Wizards pursue the truth

Chapter 293 [293] Azure Sky Takes the Initiative and Launches a Major Offensive

"The official support wizards are in place, and a temporary operations meeting will be held tonight to make arrangements for the wizard marching corps attacking the Natural Ring Tower."

Inside the city lord's mansion, Wizard Yi Si held a luncheon.

Directly below him was the Windwalker Wizard, wearing a mask.

The wizard's servant served the last dish, gently closed the door, and the candlelight dimmed the room, casting two figures sitting in chairs onto the wall.

"The city-protecting magic array should not be difficult for you. An ultimate wizard apprentice can at least exert 70% of its power, and if you pay some price, you can even achieve 100% power."

The Windwalker Wizard put down his knife and fork and said solemnly, "It's quite difficult. I need another day to fully master it, and I can't be disturbed by the outside world when using it."

Besides its vast coverage area and the need to consume a lot of energy, it also has a hidden function: providing energy and protective power to the underground ley lines.

The true ley line node should be located beneath Whitelake Wizard City, but it is buried so deep underground that it is difficult to reach.

Wizard Is nodded, but did not ask about Wizard Lando.

Sometimes, simply not showing up is enough to demonstrate one's attitude and stance.

Whether they are friends, potential competitors, or enemies is immediately clear.

"I believe you, Windwalker," Wizard Is said again. "I imagine you're quite surprised that I, having only recently become a full-fledged wizard, am already holding the position of Commander-in-Chief in the wizarding war against the Natural Ring Tower."

Wizard Is didn't wait for Wizard Windwalker to respond, and continued, "The previous two Wizard High Council meetings discussed the allocation of resources for newly promoted official wizards. Because of Wizard Illusion Dream, some issues were temporarily suppressed, but the contradictions still exist. The unfairness in resource allocation is obvious to anyone with eyes to see."

The Windwalker adjusted the golden mask on his face, remaining silent, but the atmosphere in the room felt somewhat oppressive.

The internal situation of the Underdark is undoubtedly a matter of great concern to the Limitless Wizard Apprentices, who are below the level of formal wizards, as it directly affects their own interests.

The Windwalker Wizard learned of some of the situation: there is a conflict of interest between the newly recruited official wizards and the older generation of official wizards regarding the distribution of benefits.

At the first Dark Supreme Conference, the Dream Wizard forcefully overruled the objections of the majority and took the initiative to allocate resources to introduce changes to the rules and regulations for resource equalization and fairness.

While this temporarily alleviates the pressure of the conflict, it is only a temporary solution and does not address the root cause. Deeper conflicts still exist and will inevitably erupt sooner or later.

The reason is that there is no absolute fairness, only relative fairness.

Wizards possess extraordinary powers, and formal wizards are from a completely different world from apprentice wizards. Should resources be equalized as well?

There is a gap between veteran and newly promoted official wizards, whether in terms of strength or background. The bigger key is that, driven by their inherent desires, every wizard believes that strength is the primary factor in allocating resources.

Even if the older generation of formal wizards did not reach the level of veteran formal wizards, they still had considerable experience and advantages in terms of time and accumulated knowledge. They believed that they should have more access to resources and authority.

Newly appointed official wizards may lack strength and foundation, but outstanding wizards remain outstanding, such as Wizard Yi Si. Wizard Polaris has already caught up with the older generation and will not be overwhelmed in strength. Youth and strong potential are also obvious advantages.

Even the Windwalker Wizard couldn't believe that the Dream Wizard would run into trouble within the Dark Lands, thus completely shattering the rules of resource equalization and marking the beginning of the Wizard Wars.

"The ideas proposed by the Dream Wizard may not be without merit," Wizard Is said with a touch of感慨 (gan3kai3, a complex emotion encompassing both admiration and regret). "The rules of the Underdark are based on fairness, but fairness can only be relative. The current competition at the same level does meet everyone's expectations."

"The Dream Wizard made a significant contribution, driving the evolution and improvement of the rules of the Underdark."

Official wizards compete against each other, and the allocation of shares is determined by strength.

