After destroying the first altar, the group rested in the wilderness for a night before returning to the Stoneheart City meeting place.
Lanli was quite surprised to learn that the operation had gone so smoothly.
"You succeeded so quickly?"
He had been leading the Stoneheart City Assembly for several years and was very wary of the demon spirit army at the nearby altar. Due to a lack of manpower, he had never dared to take any risks. He thought it would take Han Xiao and the others at least eight to ten days to slowly clear the demon spirits from the altar. Han Xiao's efficiency greatly exceeded his expectations.
Seeing that no one in the group was injured, except for Tomar who looked like he hadn't slept well, Lanli became very curious about the details of their actions.
"I remember there should have been hundreds of demon spirits there, how did you manage that?"
"It's like this..." Tomar swallowed hard and spoke first.
Last night, when setting up camp, Fording gave Tomar a subtle mental suggestion, and with Han Xiao having Aurora demonstrate a few "miracles," Tomar completely believed Han Xiao and the other three were "gods."
He was the only one who knew the truth about the "god." Tomar was so excited last night that he couldn't sleep. In order to keep his promise to conceal the "god's" identity, he racked his brains all night, made up an excuse, and was waiting to report to Lanli today.
After explaining, Tomar was filled with anxiety, fearing that Lanli would discover his mistake.
He didn't know why the "god" was hiding his identity, but he dared not gamble, fearing that if his identity was exposed, the "god" would leave, and the gathering place would lose a huge asset.
Upon seeing the fragments of the altar, Lanli had no doubts. After expressing her gratitude to Han Xiao and the others, she hurriedly left to report the situation to the leaders of other gathering places using communication magic.
"We've managed to hide it..." Tomar breathed a sigh of relief.
"You did a great job." Han Xiao nodded.
Tomar was somewhat reserved. Although Han Xiao and the other three were quite approachable, unlike the aloof deities described in religious texts, he still felt a lot of pressure and cautiously asked, "Your Excellencies, I have a question, but I'm not sure if I should ask it."
"Go ahead and say it."
"Actually, I've been curious about this since yesterday..." Tomar stammered, "Those mythological books say that gods all have their own names and authority, I don't know if you... cough cough, I don't know if this is offensive, if so, I hope you can accept my apology..."
What he really wanted to ask was whether Han Xiao and the other three were the gods from the myths he had read about.
"The name of God..."
Han Xiao stroked his chin and smiled faintly, "It's no secret. My divine name is Black Star."
Black Star?
Tomar looked puzzled; there was no matching figure in the myths he knew.
Han Xiao then pointed to Hila and Aurora, "They are the goddess of death and the goddess of life, respectively."
Hila was speechless and could only let Han Xiao joke about them.
"As for him..." Han Xiao turned to look at Fording, who was looking expectantly, coughed, and joked, "This is the God of Luck. By the way, he's an androgynous, genderless deity."
Do we really have to emphasize gender...? Fording looked utterly helpless.
Tomar took it to heart and quickly pledged his loyalty, "I will proclaim your names, let the world know who the true God is, and let your glory spread throughout this land."
We'll talk about it later.
Han Xiao suppressed a laugh, thinking that once Tomar entered space, this might become his embarrassing moment.
Having completed the second stage of the mission, they had gained the initial trust of the Gathering Hall. The Gathering Hall attached great importance to the four newly joined "Great Wizards," including Han Xiao, and in the coming days, they were given many commissions, all of which were intermediate stages of the mission.
With overwhelming strength and interstellar technology, Han Xiao completed the intermediate steps of the series of missions with extremely high efficiency. These included destroying the remaining two altars, eliminating the demons in multiple towns, killing one of Wosumede's henchmen, and collecting rare materials.
The spaceship could significantly reduce travel time, and the scanning device could easily find rare and precious materials across the entire continent. In just about half a month, Han Xiao solved all the problems that had plagued the gathering place for fifty years.
The entire assembly hall was stunned by Han Xiao's miraculous efficiency, almost believing it to be a divine miracle, while Tomar painstakingly concealed the "truth" and never revealed the identity of the "god".
