Wizard + System

CH219

Oberstein endured a catastrophe last night.

Large sections of the city wall collapsed, and countless buildings crumbled.

The city hall was almost reduced to ruins, leveled to the ground.

Numerous civilians and adventurers were killed or injured, their cries filling the air.

Parker's group stormed the city hall, unleashing a barrage of destruction that flattened it.

The three high-level elven spellcasters resisted briefly before being captured.

Severus arrived soon after.

Capturing Severus took some effort, mainly because Parker wanted him alive.

Many methods couldn't be used to avoid killing Severus.

During the fight with Severus, large sections of the city wall were destroyed.

Severus, concerned for the surrounding civilians, was hesitant in his attacks.

Parker's group eventually succeeded in capturing Severus.

Amid the city hall ruins, the governor looked at the devastation and corpses, filled with despair and hopelessness.

With such a disaster, his career was over, and he'd face accountability.

Tyron stood nearby, disheveled, watching the governor, "I warned you about the danger! If you'd evacuated earlier, the casualties wouldn't have been this severe!"

The governor remained silent, eyes blank.

Tyron had spent the night directing soldiers to rescue the injured, exhausted.

Seeing the governor's despondence, Tyron realized he couldn't rely on him.

In this chaos, Tyron's leadership barely stabilized the situation.

The three high-level elven spellcasters and the magicians were captured.

Parker's group's power left a deep impression on Tyron.

"Wizards… are they really this powerful?"

In Tyron's mind, a magician was already a formidable force.

Severus, a renowned guardian of the Norn Kingdom, was captured by these wizards!

Besides rescuing the injured, Tyron issued a notice, warning of the dangers in the Lim Mountains and urging Oberstein's people to evacuate.

This notice should've come from the governor, but he was unreliable now.

Given the urgency, Tyron made the decision himself.

In reality, the notice wasn't needed; many survivors and adventurers were already fleeing Oberstein.

They didn't know what happened, only that a group of demon-like figures wreaked havoc.

The wizards' spells were beyond comprehension, perceived as demonic.

Though the group left, they left an indelible terror in Oberstein's people's hearts.

At dawn, people began fleeing.

Adventurers, especially spellcasters, understood Parker's group's power, realizing they were at least magician-level, losing interest in exploring the Lim Mountains.

These adventurers fled the fastest, knowing the place was unsafe.

Many adventurers, initially seeking fortune in danger, were terrified upon learning magic emerged from the Lim Mountains.

As Oberstein descended into chaos, Base 27 moved to the next phase.

"This is the Shadow Altar blueprint. We have the materials in storage. Next, we'll establish at least twenty Shadow Altars in the Lim Mountains."

Cain held a blueprint, explaining to Helag and the other first-level wizards.

Helag understood after the explanation.

A Shadow Altar is a summoning altar with pre-arranged magical arrays.

By channeling magic into the altar, shadow creatures from the Shadow Plane can be summoned.

These creatures are controlled by Base 27's personnel and used in combat.

The creatures possess knight-level strength or first and second-level wizard apprentice spellcasting abilities.

Shadow Altars are commonly used in the wizard plane for quickly mass-producing troops to seize resources.

Both elves and wizards have limited populations.

Formal wizards in the Land of Dawn aren't numerous, and even fewer are available for war in the elven plane. Wizards can't handle everything personally.

The summoned shadow creatures serve as frontline soldiers.

Since only magic is needed for summoning, it's nearly cost-free for wizards.

With enough magic, troops can be endlessly produced.

Oberstein's people should be grateful Parker chose Shadow Altars.

Many bases use blood sacrifice altars, summoning stronger creatures.

Parker, not specializing in that area, opted for the conventional Shadow Altar.

The altar construction task was assigned to Helag and the first-level wizards.

Helag's group was tasked with building one altar.

Construction was simple, with materials ready for assembly.

The challenge was producing fifty shadow creatures daily after construction.

For a typical first-level wizard, this was a significant drain and laborious.

***

Helag collected the materials and blueprint from Cain, then led David and Reese to their designated location to build the Shadow Altar.

Their altar was near the mountain entrance, a relatively dangerous spot.

If attacked, they'd be the first to encounter the enemy.

"Let's get the altar up quickly."

Helag assessed the location, feeling the pressure.

David and Reese, aware of the risk, began assembling the altar with black rectangular stones.

The altar formed a hexagon, layered with three stone tiers.

The assembly was straightforward, completed in an hour.

Next was summoning shadow creatures.

Following the blueprint, Helag channeled magic into the altar.

Grooves on the altar lit up red as magic flowed in.

A black mist appeared in the altar's center, gradually solidifying as Helag continued channeling magic.

After a minute, a black two-headed wolf emerged on the altar.

