495 - 502

Opening

Leylin watched the performance of these Warlocks, indifferent to it all.

In fact, it was very clear to them that small organisations like the Arm of Vengeance were being used as scapegoats by the hidden forces.

Were Gilbert and the rest to appear, they would just throw out these scapegoats to suffer their wrath, without caring for their life or death.

And even if these small organisations were to find success, they wouldn't end up with much resources. They could only give the majority of the resources to their backers. Thus, these forces could reap the benefits without getting their own hands dirty. It was a great deal indeed.

Although these Warlocks were completely aware of this, they only dared curse these small organisations that had gone insane in their desire for revenge, but did not dare touch the existence in the background. In the back of their minds, even though they lacked Morning Star forces on their side, they definitely did not have the guts to provoke those acting behind the scenes. To them, on their side, they would not have the guts to challenge the masterminds.

"Never mind that. This place is soon going to become a battlefield, so every one of us must take up our responsibilities. Do you all agree?"

"Agreed!" "Agreed!" "Agreed!" Numerous high ranked Warlocks nodded one after another.

"That's great, we still have the two Kemoyin Gargoyles and the spell formation left by the elders. We can still handle a Morning Star Magus if we activate everything… We just need to persist for a period of time, then the three mentors will be able to return from the astral plane!"

The red-haired Warlock was still trying his best to boost the morale, and hence he maintained the delusion.

After he spoke up to that, everyone's sight immediately shot to an old Warlock who was wiping his spectacles with a white handkerchief.

This old Crystal Phase Warlock was the head of their technical department, Schadt.

Schadt put on his spectacles with a bitter laugh, "Our tests have confirmed that the elders really did open the astral gates and entered another world. However, we couldn't confirm that it's the Purgatory World. However, we're trying really hard to calculate the coordinates. I just need ten days… No! Five! We'll have it in five!"

The expressions of the numerous Warlocks dulled when the reply they got wasn't the one they wanted.

The red-haired Warlock forced a smile and immediately began to assign missions as the leader, "Marquis Schadt, continue to study the astral gate. Headquarters will allocate resources to you as you wish. You have to rescue our three Mentors!"

"I will!" Schadt nodded. There was a great scholarly temperament to him as he still seemed like nothing had happened even in this kind of critical moment.

"Next, Marquis Lucian…" There was pride in the tone of the red-haired Warlock when he heard the other party agreeing to his orders.

Although he was the first disciple of the Grand Elder, his authority was not much greater than that of the remaining Marquises present here. But now, when the circumstances required the presence of a powerful leader due to both internal and external pressures, it seemed like he could try to take control!

"Very well! Next…" The Warlock started to assign missions to everyone. Finally, it was Leylin's turn. "Marquis Leylin, it's no problem if I leave you in charge of the defence of the West Zone of the city, right?"

"Sorry, I do!" Leylin raised his hand up. He'd heard from Lucian about this Warlock before, although he hadn't met him in person many times. He was Faisal, and he had held power for a long time in the Ouroboros Clan. Right now, it seemed that even in all this confusion, his first thought was of grasping power.

Leylin was immediately fed up by this sort of thing. With their current situation, perhaps the entire headquarters would be breached tomorrow, and everyone would be finished. He still wanted to scramble for power and profits?

"What?" Faisal wrinkled his brows. He'd met a challenger moments after he set up his authority. This triggered his immense dissatisfaction, so he decided to suppress the challenger ruthlessly.

"I have an extremely important experiment…"

"Experiment? Just for the purpose of an experiment?" Leylin was interrupted by Faisal before he could complete his words. "Did I mishear? You want to abandon your responsibility in this kind of critical moment just for an experiment?"

Numerous high-ranked Warlocks around the round table also started whispering to each other after they heard Faisal words.

"Let me finish!" Leylin pressed his hands down.

"The experiment I'm working on is an interplanar experiment. I'm confident in being able to find the coordinates of the Mentors in three days. Marquis Schadt can testify to this."

Schadt, who'd been still as a statue from the beginning, also nodded, "Indeed. Marquis Leylin's fundamental knowledge about astral experiments far surpasses mine. Especially in accurately searching for coordinates, he leaves me ashamed of my meagre ability."

"Even so," Faisal ground his teeth, "The defence of the West Zone…"

"I'll take care of that as well," Freya interrupted.

"You?" Faisal was a little astonished.

"Yes. Anyway, my own defence zone is not far from Leylin's. It's alright for me to take care of both, right?" Freya looked at Faisal challengingly. The other Warlocks had a knowing smile on their faces when they recalled the rumours about Freya and Leylin.

"You can if you say so, but what if your area has problems first…" Faisal dragged out his speech, looking at Freya who had an unyielding expression. He thought Leylin was getting more and more out of hand.

Freya ground her teeth and stated stubbornly, "It'll be my responsibility!"

"Fine, I hope you remember what you said today!" Faisal nodded and sat back down.

The person involved, Leylin, sat foolishly at a distance from the beginning. Only after it ended did he respond and look at Freya. This woman had helped him over and over again, even at the expense of her own family's interests, and was already facing criticism from her elders.

He hadn't expected that she would be willing to help him to this extent.

Actually, this so-called important experiment was just to pull the wool over Faisal's eyes. With his knowledge, it was easy for him to convince Schadt by exposing a bit of his abilities.

If Faisal hadn't agreed even after that, he would've looked for an opportunity to shirk his responsibility.

However, Freya unexpectedly took it on for him. Leylin suddenly felt a bit of a headache as he looked at her.

"You don't need to do this, you know…" Leylin walked to Freya side and said softly after the meeting dispersed.

"It's my choice." Freya gathered her black long hair together and left quickly. She seemed stubborn and firm.

Leylin shook his head, then communicated with the A.I. Chip and took a look at the latest data.

[Progress on deduction of information about the Morning Star realm: 52.7%]

After more than ten days, the A.I. Chip had finally finished analysing the flesh of the Azure Mountain King's clone. His information about the Morning Star realm had crossed 50%!

With this, the final requirement for his advancement to the Morning Star realm had been fulfilled.

"The future seems exciting. I will look forward to it…." A smile hung on the corner of Leylin's mouth. He then took a glance at the meeting place and at last moved his legs, leaving with incomparably firm footsteps.

...

In an unknown place, several mysterious wills were communicating with each other.

"The attacks of the plant legion have had pretty good results! The progress this time is pretty smooth. The air force has also taken down Greenflame City. It seems like the Morning Star Warlocks are already lost in the astral plane."

"Not necessarily. Gilbert and the rest are very cunning. It's possible that they're feigning weakness in order to bait us into exposing ourselves," another voice immediately retorted, "The lifespan of a Morning Star Warlock is nigh endless. Even temporary gains and losses of territory are nothing to them. They can always expand their influence again in the future…"

"What you said also makes sense. We must consider this, and continue to test them. Try to attack their headquarters in Phosphorescence Swamp!" the previous voice said. A powerful stream of thought swept out, "Where's that old Azure Mountain guy?"

"Hehe… he lost a clone to the Ouroboros Clan. With his main body settling a debt with Felix, I'm afraid he won't be available for a period of time…" a woman jokingly said.

"His clone fell? It must have been at rank 3. Even then, who interfered?" The voice who spoke previously seemed sluggish.

"No one! Azure Mountain's clone unexpectedly fell at the hand of a member of the younger generation without the interference of any Morning Star powers. It's even someone who had just advanced to the Crystal Phase. I'm afraid he'll feel too embarrassed to meet people before he thoroughly washes himself of his shame…" The female voice answered

"To have his clone killed by a member of the younger generation. It's simply a humiliation to all Morning Star Magi!"

"That's right!" The numerous thoughts descended into chaos.

"Silence!" the first voice said with immense dignity behind its tone. It immediately suppressed the disturbance.

"Let Azure Mountain's matter go for now. The area he's responsible for isn't that important anyway. The next test will be crucial in determining the existence of those three. This matter also concerns how we'll be treating the Ouroboros Clan in the future, so we should be serious about it!"

The huge will stated and transmitted its imposing aura its huge dignity to here.

"We got it!" Numerous thought backed up a step as if expressing surrender.

"Great! The plant legion still needs to advance and push the battlefront forward. As for the air force, remain on the defensive for now. The defence abilities of the headquarters of the Ouroboros Clan are still decent…"

The most powerful thought immediately started to distribute tasks. Soon after, the thoughts in the secret space left one after the other, and the region quieted down immediately.

A deadly stillness permeated the surroundings.

After this meeting, the attacks that were originally planned against the Ouroboros Clan grew in intensity.

Among these, parties such as Azure Mountain City and Nefas broke apart all pretence and flagrantly dispatched their elite groups into the territory of the Ouroboros Clan. This resulted in a great slaughter.

