Rumble!
The explosions continued without cease. Surveying the battlefield strewn with scrap iron — the occasional severed metal arm and thorned vines with massive calyxes still writhing — the warlocks fell into silence.
"Those plant legions clearly have regenerative abilities. Our steel golems not only require complex construction, but every deployment consumes enormous reserves from the
Luci said with a bitter smile, his voice carrying an indescribable dryness.
Outside the city, a sea of flowers had bloomed over the ruins. Countless tender shoots stubbornly pushed through the soil and sprouted upward. In mere minutes, the Devouring Flower legion had reformed.
Not only that, the other wizard formations, and even the Blue Rain Knights and the Demon Wizard Corps, were closing in on the headquarters.
"Everyone, focus on your own defensive sectors! Even with the combined Wizard Tower's defenses, I need Crystallized warlocks stationed at each point to feel at ease!"
Faisal let out a dry laugh.
Snap! Snap! Snap!
One by one, the projections vanished, leaving only Faisal and a handful of other warlocks on the scene.
It turned out that those who had been conferring here were all projections formed by other Crystallized wizards using the Wizard Tower network. Thanks to the advanced technology, they had been indistinguishable from real people.
The remaining Faisal wore a dark expression, his thoughts unclear.
"My lord! Have you considered what I proposed earlier?"
At that moment, a large cloud of smoke billowed from a corner, coalescing into a dark figure.
At this person's appearance, Faisal furrowed his brow but held his temper.
After all, everyone present was his own people — no risk of the secret leaking.
"What are you doing here?"
"Heh heh heh! The Ouroboros Ring is on the verge of destruction! Among the colleagues you just met, there could very well be numerous hidden traitors. Wouldn't the lord think of his own future, and that of his family?"
The dark figure spoke at an unhurried pace, carrying immense confidence born from absolute power.
Faisal's subordinates immediately changed color, and even Faisal's own face contorted with internal struggle before he finally waved his hand.
"I... need to think about it further!"
"I hope you can give me an answer soon. Otherwise, once the city falls, our previous agreement will be utterly meaningless!"
The messenger spoke slowly, then his figure dissipated like a ghost.
"Sigh..." After the figure vanished, Faisal sighed, his mind churning with uncertain thoughts, a strange light flickering in his eyes.
...
In the western sector, Furi gazed at the slowly advancing enemy and let out a bitter smile. "I never expected my luck to be this terrible — running into these demon-contract wizards..."
The force that had chosen to breach at her position was none other than the elite of Sin City — the Demon Wizard Corps!
Any wizard selected for the Demon Wizard Corps was at least Second-rank in strength! Moreover, their contracts with numerous unknown demons granted most of them bizarre and terrifying abilities — even trump cards for survival.
On top of that, the wizards of Sin City were already wanted criminals across the entire continent, notorious and bloodthirsty — practically a pack of madmen more terrifying than bloodline warlocks!
Facing them head-on, it would have been strange for Furi to look anything but grim.
"Heh heh heh! Didn't expect my opponent to be such a beauty!"
Below the wall, the leader of the Demon Wizard Corps — a wizard with horns growing from his head and his right arm bound by heavy iron chains — stroked his chin with his remaining left hand, a sliver of a smile crossing his face.
Around him, the other Demon Wizard subordinates all cleared a wide space with reverence, while many stole glances at his right arm, eyes filled with deep wariness.
As though beneath all those chains and seals lurked some terrifying demonic entity.
The leader paid no heed to his followers' fear. Instead, he waved his hand. "Attack!"
The wizards roared, their bodies undergoing grotesque transformations. Some spread a pair of black fleshy wings and soared into the sky, charging toward the city wall.
"Prepare for battle!" Furi commanded, her expression blank. The surrounding practitioners tensed.
Then, the Demon Wizard Corps' barrage of spells struck the defensive barrier, causing deep indentations across its surface. The practitioners watched in terror.
"We can't let them drain the barrier's energy — we have to take the initiative!" Furi gritted her teeth. A layer of fine black scales covered her entire body, and her eyes turned into amber vertical slits.
Whoosh! Her figure vanished from the wall in an instant. When she reappeared, she had seized a Demon Wizard and torn him apart. Blood, flesh, entrails, and bones scattered in a rain of carnage.
"Petrifying Gaze!" Any wizard caught in her stare turned to stone if they were below Third-rank. Even Third-rank Demon Wizards experienced a brief mental freeze, leaving them helpless.
