But immediately, the black qi spider on his chest let out a shrill cry.
Memphis's face went pale and he collapsed again, large patches of cold sweat pouring down.
Ssss...
An extremely faint but highly rhythmic vibration suddenly reached Wilin's ears.
"It's coming from the direction of the town—could it be survivors?" Wilin's face lit up with hope.
But Memphis's expression changed drastically: "That's the sound of Cavern Frost Spider footsteps! They've caught up!"
A dozen seconds later, five agile figures of Cavern Frost Spider Knights appeared in Wilin's field of vision.
"Memphis! So you really are here!"
"Excellent—to think we actually found him!"
"His head will absolutely be worth first-rank military merit!"
The knights all burst into laughter, speaking in the Dark Elves' language. Jenny could barely make out a few words, while Wilin understood nothing at all, his face blank with confusion.
Then the confusion on his face turned to terror.
On the backs of these Cavern Frost Spiders, besides the knights, he saw a great number of heads stacked one on top of another, with blood still dripping down.
Among those heads, he even recognized a few familiar faces.
"Un—Uncle Weiya! What did you do to them?!" Wilin's veins bulged as he drew the Cross Sword from his back.
"Ha ha ha..." Facing Wilin's accusations, these Frost Spider knights naturally couldn't understand him, but the meaning was clear enough.
One dark knight used his spear to lift up a head, taunting and mocking them.
The other knights shook their spears and charged forward.
"Aahhh... I'm going to kill you!"
Wilin's eyes were bloodshot as he charged straight in.
"Secret Art — Word Star!"
As he bellowed, the Life Energy within Wilin's body erupted violently, forming a somewhat ethereal layer of armor around him.
"Kill!"
The Cross Sword collided with the spears, and Wilin and the Frost Spider Knights each staggered back several steps.
The Cavern Frost Spider Knights were the Dark Elves' elite forces—even ordinary soldiers possessed the strength of a Human Great Knight. Coupled with their Cavern Frost Spider mounts and various mystical engravings, they were far superior.
But Wilin was no ordinary Great Knight either, so the battle remained evenly matched.
Unfortunately, Wilin was alone, while the enemy had a full five of them!
After seeing the Life Energy erupt from Wilin's body, the Cavern Frost Spider Knights exchanged glances, shouted a few phrases Wilin couldn't understand, and charged straight in.
"Pew!"
A black streak of light cut through the air, striking one Frost Spider Knight's shoulder and forcing its way in with difficulty.
On the carriage, Jenny held her bow in one hand, her expression calm as she fired rapid volleys of arrows.
She could clearly assess the situation—in these circumstances, only by dispatching this squad of knights as quickly as possible would they have any chance of survival.
But the enemy had five knights with the strength of Great Knights—how could that be easy? Jenny smiled bitterly to herself.
Sure enough, as time wore on, Wilin was surrounded and began to falter, the ethereal armor on his body looking as though it might shatter at any moment.
"Squeak squeak!"
Under one knight's command, the Cavern Frost Spider beneath him suddenly leaped forward, bypassing Wilin's defenses and reaching the front of the carriage.
The black spear thrust out viciously! The blast of accompanying air made Jenny's expression change again and again!
"Ugh!" From not far away came Wilin's muffled groan as his light armor shattered, blood spurting from several wounds.
Hum hum!
In that instant, Jenny suddenly felt a powerful wave of energy erupt beside her.
She turned her head sharply and saw Memphis struggling to tear open a scroll in his hand.
A ring of gray ripples immediately spread outward. The gray light seemed almost sentient, avoiding Jenny and Wilin, and reaching the Frost Spider Knights.
The gray light formed a halo-like ring, enveloping both the knights and their Cavern Frost Spiders.
The Frost Spider Knights trapped within the halo immediately felt the tremendous power they had been so proud of beginning to drain away, and even their mounts trembled as though unable to bear the burden.
"Weakening Mark! Run!" one of the Frost Spider Knights immediately shouted.
"Kill!" But at this moment, Wilin erupted with renewed force.
"Cross Slash!" He drove out his last reserves of Life Energy, unleashing the killing move of the Cross Sword Technique.
A cross-shaped blade of light mercilessly swept through the four knights surrounding him.
The Frost Spider Knights' expressions went blank, and then their bodies—along with their mounts—split apart.
"Pew!" Jenny seized the opportunity, sending an arrow straight into the neck of the last fleeing knight.
A smile appeared on Memphis's face before he suddenly coughed up a mouthful of black blood and passed out again.
Half a day later, on the carriage, Jenny looked at Wilin's ashen face, then at Memphis beside them, unsure of what to say.
"Why? Why do people have to die? Why must there be war?" Wilin's eyes were a dull gray as he murmured in a low voice.
