"You're Leilin! They call you Blood Hand? Good! Very good! How dare you ruin my plans!!!"
The dark wizard let out a cold cackle and suddenly struck!
Silver solidified spiritual particles drew upon the energy particles in the void, forming a massive colorful tidal wave that was several times the volume of Leilin's current maximum output, surging and overwhelming as it bore down on Leilin from all directions.
"So powerful! Solidified spiritual particles — whether for casting or catalytic amplification, they're far superior to the ethereal spiritual power of first-rank wizards like us!"
Leilin's expression grew extremely grave, his pupils instantly shifting to an amber hue.
Behind him, masses of dark energy particles condensed, forming the terrifying image of a massive black serpent.
The serpent stretched dozens of meters long, its eyes bearing the same amber hue as Leilin's, its scales radiating rings of black light as it hissed ceaselessly.
Boom! The serpent collided with the elemental tidal wave like a massive deep-sea swell crashing against a reef, unleashing a deafening roar.
Amid the kaleidoscope of light, both the black serpent's phantom and the elemental wave annihilated each other. A massive pillar of energy shot skyward before quickly pressing back down, forming a tremendous shockwave that swept across the surrounding area.
Leilin retreated four or five steps in an instant, his face paling as two streams of blood trickled from his nose.
"Hehe! Not bad at all! Among all the first-rank wizards I've encountered, you're the strongest — even approaching the threshold of second-rank!"
The dark wizard opposite him stood motionless, only his robes fluttering in the wind.
"But what a pity! First-rank is still first-rank! The gap between us remains vast! The thrill of personally snuffing out a genius... it's truly intoxicating..."
The dark wizard murmured, the emerald glow in his eyes surging violently, nearly solidifying into two pillars of green light.
"The Wail of... *cough cough*..."
Just as the dark wizard was about to strike, the light on his body flickered erratically, and he broke into violent coughing.
Rings of green light, like vegetation, struggled to sprout from his body, while the green spores on his hands began to take root and sprout, sending green plant-like tendrils growing and spreading across his body.
"So that's it! Killing Leono, a second-rank wizard, wasn't without cost!"
Leilin watched the scene, and his heart suddenly settled. This second-rank dark wizard had definitely suffered non-trivial injuries after killing Leono.
This was extremely favorable for his upcoming plan.
Just then, a thunderous roar came from the metal gate of the Secret Realm in the distance. The disturbance was so clear that Leilin could feel it deeply even from here.
Immediately after, an unfathomably powerful existence — at least a second-rank wizard — passed through the Secret Realm gate and arrived.
"You damned dark vermin! Face the judgment of thunder!"
The voice was filled with rage, seemingly ablaze with raging flame.
Crash!!!
Countless blue lightning bolts, like wild serpents, raced across the sky before falling like rain.
Crack! A bolt of lightning as thick as a barrel struck straight down, hitting a dark wizard who couldn't dodge in time.
The dark wizard was instantly charred to carbon by the lightning, his body splitting apart.
Boom! Boom! Boom! The platinum Secret Realm gate continuously disgorged light, and with each flash, batches of white wizards materialized on the plaza.
These white wizards all wore uniform attire, their bearing radiating an aura of iron and blood.
Unlike the dark wizards, who were each individually adept at combat, the white wizards had more clearly defined roles. Their specialized battle wizards, in particular, had been tempered through blood and fire, possessing combat power that was by no means inferior to the dark wizards!
With the aid of these white wizards, the
"Reinforcements! The White
Then he turned to face the dark wizard before him, who had already suppressed the green plant tendrils.
"My lord! Look — the white wizards' reinforcements have arrived. Do you still have confidence in destroying the Secret Realm gate under their noses?"
Leilin asked with a faint smile.
"Not enough! But this is still enough time for me to kill you before I retreat!" The dark wizard fell silent for a moment, then sneered.
"Oh?" Behind Leilin, the runes of the Gravitational Magical Array blazed to life, and a yellowish-brown Gravity Magical Array materialized on his chest.
In an instant, a yellowish-brown radiance blanketed the ground, and the surrounding gravity increased nearly thirtyfold.
"An ancient Gravitational Magical Array, and a Gravity Magical Array too? You've actually managed to reproduce both of them?"
A hint of wariness crept into the dark wizard's voice.
With the boost of these two magical arrays, even at full strength he might not be entirely confident in taking down Leilin. In his current weakened state, Leilin would definitely slip away.
"Actually! I'm still on the dark wizards' side — after all, my origins can't be changed!"
Leilin spoke rapidly, "Rather than having the Secret Realm gate here completely destroyed, I believe a Secret Realm gate under dark wizard control would be far more valuable..."
