Conscription Order (Please Read On, Bookmark, and Recommend!)

Chapter 26

Above the blue sky, on the Furnace Battlefield, a Black Dragon broke away from the battle line and flew toward The Furnace.

Outside The Furnace, a Black Dragon slowly approached from the horizon, carrying a witch—Astrid.

"Teacher put me fully in charge of this operation and granted me the highest command authority. But if I do this, will those Official Wizards object?"

Astrid asked, her brows slightly furrowed as though she were weighing the feasibility of her plan.

"Don't worry, Astrid."

The Black Dragon laughed heartily, his tone relaxed.

"If you make those Official Wizards participate personally, they might have some objections. But if it's only their disciples, there won't be a problem."

"That's good."

Astrid lightly raised her delicate nose, a smug smile curling at her lips.

"The Furnace Apprentices are our assets. We can't just send them to die on the front lines for nothing. Those Official Wizards' disciples all stay behind to guard The Furnace, and none of them go to the front lines. That arrangement simply won't do!"

Starlike radiance shimmered in Astrid's violet eyes.

"Teacher said that once I advance to a Level 3 Wizard Apprentice, he'll give me half of the contracted wizards and apprentices in The Furnace so I can begin building my own Furnace. These contracted apprentices are all valuable assets. Even selling them to other supernatural factions would be better than letting them die on the battlefield."

"These Official Wizards' disciples already enjoy more than enough resources in ordinary times, yet when war approaches, they refuse to contribute to The Furnace. How can that be acceptable? Hmph!"

"The resources needed to raise one wizard disciple are enough to raise ten free apprentices!"

"That bunch of Official Wizards' disciples are practically parasites gnawing away at The Furnace. If they can't contribute to The Furnace, what's the point of keeping them around!"

A trace of coldness flashed in Astrid's violet eyes as she spoke.

Listening to Astrid calculate in detail the value each apprentice created for The Furnace, the Black Dragon could not help but chuckle.

However, the Black Dragon had no intention of obstructing her plan.

Whatever Astrid wanted to do, the Black Dragon would let her do it.

Judging by how much that old fellow doted on her, as long as she did not blow up The Furnace, he would let her do whatever she wanted.

As for the lives of the Furnace Apprentices?

Just as the Black Dragon had said before, as long as the Official Wizards did not participate personally.

Even their most beloved disciples could only obediently follow Astrid's orders.

After all, if one got serious about it, everything in The Furnace—whether apprentices, resources, or anything else—belonged to its controller.

And for now, that controller was Astrid.

After Rosalind's guidance, Lynn felt that his potion-making skills had improved by leaps and bounds.

As long as he was given a little more time, he was confident that before breaking through to Level 3 Wizard Apprentice, he could grasp a certain level of potion-making knowledge and enter the Potion Garden to witness its splendor for himself.

However, things did not go as he wished, and his plans were shattered.

That day, Lynn received news from Sonia that struck like a bolt from the blue.

He had actually been conscripted and was being sent to the Furnace Battlefield!

This news had completely exceeded Lynn's expectations. It could even be said to have exceeded everyone's expectations.

Whether it was Sonia, Colin, the wizard disciples in the Potion Department, the disciples of Official Wizards in the Alchemy Department, or even the disciples of Official Wizards in other divisions, everyone was shocked.

This Conscription Order came from the core area of The Furnace and clearly bore the command of the Lord of the Furnace.

In fact, not only were the wizard disciples bewildered, but even some Official Wizards were confused by The Furnace's Conscription Order.

The Furnace's war had continued through more than ten campaigns over a full century, yet such a sudden situation had never occurred before.

Those Official Wizards had long grown accustomed to shielding their students and providing them with a certain degree of safety.

This was also considered a special privilege The Furnace granted Official Wizards.

After all, once someone became an Official Wizard, according to their contract with The Furnace, the relationship between both sides was no longer simply that of master and servant, but one of dependency or symbiosis.

Therefore, it was reasonable to delegate an appropriate amount of authority to Official Wizards.

Yet this time, a specific Conscription Order actually required wizard disciples to personally go onto the battlefield and fight.

Such a situation was unprecedented.

Even so, the unique mark of the Lord of the Furnace could not be wrong. Neither Lynn nor Colin could change this order.

Even their teacher, Rosalind, could only make inquiries through various connections. In the end, she learned the root cause from a Level 3 Wizard.

It turned out that the Lord of the Furnace had handed full command of this war to The Furnace's "Little Princess."

In other words, it was that "Little Princess" who had ordered the disciples of The Furnace's Official Wizards to personally go to the front lines and fight!

Many wizard disciples were furious over this Conscription Order, constantly cursing under their breath, yet they did not dare disobey. After all, the contracts between them and The Furnace could not be casually torn up.

In the Wizard World, contracts were more than mere paper agreements; they were infused with powerful wizardry.

Anyone who broke a contract would face a terrifying curse worse than death.

Therefore, the contracts explicitly included clauses such as "defend The Furnace and fight for The Furnace." Even the disciples of Official Wizards had to obey.

In the past, the Lord of the Furnace had delegated many matters to his subordinates, allowing wizard disciples to grow up in relatively stable conditions.

However, with the emergence of The Furnace's "Little Princess," everything had changed.

This time, the situation at The Furnace's exit was completely different from last time.

Last time, thousands upon thousands of Wizard Apprentices and Magic Beasts had rushed out of The Furnace together, with only a handful of Official Wizards present to provide support.

This time, although the Wizard Apprentices on the front lines were still the main force, quite a few Official Wizards watched from atop The Furnace behind them.

Lynn and Colin stood in a corner of the crowd, dressed in standard-issue robes, both wearing grim expressions.

Lynn in particular had already cursed that "Little Princess" in his heart countless times.

Originally, he had hoped to make greater breakthroughs in potion-making and enter the core area of the Potion Garden.

But now, his plans had been completely disrupted, and he was actually being forced onto the Furnace Battlefield.

Previously, Lynn had not cared about the Furnace Battlefield, because it had nothing to do with him and he could remain entirely uninvolved.

But now, under The Furnace's Conscription Order, having signed a formal contract, he could not escape no matter what. He had to participate.

At that moment, a deafening roar erupted above The Furnace. A Black Dragon soared forth, and standing atop its back was a figure—the Little Princess of The Furnace, Astrid.

Astrid smiled faintly, her gaze sweeping over the elite wizard disciples below.

Those who could become the disciples of Official Wizards—who among them was not exceptionally gifted?

Yet annoyance flickered in her eyes. Once she placed herself in the role of The Furnace's controller, those people below looked like nothing more than useless freeloaders to her, naturally making her immensely irritated.

"Even now, you people are already hard enough to command. Once you become Official Wizards, heh, I'm afraid..."

The Black Dragon roared and activated The Furnace's Reinforcement Plan...