It wasn't as if there was no way to undo the contract with the Trial's Eye. The last time, Thousand Meddling Hands had given Leylin the solution of the Nefarious Filthbird feathers which had destroyed one side of the contract.
What made Leylin more uneasy was that this liquid had come from the hands of Cabourn, this rank 2 Magus!
Though it was impossible to find another solution of the Nefarious Filthbird feathers, for Magi like them, they did have ways to achieve a similar effect.
After all, the people behind Thousand Meddling Hands was the Dark Magi Alliance, which had at least a rank 3 dark Magus in charge!
If Leylin actually believed in that contract, then he must be a fool!
Caesar in front of him was a very good example! He was a Magus of Four Seasons Garden that was highly regarded. The force of the contract on him must be even stricter, and yet he had been able to betray Four Seasons Garden without the slightest hesitation. He must have used some method to break away from the effect of the contract.
Hence, though they had stated in the contract that they would not attack each other, Leylin did not take this to heart.
Just as expected, the rank 2 Magus had outrageously attacked him after obtaining what he'd wanted, not caring about the effects of the contract. This meant that he had destroyed his side of the contract.
Fortunately, Leylin had been wary of this rank 2 Magus from the start and been able to improve his strength after modifying his heart. Only then was he able to take on the attack.
"How… How were you able to retaliate? How are you able to break away from the influence of the contract?"
Cabourn first disregarded his shock at Leylin's strength, and first asked this question.
The contract with the Trial's Eye was not something to be made light of, otherwise it would not be used so extensively.
Besides its mortal enemy the Nefarious Filthbird, there were few other ways to deal with this sort of contract.
Even he himself needed guidance and help from the rank 3 Magus in charge of the Dark Magi Alliance and paid a large price to eliminate the limitations of the contract on his end.
The meaning of 'eliminating the limitations of the contract on his end' was to remove the effect of the Trial's Eye on him, while Leylin would still be bound by the contract.
In other words, he could attack Leylin, but Leylin would not be able to strike back. The moment he did, the Trial's Eye would punish him!
It was because of this that he had been so fearless and brazen in wanting to eliminate this untrustworthy factor first!
However, the powerful effects of Trial's Eye did not work on Leylin. How could this not surprise him?
"Could it be that Leylin also trained in some magic that is similar to "Three Souls in a Body"?" Cabourn was beginning to realise that he could not fathom this young Magus.
His son, Caesar, had used the special effects of Three Souls in a Body that allowed Caesar to violate the contract with Four Seasons Garden. He had died once, and after the effects of Trial's Eye had completely disappeared, he had come back to life and thus evaded the power of the contract.
Cabourn did not think Leylin had any rank 3 Magus aiding him, and the only other way for this situation to happen was that he trained in some ancient techniques!
"Fools!"
Cabourn glanced around coldly, and then coldly hummed. Due to the immense explosion, they had exposed themselves entirely to the light Magi. There were already a few wandering light Magi that wanted to investigate and find out what was happening.
Their surroundings had turned into barren land, and only the place sealing the core body of consciousness had a layer of black energy guarding it.
A few Magi wearing the uniform of the Lightning Corps had quickly made their way here. The leader was someone Leylin was extremely familiar with. It was the vice-leader that Desmund had left behind, who was a formidable peak rank 1 Magus.
"The Lightning Corps? What an eyesore!"
Cabourn let out a roar as if he had some animosity towards them, and he moved his arms forward, "Withering Breath!"
A ring of silver-gray stream was generated between his hands, and like a tornado violently revolved towards the Lightning Corps.
This stream seemed to have an immense corrosive effect and produced long, deep tracks on the ground. In an instant, it arrived before these Magi.
*Tss tss!*
The stream charged towards a Lightning Corps Magus. With a strange expression on his face, he suddenly began to wither.
In the blink of an eye, this powerful Magus had turned into a dried up corpse and collapsed to the ground.
"Keke!" Cabourn laughed in a way that sent shivers down one's spine, and the silver-grey tornado killed the Magi one by one. It then pounced towards the face of the vice-leader, who was struck with hopelessness.
"The rank 2 Magus, Deathbringer Cabourn! Lighting's Fury!"
The vice-leader of the Lightning Corps obviously recognised Cabourn and roared, raised his metal arm and struck towards the tornado!
With his movement, two large balls of lightning appeared in front of his fists.
The huge lightning fists brought with it thunder, flames, and inexhaustible fury, and hissed as it pounced towards the silver-gray tornado in the air.
Unexpectedly, the two lightning fists charged into the tornado and somehow completely disappeared without even having produced a sound.
"Pu!" The vice-leader paled and coughed out black-red blood that emitted some grey gas.
"Keke! Ever since I suffered a loss the previous time, did you think I wouldn't research your lightning magic?"
Cabourn could not stop with his strange laughter, and the huge tornado continued to howl as it sucked this man in.
*Woo woo…*
The tornado constantly revolved where it was, and in a few seconds, dissipated, revealing the scene within.
*Pak!* A spotlessly white skeleton fell the moment the tornado disappeared, which cracked in many places before turning into powder.
What had been the vice team-leader had had his flesh and blood stripped from him. Even the life force in his bones had not been let off.
Cabourn was able to take care of the Lightning Corps in a single blow. Such fearsome power intimidated the light Magi nearby, and the Magi of Four Seasons Garden unhesitatingly turned to leave quickly.
Though they were loyal to Four Seasons Garden, they were no fools! A person able to kill a peak rank 1 Magus had to have reached the level of a rank 2 Magus! If they went up against this sort of Magus, then they were simply committing suicide!
Cabourn nodded in satisfaction and turned to look at Leylin.
"I've taken care of the hindrance. Now it's time for us to start again…"
Leylin had been standing quietly while Cabourn had attacked and slaughtered the members of the Lightning Corps. Nobody had an idea of what he was thinking about.
"It's time!" All of a sudden, Leylin exclaimed quietly.
"What time is it?" Cabourn suddenly felt cold, having a bad premonition.
*Weng Weng…*
The sound of something vibrating emerged, and the metal gate to the secret plane across the center of Four Seasons Garden began to buzz.
The Magi were no strangers to this situation. This had happened just once before, and this was when a rank 2 Magus had brought in a whole army of Magi through the gate of the secret plane!
*Tssss!*
Blue electric currents swept along the metallic gate. What had been a cloudless blue sky suddenly dimmed, and dark clouds appeared.
A pair of large hands formed out of lightning charged in through the gate and swept through the dark Magi around.
In an instant, the dark Magi who had been brazenly plundering and looting turned into ash with shock still apparent on their faces.
What followed the large hands was a blonde, burly man with a lightning symbol on his forehead that gave off eye-catching rays.
"Desmund!" Cabourn gritted his teeth as he forced out this name.
Next, he gave Leylin a withering look, "Did you do this?"
Within the Eternal River Plains' secret plane, the only person who was so clear about their plan and was able to communicate with the external world was Leylin!
What Cabourn just could not understand was how this would benefit Leylin.
What he had done was enough for the Light Magi Alliance to kill him hundreds of times. Even if he disclosed this information, he would still not be let off lightly.
In addition, Leylin had offended both the dark and light Magi, so there was no way he would be in a good situation.
However, Cabourn did not have any time to think about this. Desmund looked at the scene around them, shocked, and blue rays of light floated from the bodies of what had been the Lightning Corps, launching into the mark at Desmund's forehead.
This burly man was immediately overcome by fury.
"Cabourn, you despicable maggot! A cowardly fool that only knows to run! I'll definitely twist off your head and trample it for ten thousand years at my parliament hall!"
Desmund roared and covered himself in blue lightning.
*Ka-cha!*
A tremendous lightning bolt split open the heavens and, in a straight line, landed on Desmund's hand, turning it into a weapon that looked like a pike.
*Xiu!* Desmund's figure streaked across the sky and appeared before Cabourn.
"Repulsive!"
Cabourn's eyelids blinked rapidly, and two lines of silver-gray tornados shot out from his hands.
Large tornados thundered and combined into a larger tornado that wrapped him within.
Like a lightning god, Desmund charged into the midst of the tornado, and one could vaguely see two figures wandering within.
The violent tornado floundered around at will, and any Magus which came into contact with it instantly turned into a withered corpse or was burnt to ashes by stray lightning bolts.
"They're finally gone!"
Leylin glanced at the two rank 2 Magi that were fighting and revealed a smile of relief.
Though he had already modified his heart and was indefinitely closer to the world of a rank 2 Magus and could be said to be the strongest rank 1 Magus in history, he was still a rank 1 Magus! There was still a huge divide behind him and a rank 2 Magus.
