486 - 494

Discovered

The threatening words only caused Leo's hands to tremble a little, and the scroll remained tightly in his grip.

Relationships were based on strength, and this was something even more pronounced in the world of Magi.

Why would anyone be threatened by an ant? These could affect Leylin even up to the Morning Star realm, and at this point?

Leo sneered, his spiritual force continuously seeping into the scroll. At worst, he could just kill the opposite party and invite his Master to take part as they slew the rest of the Magi who could possibly know the secret.

The only powers that could restrain the Oakheart Clan were those at the Morning Star realm and above. The current Leylin didn't even qualify to bargain.

Leylin understood this principle. What he sought was not a withdrawal, he just needed that moment of pause.

The moment Leo froze when Leylin's voice was transmitted, he sprung into action.

"Kemoyin's Scales!" "Toxic Bile!" "Intimidating Gaze!" Acting on the chant, all 3 innate spells immediately took effect.　　

Compared to the other methods of using spells or potions, a Magus' innate spell would take effect in the blink of an eye. Thus, in times of danger, every Magus would first choose to use their innate spells, and Leylin was no exception.

A layer of shiny black scales immediately enveloped his entire body. The two domains of poison and Intimidating Gaze was launched in his attack without any reservations. At this critical moment, Leylin had burst forth with all his power.

Without any apprehensions, the Toxic Bile poisoned Noah who was standing by his side. Thereafter, the ripples struck the surrounding Crystal Phase Magi, creating countless waves.

After absorbing the Lamia bone's radiation, the power of Leylin's Intimidating Gaze had swelled by a few folds. The pressure was immense even for similarly-ranked Crystal Phase Magi.

"Such strength of the domains? Even average Crystal Phase Kemoyin Warlocks are not this strong!" The enormous amounts of life force caused the iron chains to start trembling.

The surrounding Magi, numbers 1 and 2, immediately cried out in alarm.

"Fatality's Tip!" At such a juncture, Leylin did not show the slightest reservations. The black rays of death, aimed at the weakest link, number 3. It was like a vicious viper baring its ferocious teeth at its prey.

"Number 2, number 4, support!" Number 1 yelled immediately. As the leader of the team, he needed to help stall for time as Leo launched his rank 4 spell.

*Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!* Multiple chains appeared like a wall, blocking Leylin's advance.

"Cross Blade Slash!" Leylin held onto the Meteor Sword, its black blade dazzling. The iron chains started to break apart into pieces, dropping to the ground one after the other.

The remaining unbroken ones started to erode away, revealing multiple tiny holes. 　

*Pak!* The iron chain was split apart. The rays of death appeared before number 3. 　

"You want my life?" Number 3 looked like a kindly old man, and had extremely thin and long lips. At that moment, he lost all self-control and started howling as his face warped.

"Thunderstorm Shield!" Sparks of blue electricity danced around, forming a massive blue shield in front of him. On top of the shield were flickering multiple streams of current.

*Rumble!* The death rays clashed with the blue shield. Two different streaks of brilliance collided in midair.

Although the shield was showing signs of being unable to endure for long, it bought him enough time for backup to arrive. Seeing the support, number 3 broke out into a smile.　　

But the next moment, his face froze. With a flash of his body, another identical Leylin appeared in front of number 3 and dashed forward.　

"Lightning Spear!" Number 3 waved his hand and two shafts appeared in his hands that were bathed in arcs of blue electricity. Following his command, the two long spears darted towards the two 'Leylin's.

*Crackle!* One 'Leylin" was pierced by the long spear, and the slight explosion caused darkness to fill the whole sky. The same happened to the other Leylin. 　　

"No!" Panic washed over number 3 and he turned around.

Yet, it was too late. Leylin emerged from a crack in the darkness and dashed directly towards him.

"Multilimb Strength!" A strange, unusual image manifested behind Leylin. It was a huge, tall humanoid covered in green scales. It had three thick and bulky arms on the left, and four on the right. It gave off a thunderous roar.　

Leylin's muscles swelled instantly, bringing a kind of shiny luster to his muscular curves. Rays of green and black combined, forming a terrifying energy.

"Innate defense spell!" Number 3 revealed his last trump card. Numerous currents covered his whole body, forming an armour made wholly out of blue lightning.

"Break!" Bolts of lightning were flung at Leylin's body. However, they were absorbed by the Kemoyin Scales. Leylin's hands violently moved forward and grabbed the opposite party's lightning armour, tearing it in half!

*Zip!* With his terrifying prime body quality and under the enhancement of Multilimb Strength, the lightning armour was torn apart like paper.

The wild electric current destroyed Leylin's defences, and branded his skin and muscles in a horrifying black. Yet, Leylin did not even bat an eyelid. 　　

Although he had other ways of breaking through the other side's blockade, he was in a race against time to succeed. Thus, he believed the best course of action would be this that was simulated multiple times by the A.I. Chip.

His innate defences screeched as they were ripped apart, and number 3 turned pale, trying to flee. But how could Leylin let him do so?

With a huge earth shattering punch, number 3's head was cracked apart, sending splashes of red and white liquid all around.　　

"Number 3!" Number 1 and number 2 helplessly watched this execution. Now, with one member absent, their formation wasn't whole.

Numerous iron chains grouped up into a cage, but Leylin broke through easily with its instability.

The moment he escaped, horrifying white rays of light grazed through the entire region. A large amount of soil, rocks and even corpses were vaporised, forming a long, deep, ravine.

A rank 4 spell wasn't comparable to a Morning Star Magus' Arcane Art, but a Crystal Phase Magus would not be able to withstand it. If Leylin hadn't escaped in time, he would have perished under the horrifying white light.

"Garbage! You're all a bunch of garbage!" Seeing Leylin's silhouette disappearing in the horizon, Leo immediately chided number 1 and 2. They hung their heads low, with pain and sorrow in their eyes. 　　

Leo was breathing heavily. It took a lot for a rank 3 Magus to use a rank 4 spell.

If it had been put to used by a rank 4 Morning Star Magus, things wouldn't have been so slow, and Leylin wouldn't have escaped.　　

"Get him!" Leo vented his anger. He brought along the remaining Magi and gave chase.　　

"Do not let him get away!" Wild whistles and screams sounded from both sides. Leo's eyes burned with an unmasked hatred.　　

This was the same Leylin that made him suffer a huge loss with that astral stone!

If it was just that one single incident, all that would happen would be a scolding from his grandfather and it wouldn't be a big deal. What infuriated him was the fact that Leylin had discovered the secret of the stardust bugs!

My goodness! If his private collections were discovered, he would be brutally torn to pieces by the enraged female Morning Star Magi! 　　

The methods Morning Star Magi used in tormenting others were unbearably cruel, and feared by even the most savage of devils. Naturally, Leo felt the same way.

Unfortunately, the opposite party had managed to destroy all traces, and Leo had been left with no leads to follow.

As such, his grandfather, the King of Azure Mountain, personally made a trip to locate a Morning Star realm Prophet. After paying an enormous price, they obtained Leylin's definite identity.　

As for the enormous price, his grandfather was still working on paying off the debt.

The prophecy showed that Leylin was just a newly advanced Crystal Phase Magus. Hence, the job of hunting him and silencing him fell on Leo.

In order to succeed, he'd brought along a large number of men. He even called upon his spy in the Ouroboros Clan, Noah. 　　

Coincidently, while he was in the Ouroboros Clan's territory in the midst of discussions with Noah, Leylin showed up and bumped into them.

If the location had been Leylin's Onyx Castle, with the presence of the Magus Tower, Leo and his men would not have been able to hide. Furthermore, without any insider help in the Ouroboros Clan's core territory, Leylin was sure Leo wouldn't have dared make any opposing moves. But now? They would never give up this golden opportunity!

Leo's eyes reddened with anger. At that moment, he noticed Leylin stopping. Watching Leylin descending on a bare rock on top of the hill, he and a few of his men immediately followed up and surrounded him.

"Why? With nowhere to hide, are you now seeking death?" Having surrounded Leylin, Leo raised his brows and jeered at him.

Leylin shook his head. He'd been secretly conversing with his A.I. Chip.

[Beep! Scan completed! Articles detected on the opposite side do not exceed the Morning Star realm. No other Morning Star realm undulations detected in the surroundings!]

Leylin was pleased with the conclusion and he secretly sighed a breath of relief, "No. You flies are disgusting, it's about time I cleaned up."

Previously, when he'd fled in disarray, what caused him more worry than the rank 4 spell scroll in the opposite party's hands was the possible presence of the Azure Mountain King.

However, thankfully, he hadn't appeared, only sending forth some Crystal Phase Magi instead.

With Leo leading a team of elite Magi and the use of the rank 4 scroll, it would've been no problem to deal with an average Crystal Phase Magus, even one from the Ouroboros Clan. However, Leylin wasn't your average Magus. Even Morning Star seedlings would be tossed around by him!

"Flies?" Leo's face swelled as he flushed red, "Wait till I catch you. I'll use a magic scroll and turn you into a red-eyed fly!"　　

'A.I. Chip! Probe the surrounding space and establish a model. Begin charting the best path for a massacre!' Leylin's eyes glinted with a dangerous light.

Since the opposite party had discovered his identity, there was nothing to hold him back anymore. This matter had to come to an end.

The Pursuit and The Appearance

Leylin was extremely offended by the attempt on his life.

Furthermore, Leo was the chief of the Oakheart Clan. If he was killed here, it would be a huge blow to the Azure Mountain King.

The chase with Leo previously had not been merely for his entertainment. It was for the A.I. Chip to gather vital data and create a plan.

Right now, with the data compiled, the A.I. Chip had come up with a large number of plans. It filtered through them continuously, leaving only the most feasible ones.

[Model establishment completed, simulated combat victory rate: 67.9%!] it reported.

"Enter supplementary mode!" Leylin's voice was laced with a lethal aura.　　

[Target number 1 is condensing energy particles. Determined to be the rank 3 spell Aurora Beam! Dodge to the right by 3.7m immediately!] the A.I. Chip warned.

As per the simulation and the A.I. Chip's deductions, target 1, Leo, activated a necklace of colourful gems in his hands. A powerful aurora burst forth, immediately attempting to swallow the entire area up along with Leylin.

