Warlock Apprentice

Flowers bloom in pairs, each displaying a unique beauty.

Time rolled back to not long ago.

Above the floating ice, two wizards from the Gravity Forest had died under mysterious circumstances, leaving every wizard feeling uneasy. No one wanted to encounter such an incomprehensible disaster.

While others assumed that these two wizards had died to some demon’s trickery, only Nereus was looking at the bodies and seemed to have realized something.

Nereus, with his somber eyes, went to the front of the floating ice. He intended to ask Monty if their deaths were related to Sanders. However, before Nereus could speak, Monty said, “Nereus, you arrived just in time.”

Monty pointed at the distant Void Tower.

The dark clouds that oppressed the top of the tower wrapped around it layer by layer. And these clouds were teeming with demons.

“Do you see?” Monty’s eyes narrowed behind his mask: “He has come.”

Nereus looked in the direction Monty pointed, not at the demons, but at the heart of the dark clouds: a fiery stream of light, carrying an immense presence, cut through the heavy encirclement of ‘dark clouds’ and descended onto the top of the Void Tower like a king.

Although the mass of demons blocked the specifics within the firelight, Nereus understood who Monty was referring to.

Monty’s sole purpose in coming to Lassudral was Aoluxiya!

“Does Your Excellency Monty intend to take action now?” Nereus looked at Monty.

“He’s been hiding in the Hunting Museum. Now that he’s finally come out, this is undoubtedly the best opportunity to act!” Sinafa spoke, her frosty hair flying, her fiery eyes ablaze with boundless combat desire.

Luci, adorned with twelve round clocks on his body, was now levitating in midair with his eyes closed, as if listening to something. After a long moment, he slowly said, “There are only two breaths near Aoluxiya, one weak, one strong, matching the characteristics of a Young Fire Demon and a Fire Demon Servant. I didn’t detect the Night Museum’s owner, so making a move now, we don’t have to worry about offending the future Demon Lord.”

Samantha and Issac didn’t speak, but they were already preparing for battle.

Monty turned to look at Nereus, those eyes that seemed to have seen the vicissitudes of the world shimmered with an indescribable emotion. Nereus knew that Monty was waiting for him to take a stand.

“I’m indifferent. Since I’ve brought the Nameless Scroll, I’ve naturally made all the necessary preparations.” Nereus nodded noncommittally, but after speaking, his brows twitched, and he said meaningfully, “However, besides Monty, the strongest here is not present… the renowned War God of the Southern Domain… Shouldn’t we wait for him?”

“No need to wait for him.” It wasn’t Monty who responded, but Samantha: “Sanders’s main role is in the Gravity Garden, whether he participates in the battle is just an extra clause. Moreover, the thing that came out of the Barbarian Cave is not with Sanders. With me here, that’s enough.”

A chill flashed through Nereus’s narrowed eyes.

At that moment, Monty grinningly said to Nereus, “Go and get ready… As for Sanders, I’ve already mentioned my stance; as long as it doesn’t affect my plan, I won’t interfere or stop you. You should understand what I mean.”

His words seemed to carry a hint of amusement, but Nereus felt a tingling sensation starting from his scalp.

“Go on then.”

Nereus left, and as Rivetta, who was carrying a clipboard, stepped forward, she caught a glimpse of Nereus’s face—finding on that usually sun-god-like handsome face a flash of stark and sinister resentment.

Rivetta shivered at the sight of such a Nereus.

“Rivetta, what’s wrong?” An acquaintance among the witches approached, asking curiously.

“Nothing much, just that I’m finding it harder and harder to understand the current situation.” Rivetta sighed, took the witch’s hand, and together they walked to the side.

Elsewhere, Sinafa had yet to figure out the situation: “What’s up with Nereus?”

Samantha snorted, her eyes looking dismissively at the fading silhouette of Nereus: “He can’t beat his opponent, yet he wants to drag us down with him, utterly overestimating himself.”

Sinafa seemed to understand and was about to ask further, but Monty turned to Samantha: “It’s your turn, these ‘dark clouds’ are yours to clear.”

Samantha nodded: “I understand. However, these demons don’t seem interested in protecting Aoluxiya, they’re likely just drawn to the Void Tower. I’ll start with deterrence, and if they don’t disperse, then they leave me with no choice but to kill them all!”

Her words carried an undertone of bloodthirst.

If the other wizards heard this, they probably would think it fanciful talk. Samantha was only a Second Level True Knowledge Wizard, so where did she get the confidence to believe she could slaughter all those sky-covering demons?

Since the decision to take action was made, Sinafa ceased to inquire about Nereus and instead looked to the only Prophet Wizard present: “Luci, can you see if there will be any complications?”

“Ever since Lassudral began its countdown to the end, it has become difficult to glimpse its timelines. However, Fafnir and Komodo have never stopped fighting, acting now might affect them, and perhaps they will become the biggest variable,” Luci answered.

