Dark Wizard: Rise! My undead army!

Just as Arya was in a state of utter confusion, a familiar voice rang out.

"Mother." Lin Chen's voice came from the other end of the corridor.

Arya quickly stood up, patted her robe, and pretended to be nonchalant.

But Lin Chen had already walked up to her and was looking into her eyes.

"Father isn't here, what will we do in three days?" His voice was filled with worry.

"We can't go with the puppet; it's not very intelligent and will be easily figured out."

"I know," Aria said. "If we go, we'll be found out. Once the news of your father's absence gets out, Black Mountain might take action immediately."

"If we don't go, the Witch Crystal Mine will definitely fall, and it will also offend Black Mountain. He will then have an excuse to cause trouble."

Lin Chen bit his lip and thought for a moment:

"Then say that Father is in seclusion, trying to break through the bottleneck of the second ring, and cannot be interrupted. Send a steward to deliver gifts. We can discuss the matter of the witch crystal mine after Father comes out of seclusion."

"As long as we spread the word, Black Mountain will definitely not dare to offend a second-ring martial artist for the sake of the witch crystal mine. When I break through, two first-ring martial artists won't be afraid of a second-ring martial artist."

"No, that would only provoke Montenegro to act sooner!" Aria said.

"He won't let his enemy's opportunity to advance in seclusion pass by. He will definitely make a move in secret. If he finds out, the family will probably suffer."

"Your father advanced late and never reached the peak of the first ring. Heishan will definitely not believe such a sudden advancement."

"Whether you believe it or not is not important," Lin Chen said.

"As long as he is unsure whether his father has successfully broken through, he will not dare to act rashly. He has just broken through to the second ring, and his foundation is not yet stable. If his father is really in seclusion to break through, he will be more wary."

"And...we have no other choice..."

Arya looked at her son and suddenly realized that he was already almost as tall as her.

That face still had a childish look, but the way its brows furrowed was just like Lynn's.

"That's all we can do. The witch crystal mine is lost, but as long as the family is safe, we can take it back in the future."

"But what if your father doesn't make it back..." Aria said softly.

"It's alright if I can't make it back in time," Lin Chen said. "I'll cultivate as much as I can before he makes a move, and break through to the next level as soon as possible!"

Aria looked at him, her lips moved, but in the end she only said one sentence: "Don't push yourself too hard."

Lin Chen didn't answer and turned back to his room.

He closed the door, assumed a meditative posture on the bed, and then plunged back into deep meditation.

...

Aria didn't know if her explanation three days later would be enough to fool Montenegro.

She sat in her room and thought for a long time.

Montenegro has just broken through the second ring road and is full of vigor, ready to make a big splash.

He already considered the Gray Feather Clan's witch crystal mine to be his for the taking, and if he found that the Gray Feather Clan had no reaction, he would inevitably become suspicious.

"We can't put all our eggs in one basket," Arya told herself. "If we run out of resources, so be it. We need to save our people first."

The next morning, she summoned several trusted members of her collateral relatives to her study.

Lynn's flesh puppet sat beside him, expressionless and motionless.

These people are all veterans who have followed the Gray Feather family for many years. Some manage the shops outside, while others travel the trade routes year-round.

"Starting today, you will leave the city in batches." Aria said solemnly.

"Disguise yourselves as caravans, take all the resources you can, don't travel in the same direction, don't set off on the same day, once you're out there, find your own place to stay and don't come back for the time being."

An elder from a collateral branch first looked at "Lynn," and when he saw that he had no reaction, he frowned.

He looked at Aria again, his tone puzzled: "Madam, what happened? Why the sudden urgency to leave?"

"This is just a puppet clone of the chieftain," Aria said. "The chieftain is away and we don't know when he will return. In the meantime, Black Mountain could make a move at any time."

Upon hearing this, the expressions on everyone's faces changed.

Looking at the unresponsive "Lynn," and recalling how he hadn't reacted even when someone had ridden on his head yesterday, they immediately understood.

No wonder, it was just a showpiece.

"Madam, surely it doesn't come to that," said another member of the collateral branch of the clan. "Even if Black Mountain breaks through to the second ring, he shouldn't dare to directly attack our Gray Feather Clan."

"He has only recently been promoted, and his foundation is not yet stable. There are other families watching him, so he has to be somewhat cautious."

"Things are different now," Aria shook her head.

"Black Mountain has just broken through and is at the peak of his power. The clan leader is not here. If he seizes this opportunity to launch an attack, we alone will be powerless to fight back. We should prepare in advance."

She looked at the group and softened her tone:

"If Montenegro doesn't make any moves, that's for the best. You can come back in a while and consider it a business trip."

"If he really makes a move, we can save our lives by staying far away."

The clansmen looked at each other.

Having said all that, they realized the gravity of the situation. Since they were only going out to hide for a few days, it was always better to be safe than sorry.

"Alright, Madam, we'll do as you say." The elder from the collateral branch nodded first.

"I'll leave tonight, disguise myself as a herbal medicine merchant, and take the road to the west."

"I'm leaving tomorrow," the other said. "I'm familiar with the trade routes to the south, so I won't attract attention."

"I'm leaving tomorrow night," the third said. "I'll take the shop's account books with me, and move the valuables first."

Aria nodded and gave them a few more instructions, telling them to be careful on the road, find a place to stay as soon as they arrived, and not to rush into doing business, but to wait for her news.

Over the next two days, members of the Gray Feather Clan's collateral branches disguised themselves and left the city.

Some drove horse-drawn carriages, some mingled with caravans, and some simply slipped away on foot from under the city wall.

Each person didn't bring much, but together they emptied most of the valuables from the family storeroom.

As she saw off the last member of her tribe, Aria stood at the back door, watching his figure disappear at the end of the alley.

She turned and went back into the house, where the large house was mostly empty.

On the third day, Arya called Sisi into the house.

"Sisi, you go too," Aria said.

Xi Xi was combing Lin Yao's hair when she paused, saying, "Madam, who will take care of you after I'm gone?"

"I don't need any help," Aria said. "You take Yao Yao and go outside for a while. I'll let you know when Lynn comes back."

Xixi was silent for a while, then looked down at Lin Yao.

The little girl was looking up, her face full of confusion.

"Mother, where are we going?" Lin Yao asked.

"Let's go out of town for a few days," Xixi said. "Let's go see the world."

"Is brother going?" Lin Yao asked.

Sisi looked at Aria.

Ailiya walked over, squatted down, and patted Lin Yao's head: "Brother will come to find you later. Yao Yao, go out with your mother first."

Although Lin Yao was young, she vaguely sensed that something was wrong. She ran to find Lin Chen and held his hand tightly, unwilling to let go.

The two little ones talked for a long time until Xixi came to urge them to part, and then they reluctantly separated.

"Brother, we must find Yao Yao quickly!"

Lin Chen nodded.

"it is good."

The carriage was quickly prepared, and Xixi carried Lin Yao into the carriage and lowered the curtain.

The coachman was a guard in disguise. He cracked his whip, and the wheels rolled over the stone road, heading towards the city gate.

Lin Chen stood at the courtyard gate, watching the carriage turn out of the alley, his heart filled with complex emotions.

He had promised never to be separated from his sister again, but when the time came, they had no choice but to part ways.

Ultimately, it's because their own strength is too weak.