Chapter 232: Strong Attack on the Wizard Tower
At this moment, the Wizard Academy found itself in a precarious situation due to the sudden loss of too many team members. They could only temporarily retreat to the Wizard Tower and constantly monitor the surrounding movements.
Earlier, from a distance, they witnessed the fall of the floating island, though it was too far away to see clearly, they could tell there was an explosion of terrifying holy light power.
However, this also served as a warning bell for the Wizard Tower. That damned Witch Academy was able to bring down the birdman’s floating island with just one witch.
What about their Wizard Tower?
Their Wizard Tower couldn’t fly in the sky, and if it was left unguarded, wouldn’t it be vulnerable to being stolen by the roaming group of witches at any time?
At this moment, the Wizard Academy had never placed the threat of the Witch Academy at such a high level. They had seen Tan Han before during the defense of the Wizard Tower and knew her combat power.
Now they had witnessed Tan Han unleashing her full firepower. A fierce individual like her, paired with that witch, could indeed blow up a floating island.
If their Wizard Tower were to be besieged like this, wouldn’t it be very dangerous?
It’s no wonder they were so worried.
Although they understood that worrying excessively was dangerous, the wizards had no choice but to brace for the worst. They couldn’t afford to lose the Wizard Tower; without the supply from the Wizard Tower, their predicament would be almost identical to that of the angels.
The angels were facing a lack of holy light power sources, while they had lost the supply needed for the wizards to unleash their abilities, resulting in a significant drop in combat effectiveness.
“How’s the battle between that witch and the birdman over there?”
“It’s been a while since we’ve seen any movement; the battle might have ended.” An observing wizard apprentice replied.
However, as the team leader, he had to be prepared for the worst. The other side might not have simply finished the fight. Moreover, the birdman named Achir hadn’t died even once so far. What if they shook hands and agreed to attack the Wizard Academy together?
Whether it be the Wizard Tower, the floating island, or even the World Tree, none of these were truly reliable trump cards; they were the most important things that needed their protection.
This should not be misconstrued. If they couldn’t understand this, then they deserved whatever fate awaited them, like those elves and birdmen.
But even if he understood this fact, unfortunately, the control over the Wizard Tower was not in his hands. Moreover, they had to face one hard truth: the fighting power of the Wizard Tower was indeed stronger than that of their wizards.
Also, their current condition was not good. Although wizards fought fiercely, they required a lot of recovery time afterward, and some damages were beyond even the most effective recovery potions.
The Wizard Academy was in a precarious state…
Now, looking at the state of the three top academies, the Aphhemia World Tree was set ablaze by the witches, and the whole forest was engulfed in great fire.
The Holy Angel Academy had its floating island fall, and even their Wizard Academy was uneasy. Whichever direction you looked, the shadow of one academy was unmistakable—you guessed it, the Witch Academy.
When the Wizard Academy decided to engage with the Witch Academy for an exchange, many felt it was absurd. Why should the three top academies all run there to compete?
Now they finally understood. Whether it was the so-called Magic Source, Spellbook, or those terrifyingly powerful reserve witches, or even this wonderful Dream World, all were beyond the comparison for the Wizard Academy.
Just thinking about how they would return to the Wizard Academy, with that oppressive atmosphere, being forced to do odd jobs for the Extraordinary Wizards in the Wizard Tower, and students might unintentionally become experimental subjects for those wizards; all of it felt grim.
And for this batch of students from the Wizard Academy that came for the exchange, if they returned with such a performance, none of them would know what they would be facing.
They could participate as contestants in the exchange competition, which was basically a combination of their abilities and luck. Even within the Wizard Academy, many newcomers wouldn’t qualify to be noticed by the Extraordinary Wizards. Just being brought into the Wizard Tower to do odd jobs was already an enviable position.
Because that would allow them to access higher-level wizards, whether it was an Extraordinary Wizard mentor or upperclassmen. The manuscripts, scrap paper, and calculation drafts that they discarded would be treasures for them.
