"Sir! That's the headquarters of the Misty Forest!"
At the edge of a small basin, old man Yilun pointed toward a forest shrouded in dense fog at the basin's center, his expression deeply respectful.
He had already been completely subjugated by Leilin, reduced to the status of a servant.
Xiling followed behind with a complicated expression. Aobo, Ilya, and several other Third-rank Apprentices were with them, their faces flushed red with excitement.
A Second-rank Wizard! Their honorary professor was actually a great Second-rank Wizard! And he had single-handedly crushed a massive wave of invaders!
All of these accomplishments filled them with a sense of pride by association.
"Misty Forest is still a mid-tier school, after all. Their Magical Array defenses are quite powerful, and they have several guardian creatures and contracted beasts stationed there. Shouldn't we..."
Yilun immediately sold out Gusi's entire situation without a moment's hesitation.
"There's no need for anything! I alone am sufficient. Remember — without my orders, no one is to set foot inside that basin!"
Leilin's expression turned solemn. Then, his entire body dissolved into a gust of wind and vanished into midair.
"Hiss... hiss..."
Faint sounds drifted over, and Xiling and the others watched as an ethereal serpent shadow materialized in the sky. The colossal serpent coiled upon itself, gradually taking on the terrifying visage of a demon lord! And the demon lord's features bore a faint resemblance to Leilin's own face.
Half an hour passed. When they were finally granted permission to enter the Misty Forest, all they found were rotting corpses everywhere!
Several high-energy creatures as large as small mountains had collapsed on the ground as well, their bodies not yet fully decomposed, reeking with a foul stench.
"Your task is to thoroughly search this place and take away anything of value!"
Leilin slowly descended onto the corpse of one of the enormous beasts. Against that backdrop, his figure was downright terrifying.
"Yes! Yes, Sir!"
At first, Xiling had been puzzled about why Leilin had brought a group of apprentices along. Now she understood.
...
After ransacking the Misty Forest, Leilin headed to the vicinity of the Eight-Legged Spider school's headquarters.
This time, Shigeli accompanied him.
Leilin, who could subdue even Yilun, naturally wouldn't let Shigeli get away.
"Go! Announce the dissolution of the Eight-Legged Spider! All members are to be absorbed into the Alliance of Nature!" Leilin ordered Shigeli.
"At once, Sir!" Shigeli bowed respectfully, clearly terrified of Leilin.
He accepted even such a command without hesitation.
As for the subordinate schools under the Misty Forest, Leilin didn't intend to exterminate them all.
After all, they couldn't possibly know about the Frost World affair. It was better to subdue every last one of them and bolster the strength of the Alliance of Nature.
The Misty Forest's wizards had already been completely wiped out. Under the indiscriminate, wide-area assault of Leilin's Second-rank innate spell — Bile of Deadly Poison — not a single living thing remained in the entire basin.
It could be said that the Misty Forest school had been utterly erased from the world.
Watching the headquarters stir with unrest, and the figures of Yilun and the others moving to suppress it, a cold smile touched the corner of Leilin's lips.
"Next, perhaps it will be the Second-rank Wizards' turn?"
This kind of large-scale attack — the egregious act of annihilating an entire school — how many years had it been since such a thing had happened in the entire Dark Poles Eastern Region?
No matter how sluggish the major schools were, they would have no choice but to step forward.
Moreover, according to the latest intelligence, the Dark Elf Empire was stirring, and the great beast tide from the Outer Dark was imminent. This was precisely the time when wizards needed to work together. The Alliance of Nature's actions were truly swimming against the current.
"But so what?"
A contemptuous smile curved Leilin's lips. "The more things stand that way, the more I must act!"
"The grand plan of uniting against foreign enemies doesn't just restrain the Alliance of Nature — it restrains those major schools even more!"
"Would they really be willing to lose a Second-rank combat force in the current situation? How could a mid-tier school and its subordinate forces possibly compare to a newly promoted Second-rank Wizard? Besides, we hold ample evidence proving that the Misty Forest struck first and even attacked our headquarters, causing massive casualties..."
With both power and evidence, even the major schools would find it difficult to act rashly.
Leilin understood this point perfectly.
After waiting another ten minutes or so, Shigeli, Yilun, and the others returned.
"Sir! The Eight-Legged Spider has been fully dissolved. This is our high-level Meditation Method — Breath of the Abyss!"
Shigeli knelt respectfully on one knee, presenting a black crystal to Leilin.