But this was followed by suspicion from the assembly hall's higher-ups. Some believed that the four men's operation had gone too smoothly and that they might be spies sent by Wosumede, who had staged a charade to lure out everyone in the assembly hall and capture them all.
Ulis is the current leader of the assembly. He is the most suspicious of Han Xiao and his group of four, but he does not show it. He simply keeps some secrets from Han Xiao and the others.
His plan was to create a "divine artifact" to rival Wosumede. The rare materials that Han Xiao had collected were the materials for the "divine artifact," a fact he did not reveal to Han Xiao and the other three.
In this way, even if Han Xiao and his three companions were spies for Wosumede, they would not know his true plan, and they would even have used his power to gather the materials to forge the "divine artifact".
In a secluded location, all the materials had been delivered, and Ulis and several high-ranking wizards were secretly forging this "artifact."
The firelight from the furnace illuminated the dim room, where several craftsmen were forging the prototype of the "divine artifact".
Ding ding ding--
The hammer kept striking the felt, sparks flew, and the red-hot metal gradually deformed.
Ulis and his group continuously poured magic potions, chanted incantations, and inscribed magic circles to complete the magical process.
Soon it came to the final step: the craftsman placed the nearly finished "artifact" into the prepared cold water.
laugh--
A large amount of water vapor was released, and after a while, the craftsman retrieved a twisted metal scepter from the cold water. It was like a black vine, with many incantations engraved on its surface, emitting Glimmer.
"Finally finished! The White Warlock Wand!"
Ulis excitedly picked up the scepter, the very "artifact" that the Gathering Hall had been trying to create. It could greatly enhance the power of magic and was extremely effective against the demon army, making it the perfect nemesis of the Wraith Necklace, the "artifact" in Wosumede's hands!
The wizards present all showed expressions of joy.
"With the White Warlock Wand, we now have the power to confront Wosumede head-on!"
Ulis gripped his wand tightly and declared loudly, "The existence of this wand must be kept secret by everyone. We must never let Wosumede or those four mysterious archmages know of it. This is our strongest trump card; we depend on it to kill Wosumede. After fifty long years, we have finally arrived at the moment of our final battle!"
"Notify every wizard in the assembly halls that it is time to launch a counterattack!"
Ulis's fighting spirit burned fiercely.
The quest chain has finally reached its penultimate stage, requiring players to travel to the capital of the Kingdom of Heruin and gather with other wizards from the assembly halls. The next stage involves confronting the final boss, Wosumede, in the Herloun Palace.
In a secret courtyard in the capital, wizards from all over the country gathered together, led by their leader Ulis, totaling more than 230 wizards.
It was evening when Ulis stood before the crowd and delivered his final speech.
"Tonight is the final battle. We must break through the royal guard's perimeter, attack the palace mage's hall, and gather all our strength to kill him. Now is the moment when Wosumede is at his weakest, and all of this is thanks to the four newly joined hermit archmages."
As he spoke, Ulis nodded to Han Xiao and his three companions at the front of the crowd, his eyes concealing a hint of wariness.
In his view, if these four people were spies, they would definitely be exposed tonight.
Ulis had already made preparations, secretly instructing his trusted confidants to keep a close eye on Han Xiao and his group of four.
Han Xiao smiled slightly but did not answer.
The final battle will take place that night, marking the end of the mission and the culmination of these two weeks of operations.
Tomar mingled in the crowd, secretly clenching his fist, his heart pounding with excitement.
Or am I the only one who knows they are gods...?
Night fell as we waited, and tonight dark clouds loomed over the city, plunging the world into darkness, so dark that one could hardly see their own hand in front of their face.
Seeing that the weather was favorable for the operation, Ulis no longer hesitated and announced the start of the operation in the latter half of the night.
More than two hundred people quietly approached the palace, concealing their presence with magic potions, and infiltrated the palace without disturbing the guards, quickly heading to the palace mage's hall.
Han Xiao led the three of them, blending into the crowd, waiting for the mission to enter its final battle.
The journey was very smooth, and more than two hundred people gathered at the Palace Temple.
