894 - 902

Ambush

The roars and howling of beasts filled the vicinity, putting everyone on edge.

Lanshire laughed hysterically, "Hah! All of you will die with me! You can never beat those werecreatures! Every one of you will be torn apart and then swallowed; your souls will be caged in the depths of hell!"

After spitting out her malicious curse, Lanshire's face flushed and fresh blood spurted out from her mouth. Her aura completely disappeared as she died.

"Ignore her! Listen to me, engage defensive formation." Seeing that Aulen wasn't in a good condition, Leylin took over command.

It was only now that he found out what exactly had happened directly from Ogg, and began to organise the troops. In reality, everything that happened tonight was within Leylin's plan. Firstly, he found Aulen and told her that they may have a spy within their ranks to win her support, which allowed him to plant the trap.

And to make things easy for the possible attack, the brothers, Ogg and Otto were sent out to be on standby.

"There were high-ranked werecreatures, so many of them, I– I can't be sure of the exact number, but my brother tried to protect me- He tried to protect me and-" Ogg's eyes swelled red with tears and his facial muscles began to twitch.

"Heal!" A spell flew forth from Jinx's hands, and swiftly cured most of Ogg's severe wounds.

"I'm gonna kill those damned beast bastards!" He stood up and grabbed his enormous claw hammer without waiting for his wounds to recover completely.

"Were you the only one who managed to escape in the close combat team? It looks like I underestimated our enemies this time round." Leylin looked slightly ashamed, but a light flashed deep within in his eyes.

Whether it was done intentionally or not, the capture and exposure of Lanshire's identity as a spy and her death had dealt a huge blow to Aulen. Moreover, the troops led by Ogg and Otto were now left with casualties, and Otto had even died; Silverymoon City would have to compensate Otto's family for that later on. Jinx was a priest and under heavy restriction, while Rafiniya was a new member and did not have enough experience.

The event seemed to have cleared quite a number of obstacles for him, but Leylin would never admit to that. He would probably say that it was a coincidence!

By then, the werecreatures were already directly outside the campsite, their mountainous shadows and the screams of the guards causing horror to tinge the atmosphere.

"Everyone stay close, we're in trouble." An Eternal Flame spell lit up Leylin's palm, and he managed to repel a large amount of the fog. As the soldiers gathered together, he managed to see the werecreatures more clearly.

This was a humongous group with at least 200 of the monsters among them, six of which had exceptionally strong physiques and savage auras.

"High-ranked werecreatures, and there's 6 of them!" Even the perturbed Aulen was now anxious. The werecreatures' strength had greatly surpassed their expectations. If they were at all careless, their troop would be completely wiped out.

Suppressing her emotions, Aulen returned to her cool-headed self and sent out commands, "Defensive formation number 2!"

How could she not have realised that Lanshire had conspired with the werecreatures to kill everyone here?

"Lanshire, my friend. I'm sorry!" Aulen muttered to herself and drew out her elven sword, the shaft decorated in plant motifs. Its lustre suggested that it was an enchanted item.

*Boom! Boom!* Giant footsteps sounded out, and several giants that were at least ten metres tall emerged from the fog. They were like walking hills clothed in coppery skin.

"G-Giants! These werecreatures managed to tame giants!" Aulen's hand trembled ever so slightly as she watched these human-like but also bizarre creatures, and some soldiers even yelped in despair.

"Giants? Those extraordinary creatures from the north?" Leylin massaged his temples in distress as data of the creatures was presented to him.

[Name Unknown. Race: Giant. Strength: 15. Agility: 6. Vitality: 13. Spirit: 2. Feats: 1. Strong 2. Regeneration 3. Armoured Skin. Description: A unique creature that only exists in the north. Cruel and fierce in temperament, unintelligent, easily tamed by other barbaric tribes.]

"Looking at this strength, they're most certainly connected to the Blackblood tribe. They might even be a branch! Cassley obviously wanted us to die." Aulen laughed bitterly.

"Prepare to break through! We can only evacuate as many as we can." She now seemed to have lost heart.

"Elf from Silverymoon City, and other humans!" A shadow walked out from the group of werecreatures.

He was 2 metres tall, and had an appearance similar to that of a human. The difference was that he had unusual beastly patterns all over his face, and certain body parts of a beast.

He choked in disgust after sniffing in the direction of Leylin and the rest, "Damn Silverymoon City! That is a place of evil, it should be wiped clean!"

As followers of Malar, the werecreatures were naturally hostile towards the civilised beings of Silverymoon City and hated all who dwelled within it. The city guards were undoubtedly their first target.

"All of you will die here today! You are all too worthless to even be sacrificed to my Lord!" The werecreatures growled, and more petrifying shadows headed towards them.

Werecreatures had robust physiques and a staggering jumping ability. The temporary barriers by the side of the campsite posed no deterrence to them. *Roar!* The giants grunted and every step they took was like a miniature earthquake, flipping tents and crushing soldiers under their feet.

"Damn it! Leylin, protect me!" The elegance of an elf was long forgotten to Aulen as her eyes were red with anxiety and she pulled the elven bow from her back.

Greater Magic Weapon! Leylin's expression became heavy as the lustre of a high-grade spell burst forth from his hand.

*Phew!* Silver arrows went off like shooting stars, the spell-filled arrowheads hitting the giants right in their eyes, their weakest points. The giants' defences still couldn't match high-grade spells, and this was aimed at their eyes.

The giants roared as their eyes cracked apart in a soft explosion, copious amount of shimmering liquid and blood dripping everywhere.

One pressed a palm against his injured eye as he went berserk, charging towards Aulen.

Grease! Spell rays enveloped the giants as Leylin took advantage of this moment. He wouldn't be himself if he let go of the chance to target the giants' weakness.

*Bang!* Magnificent lights shot out of his hands like fireworks, and the group of giants immediately went berserk. Even the werecreatures were unable to calm them down.

Everything was in a frenzy as they roared wildly and attacked everything in their vicinity, including a handful werecreatures who were shredded into pieces.

"It's a high-grade spell attack! Get rid of that darned wizard, I'll dispel it!" A werecreature clad in a priest robe stood out in the chaos. He, too, had strange decorative motifs and paint on his face.

"Kill!" Aulen made use of this chance and charged forwards with Rafiniya and the rest. The only way they could survive under a situation like this was to go all-in. The soldiers were well aware of this too as they plucked up their remaining courage, following Aulen's lead and charging ahead.

*Roar!* The clash of the two opposing sides created a fierce orchestra of howls and clangs of steel meeting steel.

And yet everything was in vain. Aulen's numbers started to dwindle, and they could not win no matter how great their fighting spirit was. The werecreatures were just too many.

"Go to hell!" Having been enhanced by magic, the sword in Aulen's hand was brighter than ever. It could easily pierce through the defences of the werecreatures and cause unimaginable damage to their internal organs.

With it, Aulen severed the heads of 3 werecreatures in a flash and attracted the attention of their companion— a high-ranked werecreature.

"I admit you're strong. But too bad; you're still going to hell!" The werecreature priest suddenly towered over Aulen like a huge and tenacious mountain which she could not scale.

...

"I'm your opponent!"

Leylin had already cast Fly, and was blocking the priest from saving his companions.

"Mid-ranked wizard, you're not worthy to become a sacrifice!" The werecreature said in pity, and looked into Leylin's blood-lust-filled eyes as if looking at his prey. It caused Leylin to furrow his brow uneasily.

'I can't be sure what other abilities this rank 15 or higher priest has. Hopefully Tiff and the rest will make it here soon!'

But of course, Leylin had more than one plan. He was also confident of escaping. As a wizard, there were countless life-saving spells. A simple Fly could get him out of the scene in a matter of seconds as long as he wasn't shot down. Rank 15 wizards would escape death even more easily with Teleport.

This priest in front of him would just be a headache.

Taking Over

'Although it's possible for me to deal with a magic-based Professional at rank 15 or above, it really doesn't make sense…' Leylin watched the werecreature priest while feeling a headache coming on.

He was only a rank 12 mid-ranked wizard, and could not do anything that stepped beyond the boundaries of what was proper. Such a thing would attract the attention of powerful forces, which was the last thing Leylin wanted.

However, with spiritual force that exceeded that of regular wizards, as well as the scanning functions of the A.I. Chip, Leylin was able to discover some magic undulations that had been concealed.

He abruptly stepped sideways, turning left to dodge a sudden long green arrow. This corrosive arrow did not reduce in strength as it whizzed right through the body of a werecreature, turning it into froth.

High-grade Poison Arrow! Leylin looked grim, and the Mage Armour inlaid in his uniform activated.

"Why are you not in your Blackblood Tribe? What are you doing out here?"

"Hehe… that's not something you need to know, because your head's about to become my loot!" The priest opposite him snickered.

At this moment, the situation changed again. Another high-grade werecreature suddenly emerged, launching a sneak attack on Aulen!

A dagger with terrifying black corrosive energy stabbed into her chest. "AH… AULEN!" Upon seeing this, powerful and dazzling qi burst from Rafiniya. It seemed to have a burning effect, causing the other werecreatures around her to back off as she took Aulen into her arms.