Leylin dodged to the side in a flash at the same moment the enemy made his move.　

"Aurora Beam!" Leo triggered the high-grade magic artifact in his hand. Immediately, a powerful multicoloured torrent drowned out the stone that Leylin was standing on, causing the terrain to cave.

[Target defined as Number 3 is undergoing transformation. Estimated to be a descendant of the Banu Tribe. Bloodline activated, morphing into a Barbarian Bear!]

"Aaaooo…" The moment the A.I. Chip ended the report, one of the men standing by Leo's side let out a thunderous roar and started ripping his clothes apart. He morphed into a brutal bear with stiff white fur. 　

Countless shards of sparkling ice circled around its body, emitting a freezing chill that formed billows of white fog around it.

"Kill!" Leylin's eyes gleamed blue. He danced gracefully, and lightheartedly managed to dodge from under the huge bear's palm, sliding up in front of it instead. The Meteor Sword traced a beautiful arc as it flitted across the bear's body.

The white fur was slashed apart, revealing bright red flesh and an outline of the internal organs. Blood splattered all around.　　

Unable to believe its defeat, the enormous creature howled loudly at first, but soon its voice tapered away until it fell silent.

The earth rumbled as the carcass of the white bear resembling a large mountain collapsed onto the ground, causing large amounts of dust to fly. The fur of the bear started to shrink back into its pores, and soon returned to its original form of a Magus.

"Number 4!" Number 1 and number 2 cried out in alarm, their eyes fixed on their dead comrade.

They clearly knew the abilities of number 4, and the fact that after his transformation, he would be able to resist a rank 3 spell easily. And yet, he'd died this quickly!

Number 1's eyes darted towards the Meteor Sword in Leylin's hand. His eyes narrowed and his pupils dilated, "Be wary of his sword! There's something strange about it!"

The Meteor Sword was originally a high-grade magic artifact, but through multiple improvements and optimisations, its quality had improved to that of a piece of magic equipment. Additionally, with the supplementary power of Toxic Bile, the current Meteor Sword could be considered a big threat to any Crystal Phase Magus! 　

Leylin enjoyed handling foes like the bear, all brawn and no brain.

"Hocada Beast!" On the other side, witnessing Leylin's explosive retaliation, Leo's face hardened and he yelled for his trump card.

Howls rang out as a creature manifested out of thin air that had the upper body of a wolf and the lower half of an octopus. It landed right in front of Leylin. The countless suction pads on its arms looked like magnificent blooming flowers. 　　

"It's no use!" Leylin muttered in a low voice, his silhouette dodging in a flash, avoiding the multiple arms' attack. He stopped in front of the Hocada Beast.

"Multilimb Strength!" The silhouette of a Multi-Armed Race member appeared behind Leylin, formidable power seeping into his body.

[Ding! Multilimb Strength in operation. Host's power is increasing!] The A.I. Chip reported.

Leylin grasped his sword firmly, and hacked at the creature's brain. The beast started cracking apart as fissures arose on its body as if it was breaking glass. They spread all over its body, before pieces of flesh began to simply fall apart.

By the end, the creature's body had been sliced into ruin, eventually crumbling apart like dirt.

"Damn, ho… how are you so strong?" After executing the Hocada Beast, Leylin turned to look at Leo, the killing intent in his eyes causing the Oakheart Clan chief to feel a chill down his spine.

"You're next!" Leo could faintly make out what Leylin mouthed, and could see the mockery in the eyes that were staring into his.　

Having never experienced these circumstances before, it was a huge blow to his self-esteem.

"Number 1, number 2, follow me!" Leo roared ferociously.　　

"Stormwall!" A pale green whirlwind emerged from the short black staff in his hand. The huge whirlwind then formed a terrifying barricade that seemed to be made of sharp blades as it rushed towards Leylin.

Number 1 and 2 nodded their heads, and simultaneously cast their own spells.

"Water Elemental Rite!" A huge blue ball of water appeared on the ground under number one's chant.

"Arctic Draft!" Number 2 summoned a huge bout of chilly air and had it adhere to the ball of water.

The icy wind sucked away the heat from the ball of water, causing a huge reaction as a frightening ball of ice was formed.　

"Combination spell—Iceberg Torrent!"

The huge ball of ice was like a meteorite as it darted towards Leylin, smashing onto the ground.

"Impressive!" The blue light in Leylin's eyes dimmed. His body was covered in frost, and yet the Meteor Sword did not deviate even slightly from its trajectory, forging ahead and crashing into it to open up a pathway.

The cold could freeze the average rank 3 Magus to death. To Leylin, though, all it could do was slow him down.

"Shadowflame Plague!" A huge amount of dense black flames clashed with the whirlwind that had now developed into a hurricane. The two clashed, each trying to destroy the other.

"Compared to combination spells, it's wiser to rely on magic equipment. That way there won't be anything to worry about!"

Leylin tore through the hurricane and stepped in front of Leo, his eyes glistened with a piercing chill that gave the other man goosebumps.

"Fatality's Tip!" Black rays of death streaked across the vast sky, reaching Leo in a flash. Just as they were about to strike, a black wooden cross on his neck immediately flashed and formed a rune that represented new life and regeneration.　

The barrier shattered as the rays of death dissipated. A majority of the attack had been blocked by the defensive runes, but even then it had only diverted the attack as a thumb-sized hole appeared on Leo's body, bleeding profusely.

"How…. How can this be?" Leo glared at Leylin, the fear in his eyes palpable.

He let out an odd cry, turned his head and fled. Number 1 and number 2 fulfilled their duties as bodyguards faithfully, blocking Leylin from giving chase.

"Giving up after encountering such trivial problems, you certainly deserve to be called a descendant of a big family!" Leylin shook his head and laughed as his gaze on Leo was filled with mockery.

Seeing the blood-covered Leylin, number 1 and 2 both felt a chill down their spines. In their time accompanying Leo, they had seen their fair share of slaughter. Yet, this was the first time they'd met someone as valiant and ferocious as Leylin.

Both of them had cursed Leo umpteen times for provoking Leylin, but Leylin had what they needed, so they had no choice but to take action.

"Get out of the way, or else you will die!" Leylin drew his sword and pointed at them. Number 1 and number 2 exchanged glances. Determination in their eyes, they both shook their heads.

"Pity!" Leylin had no sympathy for the suicide fighters of large families. Moreover, these two from the Oakheart Clan had no means of defence remaining. Armed with the determination to die in battle, they stood in front of Leylin and blocked his path.

...

"Damn it! Why? WHY?" Leo was fleeing madly, his heart in absolute turmoil.

Not only had he brought along a rank 4 spell scroll for this, he'd even brought with him a large number of potions and magic equipment. He'd even had four Crystal Phase Magi accompanying him!　　

With such power, to deal with a newly promoted Crystal Phase Magus ought to have been a simple matter. And yet, the opponent was unfathomably terrifying, practically wiping out his entire team

*Krrich!* Suddenly, the sound of two crystals cracking was emitted from his chest.

After hearing the sound, the blood drained from his face and he panicked. He sped up as he dashed along. "Number 1 and Number 2 are also dead? Useless indeed!"

Soon after, he ground his teeth and retrieved a communication device. He punched some secret code on it and the message was sent from his hand. 　　

"I still have a chance! I am the chief of the Oakheart Clan, so long as I make it back, grandfather will absolutely not turn a blind eye to…" Leo cut a sorry figure as he fled in disarray, speaking words of encouragement to himself.　　

"Got you!" a voice was suddenly transmitted from behind him. He turned his head, only to see Leylin rushing towards him at the speed of lightning, a brilliant black streak. At this rate, he would catch up in about a mere ten seconds.

The new blood on Leylin's body was obviously from number 1 and 2.

"No! You cannot kill me! I am the chief of the Oakheart Clan! If you let me go, I can give you whatever you want….." Leo ran madly, his voice turning hoarse as he yelled out terms of surrender.

"I only want your life!" Leylin knew promises made under such circumstances were not reliable. Hence, without emotion, his killing intent increased. He speed increased threefold, and he was but an arm's length from Leo and his petrified face.

"Die!" Leylin drew his black Meteor Sword.

"Stop!" An extremely imposing voice spoke directly into Leylin's mind.

Confrontation with Morning Star

'This voice… a Morning Star Magus?' Leylin's pupils narrowed. If someone were to be named as the Crystal Phase Magus with the greatest knowledge of the Morning Star realm in the central continent, it would be himself. Through the A.I. Chip's simulations and deductions, as well as previously collected information, he already had a deep understanding of the Morning Star realm.

The owner of this voice could not be disguised, the words emanated power and a slight aura of rules… This was not imitable by Magi below the Morning Star rank.

"Grandfather! Save me!" Leo suddenly smiled, and slowed down ahead of Leylin.

In the presence of a Morning Star Magus, Leylin absolutely could not harm him. He completely trusted his grandfather, as well as the strength of the Morning Star realm.

"Hmm?!" However, Leylin noticed something different. 'Although the nature of the aura has not changed, its power is only at the Crystal Phase at its peak… Could it be a puppet… or some sort of clone?'

This was, after all, within the boundaries of the Ouroboros Clan. If Morning Star Magi from other clans stepped in, it would be seen as a provocation, leading to war.

But the restrictions on this kind of clone seemed unclear.

After all, it was very difficult for Morning Star Magi to create a clone of equal strength. Very few succeeded because most of them were limited to the strength of rank 3 Morning Star..

With Leylin's sharp eyesight, he could already see a streak of blue rushing there from afar.

"Haha… You're done for!" Leo laughed carefreely. But shortly after, his smile faded as his surroundings swiftly shrunk and grew again. A scene swept across like a parabolic curve and he ended up looking at a patch of yellow ground.

"My head, my head was chopped off…" he said with the last of his consciousness.

Leo then fell into eternal darkness.

Space shook as a blue shadow suddenly emerged before Leylin's eyes, looking at Leo's headless corpse with an angered expression.

"I told you to stop just now!" His voice was deep. It seemed to carry an irresistible compulsion to obey every word of his.

This majestic aura could only be developed after obtaining absolute power and being in a high position for a long period of time.

