"Mr. Blake." Herag stood atop the castle and shouted to Blake in the distance.

Blake finally approached slowly, followed by more than a dozen people, all from the Cheqi Family, including two Crystalization Wizards, while the others were Wizard Apprentices.

The Cheqi Family had a total of three Crystalization Wizards, and they were all present.

For a Wizard Family, having three Crystalization Wizards was already a strong foundation.

Most Wizard Families might only have one or two Crystalization Wizards stationed.

The Wizard Organization had many more Crystalization Wizards, and generally, Wizard Organizations would have a Level 2 Wizard stationed, although they wouldn't easily show themselves.

Some Level 2 Wizards from Wizard Organizations weren't even at home but wandered outside, only returning when something happened.

So, in the Barren Land, a Level 1 Crystalization Wizard was basically the ceiling of combat power.

Through these two battles, Herag gained a further understanding of his own abilities.

At least in the Barren Land, he had the ability to protect himself, and could escape even if he couldn't defeat a Crystalization Wizard.

After Blake and his group entered Black Rock Valley, they first checked the state of the Witch Array, noticing signs of being seized, but control was still intact.

"You not only killed a Liquefaction Wizard but also drove away Old Man Karl from the Moss Family?" Blake, although aware of this in advance, still found it somewhat incredible.

"Just luck, I didn't fight him head-on, just interfered with him seizing the core of the Witch Array. Seeing time was running out, he left, and I couldn't stop him." Herag didn't detail the process.

Blake wouldn't ask either; he knew Herag surely had his secrets to achieve such a feat, and it wasn't convenient to inquire.

As a Wizard, it was normal for everyone to have some personal secrets.

Blake said, "It's hard enough; you're just a Gaseous Wizard, yet you could contend with a Crystalization Wizard. Although the opponent was cautious, this is already remarkable."

"We suffered quite a loss this time, nearly wiping out everyone we've nurtured in Black Rock Valley over the years."

"Who was the opponent?" Herag asked.

He still didn't know the exact identity of the opponent. With such a big move, the Cheqi Family must have figured it out.

Blake said solemnly, "It was someone from the Moss Family; they've been coveting our Magic Potion business for a long time. Now, it's our turn to retaliate."

Blake's eyes were full of anger; although the Moss Family hadn't succeeded in seizing Black Rock Valley, they still inflicted significant losses on them.

The Cheqi Family certainly wouldn't let it go and were preparing for a counterattack.

Herag didn't need to participate in the battle for the time being; he had other tasks.

"We'll arrange for some newcomers during this period, all personnel from within the family this time. They've just arrived in Black Rock Valley, and many things require your guidance," Blake said.

Most Wizard Apprentices and Knights in Black Rock Valley had died, but the daily management of the Magic Potion Garden still required personnel, which needed to be resolved quickly.

The Cheqi Family had transferred some trustworthy personnel from elsewhere, but these people were unfamiliar with Black Rock Valley's management procedures.

Especially Herag's management style, they would need some time to learn and understand before gradually getting the hang of it, which required Herag's time to teach them.

"No problem, leave it to me." It was naturally not an issue for Herag.

The cleanup work soon began, and the corpses in the residential area were all buried on the small hill outside Black Rock Valley.

For those with family members claiming them, the bodies were taken back by the relatives.

Apart from those few traitors, the Cheqi Family would also provide some compensation to the families of the deceased.

…

A few days later, the Cheqi Family arranged for fifteen newcomers to enter Black Rock Valley to handle the daily management of the Magic Potion Garden.

As before, Herag explained the significance of the schedule and various data reports.

These were all internal members of the Cheqi Family, and those sent over were quite astute, so Herag didn't take much effort to get them all acquainted.

During this period, the Cheqi Family's retaliation also began, attacking several estates of the Moss Family.

The Moss Family mainly conducted some trade business, buying and selling goods everywhere.

The Cheqi Family targeted these trade caravans, specifically plundering the Moss Family's caravans everywhere, causing them substantial losses.

Initially, they were unclear of the target and didn't know who did it.

Now that they knew it was the Moss Family, the Cheqi Family's target became clear, focusing on them.

Of course, the Moss Family also took action, and the Cheqi Family suffered not insignificantly, resulting in mutual damage.

Such a situation certainly couldn't persist for long, and soon negotiations began.

The negotiations were mediated by people from Augustus Academy, with some from other Wizard Families also sitting down for careful discussion.

The responsibility of Augustus Academy was to maintain stability in the Barren Land, and large-scale conflicts between two Wizard Families were certainly not allowed, as it would affect the stability of the area.

Once Augustus Academy intervened to mediate, no matter how great the animosity between the Cheqi Family and the Moss Family, they had to obediently sit down and negotiate.

The result of the negotiations was that the Moss Family would compensate the Cheqi Family with one hundred thousand Magic Stones.

Meanwhile, the Moss Family would have fewer slots for this year's Death Swamp Ruins exploration, while the Cheqi Family would have more.

The Death Swamp Ruins was one of the few ancient ruins in the Barren Land that produced various Magic Potion Materials and Casting Materials.

Most importantly, it might yield materials needed for a Level 1 Crystalization Wizard to ascend to a Level 2 Wizard.

If a Level 1 Crystalization Wizard wants to advance to a Level 2 Wizard, they must comprehend a Rule.

Upon comprehending a Rule, one can initially touch Rule Power, thereby advancing to a Level 2 Wizard.

This step is quite elusive, without external help, relying entirely on personal comprehension.

Some may comprehend it within a year, while others may never comprehend it in their lifetime.

Such advancement conditions are obviously very unstable, and in the Land of Dawn, many Level 2 Wizards couldn't have possibly advanced by personal comprehension alone.

The vast majority needed to rely on external objects.

The forms and types of these external objects varied, but they all shared one common point.

They all contained some World Rules, and Wizards could use these external objects to comprehend World Rules, thereby helping themselves to touch Rule Power and complete the advancement.

In the Land of Dawn, such things are not uncommon.

The Land of Dawn, long in campaign across other Planes, has many channels to obtain items imbued with Rule Power.

However, in the Barren Land, such things arę seldom seen.

Unless they flow out from the Land of Dawn, Wizards in the Barren Land have almost no way to access such items.

The only place where they might be produced is the Death Swamp Ruins.

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