Leilin was quite impressed by the choice of that final test subject.
To overcome psychological pressure and societal constraints, to defect to the enemy with resolute determination — and not just any enemy, but an entirely different race — such courage and decisiveness were not things an ordinary person could possess.
"But what a pity. When the flow of information is completely one-sided, no matter what you do, it's all useless..."
Leilin sighed, a dangerous glint flickering in his eyes.
"My Lord!"
At that moment, a wizard's voice sounded from outside.
"Come in!"
"Yes!" The tent's curtain was pulled aside, and in walked an old man with a somewhat sinister appearance. This was Ilun, a peak First-Rank
He had many things to accomplish in the Central Domain of the Dark Pole this time, so naturally, he had brought along his strongest enforcer.
"The minor threats around Gale Lake have all been cleared. We can move in at any time!" Ilun lowered his head respectfully as he reported to Leilin.
Although the Central Domain had paid a heavy price this time, agreeing to hand over resource points equivalent to those of a large academy to the Alliance of Nature, there were still many troublesome spots that the Alliance would need to clear out personally.
Wizards could be relocated, but dangerous creatures and the like would not obediently follow the War Committee's orders.
"You've done well." Leilin nodded calmly.
Gale Lake was the location he had chosen to establish himself — from now on, it would serve as the Alliance of Nature's headquarters in the Central Domain.
"Pass down the order. Select a site and construct permanent defensive wizard arrays. Prepare to relocate!"
Leilin issued his instructions with composed indifference, while Ilun responded with a face full of reverence and quickly withdrew.
"One more thing!" Just as Ilun was about to step through the doorway, he heard Leilin's voice again: "I need to go out temporarily. You'll hold down the fort here. Watch for any hidden threats in the surroundings!"
"As you command, my Lord!" Ilun bowed even deeper at the waist.
"Good." Leilin nodded and waved his hand, dismissing Ilun from the tent.
As for the construction and everything that followed — too troublesome, too time-consuming. Leilin couldn't be bothered to deal with all of it, so he simply delegated everything downward.
In the mundane world, doing so might have left him hollowed out by his subordinates, but Leilin was different!
His personal combat power alone could match — no, surpass — the entire Natural Alliance's wizards. And he held Ilun's lifeline! A sliver of the man's soul essence was still clutched in Leilin's hand!
For that reason, Leilin trusted Ilun completely. He had no fear of betrayal whatsoever.
"And besides, it's about time I paid a visit to a few old acquaintances!"
Leilin chuckled softly, his body suddenly wreathed in black mist.
Snap! With a soft crack, the black mist exploded outward, and Leilin's figure vanished from the tent entirely.
……
"Osni! Are you certain that second-tier Wizard has already entered the Rebirth Phase?"
Deep underground in another location, Lombarton was draped in a black robe. On his back, a faintly visible pattern of a twisted spider loomed, its eight pitch-black legs reaching into the void, as if siphoning some manner of mysterious energy.
"Of course, my Lord!" The Wizard called Osni was a burly white man with sharply chiseled, clearly defined features. He wore a finely crafted leather-trimmed suit of armor. The only incongruity was the tattered notebook he held in his hands — it clashed rather oddly with his overall bearing.
"Grand Wizard
Osni spoke with absolute confidence.
His predictions, derived through the advanced Meditation Method known as Holy Light Candleflame, had never once been inaccurate. Naturally, he had every reason to be confident.
"Excellent! Then this time, we pull off something big!"
Lombarton closed his eyes. After what appeared to be a brief period of communion with the spider on his back, he spoke abruptly.
"Those school Wizards! They rule the vastest territories, hoard the finest resource nodes, guard the path to advancement with iron fists, monopolize the advanced Meditation Methods, and ruthlessly exploit commoners — and the likes of us, apprentices and Wizards born from the common people! Can you tolerate that?!"
Lombarton's body rose into midair, and his voice, amplified tenfold through some manner of sorcery, reverberated throughout the entire cavern.
"No!""No!"
In the cavern, besides Osni, there were a number of other apprentices and Wizards.
Although these Wizards looked somewhat down and out, their eyes now seemed to burn with flames.
In every power struggle throughout history, there were those who lost and those lucky few who stumbled upon an inheritance. If these Wizards were not recognized by their factions, their days tended to be rather miserable.
Moreover, having endured long-term injustice and oppression, their hearts often burned with a flame that could ignite at any moment.
Lombarton had gathered a large number of Wizards and apprentices without expending much effort at all.
With the Dark Elves providing covert resources behind the scenes, coupled with Lombarton ungrudgingly distributing some advanced Meditation Method materials, the strength of these Wizards had risen by one or two full tiers.