Leylin was also analysing this Morning Star Magus. Although he had not seen the Azure Mountain King before, he had read up on him. The other party looked exactly as in the portraits— a head of blue hair with eyes that twinkled like stars.

Yet, those eyes were now blazing in anger. This was the rage of a Morning Star Magus! It was enough to burn Leylin to ashes.

Yet, Leylin simply shrugged his shoulders, "Sorry! I killed him!"

If this was his main body, Leylin would have no chance to flee. However, it was only a clone, and there was still hope for escape.

"Do you know who he is?" The Azure Mountain King's eyelids drooped. Someone familiar with him would know that this was a sign of irrepressible rage.

"The chief of the Oakheart Clan…" Leylin shook his head and stared at the Azure Mountain King, "I don't care who he is. Someone who has bad intentions towards me can only repent with death!"

"Then let me tell you something too. The last Magus who dared to offend the Oakheart Clan still has his ashes buried below the steps of Azure Mountain City!" The sparkle in the Azure Mountain King's eyes had reached a limit.

A circular mirror appeared in front of him, reflecting Leylin's figure.

"Strip!" The Azure Mountain King gently pointed to the Leylin in the mirror.

A hum sounded and, as if he had been rejected by the world itself, Leylin immediately felt the elemental particles that were in complete harmony with him previously leave him one after another, as if stripping him down to an ordinary person.

The domain of a Morning Star Magus displayed its terrifying power once again!

"That's not it!" Leylin was a Magus who had previously experienced a true Morning Star domain when he'd been caught by Demon hunter Cyril. He naturally noticed the difference between this domain and that of a Morning Star Magus.

The situation this time was much better. His connection with the elemental particles was still barely holding on. As long as he used more spiritual force than usual, he would still be able to communicate with them and invoke his spells.

This was just equivalent to his spiritual force being suppressed to a fifth of its normal amount.

A bitter smirk appeared at the corner of Leylin's lips. Even if the other party was only a clone whose total amount of spiritual force and magic power was around the same as his own, he was no match for him in the understanding of spells and laws. Even this simple suppression had immediately put him in a dilemma.

With over half his body's strength being suppressed, how was he to fight a peak rank 3 Magus? Leylin shook his head, feeling that he had been too optimistic previously.

'However, this is also an opportunity! An opportunity to confront a Morning Star Magus head on, and to gather data!' Leylin's eyes sparkled. If he wanted to advance to the Morning Star realm, he could not be lacking in knowledge of it. Although the A.I. Chip had previously used the data he had to simulate some experiments, the lack of samples meant that its progress was still less than 20%.

And now, a Morning Star Magus' clone had appeared in front of him! He had no need to defeat it; he needed only to stall for time as the A.I. Chip gathered data that would be greatly beneficial to him.

'The A.I. Chip should be able to collect enough data from this fight.' Leylin's eyes blazed brighter. He pulled out the Meteor Sword, a metallic hiss ringing from the blade.

At the same time, a layer of dark Kemoyin Scales covered Leylin's body. The phantom of a huge Multi-Armed Race member appeared behind him as well.

'Since my elemental particle connection has been suppressed, I can only rely on my physical strength!' With Multilimb Strength in full effect, Leylin's entire body enlarged and numerous muscles swelled up as a dark green membrane emerged on the surface of his body.

Following a deep shout, Leylin's Meteor Sword emitted numerous rays of light that shot towards the Azure Mountain King like a rain of arrows.

"You actually dare to resist?" The Azure Mountain King frowned.

How many years had it been since such a low-ranked Magus provoked him? 200 years, 300? He had never encountered this situation since he'd advanced.

After a momentary daze, the Azure Mountain King was overcome by boundless anger. The sound of metal striking metal rang out as a translucent spherical film appeared around his body. Despite seeming like a mere bubbly layer, it actually blocked all of the black rays.

"Die!" Leylin's figure emerged just as the rays disappeared. He suddenly jumped up, and the Meteor Sword slashed across the void, bringing with it a ferocious wind that was aimed at the Azure Mountain King.

Black gases shot out of both sides of the blade, so corrosive that it seemed like even the surrounding void would melt. The ground was continuously eroded.

*Bang!* The blade, which contained a terrifying poison, was blocked by an aged palm. Although this palm seemed extremely old, with green veins popping out of the skin, it was unmoving like a hill. Even the skin hadn't been pierced through.

The Azure Mountain King raised his right hand with a mocking smile, watching Leylin's expression change.

"Abandoning elemental spells and switching to physical strength, this method is not bad when under elemental suppression. Unfortunately, your tricks are too low-levelled…"

"Impossible, your body can't be this strong!" Leylin blurted out.

The Azure Mountain King chuckled, "Do you know what point mass is? And the meaning of the Morning Star realm? The power of the point mass, soul force, is the only power a Morning Star Magus has! However, it greatly surpasses spiritual force and physical strength, having achieved a terrifying qualitative change!"

A layer of crystal-clear light emerged above the Azure Mountain King's palm. With his right hand grabbing the Meteor Sword, he mercilessly punched the blade with his left.

The Meteor Sword howled out a sad cry as the blade cracked. The mere physical attack of a Morning Star Magus could actually damage the Meteor Sword, which was comparable to magic equipment!

"Although I don't specialise in physical attacks, as long as I have the amplification of soul force, my vitality will be able to break through the boundaries and ultimately allow me to attain the perfect body of Morning Star!

"This strength of yours, and your spiritual force, will only collapse in front of soul force!"

As if confirming the Azure Mountain King's words, a large number of crystal-clear light blades appeared before Leylin, drowning him within.

The power of the point mass, also known as soul force, was the next evolution of spiritual force. Only Morning Star Magi could possess such a thing, and it was the first time it had shown its terror in front of Leylin.

As he watch Leylin being drowned by the light blades, the Azure Mountain King smiled.

The light blades, which were composed of soul force, were not only powerful in physical attacks. They could even attack the spiritual sea within a Magus' sea of consciousness!

Magi who were below the Morning Star realm, without a soul force defence of equivalent power, did not have the slightest chance of resisting these blades.

This was the reason Morning Star Magi had almost no enemies at rank 3. Soul force was just too terrifying!

Yet, the smile on the Azure Mountain King's face only lasted a moment, and his expression immediately hardened.

With his soul force, he sensed that Leylin might have sustained injuries all over his body, but he had survived the slashes from the soul light blades.

Soon after, the Azure Mountain King felt the weight on his hand fade as the Meteor Sword landed in them.

*Bang!* A dark green shadow rushed out of the sea of blades, its scaly body covered by a raging dark green film.

"Multilimb Smash!" Leylin had thrown away the Meteor Sword, and as the physical strength of his hands surged, he threw his fist at the Azure Mountain King's defence. The mere power of this punch could shake space itself.

The soul force of a Morning Star Magus surpassed spiritual force in terms of quality. Due to this enormous disparity in strength, most of the methods of Magi were rendered ineffective.

But Leylin was not limited to the methods of Magi. He possessed a secret technique from another world— Multilimb Strength!

A large phantom of a Multi-Armed Race member appeared behind Leylin's body, growling into the sky.

Breaking Through The Defense

Spiritual force was fundamental to a Magus.

In the beginning, as acolytes, all Magi would start with meditation. They would begin to meditate in a willpower rune of their own, and construct a core spirit body, together with a sea of consciousness.

After advancing to the realm of official Magi, they would have a conversion of elemental essence amounting to 80% or more, in order to advance into rank 2.

After materialising spiritual force in rank 2, and then passing through the three stages of Vapour, Hydro, and Crystal in rank 3, the point mass would finally be formed.

The point mass was fundamental to Morning Star Magi. It was the path for everyone, even spirits! Once they broke past this bottleneck, the spiritual force in a Magus' sea of consciousness would sublimate to form soul force.

This was a threshold in ancient times, used to mark the difference in strengths between Magi. Only those who were capable of using soul force would be considered to have stepped foot into the world of ancient Magi!

As soul force had a horrifying suppressive power, low ranking Magi would lose their ability to communicate with the elements, and would end up disconnected from the elemental particles. Those who were suppressed would be unable to resist or escape. Many Morning Star Magi liked using this trick in their domains. Hence, over time, they successfully enhanced the prestige of a Morning Star Magus.

Since his normal powers had been suppressed, Leylin had no choice but to use another system of power instead. Luckily, he indeed had such a thing on hand, a terrifying secret from another world— Multilimb Strength!

Leylin had relied on the dark green membrane to avoid injury and death when drowned in the sea of light blades.

A booming sound rang out, as if a tall mountain had collapsed to crashing waves. The phantom stood behind Leylin, performing the same moves as him.

Formless streams of air started developing a pressure as even the ground behind the Azure Mountain King started caving in. The wind continuously rolled in, coagulating to form a substance that was stronger than granite. 　　

*Po!* The defensive layer on the Azure Mountain King deformed completely as a look of disbelief took over his face.

"Even for a Morning Star, you're merely just that!" the blood-soaked Leylin burst our laughing. He then threw his fist forward, aiming for the Azure Mountain King's face.

*Boom!* The Azure Mountain King slid across the floor like a train hurtling through, leaving long tracks on the ground.　　

"The skin of a Morning Star is thick indeed!" Leylin flung his clenched fist without any traces of excitement on his face.

He'd definitely felt it when his punch landed, A barrier with a starry radiance appeared on the Azure Mountain King's face, blocking his attack. Hence, he was only shaken up slightly by the attack and did not sustain any major injuries.

"Soul force defence?" Leylin scrutinised the dull-faced Azure Mountain King as he stood up, secretly conversing with his A.I. Chip, 'How much data has been collected on the target?'

[Data collection at 12.1%. Further interaction with target needed, it is suggested to break through the soul force defences!] the A.I. Chip responded.　　

'You still want me to try breaking through soul force?' Leylin smiled bitterly and shook his head. If it weren't for the purpose of gathering intelligence, he would not be so silly as to clash with a Morning Star Magus in the first place, 'Begin simulations, calculate a path of retreat!'

Seeing how things had turned out to his disadvantage, he immediately made plans to retreat. But at the current moment, it was no longer up to him to decide if he could leave. Leylin saw that the Azure Mountain King wasn't seriously injured. A huge amount of the blaze continued to surround him, burning wildly.

