Chapter 164: Joining and Plunder Leilin had no idea that so many things had happened in the small shop after he left.
After reaching an agreement with the old witch, he first went to the largest and most renowned restaurant in Evernight City to enjoy a hearty lunch, then brought a gift to Cleo's villa to thank him for the secrets he had shared earlier.
When Cleo saw that Leilin had already become a
Although the Four Seasons Garden boasted a first-rate team of Wizards and well-equipped experimental facilities, it could not be denied that it still fell considerably short of Evernight City when it came to other pleasures.
Leilin finally understood why so many members, despite having residences at the Four Seasons Garden headquarters, would still come to Evernight City to indulge themselves during their vacations.
For Wizards, their lifespans stretched far beyond those of mortals, and their power vastly exceeded that of ordinary humans, allowing them to easily amass considerable influence and status.
And apart from their research and experiments, these mortal pleasures became one of their few remaining forms of entertainment.
A great number of elderly Wizards, after losing all hope of advancing further in rank, would retire from their organizations and settle down in Evernight City, enjoying life day by day.
The neighbor Leilin knew, Wizard Cleo, was a prime example of such people.
However, these matters were still far removed from Leilin for the time being. He was still very young, with enormous room for growth — far from the point of becoming disheartened.
A bit of leisure was merely his way of letting off steam during his downtime.
……
"Follow me! I'll take you to a meeting point of the organization behind me!"
The old witch led Leilin out of Evernight City.
In a secluded forest, the old witch took out a ghost-face mask and placed it on her head. "Dark Wizard organizations are different from White Wizards — a single leak of information could lead to us being surrounded and captured. That's why many members conceal their identities. You'd best disguise yourself too, and come up with an alias!"
It seemed that before she could obtain the complete formula for
After all, compared to promises and oaths, the bonds of mutual interest proved far more enduring.
"My code name is 'Old Ghost' — don't you dare get it wrong in there!" the old witch reminded him, still not entirely reassured.
"Hiding my identity? I like that!" Leilin nodded. The muscles on his face shifted and contorted, and his hair color changed from pure black to silver-white.
At the same time, he placed a mask over his face. "Once we get there, you can call me 'Blood Hand'!"
This system among Dark Wizards clearly suited Leilin's tastes far better.
Moreover, concealing his identity would only bring greater benefits to his operations within the Four Seasons Garden.
The gathering point was located at the bottom of a swamp.
Though the place might seem like hell to ordinary people, for a proper Wizard like Leilin, it was nothing more than a few extra steps.
After pushing through the thick, putrid swamp, Leilin found himself in a makeshift underground chamber.
"You're late, Old Ghost! And it looks like you've brought a newcomer?"
A black rat the size of a grown man stood upright on its hind legs, staring hard at Leilin. Its small green eyes were brimming with distrust.
"That's right — he's the one I mentioned last time. Goes by 'Blood Hand'!"
"The stench of blood on him tells me he's a Dark Wizard, but we've had far too many traitors who defected to those white-blooded mongrels. We need a deeper level of verification..."
Next to the black rat stood a bald Wizard whose face looked as though it had melted, with an enormous python coiled around his body.
"You've frightened my precious!"
The python, upon seeing Leilin, suddenly recoiled in terror as though it had encountered a natural predator. Then, with exquisite deference, it lowered itself flat against the ground in a posture of submission — a sight that made the bald Wizard's expression turn utterly grim.
Leilin understood immediately. It was likely due to the Komoi Giant Serpent bloodline running through his veins.
This was the blood of an ancient creature — it carried an innate authority and suppression over those of the same kind.
"Damn you!" The bald Wizard struck without hesitation.
Beast claws materialized out of thin air, accompanied by the howls of savage beasts, hurtling toward Leilin one after another.
"You're the one who's asking to die!"
Leilin let out a sharp cry, a ring of crimson light erupting from his body as his right hand clawed through the air!
Countless black shadows surged from the darkness, wrapping around the beast claws. Sizzle! White smoke billowed constantly as the beast claws melted under the black shadows' embrace, transforming into droplets of black liquid that dripped to the ground.
"Ugh!" At the same time, the bald Wizard's face went pale and he staggered back several steps, as if he had taken a small loss.
"Hahahaha… What did I just see? Viper! You actually can't even suppress a newcomer!"
A witch wearing a white mask nearby burst into loud mockery.
"Hmph! Just you wait!" The bald Viper shot Leilin a cold glare but didn't strike again.
The old witch had explained the rules of this place to Leilin before they came.
