Wizards begin with Occlumency.

Chapter 231 Halftime

The silhouette of a colossal object appeared on the large screen.

Although we can't see the whole thing clearly and don't know what it is, just by looking at the outline, we know that this thing is not to be trifled with.

It is incomparable to a level 3 or level 5 mother hive.

Even the light of annihilation, if it were to strike, might not even be worthy of a tickle.

Compared to it, the "Cloud Neon" interstellar warship is like a slightly larger ant in front of an elephant.

You don't even need to step on it, just exhale.

Even ants probably couldn't withstand it.

While this statement may be somewhat exaggerated, if this behemoth were to launch an attack, the "Cloud and Rainbow" and its miniature army would face a life-or-death crisis.

This mission, having progressed to the point where the colossal creature has appeared, can now be declared over.

It can't be called a failure, after all, there is still a lot of evidence proving that the Micro Legion has indeed investigated the Zerg ecological structure, abnormal changes and the causes of mutations in the mission world.

They can even provide a great deal of evidence that would embarrass the agencies under the Supreme Council.

However, this mission cannot be considered a success.

Because they had to slink away from the behemoth to save their lives in order for anything to happen.

How can a deserter have the face to say he or she has succeeded?

"No need to run!"

Upon seeing this, Sandra's expression turned extremely solemn. After careful consideration, she spoke briefly.

As soon as she finished speaking, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, leaned back, and her energy and spirit instantly waned.

She just wanted to challenge herself, and incidentally reach a consensus with her trusted partners, establish a shared understanding, and then try to assess and recruit a few new partners.

Why did things suddenly become so complicated when the mission was progressing smoothly for half of its completion?

No wind, no wave.

There must be a reason, right?

So, what is the reason?

"You all go out for a while, I need to take care of some personal matters."

Sandra opened her eyes, her voice weary, a far cry from the high spirits she had displayed during the meeting when she proposed three additional goals.

Link, the round-faced youth, the blond wavy-haired guy, and the honey badger stepped out of the cockpit.

Taling also thoughtfully closed the hatch, opened the soundproof barrier, and checked for any eavesdropping or recording.

Sandra instructed, "Contact Ms. Lisandra."

"Yes."

Tarling immediately sent a communication request to the first emergency contact.

"Oh, my lovely daughter, in the midst of your busy schedule you actually thought of your poor, lonely old mother. I'm so happy."

A stunningly beautiful face appeared on the big screen, without a trace of makeup, captivating everyone with every smile and frown.

However, his tone and expression were indeed a bit exaggerated.

"Ms. Lissandra, please explain what happened to your daughter during her mission."

Sandra forced herself to stay alert, put on a stern face, and asked seriously.

"What happened? Did something unexpected happen? Oh my god."

Lissandra's beautiful face immediately showed panic and concern. "Is my lovely daughter alright? This is really... I was so worried."

Sandra rolled her eyes. "Can you please stop talking to me like that? Come on, I'm your daughter, not your stunningly handsome husband who's all you can imagine."

"Oh ho ho ho ho..."

Lissandra covered her mouth and giggled, "Is my lovely daughter jealous? Mua...give me a kiss, Mommy loves you the most, baby."

"Be serious!"

Sandra slammed her hand on the armrest of her chair. "I'm talking to you about something important."

"you say!"

Lissandra seemed startled and quickly straightened her face, adopting a serious expression.

"Were you behind all this?"

Sandra retorted without any politeness, "You just want me to experience setbacks, to realize that I can't accomplish anything on my own, right?"

Upon hearing this, Lissandra stopped teasing her daughter and a cold smile crept onto her lips.

"It seems my lovely daughter still hasn't understood what her mother meant."

My mother meant that if you leave the resources and support of the family, you will experience too many twists and turns and too many obstacles if you want to succeed.

The rise of ordinary people is not so easy.

The process may be epic and heroic, something to aspire to.

But have you ever considered how much hardship, how much pain, how many heart-wrenching separations and deaths occurred along the way?

After a pause, Lissandra said sarcastically:

"Besides, do you think the heads of those big families at the academy headquarters are all fools who can't see the so-called proportion of sages in the last fifty years?"

Do you think they're all brainless people who managed to grow their family to its current size?

Why do you think they let their younger generation be unambitious and just coast along?

Think carefully about the reasons behind this.

The world isn't what you see it to be!

Sandra's eyes darted away, instinctively avoiding the questions, instead blustering but weakly demanding, "I'm asking you, were all these unexpected incidents I encountered on this mission your doing?"