Traces of black smoke streamed from his nostrils, eyes and ears. He was really fuming mad. Morning Star Magi had always been placed on top of a pedestal, much like kings. At the current moment, he felt like a king who'd been bitten by an ant as he was walking down the street.

In the Azure Mountain King's eyes, as long as one had not reached the rank of Morning Star, their existence was similar to that of an ant. To be bitten by an ant, and even be humiliated by it, how could anyone bear it?

"You… How. Dare. You. Insult. Me…" The Azure Mountain King's face scrunched up, his rage-filled words staggered apart.

"Such plaintive whines of defeat, I've heard them too often…" Leylin did not give the opposite party a chance to rebuke him, dashing forward.

Even in a simple match of speed, Leylin would be lacking compared to the opponent. Therefore, the only way for him to escape successfully would be to slow him down by inflicting some degree of injury.

"I want to incinerate your soul for a hundred centuries!" The Azure Mountain King bellowed loudly, the imposing aura emanating from his body. Even the sky started to darken, revealing the sparkling of stars.

Only a Morning Star Magus could thoroughly grasp the power of a domain. In any case, the current Leylin had reached his rank 3 limits, infinitely nearing to a rank 4. Hence, he was able to portray a portion of the power of his domain.

Being enveloped in the Morning Star domain, Leylin felt like he had fallen into a swamp. Every single move was tedious.

"Soul Armour!" A layer of translucent, full-bodied armour appeared on the Azure Mountain King. Judging from his attitude, it looked like he was ready to take on Leylin with pure strength to erase the humiliation.

[Multilimb Strength operating, estimated remaining time: 3 minutes 57 seconds!] Noting the hint of the A.I. Chip, an unrestrained Leylin amplified his power to the maximum. He struck the Azure Mountain King head on. 　　

The earth shook as a silhouette of dark green and another of translucent blue collided with each other continuously. Their every punch and kick seemed to rip the sky apart, creating countless tremors on the ground.　　

Sharp, ear-piercing explosions boomed continuously from where they struck. Once the dust was dispelled, an entire huge region would've been knocked off the map.

*Bang!* A translucent fist from the armoured body smashed Leylin's chest viciously. Multiple scales cracked and flew with explosive lights of dark green radiances.

Leylin's face turned red, and some black rays of light appeared on his hand, "Fatality's Tip!"　　

As if the reaper himself had descended to the earth, a terrifying explosive light sprang forth. With how close they were, even the Azure Mountain King did not even have the chance to dodge.

Although the other party had suppressed his elemental connections, he was merely a clone after all, and his main body was not on site. Thus, Leylin could still break through the opponent's soul force, forcefully converging elemental essence. All it required was a huge spiritual force consumption.

Leylin had held back on his trump card until now. Firstly, there had been no real opportunity to use it, and secondly, he was biding his time, waiting for the Azure Mountain King to take the bait.

As for the data on his opponent, he'd constantly kept that in mind.

"You did not abide by the rules!" The expression on the Azure Mountain King's face said it all. Leylin clearly understood what he meant, yet he didn't care. There hadn't been any agreements on the usage of spells in battle. Furthermore, the opponent was a Morning Star Magus who had made the first move. In a matter of life and death, who would abide by rules?

Leylin's pretence of having supreme bodily strength had successfully tricked the Azure Mountain King.

The most terrifying thing about a Morning Star Magus, and also the fundamental of their power, was soul force spells!

Watching the flustered and exasperated Azure Mountain King getting ready to retaliate, Leylin almost couldn't hold back his laughter. 　　

The rays of death reached the Azure Mountain King in a flash, clashing with the translucent armour.　　

"AAAHH….." The Azure Mountain King yelled, the void and stars behind him shook as a huge amount of blue light converged on his armour.

Explosions sounded as the A.I. Chip reported to him, [Multilimb Strength at full power!]

How could Leylin miss this golden opportunity? He immediately yelled, releasing all the power remaining in him. Feeling the steady flow of energy seeping into his body, Leylin charged wildly towards the defence of the Azure Mountain King.

An enormous iron fist landed on the armour mercilessly, and the translucent layer shook.

The Azure Mountain King couldn't believe his eyes as his armour cracked, blasting apart in a loud explosion. The black rays of death arrived at his chest, and pierced through him like arrows.

[Target's soul force defence breached, data being collected!] The A.I. Chip took the opportunity to collect massive amounts of data while it was available. Leylin too, had unknowingly absorbed some residual form of data from the Azure Mountain King.

"Shadow Prison! Dense Fog Frontier!" Watching the Azure Mountain King cut a sorry figure while retreating, Leylin continued to launch his spells.

A menacing black fog spread continuously, swallowing the Azure Mountain King up. The ground split apart as countless yellow bars extended upwards, forming a gigantic dungeon that sealed the fog inside.

"The doubled spell of dense fog formations with the addition of a secret composition makeup should be enough to delay the opposite party by at least three minutes!" Not in the least bit zealous to continue with the fight, Leylin turned around to leave. 　

Fatality's Tip did not cause any major injuries to the Azure Mountain King. Adding the fact that he was a Morning Star Magus, he definitely had some trump cards hidden away. After multiple provocations, he could become hysterical, and if that happened Leylin didn't want to face him head-on.

As such, his silhouette immediately morphed into a black shadow, and faded out rapidly in the midst of battle.

*Rumble!* About two minutes later, a huge blue sword streaked across the width of the dungeon, and it collapsed like a mountain that had its summit shaved off.　　

Dust flew and rocks flew everywhere. When the dust cloud dispersed, two bloodshot eyes appeared out of the darkness.

"Leylin! Leylin! LEYLIN! I'm going to KILL YOU!" he yelled at the top of his voice. When he couldn't locate signs of Leylin, he started to roar furiously.

Following his hiss, massive blue energy waves swept forth, wreaking havoc on the region. Soil rumbled and stones rolled as the very earth split apart. It looked like armageddon had arrived.

Everything that had happened had nothing to do with Leylin anymore. After escaping to a safe distance, he'd immediately changed course, ordering the A.I. Chip to clean all traces and marks on his body.

After multiple rounds of purification, Leylin came upon a newly established cave.

"My Lord!" A ray of light shone in the middle of the cave. A beautiful woman with a slender, proportionate body curtsied, behind her standing Parker and the other men.　　

"Hmm! Looks like you have successfully saved them all. Well done!"

Large Crisis

Naturally, this female Magus was Tanasha. As a Crystal Phase Magus from the Forgotten Land, she had a sensitive identity and served as Leylin's hidden force.

Tanasha also participated secretly in several battles. As soon as he'd noticed the sudden change in the Parble family, Leylin had sent her to rescue his Magi in the castle.

"Parker, how are the casualties?" Even so, injuries and deaths couldn't be prevented, although it was still better than being wiped out.

"Master, we lost two rank 3 Magi this time, one of them at the Vapour Phase…" Parker didn't look well, and the big loss this time could be seen on his face.

After listening carefully, Leylin sighed.

The Magus world was full of danger. Death was common in fights between Magi, so those who fought in battles seldom cared about it.

But as an enforcer, he couldn't say this out loud.

Leylin pointed three fingers to the sky. "I swear on the name of Leylin Farlier, every Magus who fights to the death for me will be adequately compensated."

His vassals followed him for different reasons. Some of them wanted to further improve themselves, but many worked for their families like Parker. Thus Leylin's oath successfully relaxed them.

"What happened in the Parble Family was very complicated. Prepare a room for me, I need to contact the headquarters." Knowing there were great dangers, it would be foolish to make further movements.

Leylin had his own forces to back him, and it was time he put them to good use. This clone was only rank 3, and this was his only chance to kill it.

He was very confident in the strength of his forces.

"Your room has been prepared, please follow me!" Tanasha led Leylin deep into the cave.

Although this secret base was temporary, it wasn't a big problem to construct several rooms using spells.

Parker looked at Tanasha whose face was covered by a black cloth, moving his mouth but finally said nothing.

Only now did he learn that another Crystal Magus served his master! Rich in experience, he felt an aura of danger from the cold-blooded aura of that Magus.

How many hidden powers did master have?

Although he was used to his master performing miracles, Parker felt like he was shrouded with another mysterious veil.

Of course, this was just his imagination, he would rather die than inquire about his master's secrets or even the woman's identity. This was how a subordinate should behave.

Not only him, the other Magi accepted the existence of Tanasha immediately as well, as if she had been with them all this time.

And with the help of Tanasha, their base was quickly tidied up.

When facing great danger, great power could give people confidence. This wasn't limited to ordinary people; even Magi felt the same way.

In a cave dug with earth elemental spells, Leylin found the secret imprint of his communications officer. He pressed his hand on the imprint, and soon the device was covered in black light.

After several minutes, Leylin's face turned dark, "It can't get through!"

He pressed down on the imprint once more, "Headquarters! Is anyone there?"

After several attempts, he couldn't help but admit that the liaison assigned specifically to him, who was expected to be ready for his message any second, had deserted his post.

Knowing this, Leylin frowned. He had no other backing in the central continent except the Ouroboros Clan, and he would be in danger if something happened in headquarters. The pressure from Azure Mountain City alone would force him to hide in the underground of society, with the dregs of the Magus world.

"What the hell happened?" Leylin searched the other pages. There was no feedback from Kesha. Lucian was there but he didn't say much, just that some accident had occurred and all outer-ring movements were cancelled.

"Cancelled? Now?" Leylin smiled coldly, directly ending contact with Lucian. Judging from his tone, something must have happened in the headquarters that caused them to lose their ability to react.

And from his secretive manner, he still didn't take him to be a core member, and was suspicious at this key moment.

It was too dangerous without accurate information. Leylin considered calmly for a moment, and flipped to another scale-shaped red imprint.

After a short while connecting, a response finally came in, "Is this Leylin?"

"It is!" Leylin spoke in a low voice, "Freya, are you in the headquarters now?"

"Yeah, I'm here. Leylin, it's now an emergency! You better come back immediately and not go out!"

Leylin was surprised about her panicked voice. She hadn't acted like this even when the bloodline of her own family was deteriorating.

"I have trouble here too. The Parble Family colluded with Azure Mountain City, and even the clone of the Azure Mountain King is here!" Leylin related the information he hadn't told Lucian just now.

