When everyone Magus had gone up once, Leo immediately announced that the event would now continue to the free exchange segment.
This free exchange meant that all the Magi present would have a place to display the items they wished to sell. It was just like a street stall.
This was also the last chance for Magi who had not profited at all from before.
Even if they could not obtain resources they were in urgent need of, they could also sell things here and exchange for more regular items, such as magic crystals.
However, there were Magi who were already content or had no interest in magic crystals who left the anonymous barter after the first segment by the teleportation spell formation.
Leylin unhurriedly came before an area and displayed the Dark Elven Crown and top-grade potions he had exhibited previously. He mentioned that he would only accept astral stones, and had no intentions of obtaining magic crystals.
He caught a glimpse of Vance, who was hesitating not far away, and grinned.
He was now ‘fishing’. The other party had not come forward for some unknown reason, but he definitely had an astral stone or might have some information about it. All this meant hope to Leylin.
“Sire, may I see what you have?” Unexpectedly enough, before Vance came over, another person had been attracted to his stall.
This person had blond hair and a very amiable smile. In the entire floor, the only person not using magic to conceal himself would be Leo.
“So it’s Lord Leo. Of course, but I will only accept astral stones!” Leylin waved his arms, his voice already changed using the A.I. Chip. He was thus not recognised.
“Tsk tsk… This magic equipment’s design is very ancient, and even holds the style of the ancient Gloomy Forest region…” Leo evidently had no eyes for the top-grade potions at Leylin’s stall, but was evidently unwilling to part with this dark elven magic equipment.
“My apologies!” After staring at it for a long while, Leo finally put down the crown regretfully.
“I have a female cousin who really likes things of this style. On top of that, this is even magic equipment! I hope to buy it, so just tell me a price in terms of magic crystals…”
Leo’s expression showed his sincerity. With his status, it was very rare that he would speak so amicably.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not lacking in magic crystals. I only want astral stones, no matter how small!” Leylin politely rejected him, “I’m sorry, but you’re in the way.”
There were a few Magi waiting to watch a good show here with Leo around, but the blob of light that signified Vance seemed to be shrinking back.
“Hehe… Sire, if you are willing to sell it, you shall gain a good relationship with our Oakheart clan!” Leo focused on the black bundle of light in front of him, eyes seeming to look past the concealing formation at Leylin’s face.
“What? Is the Oakheart clan threatening me?” Leylin’s voice went higher, attracting the attention of many Magi.
“Of course not, you’re misunderstanding! I was just impatient. My apologies!” This had not gone the way Leo had expected. It was the first time a Magus had not taken his clan into account.
The prestige of his clan was the foundation of this very auction. He bowed in apology, but a sinister trace glinted in his eyes.
‘You… you dare treat me this way?’ He silently sent down a command, and Leylin quickly found that the stardust bugs that he had hypnotised into submission had received a command. They would reveal information about his looks and ranking, as well as crawl over his body so that he could be tracked.
‘If this were a regular Magus, they would be in trouble, but to deal with me…’ Leylin sneered inside, ‘A.I. Chip, send fake fluctuations!’
[Mission established, beginning task…] Soon enough, false information was transmitted to Leo through formless undulations, and successfully sent information on his location.
“Hehe… Sire, here is a portion of an astral stone as compensation!” Already thinking of Leylin as a dead man, Leo magnanimously produced a purple embroidered case and placed it before Leylin.
‘Oh? I’m unexpectedly profiting?’ Leylin was delighted and opened the case, finding an astral stone the size of a quail egg.
“I only wanted to try purchasing with magic crystals. Since you are unwilling to accept it, I can only resign myself and part with this treasure.” Leo’s words were elegant, and he had even given up this astral stone that was even more valuable than anything Leylin had on display. He successfully reversed the image of his clan.
“Oh! I was much too hurried just now. My apologies.” Leylin knew when to stop and placed the cosmic stone back properly, “All these items are now yours!” he pointed at the potions and crown at his stall.
With what he had, he could at most only obtain an astral stone the size of a pinky, but Leo had given him one the size of a quail egg. This meant Leylin had obviously gotten the better end of the deal.
Leo kept everything from the stall properly while observing Leylin. He was especially careful with the Dark Elven Crown, though he was snickering inside.
‘You must be proud, huh? Excited? It’s a pity, but you’ll only be taking care of that astral stone for a short period of time before you’ll have to spit it out obediently, and even give me your life while you’re at it!’
WMW Chapter 462
Rob and Kill
Leylin had long guessed what Leo was thinking.
Since they had already dispatched stardust bugs to find out the background of all the guests, the Oakheart Family had probably done their fair share of killing and seizing treasure. They hadn’t been discovered only because they had concealed it well, and the targets they chose were mostly those without power and support.
What interested him more was the other party’s obvious desire for the Dark Elven Crown.
‘The concealing effect of this magical device has a large range. Although it is sufficiently extensive, for a Magus, a range that is too large might become a burden to them, making the concealing function less favourable.’ Leylin stroked his chin and squinted.
