"Tell me quickly, what is it?"
Leo grabbed Yaoyao's tummy with one hand and flicked his other finger at his head. If Yaoyao didn't say anything, Leo would flick his forehead until he cried.
Yaoyao tried hard to break free from Leo's grasp, but she couldn't. Her whole body was firmly held by Leo. She wanted to disappear, but Leo didn't give her that chance.
Seeing that Leo was determined to know the answer, Yaoyao gave in.
"Okay, okay, I'll take you to see it."
That's more like it.
Leo let go of her hand, Yaoyao jumped onto Leo's shoulder, grabbed Leo's earlobe, and disappeared in an instant.
His consciousness blurred, and when Leo opened his eyes again, he was in the Shadow World. It wasn't the Shadow World corresponding to the metal fortress, but a place that Yaoyao had once brought him to.
The place was filled with strange and bizarre shadows, their menacing appearances seemingly ready to frighten any passerby at random.
However, their form is completely fixed at a certain moment in their lives, without any change.
In the center of these shadows, a statue of Yaoyao standing on Leo, laughing heartily, stands prominently.
Originally, there was only one rope stretched by the shadow of this statue, connecting it to a distant, unseen direction in the Shadow World. Now, there are two ropes.
Another one was also tied to the statue, with its other end extending deep into the Shadow World, its destination unknown.
This statue was created by Yaoyao Yao after Leo was nearly absorbed by a creature from another world in the Tiger World. It was meant to bind his soul to the Shadow World, preventing anyone from harming Leo's soul.
This statue may seem unreliable, and it's full of Yaoyao's unique personal style, but it has to be said that it's actually quite useful.
"You just asked me to do this with a shadow?" Leo pointed at the rope on the statue and looked at Yaoyao.
He was unaware of many things about the Shadow World, and didn't know what Yaoyao's actions represented. All he could do was trust Yaoyao.
"Yeah, I'm awesome, aren't I?"
Yaoyao pointed to the thin black line that stretched to who-knows-where, proudly puffing out her little belly, as if waiting for Leo's praise.
"... Pretty impressive,"
Leo didn't know what was so special about it, but he just praised it anyway.
I told you you had good taste.
Yaoyao grabbed Leo's ear and grinned as she examined her work. This was the secret technique of "carving" characters, a skill that only she possessed in the entire universe.
"Then can you tell me what the purpose of this line made of shadows is?" Leo suddenly asked.
"You do not know?"
Yaoyao was quite surprised that Leo didn't know anything. He had just praised her, so how could he turn around and say he knew nothing? Wasn't that just being perfunctory?
"I really don't know."
Leo shrugged, "Just this one line, who can understand it?"
"If you don't understand it, that's fine. Anyway, it's very useful. Telling you now won't help you, it'll only cause you more trouble. I'll tell you when the time is right."
Yaoyao looked displeased; it turned out Leo had been lying to him all along.
They showed no interest in giving Leo any further explanation.
"Are you sure you can't tell?"
"This is of great importance, I can't say it, it will affect your Dao heart." Yaoyao shook her head vigorously.
When can you tell me?
Yaoyao stretched out her little paws and started breaking off the hairs one by one. When she broke off the fourth hair, she chuckled.
"What does this mean?" Leo looked at the four little paws that were sticking out and had a bad feeling.
"I can tell you once I advance to the Level Four Stigmata Wizard."
"..."
Leo almost choked on his breath. He was only Level Two Wizard, and now he was being told that he would have to wait until level four to find out the answer. That was far too long.
Let alone the difficulty of advancing to the Stigmata Level, even if he could eventually advance instantly, it would still take more than a thousand years.
Is it possible to wait over a thousand years, or even a millennium, for an answer?
"You have to believe me. Knowing this so early won't do you any good, and it might even affect your advancement. I'll definitely tell you as soon as you advance to the Stigmata level."
Yaoyao gently stroked Leo's earlobe, comforting him and telling him not to be angry.
"Can't I reveal anything? I sacrificed one of my shadows, and now I only have five left. It's like I gave you half my life."
Leo still wanted to try, even if it was just to get a little bit of information.
Yaoyao may seem unreliable, but his understanding of shadow manipulation far surpasses his own. He anchors his soul in the Shadow World, protecting it from being absorbed by other powerful creatures.
This one ability alone is powerful enough.
Back in the Homo Sapiens World, even a level seven World Tree couldn't extract Leo's soul, which shows how Yaoyao is.
This is the second time Yaoyao has asked him for her shadow, just like the last time when she anchored her soul. Leo can hardly help but suspect that Yaoyao has used some powerful methods again.
The only problem is that Yaoyao is too tight-lipped; she won't say anything no matter how you ask!
"I can only tell you a little secret." Yaoyao blinked, as if considering how to say it.