The frontline also approached the headquarters of the Ouroboros Clan in Phosphorescence Swamp continuously. In moments, it was like a storm was raging in the region, which practically affected the weather of the entire central continent.

Numerous Morning Star Magi, Radiant Moon Magi, and even Breaking Dawn Magi all diverted their attentions to the sky above Phosphorescence Swamp.

For the central continent which is in dire straits, any minute changes would be able to cause a huge variation.

Preparation for Battle

The chaos in the Ouroboros Clan was like a stone thrown into the peaceful lake that was the central continent, setting off ripples everywhere.

Due to the mutual deterrence of Morning Star Magi, such a large-scale war was rare.

The information about the current state of the Ouroboros Clan spread throughout the entire central continent like wildfire. Many spies, investigators, and idle Magi rushed towards Phosphorescence Swamp.

They had a pressing need to know how it all began, and what the final outcome would be. They would use this information for their own reference, and in the future would hand it over to the next generation.

"Storm clouds are brewing!"

Phosphorescence Swamp, Ouroboros Clan headquarters. Dressed in skintight leather, Freya stood on a high balcony and observed the huge Warlock City below.

"Even a peaceful, prosperous city like this will have to bear the brunt of battle?" Looking at the gloomy horizon in the distance, dismay clouded Freya's features. 　　

Seeing Julian and a few other elders heading towards her, her already cheerless self became even more depressed.

Disregarding the few elders, Freya asked Julian directly, "How is the deployment of manpower coming along?"

"They have been assigned accordingly, but…" Julian showed signs of hesitation.

"Let me explain. A while ago, due to your haphazard assignment of the snake bloodline Warlocks, our family suffered huge losses. And now we have to bear an even greater burden because of your decision to take over Leylin's responsibility of the defences in the West Zone!" An elderly man with a pair of red eyebrows uttered with an icy tone, his face clearly showing his displeasure. The others were the same, dissatisfaction written all over their faces.

"You must understand, our family barely has the ability to defend ourselves, yet you pile up more responsibility on us. We're going to be short-handed, and when problems arise, our family might even be exterminated!" Another elderly woman exclaimed.　　

"Aunt… I know that, but…" These elderly men and women were all Freya's seniors in the family. Many of them had known her since her youth. Even though her status as a Crystal Phase Magus was higher than theirs, there were still many matters that were not easy to bring up for discussions in the course of the conversation.

"I know. You have developed feelings for that fellow, right?" Another elderly man with a cyst on his face asked sarcastically.

"Uncle Ivanov! So what if I have?" Freya's steely glare was levelled on Ivanov as she drew a deep breath, the tension in the air reaching the choking point.

The cyst on his face trembled and he backed up a few steps, his lips quivering and he remarked, "This is how you want to treat him? That playboy who not only had a fling with his own female senior, but even that slut Miran…"

"Enough!" Freya suddenly yelled, her face turning crimson. The other few elders raised their brows in shock.　　

Controversial relationships were common among Warlocks, especially when they were young. Leylin's licentious lifestyle wasn't that big a deal. But for Ivanov to bring up the subject, it was unsettling.　　

However, in hindsight, what Ivanov said made sense. If Leylin was really interested in Freya, they would have gotten together long ago. Right now, it seemed like a one-sided affair for their chief.

Freya's worried aunt asked hesitantly, "Little Freya, you….."

At this moment, another voice echoed, "Marquis Lucian is here!"

Everyone exchanged glances and immediately quieted down. Family scandals like this were best kept amongst themselves.

"We will take our leave now, will you reconsider…" the female elder shot a loving look at Freya before leaving with the rest.

With their departure, Freya sighed a breath of relief and stepped out to welcome Lucian.

"Hehe… Dreadful, right?" Lucian asked with a smile, two other Magi behind him.

"Just some minor inconveniences!" Freya fluffed her hair. Glancing over Lucian's shoulders, she recognised one of the Magi as Leylin's subordinate, Parker. As for the other female Magus who was wearing a veil, Freya couldn't recognise her. However, the horrifying Crystal Phase energy waves radiating from her body were unmistakably strong. 　　

Such power normally would not be kept under wraps. Even within the Ouroboros Clan, Crystal Phase Magi were few and far between. They could easily form an organisation with the highest authority and take control over everything. 　　

"Allow me to introduce you to Parker, I am sure you already knew him!" Lucian chuckled, allowing Parker to make his salutations. He then turned to point at the other female Magus.　　

"This is 'Shadow', a Crystal Phase Magus Leylin subdued previously. Having a sensitive identity, she cannot reveal her true name. As for their intentions of being here, Parker!" 　

"Honourable Marquis Freya!" Parker bowed respectfully, "My Lord knows you have insufficient manpower, so he instructed Shadow and I together with our men to come forth and heed your orders!"

"That's wonderful!" Freya beamed and her eyes lit up. She secretly heaved a sigh of relief.　　

In the beginning, when she agreed to take over the defence of the West Zone, she was indeed rendered short-handed. But now with the addition of Parker and his men, a big portion of her concern was put to rest.　

Especially… Freya shifted her line of sight towards Tanasha's black veil. She tried to look through the veil, attempting to figure out her appearance.

Leylin had been keeping such a trump card hidden by his side all along? 　　

A rank 3 Crystal Phase Magus was not easy to subdue. If Freya hadn't agreed to defend the West Zone, with the abilities of that female Magus and Leylin's men, they would have no problem defending it themselves. 　　

Perhaps what Freya did was unnecessary… But, since the opposite party sent over their assistants, evidently…　　

Freya's mouth curved into a smile which persisted for a short while before she shook her head and abandoned that train of thought.

The current situation had deteriorated so much that no one knew if the Ouroboros Clan would survive to the next year. She could not let her thoughts shift to such superfluous issues.

After watching Parker and Tanasha leave, Freya turned around, "Marquis Lucian, the intentions of your visit this time was not just to send them to me, right?"　　

"Yes! There are other matters!" Lucian nodded his head.

"I knew there were more!" Freya rolled her eyes, "Spill!"　　

"According to Faisal's suggestion, I am here to ask you to hand over the authority of the tower genie that your family left at the headquarters!" Lucian muttered in a low voice.　　

"I think it is time to do that too!" Freya nodded in agreement and extracted a gold ring tossing it to her. "Take it, I hope their defence measures alongside the Magus Tower can impress me!"

"You will not be disappointed!" With the smooth completion of his mission, Lucian also heaved a sigh of relief. 　　

"What else can I do except comply? Freya forced a smile.　

The number of Magus Towers in the Ouroboros Clan headquarters was not small. From her vantage point, the whole area seemed to be packed with them.

These Magus Towers were built by high ranking Warlocks, and many of the towers were heavily subsidised by the main headquarters.

Of course, the main headquarters had their own agenda. In the core of every tower were inscribed defensive runes that were built to be combined with the rest. During a crisis, they would be able to activate all the Magus Towers to unite their defences.

Lucian's so-called taking over of the authority was just a formality to save Freya's reputation. Once Faisal shed all pretence of cordiality, he could immediately bypass all the locks on the Magus Tower and forcefully activate the Tower's energy to bolster the defence.　　

Leylin knew about this, hence his unwillingness to build his Magus Tower at the main headquarters.

Freya was part of an extensive family and they owned massive businesses. Not only did they possessed Magus Towers in their own territory, they even had some high-grade ones in the main headquarters that were used as experimental laboratories. What Lucian wanted was the authority to those.

"I am glad you understand!" Lucian nodded his head and his expression dulled. "Even at such times, there are some people who are unwilling to hand over control, not contributing to our Ouroboros Clan. They deserve to be damned!"

"Luckily, that is just a small minority!" Freya nodded in agreement, knowing those Warlocks absolutely did not deserve to die. After all, they were already dead.

After chatting for a while longer, Lucian took his leave. Given his hasty departure, Freya assumed there were some important matters for him to attend to.

With the impending great war, all the Warlocks were on their toes without rest. It was even more prominent for the core leaders, those at the Crystal Phase.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Freya looked to another direction, "Even with our forthcoming demise, you are really at ease! If you cannot give me a satisfactory explanation, you will be in trouble…"　　

....　　

Unknown to Freya, after elder Ivanov left, he locked himself in the room and threw a big tantrum.

"That crazy woman! She is completely sick! How could she be so adamant in betraying our family for an outsider's benefit!" Ivanov roared in rage, his voice blocked and absorbed by the sound-proofing on the walls that kept the outside world from knowing what was going on inside.

"And Amasha is such an old muddlehead! How could she treat Freya like a child and give her more time… Damn it! Soon, our family will face imminent destruction!" Ivanov's face flushed red with anger and his cyst bulged.

Hands on his back, he started pacing in circles.

