[Urgent Mission Notice]
[Urgent Mission Notice]
[Urgent Mission Notice]
All wizards, whether on the mothership or on missions throughout the Marsh World, received the highest-level mission notification from the command center.
This highest-priority emergency mission, second only to the failure of an expedition, must be executed immediately by all wizards once issued. It is the first mission in the execution sequence, taking precedence over any other mission.
Upon receiving the order, all the wizards' expressions changed slightly, and they immediately stopped what they were doing to check the urgent mission.
[Currently, a large number of mecha lifeforms have been discovered in the Marsh World. These were summoned by the World Lord of the Marsh World through a spatial rift. As instructed by the Interstellar Wanderer Stigmata Wizard and the Atomic Control Stigmata Wizard, all wizards are to immediately search for the spatial rift. Upon discovery, no one is allowed to approach, examine, or take any additional actions. A report must be submitted immediately. The person who discovers the spatial rift will be awarded Second-Class Wizard Medal!]
[Hint: The world beyond the spatial rift is extremely dangerous, possessing world-class combat power; only two Stigmata Wizard can handle it!]
[This mission is crucial to the success or failure of this expedition; all wizards must carry it out immediately!]
Even though Leo and the Interstellar Wanderer concealed the matter of the World Tree and only revealed the most insignificant part of the truth, it still caused a certain degree of tension among the expeditionary force.
Nobody knew that a fool could get two Stigmata Wizard to issue such an urgent mission notice; the danger must be greater than what the command center described.
But seeing the reward for discovering a spatial rift— Second-Class Wizard Medal —almost all the wizards' eyes lit up like hungry wolves.
The more dangerous the mission, the greater the reward.
This might be the easiest quest they've ever encountered to obtain Second-Class Wizard Medal. With a little care, caution, and a bit of luck, they could definitely find the spatial rift.
The allure of the Second-Class Wizard Medal was enough for these wizards to risk their lives searching the world for clues.
The moment the mission was issued, the Water Marsh People of the Marsh World discovered that these ferocious wizards were completely ignoring them, leading their army of man-eating slaves in a relentless search for something.
Sometimes they would capture them to ask for information, but unfortunately the Water Marsh People had no idea where the spatial rift they were looking for was located.
Even the Water Marsh People were unaware of the existence of the mecha force.
The appearance of the World Tree prevented Leo from returning to the mothership to study in peace. Like other wizards, he was searching all over the world. The medium-sized world was still too big. Without accurate information, their actions were more like blind luck.
The command center will compile all clues discovered by the wizards and transmit real-time intelligence.
However, most of the discoveries focused on mech units, with no findings regarding the spatial rifts connecting the Mecha World.
Based on the distribution of the hidden mech army, no major gathering points were found; they were very evenly dispersed throughout the world.
This thwarted the wizards' attempt to determine the approximate extent of the spatial rift by analyzing the mechs' positions.
The command center receives a vast amount of intelligence every day.
Despite the seemingly identical reports of no spatial rift being found, Leo still arrived at a bad conclusion from the vast amount of information.
That is, the number of mechs discovered is increasing rapidly. Starting with the mech force he discovered in the trench, the number of mechs has increased exponentially.
A month ago, only three units of mechs were discovered each day, with each unit having around 100,000 units.
They can be eliminated very easily!
However, the number of mech units discovered each day this month has reached ten, and the number of units per unit has increased from 100,000 to 150,000.
Although they can still be easily eliminated, this means that the spatial rift is widening and the number of teleported troops is rapidly increasing.
Based on the current rate of increase, the number of mechs transmitted will exceed 1 billion in just one year.
Furthermore, it's impossible to guarantee that when Tier 1 to Tier 3 mechs appear, World Lord -level mechs won't also emerge.
Leo 'Godslaying Staff possesses the ability to control puppets, and he understands the terror of the World Tree better than other wizards.
If a puppet at the level of World Lord is controlled, there won't be just one, there will be many!
Just as Leo was pondering, a group of Water Marsh People appeared on the distant sea, fleeing in panic. These Water Marsh People had summarized a pattern in their long battles with the wizard.
That is, a lone wizard is far more dangerous than a wizard in a group!
Leo glanced at the Water Marsh People, his eyes flickered, and with a light tap of his feet, he instantly appeared above them.
With his palms outstretched towards the sea, countless bolts of lightning erupted from Leo's hands, accompanied by thunderous roars—an attack aimed at every single one of the Water Marsh People.
The Water Marsh People tried to retaliate by creating waves or to dive hundreds of meters deep to escape, but under Leo's precise attacks, in an instant, only the strongest level two Water Marsh People was left alive. The rest floated on the surface of the sea, looking like charred charcoal.