This small group had been spontaneously formed by several Dark Wizards after a few rounds of transactions. There were no strict regulations, and every member concealed their identity.
Over time, the organization had grown increasingly powerful, now comparable to a mid-tier Wizard force in the City of Never-Night.
Because the members were Dark Wizards and the entry requirements were lax, many members held grudges against one another. But facing the immense pressure of the White Wizards, they continued to hold this small group together.
The harassment from those few Wizards just now had been nothing more than a formality.
Now that Leilin had demonstrated his toughness and strength, no one would dare provoke him again.
"That's enough! Blood Hand was introduced by me, and I can vouch for him!" the old witch spoke up calmly.
"Since Old Hag says so, and besides, anyone who joins must swear a Soul Oath, so we have no objection!" a Wizard with a tiger's head said.
Leilin had previously heard from the old witch that she had joined this organization very early on and was considered one of the founding members — and it certainly seemed to be the case.
"Good! The reason we've gathered here today isn't to welcome newcomers… How have you all considered the plan from before?"
Another Wizard, entirely shrouded in green mist, asked.
"Since I'm here, I'm in. Besides, this is a good chance to test out our newcomer!" The bald Viper glanced at Leilin.
"Attacking a secret realm? Count me in — but I want my share of the resources based on contribution!"
Leilin said calmly.
The old hag had told him about this before.
Such a large gathering of Dark Wizards wasn't merely for exchanging resources or anything of the sort.
For Dark Wizards, producing resources on their own was far too slow. The best approach was simply to take them from the Light Wizards!
And it wasn't as though the Dark Wizards didn't produce resources themselves — they merely supplemented whatever they harvested from their own secret realms with occasional raids to boost their hauls.
These were things Lei Lin had only recently come to understand.
However, this was precisely why he had joined the Dark Wizard organization in the first place, so he was naturally all for it.
"Good! Since everyone's on board, then let me go over the arrangements for this operation..."
"This secret realm is a small storage base belonging to the Nine-Ring White Tower that I've discovered. It's guarded by a squad of full-fledged Wizards, and the strongest among them is a Wizard with over 80% elementalization. I'll draw him away, which means I'm taking 40% of the spoils!"
The Wizard wreathed in green smoke spoke.
"Agreed!"
"Agreed!"
...This had clearly been pre-arranged. The surrounding Wizards exchanged glances and nodded in assent one after another.
"To be so confident about luring that Wizard away — this one in the green smoke must be incredibly powerful! He's already on the verge of the Second Rank!"
Lei Lin felt a chill run through him. He had a fairly clear picture of his own current strength.
With his Warlock physique, innate magical talent, and his progress in Spiritual Power elementalization, he could currently defeat a half-elementalized Wizard in a head-on fight. But against someone whose Spiritual Power elementalization had reached 80% or above, he would still be utterly helpless.
As for the strength of this Dark Wizard organization's members, most of them hovered around the half-elementalization level — considered elite by South Coast standards.
As for small secret realms, they were entirely different from the colossal resource production realm Lei Lin had seen last time — the Four Seasons Garden, which spanned over a million mu.
Small secret realms were spaces that Wizards specially created for storing supplies and precious records. Like Dillon's Garden, they didn't necessarily have to be vast in area, but the contents within were extremely valuable.
The Four Seasons Garden type, on the other hand, was a large-scale resource production base. Given its enormous area and the staggering cost to maintain it, a Second Rank Wizard was stationed there at all times.
Clearly, if Lei Lin's organization tried to raid a realm like the Four Seasons Garden, no matter how many of them went, it wouldn't be enough — they'd all be killed.
But against those ordinary small secret realms guarded only by a First Rank Wizard, as long as the plan was thorough enough, there was still a very real chance of success.
"Good! Since no one has any objections, let's set out now!"
The Wizard inside the green smoke took out something resembling a pocket watch and glanced at it.
"Let's go! My baby is already thirsting for blood!" Bald Viper revealed a savage, bloodthirsty grin……
……
A short distance from the City of Eternal Night.
Several man-made structures loomed above the ground, with people dressed as Wizards occasionally coming and going.
"This is one of the Nine-Ring White Tower's branch locations. The secret realm I scouted out is inside……"
A spectral voice drifted from within the green smoke: "I'll lure away the stationed Wizard. You need to ransack the secret realm completely before the City of Eternal Night's guards arrive……Stick to the plan — remember, you only have five minutes!!!"
"Don't worry, we've worked together too many times for that!"
The old hag playing the part of the old ghost let out a shrill, piercing laugh.