Wizards begin by accessing the Inspiration panel.

Chapter 174 The Attack of Stephena

When Stephania, disguised as a high-ranking spider woman, gracefully entered the large wooden hut in the camp, the shock she caused to the spider knights inside was no less than that of the few outside.

Portia, who had been sitting casually, widened her eyes in surprise and sprang up from her large chair, stammering, "Your Highness Sasadera, what brings you here?"

"Please take a seat."

Portia immediately bowed slightly, giving up his seat.

You should know that he had barely settled into this position; it used to be Princess Dolores's reserved seat.

"Oh? Can't I come to the Norman Secret Realm?" Stephania glanced at Portia with her beautiful eyes.

"Of course not. What I mean is, since Princess Dolores has already come this time, I didn't expect that the great mistress would send you in again. This gives us a significant boost in strength."

Portia answered cautiously.

As the vice-commander of the Spider Knights, he was the highest-ranking male night elf among the Spider Knights who entered the Norman Secret Realm.

Even when facing a high-ranking spider woman, one still needs to be careful and avoid offending her with words.

In particular, this Prince Shadra is capricious and prone to violence at the slightest provocation.

"By the way, your mission here should be to obtain the blood essence of the Black-Scaled Earth Dragon Beast, right?"

"Princess Dolores just left with her people. Besides clearing out some small insects sent by the surface humans, the second reason was to obtain the blood essence of the Blackscale Earth Dragon Beast."

Portia imagined for herself the purpose of sending Prince Shadra into the Norman Secret Realm by the mistress.

After all, it seems that the humans are no longer capable of causing any trouble. They have already killed at least several hundred wizard apprentices, and the rest flee in terror at the mere sight of them.

If there are no new tasks, then the only possible task for Prince Shadra in entering the secret realm is to help kill the Blackscale Earth Dragon Beast and obtain its blood essence.

"Portia, do I need to report to you the purpose of my entry into the secret realm?" Stephania feigned anger, staring at Portia with her beautiful eyes.

Instantly, a fine bead of sweat appeared on Portia's forehead, and he said with a hint of fear, "No, no, I'm sorry, Your Highness Shadra, please forgive my foolish words."

Driven by his deep-seated bloodline, Portia relinquished the right to further explanation and instead directly admitted that the problem lay in his own verbal expression.

This made Stephania feel a sense of relief; indeed, the situation inside the Night Elves was exactly as her master had described.

The Night Elves have always been a matriarchal society. Apart from the high-ranking matriarch, the powerful high-ranking Spider Witches have the most say, while the men are servants.

Even if someone is exceptionally talented, they're still just a high-ranking servant!

"Portia, remember who you are!"

"Go, recall the outermost group of sentries, and then increase the number of patrol teams. I see that the patrol teams around the camp only have three people per team, which is not enough. Increase it to five people."

"Also, have the Spider Knights in the camp prepare for battle. I estimate that the enemy will be attacking within half a day."

Stephania flicked her crystal-clear fingertips and said casually.

Upon hearing this, Portia's expression immediately turned serious, and he thought to himself, "Could it be that a powerful enemy is about to attack this place?"

But the human wizard apprentices have already been utterly defeated by us.

Immediately, a thought flashed through his mind, and he seemed to have realized something, asking:

"Your Highness Shadra, is it possible that a powerful enemy is about to arrive? Are reinforcements from the human wizards on the surface on their way?"

"No wonder, the mistress sent you in as well."

Portia once again perfectly imagined the cause and effect of the whole incident. After obtaining a satisfactory explanation, he immediately turned to the spider knights around him and shouted, "Immediately follow Prince Shadra's orders to recall the outermost sentries and completely shrink the patrol area."

"Also, increase the number of patrol teams around the camp to five!"

"Remind everyone in the camp to prepare for battle!"

A series of orders were then issued by Portia.

What Portia had no idea was that the Prince Shadra before her was just a shell, inside which the soul of a cunning human female apprentice had already been replaced.

