Chapter 700: Wizard Tower

There are dozens of openings around, and with the side passages they can lead to hundreds of places, like a vast, intricate maze.

If we were to explore them one by one, who knows how much time it would take. Venturing into unknown areas in the Dark Realm is a grave taboo, and that Eye Demon has surely set magical traps in many directions and side passages, waiting for prey to fall into its net.

Even with Yizite's experience, this situation feels very tricky.

But this does not trouble Reslin.

All-Seeing Eye scanned a few rounds and immediately spotted the true passage. Those openings were all false, meant to mislead, while the real passage was blocked behind a massive boulder, sealed tightly, with no magical fluctuations or sigils to conceal it, making it extremely hard to detect.

Yet under All-Seeing Eye's sight, it became obvious.

"This way,"

Reslin pointed to a spot, and the teammates looked.

It was a boulder over four meters tall, jutting out from the rock wall, surrounded by a cluster of stalactites, looking perfectly ordinary; countless similar rocks pepper the cavern.

He flashed forward, cast a spell, and a translucent giant hand materialized, pushing the boulder from the side.

Amid the rumbling, a pitch‑black opening behind the stone was revealed.

The teammates' faces lit up with realization.

This opening was extremely concealed, and with the surrounding misleading passages, an ordinary person would struggle to find it. Given enough time they might locate it, but never with Reslin's efficiency—he spotted it at a glance.

Everyone was almost numb.

Having spent so long with Reslin, they gradually realized his perception, sight, and probing abilities were unbelievably strong; nothing seemed able to evade his eyes, far surpassing the effects of detection spells like True Knowledge or Insight.

Yizite advanced to Saint Rank Demonic Hunter, yet in this regard still fell far short of Reslin.

At first everyone thought this was the caster's advantage, but later realized they had overthought it; there is no second legendary Wizard more terrifying than Reslin.

Unaware of his teammates' thoughts, Reslin stood at the opening and looked inward.

The opening was extremely dim; the deeper one went, the darker it became, hands vanished in the blackness, and about a hundred meters from the mouth, any incoming light vanished without a trace.

"Dark Veil, magical alarm, skeletal trap..."

He identified four or five spells, then raised his hand to cast; after a few barely perceptible magical ripples, the darkness receded, all spell traps were dispelled, and the magical alarm was cleverly erased, giving no warning to the Eye Demon.

The passage ahead branched, splitting into two routes.

Reslin hovered over, listened attentively for a few seconds, and All-Seeing Eye examined the differences between the two paths, quickly identifying the correct route.

"Left,"

The teammates didn't know how he judged, but they trusted unconditionally and followed closely.

They advanced a short while in the tunnel, winding and spiraling deeper underground. At intervals a fork appeared, turning into two, three, even four or five paths; each time Reslin swiftly identified the correct one, wasting almost no time.

Along the way occasional magical traps appeared, always detected early by Reslin and easily neutralized.

By passing these traps, Reslin roughly gauged the Eye Demon Elder's strength: likely a legendary Mid-stage, wielding a mixed array of spells—elemental, Arcane, psychic, and shadow—and the caster's level would not exceed fifteen.

Without prior knowledge, one might think the next opponent would be a Wizard.

In fact, the Eye Demon Elder is the most typical Eye Demon Wizard!

No specialized spellcaster enemy can be taken lightly, even if the opponent is only a legendary Mid-stage; Reslin used Psychic Vision to share this intel with his teammates.

After a dozen or so forks, Reslin suddenly halted.

"We're close to its lair,"

Not far ahead lay the tunnel's end; in the faint light a massive cavern's outline could be vaguely seen.

At the exit stood a few short but very sturdy guards, clad in metal armor, bearing warhammers or axes, lounging lazily—some sitting, some lying.

"Gray Dwarf," Yizite thought.

The teammates understood; Gray Dwarves are one of the most common races in the Dark Realm, second only to Dark Elves. Like surface dwarves they excel at smithing and craft, but lack the surface dwarves' honesty and kindness, being outright evil and harboring hatred toward outsiders.

The largest war in the Dark Realm is the conflict between Dark Elves and Gray Dwarves.

Both sides have fought for tens of thousands of years over water, wealth, and territory; any encounter ends in a fight to the death.

At the same time, Dark Elves and Gray Dwarves also enslave each other, torturing them to death.