Even if it were me.

Lissandra nodded lightly. "But so what?"

How could you do this!

Sandra was filled with rage, rage overflowing.

"Why can't I do this? You're my daughter. You can be reckless, naive, and willful, but I, as your mother, can't slap you to wake you up and stop you from recklessly rushing down a wrong path until you finally fall into the abyss?"

"You've gone too far! You haven't considered my feelings at all!"

"What's even worse is yet to come, you haven't seen it yet."

"snort!"

Sandra had a few words with her mother, but as the enormous creature drew closer, she had to suppress her anger and force herself to calm down. Her tone was slightly unnatural as she said, "Clean up all these accidents and get my mission back on track."

"Hehehe..."

Lissandra chuckled. "My silly daughter, you actually believed that? You overestimate your mother. I might have some influence within the academy's sphere of influence, how could I possibly affect the Zerg?"

"So what's going on with all this?"

Sandra asked, puzzled.

"These?"

Lissandra laughed, "These are obviously traps deliberately set by the academy's enemies. They just didn't expect that you would take over this mission and catch my attention. Otherwise, if things had developed as they planned, the academy would have been in considerable trouble."

"Yeah?"

Sandra knew her mother wouldn't lie to her about something like this, so she asked instead, "So what do we do next?"

Lissandra countered, "Aside from the mission, have you finished everything you wanted to do?"

Sandra thought about it seriously, then frowned and said, "I guess I've barely managed to finish it."

"Then that's none of your business. Leave the rest to me. You can go back on your own."

A cold glint flashed in Lissandra's eyes. "How dare they bully my daughter? These insects won't be leaving here alive."

"Okay, go all out and help me vent my anger."

Despite her disappointment, Sandra agreed.

After ending the video call with her mother, she instructed Tarling to invite several of her companions into the cockpit.

"Due to force majeure, the mission is now over, and we are about to return to base."

Facing the gazes of her four companions, Sandra said, "The specific reason involves confidential information, and I cannot tell you."

"It's okay, we understand."

The blonde with wavy hair was the first to speak out in support of Sandra.

The round-faced youth and the man with the flat head followed closely behind.

Link simply nodded, indicating that he understood.

If the relationship isn't right, he won't offer any support or comfort.

The "Cloud and Rainbow" once again entered warp speed mode.

This time, they entered the warp bubble very smoothly and returned to the rear camp at a speed exceeding the speed of light.

They came in a hurry, and left in an even hurry.

In less than 3 hours, having burned a huge amount of magic stones, the "Cloud and Rainbow" interstellar warship landed on the desolate planet where the rear camp was located.

During this period, after treatment, the four wounded soldiers, along with Lanny, Tiffany, and Fried, gradually regained consciousness and recovered.

The miniature legion, consisting of 12 people, disembarked from the interstellar warship intact.

"Let's all rest and recuperate, and return to our respective destinations tomorrow."

Sandra was disheartened and returned to her tent without even doing the routine task summary.

The remaining 11 people were stunned for a moment before returning to their respective places.

Link stepped into his assigned tent, sat cross-legged on the cushion, and reflected on his mission.

A promising start but a disappointing finish?

It certainly qualifies, given that the ending was unclear and very rushed.

However, this mission also broadened Link's horizons and was quite rewarding.

As I was deep in thought, I heard footsteps outside the curtain.

"Is it convenient for me to come in?"

Lani asked from outside the curtain.

"Enter."

Link did not refuse.

He was sitting here, not resting on the bed inside, because he was waiting for someone.

"What happened next? Why did the mission end so abruptly?"

As soon as Lani sat down, she launched into a rapid-fire barrage of questions.

Link first described how the three of them were parasitized by the parasite, as well as the process of the "Cloud and Rainbow" attacking and being attacked several times, and then said: "As for the end of the mission, I don't know the specific reason, I only know that it is related to the witch Sandra."

This is the truth; I didn't lie to Lanny.

Link didn't really know the details; he only had some guesses.

I won't make any guesses without supporting evidence, so as not to mislead others.

"Yeah?"

Lani was skeptical but didn't press for details. Instead, she asked, "What are your plans for the future? Will you return to your homeland, or stay and continue to follow the wizard Sandra?"

Link asked with a smile, "Is this something I can decide?"

"certainly!"

