Although the announcer had warned that the final round could be dangerous, not a single Wizard in attendance backed down.
The world of Wizards had never been a kind place. Those who had managed to survive until now were hardly strangers to bloodshed — they had long since steeled themselves for situations like these.
Moreover, the enormous rewards pooled together by several major schools, along with the tantalizing prospect of a Third-rank Wizard's legacy, were more than enough for them to gamble their lives on.
"Excellent! Since no one has withdrawn, then I declare — the final round begins!!!"
The announcer swept his arm downward with a flourish.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three massive, multicolored fireworks streaked across the sky like comets, and the surrounding bands immediately struck up rousing music.
Hummmm!
Threads of violet energy flowed across the wizard formation, the power of space continuously condensing until it formed a colossal rift.
One after another, the participating Wizards stepped into the wizard formation after receiving their protective talismans and escape spells — a flash of light, and their figures vanished instantly.
Once the last Wizard had entered the secret realm, a massive light screen suddenly rose from all four sides of the competition arena.
Figures flickered across the screen, which had been divided into dozens of large panels, each one displaying the image of a different Wizard.
They had actually placed every corner of the secret realm under surveillance, drawing murmurs of astonishment from the Wizards in attendance.
"Now that's truly ingenious surveillance technology — and they're willing to spend the money for it, too…"
Raelin sighed to himself.
It wasn't that he couldn't have developed this kind of light projection technology to monitor an entire secret realm — the problem was that the cost would have been astronomical.
Only with the Central Domain Joint Council taking the lead and every major school contributing heavily could such a thing be achieved — and even then, just for a single day. Any longer and they'd go bankrupt.
Still, sparing no expense meant the results were excellent. Virtually every Wizard's movements could be tracked on the screen.
……
"Bad feeling!" Weilin swept the Cross Sword in his hand.
An arc of light shot out, slicing a giant leech clean in two. Even severed, the leech didn't die immediately — instead it thrashed about on the swamp, sending up great sprays of water.
The moment Weilin was teleported in, a vast swamp spread before his eyes, and he was immediately attacked by the bulky leech, filling him with a thoroughly ominous premonition.
"Master, be careful — I'm detecting extremely strong surveillance energy in here!"
At that moment, the armor on his body suddenly split open, revealing a single eye, as the enhanced armor communicated with its owner.
"This is the Okol Great Observation Technique from the plant system, using plant roots and vines as data transmission channels. Master, if you want to act covertly, you'd best avoid places with abundant vegetation!"
The enhanced armor communicated continuously with its master through mental connection.
As an enhanced warrior, Weilin had not only inherited an enhanced armor from a senior predecessor, which dramatically increased his strength, but also gained a wealth of knowledge and experience, akin to having an old grandfather by his side at all times.
"No wonder I felt uncomfortable—I was being watched!" Weilin nodded in sudden understanding and swiftly left the swamp.
"Who's there? Come out!"
Right at the edge of the swamp, Weilin's ear twitched, and his Cross Sword pointed towards a nearby bush.
"Don't attack, we mean no harm!" Two wizards who looked remarkably similar emerged.
"Lord Weilin, we were simply teleported here by accident."
"In fact, we were even thinking of coming to help any wizard who might have fallen into the swamp!"
"And, we truly admire Lord Weilin's strength—how could we dare to oppose you?"
"Exactly! Exactly!" These two wizards, who looked like twin brothers, spoke one after the other without a single pause, leaving Weilin no opportunity to interject.
In truth, his appearance—brandishing a Cross Sword and clad in flesh-like armor—had long been firmly imprinted in the minds of the competing wizards, who recognized the immense power he possessed.
Being treated with such respect by a formal wizard, someone he had previously feared, made Weilin feel quite elated.
"If only Lord Leilin could see this scene, perhaps he would feel gratified too! Come to think of it, Lord Leilin seems to always be sitting on the judgment seat... I should find an opportunity to go and meet him sometime..."
Weilin's admiration for Lord Leilin was genuine and heartfelt. Regarding Winas's claim about a traitor among the high-ranking wizards, Weilin harbored no suspicion whatsoever towards Leilin.
In fact, if it weren't for the combined efforts of Winas, Ailin, and Memphis to stop him, he would have already headed straight for Lord Leilin's residence upon entering the city.
"Haha... haha..." Weilin rubbed his head somewhat sheepishly, wearing a silly grin.
The twin brothers, upon seeing this, exchanged a glance, a peculiar light flashing in their eyes.
"Lord Weilin!" One of them spoke, taking a few steps closer.
"It's so dangerous here—why don't we move together?"
*Crack!* The moment his words fell, several green thorny vines pierced through the soil, tightly binding Weilin's feet.