Moreover, the suggestions made by Prince Shadra were all aimed at strengthening their own defenses, so Portia never doubted the authenticity of the Prince Shadra before her.

You're saying Prince Shadra is a spy?

How is that possible!

Even though appearances and demeanor can be faked, Princess Shadra's orders were all for the good of the Spider Knights, and she also revealed the top-secret information that a powerful enemy was about to arrive!

From any perspective, Prince Shadra could not possibly be a spy.

"Portia, I'm a little tired. Please get me a room!"

After speaking, Stephanie stood up, stretched her slender waist slightly, and looked a little tired.

"Of course, Your Highness Shadra, please follow me."

Portia immediately replied and then guided Stephanie to a luxuriously decorated room to rest.

The moment the door closed, a mocking smile appeared on Stephana's lips.

Prepare yourselves well, for soon you will face the revenge of a wizard father who has just lost his son.

Portia, who had just stepped out of Prince Shadra's room, was frowning. He was pondering whether he should immediately inform Princess Dolores of Prince Shadra's arrival.

Or should he wait until Princess Dolores returns before reporting?

Logically speaking, Princess Dolores is still the highest commander in the Norman Secret Realm appointed by the Mistress.

After thinking it over, Portia felt it was necessary to report to Princess Dolores in a timely manner.

Portia then beckoned to one of the Spider Knights guarding the corridor and said, "Go, find Princess Doros and report to her about Princess Shadra's arrival."

"Also, report what Prince Shadra just said. The human wizard apprentices on the surface might attack the camp in half a day. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Your Excellency Portia." The Spider Knight bowed slightly, gave a knightly salute, and then quickly turned and left the camp.

At this moment, Dolores, protected by several squads of Spider Knights, arrived at the western part of the Norman Secret Realm.

Soon after, they found traces left by Gildas and his two companions.

"Lady Dolores, your judgment is absolutely correct. There are indeed signs of human wizard apprentices active here."

"Moreover, judging from the spacing of the footprints left behind, the opponent was quite strong."

A squad leader of the Spider Knights respectfully reported to Dolores.

"Then go after them and kill them, my warrior," Dolores gestured.

"Yes, Your Highness Dolores!"

Several spider knights immediately increased their speed and quickly advanced forward, following the footprints.

Soon, they arrived near the golden lizard's cave, where a scene of utter chaos greeted them.

Before them lay fallen trees, each at least a meter in diameter, lying haphazardly on the ground. The earth was in disarray, with numerous craters several meters deep, suggesting a major battle had taken place there.

The more the Spider Knights observed, the more alarmed they became!

Because causing this level of destruction is beyond their capabilities.

Immediately, the group exchanged glances and quickly returned to the main force to report.

"Your Highness Dolores, it may be necessary for you to personally investigate. Our warriors have discovered traces of a battle."

"It seems that both sides in the battle are extremely powerful," a Spider Knight respectfully reported.

"Oh, that's quite interesting." Dolores raised an eyebrow and said with great interest.

Thus, escorted by numerous Spider Knights, Dolores gracefully arrived at the front of the battlefield.

Looking at the crisscrossing, ravaged ground before her, Dolores was also shocked.

However, after examining it closely, she suddenly took a few steps forward and pulled out a pale golden scale that was mixed in with the cracks in the tree.

The scales are about the size of a regular coin, but they are not round; instead, they are peculiar raised rhombuses with extremely sharp protrusions.

After examining the scales for a while, Dolores stared blankly at the deep cave not far away.

"Pass down the order: do not approach the cave ahead; it's the lair of the high-level monster, the Golden-Scaled Lizard!"

Dolores said with a serious expression.

"Yes, Your Highness Dolores." A captain of the Spider Knights immediately called to the others and relayed the order down the ranks.

Dolores had no intention of rashly fighting a monster comparable to a formal wizard in the Norman Secret Realm, as it was completely unnecessary.

It seems the little mice I was trying to get rid of will most likely end up in the lizard's belly!

I guess I made a wasted trip.

However, since we're already here, and it's not far from the Black Scale Earth Dragon Beast's hidden cave, let's go and complete the task assigned by the Matriarch.