The wolf sniffed Helag and the others, then calmly approached and sat beside them.

Summoned creatures remained near the altar unless commanded otherwise.

Helag's group could command the creatures, but Cain instructed them to keep the creatures near the altar unless necessary.

CH220

Helag didn't quite understand how these creatures identified allies.

For instance, the two-headed wolf was seeing the three of them for the first time, yet it recognized them as allies.

Helag could only guess that their identities were recorded in the magical array at Base 27.

The Shadow Altars might be linked to Base 27's array, allowing summoned creatures to distinguish friend from foe.

Helag estimated that with his magic, he could summon over a hundred shadow creatures a day.

He turned to David and Reese, "Try it yourselves and see how many you can summon in a day."

"I'll give it a shot," David said, stepping up to the altar and channeling magic like Helag to summon a shadow creature.

Minutes later, an eight-legged spider crawled down from the altar.

Reese screamed, instinctively clinging to Helag.

Helag felt a bit flustered.

"You're a first-level wizard, and you're scared of this?" he said, exasperated.

Reese, embarrassed, let go, "I-I'm terrified of spiders."

The spider looked at Reese with its compound eyes, then crawled over, seemingly awaiting her command, making Reese retreat in fear.

"See, it likes you," Helag chuckled.

Reese shook her head vigorously, clearly not fond of the spider.

Her skin prickled with goosebumps, showing her genuine fear.

"Go over there," Helag directed the spider to the nearby forest.

The spider obeyed Helag's command, scuttling into the woods.

"David, how many shadow creatures can you summon in a day?" Helag asked.

David pondered, "If I use all my magic, I can summon thirty."

Helag nodded, turning to Reese, "Your turn."

Reese approached the altar, summoning another spider, then quickly hid behind Helag.

"And you? How many can you summon?" Helag asked.

"A-About thirty-five," Reese estimated.

Knowing their limits, Helag said, "Our daily task is fifty creatures. I'll handle twenty, and you each do fifteen."

Twenty shadow creatures wouldn't drain much of his magic.

He wanted David and Reese to retain some combat ability.

If they used all their magic for summoning, they'd be defenseless in emergencies.

"We can take on more, Helag. You're the main force," David suggested, worried about Helag's magic depletion.

Helag shook his head, "Don't worry about my magic."

He had stored magic in his diagram, and even after summoning twenty creatures, he'd have plenty left.

The trio began summoning creatures in turns, completing fifty in just over an hour.

The altar was soon surrounded by active shadow creatures.

The Lim Mountains were teeming with them, turning it into a shadow creature haven.

Shadow Altar summoning wasn't limitless, capped at fifty per day.

To summon more, they'd wait for the altar to stabilize by the next day.

Forcing more summons would damage the altar, risking collapse from overuse.

Twenty altars spread across the Lim Mountains, spaced apart.

With these creatures, patrols no longer required personnel.

Base 27 could monitor the Lim Mountains through the shadow creatures.

In one day, a thousand creatures populated the mountains.

Though not enough for conquest, time would increase their numbers, forming a formidable force.

Parker seemed in no rush for a large-scale operation, likely planning to amass more power.

Helag glanced at Oberstein, knowing those who didn't evacuate in time would face hell when the creature army emerged.

Oberstein's fifty-thousand-strong army, though numerous, was no match for the creatures.

These creatures were at least knight-level, with some first and second-level wizard apprentices.

Knights were elite in the army, and the creature army's absolute power would leave Oberstein's border forces no chance.

***

A month later.

Lucio arrived in Oberstein with a coalition from three elven tribes.

The group included three magician-level spellcasters, over ten high-level spellcasters, and several mid and low-level ones, totaling over sixty.

The large elven contingent entered Oberstein.

Though the city had mostly cleared the ruins and was repairing the walls, the devastation still shocked Lucio.

He'd received news of the attack, the capture of three tribesmen and Severus, their whereabouts unknown.

Lucio wanted to come sooner but needed time to coordinate with the other tribes, ensuring their cooperation.

Traveling quickly on special-bloodline horses, they reached Oberstein.

The city's population had dwindled, with most who could leave already gone.

Those remaining had reasons not to leave.

Once a bustling border city, Oberstein was now desolate.

Seeing this, Lucio felt somewhat relieved.

He knew the brutality of fighting wizards.

The fewer civilians, the fewer unnecessary casualties.

Tyron soon learned of the elves' arrival and hurried to meet them.

He looked older, with more white hair and a weary demeanor.

He'd been overwhelmed, responsible for everything.

The governor was no longer in Oberstein, summoned to Seastone City by the king for questioning.

Now, Tyron was in charge, with full authority.

The king had one demand: he didn't understand wizards, but Oberstein must be defended.