Among the many fragmented images, there was one figure that Leilin found very familiar.
"Veling?" A faint smile appeared at the corner of Leilin's lips.
……
"Are you sure it's here?" Veling stared at the pitch-black cavern before him, gaping like the maw of some monstrous beast, and swallowed hard.
At this moment, his aura had surged dramatically, faintly breaking past the limits of ordinary humans.
"I'm very certain. Right here lives an ancient creature—the Subterranean Ice Spider Emperor! Our Dark Elves' Ice Spiders breed endlessly through this place."
"This is our Dark Elves' sacred ground. Did you think I'd risk my life bringing you here just to play a prank on you?"
"As long as you can kill or subdue it, the Dark Elves' Ice Spider Knight Corps will collapse immediately. Perhaps this war can finally end."
Memphis said with a sigh.
"Then what level of strength does this Subterranean Ice Spider Emperor possess?"
Veling gazed at the cave entrance, feeling uncomfortably exposed, as though he were being stripped bare and examined.
"At minimum, it has the strength of a Second-rank
"But I can't go near it. Any
Memphis explained. Not all ancient creatures possessed Morning Star-level strength, after all—even in ancient times, Morning Star Wizards were regional overlords. How could they possibly be common?
The plan between Memphis and Veling was straightforward: kill or subdue the Subterranean Ice Spider Emperor, deal a devastating blow to the Dark Elves' forces, and bring the war to an end.
"...Fine!"
Veling took two heavy breaths, then addressed a massive lump of flesh to his side. "I'm ready. Come on!"
Before him sat something resembling a giant fleshy egg, and what made his scalp tingle was that its surface was covered with densely packed eyes, all fixed unblinkingly on Veling.
"Let me make this clear! Even though you've inherited my master's legacy and advanced to First-rank Wizard, you're nowhere near strong enough to face a Second-rank opponent. Even with me, it's the same! You might not even make it out alive!"
All the eyes on the flesh lump blinked in unison, producing a tender, childlike voice with an almost babyish quality.
"That's an order!" Veling's face darkened.
"Fine, fine! You win! I finally find a new master, and he turns out to be an idiot!" The flesh lump shook helplessly.
After receiving the order, the flesh lump shot toward Veling, extending countless fleshy tendrils that merged with his body.
Veling's entire body swelled up as the flesh hardened, eventually forming a dark crimson armor. On its surface, over a dozen eye-shaped patterns had appeared, lending it a profoundly mysterious air.
Once the armor was in place, Veling's aura instantly shattered past his limits, reaching the level of a full-fledged Wizard.
"Here are the map and talisman passed down through my family. Good luck!" Memphis wished him sincerely.
"Thanks!" Veling raised a pair of enormous red metal wings from his back and plunged into the pitch-black cavern.
Veling and Jenny's journey to escort Memphis back to his family had been anything but smooth. They had encountered numerous dangers and assassination attempts along the way.
Fortunately, they managed to survive each harrowing ordeal. They had even penetrated deep into the Dark Elf Empire to deliver Memphis to safety.
Moreover, during their travels, Veling had obtained a special inheritance, advancing into a branch of ancient wizardry—the Enhanced Warrior!!!
After gaining this inheritance, Veling had advanced by leaps and bounds, finally reaching the level of a full-fledged Wizard.
Thanks to the Enhanced Armor he had inherited, his strength far exceeded that of an ordinary full-fledged Wizard.
In the instant he leaped into the cavern—perhaps it was his imagination—Veling felt the gold coin around his neck grow warm again...
Inside the laboratory.
Leilin gazed at the golden crystal in his hand. The golden star within had now grown to occupy half its volume, blazing with even more radiant splendor.
"'Son of Destiny' of the Dark Pinnacle Domain indeed! At this rate of improvement, even I have to bow my head in shame!"
Leilin sighed softly.
He had examined Veling back in the day, of course. The boy did possess wizard aptitude, but it was so poor that advancing to full-fledged Wizard had seemed nearly impossible.
Besides, Leilin had only taught him out of idle curiosity and amusement, never intending to burden himself by passing on the deeper secrets of wizardry.
But now it seemed that fate was gradually being nudged back onto its proper course. Veling continued to grow stronger, reaching a point where he could even influence the balance of the war.
In ancient times, thanks to exchanges with various other worlds and the inclusive, innovative spirit of ancient wizards, all manner of extraordinary wizard branches had emerged one after another.
Bloodline Sorcerers, Elemental Singers, Brand Swordsmen, Iron Knights, and most recently, Enhanced Warriors.