Though he had been able to take on an attack from Cabourn, but if they were to continue battling, he was only confident in his abilities to escape.
This was something that was simply unacceptable!
-x-X-x-
"Though there were a few issues, everything is mostly going to plan!"
With a smile about his face, he walked towards the sealing spell formation that Cabourn was protecting.
"Leave this place!"
All of a sudden, a familiar voice travelled to his ears.
The instant he heard this voice, ten black figures appeared and surrounded Leylin.
Leylin was very familiar with the leader. It was Giant of the Thousand Meddling Hands! His legs had been regenerated, and the mist about him was denser than ever before.
Beside him, Caesar had been rescued and was full of dust. He looked to be in a sorry state, and stared hatefully at Leylin.
"Leylin, you dare betray us! You dare betray the honour of us dark Magi…"
"Stop!" Leylin was a little speechless as he interrupted Giant's speech. "Aren't dark Magi a group of creatures that only look up to benefits? Since when was there anything about honour?"
He glanced at Giant, who looked pale, "If you want to seek revenge, tell me! Don't bother with the pretense!"
Giant paused, his face turning red.
"Yes, I want to seek revenge! What I have here are elite dark Magi whose elemental essence conversions are all over 70%! I admit that you're strong, but as long as you're not a rank 2 Magus, you definitely won't be able to survive the attack of so many of us Magi."
Giant pointed at the dark Magi around him. "You actually dared to kill Little Boy and treat me this way!" His facial muscles began to twitch.
Being defeated so thoroughly by Leylin was the worst kind of humiliation for him.
"Ah… I want to kill you, peel off your skin, and make it my carpet!" Giant roared.
"Your threat is absolutely… Lacking in creativity…"
Leylin heaved a tiny sigh. Even though he was encircled by so many dark Magi, he still had the mood to scan his eyes over the situation in the Four Seasons Garden.
Even Number 2 and Number 3 behind him seemed to be influenced by him, and were not the slightest bit worried.
With the addition of the Lightning Corps, the complete defeat of Four Seasons Garden's end seemed to less certain. The dark and light Magi had now broken into countless smaller groups and were battling.
In the heart of it all was the large tornado, within which Desmund and Cabourn were fighting.
The tyrannical tornado turned everything, whether it was Magi or buildings, into powder in an instant!
At the heart of the tornado, two figures could be seen rapidly exchanging blows.
Lightning currents were scattered everywhere, sometimes penetrating through the tornado and causing large numbers of casualties.
"It's really chaotic…"
Leylin sighed, seeming to pity Caesar and Giant while he looked at them, "Leave immediately, and I might even let you off!"
"Are you trying to humiliate me?" Caesar and Giant spoke at the same time.
Though they had seen how formidable Leylin was, they did not think that Leylin would be able to survive the joint attack of so many Magi. Naturally, they thought of Leylin's words as a bluff.
Giant was even more angered, and he waved his arm. "Attack!"
Immediately, all the dark Magi around him attacked. Corrosive curses, Exhausting Hand, Toxic Clouds, Acid Lightning, Ice Bolts, and all sorts of insidious spells turned into colourful rays of light that hurtled towards Leylin like a wave.
Every single attack was had an offensive power of at least 45 degrees!
This level of attack was something a peak rank 1 Magus would definitely be unable to handle. Without even being able to flee, they would be seriously injured and die under this joint attack.
However, Leylin was different. After the successful modification of his heart and the mixing of his bloodline with the bloodline of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent, he was infinitely close to a rank 2 Magus, despite not yet reaching that point!
It could be said that he was the strongest peak rank 1 Magus in history!
"Shadow Domain!"
In the face of such an attack, Leylin loudly chanted an incantation and made a weird sign with his hands, and then pressed them to the ground.
*Weng!* A strange ring of black quickly extended everywhere with Leylin in the centre, instantly covering hundreds of meters.
This was a domain-type attack which Leylin had come up with by studying shadows. Though the effect could not compare to true domain-specific magic, its power was still rather similar!
In the Book of Giant Serpent, the great Magus Serholm had once mentioned that Magi of high ranking had a skill that could affect large areas. They were able to control a large territory and suppress the innate skills of any Magus with a lower ability than them, causing the power of lower-leveled Magi within the area to become weakened.
If a Magus was of a high enough ranking, they could even come up with their own laws within the domain!
It could be said that in one's own domain, a highly ranked Magus was basically a godly existence!
Leylin obviously had yet to reach that level. The "Shadow Domain" he had come up with was just an imitation that didn't even have the effect of suppressing the abilities of Magi within. All it did was amplify his own attacks, but this also represented his ambition!
[Shadow Domain! Rank 1 Area attack effects: Instantly produce a shadow domain of 100m x 100m, within which the host body's agility is increased by 30%, rate of recovery of spiritual force is increased by 10%, and resistance to elements is increased by 10%! Duration: 5 minutes. Consumption: 15 Spiritual force and 15 Magical power!]
In the blink of an eye, darkness consumed the dark Magi beside Leylin.
All types of magical attacks soundlessly vanished after the appearance of the shadow. Not a single wave of energy was produced.
Immediately after, like a fish in water, Leylin seemed to become the devil king of the night. He began to harvest the lives of the Magi within the domain.
The low and horrifying shrieks of exclamation was heard in the darkness.
In just ten or so seconds, the shadows in this area pulled back and returned to Leylin's feet.
The dark Magi who had surrounded him were in a state of shock, their emotions frozen on their faces.
*Pu!* A stream of air blew past, and a sound was heard.
A Magus in front of Leylin exploded into foam.
*Pu! Pu! Pu! Pu!*
As if causing some chain reaction, the dark Magi exploded one by one, turning into pulps of human flesh.
Bright red blood mist pervaded this area.
Within the blood mist, there were still two figures that were not dead.
They were the Caesar and Giant, who were parts of a single spirit that had been split into different bodies. They were now full of wounds that looked like they had been caused by metal slicing against their flesh, blood dying their clothes as they collapsed into an unconscious heap.
Leylin was still not a rank 2 Magus after all, and did not want to attract Cabourn's attention. If Cabourn ever decided on giving up on his current opponent, and decided to cause him trouble, it would be a huge headache for him. Hence, Leylin had chosen to leave them alive.
"Latent fireball!"
Seeing the dark Magi elites having been taken care of in an instant, whether it was the dark or light Magi, nobody dared to provoke Leylin, and they came to a tacit understanding, leaving the area right away. They left this place to Leylin.
Leylin came to the place where Cabourn had set up the black layer, and raised his hand, a black fireball the size of a fist appearing in his palm.
"Go!" Leylin made a tossing motion, and a black fireball streaked through the air, colliding against the layer and beginning to burn.
Drops of black liquid melted on the layer, and were quickly evaporated.
Leylin's control over his spiritual force was now extremely refined. In his hands, the Latent Fireball was able to have an immense destructive force, and even attack while not making any sound and limiting its power.
*Po!*
The black layer kept vibrating and was eventually unable to endure the attack, cracking into little pieces, and revealing the sealing spell formation within.
Due to the special attention Cabourn, a rank 2 dark Magus had put into protecting it, the area in which the sealing spell formation was perfectly fine despite Leylin's previous attack.
One could even see a circular trace on the floor as the boundaries of the layer broke off.
"The core body of consciousness of the gate to the secret plane!"
Leylin's eyes saw nothing else. He concentrated on the white gold flames of the core within the sealing spell formation, eyes revealing his enchantment by it.
"Go according to the original plan!" He spoke to Number 2 and Number 3 behind him, and headed into the spell formation.
"Understood, Master!"
Number 2 and Number 3 glanced at each other. In their eyes, one could see a resolute expression and even preparation to die! As slaves bound spiritually to Leylin, even if Leylin wanted them to commit suicide, they would do so without any qualms.
Next, they each produced a crimson, diamond-shaped crystal.
"For the glory of Master!"
Number 2 and Number 3 roared, and shattered the crystals. A crimson screen emerged from the fragments of the crystal, and encased the area encompassed by the spell formation.
These two crimson crystals were actually single-use spell formations. Judging the defensive power of the crimson screen, it could be said that this was very valuable.
"Woo woo…"
Like the howls of a grieving spirit, or perhaps the laments of suffering, the wails of sorrow that came from the spirit sounded throughout the headquarters of the Four Seasons Garden.
Along with the sound, tiny black runes appeared on the buildings around them.
These runes twisted here and there like little tadpoles or stretched out snakes, seeing to be very mysterious and strange.
The runes assembled and eventually formed a large-scale spell formation.
