"It's Blood Rogue from the Thousand Meddling Hands! The S ranked fugitive from Nightless City! Though I have no clue why you're helping us, I still want to thank you!"
The leader of the Four Seasons Corps bowed, and then slashed his crimson longsword at Leylin.
"I've thanked you as I should have. Now, leave the prisoners in your possession behind! In return, I will let you go..."
Seeing the leader acting this righteous, Leylin was slightly confused. "Are you stupid? Do you think I'm so easily bullied?"
He guessed that this leader was rather egoistic, though it might have had to do with Leylin concealing his strength. Most people only knew that Blood Rogue was a semi-converted Magus, and were still unaware that he had advanced to a peak rank 1 Magus.
At times like this, incorrect information could cost lives!
"Well then, I apologise!" The leader spoke unenthusiastically, a huge wave of apparitions of sharp swords appearing from the longsword. Like a waterfall, they charged towards Leylin.
"Move! 2nd spell formation!" The leader shouted as he attacked.
With his yell, the Magi of the Four Seasons Corps seemed to have received some order, and other than the four Magi protecting Wade, the other members rushed him.
*Tss tss!* Thorny plants constantly grew from their crimson armour.
The vines that appeared from the armour seemed to have self-awareness, grouping together, and forming a green giant that was about five metres tall.
This green giant formed from plants was full of thorns, and sinister black lines filled its body. At the area where its eyes were meant to be, there were two strange purple flowers.
"Awooooo!" The green giant snarled, opening its large hand and grabbing towards Leylin.
"Is their ignorance to the truth causing them to be so fearless?"
Leylin glanced at the leader of the Four Seasons Corps with a pitying look. Next, a black ring emerged from under his feet, climbing up his robes and seemingly draping black armour on his body.
*Cling clang! Cling clang!*
Afterimages of red swords struck the black armour, sparks flying everywhere as they produced the immense sounds of a metal sword and armour crashing against each other.
The apparitions of the crimson sword kept falling apart, but the layer of black armour on Leylin's body became increasingly thick, to the point that it began to produce multiple black tendrils.
"This is bad! That level of strength…" The leader's eyes widened and he immediately thought to warn his subordinates, but it was much too late.
*Whoosh!* Before the green giant's massive thorny palm had reached its destination, the surrounding air fluctuated and a powerful air stream was generated, blowing so hard that the furniture in the office was strewn apart.
"You don't know when to stop!" While facing this green giant's huge palm, Leylin raised his right hand clad in a black gauntlet, and gently gestured downwards.
From an outsider's point of view, the situation right now was not the least bit balanced. Leylin was like a child in front of the giant, and yet he had raised his slender arm to meet the giant's palm.
However, the green giant seemed to feel extremely threatened and kept roaring, the green rays of light in its hand constantly flickering as its speed increased by three times.
*Bang!*
Finally, Leylin's little fist met with the giant's fist that was the size of a water jar, a wave of immense vibrations spreading out in all directions.
The surrounding air seemed to distort, and then all went back to normal.
*Ka-cha! Ka-cha!*
One after another, the thorns broke off of and fell from the large hand. This disintegration quickly reached the entire arm, and eventually the large body of the giant.
*Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Thick plant roots and vines slid off the body of the giant, black cracks constantly extending until it was on the verge of tearing the body of the giant apart!
*Bang!* Finally, after a rumbling loud noise, the green giant's body was broken down into tiny pieces that flew in all directions.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
The massive shockwave created extended miraculously to the bodies of the Four Seasons Corps' members that were surrounding Leylin.
The crimson armour on their bodies shook, and then broke apart.
The Magi completely paled and retreated a few steps, some of them coughing up large amounts of blood.
"Peak rank 1 Magus! You've already reached the peak of rank 1!"
The leader of the Four Seasons Corps stared fixedly at Leylin's mask, as if trying to carve his appearance into his memory.
In a situation where rank 2 Magi seldom appeared, peak rank 1 Magi were the most powerful beings in the south coast. The rise in the power of Blood Rogue was much too fast and too astonishing; this leader definitely could not let his guard down.
At this moment, fear was apparent in the leader's gaze.
"Sigh… Some things will be only resolved through violence!"
Leylin still maintained his pose where he held the little boy, and his other hand formed a mysterious hand seal and tapped against the ground.
"Shadow Domain!" A pitch-black shadow emerged from under his feet and quickly formed a dense, black sphere, crazily spreading to the surroundings.
...
In that instant, black shadows engulfed the Magi who were in the office...
*Shua shua!* Within the darkness, there seemed to be the sounds of someone moving quickly, and the low, miserable human moans that one would make before they died.
Enshrouded by the shadows, where even light magic was useless, the Magi of the Four Seasons Corps were basically blind.
Thankfully, this was only sustained for a short period of time. Several minutes later, the dense darkness dispersed from the office, revealing the figures of a few Magi. As for Leylin, who they had encircled previously, he was now nowhere to be found.
"Leader! What should we do?"
A Magus struggled to stand and came to the leader of Four Seasons Corps.
However, he found a very strange expression on his leader's face. There were hints of terror, as well as disbelief.
"Leader! Leader! What's with you?" This Magus suddenly began to feel slightly afraid, extending his right hand, and thinking of shaking his leader's arm.
*Pak!* Just as this Magus' hand touched his leader's clothes, his body turned into black ashes like a bubble that had been popped, dispersing everywhere.
*Pak pak pak!* As if triggering some chain reaction, some of the Magi around him also exploded, leaving behind black mist.
As the surviving Magi gazed at the mist, a suffocating sense of dread weighed down on their hearts.
...
*Shua!* While still holding the little boy, Leylin's body transformed into a black hurricane that travelled around the headquarters, which had turned into a battlefield.
As he was moving at a very high speed, the Magi of both domains could only see a flickering black figure, which then completely disappeared.
*Pak!*
Upon finding an empty area that was far from the battlefield, he threw the little boy to the ground.
"Blood Rogue, what are you doing?" The little boy rolled a few times, body covered in soil and mud. However, he seemed to have regained his ability to speak and spoke coldly the moment he stood up.
"Stop with your nonsense and get Giant to come here!"
Leylin exclaimed.
"It's a very crucial time now, and even I can't contact him…" A strange expression appeared on his face as he explained.
Immediately after, however, he was kicked aside by Leylin.
Though Leylin had allowed the little boy to regain his ability to speak, he had evidently not unsealed his sea of consciousness. The little boy's frail body spun in mid-air several times, and then fell.
*Crack!* From the sounds of bones breaking produced from within his body, it seemed as if a few ribs had been broken.
Looking cool and collected, Leylin advanced, and like holding a duck, he grabbed the boy by the neck and lifted him up.
"I don't have much patience, so it's better if you don't try to test my limits. Don't think that I know nothing about the relationship between you and him!"
Though Leylin sounded calm, the boy who Leylin was glaring at felt empty inside. Under Leylin's relentless gaze, he felt as if the other man could see through him and know all his secrets
"No! How can that be…? I've always been very careful about it…" A myriad of thoughts flashed past the little boy's mind, and he eventually gave in.
"Be quick about it!" Leylin loosened his grip, and the boy immediately fell to the ground.
"Cough cough…" The boy sat on the ground, two hands cradling his neck, on which purple marks were already apparent.
Without requesting Leylin to unseal his sea of consciousness, he quietly sat in a corner, as if in a daze.
Unexpectedly, Leylin actually waited for him.
It did not take long, and a few minutes later, green mist permeated the air and filled the area.
"What do you need me for? Don't you know that our plan has entered a state of emergency, Leylin?!"
Giant's voice was as hoarse as before, but this time, Leylin was able to hear fury in his voice… along with worry?
"Kill him! Quick, kill him!"
At this moment, the little boy who had been staring blankly to the side suddenly burst into hysterics. Green mist had been protecting him, thus allowing him to regain his power.
"Our entire plan fell through because of him! Also, he actually dared to treat me in this way! I want him dead!"
The boy glared at Leylin, his eyes full of venomous anger.
"I know." Giant briefly nodded, looking at Leylin. "What do you have to say for yourself about your slip ups in the past, as well as the thwarting of our plan this time?"
As Giant spoke, the mist in the surroundings became increasingly stronger, to the point that bushes and soil began to emit white smoke, and melted like ice.
"What I have to say?"
Leylin smirked, and then snapped his fingers.
*Pak!* The little boy's expression suddenly froze, and his brain exploded open like a watermelon.
"If you want an explanation, does this work?"
Leylin grinned widely.
-x-X-x-
Faced with the little boy's head exploding like a watermelon, the green mist distorted, revealing a heavily muscled figure that was more than 2 meters in height. For a moment, his head was visible, but he covered his head, his eyes bloodshot and glowing red.
"You actually…... You actually killed him..."