Ugh--
Just then, the sound of military horns suddenly rang out in the palace.
The gates of the Palace Wizard Hall burst open, and a group of dozens of wizards filed out, facing off against more than two hundred wizards from the assembly hall. In front of the Palace Wizards stood a conspicuous old man with an arrogant expression; it was none other than Wosumede.
"Hmph, a bunch of rotten-toothed rats, I've been waiting for you for a long time."
Wosumede looked down at the crowd and said indifferently, "I discovered all the tricks you've been up to over the past two weeks, but I just couldn't be bothered with you. Did you really think you could sneak into the kingdom's capital unnoticed? I've been operating in Herloun fifty years, and my demon army is everywhere. I knew the moment you entered this city!"
The royal guards have now cut off your retreat and are closing in. You have no way to escape!
Upon hearing this, a slight disturbance arose among the monks gathered at the assembly.
Ulis stepped forward from the crowd and said in a deep voice, "Don't panic. The number of court mages is less than a quarter of ours. We can kill him before the royal guards arrive!"
Suddenly, Wosumede burst into laughter, his tone full of sarcasm, "Ulis, have you lost your mind? Have you forgotten what my strongest trump card is?"
As he spoke, Wosumede grasped the silver necklace around his neck. The next moment, the temperature in the arena plummeted, a chilling wind arose, and countless demonic spirits appeared, at least a thousand of them, surrounding the crowd.
A gigantic, peculiar demon appeared beside Wosumede; it was none other than the King of Wraiths.
More than two hundred wizards from the assembly hall couldn't help but take a step back, nervously scanning the demon army.
This was the weapon that Wosumede relied on to rule the wizarding world for fifty years; his Wraith Necklace could create and command spirits.
Compared to the panic of others, Ulis was confident, quietly gripping the White Warlock Wand in his hand. This was the nemesis of the demon army and the source of his confidence to challenge the final battle.
"You have a magical artifact, and so do I..." he thought to himself with a cold laugh.
At this moment, Ulis suddenly thought of Han Xiao and the other three, narrowed his eyes, and abandoned the idea of immediately using the White Warlock Wand.
The artifact must be used at the crucial moment. Ulis was very wary of Han Xiao Han Xiao the other three, who were considered unstable factors. He secretly glanced at them and made a decision.
"If these four are Wosumede's companions and are planning something, I'll just use the White Warlock Wand to kill them first!" Ulis thought to himself.
On the other side, Wosumede stroked his beard, looking calm and collected, as if he had the whole situation under control, and continued his performance.
"You know what? I've never really taken you seriously. If you had just stayed hidden, I might have been willing to let you live. But you always have to jump out and oppose me, and you even tried to kill me. Heh, your delusions are as unattainable as the stars in the sky, and your existence is as annoying as the brown flies in the toilet."
A bunch of rotten-toothed rats, hiding and scurrying about for fifty years, actually think they can bring me down? Utterly foolish!
As he spoke, the magnificent clothes on Wosumede fluttered without wind, and a powerful surge of magical energy erupted. In the eyes of the wizards in the gathering hall, including Ulis, Wosumede's image seemed to grow to several stories high, and the pressure emanating from his life force suppressed their souls.
"What is this?!" Ulis and the others were startled, their expressions changing drastically.
"Hmph, above the Grand Wizard, there are even greater powers, and I have already crossed that threshold in fifty years..."
Wosumede opened his arms, a proud smile on his face, and raised his voice.
"Now, I am God!"
The more than two hundred wizards in the assembly hall looked shocked, and even Ulis's heart skipped a beat.
No, the situation has changed. We can't keep our trump cards up to deal with potential spies.
We must use the White Warlock Wand to severely injure Wosumede, or the others will suffer heavy casualties!
Ulis couldn't help but grip the White Warlock Wand tightly, silently chanting a spell, preparing to use this "divine artifact."
Wosumede clearly didn't understand the adage that villains die from talking too much. He was still reveling in the thrill of having the whole situation under control, pointing his finger at the crowd with the gaze of a giant looking down on ants.
