Chapter 231: Cooperation Reached: Toppling the Wizard Tower
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 231: Cooperation Reached: Toppling the Wizard Tower
"Heh, it seems I still underestimated your ability to lie through your teeth, Witch." Archie’s expression was unreadable, caught somewhere between a sneer and a hollow smile.
However, it was clear he was weighing the pros and cons.
Even if I left right now, what would be left for Holy Angel Academy? They still had their students, of course, but what could they actually achieve?
The past day had proven that twenty-four hours wasn't enough to accomplish much. Furthermore, if he started mindlessly grinding points on a massive scale, he would become everyone's target.
Either everyone would hide from him, or they would unite to crusade against them.
That didn't fit the usual style of Holy Angel Academy. One could say he was currently mired in a swamp; no matter which way he moved, he was bound to end up covered in mud.
He simply hadn't made up his mind yet—whether to break his internal moral compass and prioritize profit above all else.
After all, his academy was one of the Three Top Academies. If he lowered himself to such tactics and became the subject of gossip, it would be a devastating blow to the faith in the Holy Light.
To put it bluntly, his baggage was too heavy. One slip-up now, and he’d be plunged into eternal damnation.
"If you don't believe me, we can sign a contract. You've heard of the reputation of a Witch Contract, haven't you?"
Although I didn't know much about Witch Contracts myself, the Sea Clan had trusted it implicitly during our previous cooperation. At the very least, something governed by Transcendent power was far better than an empty verbal promise.
In short, as long as there was a possibility, I would try. Worst case scenario, I’d run away, summarize the situation, and head back to Tan Han and the others to re-plan.
When there’s a way out, why not give it one more push? There was no need for hesitation now.
"A Witch Contract... I have heard of it. A Witch's contract is the only promise a Witch will never break..."
"Good that you've heard of it. I only want the Wizard Academy to lose their Wizard Tower. You can name whatever other requirements you want."
"I want all the resources on your person that can be taken out of this world. Additionally, I want your full cooperation, and you are not to backstab me in any way, directly or indirectly."
"You! You really are demanding the lion's share!" I rejected his demand immediately. He was treating me like a total sucker. Did he want to be a well-fed ghost before he died?
How could his appetite be so huge?
"Then there is nothing to discuss. After all, you are the one begging me for this."
"That's not how a mutually beneficial cooperation works. Even though I proposed the plan, you can't just slaughter me like a prize pig... right? I can give you all the kills from the Wizard Academy. How about that? I'll just beat them into critical condition, and you can harvest the points."
"Do you think that's possible?"
"Then I'll add the materials from their storage equipment that can be taken away. There are so many of them; it'll definitely be more than what I have alone, right?"
"Those would have been my spoils of war anyway, Witch. Don't try to swap concepts on me!"
"I'm putting in effort too, so naturally, I deserve a share. Is it not enough that I'm giving up my portion?"
"From start to finish, nothing you've said has shown a shred of sincerity. All I see is your hypocrisy and an attempt to get something for nothing!"
"You! Doing this means the negotiations have failed!" I watched his merciless strike and dodged indignantly. Why wasn't this guy's head wired for profit?
If the Wizard Academy were in this position, they would have definitely dragged Holy Angel Academy down with them by now. But what was this birdman doing?
He wouldn't listen to anything. Was I really offering too little? But these things are supposed to be negotiated!
As expected, talking to someone whose brain functions on a completely different level is a massive pain. Is this what a Holy Angel Academy student with faith in their heart is like?
I just couldn't understand it.
After a brief exchange of blows, I confirmed that Archie, backed by an entire Source Spring of Holy Light, was now stronger than me. If he used that power without restraint, he could absolutely crush me.
However, he didn't seem psychologically prepared to use that power to its fullest. It wasn't his alone; he was the leader, and he had to consider his teammates.
"Do I really have to leave with my tail between my legs?"
I was unwilling, but reality was harsh. Even if I used my Fire Rain Domain, I wouldn't gain anything from him. It would just waste my mana, and while he would also consume a large amount of power, it wasn't worth it for me.
"Hmph... You and your Holy Angel Academy can just wait for your slow death..." Just as I was throwing out parting threats and preparing to bolt, I spotted a figure in the distance.
My body, which had just flown out, pulled a sharp U-turn and came right back.