Giant roared, as if the little boy was very important to him. Seeing Leylin unceremoniously kill the little boy instead of letting him go, Giant was on the brink of going ballistic.
Tendrils of green mist rushed towards Leylin, looking like a swarm of moths and bees, and appeared to envelop Leylin like a huge cloud.
*Chi Chi!* Green meridians crawled over the muscles of Giant's body like small snakes. Then his body grew instantly, increasing in height by more than three meters. The hairs on his head stood straight up, facing the sky like small thorns.
"Why are you in such a hurry? Are you afraid?"
Leylin sneered, and immediately, black smoke billowed from his body, rising and dispersing into the air.
A trace of the black gas condensed to form numerous black snakes.
The bodies of those black snakes had fine black scales, and each had a pair of bean-sized eyes that exuded an unnatural, devilish red light. The snakes constantly hissed, and went to meet that green swarm of bees and moths.
*Peng!*
For a moment, the two big groups — the wisp of green gas and the den of black snakes — immediately mingled, and there were all kinds of sounds of biting, hissing, and other sounds all constantly emanating from within the green mist.
"Ah! I will kill you, I swear! I shall break all the bones in your body; I will make you regret being born into this world!"
Giant howled as he crouched and jumped.
*Boom!* A huge pit immediately appeared on the ground, soil and rocks flying outwards like bullets, and creating sparks in the air.
With this momentum, Giant's body was like a fiery arrow heading straight for Leylin.
"Kemoyin's Scales!" A layer of fine black scales covered Leylin's hands, from which spreaded rings of black light. The black colour from the scales turned even more vivid, and vaguely formed a design that was similar to a rune!
Following which, the muscles on Leylin's arm bulged, and his strength of 20.1 was then displayed!
*Boom!*
Green and black figures fiercely slammed into each other, explosions continuously sounding out.
The two human figures flickered as they fought. Anything that the shockwaves from their battle brushed past, whether it was rocks or wood, would immediately explode into pieces.
*Bang!* Leylin's left hand blocked Giant's fist. As quick as lightning, his right hand turned into a claw, blood-red flames burning as it headed straight for Giant's chest, where his heart was.
Currently, Giant's two hands were rendered immobile by Leylin, and it was basically impossible to evade an attack that was so close.
Giant's expression became resolute and he adjusted his position, avoiding that fatal claw at his chest! However, his right chest had been caught by Leylin's Crimson Palm, and a huge chunk of flesh and blood flew out.
"Bone Piercing Technique!" Giant yelled, and his arms spread wide. Not dodging nor avoiding any attacks, he charged straight for Leylin.
*Tss! Tss! Tss! Tss! Tss!*
White bone spikes rapidly pierced through Giant's skin, growing out from inside his body.
*Ka-cha!* Leylin's right hand was the first to be struck by the bone spike.
There were some spiral designs on the bone spikes that, upon contact, drilled into whatever it hit.
The revolving spikes first broke through the crimson flames, and then struck the surface of Leylin's right arm, which was covered in Kemoyin's Scales.
The extremely piercing sound of metal scraping against metal sounded; it could also be said to sound like a woman's screams. Leylin's brows furrowed, and he quickly moved back.
"Haha! If you're only thinking of leaving now, it's much too late!"
Giant laughed heartily, ignoring the blood that was gushing all over his body, and spread his arms. His posture was like someone giving a bear hug, he brought his arms together and was ready to prick Leylin till he became like a porcupine.
"This distance… Shadow Stealth!"
A large amount of light appeared on the surface of Leylin's black, scaly armour. He then disappeared into thin air.
"You thought that I wouldn't have prepared against this?"
After losing track of Leylin, Giant looked around and suddenly shouted, and then breathed in deeply.
Two streams of white gas that even the naked eye could see entered Giant's nostrils like dragons, bulging his chest to a noticeable degree.
After this, Giant made a lengthy howl, "Awooooo!"
The piercing sound travelled in all directions, and one could even see ripples in the air, with Giant at the epicentre.
An entire layer of the ground was peeled off by the soundwaves, and the green fog of moth and bees in the air, as well as Leylin's little black snakes, exploded from the soundwaves, turning into vapour.
The fog was pushed further and further away by the soundwaves and eventually disappeared.
As Giant's voice increased to a higher pitch, the insects and moles in the area simply exploded in the air, forming a bloody mist.
*Weng!*
With some undulations in the air and a flash of black light, Leylin's body flickered from his camouflage.
"I found you, you damned worm!" Giant snarled, the spikes on his body growing more densely and constantly rotating. He was like a human killing machine, charging ahead blindly and turning all the trees and rocks that obstructed him into powder.
"Latent Fireball!" Leylin's gestured, and countless black fireballs converged into a giant jet black, flaming fireball.
With the added bonus from Leylin's elemental essence conversion, the latent fireball currently had a power of 57 degrees. It could even be said to be the maximum amount of power that a rank 1 Magus could produce!
The moment the black fireball appeared, the temperature of the surroundings rose, and the earth began to melt, with some of it evaporating into black smoke.
"Go!"
Leylin pointed at Giant, and the black fireball kept stretching until it formed a python that blazed with black flames.
The python's eyes were brimming with intelligence as it nimbly floated around, sometimes spitting out flames and blocking Giant's path.
Giant's eyes were fixed on the flaming serpent, the fear in his expression more apparent. Being able to manipulate such a powerful spell that required immense precision showed Leylin's immense talent in this area. His rate of improvement had far exceeded Giant's expectations.
"Hisssss!"
The flaming black serpent hissed while coiling around Giant's body.
*Ka-cha!* The black flames that brought blazing heat with them crashed into the white armour made of bone spikes!
*Rumble!* The raging flames constantly ascended, turning into a giant black inferno.
At the heart of the inferno, Giant's figure that was filled with bone spikes stood silently within, looking quite pale.
The air constantly distorted, shrinking inwardly and seemingly turning into a black hole. It kept sucking in all matter around, getting smaller and smaller.
*Rumble!*
Then, a huge black mushroom cloud gradually rose from the ground.
Immense energy waves constantly dispersed in all directions, to the point that even Magi from both factions who were battling at the Four Seasons Garden's headquarters could feel this power, which could destroy the heavens and the earth!
"Has the two great rank 2 Magi's fight brought them here?"
A young light Magus stopped what he was doing, "What do we do? Should we go take a look? Those are rank 2 Magi! I've never seen one fight before!"
*Pak!*
Immediately after, the back of his head was firmly struck. The youthful light Magus turned back and pitifully looked at a Magus with a white beard, "Teacher! Did I say anything wrong?"
The old light Magus' face was full of wrinkles, but his eyes sparkled with wisdom. He did not hesitate in the least and struck the young Magus' head again.
"Why are you still in a daze? Get out of here! Just the aftershocks from the rank 2 Magi's battle is enough to annihilate you without leaving a speck of dust behind!"
The old Magus was obviously very wise and had many life experiences. He knew that this high-level battle between Magi was a disaster for regular people and even low ranked Magi such as themselves!
"Hm? What?"
The young light Magus had yet to react.
"Look!" The old Magus yanked him by the hair and made him look in the direction of the battle.
At this moment, the young Magus suddenly discovered that the dark and light Magi who had been battling had all given up. as if they had reached a mutual understanding, and were moving in the opposite direction of the mushroom cloud.
"Do you see that now? Only a rookie like you would even think of watching a battle between rank 2 Magi."
The old Magus pulled the young Magus along as he spoke, green hurricanes under his feet as he used invisible gusts to wind to send both of them far away.
...
In the middle of the black mushroom cloud.
The previous explosion had left a large crater that was more than ten metres wide. At the heart of the pit was a seemingly bottomless hole that was sending out black luster, as if it was a direct pathway to the core of the earth.
*Boom!*
A white human figure surrounded by green mist fell to the ground, along with shards of bone that had shattered.
*Pak!* Giant struck the ground, carving out long troughs as his body ploughed through the floor.
He looked to be extremely pitiful, with more than half the bone spikes on his body gone and his right arm missing. There were serious injuries all over his body.
*Xiu!*
A black figure appeared in front of him, and what appeared next was a pair of phantom, blood-red flaming claws!
"Crimson Palm!" Leylin, on the other hand, was completely fine. He was also very satisfied with the strength of the latent fireball, which he had released with his full strength.
There was no expression on his face as he calmly dealt out the final blow to Giant!
Giant struggled and crawled a little, but the phantom crimson claws mercilessly caught hold of his two legs.
*Ka-cha!*
Giant's legs snapped, and there were even crimson flames climbing towards his body from the legs.
-x-X-x-
"Giant, when you first decided to exploit me to detonate the seal, did you ever imagine that things would turn out like this?"
Leylin slowly walked forward, a strange look in his eyes.
He calmly raised his blood-red right hand, preparing to send out another magical attack!
