The Wizard: From Zero-Ring Wizard to Almighty Lord.

"It's almost certain that the Goddess of Darkness, Shar, is pulling the strings behind the scenes."

The voice of the Golden Pen Calligraphy Master was utterly calm.
"But whether she herself will actually show up... that's another matter. If a top-tier main god descends upon the territory of a wizarding civilization, would she really dare to ignite the fuse of a war between the two worlds?"

He paused, his gaze piercing through the tear between two and three dimensions, landing on the ever-writhing darkness.

"So, for us, the most urgent task is still Ser.

"The surging dark waves in the rift are most likely his counterattack."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Sage of Calligraphy gently raised his hand and clapped his palm.

Snapped.

A painting suddenly appeared in the void, like a huge curtain unfurling out of thin air, suspended in mid-air. Its edges shimmered with a faint golden halo, as if it could be rolled up and drawn away at any moment by invisible brushstrokes.

A golden quill pen then appeared.

It wasn't held in anyone's hand, yet it seemed to be controlled by an invisible hand, the tip of the pen hovering above the scroll before slowly falling.

Swish...swish...

With each stroke of the brush, a realistic scene emerges on the scroll:

In the abyss of the Nightmare Rift, layers upon layers of darkness surged like living things, wave after wave crashing against the void, devouring light, devouring rules, devouring everything that tried to resist.

Although the Golden Pen Calligraphy Master did not personally step into the Rift Valley, he had already sent hundreds of Morning Star Wizards inside.

At his level, the senses, mental fluctuations, and rule resonances of those Morning Star Wizards were all connected to him like fine threads.

He didn't need to go inside; he could clearly sense every unusual movement in the rift through them, especially that dark power, which was frequent, strange, and deliberately restrained.

"Interesting." The Golden Brush Calligraphy Master's lips curled slightly, his smile faint.

"Currently, only communication is cut off. The Morning Star Wizards inside cannot contact the outside world... This is interesting."

The purple flames of the Soaring Demon flickered slightly between its wings, its voice low and deep:

“Sel is at least a level seven Moonlit Warrior. Since he made a move, why did he only stop halfway? If he had really gone all out, those Morning Star Wizards would have been reduced to dust long ago.”

"unless……"

The Golden Brush Sage's gaze fell upon the scroll, and the dark waves seemed to slow down countless times, like slowly writhing wounds.
"His current condition is very bad."

Aotian Zhisha snorted coldly: "Just like I said before. That kid refined the madman's stuff from the ancient god civilization, which certainly made him rise to the top in one step, but the things of the ancient gods are never taken for free. Losing his mind, developing a second personality, or even being completely devoured by the backlash... he has probably suffered all of these consequences."

The Wizarding Council sent in hundreds of Morning Star wizards, intending for them to cause as much damage as possible, but in reality, they wanted to see how Sel was doing.

Now, based on Sel's reaction, it seems that something has been confirmed: his situation is not good!
"So what do you plan to do? Just charge in?"

The purple flames of the Sky-Soaring Demon leaped at the edges of its wings, as if they might burn through the void at any moment.
"If it weren't for the Wizarding Council's strict orders to force out the Dark Goddess Shar and teach her a lesson... I would have slapped her flat long ago with just one of her."

The Dark Goddess Shar has repeatedly darted near the red lines of wizarding civilization, and this is clearly a golden opportunity for the Wizarding Council to prepare a counterattack!
The Sage of Calligraphy did not reply immediately.

He simply tilted his head slightly, his gaze falling on the suspended scroll.

The golden quill pen remained suspended, a drop of ink falling from its tip, spreading a delicate golden ripple along the edge of the dark waves.

"Um……"

He finally spoke, his voice low and slow, as if talking to himself, or perhaps addressing some higher being.
"In this nightmare chasm, the curtain has been raised. You and I are merely the operators, and those Morning Star Wizards are the pawns. Their advances, retreats, life and death are all determined by our moves."

He paused, then raised his eyes, the golden ink in his pupils slowly shifting:

"The irony is that, in the eyes of the Wizarding Council, aren't we, these Radiant Moons... just pawns?"

"If we complete the mission and successfully force out the goddess of darkness, Shar, that lord... will probably take notice."

The moment the words "that person" were uttered, the air seemed to freeze for a moment.

A rare hint of awe flashed in Aotian Zhisha's domineering and arrogant eyes.

It wasn't fear of Shar that was fear, but rather of that supreme being who surpassed the radiant moon and reigned above all the heavens.

Sunlight Wizard.

To be precise, he is the most recent supreme being to emerge in the history of wizarding civilization.

