Will

Near Olifendo.

Xialun Village.

"Is everything ready?" Ovia looked at the oldest man in the crowd.

"The secret passage was completed last month... My Lord." Village Chief Qiaolei and the villagers shed tears of excitement. Their village had lived and multiplied here for several generations since their ancestors, and everything they had done was for today.

For this tunnel, the entire village had paid an unimaginable price. For countless nights, the men had dug inch by inch in the pitch-black underground using the most primitive picks and shovels. They dared not use the slightest bit of magic, terrified that any magical fluctuation would attract attention. The women were responsible for covering up their tracks, disposing of the excavated earth and stone, and meticulously maintaining the village's facade of poverty and normalcy. From a young age, the children were taught to remain silent and guard the secret.

Dirt covered their bodies, and the dangers of hypoxia and cave-ins were their constant companions. Many did not even live to see the day the tunnel was completed.

All this suffering was worth it; today, they would witness new history.

"For the Hero."

"For the Hero!"

Colton, clad in a grayish-yellow robe, raised an eyebrow as he looked at the pillar of wind shooting into the sky in the distance toward Olifendo.

"It's here. Let's move."

Ovia's figure instantly blurred, transforming into a swift, invisible breeze that violently swept into a seemingly abandoned granary in the corner of the village, disappearing into the entrance of the deep, dark passage.

This secret passage, excavated entirely by human labor, led straight underground to Olifendo, directly to the magic crystal vein.

To prevent theft, the magic crystal vein was densely covered with various magical formations, but no one could have imagined that someone would dig a tunnel from outside Olifendo straight to the underside of the vein.

The flowing wind that Ovia had become sped through the narrow, dim tunnel. After about fifteen minutes, the view suddenly opened up.

A vast yet unusually flat underground cavern appeared before her. The cavern's ceiling was extremely low, only allowing one person to stand upright, and one could touch the cold, hard rock layer of the roof just by raising a hand.

Within this massive space stood countless thick stone pillars, densely packed together. These were clearly support pillars deliberately left behind to prevent the magic stone vein above from collapsing.

A gigantic, complex, and unprecedented magic formation was engraved on the ceiling of the cavern, right beneath the magic crystal vein.

Colton's figure silently appeared beside Ovia. He examined the grandiose project and let out a frivolous whistle.

The two raised their hands together, and surging magic power flowed like two streams, injecting into the massive magic formation above their heads.

"Is our little bit of magic power enough?" Colton could not help but ask, feeling the magic formation swallowing their magic power like a bottomless pit.

Relying on just the two of them to support such a large-scale magic formation seemed far too strenuous.

"To run this massive formation relying solely on our magic power is undoubtedly a fool's dream... However, our magic power is enough to act as a fuse to trigger the immense magic power above. After all, an entire magic stone vein is right above us," Ovia explained calmly.

Colton slapped his forehead, finally realizing the plan.

The magic formation began to glow with an ominous blood-red light. The oil lamps on the stone pillars underground were unlit, making the place look exceptionally eerie and casting the entire underground space into something resembling purgatory.

"What is this magic formation for?" Colton asked again, looking at the bizarre formation above whose structure was completely different from ordinary magic formations.

Ovia replied, "This is a resonance formation... Its main function is to transmit the magic power here to another formation."

"So it's a magic power teleportation formation. That makes sense," Colton nodded.

Rustling footsteps sounded from behind.

Colton looked back and saw the black-robed old man leading a group of villagers into the underground.

"My Lord... what are we doing here?" Qiaolei looked at the eerie formation. A trace of unease faintly rose in his heart, but it was overshadowed by the sense of glory of soon fulfilling their mission.

"Don't you want to witness this moment with your own eyes?" Ovia's voice was completely placid. "This is your achievement."

Fanaticism revealed itself in the villagers' eyes. All their years of hard work had been for today.

Colton yawned off to the side.

The old hag sure knew how to bluff.

Once the magic power of the magic vein above was drained, the geological structure would definitely change, and this place would cave in. Everyone here would be buried alive... becoming sacrifices for the Hero.

They were no exception.

But Colton had no intention of escaping.

Colton looked at the grayish-yellow robe on his body and adjusted his collar.

His strength was not something those ordinary people could compare to. An excellent sacrifice like himself should be able to provide the Hero with quite a bit of power, right?

...

"It's coming."

Enlaisi's gaze grew solemn; the other side was ready.

The radiance of the formation suddenly became several levels more dazzling, and the rich blood-red light almost made it impossible to open one's eyes.

Magic power condensed to the extreme surged from the formation.

Mian was still controlled on the formation, unable to move.

During this time, Wolund naturally would not just wait idly. A communication magic device appeared in his hand, and he issued orders one by one, beginning to direct the evacuation of the surrounding crowd.

At the same time, other experts within the academy also began to converge on this location.

"Principal." Kalinda had arrived at Wolund's side at some unknown point.

"That Vacuum Wall... can you break it in a short time?" Wolund asked.

Kalinda was also a highly accomplished wind attribute mage.

Kalinda looked at the transparent wind wall ahead, her eyes revealing a bit of difficulty. "With this kind of pre-arranged high-tier defensive magic, I'm afraid there's little hope of breaking it in a short amount of time."

"Alright, I understand." Wolund was not surprised. He nodded and said nothing more.

"Principal, Mr. Enlaisi, he..." Kalinda could not help but ask in a low voice, her tone filled with disbelief. She could not believe that the knowledgeable, humorous scholar, Wolund's close friend, would actually throw himself into evil.

Wolund furrowed his brows and slowly shook his head. "I'm not sure. But judging from our previous conversation, he shouldn't be one of 'them' yet."

When he discussed things with Enlaisi, he could clearly feel that the other party's thinking was clear and logical, and his evaluation of the Hero's merits and faults was also extremely objective and fair, not showing any of the paranoia and fanaticism common to the Twilight Apostles.

Kalinda asked, "Since Mr. Enlaisi has not been reduced to a Twilight Apostle, why would he do such a thing?"

Wolund's gaze passed over the collapsed walls of the houses, looking at Enlaisi's calm and determined eyes ahead. "Perhaps... this is his own will."