His voice carried a faint hint of bewitchment.
"What do you mean?" the dark wizard asked coldly, but ceased his attack.
"Right now, Leono is dead, and many of the group leaders and such have also fallen. Xishan and I are probably the highest-ranking wizards here. These White Wizard Alliance rescuers will have to leave eventually, and before the headquarters' new appointments arrive, we'll be the ones in charge here..."
Leilin's expression was blank. "At that point, secretly cooperating with you to transfer control of all the arrays and defenses here — wouldn't that be simplicity itself?"
It had to be said, this was an extremely enticing proposal with strong feasibility. After Leilin spoke, he could even faintly sense the dark wizard's body tremble slightly.
"What about that headquarters envoy,
The dark wizard considered for a moment, then asked this question with utmost gravity.
"Kill him quietly, or pin some fabricated crime on him — we only need a little time. By the time the headquarters finishes investigating, we'll already have succeeded..." Leilin answered swiftly.
"What do you think?"
The dark wizard looked at Xishan, who had managed to stand.
Xishan was silent for a moment: "I think the feasibility is acceptable. Given that the original plan has already failed, things can't get much worse than they already are!"
Actually, there was one more thing that neither Leilin nor the dark wizard had mentioned.
That was, with both the Gravitational Magical Array and the Gravity Magical Array in hand, Leilin could absolutely pay a heavy price to pin them down here. The moment reinforcements — second-rank wizards — arrived, their situation would become extremely dangerous.
At that point, even if the second-rank dark wizard could escape, his son Xishan and the Giant would surely die here!
Leilin wouldn't dare threaten this outright, but the implication was clearly conveyed.
"I don't trust you! Unless you accept a Spiritual Imprint..." the dark wizard said slowly.
"Impossible!!!"
Leilin refused flatly. A Spiritual Imprint was better than a Soul Imprint, but who knew what mysterious means a second-rank wizard possessed? He had no intention of being controlled without realizing it.
"If you insist! Then we'll just go our separate ways! I can go anywhere right now anyway!"
Leilin adopted the manner of a scoundrel.
When facing overwhelming power, only by possessing enough strength to give the other side pause could one speak with authority!
Though Leilin couldn't match a second-rank wizard evenly, having the means to protect himself and flee had naturally emboldened his tone.
"The Eye of Judgment's contract — this is my final concession..."
The dark wizard was silent for a moment before speaking in a low voice.
"...Agreed." Leilin hesitated briefly, then immediately agreed.
"And as payment for helping you, I require a large quantity of resources and Magic Stones. Also, advanced academic knowledge — and afterward, you must guarantee my entry into the Night Tower! All of this must be written into the contract..."
...
Wizards moved with great speed. Within minutes, the dark wizard departed with the Giant.
Leilin looked at Xishan, who was standing lopsidedly to one side, and a smile appeared on his face: "Group Leader Xishan! Shall I help you back?"
After re-signing an exceedingly harsh Eye of Judgment contract, Leilin and Xishan were once again allies.
Though to the white wizards, two wizards who had been trying to kill each other moments ago suddenly reconciling would seem extremely bizarre, in the dark wizards' view this was perfectly normal. In the Dark Wizard Domain, all manner of battles broke out virtually every day. Alliances and betrayals, under the temptation of sufficient gain, were all entirely commonplace.
"I'll have to trouble you then!" Xishan glanced at Leilin and actually allowed Leilin to support him as they walked back.
Such an act of completely exposing one's vital points would be absolutely inconceivable among dark wizards, but Leilin understood his reasoning.
Earlier, Leilin and the Thousand-Leaf Hand's second-rank dark wizard had re-signed a contract.
This contract, under the supervision of the opposing wizard, had been drawn up with extreme rigor. To prevent Leilin from exploiting loopholes as he had this time, Xishan had gone through the contract virtually word by word.
Moreover, virtually everything Leilin was required to do had been locked in, leaving him no room to renege.
Facing a second-rank wizard, backed by the entire dark wizard coalition, Leilin could only take the loss.
It could be said that now, the moment Leilin harbored any ill intent toward Xishan, before he could even begin casting, the contract's power would backlash instantaneously.
Therefore, Xishan was relatively at ease with Leilin for the time being.
"Wade — we need to act quickly!"
Xishan's lips moved silently, his whispered voice transmitting directly into Leilin's ear.
Xishan held a position of considerable power within the Four Seasons Garden. Heading the Hunting Group — an organization with real authority — his status was second only to Leono, with only a handful of people who could compare.
Even more fortuitously, those few peak first-rank wizards had all died in this battle for various reasons — some killed directly by Leilin!
Once Wade was also eliminated, Xishan could immediately seize control of everything here!