"The Parble Family, a clone of the Azure Mountain King?" she cried out in surprise. Anyone would be nervous if a Morning Star Magus, even if just a clone, appeared in their hinterland.

"I knew it!"

"Knew what?" Leylin asked.

Freya seemed to notice her slip of tongue, and after a while she spoke in a low voice, "Are you in a safe place?"

"Absolutely safe!" Leylin moved his fingers, and black light covered the whole room.

"Wait a minute, I need to change into an encrypted channel!" As Freya's voice arrived, the light on that brand first vanished and then returned, now brighter.

"Things don't seem good…" Leylin listened carefully, he knew that what Freya was going to say definitely affected his life.

"We can't make contact with Mentor or the other two elders…" Freya's nervous voice came from the brand.

"Can't make contact? What does that mean?" Leylin was confused.

"My teacher said they were about to find the coordinates of the Purgatory World, and they needed to conduct detailed experiments and couldn't be disturbed! Thus, they cut off all connection with the outside. Yesterday, I found that the spiritual flame my teacher gave me was about to die out, so I broke into my teacher's lab…and…"

"What did you find?" Leylin's voice also became nervous.

"Nobody was in that lab, even the astral gate had stopped working!" Intermittent sobs laced Freya's words.

"The same thing happened in the labs of the other two elders!"

"I…I…I…" Leylin was about to curse, so he took a deep breath to calm himself down.

Experiments on the astral gate were very dangerous, and if you didn't return before the astral stones ran out of power, the Magi who passed through would be trapped in another world.

As Freya said, the astral stones had run out, and even the spiritual flame was extremely weak; they were trapped in another world!

The three Morning Star Magi were the backbone of the Ouroboros Clan. Once they lost them, it wouldn't be long before the whole clan was destroyed. No wonder the headquarters was in a mess, and even Lucian was thrown into disarray.

"Are you sure?" Leylin felt his throat tighten, but he still held on to hope.

"We have tried everything to contact them, even projecting the spiritual flame. Nothing worked… My Mentor… I'm afraid they're lost in another world…"

On the other side of the brand, Freya couldn't restrain her choking sobs.

When someone was lost in another world, it wasn't as simple as not being able to come back. Big worlds always hated outsiders, and once you were unable to return in time, the Magi stuck there would have no good end.

Nibble away from the safety of the astral gate, and finally reverse the attitude of the world, that was the best way to seize another world.

Now, the three Morning Star elders were like ordinary people lost in the boundless ocean, surrounded by bloody sharks.

Nothing could be worse than this.

After she wept for a while, Freya's voice finally grew firm, "Do you know why the Azure Mountain King is here?"

"I have no idea, I thought it was for the Parble Family or me, but now I'm not sure…" Leylin smiled bitterly.

If it was just an experimental accident, there was still hope. But what if the whole thing was set up by their enemies?

Thinking about the omens of war recently, and the abnormal behaviour of the Azure Mountain King, Leylin thought this was very possible.

After thousands of years, why did they find the Purgatory World at this exact time? It made sense if this was their enemies' plot.

"Good job! Good job! One astral coordinate trapped three Morning Star Magi…" Leylin took a deep breath, if he was right, after the Morning Star Magi of the Ouroboros Clan disappeared, they would be dealt with as fast as lightning.

If they couldn't settle this matter, from now on, whether the Ouroboros Clan would continue to exist in the central continent was a question.

Cutting off the connection, Leylin fell into deep thought.

Obliterating Hurricane

What happened this time round was evidently a conspiracy, a huge conspiracy against the Ouroboros Clan!

First, it was the revealing of the world coordinates so as to attract three Morning Star Magi, which caused them to fall into enemy hands.

After which, the military controlled the borders heavily. First, they created trouble to sound out the situation. Upon confirmation that the three Morning Star Giant Kemoyin Serpent Warlocks were all not around, they would proceed to exterminate entire family clans!

During that unstable period, Leylin, who was a rank 3 Magus in the Crystal phase, was considered a small and insignificant figure, and could potentially be exterminated at any time!

"I have to be a more prominent figure if I do not wish to be attacked. More so if I wish to even go against the tide!" After some contemplation, Leylin's expressions revealed more determination.

"Those who are below the rank of Morning Star are considered insignificant figures, what about those who advance past the Morning Star realm?"

Leylin's eyes shone, "Only upon advancement to a rank above Morning Star can I decide my own fate. Then, I will not be abandoned or destroyed at the wishes of others!"

"A.I. Chip, what's the progress on the collection of data with regards to the Morning Star realm?" Leylin immediately asked.

[Beep! The Morning Star realm deductions are currently 34.5% completed!] The A.I Chip intoned.

Leylin had always been fixated on data in this area, but due to the lack of actual specimens, the progress was barely halfway through. The recent progress was all thanks to the Azure Mountain King's clone, which had allowed for the progress to increase by quite a bit.

Leylin recalled what he had used when advancing to Morning Star, "The Lamia fingerbone has already been prepared. The bloodline combustion experiment has also been tested multiple times, and there wouldn't be any errors. The only thing left now is the A.I Chip's deductions on the Morning Star realm!"

Those three factors were the key to Leylin's confidence in advancing to the Morning Star realm.

On the other hand, the A.I Chip which had to deduce the nature of the Morning Star realm was also a pivotal factor, "The current progress is insufficient. We need a progress of at least 50% and above to be able to avoid mistakes during the formation of the point mass!"

"A sample of the clone of a Morning Star Magus would be sufficient!"

A ray of determination shone across Leylin's eyes. He turned his palms upwards, where stony rune filled with holes appeared.

"If this still doesn't work, then we'll add this in…"

A Magi who had just attained Crystal phase and want to construct a point mass in order to be promoted to Morning Star rank would at the very least, take a couple hundred of years of accumulation and hard work. Leylin naturally knew that, but time was not on his side. Furthermore, he had many hidden trump cards, and had a deep enough understanding, which could surpass that of many Crystal phase Magi who had hundreds of years of accumulated knowledge!

...

At the fringes of Parble Family's territory stood a starry-eyed Magus with long blue hair, his face red with fury.

The numerous high-ranked Warlocks and even larger numbers of common soldiers before him were too numerous to count.

Not far away, the outline of a giant city could be seen. Above it there were flames that had started to consume the city. The cries and sobs of the residents seemingly passed through the raging flames and arrived before the Magus.

The resentment, together with the extreme agony accumulated could cause a catalyst for a terrifying existence to be borne.

As compared to Leylin's previous life, in this world where the power of energy was more reactive, anything was possible!

But the Azure Mountain King had not once furrowed his brows. It was as if exterminating the tens of thousands of people was like swatting a fly, which had not stirred up any of his emotions.

"Seven cities have already been destroyed, and there're more than five million casualties. More than ten high-rank Warlocks have perished…"

The Azure Mountain King gave a cold smile: "To think that the Ouroboros Clan is still burrowing its head into the sand like an Ostrich. Looks like Gilbert and the rest have already fallen into the other realms…"

His visit this time round was obviously not just for Leylin, but more so to sound out the reactions of the Morning Star Magi.

If the other party was around, how would it be possible that they'd watch on as he wreaked havoc? Warlocks typically had very fiery tempers, and they might even have directly attacked Azure Mountain City. But now?

The other party's high-ranked military prowess was evidently held up, and even the reinforcements from the high-ranked Warlocks seemed chaotic. This was why they were so easily massacred.

"I had originally decided to just let my clone perish here. But from the looks of it now, I think I can get far more benefits…"

The Azure Mountain King's eyes shone with greed that could not be concealed. But he swiftly caressed his face and his expressions slowly became gloomy.

"Leylin Farlier!" He deeply called out the name of the man who had caused him to suffer losses to the extent that he had disgraced the name of his clan.

"I hope you'll continue living long enough to see the day that I attack the Ouroboros Clan…" The Azure Mountain King laughed coldly.

In an instant, his brows furrowed, and his eyes widened. "This aura? He has the guts to appear here?"

Part of the Azure Mountain King's facial muscles cramped up, "Since you have a death wish, I'm more than willing to help you with that!"

*Boom!* The entire body of the Azure Mountain King transformed into a blue ray, and in an instant he streaked across the sky and disappeared. It was not until half an hour later that a few cowering low-ranked Warlocks emerged from the sea of corpses. Their faces registered horror, and they did not dare to shoot a single glance at the direction the Azure Mountain King before they swiftly escaped from the area. What had happened today would forever be a nightmare in their lives.

West Sea Canyon.

This was a rank 3 danger zone in the Parble Family's territory. From the depths of the crevices, a hurricane that could obliterate anything in its path would appear. Any being below rank 4 would not have a chance at surviving the hurricane.

Currently, Leylin was standing at the edge of the cliff. The strong winds caused his robes to flap in the wind.

*Jiu!* An ear-piercing explosive sound could be heard from a distance.

Pure energy waves led to a chain reaction. Large amounts of air were displaced, instantly forming a vacuum.

*Thump!*The Azure Mountain King's body landed on the floor steadily. His brows were furrowed as he levelled a deadly stare at Leylin. It seemed as if he was afraid that the minute he was distracted the sly Magus would escape like he did the previous time.

"To think that you still dare to appear before me. Am I supposed to clap for you at your bravery?" After the scanning with soul force, and upon confirmation that there were no Morning Star Magi lying in ambush, the Azure Mountain King caressed his own face. Even though the part of his face where Leylin had attacked previously did not have a mark, the humiliation still lingered on.

The humiliation could only be wiped away with Leylin's fresh blood!

"Why would I not have the guys to come?" Leylin laughed lightly, "You are but a clone who can't make a breakthrough to the Morning Star realm… Furthermore, I'm the enforcer of this region. The crimes you've committed must be tried by me!"

Obviously, Leylin could not divulge the news that all of the three chief Warlocks of the Ouroboros Clan had gone missing. As a result, he skillfully used his status as a smokescreen.

As he was the enforcer of the region, after he had confirmed that he could not complete the task himself, the reinforcements from the headquarters took over.

The Azure Mountain King was not a fool, and there was no guarantee of deceiving him. However, as long as he could arouse the Azure Mountain King's suspicions, it would be considered a success.

