Chapter 138: The Hope of Becoming a Wizard

Chapter 138: The Hope of Becoming a Wizard

Three days later.

Su Nan led his golem army into Matu, taking formal control of the city-state.

It had to be said, vampires were an incredibly powerful race.

They had long lifespans, devious methods, and formidable combat skills. Whether on the front lines or as scouts and assassins, they excelled in every role.

Their only weaknesses were their fear of sunlight and their low reproductive rate.

Fortunately, in the underground world, the fear of sunlight could be ignored.

However, the low reproductive rate limited Matu's expansion.

In the vast city-state, the total number of vampires was less than two hundred, while the affiliated races and slaves numbered in the thousands.

It was only because the vampires were individually powerful, with knights and grand knights aplenty, that they could maintain control over so many subordinates and slaves.

Thousands of stalactites hung from the cave ceiling, with blue, green, and dark purple magical flames burning and swirling between them, creating a sea of light that provided dim illumination for the entire city of Matu.

Su Nan stood on a stone pillar over two hundred meters tall, overlooking the ground. He watched as golems marched into the city, and slaves bustled about, transporting various supplies like ants. For a moment, he felt as if he were looking down upon all of creation.

With the Kashaam insect swarm cleared out, the vampires of Matu surrendered, and the necromancers of Orson were completely wiped out by the Red Widow and her forces. The city of Darklake had also fallen into his hands long ago.

In essence, the entire region within a hundred miles was now his territory.

Given time, once he had fully integrated the spoils of war and brought all the city-states under his control, he would have truly established a foothold in the underground world, with a domain of his own.

"Orson's necromancers have been completely annihilated, leaving only a few affiliated races and slaves. I need to send some people to handle the administrative affairs."

"I'll dispatch a group of sphinxes and vampires from Darklake and Matu."

With the surrender of Matu's vampires and the addition of the sphinxes, Su Nan's forces were no longer as stretched thin as before.

However, this also meant he was short on troops.

Kashaam could be ignored, but Darklake, Matu, and Orson all needed garrisons.

While the war had cost him many golems, the remaining ones were more than enough to defend Darklake.

He could also spare some to garrison Matu, working alongside the vampires to maintain control.

The only issue was Orson, which was now militarily weak and needed a large number of golems to fill the gap.

Moreover, Orson and Matu controlled a total of six mines, which required golems for development, defense, and escorting the ore.

All of this required troops.

Including the clay golems, he was short by about a thousand golems.

"I'll leave the creation of golems to the base."

The base now had more and more apprentices skilled in puppetry, so Su Nan no longer needed to laboriously create stone golems himself.

If needed, he could offer higher rewards for tasks, quickly acquiring a large number of stone golems.

This was how he had managed to double the size of his golem army in just over a month.

Of course, iron golems and dual-blade spiders still needed to be crafted by him personally.

"Next, I'll focus on researching bloodline marks and divine energy."

Su Nan looked in the direction of Darklake.

The Bell Striker was imprisoned in Base 2, guarded by three high-grade stone golems and three elite dual-blade puppets, with the Hidden Dragon also present to ensure he didn't escape.

For the foreseeable future, his focus would be on this ancient-blooded insect.

Late at night, dark clouds obscured the silver moon, casting the sky into darkness.

Saulo walked along a secluded forest path, surrounded by pitch-black darkness.

After an indeterminate amount of time, he stopped, extended his palm, and a glowing orb slowly materialized in his hand. The soft light spread out in all directions, casting long shadows of the dense spruce trees on the forest floor. However, the areas not illuminated by the light seemed even darker.

"Come out," Saulo said in a deep voice.

Two figures emerged from the darkness, stepping into the light.

The figure on the left was grotesquely bloated, his gray robe seemingly stuffed with something that made it bulge almost to the point of tearing. A strange, gnawing sound could be heard from within.

