The Synthesis Wizard

Three days later, Sunan led the golem army into Matu, officially taking control of the city-state.

One had to admit that vampires were a formidable race.

With their long lifespans, cunning tactics, and formidable combat abilities, they excelled both in direct combat and as scouts and assassins.

Their only weaknesses were their fear of sunlight and low reproduction rates.

Fortunately, in the underground world, the former was a non-issue.

However, the low reproduction rate limited Matu's expansion.

Despite being a large city-state, the vampire population was less than two hundred, while their subordinate races and slaves numbered over ten thousand.

Thanks to their individual combat prowess, with knights and grand knights aplenty, they managed to keep their subordinates and slaves in check.

Thousands of stalactites hung from the cave ceiling, with blue, green, and dark purple ghostly flames flickering between them, resembling a sea of clouds and providing faint illumination to all of Matu.

Standing atop a two to three hundred meter high stone pillar, Sunan looked down at the ground. He watched the golems march into the city, while the slaves busily transported various supplies, resembling ants scurrying about, giving him a god-like view over the masses.

Now that the Kasham insect swarm had been cleared, the vampires of Matu had surrendered, and the ghouls of Osen had been wiped out by the Red Widow, with Lake U City already long under his control.

It could be said that the entire area within a hundred miles was now his domain.

In time, once he had digested the fruits of war and brought all the city-states under his control, he would have truly established a foothold in the underground world, securing a territory of his own.

"The ghouls of Osen have been annihilated, leaving only subjugated races and slaves. We need to send a team to manage affairs there."

"I'll dispatch a group of manticores and vampires from Lake U City and Matu."

Having subdued Matu's vampires and with the manticores, Sunan finally had enough manpower.

However, this led to a new issue: a shortage of forces.

While Kasham could be ignored, Lake U City, Matu, and Osen all required garrisons.

Despite the losses in the recent war, the remaining golems were more than enough to defend Lake U City.

He could even spare some to station in Matu to guard it alongside the vampires.

But Osen was now militarily vulnerable, requiring a significant number of golems to fill the gap.

Additionally, Osen and Matu together controlled six mines, all needing golems for development, protection, and ore transport.

All of this demanded manpower.

Including the clay golems, there was a shortfall of nearly a thousand golems.

"The golem crafting will be handled by the base."

With more apprentices mastering golem crafting at the base, Sunan no longer needed to painstakingly create stone golems himself.

If needed, he could offer higher task rewards to quickly acquire a large batch of stone golems.

This was how the golem army had doubled in size in just over a month for the recent war.

Of course, steel golems and Twin-Blade Spiders still required his personal attention.

"Next, I'll focus on researching bloodline imprints and divine energy."

Sunan gazed in the direction of Lake U City.

The Death Knell Striker was imprisoned at Base 2, guarded by three high-grade stone golems, three elite Twin-Blade Spiders, and the Hidden Dragon, ensuring there was no escape.

For the foreseeable future, his focus would be on this ancient bloodline insect.

Late at night, with clouds obscuring the silver moon, the night sky was dim and starless.

Saulo walked along a secluded forest path, surrounded by darkness.

After some time, he stopped, extending his palm. A sphere of light emerged, casting a gentle glow in all directions, elongating the shadows of dense cedar trunks across the forest floor. Yet where the light couldn't reach, the darkness seemed even deeper.

"Come out," Saulo said in a low voice.

Two figures emerged from the darkness, stepping into the light.

The figure on the left was so bloated it hardly resembled a human form. Something seemed stuffed under its gray robe, stretching it to the point of bursting, emitting strange noises as if something inside were chewing.

The figure on the right only reached an adult human's waist, resembling a dwarf. A wide, long black robe trailed on the ground, completely obscuring its figure. Its face was hidden under the hood, revealing only darkness.

"Why did you call us so urgently? What's happened?"

The short, black-robed figure spoke slowly, its voice piercing like a child in puberty.

"Ugo is dead," Saulo said.

The tall and short figures were silent for a moment before the black-robed figure asked:

"Who did it?"

"Sunan."

"Who is Sunan?" the bloated figure in the gray robe asked in a muffled voice.

The black-robed figure scoffed, "How long have you been holed up in your lab to not know of Sunan?"

The gray-robed figure glanced at the black-robed one but said nothing.

Saulo explained, "Sunan is a newly ascended third-level wizard apprentice from the Starlight Duchy, but he's strong and now a member of the Forest Cabin."

"How did Ugo get involved with Sunan?" the black-robed figure asked.

"He tried to seize the divine remains from the Spark Church in Sunan's possession, attacked Sunan's territory in the underground, but was outmatched and killed by Sunan."

"And the Death Knell Striker?"

"Presumably in Sunan's hands now."

The black-robed figure clicked its tongue disdainfully, "That guy who spent all his time underground playing with bugs is dead, so be it. But it's a shame about the Death Knell Striker. Ancient bloodline descendants are rare. In my hands, it would've been much more useful."

"I want to eat it!" the gray-robed figure said in a muffled voice.

"Eat, eat, eat! That's all you think about! Shut up! Say it again, and I'll kill you!"

The black-robed figure suddenly erupted, its voice rising several pitches, filled with violence and cruelty.

Saulo frowned, barking, "Calm down!"

The black-robed figure paused, taking a deep breath, calming down before coldly apologizing.

"The bloodline is severely affecting your emotions and reason," Saulo said sternly. "Find a solution soon, or I'll expel you from the Immortal Society!"

The Immortal Society may be seen as madmen by other wizard apprentices, but they didn't see it that way.

