Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2860: Chapter 2861: The Foolish Acts Leaderboard

”When Caroline died, the grand stage of the Frostmoon Alliance had already been laid out, and the dimension conquest had been going on for hundreds of years.” The Wise Sovereign replied on her behalf: ”Although we won’t leave the underground aqueduct, we still regularly gather information from the outside world.”

So, Caroline was aware of the Frostmoon Alliance.

Caroline: ”When I was alive, I rarely paid attention to matters in the Southern Domain, but from the magazines and journals given to me by the Wise Sovereign, I did learn quite a bit about the foolish things done in the Southern Domain over nearly ten thousand years.”

Angel: ... Foolish things? That’s quite an unusual perspective.

Caroline: ”The foolish things that I can list, which have had a significant impact on historical progress, are no less than a hundred. Among them, ’the establishment of the Frostmoon Alliance’ can definitely be ranked in the top fifty of foolish things.”

Angel: ”Why?”

Though Angel doesn’t particularly like the Frostmoon Alliance, he must acknowledge that the Frostmoon Alliance has brought considerable benefits to the Southern Domain in the dimension conquests. Otherwise, why would everyone understand the significant impact of capturing the offspring of a Demon God, yet when Lord Monty calls, various Witcher Organizations still send people to the Abyss with him? To a large extent, it is also because the benefits provided by the Frostmoon Alliance to the various Witcher Organizations are extremely abundant.

Of course, there are also wizards like Rhein and the Black Earl, who stand at the pinnacle of the Southern Domain. They help Monty more to see if Monty’s path is correct, to use as a reference.

However, such cases are still in the minority.

More people still value the benefits brought by the Frostmoon Alliance. Whether it’s the dividends from conquests or the resting points at the Abyssal Front, the help to the Southern Domain Wizards is very substantial.

Just look at Sanders’ experiences as an example.

During his apprenticeship, Sanders spent seventy percent of his time not in the Barbarian Cave, but following the Frostmoon Alliance’s expedition team, pioneering worlds.

Even after becoming a wizard, Sanders occasionally did things for the Frostmoon Alliance. For instance, Sanders once used his Witchcraft Garden to help the Frostmoon Alliance smuggle some otherworldly creatures; also, he stationed in the Abyss, in Stronghold City, among other things...

These may not have been things Sanders was willing to do, yet he didn’t refuse mainly because they were profitable, and during his time with the Frostmoon Alliance’s expedition team, Sanders gained considerable benefits.

So, even though Angel doesn’t really like the Frostmoon Alliance, he can still view its existence’s value dialectically.

To say this is a foolish thing... Angel doesn’t quite agree.

Caroline: ”I know what you think, the Frostmoon Alliance’s dimension conquest indeed brought new forces into the Southern Domain Wizard World. However, everything cannot be viewed on the surface; without the Frostmoon Alliance, wouldn’t you still go conquer the dimensions?”

”Furthermore, the Frostmoon Alliance is essentially a coalition of abandoned pieces to keep themselves warm together.”

A coalition of abandoned pieces to keep warm? This phrase seems to have a deeper meaning? Angel looked at Caroline with curiosity, hoping she would give an explanation.

Caroline, however, simply said: ”Abandoned pieces mean they were once brought to the table. And who can bring them to the table?”

Angel: ”A more powerful organization?”

Caroline: ”Exactly. However, this more powerful organization does not exist in the Southern Domain but in the Origin World.”

”To put it plainly, many Witcher Organizations within the Frostmoon Alliance were once pawns of certain forces from the Origin World, or as they call themselves: agents.”

”The majority of organizations in an alliance were past pawns, now abandoned pieces. It sounds amusing, but upon closer thought, you’ll find the hidden troubles are endless.”

Caroline: ”Since they are pawns, they naturally can’t all be of the same color. In other words, when these Witcher Organizations were still ’agents’, there was animosity among them, and the majority were hostile.”

”Because the passage between the Southern Domain and the Origin World was severed, the pawns became abandoned pieces, now forcibly integrated into a coalition appearing to thrive, but how long can this situation last?”

”Once the forces behind them return, the hidden dangers within the Frostmoon Alliance will inevitably erupt.”

”If this isn’t a foolish thing, then what qualifies as foolish?”