"See this? Your leader's going to die. Give up! As long as you give up your faith, swear in the name of the God of the Hunt and join us, I can let you off…" Tempting words left the werecreature priest's mouth. Perhaps he had also realised that Leylin would be difficult to deal with. While it was possible to win, there was a high chance that Leylin would run off.

"Hmm…." Leylin chuckled, and it caused the priest's expression to change suddenly. Seeing the summoning rays light up on the opponent's body, Leylin knew that his preparations had been successful.

Even as the priest looked confused, he suddenly retreated and activated the spell scrolls he had prepared long ago.

Magic Barrier II! Thorns! Summon Guards!

Immensely powerful spell barriers instantly cleared out the area, enveloping Leylin and his teammates. Meanwhile, a thorny forest rose swiftly from the ground. Heavily-armed soldiers were constructed from the soil, rising to confront the werecreatures.

"What's going on?" After seeing the fall of the werecreature priest, a few leaders immediately headed over.

"Our base is being attacked. It must be a plot by those crafty humans!" The priest spoke in frustration.

The other werecreatures' expressions quickly changed, "What do we do?"

The high-ranked werecreatures watched Leylin and the others within the barrier. While basically everyone had injuries, they naturally still were able to fight to a certain extent and had magic protection. While it wasn't impossible to break through and wipe them out, they needed time…

In this period of time, their own camp could be wiped out! However, if they were to divide their troops, not knowing the power of the opponent would be very dangerous. Leylin's troops were not the benevolent type.

These vile humans were of no importance at all compared to their own mission. While werecreatures were synonymous with brainless savages, the ones who could become leaders still possessed some level of intelligence.

"Let's go!" The leader suddenly waved his arms, and the others quickly retreated.

"What about them…" One of them looked unwilling to do so, but was immediately shot down, "Just think for a moment with your stupid brain. What is more important, our camp or these humans?"

The priest was also in favour with this decision. As he left, he gave Leylin a deep look. "This isn't the last you'll see of us!"

"I look forward to it!" Leylin answered with a slight smile.

They retreated quickly. In tens of seconds, they'd completely disappeared.

Arcane Eye! After using a few detection spells, Leylin nodded in surety, "They really left and didn't leave behind any traps…"

"Oh, we succeeded!" "Haha… I survived!" "I knew I wouldn't die so easily…"

The ecstasy of living through a desperate situation immediately caused the soldiers who had survived to descend into a chaotic mess. Many of them even began to cry.

After this excitement, they looked at their camp that now looked to be in complete disorder, as well as their comrades who were dead or gravely injured. A soldier began to sob, and soon and all sorts of wails began to burst out from the others.

"Ley- Leylin!" Aulen had a huge wound on her chest. Even with Jinx applying pressure and casting divine spells with milky-white light, the blood still gushed out. The bright blood dyed Jinx's pure white priest robes red, making her look slightly disturbing.

"I'll leave my brothers to you. Promise me that you'll bring them back to Silverymoon alive!" Aulen's lips were cracked, looking like a traveller on the verge of dying of thirst.

"What do I do? What do I do? This sort of wound needs a Cure Serious Wounds spell at the very least! I've used up all my divine spell slots…" Jinx sobbed. Clerics and priests that used up all their divine magic were even more useless than wizards without spell slots.

"I promise!" Leylin nodded grimly.

"Then… I can relax now…" Aulen's hands hung down, her eyes closing slightly.

"Captain! Captain!" Jinx began to weep.

"She's not dead yet!" Leylin was speechless as he pulled Jinx aside, a spell scroll abruptly appearing in his hands.

Create Water! Freeze! The powerful magic encased Aulen in a gigantic later of ice like an insect. There was still a look of shock on her face.

"She might be able to hold on for a while longer." Leylin looked serious, "Jinx!"

"Yes!" The female priest looked up, stunned.

"I have an important task for you!" Leylin looked at the priest before him, "I need you to escort her back. You're our only cleric beside Aulen, only you can keep her alive… As for safety, I'll send a few people to accompany you!"

"No problem!" Jinx wiped off her tears and answered quickly. After they lost Aulen, Leylin now had the right to command them all.

"Wait, won't you go back with me?" Jinx only managed to react after a moment, asking in surprise.

"Go back? Do you want to be court-martialled? Cassley definitely won't let us off…" Leylin looked serious, "I'll stay behind and complete the mission!"

Leylin now had a noble aura similar to a hero, which touched Jinx's heart.

"Oh…" Her tears began to flow again, "Don't worry, I'll complete the task without fail and tell the church of your achievements…"

As she was a cleric, Jinx was one who would not be criticised. She obviously believed that Leylin was giving her this chance of survival, which completely moved her. Leylin picked two soldiers who seemed alright to send Jinx and those who were gravely injured back.

After Aulen left, the entire squadron was now entirely in Leylin's control. With the priest leaving, there was nobody who would be monitoring Leylin, and he could now act without reservations!

"But this method… will it work? I've never heard of it before…"

Watching the large horse carriage with ice inside leave, Rafiniya stood by Leylin's side, looking confused, "Can using ice slow down the worsening of injuries?"

With this method, business at the shrine would pick up. Wizards would also begin to pay more attention to ice-type spells, but Rafiniya had never heard about this before.

"Yes, in theory. I haven't tested it out before though…" Leylin nodded.

"IN THEORY!" The female knight shrieked.

"Yes. That's at least some hope!" Leylin answered irresponsibly, and then clapped his hands to gather the rest of the soldiers.

Standing high above, Leylin looked at the few men they had below. The team had had less than 50 people originally, and with last night's massacre and today's injured leaving, there were only a dozen or so people left. It looked rather pitiful.

"You'll definitely ask me why we aren't going back…" Leylin's voice was low. Now, with the deaths of the many leaders and those who had gone off, he had the most authority here and was the only reasonable commander.

Of course, Leylin only needed this authority. It would be much easier for Leylin to just die than make use of these scattered remnants of a defeated troop. To get them working together, Leylin even spoke of what had happened before with the mission, as well as their hostility with Cassley/

After saying all this, he saw looks of despair in the soldiers' eyes.

"Yes. With Cassley around, we will become deserters if we go back and be sent to trial… Don't think about escaping, because your identification as free citizens as well as your family are all in Silverymoon…" Leylin's voice had a strange infectious effect.

"This battle is not just for yourselves, it's for your future! We must eliminate those wretched werecreatures. At the very least, we need to succeed in battle and return without blame…" The soldiers below were first bewildered and afraid, but flames were now blazing in their eyes. Noticing it, Leylin secretly burst into laughter.

Bestow

'Once their commander was defeated, the subordinate stood out to lead their ruined army. They faced powerful enemies and obtained an unimaginable victory! Indeed, this is how a hero should be!' Leylin nodded inside.

His thought process was completely based off some melodramatic models in his previous life, but it appeared to be popular in this world too. After placating the soldiers and ridding himself of Rafiniya, Leylin left the camp in the name of investigating the situation.

"Young master!" Tiff appeared from the shadows.

"Mm, you did well. What harvest did you reap?" Leylin asked calmly.

Leylin's plan had two parts, one in the open and one in the shadows. In the open, he would attract all the attention onto himself, while in secret, Tiff had brought his men to the vicinity.

This is why he had allowed Lanshire to get in contact with the opponents and reveal the location of their camp, allowing for the attack. While the werecreatures turned out in full strength, Tiff would destroy their nest.

Meanwhile, with the perfect timing, they could also take care of the siege surrounding them. While Leylin alone could not match up to the joint attack of the high-ranked werebeasts, he would crush them in terms of intelligence.

"Their camp was very strictly guarded and they recovered very quickly. We only managed to break through a part of the surrounding camp and did not manage to get to the core campsite…" Tiff looked serious as he produced a scroll with powerful spell remnants. However, it had obviously been used once already.

"Based on the traces on the outside, their goal seems to be to slaughter dragons."

"Slaughtering dragons?!" Leylin froze slightly. Dragons naturally still existed in this world, and they were extraordinary high-grade beings. They were also considered a legendary species, purebloods of which could naturally become Legends upon reaching adulthood. With skin that was basically immune to magic, they were effectively the children of the gods.

The group of high-grade werebeasts had conspired for a long time, and it was obviously not to kill a few mixed-bloods or subspecies. They would probably target an adult dragon, a Legend!

'Why would they slaughter dragons?' Leylin pondered over this. While the heroes of human legend gained benefits and divine items upon slaughtering dragons, he knew that things weren't quite as simple. The dragon race was very powerful, and they had their own backers. If one were tainted with the vengeance of a dragon's soul, they would be pursued with hatred by the entire dragon race.

Even historically, unless the heroes that slayed dragons had strong backing, few ended up well. On top of that, not every one of those dragons were wealthy enough to rival a country. Wanting to make a fortune off slaying dragons was just a fantasy.

Of course, many werebeasts were lunatics, and they could not be judged by normal standards.

'Could it be a ceremony for the God of the Hunt? A legendary dragon would be enough for the god to show his grace…' With a god acting, the dragons could do nothing even if they harboured a grudge.