In the Wizard Academy, where equal exchange and knowledge leveraging the extraordinary were highly regarded, the value of knowledge would always be the most precious.
Even resources were secondary.
After all, for wizards, resources could always be obtained, but if knowledge could not be acquired, then there was no opportunity left. Relying on themselves to research slowly would absolutely lead to dead ends.
Any knowledge assigned a value is usually built up from resources that exceed that value, often accompanied by failure.
In this exchange competition, the Wizard Academy’s desire for resources was on par with their thirst for knowledge, for they were newcomers, and starter resources could rapidly elevate their foundations.
Don’t be fooled by how strong the wizards participating in the competition were; the Wizard Academy could achieve the same heights by simply giving equal resources to any of its wizards.
Thus, it could be said that reaching the exchange competition depended significantly on luck.
So resources determined their current height, but their height also granted them the vision to prepare for the future. For wizards, useful knowledge was of utmost importance.
Anything useful could be knowledge for wizards, and what the Wizard Academy valued the most in this exchange competition was certainly the Witch Academy’s “Spellbook.”
In the eyes of the wizards, the Spellbook was the culmination of the witches’ use of knowledge. The knowledge and techniques contained within could be understood and used right away.
Even the Extraordinary Wizards had a strong craving for Spellbooks, yet the Spellbooks traded by witches were not many.
As for the so-called real editing technique, it wasn’t something one could master by simply reaching Real Time; it was truly reliant on talent.
“Get the magic cannon ready! That group of mad witches could attack at any moment!”
“Lusen, if those witches are indeed under siege by the three parties as you said, then they should be at their weakest right now, right?”
At this moment, the wizard apprentice still in the Wizard Tower had considerable objections to the team leader.
The apprentices responsible for various operations inside the Wizard Tower, although not powerful in combat, proved their talent by mastering the techniques for operating the weapons.
Only apprentices who were valued by Extraordinary Wizards and brought into the Wizard Tower had the right to access such things. Even the apprentices doing odd jobs in the Wizard Tower didn’t have experience using these weapons.
They were truly the regarded geniuses, even well-protected by the Wizard Tower.
“You’ve never met those witches; you don’t understand how terrifying they are!” Lusen emphasized.
“Enough! Last time we faced that witch and those birdmen, we defended the Wizard Tower. It was you who let the ceremony fall apart. I highly doubt your capability to hold the position of team leader.”
Although this critical apprentice spoke roughly, he had no intention of taking on that position.
The leader of the Wizard Academy was essentially the scapegoat, unable to remain in the Wizard Tower for long and having to fight battles, conflicts, resource grabs, and hold ceremonies that accounted for less than the combined total of the other academies.
It could be said that if Lusen had not seen that being a leader meant more resources and felt confident in his strength, no one would want to take on such a thankless job.
At this moment, Lusen was also feeding the life worm of witchcraft inside his body.
This was something crucial for survival in a critical moment, as he had consumed too much during his battle with Tan Han, severely affecting his own body. Even as he fed it, the oddities hadn’t disappeared.
He felt fortunate that this was a dream world… if it were real, such severe damage would leave marks that linger for a lifetime.
Everything here in the dream is fake, including this worm, but the burden it brought was equally uncomfortable.
Although every wizard apprentice was required to forcefully undergo exposure to life worms before enrollment, he hadn’t spent much time with this worm.
The extraordinary power wielded by wizards was immensely different from their beautiful fantasies, and he finally understood what his teacher had said before the high-stakes exams—that if one wished to enroll in an Extraordinary Academy, they must be prepared to pay the corresponding price.
Yet no one had room for regrets now.
“A heat source has entered our visual range! Everyone, stay alert!”
Suddenly, this reminder abruptly broke the contemplations of Lusen and several other wizard apprentices.
Their previous complacency was immediately withdrawn, whether it was the other party or a contestant that happened to be lost here, it was worthy of caution.