"No way! I refuse to witness the destruction of our family's ancestral legacy at her hands!" After a few rounds, he clenched his teeth and tore the sleeves off his shirt.　

Branded on his arm was an impressive yet odd-looking plant imprint. With the injection of spiritual force, it immediately started glowing.

"*Sha sha...*" After a wave of noise passed, a low, husky male voice emerged from the opposite end, "You have finally contacted us!"　　

Elite Group of Magi

"Yes! I've considered it thoroughly, I cannot sit back and watch my clan die in war!" Ivanov insisted, with an unexpectedly sanctified look on his face.

"Very well! Our targeted enemies are only those evil bloodline warlocks. You guys, who have awakened in time, are still a part of us Magi!" A voice echoed from the imprint.

"There's no doubt about that! I'm honoured!" Ivanov said excitedly.

Immediately, he asked again with worry, "Is this communication channel safe? The headquarters of the Ouroboros Clan has very strict isolation and tapping capabilities!"

"Haha… Rest assured! This has already been encrypted personally! Our conversation will definitely not be leaked out!"

"Alright then, what do you need me to do?" Since he had already decided to betray, Ivanov was pretty much nonchalant.

"Very simple, you only need to…" The voice softened over time, while Ivanov nodded repeatedly.

The dim light slowly extinguished as darkness engulfed the entire place.

…..

It was only a matter of time before the attacks began.

By the time the Warlocks, who had gotten used to the martial law, discovered that the entire city had been surrounded by a patch of carnivorous plants, many of them felt a sort of relief.

Contrary to the previous uneasiness and tension, these visible enemies made them feel more secure. What followed next would be a great war— the winner would survive, and the loser would be doomed for all eternity. It was as simple as that.

Compared to open war, the oppressed feeling of the wait from before was what caused mental breakdowns.

But many Warlocks only felt relieved for a moment. By the time they saw the legion of airships all over the sky pressing in like dark clouds, even Faisal had a slight feeling that it was as if his previous efforts to fight for power had become a joke!

"Alert!" He shouted at the top of his voice, a slight tremble to his tone.

"Magus Tower authorisation complete! Constructing core defence system!" Contrary to him, those Warlocks with specific orders could still carry out their tasks orderly.

*Buzz!* A Magus Tower began to shake, and many runes emerged from the surface of the tower as they shot up into the sky.

All the towers in the city were in the same situation. The many runes, constructed of strings of light, converged at the heart of the city, taking the form of a bright sun.

A water screen surrounding the sun cascaded from all directions with a crystal clear glow on its surface, engulfing the entire city.

"Such a terrifying spell formation, it should be employing at least 50 to 60 elemental reactors and pools!"

In the centre of the enemy camp, a green-haired Magus sneered, "Pity, the other party was too impatient. We were only scaring him, yet he exposed his trump card!"

"Yes!" Another female Magus dressed in red covered her lips and smiled charmingly, "If the Ouroboros Clan's warlocks are all of such quality, victory will definitely be ours!"

"In fact, as long as the other party's three elders do not rush back, there will be no change to this war's result. At most, it will be a matter of time!" the green-haired Magus corrected. As a high-ranking leader of the legion, the intelligence he possessed was far greater than that of ordinary Magi. He even knew about the disappearance of Gilbert and the others.

"Hence, what we need to do now is to try attacking…" The female Magus bit her lips, seeming rather playful.

In front of her, the male Magus appeared very confident, and he announced a little proudly, "There's not even a need to test it. We can have the other organisations to help us with everything!"

"You mean the Arm of Vengeance?" The female Magus nodded, giggling immediately and stretching her body in a relaxed manner, "Since we already have them helping us, should we take this opportunity to do other things…"

Her voice was sweeter than the sweetest honey. The male Magus could not help but be intoxicated by it.

Faintly, two other soft voices echoed over, "Those Magi, are they reliable?"

"Just mere sacrifices. Anyway, when the time comes, they'll be given up. What's there to worry?"

"I'm still a little worried..."

"At worst, I'll hand over command to you. You just have to keep an eye on them for me…" In here, all sorts of conspiracies were gradually staged, yet they were completely hidden due to the many green plant legions.

The things that happened here did not attract any attention from the outside world.

Following the encirclement of the plants and airship armies, dark clouds of war immediately filled the region surrounding the Ouroboros Clan. The approaching storm made many of the Kemoyin Warlocks clasp their hands tightly. Just then, the candidate who was to serve as the main offensive walked down from the airship.

The Magus had a pockmarked face and a prosthetic wooden leg. He walked with a limp, and his face burned with the desire for vengeance. He stared at the city of Warlocks, and if looks could kill his gaze alone would've burnt it down.

"Ouroboros Clan! Kemoyin Warlocks! To think you'd face such a day too!" An ice-cold voice seemed to be forced out from the crevice between his teeth.

"Sir Lober! According to the orders of the alliance, you will command the first wave of attacks!" said a masked figure from beside him as he slightly bowed down. Even with his expression hidden behind the mask, his tone was oozing with contempt.

Robert clenched and relaxed his fists repeatedly several times, but still gritted his teeth and spoke, "I understand! Please inform the sirs that Robert will fulfil his mission!"

"Very good!" The masked man made a swift bow before his body vanished into thin air.

"Mentor! We've finally reached this point!" Another old man, his head full of grey hair, walked down from the airship as well. When he saw the already-surrounded city of warlocks, he could not control himself as tears streamed down his face.

The Magi who descended from the airship were mostly those who had a deep-seated hatred for the Ouroboros Clan.

Due to their vengeful desires, as well as the possible benefits, they did not hesitate to take up the role of the coalition's vanguard. They even embarked on the bloody path of revenge in their own territories, cleaning it up in revenge for all the humiliation and hardships that their ancestors had been through.

And Robert, the chief of the Arm of Vengeance, was the leader elected by the many small groups.

On the other side, many Warlocks were observing the enemy from on top of a great tower. The only difference was, while the other side was quite free and leisurely, even able to pursue the pleasures of life, their situation was much more difficult.

Their expressions, Faisal's included, were dark and filled with fear.

"Azure Mountain City's Azure Rain Knights! And the Demon Magus Army from the Nefas!" Freya's hands gripped the railing as she watched the other two armies who had distinct insignias. Her eyes were full of disbelief.

In the direction she was looking, a formation of knights that were armoured in blue with a bunch of giant feathers on their heads were standing quietly. So were a strange-looking group of Magi who possessed scaly bodies as well as claws and horns.

The mere energy waves unconsciously emitted from their bodies was enough to suffocate a rank 1 Magus. Even the allied army did not dare to stay too close, and kept their distance.

"The Demon Hunter and the Azure Mountain King have shed all pretence of cordiality; they actually sent their elite subordinates out to attack…" Compared to the other forces who were secretive, the Azure Mountain City's and Nefas' forces evidently did not have as many considerations.

This explained the other party's vengeance and hate towards the Ouroboros Clan. It was to the extent that they were already confident that the three elders would not return, so they would give no quarter.

"The Azure Rain Knights are still alright, they are only counterfeits of the ancient Steel Knights, but these demon Magi…"

On the other side, Lucian also frowned, "They are all Magi who have communicated with the demon plane. Their bodies have been altered by demonic power, allowing them to possess a very special power. They even resorted to signing contracts with the demons to awaken all kinds of strange abilities! And only the Demon Hunter can completely subdue them and keep them for his own use. Often, their appearance represents destruction and death…"

"This was all caused by your Mentor," Faisal sneered. "Moreover, even at this point in time, your brother Leylin still hasn't appeared!"

Because Gilbert had forcibly snatched away many portions of the Forgotten Land's resources from Cyril, the relationship between the two was never good. Faisal did not agree with the way Gilbert did things, hence he naturally had to use that as a pretext to make a fuss.

In fact, if he knew that the Azure Mountain King's exasperation was caused by Leylin, he would probably go even crazier.

"What we decided originally, is the Elder Association's decision. Furthermore, the three elders did this together, don't say that you didn't use those bloodline treasures at all!" Freya immediately rebutted.

Seeing her speak up for him, Lucian could not help but direct a kind smile to Freya.

"Ahem…" Upon noticing that the situation was descending into a cold war, another old man whose face had mottled snake scales immediately came over to mediate the dispute.

"Leylin and Schadt both have to deduce Mentor and the others' coordinates. Now is the most crucial moment; it's normal that they're not here. We need to work together to overcome our difficulties right now"

Not only did this aged warlock possess Crystal Phase strength, he was also of a relatively high rank. Even Faisal could only display anger on his face, shutting his mouth after.

By this time, they had also noticed the other party's movements.

Many small Magus organisations swaggered to the city's borders under another Magus' lead. They then began to set up a spell formation.