The figure on the right was only as tall as an adult's waist, resembling a dwarf. His wide, long black robe trailed on the ground, completely obscuring his form, and his face was hidden in the shadow of his hood, visible only as a dark void.

"What's so urgent that you called us here?" the dwarf-like figure asked.

The short, black-robed figure slowly spoke, his voice high-pitched and grating, like a child going through puberty.

"Ugo is dead," Saulo said.

The two figures, one tall and one short, remained silent for a moment before the black-robed one finally asked, "Who did it?"

"Su Nan."

"Who is Su Nan?" the bloated gray-robed figure grunted.

The black-robed figure sneered, "How long have you been holed up in your lab that you don't even know who Su Nan is?"

The gray-robed figure glanced at the black-robed one but didn't respond.

Saulo explained, "Su Nan is a new third-tier wizard apprentice from the Starlight Principality, but he's very powerful and is now a member of the Forest Hut."

"How did Ugo get involved with Su Nan?" the black-robed figure asked.

"He wanted to steal the divine remains of the Starlight Church from Su Nan, so he attacked Su Nan's territory in the underground world. He was outmatched and ended up dead at Su Nan's hands."

"What about the Bell Striker?"

"It's likely in Su Nan's possession now."

The black-robed figure snorted, "That bug-loving hermit dying is no great loss, but it's a shame about the Bell Striker. Ancient-blooded descendants are rare. If I had it, I could make much better use of it."

"I want to eat it too!" the gray-robed figure grunted.

"Eat, eat, eat! All you ever think about is eating! Shut up! If you say that again, I'll kill you!"

The black-robed figure suddenly became furious, his voice rising several octaves, filled with savagery and cruelty.

Saulo frowned and sternly commanded, "Calm down!"

The black-robed figure hesitated, took a deep breath, and after a moment, calmed down, muttering an apology.

"Your bloodline is already affecting your emotions and rationality," Saulo said gravely. "Find a way to solve this problem soon, or I'll kick you out of the Immortality Society!"

To the other wizard apprentices, the Immortality Society might seem like a group of madmen, but they didn't see themselves that way. Everything they did was out of their own will, aimed at enhancing their power, and was a result of rational judgment, unlike the irrational and deranged wizard apprentices.

Rationality was the most crucial trait for a wizard.

A wizard who lost their rationality would be despised even by the Immortality Society.

The black-robed figure remained silent for a moment before nodding, "I understand. I have a plan, and it won't take long to resolve."

"Good," Saulo nodded slightly.

"Getting back to the main topic, did you call us here just because of Ugo? You're not thinking of avenging him, are you?"

Saulo shook his head, "I'm not that noble. I called you here for the Starlight Tower."

At the mention of the Starlight Tower, both the black-robed and gray-robed figures were visibly moved.

The black-robed figure immediately asked, "You found the Starlight Tower?"

"No," Saulo replied calmly, "but I have a lead on it."

"The Starlight Tower appears every twenty years, and the next opening is in twelve years. The location is random, and you need a key to find the exact location and enter the tower."

The black-robed figure asked skeptically, "How do you know this?"

Saulo said coolly, "I read about the Starlight Tower in an ancient text and deduced that it has a significant connection to the Kessler family of the Starlight Principality. So I sought out Evans and asked him."

"Evans? The three-ringed legendary knight of the Kessler family?"

"That's right."

"Such important information, he would just tell you?"

"I used some persuasion."

The black-robed figure chuckled, immediately understanding.

It was rumored that Evans had made a deal with Su Nan, surrendering in exchange for the safety of the last royal bloodline of the Kessler family.

Saulo likely used that remaining royal bloodline as leverage to force Evans to reveal the information about the Starlight Tower.

"That being the case, Evans must have the key to enter the Starlight Tower. Where is it?"

Saulo opened his palm, revealing a rune-inscribed stone.

"This is the key to enter the Starlight Tower."

The black-robed figure's eyes were fixed on the rune stone, his breathing becoming noticeably faster.