Even lost contestants were mostly those who died and resurrected, merely unlucky to encounter the Wizard Academy. They might obtain intelligence from them about other places.
“Wearing a wide-brimmed hat, it’s a witch from the Witch Academy!”
With the voice of the observing apprentice, Lusen’s heart suddenly sank.
“Everyone, pay attention! Highest alert status!” Lusen shouted loudly.
“Just one witch; there are no other heat sources showing. Watch me k*ll her.”
At this moment, Lusen did not have any counterarguments against the apprentice operating the Wizard Tower, as he felt it was unnecessary to waste words with the opponent; direct firepower suppression was indeed the best choice.
With the booming sound of the magic cannon, that area was completely blasted apart, yet even then, Lusen did not sigh in relief.
“Oh, is this how you welcome my arrival?”
At that moment, my voice emerged from the dust. With a wave of my wand, the dust blew away, revealing my original form.
“It’s you!”
“Indeed, it’s me. Surprised? Aren’t you glad I didn’t steal your Wizard Tower? After all, that’s the one closest to me.”
“Can’t you see your opponent is still alive! Hurry and suppress her with firepower!” Lusen didn’t give me a chance to speak, turning to the apprentices on the tower.
He felt that the appearance of the witch was very unusual; coming here alone must involve a trap. Engaging in conversation right away was definitely a ploy to buy time for something.
So there was no need for too much chit-chat right now.
“Oh? Is this the firepower suppression that can contain Tan Han?”
Faced with the firepower suppression from the Wizard Tower’s magic cannons, I was indeed quite shocked. The power of these magic cannons, contrary to the dwarves’ mere relying on hot weapons, was propelled by extraordinary power, which was genuinely tricky.
The magic cannon, named for its use of magic, was naturally a weapon activated by solidified spells.
Such cannons typically loaded spells through energy manipulation, but the attacks fired by these magic cannons were more bizarre.
They might not focus on explosions or direct damage, but spells like corrosive magic and burning magic were more terrifying than ordinary explosions.
Furthermore, I even discerned traces of curse magic within.
If any of those touched me, it could be quite a disadvantage, especially for those from the Beast Academy.
“Where’s the precision you always boast about? Why can’t you hit the witch at all? Not even a splash on her!”
“Shut up! If you’re capable, come and operate it yourself!”
The apprentice responsible for the magic cannon immediately cursed, truly wanting to quit, but doing so would mean facing even more terrifying consequences after returning. Besides, aiming wasn’t easy for this cannon, which was intended for fire suppression, and Lusen’s demand to aim it precisely was merely a provocation to make things uncomfortable for him.
“Is this it? Is this all the Wizard Academy’s Wizard Tower can do? Can’t bully the weak; now that you encounter a powerful foe, you fall short?”
At this moment, I moved through the barrage of cannons. Tan Han could probably manage it too, but the most difficult aspect of the Wizard Tower was its top-tier big spells and the super protective shield covering the entire tower and surrounding area.
Even though I had already engaged with the wizards of the Wizard Tower, I was still at a reasonable distance, and even the semicircular shield hadn’t reached me yet.
Their so-called heat source detection spell was indeed cheating, akin to thermal imaging, but this was an effect achieved by their own crafted witch artifacts paired with magic, well within the rules.
Witch artifacts really were unreasonable.
If I wished to topple the Wizard Tower, I would have to face two problems: one was breaking through the outer protective shield of the Wizard Tower. The last time Tan Han visited, it took so many people to barely break through, and of course, that didn’t account for the fact that Tan Han hadn’t used the super-limit consuming Spellbook.
In the end, under the powerful deterrence of the Wizard Tower’s top-tier big spell, Tan Han and the others had given up their plan to continue assaulting the Wizard Tower and shifted focus to the ceremony.
Therefore, the next problem we needed to address was that formidable big spell at the top of the Wizard Tower.
According to Tan Han’s and Lusen’s descriptions of that big spell, it was a powerful explosive lightning ball constructed from exotic lightning elements.