When schools of thought compete with each other, they all rely on their own strength to prevail.

Resources are circulated and exchanged, ending up in the hands of the right people.

The wizards' ambition and fighting spirit were also cultivated.

"The White Bone lineage has developed, but it's not enough." Wizard Yi's eyes were deep and his face was dark, as if he were in shadow. "A lineage of three formal wizards should gain more; this is development in accordance with the rules of the Underdark."

An opportunity, my opportunity. I don't have much time to wait. The positions of the twelve main meridians are currently changing.

The Windwalker Wizard, who had just emerged from the city lord's mansion, took a deep breath and looked up at the blue sky and white clouds. He still had a difficult battle meeting to attend tonight.

Hopefully, his choice was right. With three official positions in one family, no matter how turbulent the situation, the possibility of problems arising is very small.

The withered tree wizards are in serious trouble, and with the situation fluctuating, the withered tree school is very likely to decline.

It's not so easy for withered trees to come back to life. In fact, the fact that the withered tree wizard was involved in this battle was also influenced by the different schools of thought.

Windwalker also harbors ambitions; he wants to become a formal wizard, a lineage wizard. No matter how much the Drywood School develops, that's all it will be; the future will fall to the Bone School.

"Eighteen years has passed, and so many things have changed. Even the existence of formal wizards has not escaped the effects of involution, which has spread to the hardships of lower-level wizards. This involution has further expanded to the level of formal wizards. Resources, authority, inherited knowledge, secret realms, status, the schools of thought they establish, and the realization of their own wizarding paths... everything is becoming more and more interesting."

Wang Ya's murmurs echoed in this illusory space, mingling with the noisy cold wind, yet they went unnoticed by any of the patrolling wizards.

He stood at the city gate of Whitelake Wizard City, his black robes fluttering in the wind, his gaze fixed on the sky above the entire city.

The tiny white arcs of electricity flickered, concealing mystery and profound depth, as if revealing something deeper.

That was a corner of the dream that enveloped the White Lake Wizard City.

As his robes billowed, his hands radiated a faint white glow, especially the Nightmare Mirror he held, whose yellow surface emitted light that pierced through the dream world.

It's like one of Wang Ya's eyes and one of his hands, which can be manipulated at any time.

Compared to his apprenticeship, he can see much more, discover secrets more easily, and is less likely to be detected by the target wizard.

With the information provided by the wizard Lando, he easily investigated and cleared up the whole story.

The wizarding teams of the Natural Ring Tower split into three directions, occupying and destroying some wizarding cities along the way, with their final destination being White Lake Wizarding City.

The team that Wang Ya had previously noticed was led by the Spirit Saintess Diana, the Death Song Wizard, and the Black Smoke Wizard.

The second team was led by the Dark Bat Wizard and the Crystal Wizard.

The Shadow Wizard led the third team, but it was uncertain whether there was only one official wizard among them.

On the other hand, the four official wizards who came to support from the Dark Lands—Deadwood, Green Tapir, Blazing Flame, and Thorn Is—were not weak, and could even pose some threat to Wang Ya, though not very strongly. With the advantage of the terrain and the help of the city's protective magic array, they could be considered official wizards.

On the surface, the gap is not large, but the natural ring tower is still at a disadvantage. This is fighting on enemy territory, and support can be completed in almost ten seconds.

You need to consider whether it's a trap, and whether your escape route has been cut off. It's easy to become trapped like a turtle in a jar and be completely buried here.

Wang Ya's eyes flickered; there were things he didn't understand either, the first being the purpose of the natural ring tower.

The Wizarding Wars are real; the fighting was definitely for profit and resources. Even if they occupied the entire Eagle Territory, facing the constant counterattacks from the Underdark, it would clearly be a losing proposition.

Furthermore, given that the Mountain and Sea Alliance has been broken, other wizarding forces are very likely to get involved and directly attack the Natural Ring Tower.

That would mean something entirely different; the natural ring tower might even be destroyed.

Where exactly does the confidence to attack come from? No wizard is foolish, especially one who has reached the decision-making level.

You won't gain anything from it at all.