"Robert?! This bastard! He actually dared to come out!" A feminine Warlock licked the blade of the knife in his hand and said, "I should've given him a few more slashes that time!"

Confrontation

The Crystal Phase Magi who were on site held their breaths for a moment.

In the past, small organisations like the Arm of Vengeance could only be low-profile, as they would be attacked on site. When did they get the guts to begin a fight?

A well-built Warlock suddenly stood up and exclaimed, "I want to go out and kill them all!"

"Don't be rash!" Faisal responded while holding the person back, "With the combined defensive spell formation already activated, attacking them now will only ruin our only chances to turn the odds around! Do not let your emotions cloud your judgement!"

Faisal truly was quite capable. At the very least, he was not a fool and could see through ordinary schemes.

But then again, looking at how the enemy was valiantly showing off in front of him, Faisal must have been filled with anger as well; he was only forcing himself to hold back and not act rashly.

"Once this ordeal is over, I will lead my team out again and have all these rats killed!"

"Guys, look at this!" Freya exclaimed, pouting out the window towards the troops.

"Eh?!"

At this point in time, most of the Warlocks had not realised that the massive spell formation that Robert had cast earlier was gradually activating.

*Rumble!* The earth shook repeatedly, giving rise to landslides that covered up the wetlands with all their sludge and sewage. The phosphorescence in the air rapidly dissipated.

After the phosphorescence disappeared, the large amount of steam that evaporated from the wetlands turned it into a field of mud and soil. The soil became more compact, and eventually gained a rock-like texture.

These tumultuous changes occurred all along the spell formation.

"How dare they touch our base!" many enraged Warlocks started to cry out.

The Ouroboros Clan back then had decided to chose this area precisely due to the unique phosphorescent wetlands. The abundant amount of darkness elemental energy particles and fire elemental particles that were present there matched perfectly with the bloodline of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent.

Not only was the growth of the Warlocks boosted in this place, but it even enhanced the power of their spells.

However, the destruction of large swathes of wetlands meant that the darkness elemental particles and fire elemental particles were gradually diminished, to be replaced by earth elemental particles.

Even though the area affected was only this city, the impact it had on the high-level Warlocks was not small.

"Haha… Robert who was outside laughed out loud unexpectedly.

"Did you think we hadn't planned out our revenge? What a big mistake! Even though we were chased all over the central continent, we never once stopped plotting our vengeance. This time round, we'll uproot the entire Ouroboros Clan!"

"There is no other way!" Looking at how the city gradually turned into a wasteland, and how the concentration of earth elemental particles slowly outweighed the now-meagre amount of darkness and fire elemental particles, Faisal's face turned pale.

"Alchemised puppets, attack! Work with the combined spell formation!" After he gave the orders, his face displayed a moment of shame. He had a sudden realisation that he himself actually initiated the entire defence spell formation, and all of this seemed too rushed.

Especially after giving his last orders, it seemed as though he was slapping himself across the face.

Upon seeing his actions, Freya and the other Warlocks could only sigh under their breaths. Faisal was relieved that they did not condemn him upfront.

"At least there are still some smart people around!" Lucian surreptitiously nodded his head. Knowing that they had reached a point of life and death, it was not the time for resentments and conspiracies.

From their common bloodline, it was already predetermined that these Warlocks would not obtain the mercy of the rest.

*Crack!* The translucent spell formation that once enveloped the city had split open to form a large opening that had a current of steel streaming out from it.

*Clank! Clank!* What appeared in front of Robert's eyes was a giant troop of steel puppets.

All these alchemised puppets were at least three metres tall, with intricate runes covering the bodies. The barb wires and hooks that hung on their bodies stood out reflected chilling lights.

Furthermore, the massive barrels that hung on both sides of the puppets sent chills down Robert's spine.

"Portable spell-casting barrels! The Ouroboros Clan is not only gifted in bloodlines!" A masked boy, who was in the corner observing the whole scene, started to record everything down immediately.

Simultaneously, he asked another observer behind him, "Have you recorded every movement that occurred since the activation of the spell formation?"

The young girl, who only seemed to be seven-or-eight years old and was wearing oversized spectacles and a massive red ribbon, replied formally, "Yes Sir! Everything has been recorded clearly and the energy nodes have all been marked! In the process of calculating the geographical locations of the pressure points and the core!"

"Very good! Continue recording it down! Such micronised cannon spells are still very useful. Remember to inform the rest of our people and I propose that we get this technology in our hands during the distribution of the spoils."

The masked man waved, clearly in high spirits. To him, breaking through the headquarters was only a matter of time.

"Target locked on! Beginning fire!" The steel puppets that walked out from the city had lasers for eyes that marked a luminous red cursor on their targets. Robert and most of the Magi were locked on to. Just then, sounds of machinery could be heard within their bodies.

"Not good! Hurry up and hide—" Robert couldn't finish his sentence before he was disrupted by the glow of a white laser.

*Pew!* The white laser beam swept through the area horizontally, disintegrating anything that stood in its path. Even the ground caved in where it passed.

"No!" "Sir!" urgent and sharp cries were heard.

A number of Magi did not even have a chance to speak before the laser burned them to ashes.

Even a rank 3 Magus like Robert was put in a difficult situation because of the lasers. His clothes had been destroyed, and his wooden leg had vanished into thin air.

"Initiate destruction!" a cold voice rang out once again, and the steel puppets reacted, firing towards the remains.

It took but a moment for chaos to ensue. Light flashed everywhere, and many of the Magi were severely injured.

The massive spell formation that had been operating till now was destroyed immediately, and the earth started to stabilise.

"Tsk! How dare such a small organisation provoke the prestigious Ouroboros clan!" Faisal laughed out.

"The real enemy hasn't even begun attacking, and yet you're satisfied beating these mere distractions," Freya said coldly while rolling her eyes.

It was indeed true that destroying the Arm of Vengeance was a piece of cake for the Ouroboros Clan. A simple slightly-powerful formation would be enough to send them packing, and even the heavens above would not be able to save them.

However, what worried the Magi the most was how these hostile forces could cold-bloodedly watch the members of the Arm of Vengeance die so easily. They did not seem to even consider the possibility of helping the battered and exhausted Robert out, which was why they stopped considering the option of initiating the spell formation.

"Sir! Why did…" Robert, who was seriously injured, shouted with a sore voice when he was finally saved. However, the rest of the members of the Arm of Vengeance were not as lucky as him; most of them fell at the hands of the steel puppets.

"Don't worry. Your sacrifice will not be in vain! Now it's time for us to avenge you," A green-haired magus said coldly, sounding insincere. He had an air of steeliness about him.

Yet, he was sneering secretly, 'It's only a given that we'll reduce your strength and manpower after we're done using it. Did you really expect us to leave you with so many benefits after the war? Dream on!'

Not giving Robert, whose fists were clenched, a chance to say anything else, the green-haired Magus waved his hand, "Plant legion, attack!"

*Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!* Many of the vines started moving and, within a moment's time, a gigantic Man-eating Flower emerged from the mud and started moving towards the steel puppets.

"Targets locked! Beginning the second wave of attack!" In front of the steel puppets stood a gigantic black steel robot which was more than five metres tall. After its laser eyes marked its target, the gun barrels that were hung on either side of its shoulders begin to roar.

*Pew!* When the white lasers swept past the Man-eating Flowers, many of them fell and thick sludge started to permeate from their wounds.

"Even the Azure Rain Knights would find these kinds of lasers hard to endure. Fortunately for my plant legion…" Looking at this scene, the green-haired Magus displayed a teasing smile.

A large amount of spores started to shoot out from one of the Man-eating Flowers. Before these spores even reached the ground, they began to swell up into a giant ball, and within seconds another one emerged from the earth. The two intertwined, forming a gigantic one, at least ten metres tall, that swallowed the huge puppet from earlier.

The earth rumbled as a war of green and black, nature and machine played out. These two incredible forces were fighting head on against each other. The whole surroundings were filled with white rays and green sludge.

Looking at the scene outside, Lucian sighed.

"I'm afraid that they've already found out about our last defence system from their earlier experiments, even keeping their battlefront exactly one kilometer away which exactly reaches our boundary of attack."

Faisal's face turned black. Even though none of them said it out loud, everyone knew that this was his fault for initiating the combined spell formation too hastily.

At this moment, another Crystal Phase Warlock screamed, "Look at this!"

*Gush!* All the Crystal Phase Magi looked up. The sky was enveloped by the giant shadow of a sail that enveloped the place in complete darkness.

"Initiate warzone number 2's all-over attack!"

*Bang! Bang! Bang!* Like shooting stars falling from the skies, bombs were thrown down from the giant ships above, wiping away the mess created by the Man-eating Flowers and puppets.

Under these terrible attacks, the original giant puppets became a pile of scrap iron.