If there was a possibility that there were still Morning Star Magi present in the Ouroboros Clan, the enemies would not dare to be too unruly.

The destructiveness of the killing tactics of a Morning Star Magus would definitely do both parties no good. Once a Morning Star Magus was pressured, he would disregard the peace treaties and begin to unbridledly utilise Morning Star Arcane Arts. The destruction that they could cause would be so immense that even Radiant Moon Magi would not be able to account for it.

In other words, even if they were to successfully attack the Ouroboros Clan, the benefits they got might not even make up for the losses that they would suffer from the Morning Star Arcane Art.

Magi were not fools, and if the battle would not bring about benefits, and even potentially cause them to suffer losses, they would not be willing to engage in it.

It was under such threats that those with the powers of a Morning Star Magus could peacefully co-exist in the central continent, which was also why there were rarely any large conflicts.

From Leylin's understanding, a Morning Star Magus was equivalent to a nuclear weapon from his previous life. Countries with nuclear weapons could choose mutual destruction. As a result, they would tolerate each other, which was why the peaceful outlook could be sustained.

But now? If outsiders got wind about how all of the nuclear weapons in the Ouroboros Clan were missing, then a calamity would be imminent.

As a result, in front of the Azure Mountain King, Leylin presented himself as a high-ranking official who was very concerned about his honour.

Before he was certain that the problem could not be handled, he had not requested for reinforcements from the headquarters. That would explain, though barely, why there was no response from the Morning Star Magi.

He had done all that he could, and could not be bothered about how the Azure Mountain King would react to it.

Sure enough, the Azure Mountain King was only thrown off for a while, before a mocking smile appeared on his face.

"Do you think I would believe your nonsense?"

"It's up to you to believe it or not!" Leylin shrugged his shoulders, "But you will have to perish here today!"

*Rumble!* In an instant, as if to prove what he had said, the calm waves of the West Seas Canyon started to crash against the cliff.

As a royal of the Ouroboros Clan, Leylin naturally had access to a lot of reading materials. Since the geological conditions of the West Seas Canyon were not a secret, that piece of information would have naturally have been recorded in the database of the A.I Chip.

And Leylin who wanted to keep the Azure Mountain King's clone had immediately thought of the West Seas Canyon's unique environment and the obliterating hurricane.

His abilities were not on par with that of the opponent, and hence he needed external aid!

After serious inspections of the area, and upon using the A.I Chip to stimulate the eruption process of the West Seas Canyon, deducing the concrete timing was merely a matter of time.

After which it was the selection of a suitable timing to attract the Azure Mountain King

Leylin believed that due to the hatred the Azure Mountain King had towards him, once he discovered Leylin's aura, he would definitely come forth.

Sure enough, everything had worked out as he had expected.

*Howl!*

The raging hurricane whistled like a giant black dragon, and it suddenly rushed towards the sky, spewing out its rage.

Leylin, who was standing in front of the raging flames, was like an ancient heroic knight riding upon a giant mystical creature.

Killing the Clone

"So you're relying on this?" the Azure Mountain King laughed coldly, "Do you think you can control this hurricane? It may be possible if I came with my main body…"

Nonetheless, his face was full of fear, and he unconsciously took a few steps back.

"If you don't try, how would you know?" Leylin chuckled, and suddenly rubbed the ring on his hand. A strange energy wave seemed to pass by at the speed of light.

Miles away, Parker looked at the communicator in his hands with a stern expression. He then ordered, "Activate!"

"Beginning operation! Preparing number 1 energy reactor!" Snoopy shouted immediately.

"The elemental particle gathering device is complete, beginning ground vibration!"

Many Warlocks, as hardworking as ants, began to get busy, and one by one, strange symbols were lit up on the surface of the huge pyramidal reactor.

*Rumble!* At this moment, the surface of the ground seemed to come alive as a large amount of energy was bound and transmitted towards Leylin's direction.

This violent earthquake did not cause much trouble for the warlocks, as expected. Snoopy wiped away the cold sweat on his forehead and went to his grandfather's side with an evident look of worry on his face, "Grandfather, will Mentor be able to succeed? I've never heard of this idea before… No! I wouldn't be able to think of this even in my dreams! Once any node goes wrong, I'm afraid what awaits Mentor will be…"

Before he could finish speaking, a thick, muscular palm pressed down on his shoulders, "Snoopy! You have to believe in your mentor!"

Parker's eyes did not mask his respect for Leylin, "He is the most profound scholar and the strictest Magus amongst everyone I've met! Once the lord makes a decision, it will definitely be correct, we only need to follow and execute according to the plan devised by the lord!"

After interacting with them for more than a century, be it in force or knowledge, Leylin had long ago subdued these men of his.

"Yes!" Snoopy nodded repeatedly, and his previous worries disappeared immediately.

At another place, Tanasha was also doing the same thing.

A perfectly straight lightning rod, almost piercing through the horizon, stood firmly on a pile of black rocks.

Thunder roared and lightning flashed. Many blue electric waves growled and rushed towards the black needle, before diverging in all directions through the path that was laid out.

"Sir! I Hope you will succeed!" Tanasha grew a little excited in her heart, praying silently.

...

"Preparations for node 1 completed, review of node 2 completed, preparing to charge node 3…"

Data kept pouring out from the A.I. Chip continuously and many fluorescent-blue information windows flashed past Leylin's eyes.

*Rumble!* The howling hurricane that was brewing in the sky seemed to be controlled by someone, and it slowly began to transform and pack together, converging behind Leylin.

The windstorm roared, dissipating the dark gas and silently turning the rocks and plants on the roadside to dust. It then wrapped the Azure Mountain King within.

"How… How is this possible? Why can you..." The Azure Mountain King's eyes almost popped out.

How could a mere rank 3 Crystal Phase Magus possess such enormous power?

After he came here, he had definitely tested with his soul force that there were no other Magi lying in ambush. There were also no signs of any spell formation!

"I am unable to hide anything from soul force scans, hence I did not plan anything here…" Leylin stood above the hurricane, as if he was a deity from another world.

"Thus, the closest spell formation that I've set up is 45 kilometers away. The underground hurricane is being manipulated through redistribution points and could be temporarily kept under control! I call this spell formation—farcast support spell formation!"

Using the superimposition of small influences from other areas, he ultimately gained control over the hurricane!

It was easier said than done. To do it, the calculations needed were terrifyingly complex, fit to be described as perverse.

Even if there was a slight error the data, there was a possibility that the hurricane would ultimately lose all control. As the one to bear the brunt of the damage, Leylin would be the first to die without any remains.

Such horrifying calculations, even the Azure Mountain King felt giddy from just simulating them in his head.

Leylin had done something even Morning Star Magi could not thanks to his A.I. Chip, a scientific chip from his previous world which possessed incredible abilities after numerous extreme transformation and advancements!

"The hurricane can destroy anything under rank 4, you are destined to die today!" Leylin's expression was calm, his face showing no signs of sadness or happiness.

But the hurricane, which was under his control, suddenly screeched. A large gust of strong black wind surrounded the Azure Mountain King and began to spin around him, as if it wanted to drag him into the eye of the hurricane.

"No! I have not fallen yet!" The Azure Mountain King's eyes flushed red, and his facial muscles twitched as he suddenly growled.

Explosions rang out as the crystal clear soul force transformed into a defensive film on his body. Terrifying accessories, which had reached the level of magic artifacts, began to explode one by one.

The massive explosion caused a horrifying driving force, and even the hurricane was momentarily blocked out.

Using this hard-earned chance, the Azure Mountain King immediately dashed out to break through the barrier.

"You can't escape!" The large Multi-Armed Race phantom thrashed and growled behind Leylin. The hurricane gathered in Leylin's hands as he stood before the Azure Mountain King and threw out a sudden punch.

*Boom!* Like the roar of an ancient giant snake, along with the accompanying howls of the many hurricanes, a terrifying energy instantly extinguished the explosion from before, breaking through the Azure Mountain King's body.

Even if it was soul power, under the the besiegement of the hurricane, it was exhausted too quickly. The protective film immediately crackled and broke.

Cracks began appearing one after another, and due to Leylin's attack, the Azure Mountain King was once again pushed back into the eye of the hurricane.

While watching Leylin, who stood outside like a war god, a hint of despair surfaced on the Azure Mountain King's face…

*Rumble!* It was as if the world exploded, reaching its end.

Among the many dark storms, a touch of blue light suddenly exploded. It immediately intensified, offsetting the dark storms persistently.

The terrifying energy waves dissipated as streaks of silver cracks in the space emerged endlessly.

The dark storms howled, but it also seemed to weaken under the blue radiance as time passed. At the same time, the blue radiance slowly began to dim.

The earth rumbled, and after what seemed like a sky-shaking and violent magnitude 9 earthquake, everything finally calmed down. Only, the surroundings had already been destroyed beyond recognition.

Even a part of the West Sea Canyon was totally wiped out, becoming a large, ruinous rocky plain.

"Master!"

This was the scene that Tanasha and Parker, who had rushed over, saw. Their faces seemed to search for answers anxiously, until they saw Leylin who was standing on a large rock proudly. Their faces were immediately overcome with delight.

"Yes!" Leylin nodded.

Currently, he was in a very bad condition. Not only were there blue wounds all over his body that were bubbling and corroding it, there was also an obvious dent on his chest.

In his hands, there was an already prepared crystalised test tube, in which laid a piece of burnt flesh. Surrounding it were some squirming tentacles.

"I'm fine!" Leylin waved, stopping Tanasha and Parker's greetings.

"I give you all an hour's time, search this area immediately and look for bloody pieces of flesh like this! No matter what the outcome is an hour later, we will leave immediately!"

"Yes, Sir!"

Watching his men busy themselves, a bitter smile emerged on Leylin's face.

The Azure Mountain King was indeed a Morning Star Magus, with an extremely determined mind. After he realised that there was no hope of escaping, he immediately cast some sort of secret spell, detonating his clone.

The self-destruction of a rank 3 Magus' clone would cause major damage.

Not only was Leylin's spell formation utterly defeated, he himself had sustained serious injuries. This could be said to be a loss for both parties.

