"However! Although there were some issues along the way, things are still largely going according to the original plan!"
Lei Lin wore a smile on his face as he walked toward the sealed formation that Coben had been guarding earlier.
"Stay away from that!"
Suddenly, a somewhat familiar voice rang out.
The instant the voice spoke, over a dozen dark shadows materialized, instantly surrounding Lei Lin.
The one leading them was someone Lei Lin knew well — the giant from the Hand of Thousand Leaves! Only now, his legs had regrown, and the mist around him had grown even denser.
Beside him, Xishan had also been rescued. He was covered in dust, looking rather disheveled, and was currently glaring at Lei Lin with eyes full of hatred.
"Lei Lin! How dare you betray us! Betray the honor of the Dark Wizards..."
"Enough!" Lei Lin cut off the giant's recitation of charges with some exasperation. "Aren't Dark Wizards creatures who put profit above everything else? Since when do you lot have honor?"
He shot a sidelong glance at the giant, whose face had turned a sickly shade of blue-white. "If you want revenge, just say so! There's no need for this kind of hollow posturing!"
The giant's voice halted abruptly, his face flushed red with fury.
"Fine! I want vengeance! Every single one of my Dark Wizards here is elite — each with elemental transformation above seventy percent! I admit you're strong! But as long as you haven't reached Second Rank, there's absolutely no way you can survive under our combined assault..."
The giant gestured toward the surrounding Dark Wizards. "You killed the Boy, and you treated me like that!!!" The muscles on his face twitched faintly. His crushing defeat at Lei Lin's hands had been an indelible disgrace in his life.
"Ahh... I'll kill you! I'll peel the skin right off your body and use it as my carpet!" the giant roared.
"How utterly... unoriginal."
Lei Lin let out a faint sigh, and with so many Dark Wizards encircling him, he still had the composure to glance around at the current state of the Four Seasons Garden.
Even Number Two and Number Three, who followed behind him, seemed to have picked up on their master's calm demeanor and showed no signs of tension.
With the Lightning Corps joining as a fresh force, the lopsided defeat the Four Seasons Garden had been suffering was finally being reversed. Dark Wizards and White Wizards alike were now split into countless small skirmishes, fighting all across the grounds.
And at the very center was the enormous tornado where Riesman and Coben clashed.
The tornado howled and raged wildly — anything that stood in its path, whether wizard or building, was reduced to powder in an instant!
Within the heart of the tornado, two figures could faintly be seen, exchanging blows at blinding speed.
Arcs of lightning crackled and darted about, occasionally piercing through the tornado and spraying outward, causing massive casualties.
"What an absolute mess..."
Lei Lin sighed, then cast a somewhat pitying glance at Xishan and the giant across from him. "Leave now! I can still let you go — one more time!"
"Are you insulting us?" Xishan and the giant spoke simultaneously.
Even having just witnessed Lei Lin's power, they didn't believe he could survive a combined assault from so many Wizards, so they naturally took his words as a provocation.
The giant waved his hand in fury. "Attack together!"
Instantly, the Dark Wizards surrounding him struck at once — Corrosion Hexes, Hands of Fatigue, Toxic Storm Clouds, Acid Lightning, Frost Bolts — a barrage of sinister spells of every kind, transforming into a kaleidoscope of multicolored light that surged toward Lei Lin like a tidal wave.
Every single spell carried at least forty-five degrees of power!
Under a siege of this magnitude, even a peak first-tier Wizard would stand no chance — they wouldn't even be able to escape before being gravely wounded, only to be cut down by the Dark Wizards' relentless onslaught.
But Lei Lin was different. After the successful transformation of his heart and its complete fusion with the Komoin Giant Serpent bloodline, he hadn't immediately advanced to the second tier — yet he had reached a level infinitely close to it!
As he stood now, he could almost be called the most peak-level first-tier Wizard in all of history!
"Shadow Domain!"
Facing these attacks, Lei Lin chanted the incantation aloud, his hands forming a strange sigil before slamming down onto the ground!
Hummm! A ring of profound, mysterious darkness rapidly expanded outward with Lei Lin as its center, instantly blanketing the surrounding area of several hundred meters.
This was a domain-type attack Lei Lin had created by simulating shadow energy. Though far inferior to a true domain-type spell, its power still far surpassed that of any peer!
In the Tome of the Giant Serpent, the Grand Crimson Wizard had written that high-tier Wizards possessed a skill similar to a domain — one that could instantly control a vast area and suppress the talent and abilities of any Wizard of a lower tier, instantly reducing their strength by several ranks the moment they stepped within its boundaries.
As Wizards grew even higher in rank, they could eventually even alter the physical rules within their own domain!
It could be said that within their own domain, a high-tier Wizard was essentially a godlike existence!
Lei Lin certainly couldn't reach that level yet. The Shadow Domain spell he had developed was merely a knockoff — it couldn't even suppress an opponent's strength, only amplifying his own. But even so, it represented his ambition!
"Shadow Domain! First-Tier Spell, Pseudo-Domain. Effect: Instantly creates a 100×100 shadow zone. Within this zone, the caster gains: Agility increased by 30%, Spiritual Power recovery speed increased by 10%, elemental resistance increased by 10%! Duration: 5 minutes. Cost: 15 Spiritual Power, 15 Mana!"