With serious matters being brought up, Leylin no longer had the cavalier attitude from before and was now listening optimistically.
“Brother Robin’s success is due to him being well prepared, how can I compare to him?” Opposed to Kesha’s flattery, Leylin shook his head with a faint smile instead.
He had advanced to the Hydro Phase very quickly, and it was supposed to create a big fuss in the Ouroboros Clan. After all, only an extreme talent could perform so well.
But Robin had stolen his thunder. Just around when Leylin had advanced to the Hydro Phase, news had spread that Robin had actually become a Crystal Phase Magus.
Hydro Phase Magi were not very rare in the central continent, but it was a different scenario with Crystal Phase Magi. Be it their individual strengths or the difficulty of the breakthrough, the two levels were not on the same platform.
Naturally, Leylin’s limelight was stolen by Robin.
Deep in his heart, Leylin was a little glad that Robin attracted a lot of attention to himself. He had always enjoyed reaping his rewards in the dark and did not want to show off like that.
At the same time, he remembered the trace of the black mark on Robin’s forehead.
It seems that the other party’s breakthrough was deeply connected to his encounter in the Quicksand pocket dimension.
Duke Gilbert seemed to know some of this information but of course, he would not tell Leylin about it. Leylin could only guess.
“Both of you are perverts!” Kesha’s expression was a little gloomy and she seemed to be full of indignance. Leylin and Robin had obviously benefitted a lot from the previous expedition, and only she ended up empty-handed. She even lost many of the powerful members of her clan.
What was worse was that when they were hunted down as fugitives, the responsibility was on all three of them.
Chivalrously, Leylin wrapped his arm around Kesha’s slim waist and began to comfort her in a soft voice, “Alright alright! It’s already been over a hundred years, those people must have already lost their patience…”
After a while of tenderness, Leylin finally asked the question regarding his main purpose of this journey. “By the way, you’d mentioned an astral stone previously. What’s that about?”
He had always drawn a clear line between work and pleasure.
Of course, Kesha knew that her relationship with this talented brother was just an insignificant link, and only the entanglement of benefits would allow her to bind him into her clan’s war chariot, making him at least a part of their camp. Hence she quickly gave an account of the whole story.
“Auction?” Leylin’s eyebrows knitted when he heard the news.
“Yes!” Kesha did not brush away Leylin’s unconsciously playful hands, she only glared. “An auction hosted by a Morning Star Magus in Azure Mountain City!” As if she knew that Leylin had not understood her, Kesha began explaining to Leylin again in detail.
It turned out that after Magi entered the Morning Star realm, ordinary materials and resources were already far from sufficient to satisfy them. What Morning Star Magi needed had always been items that were highly cherished in ancient times, and even those that had long since been lost. These treasures were evidently not purchasable by magic crystals. Thus, organising some exchanges in private and barter trade became mainstream.
The founder of Azure Mountain City, the Azure Mountain King, was a neutral Morning Star Magus. His clan controlled of almost half of the auctions that took place in the region.
Every ten or so years, a grand auction would be held in the headquarters of Azure Mountain City. When that time came, many rare treasures would appear, attracting numerous Magi who intended to pursue them.
And behind the auction, the distinguished Azure Mountain King would also organise a small-scaled private exchange meeting.
This secret meeting had a very high bar for attendance. Ordinary rank 3 Magi could not enter, and even Morning Star Magi of all sides snuck in to see if they could get things they needed.
“The next Azure Mountain auction is commencing soon, I have received information that there is someone there who wishes to sell an astral stone the size of a fist…” Kesha explained the matter thoroughly.
“Also, Leylin, even if you come back from the auction empty-handed, you can still try your luck at the exchange meeting later on. With so many highly ranked Magi there, surely there will be those who have astral stones on hand. Of course, the prerequisite will be for you to have an item that is attractive enough for the other party……”
“What time does the exchange meeting start? How do I obtain the authority to enter? What restrictions are there?” Evidently, Leylin’s interest in the exchange meeting was piqued.
And he had indeed accumulated a large quantity of items, which he had intended to sell in exchange for magic crystals or other raw materials.
“The exchange meeting will commence after the auction ends. As long as you are located within the borders of Azure Mountain City, highly ranked Magi who have fulfilled the requirements will be invited. Besides, rest assured that the entire exchange meeting will be conducted in anonymity. The distinguished Azure Mountain King is willing to vouch that there will be no trouble in the future!”
A neutral Morning Star Magus’ word had a definite reputation in the entire central continent, putting Leylin at ease.
It seemed that the issue of materials that was perplexing him had a very high chance of being resolved in Azure Mountain City.
Moreover, after being low-profile and living in seclusion for such a long time, it was about time he went out to roam around.
Leylin, who was in high spirits, pulled Kesha into a new round of war once again.
“Marquis Leylin…”
“Good afternoon, Marquis Leylin!”
On the way to the headquarters, a smile hung on the corner of Leylin’s lips as he greeted the surrounding royal warlocks who passed by from time to time. Occasionally, he nodded in response, which got the low-ranked warlocks overwhelmed.