*Xiu!* At this very moment, a figure separated from Giant's body, the energy waves from its body indicating that it was also a peak rank 1 Magus! It pounced towards Leylin at a very high speed.
"Eye of Hallucination!" After this command, an apparition of a vertical eye appeared behind this figure.
The apparition let out dusky light with various colours flashing past. Anyone who even chanced a glance at it would be dazzled and feel dizzy.
Two black magic artifacts in the form of daggers appeared in the figure's hands, moving like a viper as they struck towards Leylin's vital areas.
This attack was very sudden, and the assailant was a peak rank 1 Magus who specialised in sneak attacks. Even if it was a Magus like Marb, he would suffer greatly!
Strangely enough, there were no signs of shock on Leylin's face. Instead what appeared was a grin as if he had expected it.
"You've finally appeared?"
Next, a cross-shaped, dark red pendant over his neck produced large amounts of dull red rays of light, and his body was covered with a layer of dense scales.
Leylin's eyes had also turned into amber vertical pupils. Two rays of petrifying light were shot out of his eyes, piercing into the apparition of the vertical eye.
"Ahh!" Ashen gray rays of petrification ripped open the apparition, and a circle of petrification spread throughout the body of the black figure, causing him to yell miserably.
"Crimson Palm!" Leylin's hands were covered with three layers of protection. The innermost layer was black — the Kemoyin's Scales. The middle one was a dull red — an apparition from the Falling Star Pendant — and the outermost one was the protection from Crimson Palm's flames.
The three layers produced different colours as they alternately sparkled on Leylin's hands.
Leylin welcomed the two black daggers that were headed for him.
*Boom! Boom!*
Though the black daggers emitted the energy waves of middle-grade magic artifacts, they bounced away from Leylin.
Leylin's Crimson Palm then unhesitatingly struck the chest of the black figure.
*Rumble!*
It was obvious that the black figure's chest had caved in, and it was coupled with the ear-piercing sound of bones breaking.
*Boom!* The figure was flung to the ground, revealing a Magus that Leylin was very familiar with.
"Team leader Caesar, what are you doing here? And can you also explain why you chose to appear in such a strange way?"
Leylin came before Caesar and enquired.
From his tone, it was obvious that Leylin was not surprised at Caesar's appearance here.
"Cough cough…" The dark figure who had launched a sneak attack was, as expected, Caesar.
However, he looked to be in a bad state, constantly coughing out blood, and his face ashen. Around his third vertical eye on his forehead, there was a ring of gray stone. This was the effect of the Eye of Petrification, and it was still spreading.
"You…... When did you find out?" Caesar did not reply to Leylin's question, and instead, countered with another question.
"From the very beginning! In all honesty, I really admire you for daring to train in "Three Spirits In A Body", which is an extremely dangerous ancient secret technique. You actually succeeded and forcefully separated your spirit into three portions!"
Admiration was apparent in Leylin's expression.
He had previously used the A.I. Chip to simulate Caesar's trump card, and then heavily researched about ancient secret techniques like these.
Even in ancient times, these kinds of techniques were considered to be very dangerous. Only lunatics would choose to train in them, as they forcefully separated a Magus' soul into three parts, each having their own will, and having the ability to be spread apart or merged together in crucial moments.
In other words, a person would be separated into three individuals. As long as a single body remained alive, the other 2 bodies could be resurrected given enough resources.
This was basically a secret technique that defied the heavens.
The situation was now very obvious.
Caesar, Giant, and the little boy were the different bodies of a single Magus who practised "Three Spirits In A Body," and Caesar was a spy who was buried the deepest in Four Seasons Garden, and the instigator of this entire thing!
Leylin had found it strange that the Thousand Meddling Hands knew so much about the Four Seasons Garden, were able to come up with a spell design to destroy the seal linked to the core body of consciousness, and possessed a map of the locations of the defense squads.
From the looks of it, with Caesar, the leader of the hunting team, as a spy, everything made sense.
Caesar forced a laugh, "It's far from a success. Originally, if the boy had been able to become a peak rank 1 Magus as well, I would have been able to merge all three bodies and try to advance to become a rank 2 Magus! It's a pity, though…"
While speaking, a ring of stone-like skin had spread from the sides of Caesar's third eye, almost reaching his nose.
"Why did you lure us here?"
Caesar asked while lying on the ground, without activating any defence formation. He was now aware that he would not be able to withstand even a blow from Leylin and was not going to humiliate himself by trying to protect himself.
"You're smart! I want to make a trade with you. I hope that..."
"No! Don't listen to him! Kill him! I want to kill him!" Giant, who was seriously injured, began to yell.
Leylin sighed as he held his head, "Looks like I have to take care of all the troublesome matters first!"
He could clearly tell that out of all the three bodies that Caesar had, only Caesar himself was relatively sane. Giant and the little boy obviously had a few screws loose, which might have been a side effect of the technique.
The little boy's craziness was possibly even a level above Giant. After his death, his maniacal tendencies were transferred to Giant.
Out of everyone present, Caesar was probably the only one willing to listen to his proposition. Giant was just an obstruction!
At this thought, Leylin's eyes were filled with a murderous aura; he was prepared to act right away!
Even if Giant and the little boy died, Caesar would still be able to revive them given a lot of resources, and as long as he was still around. It would just take a little more time.
Caesar and Giant were currently heavily injured, and it was impossible for them to fight back.
"Young man, can you stop now?"
Just as Leylin was about to move forward and deal the final blow to Giant, an aged voice sounded by his ear.
A silver ring of spiritual force descended upon the battlefield.
This spiritual force was incredibly malicious and strong, to the point that the air was distorting. Silver spiritual force formed a large hand, which picked up Giant.
The silver hand formed out of spiritual force was extremely sturdy. The flames from Leylin's Crimson Palm were still burning fiercely, but there seemed to be no effect on the hand.
Grains of solidified spiritual force constantly fluttered around, slowly extinguishing the crimson flames on Giant's legs.
"Spiritual force solidification!"
As he watched the silver, solidified spiritual force, Leylin suddenly thought back to the Gargamel that he had seen previously.
That being formed out of evilness also had the strength of a rank 2 Magus, and at that point in time, Leylin was basically helpless against it.
"A rank 2 Magus from the Thousand Meddling Hands?"
Leylin halted his footsteps.
The silver hand sent the heavily wounded Giant before a Magus donned in black robes.
This Magus was tall and slender but was surrounded by a terrifying spiritual force that even Leylin was fearful of. His eyes were a sparkling green, and anyone who saw him would feel immense fear from the evilness they gave off.
"Father! Father! After killing my 'little boy' spirit, he actually tried to kill me, the only member of your bloodline! He must pay the price in blood!"
Giant curled up beside the dark Magus, beginning to wail like a little child.
Caesar, on the other side, called out 'Father', his face ashen.
"So this dark Magus is actually Caesar's father!" Leylin realised. However, something that the rank 2 dark Magus threw over made him feel anxious.
It was the head of a Magus. Its skin was pale, and its face was full of wrinkles. Leylin was extremely familiar with this face, as he had actually seen it not long ago.
"Reynold! You actually killed him!" Leylin's eyes widened.
This rank 2 Magus was even more powerful than Leylin had expected, to actually be able to behead Reynold, who was also a rank 2 Magus!
*Pak!* at this moment, the petrification on Caesar's face had extended to his neck, and his expression was still as if he had become a statue.
*Rumble!*
A streak of green flames began to burn, and the dark Magus traversed through space and arrived in front of Caesar.
"Ancient Petrification Technique?" His voice was hoarse, like two metal pieces scraping against each other.
"Don't worry, my child!" The dark Magus extended a pair of thin arms, which had green spores on them, and caressed Caesar's stone head.
*Bzzz!* Milky white light descended onto Caesar's head.
Within the light, greyish white stone skin fell off bit by bit, revealing Caesar's original skin tone.
"Thank you, father! Also, he…" Caesar began to whisper in the dark Magus' ear, and the Magus constantly nodded.
Upon seeing this scene, Giant, who was not far away, glared furiously like a child who had his sweets stolen. There was even some jealousy as he stared hard at Caesar.
"Aren't you all the same person? Are you jealous of yourself?"
Leylin was speechless.
At this point, Caesar was done speaking. The rank 2 Magus turned his gaze to Leylin.
A powerful burst of spiritual force was fixed upon Leylin, to the point that he felt as if he was standing stark naked in a field of snow.
-x-X-x-
"Your name is Leylin, and Blood Rogue is your alias, yes? Very good! You actually dared to thwart my plan!"
The dark Magus laughed coldly, and suddenly made his move!
Silver solidified spiritual force controlled the energy particles in the air, turning into a large, colourful tide that was several times larger what Leylin was able to produce. It rushed towards Leylin like a tempest, covering the heavens and the earth.