Archie, who had just barely begun to relax, furrowed his brows. "Weren't you planning to run? Why are you back? Still haven't given up?"
"Of course I haven't! You underestimate my obsession with that Wizard Tower! Besides... look who that is?"
I dropped my previous submissive tone, my confidence surging. Facing Archie at his current peak, I simply pointed a finger behind me.
"That's... Tan Han!"
At that moment, Archie truly wished he was seeing things. But as the figure grew clearer, reality told him his eyes weren't failing him.
"That's right. The tables have turned, haven't they? What do you think you're going to do against me and Tan Han together?"
"It hasn't been long since Tan Han used that spell. She's nothing more than a spent force right now. What are you expecting?"
"I used a similar method not long ago, and aren't I still holding my own against you? Stop playing dumb and lying to yourself. It's time to make a choice!"
The corners of my mouth curled into a bold smile. So what if he was a Child of Destiny?
Tan Han was here, and her luck would clash directly with his. I have to say, she timed her arrival perfectly!
I thought they would just wait for my good news after finishing the tea party. I didn't expect them to actually come and support me. I was truly moved!
"Are you so confident that Tan Han will agree to your proposal?" Archie's resolve wavered again. It wasn't that he was weak-willed, but the development of events had far exceeded his expectations. He had reached a point of no return.
"Tan Han listens to me, of course."
"I see... The true leader of the Witch Academy has been you all along, hasn't it!"
"Wait, how did you reach that conclusion?" I frowned at Archie, who looked like he had just had an epiphany. He didn't understand a damn thing!
"Wrong guess! I have zero talent for leadership. I'm not even a competent Class Monitor. So, I'm not the leader. Don't overcomplicate things."
"Heh, there it is again. As expected, the words of a Witch cannot be trusted."
"You people! You're the ones who keep saying Witches can't be trusted! Where did this rumor even come from? My credit isn't that bad!"
"Xiao Han! Careful, I'm here to help!"
Tan Han's voice drifted in from the distance. But as she took in the scene, even her expression turned solemn. The aura the opponent was radiating was far too terrifying—it was barely inferior to her own state after using the Ancient Remnant Ice transformation.
"Tan Han, don't attack yet. You don't quite know the situation," I said, signaling with my hand.
"Understood."
Tan Han had seen and heard me arguing with him just now. She certainly had many questions, but she knew how to prioritize.
"Now, can we have a proper talk? I won't give you a multiple-choice question anymore. Let's just discuss it directly. The three of us will topple the Wizard Tower. What do you say?"
"I don't think much of it. Don't think that just because you've teamed up with Tan Han, you can make whatever demands you want."
"Xiao Han." Even if Tan Han didn't understand the situation, the atmosphere of the conversation felt like a fight could break out at any second.
"It's fine. Archie has drawn out the Source Spring of Holy Light from the floating island. No one can stop him in terms of raw strength right now. But doing this is overdrawing his power. Once this power is used up, Holy Angel Academy will be forced to withdraw early. You understand what that means, right?" I briefly described the situation to Tan Han.
"No wonder... his aura is so powerful. But... this is undoubtedly drinking poison to quench thirst for Holy Angel Academy... Why would he..." Tan Han quickly processed the information I gave her, constructing a version of the situation she could understand.
"Don't ask. It's a sore spot. Just cooperate with me. Our goals are aligned right now. If we succeed, we can take down that Wizard Tower with the smallest possible cost."
"Now it just depends on whether he's willing to cooperate," I said with a smile.
I turned my gaze back to Archie. I didn't mind stating the plan so plainly; after all, we all knew what was at stake. If he couldn't figure it out, it just meant he wasn't very bright.
Similarly, this was an expression of my sincerity. Sincerity is a powerful weapon—as long as you don't stupidly rely on it alone. Sincerity combined with any strategy is a winning hand.
"Now, Tan Han and I, representing the Witch Academy, will sign a contract with your school. I wonder if Lord Archie has any interest?"
This time, I adopted a formal tone and gave him plenty of face, even framing the cooperation in the name of the academies. He shouldn't have any reason to refuse now.
Even if he had a reason, he had to consider the practical reality and whether he could afford the price of turning against us right now.
The "nothing to lose" attitude of a desperate man wasn't a universal excuse. After all, he wasn't "dead" yet, was he?
Who wouldn't back off from someone in the middle of a final, desperate surge of power?