Everything they did was out of conscious will, to enhance their power, a rational judgment, unlike those driven mad by losing their reason.

Rationality was paramount for a wizard.

Even the Immortal Society would scorn an apprentice who lost their reason.

The black-robed figure was silent for a moment, then nodded, "I know, and I have a lead. It won't be long before I solve this."

"Good," Saulo nodded slightly.

"Back to the point, did you call us here just for Ugo? Surely you don't intend to avenge him?"

Saulo shook his head, "I'm not that noble. I called you for the Tower of Stars."

The Tower of Stars!

The mention of these four words made both the black-robed and gray-robed figures react.

The black-robed figure immediately asked, "Have you found the Tower of Stars?"

"No," Saulo replied calmly, "but I have a lead on it."

"The Tower of Stars appears every twenty years. The next opening is in twelve years, but its location is random, and you need a key to find the exact spot. A key is also needed to enter."

The black-robed figure asked suspiciously, "How do you know this?"

"I read about the Tower of Stars in a tome and deduced it is closely related to the Kesler family of the Starlight Duchy, so I approached Evans and inquired."

"Evans? The third-circle legendary knight from the Kesler family?"

"Exactly."

"Would he reveal such crucial information?"

"I used some methods."

The black-robed figure chuckled knowingly.

It was rumored that Evans made a deal with Sunan, surrendering in exchange for preserving the last royal bloodline of the Kesler family.

Saulo likely used that royal bloodline as leverage to force Evans to divulge the Tower of Stars lead.

Otherwise, it's hard to imagine a third-circle legendary knight complying so easily.

"If that's the case, Evans should have a key to the Tower of Stars. What about the key?"

Saulo opened his palm, revealing a runestone.

"This is a key to the Tower of Stars."

The black-robed figure stared intently at the runestone, his breathing involuntarily quickening.

The gray-robed figure also showed renewed interest, taking a few steps forward, the chewing sounds from beneath his robe becoming more frequent.

Any wizard apprentice aware of the Tower of Stars knew what this legacy represented.

The Tower of Stars, the Black Forest, and the Fallen Star City.

These were the only three formal wizard legacies on the Starlight Continent, each a beacon of hope for countless apprentices aspiring to become wizards.

Finding one of these three legacies meant a significant chance of advancing to a formal wizard, gaining transcendent power and a long lifespan.

However, both figures quickly forced themselves to calm down, averting their gaze from the key.

If the key were held by another apprentice, they would undoubtedly seize it without hesitation.

But facing Saulo, they suppressed their burgeoning desires.

As members of the same organization, they knew how formidable Saulo was.

Even together, they couldn't match Saulo's strength.

"How many people can the key admit into the Tower of Stars?" the black-robed figure asked.

"One," Saulo quickly added, "But rest assured, there are more than just two or three keys. There are many."

The black-robed figure was overjoyed, "Where are the other keys?"

"Evans has more than one key."

Saulo put away the key, his tone tinged with regret.

"Unfortunately, a wizard apprentice intervened, rescuing Evans, or we could've extracted the locations of the other keys."

"Moreover, Sunan also has a key to the Tower of Stars, which Evans traded to him."

The gray-robed figure muttered, "Then let's find those two and take all the keys!"

The black-robed figure coldly retorted, "Evans aside, Sunan only has one key. Who gets it if we take it?"

The gray-robed figure fell silent.

The Tower of Stars was their hope for wizard advancement; they wouldn't hand over a key to someone else.

As for giving the key to one person first, then distributing more keys from Evans later, that was even less likely.

Their trust wasn't deep enough for such an arrangement.

Yet without teaming up, they lacked the confidence to face Sunan alone.

They might have looked down on Ugo, but they didn't underestimate the power he had established in the underground.

Defeating Ugo, who controlled Kasham, showed that Sunan's personal strength and influence were both formidable.

They weren't confident in seizing a key from Sunan.

Compared to that, Evans, a third-circle legendary knight, seemed easier to deal with.

Moreover, he had more than one key.

Finding Evans and acting together gave them a high chance of success.

With thoughts racing, the black-robed figure quickly formulated a plan, asking emotionlessly, "Who was the apprentice that saved Evans?"

"Unknown, they were very discreet," Saulo shook his head.

Anyone who could rescue Evans from Saulo and escape wasn't an ordinary third-level wizard apprentice.

Several names flashed through the black-robed figure's mind before he said, "Saulo, I propose we hold a meeting."

"I second that," the gray-robed figure said gruffly.

Alone, they couldn't find a third-circle legendary knight aided by a third-level apprentice on the vast continent. They needed the others to act.

With the Tower of Stars keys involved, no one would refuse the collaboration.

"I've already sent notifications," Saulo had anticipated their plan. "I called you tonight to inform you. The meeting is set for a month from now, at the usual place."

"I understand," the black-robed figure nodded.

With business concluded, Saulo turned and left, vanishing into the night.

With his departure, the surrounding light faded, the forest returning to deep darkness.

In the darkness, the black-robed figure seemed invigorated, glancing at the gray-robed figure before turning to leave, only to be stopped.

"You reek of draconic blood, its concentration is high."

The black-robed figure paused, turning back with a sneer, "Your nose is as sharp as ever. Have you modified a new organ?"

The gray-robed figure didn't respond, muttering, "A trade. I'll exchange the Flesh Core for the draconic blood."

The black-robed figure was silent for a moment, then said, "Forget the Flesh Core. It's no use to me now. If you want the draconic blood, help me with something."

"What is it?"

"Kill someone. I'll tell you who when we get there. If you agree, let's go now."

"Where?"

"The underground world."

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