Chapter 1149: Straight into the Wizard Academy's Inner Ring
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1149: Straight into the Wizard Academy's Inner Ring
The Wizard Academy existed in a manner quite different from the Witch Academy.
The Three Great Transcendent Races were the first to settle in the Main World. From the very beginning, the reconstruction of the Core World's surface had been planned with academy grounds in mind, covering a vast area. It was even more massive than the Witch Academy, which was built within the overlapping spaces of the curtain walls.
This meant that the Wizard Academy could be found directly on the surface map of the Core World.
One of the primary reasons the Wizard Academy was so enormous was the "Wizard Tower" system used by Transcendent Wizards.
One tower, one wizard.
Even if the number of Transcendent Wizards in the Wizard Academy didn't match the sheer volume of Transcendent Witches in the Witch Academy, every Wizard Tower required planned land, including the construction of surrounding areas and a series of other logistical issues. The Wizard Academy had no choice but to be this large.
Furthermore, Transcendent Wizards were anything but picky when it came to manpower.
Students currently in the academy? Use them!
The family influences behind those students? Use them even more!
The research of Transcendent Wizards relied heavily on massive amounts of transcendent materials for never-ending experiments. Even for materials they couldn't use personally, as long as they could bring in significant economic benefits, they were worth cultivating. Wasn't the vast area surrounding the Wizard Towers meant for the construction of these transcendent material cultivation zones?
Not every Transcendent Wizard had the ability to open a complete, self-circulating overlapping space, and World Fragments were not something everyone possessed. Consequently, most Transcendent Wizards were in a state of poverty, and their means of profit were severely limited by their reality.
The secret allegiance of small families was, in essence, a win-win cooperation. Because the original principle of "transcendence does not leak" in the Main World held sway, the cooperation between wizards and families had always seen the wizards in the dominant position.
However, when the Witch Academy took the lead in tearing up the agreement and broke precedent by bringing such matters into the light, many families began to grow restless. With the turmoil within the Wizard Academy, these families hoped that the muddy waters would bring them more opportunities.
After all, not all Transcendent Wizards were high-and-mighty, powerful "gods."
Human nature was driven by profit, a tendency to court death, and a quickness to forget pain.
Families in the Wizard Territory had easier access to transcendent materials than those in other regions. Through a thousand years of accumulation, even if they didn't dare conduct research openly, they had developed far too many specialized ways to utilize these materials in the shadows.
The representatives of ordinary people—the family forces—were not as weak as many imagined.
However, the development of the Main World was faster than they had anticipated, and the crisis of world destruction weighed on everyone's hearts like a mountain. Even though the Witch Academy had officially declared war on the Wizard Academy, throwing the atmosphere into further chaos, the slave-like nature of the families—who had been kneeling for far too long—still kept them from daring to follow the breakthrough into the Wizard Academy's Inner Ring.
"Teaching Assistant Xiao Han! I didn't expect you to arrive so suddenly!"
The first to appear before me was Dolores, the leader of the Fourth Combat Sequence and the first leader to receive news through the eyes and ears planted in the Wizard Territory.
Not long after I nodded in acknowledgment, several figures appeared in the distance. Their intelligence-gathering capabilities weren't poor; it was simply a matter of who arrived first.
Soon, I saw Lin Xian, Lonafu, and... Millian among those approaching!
After a brief exchange of greetings, I bypassed the others and went straight to Millian and her group. The representatives of the other Combat Sequences didn't show any displeasure; they simply followed along of their own accord, hoping to glean some information.
After all, the gap between them was simply too vast.
"Sister Xiao Han, do you need me to report on our recent actions..."
"No need. I came this time to settle the issues here at the Wizard Academy," I said, cutting off Millian's inquiry.
My Life Clone, who held the spellbook, was already intimately familiar with the situation at the Wizard Academy. There was no need for redundant talk.
As soon as I spoke, a glint flashed in everyone's eyes.
This meant that the war, which had dragged on until now, was about to end!
What did the conclusion of the Wizard Academy affair signify? It meant the most critical link of the Staff of World Destruction Plan would be shattered, and the Main World's crisis of destruction would be resolved! The Sword of Faith at the Holy Angel Academy would become meaningless, and the pressure on the plan to destroy the Broken Churches worldwide would be greatly reduced.