The spell formation had quite a wide range and included basically the entire headquarters. Whether it was the defensive area at the frontlines or the entrance to the secret plane at the back, they were all covered in these black runes.
Streams of black light constantly combined, and due to the continuous battles, even a few layers of the earth were scraped off. However, these black streams arranged themselves and immediately filled in the craters!
This massive spell formation had been immediately activated!
-x-X-x-
*Woo woo...*
Along with the sound of wails, milky-white and dull red rays began to appear and shine all around the battlefield.
These spots of light were very bright, with some of them even illuminating a vague human face. The Magi nearby kept crying out in alarm because what they saw within were the faces of their family and friends!
"Spirits! This is a spell formation that specifically targets the spirits of those who died in battle!"
A Magus not far away immediately yelled, "Where have I seen something that can cover such a large area and not destroy anything before…"
These white and red spots seemed to be attracted by an immense force and shot towards the surface of the crimson light screen at the centre of the spell formation.
*Tss tss!*
The spirits dissolved into the crimson screen the moment they touched it.
The crimson screen did not refuse anything that approached it. Whether it was the spirit of an acolyte or a Magus, whether dark or light Magi, all of these spots of light which represented spirits were absorbed into it.
As the number of spirits that it absorbed increased, the reddish layer became darker until, in the end, it became a dark red large-scale defensive spell formation.
"It targets just spirits! This is magic that the Light Magi Alliance ordered to be made a forbidden technique! It even dares to gather the spirits of Magi! This is simply blasphemous!"
The eyes of a Magus with a snowy-white beard turned red. Just now, he had personally witnessed his lover's spirit being absorbed by that sinister screen. Even without using his brain, it was obvious that Leylin did not have any good intentions in gathering these spirits.
"Destroy it quickly!"
This sinister black spell formation immediately caused the magicians present much fear. Whether dark or light Magi, neither wanted their spirits to be extracted and used by anyone else.
All sorts of magic such as frost arrows, fireballs, mysterious spirit spells and holy magic of the light element struck and exploded against the building that was filled with runes.
*Rumble!*
Under the joint attack of the Magi, the building was quickly reduced to ashes, but the black runes were like brands deeply etched into the air. Even the residual energy of the battle in the tornado between two rank 2 Magi was not enough to destroy these runes.
"I remember what this is! It's the Large Formation of Ten Thousand Spirits: Hades' Sacrificial Rites!" The Magus who had previously recognised the function of the spell formation yelled again.
"This is a forbidden technique that was considered taboo even in ancient times! It's able to absorb all the spiritual energy from the spirits of the dead within its range. As it has a trace of protection from Hades, before the time limit is up, it will not disappear…"
"I've heard about this spell formation too! Hasn't it been lost though?"
The Magi stopped their attacks and turned their attention to the dark red screen in the centre of Four Seasons Gardens, their eyes displaying their fear.
The huge black spell formation constantly thundered as it absorbed large numbers of spirits. Such a strange sight caused even the magical beings outside to feel a sense of dread.
The battlefield was silent. Whether it was the dark or light Magi or even the rank 2 Magi who were battling shifted their attention to find out what was happening with the crimson screen.
Within the crimson screen.
Leylin gazed at the white-gold flame in his hand and grinned.
"Power!" He spoke.
He had not had any intentions of abiding by the rules of the contract made with the Trial's Eye. All that he did was for this thing that was now in his hands!
All that talk about a recommendation to enter Lighthouse of the Night was just a smokescreen. Compared to relying on another organisation, how could it be any better than the thrill of freedom?
As for the contract with the Trial's Eye? That was just a joke in Leylin's eyes!
Using the solution from the feathers of the nefarious filthy bird, he was easily able to remove traces of the contract from his body.
Though there was only one portion of the solution, Leylin still possessed many Void Hallucination Flowers!
This flower had a very unique property in that with some simple methods it could imitate all sorts of complicated ingredients! It was for this reason that the Void Hallucination Flower was an essential ingredient in ancient potions!
Giant had delivered the solution of the feathers of the Nefarious Filthbird into Leylin's hands. Leylin had confirmed the authenticity of the item and did not consume it straight away, but had instead used the A.I. Chip to record the details concerning the composition of this solution!
Next, after many rounds of testing and a little help from the A.I. Chip at the atomic level, Leylin successfully made use of the Void Hallucination Flower and simulated the composition of the solution!
What happened next was obvious.
With his authority of seven stars for the formation genie, he had naturally secretly carved the runes for the Large Formation of Ten Thousand Spirits and prepared for today.
The runes and the setting up of the energy points was naturally information that he had gathered from the Book of Giant Serpent.
Based on records regarding Kemoyin's Pupils, Leylin needed to burn up large amounts of spiritual force and stimulate his high-grade meditation technique in order to spur on his own advancement to becoming a rank 2 Warlock.
Rather than accumulating slowly, he could use large amounts of ownerless spiritual force to replace what he required with this method!
Spiritual force was as precious as one's own blood. If one were to burn up large amounts of their own spiritual force, this would definitely result in very dire consequences. And even if one could advance, a long period of time would be needed to recover from the damage.
If he were to use spiritual force from the external world, this would not be a problem! If there was enough spiritual force and it was pure enough, it might even support the Magus and set up a strong foundation for them!
After being made aware of this fact, Leylin immediately fixed his attention on the core body of consciousness.
This core body of consciousness had formed after tens of thousands of years, and had a tremendous amount of spiritual force. However, its intelligence was very weak and was not even comparable to a three-year-old. It was for this reason that it was so easily caught and sealed by Magi.
The spiritual force that would stimulate the meditation technique to power up would require refinement and purification of his own foundations.
Hence, Leylin chose to use the Large Formation of Ten Thousand Spirits in the Book of Giant Serpent, which was a formidable forbidden technique used specifically to accumulate spiritual power.
What this formation needed was a battlefield, and the deaths of many Magi who were extremely powerful in terms of their spiritual force. Leylin had therefore decided to activate it at this point of time.
In the external world, most of the light and dark Magi had already died. The spirits of these Magi and acolytes, and even magical beasts, had turned into fuel for Leylin's advancement!
"Let's not waste time. Let's begin!"
With a thought from Leylin, milky-white and dark red spiritual spots were like moths flying into flames, pouncing towards the white-gold light in the palm of his hand.
At this moment, Leylin seemed to feel the howls of a confined consciousness at the heart of the white-gold flame.
The spiritual spots were numerous but were heterogeneous. The core body of consciousness had a boundless spiritual force, but had a very weak consciousness.
As these two collided it was like boiling oil meeting water, they created a violent reaction.
With the interference from the Large Formation of Ten Thousand Spirits: Hades' Sacrificial Rites, the script that Leylin had prepared was beginning to put on a good show.
The flames, which had only been the size of a bean, suddenly expanded and burned furiously. Just like that, the spirit spots were razed to ashes.
However, these spots seemed to be boundless. Even though the spots in front of them had been burnt to nothingness, they still did not hesitate to pounce towards the flames. This was especially so for the spiritual spots that belonged to official Magi. They could survive in the flame for a long time, almost extinguishing the white-gold flames.
Eventually, the consciousness of the white-gold flame became increasingly weak. All the impurities in the spiritual spots had disappeared, and the consciousness vanished, causing it to be extremely pure.
A clean, pure, ownerless spiritual force began to be produced from the heart of the flames.
...
Sometime later, Leylin focused on the silver flames in front of him, his eyes revealed his joy.
This was the crystallised spiritual force that he had refined. It combined the spiritual force that the platinum gate had gathered after many years, with the spiritual force essence from the Magi that had died in battle.
"The effects are even better than I expected! Total amount of spiritual force has increased by 22%."
Leylin mumbled quietly, and then looked towards the silver flame. There, a white-gold ball of light like a ping pong ball hovered, emitting spiritual waves that Leylin almost did not notice.
However, the spiritual waves seemed to communicate with the silver flames, and there was even an urge to return to within the silver flames.
This was the consciousness that he had separated. After fights with other spirits, it had become very weak and would probably be destroyed with just a blow from Leylin.
However, as long as it was still not destroyed, the crystallised spiritual force flames in Leylin's possession would never be able to be considered pure.
"My apologies!"
Leylin spoke to the ball of light, and then blew!
*Pu!* Like a bubble, it popped, and the ball completely broke open and it was on the verge of disappearing in the air.
With the destruction of the core body of consciousness, the crystallisation of the silver flames in Leylin's hands were transparent, like a totem of flames created using crystal. It produced a very pure feeling.
This was its form after removing its pure consciousness.
[Large amounts of crystallisation of spiritual force. Purity: 100%] The A.I. Chip came up with a conclusion.
"100%?" Leylin shook his head.
