Wizards begin by accessing the Inspiration panel.

Chapter 176: The Battle Begins

Dolores looked at the bloody and bizarre scene before her, and couldn't help but smile up, revealing an extremely happy expression.

As Dolores extended her fair palm, the drop of dark red source blood crystal, radiating intense energy fluctuations, slowly floated to her front.

Finally, the source blood crystal landed on her outstretched palm.

Dolores immediately took out a small black wooden box, carefully put away the source blood crystal, and tucked it into her chest.

The black wooden box, made of some unknown material, had exceptional insulation. As soon as the Black Dragon Blood Crystal was placed inside and the box was closed, the intense energy fluctuations vanished without a trace.

This black wooden box and the mirror that just played such a vital role were both gifts from the matriarch.

It seems that before Dolores entered the Norman Secret Realm, the Mistress behind her had already arranged a series of preparations.

"Let's go! Back to camp."

After completing her mission, Dolores was clearly in a much better mood, which made the Spider Knight squad leader next to her breathe a sigh of relief.

The live bait hadn't even arrived yet when the Spider Knight squad leader was genuinely terrified when he heard Princess Dolores say she would go herself.

Seeing the miserable state of these three human wizard apprentices, the Spider Knight squad leader felt a chill run down his spine!

He immediately shook his head. Even if they were enemies, they were still intelligent beings. Princess Dolores's methods against them were far too cruel.

However, Princess Dolores is ruthless to her own people, let alone the humans on the surface.

These three human wizard apprentices could only blame their bad luck.

Dolores was pondering why Shadra, whom she hadn't seen for half a year, had suddenly appeared in the Norman Secret Realm.

Could it really be on the orders of the mistress?

This left her completely baffled as to the reason.

However, I believe that the answer will naturally be revealed soon when I return to the camp.

So Dolores shouted, "Speed ​​up! March!"

Immediately, a group of more than twenty people sped toward the camp.

-

Gildas led his group of wizard apprentices forward and soon arrived near the original trading post.

The various powerful monsters that appeared along the way could not withstand the combined efforts of the three apprentices who were at the peak of their abilities. This made the group of wizard apprentices, who had been trapped for a long time, feel excited and their morale was further boosted.

They all felt that soon, under the guidance of the rescue team, they would be able to successfully break through the Night Elves' defenses, leave the Norman Secret Realm, and return to the academy.

However, along the way, Gildas did have a slight doubt in his heart.

Because both the orb and the tracking mark were pointing in the same direction as the original trading point, the direction they were heading was too similar.

This is the current headquarters of the Spider Knights.

He has confirmed this with several wizarding apprentices.

Could it be that the Night Elf Spider Knights killed Donato?

After all, he once thought the murderer was Richard, the one who had sent him on a long chase after birds.

Half an hour later

Gildas stood on a hillside near the original trading point.

After observing for a long time, Gildas finally confirmed that the person with the jewel and the tracking mark must be in the camp in front of him.

The culprit is now quite clear: it must be a night elf.

That's fine too.

He could avenge Donato himself and also complete the rescue mission assigned by the great wizard Graf, which was a win-win situation.

but

After confirming once again the defensive capabilities of the Spider Knights inside the original trading point, Gildarts frowned deeply.

The opponent's defense is surprisingly tight!

It seemed as if they had anticipated the enemy's attack.

Normally, the defense density could never be this high.

This is quite tricky.

If we choose to launch a direct attack, the chances of winning will definitely not exceed 30%, and that's assuming we use all our strength.

It seems we need to plan carefully; if all else fails, we'll have to sacrifice some people.

After a moment's thought, Gildas, accompanied by three apprentices at the pinnacle of their skill level, approached the group of wizard apprentices and said:

"Ahead lies the final hurdle. If we can overcome it, everyone can leave the secret realm safely."

"However, the Night Elf guards the camp are very powerful. We need someone to take the initiative and try to lure some of the Spider Knights over."

This is a plan that Gildarts just came up with on the spur of the moment: weaken some of the opponent's defenses in the early stages, and then push forward with all his troops.

However, as soon as Gildas finished speaking, the group of wizard apprentices below looked at each other blankly, and none of them responded.

No wonder!