"Sister Xiao Han, as long as you have need, the No. 0 Combat Sequence is on standby at all times!" Lin Xian spoke up immediately. She was, in fact, the actual commander of the No. 0 Combat Sequence.
As for Millian, she wasn't representing the No. 0 Combat Sequence or the Baking House this time, but rather the Calamity Group from the Expansion Realm!
The current Calamity Group was no longer satisfied with the Witch Territory and those small transcendent territories that had "surrendered." Millian had her sights set on the territories represented by the Three Top Academies—more specifically, those families. The Calamity Group wanted to go over, give them a slap, and then take away their very livelihoods.
However, the Calamity Group's progress hadn't been as smooth as expected. After all, the social order of the Main World was established by those families. While the Calamity Group had developed a massive force in the Expansion Realm that could theoretically drown the families of the Core World, that was only in theory.
The reality was: if you wanted to play with them within the rules and frameworks, they would play dirty, since they were the ones who wrote the rules. If you used violence against them, you would destroy the social order of the Main World.
The Calamity Group's mission and agreement for acting in the Core World was that they could not destroy its order. The "overall peace" of the Core World was a major red line that could not be crossed.
But this wasn't much of a problem for the Calamity Group; otherwise, their resistance wouldn't be called "friction," but a "conundrum."
At this moment, following Lin Xian's declaration, the representatives of the other Combat Sequences followed suit. They saw clearly that while they represented the interests of their respective clubs, following Teaching Assistant Xiao Han was the only correct choice in such a situation.
"Consolidate the Combat Sequences. We are going to confront the Wizard Academy directly," I said.
The situation had developed to a point where clever tricks or schemes could no longer break the deadlock. This was now a direct confrontation. The first step was to use some means to meet the other side face-to-face.
Because of the deterrent power of the Transcendent Wizards, the current stage of the Academy War had stalled at the outer ring of the Wizard Towers. No one dared to step into the Inner Ring; the consequences of crossing that line were not something just anyone could bear. Even with the Witch Academy as their solid backing, the Witch Academy couldn't stop a Transcendent Wizard from killing them instantly on the battlefield.
Now that I was here, they suddenly had a backbone. With me leading the way, even if my next sentence was to lead a charge into the Inner Ring's Wizard Towers, they felt they could give it a try.
"Sister Xiao Han, do we need any other preparations?"
Faced with my statement, while others were still hesitating, Lin Xian didn't waver for a second. After Lin Xian spoke, those who were about to say something immediately shut their mouths. If they brought up the idea of retreating now, they feared it would displease me.
"No need," I said succinctly. "I'm going straight to the Inner Ring. Consolidate the Combat Sequences and get there as fast as you can."
After giving these orders, I headed straight for the Wizard Academy's Inner Ring. I didn't use any special means; I simply walked there on foot.
Lin Xian, Millian, and the others immediately took their orders and left. Their decisiveness left the other representatives with nothing more to say, and they turned to make the same choice.
* * *
At the same time, my arrival caught the attention of the wizards.
Since I hadn't made any effort to hide my movements, they quickly located me and analyzed that I was heading toward the Inner Ring.
"What exactly does this little witch want to do?"
The group of wizards who received this news frowned in confusion. They swore that this was the most stifling period they had ever experienced in the Main World. Wizards who had remained in the Main World for a thousand years and had experienced the original Main World War felt that nothing in the past was as humiliating as the present.
They were being forced into the Inner Ring by a group of little witches who weren't even Transcendents, yet they couldn't make a move. To let these little witches act so insolently over their heads—who could endure this?
But the situation was different now. Even if they couldn't endure it, they had to.
Although the term "Little Witch" specifically referred to a certain extraordinary level within the Witch race, other races also liked to call the candidates undergoing transformation "Little Witches." It simply rolled off the tongue.
"Looking at her posture, she's heading straight for the Inner Ring." The wizard who said this frowned, his tone tinged with indignation.
"Then what do we do? If she insists on intruding, are we really going to kill her?"
