"The energy signatures on the other side aren't strong—at most there's a single third-rank liquefied wizard holding the fort! What do we do?"
A small white bird fluttered down, and Kascha opened her closed eyes to speak.
"Even though they may have already received word about us, slipping in is still a good idea, but we need to get our hands on the maps and intelligence from their earlier exploration..."
"Even if it's a trap, their squad is pinned inside the Silent Statue Magical Array. Even if they've laid an ambush here, they won't have many hands!"
Leilin stroked his chin and made his judgment.
"Then what do we have to fear?" Robin's lips twisted into a savage grin.
Being hunted by the enemy for so long—nearly chased all the way out of the secret realm—had left a great deal of pent-up fury in his heart. And every warlock present shared this feeling to some degree.
"Squelch!"
A scale-covered hand suddenly reached out from the void, plunging into the chest of a bear barbarian warrior opposite and tearing out a still-beating crimson heart. Drops of warm blood dripped steadily, plunging the surrounding wizards into dead silence.
"Now this is death! Beautiful and fleeting!" A Horar Black Serpent warlock in black robes squeezed out from a crevice in the shadows, wearing an expression of intoxicated rapture.
Wizards all suffered from some degree of mental illness, and warlocks were even worse. The reason it hadn't flared up before was the combined suppression of several bloodline nobles. But now?
The moment the attack order was given, the entire allied camp descended into chaos. Six Horar Black Serpent warlocks, plus Roya—against every wizard they encountered, whether first-rank, second-rank, or even apprentices, they began a massacre.
This carnage immediately forced certain wizards to act.
Boom! The central building exploded, and three grim-faced wizards materialized in midair, each radiating terrifying waves of liquefied energy.
"Activate the formation!"
The central wizard shouted, and a ring of fluorescent light flickered as massive runes combined into an iron chain cage, trapping the camp firmly within.
"We knew you had something set up—but only three liquefied? Where are your crystallized wizards? Did they all die?"
Just as these three liquefied wizards were about to descend to stop them, black light erupted from the void. Robin, with Leilin and Kascha, blocked their path, the leading Robin letting out a mocking laugh.
There were no Morning Star wizards within the Forgotten Land, and even in superpowers like the bear barbarian tribes, there were very few crystallized wizards. Aside from the various clan leaders guarding the outside, being able to dispatch a small squad to hunt Leilin's group was already the most they could manage—they had even abandoned many important territories for it. Once this small squad was trapped, the secret realm would be left with virtually no defensive force. After all, the wizards who had entered before were only there to explore—no one had anticipated an enemy invasion.
"Only one liquefied and two vaporized warlocks. I, Duomoer, will make sure none of you leave here alive today!"
A human wizard in black robes with a cross-shaped marking on his face surged forward, his liquefied spiritual power erupting like a tsunami.
"Is that so? But in the eyes of us noble warlocks, you are nothing but lambs waiting to be slaughtered!"
Robin's eyes held an air of lofty superiority, and a terrifying aura of intimidation—akin to a dragon's might—erupted from him. Simultaneously, Leilin and Kascha unleashed the same intimidating aura, the three of them merging into a massive field.
"Third-rank innate talent spell—Fear Intimidation!"
This was a powerful spell only mastered by high-ranking warlocks who had reached the third rank. It already possessed power similar to a domain. Moreover, even if an ordinary Horar Black Serpent warlock advanced to the third rank, the spells they mastered wouldn't be as powerful as those of Leilin and the other two—even if they also practiced strictly according to the Comoin Eye Meditation Method.
This intimidating power was entirely based on bloodline. The denser the bloodline, the stronger the ancient aura it carried, and the greater the intimidating effect.
"Type Three Magical Array! Combined Domain, activate!"
A beam of light erupted from Robin and connected with Leilin and Kascha, forming an eerie equilateral triangle pattern. Under the array's influence, the fear fields emanating from the three of them began to complement and amplify each other, forming a domain-level power that closely rivaled a true Morning Star wizard!
"Hssss!!!"
Roars of ancient apex predators—the primordial Comoin Giant Serpents—rose from the air. Behind the three of them, the void rippled continuously, manifesting a phantom of a colossal serpent over a thousand meters long. The phantom opened its amber eyes, its vertical pupils fixed on the three wizards before it, sending cold sweat streaming down their faces.
"A true domain should possess three fundamental properties: weakening the enemy, bolstering oneself, and slightly influencing the rules of the world!"