But the people he was facing now were the two pillars of the Witch Academy's freshman class.
"I hope your Witch Academy doesn't disappoint me."
Archie let out a sigh and made his decision. No matter how the other Holy Angel students looked at him or opposed him, he had to do this.
* * *
Meanwhile, in the Land of Eternal Darkness.
The group of witches had seen Tan Han off. They weren't without combat power; it was just that, compared to those two sun-like figures, they appeared mediocre.
But their strength was absolutely not to be underestimated.
At the very least, before entering the Exchange Competition, they had received various high-consumption spellbooks from the academy under various pretexts.
If they truly went all out, their combat power would be terrifying.
It was just that they couldn't intervene in battles at the level of the "Over-consumption Spellbook" earlier.
And now, they needed to clean up the battlefield here—for example, the dwarves over there, and the blood pool that needed to be destroyed after the tea party was over.
They just needed to hold this position and wait for Sister Tan Han and Sister Xiao Han to arrive.
After Tan Han helped them break through the Holy Artifact protection of the dwarves' war fortress, she had begun her self-recovery, restoring her mana, mental power, and physical strength.
Tan Han had said she couldn't just watch Xiao Han try to "backdoor" the enemy alone; she needed to provide support.
No one objected to this.
Because during that time, Tan Han had told them exactly what Xiao Han had done.
Going to "backdoor" the home base of either Holy Angel or the Wizard Academy, and doing it alone... No one felt comfortable with her going by herself.
That was why no one opposed Tan Han's decision, and why she had arrived so opportunely.
Now that the tea party was over, the Witch Academy had firmly secured the top spot in the rankings. Even facing the rising ritual light pillars, they had the "wealthy" mindset of someone who didn't really care.
Given the current situation, even if they did nothing, the other academies would need to score three points in a row to overtake them. Just thinking about it with one's knees felt unrealistic.
Right now, they had something more important to do: deal with the war fortress and the dwarves who were very much in the way.
These dwarves came from two schools: the Comprehensive Dwarf Academy and the Dwarf Forging Academy.
It was truly formidable that such a massive war fortress could be operated by only a dozen or so people.
But now, they had become prisoners of the Witch Academy. With their Holy Artifacts stripped away, they were just dwarves at the mercy of others. Even with their strong physical constitutions, they were no match for casters like witches.
However, the witches clearly had their own ideas.
The most direct thought was to make this war fortress serve the Witch Academy. But simply threatening the dwarves wouldn't work.
Moreover, the Witch Academy was currently the entity the dwarves hated most. If it weren't for the witches, they wouldn't be in such a pathetic state!
But if one were to truly look for the cause... it could only be said they brought it on themselves.
Furthermore, the witches held a very fatal weakness of theirs.
The war fortress was now essentially the property of the Witch Academy. Even if the witches didn't know how to use it, they would never let the Dwarf Academy take it back.
If the dwarves fell out with the Witch Academy now, the witches might just dismantle the war fortress entirely, which would be a catastrophic loss.
More importantly, their Holy Artifacts had been confiscated. This meant that if they died and respawned, their Holy Artifacts would not respawn with them.
At that point, they would be sitting ducks with no advantages or means of defense!
"Have you thought it through? You shouldn't be unable to distinguish such simple pros and cons, right?" Minian and the other girls faced the dwarves, not being polite in the slightest.
"If you agree, then we'll have a pleasant cooperation."
"If you don't, I'll kill you all right now! I'm quite short on points."
"Your Holy Artifacts are all still in this storage bag, you know. Think carefully~"
They chimed in one after another, prodding at the dwarves' logic and boundaries, using facts to persuade them bit by bit.
After all, if they reached a cooperation, they could sit atop this war fortress and sweep through the remaining academies. What a beautiful prospect that would be!
From then on, wherever a ritual light pillar lit up on the map, they would head there. The era of the Witch Academy's total dominance over the Exchange Competition was about to begin!
* * *
On the other side, as the contract burned in the air, the agreement signed with three names was officially established.
"Perfect! I told you there was room for cooperation. Now toppling the Wizard Tower is a sure thing!" I said with a laugh.
"Don't get happy too soon, Xiao Han. The Wizard Tower isn't that easy to knock down." Tan Han shook her head, throwing a bucket of cold water on my excitement. She had personally experienced the Wizard Academy's methods.
Even if Archie possessed this terrifying power now, it wasn't a hundred percent guaranteed.
