Wizard: I Have a Nightmare World

The next morning, as the first rays of purple sunlight pierced through the gaps in the dense forest, Lynn had already begun his research in the makeshift camp.

He sat cross-legged on a flat rock, with the crimson crystal core extracted from the Rock Armored Lizard Dragon in front of him.

Amber perched on his shoulder, curiously craning her little head. Every now and then, she would run to the crystal core, reach out her little hand to touch the surface, and then be burned by the warm power, causing her to pull her hand back and let out a soft "ee-yah" sound.

"Stop fooling around."

Without looking up, Lynn gently ran his fingers across the surface of the crystal core, sensing the flow of energy within it.

He closed his eyes, and his mental energy, like an invisible thread, probed into the interior of the crystal core.

The moment their mental powers touched, he felt a violent and primal energy fluctuation coming through the mental connection.

This energy is completely different from the magic of the wizarding world; it is more like a refined life force, carrying a strong smell of blood and the breath of the earth.

"The power of the totem beast is essentially the conversion of life energy into combat energy through the crystal core. The structure of the crystal core is similar to a natural energy converter, with an outer energy storage layer and an inner energy core."

Lynn muttered to himself as he quickly scribbled on the parchment.

Amber seemed bored with his focus, so she flapped her wings and flew to the pile of herbs next to her, where she used her little hands to rummage through the few Bloodvine vines that Lynn had collected.

She suddenly exclaimed "Eh!" as if she had discovered something interesting.

Lynn looked up and saw Amber holding a blood-patterned vine, pointing the broken end of the vine at her small mouth, and gently sucking the red sap that seeped out.

Her eyes lit up instantly, a look of ecstasy appeared on her face, and then she took another drag.

"Amber! Don't eat random things!"

Lynn quickly reached out and snatched the Blood-Vine from her hand, but Amber had already taken several breaths. Her little face was flushed, she let out a burp, and then wobbled and flew onto Lynn's shoulder, lying there motionless as if she were drunk.

"This guy!"

Lynn shook his head helplessly, but then noticed a subtle change in the energy fluctuations emanating from Amber, which seemed to have become more active.

He glanced thoughtfully at the blood-patterned vine in his hand. This thing might be a tonic for garden fairies.

Just as he was about to continue his research, Du Wei's voice came from outside.

"Something's up. Everyone assemble."

Lynn's heart skipped a beat. He quickly put the sample of the crystal core into his spatial ring, grabbed the short sword at his waist, and rushed out of the camp.

Cullen and Scarlett were already standing next to Du Wei, and Fei Qing slid down from his post on the mountaintop, his face grave.

"Fei Qing, you speak."

Du Wei gestured with his chin toward the top of the rocky mountain.

Fei Qing organized his thoughts and then spoke quickly.

"I just used Eagle Eye to observe the direction of the trade route and discovered that three waves of totem beasts are moving in our direction."

"The first wave consisted of four rock-armored lizards, about two kilometers away."

The second wave consisted of a pack of about twelve Gale Wolves, located approximately three kilometers away.

The third wave... consisted of people, at least fifteen dressed in the standard leather armor of Crimson Rock Fortress, searching southwards.

He paused, then added.

"Moreover, all the wild animals' movement routes converge towards this hilly area."

"We've been discovered."

Scarlett spoke in a very calm tone, completely unconcerned about the fact that they had been discovered by the enemy.

"So fast? We just arrived yesterday, and the indigenous people's reaction was too quick."

Kulen frowned.

Du Wei remained silent for a few seconds before his gaze fell on the crimson crystal core that Lynn had put away.

"Perhaps it was exposed before we entered, or it could be the corpse of that rock-armored lizard."

"Totemists can track the approximate location of a totem beast by its death aura, and last night we didn't even properly conceal the body when we disposed of it."

Lynn's heart sank slightly, but he didn't waste time blaming himself. Instead, he asked directly, "How much time do we have left?"

"The beast pack will arrive in about half an hour, and the totemists will arrive in at most an hour."

Du Wei glanced at everyone and then grinned.

"Perfect timing, we haven't set up our base yet, so let's warm up with these indigenous people first."

Lynn noticed that when this slightly chubby young man, who was usually as gentle as the boy next door, said the words "warm up," a very faint hint of excitement flashed in his eyes.

"Fei Qing, continue your reconnaissance and report enemy movements at any time."

Scarlett, find a high vantage point and use your bow and arrows to block their retreat.

"Kullen, set a trap on the gentle slope at the foot of the mountain."

As Du Wei spoke, he took out a palm-sized metal box from his backpack.