Right now, they were merely fish on the Witch race's chopping block. Moving recklessly would truly mean death.
The reason they had made this choice was, firstly, because they had discerned some of the Witch Academy's intentions. Seeing that the Witch Academy wanted to use the Main World Script to complete a historical transition for the Main World, they had thought of the method of stalling for time.
Secondly, they had received news from their own Transcendent kin that the Witch race intended to hold a Void Coming-of-Age Ceremony for a certain little witch in the Main World!
With the Witch race busy with such a monumental event, they naturally wouldn't intervene in a fight to the death without reason. Especially since the deterrent of the Staff of World Destruction was effectively gone, they were no longer a threat.
There was no point in cursing those birdmen or elves now; they only wanted to live.
As for becoming Witches? That was impossible.
As a transcendent advancement system primarily composed of knowledge, the wizards' mastery of "anti-witchification techniques" was terrifying. While those elves and birdmen were still stuck at actively resisting the witchification process, the wizards, under the Great Wizard Will, had already completed a passive defense of their racial concept.
To resist the terrifying and irrational Witch race, where one could fall and become a witch with a single lapse in judgment, they had to forge this path!
In their cognitive concept, the "Brand" was not a shackle, but a... loyalty to their own race originating from the depths of their lives! They had turned their racial concept into a specialized "Racial Brand."
While it wasn't absolutely impossible to be witchified, any attempt to transform them into witches would be a near-death experience.
Ideally, if they could hold out until the Main World held the Coming-of-Age Ceremony and the forces of the Wizard race arrived, they might be able to leave by using themselves as bargaining chips.
But the Witch race likely didn't have the patience to wait any longer.
"We absolutely cannot kill her! Have you forgotten? For whom is the Witch race holding this Coming-of-Age Ceremony?"
As soon as these words were spoken, all the wizards fell silent. Were there any other little witches in the Main World? It seemed not.
"Then what should we do? Just watch her come over? We can't just stand by and let a little witch force us to retreat into World Fragments!"
"Have you still not seen the situation clearly? This isn't an ordinary little witch; she's a little witch who can stir the entire Void!"
"No matter what kind of little witch she is, it doesn't change the fact that she's just a little witch! Regardless, I can't stand being trampled upon by such a creature." This blunt wizard spoke with great irritation, his words clearly venting his emotions.
"Then why don't you go out and try to stop her? She has a record of killing Transcendents. You're a Transcendent Wizard who hasn't even reached the Saint Realm—what right do you have to throw a tantrum?"
At this, the discussion fell silent once more.
Time ticked by. Through specialized high-altitude orbital wizard tools, they witnessed the assembly and march of the Combat Sequences. Without exception, their target was the Wizard Towers of the Inner Ring!
"It's time we go meet this arrogant little witch. Their intent is clear; with such a formation... it looks like there's still room for negotiation."
* * *
Just as the wizards reached this conclusion, at the boundary of the Wizard Academy's Inner Ring...
The Combat Sequences, now solemn and fully present, stood in formation at the boundary with the most uniform pace and an extreme sense of pressure.
At this moment, the students of the Witch Academy had cast aside their usual liveliness and eccentricity, restraining their bloodthirsty and restless hearts with the strictest discipline.
Members who could enter the Combat Sequences were essentially senior sisters with high seniority. They had experienced far too much frustration and suppression on their journey, and when the first Academy War sparked by them began, it felt like a dream!
Through the baptism of war, they had released the witch nature etched into their bones. To say their hearts suppressed bloodlust and heat was absolutely no joke!
Faced with such a display, the Wizard Academy's side was also fraught with tension.
The students who still served the Transcendent Wizards gathered beneath the Wizard Towers. They commanded biological weapons created through wizardry experiments or wizardry puppets carved with magical techniques—all powerful means they had mastered.
But even so, these things failed to provide them with a sufficient sense of security.
Because the one they were facing was that Calamity Little Witch, who could slay Transcendents with an extraordinary body!
Of course, what truly made them feel despair were the Transcendent Wizards who provided them with protection. If a conflict truly broke out, they would undoubtedly be the first batch of cannon fodder sent out.