Two Factions

The moment the words "mission complete" appeared, time and space seemed to freeze.

The little fox's running motion stiffened to a halt, while countless raindrops hung suspended in midair, reflecting the surroundings with crystalline clarity.

Lincon's body was pulled into the sky by an inexplicable force, gradually fading until it completely dissolved.

At the same time, Lincon woke up in bed.

This trial had felt like a vivid, lengthy dream to him. In that dream, he had spent a long time in another dimension. Even at the final moment before his consciousness vanished, he remembered that he had still been 13% short of completion.

"The trial still failed!"

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Lincon could not help but give a bitter smile, his mood somewhat dejected.

He had clearly worked so hard and persevered for so long, yet he had still failed to complete it in the end.

However, when his gaze swept over the Sub-Profession Panel, his pupils suddenly contracted.

Ecological Trial: Mission complete

"What happened? How did it suddenly get completed?"

Lincon clearly remembered that the progress bar had not changed before he died. Why had it been completed after his death instead?

"Could it have been those foxes?"

Lincon frowned in thought, but in the end, he could only reach a vague conclusion.

Perhaps it had something to do with the appearance of living creatures, which had filled in a missing part of the Ecological Trial?

"Whew—"

Lincon let out a breath of relief. Passing the trial was enough; all that remained was facing the C-Rank Black Tide.

After this Ecological Trial, Lincon was already able to roughly judge the strength of the Ecological Architect hidden class advancement. Compared to normal class advancements, it surpassed them by several tiers.

From this, he could infer that the upcoming C-Rank Black Tide would likely be even harder to deal with than he had imagined.

Getting out of bed, Lincon washed up briefly before opening the door.

He had spent decades inside the trial space, yet only two days had passed in reality.

Fortunately, he had informed Zhang Rui beforehand, so Zhang Rui had not disturbed him during that time.

The sky outside was gloomy, with hardly any sunlight, as though a heavy rain was brewing.

The scene in the courtyard was exactly the same as before his trial. The plants were still growing exceptionally well.

It seemed that even while he had been undergoing the trial, the Seed of Life had not forgotten to deduct Sunlight from his account.

Lincon stretched, then began loosening up in the courtyard and practicing Xingyi Fist.

After lying in bed for several days, he felt as though his body no longer belonged to him.

Perhaps someone had noticed the noise from his training, because Zhang Rui soon arrived outside the courtyard.

"My lord, you're awake!"

Zhang Rui glanced from the corner of his eye at the giant stone statue standing in the center of the courtyard. Though he was somewhat puzzled, he did not ask about it.

"Mm."

Lincon nodded. Noticing that Zhang Rui's expression was somewhat unusual, he frowned and asked, "What happened?"

"Yesterday, people from Black Iron City brought a cartload of goods to the fortress. They said they had found some items according to the list you gave them and wanted to exchange them for Sunlight Potatoes.

"However, the things they brought did not match the list you wrote. I did not dare make the decision myself, so I had them stay in the fortress for the time being."

"Fine. I'll go take a look later." Lincon threw a punch. His fist whistled as it tore through the air, producing a short explosive crack.

"My lord, there's one more matter."

After remaining silent for a moment, Zhang Rui said, "People from Flint City also arrived today. Based on my assessment, they had originally intended to come directly and destroy Longwind Fortress.

"However, after seeing the people from Black Iron City, they changed their minds for some unknown reason. Under my deliberate arrangements, the two groups are now staying very close to one another."

Lincon stopped moving when he heard this.

He looked at Zhang Rui, with a hint of approval in his eyes.

As expected of a manager from Yuanda Group. This arrangement was quite skillful.

He was using Black Iron City to restrain Flint City, making them wary and unwilling to act rashly.

It sounded simple enough, but for Zhang Rui, an ordinary person, to maneuver between them, the pressure he faced must have been considerable.

Lincon returned to his room, took out a clean towel, and wiped himself down. After changing into a fresh set of clothes, he walked out of the courtyard.

Zhang Rui had been waiting outside the door the whole time.

"Bring them to the conference hall."

The conference hall was where Lincon usually held discussions and meetings with Zhang Rui, Li Zhouhai, and the others. It had been completed at almost the same time as the Rune Workshop.

Compared to the Rune Workshop, the conference hall did not look quite as fantastical, but it was still vastly different from buildings of the old era.

The conference hall had been built from a mutated variety that had grown from the Giant Mushroom.

Just as there were always a few strange-looking plants among ordinary vegetation, sudden mutant varieties would sometimes appear.

The main body of the conference hall was twice the size of the surrounding Giant Mushrooms and stood eight meters tall. It was grayish-black, with a metallic sheen and patterns on its surface. Its thick fungal folds resembled ancient dragon scales, layered upon layered as they converged upward.

Combined with the Giant Mushroom's remarkable malleability, the conference hall mushroom resembled a scaled-down tower, appearing solemn and imposing.

Lincon entered and took his seat at the head of the hall. His fingers lightly tapped the armrest as he waited quietly.

Not long afterward, Zhang Rui appeared outside with two groups of people.

Zhou Qing looked at the fantastically shaped conference tower before him, with its distinctly fantasy-like beauty, and could not help clicking his tongue.

Last time, he had left with the Sunlight Potatoes without entering Longwind Fortress. But after entering yesterday, he had felt as if he had stepped into a fantasy world.

Beneath his feet was vibrant grassland. Everywhere he looked was lush green, with all things flourishing in vigorous growth, forming a stark contrast to the bleak oppression of Black Iron City.

Moreover, for some reason, Zhou Qing found that the air inside Longwind Fortress seemed even better than outside. Taking a deep breath made him feel as though he had returned to a primeval forest.

The fresh air made one want to sink into it, lie down on the grass, and enjoy a good sleep.

"Could plant-type ability users be the ones best suited to surviving in the Dark Age?"

Faced with such a sight, Zhou Qing could not think of any explanation other than Lincon, this plant-type archmage.

Entering the tower before him, Zhou Qing immediately spotted Lincon sitting in the main seat.

Only a little over half a month had passed since their last parting, yet this Lord's bearing seemed even more mysterious and unfathomable.

"My lord, it is an honor to meet you again." Zhou Qing gave Lincon an elegant bow, his attitude extremely humble.

Lincon swept his gaze over Zhou Qing and the two people behind him, then replied with a smile, "I heard from Zhang Rui that you brought me the things I needed from Black Iron City?"

"Yes. However, I had never heard of the items on your list, so I could only do my best to find things that matched the descriptions and bring them for you to identify personally.

"Whether they are what you need or not, we will not take them back. Consider them gifts of friendship between Longwind Fortress and Black Iron City."

Zhou Qing spoke with clear logic, every sentence seeming perfectly measured.

After speaking, he signaled to the people behind him to bring everything over, intending to personally place it before Lincon for inspection.

Lincon understood Zhou Qing's intentions. He claimed it was for Lincon to inspect, but in truth, he merely wanted to glean clues from Lincon's words and actions to gain more leverage in the exchange.

Lincon smiled and told Zhou Qing to find a seat.

Then, he shifted his gaze to the other group in the hall.

Zhou Qing followed his gaze. He folded his hands together and rested them lightly on his knees, a trace of amusement appearing on his face.