Leilin and Kasha both kept their emotions in check, knowing this was no time for debate.
The opportunity would slip away in an instant — there was no room to waste.
After a dozen seconds or so, everyone had entered Shadow Stealth mode and slipped away from the area.
A powerful wave of energy suddenly broke through the magical array, erupting violently outward — as conspicuous as a bonfire in the dead of night.
This was, of course, a deliberate trap Leilin and the others had set before leaving.
As the ripples continued to propagate, several streaks of light immediately shot toward them…
"Here! This is as far as we can go. Push any deeper and we'll definitely trigger the Defense Array's alarms. Even with Shadow Stealth, there are plenty of flaws they can detect…"
Leilin looked ahead. From here, he could already see the waters of the underground dark river flowing past. In the middle of the river, a massive whirlpool spun ceaselessly, with occasional flashes of light as Bear Barbarians, Green-skins, and even human wizards emerged from within.
"So the entrance to the secret realm is a river whirlpool…" Leilin nodded. Judging by the spatial fluctuations within the vortex, the odds of it being a fake were slim.
Next came the question of how to break in.
Leilin carefully studied the area around the whirlpool. The Chip whirred at full speed, rendering the terrain into a three-dimensional image and transmitting it directly into Leilin's mind. At the core position here, the enemy's defensive force was naturally the strongest — not only had they constructed numerous magical arrays and early-warning formations, but several Tier-3 wizards were stationed here as well.
Leilin shifted his gaze to the very center. He glanced at a massive Bear Barbarian across the way, a strange flag draped over its back, then at a Green-skin elder with an extraordinarily large head — nearly twice the size of an ordinary Green-skin — and finally at a very ordinary-looking human wizard in grey robes with utterly unremarkable features.
"These three…" Leilin's pupils contracted sharply. "At minimum, they're at the Tier-3 Liquefaction stage. And that Bear Barbarian might already be a crystallization-stage wizard!"
With these wizards present, the gap in high-end combat power was completely one-sided. Add in patrol forces ten times denser than the surrounding area, and a frontal assault would be nearly impossible.
"I'll use a magical treasure to mask our tracks. When you see my signal, we all strike together. My people and I will cover the rear!" Robin produced a black ring and spoke in a low voice.
Leilin and Kasha nodded, and the group crept onward toward the central whirlpool of the dark river.
A scattering of crude structures stood nearby — they looked freshly built, clearly rushed into existence with that blunt, brutal style the Bear Barbarians favored. Hidden within the Shadow Fissures, Leilin's group slipped through the gaps between buildings, even using the shadows of several patrol soldiers to move about, slowly closing the distance.
"When we're ten meters closer, we strike immediately!" Robin's suppressed voice reached them.
A Tier-3 wizard's senses were razor-sharp — get too close and they would certainly be detected. Ten meters wasn't the ideal ambush range, but it would have to do.
Within the Shadow Fissure, the outside world was shrouded in a hazy blur, like looking through mist or paste. But Leilin could still clearly track their progress.
One meter! Two meters! Three meters!
Just seven more meters, and Leilin's warlocks would be confident they could, in a single instant, completely break through the opposing forces' defenses and enter the secret realm unscathed.
Whoosh…
Just then, something completely unexpected happened.
The flag that had been carried behind the Bear Barbarian wizard — looking like mere decoration — suddenly began to tremble. On its bright red surface, a strange skull emblem opened its mouth, baring all its fangs, and let out a piercing shriek.
"Intruders!" The Bear Barbarian wizard surged to its feet with a thunderous howl. Shockwaves rolled across the camp.
"Damn it! We're exposed! Attack now!"
Light flashed in the void, and Robin's figure was the first to materialize. "Talent: Poison Domain!"
He immediately activated his toxin domain. In an instant, invisible waves of terror rippled outward from Robin. The surrounding patrol soldiers collapsed in droves — some dying instantly, their corpses beginning to rot where they fell.
"The Venom胆's attack! It's a warlock from the Ouroboros Ring!" The grey-robed wizard with the plain face clenched his teeth, seeming to bear some deep grudge against the Ouroboros Ring.
"Activate the Tier-5 Poison Defense Array!" He slammed his palm against the ground.
A burst of intense light erupted as the massive magical array activated. Green life-energy light reinforced itself onto every wizard present. Like a layer of armor, the green light-plate let their physical armor shudder and rattle, but it held — blocking the corrosive spread of the Comoyn toxin. The wizards in Robin's immediate vicinity, however, were beyond saving, even with the array's assistance.
"These are all damned sinners! Don't hold back!"
Kasha and Leilin's figures also materialized. Kasha let out a sharp cry and launched her own toxin attack, with the other warlocks following suit.
