In the Dark Polar Domain, even a single earth-element energy particle pool could take a full
But now, Leilin had essentially built energy particle pools for every element—and in duplicate!
This terrifying expenditure was nearly enough to make Gubler faint.
That wasn't even all. Gubler knew his master's plans—setting aside the tower body and the magical defenses on each floor, for the final intelligent core alone, Leilin intended to use a piece of Dormol Crystal as the foundation, then purchase a Fourth-level Wizard Scroll: Construct Animation!
A Fourth-level Wizard Scroll could no longer be purchased with Magic Stones. If Leilin himself weren't
But with a Tower Spirit, the entire Wizard Tower's defenses would be coordinated, possessing a certain level of intelligence, forever recognizing only one master—it would also be an extremely capable aid for a Wizard's control over the tower.
With so many materials and resources poured in, Gubler believed this Wizard Tower wouldn't look shabby even if a Morning Star Wizard were to reside in it.
As for its defensive power, it could at minimum withstand a prolonged siege by numerous Third-rank Wizards.
"The construction of the Wizard Tower is already a massive project. Our current manpower can only handle preliminary preparations. Once the Black Fortress is completed next year, I'll move in here to supervise the tower's construction…"
In Leilin's plans, this Wizard Tower was a long-term undertaking that would consume at least ten years.
The effort and resources invested would be immeasurable, but once everything was complete, he would have an extremely solid foundation in this region.
The power amplification a Wizard Tower provided was truly terrifying, especially a high-grade one like this. Leilin estimated that once he reached the Gaseous phase, within the Wizard Tower's range, he wouldn't need to fear any Third-rank Wizard—even a peak Third-rank Crystallization Wizard wouldn't be a concern!
Of course, once the opponent was a Fourth-rank Wizard—even one of those shameful Fourth-rank Wizards without a Morning Star killing move—Leilin estimated his chances of getting flattened were still higher.
He had truly experienced the terror of Morning Star Wizards firsthand.
And if a true Morning Star Wizard unleashed a killing move, half his territory would probably be completely obliterated. A Wizard Tower would be utterly useless—likely reduced to rubble in the very first instant.
"Gubler, have you found the people I asked you to look for?"
Leilin turned to Gubler at his side.
He had previously asked the man to find management talent. Additionally, he needed more vassals—not only to build up his own forces, but also to have them lend a hand during the Wizard Tower's construction, saving him some effort.
As long as the final step of activating the Tower Spirit was performed by himself, he could keep the Wizard Tower firmly under his own control. Everything else was secondary.
"Master! I'm truly sorry!"
Hearing Leilin's words, Gubler's heart sank and he dropped directly to his knees.
"What is it?" Leilin furrowed his brow.
"There's plenty of management talent—even a few apprentices came forward to enlist, and I've accepted them all. As for vassals, the friends I know are all Manxter Giant Serpent Warlocks, which I'm afraid won't meet your needs…"
There was a hint of shame on Gubler's face.
The circle of friends he knew naturally hovered around the First-rank Warlock level. Bringing people of that strength to Leilin would be sending them to their deaths! He certainly wouldn't do that. But while higher-ranked warlocks would surely be willing to pledge themselves to Leilin, he simply lacked the connections to reach them.
"Mm! That's fair!" Leilin stroked his chin, having already roughly guessed the reason. He considered seeking out
Komoin Giant Serpent Warlocks were out of the question, but there should still be some disaffected Second-rank or Third-rank Horall Black Snake Warlocks who would be desperate to attach themselves to a powerful patron.
"Then let's go see the administrative talent you've recruited first!"
"Yes, Master!" Seeing that Leilin didn't punish him, Gubler felt a wave of relief and led him to another temporary camp.
There, several ordinary people with extremely weak auras were waiting nervously for Leilin's audience.
Leilin felt that if he didn't deliberately suppress himself, the radiation emanating from his body alone could kill every last one of these commoners—and miserably so, at that.
Among these ordinary people, there were one or two apprentices, but in Leilin's eyes, they were merely slightly larger ants, with no essential difference.
"Greetings, Lord Marquis of the Black Fortress!"
The group was immediately called out and bowed respectfully to Leilin.
Leilin glanced over them casually. Most were elderly men, along with one middle-aged man with a stern expression.
"State your names and abilities!" Watching Leilin's expression, Gubler immediately barked the order.
"I am Sukelifu, skilled in administration!" This was an old man.
"My name is Roys, skilled in military training. I previously served as a legion commander in a duchy!" This was the middle-aged man.