From the perspective of the wizard apprentices, they believed that if they encountered a rescue team, they could leave the Norman Secret Realm with their help.

Who would have thought that they would have to act as bait and go through a bloody battle?

When their own interests were at stake, a wizard apprentice immediately spoke up boldly:

"This... Wizard Gildas, we only have so few people, why don't we gather some more before attacking?"

This was a third-level wizard apprentice from the Gurus Academy, offering advice in a seemingly tactful manner.

Seeing that someone had offered an opinion, another wizard apprentice immediately chimed in:

"Yes, Wizard Gildas, there should be other rescue team members within the secret realm. If you could find a way to gather them all together, the chances of winning the battle would be much greater, wouldn't they?"

"Yes, Wizard Gildas, our strength is far inferior to that of the Spider Knights. Even if we go all out, it won't make much of a difference."

Gradually, the group started talking all at once.

This made Gildas frown, his expression grew increasingly grim, and a sense of frustration and irritation welled up within him.

It's so unfair that his own genius son, Donato, is dead, while these cowardly good-for-nothings are still alive.

Stefan, standing to the side, glanced at the wizard Gildas's face with a keen eye and immediately reprimanded him:

"quiet!"

"As the supreme commander of the three academies within the Norman Secret Realm, Wizard Gildas has absolute authority over the deployment of personnel."

"Yes, it's almost impossible to gather all the members of the rescue team," the two Gurus Academy apprentices at the pinnacle level chimed in.

After being persuaded by the three, the many wizard apprentices had no choice but to reluctantly accept the fact that they were about to participate in a bloody battle.

After all, if you don't participate, you'll have absolutely no chance of leaving the Norman Secret Realm.

If you participate, there's at least a glimmer of hope to get out.

However, since no one responded, the original luring tactic was canceled, and a surprise attack was launched instead.

To boost morale and compensate for the lack of combat power among the many wizard apprentices, Gildarts ordered three team members to distribute as many combat potions and alchemical bombs as possible.

Because the number of potions and alchemical bombs that the three brought into the Norman Secret Realm was limited, each wizard apprentice could only be given one bottle of combat potion and one alchemical bomb.

This is already the largest allocation to date.

It was better than nothing, but it did boost morale. These combat potions and alchemical bombs came from the base's secret vault and were all considered good stuff.

With everything ready, the first wave of battle began!

Despite being outnumbered by the surprise attack, the wizard apprentices, with the help of incredibly powerful alchemical bombs, actually achieved a remarkable victory.

On the spot, the group of more than twenty people successfully killed four or five Spider Knights.

Gildas nodded in agreement; it seemed that the group of wizard apprentices wasn't as bad as he had imagined.

In fact, those who managed to survive in the secret realm after several days of relentless searching by the night elves were mostly not mediocre; they all had one or two trump cards up their sleeves.

However, under normal circumstances, the apprentices are reluctant to use it, which may also be because there are significant side effects after using it.

Secondly, faced with Gildas's strength, the apprentices also considered that this was the final step; as long as they won, they could return smoothly.

Therefore, at this moment, all the apprentices put in their utmost effort!

But soon, after the Spider Knights reacted quickly, a steady stream of Spider Knights converged from the camp and the surrounding area, and the entire battle began to turn around.

However, the battle situation changed once again under the surprise attack of Stefan and the other two extreme-level wizard apprentices. The apprentices barely maintained their line and managed to hold off the Spider Knights' attack by relying on alchemical bombs and combat potions.

They could hear the Spider Knights' shouts coming from the camp gate, along with the occasional violent explosions.

A sly smile, as if her scheme had succeeded, appeared on Stephana's face.

It seems Gildarts has arrived. Finally, we can begin implementing our master's second step in the plan.

Stephania pulled a crystal ball from her person. This was the same crystal ball that Richard had previously used to imprint the vengeful spirit collection magic circle and to unleash an unknown spell.

While the night elves' attention was drawn to the battle at the gate, Stephania quickly chanted a short incantation.

As the incantation was recited, suddenly, the crystal ball burst forth with a dazzling red light, and a magic circle was projected onto the ground from within it.

In an instant, it changed from the size of a fist to the size of a room, and then it disappeared into the ground.