Any Wizard who had survived in the cracks this long possessed a few impressive skills of their own. With a certain amount of resource allocation on top of that, the power they could bring to bear was enough to leave even Lombarton stunned.
And now, through the indoctrination of revolutionary thinking and the righteous cause of revolution, Lombarton had firmly grasped all of these Wizards in the palm of his hand.
"So what do we need?" Lombarton's voice boomed several times louder.
"Revolution!" "Revolution!" "Revolution!"
Waves of chanting nearly lifted Osni right off the ground. He stood off to the side, watching the apprentices and even full-fledged Wizards on the field shouting themselves hoarse, their faces flushed red, and felt a chill run through his heart.
At that moment, he also sensed a mysterious power descending ceaselessly.
This power was like mountains and seas, yet it was none of the elemental energies.
Having cultivated the Sacred Light Candle, Osni recognized this energy all too well.
"This is the power of destiny! Or perhaps you could call it the grand momentum of the times!" Osni murmured to himself.
"Now, we shall march to destroy a major faction and slay the Second-tier Wizard Rosby!" Lombarton issued his command with vigor and pride.
Behind him, the eyes of the spider totem blazed brightly.
Crack! Crack!
Faint bursts of elemental detonation sounded from Lombarton's body, and in the next instant, an elemental halo materialized around him — the hallmark of a semi-elementalized Wizard.
Immediately after, a torrent of energy halos appeared in succession, coalescing into shimmering, iridescent fringes.
The aura radiating from Lombarton's body surged continuously, climbing until it reached a level that was in no way inferior to that of a peak First-tier Wizard.
"This is 'Life Siphon'! A high-level Meditation Method at the level of a
Osni lowered his head, concealing the gleam in his eyes.
"It seems! That Lombarton's status among the Dark Elves keeps climbing higher, and I've essentially joined the Dark Elf camp, becoming a traitor to my own domain..."
Then, a cruel smirk tugged at the corner of Osni's mouth. "But so what? Betrayal? Wizards are supposed to put their own interests first! My other fragments are probably still fighting over another Child of Destiny — none of them get to enjoy the luxury of exclusive control like I do! Right now, I've got the time advantage! The one laughing last will definitely be me!!!"
Osni roared inwardly.
Then, he felt his body stir. The Sacred Light Candle Meditation Method, which had been progressing sluggishly before, suddenly began operating at an astonishing speed.
He jerked his head up, looking at the fully geared-up Lombarton.
In his field of vision, a portion of the Destiny Energy that had gathered around Lombarton was now rapidly converging in his direction, drawn by the pull of the Sacred Light Candle.
Crack!
As if breaking through some kind of bottleneck, a crisp sound rang out from Osni's body, and faint elemental halos materialized on his hands.
He had gone from an ordinary Wizard who had just advanced directly to the threshold of semi-elementalization.
"Just as expected! By altering the course of the River of Destiny and siphoning its power, the Sacred Light Candle can advance rapidly!"
The big man's eyes were filled with wild elation.
"So? I didn't lie to you, did I?"
A voice suddenly emerged from the tattered notebook in his hand.
"Yes! I was being too cautious before — I apologize, esteemed Wizard
The big man bowed his head without a shred of hesitation. An apology cost him nothing, after all.
"Still, you've got some serious nerve — daring to alter the trajectory of fate on such a massive scale. That Lombarton could very well die in there!"
Old Merlin stroked his beard. "Even across my three thousand two hundred years of life, I've rarely done anything this insane!"
"Heh heh! Since Lombarton is a Child of Destiny, he certainly won't die that easily. As for the casualties among the other Wizards? What's that got to do with me?"
Osni sneered. "Even if the Child of Destiny really dies in there, I'll have completely severed this branch of the River of Fate — imagine how much power of reversal I could obtain!"
"And then you'll die from the backlash!" Merlin retorted without mincing words.
"At the end of the day, it's just a gamble! I don't care!"
The big man chuckled, his entire bearing suffused with a wild heroism and a crazed resolve.
These two atmospheres blended together, giving him an air of sheer contradiction.
Merlin sighed and said nothing more.
But in secret, he transmitted a message to both the Chip's main body and Railin.
"Test subject exhibiting Type 2 dissociative reaction. Recorded target data as follows: ……"
"Hm?"
High up in the sky, Railin halted his advance.
"Interesting! Now that's a truly interesting plan!"
A smile crept across the corner of his lips.
"Perfect timing. The Central Region is teetering on the edge as it stands — all it needs is one final blow. Allow me to deliver it!"