"That's the answer I've been trying to find, but unfortunately—"
Memphis was now wrapping the arrow wound on his chest with a green plant paste, managing a bitter smile. "You saved me. I, Memphis, swear on the honor of the Dark Nobility that I will repay you!"
"Forget all that for now—is what you said about the war true?" Compared to everything else, Jenny was clearly most concerned about this.
"It's true! And it was precisely because I advocated peace that I was persecuted and hunted!"
A light shone in Memphis's eyes, his voice dropping low.
"So what do we do now?"
Jenny looked at Wilin.
"I've made my decision! I'm going to do everything in my power to stop this war. I don't want to see any more people bleed!"
Wilin's voice was hoarse but carried an unquestionable resolve.
"You've lost your mind!" Jenny's body trembled. "You? By yourself?"
"No! And him!" Wilin pointed at Memphis. "I'm going to send him back to his fief in the
As he made his decision, Wilin suddenly felt a warmth below his neck.
He pulled open his shirt, revealing an oddly shaped gold coin—one side bore a skull, the other a lucky bird, its edges giving off a dim, lustrous glow. The coin had been threaded on a thin cord and carefully hung around his neck.
Wilin touched the coin, his eyes growing even more resolute. "Lord Leilin! Master! You support me too, don't you?"
...
The Dark Extreme East Region, Alliance of Nature headquarters.
The Alliance of Nature had by now thoroughly consolidated its strength as a mid-tier faction, with several hundred apprentices alone, sweeping away the previous decline.
Furthermore, after being bolstered by numerous wizards' enhancements and stationed defenders, the current Large Defense Magical Array's defensive power had risen several grades above before.
And in the innermost forbidden area, within the enormous laboratory.
Leilin paused for a moment, then looked at a golden crystal in his hand. The crystal was currently emitting a faint warmth, with thin golden threads continuously generating from its base, filling it layer by layer.
"So it's already received a portion of Fate's power?" Leilin smiled.
"It seems Wilin has already begun walking the path of destiny that was meant for him! The power of fate will continuously gather upon him!"
At this moment, Leilin glanced again at the Meditation Method completion progress displayed by the Chip.
Sacred Light Candle—this advanced Meditation Method that possessed prophetic abilities and had long made Leilin covetous. Its progress had now reached 100, and even several sub-disciplines were being continuously conquered.
As for the Eyes of Komoy, since what needed to be deduced was the fourth layer—the Morning Star realm—it had run into difficulties and was stuck at 50, with no progress in three years.
Leilin estimated this was because the Chip's database of advanced Meditation Methods was still not complete enough.
After all, in his hands, only the Dragon King's Divine Power—exclusive to dragon-type creatures for cultivation—had four layers. The other Meditation Methods had no descriptions in this regard.
As for Sacred Light Candle, it had long since been fully analyzed, and he had even made some modifications to it, removing that repulsive side effect.
But unfortunately, the Chip had only deduced a complete three layers, as though this Meditation Method had no more beyond that, leaving Leilin slightly regretful.
"Now that the gears of fate have begun turning, I should scatter more 'seeds' and look forward to the harvest to come!"
Leilin stroked his chin, then turned his gaze to the laboratory bench.
On the silvery-white surface, several peculiar items were laid out.
A black ring, a multicolored pendant, a worn notebook, and the like.
"Chip! Begin!" Blue fluorescent light shot from Leilin's eyes as he connected with these items.
"Auxiliary semi-intelligent program compilation complete. Implanting!"
The Chip's mechanical voice rang out.
A few minutes later, Leilin picked up the black ring.
Whoosh! A stream of light shot out, manifesting the appearance of a wise old man wearing a Grand
"I am the Legendary Grand Wizard
Leilin's lips moved while the old wizard spoke as though he were truly alive, his words brimming with persuasive charm.
These were several semi-intelligent programs Leilin had designed, and he retained remote control authority over them—extremely practical.
After testing them and finding them satisfactory, Leilin stored all these items in his spatial leather bag and walked out of the laboratory.
"My Lord!"
Along the way, whether it was formal wizards or apprentices, all bowed their heads respectfully in greeting. Some apprentices could only bow from a distance before quickly making way.
"I never expected to receive this treatment myself!"
Leilin suddenly laughed.
High-level wizards, if they didn't deliberately restrain themselves, emitted intense radiation that served as a kind of pollution. For some lower-level apprentices, it could even be lethal.
Therefore, back at the Black Bone Forest Academy, there had been many forbidden zones—these were actually the experimental and living quarters of high-level wizards.
When Leilin had encountered such wizards before, he too had to bow from a distance and make way.
Now, it was his turn to be on the receiving end.