During this period, the dark elves had been remarkably calm.
Although the entire Northern Dark Extremity had already fallen, consolidating territory and coordinating conflicts with the goblins and dwarves consumed enormous amounts of their energy and attention.
Therefore, although the pressure facing the Central Dark Extremity was immense and the outlook far from optimistic, so far all they had to deal with were scouts and roaming cavalry.
Under these circumstances, the entire Central Domain could still maintain relative peace, and with the Genius Tournament approaching, a kind of twisted prosperity had even emerged.
More and more wizards poured into the Central Domain, bringing fresh blood and greater strength.
Seeing this, Leilin Farell suspected this was one of the reasons the War Committee was working so hard to hype things up — to attract more wizards and bolster their strength.
The Dark Extremity was vast beyond measure, and it was one of the places where ancient wizards had left behind the most intact legacies. With a population approaching forty to fifty million, how many geniuses could such factors produce? And how many heaven-defying freaks with absurd luck like Weilin, whose cheats were cranked to the max?
……
In a dark, gloomy swamp.
Purple toxic gas spread everywhere, and the rotting mud concealed the bones of various dark beasts. Occasionally, a few three-eyed crows flew overhead, emitting harsh, grating caws.
In a luminous underground chamber.
The surrounding walls had been reinforced with magic, repelling the mud and toxic fog.
An old man with black hair was lovingly stroking the hair of a very young wizard beside him.
"My child! Over these ten years, you've already mastered everything I have to teach. Now, you can go out and make your way in the world..."
"According to the news Aguo brought back, in the
"A Tier-3 Wizard?"
The young man's previously nonchalant expression immediately turned solemn.
"Yes. You are the strongest genius I have ever seen — perhaps even the entire Dark Extremity may not have a handful who can compare to you. I believe the final victory will surely be yours. Unfortunately, I won't have the chance to witness it..."
The old man's voice carried a note of regret. Then his palm froze in midair.
His once smooth yet wrinkled skin began to wither, circles of wrinkles appearing one after another — like the bark of an old tree with all its moisture evaporated.
The old wizard's head of black hair gradually turned grey-white.
His entire body withered at a visible rate, becoming like a dried corpse.
"Master? Master?" The young wizard stared at his mentor in disbelief — the mentor he had been with day and night for years.
Crack! The old wizard completely transformed into a withered, charred mummy. The young wizard inadvertently touched the old wizard's arm.
Boom! A shower of ash scattered everywhere, and the old wizard crumbled into a pile of dust, leaving only a pristine wizard robe spread out on the ground.
The young wizard stood there in a daze, and it took a long while before he reacted.
Even though wizards could use energy particles to radiate their bodies and obtain lifespans far longer than ordinary people, there was still an upper limit.
Even dangerous body modifications could add at most a few decades of life before reaching the Morning Star Wizard stage. And they were prone to failure, turning the wizard into something neither human nor ghost.
This old wizard had simply exhausted his life energy and reached the end of his road.
A First-rank Wizard, unless they were a bloodline sorcerer or held some other ancient profession, had a maximum lifespan of a little over two hundred years. This old wizard had lived a very long time, and his Meditation Method had failed to advance for ages. Now, his time had come.
"Master!"
The young man stood there silently, scene after scene of his time with his mentor flashing before his eyes.
After a long while, the young man finally turned and left.
Boom! The moment he departed, the underground chamber collapsed inward, creating a massive void that allowed the surrounding swamp to surge in.
"Master! Rest assured! I will definitely win the championship!"
The young man vowed to the sky, then left without a single backward glance.
As he turned, a single tear slid from the corner of his eye.
……
"The honor of the family is now in your hands!"
In the Southern Domain, inside an ancient wizard's castle.
In the dim light, a long, decayed table stretched across the hall — this blackwood table was over a dozen meters long, extending from the far end nearly all the way to the grand entrance.
On the tablecloth sat silver candelabras and an assortment of fruits and delicacies.
Around the table, figures sat sparsely according to their positions.
At the seat of honor at the head, an old woman wearing a tall black pointed hat and enormous rings encrusted with rubies and emeralds on her fingers was giving instructions to a young girl beside her.
"I understand, Grandmother!"
The girl was silent for a moment before her voice came, firm and resolute.
Only she herself knew what kind of decline the family was hiding beneath this facade of prosperity!
The wooden table was already rotting. The castle hadn't been repaired in decades. Even the magical defense array had been shut down due to a lack of Magic Stones — among the long-established wizard nobility, this was practically a joke!