"I am Alexandro, skilled in administration and law!" This old man radiated apprentice-level fluctuations, drawing a brief glance from Leilin.
"Alexandro, have you taken Blueberry Extract?" Leilin's nose twitched slightly, and he suddenly asked.
Blueberry Extract was a special botanical secretion that could extend the lifespan of apprentices below the rank of official Wizard, but the consequence was that one's power became permanently frozen, with no possibility of further advancement.
"Yes, my lord. I'm only a hundred and fifty years old, with over a hundred more years to serve under your command!"
Alexandro was indeed a warlock and understood what Wizards valued.
For Leilin, what he needed was talent that could serve for the long haul. An ordinary old man would become too frail to work after a decade or two—what use would that be?
"Very good! You, and Roys from before—you're hired!" As for those elderly men who, despite their experience, clearly didn't have many years left, they were dismissed with regret.
After they left, Roys and Alexandro bowed once more: "Master!"
This time, it was the formal salute of vassals greeting their lord.
"Good. From now on, you are my subordinates. Roys will handle security and the military, while Alexandro will manage internal affairs. As long as you work diligently, I will grant you noble titles and fiefdoms, and accept your descendants into my service!"
As a noble, Leilin naturally knew what these people wanted and what to offer to motivate them.
Sure enough, upon hearing his promise, Roys and Alexandro immediately knelt and kissed the ground at Leilin's feet in gratitude: "We shall offer our loyalty and devotion, even unto the ends of the earth!"
"Good. You may go. Gubler will brief you on the specifics!"
Leilin waved his hand dismissively.
He had no patience for such ceremonies and simply delegated everything downward.
In his previous world's medieval times, this approach would have been suicide—he would eventually have been sidelined or even murdered by his subordinates. But here, things were different.
Leilin himself commanded absolute power and had nothing to fear from any ambitions his subordinates might harbor.
And under the Wizards' intimidation, those two wouldn't dare entertain even the slightest thought of disloyalty—not even in their minds!
"It's about time I made a trip back. This time, not only do I need to learn from Master Gilbert's experience, it would be best to obtain the Gaseous Phase Magical Array as well…"
Leilin glanced at his status.
[Leilin Farell, Third-rank Warlock. Bloodline: Komoin Giant Serpent. Strength: 23.6, Agility: 20.1, Constitution: 35.7, Spiritual Power: 215.3, Mana: 215 (Mana determined by Spiritual Power synchronization)] After reaching the Third rank, the Giant Serpent Breath Potion's effects on him had weakened considerably once more.
Although the Central Continent's environment was far superior to the Dark Polar Domain, after consuming massive amounts of resources, his spiritual power was still at the initial Third-rank level.
But Leilin was confident. The Ouroboros Ring was an organization specifically composed of Komoin Giant Serpent Warlocks, and it had no shortage of potion formulas and finished products designed to enhance warlock spiritual power.
Furthermore, with Gilbert's help, he would quickly reach the bottleneck of his current rank.
At that point, the Gaseous Phase Magical Array would be essential.
Buzz! A glow emanated from the sigil pendant on Leilin's body, forming a bright crimson arcane sigil symbol.
"Master Gilbert is already nearly prepared? Understood! I'll return as soon as possible!"
After speaking a few words to the arcane sigil, Leilin immediately called Gubler over, instructed him to supervise the construction, and set off on his return journey.
Phosphorus Fire Swamp!
The black swamp exuded an aura of death, with eerie green flames flickering to life from time to time.
"Truly worthy of being the location the Ouroboros Ring selected after meticulous screening! This particle environment is perfectly suited for the growth of Komoin bloodline descendants!"
Leilin walked across the swamp, sensing the excitement welling up within his body, and couldn't help but nod in approval.
The Ouroboros Ring's headquarters remained the same as before, with numerous warlocks living, studying, and conducting research in this small wizard city.
Leilin went directly to find Robin, and from him learned that both Milanta and Furi had recently taken on missions and were away from headquarters. He couldn't help but let out a long breath of relief.
"Haha!" Seeing Leilin's reaction, Robin, as the senior student, couldn't help but laugh.
After the teasing, the two of them got down to business.
"The Astral Gate experiments are extremely dangerous. Among those extraplanar creatures, there exist horrifying entities that even exceed Morning Star Wizards in power! And in the 'White Terror' incident two hundred and fourteen years ago, the great pioneer Morning Star Wizard Bonell rashly communicated with an alien world and heard a curse from a terrifying conceptual entity beyond—resulting not only in his own immediate demise, but the instant death of every single one of his bloodline descendants, even those on other continents! I hope you'll think this over carefully!"