Traitor

With explosions ringing continuously, the Warlocks fell silent as they fixed their gazes on the battlefield, watching the debris from the occasional fights between broken metallic limbs and vines of flowers.

"Their plant legion can obviously regenerate very fast. On the other hand, our steel puppets have complicated structures and use too much of the energy stored in our Magus Towers. This exchange is a huge loss for us…" Lucian smiled bitterly, his voice sounding raucous.

Outside the city, a sea of flowers lay above the ruins, numerous shoots struggling their way out of the earth. The army of carnivorous plants had reformed in a few minutes.

Not only that, the other military forces were closing in along with the Azure Rain Knights and the Demon Magus Army.

"Let's focus on our own areas of defence! Although we have the protection of the Magus Towers, it will still be best if our Crystal Phase Warlocks attend to them." Faisal smiled.

The images disappeared with a few snaps, leaving Faisal and a few others remaining.

Most of the people here were just projections of the other Crystal Phase Magi using the network of the Magus Towers. Due to their advanced technology, the projections were almost the same as themselves.

Faisal's face turned dark, his thoughts indiscernible.

In the meantime, a wisp of dark smoke sprouted from the corner, forming a dark shadow, "My lord! Will you consider what I said before?"

Faisal frowned at his appearance, but he then calmed down. The people here were all his men, and he wasn't afraid that they'd leak his secrets.

"What are you doing here?"

"Hehe! The Ouroboros Clan is about to vanish! There might be traitors among the people you met just now, my lord. Think about your future, and the future of your family!"

The shadow said slowly and with a confidence derived from the chasm between their absolute strengths.

Faisal's men grew angry, and even his own face showed some hesitation before he waved his hands.

"I… I need to reconsider this!"

"I hope you reply soon. Our offer only exists up to the city's fall!" The envoy said patiently, then disappeared like a ghost.

"Ah…" Faisal sighed after he was gone. Something crossed his mind, and his eyes glowed with a strange light.

...

West Zone. Freya smiled bitterly while looking at the approaching enemies, "Such bad luck. I have to meet these Demon Magi…"

The opponents in her area were the elites of Nefas— the Demon Magus Army!

All members of the Demon Magus Army were at least rank 2 Magi. And since they'd made deals with unknown demons, most of them had mysterious abilities or powerful skills.

What's more, the Magi from Nefas were wanted men with bad reputations. They were tough and bloody, even more crazed than the uber-emotional Warlocks!

No wonder Freya was unhappy.

"Hehe! I didn't expect such a beautiful woman to be my opponent!"

Below the wall, the head of the Demon Magus Army touched his chin with his left hand. A pair of horns were on his head, and his right hand was tied up in iron chains.

The Demon Magi around him maintained a distance out of fear and admiration. Many glanced at his right hand, their eyes full of dread. It was as if some horrible demons existed under the cover of those iron chains.

This leader paid no attention to the fear of his men, and instead waved his hands, "Attack!"

Many Magi roared at the sound of the command and their bodies began to undergo massive transformations. Some even grew blacks wings as they charged towards the city walls.

"Get ready!" Freya ordered with an emotionless expression. Many of the Warlocks couldn't help but get wound up.

The next moment, the attacks from those Demon Magi reached the defensive light membrane.

"The energy of the defensive matrix can't be consumed like this. We must attack!" Freya grit her teeth. A layer of black scales covered her body, and her pupils turned amber.

*Swish!* Her body disappeared from on the wall, and when she appeared again she'd already grabbed a Demon Magus and torn him apart. Blood rained down, interspersed with flesh, organs, and bones.

"Petrifying Gaze!" Every Magus below rank 3 she stared at turned into a stone statue. Even Magi at rank 3 would lose their minds for a moment, during which they couldn't fight back.

"Kill them!" Seeing their chief fighting outside, the snake bloodline Warlocks rushed out with red eyes, fighting the Demon Magi.

Relying on the defensive matrix of their spell formation, they didn't have to care too much about their own safety. Thus, they acquired many victories, and a lot of Demon Magi fell.

"I'm your opponent!"

Freya's attack crashed into a giant hand bound by iron chains as the chief of the Demon Magus Army appeared in front of her.

"Warlocks with the dirty bloodline of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent have no right to live in this world!" he said with an indifferent face as a weird energy sprouted out of his right hand.

"Dirty worms that make deals with demons! You have no right to say anything!" Freya frowned. Her opponent's aura made her feel discomfort, even fear. But since he was an enemy, there was no need for her to hold back.

"Throughout history, branches like the Branded Swordsmen, Elemental Bards, and Steel Knights have continually disappeared. You bloodline Warlocks are meant to join them!" The head of the Demon Magi roared, turning into a streak of black as he crashed into Freya.

Scenes like this occurred all over the defensive perimeter of the Ouroboros Clan.

Magic shone in all sorts of colours, flooding the whole city.

However, under the joint defence of the Magus Towers, these attacks just left small marks on the translucent membrane which soon disappeared.

"It seems like the Magus Towers in the Ouroboros Clan's headquarters have stored plentiful amounts of energy!" Seeing this, the green-haired Magus frowned.

"So what? Inform your guys, they can start their plans now!" A female Magus with red hair sashayed in, rolling her eyes at him.

"Okay!" The Magus nodded, "And that thing, let it out now!"

"You want to use 'that' now?" The female Magus with red hair covered her mouth in shock.

"We have to. I promised those lords that we could deal with the headquarters of the Ouroboros Clan within 3 days!" The Magus with green hair smiled, saying something to his envoy.

Something sinister flashed across her eyes as she watched the movements of the Male magus, and she followed him…

....

"My lord!" Even though there was fighting outside, some important places were still under heavy guard.

And currently, two elites of the Blood Serpent Family were saluting to Ivanov.

"Good!" Ivanov nodded. But suddenly, his eyes suddenly started glittering.

*Schlick! Schlick!* Two black daggers shot out of his sleeves like lightning, disappearing into the guards' chests.

Their Kemoyin Scales were pierced through by the daggers in an instant, as if they were nothing more than a sheet of paper. The light in their eyes dimmed, before they crumbled to the ground.

"Hmph! You idiots. Even if they're innate defensive spells, there are methods to pierce through them. How can you two defend against an elite of the family like me?" Ivanov sneered, and pushed open the wooden door they were guarding.

Behind the wooden door was a small sealed room, magic tools and spell formations lying everywhere. It was enriched with energy, and obviously working at full capacity.

"This seems to be one of the key points. As long as I ruined this, the defence of the city should be weakened by at least 20%!" Ivanov smiled proudly, and gave the formation genie an order, "Deactivate both the defence and alert mode!"

"Please input the code!" A robotic voice sounded from it.

"Long live the bloodline!" Since he was one of the elders in the family, he naturally knew the code. At this moment, he thought about Freya.

"Fools like you can die, because as long as I'm alive, our bloodline will be preserved…"

However, Ivanov's expression changed at the next words of the formation genie.

"Wrong code! Intruder alert! Beginning annihilation!"

"What? What?" Ivanov murmured. At this moment, the image of a well-behaved and sometimes rebellious girl popped into his mind.

"You're saying she was acting all along?"

But there was no time left for him to think. Blood-red lightning in the form of snakes appeared out of thin air, drowning him within.

Blood red light flashed, and Ivanov was slowly melted within.

After the lightning faded, the space in the room distorted to reveal a red figure.

"Traitor verified. Blood Serpent Family, Ivanov!" The voice sounded cold and chilling.

Duo Serpent Annihilator

"Have you decided, my Lord?" The black shadow couldn't help but feel delighted in front of Faisal.

The satisfaction in being able to threaten the leader of the Ouroboros Clan, one of the largest clans on the continent, was something that could not be described with mere words. It was only furthered by the conflicted expression on the other party.

The rewards if he succeeded at this were so great he wouldn't even dare to think of them before.

"Reporting in, my Lord!"

At this timing, a high-ranking Magus pushed opened the door. Ignoring the shadow's existence, he began his report, "The operation was a success! We've captured seven traitors and killed twelve. The energy of the combined spell formation has been conserved, and we've only lost a mere 2.75%…"

"What is this supposed to mean?" the envoy questioned, his voice growing deeper and gloomier.

"What is this supposed to mean? It's exactly what you think it is!" Faisal suddenly gave an empty smile as his body instantly appeared before the shadow, grabbing his neck and lifting him up.

"If you do this, the Lords outside will definitely not let you off!" Surprisingly, even at this moment, the shadow was calm.

"I'll be waiting," Faisal nodded his head as he said seriously, "If you think that I'm unable to deal with you just because you're a spirit projection, you're wrong. You're very, very wrong."

The moment he finished speaking, there was a visible change in the expression on the blurred face of the black shadow and he couldn't help but give a cold smile, "It's a pity, but it's too late!"