"Kill!" The Blood Snake warlocks, seeing their matriarch already fighting outside, charged out with reddened eyes and clashed with the Demon Wizards.
Relying on the formation's defensive barrier, they could afford to be less cautious about their own safety, and thus reaped a rich harvest. Numerous Demon Wizards fell.
"Your opponent is me!"
Boom! Furi's attack was blocked by a massive hand wrapped in iron chains. The Demon Wizard leader had positioned himself before her.
"A practitioner contaminated by the Komoyin bloodline has no right to exist in this world!"
The leader's expression was cold. A bizarre aura emanated ceaselessly from his right hand.
"You filthy maggots who've traded with demons — you have no right to say such things!" Furi frowned. The aura from her opponent made her deeply uncomfortable, and a vague sense of danger rose in her heart. But since they were enemies, there was no need to hold back.
"Throughout the continent's history, ancient branches like Brandished Swordsmen, Elemental Singers, and Iron Knights have gradually faded into oblivion. You're doomed to be swept away by the tide of the times — the bloodline practitioner branch will inevitably be wiped out!"
The Demon Wizard leader roared as his entire body transformed into a stream of black light, crashing into Furi...
This scene was unfolding across virtually every defensive sector of the Ouroboros Ring's headquarters.
Countless spells blazed with shimmering light, threatening to engulf the entire city.
Yet beneath the massive combined Wizard Tower's defensive barrier, all those attacks only left large pale patches on the translucent membrane, which quickly faded — not a single sign of strain.
"It seems the Ouroboros Ring headquarters has quite ample Wizard Tower energy reserves!"
A green-haired wizard on the outer perimeter frowned at the sight.
"So what? Tell the men — just initiate the plan!" A red-haired witch sauntered in, her waist swaying like a serpent, and shot the wizard a look.
"Mm!" The wizard nodded.
"And that thing — we can release it too."
"You want to deploy 'that' already?" The red-haired witch covered her lips with her hand, genuine shock in her eyes.
"Must be done. I gave the lords my word that the Ouroboros Ring headquarters would fall within three days!"
The green-haired wizard smiled and spoke a few words into his communication device.
Watching his actions, the witch's eyes took on a few strands of insinuating amusement, and she pressed herself against him once more...
...
"My lord!" Even amid the raging battle, certain critical locations still had guards posted.
Two elite members of the Blood Snake practitioner corps bowed respectfully before Ivanov.
"Good!" Ivanov nodded, and a sharp glint suddenly flashed through his eyes. Crack! Crack!
Two black daggers shot from his sleeves like lightning, plunging into the guards' chests.
Pfft! As easily as paper being pierced, the Komoyin scales' defensive aura materialized instantly — then was sliced open just as effortlessly by the daggers. The light in both guards' eyes dimmed immediately, and they collapsed to the ground.
"Hmph! Two fools. Even innate defenses have specialized counter-formulas developed to break them. As elite fighters of our clan, how could I not have prepared against you?"
Ivanov sneered and pushed open the wooden door the two guards had been watching.
Behind it lay a small sealed chamber, covered in magical arrays and runes, brimming with powerful energy, shimmering with light everywhere — clearly operating at full capacity.
"This is one of the most important energy nodes. Destroy this, and the headquarters' defenses will weaken by at least twenty percent!"
Ivanov wore a triumphant smile as he input a command to the Formation Spirit: "Cancel defensive and alert modes!"
"Please enter the passphrase!" The Formation Spirit's voice was neither male nor female, utterly mechanical, devoid of any emotion.
"Bloodline forever!" This was the passphrase Ivanov had secretly learned as an elder. At the thought, he couldn't help but think of Furi again.
"Hmph! Let you fools die, then. As long as I survive, the entire clan lives on..."
However, the Formation Spirit's next words turned Ivanov's expression completely ashen.
"Passphrase incorrect! Intruder confirmed! Annihilation protocol activated!"
"How? How can this be?" Ivanov murmured. In that instant, the image that surfaced in his mind was still that of the girl clan leader — so meek and obedient before him, occasionally just a little rebellious.
"Was everything she showed me before... just an act?"
But he had no more time to think. Blood-red lightning erupted, swallowing him entirely.
Crack!
Blood-red light blazed through the chamber as Ivanov's entire body slowly melted away in its glow.
After the lightning subsided, the room rippled, and a red figure appeared where he had stood.
"One traitor confirmed: Blood Snake Clan — Ivanov!"
The voice was ice-cold, carrying a bone-deep chill.