The wizarding civilization has a near-sacred set of rituals for each newly ascended Supreme Being:

With each birth, the calendar is reset, the year system restarts, and the entire territory controlled by the civilization changes accordingly, as if a new emperor ascends the throne and all people change the era name.

The one we see today is none other than the Sun Wizard, who personally established the "Summer Cycle" calendar. His existence is the ultimate symbol of wizarding civilization.

Even within the civilization of gods, there are very few who can be compared to him.

The goddess of darkness, Shar, is one of them.

It was precisely because of the weight of this large fish that it was enough to attract the attention of that supreme being.

Of course, Shar will not descend in her true form, nor will the Sun Wizard of the Wizarding Civilization come in person.

Even a projection, a clone, or a mere thought projection is enough to shake the entire Southern Region and make all the Radiant Moon Kings bow down.

"In order to fulfill the council's entrustment..." The Golden Pen Calligrapher's voice was soft, but with a hint of heaviness, "and more importantly, in order not to disappoint that lord... let's take it slow."

He raised his hand, and the golden ink traces at his fingertips drew an arc in the void, like adding a new stroke to a painting.

“Several Morning Star Realm experts have also come this time. Since Sel is only lending his strength to his subordinates, let’s lend our strength to those Realm experts as well. Let them go in and investigate to see just how bad Sel’s trump cards really are.”

Aotian Zhisha narrowed his eyes, and a faint purple flame flickered deep within his pupils.

He did not immediately refute, but remained silent for a moment, and then slowly nodded.

"it is good."

He grinned, revealing a set of gleaming white teeth, his smile a mixture of ferocity and anticipation.

At the same time, the golden quill on the scroll finally moved.

The pen tip gently touches the ground, adding a delicate yet clear golden line to the edge of the dark waves.

....................................

Deep within the Nightmare Rift, the Mechanical City floats in the center of boundless darkness.

The darkness, which was originally formless and intangible, now seemed to be infused with some kind of malice, solidifying into a tangible wave that surged in one after another.

They are no longer shadows, but viscous, cold, whispering entities, like countless gaping maws that devour light, devour sound, devour everything that tries to exist.

The crashing waves produced a dull roar, like the heartbeat of a giant beast in the deep sea, each beat striking the very bones of the city.

The shields of the mechanical city are layered upon each other, like an isolated island surrounded by countless black tides.

The blue energy barrier rippled continuously under the impact, the ripples spreading out in circles, only to be crushed by the next wave.

Although the city's outer shell remained intact, the entire behemoth had been tossed about in disarray, like a giant ship rocking in a storm, poised to capsize at any moment.

Inside, there should have been a sophisticated balancing array to maintain gravity and posture, making one feel that the ground beneath one's feet was still solid. But now, those arrays have long since succumbed to the strain and completely malfunctioned.

From the energy layer to the second layer, the third layer... all the way up to the highest seventh layer, everything was shaking wildly.

The low-ranking wizards were deathly pale. Some leaned against the wall and retched, while others simply collapsed to the ground, their foreheads dripping with cold sweat.

Tables, chairs, instruments, scattered scrolls, and even rows of metal shelves all resembled runaway toys, lurching and crashing through the passageway, emitting a piercing metallic scraping sound.

The building's beams and columns groaned and cracked, with cracks spreading silently like a spider web, as if it would collapse completely at any moment.

The entire mechanized city was in complete chaos, like a pot of boiling porridge.

Only the seventh floor, the most central area, still managed to maintain a semblance of order.

In the void spanning hundreds of square meters, a spherical domain woven from the power of rules floats in mid-air.

Numerous Morning Star Wizards stood back to back, their bodies layered with the power of rules, forming an invisible giant net that kept the turmoil outside.

Within this area, gravity was stable, and the air was still, as if it were completely separated from the earth-shaking world below.

But their expressions were all more solemn than the last.

The ground below suddenly tilted to the left, and the high-rise buildings toppled like drunkards; then it suddenly swung to the right, and the debris of the buildings drew arcs in the air, sparking as it crashed.

Outside the shield, the roar of the dark tide could be faintly heard through the barrier, like countless hands desperately shaking this steel behemoth.

The air within the seventh layer of rules was incredibly heavy.

A white wizard slowly swept his gaze across the entire room, raising an eyebrow slightly:
"Is everyone here now?"

The "everyone" he referred to naturally included the Morning Star wizards sent by the council, as well as those Morning Stars who were originally imprisoned in this mechanical city but have now barely regained their freedom.

Among the crowd, the number of Morning Star Wizards was close to twenty, standing scattered but vigilant.

