Neatly divided farmland stretched across the landscape, with a massive windmill standing at its center.
Not far away, there was a small farmstead, and beyond that what appeared to be a stone castle—though it was quite small, with no moat to speak of.
At first glance, this was nothing more than an utterly ordinary minor noble's estate.
"My lord! I'm certain this is a hidden stronghold of the Green Water Garden School, and Great Wizard Rosby, who has entered the Transmigration Period, is hiding here…"
From the darkness nearby, Osney bowed respectfully and reported to Longbaton.
"Mm. This is the enemy's lair—there will be no shortage of defensive magical arrays. Moreover, he's a Second-rank Wizard. Even though his rank has temporarily dropped, he's nothing that an ordinary peak First-rank can compare with!"
Longbaton murmured, then looked over the subordinates who had followed him.
He had already recruited a number of formal wizards over time, but sadly, hardly any had reached even semi-elemental transformation. Even those with remaining potential would need more time to develop.
He had only brought them along to make them truly participate in this operation with him—to sever their ties with the wizarding world for good.
The real fighting force would have to be himself and them!
Longbaton glanced at several dark-robed figures to one side.
These figures were slender of build, and had wrapped themselves deeply within their cloaks, completely concealing their true appearances. The cloaks were so oversized that it was nearly impossible to tell whether they were male or female.
These were the reinforcements the Dark Elves had dispatched for this mission—elite forces at the peak of the First-rank.
As for Matrons at the Second-rank level? Every movement of such individuals was under heavy surveillance. It was essentially impossible for them to infiltrate the border region.
Moreover, penetrating deep behind enemy lines made one vulnerable to encirclement.
The Dark Elves could afford to disregard the casualties of First-rank wizards, but a Second-rank Matron was the pillar of a family—even its spiritual totem and article of faith! The fall of even one would cause enormous repercussions.
It was precisely because of this that Vandix, as the first person to kill an enemy Matron, had not only received enormous rewards from the Dark Extreme Domain but also a substantial bounty from the Dark Elf Empire itself.
Honestly, the reward those fanatical Dark Elves had offered was enough to make even Leilin feel a slight twinge of temptation.
As for Vandix himself, he had been so terrified that he holed up in his school's headquarters and refused to come out, so naturally he hadn't come to participate in the relief expedition to the Central Domain this time either.
"Go!"
At Longbaton's command, fire and death descended upon this peaceful countryside in an instant.
Boom!
Countless energy fireballs rained down like a meteor shower, spraying sparks in every direction.
"What's happening?!" A knight in noble attire burst from the castle, his face filled with shock.
"Is… is this a wizard's attack? Why? Could it be the Dark Elves?!"
Whoosh! The moment he assessed the situation, he turned and retreated without hesitation, abandoning his domain, his people, his retainers, and even his family behind him.
As a knight who had seen the battlefield, he knew full well how terrifying wizards were—and he knew that once they struck, there was absolutely nothing that could be done about this place.
"Don't let a single one escape!"
Watching the knight galloping away in the distance, Longbaton looked at him the way one might regard an ant. He pointed casually.
A ray of death pierced through the air, catching up to the knight from behind. It punched through his Life Energy barrier as easily as if piercing cotton, and detonated inside his back.
Boom! A hole the size of a basketball exploded open in the knight's back, revealing white bones and pitch-black blood.
Terror filled the knight's eyes, but even more so, disbelief. The powerful momentum still carried him forward a few steps before he crashed to the ground.
Under the wizards' carpet bombardment, the small village was instantly transformed into a sea of flames. Not a single civilian survived, and the area quickly became nothing but scorched earth.
But Longbaton was still not satisfied, ordering the wizards to speed up their work.
Great swathes of earth were torn away, revealing a smooth rock cliff face marked with faint energy runes.
"Heh heh! Hiding like ground-dwelling rodents beneath the feet of mortals, and even going so far as to inscribe aura-concealing runes! This Rosby wizard is quite the coward…"
Longbaton sneered, then pointed at the magical wall.
"Tear it down!"
Boom! Before the volley of spells could even strike the rock face, several beams of light interrupted them.
Rumble! The rock split apart, revealing a massive gateway.
Bang bang! Bang bang!
Accompanied by heavy, rhythmic footsteps, four enormous silver guards emerged from within.
These silver guards wore heavy armor, their faces were expressionless sculpted masks, and beams of light like searchlights shone from their eyes.
"Rosby is both careful and cautious. He never revealed his hiding place to a single wizard, and the guards were all arranged by him personally—using only mithril golems! That means he's the only one inside! We have to prevent him from escaping!"
Osney stepped forward immediately to report, though he kept quiet about how he had discovered this location.
"These four mithril guards combined have the strength of two peak First-rank combatants! Send two of you to engage them! The Revolutionary Army will provide suppression around the perimeter!"
Longbaton quickly issued his orders.
And without a word, two of the dark-robed figures charged forward.