On a mini horse-carriage carrying goods, Baelin wore rugged cloth and dressed as a horse keeper. As for Jenny and James, they were hiding inside a compartment of the horse carriage.
On the four sides of the horse carriage, large torches were lit, dispelling the darkness in the surroundings.
“Don’t worry! They won’t be able to discover you!” Baelin tried his best to console them.
As for Jenny and James, they could only look at each other and smile wryly.
As the Lord Marquis’s condition was worsening, Jenny and James only had a short respite to nurture their wounds before continuing on the journey.
Their employed adventurers and mercenaries were slain in the earlier journey, which made it obvious to everyone that someone was obstructing Jenny and her party. There were no more fools stepping forward to be their valiant protectors.
Furthermore, even the Baron who had lost a Knight and most of his elite troops felt a deep remorse. The way he looked at Jenny now was as if he was seeing the god of plague.
To him, the sooner Jenna — who was like a magnet for bad fortune — left, the better it was. In any case, it would be best that none of the incidents were to happen in the area he oversaw so that he can be acquitted of the blame.
This attitude was even more apparent after he received an anonymous letter from the eastern capital. It was to the extent of rejecting to grant Jenny an audience with him.
In this feudalistic area, it was like many small kingdoms which were independent. After seeing the Baron act this way, all of the Potter Town’s citizens did not offer any help to Jenny thereafter.
For this small horse carriage, Baelin had to fork out three times of the market price to purchase it.
The seller even stressed that he would only sell to Baelin; he did not want to even have a buyer-seller relation with Jenny!
They simply had no confidence that Baelin could complete this simple purchase!
However, what else could they have done to ensure their safety?
Looking at the shops selling torches and the weaponry shop which were closed, Jenny and James were in dismay. As for Baelin, he looked even sadder.
However, he clenched his teeth and looked at Jenny sitting behind him, before cracking his whip.
*Pa!*
The horse carriage began to move, taking the three passengers out of this town.
“Wait a minute, can I hitch a ride?”
Just when the town behind Baelin gradually grew smaller and when his indecisiveness was at its peak, he heard a voice that sounded heavenly to the ears.
“Bo…Boss!”
Baelin rubbed his eyes and looked at Leylin wearing black robes with a small knapsack. Immediately, his eyes were filled with guilt and excitement, relief and many other expressions.
“Lord Leylin! We’re extremely grateful for you coming with us!”
At this moment, Jenny and James popped out from the narrow compartment of the horse carriage and smiled, as if relieved of a heavy burden.
From the looks of it, if this mysterious Mister Leylin was to join them, what more did they need to worry about?
It was evident that Jenny and James had joy on their faces no matter how hard they tried to conceal it.
Through Baelin, they have successfully made Leylin, this mysterious person who was most likely a Magus, come with them. Even after returning to the eastern region, involving Leylin in their scheme was extremely beneficial!
As for these petty schemes, Leylin had not even needed to guess before he knew their train of thoughts. However, he did not express it explicitly and allowed Baelin to escort him up the carriage.
With this powerful expert Leylin holding the fort, the other three felt much better in an instant.
They threw away all that was used to conceal themselves, and also changed the interior of the horse carriage to make it seem like it was carrying passengers instead of goods. They no longer had to squeeze into that small space throughout the journey.
* Da Da Da!*
The wheels of the horse carriage spun as the two old horses galloped with all their might to travel forth.
“Master Leylin, why are you willing to give up on your shop and come with me to the eastern capital?”
Baelin glanced at Leylin who was resting at a side, restraining himself as much as he could before he asked.
“Of course it’s for you, you fool! How can I be reassured if I let you go alone?”
Leylin opened his eyes and spoke indifferently.
“Bo-boss, I’m so touched…” Baelin choked with emotion, sparkling tears gathering in his eyes.
“If you thought I’d say something like that, you’re gravely mistaken!” Immediately after, Leylin’s next words caused Baelin to be stunned.
“Business at Blazing Hammers is not doing well. I’ve been wanting to go to the eastern capital and find a suitable place to do some business or open a branch. Since you’re going, I’ll go too since you’re already going there.”
“No, you must be lying to me! You must be here because you’re worried about me, right Boss?”
Baelin looked ready to breakdown, while Jenny and James looked like they wanted to laugh, but did not dare do so.
“Just think whatever you want to think.”
Leylin stared, speechless, at this fellow who was a bit too egotistical.
He spoke indifferently and snuggled into his clothes, seemingly entering a deep sleep.
However, in his heart, he thought, “A.I. Chip, show me my current stats!”
