Sieg sensed the terrifying power of the shadowy figure, his expression growing more and more grave. There was no time for idle talk. The next moment, he bellowed fiercely and cast numerous spells.
He was surrounded by a series of flashes as he quickly formed five immensely powerful Energy Magic Shields in front of him.
The result was a continuous cracking sound—"crash crash crash crash crash"—as each of the Energy Magic Shields shattered to pieces. He was struck by an unstoppable force and sent flying, crashing into the ground and creating a crater over half a meter deep.
Sieg climbed out of the crater, cursing in a loss of composure with uncontainable rage. He summoned all his strength, preparing to counterattack.
A terrifying aura exploded from within him, his skin visibly turning blue at an astonishing rate, his eyes became a deep azure, and he let out a hoarse roar. Numerous arcs of lightning sprang from the surface of his body, a truly horrifying sight.
Suppressing the injuries he sustained, Sieg stepped out of the crater one slow step at a time, turning his gaze toward the shadowy figure that had ambushed him—the one-eyed Muse.
Hearing Sieg’s words, Muse gave a cursory glance and didn’t pay much attention, as if the move just now was a casual lesson, not intending to take it seriously.
The next moment, under the nearly fiery gaze of Sieg, Muse took a light step and sprang up, swiftly heading towards the large city that was in a tense standoff.
Along with Muse’s approach to the great city, the last batch of the Mysterious Organization’s Black Robed elite forces emerged. Together with Muse, they launched a deadly strike on the defense line organized by Russell and his companions in the city.
Russell and the others defended desperately, trying to keep the attacks outside the defense line. But Muse, like an arrow, broke through their line in an instant, quickly penetrated deeper, and headed straight for the core.
Atop the hill, Sieg watched Muse suddenly leave—first stunned, then furiously enraged to the extreme, feeling the disdainful snub—this was the ultimate insult!
The electricity on his body grew denser. Turning to look at Bayer and Casol, Sieg spoke, "Fine then, I was ready to spar with that Muse Housekeeper of yours, but she ambushed me and ran away. All right, I’ll kill you two first, then deal with her later. I’ll make you understand what it costs to not honor a deal!"
After finishing his declaration, Sieg waved his right hand, and the air sparked with violet and black arcs of electricity. They quickly gathered together, forming into a thunder spear that radiated a destructive aura. With a wave of his left hand, the air condensed, and moisture coalesced into a cold and piercing Ice Spear.
Bayer looked on and gently shook his head, calmly addressing Sieg, "Crewe!"
Sieg was momentarily puzzled, not understanding.
Without stopping, Bayer’s mouth continuously sent out one bizarre terminology after another rhythmically, "Crewe... Moro... Holo... Uman..."
Sieg stood in a daze, and as he continued to stare blankly, his eyes suddenly widened. He clearly saw the thunder spear and ice spear in his hands dissipate, followed by the sensation of mana draining away from his Magic Origin. Along with the mana, his physical strength and energy also ebbed away.
Overwhelming fatigue set in, and Sieg felt as though he could barely stand, his head spinning, unable to even raise his hand.
"This... What is this!"
Sieg was in utter shock.
Bayer finished reciting the bizarre spell, looking at Sieg with a hint of pity, as though gazing upon a stubborn but unloved little white mouse, "Dean Sieg, don’t bother struggling, it’s truly pointless. Muse Housekeeper didn’t kill you just now not because she feared you, but because she didn’t think you were worth killing.
Your strength is indeed great, stronger than many Third-level Wizards in the city. Even if you’re not the strongest on the East Coast, you certainly have a reputation. But as our collaborator, as an important piece in our plan, you have been under our control for a long time; you just didn’t know it."
"You!" Sieg’s eyes bulged as he stared at Bayer, "What... what have you done to me? How did you do it? Did you inject me with some kind of poison?"
"No, we didn’t do that. Toxins? Far too primitive. We targeted your very life force. You don’t need to know the specific mechanism; just understand this: you’ve been in contact with us too much. As far as we’re concerned, you have no secrets, transparent as glass. During our cooperation, that was naturally harmless. But when it comes to a fallout, getting rid of you couldn’t be easier.
Dean Sieg, do you think you are a god to your subordinates? You are not a god, but we—we are gods, omnipotent gods. To me, all your struggles are laughable, so weak they can’t even trouble us."
Whether spurred by these words or simply due to bodily exhaustion, Sieg collapsed to the ground, barely managing to lift his head to look at Bayer, his gaze dim as though accepting his fate.
After a long pause, Sieg asked with a resigned voice, "Who exactly are you? What do you really want to do? It’s come to this; you might as well tell a man who’s about to die, right?
Don’t give me any more nonsense about being descendants of the Black Spirit Empire. I never believed that from the start, and after my investigation, it was confirmed. You just do things under the guise of the heirs of the Black Spirit Empire.
But what I still don’t understand is why you dared to make a move on me? By my estimate, if your plan succeeded, you might have tried to turn me into a puppet to help you govern, but I truly didn’t expect you to annihilate me completely. How does that benefit you?
After the grand battle, the entire East Coast will be in utter chaos. Without me and the Deep Blue Castle Wizards to help, you absolutely won’t be able to govern such a vast territory of the East Coast. Even if you establish an empire, it’ll only be a shell. What’s the use in that?"
A dead leaf, its origin unknown, drifted by. While listening to Sieg’s words, Bayer blew a breath of air that carried the leaf away, then turned to Sieg and said, "Alright, Dean Sieg, we were friends after all. Your time is likely running out, so in the face of old friendship, I will clarify some of your doubts."
"You say we’ve established an empire, but without your and Deep Blue Castle’s support, it’s just a hollow shell, right?" Bayer asked.
"Yes." Sieg maintained his viewpoint, "You don’t have enough manpower to govern the East Coast."
Bayer nodded, "You are correct, we indeed don’t have enough manpower to govern the East Coast, but then again, who told you that our goal was really to govern the East Coast?"
"That’s right, according to our plan, it seems like we are to defeat all the Wizard Organizations and take over governance. But in reality, that’s not the case at all," said Bayer, shaking his head lightly, "Not at all! We never thought of governing it; we only want to destroy it."
"Destroy it? How... How is that possible?" Sieg was utterly baffled, "You’ve expended so much effort, so many people have died or been injured, just to destroy the East Coast?"
"Exactly," Bayer gave a light laugh with an eerie smile, confirming the grim answer.