Secondly, the response from the Underdark was perhaps a little too calm.

The wizard war has already begun, destroying so many wizard cities and killing so many wizards. If Wang Ya were the decision-maker, he would have already dispatched multiple official wizards to cut off the retreat of these natural ring tower wizards and completely annihilate them.

Instead of engaging in a ridiculous duel-style war with formal wizards of equal strength, or even fewer in number, using the light-hearted, chivalrous etiquette of mortals.

Wang Ya stroked the patterns on the Nightmare Mirror, his face expressionless, the mirror reflecting his features.

Other speculations also exist, but those are relatively straightforward and malicious. Perhaps the White Bone lineage deliberately created this situation to allow Wizard Yi Si to make his move, or perhaps Wang Ya narrowed his eyes and moved his lips, "Wizard You Guang, what are your thoughts and what is your purpose?"

Everything seemed a little unusual, making Wang Ya vaguely sense something, yet he couldn't quite make it out.

However, the grudges between them and the Natural Ring Tower are clearly not clear.

It is a fact that the Dream Wizard was attacked by wizards from the Natural Ring Tower, resulting in severe injuries. He then re-entered the Dream World, and no news of him has been heard for eight years.

The attack involved five official wizards, including the Dark Bat Wizard, Crystal Wizard, and Black Smoke Wizard, who were among those who had participated in the attack.

The Crystal Wizard and the Black Smoke Wizard are veteran, officially recognized wizards. The Dark Bat Wizard is experienced but less powerful, yet with the strange talents and abilities of his extraordinary bloodline, he is not weak either.

The next day.

The Windwalker Wizard arrived atop the city wall, overlooking the distant mountain ranges and the nearby waterways that flowed into the expansive Lake Harak, before continuing into even more distant waterways.

Wizard Yis stood beside him, gazing at Lake Harak. He seemed to remember something, and his expression became somewhat complicated before returning to its usual calm.

In the end, that person was gone, and for eighteen years, no news of them emerged.

Perhaps they have already died in the Deep Blue Secret Realm.

Even the sorcerer Yi Si found it hard to believe that someone with such strength and talent would die in that place.

The facts reveal this inference.

"I thought that we would eventually have a battle," Wizard Yi Si thought with deep emotion.

He watched the other person grow up and couldn't help but be amazed by the speed of their improvement and their potential.

Strong people are attracted to each other, and he can also sense some of the other's thoughts.

An unseen premonition told him that he would have a battle with the other party in the future.

But little did they expect that this opponent might fall on Polaris.

Wizard Yi Si frowned slightly. That woman's power and potential were probably no less than Wang Yahalak's.

Especially after becoming the first to step through the gate to another world and obtain the privilege of a spot on Dark Star, he became unstoppable.

Resources, permissions, inheritance, and teacher guidance are all top-notch, and the speed at which one's strength increases is unbelievable.

Even the wizard Yi Si wasn't absolutely certain he could defeat his opponent.

Among the newly appointed official wizards, he only considered Polaris and Shoggoth as his rivals.

Established, formal wizards are not included in this category.

As for the other older generation of formal wizards, the fact that they have not become powerful figures at the level of bone wizards over such a long period of time proves that their potential is limited and they do not pose a great threat.

Time is passing, everything is buried in history, and what's past is past.

As the wizard Yi Si gazed at the setting sun gradually disappearing below the mountains, the glow of the sunset illuminating his face, he murmured something to himself.

It's as if I'm talking to my inner self.

Every era has its geniuses and outstanding individuals.

Among the formal wizards of the White Bone Wizard era, the most powerful and the ones who stood in the eyes of others were none other than the White Bone Wizard, the Rhine Wizard, and the Dream Wizard. In their current era, it is Polaris, Shoggoth, and Silvermoon. Perhaps we should also include him.

That person shouldn't belong to the wizards of their time.

However, relying on her incredible talent and amazing potential, she transcended her original stage and arrived at their time, even gaining the utmost recognition from all the wizards in the Underdark. However, no matter how amazing a person is, they cannot escape the passage of time. What is past is past, and Wizard Yi Si only felt regret.