After its explosion, it would rapidly form an extremely large anomalous area of lightning elements.
Those caught within would continually suffer damage from those strong exotic lightning elements, experiencing electroshocks, uncontrolled limbs, dizziness, and rigidity; those were all minor issues. The spells cast by the caster would also be affected, such as a fireball spell detonating on contact with that exotic lightning.
This type of means targeted not only the caster but also suppressed others, interfering even with the Holy Angels’ divine arts, and those who carried metal or held weapons would become conductors of the exotic lightning.
Anyone curious enough to test their luck could try walking in holding a lightning rod.
Moreover, the adherence of this exotic lightning was incredibly strong. For it to dissipate naturally, there needed to be enough time for the Wizard Tower to charge up and launch a second attack.
Furthermore, the shockwave from this attack was equally fatal.
This was why the Wizard Tower was said to be so troublesome.
Each tower had different attacking methods, and it could be said that the design plan for this Wizard Tower from the Wizard Academy had cost a considerable amount to install this method.
It was still unclear if there were any limitations to this method, such as restrictions on usage, but at this moment, we could not rely on luck.
Our plan was quite simple: I would take the initiative to attract fire, probe the truth, and if Tan Han could break through their shield, that would be great; if not, then I would activate the super-limit consuming Spellbook along with her to break through together.
I didn’t believe there were two super-limit consuming Spellbooks that couldn’t break through any shield, even one set up by the Wizard Tower wouldn’t be able to hold up.
After breaking through their shield, the final line of defense, which was that exotic lightning big spell, would serve as the ultimate means.
Tan Han would primarily attract the attack, and should any unexpected occurrences arise, I would serve as a backup to divert the assault; as long as we made the big spell use its charging phase, then Achir could deliver the final blow.
One could say that this plan was not groundbreaking, but right now, we had limited time—was there truly any method more effective than a strong attack?
There wasn’t. Our only advantage lay in the information gap.
My initial appearance would alert the opponent, and I would provoke them while pretending to be a naive fool just launching a strong attack to continuously consume their doubts and attract all firepower.
Then, Tan Han could launch a surprise attack with the Ancient Ice, which would be enough to catch them off guard. This was a straightforward approach; even if the other side suspected I had allies, when faced with my strong assault, if they dared to hold back, they would feel my strike.
This was combat power suppression. What did the wizards have? That capable team leader or the Wizard Tower? Their means would eventually run out.
When Tan Han also made her appearance, it would dispel the other party’s concerns. Although at that time, they would be attacked from both sides, they would subconsciously think we had no hidden personnel left.
That would be when Achir would come to steal the tower.
This plan’s main focus was to catch the opponent off guard.
Of course, we also had to be careful of Achir’s final backstab; although he always acted as if he wouldn’t do that, who knew what he really thought inside?
Our contract ended at the moment the Wizard Tower was destroyed or when this plan declared a failure.
As for Achir’s so-called resources obtained?
Sorry, that could have been negotiated before, but after Tan Han’s arrival, Achir had no chance to make excessive demands. The resources earned would be split in half, as per our agreement, and this was embedded in the contract.
Even if the contract ended and we killed Achir, or Achir killed us, regardless of who held the resources, post-competition, according to the contract, they had to be “returned.”
The contract was simply fulfilled, but it didn’t imply that we couldn’t “hold accountable.”
“Your automatic cannons are really trash. I heard in the tea meeting that this caused Tan Han a lot of trouble. Seems they aren’t that effective after all!”
“Witch! Don’t get cocky! If you have the capability, come over the front line! You talk so easily, but you’re still being suppressed to the point where you can’t even touch our shield!”
“You said that, so I’ll take it seriously! I hope you’re not just a turtle hiding behind the shield.”
As I spoke, I activated the Fire Elemental Sprite’s blessing, my hands constantly holding onto recovery potions, waiting for Tan Han’s appearance, and also ready for any possible unexpected events.