"You know nothing of true power!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Ulis completed his spellcasting preparations. His eyes narrowed, and he was about to use the White Warlock Wand to unleash his strongest attack on Wosumede.
Just then, a beam of psionic Psionic Energy shot out from the crowd, striking Wosumede's arrogant face with a speed that exceeded the reaction speed of everyone present.
The speed was so fast that he couldn't even muster the thought of dodging.
Bang!
The beam of light flashed and disappeared in an instant, and Wosumede's head vanished without a trace, leaving only his charred neck.
The headless body swayed a few times before collapsing to the ground with a thud.
"!!!"
At that moment, everyone present, friend or foe, was stunned.
Everyone stared blankly at Wosumede's headless corpse, their faces frozen in shock, their minds unable to process what was happening before them.
Everyone was in disbelief, experiencing a sense of weightlessness akin to falling from a great height; the psychological contrast before and after was akin to jumping off a cliff.
Wait, Wosumede... is he dead?
He died just like that?!
Ulis's eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets.
Did I kill him?
Wait a minute, I haven't even used my magic weapon yet...
Remembering the direction from which the beam of light had come, everyone stiffly turned their heads and stared at Han Xiao and his group of four. The wizards of the gathering place next to them also subconsciously stepped aside, exposing the four of them alone.
"All done." Han Xiao ignored the horrified looks on everyone's faces, lowered his hand, and opened the panel with satisfaction.
Just now, the mission finally entered its final stage. Without saying a word, he blasted Wosumede's head off with a single shot. This guy acted all high and mighty, but he was just a Grade C superhuman. One shot, and all his fancy tricks were gone.
The wizards present stared blankly at Han Xiao and his group of four, not yet reacting, when suddenly a strange change occurred in the scene.
call--
With the death of Wosumede, the demons present lost control, suddenly went berserk, and burst into a shrill roar, scattering in all directions and attacking all the living people.
More than two hundred wizards came to their senses and hurriedly prepared to fight.
But at that moment, everyone clearly saw that Fording, who was next to Han Xiao, pressed his finger to his forehead and released a ring of invisible energy that emitted a hazy white light, which swept across the entire area, causing demons to collapse upon contact.
In the blink of an eye, thousands of demons, including the King of Wraiths, were instantly annihilated, like snow melting in the sunlight.
This time, everyone saw it clearly, their movements froze on the spot, and their faces showed disbelief.
What... what kind of power is this?
So Wosumede really killed by these four people? And in an instant?!
Snap!
The White Witchcraft Wand fell to the ground in his hand, Ulis's lips trembled, and his face was filled with disbelief.
He had imagined many possible scenarios for tonight's events, but he could never have guessed what was happening now.
In his view, these four people, who were likely enemy spies, possessed such terrifying power that they even instantly killed the enemy leader Wosumede.
The magical artifact, the White Warlock Wand, which he had painstakingly crafted, was utterly useless and meaningless.
"Who... who are you people?"
Ulis stared intently at Han Xiao and his group of four, his eyes bloodshot, and spoke with difficulty.
His question echoed the sentiments of everyone present, who were shouting wildly.
Wosumede ruled the wizarding world for fifty years, yet he was easily killed by four mysterious hermits. It seemed as simple as stepping on an insect!
This instilled an unparalleled sense of frustration in the more than two hundred wizards of the assembly hall.
Ulis felt this especially deeply; this scene made him realize that his fifty years of perseverance had been utterly meaningless.
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow, but did not answer. He turned to look at Tomar.
From the moment he started, Tomar was so excited he almost wet himself. He was the only one who kept an eye on Han Xiao and his group's movements. When Han Xiao glanced over, Tomar suddenly had a flash of inspiration and understood the hint.
The next moment, he excitedly stepped forward from the crowd, spoke loudly, and attracted everyone's attention.
"At this point, there's nothing left to hide! I've always known their identities; they are gods, true gods!"
"Only gods possess such power!!"
Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions froze, and they were all dumbfounded.
Gods... gods?!
This answer surprised everyone, leaving them speechless.
Everyone present felt as if their worldview had been lifted up and forcefully thrown to the ground, shattering into pieces with a loud thud.