He was clear that at this point, he would not be able to identify the impurities in the spiritual force, and it could not be said to be perfect.
The spirit was a wondrous thing. Even the A.I. Chip right now was unable to examine it properly. Though it might not be able to detect a few ingredients, this did not mean that rank 4 or 5 great Magi would not be able to find out.
In the Book of Giant Serpents, there was a warning from the great Magus Serholm. This spiritual force seemed to be very pure, but in actuality, there were still a few spiritual marks left behind and could not be absorbed! Otherwise, the road ahead would be difficult, and might even cause residual effects.
-x-X-x-
"However I don't want to absorb it, but to use it as a single-use stimulant to level up the meditation technique!"
Leylin chuckled and reached for the crystal in the heart of the flames.
*Weng!*
The spiritual force crystal glistened as it turned into a large silvery flame that engulfed Leylin within.
Where the crimson light screen formation was.
The Magi outside would naturally not know what happened in here, but at this moment Leylin destroyed the secret plane's core body of consciousness!
*Weng!* *Weng!* *Weng!*
The giant metal gate of the Four Seasons Garden headquarters creaked loudly as various runes on it dimmed! Right after, large cracks began to appear on the surface of the gate.
*Ka-Cha!* *Ka-Cha!*
The noise produced from the giant metal gate was akin to that of ice cubes melting, as chunks of the gate began to melt like lava and rolled to the ground.
Under these circumstances, even the two rank 2 Magi inside the tornado stopped fighting and directed their gaze towards this scene.
Finally, with the faces of the dark and light Magi showing their disbelief, the gate collapsed and produced a large amount of grime and dust!
"The secret plane's entrance has self-destructed! Damn it! That Leylin must have destroyed the core!"
Cabourn who was in the tornado charged at the crimson light screen formation.
As for Desmund, his eyes gleamed as he remained rooted to the spot, not planning to stop Cabourn.
At this moment, outside of the crimson light screen formation, Number 2 and Number 3 brandished their metal greatswords, which were even larger than they were. The brands on their body shone resplendently and surrounding them lay the bodies of countless magicians.
All these were magicians who had foolishly rushed forward earlier to stop Leylin from harvesting the spirits from both dark and light faction. However, under the two Branded Swordsmen's teamwork, they were all slain here.
Branded Swordsmen had always been one of the stronger classes in ancient times. This could clearly be seen from the mighty battle prowess stemming from Number 2 and 3.
Regular semi-converted Magi were not their match at all. Even if those Magi were a tad stronger, under the combination of the instantaneous spell casting innate to their bodies and their battle techniques, the Magi were still easily disposed of.
Formidable physical qualities with an expert fighting technique, combined with instantaneous spell casting abilities have granted Number 2 and Number 3 the title of meat grinders on the battlefield. It required at least a peak rank 1 Magus to finish both of them.
However, how rare was a peak rank 1 Magus?
Previously, Leylin had already swept the battlefield clean of the peak rank 1 Magi. Not to mention those dark Magi spies who were now dead, and even Caesar and Giant were severely injured and unconscious. At this moment, Number 2 and Number 3 were unstoppable!
However, no matter how powerful a Branded Swordsman was before they advanced, they weren't a match for rank 2 Magi
With the attack from Cabourn, Number 2 and Number 3 looked at each other with undying loyalty written over their faces.
"For our Master!"
They grunted as the brand and runes on their bodies flashed ten times more powerful than before as they charged to receive Cabourn's attack.
"You're overestimating your abilities!" Cabourn smirked and released two black tornados from his hands.
*Sssii!*
The tornados which contained a corrosive effect hit the Branded Swordsmen bodies, but it only left several white marks. Their skin was even intact.
"En? What kind of modification is this?" This time, it was Cabourn who was astonished.
However, he no longer had any time. At this moment, Number 2 and Number 3 bodies began to bloat, like two over-inflated balloons, as they came to Cabourn's side.
*Boom!* *Boom!*
Two huge explosions sounded.
As a Branded Swordsman, in front of an unbeatable foe, there was always a final move! This was to fully detonate all of the brands on their body to generate a powerful one-time attack!
In theory, this attack was to use the life force of the Branded Swordsman, the energy particles attracted by the runes and even the spirit that would be detonated all at once! A rank 1 Branded Swordsman's self-detonation, which could even be a threat to a rank 2 Magus!
When Leylin made modifications to the Branded Swordsman, he also increased the explosive effect of the detonation.
As this information of the Branded Swordsman's trump card was not known to many, even Cabourn as a rank 2 Magus had never heard of it before. Hence, he had received two such explosive attacks without any suspicions.
Two giant red mushroom clouds formed in the air, whistling through the skies as they engulfed Cabourn completely.
These flaming mushroom clouds even had scarlet flames at their edges. Anything that the flames touched, be it Magi or concrete, would be instantly dissolved.
"What kind of spell is this? The might is infinitely nearing that of a rank 2 spell!"
The eyes of the surroundings Magi twitched as they scrambled away as if having seen a ghost.
*Rumble!* The splendour of the giant red mushroom cloud displayed its terrifying radiation and might. Several minutes later, the two clouds completely dissipated, revealing a black robed figure within.
"Cough Cough…" Cabourn's appearance now was terribly miserable. His robes were all tattered and torn like a beggar's. Especially noteworthy was his left hand which was in an unusual angle with evident traces of burns. It seemed like the effects of the self-detonation of Number 2 and Number 3 were substantial.
"Damn it!" Cabourn was now enraged. After advancing to a rank 2 Magus, when did he ever receive such a large loss like this? All the more so done by two unremarkable looking fellows, how could he be appeased?
Right now, Cabourn was in fits. If not for Number 2 and Number 3's spirit being destroyed in that explosion, he would have definitely held their souls captive and let them feel the greatest pain and despair.
*Bang!* *Bang!**Bang!*
At this moment there were some changes coming from the crimson light screen formation again.
The formation continuously shrunk and expanded like that of a heart beating.
On the surface of the light screen, the Hades' Sacrificial Rites had black patterns inscribed on it, just like veins which bulged.
With the continuous beating of this red heart, an energy so immense and overpowering which made Cabourn feel apprehensive began to form and grew increasingly bigger.
This aura even caught the attention of Desmund who was merely spectating, as his expression turned solemn.
"A rank 2 aura… That Leylin is advancing into a rank 2 Magus!"
Cabourn's eyes opened wide, "How is this possible?"
However, he was extremely clear that no matter how Leylin reached this stage with the advancement requirements, he could not let him advance, no matter what it took.
Cabourn retrieved several items from his robes as he chanted an incantation.
Along with the incantation, layers after layers of energy waves emanated from Cabourn's body.
"It's a rank 2 spell!"
Several Magi who were looking on at a distance exclaimed in shock. At Cabourn's level, casting rank 1 spells was almost instantaneous and required no chanting. However, once he was to use ingredients to aid him in spell casting, there was only one possibility! He was going to use a mighty rank 2 spell!
In the south coast, a rank 1 spell model was extremely difficult to acquire. Regular level 3 acolytes had to at least amass contributions points for over 5 years before they could have enough to exchange for a spell model.
If rank 1 spell models were this difficult to acquire, one can only imagine how much rarer a rank 2 spell model was.
Even most rank 2 Magus did not own many rank 2 spell models. Each and every one of the spells were enough to obliterate a small village.
As for now, Cabourn was casting a spell which contained such a might.
As Cabourn chanted, he continuously fused the magic items which he took out and eventually it held the form of a giant lance used by knights. The lance seemed to be metallic with a green sheen on it.
At the same time, malevolent skulls began to emerge from the void and attached themselves to the lance.
"Wailing Lance?" Cabourn even used this rank 2 spell! It seems like he's really agitated now!"
Desmund who was watching from the sidelines sniggered. He dispersed the golden blue lightning ball on his hands, "It seems like I don't need to strike anymore!"
Although Cabourn was his enemy, Leylin, who had destroyed the secret plane's core, was not a good person either. Right now, Leylin was about to be killed by Cabourn, so naturally, Desmund would not stop this.
Furthermore, if Cabourn were to fail, Desmund could then strike after and kill Leylin!
The skulls on the giant green lance wailed loudly, emitting a loud whistling sound as they struck the crimson light screen formation.
*Sssii!*!
The crimson light screen shuddered as the red and green merged and spread through the skies. The air in the surroundings contorted wildly as energy waves were violently released.
*Rumble!*
The green and red light began to shrink after stretching to their limits and a mighty explosion erupted as the flames lapped everything in the surroundings.
The surround buildings had previously gone through a large scaled battle and were already damaged. This time, the explosion shattered them to pieces and turned them into a rubble.