Lynn had expected Du Wei to produce some kind of runestone or magic scroll, but when he opened the metal box, Lynn's pupils constricted sharply.

The box contained more than twenty silver-white spheres, each about the size of a walnut. Each sphere was covered with fine runes and patterns, and shimmered with a silvery luster in the sunlight.

"An alchemical creation?"

Lynn blurted it out.

Du Wei smiled slightly, took out a silver ball, and twirled it on his fingertip.

"Alchemy bomb, my own improved version."

"The core is compressed wind element, and the outer shell is made of refined iron and mithril alloy. When it explodes, it will produce 3,600 wind blade fragments, covering a radius of 20 meters."

"One of these things can render an entire totem apprentice incapable of fighting."

Lynn gasped.

He certainly knew about alchemical bombs; he had seen them in the academy's encyclopedia. They were high-end items that only formal alchemists could make, and they were very expensive, costing hundreds of magic stones each. Du Wei's box contained at least twenty of them.

"Where did you get so many?"

Lynn couldn't help but ask.

Du Wei shrugged, his tone as casual as if he were talking about what to eat tonight.

"When I was in the alchemy department at the academy, I assisted my mentor for three years, so my foundation in alchemy is quite solid."

"Later, I was disciplined and transferred to the logistics team. I would tinker with these little gadgets whenever I had free time."

A gadget?

Lynn's lips twitched as he looked at the twenty-odd "trinkets" that could blow up an entire group of totem apprentices.

"Come on, before the totem beast arrives, let me install some locks on our new house."

Du Wei patted Lynn on the shoulder and walked towards the gentle slope at the foot of the mountain.

Lynn followed behind him, watching Du Wei squat down at several key locations at the foot of the mountain, digging shallow pits in the soil with his fingers and burying silver-white alchemical bombs into them.

His movements were extremely skillful; the location of each bomb was precisely calculated, and the blast radius between them just covered the entire gentle slope, leaving no blind spots.

To Lynn's surprise, Du Wei also took out four thin metal rods from his backpack and stuck them into the ground at the four directions at the foot of the mountain.

The tops of the four metal rods were inlaid with blue crystals the size of a fingernail.

Du Wei reached out and gently pressed a spot on each of the metal rods, causing the crystals to glow with a faint blue light. The ground in front of them then rippled slightly before returning to normal.

"Elemental Illusion Array, a small array used to deceive people."

"This thing can make this area look exactly like the surrounding grassland. Unless someone touches the alchemical bomb on the ground, it will be impossible to tell from a distance."

Du Wei patted the dirt off his hands and explained.

After doing all this, Du Wei straightened up and nodded in satisfaction.

"Now we'll see how those totem beasts and totemists step on this nail."

"They're here!"

Scarlett's voice came from above at that moment.

Lynn looked up and saw Scarlett standing on a protruding rock on the mountaintop, her body like a taut bowstring, the longbow in her hand drawn to its fullest extent.

Her gaze was sharp as an eagle's, fixed on the edge of the distant dense forest.

Lynn followed her gaze and saw that the trees in the dense forest were indeed shaking violently.

Immediately afterwards, four rock-armored lizards rushed out of the forest, their heavy hooves pounding the ground with a dull thud, their crimson scales reflecting a dazzling light in the purple sunlight.

The lead rock-armored lizard dragon was even larger than the one from yesterday, with a crystal core on its forehead the size of an adult's fist.

It let out a deafening roar and charged straight toward the gentle slope of the hill.

"They're here!"

Kulen gripped his two battle axes tightly, grinning with a fierce, battle-ready smile.

Du Wei reached out and stopped him.

"Don't rush, let them taste the door lock first."

The first rock-armored lizard rushed up the gentle slope.

Its hoof landed on a ground that looked no different from its surroundings, but the moment it touched the ground...

boom!!!!!

A muffled explosion rang out, followed by a burst of silvery-white light, scattering countless fragments of wind blades in all directions!

The lower half of the rock-armored lizard was instantly torn to shreds, letting out a shrill scream. Its massive body crashed to the ground, blood gushing from its hind legs, and it could no longer stand up.

The remaining three rock-armored lizards stopped in their tracks, startled by the explosion, and let out a low growl of unease.

They smelled the blood and sensed the fear of their kind, instinctively wanting to retreat, but Lynn noticed that a frenzied red light had already appeared in the eyes of these totem beasts.

Clearly, the totemists applied some kind of stimulation to them.

Sure enough, about ten seconds later, the three-headed rock armored lizard dragons seemed to be driven by some force, roared again, and charged madly towards the steep slope.

But they had only gone less than ten meters when another explosion rang out.

boom!!

boom!!!

boom!!!!