The Windwalker Wizard glanced at the purple-haired figure, then looked into the distance where the sunset was fading. There, the withered wood wizard and the thorn wizard, who were responsible for dealing with the opposing wizards on the left, were also part of the battle plan.

Sitting idly by and waiting for death is not in the style of Wizard Yi Si. Taking the initiative, she temporarily keeps some enemies at bay.

This would alleviate the pressure on Whitelake Wizard City. The situation on the other two sides is too serious, so sending officials to provide support would be meaningless.

Why not have a final battle right here in Whitelake Wizard City?

The cardholder is at a psychological disadvantage.

Because it was fighting on home soil, it had all the advantages of favorable timing, location, and popular support.

The city-protecting witch formation is not just a defensive measure.

"The Thorn Wizard is skilled in cultivating witchcraft and has raised a large number of plant-type beast kings, which makes them unique. Combined with the withered wood particle energy of the Deadwood Wizard, their combat power in mountainous and forest environments will be enhanced, and they can also cooperate with the Thorn Wizard."

"The headquarters sent these two here with a profound purpose. Together, they can be considered two veteran formal wizards, as well as many beast kings who can briefly reach the level of first-class extraordinary creature combat power."

"The key to breaking this deadlock lies with these two." A smile appeared on the face beneath the Windwalker Wizard's mask.

Wizard Is might have considered trapping them like turtles in a jar. If he could capture all the wizards from the Natural Ring Tower, it would be dozens of times greater than defeating them and defending White Lake Wizard City.

With the immense power of the bone particle energy, it is still capable of contending with a veteran, formal wizard.

Everything depends on whether the withered wizard can bring good news.

If reinforcements can be sent back within the planned timeframe, the situation will be completely stabilized.

On the other side of Whitelake Wizard City, Wizard Lando yawned, gazing at the distant primeval forest mountains, their outlines blurred as the light dimmed.

He spoke to the void before him, saying, "I cast a divination for the withered wood wizard and the thorn wizard, and the outcome is likely dire; this journey may very well be a death sentence."

"Your suspicions are not without merit. The war council meeting has probably been leaked. Wizard Is seems to have instinctively sensed something amiss, choosing to entrust the city's protective magic array to Wizard Windwalker instead of one of the four official wizards."

Lando the Wizard said with a smile, "That way, even if something goes wrong, we'll still have a backup plan."

"Unfortunately, his guess seems to be wrong. The problem isn't between the Thorn Wizard and the Withered Wizard. Indeed, the Withered Wizard is in poor condition, and if the battle is too intense, it might worsen his withered state. If a method to alleviate the withered state were to emerge..."

A cool voice slowly echoed in Lando's ears, "After all, they are formal wizards. It's too difficult to avoid being discovered by them and having their secrets investigated. When they sleep, they also gather their thoughts and even their consciousness. They are also full of vigilance and on guard in the dream world."

This is the vigilance that every formal wizard possesses; having reached this point, they are not lacking in any aspect.

There wasn't much time left for Wang Ya to investigate the situation thoroughly.

The fact that the Fierce Tiger Wizard was controlled by the Illusion Dream Wizard was the result of a long period of accumulated experience.

"Are you sure you want to be so high-profile? Doing this will attract the attention of the entire Shan Hai region and offend the White Bone Clan, making you a target."

Lando the Wizard added, "Even if you become a full-fledged wizard, you might not be able to withstand this kind of pressure. Veteran full-fledged wizards would probably avoid such troubles."

"With this rule in place, there's no need to hide anything anymore. On the contrary, this is my opportunity."

"That's true. In the eighteen years you've been gone, the headquarters has been changing rapidly, with new faces constantly replacing each other. There are very few wizards who can still remember you." Wizard Lando's lips curled into a smile, and he said with some excitement, "I really want to see the interesting expressions on their faces when you reappear."

"The situation within the Underdark is also stabilizing quickly. Once things settle down, the Dream Clan has hardly been involved in the division of interests." Wizard Lando smiled knowingly. "I know what you're thinking. You're also aiming for the Underdark Supreme Council, huh? You want to be in charge."

