Wizard: Starting from the Skill Tree

Chapter 660: Purchasing Intelligence

"A Level 3 Moon Well already constitutes a strategic-level resource, with energy tides influencing areas of tens of miles, nurturing immensely powerful clans that surely harbor seasoned Level 3 powerhouses, and might even conceal Level 4 entities in retreat. The Empire’s expeditionary force’s primary offensive currently revolves around regions suspected to contain Level 2 or Level 3 Moon Wells, progressing slowly and sustaining significant casualties."

"As for the higher Level 4 and Level 5 Moon Wells..." Master Ted paused, his gaze profound, "these are the lifeblood of the Night Elf royal court and ancient legacy clans. It’s rumored that the moon’s primal force contained within can even influence laws.

The guardians are at least peak Level 4, possibly Level 5. That’s beyond our current reach. And the legendary Level 6 Moon Well only exists in epics and ancient elf manuscripts, its existence remains uncertain."

Harald looked at everyone and spoke, "The Shadow Song Gorge area, with its complex terrain and intertwined energy veins, is, according to preliminary reconnaissance and intelligence analysis, scattered with numerous Night Elf clans. Most of them likely possess Level 1 Moon Wells, though a few may reach Level 2.

I know you all might have some ideas about Moon Wells, but in reality, acquiring them is extremely challenging. For our team, a Level 1 Moon Well is a feasible target, whereas Level 2 would require meticulous planning, thorough preparation, and entail huge risks."

Everyone present basically had roles akin to mercenaries, hence there was no need to conceal their thoughts.

Everyone was well aware that Moon Wells are the most precious resources, certainly sparking some notions.

In fact, the Gray Mouse squad was nearly annihilated earlier because they attempted to acquire a Level 1 Moon Well, leading to near annihilation.

Being the Night Elves’ most crucial resource, Moon Wells are naturally heavily guarded.

More crucially, extracting a Moon Well from the earth isn’t an easy task either.

A single mistake could lead to the entire Moon Well collapsing, resulting in all efforts wasted.

"Do you have a method to extract the Moon Well?" Duke asked.

Harald glanced at Duke and replied, "Of course, but this information isn’t free, nor is it within my responsibilities."

What he had just shared were some intelligence he was obligated to share.

However, the details on extracting a Moon Well out of the earth came with a different price.

"How much?" Duke asked.

He wasn’t surprised as there’s no free lunch in the world, and the opponent wanted to earn some intelligence fees, which was quite normal.

Harald pondered before saying, "One million Level 1 Magic Stones."

"That’s too expensive!" Una immediately frowned, finding the price rather exorbitant given her frugal lifestyle.

"Deal!" Duke agreed without hesitation; the price wasn’t significant to him.

Harald looked a bit surprised at Duke; he hadn’t expected this newcomer to be so straightforward.

One million Level 1 Magic Stones is a considerable sum for a Level 1 Crystalized Mage, enough to purchase several good Witchcraft Artifacts or large amounts of supplies.

"Straightforward! On-site transaction, then I’ll send you the information through the Wizard’s Mark." Harald’s scar on his face twitched slightly as he grinned.

Duke nodded and completed the transaction with Harald on the spot.

He also received information from Harald, which he read thoroughly and carefully.

This money wasn’t spent in vain; if Harald dared to be perfunctory, Duke naturally had ways to retrieve the money.

Indeed, Harald did earn his pay, providing very detailed and meticulous information.

The Seville Empire’s official method of Moon Well extraction involves Mechanical Wizards manipulating flowing, liquid Magic Metals to extend underground, enveloping the entire Moon Well, then extracting it into a specially crafted container, and finally transplanting it to another land as quickly as possible.

Lastly, some Witch Arrays need to be arranged to lock and prevent the Moon Well’s energy from leaking.

Because once removed from the Night Elf Plane environment, without the energy replenishment from the three moons above, the Moon Well’s energy would gradually dissipate.

Although this dissipation process might take hundreds or thousands of years to complete, following the principle of conserving and not wasting a shred of energy, Wizards would still arrange Witch Arrays to lock the Moon Well’s energy and prevent leakage.

The difficulty in extracting a Moon Well lies first in possessing enough Magic Metals, at the very least, enough to completely envelop a Level 1 Moon Well.

This alone can stump many people, as ordinary Level 1 Mages can’t afford that much Magic Metal.

Moreover, simultaneously manipulating that much Magic Metal is a significant burden, and for anyone other than Mechanical Wizards, even Level 1 Mages would find this step quite challenging.

This isn’t an issue for Duke, as his Metallic Yellow Sand can substitute Magic Metal and manipulation is effortlessly easy without any pressure.

For him, the only difficulty lies in getting close to the Moon Well.

The Moon Well being the Night Elves’ most crucial asset, someone is always guarding nearby.

Trying to infiltrate stealthily and abscond without alarming anyone is nearly impossible.

The more plausible approach is to launch an attack on one of the clans, hoping that the Night Elves’ defensive forces on that side significantly reduce, creating a chance for opportunism.

Yet it’s still tough, as who knows how many eyes are fixed on that Moon Well.

Duke, a Level 1 Crystalized Mage, attempting to seize the Moon Well amidst all these eyes, the difficulty remains exceedingly high.

"Can’t rush things; let’s adapt to circumstances," Duke thought, finding no better immediate solution and could only watch and wait, gathering as much information as possible for an opportune moment.

Later, Ted and Shadowcrow also purchased a piece of intelligence, clearly showing interest in Moon Wells.

Una bit her lip, glanced at the other three, and finally refrained from purchasing.

One million Magic Stones are excessively burdensome for her, and she leans more towards being a prowler and assassin, realistically making her chances of acquiring a Moon Well extremely low.

Perhaps in this task, she could leverage her elf bloodline and familiarity with the forest to contribute value in other areas and pursue benefits differently.

Master Ted scanned everyone, speaking sternly, "The reconnaissance mission in three days—primary goal is environment familiarization, risk assessment, intelligence verification—absolutely not a rash act. Until we have sufficient assurance and meticulous preparation, any direct attempts at the Moon Wells equate to suicidal acts. I do not wish for the Gray Mouse squad’s lesson to repeat with us."

"Understood," Duke and Shadowcrow replied, and Una nodded as well.