...

"Shall we go back to the forest now?"

The rabbit Cha Cha shook his head: "Wait, I’ll change your hat."

Angel had originally thought that as long as there were no crows nearby, he could just take off his hat and enter the Black Tea Forest, then come out once he shrank.

"What’s involved in changing hats... what kind of operation is that?"

The rabbit Cha Cha rubbed his aching head, somewhat doubting whether coming out with Angel was the right choice: "Didn’t I tell you, without a hat, the shrinking effect of the Black Tea Forest is irreversible. When you return to the Human Realm, do you want to remain as a thumb-sized person?"

Angel desperately wanted to say that this was an Alchemy Omen, and if the Alchemist could successfully break through, the Alchemist would be fine.

But in the end, he held his tongue and changed into a new hat according to the rabbit Cha Cha’s instructions.

This time, Angel’s new hat was a teapot hat. However, unlike the rabbit Cha Cha’s teapot hat, this one was not fancy and had only a small carrot pattern on the pure white shell.

"Alright, wearing this hat and walking around the forest once will make you smaller. But when you take off the hat, you will return to your original height."

With that, the rabbit Cha Cha waved his hand, signaling Angel to head into the Black Tea Forest.

Angel was about to ask "what about you" when he turned around and saw the rabbit Cha Cha’s body shrinking visibly. In the blink of an eye, the rabbit Cha Cha had become a thumb-sized white rabbit.

"Why are you looking at me, hurry up, the sky is about to turn red. If you’re late, you won’t be able to get inside. Moreover, if you’re slow and get discovered by the crows on the other side, you’ll be in trouble just the same."

Angel nodded and said nothing further, and rushed into the Black Tea Forest.

After running quickly around the trees for a minute, Angel returned to the edge of the forest. By this time, he had completely transformed into a thumb-sized little person.

Even smaller than Dangross.

Before Angel could adapt to becoming a tiny citizen, he was pulled by the hand by the rabbit Cha Cha and they both ran towards Julie.

Being smaller, the speed was noticeably slower. What used to take only ten seconds to run now took a full two minutes to reach Julie’s side.

Before, when Angel looked at Julie, he thought this pony was quite big. Now looking at Julie, she was like a giant.

Without a doubt, if Julie had any ill intent, she could certainly squash him with a single step.

Fortunately, Julie did not attack upon seeing them but instead lowered her head to the ground, allowing the rabbit Cha Cha and Angel to climb into her mane.

Julie’s mane was fluffy, and Angel and Cha Cha were completely hidden inside.

However, because the mane was too dense and long, Angel couldn’t see the outside situation at all and was enveloped in darkness.

The feeling of having life not in his control was something Angel hadn’t experienced for a long time.

Nervous and uneasy, he had to force himself to stay calm, silently praying in his heart: Julie, be reliable.

The rabbit Cha Cha might have sensed Angel’s unease and softly comforted: "Don’t worry, once we reach the castle, we’ll be able to get out."

Angel was helpless at this point, so he had to nod.

Currently, Julie hadn’t returned to the castle immediately and was leisurely grazing outside. It wasn’t that Julie was stalling for time, but rather the castle gates would not open again until the sunset glow was in the sky.

At that time, the changing of the guards would take place.

Julie usually takes this opportunity to return to the stables in the castle.

And now, although the sky was tinged with red, it was not yet time for the guards to change shifts, so Julie could leisurely continue grazing outside.

"Can I talk to Julie?" Angel asked in a low voice.

Rabbit Cha Cha was about to speak when suddenly, they heard a hopping sound and quickly gestured "shh" to Angel.

Immediately after, Rabbit Cha Cha mouthed silently, "Puppet guards are coming, let’s talk later."

The footsteps of the puppet guards approached from afar and finally stopped beside Julie.

Soon after, Angel heard some strange noises from the puppet guards... Julie also made a hissing sound, seemingly responding to the puppet guards.

They communicated for several minutes before the footsteps of the puppet guards gradually faded away.

After confirming the puppet guards had left, Rabbit Cha Cha whispered, "The puppet guards’ ears aren’t that sharp, but if we talk right under their eyes, we will be discovered."

Angel: "Then how about the puppet guards’ sense abilities, will they discover us?"

Rabbit Cha Cha: "Rest assured, while the puppet guards have strong sensory abilities, they don’t dare to probe Julie. Julie is the mount of the Black Tea Earl, and although there’s no strict hierarchy, Julie frequently interacts with the Earl, and the puppet guards wouldn’t dare mess with Julie."

When mentioning this, Rabbit Cha Cha proudly boasted about their achievements— they had entered the castle several times under the guise of Julie.

Angel: "Then what were the puppet guards doing just now?"

Rabbit Cha Cha: "They were reporting to Julie that the gatebridge was about to lower, preparing to open the door."