”Also, if you look closely, after the establishment of the Frostmoon Alliance, many favorable conditions were offered hoping for more Witcher Organizations to join. But if you look, have any large Witcher Organizations been incorporated by them?”

Angel thought carefully and indeed, there seemed to be none; basically only medium and small-sized organizations. However, these organizations, though small, when allied together, along with Monty’s combat strength, would even make massive organizations like the Barbarian Cave retreat.

”Why haven’t large organizations joined the Frostmoon Alliance? The reason is simple, large Witcher Organizations themselves possess power; their existence is by no means ’agents’.”

Angel seemed to realize something: ”Like how behind the Crown Star Church stands the Temple of the Oracle?”

Caroline smiled and nodded: ”You do know quite a bit. Indeed, behind the Crown Star Church is the Temple of the Oracle.”

”Not just the Crown Star Church, your Barbarian Cave, though it seems to only be rooted in the Southern Domain, many wizards from the Barbarian Cave are in the Origin World, many have even established their own forces.”

”If you went to the Origin World now, as long as you mentioned you came from the Barbarian Cave, you wouldn’t worry about having no future.”

”Your foundation ensures you won’t become an agent. Since the foundation is strong, why meddle in the murky waters of the Frostmoon Alliance?”

This was the first time Angel heard that the internal organizations of the Frostmoon Alliance were once subordinate to different forces.

No wonder Caroline would say the creation of the Frostmoon Alliance is a foolish thing.

Why do agents exist? For war, for resources. Yet now these agents have actually allied together, once the forces behind return to the Southern Domain, this hidden danger is indeed substantial.

Of course, it’s not entirely impossible to avoid hidden dangers—it mainly depends on Lord Monty’s wisdom.

Upon learning some truths about the Frostmoon Alliance, Angel originally wanted to continue asking about matters regarding the Panic Realm. But thinking about Caroline’s mentioned ’foolish things ranking,’ he couldn’t help but ask, ”Then what does Miss Caroline consider to be the number one foolish thing?”

Caroline: ”Of course, it’s severing the passage between the Origin World and the Southern Domain.”

”Hmph, a bunch of fools thought that by cutting off the teleportation array, the Southern Domain could develop independently. In reality, it only marginalizes themselves.”

”People from the Origin World, even without a teleportation array, have other ways to come to the Southern Domain. But the other way around, the Southern Domain wanting to go to the Origin World is practically impossible. Who does that harm? Isn’t it hurting themselves?”

”Just look at how many Legends were born in the Southern Domain after the passage was cut off.”

If the Black Earl were here, he would probably share similar feelings. His current issue is wanting to go to the Origin World, but having no way to do so.

If the teleportation array still existed, the Black Earl wouldn’t be so troubled.

Angel wasn’t particularly concerned about this matter. The main reason was that he wasn’t eager to go to the Origin World, and he also had a way to get there.

However, he understood why Caroline put this at the top of the Foolish List: from a macro perspective, it was indeed an unwise action that neither harmed others nor benefited oneself.

Although Angel still wanted to ask about other foolish matters on the Foolish List, he thought better of it; one time was enough, and now wasn’t the time for idle gossip.

”Since there’s the influence of the Origin World behind the Frostmoon Alliance, were the descriptions of the Panic Realm on the Conquest Record dictated by those forces? Or is the Panic Realm truly as barren as the Frostmoon Alliance described?”

Caroline: ”I don’t know if the forces behind it dictated it. But in my opinion, probably not; it’s likely that there was a deviation in the information dissemination.”

”However, regarding this issue, whether it’s a misunderstanding or actual dictation from behind doesn’t matter. Because if it were me, I would also support the Frostmoon Alliance’s description.”

”The Panic Realm isn’t barren, but the materials there have a very deep World Imprint.”

The so-called World Imprint, simply put, is: ”local characteristic.”

Just like how the same plant can have completely different variants due to different environments and climates. This variant is what is called the local characteristic in that area.

If you expand it to a world level, you can understand it this way. If the material’s ”local characteristic” is strong, then transplanting it elsewhere is difficult.

If the local characteristic isn’t that strong, meaning it doesn’t have a deep World Imprint, it’s possible to improve it and plant it in other worlds.

There is a very extreme example: Glowing Fluff Grass.

Glowing Fluff Grass is the main ingredient of the Glowing Fluff Potion. It’s not an original Demon Plant of the Wizards’ Realm, but it can take root and grow in the Wizards’ Realm, without needing modification.