*Boom!* Huge amounts of blue electricity rushed towards the shadow, blowing him to pieces.

Faisal sighed. "With such a huge stream of disordered data rushing in, even the main body would have its sea of consciousness suffer irreversible damage!" he said in an unhurried manner.

"My Lord, this is brilliant!" The Magus that had just entered immediately bowed.

"This is nothing, it's just a little scheme, and it definitely won't affect the general situation," Faisal said. He then exclaimed, "The Ouroboros Clan is my family and the pillar of support for all Warlocks of our Giant Kemoyin Serpent bloodline. I want to be in control of it, not let it be destroyed…"

...

*Thump!*

The green-haired Magus who was standing outside the city fumed upon listening to the grievous news as he witnessed the death of one of his envoys.

"Release the Kyasha Beast immediately!"

"But, my Lord…" Just as he was about to continue, the attendant at the green-haired Magus' side was interrupted, "I know I have limited authority. I'll explain things to the other Lords later, but for now, I want those ignorant Warlocks to pay with their deaths!"

"Coo coo…" After the order of the release of the warbeast, the brave and blood-soaked Magi standing on the frontline heard a bizarre roar.

The roar resembled the beating of a broken drum, and carried a heavy pant with it. It created a sense of oppression that made one feel like they were suffocating the moment it fell on their ears.

*Thump!*

*Thump!*

The ground started to shake. How scary was it for only one creature to cause the entire city to shake with its mere footsteps?

Faisal couldn't help but feel uncomfortable in that moment, as he quickly ascended to the highest vantage point.

From there, he saw an incomparably large creature, a four-legged beast with a horn on its head. The creature was so huge and tall that in order to avoid it, the enormous airships in the sky could only wave their flags and ascend further into the sky, opening a pathway for it to walk through.

The earth rumbled under this creature's arrival, its enormous aura even causing Faisal's breathing to stop momentarily.

When it finally stopped right outside the Ouroboros Clan headquarters, Faisal thought he was seeing a mountain range instead.

The Kyasha Beasts roared in anger. A terrifying and violent wave of energy swept across the battlefield, causing everyone to lose their balance.

"Morning Star! It is a Morning Star realm creature!" Faisal's expression blanked out as he clenched his fists tightly. "I'm afraid the cleansing operation this time provoked the enemy so badly that he's using the deadly weapons that were used in the last big war. ."

On the other hand, the enemy who'd lifted the restriction on the warbeast didn't feel too good about it either.

"My Lord, is it okay to lift the restrictions now? After all, we haven't performed final adjustments on it… Besides, a lot of our soldiers will be injured by it as collateral damage…" One of the Magi smiled bitterly as he looked at the giant Kyasha Beast with a heavy heart.

This giant beast was absolutely not a natural creature. It was a precious experiment created by a Morning Star Magus.

When the creature was not in use, it would be sealed in ice. The Morning Star Magus that created it even warned that if they didn't provide enough food for the beast to eat, even a large troop of Magi would be eaten alive by it.

Naturally, despite such shortcomings, a Morning Star realm creature had its own worth. This was a beast that had a physique at the Morning Star realm. Together with its enormous body and terrifying defence system which included the ability to heal itself, the idea of battling such a creature was a joke.

Moreover, because its intelligence was sealed, even a rank 3 Magus could, albeit barely, control it. This resulted in a great increase in its worth.

After feeling embarrassed and insulted by the other party, the green-haired Magus immediately lifted the restriction on the warbeast.

The green-haired Magus, their leader, clapped his hands. "Don't worry! The other Lords have given me the authority to lift the restrictions whenever I want to."

"After all, this is the last experiment. The warbeast summoned by the other party has to be at a Morning Star level to be able to defeat this creature. Since we've already made the first move, it's up to the Ouroboros Clan to retaliate with their last resort."

The warbeast's roars shook the earth as it moved closer to the defensive membrane on its long legs. A large number of Warlocks were eagerly showering it with any spells that they could throw.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

Blizzards, lightning, flames, and acids were all aimed at the Kyasha Beast. Yet, they were unable to so much as slow the rate of its advance.

While a rank 3 spell occasionally broke through its defences, it was not enough to cause any significant damage in comparison to its enormous body. This left the Warlocks disappointed.

By the time it reached the defensive barrier, the wounds on its body had been healing so quickly that it appeared to never have been wounded at all.

The thought that this creature was invincible caused dismay among the Magi. Adding to the fact that it seemed impossible to wound the creature and they could only wait for their deaths, the Warlocks were extremely discouraged as they felt like the world was coming to an end.

The enemy's passion for battle increased greatly with the boost in morale brought by the warbeast. This further decreased the chance of the Ouroboros Clan winning the battle. The enemies depended on the strength and ability of the warbeast, it was able to kill all Warlocks standing in its way.

"This won't do. If this continues we might not even win against the enemy even if we use up all the energy within the Magus Towers…"

Faisal's expression became gloomier as he snarled into his own secret imprint, "Activating Kemoyin Gargoyles, I need all of you to authorise me to activate it!"

"Agreed!" "Agreed!" "Agreed!" Immediately, Lucian and the rest could be heard as they brought out the runes specially designed for them.

"Two-thirds of the council has agreed, Kemoyin Gargoyles activated," a robotic voice announced.

Following that, a large and powerful energy wave swept across the battlefield.

The numerous Magi and Warlocks were stunned. The large Kemoyin Gargoyles that were always standing in front of headquarters as if mere decorations opened their eyes, a ferocious glint revealing the huge amber gemstones within. Beams of light were emitted from those eyes, heating up everything in their line of sight.

The stone 'skin' on their bodies snapped off as if a huge jacket was being taken off. The statues grew rapidly, and within the blink of an eye had reached half the size of the warbeast.

"Hiss…." The Giant Kemoyin Serpents hissed as energy waves at the peak of rank 3 erupted from them.

"These two gargoyles that are peak rank 3 together have power equivalent to that of a Morning Star. Yet, this is not enough," Faisal fumed, "Combine!"

*Buzz!* On top of the headquarters, the main defensive spell formation shook as it released a wave of energy, drowning the two heads of the giant snakes.

The two giant snakes hissed as they tangled with each other. A large layer of black light wrapped around their bodies, and when the creatures rose up as one, the body had reached the same standard as the warbeast.

*Rumble!* The Kyasha Beast was no longer relaxed, and its eyes showed caution as it stared at the enemy that was just as strong as it.

The huge two-headed snake in front hissed, and both heads spit out their scarlet tongues even as their amber eyes emitted rays of light.

"It's just like the rumours say. The "Duo Serpent Annihilator" is a capable puppet that has the power of a Morning Star. Indeed, this is the last resort of the Ouroboros Clan." Freya looked at the double-headed black snake from afar as she showed a complex expression.

This ultimate move was actually used on the first day of the battle. Did this mean that the reign of the Ouroboros Clan would end? Just like this?

Freya and the other high ranking Warlocks suddenly had an ominous premonition.

Despite facing an enemy that was far larger than itself, the Duo Serpent Annihilator took the initiative as it whipped its large tail at the Kyasha Beast.

*Thud!* The large warbeast that looked like a mountain range was actually swept off the ground by the snake's tail.

*Rumble!* It was almost as if meteors were falling from the sky. The moment the huge body of the beast came into contact with the ground, it formed a depression and created a magnitude 8.0 earthquake.

The allied armies that were unable to run fast enough were eventually squashed under the huge body of the Kyasha Beast, resulting in chaos.

*Rumble* The warbeast that was stuck inside the hole roared, and a large amount of glittering light gathered on its horn.

*Hiss!* The Duo Serpent Annihilator fearlessly fought the warbeast as it wrapped its long body all over it, layer after layer.

Timely Appearance

A wild blaze surged up as corrosive artillery shells created a blanket of lightning across the sky.

The glows of numerous attacking spells revolved around the Ouroboros Clan headquarters, unfolding in layers continuously at the Phosphorescence Swamp.　

In order to protect their organization and their homeland, the formidable Warlocks went all out against their equally-powerful opponents. The earth was stained with blood and bones.

Outside headquarters, two behemoths roared ferociously in their entanglement. Every strike sent tremors through the land, as if forming an unending earthquake. This sort of remarkable battle was uncommon even in the central continent, and deserved to be recorded as a legendary one.

The intense confrontation had lasted a full day, yet not the creatures, nor the Magi nor the Warlocks showed traces of backing down. The Magi could bear the intensity of the battle, and the two giant creatures could do it even more easily.

On the other hand, Faisal wore a displeased look from within the command room.

"The East Zone is 37% damaged, the city walls 55%. The energy consumed by the Duo Serpent Annihilator is too large, 67% of our combined storage is already depleted. We can't keep going much longer…"

How could there not be a price be paid for them to maintain a Morning Star realm combat strength?