'But as long as these things can be obtained, it'll be worth it,' Leylin put away the pieces of flesh safely, before his heart lightened.

Although the Azure Mountain King had self-destructed, losing him the opportunity to collect his complete body, the tissue structures of these bloody pieces of flesh and such were enough for the A.I. Chip to study for a long time.

And after obtaining these, the A.I. Chip's deductions on the Morning Star Realm would be able to advance to at least 50% and above!

"If it's like that, the conditions are more or less all set! We only need to prepare for the Azure Mountain King's counterattack!" Leylin stroked his chin.

Originally, he and the Oakheart Clan were prepared to give their lives to achieve their goals. Now, the other party's Morning Star Magus had lost his clone at his hands. Surely the Azure Mountain King would be going crazy.

'We cannot stay in this territory anymore, we must hurry back to the organisation and evacuate as soon as possible…' Leylin was stuck in thought.

Although it still seemed peaceful at his Onyx Castle in the core of the Ouroboros Clan, with Robin's Parble Family reduced to their sorry state, was it really?

Perhaps, as of now, only the area at the headquarters of the Phosphorescence Swamp could forcibly maintain stability.

Although they lacked Morning Star battle power, under circumstances where outsiders were still unsure, keeping it a secret for a period of time was no problem at all.

Furthermore, based on the Ouroboros Clan's arduous accumulation as well as the spell formations, defence installations and such by the Morning Star Warlocks ancestors, hindering a certain Morning Star Magus for a duration was still not an issue.

What Leylin needed most right now, was time!

This was because the headquarters of the Ouroboros Clan was definitely a point of attack for many enemies in the future. Once it was confirmed that the battle powers of the Morning Star were gone, there was a high chance that they might face a siege from numerous Morning Star Magi.

By that time, the headquarters would be a deathtrap!

If they lost the other territories, without advancing to the Morning Star level before the Phosphorescence Swamp was attacked, all of the Warlocks at the headquarters could only accept death!

Distractions

"All in all, Phosphorescence Swamp is going to be the safest right now, but the most dangerous place in the end..."

Leylin smiled reluctantly, "It's just that… do I have any other choices?"

At this time, he was sure the Azure Mountain King was hot on his heels. Once he left the Ouroboros Clan, he feared he would not get to live another day.

Unlike his rank 3 clone, the Azure Mountain King was a famed Morning Star Magus! The disparity in power was too large for any strategies to be of use.

Thus, he was left with no choice but to take a gamble. Fortunately, he had already exterminated the opposite party's clone, earning him and the Ouroboros Clan some extra time!

Otherwise, if they allowed the Azure Mountain King to continue to stir up trouble, word may leak out to other power-thirsty parties, that the Ouroboros Clan no longer had Morning Star Magi defending it! He could imagine them swimming forward like sharks towards their prey.

For now, since the Azure Mountain King's matter had been settled by Leylin, he'd presumed Leylin's strength was why Gilbert and the others chose to lay low.

This was what Leylin was striving for, a little of their apprehension!

"Morning Star realm! I must advance to the Morning Star realm!" Leylin clenched his teeth.

At this moment, Tanasha brought forward a transparent box, "My Lord, this is our harvest."

Inside the box were some scraps of flesh and hair, and even some blood-stained clothes and other fabrics and such.

"Well done! For your contributions, I shall reward you in the form of contribution points later on. Right now, let's go home….." In front of his subordinates, Leylin resumed the attitude of a master.

...

"My Lord!" Back at his own Magus Tower, upon hearing the green tower genie's greetings, Leylin felt as if he had been away for a lifetime.

His departure had started with a banquet, celebrating Freya advancing to the Crystal Phase.

Who would've thought that, within such a short time, so many drastic changes would take place. Even the entire Ouroboros Clan was in a crisis, and was almost destroyed.

The failed mission of Gilbert and the other two was something Leylin could never have predicted.Morning Star Magi's failed mission on a whole, was something Leylin could have never predicted.

After losing the deterrence of Morning Star Magi, the Ouroboros Clan immediately showed signs of instability.

"Tower genie, backup the entire experimental data to the A.I. Chip. Destroy all original experiments, starting from the natural resources. Prepare to transfer!" Leylin drew a deep breath, and requested.

"Authorization confirmed. Spiritual force connected, data transmission in progress!" Compared to a human Magus, the tower genie's level of compliance is as good as first class. Immediately, a link was formed between it and the A.I. Chip.

Leylin had always held the habit of backing up his important experimental data to the A.I. Chip. The amount the genie had was only a small part of the whole, and he took the time to patch up the holes in his database.

The most important step was to destroy the experiments themselves. For the past century, Leylin had secretly carried out many bloodline experiments. He had been fortunate to not leave any clues behind, otherwise he would have gotten into deep water.

Following the command of the formation genie, many secret paths and doors started opening up, revealing the concealed spaces and storage facilities.

Inside, bountiful magic crystals and precious objects glowed in brilliant lights and vibrant colours. It was a feast for one's eyes. Leylin heaved a sigh and picked out many of the stored magic crystals.

He was sure he had provoked the Azure Mountain King to the maximum this time, thus he didn't have high hopes of being able to preserve the Magus Tower.

Compared with the main headquarters at the Phosphorescence Swamp, his Magus Tower would be the first to be ravaged. Since he had decided to seek refuge at the main headquarters, he didn't want to be taken advantage of and lose his magic crystals.

With these thoughts in mind, he turned to the experimental room where he absorbed Lamia radiation.

After complicated and meticulous verification, Leylin saw the brilliant milky-white bone in the center of the crystal ball.

"A.I. Chip!" Leylin's face contorted as he yelped.

"Begin compatibility scan, unscrambling data in progress…" A huge amount of data flowed in the form of blue streaks of light from Leylin's eyes, and seeped into the crystal ball held by a machine.

After two minutes of data transmission, a clear, distinct sound echoed, as a tiny pin-sized hole appeared on the surface of the crystal ball, slowly enlarging.

"This is what my advancement to Morning Star will depend most upon!" Leylin exclaimed and sighed. He drew out a box made of crystal and carefully kept the Lamia bone.

Prior to this, he didn't want the Lamia bone to be kept on him for fear of Gilbert finding out. But right now, there wasn't even a single Morning Star Warlock in the headquarters, so Leylin naturally had nothing to be afraid of.

"Mentor, are we really leaving now?" Before they set off, Snoopy looked at the black tower and Onyx Castle in the distance, his eyes filled with a look of unwillingness to let go.

Having stayed here for more than a thousand years, he had already developed feelings for it, hence his hesitance to leave.

Similarly, Kubler, Parker and the others who were behind Leylin felt the exact same hesitance and unwillingness, even though they had obeyed Leylin's orders and packed all their belongings.

"We must leave!" Leylin's reply was resolute and decisive. "You should know the situation and how things are right now. Except for the main headquarters, everywhere else is dangerous…."

Parker and the rest solemnly nodded their heads. They had not found out about the three missing Morning Star Magi yet. However, the chaos that had happened was enough to keep them on the edge for a long time.

Magi who were able to live past three, four or five hundred years were all intelligent, and the recent spate of events had made them realise that something unusual was going on. Hence, their support for Leylin's decision was unanimous.

Glancing at his rather muddle-headed apprentice, Leylin shook his head and patted his shoulders:"We will be back! I promise!"

"Mmm. I believe you, Mentor!" Snoopy nodded his head passionately. Parker, on the other hand, forced a smile.

....

Inside Phosphorescence Swamp.

Numerous sulphur-filled bubbles rose from the sludge, becoming green balls of flame as they escaped.

Erected in the center of the swamp, the Warlock City was as busy as always. In fact, the population seemed to have increased.

It wasn't just one or two families that could feel the oddity in the air. In the early days, when there were instabilities at the border, many Marquises and Counts had reallocated their families and servants over here, blowing up population and city.

As for the issues of their territories and such, they had no worry about that.

To the Warlocks at the top of society, commoners were like wild grass. After trimming them, come spring time and they would tenaciously grow again. So if the taxes were reduced for the people, in less than 10 years, the population would boom again.

Regardless of whether it was the invading troop or the defence troop , they did not need these commoners as resources, thus the commoners were able to lead a rather good life before and after the war with no major changes.

Compared to these commoners, the Warlocks' regrets would be losing their castles, Magus Towers and such.

Just like Leylin, who had built his Magus Tower in his own territory. He supposed that after the war was over, his tower would be gone too. And it did not matter who the enemy was, they would be ruthless and would helped themselves to the structures. Also, once a tower genie discerned a master, she would never change. Thus, total destruction was the only way.

"Hehe… Leylin, it looks like the bad blood between you and the Oakheart Clan is serious. Looking at this latest intelligence report, your territory had been occupied by him and your Magus Tower has been demolished…" Freya smiled as she handed the intelligence report to Leylin.

"It is serious!" Leylin stroked his nose, "Even their chief died in my hands!"

In his heart, he silently added 'and a Morning Star's clone' next to it. Under such circumstances, if the opposite party were to be polite to him, it would truly be odd.

After moving to the Ouroboros Clan headquarters, over ten days had passed and within this time, many things had happened.

Every territory had its fair share of unceasing riots, and there were multiple forces would invade these areas. Naturally, Leylin's territory was not spared .

Freya, too, had lost her territory. Hence, she teased Leylin with a bit of schadenfreude.

However, Leylin could sense the fear and restlessness beneath Freya's smile. This time, the power of the enemy had surpassed the expectations of many. The Azure Mountain Clan was but one part only, there were other more powerful ones yet to show themselves.

The Ouroboros Clan was strong in appearance but weak in reality, and everyone could see it. Hence the minor skirmishes at the borders had escalated to entire territories being taken over.

Even the outer regions of Phosphorescence Swamp were not spared. From time to time, scouts sent by many different powerful families were discovered. Warlocks from the Ouroboros Clan could only rely on the headquarters' defensive spells as a core, building an extremely narrow defensive perimeter and guarding it resolutely.

Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that if the Morning Star military strength did not make an appearance soon in the Ouroboros Clan, the entire clan could face imminent destruction.

"Over at the astral gate, how is the progress?" Seeing Freya's strong and obstinate persona, Leylin couldn't console her directly, as otherwise, he would have hurt her pride. Instead, he changed the subject and asked her a question.

