Wizards pursue the truth

Time seemed to stand still after entering that peculiar study.

The enormous Nightmare Tree, with its hanging black and white fruits, reflected the figures of wizards, who gathered in the Sword Realm, their faces filled with joy, celebrating the victory of the Heart of Conquest.

Their gazes were fixed on the young wizard in black robes standing under the tree, and they all chanted the title "Nightmare Wizard".

Wang Ya's slender, fair fingers trembled slightly as he felt the icy chill emanating from the Rainbow Trout Sword. He glanced deeply at a certain point in the void, then withdrew his gaze and sent the Rainbow Trout Sword back into the bubble world.

The true Nightmare Tree extended tendrils from beneath the earth's layers, binding the Rainbow Trout Sword and pulling it past sealed objects into the deep realms near the core of the dream.

This is the true beginning of the devouring, and the start of the essential transformation of the bubble world.

The four Star Wizards were sealed on the surface or in the middle of the bubble. They still had some consciousness and were not completely dead. It would take some effort to make such beings die completely. There was nothing they could do but watch with bloodshot eyes as the Rainbow Trout Sword was sent into the core of the Nightmare Annihilation Dream.

The Nightmare Dream Core, resembling a mass of black fluid that has been shaped into a sphere, sits at the very bottom of the Nightmare Dream Ancient Tree, its numerous roots extending from it. If these were considered arms, the surface of this black fluid sphere would now twist and float, gradually forming a gaping, menacing maw.

Click!

The tip of the Rainbow Trout Sword emitted a crisp sound and indeed cracked, its power being devoured by the Nightmare Dream Core.

"Gentlemen, enjoy the joy of victory!"

The Nightmare Wizard stood suspended in mid-air on the ancient tree's void platform, a smile playing on his lips.

After years of planning, it has now been successfully realized.

This is a sense of accomplishment.

The combined power of the wizarding forces in the land of mountains and seas might not even equal the strength of the Pale Hand.

He relied on his absolute strength to suppress multiple powerful opponents of the same level and defeat the Pale Hand. In every aspect, he achieved relative perfection.

Anyone who sees it will be amazed; it's a breathtaking battle, featuring an incredibly powerful young wizard.

Behind every war lies the division of interests.

The will to conquer won, and all that the pale hand possessed belonged to it.

But it won't be easy to reap the rewards of victory. The names of two wizarding factions flashed through Wang Ya's mind.

—Ancient Heart.

—The Palace of Royal Power.

There are quite a few wizarding forces in the Eastern Online region, and there's no need to worry about wizarding forces further away. The only potential threat is the two major wizarding forces that are connected to the Eastern Online region.

It's unlikely that the Ancient Heart will intervene; it's more likely to stay within its own territory and never expand outwards.

What Wang Ya was worried about was the Hall of Royal Power, whose master, the contemporary "Holy King Wizard," was ambitious, short-tempered, and loved war. Before the blizzard, he had clashed with the Pale Hand and the Ancient Heart many times.

Many low-level wizard apprentices have lost their lives because of this.

The unique environment of the border region has also become a place for resolving frictions between wizarding factions.

Most of them are related to the released wizard quests.

However, when soldiers come, generals will block them; when water comes, earth will dam it.

When Wang Ya was planning his conquest of the Pale Hand, he already had a plan to deal with the Royal Palace and the Ancient Heart.

The illusion-replacement magic array has not completely failed yet, and the Pale Annihilation Plan is only the majority of his true plan.

The remaining part involves replacing the magic array with the virtual one, solidifying it completely in reality, and making the Pale Hand Border and Outer Zone a special environment where the dream world and the real world intertwine.

They blocked the news, using the unknown and mysterious to intimidate the hungry wolves around them.

Even if you have an idea, you have to do your research first.

The realm of dreams and reality is an extension of the bubble world, where the roots of nightmares are deeply embedded, and no movement can escape its notice.

Unless a Dream Wizard of sufficient stature and strength intervenes to conduct an in-depth investigation.

It's impossible to completely deceive the Nightmare Wizard. Apart from the defeated 'Divine Dream Wizard,' none of the powerful Dream Wizards in the Eastern Line region have reached the level of Star Wizards.

Having ambition does not mean being irrational.

Just like the invitation extended by the Grand Wizard.

The Nightmare Wizard was also preparing to use the illusion to replace the magic array, forcing the Holy King Wizard of the Royal Palace to make a choice.

Whether one chooses a bold attack or a hesitant, tentative approach, one will inevitably bear the costs and consequences.

Unfortunately, the cost and consequences are also unknown.

The Nightmare Wizard's lips curled into a smile.

The will to conquer had already stepped onto the stage of the Frosty Land the moment it defeated the Pale Hand.

And they delivered an answer that no one else could replicate, or even imagine.

As for the person who endorses it.