Leilin recalled what he had read in ancient texts about Enhanced Warriors.
This branch of ancient wizardry had a peculiar advancement requirement: the inheritor had to possess the aptitude of both a Knight and a Wizard.
Furthermore, they had to obtain an Enhanced Armor!
Once an Enhanced Armor was obtained, the Enhanced Warrior's strength would undergo explosive growth. After fusion, the armor would even automatically modify its host, driving continuous improvement.
Moreover, Enhanced Armors could be inherited. Once an Enhanced Warrior obtained the armor left behind by a higher-ranked warrior, they would experience an instantaneous and massive power-up.
It had to be said—in Leilin's eyes, Veling was a remarkably good fit for the Enhanced Warrior path.
"Fate, huh..."
Leilin smiled and left the laboratory.
……
"Fantix, thanks for the Earth Kui Beast Heart. I'll make up the price difference later!"
Leilin held a cup of coffee, chatting with Wizard Fantix across from him.
"It's nothing! No need for formalities!" Fantix smiled but didn't refuse the offer—wizards were always clear about such matters.
"I just came out of the lab. How's the war?"
After a bit of small talk, Leilin asked.
"Same old on our end. The three great cities hold each other up, and we've tied down their Matriarch-level powerhouses. Both sides are burning through manpower."
A hint of pleasure appeared on Fantix's face.
"Right now, the Dark Beasts have been nearly wiped out. The remaining space is more than enough for what's left to survive and reproduce, so they've started showing signs of retreating. Even within the Dark Elves themselves, dissenting voices have emerged. The Matriarchs can suppress them, of course, but they have to consider the political fallout..."
Leilin nodded, knowing that the internal disagreements among the Dark Elves owed something to Veling's efforts.
"So my estimate is that, barring any major upheaval, this war will end within five years!"
Fantix seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
This assessment aligned closely with Leilin's own conclusions, and he nodded slightly.
"Bang!!!"
The reception room's doors burst open, and the female Second-rank Wizard strode in, her expression dark as a storm cloud.
"Something's happened in the Northern Region!"
……
Boti City—the northern stronghold of the Wizards, where a massive concentration of wizards and mortal troops faced off against the allied forces of Dark Beasts and Dark Elves.
A young wizard traversed a long corridor and arrived before a set of golden gates.
"Wizard Longbadon, is something the matter?"
The two wizards standing guard at the golden gates gave a slight bow and asked.
"I have urgent intelligence and request an audience with Lord Yadi!" Longbadon's expression was fraught with urgency.
"Urgent intelligence? Very well! We'll announce you!" The two wizards exchanged a glance, and one immediately dashed inside.
Moments later, the wizard emerged and nodded. "Lord Yadi will see you!"
Longbadon immediately passed through the gates.
Beyond the golden gates lay a vast chamber suffused with a milky white glow.
A wizard who appeared to be a young man sat behind an enormous desk, draped in loose white robes.
"Longbadon pays his respects to the great Guardian of the North!"
Longbadon half-knelt respectfully on the ground in salute.
"Young Longbadon, is it? What brings you here?" From the young man's mouth came a deeply aged voice.
"While carrying out a patrol, I encountered a small squad of Dark Elves. After defeating them, I discovered this!"
Longbadon reverently held the black scroll above his head.
A beam of blue light swept across the scroll, scanning it back and forth.
"No abnormal energy reactions detected! Threat level assessed: Zero!" A melodious feminine voice rang out. Longbadon shuddered, recognizing it as the voice of the Array Spirit.
"Let me see!"
The young man gestured, and the scroll in Longbadon's hands flew of its own accord to the desk, slowly unrolling.
What appeared before the young man's eyes was something resembling a map, surrounded by various red markings and symbols.
"Hmm? What's this?"
Yadi's expression turned grave, and he leaned forward involuntarily.
Suddenly! An unexpected transformation erupted!!!
A translucent black plant seed materialized from the map in an instant, transforming into a streak of light that shot straight into Yadi's forehead.
"The Parasitic Seed—you!!!" Yadi cried out in fury and shock.
But in the next instant, a mass of black vine-like tendrils enveloped his body, sealing him firmly in place.
"Warning! Warning! External intruder detected!"
The Array Spirit's voice turned piercingly shrill.
Powerful combination spell formations blazed to life throughout the chamber, flickering on and off.
"I've been waiting for you!" A vicious grin spread across Longbadon's face as he swept his hand forward.
A streak of black light shot past Yadi, obliterating the painting behind him and revealing a complex magical formation diagram branded into the wall.