Leilin's understanding of domains deepened another level, thanks to the vast resources in the Ouroboros Ring's library. "A fear intimidation emitted by a solitary Comoin warlock only serves to broadly weaken enemies—but through the array's combination, the fear fields of us three Comoin warlocks complement each other, gaining an amplification effect as well!"
In an instant, he saw the enemy wizards within the field falter. Apprentice-level ones collapsed unconscious on the spot, first-rank wizards could barely move, and while the second and third-rank wizards retained some mobility and the ability to cast spells, their power plummeted by several levels.
In contrast, the Horar Black Serpent warlocks' auras surged, already reaching the vaporization level, and under Roya's lead, they freely slaughtered the low-level wizards in the camp.
"The combined fear power now possesses both amplification and weakening effects. What a pity it still can't slightly influence the rules—otherwise it would become a true Fear Domain!"
Leilin also felt the powerful enhancement the fear field gave him. Faint traces of an inexplicable aura entered his body, causing the Comoin blood within him to boil—he was already beginning to touch upon the realm of spiritual power liquefaction. Kascha's state was similar to his, but what was even more astonishing was Robin.
As the core of the array, he received the greatest amplification. His aura surged continuously, beginning to give Leilin a terrifying impression—one he had only ever felt from Senior Luxi. Under the combined innate field of the three Comoin Giant Serpent warlocks, Robin had already touched the threshold of crystallization, and with the added power of his bloodline, he had fully stepped into the crystallization rank!
"This terrifying field! You're Comoin Giant Serpent warlocks!!!"
The human wizard Duomoer's pupils contracted sharply, his body trembling slightly. The intelligence they had received said only a squad of third-rank warlocks had invaded the secret realm, and because Leilin and the others had only used their poison talents during the initial breach without unleashing their fear fields, these wizards had made a catastrophic miscalculation. Even among third-rank warlocks, the Horar Black Serpent bloodline and the Comoin Giant Serpent bloodline were completely different things—the gap in power was vast as the distance between heaven and earth.
But Comoin Giant Serpent warlocks had always been extremely rare and valuable. They typically stayed at the Ouroboros Ring's headquarters, well protected, and they had never expected that so many Comoin Giant Serpent warlocks would infiltrate this time. Feeling a portion of his spiritual power tightly suppressed within his sea of consciousness, unable to use it, his lips curved into a bitter smile...
More than ten minutes later, the massacre on the ground was drawing to a close. Limbs and severed arms lay everywhere. Roya and the remaining nine Horar Black Serpent warlocks had suffered no damage, their clothes stained dark red with blood.
By this time, the battle in the sky had also reached its final, critical moment.
"Ten Thousand Serpents Devour!"
Robin was even more terrifying now, having activated the defense of the Comoin Scales. Fine, dense black scales, sleek and elegant, covered him—their surface patterns faintly emerging to form a complete crimson sigil.
He roared, and numerous dark streams of energy converged into masses of serpent shadows, directly engulfing a massive bear barbarian. Gnawing sounds that set one's teeth on edge emanated from within, and after a few seconds, that bear barbarian wizard had completely vanished.
"Shadow Cage!" Leilin wielded the Fallen Sword, cutting back and forth, occasionally releasing several spells that forced the green-skinned barbarian wizard opposite to retreat steadily.
Boom! At this moment, a hidden trap erupted from behind the green-skinned barbarian wizard, transforming into a dark cage that trapped him within.
"Kill!" Leilin charged forward, his steps flowing seamlessly, his movements as elegant as a dancer's. The Fallen Sword sliced across the barbarian's neck, which was covered in scale-like wrinkles.
Squelch! The barbarian wizard's massive head tumbled from midair, green blood gushing forth.
"Ahh!"
The human wizard let out a cry of shocked fury, immediately abandoning Kascha. His body became a streak of light shooting into the distance. The iron chain cage from before immediately parted to create an opening as he approached, opening his escape route.
"Want to leave? Ask me first!"
Just as the wizard was about to burst through the cage, a black hand blocked his path, and Robin approached with a smile. Behind him, Leilin and Kascha blocked the wizard's retreat. Seeing this, the wizard gave a bitter smile, spread his hands, and assumed a posture of surrender...
"How is it?"
The surrendered wizard collapsed to the ground, unconscious, while Robin looked at Kascha with some tension.
"Even though he was cooperative, searching through a third-rank wizard's memories is still extremely troublesome!" Kascha opened her eyes, a look of exhaustion appearing on her face.