The rebuilding efforts that Leylin and Caesar had put in were now completely destroyed by this explosion.
*Pu!* *Pu!*
This Hades' Sacrificial Rites that was harvesting spirits finally succumbed to the pressure and completely shattered. What was left now was Leylin's final line of defense, the crimson light screen.
The crimson light shuddered and then black cracks began to appear on the surface.
*Ka-Cha!* *Ka-Cha!*
The light screen shuddered and finally shattered!
The green lance that contained a monstrous might pierced the centre of the light formation.
Under the dazzling light, a barely visible human figure was seen. This figure was wrapped in a silvery flame which very soon was extinguished.
"Crimson Palm!"
The human figure in the centre spoke softly. Immediately, his hands turned into a fresh blood-red colour.
Two burning holographic claws appeared and grabbed the green lance, which created a whistling noise.
As the red flames touched the green light, the green light was extinguished.
-x-X-x-
Although Wailing Lance was a rank 2 spell, after going through Hades' Sacrificial Rites and the crimson light screen defensive spell formation, it had been weakened, and eventually perished under Leylin's Crimson Palm.
The might of his Crimson Palm caused Cabourn, who was not far away, to turn pale and exclaim, "You've advanced to become a rank 2 Magus!"
Only a rank 2 Magus would be able to withstand his magic so easily.
"Whew…"
Leylin heaved a huge sigh, feeling the transformation completing in his body. And could not help but mumble, "Such formidable strength really makes one feel intoxicated!"
The A.I. Chip had also shown a few notifications.
[Beep! Detected the burning of large amounts of ownerless spiritual force. Kemoyin's Pupil in the process of advancing…]
[Host body's high-grade meditation technique, Kemoyin's Pupil, has risen to the second level! Driving the advancement in Host's rank! Host has advanced to become a rank 2 Warlock!]
[Rank 2 innate spells have been generated! Modifying Host body's sea of consciousness.]
[Beep! Host has advanced to become a rank 2 Warlock! Stats have been substantially increased. Recalculating data…]
Next, the A.I. Chip refreshed and displayed his new stats.
[Beep! Leylin Farlier. Rank 2 Warlock, Bloodline: Giant Kemoyin Serpent. Strength: 21.1, Agility: 14.4, Vitality: 27.9, Spiritual force: 104.3, Magic power: 104 (Magic power is in synchronisation with spiritual force).]
Leylin took note of the large changes within his sea of consciousness.
His red sea of consciousness had now expanded by a huge amount, but the core essence in the middle had experienced the most changes.
Originally, there had been a prismatic crimson crystallisation of his spiritual force. This was Leylin's foundation as a warlock, and all sorts of complicated runes were carved onto it.
These runes were like little black snakes seemed to be formed from nature, and made up his two rank 1 innate spells!
Currently, within the crystal, another smaller prism-shaped crystal had been produced. It looked exactly like the outer prism except for the size; it looked as if a tinier version of the original crystal had been placed inside of itself.
The only difference was that the runes on the surface of the inner crystal were different from the runes for Leylin's innate spells on the outer crystal. These runes formed even more formidable innate spells.
If one peered at the two crystals from the outside, they would observe that the runes on the outer and inner layer were integrated to create an image of a crimson symbol-looking rune.
This symbol was very mysterious, and seemed to contain some terrifying strength that could communicate with strange entities from the underworld. However, as it was not complete, it could not exhibit its strength.
This was the innate spell that completely suited Leylin, something that was only possible for those who had high-grade meditation techniques. As these spells perfectly complimented him, they would not have any negative effects.
If he were like a regular Magus, the runes and imprint would clash, and the two layers of the core essence would not be able to stabilise.
Even if one found a rank 2 spell that suited them well, it would still have a high consumption rate, and they would not be able to fully exhibit the strength of a rank 2 Magus.
However, Leylin did not have to worry about this!
Glancing at the rank 2 Magus, Cabourn—who was a distance away—Leylin sucked in a deep breath and looked at the rank 2 innate spell that Kemoyin's Pupil had generated.
"Toxic Bile!"
This was the name of the rank 2 spell that Kemoyin's Pupil had formed. After sensing the information emitted from the crystal in his sea of consciousness, Leylin was left a little speechless.
"Looks like it's another ability from the modification of the body! This probably has to do with awakening the poisonous nature of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent."
Every time a high-grade meditation technique advanced by another level, it would generate an innate spell for the Magus. However, the Magus would have no choice in this method, and likewise, Leylin had no choice but to accept it. However, the innate spells produced by these high-grade meditation techniques were extremely powerful and would not leave Leylin disappointed.
At this point, the A.I. Chip had finished organising all the information regarding Toxic Bile, and displayed it in numerical form.
[Toxic Bile, rank 2 spell. The ancient Giant Kemoyin Serpent possessed terrifying toxic abilities, and its mature form could even corrode the void. Through modification of their bodies and bloodline, ancient Warlocks were able to transplant this ability into their own bodies. Prerequisites: Modification of heart to that of Giant Kemoyin Serpent to 100%. Effect: Through neurotoxins let out of any part of the body, carry out an area of effect attack that attacks all living beings! Consumption: 10 spiritual force, 10 magic power.]
As a rank 2 Magus, the consumption of his spiritual force and magical power were simply both to a degree of 10. This was obviously because it was an innate spell. In addition, Leylin had needed to modify his heart, and had cultivated his body to be able to use this power, causing him to be even more expectant for the power of this rank 2 spell.
"I'll use you as a guinea pig!"
Leylin glanced at Cabourn, who was not far away, and the spiritual force in his sea of consciousness rushed out, the twice-layered core essence flickering with dim light.
Leylin could feel from deep within that in his body, the purple-red blood of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent was congealing inside his gallbladder. Following the consumption of energy and spiritual force, a mysterious liquid was produced.
This liquid could disseminate to all parts of Leylin's body and be secreted from any pore on his skin.
With a single thought, the poison from the Giant Kemoyin Serpent spread through the air.
Mysteriously enough, when his rank 2 innate spell, Toxic Bile, was used, there was no energy fluctuation, nor was there any special scent or colour. It concealed itself very well.
From the time Leylin broke through to rank 2, to when he used Crimson Palm and let out Toxic Bile, only a few seconds had passed, and even the Magi outside had not been able to react.
Opposite to him, Cabourn looked at Leylin, who had just emerged, the expression on his face complicated. First was regret, then pity, and then fear and the will to kill him!
"Leylin Farlier! To be able to advance to rank 2 before reaching the age of 30 means that you're a genius found only once every thousand years in the south coast! But today, you destroyed the gate to the secret plane and have committed an unforgivable sin! We dark Magi shall judge and punish you!"
Cabourn spoke righteously, finding an excuse for him to kill Leylin.
The more potential Leylin had, the more danger he posed to Cabourn. Currently, Leylin had just advanced to rank 2, so other than his own innate skill, he would surely not have a rank 2 spell. This was the best opportunity to eliminate him!
Desmund, who had originally come to watch the show, now slowly walked behind Leylin upon finding out he had advanced to rank 2. Together with Cabourn, he surrounded Leylin.
After seeing the strange methods Leylin had used to advance, Desmund had become fearful of this newly advanced rank 2 Magus. He did not mind joining hands with Cabourn if it meant that he could take care of Leylin..
For a moment, the Magi of both factions were extremely coordinated. The two rank 2 Magi surrounded Leylin, while the other dark and light Magi encircled him as well.
"It seems like they aren't afraid of death!"
Glancing at the official Magi who had encircled him, Leylin was expressionless, though he was sighing inside.
The degree of power of a rank 2 spell was at least 80! An attack of such a level was basically fatal to any rank 1 Magus!
The attack of Toxic Bile was invisible and did not differentiate between enemies and allies. The nearer people were to Leylin, the faster they would die.
*Thump!* The light Magus who was closest to him collapsed, a strange purplish-black colour appearing on his face.
*Thump!* *Thump!* Like a chain reaction, whether it was light or dark Magi, all who were around Leylin turned stiff, and collapsed to the ground.
"What's happening?" "He...he's poisoned! Be careful, it's a toxic attack!" "Use a spell that stops you from breathing or a barrier!"
*Tss tss!* Large amounts of white gas emitted were emitted, and the bodies of the Magi who had collapsed began to corrode. One could even see the white bones within!
The white bones eventually darkened, and then melted into a black liquid.
The Magi who saw this scene instantly paled, shrieks and yells sounding everywhere.
"Ah…" Yet another miserable shout was heard. A Magus with a thick barrier fell to the ground, his body beginning to rot.