Reslin observed with both eyes.

Gray Dwarves are born with dim‑light vision, slightly poorer than Dark Elves, which puts them at a disadvantage in the Dark Realm.

At this moment, those Gray Dwarves were completely unaware of any movement in the tunnel.

He made a subtle throat‑slashing gesture toward Yizite.

The Demonic Hunter nodded, vanishing from sight. In the next instant he appeared at the tunnel's end; the moment his form materialized, razor‑thin sword rays flashed, slicing the throats of several Gray Dwarf guards, the entire act making not a single sound.

Reslin opened a Random Door, and the teammates passed through to reach the tunnel's exit.

Looking out, a peculiar cavern came into view.

The interior of the cavern was remarkably regular: the floor flat, the edge a circle about five hundred meters in diameter, and the surrounding rock walls and dome smooth, like an inverted hemisphere.

Clearly, it had been artificially excavated.

Across the circular floor stood a sprawling settlement, most of it concentrated within a central two‑hundred‑meter area, resembling a town; outside rose a stone wall, beneath which a wide moat was dug, fed by an underground dark river, forming a defensive moat.

Guards patrolled the wall, and the land beyond was not left idle; it was divided into plots planted with mushrooms.

In the Dark Realm, mushrooms are the primary food of the intelligent races.

This little city built inside the cavern broadened everyone's horizons, yet what captured their attention most was a tower that rose straight up from the town!

It stood at the town's center, also the cavern's focal point, highly conspicuous.

"Wizard Tower!"

Belak let out a gasp inside.

The others' gazes grew solemn, and even Reslin felt a hint of dread.

The Wizard Tower is called Wu Shi Ta in the Empire; it's essentially the same meaning. A spellcaster who possesses a Wizard Tower differs vastly in power from one who does not.

Lei En himself also has a tower, and that is crystal clear.

If the Eye Demon hides inside the Wizard Tower and doesn't emerge, even with Yizite's Saint Rank on our side, it would be hard to kill it for a while.

The caster stationed in the high tower is enough to repel an attack from a Saint Rank.

"Do Eye Demons also build Wizard Towers?" Dao Ensi asked curiously.

Yizite shook his head, indicating he didn't know.

He grew up in the Dark Region, was not unfamiliar with the Eye Demon clan, yet it was his first time hearing such a bizarre thing.

Eye Demons are extremely intelligent, but they have not developed a tradition of constructing Wizard Towers.

Wizard Towers originated with the elves, later were learned by humans; only these two races possess the ability to build them.

Reslin observed carefully for a while.

"This Wizard Tower has stood for over six hundred years; it certainly wasn't built by the Eye Demon, only occupied by it." He is the most familiar with Wizard Towers, and not far away; the All-Seeing Eye can barely see the tower's interior, and he quickly discerned the truth.

"Wizard Towers also vary in strength."

"The construction method of this Wizard Tower is ancient, likely passed down from the wizard of Zuo Er; its energy efficiency is low, far inferior to modern Wizard Towers."

"Moreover, the Wizard Tower is unfinished, lacking many powers."

Reslin guessed that the original owner of this Wizard Tower was likely a legendary wizard of the dark elves, who spent countless effort and vast wealth building it; only the tower body was completed, and the interior sigils were less than half laid before work stopped.

Most likely, that Zuo Er wizard met an untimely death.

Later, an Eye Demon discovered this mostly completed Wizard Tower, seized it, used the tower as a base to control slaves, plundered wealth and resources, and attempted to finish the tower.

No wonder that Eye Demon, though only a Legendary Mid-stage, can control the entire Kuo Tao Fishfolk tribe.

This region also falls under its rule.

"Even if it wasn't built by itself, it's still hard to defeat," Beilake said, looking at the city beneath the Wizard Tower, "It also has so many slaves."

The small town has about two thousand residents, with a complex racial composition.

The majority are Gray Dwarves, followed by Night Goblins, Kuo Tao Fishfolk, Cave Dwellers, Subterranean Gnomes, and even traces of dark elves. Besides these common underground races, there are many rare creatures, such as towering fungal giants.

All races are slaves of the Eye Demon, serving the sole master of this cavern.

With this slave army, the Eye Demon can dominate the area alone.

"Attack or not?"