"But… What they would lose from this would be far too much to bear. Unless there's something else that's attracting the higher ups of the werebeasts…" Leylin muttered to himself and asked Tiff, "Have you found their target?"

He first unrolled the scroll Tiff had gotten. There was a map of the northern lands here, with detailed markings of the various villages, mountain ranges, forests and rivers. Even the copy Leylin had made with the A.I. Chip's records was only slightly better than this, and a map with this much detail would absolutely fetch a great price in the northern lands.

On one mountain range was a little blood-red mark of a beast tooth, looking formidable and evil.

Tiff pointed at the mark on the map. There was a label beside it— The Nether Mountains. "I used Memory Retrieval used on a few slaves, this should be their goal. The werebeasts have received intel of the existence of an adult red dragon there through various means. They aim to behead it!" he answered with certainty. While Memory Retrieval was thought to be a sinister spell, neither Leylin nor Tiff cared about it.

"Nether Mountains? The red dragon…" Leylin mumbled, the glint in his eyes brightening. All of a sudden, his eyes suddenly flashed as the Nether Mountains combined with an incomplete image of the map formed by the A.I. Chip.

'A.I. Chip, show me the part of the northern lands where the inheritance of the Arcanists could be!' he immediately commanded inside.

The A.I. Chip worked quickly, and a slightly blurred map appeared with a few tags. This map was something Leylin had copied from the notebook of the arcanist. Sadly, with the passing of generations, most of the map was lost even with the magical protection.

Leylin looked unperturbed as the A.I. Chip copied a version of the map from the scroll and overlapped them.

'As expected…' Seeing the location where the arcanist inheritance was and the beast tooth marking match up, Leylin's eyes flashed with understanding. Tiff beside him obviously could not see changes in the A.I. Chip, but he knew that Leylin had discovered something. Still, he did not ask. This was smart of Tiff, and Leylin could not help but nod inside.

'Red dragon… Werebeasts… The arcanist… What is the relation between the three? Did those werebeasts obtain clues of the arcanist inheritance? Or am I thinking too much, and they purely want to offer a sacrifice to Malar?' Leylin's eyes flashed with all sorts of emotions, but then went still.

'Whatever it is, the werebeasts must be wiped out!' Leylin made up his mind. He put a silver mask on his face, and his eyes turned a frightening red and white. Terrifying unstable strength burst forth from his body. In that moment, he changed into his identity of the divine devil.

"My lord!" Tiff changed his method of addressing Leylin, knowing that he wanted to hide his identity.

"Alright, let's go see the underlings you recruited!" Leylin nodded, the glow of Fly coming forth from his body…

In a hidden valley, Leylin stood on high ground to look at the underlings Tiff had brought. Almost all of them were scattered around secretly, being of various races. The only commonality was the bloody and savage aura they possessed, making people fearful at the sight of them.

"Welcome, brothers of my sect!" Leylin now wore the robes of a high priest. His clothes that were lined with gold fluttered in the air, making him appear splendidly luxurious. Tiff stood behind him respectfully, emphasising Leylin's status.

"The winged serpent god Kukulkan is a powerful and rewarding god!" Leylin scanned through these men who would be considered the trash of their races. They had no faith to speak of, and only believed in strength. This was how they were subdued by Tiff, "As long as you believe in our god, you will then be rewarded!"

Leylin saw the looks of disbelief in their eyes and pointed at a beastman wrapped in beast skin, "You, come here!"

"What is it?" The beastman had the head of a lion and a sturdy body filled with muscles and scars. There was a rebellious look on his face.

"You will receive the blessing of our god." Leylin's arms wrapped around himself as he moved in a modest and respectful way. When it came to acting as a medium, Leylin had nothing to learn.

Meanwhile, powerful energy undulations exploded from his body, filled with a dignified and heavy aura. Even the air was beginning to freeze.

"Hss…" A bundle of flames in the air turned into a strange giant snake with two wings. The giant snake's pupils were trained on the lion-headed man, and a terror from his very soul got him to kneel, body quivering.

"My master, the mighty winged serpent god, Kukulkan. I finally meet you again…" Tiff who was at the side knelt down piously.

"My master is the only serpent of the world and possesses boundless strength. Your mighty divine force can swallow the heavens…" Leylin began to chant ceremonial verses, and a black ray of light descended from the snake's mouth, falling on the lion-headed man.

*Boom!* The moment the black light descended, it turned into the most ferocious of flames for an instant as it wrapped him within itself. Miserable cries sounded out from within.

Such a terrifying scene left the audience silent in their fear. However, before they could even think that Leylin was reprimanding him, the figure of the winged serpent god and the black flames had dissipated, revealing the figure of the lion-headed man.

However, there was now a huge change to his body. His golden fur was now completely black, and there was even a black skull brand.

"Thi- this…" He touched his body after the transformation, looking to be in disbelief.

"My master has enlightened you with abilities in magic, transforming you into a sorcerer!" Leylin's eyes were aimed at the ground as he spoke calmly.

"Sor–sorcerer?" The dark lion-headed being looked puzzled, and then lifted his right arm.

Demonic magic rays lit up on his body, and the black skull brand on his body flickered layer by layer. This was Summon Undead!

*Crash!* The ground split open, and numerous incomplete skeletons crawled up.

"It's really magic!" "This is a sorcerer!" "How terrifying! He can actually bestow the gift of magic and sorcery!"

Amongst the stunned looks, the lion-headed man immediately knelt in his ecstasy, "My god, the winged serpent god! I believe in you…"

As a Professional who specialised in physical attacks, just a bit of magic would be a huge help to him. The lion-headed man sensed that he now possessed the power of a sorcerer of at least rank 5, and there even seemed to be a possibility of raising this strength. How could he not be delighted to the point of insanity?

When compared to the rewards, his faith was nothing.

"Winged serpent god… You are the serpent of the world and possess boundless strength…" The eyes of the others' began to shine as they started to pray, voices filled with sincere piety.

Once More

'Faith is actually a contract between gods and mortals. Mortals place their faith in the gods, and in return they receive divine skills. When they die, their souls will have the right to advance to the kingdom of the god.' Leylin watched those fellows who were fit to be ordinary believers with bright eyes.

'If they receive more benefits in return, they won't hesitate to make offerings and worship even a bogus god. This is why there are still so many worshippers of devils and demons in this world…'

Of course, there was a limit to the worshippers that gods took in. They naturally couldn't bestow their divinity without restriction, or they would make a loss. They could possibly lose a chunk of their divine force, even their godhood!

Leylin was currently in the early stages of building the foundation of his church. He had to give hris first believers more benefits than normal. How else would he attract the faith of others and have them believe in this non-existent feathered serpent god?

As his main body was still in deep slumber, he was completely unable to respond to his followers' prayers and bestow them with divine skills. In reality, that winged Targaryen phantom and the bestowal of the sorcery was all part of a show that Leylin had fabricated and performed with this body.

Given that he was but a part of the main soul, even Tiff wouldn't be able to discover any flaws once he disguised himself. As for the magic-like abilities, although those with bloodlines in this world could only rely on what they inherited, Leylin had no fear of bloodline transformation experiments. He was already a mid-rank 7 Warlock after all.

Warlocks had always been the best among those who possessed bloodlines. Leylin himself had reached great peaks in the use of bloodline energy, and to use a few captured bloodlines to manufacture a few fake sorcerers did not take much effort.

Of course, in the World of Gods, this was a miracle that only gods, demons and devils could achieve, explaining the fervent looks of these men. Sorcery could even be passed on to their children!

These benefits were attractive enough to make his subordinates gather around the church of Kulukan, and unite under its name for the time being. They were all ready to drench themselves in blood and fight for Leylin.

Another voice sounded at this moment, and Leylin's lips lifted even higher than before.

[Beep! Rank 3 Weave analysis: 100%! Host body has obtained all rank 3 spell models. Spell amnesia has been blocked automatically. Casting of rank 3 spells no longer requires materials.]

The analysis of the third level of the Weave had already been at the final leg, and now the conditions were ripe enough for it to complete. Leylin couldn't help but feel that the world origin force was watching over and taking care of him.

Gods always achieved success. None were unfavoured by the world origin force, and they were said to be the World Will's darlings!

'Seems like the dormant will of the World of Gods can't control the world origin force anymore. There's a vacancy for me, eh?' The edges of Leylin's lips spread even wider. "In the name of our god, let's make war!"

"Kukulkan! Kukulkan" Everyone's thirst for battle had already reached its peak. Of course, Leylin wouldn't admit that he had intentionally influenced this.

Within the high-ranked werecreature camp in the Moonwood.

"Damn it! There are actually other humans!" The werecreature commander ruthlessly flung a trembling werecreature onto the ground as he huffed.

"Luckily, only the outskirts were taken down, and they didn't reach the core camp!" The werecreature priest on the other side added coldly as he held onto his human bone staff.

"We need to tighten security across the entire camp, I'm ready to carry out a large-scale sacrificial ceremony for our Lord's favour. He'll send out hunters from his kingdom to assist us." The lesser God of the Hunt, Malar, was a gigantic monster similar to apes and monkeys. It didn't get rid of most of its bestial characteristics after it successfully deified, and had a morbid thirst for slaughter.