Lando the Wizard suddenly shut his mouth, began to stretch his body, and made comfortable sounds.

Windwalker walked over from the other side of the city wall and tossed something to Lando Wizard.

A metal disc, engraved with various tiny patterns, looks quite mysterious.

"Inject particle energy, and the power of the city-protecting magic array will protect you and pull you into the city." As the Windwalker Wizard left, he gave Lando Wizard a deep look and said, "Remember, you only have one chance."

"Thank you, Windwalker." Wizard Lando smiled and put the metal disc into his wizard ring.

"Don't die!"

"Um!"

Wang Ya's voice rang out, "You want to protect him."

"After all these years, we've chosen different paths, but it's still only right to lend a helping hand," Wizard Lando said with emotion, then smiled. "Of course, that depends on the opportunity. Now he's the designated successor wizard of the White Bone lineage, and he's probably about to soar to great heights."

"You can also choose the White Bone lineage."

"How can that be? From the moment I first saw Master Nightmare Wizard, I knew I was going to be Master Nightmare Wizard!" Wizard Lando said righteously.

"No matter what happens, nothing can erase this thought from my mind, Teacher Yanmeng. You can completely trust me."

Wang Ya: "."

"The two wizards, the Deadwood Wizard and the Crystal Wizard, are almost certainly dead. I reckon that wizarding team doesn't just have the Darkbat Wizard and the Crystal Wizard; there are definitely more official wizards, even veteran official wizards." Wizard Lando said solemnly, "Can you manage going alone?"

"A formal wizard is not an apprentice wizard. I acknowledge your strength, but eighteen years is too short a time. Perhaps you could choose a more secure approach."

Ripples appeared in the void before them, from which yellow light particles emerged, forming long ribbon-like streaks of color that seemed to pierce through another layer of void.

Wang Ya's voice trailed off due to the shifting spatial dimensions, "I can't do it. No legitimate wizard in the Underdark can!"

Lando Wizard's lips twitched when he heard the absolute confidence in those words.

Silently, he took out a tortoise shell, some copper coins, and talismans with different incantations written on them from his wizard ring.

The tortoise shell contains a large number of magical arrays, making it a growing magical artifact that is almost reaching the limit of a high-level magical artifact.

Copper coins have an antique bronze color and are essentially made from extremely precious and extraordinary metals.

The talisman paper itself is made using wizarding techniques, and the incantations carry a bloody smell, which is the blood of the wizard Lando himself.

"Arrogance is not a good thing. I don't want to waste my remaining spiritual power from my past life to save the day."

As the tortoise shell landed, the copper coin wrapped in blood-stained talisman fell out. Lando Wizard slumped to the ground, his face deathly pale, devoid of any vitality, and his breath almost imperceptible.

He was utterly shocked, almost screaming, "What a joke! When did divining the fate of a formal wizard almost drain me dry, and even deplete a lot of my soul power from my past life?"

This situation has never occurred, even when the divination subject is chosen to be the Ghostly Wizard.

At least the consumption is definitely not that terrifying.

Could it be that this guy's strength has reached a level even greater than that of the Ghostly Wizard?

That can't be right. There must be some secret involved. What exactly happened to Wang Yahalak during those eighteen years?

Lando the Wizard suddenly revealed a pale smile. These things had nothing to do with him; on the contrary, they were even beneficial to him.

The divination indicates that the journey ahead will be smooth and unobstructed, with clear blue skies and auspicious omens for the arrival of good fortune.

He single-handedly changed a situation where there was no chance of survival for ten people.

"Master Nightmare Wizard, no, I should say Teacher Nightmare, you must hurry back!"

Lando the wizard struggled to his feet, his body radiating weakness. Leaning against the wall, he slowly made his way toward the wizard's dwelling.

He desperately needs a warm, comfortable bed right now.

P.S.: The next chapter will be at least 6,000 words before midnight (postponed to 2 AM, already posted!). As for whether I'll write a chapter before 3 AM tonight, I'm not sure. If I do manage to write it, could I ask for your monthly votes, gentlemen?

(End of this chapter)