"When the time comes, those Wizards who bribed me beforehand will most likely be arrested outright and face accusations of colluding with the enemy… I wonder what expressions they'll be wearing then?"
Linley mused idly, a mischievous smile flickering across his face.
His stride didn't falter as he soon arrived before a vast stretch of buildings undergoing reconstruction.
This had once been the Merit Exchange Hall. After the Dark Wizards — led by Linley himself — had ransacked it thoroughly, the place had been reduced to an absolute wreck.
Not only was the main structure more than half destroyed, but even more devastating were the massive losses from several resource warehouses!
Beyond the main warehouse, the greedy Dark Wizards hadn't even spared the smaller branch storerooms. Anything inside worth even a few Magic Stones had either been plundered outright or self-destructed under the protection of defensive formations.
In the end, the already bloodshot-eyed Dark Wizards had even set the whole place ablaze, burning it to the ground!
From the exposed rock surfaces nearby, one could still see the scorch marks left behind by that inferno.
"Lord Linley!" A White Wizard who appeared to be the person in charge here hurried over and bowed.
"Mm." Linley nodded. He hadn't even bothered to learn this White Wizard's actual name — he vaguely recalled the man was the one responsible for this location.
"How's the reconstruction progressing?" he asked casually.
Though the question seemed offhand, it immediately sent fine beads of sweat trickling down the forehead of the waiting White Wizard.
"The main structure sustained over eighty percent damage. That's still manageable with Earth-type Wizardry, but the critical issue is the wizardry formations — the entire network needs to be redrawn…"
The White Wizard pulled a white handkerchief from his robes and kept dabbing at his smooth, shiny forehead.
"I don't care about any of that. What's the latest it can be open for business?" Linley fixed his gaze on the slightly portly Wizard.
"Thr— no! Two days! At most two days from now, everything here can return to normal operations…" The White Wizard's heart lurched under Linley's stare, and he immediately made his guarantee.
"Two days?" Linley's brow furrowed. He shook his head. "Still too long! I'll assign you two more Wizards and twenty apprentices. The construction pace needs to speed up by another twenty percent!"
"Yes, my lord!"
The unconscious pressure radiating from Linley made the White Wizard's blood run cold. The sweat on his face flowed even faster. Before he could even bring his handkerchief up, he immediately shouted his assurance.
Linley nodded and waved the man off, then strolled aimlessly around the construction site by himself.
With his experience from another world, Linley naturally understood that maintaining this secret realm headquarters was essentially the same as postwar reconstruction in his previous life.
Only two things mattered most in this work: first, restoring the government's credibility, and second, ensuring the smooth flow of trade!
In terms of credibility, while the Four Seasons Garden had lost a Rank Two Wizard, its main body in the outside world remained a colossus that no Wizard dared take lightly — so that wasn't a problem at all.
What was most urgent now was actually restoring the Merit Exchange Hall to operation!
In Linley's view, Merit Points were the currency of future generations. And now, to restore operations here, to have the numerous White Wizards take on missions and head out to serve the reconstruction — what was needed?
What was needed was Merit Points! But Merit Points were merely a virtual currency; if they couldn't be exchanged for actual goods and materials, they would be completely meaningless! And with the Merit Exchange Hall in place, a large quantity of Merit Points could be distributed, allowing the White Wizards to complete designated missions and rapidly restore their strength.
Precisely because of this, even under these circumstances, Linley and Xishan had urgently dispatched a batch of supplies over, specifically to ensure the normal operation of the Merit Exchange Hall.
Although both he and Linley were moles planted by the Black Wizards, these two were both deeply calculating individuals. Before they were ready to make their actual move, they performed more diligently and faithfully than any wizard of the Four Seasons Garden.
As a result, Linley now had to come here from time to time to inspect things, closely watching the construction progress of the Merit Exchange Hall, while Xishan was even more overwhelmed by piles upon piles of official documents, dealing with all manner of pressing matters every single day.
However, strictly speaking, these troubles were something he had brought upon himself — a case of asking for his own suffering.
Linley's gaze swept past the wizards diligently performing earth-element magic to construct large quantities of stone pillars and bricks, and the bustling apprentices, settling on a group of several people standing guard on patrol nearby.
They wore uniforms markedly different from those of the Four Seasons Garden wizards, all bearing a uniform lightning-bolt insignia.
These were members of Reisman's Lightning Corps. Although that Rank Two Wizard had departed, he had left behind a deputy corps commander and a full two battalions of wizards stationed here!
These were all seasoned, battle-hardened elite official wizards! Combined with the repaired Array Spirits and defensive formations, even if a Rank Two Wizard attacked, Linley and the others were confident they could hold out long enough for reinforcements from the nearby White Wizard Alliance to arrive!
"The entire defensive system has been rebuilt. While it might not be watertight, it's at least more than sufficient to maintain the current situation — if it weren't for the two of us, Xishan and me, being moles…"
A faint trace of regret lingered in Linley's heart.