Chapter 234: Calm Before the Storm

"Lei En, what's the situation?" After Anxiwodasi left, Kaidejia asked at once.

"Both Speakers…"

Lei En recounted the incident in the most concise language; after the two legendary Wizards listened, both wore solemn expressions. Roni raised his hand to cast a spell and said, "I will inform the teacher and send members of the Wizard Corps over."

The Weizelan Wizards are the official armed force of Fu Kong Cheng; they are few in number, only a little over one hundred twenty, with more than half being high-level Wizards and the other half at least Mid-stage Wizards.

The Wizards born in Fu Kong Cheng are generally divided into three types.

The first type are scholar-type, adept at studying magical knowledge and spell theory; the second are production-type, proficient in alchemy and enchantment, capable of forging powerful magical gear; the third are combat-type, applying spell knowledge in practice, focusing on strengthening themselves, often traveling on adventures, and possessing rich combat experience.

These three Wizard types do not conflict and can be combined.

However, the most sought-after are still combat-type Wizards, often called elite Wizards; only after assessment can they join the Wizard Corps of Fu Kong Cheng.

Members of the Wizard Corps have higher privileges than ordinary Wizards, and Fu Kong Cheng's equipment is supplied to them first.

There are nearly five hundred Wizards in Weizelan Fu Kong Cheng, but fewer than a quarter qualify to enter the Wizard Corps.

Almost every legendary Wizard comes from the Wizard Corps.

Lei En, because of his special status and having just joined Fu Kong Cheng, has never taken the assessment; he is not very interested in joining the Wizard Corps, though he has long heard of its strength.

Only the Speakers of the Six-person Council have the authority to mobilize the Wizard Corps.

Minutes later, teleportation gates opened one by one in the manor's courtyard, and more than fifty Wizards stepped out, led by Kelaoaosi, who looks like a high elf.

Lei En scanned with his Soul Eye; among the fifty-plus Wizards, exactly half were high-level and half Mid-stage.

Besides Speaker Kelaoaosi, three other legendary Wizards were listed.

Each of them possessed power far beyond that of peers among the extraordinary, and their gear was superb—enchanted robes, staffs, rings, badges, and many other magical items—radiant and causing the surrounding magical energy to flow inexplicably, startling everyone.

Nearly half of the Wizard Corps' strength was deployed.

Kelaoaosi had already learned the situation from Roni, and without delay said, "Lei En, GrandSpeaker has instructed us to cooperate with you, so you will command."

Instantly, the Wizards' gazes fell upon Lei En.

Even though Lei En's mental fortitude is excellent, being stared at by so many powerful Wizards still made him a bit nervous.

He inhaled silently, appeared calm, and said, "Our goal is to locate the third White Bone Altar."

Lei En produced a map of Mo Du and displayed it before everyone.

He drew a few strokes on the map, outlining an area, and pointed, "The altar beneath our feet already covers most of Mo Du; the remaining one must be placed in the north of the city, within Marquis Jiliu's domain."

"Based on my guess, the altar should be near River Bay Street, the center of this area."

"We will split into teams of four, each team covering a direction, searching outward from River Bay Street; watch for factories, manors, or large structures that could hide the altar, and we should find it quickly."

Lei En finished in one breath and asked, "Speaker Kelaoaosi, what do you think?"

"Very well, we'll do as you say." Kelaoaosi nodded in agreement.

The teams were formed quickly.

Each team consisted of two high-level Wizards and two Mid-stage Wizards; any Wizards above legendary rank formed a team on their own.

Kelaoaosi waved his hand, opening a towering portal, and the Wizards streamed in one after another.

Lei En also joined the search party.

"I'll go with you." Yisu followed.

In the night, more than fifty Wizards traversed dozens of li and appeared on a wide street; this was the northern outskirts of Mo Du, sparsely populated, with factories and plantations nearby.

"Split up and act."

At Kelaoaosi's command, Wizards summoned mounts or bestowed upon themselves flight, soaring in all directions, beginning a carpet-style search.

