One-Eyed Monster

At that moment, Moonflow Stream became a battleground once again, with the snowmen attacking and Igor and his group defending.

The snowmen fell in droves, but they got back up, one group after another. Moreover, these snowmen were a bit harder than before, different from those they had encountered previously. These snowmen seemed to have strengthened a bit.

However, it was of no consequence, since they had already shared information and could now comfortably deal with these snowmen. In other words, they too had grown stronger.

Wizard Reed was still brewing his Dark Force, unabashedly unleashing snowman summoning spells. This was one of his basic spells, which also required Dark Force. However, compared to the spell he was currently brewing, the snowman summoning spell was rather simple. Its simplicity allowed him to summon them limitlessly. He knew he needed these snowmen to buy him time and wasn’t concerned about what others thought. He was, however, quite curious about the regret they might express.

Dark Arts had a characteristic fondness for studying people’s inner worlds and diverse expressions. Of course, this wasn’t Wizard Reed’s main focus; he was merely interested, not obsessed. Wizard Reed had more urgent matters at hand, so he couldn’t afford to waste much time on his little hobby.

Of course, Wizard Reed was not a careless person. While brewing his spell, he occasionally monitored the illusion—the false Fossil Key. He hadn’t detected any movement from the illusion so far, which made him vaguely uneasy. How strange, he thought. What kind of person could create an illusion that remained so still for so long? Anyone who witnessed the earlier Lightning attack would have reacted by now. Yet, the illusion hadn’t moved, displaying incredible patience.

What exactly is the illusion waiting for? Now, Wizard Reed was also slightly confused.

He felt he once possessed a vast amount of information and was familiar with everything about Guru Mountain. He knew what Black Crow did; they were a spy organization, the best at collecting and trading intelligence. Even a magnate from the Alchemy Workshop like Kuyi Tulan had to approach Black Crow to buy and sell information. This demonstrated the extent of Black Crow’s control over intelligence.

Wizard Reed never did anything he wasn’t sure about. Although they believed in chaos, they rarely involved themselves in uncertain matters. After all, they knew the importance of preserving their strength.

In this world, Wizard Reed mused, only Boss Willem could take chaos to its absolute extreme. Although they pursued chaos, they were far from reaching that level. They still needed to gather extensive information to orchestrate chaos.

Wizard Reed had gathered relevant information about this place. He knew the former identities of these monsters and the positions they had held in the Empire. He also knew what kind of person Grand Master Guzan was and the extent of his power. He had even thoroughly researched the Soul Guardian line.

Yet now, he was unsure about the situation with this illusion. This filled him with a touch of melancholy. The information asymmetry was supposed to grant him a significant advantage. Yet, Wizard Reed felt this advantage diminishing. What exactly was going on? The illusion hadn’t moved at all, displaying incredible patience.

Truth be told, Wizard Reed was slightly worried. He was, after all, preparing to go all out. This time, it was do or die. The only thing he remained wary of was this illusion...

What Wizard Reed didn’t know was that the illusion occupying his thoughts was the very Fossil Key he was desperately searching for.

While Wizard Reed worried, Grand Master Guzan was also concerned. Through Igor’s Ant Connection Spell, from within his Inner World, he could clearly see everything unfolding there.

But, helplessly, he had no solutions. He was far from Moonflow Stream, and among those left behind, none possessed Stan Sol’s Teleportation ability. This meant all he could do was wait anxiously outside the safehouse, eager to help but unable to teleport in!

What troubled him more was their continued lack of understanding regarding the invaders’ power. Although he generally knew they belonged to a dark system, he had no idea what they specialized in or which branch of darkness they hailed from. This was a severe information asymmetry.

Grand Master Guzan had experienced much and witnessed many things on the battlefield, but he had rarely encountered this kind of Dark Force before. The rise of Dark Force had only occurred in recent years. It seemed the world was changing in a direction he couldn’t comprehend. Their previous perceptions were also shifting at an incredible speed, and it likely wouldn’t be long before their old understanding was completely overturned. The reason Grand Master Guzan felt this way was due to the enlightenment he had received from a young man he had met previously.

But now, with the enemy lurking in the shadows and him exposed, he had to find a way to counter their tactics. However, as he pondered it, he realized this was no easy task. Information asymmetry was the primary reason things weren’t proceeding smoothly. More importantly, Grand Master Guzan discovered the invaders seemed to know them far better.

Grand Master Guzan wondered what information had been leaked, rendering them utterly transparent to the invaders. Master Guzan could tell that the restrictions just placed on Simon, Arnold, and the others were so specific they seemed custom-made. This indicated the invaders knew everyone on Guru Mountain like the back of their hand; in the invaders’ eyes, they were completely transparent. And his people? Besides knowing the invader was a Dark Wizard, they knew virtually nothing about them. This information disparity forced them into a passive state.

Grand Master Guzan realized the enemy was well-prepared. Apparently, the Guru Mountain scroll was no longer a secret. In Master Guzan’s eyes, the invader seemed to understand everything thoroughly, holding a complete advantage. For now, they could only defend passively. They needed to gradually familiarize themselves with Dark Arts and understand their opponent. Only by rectifying this information imbalance could the current situation change.

Grand Master Guzan suddenly realized Igor’s position was exceptionally important because Igor was an outsider. Therefore, everything about Igor was an unknown—to them and, crucially, to the invader as well...