‘The only reason why this could attract Leo would be its use in war…’ Only a sneak attack in such a wide area would be the place for this piece of magic equipment to be put to use.
Therefore, whatever purpose the other party had purchased this magic equipment for would be revealed soon. Leylin absolutely did not believe what he said about giving it to his cousin or any rubbish of the sort anyway.
‘However, having gained something here, Vance…’ Leylin looked over at his empty stall, and glanced outside at the corner of his eye.
Indeed, the sphere of light that represented Vance had left together with the Magi who were crowding around to watch the scene earlier on.
Although Leylin still did have items of a higher value, it would evidently be inappropriate to put them up.
However, merely letting him go was clearly not Leylin’s style of doing things. He had now completely understood the rarity and scarcity of astral stones. If he had the chance to obtain one more, he definitely wouldn’t mind.
As time passed, the anonymous barter had come to an end.
Groups of Magi left on the teleportation spell formation one after another, rays of light flashing repeatedly. The entire cave quickly became quiet.
At this moment, Leo appeared, along with 7 or 8 Magi behind him. There seemed to be both old and young Magi, but what remained the same across all of them were their frightful energy waves and astonishing murderous aura.
“I will personally handle the Magus that sold the Forbidden Ancient Clock. Number 6 and 7 will be in charge of the buyer! The other party is only a small fry with little power. As long as we kill him and destroy the evidence, there wouldn’t be any consequences…” Leo swiftly delegated missions, occasionally throwing out a locating crystal.
“As for Number 5, you’ll go after the fellow that took the astral stone and kill him. That is his actual appearance,
don’t worry! He only has the strength of an initial Hydro Phase Magus!” They were the secret elite force of the Oakheart Clan, and every Magus was in the Crystal Phase. To Leo, dispatching even one of them to deal with Leylin was already thinking too highly of him.
Number 5 was a bulky middle-aged Caucasian. Upon receiving an image, he discovered that Leylin was a young man with brown curly hair and nodded.
“Also, if possible, try to catch him alive. Our clan’s underwater prison has been short of prisoners of a sufficiently high rank…” Leo laughed coldly, sending shivers down the spines of the other Magi.
The Oakheart Clan’s underwater prison naturally would not be any average place. Even rank 3 Magi in the Crystal Phase that entered would surely face death, and would even be sentenced to the cruelest penalty before dying; even their corpses would be an unbearable sight to behold.
‘Looks like this youngster has greatly offended Sire!’ number 5 secretly thought. He slapped his chest and guaranteed, “Rest assured, Chief! I will definitely arrest him for you to punish!”
“Alright! Excellent!” Leo nodded.
“Is everyone clear about the rules of our Clan? If something goes wrong, immediately destroy all evidence. I’d rather you commit suicide than divulge any information about the clan, or else…” He watched the Magi indifferently. The icy-cold look in his eyes made them sweat profusely.
Although they had already risen to Crystal Phase, as long as they were human, there was bound to be something or someone that they cared about or was their weakness. And all of this was secretly controlled by Leo and the clan.
While every single one of them was strong rank 3 Crystal Phase Magi, they did not dare to disobey Leo’s orders because they were deterred by the Morning Star Magus.
“Great! Let’s set off!” With a wave of his hand, the numerous Magi instantly transformed into rays of light, launching in all directions.
……
At this moment, Leylin was following closely behind Vance.
He had already set his eyes on the other party at the auction venue. There would only be one outcome when a scheming Leylin and a clueless Vance come together: an easy target. With the aid of the A.I. Chip, he immediately marked Vance.
He wasn’t far from where Vance’s transmitted location was and had promptly followed him.
“Hmm?” Leylin then discovered that the stardust bugs on him had sent him information.
“Someone is chasing after me, and he’s just a mere Crystal Phase Magus? What a pity Leo didn’t come himself, or else I might be able to take the Dark Elven Crown back…” After the experience with Toram, Leylin now had confidence in his combat capabilities.
If an average rank 3 Magus in the Crystal Phase tried all the tactics possible, there still might be a possibility of defeating the enemy.
However, if the other party had more than 3 people, then his only option would be to ditch the plan and run.
If Leo alone came for him, he thought of making him stay here forever, but since it was just a Magus in the Crystal Phase…
“Since I can’t kill you, I’ll annoy you. A rank 3 Magus in the Crystal Phase probably wasn’t easy to nurture…” Leylin stroked his chin, and an evil look flashed in his eyes.
‘However, I will first have to settle with Vance, or it will be an unexpected factor that could easily result in consequences I can’t have thought of.’ After much thought, Leylin used the Transfiguration spell to transform into the image of Blood Rogue that he had used in the auction venue, and stopped Vance in his tracks.
“Who is it? Oh? Mr Blood Rogue?” Vance examined the Magus in his way, stunned. Even after recognizing that he was Blood Rogue, he did not seem relaxed, but instead became more alert.
“I wonder why Sire is blocking my way?” Vance stared at Blood Rogue in fear.
His ability to randomly transmit spell formations and find out his whereabouts was definitely something worth being cautious about. Vance’s heart beat rapidly, and he had a premonition that something bad was about to happen.