But the Grand Wizard who treads to the end of the Radiant Moon Road—one-fifth of the sky that makes up the Frosty Lands, the Crimson Society.

This also resolved any other concerns that might hinder his ambition to conquer.

Wang Ya's expression suddenly turned ugly.

He remembered something.

Part of the greatest value of the Pale Hand lies in its accumulated knowledge over many years.

Such an important item must be stored in the core area of ​​the Pale Hand headquarters.

The headquarters of the Pale Hand, the Pale Tower, along with the five Wizard Towers and a large number of important buildings, have all become dust of history, a huge abyss.

The attack between the Great Wizards of Radiant Moon, the destructive power of the Level 3 Ascension Magic, the residual energy, and the extraordinary pollution are all difficult for even a True Spirit Wizard to handle. They need to be prepared before getting close.

To expect to leave anything of value amidst such destructive power is simply wishful thinking.

"Your Majesty the Great Wizard, you're truly inhuman." Wang Ya's lips moved slightly. "The price you've set should include compensation for your losses."

"I'll remember this debt. I'll settle it with you when we meet at the Crimson Society."

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Blinding light pierced through the gaps in the drifting clouds, illuminating the boundless snowfield. A few grasses and trees, their gray vegetation bent over, struggled to support themselves.

With the blizzard season mostly over, the remaining cold and icy energy has gathered in areas with abundant ley line energy, causing the barren lands to revive and come back to life.

Kazeantun's face looked older than ever before, his cloudy eyes reflecting the vast landscape of the earth, and gazing at the sky, he saw the spirits of wind and snow hiding deep within the clouds, reluctant to leave.

"How beautiful this world is! I am so fortunate to have seen such a beautiful world in my lifetime, and to have seen the fighting spirit emerge from its predicament."

Kazeantun, as if reborn as a boy, spread his arms wide and shouted, "This is freedom!"

More ripples gradually appeared in the void behind them, and one wizard after another emerged, led by the Anton family. The leader was a middle-aged wizard wearing a black robe.

Kazeantun coughed, casually lowered his hands, turned his head, and said with a smile: "Gentlemen, the freedom brought by the Heart of Conquest was given to us by Lord Nightmare Wizard. Now it's our turn to shine."

If we can't even manage to reap the rewards of victory, or do it poorly, then I don't think there's any point in participating in this operation.

Kazeantun's tone grew increasingly cold, his aura subtly radiating and pressing down on the group of wizards.

In terms of the quality of wizards, most of the wizards in the Anton family are not as good as the wizards who accompanied them.

Faced with Kaze Anton's cold words and the imposing aura of the Anton family members, the other wizards, though their expressions changed, did not show much dissatisfaction.

Out of the corner of their eyes, they all turned to the figure of the wizard leading them, the middle-aged wizard in black robes standing at the front.

"The blizzard will eventually pass."

"Zack, this is the first time you've seen this sky in its entirety, isn't it?" Kazeantun said with a smile as he spoke to the middle-aged black-robed wizard.

With a calm and collected gaze, a weathered face, and skin covered in a layer of gray wood, it possessed human facial features and expressions, but its movements resembled those of a puppet.

A smile forced onto Zak'Antuen's face. "Father, it has been two hundred and eighty years."

Although he successfully broke through to become a formal wizard, there were some errors in the inheritance of the puppet wizard, resulting in some physical consequences.

The legacy he received in his youth could no longer help him on his subsequent path as a wizard; he had to walk it on his own or create his own path as a puppet wizard, unique to Zak'antun.

I'm still somewhat lost, just like some of the insights I gained from communicating with those formal wizards.

Perhaps the rarity of puppet wizards stems from their elimination from the many branches of wizarding in the past.

Zac Anton fell into thought, his eyes darting around.

It was Kazeantun's words that pulled him back to reality.

"Our mission is to take over all the fortresses of the Pale Hand, eliminate some hidden dangers, and take over the Pale Leyline Wizard Array. As arranged by Wizard Qiudong, we are responsible for the Pale Fortresses between 320 and 360. The task is heavy, and everyone has a long way to go."

In fact, the reason why the Anton family was able to accept such a mission was not only because Zach Anton had successfully broken through, but also because of the care from the Nightmare Wizard. Kaze Anton was well aware of this, and everything should be related to the missing Mona.

However, the Nightmare Wizard probably doesn't have any ill intentions towards Mona.

We'll have to wait and see to find out the specifics.

At this moment, the entire Heart of Conquest has bared its fangs, ready to devour the Pale Hand, this large piece of meat.

Every wizard with a heart set on conquest was itching for a fight, their greed growing. As for how much profit they could gain from this lucrative opportunity, that depended on their individual abilities.

The decisive battle at the forefront has already been decided, and the specific distribution of the spoils of victory needs to be arranged by the True Spirit Wizards and Star Wizards.

They also have corresponding tasks, which are the necessary price to pay for gaining benefits.