"So strong! Whether it's to catalyse or cast a spell using solidified spiritual force, the effects are far greater than that of us rank 1 Magi with our invisible spiritual force!"
Leylin's expression was grim as his pupils turned amber.
Behind him, large amounts of dark energy particles converged, turning into the terrifying form of a large, black python.
The python was ten metres long, its eyes were the same amber colour as Leylin's, and the scales on its body emitted rings of black rays while it kept hissing.
*Rumble!* The python slammed into the tide of elemental particles like a huge ocean wave crashing against a reef, producing a monstrous sound like that of said ocean waves.
In the midst of the colourful rays of light, the apparition of the black python and the elemental wave were extinguished. Immense pillars of wind rose towards the heavens and then rushed down low, before forming immense gales that swept across the surrounding area.
Leylin quickly retreated four or five steps, his face pale, and two streams of blood dripping from his nostrils.
"Hoho, you're not half bad! Out of all the rank 1 Magi that I've seen, you're probably the strongest. You're currently bordering a rank 2 Magus!"
The dark Magus was unmoving, the only sound being the wind rustling his clothes.
"But it's a pity! A rank 1 Magus is still only rank 1, and there still remains a huge gap between us! The feeling of personally killing a genius is really making me feel intoxicated…"
The dark Magus mumbled to himself, the dark green light in his eyes suddenly intensifying to the point that it started to solidify into two beams of light.
"Anguished Howl of — Cough cough…"
Just as the dark Magus was about to attack, the light from his body began to flicker, and he started to violently cough.
Rings of green light flashed as things that looked like plants began to emerge from his body. The green spores on his hands began to sprout, and green plant tendrils grew and spreaded across his body.
"So, killing a rank 2 Magus like Reynold was not without a price."
While observing this scene, Leylin came to a conclusion. The dark Magus must have suffered some serious injuries in killing a rank 2 Magus like Reynold.
This was advantageous to him for the next part of his plan.
At this moment, the platinum gate to the secret plane suddenly rumbled. The energy waves produced were very distinct, to the point that Leylin could feel them from his current location.
Afterwards, an unknown existence that must have been at least a rank 2 Magus passed through the gate of the secret plane and approached them.
"You darn dark bastards! Receive the judgement of lightning!"
This voice was full of anger, seemingly full of raging flames.
*Hualala!*
Countless blue bolts of lightning that were like crazed serpents scattered all over the sky and fell like raindrops.
*Ka-cha!* An electric current that was as wide as a bucket struck a dark Magus who did not have the opportunity to dodge.
This dark Magus immediately turned into ashes in the midst of the lightning, his body crumbling away.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!* The platinum entrance to the secret plane spat out light. Every time it flashed, groups of light Magi descended into the area.
These light Magi were dressed in uniform, and the metallic smell of blood was apparent on their bodies.
Compared to the dark Magi, who were already experts in battles, the division of work between the light Magi was even more efficient. The Magi who were specialised in battles were extremely experienced in bloody battles. Some even had a strength that rivalled the dark Magi!
With the help of these light Magi, the tide was turned. Rather than the Four Seasons Garden, the dark Magi of Thousand Meddling Hands lost their advantage.
"They're here! The reinforcements from the light Magi Alliance!" Leylin mumbled.
He quickly glanced at the dark Magi, who were being suppressed by the bolts of lightning.
"Look, my lord! The reinforcements of the light Magi have arrived. Are you still confident in destroying the gate to the secret plane?"
Leylin gave a slight smile as he asked.
"No, but I think this little bit of time I have left is enough for me to kill you before I retreat!" The dark Magus was silent for a moment, and then sneered.
"Is that so?" The rune of the suction spell formation on Leylin's back lit up, and a brownish-yellow spell formation emerged in front of his chest.
In that moment, a brownish-yellow light covered the earth, and the gravity around the area intensified by a factor of almost thirty.
"The ancient suction spell formation and the gravitational spell formation? You're actually using both of them here?"
There was a subtle hint of fear in the dark Magus' voice.
With the added bonus of these two spells, even if he were in his best condition, he did not have the confidence that he would be able to take down Leylin. Presently, his strength was depleted and his opponent would definitely be able to escape.
"I'm actually still on the dark Magi's side. After all, a leopard can't change its spots!"
Leylin spoke hurriedly and quickly, "Rather than completely destroying the gate to the secret plane, I believe that gaining possession of it will be of even more value."
His voice had a bewitching quality to it.
"What does that mean?" The dark Magus asked coldly but stopped his attack.
"Currently, Reynold's already dead, the team leaders of all the main divisions are dead, and Caesar and I may very well be the Magi with the most authority here! The reinforcements from the light Magi will have to leave eventually. Once that happens, and before a new member is assigned here from headquarters, we'll be the people with the highest authority, and will consequently be in charge."
Leylin was expressionless. "Once that happens, we'll continue to cooperate with you in secret, and give you access to the spell formations and defence formations here. Wouldn't that make everything easier?"
The dark Magus considered for a while, and then solemnly pondered over this question. It must be noted that this was a very attractive proposal, and was very much viable. After Leylin said this, he could even feel the dark Magus tremble a little.
"We can assassinate him or make him a scapegoat. Anyways, all we need is some time. By the time headquarters finds out what had happened, we'd be long gone…" Leylin answered swiftly.
"What do you think?"
The dark Magus glanced at Caesar, who was already standing.
Caesar was silent. "I think it's possible. Considering that our original plan has already failed, the situation can't possibly get any worse than this!"
There was actually something else that both Leylin and the dark Magus had not pointed out.
When that happened, even if the rank 2 dark Magus would be able to escape, his sons, Caesar and Giant, would definitely die here!
Leylin was, of course, not so daring as to blackmail them so blatantly, but his hidden threat had been understood.
"I don't trust you! Unless you let me give you a branding of your consciousness…" The dark Magus slowly spoke.
"Impossible!"
Leylin resolutely refused. Though receiving a branding of consciousness was slightly better than receiving a branding of the spirit, who knew what a rank 2 Magus could do? He didn't want to be in a situation where he was unknowingly being controlled.
Leylin had a rascally attitude.
In front of real power, only a person with a strength that others would be jealous of could have the guts to say this.
Though Leylin was not yet on equal grounds with a rank 2 Magi, he was confident that he could survive and escape, resulting in his more brazen attitude.
"A contract with the Trial's Eye. That's the furthest I can go."
The dark Magus pondered silently, and then responded in a low voice.
"...Fine!" Leylin hesitated for a moment and then agreed.
"As compensation for helping you, I'll need a large amount of resources and magic crystals, as well as some high-grade knowledge. After this, you also have to guarantee that I'll be able to enter Lighthouse of the Night. All of these things have to be written into the contract…"
The Magi acted quickly, and minutes later, the dark Magus left with Giant.
Leylin glanced at Caesar, who was standing strangely, with a smile appearing on his face, "Team Leader Caesar! Do you need me to help you back?"
After signing another agreement that could be said to be very harsh with the Trial's Eye, Leylin and Caesar were now allies once more.
In the eyes of the light Magi, the sight of two Magi who were always at odds with each other suddenly becoming friendly was quite strange. However, for the dark Magi, this was just an everyday occurrence. In the dark Magi faction, all sorts of battles happened everyday. Betraying one's alliance for the prospects of more benefits was very common.
"Then I'll leave it to you!" Caesar glanced at Leylin and actually let him assist him back.
Doing something like exposing one's vulnerabilities was unthinkable to the dark Magi, but Leylin could understand what he was thinking.
Previously, Leylin and the rank 2 Magus from the Thousand Meddling Hands had agreed and signed another contract.
Through the Caesar's scrutiny of the contract, the conditions were very harsh. In order to prevent Leylin from making use of any loopholes, Caesar had practically gone through the contract word by word.
He had basically made it impossible for Leylin to do whatever he wanted, not even giving him the chance to go back on his words.
As he had to deal with a rank 2 Magus and the dark Magi alliance, Leylin could only be placed at a slight disadvantage.
In other words, the moment Leylin expressed bad intentions towards Caesar, the power of the contract would devour him before he could even use his magic.
Hence, Caesar was quite trusting of Leylin now.
"We need to work quickly for our objectives regarding Wade!"
Caesar's lips moved slightly, his low voice travelling into Leylin's ear.
As the one in charge of the hunting team, which actually had true authority, Caesar had a very high position in the Four Seasons Garden. He was second only to Reynold, and only a handful of people could match his authority.
What was even more coincidental was that a few peak rank 1 Magi had died on the battlefield for a variety of reasons. Some had even been personally killed by Leylin!
As long as Wade was disposed of, Caesar would immediately be in control of everything!
-x-X-x-
Leylin reflected briefly.
Currently, in the entire Eternal River Plains' secret plane, the Four Seasons Garden had received a fatal blow.
