CHAPTER 475: 034 PLANNING

Walker family residence.

Nina carefully took the child from Gerry’s arms and held him gently, her face breaking into continuous smiles.

"Good!"

"This baby is plump and healthy-looking. You two should have a few more. Don’t worry about their upbringing."

Glancing at Harvey and Gerry, she said with a smile, "Just keep having them; I’ll arrange for people to help raise them. It’s up to you young ones to continue the family Bloodline."

The couple smiled awkwardly.

Though they understood Nina’s expectations for the family’s heritage and Bloodline’s prosperity, they did not want their child to be raised by someone else.

"Auntie..."

Harvey was about to speak when his expression suddenly changed. "No!"

Nina, with a Spirit Light in her hand, gently touched the child’s head, her own expression becoming grave.

Investigation Technique!

It was used to check if a person had Wizard Talent.

However, such spells could harm the body of the person receiving them, especially infants, who were more delicate.

Generally speaking, Wizard Families would set up a witchcraft spell circle when the baby was a full month old to check for Wizard Talent to avoid causing harm. This was also why the custom of the full-month celebration existed.

But clearly, Nina was somewhat impatient.

"No!"

Compared to her husband’s tense face, Gerry, who had just become a mother and was still very weak, burst into fierce anger, struggling to rush at Nina, "Don’t hurt my child!"

"Stop!" Harvey’s face changed, and he quickly held his wife back. "Don’t act rashly! It will complicate the spellcasting... the consequences will be more serious."

Gerry’s body stiffened.

"Relax." Nina glanced at them both, her expression turning cold. "The Investigation Technique I used is a modified version; it won’t cause much damage to the baby."

"Unfortunately..." she sighed, "There’s no Wizard Talent."

Saying this, she ignored Gerry’s hopeful gaze and expressionlessly handed the child to the maid standing behind her.

"If not this time, then just have a few more." Nina took out several Potions from her Storage Witch Artifact and placed them on the table. "I consulted a few Pharmacists and got some Potions that can aid in conception, and they increase the chances of having multiple births."

"..." Harvey’s expression became blank. "Auntie, what do you mean by this?"

"Continuing the family Bloodline is your responsibility." Nina’s expression was indifferent. "Besides Gerry, I will find you several age-appropriate females with Wizard Talent to try with. I don’t oppose your marriage, but females with Wizard Talent having children makes it easier to have children with talent."

"Auntie..." Harvey trembled. "You’re crazy! Gerry’s body hasn’t recovered yet, and we also need to raise our child. We have no plans to have more for now."

"As for finding other women..." He couldn’t help but roar loudly, "That’s impossible!"

"You don’t need to raise the child." Nina frowned. "Raising children is something the servants can do. Your most important task now is to continue the family Bloodline."

"What are you doing?" Her eyebrows rose; she raised her hand to hold back the attacking Gerry.

"Give me back my child!" Gerry, with disheveled hair, yelled. "Give me back my child!"

BANG!

Nina’s expression darkened; an invisible force directly flipped the frenzied Gerry to the ground.

"Harvey, look after your wife."

"Let’s go!" she ordered. After scolding Harvey in a low voice, she turned to head outside, taking the maid holding the baby with her.

"Auntie!"

Harvey wanted to follow but was also pushed back. Though he was a Legendary Knight, his advancement in rank was recent, and he was no match for a One-Circle Late Stage Wizard. Facing Nina, he had no power to fight back.

"Auntie!"

By the time Harvey struggled to his feet and tried to rush outside, two figures blocked his path.

"Master Harvey, please don’t make this difficult for us."

Two Advanced Wizard Apprentices hired by the Walker family, wielding Magic Wands, firmly sealed off his exit.

With a muffled BANG, the heavy wooden door slowly closed.

Harvey clenched his jaw, staring intently at the wooden door in front of him. A sense of helplessness quietly arose in his heart.

Advanced Wizard Apprentices... I’m not even confident I can deal with an Advanced Wizard Apprentice. A Legendary Knight... what a joke.

