"Shadow Lurk!"
After getting up, Leilin immediately used this first-level Dark System spell — the most outstanding concealment wizardry among its tier.
Empowered by the substantialized spiritual power of a second-rank
Leilin's figure vanished from the VIP room in an instant, and even the several second-rank Wizards outside failed to detect his presence.
"That Arist — he actually defected directly to the Dark Wizards, and because of him as the catalyst, he's sparked the prelude to the Third Great War of the Wizard World..."
Leilin sighed with some emotion, while his phantomized body continued traveling at full speed.
"But what he does is none of my business. I just need to confirm he has what I need — that's enough!"
The essence of the Ancient Tree of Wisdom's sap — if so many ancient Wizards held it in the highest regard, it must possess extraordinary effects.
Although Leilin already possessed a high-grade Meditation Method, he wouldn't mind adding a bit more certainty for his future breakthrough!
Bang!
Arist sprang forward, his two powerful hind legs stamping two deep indentations into the ground.
Using the tremendous force, he leaped out of the pit and began sprinting across the plain.
"There he is!"
Pursuing closely behind him were the White Wizard Alliance's second-rank Wizards. One of the leaders, seeing the situation, immediately waved his sleeve!
Bzzzz!
A dense chorus of insect buzzing erupted from his sleeve, and then a massive gray cloud drifted out from his voluminous wizard robe.
Looking closer, the gray cloud was composed of a tightly packed mass of insects.
Each insect had two pairs of compound eyes, grotesque and razor-sharp mouthparts, and a pair of transparent wings vibrating at extreme frequency, emitting waves of piercing sound that faintly irked one's nerves.
"Go!" The White Wizard pointed at Arist.
The swarm issued a thunderous roar, vaguely forming the image of a faceless human visage, and surged toward Arist in his werewolf form.
The colossal face sliced through the air, trailing a black current in its wake. It quickly caught up with the fleeing werewolf. Opening its massive maw, it roared at the werewolf.
"Awooo!" The werewolf howled skyward. Two enormous clusters of wind-element energy particles formed into wind blades — one horizontal, one vertical — creating a giant cross that slashed at the face in midair.
The wind blades swept through the face. The face quivered slightly, as if in a single instant it had dispersed and reformed, the entire insect swarm perfectly intact.
"Chirp chirp chirp..." With the roar of countless insects, a massive wave of gray "floodwater" spewed from the face's mouth, instantly engulfing the werewolf.
Looking closely, the gray floodwater was composed of even tinier worms, their razor-sharp mandibles glinting with a cold sheen.
Squeak squeak!!!
The gray worms enveloped the entire werewolf in an instant, and bone-chilling sounds of gnawing rang out without cease.
"Mmm..." From within the gray insect swarm, the werewolf's wails of anguish soon emerged.
"Done! He's been caught by the
The White Wizard controlling the swarm lit up with delight: "Go! Seize him! Reclaim the treasures and the tree essence!"
"As expected of 'Corpse Worm Controller' Yojona!" The other second-rank Wizards with him exclaimed in admiration, pursuing with even greater ferocity.
Just then, a melodious pan-pipe melody drifted over from nearby.
Invisible sound waves swept across the sky. Great swathes of gray insects rained down continuously.
Boom! The ground split open, and two Dark Wizards in black robes burst forth. Two massive white fireballs instantly struck the flying insect-face in the sky.
"Ahhh..." The face emitted a cry resembling a woman's wailing, its features twisting wildly.
In mere seconds, the entire face was engulfed in white flames, and vast quantities of Death Blindworms tumbled from the sky.
"So you truly did defect to the Dark Wizards long ago!"
The giant insect-face apparently shared some ethereal link with the leading White Wizard's spiritual power. The moment the face was consumed by flames, the White Wizard's face went pale.
But he ignored his own injuries. Instead, his eyes turned to the werewolf Arist, who had already broken free from the worms' maw.
The werewolf now looked quite wretched — the beautiful fur covering its body was more than half destroyed, large patches of it bare and exposed. Pink skin and muscle showed through.
Moreover, there were several enormous gashes across its body where the muscle tissue was completely shredded, and the white bones within were faintly visible.
Hiss, hiss! Blood vessels and muscles on the werewolf's wounds writhed and squirmed, as sheets of flesh membrane continuously covered the wounds, quickly halting the flow of blood. In the bare patches, fine fur began growing rapidly.
The werewolf's monstrous regenerative ability was on full display.
