One-Eyed Monster

Despite finding the big bird suspicious and hateful, Dark Wizard Reed no longer had the luxury to ponder its origin. This was his life-or-death gamble, and he couldn’t afford to neglect it over a stubborn bird.

The Great Mentor and his companions had similar thoughts. They found the bird peculiar, but the widespread Dark Energy and its accompanying aura of death were more alarming. They were determined not to let this bird’s stubbornness disrupt their plans. Even though the Great Mentor believed that Xiso would handle the situation adequately, he couldn’t help but worry about unexpected mishaps. He was absolutely resolved to prevent the aura of death from permeating Guru Mountain. However, the current situation was anything but promising and hardly within his control.

After all, dealing with the Snowmen—the Dark Wizard’s avatars—was no easy task. Additionally, it was nearly impossible for Xiso and the others to understand all of the enemy’s strategies in such a short time, so they were bound to fall into the enemy’s traps during their counter-attacks…

But now was not the time for him to contemplate these issues. With so many mysteries, he couldn’t afford to reflect on each one. As the chief controller here, he had to manage everything and, at the very least, ensure he thwarted the enemy’s plans, even though he couldn’t fully discern their intentions yet.

The Great Mentor deployed his Spirit Power to fight the upgraded Lightning Clouds. Summoning the sun was also a must. However, his imaginative power was not as vibrant as Kadi’s and Igor’s. He could only pull the sun out from the existing environment. The Inner World had swapped its owner, and the sun created by Igor had vanished completely. The cloud-dense Alternate Dimension did not give the Great Mentor much space to fantasize, and he instinctively placed the sun behind the clouds. These clouds, however, were fortified with Dark Force. He had to repel this Dark Force using his Spirit Power before he could pry open the clouds and bring out the sun.

But repelling the Dark Force wouldn’t be easy. He had to maintain the Inner World and simultaneously keep an eye on Kuren and Igor. Young people tended to be impulsive and could easily fall into the enemy’s traps, so he needed to stay vigilant.

Even the wisest can overlook something, and a seasoned Great Mentor—renowned across the Empire—was no exception. He was unaware that their careful counter-attacks had still led them into the enemy’s trap.

The Great Mentor would never have guessed that the enemy’s seemingly all-out release of power was merely a diversion, a beacon meant to lure out those hidden in the shadows. The Dark Force unleashed was only one-third of Wizard Reed’s collection. He had chosen to risk his life, relying on the other two-thirds. Even if this one-third seemed a steep price for bait, Reed still reckoned it was worthwhile.

Upon reaching Moonflow Stream, Reed could perceive the presence of several groups. Among them were a few members of the Alchemy Workshop. He quickly estimated there were about a dozen people, but whether it was twelve or thirteen, he couldn’t be certain. Of these dozen or so opponents, ten were grouped in one location, which he considered enemy territory. One of them seemed capable of controlling time and space, causing him significant temporal confusion. The others were skilled at hiding; despite clashing with them for some time, he still couldn’t pinpoint their exact locations.

No, he still couldn’t confirm everyone’s position. Here on Guru Mountain, he seemed to have completely lost his sense of direction. But for a Dark Wizard, a sense of direction wasn’t crucial. He had been trying to locate his opponents because he needed a Fossil Key, but all that had appeared so far was an illusion of one! This realization was the main reason he firmed his resolve to go all out.

This kind of searching and tiptoeing truly didn’t suit him; hiding and skulking weren’t his style either. At his core, he preferred to confront people head-on!

One-third of his Dark Force—it wasn’t an overwhelming amount, nor was it insignificant. This quantity was enough to cause a stir, but it also carried risks. However, if he didn’t take the gamble, he would never know the outcome. Thus, Wizard Reed was, in a sense, staking his destiny on this.

The sudden appearance of this Dark Force naturally drew the attention of Guru Mountain’s many monsters. Undeniably, the amount of Dark Energy released was immense. Relative to Guru Mountain itself, this power was excessively conspicuous, looking as if it could devour the entire mountain.

The effect of the beacon was simply to be a signal, its purpose to ensure that those not present could see what was happening here from afar.

Wizard Reed’s plan, while not flawless, was certainly resounding. The sudden appearance of this Dark Force on the mountain had made these monsters jittery.

Whether it was Kevin, Xiso, Simon, or Arnold, they were all stunned to discover that this Dark Force originated near Moonflow Stream. This was the Great Mentor’s territory, and these self-proclaimed guardians of the Great Mentor felt their nerves tighten. Under no circumstances would they allow the Great Mentor to be threatened.

So, they quickened their pace, finding their opponents far more troublesome than they had imagined.

Take Simon, for example. He had initially believed that those Snowmen would gradually disappear as time wore on, but he had never expected them to keep coming endlessly. It was only when the Dark Force appeared that the Snowmen began to slacken their assault. Simon also understood that even without the interference of this Dark Force, he had already figured out a way to deal with the Snowmen.

It wasn’t just Simon; Milo, Joela, and others from the Alchemy Workshop also found methods to deal with these Snowmen at this very moment…

It might have seemed to an outsider that Wizard Reed was intentionally holding back, but that wasn’t the case. Although the Snowmen were his avatars, they were also empowered by spells. Once they moved beyond Wizard Reed’s sensory range, they could only counter-attack mechanically. Simon and the others, whether intentionally or by coincidence, had led these Snowmen into the mountain gullies, quickly taking them beyond Reed’s control range. Thus, the Snowmen could only strike back mechanically… Even so, these Snowmen had continued to engage them until now.

Truthfully, if Wizard Reed had concentrated on tracking them, he could have reconnected with these Snowmen. However, he had focused his energy on finding the Fossil Key and thus had no attention to spare for them…

However, after those few instances of ebb and flow, Wizard Reed felt deeply insulted. This feeling solidified his decision to go all out. His gamble was intended to capture everyone in one fell swoop…

「Meanwhile, Simon, Milo, and the others were also rushing towards the source of that Dark Energy at this very moment…」

Anomalous Spirit Power fluctuations drifted back and forth across Guru Mountain. Clearly, a heaven-shaking battle was about to begin.