In those pale, dry eyes was a yearning for life, and a fear of facing the final blow before death.
The lingering aura of death jolted you awake, as if your entire body had been thrown into millennia- Ice, and a bone-chilling cold completely extinguished all your fighting spirit.
These ancestors were beings second only to gods.
It was the very foundation of a race, yet it was so easily killed!
Before you could recover from the shock, the next second you saw countless former comrades and enemies, or creatures of races you had only heard of but didn't recognize, their corpses all mixed together, left to ferment like mud.
The sound of the bubbles bursting during fermentation echoed in my mind like the wails of a soul.
In the dim light and crimson mist, the fortress that killed countless of your companions was so terrifying and unapproachable!
What are you thinking right now?
Of course, just pretend you didn't see it!
The battlefield ahead is still so vast, there's no need to fight to the death here. So many ancestors have already died, it would be pointless for a mere warrior like you to charge in and die.
You have been hailed as the most talented being since childhood. You shouldn't waste your life on this terrifying existence that you are destined to never conquer. Instead, you should go to a larger battlefield, achieve greater merit, and return to avenge your ancestors and comrades when you are strong enough. That would be the right choice.
Even if you wanted to drag your companions along to fight for revenge for the ancestors and comrades who died under the terrifying fortress, you would find that all your companions tacitly and unanimously avoided you from a distance.
Only now do you realize that this idea of circumventing the rules isn't unique to you; others do the same.
"Leave the evil, dark fortress in front of us to the main army behind us. You're so important, you'll definitely be participating in the central battlefield."
When all the creatures charged with this mindset, Leo's fortress became like the emperor's new clothes worn inside out; all the native armies saw it but pretended not to.
Leo stood in the secret chamber, gripping the Godslaying Staff tightly in his hand. He knew the reason for his extraordinary performance: the spiritual power connected and expanded by the Polyhedral Fortress. Therefore, he never let go of the Godslaying Staff for a single moment.
Releasing the Godslaying Staff means relinquishing the power you currently wield!
Looking at the aerial dynamic display, the native army, which had been attacking for more than a year, finally saw the end. Billions of native soldiers rushed into the territory occupied by the wizards.
In the past year or so, the wizard army has suffered heavy losses. Leo himself estimates that at least 300,000 to 400,000 wizards have died in battle.
The number of slaves killed or injured was far greater, likely exceeding one hundred million.
But all of this has been worthwhile, because over 40% of the Giant World's top combat power has been concentrated here.
If all these native armies were to perish, it would undoubtedly be a huge blow to the Giant World.
This greatly reduced the pressure on the subsequent wars of conquest, and most importantly, it saved at least ten years of expeditionary time.
"The wizard who devised this plan is truly cold-blooded, exchanging the lives of over 300,000 wizards for a chance to annihilate them all. I wonder if he'll be brought to trial after the expedition ends," Leo muttered, his face grim.
At this point, based on the information he had, Leo had guessed the entire plan.
It's very simple; you can do it all if you're just a little cold-blooded.
The first step was to feign weakness by dispatching a large number of first- and Level Two Wizard to form a fortress defense group. It seemed to be to deal with the counterattack of the native army, but it was more like bait to be offered up.
These wizards were weak, but because of the presence of the Polyhedral Fortress, they seemed remarkably sturdy.
This would both inflict some suffering on the native army and give them the illusion that the sorcerer was nothing special.
Hundreds of thousands of Polyhedral Fortress are like nails driven into this place, waiting for the native army to pull them out one by one.
The unorganized and unplanned native army was naturally overjoyed to see their fortress breached. Lacking any sense of the bigger picture, they were completely unaware that with each blow up a fortress, they were one step closer to their own demise.
They appeared to have slain the evil wizard army, but none of the native soldiers knew that the essence of the wizards had long been hidden away.
Back then, Leo, as a recipient of the Third-Class Wizard Medal, applied to be assigned a Level Three Great Wizard for defense.
The application was rejected.
Leo was very puzzled at the time. Although the number of Level Three Great Wizard was small, it shouldn't be this small.
Now Leo knew that the Level Three Great Wizard who hadn't been sent out were already prepared. Once the native army had all rushed into the designated positions, a large number of wizards and slaves would appear, surround and trap the entire native army, and then annihilate them all.
In order to lure the entire native army into the designated location, the fortress could not appear too strong, Level Three Great Wizard could not be sent out.
Leo estimated that there must be a large number of wizard troops hidden not far in front of his fortress, or they might have hidden a large teleportation array, waiting for the native army to enter the encirclement before launching a coordinated attack.
That's why Leo Xi told Kaba that the wizard army's counterattack was expected to begin in about half a month.