Leo nodded vigorously, knowing that every bit of information was valuable. Perhaps he was exceptionally intelligent and could guess the answer from even a small clue.
"With this shadow around, you didn't suffer any losses on this expedition; you were actually the biggest winner," Yaoyao whispered mysteriously in Leo's ear.
"And then?" Leo asked, still bewildered.
"What else do you want?" Yaoyao stared blankly at Leo.
Leo stopped talking, Yaoyao also stopped talking. The two of them just stared at each other.
In the end, Leo gave in and compromised, no longer pressing the issue. Yaoyao's attitude was clear: she wouldn't say another word.
Let's go.
Having received no accurate information, Leo was too lazy to stay there any longer. He still owed the Beast Blood Boiling Stigmata Wizard one million battle merits, and he needed to hurry back to earn more.
The answer to this question, which is supposedly only available to those at the Stigmata Level, will have to wait until later.
Yaoyao pulled Li Leo by the ear and led Leo back to the lowest level of the metal fortress in the Rota World. The so-called holy Diro People only had these five murals left.
Before leaving the metal fortress, Leo first contacted the command center of the legion he had established, informing them that the mission had been completed by the Beast Blood Boiling Stigmata Wizard, and that their mission had failed, so there was no need for them to waste any more effort on it.
They can return to the main battlefield and continue their expeditionary missions according to the assignments from the mothership command center.
"Master, is the mission over just like that?" The wizards in the wizard legion's command center were still a little incredulous. The mission had been going so well, but it had suddenly failed.
"I just met with the Beast Blood Boiling Stigmata Wizard and saw the holy land of the Diro People. The mission has indeed failed. You should go back as soon as possible."
Leo was unwilling but there was nothing he could do. When he used his privilege of the First-Class Wizard Medal to request the transfer of the wizard army, it was a huge gamble, and losing was to be expected.
The mission failure has been reported to the mothership command center, which will then arrange the subsequent expeditions for these wizards.
Leo only needs to take Benji and all the Gulu Beast with him.
On the way back, Leo cleverly submitted the murals from the Diro People's holy land, hoping to earn some reward for his contribution, since it was proof of the reason for the appearance of Cyborg. However, he was told that his submission had already been made.
"Is it the Beast Blood Boiling Stigmata Wizard?" Leo asked, puzzled.
"Yes," the command center answered decisively.
"This Beast Blood Boiling Stigmata Wizard is a bit stingy." Yaoyao turned around and could almost still see the Stigmata Wizard sitting inside the metal fortress.
Leo nodded in agreement. This was the first time Leo had ever seen a hidden quest issued by the Stigmata Wizard himself, which he then completed on his own.
They're not giving other wizards a chance to earn battle merits.
Why are all the Stigmata Wizard I've encountered over the years such stingy people? They're all so miserly and stingy.
The Indestructible Body Stigmata Great Wizard couldn't do anything because of fusing with the Stone of Indestructibility, but what's with this Beast Blood Boiling Stigmata Wizard? He even completed the hidden quests on his own!!
"Grown ups."
Leo returned to where Benji was, where Benji and all the Gulu Beast were already waiting.
Leo glanced at the number of Gulu Beast and saw that it had dropped to 30,000. The Gulu Beast had been decreasing over the years, but fortunately the casualties were within acceptable limits.
"The mission failed. We need to get busy now, otherwise we'll be starving at home," Leo said, trying to make the best of a bad situation.
"Rest assured, sir, we will do our utmost."
Benji had received notification of the mission's failure, but instead of being discouraged, he remained spirited.
It's only one million battle merits; they could achieve that even without Leo's intervention.
"Alright, you truly are Leo comrade-in-arms. From now on, we'll take on these metal fortresses head-on, fighting them with all our might for years. Don't even mention a million battle merits, two million battle merits won't be a problem."
Although the Beast Blood Boiling Stigmata Wizard concealed information about the Holy Land of the Diro People, Leo was still grateful to him for not punishing him excessively, only requiring one million battle merits.
One million battle merits would be an astronomical figure for an ordinary wizard, but for Leo, who has 30,000 Gulu Beast under his command, he can pay off his debts in a year by accumulating merits through breaching metal fortresses.
There are too many metal fortresses in the Rota World; even if the wizard army had ten more years, they wouldn't be able to clear them all. There's no shortage of opportunities to gain merit in battle.
Without hesitation, Leo, fueled by his debt, reported to the command center and led the Gulu Beast to begin their assault on the metal fortress.
Returning to the main battlefield along the same route would waste too much time; it would be better to fight our way back. By the time we get back, we'll have earned enough battle merits.
Leo only took short breaks when recovering his mana and when checking for updates on the information platform; the rest of the time he was busy cleaning up the metal fortress.
His speed was naturally the fastest; he could easily rival 30,000 Gulu Beast on his own. In other words, with the Gulu Beast around, Leo's speed in gaining battle merits was doubled.