Chapter 211: Chapter 205: Victor’s Fate Unknown

Inside the command hall, the air seemed to have frozen.

Allen had never seen such a scene. Seven or eight Official Wizards with profound auras stood solemnly around his mentor, Mercer, and every face was etched with gravity.

Normally, they were the masters of their respective zones or departments, yet now they stood like students, quietly awaiting orders.

On the holographic sand table, the blue areas that once represented order and safety were being overrun and corroded by vast, glaring patches of red.

Those red dots flickered wildly like a prairie fire, merging into a single mass and heralding a catastrophe that threatened to engulf the entire territory.

"The situation is dire."

Mercer’s voice was low, causing everyone present to tense up.

He pointed to the largest red area on the sand table. "The scale of this Magical Beast tide is equal to the last three years combined. And their targets are clear: our mines, workshops, and energy nodes."

"All my frontline combat units are already on the battlefield. The second-line garrisons and mobile patrol teams have been deployed to barely hold the defensive line of the core area," another Wizard added with difficulty.

Allen’s gaze swept quickly over the sand table. He noticed that while the edges of the blue area representing his Zone 18 were also flickering with red dots, the main part remained stable, one of the few relatively secure regions.

"Your Zone 18 is safe for now."

Mercer’s gaze turned to Allen, his deep blue crystalline eyes reflecting the fires of war on the sand table. "But your neighbor isn’t so lucky. The Magical Beast tide is mainly concentrated in Zone 19."

With a flick of his hand, the sand table’s perspective shifted, focusing on the area south of Zone 18—Zone 19, which was separated by a volcanic range.

The lights there had turned completely red.

Only a single, small blue dot, flickering faintly, struggled amidst a sea of red, looking as if it could be extinguished at any moment.

"Victor Iron Flame’s Zone 19 is one of the hardest-hit areas in this Magical Beast tide."

Mercer’s tone was grave. "Three hours ago, he sent out a top-level distress signal. Ten minutes ago, we lost all contact with his workshop."

Allen’s pupils contracted slightly.

’Victor... lost contact?’

’That junior of mine, the one with the powerful family background who established himself in just a month, so full of spirit... already beaten to the point where we don’t even know if he’s dead or alive?’

"I have no spare forces to deploy." Mercer looked directly at Allen. "Your Golem Legion is the closest unit to Zone 19, and the only one that can provide rapid reinforcement."

Inside the hall, the gazes of all the Wizards fell on Allen in unison.

Allen instantly understood his mentor’s meaning.

"Mentor, what do you need me to do?" he asked.

"Go to Zone 19 and provide support." Mercer’s command was simple and forceful. "Find Victor and bring him out alive. Everything in the workshop can be abandoned."

"Understood," Allen nodded.

"For this operation, I will cover half of all Golem combat losses. The Tieyan Clan will cover the other half," Mercer added.

’Combat losses fully reimbursed?’

Allen’s heart stirred. ’Does my mentor mean... I can go all out, without worrying about the cost?’

’How... thoughtful of him.’

"Thank you, Mentor." Allen gave a slight bow, ready to depart immediately.

"Wait," Mercer stopped him.

Allen paused and turned back.

He saw that for the first time, his mentor’s perpetually unchanging, deep blue crystalline eyes revealed a trace... of gravity.

"This Magical Beast tide wasn’t a natural occurrence."

’What?’ Allen’s heart sank.

"We found this on the battlefield."

Mercer raised his hand, and a holographic image unfolded in the air. It was the corpse of a Magical Beast, but beneath its rotting flesh, strange, unnaturally formed black Runes were faintly visible, exuding a nauseating, corrupt aura.

"Black Wizards?" Allen blurted out.

"Correct." Mercer’s voice turned icy. "They’re no longer launching sporadic raids. They’ve begun organized, large-scale attacks on our resource points, and have even... started infiltrating the fortress itself."

Allen’s expression also turned serious. "Infiltrating the fortress?"

"Yes." Mercer’s gaze swept over several hidden black dots on the sand table. "They seem to possess some special camouflage technology that can evade the fortress’s Magic Detection. We only discovered the clues after losing several apprentices who were on internal patrol duty."

The atmosphere in the hall grew suffocatingly tense.

If even the impregnable Forged Fire Fortress could be infiltrated, then where was safe?

"More importantly," Mercer’s tone grew even deeper, "there seems to be a more powerful entity manipulating these Black Wizards from behind the scenes."

"We captured a few of them alive and read some vague information from their soul fragments."

Mercer paused, then uttered a name Allen had heard of before.

"They call that entity... the ’Son of the Abyss’."

Son of the Abyss!

Allen had read about this title in the restricted section of the academy’s library.

It didn’t belong to any orthodox Wizard school but was the name of a Black Wizard organization—the Eternal Secret Sect.

It was a massive Black Wizard organization composed of fallen members from various schools, including Bloodline Wizards who conducted bloodline mutation experiments, Mind Mages who researched possession and memory alteration, and Alchemy Wizards obsessed with using humans as materials.

They pursued "immortality," and their main stronghold was even hidden in the forbidden plane of the Abyss.

"The Eternal Secret Sect..." Allen muttered to himself as a chill ran down his spine.

This was no longer a simple struggle for resources.

This was a premeditated war targeting the entire plane!

Son of the Abyss was a title for high-ranking members of the Eternal Secret Sect, and each one was at least a Morning Star Wizard, the same rank as his mentor.

Mercer looked at Allen and said slowly, "It’s highly likely that Victor wasn’t defeated by Magical Beasts, but by the minions of a ’Son of the Abyss’ hiding behind the beast tide."

Allen instantly understood the true danger of this mission.

His opponent might be a Black Wizard.

"Your mission this time is not to fight the Black Wizards head-on."

Mercer’s gaze regained its usual calmness. "Your primary objective is the rescue. Use the mobility of your Golem Legion to find Victor, then retreat immediately. Do not get bogged down in a fight."

"I understand," Allen nodded solemnly.

"Go." Mercer waved his hand. "Remember, at the critical moment, prioritize saving your own life. Don’t get yourself killed too."

Allen gave his mentor a deep look, then turned and strode out of the command hall.

Without the slightest hesitation, he headed straight for the landing pad.

The "Odyssey" was hovering quietly in its berth, with thirty "Spider Slayer II" models and Pacifistas already on standby.

"All units," Allen’s voice rang out in the consciousness of the Golem escort team. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

[Present, Commander.]

"Disengage weapon restrictions in public areas. Enter wartime alert status. Authorize ’Freedom Gundam’ autonomous combat protocols."

"First, return to the Furnace Workshop in the southern part of Zone 18."

Allen stepped aboard the "Odyssey," and the hatch slowly closed.

The massive transport ship, along with the six surrounding "Storm Falcons" and the silent "Freedom Gundam," rapidly ascended, tore through the clouds, and became a streak of light, rushing at full speed toward the war-torn, blood-soaked region to the south.

Inside the cockpit, Allen’s expression was complicated.

"Oh, my dear junior..."

"You’d better hold on... at least until I can hand you the bill for this rescue myself."