“Don’t worry, I’ll avoid them as much as possible.” Samantha soared into the sky, her eyes shimmering as if dazzling brilliance danced within them.

Samantha’s actions drew the attention of everyone present.

The colored glaze dress fluttered in the fierce wind, and from a distance, it looked like a jellyfish flying midair, leisurely wandering close to the ‘dark clouds’ above the Void Tower.

Samantha’s arrival put the nearby demons on alert. However, they were not too worried, for in their minds, the number of demons here numbered in the thousands, if not tens of thousands. Under these circumstances, a single wizard coming here was no different from seeking death.

Samantha did not utter a word to the demons before she started taking action.

However, Samantha did not take action herself. Instead, she spread her arms, and a cobalt-blue, multifaceted gem on her belt emitted a shimmering watery light. These lights coalesced into pale blue waves in front of Samantha, forming watery ‘circles.’

At first, no one understood what these ‘circles’ were for, until… a half-transparent ironback gorilla with lateral muscles emerged from a ‘circle,’ rampaging and trampling through the group of demons, instantly pushing several meters through a corner of the ‘black cloud’! Only then did they witness the power of these ‘circles’!

And that was not all!

Before Samantha, the ‘circle’ continued to release various strange semi-transparent creatures: forest deer with complicated antlers on their heads, white foxes with wings on their backs, spirit cats phasing in and out of visibility in the Void, and star snakes glittering with light patterns as if adorned with stars and moons…

“These are… Illusory Spirits!” a wizard exclaimed in amazement, recognizing the magical creatures created by Samantha.

Illusory Spirits are a type of lifeform that exists between a physical state and a spiritual state, extremely rare and often very powerful. It is not often one sees Illusory Spirits, yet here were Samantha’s creations, incessantly firing like a machine gun with the ‘circle’ in front of her as the barrel, spewing various wondrous Illusory Spirits as if they cost nothing.

“What’s going on with these Illusory Spirits? Why are there so many?”

“The only place that could produce so many Illusory Spirits is one—The Manor of Myriad Spirits!”

Someone immediately remembered that Samantha had indeed been to the Barbarian Cave, and it could have been then that she took away the stored Illusory Spirits! However, with so many Illusory Spirits, even if the Barbarian Cave was willing to part with them, could Samantha truly control them all?

The wizards turned their gazes toward Maher, hoping to get an answer from him.

“These are projections of the Illusory Spirits, the control core given by the Controller of the Manor of Myriad Spirits, which can only be used once.” Maher pointed to the gemstone that Samantha was wearing.

Everyone suddenly understood; most had never heard before that Illusory Spirits could be projected! Rivetta even took out her recording tablet and quickly noted down this information.

The Manor of Myriad Spirits is the premier garden of the Wizards’ Realm, and moreover, the Barbarian Cave almost never opens up entries to outsiders, so external information was scarce. Rivetta had also heard a rumor that Baroque from Sky Mechanical City had stayed in the Barbarian Cave for many years, apparently for the Manor of Myriad Spirits, yet to this day he had not received an entry slot.

Faced with such a piece of information, Rivetta naturally wouldn’t let it slip away.

While the onlookers were in fervent discussion, the battlefield presented a different scene. These semi-transparent Illusory Spirits were completely immune to any physical attack, forcing the demons to retreat within a short period.

Even if someone discovered energy capable of attacking spiritual bodies, the chaos made it likely that striking down an enemy could inadvertently strike an ally.

In such a situation, wherever the Illusory Spirits went, both sides avoided confrontation.

Just like that, Samantha effortlessly opened a channel right through the center of the “black cloud,” and kept pushing forward, quickly cutting out a path.

Straight into the heart of the Void Tower!

While Samantha was clearing the way, the floating ice was also slowly approaching the Void Tower.

Monty stood at the highest point, his luxurious robe rustling in the fierce winds, accompanied by the backdrop of a flickering horizon of flames, Monty’s voice spread across all the floating ice:

“The final act begins now!”

After Monty had spoken, he raised the exquisite scepter in his hand and, with a fierce swing, aimed directly at the pinnacle of the Void Tower!

Everyone looked toward the sound.

They saw the ‘dark cloud’ in the sky part, and only at this moment did they truly see the situation at the top of the tower.

The top of the Tower of the Void!

Standing at the forefront was a fire servant demon wrapped in a red robe, who slowly drew a flaming sword in the face of everyone’s attention!

Behind the fire servant, a ball of fire the size of a dumpling hovered midair, seemingly a bit scared as it tilted its body away, not daring to look at the floating ice.

And behind this fireball, at the highest point of the tower’s top, was Aoluxiya with a porcelain white mask, standing silently. Behind Aoluxiya was a bizarre painting.

When the human faction’s gaze turned in that direction, Aoluxiya slowly and gracefully raised a hand and half-removed the mask.

The flame-like green eyes slowly lifted, the gaze seeming to traverse immeasurable distances.

In the end, it met perfectly with Monty on the high point above the floating ice!