Even the silver candelabras and the delicacies had been scraped together from the last dregs of their reserves.
As for Grandmother's precious jewelry? All fake! They had long since been pawned off.
The girl remained silent, knowing the tremendous price the family had paid to support her as a wizard.
"I will definitely win the Youth Wizard Championship and restore our family's glory!" she vowed.
"Good! A toast to Lilina's oath! Raise your glasses!"
The old witch laughed and raised the cup in her hand.
"Cheers!" The relatives below cheered, then immediately drained their alcoholic beverages before descending upon the food like starving wolves.
Even as descendants of a wizard family, fruit was not something they could eat every day!
And seeing this scene, the old witch's face showed a bitter expression, which only made Lilina's heart ache more — and only strengthened the resolve in her heart.
……
In the far Northern Dark Extremity.
Groups of human captives were strung together with thick hemp ropes, driven toward a city.
The figures stretched on in a dense mass, the only thing they all shared being the expressions of despair and numbness on their faces.
These people had all been citizens of the Northern Domain, but after it fell, they hadn't been evacuated in time — or simply lacked the means to evacuate — and so they had all become prisoners.
The lucky ones among them might become slaves, but the majority of the captives had only one fate awaiting them: to become sacrificial offerings for the various Matron families!
Atop the highest point of the city built from black basalt, a stunningly beautiful dark elf girl watched this scene with an expression of cold indifference.
"Human reproductive capacity is far too great. Their population is dozens or even hundreds of times ours! How are we to rule them? The only way is to slaughter! Reduce their numbers until they are fewer than ours — or even drive them to extinction — and we'll have nothing to fear regarding instability..."
The most cold-blooded and utterly inhumane orders flowed ceaselessly from the young girl's mouth.
Behind her, elite dark elf covert agents respectfully withdrew, transmitting the orders and setting off a wave of bloodshed.
Even more horrifying, some of the corpses of the dead humans were recovered and used as military rations by goblins, dwarves, and even dark elves!
"What about the Subterranean Cold Spider Monarch?" the girl asked lightly.
"After investigation, we can confirm the Subterranean Cold Spider progenitor has not died. Our elite knight corps has also been pacified, but the disappearance of the progenitor's aura within the Holy Site has still caused the Subterranean Cold Spiders some unrest..."
Another matron, wearing a golden crown and dressed in black leather that exposed a great deal of skin, immediately bowed and reported.
"Useless!" A cold light flashed in the girl's eyes. "Take the former guardian captain of the Holy Site and offer him in a blood sacrifice!"
"Yes!" The chill in her words made the matron behind her shudder.
"And that mortal — how dare he profane the sacred site of our dark elves! Only with his flesh and blood and soul can our shame be washed away!"
The girl swore her oath.
"My Lady! We have the latest intelligence on Lombard!"
At that moment, the great doors suddenly opened, and a dark elf completely shrouded in semi-transparent black gauze knelt respectfully, presenting a brass cylinder with both hands to the girl.
The girl smiled faintly, and a wisp of breeze lifted the cylinder into her hand.
"The genius tournament in the Central Domain?"
After reading the letter, the girl bit her lip. Her vivid, blood-red lips against her fair, delicate skin formed the most striking contrast, causing several of the guards nearby to involuntarily swallow hard.
After a moment of contemplation, the girl issued her command.
"Summon the matrons of all families. I wish to convene the Dark Nobility Council!"
Regarding this matter, she had a vague sense that it was an opportunity — a perfect chance to annihilate the wizard resistance in the Central Domain in one stroke!
But at the same time, a dark will lurking in the depths of her mind gave her an extremely dangerous feeling.
After pondering for a long while, the girl sighed and decided to bring the matter to the council for discussion.
……
After news of the Genius Tournament spread, the entire Dark Extremity, and even the surrounding dark elf, goblin, and dwarf empires, fell into a state of surging undercurrents.
All manner of wizards, and even members of other races, headed toward the Central Dark Extremity.
For a time, the atmosphere truly had the feel of gathering storms.
And at this moment, Leilin Farell sat calmly in his seat, quietly awaiting the tournament's opening — as the original proposer and with sufficient strength, he had also secured himself a position as a judge.
As for the Nature Alliance's personnel here? He had dispatched every single one of them, carrying out all manner of strange tasks.
Yilun, Leilin's top enforcer, was so busy he was never seen during the day — no one knew what secret tasks Leilin had assigned him behind the scenes.