The official Magi near Leylin instantly collapsed and turned into black liquid. There was no time for anyone to rescue or move them!
Such a terrifying effect intimidated the two rank 2 Magi.
"Even a protective layer is useless!"
Blinking rapidly, Cabourn and Desmund flew backwards. Desmund produced large amounts of lightning, cleansing his body over and over again, while Cabourn grew huge green warts that continuously absorbed something.
*Hu Hu!*
With the passing of time, the poisonous attack increased its range. It started where Leylin was, and then spread to the entirety of the Four Seasons Garden. In the end, even the magical beings in the external world began to collapse in large groups and turn into black liquid, the tart smell of decay spreading everywhere.
Besides the Magi who had quickly retreated from the very beginning, there were no living beings apart from Leylin and the two rank 2 Magi!
This situation surprised even Leylin, who had caused this.
"This… Is akin to the biochemical attacks in my previous world!" For there not to be a single living being within the area of his attack shocked Leylin to no end.
In addition, he knew the method through which his poison was spread. The toxin from the Giant Kemoyin Serpent could penetrate through any protective layer made from energy, and enter a Magus' circulatory system through his skin. For spells that helped one hold their breath, that was even more useless.
This sort of poison not only corroded one's physical body but also did not let off one's spirit!
-x-X-x-
The largest issue Leylin had with this was that the poison worked too quickly, and even he himself did not have any methods to save the poisoned ones.
The poison from the Giant Kemoyin Serpent was not simply a neurotoxin. Some ancient sinister thoughts and intentions had been mixed within, which made it difficult to dispel.
The reason that Leylin was not afraid was because after modifying his heart, he was now considered to be partially a Giant Kemoyin Serpent. Naturally, he would not be affected by his own poison, but it would be too difficult for him to save someone else.
Based on his estimations, even a rank 3 Magus would find it nearly impossible to deal with this poison. Perhaps only a rank 4 Morning Star Magus would have a solution to this.
"Looks like I can't use this ability as I like! It can only act as a trump card."
Leylin forced a smile.
The area of attack was much too vast, and it did not differentiate friend from foe. If he used this, it would definitely result in the loss of many innocent lives and give rise to public anger.
Though Leylin would not feel any guilt or shame, he did not want to become hated by many due to a simple accident.
For instance, after seeing all their subordinates dead, the two rank 2 Magi, Cabourn and Desmund, were on the verge of exploding with rage!
"You… You actually…"
Desmund howled, the lightning imprint on his forehead shining crazily, "You actually destroyed my Lightning Corps! I will kill you"
He had brought all the elites of his Lightning Corps here. On top of that, he had left two large armies here. In other words, Leylin's Toxic Bile had utterly decimated his surbodinates, which caused Desmund's eyes to turn red. A violent aura undulated around his body.
Compared to Desmund, Cabourn was dealing with this situation much better. After all, he was a dark Magus, and was used to massacres. No matter how many of his underlings were killed, it wouldn't affect him.
His mind was focused only on the strange spell that Leylin had displayed that intimidated him.
"What a terrifying ability! Is this his innate spell? A toxic area of effect attack that even a rank 1 Magi cannot withstand?"
As a veteran dark Magus, Cabourn immediately began to estimate Leylin's battle power. He could envision how terrifying such an ability would be in a war!
This was a battle power that had a destructive power that could rival a natural disaster.
"Crap!" Cabourn and Desmund paled at the same time, and their bodies, which were in midair, began to tremble.
A purplish-black gas rose in front of their faces. This was the poison of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent! Even a rank 2 Magus could not completely dispel it!
"Seal of Ten Thousand Poisons!" The lumps on Cabourn's shoulders exploded, and a red ring of flesh twisted into a circle rune, sealing the purplish-black gas within.
Only after the poison was sealed did he have the time to look at the state of his old rival.
Desmund was in worse shape than he was. Great amounts of lightning were in front of Desmund's face, and the lightning rune between his brows was moving around, forcing the black poison to coalesce into his right arm. With a resolute look, his left arm struck down as quick as lightning, and he chopped off his entire right arm!
Though Magi could use all sorts of methods to regenerate their limbs, their battle power would be largely diminished if they had just lost an arm.
"Old fart, how are you?" Cabourn and Desmund were old rivals, and in front of Leylin, whose strength was scarily powerful, these two had joined hands to oppose this enemy.
"It's...it's nothing!" Desmund huffed. A ring of lightning flashed by his wounds and immediately stopped the bleeding. "It's just that I can only use 70% of my peak strength. How about you?"
"A little better than that. I can exhibit 80% of my strength. Any more than that and my seal will lose effectiveness…" Cabourn forced a bitter smile, "Leylin actually dared to kill my kin! I will definitely kill him!"
Under Leylin's all-encompassing toxic attack, Giant, and Caesar, peak rank 1 Magi who were seriously hurt and in a coma, were obviously not spared.
In addition, since the little boy who Leylin had previously killed did not come back to life. Caesar's three spirits were all dead. In other words, he had really died!
Cabourn was Caesar's father, and was not on good terms with Leylin. In this situation, he had another grudge, which was for the death of his son!
"It looks like we need to work together!" Desmund looked grim.
"En! I have no idea how that freak trains." Cabourn and Desmund inched a little closer to each other.
"Sigh…"
Leylin sighed at this moment and approached Cabourn and Desmund.
"Kill!" Leylin initiated the first attack, and huge black fireballs filled the sky like large stars.
At this point, Leylin's conflict with these two rank 2 Magi could no longer be resolved peacefully. This fight would only end when one side was completely eliminated.
After being promoted to a rank 2 Magus, the might of the rank 1 spells that Leylin used had also obtained a huge boost.
The Latent Fireball now held a power that was more than several levels stronger than when Leylin had used it while being a rank 1 warlock.
Huge waves of black fire streaked through the sky, almost evaporating the molecules in the air into nothingness.
"He's only just advanced and has yet to record the spell model of his rank 2 spell. Beware of his poison innate spell!"
Cabourn and Desmund exchanged glances. One person produced tremendous amounts of lightning, while the other sent out greyish-black tornados that charged towards Leylin.
Lightning, tornados, and black flames mercilessly collided against each other.
Silver spiritual power split the air, giving rise to a huge spiritual force maelstrom!
Under the manipulation of solidified spiritual power, the rank 2 Magi exhibited magic that far exceeded the might of rank 1 Magi, reducing the Four Seasons Garden's headquarters into rubble.
Three large silver hands that were over ten metres long wrestled like giants from ancient times.
"Toxic Bile!"
This fight continued for over ten turns, and with a glint in Leylin's eye, a formless ripple of poison dashed towards the two opposite rank 2 Magi.
This time, even the air slightly rippled.
"Be careful of his poison attack!" Cabourn and Desmund retreated as if they had seen a poisonous snake.
*Weng Weng!*
Formless ripples smashed into the two Magi's innate defensive spell formations, producing sounds of corrosion.
A strange glint flashed through Leylin's eyes, and the formless ripples turned into transparent hands that grasped towards Cabourn.
*Pak!* The innate defensive spell formation in front of Cabourn could not withstand the attack from this transparent hand, and a large hole was made.
"Ah! Omni-Decay!"
Cabourn looked torn as he yelled the incantation.
Black tornados whirled in all directions, looking like a blooming black flower bud.
*Rumble!" The large transparent hand and black flower collided. Both attacks dissipated, and the stray energy spread outwards.
A transparent tear in the sky exploded, and black spatial cracks formed.
Leylin and Cabourn attacked in two different directions.
At this moment, a sinister smile flashed in Leylin's lips. With a wave of his hand, a large amount of red powder spread into the air like a cloud of fire, "Scorching Touch!"
Two lines of fiery energy shot out, and in an instant, they streaked through the air and appeared before Cabourn.
The energy fluctuations from the attack caused Cabourn's face to change, "Rank 2 magic! How can this be? Hasn't he only just advanced?"
*Pu!* *Pu!*
The two fiery streaks drilled through Cabourn's lower abdomen and right shoulder, creating two large wounds that had been charred black.
The reason why Leylin had been in a tussle with these two rank 2 Magi was to stall for time, so that he could analyse the rank 2 spells in the Book of Giant Serpent!
After obtaining the Book of Giant Serpent, Leylin had received three rank 2 spell models. However, while he was still a rank 1 warlock, the A.I. Chip had been unable to make anything of them.
Only now, after his advancement, could the A.I. Chip finally analyse these spell models.
Leylin chose a fire elemental offensive spell and ordered the A.I. Chip to analyse it. With the powerful calculative abilities of the A.I. Chip, the spell model was finally analyzed, and the information was sent to Leylin's mind.