Other than Reynold, a great elder, the combat and defense team leaders had all died in battle. The person in charge of the merit points exchange centre had been killed by Leylin, and it was unknown whether Wade, the envoy from the headquarters, was dead or alive.
Leylin was stunned at the discovery that in the headquarters of Four Seasons Garden in the secret plane, there might only be two peak rank 1 Magi here — Caesar and himself.
Under these circumstances, it would be an easy task to exploit his authority in the headquarters.
Though the headquarters in the external world was sure to react quickly, dispatching large numbers of Magi and even rank 2 Magi here to investigate, that would take time!
Caesar and Leylin could use this time to further diminish the power of the Four Seasons Garden and create opportunities for the dark Magi.
By the time the light Magi found out, the battle array of the defence would have been controlled thoroughly by dark Magi, and the situation would be set.
Even if there were to be another large war, with the dark Magi in charge of four entrances and three under the light Magi's control, the dark Magi would have an advantage.
Leylin had thrown out such tempting bait, which was how he had gotten the dark Magus to bite!
"It's Lord Caesar! And Patrolling Inspector Leylin!"
As they approached the headquarters of the Four Seasons Garden, the figures of Leylin and Caesar were quickly noticed by the large remaining numbers of the light Magi. The surviving members quickly came forward to greet them.
Leylin ran his eyes over everyone. These Magi's robes were in tatters, and there were traces of dust and blood on their faces. To all these Magi who had seen Caesar and Leylin, it was as if they had seen the pillars of their organisations.
"It seems like the loss of the higher levels in Four Seasons Garden is worse than I thought!"
Leylin admitted to himself that in the time he had been a patrolling inspector, he'd done nothing good, instead extorting much from every department. However, after these Magi saw Leylin, they gathered and greeted him, their enthusiasm surprising him to no end.
Unfortunately, there were no longer any peak rank 1 Magus in the Four Seasons Garden. That meant that Caesar and Leylin were the only two peak rank 1 Magi on the light Magi's side, which was why they were welcomed with such enthusiasm and ardent hope.
"If they found out that Caesar and I were the instigators of this recent attack, who knows what expression they would be wearing…"
Leylin was slightly dumbfounded, but he still put on a solemn expression.
"May I know who currently has the highest authority in the Four Seasons Garden?"
At this moment, a Magus with lightning designs on his silver-white robes separated the Magi and approached them.
"I'm Caesar, the team leader of the hunting team. This person here is Magus Leylin, the newly appointed patrolling inspector."
Caesar's face was pale as he spoke.
"We are the Lightning Corps of the light Magi alliance. The leader of our corps would like to meet you."
The Magus' expression was blank, as if he was incapable of expressing emotion. Not caring about Caesar's serious injuries, he forged ahead and led the way.
The surrounding Magi of the Four Seasons Garden cowered and did not dare to move forward.
Compared to a something as large as the light Magi alliance, the Four Seasons Garden was just one of many allies. Also, every single member of the Lightning Corps was at least a semi-converted Magus, which would make them equivalent to the elites of the Four Seasons Corps. Their numbers were greater, and the leader was coincidentally a rank 2 Magus, which was something they could not contend against.
Leylin shrugged his shoulders, met Caesar's gaze, and walked on.
They were naturally familiar with the headquarters here. After walking through an area with destroyed walls, Leylin and Caesar met the leader of the Lightning Corps in a temporary guest hall.
"Are you Caesar? 19 years ago, we met at Reynold's wine reception!"
Unexpectedly, this Magus knew Caesar.
Caesar quickly bowed in greeting, "So it's Lord Desmund!"
Leylin ducked his head and bowed slightly, chancing a glance at this rank 2 Magus.
Desmund had a blue robe draped over his sturdy body, which proudly displayed his chest and bulging muscles. Under his blonde fringe, there was a blue lightning mark on the forehead.
What garnered the majority of Leylin's attention was Desmund's eyes. Every time they blinked, slight electric currents flickered; it was rather astonishing.
"Where did you go?" The rank 2 Magus asked right away.
"My lord! I was previously leading the hunting team in a battle with the dark Magi, which resulted in many casualties. In the end, even I sustained injuries, and it was thanks to Magus Leylin rushing over that I managed to survive…"
Caesar began to narrate a story that he had previously made up.
The gist of it was that he had been defeated in battle, but had been saved by Leylin in the nick of time.
This was a version that he had previously discussed with Leylin, and they had recorded all of the casualties as well.
Of course, Caesar was the sole culprit for the annihilation of his own team members, and the two of them had also shifted a few dark Magus corpses from elsewhere to create the illusion of a battle.
With a rank 2 Magus helping to conceal this matter, it was a large possibility that they would not be found out.
What made Leylin feel relieved the most was that Desmund merely had asked in passing; he nodded, and did not continue with more questions.
Though they were all part of the light Magi alliance, Desmund was an outsider, after all. These were things that required the Four Seasons Garden to dispatch their investigation team and investigate everything properly.
"Hm! You two peak rank 1 Magi, and also Wade, would be the Four Seasons Garden's final force."
Desmund looked solemn.
*Teng teng!*
Caesar fell back a few steps, his face full of disbelief, "The last force? Does that mean... Lord Reynold…"
Seeing Caesar's Oscar-worthy acting skills, Leylin was speechless. Although Leylin had appeared to be shocked, his expression was formed with the manipulation of his facial muscles by the A.I. Chip.
If not, with his current acting skills, he would have definitely been seen through by Desmund, a sly old fox. No matter how boorish he looked, he was still a rank 2 Magus, and he would not lose to anyone in terms of intelligence or observational skills.
In comparison, Caesar's performance was remarkable.
"No! I don't believe it! Lord Reynold is a rank 2 Magus, and…" Caesar's eyes glazed over as he kept muttering.
"Though I also find it hard to believe, this is the truth. Reynold has fallen… I felt the extinguishment of his life force. Unfortunately, I arrived too late, else I would have definitely been able to save him. I'm sorry…" Desmund touched his chest, his expression showing regret.
"As Reynold's good friend, I will inherit his dying wish and carry out revenge on the dark Magi!" This corps leader guaranteed.
"Thank you, esteemed lord!" Caesar's face showed his resolution. "After I'm healed, I will immediately apply for missions to take revenge!"
"Hn!"
Desmund nodded, and then clapped his hands.
*Rumble!* The floorboards at two ends of the temporary room split open, and a large, translucent, metallic pillar rose from the middle of the room.
The sounds of turning gears sounded from the heart of the pillar. Streams of glowing runes constantly travelled upwards, creating a magical sight.
"This is the core control of the Four Seasons Garden's defensive formation! There had been a powerful interference, and the procedural spell design also had some issues. Don't worry about that though, as I've already fixed it. Based on the rules stated in the alliance's proposed laws, I now announce, in my capacity as the leader of the Lightning Corps, the formation of the Four Seasons Garden's Crisis Team, which will be in charge of the defensive and spell formations. The members will consist of Caesar, Leylin, and Wade. If you have differences in opinions, you should decide based on the majority's decision."
Desmund spoke as if he were reciting, and circles of light that represented a contract and celebration twinkled around the three of them.
"Now then, complete the ceremony for the formation genie to recognise its master!"
Desmund pointed at the metallic pillar in the center of the room. "Press your palm on it. The formation genie will automatically record the aura of your spirit and give you authority."
Caesar nodded, and then placed his palm on the surface of the metal pillar, closing his eyes and seemingly communicating with a body of consciousness.
Moments later, while beaming with admiration, he withdrew his hand.
"Your turn!" Leylin nodded and also placed his hand on the pillar.
The surface of the metallic pillar was very glossy, and there was a strange feeling when he touched it. It was very soft, as if it were not metal, but rather cotton.
It was also different from the iciness of metal. The surface of this pillar gave Leylin a rather warm feeling.
"Recording spiritual aura! Conferring an authority of seven stars!"
A robotic female voice sounded in Leylin's mind. It was different from the A.I. Chip's genderless voice, and was instead a crisp feminine voice.
"Is this a formation genie?"
Leylin was a little rueful. Whether science or magic, when it came down to it, there were basically different means to achieve the same end.
However, this formation genie obviously did not have any intelligence, and could only robotically answer Leylin's queries.
Communication with this conscious was quick, and in a quick ten seconds, Leylin was able to largely grasp what his authority extended to, and the function of the formation genie.
This formation genie was the core of all the defensive spell formations that the Four Seasons Garden had set up. Through the formation genie, one could easily check any single region.
However, this spell formation had previously been heavily interfered with by the dark Magi, which resulted in the unexpectedness of the attack this time.