A Wizard Tower was vital to a wizard. Unlike a World Tree or a floating island, its interior provided wizards with various resource replenishments—basic Wizard Tool materials were just the start.
For instance, if a wizard apprentice specialized in Gu insects or voodoo, the Wizard Tower would provide materials to feed the insects, raw ingredients for voodoo, and so on.
It could even provide the casting materials needed for witchcraft.
Similarly, the interior of a Wizard Tower required professionals to operate it. The most terrifying part was naturally the solidified Great Witchcraft at the very top, which used the entire tower as a Wizard Tool ritual.
Other things like protection shields were just basic functions.
The most annoying part was the witchcraft turrets used for fire suppression. The Wizard Tower's weapon defense system was truly perverted.
And this was just the "cut-down" version of a Wizard Tower suitable for the Exchange Competition. One could only imagine how terrifying a complete Wizard Tower would be.
Furthermore, not every wizard was qualified to build their own Wizard Tower.
Even in the Wizard Academy, not every Transcendent Wizard had the right to build one. it required a massive, even astronomical amount of resources, as well as deeper requirements.
"True. I've also tasted the power of the Wizard Academy's Wizard Tower. It's not to be underestimated."
"Wait, what's with you? Did you get nerfed the moment you joined the party? Stop slacking! Get it together, Archie! Where's that energy you had when you were hitting me earlier!" I looked at the equally solemn Archie and immediately went into roasting mode.
"I am merely expressing my viewpoint. The strength of the Wizard Tower is an objective fact; we cannot rely on wishful thinking. Moreover, destroying it requires even more powerful means, or perhaps a weapon... a carrier..."
"Speaking of which... can that floating island still be saved?" I asked weakly.
Although the floating island had already smashed into the ground and merged with the earth, I still asked naively.
"No," Archie said, shaking his head.
"Alright... Wait, Archie, if I gave you a giant sword, could you chop down that Wizard Tower?"
"A giant sword? Don't even mention weapons." Archie shook his head again.
"I mean the one in the Fallen Land. Tan Han, you've seen it, right?" I looked toward Tan Han.
"That one? It is indeed... big enough."
"I don't understand what you're talking about. We are in a cooperative relationship now. If you aren't even willing to share basic information and intelligence, I will question the sincerity of this cooperation," Archie said, frowning.
"It's hard to explain. I'll just show you." I stood up and put some distance between us. Even Tan Han instinctively backed away, as she had seen that giant sword before.
"Is it the sword from the Fallen Land's terrain setting, the one that killed the Abyssal Troll? I've only seen it on the map. You have a way to transport it here?" Archie thought of something and asked tentatively.
"Naturally. Just a small trick." I smiled confidently. The teleportation mark on that sword was intact; after all, it was still quietly stuck at the bottom of the water, and no one would bother it.
"The moment I saw that giant sword, I was imagining what would happen if it were plunged into a Wizard Tower, a World Tree, or... heh, never mind..."
Although I didn't finish my sentence, Archie knew what I meant: plunging it into their floating island.
But there was no chance for that now.
"Ready? The big one is coming!"
I sat on my broom in the sky and reached out. A teleportation ritual appeared before me, followed by the appearance of a chilling sword tip. Even though this sword had weathered countless years, its sharpness had not diminished.
It truly was a blade worthy of slaying an Abyssal Troll.
In the next moment, under its own weight, the giant sword dropped rapidly from the teleportation ritual, the blade whistling as it sliced through the air.
Even so, it took quite a while for the full appearance of the sword to be completely revealed before Archie.
It stood there like a monument, glinting with a cold, grim light under the sun.
Only upon getting close could one see the wind-eroded marks and nicks on the blade from its long history.
Archie was stunned by the giant sword before him. He hadn't expected this witch to have such a trick up her sleeve. If this sword had been plunged into the floating island back then... he didn't even dare to think about it.
But he quickly recovered and realized the various drawbacks and limitations.
"This sword is indeed spectacular... but even with the blessing of the Holy Light... I cannot use it. You can't expect me to take this and chop at the Wizard Tower. I can't swing it." Archie said helplessly.
"Then what if I summon it from high in the sky, and you join me? You provide the blessing of the Holy Light's power. Do you think we can break through the Wizard Tower then?" I asked.
"It's worth a try," Archie gave a measured response.