Duke signed up with the Third Legion, whose list will be compiled by Black Sail and submitted to the Wizard Council.

The list is not particularly confidential; anyone with some status or connections can learn about it. It's not hard to find out that Duke signed up for the Void Corridor.

Duke can assert that Bell, whether to acquire resources or to eliminate Duke, will inevitably enter the Void Corridor.

He is prepared for this and doesn't fear Bell, even though Bell's level is much higher than his.

Having defeated Bell once before, against the odds, he is confident he can win again.

Merrick's fingers move slowly across the map, tracing the areas marked with different colors and symbols.

"See these markings? The red triangles represent known dangerous areas, possibly inhabited by powerful demons or with extremely unstable environments. The blue circles are relatively safe areas, often used as temporary explorer camps or resource points. The green dashed paths mark routes that previous explorers found to be relatively stable, allowing movement between fragments."

Duke's gaze closely follows Merrick's fingertip, matching the details on the map with Merrick's information, imprinting them in his mind.

"Are these paths stable? Might they suddenly disappear or change?"

"That's one of the inherent dangers of the Void Corridor. Those so-called paths are essentially areas where space is relatively weak or energy flow is stable. They are not unchanging. A strong energy tide or a severe shift of a fragment could cause a path to disappear, distort, or even cast you into unknown chaotic void streams. So, even with a map, you can't be complacent and must be ready for unexpected changes at any time," Merrick said sternly.

Duke understands this well; a map in the Void Corridor can only serve as a reference, subject to changes at any time.

Plus, this map was drawn long ago, and it's uncertain how many years have passed, so the information must have some discrepancies and can't be entirely relied upon; it still requires strategic adaptation.

Merrick then took out a fist-sized metal sphere with complex silver patterns on its surface, saying, "This is an energy detector that the teacher developed specifically for this Void Corridor journey. It can detect high-energy targets nearby, whether objects or people."

This energy detector is a Level 1 Witchcraft Artifact, not even named, just casually refined by Master Land for his student as needed.

Duke also received one, and after probing it with spiritual power, he quickly sensed all kinds of energy bodies around him.

In his perception, the energy detector functioned like an infrared heat detector, capable of seeing everything with energy within a one-kilometer radius.

This device was not only convenient for resource searching but also served as an early warning; if there were powerful demons nearby in the Void Corridor, it could detect them in advance.

The energy detector can also conduct automatic detection, issuing alerts when a powerful presence approaches, thus helping to avoid numerous dangers beforehand.

While they were preparing, others were preparing for the Void Corridor as well.

...

West Coast, Nandang Valley.

This is the territory of the Crawford Clan, who have been entrenched here and developing for thousands of years. A dozen or so cities of varying sizes around here are under their domain.

Bell was preparing in an ancient castle, checking various magic potions and witchcraft artifacts, carefully selecting and inspecting the condition of the artifacts.

Standing behind him was a solemn and somewhat stiff-looking man.

This man was named Reid, a peak Level 1 Crystalization Bloodline Mage, just a step away from the threshold of a Level 2 Wizard.

Reid is a house servant of the Crawford Clan; everything he learned and was educated in since birth was meant to serve the family.

His bloodline has been modified many times, which greatly affects one, resulting in Reid having hardly any personal emotions.

Reid seemed like a mechanical lifeform created by a Mechanical Wizard, rigorously executing the Crawford Clan's orders with little personal emotion.

His task this time is to ensure Bell's safety in the Void Corridor without any mishaps.

If something were to happen to Bell, Reid would have no reason to continue existing in the world.

Were it not for the limitation of two-person teams in the Void Corridor, the Crawford Clan would definitely have arranged for a large entourage to protect Bell.

But the Wizard Council wanted to prevent that situation, as it would be too unfair to those without any background and defeat the purpose of opening the Void Corridor.

Nevertheless, the Crawford Clan arranged for many other wizards to sign up; however, since these wizards would not enter with Bell, they would most likely not encounter him inside.

Because the conditions inside the Void Corridor are too complex, the fragment regions are countless, and the chances of just happening upon each other are very low.

Bell was at ease, putting away those witchcraft artifacts and magic potions, adjusting his collar in the mirror to maintain a noble's demeanor at all times.

He was recalling the intelligence reports submitted by subordinates, thinking, "Duke... I hope your luck is good enough to encounter me..."

Bell harbored a gnashing hatred for Duke, wishing he could shred him to pieces.

Now, having a rare chance, he naturally wished to eliminate Duke in the Void Corridor. He even felt that simply killing Duke was too lenient.

"Reid knows a multitude of tortures. Eventually, I must have Reid use every method once and then extract his soul..." Bell thought impassively as he looked into the mirror.

Elsewhere, after discussing matters with Merrick, Duke thought for a moment and asked, "Do you know where I can find a reliable slave trader?"

"A slave trader? What type of slaves do you want to buy?" Merrick inquired.

"Strong combatants," Duke replied.

Merrick pondered for a moment, then said, "Then you can buy directly within Black Sail; the prices are also cheaper."

"You can purchase creature slaves within Black Sail?" Duke was previously unaware of this information.

"Of course, Black Sail has many Slave Creature Legions. They could be sold to the internal wizards originally." Merrick replied with slight exasperation, feeling that Duke was quite unaware of some news, probably spending most of his time in the laboratory.

Duke scratched his head, "I see, I'll ask Lucas about it later."

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