The hunters were an exotic species in Malar's kingdom, and they were created specifically to hunt prey. The weakest of them was more powerful than a high-ranked Professional, and if the sacrifices of his followers in the mortal world pleased Malar, he would even open up a passage to dispatch the elite forces of his kingdom.

Although such forces from the heavens were definitely a little weaker as compared to a incarnated deity, the advantage was that they could be replenished without much heartache.

"Hunters?" The highly-ranked werecreature grimaced; the sacrificial offering required clearly cost him dear, "Our forces were already enough, but in order to ensure nothing will go wrong, let's go ahead with that! I believe… if we can use the legendary red dragon as an offering in a moment, our master will surely be very pleased…"

"Then I will begin…" The werecreature priest arrived at a miniature altar within the camp. This was clearly the core of the camp; it did not suffer from any damage from Tiff's surprise attack.

But the instant the priest entered the temple, his expression changed drastically.

*Wooo! Wooo! Wooo!* Crimson divine force poured out from the altar into its surroundings, the dazzling radiance representing some sort of special message.

"There's an enemy…" The sound abruptly came to an end, following which an icy cold ray of light flashed past. With a blade cold enough to freeze the entire room, it ferociously thrust itself into the chest of one of the highly-ranked werecreatures.

"A thief who has almost reached the rank of Legends! It's the person who launched a sneak attack on us!" The werecreature chief roared violently, and landed his fist on the ground with a thump. Powerful undulations spread in all four directions.

Earth's Fist! A high-level physical Professional skill erupted in a series of invisible ripples, forcing a black shadow out of thin air.

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!* The silhouette bounced around nimbly, and ran several hundred metres away, his figure barely visible. The werecreatures he passed by on the way collapsed with their hands covering their throats.

"You won't get away, despicable raider!" The werecreature chief had a fierce look on his face as he followed behind at supersonic speed.

But right when the chief was at the entrance of the camp, the priest's voice could be heard. "Be careful, it's a trap! He might have a formidable spellcaster!"

The reminder obviously came a little too late. Just as the werecreature chief came to a halt, a sinister figure with a silver mask suddenly appeared, with a terrifying spell instantly taking shape on his palm.

Rank 5 spell: Dragon's Breath! A powerful corrosive force instantaneously swept across the entire area, scorching the hair on the werecreature chief's chest.

"Damn it!" The werecreature flew backwards as a dark green radiance on his body flickered continuously. A powerful force was resisting against the corrosive effects of the Dragon's Breath at lightning speed. The werecreature priest behind the chief was constantly employing treatment spells.

After retreating more than ten metres, the werecreature chief had already completely broken away from the attack range of the Dragon's Breath. However, the average werecreatures around them were not so lucky. They all collapsed onto the ground, and the entrance to the camp was instantly filled with victims everywhere.

The crowd controlling powers of wizards were always one thing that commanders were most fearful of.

"Who are you?" The werecreature chief clearly didn't recognise Leylin, who was in disguise. Moreover, his opponent was formidable and nefarious, which made him feel as though he was facing his greatest foe.

"This feeling, as if he was devouring everything around him!" The werecreature chief's pupils constricted. He now saw Leylin as the most dangerous enemy he had ever met.

*Zoom!* Without giving the chief a chance to even speak, Tiff immediately charged forward. His powers as a highly-ranked Professional, which were close to being legendary, burst out from him completely. His magic abilities flashed on his body from time to time, and he actually managed to forcibly stall five highly-ranked werecreatures although it was one against five.

"Kill! Argh!" A wave of troops charged towards the camp. An eldritch lion-headed person who was almost entirely covered in black led the front line. With a ferocious roar, a suit of armor made of bones appeared on its body, along with numerous bony pikes that suddenly thrust forward into the line of werecreatures that couldn't flee in time. Fresh blood dripped continuously along the bony pike.

"Charge!" The army of scum instantly broke into the werecreature camp. They were from different walks of life and all kinds of races, but had been brought together by Tiff recently. After seeing what happened to one of them earlier, these dregs of society were investing 120% of their strength in combat in order to obtain the power of a bloodline and even let their descendants inherit it.

Even though their opponents were blessed by the lesser god of the hunt, Malar, they too were protected by the mysterious feathered snake god, Kukulkan.

It was undeniable that those who were chosen by Tiff were all rather strong and talented. They were on par with the werecreatures in the camp.

Mass Frenzy! Mass Healing! The werecreature priest hid somewhere behind as he watched the enemies solemnly.

The races that made up the opponent's army were very diverse, thus he couldn't think of which influential party they belonged to at all.

"Could it be that a new influential force is already emerging in the vicinity? With their nearly-legendary experts, this group cannot be belittled!" The werecreature priest muttered. He raised his hand and continued producing a spell which he had been preparing for a long time.

Dispel Magic!

A violet pillar of light descended from the sky, interrupting the werecreature priest and hindering him from casting spells. Leylin folded his arms, calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, as he stared at the werecreature priest on the ground.

"Your opponent is me!" Leylin's eyes were ice-cold. Previously, he couldn't employ all of his strategies in order to conceal his true strength. But with his identity as a 'divine emissary', he didn't need to have any considerations!

He raised his hand, and lightning chains shot out. Pale blue electric currents bounced across the place, causing a few low-level priests to collapse to the floor.

When in combat, kill the clerics first. That was the norm in practically every battle, and Leylin certainly wouldn't sit idly by and let those low-level clerics leisurely heal and assist their troops.

After Leylin fixed his attention on him, the werecreature priest suddenly felt a chill in his heart, as though he was facing a gigantic dragon. Vast amounts of probing spells flashed by, yet shortly after they returned with a message that made his expression change drastically.

"Divine one! Which god do you serve?" The werecreature priest asked in a deep voice, scared out of his wits by Leylin's false godhood.

On the continent in the World of Gods, stronger beings who could obtain divinity were scarce. The greatest possibility would be that they were bestowed divinity by the gods. Evidently, this werecreature priest considered Leylin as the saint of some deity.

Hunters

Communication between gods was an extremely solemn affair. If a powerful being was bestowed with divinity, he was bound to have an eminent status even in a god's church.

As for a subordinate of one god provoking another? That would practically be the beginning of a war between the gods! The werecreature priest began to feel rather dizzy. Although there had been conflicts and friction between churches and even between the gods themselves ever since the dusk of the gods, starting an undeclared war like this was a rare event.

After all, even a weak god would almost be unrivalled in their divine realm. Battle between two gods was a very grave matter, and it could span various dimensions and thousands of years!

As a cleric, the priest undoubtedly knew this. He watched Leylin with restrained fear.

"You had the cheek to covet our master's wealth!" Leylin's reply was very vague, but the werecreature priest's expression changed drastically. "As expected, it had to do with the Nether Mountains…"

Although the priest stopped himself in time, Leylin still got what he wanted. 'Sure enough, these werecreatures are up to something. It's not as simple as just the red dragon…'

He didn't give the priest another chance to speak. Leylin moved swiftly in mid-air, and the spells that he had been preparing for a long time shot out continuously.

Fog Barrier! Missile Storm! Fireball!

A layer of dense fog formed both a barrier and a cage, confining Leylin and the werecreature priest within. It prevented outsiders from intervening and probing them while spell attacks rained down like terrifying meteors with great destructive force.

"A presumptuous extremist that started a battle on his own initiative. You shall suffer from punishment by the gods!" The werecreature priest had a pious expression on his face. He seemed to be clothed in a milky white suit of protective armour, and a strong radiance kept emanating from his body.

*Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew!* The missiles rebounded off his glowing vest. It flickered, and eventually exploded.

The enormous scorching fireball struck the ground. Chrome yellow flames started spreading in all directions, continuously engulfing everything in their way. They quickly formed a gigantic depression in the ground that was covered in black scorch marks, as if it had been crushed by the bottom of a black pan.

The werecreature priest stood at the edge of the blackened pithole, his expression extremely solemn. The priest robes he was wearing had been torn into shreds, and he was almost entirely charred.

"Master, Malar, Please grant me strength…" The werecreature priest murmured. He stripped off his robes in one stroke, exposing his hairy torso. His muscles started to throb, and the dark scars from the flames burst open.

[Beep! Opponent has activated an innate skill, Wild Surge!] A glimmer of light flashed in Leylin's eyes. The Eye of the Hawk, coupled with the probing abilities of the A.I. Chip, revealed everything about the opponent right in front of his eyes.

[Wild Surge: A special ability of the followers of the Lesser God of the Hunt, Malar. Activation buffs strength and vitality by one point, additionally granting hunting vision. (If in the massacre state, the ability will bestow mid-rank regenerative effects. Cell activity will increase by 50%)]

The extraordinary Wild Surge technique was an unusual ability bestowed by the Lesser God of the Hunt to his followers, and its usage would lead to terrible aftereffects. The increased cell activity would drain one's vitality to make up for the deficiencies, and the use of this skill would reduce life expectancy greatly.

But it was undeniable that this technique was still incomparably formidable. Leylin could feel the werecreature priest on the ground enter a strange state. Not only had the injuries on his body completely disappeared, sharp claws had even shot out of his fingers. Even though he was just a clergyman of the Lesser God of the Hunt, he seemed to have transformed into a horrifying Hunter after activating the skill!