"I'll handle the placement of the anchor points for the illusory-real magic array, ensuring it connects with the Pale Earth Vein Magic Array." This was precisely what Zak'Anton, as the leading True Spirit Wizard, was tasked with. He had also noticed some clues; it seemed the energy supply needed to be switched to maintain the outer border region in a dream-interval state, a process that inherently consumed a massive amount of dream power.

Although the Nightmare Wizard was incredibly powerful and had repeatedly created miracles, such long-term maintenance could only be provided by the immensely vast natural particle energy tides of the ley lines beneath the Pale Hand. The Nightmare Wizard had already made arrangements for energy conversion.

The previous small meeting of conquering wizards was attended by every formal wizard, and Zak'antun was among those invited. It was his first time attending such a meeting, and he was a little uncomfortable at first, but after seeing several familiar faces, he quickly became acquainted with them through conversation.

As Nightmare Wizard said, in order to prevent possible invasion and attacks by the two major wizarding forces that are connected at the border, the Heart of Conquest has taken over the Pale Hand and absorbed a large number of low-level wizarding members and wizarding families from the original Pale Hand.

In the mortal realm, the message must also be conveyed to them so that they understand the change of their superiors.

As for any internal friction that may arise, this is unavoidable. The tasks issued by the Heart of Conquest headquarters are for the various True Spirit Wizards to handle and resolve the corresponding sources of trouble.

Those disobedient wizard families, descendants of the high-ranking wizards of the Pale Hand, are all part of the source of trouble.

In the Sword Realm, the Nightmare Wizard used his mastery of Dream Wizardry to fully extract the secrets of the Pale Hand Wizard who died in battle and the captured Wizard, leaving almost no survivors.

Those who benefit from the system are always in the upper and middle classes. People at the bottom, or even local wizards, don't care whether their superiors have changed.

As long as the original promotion system still exists, and there is still hope, and one can become part of a new community of interests, replacing the pale hand with the heart of conquest is just changing a name.

The Nightmare Wizard possesses absolute power to suppress everything.

The high-ranking wizards of the Pale Hand were either suppressed or perished. Such internal rule changes will initially cause significant fluctuations and chaos, but will eventually stabilize.

"Father, go ahead and do it. If any remnants of the Pale Fortress branches on these lists still want to cause trouble, I will let them know the iron-fisted policies of the Heart of Conquest." Zak'Anton clenched his fist, his eyes flashing coldly. "The absolute will of Lord Nightmare Wizard is inviolable."

Zac Anton once harbored ambitions to catch up with the Nightmare Wizard, believing himself to be no less capable than others.

Only after advancing to the rank of a formal wizard did I truly understand that the difference between wizards was not as simple as the literal meaning of their respective ranks.

Only by standing at a certain height can one see more clearly the chasm that is as vast as heaven and earth, the distance that is so distant that Zak'Anton even lost the thought of keeping up with the Nightmare Wizard's footsteps and reaching his back.

It's too difficult. Perhaps only the Ghostly Wizard, the contemporary Netherworld Wizard, has a chance of having the will to conquer.

Kazeanton made the arrangements, assigning teams according to the divisions established when they left the Heart of Conquest. Each team had a spatial teleportation array to handle their respective Pale Fortress divisions. If any problems arose, the newly promoted True Spirit Wizard, known as 'Puppet', Zakanton, would step in to suppress everything at any time.

"New fruits of profit, new horizons, everything is possible; this is an opportunity for the entire heart of conquest."

"Whether the Anton family can become part of this, become a beneficiary of the new era, and re-enter the core depends on their performance in this mission."

Kaze Anton muttered to himself, his eyes growing increasingly resolute. Whoever stood in the way of the Anton family, he would crush them, no matter the cost.

*

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Similar to the Anton family, there are quite a few small internal factions that accept the corresponding missions.

Perhaps it's other wizarding families, or perhaps it's a coalition of forces of young wizards. A new era has arrived, with waves rising one after another. They all want to be the trendsetters who lead the times, or at the very least, to gain considerable benefits in the new situation.

It concerns the future, and my own path as a wizard.

No one will give up; everyone is prepared to fight tooth and nail, risking everything to brave the storms.

Even high-ranking wizards couldn't resist taking action, accepting missions issued by the Heart of Conquest, and even proactively applying for them, thus taking on more responsibilities.

As members of the Nightmare Scourge, legendary potions are something they desperately need.

Resources, profits, and natural disaster points are never too much; the more the better. This is also the best time for them to acquire these things.

There is a saying in nature that a whale fall brings blessings to all things.

The colossal Pale Hand fell, leaving only the ravenous Conqueror, the ravenous lion, to devour and gnaw.

It will take a long time to digest and grow.

The Nightmare Wizard has set up a net.

The net was specifically set up for the other hungry wolves and hyenas who smelled the aroma and wanted a share of the spoils.

At this moment, the Nightmare Wizard is...