As for the limits of his authority, this referred to how much manpower he could command. The chain of command consisted of a total of nine stars, with one having the least authority, and nine commanding the most. Leylin currently had a ranking of seven stars, and was therefore capable of dispatching most of the defensive forces in the Four Seasons Garden to besiege anybody, as well as having access to all available information, save a few top secret documents.
In the past, Reynold had had nine stars, and was capable of ordering the formation genie to self-destruct!
Leylin, Wade and Caesar were merely granted seven stars temporarily to deal with this emergency.
-x-X-x-
"Where's Wade? Why don't I see him right now?"
Caesar asked carelessly after Leylin had also completed the ceremony, and the metal pillar had automatically retracted into the ground.
"He sustained serious injuries and was also cursed by a very troublesome spell."
Hearing this, Desmund's expression darkened.
"It was caused by a dagger soaked in the poison of the Abyssal Spider. I've never seen such a cruel match-up… Though he's already awoken,the poison and curse will eat his flesh and spirit, consuming all the nutrients in his body and turning him into a dried-up corpse."
"In this situation, I suggest that he return to the Four Seasons Garden headquarters as soon as possible. The high-energy purification pool is there, and the elders may be able to find a solution, but unfortunately…"
Desmund spread his arms.
"After receiving news of his teacher's death, Wade has been insisting that he stay behind and return only after the investigations end."
This was troublesome.
It would be the best situation for them if Wade had died or returned to the academy after having sustained injuries. For them right now, what had been a two-man team had now been joined by another, who would be an impediment to them.
"Find an opportunity and kill him!"
In Caesar's eyes, Leylin could see a glint of vehemence.
After that, Desmund, Caesar, and Leylin chatted for a while about the Lightning Corps being stationed here, and other matters concerning living arrangements.
Leylin had never concerned himself with these matters before, so he just shut his mouth and watched Caesar and Desmund speak.
After everything was over, Caesar gave the excuse of treating his injuries and brought Leylin into his room.
*Pu!*
A curtain that seemed like a spider web rose in the room, the light covering all blind spots.
"Alright! This is an early warning system that I designed myself. With it around, I'll be able to know even if a rank 2 Magus were to eavesdrop on our conversation." Caesar carelessly picked a chair and sat down.
"Using the silk of the Eight-Clawed Spider, which is extremely sensitive to spiritual force… What an interesting way of thinking."
Leylin surveyed this curtain, eyes flashing with understanding as he sat beside Caesar.
"You're very learned! This type of material is very rare, and only a few people in Nightless City's scholarly institutions are able to recognise this. You should be able to go and pass the exam to become a professor there…"
Caesar sighed in admiration. It astounded him to no end that this spell formation, which had been developed for him by his father, had easily been recognised by Leylin.
"You don't seem to be that worried about Desmund. He's made his stance clear that before the reinforcements and investigation team from the Four Seasons Garden arrive, he will keep watch here. Rank 2 Magi have a lot of tricks; aren't you afraid that he'll discover something?"
Leylin showed no politeness as he asked this team leader, who had once been his superior.
His relationship with Caesar was quite unique. He could now tell that the person who let out the word of his identity within the Thousand Meddling Hands and transferred him here from Nightless City was definitely Caesar! His goal was probably to obtain another helper in the inner circle of the Four Seasons Garden, or perhaps just cannon fodder.
Hence, after seeing through this scheme, Leylin unhesitatingly chose to betray them and injured Caesar to the point that he was near death.
However, with the knowledge that he was backed by a rank 2 Magus, Leylin did not dare to go too far. After all, offending a rank 2 Magus was not a very sensible decision.
"Don't worry about Desmund."
Caesar waved his arms. "Rank 2 Magi all shoulder different responsibilities. When they oversee a place, they are usually unable to leave. I'm familiar with the place Desmund has been guarding; it's the Lightning Region at entrance No. 2 to the Eternal River Plains' secret plane. As long as the dark Magi apply pressure to him from there, Desmund will eventually be transferred back there! After all, that was the region that his academy is in charge of. Let's be real here, even if we fall to the enemy, their academy won't really be affected at all, but if entrance No. 2 is taken over, their academy will receive a large blow…"
Caesar analysed it very logically, displaying his exceptional situational skills and ability to think of the big picture.
"In order to attack entrance No. 2 and put pressure on them, at the very least, a rank 2 dark Magus has to attack. If only we had someone backing us..." Leylin was speechless. Even he was able to come up with such a plan, but he lacked Caesar's background and backing, as to where dark Magi could be dispatched according to his orders.
"I'll take care of everything regarding Desmund. Just focus on one person!"
Caesar turned to gaze at Leylin, his third vertical eye on his forehead blinking.
"Wade?" Leylin touched his chin.
Wade was the first Magus from the Four Seasons Garden that he had met. At the beginning, he had even passed the examination with his help.
"That's right! Desmund is an outsider, after all, and there are many things that he can't do. However, Wade is different. He's an envoy from the headquarters, so he holds a lot of power, and he is also the student of Reynold. He can easily take over the connections and resources that Reynold had, and is a huge obstruction to our plan!"
Caesar's tone was extremely serious and was practically one of fear.
"You don't want this plan to ultimately fail either, do you? You've signed the agreement, and the moment things fail, your spirit will self-destruct and leave nothing behind."
Caesar's eyes seemed to give out dark rays that shot towards Leylin.
"Don't worry! I'll silence him!"
Leylin was silent for a while and then spoke.
"Alright! I've contacted the Four Seasons Garden's headquarters in the external world. The elders are in a frenzy, and the entirety of the Four Seasons Corps will be dispatched here, along with a rank 2 Magus!"
Caesar also gave more news, "Five days! We have, at most, five more days!"
What he and Leylin needed to do within this time period was to push out Desmund and Wade, and hand over the defensive spell formation and core of the secret plane to the dark Magi.
As long as all of that was done, all entrances to the secret plane would belong to the dark Magi.
"Five days is enough!" Leylin stood up and left. As he walked out the door, he turned back and smiled at Caesar. "Also, remember! I don't like the look in that middle eye of yours. It's disgusting!"
*Pak!* The door slammed shut, and the expression on Caesar's face darkened.
"Despicable!" With a swipe of his arm, the cup, documents, and other items on the table fell to the ground, producing the crisp sound of objects colliding.
"If not for my "Three Spirits in a Body" still being incomplete, and me needing him to help me in my plan… I'll kill him! I swear on it!"
Caesar's facial muscles contorted.
For him to be defeated by Leylin, who he had looked down upon in the past, was an absolute humiliation. Also, as he was not better than Leylin, and even had to concede in some matters; it was like reopening old wounds and exposing them to the scorching sun.
What made him more furious was that Leylin had actually killed the little boy, and had inflicted heavy injuries on Giant!
These two Magi were the other spirits that were part of the trio from his body. Though they had different personalities, it could be said that out of the three people, including himself, one had been killed and the other two had been seriously injured! This hatred was definitely not something that a contract could restrict.
Caesar had concealed it well, but Leylin could see through it.
"It's a pity… So what if he knows? I admit that you're a genius and even the kind that's one in a million! But so what? You're now bound by the contract and don't have much time to grow any further...Once the plan succeeds and you lose all your value, I'll retrieve your spirit and torture you for two hundred years! I swear on it!"
Caesar lowered his head and began to laugh, like the murmurings of a patient who was nearing death.
Caesar moved extremely quickly, and on just the next day, Leylin heard news of increased dark Magus activity at entrance No. 2 to the secret plane. For the sake of security, Desmund had led the Lightning Corps to guard the area again.
Though there were many intelligent Magi who could tell this was a ploy to lure him away, Desmund still left.
For Desmund's and his superiors, if the Four Seasons Garden was able to eventually maintain the possession of their entrance, not only would the Four Seasons Garden would benefit, and they themselves would be able to obtain ten to twenty percent of the resources.
But entrance No. 2 was different! There were resources there that they were in charge of, and as long as they took care of the entrance, profits would come in like a wave!
Hence, even if there was just a slight possibility, Desmund did not want to risk anything.
As for his good friend, Reynold? Too bad! Magi were a bunch of practical people, and a dead friendship was a friendship no more. Without a similar strength and position, this friendship could not continue.
After considering both sides of the situation, Desmund made the decision to return.
After all, most Magi were selfish people! When it came to their own benefits, even rank 2 Magi could not resist temptation!
"However, Desmund still had to put on a superficial front and pacify the Four Seasons Garden members."
Leylin strolled around, and the Magi who walked past respectfully bowed to him.
Whether it was in terms of power or authority, Leylin was one of the core existences in the headquarters within the secret plane. The rest of the Magi in Four Seasons Garden could only duck their heads.
What was more interesting was that most of the team leaders of those divisions that Leylin had extorted had died in battle. Furthermore, the remaining members of those teams bribed Leylin by sending over even more resources and ingredients as they wanted to shirk their responsibilities.