"AAHH…" The muscles on the priest's leg twisted as he leapt more than ten metres high. His cold razor-sharp claws ferociously slashed across Leylin's face.

'So fast!' Leylin's eyes sparkled.

"Your greatest mistake was to falsely think that you could take me on alone!" Two white puffs of air spurted out from the werecreature priest's nostrils.

"I have a premonition that you will be the most terrifying enemy us werecreatures will ever have! I must kill you here, and this little amount of strength is not enough! Not enough!" The priest roared. He suddenly pointed his claws towards himself, and ripped out a huge chunk of skin and flesh.

"Our god, I offer you sacrifice! Please bestow me with the strength to kill this foe!" The two clumps of flesh started to squirm violently, and then exploded. A temporary portal opened to reveal two enormous beasts.

'Dimensional summoning? This creature does not seem to be from the prime material plane of the World of Gods…'

*Oo Ooh Aa Aah! Oo Ooh Aa Aah!* What appeared before him were two giant primates covered in green scales. They were over three metres tall, and their sharp claws were nearly a foot long. Their crimson eyes were filled with bloodthirst.

'A.I. Chip!' Leylin inwardly commanded. The chip loyally returned information on them in the blink of an eye.

[Hunter: Strength: 13, Agility: 15, Vitality: 10, Spirit: 5. Feats: 1. Wild Instinct 2. Poison Claw 3. Extraordinary Regeneration. Description: This is not a creature from the mortal world, but a beast bred by the God of the Hunt in his divine domain. It has been specially bred for the hunt, and has almost no rationality. If Malar is pleased with his worshippers' sacrifices, he sends down these creatures to assist them.]

'It has flesh, blood, and a life force, and it even requires a sacrifice of the soul?' Leylin thought indifferently as he watched the light dim in the eyes of the werecreature priest.

"Kill him!" The two tall hunters at the werecreature's side saw a finger point directly at Leylin.

*Swish!* The two hunters who previously seemed to have been playing a game instantly disappeared into thin air. Even Leylin with his powerful sight could only see the afterimages of their movements.

'They're even faster than the priest when he activated Wild Surge!' Leylin rapidly ducked under the sharp claws sweeping across him, but a shadow flickered and another hunter emerged behind his back. Two arms twisted with muscles violently swept towards Leylin, seemingly wanting to tear him to pieces.

*Bang!* Mage Armour II appeared on Leylin's back, buying him a second's time. Once that was done the clothes on his back seemed to get shredded completely, the scraps flying up into the air like scattered butterflies.

*Thump!* Leylin hit the ground heavily, and dust and smoke flew up into the air.

*Oo Ooh Aa Aah! Oo Ooh Aa Aah!* The two enormous hunters surrounded Leylin, one on either side of him. They roared loudly together.

"You can't outrun them. Hunters can bring out their utmost power while hunting!" The werecreature priest stood opposite Leylin, his eyes filled with a longing for fresh blood. He could already see his claws tearing across Leylin's throat.

'It deserves to be called a creature made by a god. I didn't know the hunters of legend had such power.' A crack appeared in Leylin's silver mask, and he stood up as his body shone with a healing glow.

'However, even high-ranked hunters still have their weaknesses,' Leylin's hands hung down, enveloped in his billowing sleeves.

"Kill him!" Having lost his ability to fly, the werecreature priest found it more beneficial to stay on the ground with the hunters. Both the priest and the hunters seemed to have transformed into black hurricanes, enveloping Leylin in their midst.

The formidable wind swept up several small rocks, smashing them to powder. As dust and dirt flew around the area, the three clawed beasts completely sealed off Leylin's escape. They flew at him violently, and with evil intent.

"Even if they are a god's creation, they will still have some defects," Leylin sighed. In the instant before the clawed beasts arrived, he urgently used the Ring of Wizardry on his hand.

*OOOOOOHH!* A piercing and shrill female voice rang out suddenly, and in a moment overwhelmed their senses. The earsplitting noise was like that of metal scraping metal, and it brought everything in that space to a standstill.

The ear-piercing sound became an air explosion which pushed the three shadows apart.

"Ow…" The werecreature priest cut a sorry figure as he departed, blood trailing from his eyes and ears.

"Sound wave attacks? Wail of the Banshee? No, if it was that I would be dead already!" The werecreature priest was already in this state, and the two hunters were in an even worse situation. They rolled back and forth on the ground, letting out pleading cries as if they had suffered an injury to their very souls.

"Wailing Howl… The power of this simplified version of Wail of the Banshee is rather good," Leylin touched the ring on his left hand. He'd released the spell from his Ring of Wizardry a moment ago, pulling off an attack against his enemies.

Even a god could not create life, and those hunters were clearly hybrids that Malar had cobbled together from different animal characteristics and souls. Once they were attacked by sound, they immediately became violently unstable.

When it came to experiments on flesh and life, were Leylin to claim second nobody would dare claim first. He was the pinnacle expert of the World of Gods in that field. This was the pride of a bloodline Warlock.

"Very well, I've seen most of your spells and abilities. Let's bring this to an end," Leylin looked at the werecreature priest before him as dispassionately as he would look at a corpse, with neither joy nor sorrow in his eyes.

"To an end?!" The werecreature priest's expression grew heavy, and his heart was filled with a dark premonition. A rune of a beast fang had soundlessly fallen into his hand.

"Up!" Along with his command, the two hunters who had already stopped their plaintive wails once again threw themselves at Leylin. The runes in his hand flashed with the light of a portal.

Absorption

Using its inborn sharp senses, the werecreature priest immediately felt a sense of danger— one that was enough to threaten its very life! Hence, it happily abandoned the two hunters behind to serve as cannon fodder and activated the transportation device it had to leave.

But how could Leylin give it the chance to do that?

"Dimensional Anchor!" Exquisite control over this spell allowed Leylin to destroy the werecreature priest's transportation rays in an instant. Afterwards, the now-grim priest saw something it could never believe, causing its huge mouth to gape even more, to the point of dislocation.

Seven-coloured rays of light were launched from Leylin's hands

Rank 2 spell: Colour Spray! The effects of such a weak spell only forced the hunters to pause for a while, but then they charged over again without hesitation.

But Leylin's performance was far from over. Colour Spray, Colour Spray, Colour Spray …

Nine spell rays flashed at Leylin's hands as if from rainbows, each one cast instantly. While a low-ranked spell had limited effects, a large enough number would result in a fundamental change unless one was completely immune to them.

Evidently, these two hunters were swallowed up by these many spells, and they sunk into dizziness and hallucinations.

Flaming Sphere, Flaming Sphere, Flaming Sphere… Fireball, Fireball, Fireball…

Numerous rank 2 and 3 fire spells took shape in Leylin's hands, forming a scene like the stars in the sky. While they were all low-ranked fire-type spells, amassing them like this made them similar to the legendary spell, Meteor Shower!

Even the two hunters that had broken away from the attack before still sensed immense danger and retreated quickly.

"Consider it an honour that you're dying under this move." Leylin smiled slightly. With the guidance of his spiritual force, the flames in the sky descended like meteors.

*Rumble!* Continuous explosions sounded out, and the two hunters were drowned out by the multicolour spells.

"Hehe… The internet in my previous world also had the five fireball school, where they took over the world with five casts of fireballs. But this isn't just five!" Seeing the dazzling flames, Leylin continued to let his imagination run wild.

Meanwhile, the werecreature priest saw the hunters who had exploded till there was nothing left of them, and now had a very grim look.

"So many spell slots, and you can even cast them instantaneously? Are you a Legend? No, even Legends can't do anything about the limit of nine spell slots…" The werecreature priest now looked to be in a complete mess, on the verge of a breakdown.

Leylin smiled at the priest's reaction. Spellcasters suffered in this world; while they could use the Weave, they were restricted by spell slots. On top of that, Mystra took something from them every time they cast a spell, holding a part of their spiritual force. For this reason, a few wizards could only cast some low-ranked spells. Even Legends lost all battle power after casting a few legendary spells.

But Leylin was different. He had completely analysed the first four levels of the Weave, and there were no restrictions whatsoever on rank 0 to rank 3 spells. As long as he had enough spiritual force, he would be able to cast low-ranked spells instantly!

On top of that, he'd refilled his spell slots the day before. Leylin could cast spells now, but also had extra ones from before and therefore more spiritual force to spare.

This resulted in his terrifying abilities in casting spells. In terms of the number of low-ranked spells, he surpassed regular wizards by several times, and could easily use the power of his low-ranked spells to drown his opponents out. As long as the opponent was not completely immune to spells, he had nothing to fear!

Of course, this was his greatest trump card. If news of it were ever to spread, the consequences were obvious. Hence, all those who saw his trump card would have to die!

With Leylin's previous identity, he had not dared used this without thinking it over. Now, this werecreature priest was fated to die here.