The truth of the matter was, the root of all the problems were the three elders. If they could appear immediately, even if just one of them could show their face in public, not only would the Warlocks of the entire Ouroboros Clan gain confidence from their pillar of strength, the number of enemy scouts would reduce drastically too.

"Some of the Marquises from the technology department have been working for days in there…" Freya smiled wryly.

"But in the end…. Only someone of at least a Morning Star Magus status, can open an astral gate. Otherwise, no one can support the crossover of the body. Forget rescuing them, we can't even find someone here qualified to open the astral gate…"

Seeing Freya, Leylin knew deep in her heart that she had some disagreements with the Blood Duchess Emma and the other two Morning Star Warlocks. But since she was a student of theirs, she couldn't say anything.

"You can't blame our Mentors, the allure of the Purgatory World is simply too huge…" Leylin sighed.

As The Dark Clouds Draw Closer

There was another concern bugging Leylin.

As compared to the factions that had shown themselves in Azure Mountain City, what worried him the most was still the Magus that had set the trap.

To be able to give up a world coordinate and also successfully entrap three Morning Star Warlocks, he was definitely not a simple person.

Furthermore, if Leylin's mentor, Gilbert, joined forces with the other two Morning Star Warlocks, they would have a terrifying strength on par with that of a Radiant Moon Magus!

Since the mastermind could successfully scheme against them regardless of that, it was only a matter of time before his actual strength would be revealed.

If the other party came at them openly, the current Ouroboros Clan would not have any strength to resist.

Fortunately, for reasons unknown, he had not taken any other action apart from setting the trap. No one knew what qualms he had, or whether there was something holding him back.

Leylin secretly guessed that perhaps the other party had suffered a violent counterattack when he'd plotted against his Mentor, and thus suffered a hidden loss. He was likely still in the midst of recovery, or else he definitely wouldn't have let this chance slip through his fingers.

Even so, the pressure the Ouroboros Clan faced was crushing. The tiniest bit more and they would collapse completely.

After parting with Leylin, Freya took a short walk and arrived at a small garden full of white roses.

A distorted human shadow appeared next to the garden. When the figure came into view, a Warlock dressed in a crimson Magus robe bowed to Freya.

"Greetings, chief!"

"Mm!" Freya nodded, "The crisis that the Ouroboros Clan has met with will require the combined effort of many marquises, but Leylin's team of vassals is really too weak, and they also suffered heavy losses in the previous suppression. I plan to let the Blood Serpent Warlock organisation take over some of their missions!"

After a long silence, Julian then spoke with a hoarse voice, "This… is not in accordance with the rules! Furthermore, the elders…"

"This is an order!" Freya's voice turned cold, and an aura that was unique to Crystal Phase Warlocks surfaced on her body.

"Yes! Yes!" Julian quickly agreed, but let out a silent sigh.

Even he could see that his chief had feelings for Leylin, but the other party still showed clear signs of rejection.

It would be understandable if Freya had only lent a helping hand once or twice, but she had already done so many times. This problem had left many elders with authority dissatisfied. It was in stark contrast to how Miranda simply gave up on her pursuit.

In ancient Warlock families like Freya's, even the chief could not go against the opinion of the majority, and had to take the entire family's opinion into consideration.

Freya's actions had already aroused a certain degree of discontent in the family, but was suppressed by her promotion to the Crystal Phase.

However, Julian had a feeling that if Freya continued, the accumulating dissent would one day burst forth.

Judging by her attitude, though, would it be possible to change her ways?

Julian shook his head and forced a smile, then bowed to Freya and vanished into the sea of flowers.

...

In the depths of a white canyon, a team of Warlocks were hurrying through the steep mountains.

These Warlocks were all clothed in crimson Magus robes, with the Giant Kemoyin Serpent motif on their collars. A platinum-haired high-ranking Warlock led the way.

*Shoom!* At that very instant, a crooked shadow shot out from the side of the cliff like an arrow, right into this Warlock's hands.

"Be alert!" Kemoyin's Scales appeared on the bodies of the numerous Warlocks as a mode of defence. Assuming their various positions, they emitted an aura that was full of solemn determination; evidently, they were elites with rich experience who have been fighting for a long time.

"It's a shadow snake messenger from our family, cancel the alarm!" The platinum-haired high-ranking Warlock furrowed his brows and quickly shouted to the rest. The entire troop was tranquil again, and they slowly started to continue walking.

"They actually want us to offer support to Enforcer Leylin's vassals?" Upon recalling the content of the message, the leader of the Warlock team seemed gloomy. He was, of course, unhappy about his chief's actions.

But looking at the authoritative imprint on the back that reflected the family chief's position, the leader gritted his teeth and yelled out, "Turn around, we're going to the Teal Tusk Highlands, and fast!" He was still dreadful of the consequences of disobeying orders and betraying his family

Although they questioned why their leader suddenly gave such an order, their pleasantly compliant nature allowed this small team to make a full turnaround within a few minutes, and they continued to rush off in another direction.

"Hehe, found the Blood Serpent Warlock organisation!" At this moment, the immature voice of a young boy sounded out, causing the team leader's expression to change drastically.

"Who's there?"

The Magi under him immediately broke into formation, with many of them already holding on to multiple magical items for attacking purposes.

*Bang!* The rock wall at the side blasted open, and a gigantic flowering plant emerged from within.

This flower was about 5 or 6 meters tall, its sepals full of sharp buckteeth. It suddenly spread open its petals, and with its huge mouth similar to that of a beast from the ancient times, it swallowed a Warlock who couldn't dodge in time.

"AHHH…" He let out a distorted, muffled shriek. The innate defence of the snake scales seemed to have no effect on the corrosive juices in the stamen. Through the translucent petals, the Warlocks could see their comrade's scales corrode, then quickly soften and reveal his skin and muscle tissue…

*Bang! Bang! Bang!* Before they could rescue their comrade, more carnivorous flowers suddenly emerged from the rock walls, and started attacking them.

"A military troop of carnivorous plants, it's…" The expression on the platinum-haired team leader's face changed drastically. Before he could even exclaim, a carnivorous flower that was more than 10 meters tall bore out of the ground and appeared in front of him in a flash.

On the stolon of this carnivorous flower was the face of a little boy, and it seemed that the voice from earlier was his.

"Innate spell— Toxic Bile!" The team leader gritted his teeth, and venomous gas immediately diffused out into the air.

"It's useless! We have already made special improvements through several mutations targeted at awakening the ability of self-control, just to counter your poison and scales!" A grin spread across the boy's face. The humongous carnivorous flower ferociously opened up and countless minute pollen grains scattered onto the ground.

The Giant Kemoyin Serpent Warlock's expression changed rapidly. He could clearly sense that the venom in the air had been neutralised by the pollen from the carnivorous flower.

Not only that, once a single pollen grain landed on him, his scales instantly started to soften.

"Haha… Kill! Go on, kill! After today, the Ouroboros Clan and the Giant Kemoyin Serpent Warlocks will become a thing of the past!" The boy cheered, while more and more carnivorous flowers started to emerge from the soil and the walls, drowning out the members of the snake bloodline Warlock organisation.

The colourful lights of spells exploded, and finally, all was silent again…

...

On the other end, in a small and prosperous town.

The shadows of many densely-packed sails appeared all of a sudden in the sky.

Numerous huge ships soared through the air like dark clouds, blocking out all the sunlight and casting large shadows on the earth, as darkness enveloped the entire town.

"What's going on?" The Kemoyin Warlock in charge of guarding the place walked out and his jaw instantly dropped.

*Boom!* The gigantic cannon stowed at the front of the fleet started to rumble, and terrifying energy waves immediately wreaked havoc throughout the town.

In that instant, the entire city was filled with terrorised cries as blood and fire flooded the land.

The ever-plentiful city that had always been under the protection of the Ouroboros Clan was suddenly drowning in calamity. Those who could not escape in time turned into ashes under gunfire, average humans and low-ranking Warlocks alike.

After a round of bombardment, numerous silhouettes appeared beside the fleet, and descended to clear out the remaining few high-ranking Warlocks.

"No Warlock that belongs to the Ouroboros Clan will be spared!" A crippled male Magus who was propping himself up with a wooden leg gave an order, his eyes boiling with hatred that he did not even bother to mask. His face was filled with numerous scars and was badly disfigured.

"Those damn bloodline bastards don't even deserve to be alive…"

Following his command, the resistance in the battlefield intensified, but all that anyone could do was to struggle in the face of death.

After purging the resistance, it was time for a feast, one of plundering and venting their anger.

But even in a situation like this, the commander's face remained cold and indifferent, as though he never saw it at all.

...

Such scenarios continued to play out in the Ouroboros Clan's territory, and even started to inch closer to Phosphorescence Swamp.

The atmosphere at headquarters was gloomy due to the huge war.

In one of the rooms in the headquarters of Warlock City, a faint warm glow flickered. A group of Magi gathered around a circular black medieval table.

They were all Giant Kemoyin Serpent Warlocks, and the aura exuded by every single one of them was highly terrifying, even exceeding the threshold of the Crystal Phase.

Leylin was among them, scanning through his companions— there were more than ten of them.

These people made up the entirety of the Ouroboros Clan's upper echelons, and they were of the highest ranks apart from the three Morning Star Warlocks. Their decisions would represent the entire Ouroboros Clan!

Lucian and Freya were also among them. Upon seeing Leylin, they nodded in acknowledgement, but anxiety was written across their faces.

A red-headed Warlock stood up, propping himself with his hands on the table, and roared loudly, "Only yesterday! In a mere 13 hours, the attacks we have suffered have surpassed the sum of all the damage we have ever sustained! The Blood Serpent Warlock organisation, the Black Iron Warlock organisation and the castigators have all been razed to the ground! Even Greenflame City that guards our Phosphorescence Swamp has fallen to the hands of our enemy!"

He slammed the table, causing the tabletop to shake vigorously. Leylin could feel his wrath through the vibrations.

"It won't take long until we'll be able to see them within the vicinity of the city! Even small fry like the Arm of Vengeance will start hunting us down. Damn it! These were people I could have wiped out single-handedly in the past!"

With that, opinions started to fire across the table, rage filling the air.