Just as Rabbit Cha Cha finished speaking, Angel heard some shouting. Immediately followed by creaking sounds, Angel couldn’t see the outside, but could guess that the gatebridge had lowered just by the sound.

This also meant, the castle’s gate was open!

Angel could already feel Julie stop grazing and slowly head towards the moat.

Angel initially wanted to chat with Julie about the mirror but now, he didn’t dare to make a sound. After all, they were about to enter the inner walls of the castle, and the guards would certainly be tighter than outside. Better to be cautious, if something goes wrong, it wouldn’t be good.

With the sound of clopping hooves, Julie had arrived at the gatebridge.

Angel even heard a jumble of hopping sounds, which clearly meant that many guards had come out from the castle.

Angel thought it was as Rabbit Cha Cha said, the change of the guards, but after a long while, he didn’t hear any movement from Julie.

Julie seemed to have stopped and didn’t move forward.

Rabbit Cha Cha also looked puzzled and mouthed to Angel, "Something’s off."

Angel’s heart skipped a beat... Could it be that Julie had deceived them?

Rabbit Cha Cha saw Angel’s expression and guessed his thoughts, continuing to mouth, "I’m not saying that Julie’s acting suspicious; it’s just that a lot of guards came out this time, which is odd. Plus, I think I heard a horse neighing..."

In the Black Tea Castle, only the Black Tea Earl has a horse, none of the other guards have horses, because there’s no need. The puppet guards can outrun horses if they run at full speed.

The Black Tea Earl has a horse just to match his status.

Now, with Julie outside and without neighing, but Rabbit Cha Cha heard a horse sound, the only possibility is that pure white Pegasus, or the pitch-black war horse.

These two horses typically don’t make sounds unless the Black Tea Earl... departs!

Rabbit Cha Cha mouthed their guess, "If it’s really the Black Tea Earl departing, that would be a good thing for us."

Just as Cha Cha finished speaking, Angel heard a horse neigh, and the sound gradually grew closer.

Cha Cha quickly gestured "shh" to Angel.

It was certain now; it must be the Black Tea Earl departing. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be the sound of the horse.

Even though the Black Tea Earl surely doesn’t care about Julie, the showy horse, to be safe, Cha Cha remained silent, not even mouthing.

Angel also held his breath, not daring to make a sound.

The thunderous hoofbeats roared past their ears, not pausing in between, and quickly vanished into the distance.

Then, Julie started moving again.

Rabbit Cha Cha came close to Angel, mouthing, "Looks like we’re in luck; that was the sound of a war horse. I guess the Black Tea Earl has likely gone on an expedition..."

And the only reason for the Black Tea Earl to ride the war horse would be for a major figure in the Teapot Country.

For instance, when the Black Tea Earl had a dispute with the White Tea Princess, he rode the war horse to confront the White Tea Princess.

Obviously, it can’t be the White Tea Princess this time; not sure who it is, but this is definitely great news. The Black Tea Earl’s expeditions usually last several days, giving them an excellent opportunity for infiltration.

Hearing this, Angel relaxed a little.

However, Angel still didn’t dare speak, resisting the urge even to mouth. He could hear Julie neighing, perhaps speaking with a nearby guard, while moving towards the castle.

This meant Julie was accompanied by puppet guards.

Since they were hiding in Julie’s mane, so close up, Angel dared not make any reckless moves.

The peaceful silence persisted for several minutes.

After some time, Angel finally couldn’t hear the puppet guards anymore, only Julie’s hoofbeats.

When Julie reached her stable and confirmed no one was around, she then lowered her head, shaking out Angel and Rabbit Cha Cha from her mane, right onto the hay.

"All’s clear now; there are no guards around my stable. Do whatever you need to do," Julie paused, adding, "By the way, you’re quite lucky. The Earl is out, I asked the guards, and they say he’s headed west. He probably won’t be back soon, so as long as you don’t create too much commotion, you should be fine."

Rabbit Cha Cha dusted themselves off and stood up from the hay: "The west? Could the Earl be making a move on the Grand Duke of Red Tea?"

Julie shook her head: "I don’t know, I didn’t get that info from the guards. Whether it’s the Grand Duke of Red Tea, or the Green Tea Princess, or the Flower Tea Crown Prince, it’s unrelated to us. Better seize the opportunity."

Rabbit Cha Cha put on their teapot hat again: "Got it, thanks again."

Julie snorted a couple of times: "Just don’t make a big mess, and we’re good."

Rabbit Cha Cha chuckled without saying anything and then looked at Angel: "Didn’t you want to chat with Julie, you can now."

Julie: "Chat with me?"

Julie looked at Angel again, eyes filled with disdain and curiosity: "For Cha Cha’s sake, just say what you want."

Angel showed a grateful expression, speaking in as gentle a tone as possible: "I heard the Black Tea Earl brought back a half-length mirror today?"