Lanny nodded, very confidently, "If Wizard Sandra really wants to recruit you, she will extend an invitation to you through the academy's official channels. If you are satisfied with the benefits in the offer and are willing to abide by the obligations and terms therein, then sign the agreement. If you have other ideas, you can simply not sign; it won't have any impact."

"You signed it?"

"Signed?"

"How does it feel?"

"It feels great. There are plenty of resources, ample time, opportunities for training, and chances to broaden my horizons."

"I need to think about it; I won't agree rashly."

"You don't want to be restricted, do you?"

"A little."

At this point in the conversation, Lanny had already made it clear to Link that he was interested in her.

In this way, she could go back and report to Sandra.

Lanny stood up and, before leaving, said, "That way, you might not receive any invitations."

"Um."

Link watched Lanny turn away, and said, "Please thank Wizard Sandra for her kindness."

Lanny waved and lifted the curtain to leave.

After going outside, I ran into Tiffany.

The two nodded to each other and passed by.

Did I disturb you?

Tiffany touched the still-warm cushion, but didn't sit down, and asked this question.

"no."

Link shook his head, then asked, "Did you need something?"

"Um."

Tiffany readily admitted it, then sincerely said, "I've come to thank you for your help during the mission, for discovering the parasite in time, and for your generosity."

"You're too kind, it's what I should do."

Link revealed his true thoughts.

Now that we're teammates, we need to put aside our prejudices and cooperate earnestly.

There's no need to compromise or delay official business because of minor grudges.

Tiffany laughed and said, "Most of the time, it's precisely what we should do that's the hardest to do."

As she spoke, Tiffany's expression turned serious, and her tone became solemn as she made a promise: "The Colonna family will not take any action to suppress or retaliate against you, nor will Scottie Colonna."

This is a case of returning a favor.

"Thanks."

Link responded frankly, neither taking it lightly nor disregarding the promise.

It's certainly a good thing to have one less family targeting us.

At least it can make the environment for my development more favorable.

"Okay, that's settled then."

After finishing her business, Tiffany got up and left without intending to stay any longer.

She and Link didn't have much of a relationship to begin with, and the fact that they were able to get along peacefully and even help each other this time was all because of mutual benefit.

Like Lanny, Tiffany left behind a message, or rather a warning, before she left: "Be careful of Rukia."

Upon hearing this, Link immediately took it seriously.

Despite being a pure-blooded family from the West Coast, the Colonna family enjoys a much better reputation than the Lionel and Lucia families.

One of the main reasons is that the Colonna family's stance and approach have always been very clear.

That is to take care of one's own development and that of one's allies, but never easily suppress others or other forces.

It will not deliberately target half-bloods, nor will it look down on new bloods.

The Paro Sages lineage actually had quite a few dealings with the Colonna family.

It's impossible that Tiffany, as a Colonnade, would issue such a reminder without reason.

Clearly, there are situations Link is unaware of.

This matter must be taken seriously; we must find a way to figure it out when we get back.

Time passed by slowly.

The next day, Sandra announced the disbandment of the Miniature Legion, with everyone returning to their respective homes.

Link did not receive an invitation from Sandra as expected.

Under the watchful eyes of several slightly strange figures behind him, Link walked steadily into the portal.

"Are we just going to let him go like that?"

One of the four wounded who had once lay naked in the nutrient solution in the transparent pod, a short-haired witch with a petite and cute appearance, asked Sandra a question.

"His ambitions lie elsewhere; if we don't want him to leave, why force him to stay?"

Sandra replied in a low, somber tone.

"If you want him to stay, then stay. He's very capable and can be of help to you."

The petite witch said casually, not taking it seriously.

"Forget it. I need to rethink some things. Until I've figured it out, I won't be doing any more recruitment or conscription. At worst, I'll just recruit him again next time. Would he dare refuse then?"

Sandra lost interest in chatting and went back to her tent.

Link stepped out of the portal and returned to the Wizarding World. Looking up at the bright sun, he felt a sense of unreality.

Peace and war, life and death.

Everything feels so unreal.

Link pulled out his Phantom Coupe and drove straight to the villa in the North District.

He missed the green tea he made himself.

Upon returning to the villa, only the smart butler greeted me.

Jasmine was still busy at Grand Pharmacy.

In the backyard lawn, Link held a cup of green tea, sipping it slowly and enjoying a rare moment of leisure.

"You're back? How are you feeling?"

Reminded by the butler Hamid, Jasmine rushed back and hugged Link from behind, asking softly.

Link thought about it carefully and said seriously: