A female Wizard wearing spectacles, looking much like a secretary, followed closely behind Wade with a thick notebook and feather quill in hand.
It was only now that she seemed to remember something and spoke up.
This proposal clearly caught Wade's interest. He glanced at the Four Seasons unit members he had brought along, then at Leonor's office, and after a brief struggle on his face, he still refused the proposal.
"No! What we have here is more important! Even Master Leonor would choose to hold this position!"
Wade glanced out the window. Through the fixed observation slit, he could see that the Four Seasons Garden had already been engulfed in a sea of fire, with numerous Dark Wizards in black robes rampaging through the grounds.
"Damn it! The Defense Team's captain has fallen in battle! Vice-Captain Doruin's whereabouts are unknown! And the captains of both the Hunt Team and the Combat Team are tied up — otherwise I could have dispatched more Wizards to reinforce that area…"
"My Lord, please rest assured — Lord Bill, who is in charge of the trading post, is also a peak First-Rank Wizard. The Blood Hand won't get through that easily…"
Next to Wade, the shapely secretary adjusted her glasses, seemingly trying to offer comfort.
"It's no use! Bill has already fallen!!! Our entire stockpile is probably going to end up in the hands of those damnable Dark Wizards!!!"
Wade slammed his fist hard onto Leonor's desk, leaving a deep fist-shaped imprint in the surface.
"Master… if only you were here!" Suddenly, a somewhat feeble thought surfaced in Wade's mind.
He immediately laughed at himself for that moment of weakness, but the hands hidden inside his sleeves were still trembling ceaselessly. Due to their extremely high Spiritual Power and perception, a Wizard's premonitions were far beyond those of ordinary people — though they occurred rarely, they could very well come true.
"What?! Bill has fallen?! That's impossible — he was at the peak of First-Rank! Could it be that another Second-Rank Dark Wizard intervened?"
The surrounding Wizards stirred in commotion. A peak First-Rank Wizard represented the highest combat power among ordinary Wizards on the South Coast — with Second-Rank Wizards typically stationed in one place and seldom venturing out, they were the local powerhouses, the aspirational goal and idols of countless Wizards.
But now, a towering mountain had crumbled before their very eyes, instantly dealing a devastating blow to the morale of every Wizard present.
"No! Everyone, quiet down!" The moment the words left his mouth, Wade realized his slip and began desperately trying to salvage the situation.
"Although the Dark Wizards' assault this time has been extremely fierce and has caused us tremendous losses in both personnel and supplies, you must believe in the Four Seasons Garden, believe in the Council of Elders, believe in my master — the Second-Rank Wizard Lord Leonor…"
"Hold on for just fifteen more minutes!!! The Wrath of Lightning from the White Wizard Alliance will arrive, and when it does, we will make these Dark Wizards who murdered our friends and family pay the price!!!"
Every word dripped with blood, and Wade's speech very effectively stirred up the hatred of the Wizards present. United in their shared fury, the Wizards' emotions immediately stabilized.
"A rabble!" Once he saw that the situation had settled, Wade let out a quiet sigh.
The White Wizards of the Four Seasons Garden were very much like the researchers from Lin's previous life. For them, their primary work was research, not slaughter. When facing Dark Wizards, these formal Wizards' performance was simply dismal.
Aside from the handful of teams specifically dedicated to combat and defense, the other White Wizards — those responsible for exploring secret realms and cultivating plants — suffered the highest casualties in this assault.
At this thought, Wade glanced once more at the Four Seasons unit's crimson-armored Wizards.
Their expressions remained utterly calm. Even after hearing the news that Bill had fallen and the entire stockpile had changed hands, not a single brow furrowed — they continued faithfully carrying out their guarding duties.
"Thank goodness! Our Four Seasons Garden isn't without a trump card! With these Four Seasons unit members here, at least the core of the Ganges Secret Realm gate will be safe!!!"
Wade reassured himself inwardly.
As long as the core consciousness remained in their hands, the one controlling the Secret Realm Gate would still be the white Wizards of Four Seasons Garden. In that case, no matter how great today's losses were, they could be made up for.
It was precisely because of this that after witnessing the fierce offensive of the black Wizards in Experiment Zone Three, Wade had immediately chosen to consolidate his forces, transferring all available strength to this location to mount a desperate defense of the core consciousness.
This kind of core consciousness could only exist within the Ganges Secret Realm itself and could not stray too far from the colossal metal gate. It was precisely for this reason that the various white Wizard factions had to hold the area near the gate, rather than choosing to take the consciousness back to headquarters for safekeeping.
"Crack!"
"Crack!"
At that very moment, two crisp sounds of bone shattering rang out.
Two Wizards collapsed to the ground with expressions of shock, staring at the companions they had been fighting alongside just moments ago.
"Mathu! Visser!!! What are you doing?!"
The surrounding Wizards scrambled backward, shouting at the two blood-dripping Wizards with fury and disbelief on their faces.
Swish, swish, swish!!! Even faster than them were the crimson-armored Wizards of the Four Seasons unit. They transformed into several streaks of red shadow in an instant, surrounding the two Wizards within.
"Hehehe! You pathetic white Wizards — why is it that every time I lay eyes on you, I can't help but think of tender little lambs dangled before a lion's jaws?"
Along with the cold laughter and mocking words, a strange transformation suddenly occurred on the bodies of the two white Wizards at the center of the encirclement.
Flakes of skin drifted away like falling leaves, revealing two unfamiliar figures beneath. One of them had a bald head with only a few pathetic strands of hair clinging to it, while the other was exceedingly short and stout, sporting prominent buck teeth like a rat's.
These two white Wizards had been impostors all along!