Watching Leylin unceasingly drawing close, the werecreature priest now looked to have given up all hope. All of a sudden, his face twitched, "I know, I know! You're an arcanist. You must be an arcanist! Your companion is in my hands… I can… Ah…"

Terrifying spells flooded out once more. While they were merely low-ranked rank 0 to 3 spells, they were enough to drown out opponents. Watching the priest melting away in the flood, Leylin's interest was visibly piqued.

'What a surprise… I never thought a werecreature priest in a remote camp would know of the existence of arcanists! On top of that… a companion, huh…' It seemed like the priest had also met an arcanist before, and had even kept them captive. As long as he killed the priest, everything in the camp would belong to him. Why would Leylin bother trying to bargain with him?

The misty barrier dispersed, and Leylin looked at the surroundings. The entire camp was in chaos. Numerous werecreatures and the bodies of their comrades had fallen everywhere, the flowing blood enough to even form little streams.

Motivated by the great rewards, Leylin's underlings had gone all out, and they were all immersed in battle.

On another battlefield, however, even with near legendary strength Tiff was still on a disadvantage. He was facing five high-ranked werecreatures, and looked to be in a sorry state.

"Let's go!" With Leylin's arrival and the disappearance of the werecreature priest, the high-ranked werecreature leader's expression changed, and he abruptly waved his arms.

He was intellectual, and could obviously tell that his spellcaster had been taken down. Now that the other side's high-ranked spellcaster could attack as he wished, there would be a calamity. While he was unwilling to do so, he still gritted his teeth and sent down the orders to retreat.

But how could Leylin give him this chance? While he could not cast a torrent of spells again, as someone who was nearly a high-ranked wizard he could still turn the tables.

Greater Entanglement! Hold Person! Greater Vertigo! After taking a casual glance at the battlefield, Leylin flew over to Tiff's battle. Debuffing spells rained down like a storm.

"Damn it, he has so many spell slots? What's up with the priest? He didn't even make this person use up that many spell slots and died so fast!" The werecreature leader roared, but no matter how hard he thought about this, he could not guess the truth. He could only fly into a rage and then welcome the attack from above and around him.

After seeing the death of the high-ranked priest, the werecreatures' morale had already dropped, and Leylin was now even more ruthless. Considering the circumstances and taking one of them captive, Leylin then began to crush the werecreatures.

Moon Bow! A dazzling lightning bow and arrow descended from the skies, piercing through the orc leader's chest.

Even with this terrifying attack, the leader could still persist for a while before it crumpled to the ground, exhibiting its powerful life energy. After the deaths of the spellcaster and high-ranked werecreature, the entire werecreature camp lost all courage to continue resisting them.

Numerous werecreatures howled as they left, while some were hacked to death by some underlings who had gone mad in the fun they were having in the slaughter.

"Clear out the camp and maintain order. Prepare a few slaves, I have uses for them." After handing the only surviving high-ranked werebeast prisoner to Tiff to tie up, Leylin did not care any longer and headed into the core of the camp.

The ground still had bloodstains that had yet to dry, and it was still slightly sticky when one walked across. However, the battle had ended quickly and the main infrastructure had not been damaged.

*Boom! Boom!* With Leylin's lead, the statue of Malar and the altar was destroyed. Traces of dim golden rays were still shining from the fragmented pieces.

"Even a true god will still have restrictions. For instance, they can only sense the surroundings of the altar up to a certain distance, and if they were to descend, they would need to cooperate with the priests here, where they would offer sacrifices or even trigger a holy tide… But there's nothing here at all. Coming down here forcefully would result in damage to one's divinity. Why would that happen for a few high-ranked werebeasts?"

Leylin guided the underlings outside, and only after Malar's statue was destroyed did he enter the range of the altar.

"Once it's completely smashed up, he won't be able to sense anything around it…" Until now, the altar had been the safest place. With a wave of his arms to send away a few men who were quivering on tenterhooks, he arrived by the altar..

"While there's no divinity here, I can still sense the God of the Hunt…" Leylin closed his eyes, caressing the shattered giant cyan rocks of the altar and sensing the divine force left behind by Malar. An aura filled with bloodlust, death and hunting lingered around him.

"While this is a lesser god, the accumulation isn't half bad…" Leylin sighed, the darkness in his eyes expanding, "Devour!"

Traces of golden divine force surged out of the remains of the ruins, and Leylin devoured it all. While it wasn't quite possible to grasp divinity like this, he could still ingest some divine force. In the World of Gods, gods still sent down their divine force to help their followers advance in their professions on occasion.

But Leylin was different. He was not Malar's follower, and Malar would not bestow his grace upon him. Since the god wouldn't give it on his own, Leylin would take it himself. This was the kind of person he was!

As the divine force entered his body, a terrifying, fragmented conscient slowly awakened in Leylin's sea of consciousness, turning into a huge incomplete ape monster.

Helen

Devouring divine power like this was a very dangerous thing. Even if incomplete, even Legends couldn't resist a divine conscient. If any idiot devoured the power of an existing god, he would either go crazy due to the huge conscient or get devoured by the divine force instead and become an incarnation of that god.

Yet Leylin was different. His original body was equivalent to a demigod to begin with, and he had the conscient and memories of his host body. He wasn't the least bit afraid of this incomplete conscient.

*Hiss!* An unnerving phantom of a winged snake emerged from Leylin's soul, glaring at the disabled monkey in front of it. Even if it was only a conscient, the monkey screeched in fright. The monkey screeched out of fright despite that it only being a conscient.

*Boom!* The Targaryen looked at the monkey with disdain before swallowing it whole. Leylin's body trembled involuntarily as the A.I. Chip made a report: [Beep! Unknown energy absorbed by host body! Determined to be divine essence, near high-grade. Spirit increasing…] [Beep! Energy fully absorbed by host body, Spirit+1.]

Leylin's spirit force increased to a stunning 13 after devouring Malar's divinity. His spirit was raised substantially, and he could make contact with more of the Weave.

Meanwhile, the A.I. Chip was still giving him feedback.

[Host body's spirit stat has reached 13, host has advanced to rank 13 as a wizard.] [Host has received one rank 6 spell slot, one rank 5 spell slot, and one rank 4 spell slot!]'Did I finally break through?' Leylin looked at his updated stats.

[Leylin Faulen. Age: 20. Race: Human, Rank 13 Wizard. Strength: 10. Agility: 10 Physique: 10. Spirit force: 13. Condition: Healthy. Feats: Sturdy, Erudite, Elementary Perfect Body. Spell Slots: Rank 6(2), Rank 5(4), Rank 4(6), Rank 3(???), Rank 2(???), Rank 1(???), Rank 0(???)][Weave Analysis Progress: Level 0: 100%. Level 1: 100%. Level 2: 100%. Level 3: 100%. Level 4: 56.77%. Level 5: 12.15%. Level 6: 0.01%.]"A 20 year old rank 13 Wizard. I reckon there aren't many like me in Silverymoon City. I'm almost on par with a Chosen now, though I guess I did advance with the grace of a god…" Leylin had fully digested Malar's energy, and whilst the god himself realised that he'd lost some of his divinity he had no idea why.

'Well, it seems like I'll be entering an eternal feud with the God of the Hunt now.' Even if he hadn't devoured Malar's divine force, Leylin would have made an enemy of the god's church anyway. He had killed too many of his werecreature followers.

'I'll have to face a god sooner or later anyway. The God of the Hunt? Interesting domain.' Leylin smirked.

…..

"My Lord." Tiff, who was waiting outside the altar, was aware that Leylin had changed. However, he didn't point it out. "We've detained and imprisoned a group of captives according to your orders and… I found something in the cell at the core of the campsite."

"Oh? Bring me there to have a look." Adrenaline rushed through Leylin as he came to a securely sealed cell with Tiff.

"I'm the only one who's entered the place. I thought it would be better for few people to know about this." Tiff bowed before positioning himself beside the door like a loyal guard.

'Can it be…' Leylin had a few guesses in his heart, but he was still hesitant as he pushed the door.

*Clang!* The thick and heavy door bellowed.

The light inside was dim, and it was covered in the distinct runes of the werecreatures that gave off a barbaric aura. Leylin could tell that it was a high-grade anti-demon spell formation to block off contact with elemental energy and the Weave.

It evidently a trap, and the person within the cell moved suddenly and raised their head.

"You– You're not a werecreature!" They mumbled, so softly that Leylin could barely hear.

*Cling clang!* The chains scraped against each other as this prisoner moved, and Leylin noticed the unique cuffs on their hands. "Antimagic cuffs? Looks like they were really wary of you."

Leylin sized the captive up—they were humanoid, but looked like a half-elf. Beneath their long viridescent locks were a pair of pure obsidian eyes and translucent fair skin. Their aura was distinct in spite of the long imprisonment.

A faint energy was emitted from their body, but restricted by the antimagic cuffs on their hands. It was clear that this captive was a wizard.

"A female half-elf wizard? Tell me, why did the werecreatures imprison you?" Leylin asked.

"I heard screaming and slashing just now. Have you eliminated all of them?" The female wizard raised her head and shot Leylin a glance with her unreadable eyes.

"Hm, I guess you can say that!" Leylin nodded in agreement.

"Then aren't you going to release me?" She waved her cuffs in question.