"Go!" One of the Dark Wizards waved his hand, and in front of the White Wizards, countless white ribs and bone spurs erupted from the ground, forming a massive wall.
The wall rotated mechanically as if alive, closing in from all sides, trapping the White Wizards within.
Then the two Dark Wizards took Arist and departed without looking back.
Boom! Boom!
From within the white bone cage, muffled impacts rang out continuously. Irregular hemispherical bulges grotesquely dotted the entire bone prison, with countless tiny cracks radiating from each bulge.
The cracks grew larger and larger, until finally the cage simply exploded!
The white bone dust settled, revealing several White Wizards within.
"There are second-rank Dark Wizards providing backup! The situation is getting worse! Send the signal!!!"
The leading White Wizard roared.
A Wizard nodded, drew a finger across the sky, and a red-and-green meteor instantly streaked across the heavens.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Minutes later, thirteen Wizards clad in black robes, each wearing an iron crown upon their head, appeared solemnly on the scene.
"Arist has defected to the Dark Wizards. A third-rank is currently holding up Lord Hoduke, and two Dark Wizards have extracted Arist!"
The White Wizard's face was grim.
"That matches our intelligence. But rest assured — we scattered large quantities of Nine-Line Flower pollen throughout the auction house. As long as he's been there, he can never escape the Spotted Bee's tracking..."
A Wizard whose iron crown was slightly larger than the others replied.
"Naturally, we place the utmost confidence in the Grand Sage's arrangements..." The White Wizard leader inclined his head slightly, showing respect toward the Sage.
And these thirteen Wizards were all Sages of the
Combined with their stance of neutrality, even the White Wizard leader had to set aside his pride.
"However, since the Dark Wizards have also become involved, we may no longer be able to continue providing you assistance. You understand — strict neutrality is the fundamental principle upon which the Iron Crown has endured to this day!"
The Grand Sage continued.
"Grand Sage..." The White Wizard leader's expression froze, then turned cold: "You signed a contract to pursue Arist together with us. What exactly does the Grand Sage intend?"
"But... the Dark Wizard side?" The Grand Sage's face showed a look of reluctance, but regarding the White Wizard leader, it seemed positively loathsome.
"Go ahead and act. Any pressure from the Dark Wizards, we will bear. Furthermore, I can make further concessions on the conditions we previously agreed to..."
The White Wizard leader fell silent for a moment, then immediately chose to compromise.
After all, time was something they could ill afford to waste.
And upon receiving his guarantee, the Grand Sage of the Iron Crown immediately showed a smile of immense relief.
He produced a transparent glass jar from his wide sleeve. Inside the container, at its very center, sat a bee-like creature covered in dense compound eyes, its yellow wings bearing the pattern of a large black eye — quietly perched within, wisps of intelligence and alertness occasionally flickering through its gaze.
The Grand Sage opened the jar directly. The tiny Spotted Bee circled in place a few times, then immediately set off in pursuit of a direction.
"It's found them!" the Grand Sage said. Then from his body erupted a dense mass of iron plates that assembled into a suit of armor fit for a Knight, covering him entirely.
Boom!
A colossal white horse skeleton rose from the ground, green soul flames dancing in its eye sockets, snorting occasionally.
"Old friend!
He mounted the bone steed in one swift movement and let out a thunderous roar from his throat: "Iron Crown!!!"
"Honor is our life! The charge is our duty!!!" The Sages present answered in unison.
The warhorse neighed, and wave after wave of black molten steel surged across its entire body. In moments, the white skeletal steed transformed into a massive iron beast, its surface bristling with sharp barbs that curled upward.
Neigh! Neigh!
One after another, iron warhorses roared and struggled free from the earth, bearing the remaining Sages. Some donned dazzling wizard robes, others clad themselves in steel battle armor, and powerful waves of magic surged outward from them.
In an instant, the thirteen iron-crowned Sages had transformed into a company of iron Knights brimming with terrifying power!
"After them!"
At the Grand Sage's command, thirteen colossal beasts immediately broke into a gallop, leaving scorched trails of fire in their wake.
"The inheritance of ancient Wizards! This is absolutely a branch lineage of the ancient Wizards!"
The White Wizards' eyelids twitched wildly as they roared inwardly.
On the South Coast, there had always been a rumor surrounding the Iron Crown — this neutral Wizard organization — and according to that rumor, the thirteen original Sages had obtained an inheritance of power after excavating some ancient ruin, which enabled them to establish the Iron Crown!