Lei Lin recalled the situation for a moment.
Right now, within the entire Ganges Secret Realm, the
Apart from Leon, the Supreme Elder, dying in battle, the commanders of both the Combat Division and the Security Division had been killed outright. The person in charge of the Merit Exchange had been personally slain by Lei Lin, and even Vad, the headquarters envoy, was of unknown whereabouts — alive or dead.
Lei Lin realized with some astonishment that, at this point, the Four Seasons Garden's entire headquarters in the Ganges Secret Realm probably had only two peak first-rank wizards left — himself and Xishan.
Under these circumstances, seizing control of the entire headquarters would be an exceedingly simple matter.
Although the Four Seasons Garden's main headquarters in the outside world would certainly respond quickly, dispatching large numbers of wizards and even second-rank powerhouses to come here and investigate, that would take time!
And during that time, Xishan and Lei Lin could completely hollow out the Four Seasons Garden's strength and create favorable conditions for the Black Wizards.
By the time the other side caught on, the defensive formations and even the base itself would already be under Black
Even if a large-scale battle broke out again, it would be the Black Wizards controlling four entry points while the White Wizards only had three, putting the former at an advantage.
It was precisely by dangling this enormous, tantalizing bait that Lei Lin had managed to lure the Black Wizards into the trap!
"It's Lord Xishan! And Inspector Lei Lin!"
As they approached the Four Seasons Garden headquarters, the figures of Lei Lin and Xishan were immediately spotted by large numbers of White Wizards. The surviving Four Seasons Garden wizards came forward one after another to pay their respects.
Lei Lin swept a quick glance over them. Most of their robes were in tattered condition, their faces streaked with grime and dried blood. Upon seeing Xishan and Lei Lin, every one of them looked as though they had found their pillar of support.
"It seems the losses among the Four Seasons Garden's upper echelons this time are even more severe than I imagined!"
Lei Lin knew that since taking on this so-called inspector role, he hadn't done many good deeds — in fact, he had extorted things from various departments on numerous occasions. Yet now, upon seeing Lei Lin, these wizards actually crowded around to greet him, their enthusiasm so fervent that even he found it surprising.
The reason was clear: the Four Seasons Garden likely had no peak first-rank wizards remaining here. That was why Xishan and Lei Lin — the only two peak first-rank wizards — were receiving such a warm welcome and such high expectations.
"If they knew that Xishan and I were actually the masterminds behind this entire attack, I wonder what expressions would be on their faces…"
Lei Lin felt somewhat exasperated inwardly, though his face wore a suitably grave expression.
"May I ask who holds the highest authority among the Four Seasons Garden here?"
A wizard wearing silver-white robes patterned with lightning pushed through the crowd of wizards and walked in.
"I am Xishan! Leader of the Hunting Group! This is Wizard Lei Lin, the newly appointed Headquarters Inspector…"
Xishan’s face seemed devoid of color, and he spoke haltingly.
"We belong to the Lightning Corps of the White Wizard Alliance. Our Corps Commander wishes to see you!"
This wizard wore a cold expression, as if born with only that one look. He ignored Xishan’s obviously injured state and simply led the way forward.
The surrounding Four Seasons Garden wizards were all somewhat cowering, not daring to approach.
Compared to the behemoth that was the White Wizard Alliance, Four Seasons Garden was merely one of its affiliates. Moreover, any soldier in this Lightning Corps possessed strength at or above the Half-Elemental stage, equivalent to the elite of Four Seasons Garden’s four seasonal groups, and their numbers were even greater. By convention, the Corps Commander was always a Second Order Wizard, truly not something they could contend with.
Lei Lin shrugged his shoulders and shared a helpless glance with Xishan before following after them.
He was naturally very familiar with the Headquarters. After passing through a large stretch of ruins, Lei Lin and Xishan met the Lightning Corps Commander in a temporarily tidied-up reception room.
"You must be Xishan? Nineteen years ago. At Leono’s banquet, we met!"
Unexpectedly, this wizard seemed to recognize Xishan.
Xishan hurriedly bowed. "So it’s Lord Resman!"
Lei Lin bowed his head respectfully to the side, seizing the chance to steal a glance at this Second Order Wizard.
Resman was very powerfully built, draped in a blue robe that left his chest half-bared, muscles bulging. Beneath his fringe of golden hair, there was also a blue, lightning-shaped mark.
What drew Lei Lin’s attention most, however, were Resman’s eyes. Each time they opened or closed, a faint spark of electricity flashed within them, very peculiar indeed.
"Where did you go?" the Second Order Wizard asked immediately.
"My Lord! I previously led the Hunting Group into battle against the Black Wizards. We suffered heavy casualties in the middle, and in the end, even I was injured. Thankfully, Wizard Lei Lin arrived at that moment and saved me…"
Xishan began to recite a pre-arranged story.
The gist of it was that he had fought fiercely but was defeated, and just as he was about to fall, Lei Lin saved him.