Yizite asked softly.

Reslin could see his hesitation, and Dao Ensi also showed some reluctance; attacking a Wizard Tower is an unwise move.

A Xina's attitude was that they could either attack or not.

On the contrary, Beilake was eager, a Wizard Tower meant massive wealth.

Reslin considered that the Eye Demon elder was a rare find, also a Legendary Mid-stage, making it perfect for merging with the main body Lei En; missing this chance, who knows when another would arise.

Whether treasure or magical gear, its value is no less than a dragon's hoard.

"I decide to give it a try."

Reslin said, "If you think it's dangerous you may sit out; I won't force anyone to risk themselves." After all, he is merely a duplicate and can revive, whereas his teammates cannot.

"I'm in with you!" Beilake responded immediately.

A Xina gave a slight nod.

Yizite and Dao Ensi, seeing the three had decided, also did not withdraw. The dark elf smiled, "We are friends, of course we won't just watch you take risks without acting."

Dao Ensi said nothing, but expressed his stance through action.

"Alright."

Reslin turned back to the Wizard Tower, pondered a few breaths, and said, "The biggest difficulty in attacking a Wizard Tower is breaking its defenses; leave that to me. You just need to hold off the Eye Demon's slave army and not let them interfere with my casting."

"No problem." A Xina said through the channel, "I won't let the enemy come within ten steps of you."

Reslin nodded, began arranging tactics: "Before breaching the Wizard Tower, everyone stay at a distance. This Eye Demon is only a Legendary Mid-stage; even with a Wizard Tower, it can't cast the Nine-ring Technique without cost."

"By my estimate, it can cast the Nine-ring Technique at most three times."

"The Wizard Tower is unfinished, its interior sigils incomplete; each casting of the Nine-ring Technique requires a long preparation, with gaps over a minute, so it isn't as dangerous as you imagine. As long as we block the first Nine-ring Technique, the Wizard Tower becomes ours to attack."

His words reassured the teammates.

"Prepare to begin."

Reslin released a separating field, blocking magical fluctuations and light, while Dao Ensi opened the newly acquired Earth Holy Scripture, bestowing a series of Divine Techniques on everyone.

He also applied the Seven-ring Advanced Stone Skin Technique, Spiritual Armor Technique, Acceleration Technique, and Mighty Strength Technique to each person.

In a dozen seconds, the whole team's power surged, reaching peak condition.

However, they did not rush to act.

Reslin activated the Ten-ring True Mirror Image Technique on the Endless Storm Staff, channeling massive mana; after a minute, he summoned a perfect true mirror image of himself, possessing independent will and full knowledge and casting skill.

Then, both Reslins cast Mirror Image, and instantly twenty-six Reslins appeared around them.

The last time they witnessed Reslin's mirror group was during the battle with Baro Flame Demon, without time to study. This time, observing Reslin up close turning from one into twenty-six, even though they were mentally prepared, the teammates were still stunned by the multitude of Reslins nearby.

One Reslin is that powerful; twenty-six Reslins…

"Wizard is too unscrupulous!"

Beilake glanced at his soul spear, saying sourly, his eyes filled with unspeakable envy.

Dao Ensi also nodded heavily in agreement.

Even Yizite, who had already advanced to Saint Rank, let out a sigh, feeling that if he faced Reslin, he had not even a thirty percent chance.

Moreover, Reslin is currently only a Legendary High-rank.

When Reslin ascends to Holy Soul Wizard, the power gap will widen even more.

The most frightening part is that Reslin is merely Lei En's duplicate. Every time they recall this fact, the three—Yizite included—are speechless, still finding it hard to believe after so long.

Only A Xina's mind remains relatively balanced; the stronger Lei En becomes, the happier she is.

Reslin, however, thought of nothing of it.

His mind shifted; besides his original self, the true mirror image and twenty‑five mirrors cast simultaneously, unleashing an Eight-ring Light Spear!

After a few seconds, purple crystal light spears were created one after another, surrounding everyone.

Over three hundred light spears formed a magnificent torrent, packing the entire passage so tightly that not even water could leak through; if not for the magical force field concealing it, they would have been discovered long ago.

"Go!"

Reslin softly pointed, and the torrent of light spears surged out from the passage, rushing into the cavern and straight toward the mage tower.

(End of chapter)