"However, I've verified everything. The map and markers he provided are genuine — identical to what's in his memories..."
"Good!" Leilin nodded, casting a glance at
"What about him?"
"Just dump him. We promised not to kill him, and that's the only reason he cooperated!"
Every word and gesture of a Third-rank
Of course, for Robin and Leilin, this Duolote was hardly a noteworthy figure. Whether they killed him or let him go made no real difference.
"Fine!" Kasha summoned a yellow-sand puppet, snatched Duolote off the ground, and carried him off into the distance.
"Now then — let's take a look at the layout of the Shifting Sands Castle!"
Leilin and the others had taken over the original camp. They found a random building to gather in and spread a map across a round table.
It had been handed over by the cowardly Duolote, verified through both lie detection and memory extraction, and was highly trustworthy.
On the pale yellow parchment, the outline of a massive castle emerged. Much of it was blank, with only a few spots along the outermost perimeter bearing relatively clear markings.
Even along the outermost perimeter, there were numerous "Danger Level Three" markers.
This indicated that only Third-rank Wizards had the strength to explore those areas — ordinary First-rank and Second-rank Wizards would simply be walking to their deaths.
Leilin and the other Wizards wore grave expressions as they committed the map to memory.
"From the preliminary data they've accumulated, the Shifting Sands Citadel doesn't just have numerous mechanisms and traps — it automatically shifts its passages and routes at regular intervals, undoing all their previous efforts. As for currently safe routes, only three have been explored!"
Robin pointed at the map: "They are the main entrance, Window Ledge Number One, and the gap in the defensive array at the top. Which one do you choose?"
At this point, the combined team would essentially disband.
Leilin and the others each had their own objectives, and none of them wanted to travel with others who might spy on their secrets.
"I'll take the defensive gap at the top!" Kasha was the first to make her decision. "And three warlocks from my family will go with me!"
"Then I'll take the main entrance," Robin said with a smile. "The gap might have better resources, but the main entrance is safer."
Luoya and the remaining three warlocks said nothing — it was clear they would be going with Robin.
"Then I..." Leilin parted his lips, about to speak.
"Leilin, how about coming with me?" Kasha extended an invitation. "I know you're looking for the Serpent Woman's Hair. If our team finds it, we'll give you first priority!"
The value of the Serpent Woman's Hair went without saying. For Kasha to say this was a tremendous show of goodwill.
"Travel together?" Leilin lowered his head in thought. There were certainly benefits — at the very least, it would be much easier facing the citadel's mechanisms, traps, and pursuers. But there would also be considerable trouble.
Some of his methods were not suitable for exposure.
"Sorry!" An apologetic smile appeared on his face.
"No matter!" Kasha smiled, seemingly unbothered.
"Good enough! Once you've chosen your route, set out immediately. I don't want to get chased away again!" With that, Robin led Luoya and the other three Wizards out of the room.
Neither Leilin nor Kasha had suffered any losses in this expedition. Only Robin's family had lost two Third-rank warlocks in succession, which pained him greatly. He was eager to find more to make up for the losses.
Kasha and Leilin nodded and quickly departed as well.
The entire camp fell into deathly silence, with only the blood and wreckage scattered across the ground testifying to the violence that had just occurred.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
It was only several hours after Leilin and his group had fully entered the citadel that several dazzling streaks of light shot in from the horizon.
The light faded, revealing several foreign tribe members and Wizards within.
One of them — a human female Wizard — was carrying the still-unconscious Duolote.
"This camp is completely destroyed. Kulun and Aguomu are probably dead as well..."
The numerous high-ranking Wizards stared at the ruins of the camp, their faces barely containing their fury.
"Kulun is fine — it had long prepared a clone and can be reborn in our clan's Life Source Pool!" an elderly green-skin barbarian said. "If that clone hadn't consumed enormous amounts of its Spiritual Power, it wouldn't have fallen so easily here!"
"Not necessarily!" Another bear barbarian Wizard's expression was much worse.
Of the three Liquefied-rank Wizards in the camp, one was merely unconscious, another still had a clone — only their tribe's Liquefied-rank bear barbarian shaman had truly died.
The bear barbarians excelled in physical strength, but for magic, they could only rely on totemic power. Naturally, they lacked survival-oriented spells, and their minds were rigid — they would never kneel and surrender like humans did.