[Beep! Leylin Farlier. Rank 2 Warlock, Bloodline: Giant Kemoyin Serpent. Strength: 21.1, Agility: 14.4, Vitality: 27.9, Spiritual force: 77 (104.3), Magic power: 77 (Magic power is in synchronisation with spiritual force) Status: Sea of consciousness is fragmented. Part of spiritual force is solidified.]
Over these two years, Leylin constantly used potions to heal his injuries. At this point, the injuries on his body had mostly recovered.
However, healing the damage done to his sea of consciousness and his spiritual force was a very slow process, causing Leylin to start feeling impatient.
Hence, after his emotions due to his Warlock bloodline had erupted, he had decided to go to the eastern capital and find a way to increase the rate of this process.
After expelling the mark from the rank 3 Magus Alric, he could now release part of his spiritual force and return his strength to that of a peak rank 1 Magus.
Whether in the south coast or in Twilight Zone, Magi with this power could go on a rampage. As long as one did not meet with a Magus above rank 2, they were basically tyrants!
Though the Twilight Zone had a lot of high-grade meditation techniques, there were still some differences in the overall strength as compared to the south coast.
Leylin, who also trained in a high-grade meditation technique, was very clear about these differences.
The high-grade meditation techniques passed down from ancient Magi could help a Magus get stronger at every rank with all sorts of amazing powers along the way, but there were still a few obvious disadvantages!
After training up to a certain point, regular mortal resources were of no use to them, and only bizarre or even items from another world would be able to help one progress in one’s meditation technique. If not, one would get stuck at some point.
In ancient times, Magi took over world after world and amassed vast amounts of resources. Also, the connection between Twilight Zone and the external world still existed, so this wasn’t a problem. However, the troublesome matter was: Not only had Twilight Zone lost its supply of resources from other worlds, it had even lost contact with the subterranean world itself!
Certain high-grade meditation techniques were extremely harsh when it came to the materials needed, and they also could not be substituted!
Hence, though the percentage of Magi here was a lot higher than in the south coast, there was probably the same number of rank 2 Magi on both sides.
As for rank 3 Magi, Ley
lin guessed they would be even lesser in number here than in the south coast!
After all, the higher the rank of a Magus, the rarer the materials they needed. This was even more so for Magi who used high-grade meditation techniques.
Without the help from these precious resources, Magi could only use time and make the occasional tiny amount of progress in these techniques. Such a speed would be enough to make a Magus have a nervous breakdown.
Most Magi used most of their lifetime and still could not break through the first level of their meditation technique, and were filled with unwillingness to accept their fate and were full of regrets at the time of their deaths!
Stationed Troops
But Leylin’s advanced meditation technique, Kemoyin’s Pupil, also required specific resources. If it wasn’t for the fact that he got his hands on the meat of the ancient Thousand Eyed Starfish by pure luck, then even Leylin had no clue how long it would have taken him to completely remodel his heart, and thereby become a rank 2 Magus.
Besides, compared to other advanced meditation techniques, the criteria for Warlocks were much harsher!
One mustn’t forget — to train in Kemoyin’s Pupil, one must first possess the ancient bloodline of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent!
Just this one prerequisite was enough to stump most acolytes!
Whether it was the south coast or Twilight Zone, there were very few beings with ancient bloodlines. They were practically extinct!
Any acolyte that wanted to obtain a bit of the essence from an ancient bloodline would find this task even more difficult than advancing to become an official Magus!
Take Kemoyin’s Pupil for example. If one does not try to obtain the bloodline of the Giant Kemoyin Snake or the Black Horrall Snake and instead settled for the next best thing, even getting blood from the matured Mankestre Snake, which had the strength of an official Magus, was an impossible task for level 3 acolytes!
High-grade meditation techniques had very harsh requirements, and they were not something that Magi from remote areas, such as the Twilight Zone, could fulfill.
Hence, though there were more ancient inheritances left behind here than in the south coast, the power on both sides was about the same, or perhaps the Twilight Zone’s power was inferior to the south coast’s.
“With the passage of time, everything is advancing!”
Having thought this through, Leylin couldn’t help but sigh.
Though the south coast had not been able to gain the full inheritance, the Magi of the younger generations were just as talented and as good as the ancient Magi were at researching.
In a situation where they lacked specific resources, they had independently come up with another way for Magi to advance: using Grime Water and breaking through by way of stimulation through a rank 1 spell model.
Though this took a toll on a Magus’ life force and even hindered their future, the price to rise to rank 1 and 2 was still affordable.