"What are you going to do?" the Level 2 Haize people asked Leo in terror. Leo's casual display of strength was enough to kill them all.
He was left alone, which meant he was about to suffer an experience worse than death.
Ignoring the terrified Water Marsh People, Leo flicked his finger, sending air flying out. Controlling the force, he instantly knocked the level-two Water Marsh People unconscious.
A branch from the Godslaying Staff in his hand reached out towards the Water Marsh People, piercing their mouths and noses into their bodies.
As the branches stretched longer, one could see the unconscious Water Marsh People twitching continuously, his entire skeleton twisting and deforming as if under tremendous attack, even exhibiting reverse joint spasms, as if he were suffering unimaginable torment.
When the branch broke, the Water Marsh People stopped convulsing and opened his eyes. His eyes, seemingly full of reason and emotion, actually concealed the deepest stillness of death. He had become a puppet controlled by Leo.
When the Godslaying Staff inherited the power of the World Tree branch, it could control not only corpses but also living beings.
Controlling living beings is far more difficult than controlling corpses. It was impossible at level three; it was only now, after advancing to the Stigmata Wizard, that I've been able to do it.
"Master." The Water Marsh People prostrated itself at Leo's feet, bowing with utmost respect.
This was Leo's first time controlling a living being, carefully experiencing the differences between controlling the World Tree puppet and enslaving a wizard.
The World Tree's control extends from the soul to the body, occupying the entire soul of the Water Marsh People. With just a thought, Leo could twist the soul of the Water Marsh People before him into a pretzel.
This is far more brutal and thorough than the soul enslavement of a wizard!
Do you know where your god is?
The level-two Water Marsh People puppet shook its head.
"Do you know where those mechs came from?"
The level-two Water Marsh People puppet continued to shake its head.
Have you received any orders recently?
This time, the Level Two Water Marsh People did not shake its head, but said, "The great Ocean God has instructed us to lie low and avoid conflict with our master's army, awaiting the day of salvation."
What is the Day of Redemption?
"That's when we'll repel our master's army."
Leo's expression remained unchanged, but his inner thoughts were not as calm as they appeared. The World Lord dared to issue such an order clearly showed that he had full confidence in these mech armies, and even believed that he could repel their wizard expeditionary force without using his own world's forces.
In the mind of the World Lord, the strength of the mecha army was even greater than that of their Marsh World; otherwise, he would not have been so confident.
Of course, it cannot be ruled out that he was deceiving his own people.
Looking at the Water Marsh People before him, completely under his control, Leo knew he held nothing back. A sudden inspiration struck him, and he asked, "Do you have your own place where your civilization is recorded?"
"Have,"
"Where?"
Leo raised his voice slightly, for having written records meant that clues could be found in the past.
"In the water cave of our tribal chief."
"Take me to see it."
"Yes, Master."
The Level 2 Water Marsh People immediately dived into the deep sea. Under Leo's control, his thalassophobia had disappeared.
The mechanism of this virus is actually very simple: it is a neuroparasite that lives in the nerves of the Water Marsh People.
When the Water Marsh People dive to a certain depth in the ocean, these neuroparasites will develop a sense of fear. They will transmit this fear to the Water Marsh People Water Marsh People, causing them to feel the same way and leave the deep sea, remaining only on the surface.
When the Level 2 Water Marsh People in front of him was controlled by Leo, the parasites were no longer effective. No matter how much fear these parasites secreted, they could not affect a puppet that had no emotional fluctuations of its own.
It took three days of following the Water Marsh People's puppets to find their tribe, which was located in a coral reef area with abundant fish resources. According to the Water Marsh People, these fish were raised and grazed by them on a daily basis.
They led Leo into a coral cave, where the Water Marsh People pointed to the inscriptions carved on the cave walls and explained them to Leo.
"The great creator god gave birth to the Marsh World; his body became the endless ocean, his eyes became the sun and the moon, and his brain became the God's Dwelling. We, the Water Marsh People, are all descendants of the creator god."
"The five great deities are the first generation of children of the Creator God. They inherited the Creator God's will to protect our Marsh World, safeguarding every drop of water and every life here."
These were all written on the wall. Leo couldn't understand them at first, but after the Water Marsh People spoke a few words, Leo was able to deduce the meaning of all the words based on logic.
The entire wall is covered with legends and stories, both big and small, that took place in the Marsh World. For example, a great god fought a ferocious beast larger than an island for decades in order to purify the sea. In the end, he killed the beast and saved the entire sea. He was revered by countless lives as the great god of war.
The corpse of that ferocious beast is still placed in the place of the gods to deter all strange beasts that want to cause trouble!