During his three years at the Ouroboros Ring, Leilin hadn't spent all his time on nothing but brewing potions.
At the very least, through
Within the Ouroboros Ring, it was an established convention for warlocks of low bloodlines to pledge themselves to powerful warlocks of higher bloodlines.
And Leilin was a pure-blood Komoane Giant Serpent warlock with a Star-level teacher—his potential was boundless, so it was only natural that some warlocks wished to serve under him.
Of course, given that his current strength was still relatively low and he had no famous deeds to speak of, true powerhouses were out of the question. The one standing before him now, Pike, was Leilin's greatest catch to date!
Pike had been introduced by Robin. He was a Hallar Black Snake warlock, and the third rank was his limit. This was to be expected—an ordinary Komoane Giant Serpent warlock wouldn't join someone else's service as a vassal.
Moreover, Pike had only just entered the third rank. He hadn't even reached Vaporization, and due to his advanced age and the accumulated injuries and toxins from his earlier adventuring career, he had lost any possibility of further advancement.
His decision to join Leilin's service appeared to be more for the sake of his family's future.
Regardless, Pike was still a third-rank warlock! He was Leilin's top fighter by far! Leilin naturally made efforts to win his loyalty, even taking Pike's own grandson as an apprentice to strengthen the bond between them.
"The main structure of the
Pike had extensive life experience and understood precisely what could and could not be done. Just a few words were enough to leave Leilin very satisfied.
At this moment, Leilin turned his gaze toward the center of the construction site.
There, a tall black spire had already taken shape. It emanated a vast and imposing force, as though announcing its arrival to the entire world.
Pike's report continued.
"In addition, we've stockpiled a great deal of the materials needed for the Elemental Reaction Pool and the Magical Garden. There's also a piece of news concerning the Vance Family..."
"The Vance Family?" Leilin's brow furrowed. This was the family Furi belonged to. Rumor had it that their bloodline had been declining recently—no descendant had awakened the Komoane Giant Serpent bloodline in quite some time. It was precisely because of this that Furi had been searching far and wide for warlocks with pure Komoane Giant Serpent bloodlines, even once setting her sights on Leilin himself.
"What do they want?" Leilin asked, a note of wariness creeping into his voice.
Of course, with his current strength, he had no need to fear them too greatly. Still, it would be nothing but trouble.
"The Vance Family has sent people to make contact with us. They hope to sell us a large quantity of Wizard Tower construction materials at a discounted price. I've inspected them—they're top-grade materials of excellent quality... Moreover, they've expressed willingness to fund the master's Wizard Tower construction! If necessary, they can also dispatch a large workforce..."
As Pike delivered his report, he secretly studied Leilin's expression.
The earlier rumors had already leaked out in vague hints. He couldn't help but wonder whether his master had already become involved with Furi.
Upon hearing this news, Leilin's face twitched, and he shot Pike a fierce glare that immediately made the old warlock bow his head respectfully.
"We'll purchase the materials at full price. We don't need their discounts. As for sending people to help—turn it all down!"
Leilin issued his command. Though he knew perfectly well this was an olive branch, the mere thought of their true intentions made his facial muscles spasm with the urge to roll his eyes.
"As you command, Master!" Pike responded, though inwardly he felt a twinge of regret.
The Vance Family was one of the most prestigious clans among Komoane warlocks, with over a thousand years of history and accumulation. Their resources were unfathomably deep. With their support, the construction of the Wizard Tower would proceed far more smoothly.
But Leilin would never agree.
If he did, the Vance Family would undoubtedly dangle even more bait, luring him step by step into their final trap.
He could certainly play the part of the ruthless schemer—take every last morsel of bait while scoffing at their trap. But that was far too shameless, and Leilin felt that as long as he hadn't been reduced to such desperate straits, he had no desire to resort to such methods.
After all, the resources he'd plundered from the Dark Extreme Domain were more than sufficient for his needs. Combined with what was needed for the Wizard Tower's construction, he still had plenty to spare.
As long as his own requirements were met, Leilin had no interest in playing such games—it was simply far too humiliating.
Night fell!
Inside the enormous Black Fortress, candles and oil lamps illuminated every corner. In some places, even Everburning Flame and other illumination spells had been deployed, filling the entire fortress interior with brilliant light.
From a distance, the massive Black Fortress resembled a towering pillar of radiant fire, spilling radiance and warmth in every direction.
After gathering all of his subordinates and vassals in the fortress's banquet hall for a lavish dinner, Leilin retired alone to his bedroom.
