Sixth Ring Wizard

The fundamental reason for the Wizard Plane's invasion of the Elf Plane is still the World Tree.

They want to seize the World Tree, even if it's just a branch.

If the World Tree can be transplanted into the Wizard Plane, it will enhance the qualifications and level of all wizards within the plane, which would be beneficial for generations to come.

Unfortunately, although the Wizard Plane has successfully seized many World Trees from the Elf Race, not a single one has been successfully transplanted.

Now being forced to leave, it signifies that all the efforts during this period have been in vain.

Herag believes that if it weren't out of desperation, the Wizard Plane would never retreat like this.

It seems that the pressure from the Boundary Land has been imposing, forcing the upper echelons of the Wizard Plane to choose withdrawal.

"You've got quite the looks, young man! Come have a drink; this is Balihakun's special brew, only brought out on major celebratory events."

A woman dressed in traditional clothes of some ethnicity handed a glass of wine to Herag, smiling happily.

Herag smiled slightly, took the wine, and said: "Thank you!"

"Cheers to victory!" The woman raised her glass in a toast.

"Cheers to victory!" Herag also raised his glass, downing the wine in one gulp before handing the glass back to the woman.

Herag had already checked the wine; there was nothing wrong with it. It was made from some fruits and grains, and contained no toxins.

With so many people on the street, it didn't make sense to specifically target him with poison.

The woman deemed herself very pleased to see Herag finish the wine in one go and continued singing and dancing with the celebrating crowd.

Having drunk the fine wine, Herag was carried forward by the thronging crowd around him.

There were simply too many people, and Herag was almost being pushed along.

For these people, they had been suppressed for far too long, previously shrouded in the shadow of doom.

Now that the dawn of hope had appeared, they naturally wanted to celebrate extravagantly.

Herag looked at the smiling faces around him, feeling that human sorrows and joys are not shared.

...

Outside Base 27, Herag paused and glanced at the place he used to patrol, then turned around and entered the base.

There was a toad perched on his shoulder. The toad emitted no aura nor attracted anyone's attention the whole time.

Others passing by barely glanced at Herag.

The number of people inside Base 27 had visibly increased, and the atmosphere was somewhat tense.

Herag entered Kane's room and found Kane still dealing with the towering pile of parchment, as if it would never end.

"What's been going on?" Herag asked.

Kane lifted his head upon hearing the voice, saw it was Herag, and said: "You're back so soon."

In Kane's perception, it seemed Herag hadn't been away for long.

Herag felt a bit speechless; he had been away for months, how busy must Kane be?

Kane said: "You might have noticed when you returned, a lot of people at the base have already been summoned back. Although it's not confirmed yet, I can divulge that we're basically going to retreat."

"Really retreating? Doesn't that mean all the previous efforts would be wasted?" Herag asked.

"No choice, it's orders from above. There must be reasons for their decision. It's not uncommon; not every expedition can succeed. It's just our bad luck that this attempt failed, and we didn't gain much benefit," Kane said rather helplessly.

Herag asked: "Since that's the case, is there a rough timeline for the withdrawal?"

"It's actually already starting; many have returned. There's not much to do, and remaining here doesn't require that many people. By the way, when do you plan to return?" Kane said.

Herag contemplated: "If there's nothing else, I might prepare to return in the next couple of days."

"There's someone at the teleportation altar responsible for teleporting at all times; you can return whenever you wish. Staying a bit longer is also fine, but likely there won't be another chance to come back in the future," Kane sighed.

Herag nodded without disturbing Kane further, recognizing how busy he was.

Since the expedition team was preparing to retreat, there wasn't much for them to do, yet for Kane, there was a pile of matters to handle.

Herag wandered around the base as if strolling, and before long he reached the vicinity of the teleportation altar.

Beside the teleportation altar was a lean, old wizard, reclining on a chair, with a small table next to him bearing some food.

Next to the small table was a little stove, on which a teapot was brewing tea, with its fragrance wafting all around.

Whenever someone came by to return, the elderly wizard would get up to activate the teleportation altar and send them back.

Herag approached, finding an excuse to chat for a while with the elderly wizard, whose name was Iztoke, a Level 2 Wizard.

Herag was somewhat surprised to learn that Iztoke was not part of any wizard force; rather, he belonged solely to the expedition team.

This was quite rare in the Land of Dawn, Iztoke grew up in the Central Region, joined the expedition team after years of experience, and has stayed till now.

Taking advantage of the conversation opportunity, Herag continuously observed and collected relevant information about the teleportation altar.

The toad remained motionless, its eyes occasionally shifting.

Iztoke paid no heed to the toad, merely assuming it to be Herag's small pet.

When the chat ended, Herag returned to his small cabin, glanced at the toad, asking with his eyes.

They were still inside Base 27, among the multitude of witch arrays, making it impossible to speak.

The toad instantly comprehended Herag's intention, nodded without saying a word.

Herag understood; evidently, the toad had already procured the location of the space channel.

If so, this trip wasn't in vain.

Even if the Wizard Plane withdraws from the Elf Plane later, he could still use this space channel to return to the Elf Plane.

The next day.

Herag arrived at the teleportation altar, saying to Iztoke: "I'm heading back first. We'll dine together when there's a chance."

"Since you said that, I'll feast on your generous account next time. As for me, I don't know when I'll get to return, probably when the base is fully withdrawn," Iztoke laughed.

Iztoke had also learned of Herag's identity, previously having heard about him.

Since Herag had come from Base 27, anyone staying a bit longer would have heard of Herag's stories.

Because life within the base was exceedingly dull, any tale worthy of conversation would be discussed.