The Kyasha Beast depended on a frightening amount of food as sustenance. On the other hand, the Warlocks of the Ouroboros Clan could only use the stored energy from the multiple Magus Towers to power the Duo Serpent Annihilator.

Faisal understood that a puppet would always remain a puppet. Once the energy supply was terminated, the Duo Serpent Annihilator would revert back to its original form.　　

The remaining energy was insufficient for them to continue holding the fort.

If this went on, with the exhaustion of their trump card, the Ouroboros Clan looked to be set for extermination… 　　

"Mentor! Please come back as soon as you can!" It didn't matter what Faisal thought previously. His pleas now were extremely sincere.

"For the Family! For the bloodline! For the glory of our Warlocks!"

At the battlefield at the West Zone, Freya was covered in blood from head to toe, multiple cuts all across her body. Yet, she fought on through sheer force of will and obstinance, directly blocking the Demon Magus ahead of her.

"Admit your defeat! You no longer have the protection of your Morning Star Magi, you are destined to fall…"

The Demon Magus chief' was out of breath, as he spoke sentimentally, "There are few Magi who can sustain battle with me for over 30 hours…"　　

"…" Looking around at the messy battlefield filled with corpses of bloodline Warlocks, Freya shut her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, they glowed with ferocity.

"I vow not to yield! The glory of the bloodline Warlocks cannot perish in my hands!" 　　

"What a foolish decision!" the chief chided, "If it is so, I will not show any mercy!"　　

As if a seal had been unlocked, the iron chain on his right hand cracked apart, snapping off and dropping down in segments. Dark black flames rose continuously from the arm, and Freya's previous sense of danger had increased tenfold.

"This Demon's Arm is a precious treasure that I acquired after braving countless dangers…"

A terrifying arm, completely coated with scales and tipped with sharp claws, was revealed as the chain broke. Compared to the transformation of the other members of the Demon Magus Army, the horror that this arm exuded was far more terrifying. This could be considered a true Demon's Arm!

"The Crystal Phase Magi that have fallen to this arm number seven. Today, you shall be the eighth!" The chief roared, swinging his arm towards the front. A frightening black blaze erupted, barricading the whole area like a cage.

With the allied army winning, a loud humph sounded, audible to the entire region. A Magus appeared in the middle of the battlefield.

With eyes of silver and brows as sharp as swords and a Magus robe, decorated with the images of tortured demons, draped over his body.

Although he just stood silently in empty space, his presence generated a strong domain that had the whole Ouroboros Clan headquarters engulfed.

In but a moment, the chaos of the battlefield had died down, giving birth to a deathly silence.

Even the Kyasha Beast and Duo Serpent Annihilator had stopped in the middle of their intense battle. They felt a huge, imminent threat from this tiny human body.

"It's Demon Hunter Cyril! Why did he show himself in advance?" the red-haired female Magus asked in disbelief.

"Cyril, it's said that you're a person who doesn't bother with reputation!" the green haired Magus looked unimpressed, "Seeing the positive circumstances on our side, you must have rushed here to forcibly take credit for it!"　　

"He's an exalted Morning Star Magus, why would he snatch anything from you?" The female Magus covered her mouth and sniggered.　　

"Hehe… Cyril's reputation amongst Morning Star Magi… You will find out soon enough…" the male Magus smiled bitterly. In the world of Morning Star Magi, everyone knew that Demon Hunter Cyril lacked all form of chivalry. He was overbearing and shameless, seizing the resources and treasures of lower-ranked Magi.

"Are you not going to act anymore?"

"Me? How can I interfere?" The male Magus spread out his hand and gestured, "Everyone clearly has made some deals with the Demon Hunter. In front of a Morning Star Magus, I am but a slightly bigger ant, no more than that…" 　　

Thereafter, he laughed at himself and continued, "No matter what, with the addition of the Demon Hunter, this battle will end soon."

...

On the battlefield, the Warlocks who had yet to reach the Hydro Phase were confined by the enormous pressure, and even moving seemed to be difficult.

Even rank 3 Crystal Phase nobles were helpless as they realised that their ability to gather elemental particles had been halved. Even activating their spiritual force proved to be extremely difficult.

Under the effect of the domain of a Morning Star Magus, all lower-ranked Magi were like ants.

"It's over! It's all over!" Faisal slid to the ground, witnessing the ruthless massacre of the Warlocks. His expression turned deathly pale as he felt the life draining out from him.　　

With the support of the domain of the Demon Hunter, the allied military immediately stomped out many regions of defence, even as the last bit of the defensive barrier was destroyed.

At the centre of it all, Cyril sneered in mid-air. A projection of huge sharp claws appeared and it reached out and attacked the source of energy at the city center. 　　

*Po!* A colourful barrier appeared, blocking the sharp claws. Then, both the barrier and the claw in an instant before turning into ashes, disappearing into the emptiness.

"A rather good item! Pity that it could only block one attack at the Morning Star realm!" Cyril laughed heartily, his body's radiance growing brighter. Horrifying amounts of elemental particles coagulated once again, as if a tsunami had crashed into the bright barrier.

The membrane cracked, and the energy source was extinguished!　　

The huge defensive spell formation supporting the whole city had been under the attack of the army for an entire day. The combined Magus Towers, as well as the various spell formations, collapsed loudly.

Like a screen of water being dispersed, the membrane disappeared, and the entirety of the Ouroboros Clan headquarters grew visible to the enemy.

"No!" Two rolls of tears streaked down Lucian's face as he cried out. An enormous carnivorous flower that was almost ten meters high devoured him completely.

Even though he'd suppressed the other party with all his might, after being weakened by the Morning Star domain he could only await his death.

"Is this it?" Freya's jaws were clenched hard. She knew she wasn't a match for her opponent. Under the attacks of the Demon's Arm, she now cut an extremely sorry figure, collapsing on the ground after sustaining heavy injuries from the domain.

Seeing the sharp claw advancing towards her and the cold, ruthless eyes of the Demon Magus who owned it, Freya was dazzled.

In the blink of an eye, time seemed to slow to a crawl. Her life flashed in front of her eyes as if she was reading a picture book, flipping page to page.

In the end, her thoughts drifted to a young, black-robed Warlock. He smiled warmly at her, the passion in his eyes enough to sent the hearts of all female Warlocks fluttering. They would be attracted to him like a moth to the flame… Regardless of the danger of the blaze… Regardless, that attraction would end up fatal…

"Goodbye… Leylin…" A single sparkling tear slipped out of the corner of her eyes.

　　 ....

The sharp, scaly claw with its dark flames and terrifying energy brought with an intensely violent wind as it aimed at her body.

The Demon Magus across her was very confident in his abilities. He could handle a Crystal Phase Magus that was armed to the teeth easily, forget a Warlock who was seriously injured and suppressed.

He was even imagining the death of this female Warlock in front of him, the blood and internal organs spilling everywhere.

However, nothing was set in stone.

Suddenly, The chief felt like his hand had been trapped in an iron hoop, rendering him unable to take another step forward.　　

He looked up and was stunned. A Warlock wearing a black Magus robe stood in front of him. He had long black hair, an extremely handsome face and had traces of a demonic charm on him that could attract the attentions of all female Warlocks　　

He seemed to have appeared in a flash. His right hand gripped the Demon's Arm, and the other radiated a black serpent-shaped airflow which held Freya in place.

Freya's shut eyes popped open, and she saw Leylin. Unable to contain herself, she blurted out, "Ley… Sir Leylin! Am I dreaming?"

"No. You're not dreaming. You've exhausted yourself. Take a rest while I handle everything else!" Leylin's bright smile was soothing and it put Freya's heart to rest. Drowsy, she fell asleep.

"Who are you?" The chief was shocked beyond words. For someone to be able to remain calm under the Morning Star domain and even cause the chief himself to be helpless, this person must not be easy to deal with.　　

Besides, he couldn't even see through the opposing party's energy. The feeling was as if…　

The Demon Magus shook his head, forcing his mind to abandon such thoughts as he didn't want to frighten himself. He was afraid he might lose all confidence, kneeling and asking for mercy if his train of thoughts was to develop further.

Bloodline Ignition

*Boom!* Dark black flames exploded forth from the Demon's Arm along with sharp knife-like blades. It was obvious that the Demon Magus chief had definitely used everything he had up his sleeves for this attack.

Unfortunately, be it the flames or the blades, they couldn't even leave a scratch on Leylin's pure white palms. The flame was even extinguished moments after it burst forth.

"Morning… Morning…" This chief's teeth began chattering. He had a feeling that things were progressing in a bad way. Who knew, the entire alliance army's plan could have been hindered.