This was the version of events he and Lei Lin had agreed upon beforehand, with the casualties already documented.
Of course, Xishan had personally taken out his own team members and then moved several dark wizard corpses from elsewhere to create the illusion of a battlefield.
With a Second-grade dark wizard helping to cover things up, there was a very high chance of pulling off the deception.
However, what put Lei Lin slightly at ease was that Resman only asked a few questions before nodding and not pressing for more details.
Even though they all belonged to organizations and forces under the White Wizard Alliance, he was still an outsider, and such matters needed to be thoroughly investigated by the Four Seasons Garden's own inquiry team.
"Mm! The two of you at the peak of First-grade, plus Vad, that's all the strength Four Seasons Garden has left now..."
The expression on Resman's face was extremely grave.
Boom!
Xishan staggered back several steps, his face full of disbelief: "All that's left??? Could it mean... Lord Leonno..."
Lei Lin watched Xishan's award-winning performance with a degree of speechlessness. Although he was also feigning shock, every nerve in his face was being manipulated by the Chip to produce a surprised expression.
Otherwise, with his current acting skills, he would have certainly been seen through by this old fox Resman. No matter how rough-looking he might appear on the outside, he was still a Second-grade wizard, and his mental acuity and powers of observation were inferior to no one's.
By comparison, Xishan's performance was truly commendable.
"No! I don't believe it! Lord Leonno is a Second-grade wizard! And besides..." Xishan's eyes were vacant, his mouth still mumbling ceaselessly.
"As hard as this is for me to accept, this is the truth! Leonno has already fallen... I sensed the extinguishing of his life candle beforehand. Unfortunately, I arrived a step too late — otherwise I could have saved him without a doubt. I'm sorry..." Resman placed a hand over his chest, a look of apology crossing his face.
"As Leonno's friend, I will carry on his dying wish and take revenge upon the dark wizards!" The corps commander vowed.
"Thank you, my lord!" Xishan's face regained its resolute expression. "Once my injuries have healed, I will immediately apply for a revenge mission as well!!!"
"Mm!"
Resman nodded, then clapped his hands.
Rumble! The floor on both sides cracked open, and a massive semi-transparent metal pillar rose from the center.
From within the pillar came the delicate sound of gears turning, and threads of luminous runes crawled ceaselessly across its surface, looking quite wondrous.
"This is the defensive magic circle control core of Four Seasons Garden's outpost here! It previously suffered very powerful interference, and the backdoor programming formulas also malfunctioned. But no matter — I've now repaired it. According to Alliance regulations, I hereby, in my capacity as commander of the Lightning Corps, declare the immediate establishment of an emergency task force for Four Seasons Garden, to fully assume control of this location's defenses and magic circle. Its members are Xishan, Lei Lin, and Vad! In the event of any disagreements among the three of you, decisions shall be made by majority rule..."
Reissman spoke as if chanting, and circles of light representing contracts and ceremonies flickered ceaselessly around the three of them.
"Now, complete the spirit's master-binding ritual!"
Reissman pointed at the metal pillar in the center. "Place your palm on it. The spirit will automatically record your soul imprint and grant you permissions."
Xishan nodded and placed his palm on the surface of the metal pillar, closing his eyes as if communicating with some kind of consciousness.
A moment later, a look of admiration crossed his face, and he withdrew his hand.
"Your turn!" Lei Lin nodded and placed his hand on it.
The surface of the metal light pillar was very smooth, and touching it gave a strangely bizarre sensation — incredibly soft, as if it weren't metal at all, but cotton.
Moreover, unlike the cold feeling you'd expect from metal, the pillar's surface radiated a warm sensation.
"Soul imprint recorded! Seven-star authority granted!!!"
A mechanical female voice resonated directly inside Lei Lin's mind. Unlike the Chip's androgynous voice, this was a distinctly crisp woman's voice.
"So this is the spirit?"
Lei Lin felt a twinge of emotion. Whether it was technology or wizardry, in the end, it all seemed to converge on the same destination.
However, this particular spirit clearly possessed no true intelligence — it could only mechanically respond to Lei Lin's questions.
Consciousness-based communication was extremely rapid. In just over a dozen seconds, Lei Lin had gained a general understanding of his permissions and the spirit's capabilities.
This spirit was, in reality, the core of every defensive formation that Four Seasons Garden had set up here. Through the spirit, one could freely monitor any area within the premises.
But previously, the formation had been severely disrupted by Dark Wizards exploiting a backdoor spell, which was why it had been completely absent during the recent attack.
As for permissions, they referred to the degree of authority one had over the spirit, rated from one to nine stars — one star being the lowest, nine the highest. Lei Lin's current seven-star rating already allowed him to mobilize most of Four Seasons Garden's defensive forces to besiege a target and to access all documents except for a handful of top-secret files.
Leonard had previously held nine-star authority here — he could even command the spirit to self-destruct!
As for Lei Lin and the other two, they were only temporary emergency appointees, holding seven-star permissions.