"Nope. Law says you're now my captive, unless you have something of value to exchange for your freedom." Leylin shook his head. "Besides, you're a half-elf wizard, you should know your value."

This was the standard practice in the mainland, but things were different in Silverymoon. The city's leader was good, and if she heard of the situation she might even have redeemed the half-elf with her own money. But Leylin didn't plan on reporting it.

"Redemption? Hah, I guess you came because of 'that' too. Ignorant idiot. You don't know the suffering it will bring you." The female wizard laughed, her eyes brimming with complicated emotions. Leylin saw a brief moment of regret.

"Are you talking about the inheritance of the arcanists near the Nether Mountains and red dragon territory?" Leylin was sick of beating about the bush. And as expected, the moment he mentioned the Nether Mountains, red dragon, and arcanists, her expression changed. "So you knew."

"Actually, I know more than what you think I do." Leylin looked at her robe which was evidently different from the regular robes of other wizards and snapped his fingers.

A scorching light struck between her hands and melted the antimagic cuffs. Boiling molten iron dripped to the floor and sizzled, producing white fumes in its wake. But the female wizard had better things to pay attention to, as she stared at Leylin unbelievingly, "Instant cast? It can't be! You- You are an arcanist!"

"An arcanist? I've yet to become one, I just have a few incomplete arcane spell models, just like you." Leylin smiled at her.

The use of arcane spells was obviously different from that of normal spells. The biggest difference was that one didn't need the help of the Weave to use them, instead using the elemental particles in the air.

Leylin had made these plans long ago, but the A.I. Chip was busy with the Weave. Still, he'd managed to build a few arcane spell models in his leisure. The scorching ray that he casted just now was one of them.

Given his abilities, it wasn't impossible for Leylin to completely reconstruct the arcanists given enough time. Still, it could take tens of millennia. The transformation of normal spells into arcane spell models would be enough to keep him busy.

When there were ready-made ones, why would he continue to make them himself? Leylin's real interest lay in the research of those arcanists and the inheritance from those Magi who had comprehended laws.

There was more than one Magus who comprehended laws in the final war, and countless rank 8s who were similar to the Mother Core. An understanding of their paths and laws would be extremely beneficial to Leylin. Being a localisation of Magi, arcanists must have received the teachings of the ancient Magi. It was quite possible that they possessed information in those fields.

'Observing the different paths of law will be a great benefit. Though the ultimate path of every Magus is definitely different, it can at least give me a general direction.' Leylin looked at the female wizard as multiple thoughts ran through his head.

On the other hand, she let down her guard after seeing Leylin cast that spell. Her expression loosened up, and a sense of pity and reliance overcame her. It was as if she had found her own kind.

*Bam!* A ball of green elemental particles started burning on the tips of her fingers, and she made a bizarre gesture, looking cautious.

"In the eyes of the Arcanic Fire, I will comply with the path of truth and abandon confusion, weakness and suffering. I will succeed the path of the arcanist. The light of Netheril will never be dimmed. My name is Helen. May I know who you are, my Lord?"

Helen looked over to Leylin after the ritual with expectation.

"Is that how ancient arcanists greet each other? I'm sorry, but I really don't know how to do this." Leylin spread his hands out and laughed helplessly, "Honestly, I'm just an ordinary wizard who got some fragments of arcanist inheritance."

After a round of confusing explanation and using the arcanist notebook as proof, Leylin finally proved his identity. Helen's own origins gradually grew clear before his eyes.

Pretense

The half-elf in front of Leylin was called Helen Carter. She claimed to be a survivor of the ancient arcanist empire who dabbled in the arcane arts.

The inheritance of her family had been badly damaged by the oppression of the churches. She was actually a rank 11 wizard, and other than Arcane Fire which she used to prove her identity, she knew no other arcane spell models. If things were put in perspective, she was weaker than Leylin.

As for her motive in going north, she'd found something akin to the inheritance of an ancient arcanist in her old family tome. She was hoping she could find something there to revive her bloodline.

"Even with this world's strict prohibition of them, arcanists still exist?" Leylin touched his chin. As a matter of fact, this was a very good thing. It meant that even if he managed to become an arcanist in the future, he wouldn't have to work too hard to conceal his identity.

"Yes. Even with the disapproval of the churches, any wizard that has reached the rank of Legend will have to set foot into the essential step of Weaveless Casting. The Netheril empire didn't leave their inheritance in a single place. Even though most were destroyed in war, some people have managed to luck across remnants of it."

Helen tucked a few strands of hair neatly behind her jade-like ear. Her beauty was really on another level.

"That being said, Legends still have to do their research on arcane spells in secret, and once non-legendary wizards are found to be affiliated with any form of arcane spells, they're absolutely done for." Helen laughed bitterly as she spoke about it, as if she was was reminded of something she didn't want to be.

It seems like she and her family had endured their fair share of suffering at the hands of the gods and their churches.

"In any case, thank you for saving me from the werecreatures. I can tell you everything my family knows about the arcanist inheritance in return." Helen told Leylin sincerely.

That was a wise choice. Even if she rebelled, Leylin would have his own methods of achieving what he wanted, such as spells like Memory Retrieval. Helen wasn't a match for him. Additionally, she recognised that Leylin was someone related to the arcane arts anyway. That alone had led to her lowering her guard against him.

"Thank you. When I find the documents and information I'll make a copy for you." Leylin didn't reject her offer. He certainly thought that he deserved it all, "Before I discover any remnants of the arcanists, I'll need you to move within range of my detection, is that okay?"

"Yes, that will be alright!" A consequence like this was already a whole lot better than being imprisoned by the werecreatures, where she might eventually become a sacrifice. Helen readily agreed to Leylin's request without any negotiation, she was aware that her life was in his hands now.

"My Lord!" Tiff showed no signs of surprise when he saw Leylin bringing Helen out of the room.

"Right, this is Miss Helen. You can consider her our client." Leylin said ambiguously. Helen wasn't pleased about how she was being introduced but she chose to not voice it out.

"We've cleared the entire campsite. The high-ranked werecreature and tens of normal ones that we've knocked out have been put aside." Tiff resembled a hard working housekeeper, reporting everything to his owner.

"There's enough food for 200 people here, and enough weapons to equip an elite combat squad. I also found some half-done high-grade magic potions and other magic items in the leader's room. They're all very strong, probably intended to kill the dragon."

"Got it, take away all the weapons and armour and leave half of the food." Leylin kept the high-grade ingredients that Tiff handed him. These materials were valuable even outside their use for killing dragons.

"Bring me all the captives, I have some use for them!"

Things got simpler after he saw the people who participated in the battle and helped transform their bloodlines. He then asked Tiff to bring Helen along and lead the rest to bring the supplies away before changing his appearance back to how he looked before.

"Why took you so long?" Rafiniya's grumble could be heard the moment Leylin returned to the campsite, "If you were a little more late, I will already be on my way to find you!"

"Something cropped up, gather everyone now and prepare for attack!" Leylin was flushed with excitement.

"Why?" Rafiniya mumbled to herself but the rest of the men had very quickly assembled themselves.

"I recced the area just now, and I found that the werecreatures' campsite was completely transformed." Leylin sounded ecstatic.

"There were attacked and a few of their leaders died. If we go there now, we will be able to wipe them out completely and uproot them! We can finish this damned mission!"

All the eyes of the soldiers' lit up upon hearing Leylin's words.

...

Alec opened his eyes, and that wizard's face surfaced in his mind once more.

"Damn it! My head- Ugh-" Alec stood up with much difficulty and saw his almost-destroyed campsite and collapsed captives. Looking at the few survivors between the corpses, even if he wasn't that intelligent, he knew that the mission had failed.

He kicked the fainted captives violently in an attempt to wake them up and ordered them to do the same to the others as he sat down. His head still hurt, and messed up his already chaotic thoughts.

"Human, wizards, attack…captives! Where's the captive?" Alec ran to where Helen was imprisoned before, only to arrive at an empty cell.

"Those bloody humans–" Alec growled in anger causing everyone around him to cower in fear.

"I'm the biggest here, I'm the head of you all!" He struck a few of the stronger werecreatures to show his authority. The rest could only whimper in submission, he was a high-grade werecreature after all. He exceeded the rest in both strength and speed.

"We, go back— Blackblood…" Alec made a decision, he could only abandon the campsite in its current state. But before anyone could object, a voice sounded in his head.

'Don't go back! Those darned humans, I haven't made my revenge on them. The others will mock me if I go back!' The voice circled his head and overtook his previous decision. Alec got dizzy for a bit and decided to abandon his decision and gathered all his subordinates.

"Those despicable humans, me, Alec, your new head will avenge!" After announcing his decision, he received stares of fear instead of excited growling— Leylin's previous attack had frightened them.

Before Alec could think of anything else, chaos erupted at the entrance of their campsite. A group of human adventurers barged in. No, it was the city guards, but they seemed to be few in number.

Alec scratched his head. He'd attacked both guards and adventurers before, the only distinction in his mind was that guards were greater in number and had more tender flesh.

"They want to attack us just based on that amount of people?" Alec was triggered despite his low intellect.

"Kill them!" He bellowed before charging forward in front of the rest. The first person he saw was an armoured young female knight emitting a dazzling aura.

