153: Going out

Half a year later.

wizard's path Year 28, November.

It was time for the expedition.

Half a year ago, after the Academy's highest management committee passed the resolution for a general mobilization concerning the "fruit of life," the Academy's elites gathered, and with all their might, forged a powerful team.

According to the information the Academy received from the Seven Towers Alliance, this Elven Secret Realm belonged to the backyard of a powerful Fourth-Order Morning Star Black Wizard from ancient times.

However, due to the suppression of the rules of heaven and earth, and the changes brought by tens of thousands of years, this Elven Secret Realm had undergone some transformations.

Most of the high-level magical beasts and rare plants had vanished into the river of history.

Only a First-Order Ancient Elf Tree survived due to a mutation, which was the most precious resource in this secret realm, hence the secret realm was also called the Elven Secret Realm.

The Seven Towers Alliance had controlled this secret realm for over a thousand years, and through continuous compromises and negotiations among the various academies, a mature and detailed strategy plan and rules for contention had long been established...

Rules for Contending for the fruit of life:

One: Only White Wizards of the Seven Towers Alliance are qualified to contend.

(Small family forces of wizards and Black Wizards are not allowed to interfere. This is the interest of White Wizards as the overlords of the Mist Coast.)

Two: The number of expedition teams is determined by the number of Formal Wizards. There are 100 slots for ordinary Formal Wizards and 150 Wizard Apprentice slots for First-Order Peak Wizards.

(Heart of Plants, with only one First-Order Peak Formal Wizard, was allocated 150 slots.)

Three: Radiant Fire Wizard Academy already possesses a small secret realm, so it can only contend once every three times.

(In this contention, Radiant Fire Academy has a bye and will not participate, so 6 academies will contend for 3 fruits of life. Heart of Plants still has hope. 1 VS 1)

Four: The First-Order Ancient Elf Tree must not be damaged, and Wizard Academies with the intention to contend must prepare a large amount of blood and living beings for sacrifice in advance.

(The mutated First-Order Ancient Elf Tree requires a large amount of external life force for sacrifice and replenishment to bear mature fruits of life. This has also become a form of indirect transaction.)

Five: To avoid internal strife among White Wizards, reduce casualties, and maintain fairness, each academy must report the number and list of participants to the Seven Towers Alliance high-level decision-makers three months in advance. A draw will then determine which academies will fight each other in pairs.

(This time, Heart of Plants will face its old rival, Blood Fortress. 150 people against 200 people, as Blood Fortress has two ordinary Formal Wizards.)

Grimm stood on a temporarily constructed high platform.

He looked at the 149 Wizard Apprentices from the Academy, ready for battle below. Each of them exuded a profound aura, and their eyes were filled with mutual trust and determination.

This was a powerful team, refined over half a year of intense training, including:

50 Guardian Bloodline Great Knights (who had transplanted the bloodline of powerful First-Order creatures, equipped with advanced anti-magic armor sets, and advanced anti-magic composite metal semi-circular shields. Their defensive capabilities were exceptionally strong, making them the absolute defensive main force of the team.)

52 Senior Intermediate Wizard Apprentices (all of whom also cultivated the Path of the Knight, possessed Grand Knight cultivation, and were equipped with advanced anti-magic armor sets and high anti-magic composite metal small arm shields. They were Assault Knights and members of the joint spellcasting group.)

30 Senior Advanced Wizard Apprentices (among them, 10 were peak Advanced Wizards who had failed to break through to Formal Wizard, suffering severe damage to their vitality. They voluntarily requested to use a life-sustaining secret art, which could unleash peak combat power for 10 minutes, but after which they would immediately perish without cure. They were the Academy's sworn fighters and hidden trump card.)

18 Bio-armor Experimenters (all of whom were mature peak combatants, including Grimm. They were also a reserve force of the Academy.)

Looking at this lineup, it was clear that Heart of Plants had contributed all its resources. Over a hundred years of accumulated wealth and talent had forged this powerful team.

For this, the Academy had abandoned all its resource points on the Mist Island and had also voluntarily retreated fifty miles from the border with Blood Fortress.

If they failed to achieve their goal this time, Heart of Plants would truly decline...

"Respected Academy mentors, beloved Wizard seniors, and united and cherished comrades-in-arms:

A century of arduous struggle;

A century of pioneering through thorns;

A century of enduring hardships.

The Heart of Plants Academy has been passed down for 138 years, and you, standing below, are the fruit and essence of these past hundred years.

I am deeply honored to be one of the leaders of this expedition, representing all our colleagues in this oath and mobilization.

This is the recognition and expectation that many mentors and colleagues have placed upon me.

At the same time, I am also very apprehensive. Standing on this high platform, I see a heavy responsibility and everyone's profound anticipation.

Anticipation that I can lead you to ultimate victory, seize the fruit of life, and cultivate a new Formal Wizard for the Academy.

This is the undeniable responsibility on the shoulders of every Wizard colleague present.

At this critical moment of turmoil, with the very foundation crumbling, the condition of Lord Joyce is not optimistic. He is over 400 years old. How much longer can he shield us from the storm?

Ten years, or twenty years?

At this time of crisis for survival, it is time for us, the taller ones among the Wizard Apprentices, to stand up and bear the weight of the world.

If the sky falls, we will hold it up!

However, what we hope for even more is that—the sky will never fall.

So what do we do?

We will create a new sky ourselves.

The outside world always questions our Academy's teaching standards, saying that our Academy has developed for over a hundred years, occupying a large amount of resources from the Seven Towers Alliance, yet it cannot even cultivate a single Formal Wizard.

They even say it would be better to abdicate and give way to those smaller Wizard families, and some even mock us for being unable to defeat Black Wizards, calling us the shame of White Wizards.

These are all just a bunch of sour grapes.

What does our Heart of Plants Academy rely on to stand tall in the Seven Towers Alliance, becoming one of the 7 towering Wizard Towers on the Mist Coast?

It relies on power, naked power.

Back then, Lord Joyce, by his own strength, suppressed all dissent with overwhelming power, thus laying the foundation for our Academy's century-long legacy.

Now, it is time for us to display our power.

Smash those mongrels from Blood Fortress!

Seize the fruit of life!

I, Grimm, hereby vow: success or death.

To sacrifice one's life for righteousness, how can there be a choice?

"Success or death!" X149

"To sacrifice one's life for righteousness, how can there be a choice?" X149

Below the high platform, all the wizards were stirred, shouting in unison, venting their determination and fighting spirit.

Over the past half year, these 150 wizards had all become aware of the current situation of the Heart of Plants Wizard Academy and clearly understood the importance of this battle to the Academy.

For many White Wizards who had grown, studied, worked, and lived in the Academy, Heart of Plants was their home.

Any enemy who wished to destroy their home was unforgivable.

Now, the wizards of Blood Fortress had become the biggest obstacle to seizing the fruit of life.

Everyone was united, determined to fight to the death, unleashing their utmost resolve to protect their home.

"To arms!"