In the past, Leylin had needed to do the work himself, but now, bribes would appear on his doorstep on their own, and they were only afraid that he would not accept it. This treatment was vastly different from before.
In this situation, Leylin, of course, accepted all these and promised them blindly to everything they requested.
After all, the amount of time he would stay here could be counted in days. Once he was to leave, these Magi would only be left in shock.
-x-X-x-
"When the time comes, these Magi who bribed me before will, unfortunately, be apprehended and accused of helping the enemy… I wonder what expression will be on their faces when that happens?"
Leylin thought to himself as a sly grin appeared on his face.
His feet did not stop moving until he came to a building that was still being rebuilt.
This had once been the merit points exchange centre, and after having experienced the attack from the dark Magi, which Leylin had been the leader of, it was now destroyed to a terrible extent.
Most of the main structure had been destroyed and, what was even more serious, the huge loss of a few resource-based warehouses!
Besides the main warehouse, the greedy Magi also went after a few small-scale branch warehouses. There were some slightly valuable magic crystals, and if they had not already been stolen by the dark Magi, them they had self-destructed under the protection of their spell formations.
In the end, the dark Magi who had grown green with envy had even burnt up the whole area and torched everything!
On the bare surface of the stones in the surroundings, one could also see the burn marks here.
"Lord Leylin!" A light Magus who appeared to be the person in charge here quickly came over and greeted him.
"Hn!" Leylin nodded. He had never bothered remembering this light Magus' name, and could only vaguely remember that he was the person in charge.
"How's the progress of the rebuilding?" he asked.
Though it seemed as if Leylin had posed the question on a whim, sweat beaded on the forehead of the light Magus who was waiting by the side.
"Over 80% of our main infrastructure has been lost. This is not a large problem with earth elemental magic, but the key issue is that the spell formations have to be remade…"
This light Magus pulled out a white handkerchief from his robes and unceasingly wiped his shiny forehead.
"I'm not worried about that. When is the latest we can start working again?" Leylin stared hard at this Magus who was slightly plump.
"Three… No, two days! At the latest, we'll be able to resume our work in two days." The light Magus could feel himself tremble under Leylin's gaze and quickly promised.
"Two days?" Leylin furrowed his brows and then shook his head. "Far too long! I'll give you two more Magi and twenty acolytes. The progress has to be 20% faster!"
"Yes, my lord!"
From the aura that Leylin was unwittingly giving off, the light Magus became even more afraid and the sweat on his forehead flowed quicker. He didn't even have time to wipe it off with his white handkerchief as he agreed.
Leylin nodded, waved his hand, dismissed the person in charge, and began to stroll around the construction site.
Leylin had experiences from an alternate world and was naturally aware that the protection from the headquarters in the secret plane was as good as the rebuilding work after wars in his previous life.
There were two main points in this operation. One, regain the credibility of the administration, and two, guarantee the flow of trade!
In terms of credibility, even though a rank 2 Magus from Four Seasons Garden had died, the main organisation in the external world was still significant enough that no Magus could look down upon them. There was no issue at all.
What was more urgent now was to make the merit points exchange centre operational!
From what Leylin knew, contribution points were the currency in this world. In order to make things work in this place via getting many light Magi to take on missions to help rebuild the area, what did they need?
Merit points! But merit points were a virtual currency that could not be used to trade for material resources directly, and were thus meaningless! With the merit points exchange centre, large amounts of merit points could be given out as the light Magi performed specific tasks, which could then be exchanged. This process would allow Four Seasons Garden to quickly regain their power.
For this reason, even under these conditions, Leylin and Caesar quickly transferred a batch of resources over so that the merit points exchange centre could resume operations.
Though he and Leylin were dark Magi spies, they were extremely cautious, and before they officially took action, they were as dutiful as any other Magus from Four Seasons Garden.
Hence, Leylin would come over occasionally and closely watch the progress of the reconstruction. Caesar was buried in a sea of documents and had to deal with a pile of urgent and frustrating work.
However, this was something he himself had instigated, and it could be said that he had caused himself trouble.
Leylin looked past the acolytes who were busily using earth elemental magic to create large numbers of stone pillars and bricks and approached a few people who were vigilantly surveying the area.
They were all wearing the uniform of Four Seasons Garden, which had lightning insignias on it.
They were members of Desmund's Lightning Corps. Though a rank 2 Magus had left, there was still a vice team leader and two large groups staying guard here!
They were all official Magi who had experienced multiple battles and combined with the formation genie and defensive spell formation, even if a rank 2 Magus were to attack, Leylin and the others had the confidence that they could withstand the attack for a period of time until reinforcements from the nearby light Magi alliance arrived.
"The system of our defense has been re-built. It can't be said to be watertight, but it's no problem if we talk about maintaining our current situation. If not for me and Caesar being traitors…"
Leylin felt some pity in his heart.
To be honest, Four Seasons Garden had not treated him very badly. If not for the fact that he had little choice, he did not want to betray them either.
Compared to the dark Magi who would often change their minds, he actually preferred having to deal with the light Magi, who kept their promises, even if this was only applicable to those on the same level of strength as them.
With Reynold and Caesar pushing him into a corner, Leylin had little choice.
Caesar had first let out news of his identity as Thousand Meddling Hands' Blood Rogue, causing Reynold to become suspicious of him. Caesar had then assigned him to continuously participate in the battlefield, and wherever it was dangerous was everywhere Leylin would go. It was a pace where he could possibly work Leylin to death!
At the end, Reynold had even personally tried to identify Leylin's identity. This was a very dangerous sign, as this implied that the higher-ups in Four Seasons Garden were already beginning to lose trust in Leylin. Or perhaps, they had never trusted him at all.
Hence, whatever Leylin had done till now to increase his strength was for the sake of survival!
Now, after his bloodline's second transition and seeing first-hand the strength of a rank 2 Magus from Thousand Meddling Hands, he could now somewhat defend himself and escape. It was for this reason that he could temporarily leave this cycle and worry about Four Seasons Garden and others.
Leylin was not a heartless person. In a situation where his interests were not affected, he would definitely not mind helping friends and perhaps organisations.
"Under the name of changing the guards, George and the others have been transferred far behind the frontlines, so they should be fine. Dark Magi wouldn't have any interests in a few pitifully poor acolytes…"
Leylin indifferently pondered.
He was pretty much in possession of a third of the power within Four Seasons Garden's headquarters in the Eternal River Plain's secret plane. This amount of power was simply astonishing.
But it was certain that he was going to betray them. In order not to implicate George and others, he could only work in a roundabout way.
"Are you ready?"
At this moment, Caesar appeared like a ghost behind Leylin and asked.
"All ready! We can start anytime!" Leylin nodded, "With us together, he definitely won't be able to escape even with just what the formation genie grants us access to!"
He and Caesar's conversations were transmitted using spiritual force, and nobody would find out.
...
Wade expressionlessly got up from a bed that had a strange smell to it. His face was stiff as he came before a large crystal mirror.
Like a transparent crystal mirror, what was reflected was a person whose hair had withered, facial features sunken and two eyes caved in, much like the corpse of a mummy.
The curse on the dagger that had been used in sneaking an attack on him had constantly been eating at his life, causing his external appearance to undergo changes.
Wade could be considered a pretty boy in the past, but now, any Magus from Four Seasons Garden definitely wouldn't be able to recognise him.
"Teacher…"
A low mumble emerged from Wade's dry and cracked lips.
For Wade, the first half of his life was the model of someone who was treasured by the heavens. Since he was young, he had been tested to have the first-rate talent in becoming a Magus, and successfully entered Four Seasons Garden without much trouble. He had even become the student of a powerful rank 2 Magus! He had then advanced to become an official Magus, and even the bottleneck that happened while he was a semi-converted Magus was easily overcome. However, everything had been destroyed the day before. In what seemed like the blink of an eye, his entire world had altered.
Four Seasons Garden's entrance to the secret plane had been attacked, causing his teacher, Reynold, to die in battle. Even he himself had been struck with a curse that had maggots that burrowed into his flesh and bones, and could not be ridden of. This resulted in his current appearance, where he looked like an abomination.
"Teacher! I'll definitely avenge you!"
The corpse-like Wade in front of the mirror let out a low howl and a resolute look appeared on his face.
For official Magi like Wade, external appearances were of no concern. As long as he had time, he could slowly choose a look and make changes to achieve it.
This curse was directed at his life force and even his spirit. The moment both were diminished, no healing techniques would be useful!
Originally, he could have chosen to return to the headquarters in the external world and be treated. With the methods of the Magi there, even if they were unable to heal him, it was a large possibility that they could slow the development of the curse and give him more time to come up with more ways to deal with it.
However, for the sake of his teacher, Reynold, Wade firmly chose to stay behind.
