Under the tribunal of the Joint Conference, while Misty Forest likely wouldn't be exterminated, a massive loss was practically guaranteed. They might even suffer a punitive downgrade of their assessment ranking, costing them enormous benefits!
And that wasn't even counting Leylin, who was still "gravely wounded," right here!
Since a blood feud had already been forged, the only acceptable conclusion was the utter annihilation of one side!
All of this was something the other party simply could not tolerate.
Therefore, they would surely concentrate every available hand and, while Leylin was still recovering from his injuries, wipe the Nature Alliance off the map entirely!
And this was exactly what Leylin had been hoping for.
"I deliberately gave him a few days to summon his subordinates. I do hope he won't disappoint me!" A playful smile tugged at the corner of Leylin's lips.
He then tilted his head, turning his gaze toward the canyon's exit.
"They're coming!"
At that moment, outside the canyon, a ring of black-robed Wizards stood in a circle, tacitly surrounding several figures at their center.
At their head was a middle-aged man with a sinister face — the very same Misty Forest school master who had escaped that day.
"Heh heh! Gus, you truly look pathetic, getting gravely wounded by a mere honorary professor of a minor school!"
This Gus was, of course, his real name, while the Xis from before had been an alias.
Standing shoulder to shoulder with Gus was an old man in his fifties or sixties. His aged face was creased with wrinkles, yet his nose jutted out with a sharp, hooked curve. Paired with his narrow eyes that radiated a keen, piercing edge, he looked even more sinister and savage than Gus.
Upon hearing his vaguely mocking words, the Misty Forest Wizards around them showed no anger in their eyes, as though they hadn't heard a thing.
The reason, naturally, was the powerful energy fluctuation radiating from this old man.
Around him, wisps of energy trailed through the void like delicate filaments — he was unmistakably another powerful First Level Pinnacle Wizard!
"If it had been me in your place back then, the outcome wouldn't have been much better!"
Faced with the mockery, Gus merely let out a cold harrumph. The memory of Leylin's strength still sent a chill down his spine.
And the old man, who knew full well just how strong Gus really was, darkened as well: "If that Leylin has already recovered from his injuries, then I'll be wanting double the compensation!"
"Double it is!" Gus gritted his teeth and agreed immediately.
"I had to expend an ancient 'Great Light talisman' just to heal in such a short time. The other side practically couldn't possibly possess something like that…"
This was Gus's confidence in the resources of his mid-tier school. In his eyes, what could a piddling minor school like the Nature Alliance possibly have?
"Heh heh! Quite right. Besides, at best the other fellow is on the same level as you — how could he possibly withstand the two of us joining hands?"
The old man let out a raspy chuckle.
"My Lord! The signal jamming towers have been fully deployed!" A half-elementalized Wizard stepped forward and bowed to Gus.
"Good! Attack immediately. I want the Nature Alliance school erased from the entire Dark Realm!"
A vicious flash crossed Gus's face as he slashed his hand downward.
Over a dozen beams of light in various colors immediately surged toward the canyon entrance—every single one was a First-tier Wizard!
As a mid-tier school, Misty Forest had little trouble cultivating or recruiting formal Wizards. With the long lifespans that Wizards enjoyed, they had accumulated well over thirty formal Wizards over the years.
This time, Gus had brought more than half of them along.
Boom!
The dozen-odd beams of light crashed into the canyon entrance, only to be stopped cold by a shimmering defensive barrier of magical energy.
"Just a petty little school's defensive formation? Break!"
A piercing howl erupted from within the light. Moments later, a mass of black radiance coalesced into a colossal axe, its handle wrapped in heavy black iron chains. The blade gleamed with a sharp, bone-chilling cold light.
Crack!
The enormous axe swung down with devastating force!
With a deafening roar, the entire barrier shattered, fragmenting into countless motes of light that scattered and rapidly faded.
"Enemy attack!"
Xiling was the first to react as a formal Wizard. Her face went deathly pale as a gentle breeze carried her to the front of the Iceberg Laboratory.
Whoosh! A streak of black light flashed, and a mole the size of a young boy crawled out, two long streaks of graying whiskers trailing along the ground behind it.
"Little Xiling, we're in trouble this time! If I make it out alive, you'd better give me ten times the berries you gave me last time!"
The mole stroked its whiskers, looking thoroughly unhappy about the situation.
"Damn it! If I hadn't signed that contract with that old fool back then, I wouldn't have to defend this place to the death!"
"All apprentices—assemble at my location immediately!"
Xiling had no time even to crack a bitter smile. She ignored the mole entirely and used the school's formation network to broadcast a summons to every apprentice within the school.
She knew full well that the attackers were most likely from Misty Forest!