The gray-robed figure, who had been listless before, took a few steps forward, the chewing sounds under his robe becoming more frequent.

Any wizard apprentice who knew about the Starlight Tower understood the significance of this inheritance.

The Starlight Tower, the Black Forest, and the Fallen Star City.

These are the only three official wizarding legacies on the Starlight Continent, and the hope of countless wizard apprentices to become full-fledged wizards.

Finding any one of these legacies would give them a significant chance to ascend to the ranks of true wizards, granting them extraordinary power and longevity.

However, the two soon forced themselves to calm down and averted their eyes from the key.

If the key were in the hands of another wizard apprentice, they would have attacked without hesitation. But facing Saulo, they had to suppress their desires.

As members of the same organization, they knew how formidable Saulo was. Even if they combined their efforts, they wouldn't stand a chance against him.

"Can the key allow more than one person to enter the Starlight Tower?" the black-robed figure asked.

"One person," Saulo replied, then added, "But don't worry, there are more keys to enter the Starlight Tower."

The black-robed figure's eyes lit up with excitement. "Where are the other keys?"

"Evans has more than one key."

Saulo put the key away, his tone tinged with regret. "Unfortunately, another wizard apprentice intervened and rescued Evans. Otherwise, we could have forced him to reveal the locations of the other keys."

"Additionally, Su Nan has a key to the Starlight Tower, which he obtained from Evans in a trade."

The gray-robed figure grunted, "Then we should just find those two and take the keys!"

The black-robed figure coldly replied, "Evans aside, Su Nan only has one key. Who would get it if we managed to take it from him?"

The gray-robed figure fell silent.

The Starlight Tower was their hope of becoming wizards, and they wouldn't willingly hand over the key to anyone else. Sharing the key with someone first and then redistributing the others after capturing more from Evans was out of the question. Their trust in each other wasn't that strong.

Yet, without working together, they had no confidence in taking on Su Nan alone. They might look down on Ugo, but they didn't underestimate the power he had built in the underground world. Su Nan, who had managed to defeat Ugo, was a formidable opponent both in strength and influence. They had no guarantee of success in taking the key from him.

In contrast, Evans, a three-ringed legendary knight, would be easier to deal with, especially since he had multiple keys. If they found him, a coordinated effort would likely yield the desired results.

After a moment's thought, the black-robed figure had an idea and asked, "Who was the wizard apprentice who rescued Evans?"

"I don't know; he was well-hidden," Saulo shook his head.

Anyone who could rescue Evans and escape Saulo's grasp was certainly not an ordinary third-tier wizard apprentice.

Several names flashed through the black-robed figure's mind. "Saulo, I propose we hold a meeting."

"Seconded," the gray-robed figure grunted.

Finding a three-ringed legendary knight with the help of a third-tier wizard apprentice in the vast continent was like searching for a needle in a haystack. They needed more hands on deck.

With the key to the Starlight Tower at stake, no one would refuse this collaboration.

"I've already sent out the notice," Saulo said, clearly anticipating their request. "I came tonight to inform you that the meeting is set for one month from now, at the usual place."

"I understand," the black-robed figure nodded.

With the matter settled, Saulo turned and left without further delay, his figure disappearing into the night.

As he left, the light around them gradually faded, and the forest plunged back into deep darkness.

In the darkness, the black-robed figure seemed more alert. He glanced at the gray-robed figure, sneered, and turned to leave but was stopped by the gray-robed figure.

"You have the scent of a wyrm's blood on you, and it's quite strong."

The black-robed figure halted, turned back, and sneered, "Your nose is as sharp as ever. Did you install a new organ?"

The gray-robed figure didn't reply, his voice muffled, "Trade. I'll give you a flesh core in exchange."

The black-robed figure paused, then said, "A flesh core isn't useful to me anymore. If you really want the wyrm's blood, do me a favor."

"What kind of favor?"

"Kill a person. I'll tell you who when we get there. If you agree, we can leave now."

"Where are we going?"

"The underground world."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end