He had too many questions regarding his teacher's death. There were also a few suspicious points that he needed to make sense with the help of the investigation team from Four Seasons Garden before he would leave.
Hence, even if the conditions here were simply terrible and the curse was constantly eating at his body and turning him into a horrific state, he would still choose to stay behind.
"My lord! How do you feel today?"
A Magus wearing an armour of thorns entered.
-x-X-x-
"Goro! It's you!"
Wade glanced at one of the few surviving members of the Four Seasons Corps, his tone displaying his regret.
That day, he had sustained serious injuries, and practically all of the small team from the Four Seasons Corps had died. All that was left was Goro. As he had fainted because of the explosion, he had narrowly escaped death.
At the sight of Goro, Wade couldn't help but think back to that scene.
Explosion! Figures! Green mist!
Everything had happened so suddenly that even his secretary who was also his girlfriend, had died in the attack.
"Now, even Goro is probably ridiculing me as well."
Wade shook his head as he thought, and spoke in a hoarse voice. "What's the matter?"
"My lord, I've brought you your breakfast!"
Goro placed a silver tray on the table, on which were fruit salad, white bread, and steaming hot milk.
"Thank you!" Wade was silent for a while before he spoke.
"My lord, please be careful!" Goro bent his head slightly and quickly left.
Wade did not have much of an appetite, but for the sake of his teacher and as well as his own wellbeing, he still forced himself to go to the dining table.
He picked up a slice of white bread, preparing to slather some jam on it, but a slip of paper sandwiched in the loaf caught his attention.
Wade retrieved the slip and spread it out.
After being in contact with the warmth of Wade's fingers, rows of little letters appeared on the originally white paper.
"Danger! Dark Magi have infiltrated the headquarters and are planning to attack you. Leave immediately!"
The words were very strikingly written in red.
Wade stared hard and immediately got up to set up a few detection and isolation spells.
Next, with some astonishment, he focused on the slip in his hands.
"Like I thought, the dark Magi's attack was way too ferocious, and they knew too much about our defense system. The formation genie was also interfered with, and could not be used at all. There has to be a spy!"
Hatred appeared on his face, "If not for there being a spy, we definitely wouldn't be in this position, and even… Teacher Reynold wouldn't…"
His fists were clenched tightly, to the point that a few drops of crimson blood flowed out through the bandages on his hands.
"I'll definitely find you and avenge my teacher. I swear on it!"
A glint of resolution appeared in Wade's eyes, and he then rubbed the slip of paper in his hands.
"The paper used is the most ordinary parchment paper. The words were designed to show after coming into contact with my body temperature, so the sender has to be someone I'm familiar with. If he was able to warn me, that means that he's very clear on whatever's happened here, but… who could it be?"
Face after face appeared in Wade's mind, but he quickly pushed this thought down.
"It's not the time to think about this. Danger? Does this mean someone is planning on attacking me? Within the headquarters?"
Wade didn't quite believe it.
*Pu! Pu! Pu!*
At this moment, explosions sounded in the air, and numerous black needles as fine as cow hair penetrated the air. They were sharp glints in the air, launching towards Wade like raindrops.
"Really?!"
A green shield of vines appeared, and the numerous thin needles struck the surface and produced sparks.
He then dropped to the ground and rolled!
*Boom!* A black dagger punctured the area that he had previously been, and the bench split apart like tofu. Even the air had been cut, producing two pure, white gusts of wind.
*Tss tss!* From the area where the chair had been sliced, the sound of an object corroding was heard, with much white smoke accompanying it. The bench that Wade had been sitting on was corroded in a few seconds, not even leaving behind any residue.
The person holding the dagger was a dwarf-like figure.
The dwarf was surrounded by a layer of black gauze, and his movements were extremely agile. After seeing Wade avoid the attack, he pounced towards him like the wind. The black dagger was like the tooth of a poisonous snake, searching for Wade's weak points.
"Formation genie, activate the defense spell formation here, and inform the Lightning Corps!" Wade looked pitiful as he dodged a few attacks, and quickly swiped at a ring on his hand.
*Boom!* Green mist exploded at the scene, and with this chance, he began to yell.
"Order received! Activating defense at Zone B-7… Beep! Received a different command, cancelling out both. Your authority has temporarily been superseded!"
A robotic female voice sounded by Wade's ear, causing his heart to sink.
The formation genie had control over a large area, which practically included the entire headquarters of the Four Seasons Garden at the Eternal River Plains' secret plane. The moment he activated the power of the formation genie, he would definitely be able to break away from danger and arrest this killer.
But now, the enemy was even able to control the formation genie! Didn't this mean that the headquarters was now being controlled by the dark Magi?
A huge sense of fear suddenly made itself known. Despite the strong defense here, he could not feel any security and rather, felt like he was being caged in.
At this moment, the green mist in the room dispersed, and the dwarf-like killer's eyes had a cold glint within them. He seemed to transform into a black hurricane, which swept towards Wade.
*Teng! Teng! Teng!*
Outside the room, footsteps kept sounding. The guard Magi who were outside had heard noises inside and quickly rushed here.
The dwarf suddenly flung something, and the dagger in his hand turned into black lightning, streaking across the air and flying straight for Wade's heart!
"If I weren't seriously injured and cursed, this type of attack…" An unresigned expression appeared on Wade's face, and he quickly tried to avoid the attack.
*Pu!* The black dagger stabbed his shoulder, leaving behind just the handle exposed.
Large amounts of fresh blood spurted out, and Wade's face paled as he collapsed.
The dwarf quickly ran forward, preparing to deal the final blow!
"Protect the lord!" At this moment, the door to the room was forcibly kicked open and was turned into wood shavings. A few Magi wearing uniforms with lightning designs on them broke in.
Seeing Wade collapsed on the floor, they roared, and a few people produced blue and white electric currents.
The bolt of electricity arced across the air and arrived in front of Wade.
*Pak! Pak!*
The blue and white electric arcs struck the dwarf, causing green smoke and the smell of charred flesh to spread throughout the room.
The dwarf's body trembled, before he glared hard at Wade as if staring at his prey, and suddenly threw two black balls to the ground!
*Poof!* A large amount of black gas billowed out and concealed the dwarf's figure. After the gas had dissipated, the dwarf assassin had already disappeared.
"My lord, are you alright? Inform and warn Lord Caesar and Leylin about this!"
The Magi of the Lightning Corps supported Wade and then instructed.
Half an hour later, Wade had already moved to another room, his injuries having been treated. However, while he glanced at his surroundings, terror was beginning to engulf him.
The assassination attempt just now made him feel like something was wrong.
Within the headquarters, an assassin had actually managed to enter without obstruction and suppressed the activation of the formation genie! What did this mean?
"Who could be the thief who seized the authority to command the formation genie? Or is it Caesar? Leylin? Did they both join hands?"
Wade was expressionless as the gears turned in his mind.
"No! The headquarters are extremely dangerous, and there are too many hidden enemies that I don't know of. If things really are like the what slip of paper said, where the dark Magi have infiltrated here, I'm in even more danger…"
Wade glanced around his surroundings. A few Magi were patrolling the area, walking back and forth. After the attack, Caesar had brought over guards, but all he could feel were bad intentions in their gazes, causing him to sweat profusely.
"This isn't going to work. I need to leave here as quickly as possible; it'll be best to meet with the academy's investigation team!"
Wade's eyes showed his staunch resolve.
"What? Wade's missing?"
Leylin glanced at Caesar, shocked.
"How did this happen? You couldn't even carry out such a simple task! He must be suspecting us now!" In front of Leylin was the three-eyed Magus, Caesar, who did not look to be in a good mood.
"Even if he's an idiot, he'll definitely know there's something up with both of us after his authority in using the formation genie was suspended. If he were to report this to the investigation team…"
"That's impossible!" Leylin shook his head.
"The entrance to the secret plane is in our hands. I've checked all the recent records of people entering and exiting; there are no problems. Communication between the secret plane and the external world is very unstable, and the few communication towers we have don't work unless we use a spell formation exclusively for communication. Unfortunately, with our access to the formation genie, we can seal this entire area and turn him into a caged bird!"
"So the only thing he can do is to escape to other light Magi regions!" Caesar added.
"Exactly! A very daring decision!" Leylin nodded.
The area of the Eternal River Plains' secret plane was enormous, and the distance between each entrance was vast. One even needed to pass through a few extremely dangerous zones.
The difficulty would be too much for Wade while he was in his best condition, much less while he was cursed.
"This is your problem. You solve it!" Caesar answered in annoyance.
"Alright! This situation is actually what we wanted, though, isn't it?"
Leylin got up while he continued speaking. "Desmund has been transferred away, and nobody knows whether Wade is dead or alive… In these next few days, he won't have the chance to communicate with any Magus from the external world. Hence, the entire headquarters of the Eternal River Plain's secret plane now belongs to us…"