"Master! Save me!" At the edge of life and death, he immediately cried for his master's help.

"Looking for him? Too late!" Leylin shook his head, and a black blade of light swept across him.

This frightening magus, who was in the Crystal Phase and had an unfathomable strength with the addition of his Demon's Arm, was sliced into two just like that.

Be it innate defence or magic equipment, they were all like air in front of the black light blade, posing no resistance at all.

Even at the moment of death, the other party's face showed bafflement.

"Um?" Seeing his best subordinate killed, Cyril naturally had a reaction. By the time he understood the situation, an even more horrified expression emerged on his face. "Leylin!"

"It's me!" Leylin handed Freya over to his subordinates' care, and floated up to mid-air. His gaze fixed onto Cyril, showing not a trace of weakness.

*Boom!* As if an ancient beast had awakened, a mysterious yet powerful force field began to emanate from Leylin, rapidly offsetting Cyril's Morning Star domain.

To their relief, all the Warlocks of the Ouroboros Clan felt like a load was being lifted off their backs, immediately restoring their previously sluggish spiritual force to full capacity.

"You have already advanced to the Morning Star realm!" Cyril managed to squeeze out from the crevices between his clenched teeth.

"Of course!" Leylin laughed brilliantly.

With just those two words of his, everyone on scene was amazed.

...

A while ago.

"I've left Parker and Tanasha at Freya's side. There's no need for me to worry!" Leylin, wearing a loose black robe, activated the last spell formation. A mechanical door dropped down, along with the activation of multiple layers of seals.

Vibrant runes wandered close to one another across the surface of the iron door. Leylin had used every bit of knowledge he had about defensive spell formations in this, and together with the A.I. Chip's deductive capabilities, even a Morning Star Magus would take a while to force his way in.

The walls of the secret chamber were littered with aura isolation runes. This room could be said to be one of the best-hidden places on the continent right now.

There was no choice about it. This matter concerned his advancement to the Morning Star realm, and Leylin wouldn't dare to be sloppy.

This was not his manor at the headquarters, but a cellar where he kept his secret purchases. The entire process was controlled by him alone, and to an observer, it would seem completely unrelated to Leylin.

In his own manor, he had set up the same defensive spell formation, displaying the facade that he was still there.

At such a critical junctures, Leylin was extremely vigilant. He even found it hard to trust some of his subordinates.

"As long as we make it through this, everything will be fine and all the future holds for us is boundless open vistas…" Leylin sighed softly. As if he released all of his emotions, his eyes became clear and he calmed down.

He sat on the ground, and some items emerged in his hands.

A milky-white fingerbone with a few narrow cracks on it, a tube of golden blood emitting terrifying energy waves, as well as a messy pile of spiritual force crystals. These crystals were mostly from his spoils, while a portion of it came from Freya's gifts and his own collection.

"The road to the Morning Star is vast and long. Many Crystal Phase Magi do not even have the chance to come into contact with this bottleneck…" Leylin held a solemn expression.

He had only advanced to the Crystal Phase not long ago, and he was already thinking of breaking through to Morning Star. If it was an ordinary Magus, it would be nothing but a dream!

But he was different. He had a lot of cards in his hand and abundant knowledge, so much so that even some Morning Star Magi could only wish for it.

Even with just the Lamia fingerbone, Warlocks who had been stuck for years would gain the possibility of breaking through.

"A.I. Chip, report my current condition!"

[Leylin Farlier, rank 3 Warlock (Crystal Phase) Bloodline: Giant Kemoyin Serpent Strength: 40 Agility: 35 Vitality: 55, Spiritual Force: 356.5, Magic Power: 356 (magic power in synchronisation with spiritual force)]

The A.I. Chip replied loyally.

After advancing to the Crystal Phase, his own spiritual force had increased only slightly. It was instead his strength and vitality that had gotten a growth spurt under the effect of the techniques of the Multi-Armed Race.

"Rank 3 spiritual force varies from 200 to 400. The first threshold for advancing to the Morning Star realm is for it to reach a critical value, filling up your entire sea of consciousness…"

Because the A.I. Chip had already deduced more than half the information about the Morning Star realm, Leylin currently had no doubts as to his path.

In fact, this was why he had to wait for the A.I. Chip's deduction progress to reach such a point before he could advance. Many times, the crucial reason for failure in advancing was exactly a lack of knowledge about the path to Morning Star, as well as the handling of the many real-life problems during the promotion.

The A.I. Chip's deductions on the Morning Star realm happened to make up for this, clearing any remaining confusions that Leylin had. To a certain extent, he also needed to thank the Azure Mountain King for this. If he had not anxiously sent a clone, the A.I. Chip probably would not have been able to progress in the Morning Star deduction to over 50%.

"My spiritual force now can only be said to have just reached the Crystal Phase. It's still far from the critical value. I'll need the help of bloodline ignition." Leylin picked up the test tube which was filled with golden blood.

This was the bloodline of the ancient red dragon, obtained from the Kobold Warlocks of the Forgotten Land. Although it was extremely pure, because Leylin's own bloodline had long before been fixed, there was no chance to use it. That opportunity would only arise after he completely analysed the ancient Quicksand Organisation's bloodline experiment results.

The bloodline ignition experiment, as its name implies, was conducted by burning various kinds of bloodlines to strengthen one's own power.

Its requirements towards the bloodline was very strict. One had to be a Warlock in order to conduct it, and the grade of the bloodline that was to be burnt could not be too low. If not, the entire experiment would not succeed and could even backfire. The bloodline of the ancient red dragon fulfilled this requirement perfectly.

As for the supplementary resource for the experiment, it was a Crystal Phase Magus' spiritual force crystals! Only the spiritual force fire produced by such crystals could completely burn the ancient bloodline, and convert it into energy that would serve as the driving force for the Warlock's advancement.

A complicated, detailed spell formation was already drawn on the surface of the ground. Leylin inlaid the many spiritual force crystals one by one in an orderly manner, filling up the spell formation quickly.

The spiritual force crystal of a Crystal Phase Magus was a top-grade resource in many social circles. It could even be used as a currency on its own and was of high worth.

But now, a large amount of spiritual force crystals were laid on the ground as if they were worthless, radiating a pure, sparkling light.

The marks of the original owners of these crystals had naturally been erased by Leylin.

"The ancient red dragon bloodline is preceded only by that of the Sun's child. It's an extremely powerful bloodline that can at least reach rank 5! Frankly speaking, if not for the fact that my bloodline cannot be changed once absorbed, I'm afraid I too would not be able to resist the temptation, and would convert into a dragon bloodline Warlock..."

Leylin sighed, taking off his Magus robe. He then smeared the golden blood all over his body, without missing a spot.

The golden blood felt viscous to the touch, and smelt like orchids. It was cool to the touch at first, but soon became boiling hot.

At the same time, a translucent flame rose from the spell formation below Leylin's body.

Streaks of crystal-clear light were pulled out of the many spiritual force crystals like threads. They then converged at a point, forming a translucent flame comprised of spiritual force!

Although this flame was not really hot, once it came in contact with the essence of the ancient red dragon's golden bloodline, it sparked a violent reaction.

"Ow!" Leylin groaned. His body grew rigid in a moment, and under the burning of the spiritual force flame, he could feel the strange transformation in the ancient red dragon bloodline. It even turned into a blood-red energy, passing through his pores and making it all the way into his bone marrow.

For an ordinary person, such pain was almost unbearable, but Leylin was just more focused on the A.I. Chip's monitored information:

[Beep! Large amounts of bloodline essence has been absorbed by host body! Identified as the ancient red dragon's blood, beginning bloodline ignition experiment!] [The curve of the spiritual force's fire is stabilised, converting the ancient red dragon bloodline into energy…] [Beep! Bloodline energy absorbed by host body, spiritual force increasing!] The repeated prompts caused an expression of delight to surface on Leylin's face suddenly.

He noticed the initial value of 356 for his spiritual force spiking suddenly, and at the same time, a large amount of blood-red energy was injected into his sea of consciousness, expanding its boundaries continuously. Black spiritual force crystals, faintly hued red, condensed in large quantities.

Even if his spiritual force was spiking suddenly, with the amplification of Multilimb Strength, Leylin managed to hang on without losing his consciousness. This gave him an opportunity to deepen his understanding of his own body.

His spiritual force rocketed up continuously, exceeding 370, then 380. It reached 385 before it began to slow down.

Shortly after, the value shot past 390, making its sprint towards 400, the limit of the Crystal Phase.

395, 396, 397!

At this value, it began to slow, with the swift change relegated to decimal places.

*Pop!* At this moment, all of the numerous spiritual force crystals were sucked dry, and the spiritual force flame swelled! With the support of this power, Leylin's spiritual force began to rise again, all the way to 399 before it came to a stop!