The light curtain of the rule-based realm trembled slightly around them, like a thin film that could be torn apart at any moment.

The Warhammer Master gently shook his head:

"The Green Forest Wizard is not here."

"He might still be on the third floor, or he might be... anywhere."

As soon as he finished speaking, the white wizard's brow furrowed deeply. He muttered to himself, his tone filled with undisguised frustration:
"It's that Green Forest Wizard again... What a troublesome black wizard. It's one thing for him to sneak into the Mechanical City alone beforehand, but now that we're at this critical juncture, why won't he show up? He won't even try to unite?"

His voice wasn't loud, but it was loud enough for the several dark wizards around him to hear.

Strangely, the dark wizards who usually clashed at the slightest provocation were unusually silent this time.

A hint of displeasure and helplessness also flashed in their eyes.

Clearly, they were also harboring resentment towards this "Green Forest Wizard's" assessment.

"Hmph." The white wizard snorted coldly, suppressing his emotions.
"Since the Green Forest Wizard has his own plans, we don't need to concern ourselves with him. Right now, the dark tide in the Nightmare Rift is changing, and we can't contact the outside world for the time being..."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, his voice deepening:
"The most urgent task is..."

Before he could finish speaking, the atmosphere within the area became even more tense.

Every Morning Star Wizard's eyes flickered, some calculating, some wary, some subtly uneasy.

The Warhammer Master did not speak immediately.

His thoughts involuntarily drifted back to the scene before the Green Forest Wizard left. The man's back was calm and composed, and there was even a faint smile on his lips, clearly indicating that he had his own trump card.

The Warhammer Master couldn't understand it.

This situation is beyond Morningstar's control.

What trapped them was likely the methods of His Majesty the Moon, or something even more terrifying.

But why was that person still so calm? Did they really have a backup plan, or...?

"Warhammer Master"

A voice pulled him back from his thoughts.

Another white wizard looked at him, his tone urgent:

"You mechanical wizards know this city far better than we do. Now... how much longer can the Mechanical Capital hold out?"

The Warhammer Master paused for a moment, then turned his gaze to the swaying ruins below.

The beams and pillars of the building still emitted faint groans, while the dark waves outside the shield surged one after another, like tireless behemoths gnawing at steel.

"The main energy source has been drained by the Meteor Council for too long."

His voice was low and hoarse. "We barely managed to activate the backup power source to get the mechanical city back in operation. If everything goes smoothly, it might last for a hundred years."

He paused, his voice growing deeper:
"But now... the external attacks are relentless. Optimistically, it will take about a month."

“Even…shorter.”

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone in the entire rule-based domain gasped in shock.

....................................

In the seventh level of the Mechanical City, while many Morning Star Wizards were discussing ways to save themselves, the "maverick" Green Forest Wizard, who was mentioned by everyone, was no longer in the third level, but had come to the Energy Level.

The energy layer is now empty; both the guardian wizards and the prisoners held in the jails have vanished.

After arriving at the energy layer, Lynn went straight to the very center, looking at the massive energy core, which resembled a blazing sun, radiating light.

"It seems we can't hold out here for much longer..."

Lynn's gaze swept over the great sun at the center of the energy layer, and he murmured.

Although Lynn's true profession is a nature wizard, a nature wizard who has cultivated to the Morning Star realm.

But back then, after leaving the Spirit Eye Forge, he arrived at the Mechanical City, his first stop in the Nightmare Rift Valley, where he also learned all the skills of a mechanical wizard.

Although he couldn't compare to proper mechanical wizards like the Warhammer Master, he could easily understand some of the changes in the energy layer before him.

"Back and forth, the Wizarding Council made the first move, then the Meteor Council retaliated... Now we have to wait for the Wizarding Council's next move..."

As for the hundreds of Morning Star wizards sent in by the Wizarding Council before that, they'd better pray for their own good fortune.

Lynn murmured softly, her brows furrowing unconsciously.

He disliked being a "pawn." He had already had enough of being a "pawn" back in the Spirit Eye Forge, in the Mechanical City, and even during those interdimensional expeditions.

Now that he has broken through to the Morning Star Wizard level, he still has to act as a "pawn" for others. So what has he cultivated all the way to this point?

"Fortunately, I still have a way to leave... but now is not the time. After the energy of the Mechanical City runs out and the dark tide surges in, if the Wizard Council still hasn't taken action, then we should make a decisive decision and use the Golden Scales to leave directly..."

With this in mind, Lynn found a place to settle down in the energy layer and closed his eyes to meditate. (End of Chapter)