His body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground. Turning back to look at his wife, he saw Gerry kneeling on the bed with a vacant expression and lifeless eyes.

「Night.」

Four Constructed Puppets holding lanterns surrounded Nina, heading towards the dark, dense forest ahead.

RUSTLE...

The leaves stirred.

Nina paused, and the Constructed Puppets immediately drifted around her.

"Come out!"

Nina turned her head. "Louis, you are the Clan Leader of a family; there’s no need to be so secretive, right?"

"Heh..." The nearby bushes rustled, and a figure that had been integrated into them emerged, speaking with a faint smile, "After all, this is not the Dream Market, and for me, the sense of security is always... lacking."

"Hmph!" Nina scoffed. "Where is Kem?"

"Here," came a robust male voice from above, followed by two figures descending. "You both arrived early!"

Nina, Louis, and Kem, the Clan Leaders of the remaining three great families of the Dream Market and also the only three One-Circle Late Stage Wizards, had all come here. The three great families did not get along; they could even be said to be hostile, their relationships long since strained.

Now, they gathered together.

"I’ve just arrived too."

Nina looked towards the cloaked man beside Kem and spoke cautiously, "Who is this?"

"Let me introduce you." Kem smiled, extending his hand towards the cloaked man beside him. "Garoya! Nightmare Garoya!"

The man lifted his hood, revealing a plain face, and nodded to the two of them. "Hello to both of you."

"It’s him!"

"The legendary Nightmare?"

Louis and Nina exchanged glances; both saw the gravity in each other’s eyes and instinctively took a step back.

Nightmare!

One of the most formidable One-Circle Late Stage Wizards. A well-known solitary Wizard nearby, renowned for being mysterious, eerie, and brutal, particularly skilled at weaving dreams and invading others’ Spiritual Inner Seas. It was said that he once silently killed a Second Circle Wizard.

"You don’t need to be nervous. I’m here this time at the invitation of a friend from the Six Rings Tower to deal with Conni," Garoya said with a smile. "This requires your assistance."

"Conni?" Nina’s eyes flickered. "People from the Six Rings Tower aren’t planning to let him go?"

Among those present, only she knew that the so-called ’Conni’ was actually the Tower disciple Carl. But whether ’Conni’ or ’Carl,’ both had offended the Green family of the Six Rings Tower. She decided to keep this secret to herself for now.

"Of course!" Kem nodded. "No one who has offended the Six Rings Tower has ever ended well, and Conni will be no exception. But as you also know, the recent uproar a few days ago involved a Second Circle Wizard attempting to forcefully kill Conni. However, under the rules of the Dream Market and the Wizard Tower’s assistance, they had to retreat."

The two nodded. As observers, they were well aware of the terrifying scale of that uproar and were surprised that Carl had managed to hold his ground.

"The Dream Market has a Third-tier domain force field, certainly troublesome without a Three-Circle Wizard intervening."

Nightmare Garoya continued, "The Six Rings Tower has the capacity to forcibly level the Dream Market, but there’s no need, so they sent me. I need to make contact with Conni."

As long as he could make contact with the person, or the target’s personal clothing, hair, or blood, he would be able to enter their dream and kill them without a trace.

"Why should I help you?" Nina asked first. "This is a private feud between the Six Rings Tower and Conni. It doesn’t concern us. Why should we invite trouble? If the operation fails, we’ll have to face Conni’s retaliation. He’s a Second-Order Holy Knight. How long has it been since the Magic Forest produced a Holy Knight?"

Louis nodded gently.

"Heh..." Kem chuckled lightly. "I know your private dealings with Conni are good, but think about it: do you really want to oppose the Six Rings Tower for him? Also, we all understand Conni’s strength. If we let him grow powerful in the market, eventually there might not be any place left for our three families to survive."

"Exactly!" Louis touched his chin. "Everyone wants the Dream Fragments; they lead directly to the Third-tier... Conni is no exception. He probably came to the Dream Market for the fragments our three families hold."

Nina’s expression darkened.