In other words, Glowing Fluff Grass shows no signs of ”acclimatization issues,” making it a typical example of a material with a non-heavy World Imprint.

”To what extent is the World Imprint of the Panic Realm intense? The materials there, once they leave the Panic Realm, lose their Extraordinary Power at an extremely fast rate.”

”This means, if you want those materials to remain unaffected, you can only spend time in the Panic Realm, processing the materials before you can take them away.”

By processing, it means, like the Alchemists do, refining the materials into semi-finished products, fundamentally eliminating the World Imprint. This way, taking these alchemy semi-finished products won’t be affected.

Caroline: ”To more efficiently utilize the materials of the Panic Realm, some wizard forces from the Origin World have tried to establish cities in the Panic Realm.”

As Caroline spoke, the scene Laplace described flashed through Angel’s mind.

Wizards’ cities rising into the sky above the Panic Realm, with numerous wizards flying towards the City of Wizards, bathed in light. The entire scene was epic.

These cities were probably what Caroline mentioned, built by the wizards of the Origin World to utilize the materials of the Panic Realm.

Caroline: ”But do you know the fate of these Wizards’ cities?”

Angel: ”... Something went wrong?”

Based on Caroline’s questioning, Angel didn’t have to think deeply to guess that these Wizards’ cities had problems. Either they encountered significant upheavals or simply crashed directly.

Sure enough, Caroline nodded: ”All of them crashed, causing countless wizard casualties. Among the fallen were no less than ten Legends.”

With these words, not only Angel, but even the Wise Sovereign showed a look of shock.

It’s true that the Origin World has many wizards, but Legendary Wizards are rare. To lose ten in one incident is indeed a massive tragedy.

Furthermore, the Legendary Rank includes Level 4 to Level 6 Wizards. If there are Level 6 Wizards among them, they’re comparable to some Ancient Ones of the Abyss.

If we compare Legendary Wizards to Demon Gods, this battle saw the fall of ten Demon Gods.

In the Southern Domain Wizard World, you don’t need ten Demon Gods; even one descending would bring doomsday-like catastrophe.

So one can imagine how terrifying this disaster in the Panic Realm was.

”Why did they die? Who did it?” The Wise Sovereign couldn’t help but ask.

”Based on some intelligence I’ve gathered, it was three Liberators who besieged the Wizards’ cities,” Caroline said.

”Three Liberators? Only three?” The Wise Sovereign furrowed his brow: ”If we compare the power of Liberators to the wizards’ cultivation system, approximately how many levels could they reach?”

Caroline: ”Liberator is just a title and doesn’t quantify power. From what I know, the strong among the Liberators can reach Miracle, while the weaker ones are comparable to True Knowledge. Those three Liberators didn’t reach Miracle level; the reason they could cause such damage is that Liberators naturally have the ability to control Awakened Demons.”

”They manipulated countless Awakened Demons to attack the Wizards’ cities. Among the Awakened Demons, there were those with Legendary power, and mixed among them were many powerful monsters. This ultimately led to the Wizards’ side retreating in defeat.”

Angel: ”What happened afterward? Did the Origin World have no response to this disaster in the Panic Realm?”

Caroline: ”I’m not too clear on the aftermath. But it’s said that there was a response from the Origin World, but it ended without result.”

Angel: ”The reason it ended without result is...”

Caroline shook her head: ”I don’t know, but the reasons are usually just a few.”

”My personal guess is that the Panic Realm, in terms of energy level, is not inferior to the Origin World and also has Miracles, creating a mutually balanced environment. But the Panic Realm is the home ground of the Liberators, making it difficult for wizards to attack.”

”Moreover, the Panic Realm is shrouded in a bizarre atmosphere; there might indeed be stronger controllers behind it. The wizards from the Origin World might also be wary of this and dare not act rashly.”

All of this is just Caroline’s speculation, but she can’t guarantee if it’s true.

However, regardless of the truth, what’s certain is that the Panic Realm is extremely dangerous.

For the wizards of the Origin World, it’s already so dangerous, let alone for the Southern Domain’s wizards.

That’s why Caroline said she would support the Frostmoon Alliance’s ”slander” against the Panic Realm. Most wizards are opportunists; knowing the Panic Realm is barren, naturally, they wouldn’t venture there.

This way, they won’t encounter danger.