Half a month is exactly the time it takes for the entire indigenous army to enter the encirclement!
Leo doesn't plan to participate in the counter-offensive; ensuring the fortress doesn't fall is enough for him.
First, with all the frontline fortresses falling and being breached, the fortress where Leo was stationed not only remained intact but also protected more than a thousand wizards.
As long as the fortress remains in the same condition after the wizards' counterattack, a Third-Class Wizard Medal is definitely within reach.
The conditions for obtaining the Third-Class Wizard Medal are equivalent to changing the course of a small battle. As long as the wizard counterattack ends, Leo can maintain his current record without any problem.
Leo is the best person to tell you just how important a Third-Class Wizard Medal is.
By now, half Third-Class Wizard Medal was beckoning him, Leo absolutely could not let such an opportunity slip by.
Everything else has to give way to the Third-Class Wizard Medal; nothing else matters.
Leo refused to rest, refused to sleep, and refused to relax, all in order to seize this opportunity.
His success today is largely due to the Third-Class Wizard Medal.
The Third-Class Wizard Medal grants a 30% discount on all transactions.
Leo spent tens of thousands of energy crystals in total, which means that the Third-Class Wizard Medal saved Leo several thousand energy crystals. In addition, the Third-Class Wizard Medal also provides a subsidy of 20 energy crystals per year. All in all, this Third-Class Wizard Medal obtained in the Jeft World saved Leo tens of thousands of energy crystals.
While other First-Level Wizard were still struggling to find a hundred energy crystals, Leo was already counting his energy crystals in units of tens of thousands.
There are other privileges, such as priority access to intelligence on expeditions, the right to obtain the best missions, and the ability to become a squad leader as First-Level Wizard.
These privileges may not seem to be directly linked to benefits, but they allow Leo to have more opportunities to gain military merits than ordinary wizards.
Just think about how much April paid for a Third-Class Wizard Medal, and you'll know how important this medal is!
If he could actually obtain a Third-Class Wizard Medal, Leo's dull heart would be filled with excitement.
Just as Leo had predicted, the time difference was less than half a day.
Once the entire native army had entered the positions occupied by the wizards, all the wizards received orders from the command center.
[Attention all wizards! Attention all wizards! Attention all wizards! The Great Annihilation Plan has been successfully completed. The counterattack has begun. Except for the giants, the primary objective is to kill all natives.]
[Repeated: The wizarding army's counterattack begins, annihilating the native army occupying the positions, leaving no survivors except for the giants!]
[Countdown to counterattack: 10 minutes remaining. Start counting now: 600, 599...]
The more than one thousand wizards inside the fortress, except for a few who had received advance warning, were all completely bewildered. How could they have launched a counterattack?
What is the Great Annihilation Plan?
Why didn't they receive any messages before?
Just a few days ago they were being chased and killed by a large indigenous army.
Just as a group of wizards were wondering what to do, a voice came from the central chamber.
Instantly, all the wizards fell silent. After all, apart from their original three hundred wizards, none of the other wizards had ever seen this mysterious first-level captain.
Everything this captain said was hearsay, but regardless of how much of it was true, just look at the fortress and its surroundings.
This first-level captain is definitely not someone to be trifled with.
Kaba and his original three hundred wizards immediately bowed and obeyed. The remaining wizards were a little slower to react, but they also bowed respectfully.
"I won't explain the cause and effect; you'll receive detailed information after the victory."
"Now, I command as a recipient of the Third-Class Wizard Medal,"
"No wizard is allowed to leave the area until the wizarding army counterattacks here; any rebels will be executed for treason."
"Once the wizarding army counterattacks and reaches our location, you may leave as you please; I will not interfere further."
"But during this period, all wizards must obey my commands and do everything in their power to ensure the fortress's safety."
"Who has a problem?"
Leo's cold voice rang out, and the entire fortress instantly fell silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Leo's order was essentially a forced conscription of them, even though some of these wizards were also captains.
Benji stood up, his Level 3 aura radiating outwards without restraint, his single eye scanning the group of wizards relentlessly.
At the same time, Kaba and the original three hundred wizards also looked at the foreign wizards, gripping their staffs tightly.
A tense atmosphere instantly enveloped all the wizards!!!
Yilaien and her teammates nudged each other lightly, all shaking their heads slightly.
Judging from the original appearance of the wizards in this fortress, anyone who dared to utter a word of dissent would be immediately killed by concentrated fire.
Rebellion is a crime punishable by immediate execution of a wizard.
Although they would face severe trials after the war, and most would be punished, no amount of punishment could bring back the lives of the dead wizards.
Furthermore, this mysterious captain, as a recipient of the Third-Class Wizard Medal, forcibly oppressed them; they did not have an equal status and could only obey orders.