At least compared to high-grade meditation techniques which required precious materials, though there were many needs for resources using this simplified version, these could be satisfied using materials from the south coast itself. This had thus allowed for the prosperity of the south coast.
The top-grade materials were all gathered and collectively provided to Magi with high-grade meditation techniques, guaranteeing that they could develop their top-notch battle power and maintain their governance.
“Things are improving over time! Though the choice of the Magi in the south coast in using the simplified version was not the best choice, it was likely the most suitable for the land of the south coast.”
Leylin sighed.
Although the amount of ancient inheritances on the south coast were not incomparable with those in Twilight Zone, he had never seen so many Magi who were so fixated on the power of the ancient Magi. They would kill each other in order to receive even a part of a broken inheritance.
“But the Magi of the Twilight Zone have a lot of Magi training in high-grade meditation techniques, which proves that there must be even more resources from ancient times here than in the south coast. This might be a chance for me!”
Leylin brightened up.
For him, gathering high-grade meditation techniques, filling up his database, completing Sacred Flame, and simulating the content of the fourth level of Kemoyin’s Pupil were some of his goals. His other purpose was to gain precious materials from the subterranean world, as well as items that might be helpful in progressing in high-grade meditation techniques.
”Be careful now, the hills which we were ambushed previously are ahead!”
At this moment, James spoke and broke the silence.
Baelin immediately gripped his longsword. As for Leylin, he did not even budge an inch.
To him, an ambush from a level 3 acolyte was just a joke!
The horse carriage continued forward, and very soon, hills surrounded them on both sides. The large trees which grew to the skies projected sinister-looking shadows on the ground, which was also the perfect place for an ambush.
On the ground, there were large amounts of footprints and traces of blood; even the surrounding rocks and trees were covered with numerous arrows and scars made from sword slashes.
Although the ambush happened some time ago, even with people covering up the tracks, it was not too difficult to imagine the gruesome scene that had happened.
Upon seeing all of this, Jenny’s body quivered and she immediately went back to the horse carriage.
As for James, he heaved a sigh, “Miss Jenny is but a fifteen-year-old girl. All of this is too grim and too early for her…”
”Since she was born and raised in a noble family, she has enjoyed the elegant lifestyle and glory of being a noble. However, she also must undertake the responsibilities of one, regardless of her age or gender. This is her calling…”
At this moment, Leylin who had been simulating the high-grade meditation technique Sacred Flame spoke with wisdom.
”Lord Leylin’s words possess a philosophical element to them!”
James smiled and praised, but Leylin eyes lit up.
Just then, he had tried a different simulation of the Sacred Flame. After hearing James speak, he replied with his own feelings. However, when he did so, there was no doubt behind his words.
”Is this the power of Lady Fate? I seem to have glimpse part of her silhouette
Leylin grinned.
He already had some understanding that Sacred Flame was linked with the powers of destiny. The way to advance was also extremely bizarre. One had to absorb a mysterious item at the peak of where destinies clash before advancing.
As for fate, it revolved around the world.
It is no surprise then that in legends many heroes were always supported by one or two Magi who could read prophecies. It was all for mutual benefits.
Only by being with these ‘main characters’ who were destined for great things would the powerful strength of destinies converge.
Every time they were to make a huge decision, it was when the convergence of fate was at its peak. For Magi cultivating in this high-grade meditation technique, they first had to appreciate this great power and even be swept by it. To these ‘children of destinies’, the Magi had to attempt and adapt to change the outcome. During this progress, they often had to obtain mysterious, yet specific, items in order to advance and level-up their meditation technique.
”Fate and foretelling! What wondrous might!”
Leylin’s gaze swept past Baelin, Jenny, and James. It seemed like, amongst these three, there was someone who would be able to change the entire history of the Twilight Zone!
However, as Leylin had merely simulated Sacred Flame and did not actually train in this meditation technique, as well as it being incomplete, he could not tell who would be the person to change history.
Even so, Leylin knew for sure that the methods of the Botelli Family in using their ancestors’ spirits by force was a very malicio
us practice!
“Sacred Flame! What a wondrous meditation technique!” Leylin could tell that even in ancient times, high-grade meditation techniques that could foretell the future were very, very rare.
However, he had no intentions of changing his meditation technique!
Not taking into consideration the incompleteness of the meditation technique itself, Jenna’s strange demise was still vivid in his mind. He did not want to become the next Jenna. Besides, he did not trust this ability that could tell the future. In Leylin’s eyes, the future constantly changed and could not be fathomed. Even if he could occasionally catch hold of a few scenes, it did not necessarily mean that he could control the future.
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