In the Utterdark Domain, even a single Earth-element energy particle pool could take a formal Wizard several hundred years to accumulate — and they would be proud of themselves for it.
But now, Lei Lin had essentially constructed energy particle pools for every single element — and in duplicate, no less!
The sheer scale of this expenditure was enough to make Gu Bole faint on the spot.
And that wasn't all — Gu Bole knew his master's plans all too well. Setting aside the tower body and the layered magical defenses, for the final intelligent core alone, Lei Lin intended to use a Doromel Crystal as its foundation and then purchase a Fourth Tier spell scroll — the Construct Activation Spell!
A Fourth Tier spell scroll was no longer something that could be bought with Magic Stones. Had Lei Lin not been Gilbert's own student, he probably wouldn't have even been able to find a channel to obtain one.
But once the Tower Spirit was in place, the entire Wizard Tower's defenses would be coordinated, granted a degree of intelligence, and forever loyal to a single master — making it an invaluable aid for the Wizard's control over it.
With so many materials and resources poured into it, Gu Bole believed this Wizard Tower wouldn't look shabby even if it were meant to house a Morning Star Wizard.
As for its defensive capabilities, it could at the very least endure a siege by numerous Third Tier Wizards for a considerable time.
"Constructing a Wizard Tower is a massive undertaking. Our current manpower can only handle preliminary preparations and the like. Once the Black Castle is completed next year, I'll move in here and supervise the tower's construction personally…"
In Lei Lin's plans, this Wizard Tower was a long-term project that would take at least ten years to complete.
The effort and resources invested would be beyond counting, but once everything was finished, he would have an incredibly solid foothold in this region.
The boost a Wizard Tower provided to a Wizard's combat power was terrifying — especially one of this caliber. Lei Lin estimated that once he reached the vaporization stage, within the tower's protective domain, he would have nothing to fear from any Third Tier Wizard, not even a peak Third Tier Crystallization expert!
Of course, if his opponent was a Fourth Tier Wizard — even one of those disgraced Fourth Tier Wizards without a Morning Star Killing Move — Lei Lin estimated the odds of being utterly defeated still leaned heavily in the other party's favor.
He had truly experienced firsthand the terror of Morning Star Wizards.
And if a genuine Morning Star Wizard unleashed even a single Killing Move, the majority of his territory would likely be annihilated — a Wizard Tower would be completely useless, probably reduced to rubble in the very first strike.
"Gu Bole, have you found the people I asked you to look for?"
Lei Lin turned his gaze to Gu Bole.
He had previously asked the man to seek out administrative talent. Additionally, he needed more vassals — not only to build up his own power base, but also to lend a hand during the Wizard Tower's construction and save him some effort.
As long as the final step of activating the Tower Spirit was handled by himself, he could keep the Wizard Tower firmly under his own control — everything else was of little concern.
"Master! I'm truly sorry!"
Hearing Lei Lin's words, Gu Bole's heart sank and he dropped straight to his knees.
"What is it?" Lei Lin frowned.
"There are plenty of people with administrative talent — I even recruited a few apprentices and the like. But as for vassals, the friends I know are all Manxter Giant Serpent Warlocks, so I'm afraid they may not meet your requirements…"
A look of shame crept across Gu Bole's face.
The friends he knew, of course, were all hovering around the rank of first-tier warlocks. Bringing such people to serve Linley would be sentencing them to death! He certainly wouldn't do that. Although higher-tier warlocks would undoubtedly be willing to pledge their allegiance to Linley, he simply lacked the connections to reach them.
"Indeed! That makes sense!" Linley stroked his chin, having already guessed the reason. He made a mental note to seek out Robin later — there should be a few warlocks or similar figures over there who could be recruited.
As for recruiting Manxter Giant Serpent warlocks, that was completely out of the question. But second-tier and third-tier Horalar Black Serpent warlocks — there were probably still some bitter and frustrated ones out there, desperate to latch onto a powerful patron.
"Then let's first take a look at the administrative talent you've brought back!"
"Understood, Master!" Seeing that Linley wasn't going to punish him, Gu Bole felt a wave of relief wash over him. Leading the way, he brought Linley to another temporarily erected encampment.
There, several ordinary people with auras so weak they were virtually nonexistent awaited Linley's audience in a state of trembling dread.
Linley felt that if he didn't deliberately suppress himself, the mere radiation emanating from his body would be enough to kill every single one of them — and in the most agonizing manner imaginable before they finally perished.
Of course, among these ordinary people, there were one or two apprentices. But in Linley's eyes, they were nothing more than slightly larger ants, fundamentally no different from the rest.
"Greetings to Lord Marquis of the Black Castle!"
The group was promptly ushered out, bowing respectfully to Linley.
Linley cast a casual glance over them. Most were elderly, with one exception — a middle-aged man whose features were etched with a resolute, steely quality.
"State your names and skills!" Gu Bole, watching Linley's expression, immediately barked out the order.
"Sokeleef. I specialize in administration!" This was the elderly man.
"My name is Reis. I specialize in military training and once served as the army commander of a duchy!" This was the middle-aged man.