The red light quickly dimmed!

At this moment, if someone were to observe closely, they would find that the entire camp had been enveloped in a very faint blood-red light.

Seeing the scene completed smoothly, Stephania smiled with satisfaction.

The second step of the plan—finding an opportunity to set up a witch array within the camp—is now complete!

Next comes the third step of the plan.

At that moment, there was a rhythmic knocking on Stephana's door.

"Knock knock, knock knock!"

"Your Highness Shadra, just as you predicted, the enemy has come to our door!"

Hearing that familiar voice, the person outside the door was none other than Portia.

"Crunch!"

Stephania opened the door, looked at Portia who was full of admiration, and couldn't help but chuckle to herself.

but

Stephania maintained her composure well, mimicking the usual haughty demeanor of the Spiderwomen, and said calmly, "Let's go, Portia, let's go greet our guests and see what kind of people they are."

"Yes, Your Highness Shadra." Portia bowed slightly.

He then followed closely behind Stephena and quickly headed towards the camp gate.

At this moment, the battle at the camp entrance had reached a fever pitch. Apart from Gildarts, who had not yet made a move, everyone else was basically going all out.

However, it seems that with the depletion of alchemical bombs and the continuous addition of Spider Knights to the battle, the scales of victory are tipping in favor of the Night.

Gildas could also see that his apprentices had done their best.

If he doesn't intervene soon, the entire battle will collapse in less than five minutes.

Gildas took a deep breath!

Suddenly, his muscles bulged, his black hair grew rapidly, and the changes in his head were even more dramatic. His upper and lower jaws protruded rapidly, and his fangs grew longer and longer. Most strikingly, a pair of sharp claws were growing out from the gaps in his knuckles.

Those already incredibly sharp claws were now emitting a strange metallic luster.

This is the special effect achieved by the claws after Gildarts remodeled them and implanted a rare metal called magic iron.

For ordinary elemental defense shields, these claws have a terrifying effect of being able to penetrate them with a single blow!

"Whoosh!"

A black wind blew by, and Gildarts, transformed into a dark werewolf, appeared more than ten meters away.

The next second, accompanied by the scream of a spider knight on the battlefield, a ferocious werewolf claw pierced through his chest, and in the middle of the claw, a still-beating heart was clutched.

"Snapped!"

My heart was crushed!

Blood and fragments of the heart flew everywhere!

This cruel scene immediately created two completely different effects.

The Spider Knights all paled, filled with fear.

Meanwhile, the struggling wizard apprentices seemed to see a glimmer of hope, and their morale soared!

"It's the wizard Gildas!"

"Hmm, they've finally made their move!"

"Hold on, everyone, the situation is about to change."

"That's right! Let's all give it our all!"

"The other person is about to die!"

Gildas's performance was only just beginning.

Suddenly, his tall and strong werewolf body flashed and he quickly appeared next to another spider knight.

After barely managing to parry two blows, before the other Spider Knights could come to his aid, Gildarts slashed open his vulnerable neck with a single claw.

Instantly, blood gushed out from the carotid artery, shooting several meters away.

The trachea and Adam's apple were also torn apart!

The once handsome face of the Spider Knight was now contorted in a grotesque grimace, bloodshot and bulging with blood. His hands were clutching his neck, as if trying to stop the bleeding or plug a leak.

But it was all in vain. The next second, despair filled his eyes, and he collapsed to the ground!

This immediately changed the expression of several Spider Knight squad leaders, who hurriedly shouted, "Quick! Triangle formation!"

So, this is what Stephena and Portia saw when they arrived at the camp gate.

A towering black werewolf, over two meters tall, swept through the enemy ranks like a black whirlwind, treating the spider knights as nothing.

The Spider Knights, on the other hand, all looked cowardly, as if facing a formidable enemy!

This made Portia's face turn ashen, and he was furious.

These bunch of useless trash!

This made him look very impressive in front of His Highness Shadra.

When Stephena appeared, the unusually obvious tracking marks on her body startled Gildarts.

The next second, he stopped and turned his head to fix his gaze firmly on the curvaceous Stephanie.

"Shadra the Spider Woman?"

(End of this chapter)