"I sensed crystallized power. With Aguomu's strength, only a Crystallized Wizard could have defeated or even killed it so quickly!"
The bear barbarian Wizard roared.
"What do we do now?" The female Wizard and the green-skin barbarian exchanged glances.
"After them! I've caught their scents splitting into several different directions — they must have scattered!"
Blood vessels flooded the bear barbarian Wizard's eyes, giving him a terrifying appearance: "Those who dared kill one of our bear barbarian kin will pay the price! Their heads will be placed upon our altar and suffer eternal cursing!"
He was truly, genuinely furious.
A chill ran down the female Wizard's spine. She had heard something of the bear barbarian shaman's cursing rituals — they were said to involve cutting off the enemy's head, placing it on the altar, and subjecting it to prolonged cursing and torture through totemic power.
Rumor had it that even the Wizard's soul would be trapped within the skull, subjected to eternal torment!
This was the cruelest punishment of the bear barbarian tribe. She had never expected it would actually be carried out this time.
"These foreign tribes must be united to survive in the Forgotten Land, so their cohesion is incredibly high," the female Wizard sighed. In comparison, the alliance of rogue human Wizards, though the most powerful in terms of raw strength, was the least united — their overall might actually ranked behind the bear barbarian tribes and the green-skin barbarians.
"Then we'll split into three groups and go in as well!" The green-skin barbarian Wizard nodded.
Although these three factions had formed an alliance because of the secret realm, their relationship remained extremely fragile. Not long ago, they had even fought each other over control of the realm.
Being able to act separately was actually a good thing for them.
"I'll take the main entrance! I can feel it! The Wizard haunted by Aguomu's vengeful spirit chose this direction!"
The bear barbarian shaman immediately strode off.
"Then I'll take the top!" The elderly green-skin barbarian, hunched over as though he might collapse at any moment, flew off leaning on a cane crafted from gold and gems.
"You all..."
The female Wizard shook her head, stamped her foot, and chased after them along the direction of the window ledge.
Leilin, of course, had no idea that pursuers had already arrived outside. At this moment, he was inside a room, gazing around with curiosity.
It appeared to be a bedroom — small in area, containing only a bed, a desk with a chair, and a bookcase. There was nothing else.
The wooden planks inside were a yellowish-brown, and thick dust and cobwebs filled the corners.
It looked like an entirely ordinary abandoned bedroom.
Leilin walked up to the bookcase and read the titles on the spines: "Fifty-Seven Methods of Brewing Cider," "Guide to Catching Mok Worms," "An Introduction to the World"...
Various strange books were shelved together, tempting Leilin to browse through them.
But he forced himself to hold back and didn't actually reach out to flip through them.
These Wizard citadels, having been exposed for countless years to the radiation of ancient Wizards — terrifying ancient ones at that, and even the existence of a Child of the Sun — had long undergone horrifying transformations.
Not only had the very nature of the citadel changed, but numerous strange phenomena had also formed.
Some of these phenomena couldn't even be explained by the original owners, and they carried lethal danger!
The ancient Wizards had further exploited these phenomena to create defensive networks and countless traps. Many of the previous exploring Wizards had been swept into even more mysterious spaces and vanished completely — all because they had recklessly touched things in these rooms.
Even those who had clones in the outside world died in an instant.
This terrifying outcome had immediately frightened many Wizards, making them dare not act rashly again.
"According to the intelligence extracted from Duolote, I still need to wait three minutes before I can open the door!"
Leilin stood before the bedroom door, staring at the brass handle in its center, his expression utterly solemn.
On the wall, a clock was ticking slowly.
Tick... tock! Tick... tock! Its hands moved excruciatingly slowly — roughly five seconds would pass in the outside world before its second hand advanced a single tick.
Combined with the eerie environmental effects outside, Wizards could easily lose track of time. If Leilin hadn't had his Chip, he might have fallen for it too.
"
Leilin watched the Chip's stopwatch. The instant the counter hit zero, he gripped the handle and pulled the door open.
Creaaak!
The hollow sound echoed through the corridor. Leilin looked down — the bright red carpet was spotless, and hanging from the ceiling were lamps casting a dim yellow glow.
He looked back — the room he had just left had vanished without a trace. Not even the outline of a door remained — just a bare wall.
"This must be the Illusory Corridor — which means I've entered the second floor of the castle!"