As of now, he was considered slightly famous in the Ouroboros Clan. On the contrary, being Gilbert’s disciple and having the talent to break through to becoming a Hydro Phase Magus was secondary. The primary reason he became famous was still the technique of protecting his seed.
Ever since the test with Kesha and warlock Miranda, the crazy women in the Ouroboros Clan rarely bothered Leylin anymore.
If they solely wanted pleasure, there were many boy-toys in their clans. There were all sorts of males—rough ones, weak ones, and also uniquely delicate boys. They did not have to bother Leylin.
Furthermore, there were also many male warlocks who came to Leylin with attractive conditions, in hope of acquiring the results of his research.
Undoubtedly, these were all rejected by Leylin.
The mere consequence of offending the warlocks in the Ouroboros Clan made Leylin somewhat eager to avoid it, not to mention the possibility of his bloodline research results being spied on through those techniques.
He could use it for himself but once he spread it, he would be provoking all the women in the Ouroboros Clan. Leylin was not such a fool.
From afar, Leylin spotted someone familiar and he immediately went up to greet her, “Good day, Miss Miranda!”
“It’s Sir Leylin! Haha… Today’s weather is great… Oh! I just remembered that I still have an experiment to conduct, please excuse me!”
Miranda laughed casually and left quickly with an excuse.
Watching her enticing back, Leylin rubbed his fingers as if he remembered the alluring scent she had while in bed. He could not help but let out a smirk.
Previously, he had left her in an extremely miserable state. Now, it seems, Miranda had developed a slight fear of him.
Leylin came before Gilbert’s villa along his stroll.
He was about to knock when the door suddenly swung opened and a figure walked out of the villa, almost bumping into Leylin.
“Brother Robin!�
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Leylin scrutinized the current Robin carefully. The Crystal Phase energy waves on his body were very obvious. It seemed that he had completely stabilised at that level. In addition, the veins on Robin’s forehead seemed thicker and more distinct, and the black mark flashed with a strange luster.
“Leylin!” Robin smiled. His facial muscles seemed rather stiff, as if he had not smiled for a long time.
“I still have some matters, I’ll be leaving first! Mentor is inside!”
Robin exchanged a few words with Leylin and left in a hurry.
As he watched Robin leave, Leylin’s entered a moment of deep thought.
WMW Chapter 447
Arm of Vengeance
In the past Robin, being one of Gilbert’s students, was very popular. He was very patient, meticulous and was capable of making people feel comfortable with his presence alone. Hence, he was able to hold a high position, somewhat alike to a supervisor, in the clan.
He had changed ever since he entered the Crystal Phase, though. His temper went foul and he lost his position and did nothing but idle all day long. Upon recalling this matter, Leylin couldn’t help but feel saddened at the thought.
Leylin entered the villa, and met Duke Gilbert in the study.
Gilbert’s face did not change at all, not a strange of facial hair nor visible pores which made him look as smart as ever. With all these combined with his shiny and smooth head, he did look a little sly and terrifying.
Yet to Leylin, Gilbert was a good mentor who strived his hardest to teach him. Hence, he bowed to the man respectfully and told him the reason for his arrival.
“It’ll be nice to take a trip outside!” Gilbert leaned against the couch, beverage in hand. Leylin could occasionally spot little mermaid-like creatures appearing in the drink.
“With the passing of a century, I’m sure Cyril has forgotten all about you. Even those fugitives aren’t that patient. You really ought to travel outside.”
“But…” Gilbert paused for a while.
“If mentor needs anything, feel free to ask!” Leylin felt excited as he knew that Gilbert might have some tasks for him to carry out.
“Since you’re leaving, why not just take up this task!” Gilbert flung out a scroll, “The Warlocks of the Ouroboros Clan have to periodically finish tasks for the organisation as a form of contribution. Even though you are my disciple, you can’t keep idling around. While you’re traveling, you should just finish this task.”
“Yes, Mentor!” Leylin bowed as he obediently agreed and left.
He unfurled the scroll in his hand after he walked out of the villa.
[Spiritual force data interface detected, accept?] A prompt immediately popped up from the A.I. Chip.
“Yes!” Following Leylin’s order, a string of messages immediately entered his brain, and were imprinted directly into his memory so that he wouldn’t forget them easily.
“This is actually an extermination task?” Phosphorescent green flames lit up in Leylin’s hand, burning the scroll to ashes. Yet, he was expressionless.
The task was actually very simple. He had to go and exterminate a base of people rebelling against the Ouroboros Clan.
Even though they reigned supreme in this area, they had eliminated many influential clans and even commoners when they first set foot here.
The surviving members of those clans held the desire to conquer. Additionally, as with all regimes, there were also clashes with the interests of the indigenous population, creating friction. All these led to the rise of opposition parties.
Even though such organisations were weak, having not a single Morning Star Magus, they often concealed themselves well and it was difficult to identify their locations.
Yet, once they were found, they couldn’t escape their destiny of extermination.
Gilbert’s task for Leylin was simply to eliminate the most recently found base.