In an instant, the numerous Comoyn toxins overlapped and compounded, their combined power growing to a level that even caught Leilin's eye.
Ssss! The green light-armor was quickly corroded away, revealing the stunned wizards and non-humans behind it.
"Kill!"
The enormous Bear Barbarian roared, spitting cold words from its massive maw. Muscles bulged across its body, combining with its thick fur, and its size immediately surged several times over.
Meanwhile, the Green-skin sage with the massive head rapidly pulled out an assortment of bottles and jars, seemingly preparing some manner of curse.
"Leave him to me! You deal with the others!" Robin eyed the grey-robed human wizard across the way with an eager, itching-to-fight look. "I recognize him — he's a wizard from the Solitary Moon's Lyre! A survivor from when we destroyed them!"
At the mention of the organization's name, the grey-robed wizard's face flushed crimson. "Today, I will avenge my mentor and classmates!"
WHOOSH. Black flames ignited across his body like a humanoid pillar of fire, and he charged straight at Robin.
"Things have come to this — we have no choice but to go all in!"
Leilin shrugged helplessly, but his hands didn't slow in the slightest. Numerous test tubes and potion vials were flung from his hands.
"Potion Combination Spell — Heavenfire Prairie!"
Massive fire serpents swept through the camp, engulfing the non-humans and wizards still struggling against the Comoyn toxin. Screams and plumes of smoke rose intermittently as violent explosions echoed from within the flames.
"The cost of casting spells in the Forgotten Land is ten times what it is outside," Leilin muttered. "And after entering the secret realm, we'll need to reserve some strength to deal with possible pursuers. So we have to conserve Spiritual Power… which means…"
Leilin drew the black Fallen Longsword from his waist. Hummmm — along the dark blade, a blood groove pulsed with a ceaseless drone, as if craving power and slaughter.
"Cross Slash!" Leilin swung the Fallen Longsword forward.
A black cross-shaped blade of light swept through, carving numerous wizards into pieces. The Comoyn toxin clinging to the blade caused the wounds to rot and fester ceaselessly.
"We didn't come here to kill — entering the secret realm is the only thing that counts as success."
Leilin surveyed the battlefield. The human grey-robed wizard was held in check by Robin, while Kasha had chosen the massive Bear Barbarian as her opponent — no one quite knew why she liked picking such large foes.
Luoya, meanwhile, led the Horar Black Snake warlocks to take on the remaining wizards' attacks.
The entire camp descended into chaos. Urgent horn blasts sounded, and Leilin could sense that the several streaks of light they had lured away earlier were already rushing back at even greater speed.
"Heh heh! Outsiders — humans — so you covet the secret realm of the Forgotten Land as well?"
The Green-skin whose head was fully twice the size of its kind and whose body was covered in deep wrinkles had already finished preparing his potion mixture. He now blocked Leilin's path, baring sparse, yellowed teeth.
"So you're an apothecary too!" Leilin took a long look at the mortar in the Green-skin's hands. In the grey vessel, a thick green liquid churned and bubbled, constantly foaming over.
"Move!" Leilin's Fallen Longsword traced out wave after wave of sharp sword-light. A massive arc of light swept through, leaving long, deep gashes in the ground.
"Heh heh! You shall become a part of Modoxi's collection!"
The Green-skin cackled grotesquely but moved with surprising agility, its aura steadily intensifying — seeming to edge slightly above Leilin's.
The Green-skin sage's body split into three parts, each one becoming an independent figure that charged at Leilin.
"This level?" Leilin chuckled lightly, his longsword flickering. Two of the phantoms were pierced and destroyed.
But just at that moment, the Green-skin sage's face broke into a triumphant grin, and he rapidly began chanting an incantation.
Glug! Glug!
Beside one of the phantoms, the green liquid in the grey mortar surged violently, even forming the shape of a slime creature's tentacle. Numerous suction cups trembled across its surface, as if a massive entity was about to emerge from the other side of the mortar.
Waves of green mist spread outward like a cage, attempting to enclose Leilin within.
But suddenly, the Green-skin's eyes flew wide open.
Leilin, though surrounded, showed not a trace of panic. Instead, he pulled a potion vial from his belt, and a cloud of pink smoke exploded outward, engulfing the mortar within.
The pink smoke and green gas neutralized each other at incredible speed, forming droplets that sprinkled to the ground.
"H-How… how is this possible…"
Leilin regarded the Green-skin sage with a composed smile. "Surprised your Fusion Summoning Potion had no effect? Did you think I wouldn't recognize it? A problem that can be solved with a single dose of Jieling Neutralization Potion — and you actually had the nerve to use it against me!"