The Gale Canyon.
Violent wind element forces, carrying the power of laws, formed terrifying storms within the canyon.
Even Wizards of the seventh level or above could not endure inside the canyon for very long.
At both ends of the canyon, the great armies of the
Rumble!
A wave of earth element surged, the entire ground trembling as massive chunks of black granite coalesced, forming the visage of a woman.
"Mother of the Earth Core! You've finally come..."
Swoosh! Swoosh! Several Law-level existences instantly flew out from the
"According to the Alliance's decree, the affairs here are now yours to handle..."
The Lord of Darkness handed a grotesque-faced seal to the Mother of the Earth Core. "In addition... the produce of the Gale Canyon now, aside from the fifty percent that must be submitted to the Alliance, the rest is all yours..."
Although the Dead Lands created by the two great World Wills showed no traces of life whatsoever, they were filled with other treasures.
Wizards and
Of course, for them, no matter how precious gemstones might be, they held no value — but there were certain things that even peak eighth-level Wizards could not easily give up.
For instance, the Gale Canyon produced a type of wind element crystal, and what drove Wizards and Gods even wilder was that within these crystals, there was a small chance of containing fragments of law comprehension!
There were even lucky individuals who had used such crystals to ascend directly into the realm of Laws.
According to Leilin's speculation, the two great World Wills were existences at the Origin Core level, and even in a dormant state they would leak laws. It was perfectly normal for certain law crystals to be released during intense combat.
However, for other Law-level existences, this was nothing short of a pleasant surprise.
Even if Wizards had no use for these law crystals, they could pass them on to their juniors or exchange them with other existences.
There were even rumors that at the very core of the Gale Canyon, there was an exceedingly small chance of law fragments containing the power of space-time laws appearing! This was a temptation that even peak eighth-level Wizards could not resist!
After several rounds of exploration, the Wizards and Gods had identified three locations where space-time fragments might appear, and these three areas instantly became the core of contention between both sides.
The three battlefields — Gale Canyon, the Dark Prison, and the Swamp-Blade Hills — had thus been formed.
Unfortunately, Leilin's luck did not seem to be on his side. He had dispatched all his subordinates, yet they hadn't even caught a shadow of space-time laws. He did find quite a few other incomplete law fragments, but they were of no use to him personally — he could only add them to the treasure vault or exchange them with other Wizards.
However, as long as there was even the slightest chance of coming into contact with space-time laws, those peak eighth-levels and Great Gods would not let it slip by!
The fact that the Mother of the Earth Core had been reassigned here this time was also the result of many secret deals struck at considerable cost.
"Earth Mother Goddess Sharntia, I'm certain the target is in the Gods' camp on the other side. That kind of all-encompassing, heavy divine power is not something ordinary gods could possess..."
The Lord of Darkness naturally knew what the Mother of the Earth Core was after, and casually did her a favor.
"She seems to have taken a liking to entering the Gale Vortex recently to search for law crystals, and she's begun single-handedly ambushing our Law-level Wizards..."
"...Understood. Thank you for your help once again. The World of Wizards will forever remember the friendship of Darkness..."
The Mother of the Earth Core promised. Her colossal true form of the earth core manifested, and countless root systems spread across the ground. Even terrain harder than Wizard alloy could not stop the roots from spreading. Before long, the entire Wizard camp had fallen under the Mother of the Earth Core's control, and her range of detection continued expanding outward.
"I think something's off about the other side. Such an obvious trap — do the Gods think we're fools?"
Enoshit, who had been following behind the Mother of the Earth Core, snorted coldly.
"Of course I know all this, but I can no longer afford to wait..."
The Mother of the Earth Core's enormous pupils seemed to tremble slightly. "I need her earth divine power to supplement my original path and foundation. This is my only chance to advance to the ninth level. No one is allowed to ruin it. Absolutely not!!!"
"Fine! But we need to call more people, even if it escalates into an all-out battle..."
Enoshit shrugged his shoulders. "In any case, we have more Wizards on our side, and our strength is superior. As long as we advance steadily, no schemes or tricks the enemy might have will be of any use..."
"You're right!"
The Mother of the Earth Core agreed, her gaze toward the Gale Canyon betraying an unconcealed burning desire.
...
Inside the Serpent Fortress.
A massive black web of emotions permeated the entire space, its terrifying ripples continuously draining the essence of original sin emotions, making Leilin's power grow stronger with each passing day. The Nightmare Nine-headed Serpent coiled at the core of the emotion web appeared ever more unfathomable.
"Hsss..."