This was the most heavily guarded location in the entire Black Fortress. Not only were elite mortal soldiers patrolling the outer perimeter, but as one moved deeper inside, specific detection arrays and warlocks standing guard would appear.
"Not bad! Pike and the others have done well!"
Sitting in his bedroom with eyes closed, Leilin took in the fortress's overall situation and nodded with approval.
The Black Fortress's defenses were already quite satisfactory. Though in Leilin's eyes they were still far from complete, at the very least, no second-rank Wizard would be able to infiltrate.
"To truly establish the Black Fortress as a major Wizard stronghold would probably require over a hundred years—gradually adding defensive arrays, and through the radiation that high-level Wizards would unconsciously emit while residing within, influencing the fortress as a whole..."
Leilin stroked his chin in thought.
The more powerful the Wizard, the deeper their influence on their surroundings.
Leilin estimated that if those Dawn-class Wizards did nothing but stand inside the Black Fortress and simply radiated the terrifying energy within their bodies, it would be enough to profoundly transform the fortress—altering the fundamental materials of its structure, granting it some of the strange abilities found in the Wizard world, and potentially even animating the entire fortress to produce all manner of bizarre creatures.
These phenomena would serve as excellent foundations for constructing magical defensive arrays! Once the animated fortress was subdued and those strange creatures enslaved, the Black Fortress's defensive system would be largely complete.
Through his own radiation, Leilin could achieve a similar effect, but the timeframe was uncertain—at minimum, it would take over a hundred years.
And if a large number of Wizards resided here, that time could be shortened somewhat.
This was why the more ancient a Wizard's castle, the deeper the defensive power it harbored—accompanied by all manner of strange phenomena, some of which even the Wizard families residing within couldn't fully explain.
But as for now? The road ahead for the Black Fortress was still long.
Leilin composed his thoughts and pressed a hidden mechanism on the bed frame.
With the sound of grinding machinery, the large bed before him suddenly lifted, revealing a passage leading downward.
Leilin walked in expressionlessly, and once he had entered, the mechanism closed behind him, leaving no trace from the outside.
The passage was long. By the time Leilin reached the end, he was deep underground—at least several thousand meters beneath the surface.
At the passage's terminus was a standard underground laboratory. The rocky walls around it were densely inscribed with runes to prevent energy dissipation and seal off all traces of aura.
"The conditions are still rather crude, but they'll have to do for now!"
Once inside the laboratory, Leilin waved his hand, and a defensive barrier immediately sealed off the passage. Blindingly bright runes flickered across its surface, clearly concealing an exceedingly powerful defensive array.
This was a temporary laboratory Leilin had established. Before the Wizard Tower was completed, any secretive experiments could be conducted here.
Leilin slapped the spatial leather pouch at his waist. After a flash of silver light, three objects appeared on the ground.
One was an enormous cyan crystal array. Within the transparent crystal, rune-like wisps of smoke drifted and shifted, clustering and dispersing in constant flux.
Another was an irregularly shaped black shell container, holding a pool of greenish blood. A nauseating corrosive stench wafted continuously from it.
The last was three purple fruits, resembling apples but covered in fine, delicate snake scales across their surfaces.
"The Vaporization Array, Corrosion Lizard blood essence, and Purple-leaf Snake-scale Fruits!"
Leilin extended his slender fingers and carefully examined each item once more.
The Chip scanned them in tandem, ultimately confirming that everything was in order.
"Let's begin," Leilin murmured. He sat cross-legged at the center of the Vaporization Array and flicked two pure Magic Stone essences into the array's grooves.
The entire Vaporization Array trembled slightly, its runes beginning to surge violently.
"The host is attempting to break through the Vaporization bottleneck. Real-time monitoring activated," the Chip's mechanical voice rang out immediately.
"Next—the Corrosion Lizard blood essence!"
Two beams of black light shot from Leilin's eyes and sank into the black shell container.
Gurgle! Gurgle!
The mass of greenish blood began to boil, mist rising and coalescing in midair into the form of a massive green lizard. Across the lizard's body, corrosion marks appeared everywhere, revealing glimpses of white bone and internal organs beneath.
"Hiss! Hiss!"
The green lizard faced Leilin, its foreclaws pawing at the ground, radiating a sense of eagerness and readiness.
And as if stimulated by the Corrosion Lizard, Leilin felt the Komoane Giant Serpent bloodline stirring restlessly within his own body.