"Thunder Tempest!" Upon seeing his ally injured, Desmund immediately charged out to help.
A powerful storm of lightning surged up like a wave and swept towards Leylin.
"Kemoyin's Scales!" Leylin steeled his expression, and fine black scales appeared all over his body.
After advancing to a rank 2 warlock, the scales on Leylin's body emitted an even deeper black luster, and there were even incomplete patterns on the surface of the scales, which vaguely formed a dark elemental rune barrier.
The barrier instantly shaped into a huge, solid black runic shield that situated itself in front of the tempest.
Leylin did not care for Desmund's attack from behind, and his eyes turned into amber vertical pupils that stared straight at Cabourn, who was quickly retreating while spitting out blood.
"Eyes of Petrification!" From Leylin's amber vertical pupils, two lines of petrification rays caught up to Cabourn, who was in the middle of retreating.
"Ah…" Cabourn let out blood-curdling screams and covered his eyes, from which a layer of ashen-white stone skin began to extend.
The power of a rank 2 warlock was even more powerful then a rank 1 Magus, and the two rank 1 innate spells Leylin originally had had received a huge boost. Even a rank 2 Magus was affected.
Leylin's speed increased rapidly, and in an instant, he caught up to Cabourn, who was still fleeing.
There was no trace of emotion in his eyes. The fiery red Scorching Touch was casted again.
Three fiery streaks combined and became as thick as a person's arm, and penetrated through Cabourn's brain.
*Bang!*
Cabourn's head exploded open like a watermelon, and red and white cerebrospinal fluids and blood dripped all over the ground.
*Boom!*
The large black shield shattered, and lightning leaked through the cracks and headed towards Leylin.
*Tss tss!*
Blue lightning exploded behind Leylin, and he turned pale.
-x-X-x-
"Now, it's your turn!"
Leylin turned back, coldly staring at Desmund.
...
Days later, shocking news spread throughout the south coast.
The dark Magi had attacked the Four Seasons Garden's headquarters once again, and all the Magi there had been completely wiped out. The entrance to the secret plane had been destroyed, and even the rank 2 Magus who had come to provide support had died in battle.
What made this news even more shocking was that in this battle, even the dark Magi who had attacked had not garnered any benefits. Not only had the leader, Cabourn, died, even the elites of the dark Magi had been completely annihilated too.
After the battle, Leylin's name was spread far and wide.
As someone who had killed off two rank 2 Magi and even destroying the entrance to the secret plane, Leylin was now on the wanted list of both the light and dark Magi.
Any rank 2 Magi held immense power in the south coast, and were highly regarded.
A rank 2 Magi going solo and not bound by any restriction, and who also possessed the terrifying ability to control a battle! Leylin's existence was now one feared by many highly-ranked Magi!
His nickname as the "Demonic Poison King" began to spread.
In a region called the Land of Eternal Light.
A castle-like building that was upside-down was somehow standing upright. The defensive runes on the surface of the building constantly flickered. This was where the Botelli Family, who were rumoured to hold divination abilities, resided. Though their power had declined in the past few hundred years, they still retained some of the power from when they were at their peak. Beside the gate to the castle were two strange stone guards.
In front of the gate were two statues with large swords plunged into the ground. These two statues were over ten metres tall and two to three metres wide. Whether it was their appearance or weapons, they gave off an intimidating aura.
Within the castle, in a basement filled with white chilly air.
It was filled with translucent blocks of ice. At the centre of the cold room was a transparent ice coffin. With a pair of hands placed on her lower abdomen, a girl of noble blood and an elegant temperament was quietly lying within.
Though Jenna was still in a coma, the curse on her body was already beginning to spread. Black lumps of flesh and veins constantly spread. On Jenna's face, black gas would not dissipate, and it looked something like little snakes constantly spiralling.
With these snakes attached to her, Jenna's eyelids kept moving and she looked to be in immense pain.
It had been almost a month since Leylin had set up the curse, and it was already on the verge of completely exploding.
Without a cure, Jenna would likely end up like Manla, who had turned into a set of dried up bones!
*Boom!* The door to the ice room was pulled open, and the old woman who had met with Leylin walked in.
"Jenna, the guide of our generation! Based on the will of the mighty Mother of Peace, you shall continue to exist in this world!"
The old woman mumbled, and then placed a blood-red key on the freezer.
*Weng weng!* Red rays were emitted from the key and began to seep into the ice coffin. The red light covered Jenna's body in an instant.
Under the illumination of the red light, the black gas on Jenna's face began to vanish. The terrifying might of the curse waned at a rate that could be seen by the naked eye.
"The talisman to undo the curse provided by Leylin is effective, as expected!" The old woman looked at the freezer that was emitting red light, and her expression brightened.
After having traded to Leylin the incomplete high-grade meditation technique that was inherited generation to generation in exchange for the talisman, she was able to rush back before the curse completely exploded!
"Leylin Farlier, you sinner! You shall be punished and judged by the Mother of Peace!" The old woman made a few hand signs and prayed in a low voice.
*Drip! Drip!*
Droplets of blood-red liquid formed from the key and penetrated through the layer of ice, and dripped onto Jenna's pale, snow-white neck.
*Tss tss!* White gas rose from the area on Jenna's neck that was covered by the blood-red liquid as it began to recover at a visible rate.
*Weng!*
Jenna, who had been unconscious all this time, suddenly opened her eyes!
*Boom! Boom! Boom!* The ice coffin shattered into pieces, and strange undulations traveled throughout the ice room.
The old woman was extremely familiar with this energy fluctuation. This was a phenomenon that happened when their guide was making a prophecy!
"She's going to start now?" A bewildered look appeared on her face.
"I see countless deaths! Demon king! A demon king with toxic abilities is approaching…"
Jenna's eyes suddenly rolled back to show whiteness, and a low and gasping voice was heard.
"Toxic? Demon king? Could it be…" The old woman was startled and suddenly recalled the latest news.
*Weng Weng!*
The blood-red key from before suddenly hovered in the air, producing glaring rays of light.
"A tracking imprint? This is bad!" The old woman's eyes widened!
At this moment, outside the upside-down castle, Leylin in black robes appeared.
"Is this the rumoured upside-down castle? It really is quite strange!"
Leylin lifted his hood and sized up the building in front of him, sighing in admiration.
After killing two rank 2 Magi, he knew that he would be chased by both light and dark Magi factions. Hence, he had changed his clothes and escaped out of the secret plane via another exit.
Though there were strict testing methods at each entrance, these were all tests that picked out the aura of precious materials gathered from the Eternal River Plains' secret plane, preventing them from being smuggled out.
With Leylin's abilities as a rank 2 Warlock, it was naturally effortless for him to escape.
As for the sensing of any items, Leylin had placed them in the spatial leather pouch. With the isolation from spatial runes, even the most refined detection spell formations would not discover any traces.
Leylin raised his right hand, and on his wrist, a red key-shaped imprint was pulsating with light.
"It's here!"
Leylin grinned as he looked at the tracking imprint.
The place where Jenna's family was located was hard to find. It could be said that even Hyder needed the old woman's directions in order to enter. There was no real map.
In the trade with this old woman, Jenna's family's grandmother did not have good intentions and wanted Leylin to take this incomplete high-grade meditation technique and be taken over by it. Leylin, similarly, was not kind and added a tracking imprint into the talisman.
With the help of the imprint, he was finally able to locate the nest of Jenna's family.
"Though the high-grade meditation technique, Sacred Flame, is incomplete, it is still unique! Its nature is extremely troublesome, and only one person in the world is able to train in it at a time."
Leylin's lips curved as bloodlust overcame in. He did not have a good impression of this egocentric family. Since he'd found where they were, it was natural that he would want to get things over and done with.
"Halt!" The two statue guards at the gate came to life and their muscles rippled as they yelled in a low tone.
"Two magical beings? Together, their power is almost equivalent to a rank 1 Magus!" Leylin's eyes flashed, already pinpointing information about these guards.
"This level of defense for a Magus family is not half bad!"
Leylin waved his arm and two large black fireballs flew out, meeting the large statue guards that had whipped out their weapons.
*Bang! Boom!*
The fireballs smashed into the large stone swords, and like water engulfed the bodies of the guards. The two guards immediately turned into two huge, black torches that burned furiously.
Under the attack of Leylin's Latent Fireball, the two statue guards that had been around for thousands of years instantly turned into a pile of black powder.
"Enemy attack!" "Who is it?"
Countless urgent voices sounded in the castle, and then the mournful, piercing sound of a copper bell. The runes on the surface of the castle began to move.