‘This is basically a dirt job!’ Leylin sighed but he knew that this was inevitable. Having joined the Ouroboros Clan, he knew that it was necessary for him to do some of the things he did in order for him to gain trust from the organisation. Furthermore, through applying such pressure, they would be able to keep the new Warlocks involved in the war.
In reality, one of the advantages of being Gilbert’s student was that he was given such a simple task. Leylin was considered to have been given preferential treatment to have been assigned tasks of just moderate difficulty level.
‘The location of the mission is Doroy Forest, en route to Azure Mountain City. Just as well. I’ll take care of them en route, then head to the auction!’ Leylin decided.
……
There limestone pavement was dotted with litter, creating a messy and chaotic environment. From time to time, one would be able to see, on the streets, traces of the domesticated livestock such as cows and horses that had been moving about on the pavement.
A strong odour emanated from the overflowing groundwater which had formed water puddles on the roads.
This was a quite normal scene in a city of commoners.
The advancements of the Magus world did not spill over into the world of mortals. The only improvements on that front were that one could now earn enough food to feed their whole family.
Leylin was strolling along. As soon as he’d accepted the task, he left the general headquarters without hesitation and headed to his current location.
If the directions weren’t wrong, this was where the Ouroboros Clan had set up a secret division, and also where their agent had found the rebels.
After using a Transfiguration Spell, Leylin’s aura was equivalent to that of a rank 1 or 2 Magus.
Despite Gilbert mentioning that Cyril would not care about him, Leylin still wanted to be as cautious as he could.
After all, Cyril’s subordinates were Crystal Phase Magi who may be keeping an eye on them. Leylin had to make some preparations to butter him up.
According to the house number, Leylin came to a house that looked like a normal bar and knocked on the door.
*Knock! Knock!*
After ten minutes or so, an impatient voice called out.
“Who is it? We don’t open in the day!”
“I’m looking for Tamansi.” Leylin’s voice was deep and low.
“You’re looking for our boss? What’s the matter?” A golden-haired brawny man opened the door as he stared at Leylin with caution.
Yet, Leylin could only feel a weak wave of energy going through the man, marking him an acolyte.
“Look at this!” Leylin let out a small smile as he took out a badge.
The ancient symbol of a black serpent eating its own tail contrasted greatly with the golden background. To others, this symbol made of runes, might appear to form a mere odd circle at the base of the badge.
However, since this man was an acolyte of theirs, he would definitely recognise the symbol of the Ouroboros Clan.
As expected, the man’s eyes widened. He relaxed, lowering his precaution towards Leylin.
“I’ll go and ask…” This time, the man’s reaction became quicker and within a minute he brought out a light brown-haired man of a smaller build.
It was obvious to Leylin that this man was a mere Rank 2 Magus.
These were the lowest level of Warlocks found in the Ouroboros Clan. Due to the fact that their skills were low and their families were in decline, they could only do miscellaneous jobs and silently accumulate credit, hoping that one day a bloodline genius would be born into their family or even a chance for them return to the general headquarters.
“My Lord!” With just one look, Tamansi recognised Leylin. As far as Warlocks were concerned, the aura of bloodlines that couldn’t be faked. The intimate and dreadful feeling it exuded was etched deeply in Tamansi’s memory.
‘This concentration of the bloodline seems to be that of a particular bloodline regal…’ The dwarf thought as he respectfully bowed. “My name is Tamansi, my Lord.”
“I see,�
� Leylin nodded as he made his way into the bar.
As he walked past the counter, he came to a room located underground that was even more concealed and complex.
“Tell me everything that you have found out, and don’t withhold any information from me…” Leylin took off his cloak, inadvertently emitting an imposing aura in his every move, which had caused Tamansi to regard him with more revere.
Upon seeing the documents that Leylin produced, Tamansi did not dare to hide the truth, and immediately reported to Leylin, “That was three days ago. At that time, I was here…”
Numerous days later in the gloomy dark forest.
The chirps of the cicada drowned out the hushed conversation between the two Magi.
That was Doroy Forest, a large prehistoric forest where Tamansi had found the enemy base.
“Are you sure it’s here?” Leylin wore a black Magus cloak with golden rims. Ironically, his appropriate dressing, together with his slender build, as well as his pure bloodline temperament, made it seem like he wasn’t here to kill but instead to travel.
“Yes, my Lord!” At this point, Tamansi felt nothing but respect for Leylin.
As a royal Warlock of the organisation, Leylin held a high position and was in control of the life and death of the expatriates.
“After a few months of investigation, we finally found out that the Arm of Vengeance has been hiding here!”
“According to the traces nearby, there are indeed hidden spell formations set up around here as well as trails of Warlocks in this area.” Leylin nodded his head.
“These rascals sure can hide! Rest assured My Lord, my subordinates have already rounded them up. Once My Lord gives his command, we will definitely be able to break through their spells, along with the men you brought along.” The dwarfish Magus slapped his chest and guaranteed.
To Tamansi, it seemed that Leylin, who was dispatched by headquarters, only had the weak aura of a rank 1 or 2 Magus, and seemed especially amicable. Thus, he probably wasn’t particularly powerful. However, since he was already out on a mission, there would definitely be numerous people to make up for his evident weakness.
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