Amid the bows of the assembled wizards below the stage.
On the main platform of the hall, a flash of red flame flickered.
A wizard wearing white robes and a green headband, looking very spirited, leaped straight out of the flames like a fire spirit.
"My lord!" Leilin Farell bowed along with the other wizards.
"Mm." Tigate gave a reserved nod, then flicked his long robe and took his seat.
"Everyone!" Tigate's voice was very gentle, but the cadence was peculiar. Leilin, who had stored a great deal of information in his Chip, recognized it at once — this was an archaic speaking tone once used exclusively by ancient wizard aristocrats. It had no practical effect beyond putting on airs, and in modern times only the most rigid old families still bothered to learn it.
"I trust your respective supervisors have already briefed you on the current situation. Those who haven't can go back and ask. I will only emphasize one point here!"
"Our Four Seasons Garden has, this time, represented the White Wizard faction and secured an entrance to the Ganges Secret Realm. The Combat Group and the Hunting Group have already entered the Secret Realm in batches to contest resources against the Dark Wizards. Our Potionology Group will not be fighting Dark Wizards head-on, but when it comes to supplying the potions we need, we absolutely cannot hold the organization back!"
As he spoke, Tigate's eyes, gleaming with a sharp light, swept across the room.
Every wizard present felt a chill run down their spine.
"So this is the power of a wizard on the verge of breaking through?"
Leilin could resist this pressure, but he estimated he was no match for Tigate in his current state.
He instinctively checked his status.
"Leilin Farell. Warlock, First Rank. Bloodline: Comoin Giant Snake. Strength: 7.1. Agility: 6.7. Constitution: 8.5. Spiritual Power: 58.9. Mana: 58 (Mana is determined by Spiritual Power synchronization). Spiritual Elementalization Progress: 70%. Status: Healthy."
As a first-rank wizard at the peak of his realm, on the verge of advancing, Tigate's Spiritual Power had certainly surpassed the 70-point threshold and was likely approaching 80. Moreover, his Spiritual Elementalization had reached a very high level — far beyond the 80-point threshold.
Leilin even suspected that Lord Tigate could have advanced long ago, but had been deliberately holding himself back, wanting to achieve a greater breakthrough in Spiritual Elementalization before attempting to advance to the second rank!
Leilin estimated that even going all out, he could at best catch Tigate off guard for a moment before being thoroughly suppressed by the far more experienced wizard.
"Very well. Now I will assign tasks. Gailun, your team's Giant Tree Secretion Potion research is to be suspended effective immediately. From now on, all your efforts go into brewing Putrid Swarm Potions!"
Tigate began handing out assignments.
A wizard wearing a golden helmet that covered most of his face rose and bowed.
Leilin recognized this Gailun — he was the Potionology Group's top operative, and the team he led was formidable. They had successfully completed several difficult assignments in succession, and his potion-brewing skill was exceptional. By Leilin's own estimation, if he didn't resort to his Chip as a hidden trump card, he might not even match the man.
The Giant Tree Secretion Potion assignment Gailun had received, Leilin had heard something about before. That formula had already been pushed to the very final stage — just a tiny bit more and they would have obtained genuine results.
But for the sake of the war, this experiment had to be reluctantly pushed aside.
"Very good. I will compensate you for the loss later." Seeing Gailun's cooperation, a smile bloomed on Tigate's face.
"Next up is..."
Tigate then revised the assignments for each team from the previous round.
The earlier tasks — research and breakthrough-oriented ones — were all scrapped and replaced with brewing assignments for various high-damage combat potions.
Leilin's team, led by Martin, was assigned, unsurprisingly, a task to brew Magma Heart Potions.
This potion, called Magma Heart, was an area-of-effect offensive wizard potion.
Although its power was relatively low — only around 20 degrees — its destructive range was very wide, making it one of the essential supplies for large-scale warfare.
Not just Martin's team — several other teams within the Potionology Group also received this same assignment.
The brewing difficulty of this potion was extremely high, but Tigate paid no heed to the grimaces on his subordinates' faces. He allocated massive quotas and stated flatly that if the fixed monthly quota was not met, not only would the wizards' benefits and rations be docked, but they might even lose certain other privileges.
Seeing Martin's bitter expression and the hopeful look he cast his way, Leilin's mind stirred.
Could Tigate's attitude mean that the Four Seasons Garden was currently at a disadvantage in the struggle for the Ganges Secret Realm? And precisely because of that, they needed a large volume of combat potions?
If that were the case, it was entirely possible that, to bolster their strength, they would eventually send their potion-brewers and alchemists — the logistical personnel — to the front lines as well.
If things came to that, he would need to prepare some contingencies of his own.
After all, he was not foolish enough to throw his life away for the Four Seasons Garden.
"Leilin, we're really counting on you this time!"
Martin clapped Leilin on the shoulder with a look of earnest hope, and the rest of Leilin's team wore the same expression.
"Alright, but this is a very heavy task. I can't make any promises..."
Leilin replied with a wry smile.
Amid the hectic bustle of brewing potions, time flew by remarkably fast.