The commotion quickly alerted the patrols within Marquis Jiliu's territory.

When the Wizards displayed their Weizelan badges, the patrol fell silent and hurried to report back to Marquis Jiliu.

Lei En rode on Yisu's black eagle, descended into a factory, activated his Soul Eye to scan swiftly inside, listening to the sounds of all things; in under five minutes he confirmed the factory was fine.

"Let's go, the next one."

The two cooperated with extreme efficiency, spending only an hour to consecutively search three or four factories and several manors, all without incident.

Yisu remained silent throughout, his expression somewhat forlorn.

Lei En could understand his feelings.

He was about to speak when battle sounds came from the distant night, with faint flashes of fire and explosions.

Yisu immediately sent the black eagle flying over; when they arrived, they found an abandoned factory, surrounded by a dozen Wizards, and Kelaoaosi arrived as well.

Inside the factory, a White Bone Altar appeared before them.

This altar's scale was smaller than the one at Pirino's manor, with about three hundred sacrifices; the undead Wizard who built the altar had already turned into a corpse, lying outside the factory.

Next to the altar was an alchemy chamber that had produced a large amount of corpse poison.

A high-level Wizard came forward to report that their squad had discovered the altar, and the four of them jointly killed the enemy on the spot.

From the undead Wizard's body they also retrieved a map, identical to the one Lei En had seen before, dividing Mo Du into three zones.

This indicated that there are indeed only three White Bone Altars.

Their corpse poison hadn't been deployed yet; otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Moments later, Marquis Jiliu, having received the news, rushed to the abandoned factory; the legendary berserker stormed in, saw Lei En, and instantly showed an angry expression.

However, when he saw the White Bone Altar and the Wizards guarding it, he was stunned.

"Earl of Glamorgan, this…" Marquis Jiliu said anxiously, having no knowledge that such a vile thing had appeared in his domain.

Lei En glanced at him; his Soul indicated that the Marquis indeed had no connection with the undead Wizard.

He gave no explanation, saying, "The matter is serious; I cannot reveal much, but news should come out tomorrow, so wait for the notice."

Having nothing else to do here, he mounted the black eagle and returned to the castle.

After Yisu escorted Lei En home, he left without a word.

In the castle's great hall, Ai Mi Li Si was still awake, waiting with several senior members of the mercenary corps.

Seeing Lei En return, she stepped forward and said, "The white bone altar over at the manor has already been taken over by a Wizard from Fu Kong Cheng; what's the situation now?"

Ding Laji and Astan were also very concerned.

Mo Du experienced such a huge incident tonight, and Fu Kong Cheng dispatched so many Wizards; they had never seen anything like it before.

Especially Ding Laji, who personally triggered this incident, is eager to know the outcome.

"I can't say exactly what's going on," Lei En shook his head and said, "Everyone should go back and rest."

Back in his bedroom, after washing up, Lei En lay on the bed but felt no sleepiness at all.

He always felt the matter wasn't that simple.

Even though Piri*Aiden has already been captured by the teacher, all of this is far beyond what Piri alone could accomplish; even with the legendary Mid-stage undead Wizard lurking beside him, it's still insufficient.

Behind them is a death knot seal, but aside from that legendary undead Wizard, no other enemies were found.

The undead Wizard responsible for setting up the white bone altar is only high-level.

This doesn't match the power of the death knot seal.

Piri*Aiden has been serving the Lord of the Dead for at least twenty years; the covert deeds he does are certainly more than just three white bone altars.

Moreover, the Mo Du nobles' scheme on Shield Island remains unclear to this day.

And Korstted, whom they have yet to meet, still hasn't sent any word, and his student Falinna is also suspicious.

All this makes Lei En feel that the white bone altar discovered at night is only the tip of the iceberg.

"Perhaps the teacher has already interrogated Piri, and the truth will then be clear."

He gazed at the dark night outside the window; in the sky, Fu Kong Cheng still towered high, as if a chilling ominous cloud were descending.

This calm may be a prelude to a terrifying storm.

"What an sleepless night!"

(End of chapter)