“I am the Magus that was selling the Crown of the Dark Elves previously. It seems that you, Sir, seem to have information about astral stones, so I followed you with hopes of obtaining it…” Leylin spoke politely.
“Oh! It’s you!” Having made a great realization, Vance patted his head, but his expression suddenly changed, “But, how did you recognize me?”
At that time, he had been using the concealment spell formation, and had even put on a few layers of disguise!
“About this, of course…” Leylin smiled, keeping an enigmatic expression. But before he could complete his sentence, he turned behind and his face changed.
There, Number 5 had hidden his face and was swiftly coming after him. using up to them.
“Such waves? It’s a Magus in Crystal Phase. You went so far as to provoke someone of this level?” The old man’s eyes widened, and deployed a few layers of defense in succession.
“He came too quickly, what a waste! With a bit more time, I could lower Vance’s defense levels and attack in one go!”
Leylin glanced at Vance, “I’ll have to get this done and over with!”
*Whoosh!* Both of his hands abruptly turned blood red, and huge claws grabbed at Vance, making loud sounds.
“I knew you were up to no good!” Vance hollered, as layers of soil made their way onto his body, forming a humongous clay giant that was more than ten metres tall.
“Kill!” Leylin’s face was expressionless, his eyes filled with a piercing look that was sharp enough to kill. His spiritual force, which was already in Hydro Phase, flowed into the Claws of Blood without end.
The massive clay giant roared, raising his fist to greet the strange bloody claws flying towards him.
*Bam!* The blood red claws were sharp beyond comparison, and instantly scratched the other party’s fist, even leaving a deep groove in his chest.
“Hmph!” Vance’s stifled snort came from within the clay giant, his voice filled with dismay, “Such strength? Aren’t you a Magus in Hydro Phase?”
*Boom!* With that, the clay giant immediately turned and hurriedly escaped.
But why would Leylin let him run off? Numerous potions flew in mid-air, and terrifying elemental particles converged, taking the shape of a jet black sickle.
“Rank 3 potion combination spell—Death’s Blade!” Gigantic black sickles slashed through the giant silently, without a single wave.
The clay giant’s entire body trembled and he suddenly came to a standstill. Soon after, along with the loud rumble, the clay giant disintegrated in all directions, revealing Vance within.
It was just that Vance now had a more pitiful appearance. Both legs were broken at the knees and blood was gushing profusely, but no matter what spells or healing potions he used, it was still useless.
“No! Don’t come over! I can give you anything you want, I… I still have some clues about astral stones… You’ll definitely need it…” Seeing Leylin inch closer step by step, Vance started to panic, promising a whole heap of things.
He didn’t wish to die. He treasured his life, even more now that he had already collected sufficient materials and was about to advance to the Crystal Phase.
“Blame Jessia if you wish!” Leylin was apathetic. He had never believed in intelligence that was revealed in the face of death, and the Crystal Phase waves that were getting closer also meant that he was running out of time.
“I have enough astral stones, the intelligence means nothing to me. If you don’t have any on you, at most I’ll think of it as doing all of this for nothing!” Leylin had thought this through clearly. He had gone on the trip with the intention of giving it a try.
He didn’t need the intelligence, because with a piece of astral stone with him, there wasn’t a need to risk his life for another imaginary desire.
Therefore, Vance’s fate had actually been set from then.
“Jessia?” Vance paused, recalling his grandson’s cheeky wife
.
“What has anything got to do with her?”
But he didn’t have to think any further, as a blood-red ray of light threw him into darkness…
The Hocada Beast
Leylin searched the other party’s body at the speed of light. His eyes lit up as he tugged the red gemstone off the other party’s ear.
Using his spiritual force to swiftly explore the inside of the pendant, an astral stone the size of a fingernail immediately came into view.
“Brilliant!” As expected, Vance had indeed lied about the intelligence that he had gathered before he died. He had always been carrying the astral stone around.
Not only that, there were certain materials that were kept inside the earrings that surprised Leylin.
“The Diamond Jellyfish…” Leylin couldn’t help but smile as he glanced upon something that seemed like a crystal figure.
“This is indeed a genuine first-rate material that is capable of increasing the chances of breaking through to the Crystal Phase by 35%. No wonder the other party was so confident in advancing.” He couldn’t help but take a look at his own condition.
[Leylin Farlier. Rank 3 Warlock (Hydro Phase). Bloodline: Giant Kemoyin Serpent, Strength: 30, Agility: 30, Vitality: 45.5, Spiritual Force: 315.6, Magic Power: 315 (Magic power in synchronisation with spiritual force)]
It had been a while since Leylin had advanced to the Hydro Phase. In recent times, he had always used the power of his bloodline to increase his spiritual force, instead of using spiritual force potions.
After a century of disuse, his body’s resistance to potions had almost completely worn out.
As long as he used this potion once more, he should be able to fulfill the requirements of Crystal Phase.
“Vance has indeed given me many good things!” Not only that, most of the things that Vance had painstakingly prepared to break through to the Crystal Phase were also useful for Leylin. This had indeed saved Leylin a lot of trouble to search for them.
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