"A strong one from the humans!" Alec was taken aback, but that didn't last for too long before he charged at her.

"Kill them!" The remaining city guards were filled with bloodlust, charging forward for their future and life, as well as for vengeance. They burst forth with bloodshot eyes and the last remnants of their strength.

The werecreatures who had endured the previous battle were only at half their strengths, and the rest carried injuries that made them weaker than before.

"Perhaps we really can win this time!" The soldiers watched Leylin, who ran before all of them, with a glimpse of hope.

Mass Bull's Strength! Cloudkill! Enchant Weapon!

"Charge! Victory is ours!" Leylin roared, spells shooting out from his hands as the knights slashed at the werecreatures with their swords, sending a werecreature's skull rolling to the floor.

'The paralysis effect is still not over, especially on the high-ranked werecreature. The spiritual suggestion is still working though!' Deep inside, Leylin was actually observing the battle quietly.

He'd left these captives behind on purpose, to give the city guard some achievements, How else would he return? Light from a large-scale spell shone, and Rafiniya noticed in shock that her strength had increased greatly.

"A mass buff? Rank 6 spell?" She looked at Leylin in confusion.

Reward

"He's actually broken through!" Rafiniya's eyes widened slightly. She obviously knew what the casting of Mass Bull's Strength implied. It was a rank 6 spell that only rank 13 wizards could cast. This sort of spell that could boost a group was very popular in the army.

As a noble, Rafiniya knew more than regular people and definitely understood how terrifying this was.

"He's only twenty!" Rafiniya glanced at Leylin, who was so young that it was ridiculous, and suddenly felt down. While she was considered a genius, she was nothing in comparison to him…

*Aoo aoo!* However, getting distracted during battle was very dangerous. The female knight had made this exact mistake. Alec thundered from opposite her, his muscles bulging bit by bit. His claws swept forth, seemingly severing even the air itself.

Wild Burst! He had clearly obtained this power from Malar.

*Boom!* Rafiniya felt a burst of strength from his hands, causing her double-handed blade to whistle sharply as it flew off.

"Crap!" She wanted to retreat, but it was already too late. The high-ranked werecreature charged forward, his coarse pores and nauseating skin distinctly visible to her.

Alec snarled, only having one thought in mind. Tear! He would tear this knight in front of him apart!

'Am I going to die?' Rafiniya slowly shut her eyes, 'How could I let myself get distracted in battle?'

However, the pain that she anticipated did not appear. Rafiniya opened her eyes and found Leylin's tall figure in front of her, blocking the attack.

A sabre fell, and the high-ranked werecreature's head rolled to the ground, blood spurting out of his neck like it was a fountain.

*Woo woo…* The other werecreatures saw that their new leader had fallen at the hands of a human, and the emotions of terror that had been accumulating ultimately exploded. They whimpered and turned to escape pathetically, yet were easily pursued and killed by the human warriors. Most deaths in battle came when one fled in chaos, as such opponents were the easiest to take care of.

'Is he a hero like in the legends?' Rafiniya got up, gazing at Leylin with his sabre. Something glinted in her eyes, causing a slight flush to rise upon her cheeks.

...

A meeting was being held in Silverymoon, regarding Leylin and his men.

"I'm against this!" Cassley slammed the table, causing a small earthquake. "There's something wrong with squadron 5's mission completion!" His face was flushed.

"A huge camp with numerous high-ranked werecreatures, as well as an altar of the God of the Hunt. How could they have defeated them all?" He'd seen Leylin before, "I firmly stand against them being given credit and promotion!"

Cassley was almost on the verge of shouting at this point. Such ungentlemanly behaviour caused all of the other members to frown slightly.

'He's a sorcerer after all, he's far too emotional. Not like a wizard at all, what a fortunate guy…' More than one high-ranked wizard was silently thinking of this.

"We've already gotten our men to take a look and verify the bodies of high-ranked werecreatures and the others. What else do you want?" The elven wizard whom Leylin had seen once before asked coldly. "Besides, did you only just find out how dangerous this mission was? Who was it that had guaranteed at the beginning that it was only a 'tiny' camp?"

Unusually, the elf wizard was obviously out to get someone.

'Looks like Cassley's side is at a disadvantage…' After seeing this, the other big shots all nodded, now having a better understanding of the struggles and strife between the elf wizard and Cassley.

But this was the truth! When both sides' strength were about the same, it was impossible to deny or fake anything.

"You've seen the report! The camp had already been raided by some unknown organisation before, which was why squadron 5 got it easy…" Cassley still did not let up, "Therefore, we can't consider this as squadron 5 completing the mission. We need to investigate this carefully!"

"Gods! How could you not distinguish what's right and wrong here!" The elf wizard was so furious that he was trembling, "Our Silverymoon has never banned anything like that. Even if Leylin got external help, that's because he's capable!"

"Enough!" A deep voice sounded from the person sitting at the head of the table. He had an immense presence that seemed to have gone past some sort of boundary, entering the domain of Legends.

"Commander!" Cassley and the elven wizard were immediately discouraged as they saluted and apologised.

"The reason we have gathered is not to discuss the achievements of a subordinate's squadron. There are more pressing matters at hand!" The old wizard spoke slowly, looking like a regular human. He had muddy eyes and wore a simple grey robe. There was nothing special about him whatsoever. However, it was this old man that had control over all the high-ranked military officials in the hall.

"Silverymoon is an open city state confederation. Obeying rules is the basis of our existence. Even if squadron 5 overstepped any boundaries, they still completed the mission and should therefore get what they deserve!" The old wizard made the final decision. Cassley's lips twitched, but he did not say anything in the end.

After all, if Leylin had truly succeeded and completed the mission, he could at most only fault him for the process. Legitimacy belonged to the victor, and that had always held true. Seeing the elven wizard opposite him look all smug, his heart blazed even more.

He had brought up this issue and taken care of everything in the shadows himself. He'd thought that he could ruthlessly give Leylin a setback, but the result had surprised him. The defeat this time would mean the people in the faction would view him less favourably, and the effect on him was practically destructive.

'Leylin, is it?' Cassley thought over this name ruthlessly, 'In a situation where the captain had to return with grievous injuries, he still finished the mission resolutely. On top of that, he was even lucky enough to get the werecreatures at their weakest… If he's trying to be a hero, hehe…'

Leylin had gotten just a bit of attention before, but henceforth Cassley would ferociously attack this little wizard.

As a person in a leading position, he was now seeing a pawn have the guts to move in a way he had not planned it to, and one that was even baring his fangs at himself.

Even if that was the current situation, Cassley would never imagine that the fellow he'd treated as a pawn would be hiding something terrifying.

"Our next topic is the allocation of funds for the perpetual fortification on Sunrise Mountain Range…" Cassley perked up again.

One loss meant nothing. What was more important was the orcs' upcoming attack.

...

"This is all thanks to you, Leylin!"

The sunlight shone through the windows of an infirmary room that was obviously of a high-grade. The motes of dust floating through the air were rendered visible..

Aulen looked slightly pale as she lay in bed, surrounded by the group of officers who had survived.

"With saving my life and completing the mission, you've helped me twice. I will remember it!" Aulen guaranteed.

"It's nothing. I did it for myself too!" Leylin smiled. Aulen now looked nothing like she had been as a soldier, instead seeming rather delicate. It seemed like the matter with Lanshire had given her a huge shock.

"After this, I'm no longer fit to stay in the city guard. I've already submitted my resignation. I hope you can take care of our brothers for now. It won't be long before you get your rewards…" Aulen smiled bitterly.

"Squadron 5 is my foundation. I'll never give up on them!" Leylin guaranteed, looking enthusiastic.

"That's good… cough cough…" Aulen began to cough violently for a while, and then eyed Leylin, "As for your rewards this time… You'll definitely become a battalion commander.That's a high-ranked officer in the city guards, and you might even be granted a hereditary title. Even in other countries, you will be recognised…"

At the mention of this hereditary title, the other officers began to look envious. Once one became a noble whose title could be succeeded by his descendants and held his own land, he would truly enter the upper classes of society. His children and grandchildren would become noble youths above the rest.

That was the dream of all the officers at the bottom tier, but in less than two years of entering the city guards Leylin had won it all. While some jealousy arose, these feelings melted like ice in the sun after seeing the wizard emblem on his chest,.

This was a rank 13 wizard at such a tender age. That achievement was more than enough for him to get everything, and the huge gap caused the feelings within them to dissipate.

By the time Aulen returned, Leylin had gotten his newest appointment and rewards.

"As expected, I'm now a battalion commander and a baron." Leylin sent the soldier who had come to send the order away, and then glanced at the parchment paper with an enchanted imprint on it. He smiled as if thinking about something.

Individual strength was rather powerful in the World of Gods, especially the city guards of Silverymoon. It had a powerful army made of practically all sorts of Professionals. Having the authority to command over 200 people was already rather powerful.

If this was times of peace, Leylin would never get this role. However, they were expanding the army in preparation for war, and Leylin was considered an 'old soldier' from before, which gave him an advantage.

From this appointment, Leylin could smell the war that would soon arrive.