Three explosions rang out on the steep slope in succession, and silvery-white wind blade fragments flew like a rainstorm, engulfing the three-headed rock armored lizard dragon.

Despite their exceptionally tough scales, the dense wind blades still managed to tear deep wounds that exposed bone.

The worst-hit one had its front legs blown off and lay on the ground howling in pain.

The four rock-armored lizards lost their fighting ability before they could even charge up the hillside.

Even the largest lizard dragon, the leader, was blasted so badly that it couldn't stand up and could only lie on the ground emitting low growls.

"Good heavens!"

Lynn looked at the four mangled lizard carcasses on the hillside and couldn't help but take a deep breath.

Du Wei clapped his hands, his gentle smile still on his face.

"Nineteen alchemical bombs remain."

"These lizards are just an appetizer; the real trouble is yet to come."

After saying that, he turned his gaze to the dense forest in the distance.

"How far away is the totemist on Scarlett's side?"

"About 800 meters, getting closer."

"All fifteen people are at the totem apprentice level. The leader is a middle-aged totem master with a blue crystal core embedded in his forehead. He should be a first-ring totem master."

Scarlett's voice came from above.

"A first-ring totem master?"

Lynn felt a slight tightness in her chest.

Du Wei smiled.

"Don't worry, wizard apprentices have a natural power level advantage over totem apprentices."

"As for that first-ring totem master, he doesn't dare to charge up alone, because a first-ring totem master is top-tier combat power here. If he were to perish here, there would be a major gap in the defense of Crimson Rock City."

He paused, his gaze falling on Lynn.

"Lynn, you should have the ability to block perception, right? How wide a range can it cover?"

Lynn paused for a moment, then understood Du Wei's intention.

"If it only covers me, within a three-meter radius."

"But if I simply conceal my aura, I can move freely without revealing myself."

Du Wei nodded after hearing this, a smile playing on his lips.

"That makes things easier. Once those totemists step on the bombs, their formation will definitely be thrown into disarray."

"When you get there, use your ability to shield your senses to get behind them and take out the leader."

"Your Wind Blade Technique, combined with a few bottles of Coagulant, should be able to break through his defenses."

Lynn was silent for a moment, then nodded and gripped the short sword at his waist.

His right hand unconsciously groped along the hilt of the short sword, whose blade was coated with a plant toxin extracted from amber, capable of paralyzing the target's nerves for a short time.

If combined with Wind Blade and Coagulant, a successful sneak attack is indeed possible.

"Everyone."

Du Wei glanced around at everyone, his smile gradually fading, replaced by a deep and resolute gaze.

"This is our 7th Logistics Team's first battle in the Totem World."

"The Steelscale and Moonring people won't arrive for another three days. In these three days, we will turn this hill into the graveyard of the totemists of Crimson Rock City."

Kulen grinned, gripping his battle axe tightly with both hands, the muscles on his arms bulging like rocks.

"Three days? I'll make them remember the name of the Seventh Logistics Squad today!"

"The axe is hungry!"

He clashed the two battle axes together, producing a clanging sound like metal striking metal.

Scarlett didn't speak, but she had already nocked three specially made armor-piercing arrows on her bowstring, her deep gray eyes locking onto the direction of the dense forest like a falcon's.

Fei Qing took out a folded metal crossbow from his backpack and skillfully strung it and loaded it with arrows.

"I've already calculated the best positions and firing ranges for each of us. Just execute according to plan."

As Lynn looked at the four people in front of him, a strange feeling suddenly welled up in his heart.

He suddenly realized that the four members of the Seventh Logistics Squad were all people who complemented each other's weaknesses.

"They're here."

Scarlett's voice interrupted Lynn's thoughts.

At the edge of the dense forest, fifteen figures emerged one after another.

The leader was indeed a middle-aged totemistrar, wearing an animal skin cloak, with crimson totem patterns painted on his face, and a blue crystal core the size of an infant's fist embedded in the center of his forehead.

The fourteen totem apprentices behind him were fully armed, holding stone spears, bone knives, or wooden staffs, their eyes filled with vigilance and killing intent as they looked at the hill.

The middle-aged totemistrar's gaze swept over the four corpses of rock-armored lizards on the hillside, and his expression suddenly changed.

He raised his hand to signal the group to stop, and then said something in a language Lynn couldn't understand.

Upon hearing this, the totem apprentices all showed expressions of shock and anger.

Du Wei stood on the mountaintop, looking down at the totemistrars below, a smile playing on his lips.

He stretched out one hand, made a fist, and then suddenly opened it.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let the feast begin!"