"Assemble the group and head to the hidden cave!"

"Yes, Your Highness Dolores!"

The Spider Knights, a group of more than twenty people, immediately turned around and headed to the hidden cave to hunt down the Black-Scaled Earth Dragon Beast.

-

At this moment, Gildas was with Stefan, and the two quickly headed towards the direction indicated by the orb and the tracking mark.

As they passed through a valley, a voice rang out from afar.

"The wizard Gildas?"

Immediately afterwards, two young wizard apprentices emerged from the dense woods not far away.

A man and a woman. The man had brown hair and a handsome face, while the woman had beautiful features and wavy blonde hair that fell casually to her shoulders.

Gildas's gaze sharpened. He recognized the two men; these two wizard apprentices from the Gurus Academy had been assigned the [Offset Magnet] and were also members of the rescue team of twenty-three.

Unexpectedly, the two of them managed to get together successfully.

The thought of his strongest team, which had gone from a planned five-person team to now being left with only two people, just like the other team, was unbearable.

This inexplicably stirred up a feeling of depression in him.

"It really is the wizard Gildass! That's wonderful!" The female apprentice's eyes lit up, and she said in a clear voice.

"Wizard Gildas, we found dozens of academy apprentices trapped in the secret realm nearby, and we didn't know what to do with them. We never expected to be so lucky as to run into you."

Gildas was slightly pleased to hear this, as he was just about to track down the murderer of Donato, but he had too few people at his disposal.

He glanced at Stefan; this was his only subordinate.

If we bring this group along, we'll have enough manpower.

Gildas then asked, "Is it around here?"

"Yes, Wizard Gildas, they were saved in a secluded valley a few miles away, where lush vegetation concealed the entrance."

Gildas nodded and said:

"Alright, then you can bring them all over here."

A short while later, a group of dejected wizard apprentices, supporting each other, came into Gildas's view.

This made Gildas frown. Many people were injured, and after a casual glance, he realized that there weren't many level three wizard apprentices. What use were these people? Sending them out would only make them easy targets.

However, upon closer inspection, he managed to spot a few resolute-looking wizard apprentices. While they weren't top-tier in terms of skill, they at least possessed a calm and composed demeanor.

So he nodded slightly, noting that they weren't all useless; there were one or two who were presentable.

"This is the rescue team commander, the wizard Gildarts. This person who has come is an avatar of the wizard Gildarts," the blonde female apprentice introduced respectfully.

As soon as he finished speaking, the twenty-odd wizard apprentices instantly focused their attention on Gildas and immediately bowed respectfully.

"Thank you, Wizard Gildas."

This eased Gildas's expression slightly.

"Stephen, treat the injured apprentice. We'll set off in a bit and clear the way home."

Since Gildas was currently heading in the same direction as the original supply point, no one suspected anything.

Moreover, as the supreme commander of the rescue team, even if Gildarts randomly pointed in a direction, it is highly unlikely that any wizard apprentice would dare to question him.

His words quickly stirred up the enthusiasm of the wizard apprentices.

Immediately, many people began to show joy on their faces and whisper among themselves.

"Great, I can finally go back."

"Yes, I knew the academy hadn't given up on us."

"I didn't expect the rescue team to send an avatar of a full-fledged wizard. That's quite a move!"

Among the group of apprentices, only a few harbored doubts, including Andrea, who was quietly wiping his knight's longsword. He had witnessed the strength of the Spider Knights and the high-ranking Spider Maidens, and he had survived that counterattack by sheer luck.

He did not believe that relying on a clone of a formal wizard and three apprentices at the peak of their abilities would be enough to break through the Spider Knights' blockade.

Or at least he thought the chances were not high.

But clearly, he couldn't voice any objections or offer any advice to this unfamiliar wizard.

This would undoubtedly be seen as dampening everyone's spirits, and might even be seen as challenging the authority of a formal wizard.

Therefore, following the crowd is the best choice!

Soon after, the group, led by Gildas, headed toward the original supply depot.

(End of this chapter)