Suddenly, the Devouring Head at the core of the Nightmare Nine-headed Serpent opened its vertical pupils, a hint of confusion appearing on its expression.
Whoosh... Dense black mist coalesced as the Nightmare Nine-headed Serpent transformed into Leilin's form. Crystallized black emotion power condensed into a fitting and luxurious robe that draped over him. In both his eyes, the phantom of the Nightmare Nine-headed Serpent flickered, and his numerous strands of black hair seemed to form some kind of network, connected to the emotion web of the entire world.
With
Between Leilin's eerily beautiful brows, a Nightmare vertical eye manifested. The void warped, and a rune materialized.
"Save... save me..."
A faint pulse of emotion power transmitted from within it, carrying fear and urgency.
"It's the Mother of the Earth Core! She's been sealed away... The location is — inside the Gale Vortex... Have they finally made their move?"
Leilin sighed softly.
Even he was somewhat shocked by the extent of the Gods' intervention this time. The Mother of the Earth Core was a peak eighth-level existence — trapping her was ten times more difficult than killing her outright!
"Is that Leilin?"
At that moment, a twisted black ring mana sigil on the back of Leilin's hand began to flicker.
"This is Enoshit. Right now, both the Mother of the Earth Core and I are trapped inside the Gale Vortex by the enemy. It's a trap — not only did Earth Mother Goddess Sharntia act, but even the Nature God Sylvanus has intervened... Contact the Wizard Alliance for rescue as quickly as possible! Hurry! We can hold out for thirty sandglass hours at most — oh damn it... they're jamming us, the connection is about to be cut!"
The signal suddenly turned to static. The mana sigil flickered a few more times in reluctance before finally going completely dark.
"Damn it..."
Leilin cursed, and a clone of his instantly appeared in the Wizard Joint Council chamber.
"The Mother of the Earth Core and Enoshit have fallen into an enemy ambush. We need reinforcements..."
The conference hall currently held only a sparse handful of figures, making it appear rather empty and desolate.
"Kekeke... Isn't this the Lord of Original Sin? You've come to request reinforcements? Unfortunately, most of the other peak Wizards have been assigned tasks. Of course, if you don't mind, my main body can be dispatched at any time..."
A mass of twisted shadow approached, carrying obvious mockery.
"What a coincidence..." Leilin took a deep breath and fixed the twisted shadow with a cold glare.
Wizards were creatures who prioritized their own interests. No matter what prior relationship they had with the Mother of the Earth Core, once they saw her in trouble and realized there wasn't enough power backing her, very few would be willing to lift a finger.
Just as they had stood by and watched the Lord of Chaos and the Defiled Evil Eye fall last time.
Knowing this all too well, Leilin did not attempt to rally any outside help and simply vanished from the conference chamber.
...
Atop the Serpent Fortress, nearly all the Wizards witnessed a spectacular sight.
The terrifying phantom of the Nightmare Nine-headed Serpent materialized, its horrifying resolve wrapping around the figure of a Wizard before instantly vanishing into the void.
"It's the Fortress Lord!" The Wizards naturally recognized their leader and began bowing respectfully, though a mere handful of them had worry flickering in their eyes.
"Kekeke... As expected, his true body has mobilized..."
In some hidden pocket of space, the true body of the twisted shadow from before manifested.
"Just as you said, there is indeed an element of arrogance and pride in his character..."
Another dark figure spoke, the golden light within its pupils carrying an aura of immortality.
"He is the Lord of Original Sin. Naturally, he would be influenced by the power of laws. The effects of the seven deadly sins are not so easily dispelled, to say nothing of being amplified thousands of times by my power of twisting..."
The twisted shadow snorted coldly: "Just don't underestimate him — I once suffered for doing so!"
"Rest assured. Don't you know the strength we've committed this time?"
The dark figure with golden eyes assured.
"We have absolutely no intention of underestimating this Lord of Original Sin. With peak eighth-level strength and the series of events before, no god would dare be so careless anymore..."
The dark figure spoke slowly, seemingly carrying a touch of wistful emotion.
"Especially you — to think you were willing to abandon your identity as a Wizard and enter our ranks of the Gods..."
It looked at the twisted shadow: "Once this operation succeeds, we will begin your divine ascension ceremony and grant you the Divinity of Chaos. It will be sufficient to support your rise to the rank of Great God..."
"Chaos? A trophy stripped from the former Lord of Chaos? Kekeke... I like it..."
The twisted shadow's voice, like that of a night owl, sounded before it disappeared without a trace.