For the defense of such an ancient family, even a peak rank 1 Magus would not be able to penetrate through if it was completely activated.
"Hah…"
Leylin let out a long sigh, and streaks of silver spiritual force extended from his body. His body then mysteriously hovered in mid-air, forming a huge silver face.
"Toxic Bile!"
From the lips of the large silver face, a cold incantation was exclaimed.
The poison from the terrifying ancient creature, the Giant Kemoyin Serpent, soundlessly penetrated throughout the insides of the castle!
The runes outside were entirely useless towards poison attacks. Every single person inside, whether it was an acolyte, servant or even official Magi collapsed to the ground, their bodies beginning to rot.
Not only the castle but in a range of half a km away, all the plants were beginning to dry up and rot.
Silence! The eerie silence of death! It shrouded the area, with the castle at the centre of it all.
In this large area, no being was lucky enough to survive and sunk into the eternity of death.
*Bang!* The old grey gate that was still full of patterns had an ancient aura that silently toppled.
Under the corrosion of the poison, not only the defensive formation, but even the building itself was affected by the destructive force.
In the granite that seemed to be extremely solid, there were hundreds of thousands of little holes that were the result of the corrosion. The entire building swayed and looked on the verge of falling. Leylin felt as if at a light push, the entire castle would fall with a huge rumble.
In the corridor that was filled with a putrid smell, rotting corpses were everywhere.
Leylin followed the tracking imprint and advanced further, finally reaching the ice room that was far into the castle.
He entered the ice room filled with chilly white gas and saw the two corpses.
The old woman had died extremely painfully, holding test tubes that held all types of antidotes. Of course, there did not seem to be any use in it and her flesh was still rotting.
As an official Magus, her resistance was obviously more powerful than a regular person. Even when dead, her body was still more difficult to destroy.
-x-X-x-
On the icy counter in the middle, Jenna's corpse lay silently. On her face, which had mostly been eaten into, all sorts of craziness could be seen, as if the expressions of different people had been mixed together. There was even a trace of relief in her smile, which made it even stranger.
The poison from the Giant Kemoyin Serpent had a vigorous corrosive effect, and the spirits of all the spirits residing in Jenna's body were being eaten into by the terrifying toxins.
"How pitiful!" After obtaining the high-grade meditation technique, Sacred Flame, Leylin had used the A.I. Chip and simulated the characteristics of this meditation technique.
Gathering generations of ancestors and keeping it in the body of descendants, this high-grade meditation technique was something even dark Magi would find furtive and terrifying!
In addition, Jenna, who was the host body, would become schizophrenic and turn into a pitiful state.
To some extent, after training in Sacred Flame and inheriting the spirits of her ancestors, Jenna had already died.
"What a strange meditation technique, and a pitiful family!" Leylin touched his chin.
The properties of Sacred Flame caused him some hints of fear. Before he completely made sense of it and researched methods to evade these effects, he was not willing to go anywhere near it.
Half a day later, Leylin left the castle.
*Crash* After he left, little stones constantly slid off the castle, and huge cracks appeared on it.
*Rumble!*
The castle completely collapsed and turned into a pile of rubble. From hereon, the Botelli Family was no more...
Dense clouds covered the sky, thunder and lightning occasionally could be heard.
Moments later, black raindrops descended from the horizon.
At the Teljose volcano that was not far away, a great pillar of flames suddenly erupted towards the heavens. Large amounts of volcanic ash flew to the air, and along with some man-made structures, they turned into fertilizing raindrops and descended, which provided the Teljose Plains with great vitality!
The peasants who were farming quickly knelt by the roadside, singing praises to the Magi of Nightless City.
With the protection of the Magi they had plentiful harvests that were enough for them to live on without fear for lack of food or clothing, even after paying the large taxes and contributions to their lords.
A large black handsome horse streaked through the rain, and one could vaguely see the figure of a young man.
"Hawke… What a shame…"
While urging on his horse, he lamented inside.
In the Eternal River Plains' secret plane, the range of his Toxic Bile was too fast and powerful. Even Hawke, who had been kept at the edges of the headquarters, could not escape. In this attack that did not differentiate friend from foe, Leylin lost this very convenient mode of transportation.
Leylin had needed to deal with Caesar and set up the Ten Thousand Spirit spell formation. He even needed to secretly notify Desmund, and his mind had been whirling at high speeds. The Venom Wyvern Hawke was just a pet that was a means of transportation. Without taking it into account, it had died together with the Magi on the outer layers under Leylin's poisonous attack.
"However, due to the limitations of its kind, the Venom Wyvern can only become as strong as a rank 1 Magus! After I was promoted to a rank 2 Warlock, Hawke's usefulness will only decrease bit by bit. I was going to find an opportunity to set it free, but…"
Leylin sighed, taking a moment of silence for Hawke's unfortunate passing.
He then tossed this thought to the back of his mind, focusing his attention on the large Nightless City that was towering in the rain, a cold smile about his face.
He turned the horse's head, and it diverged from its original route and galloped towards a little town inhabited by regular humans.
Due to its huge popularity, there were tens of large towns near Nightless City where regular humans lived. Like satellites, they surrounded Nightless City.
Everyday regular humans from all walks of life, people having the desire to become a Magus, fugitives, or even people who were only here because of their youth and adventurous nature discovered the brutality of reality. These humans were chased out of Nightless City and could only dither around in this sort of town.
Leylin came to a town called Clint, found a bar and entered, ordered mead, and drank it silently.
"Master!"
Ten or so minutes later, a few people dressed in black clothes with hoods arrived, and an old man who was the leader exclaimed.
"En! Come with me!"
Leylin tossed out a silver coin and brought this group of people away from the bar.
Next, the old man brought Leylin to a villa on the outskirts of the town.
"Master! After receiving your message, we immediately tidied up the supplies and left Nightless City. We rented this house and have been awaiting your return!"
After entering the villa, the leader removed the hood and revealed a silver-haired old man.
This was Damien, the level 3 acolyte slave Leylin had bought, who was also his butler. He was in charge of Leylin's property in Nightless City.
Number 4 and Number 5, the two female Grand Knights were also around. Like guards, they were vigilant by the door.
The first time he had met the boy and accepted Thousand Meddling Hand's mission to be a spy, Leylin had had a bad feeling about the whole situation and passed down the order for Damien and the rest to leave Nightless City as soon as possible.
Upon hindsight, his initial decision was the correct one. If not, Damien and the rest would have long since been taken captive by the light Magi.
"Damien! Number 4! Number 5! Can I trust you?"
Leylin looked grim.
"Master! Your wish is our command!" Hearing Leylin ask this so seriously, Damien and Number 4 and Number 5 immediately knelt on one knee, chanting the reply.
They were slaves spiritually bonded to Leylin. Like Number 2 and Number 3, they could not disobey even if Leylin wanted them to kill themselves!
"Good! Now, I want you to cross the Death Channel and return to my hometown, the Chernobyl Islands and protect my family!"
"Understood!" Damien and the other two immediately agreed.
"I want you to leave inheritances on Chernobyl Islands, and make an oath that your students will continue this mission, till the end of the world…" Leylin's voice became hoarse.
"Understood, master!" The three spiritually branded slaves trembled and bowed their heads lower.
"Good!" Leylin nodded. With a wave of his hand, three black streaks flew from his hand and entered the foreheads of the three people.
*Tss Tss!* The spiritually branded slaves immediately grimaced, hands tightly grasping the ground. On their foreheads, Leylin's own secret imprint emerged.
"This is my blessing! Within is a magic attack that is as powerful as an attack from me going all out! With some rituals, it can also be passed down…"
Leylin was now a rank 2 Warlock, and there were few who had this level of strength in the entire south coast! Just an attack would cause an official Magus to be seriously injured, or even die!
The secret imprint had even more uses. The south coast had a few Magi who were proficient in divination, such as by astrology and making prophecies. With this imprint, they would be mostly immune to these spells.
Just Leylin's current might as a rank 2 Warlock meant that ordinary divination methods were useless against him.
Magi were a source of terrifying radiation and pollution, and this was even more potent for a rank 2 Magus. Leylin could feel that he was like a constant energy furnace, constantly emitting frightful energy undulations that even caused the air to distort.
At a certain level of strength, even the external world would be affected! If there was anyone who wanted to make a prophecy about Leylin right now, an ordinary rank 2 Magus was far from enough. At least a rank 3 Magus who was proficient in divination would be able to do so.
With the protection from the imprint, the three of them could find a place to find and take care of the Farlier family.
Leylin did not bank on them being able to withstand the attacks from dark and light Magi. All he wished for was for them to safeguard and defend the Farlier family from dangers in the Chernobyl Islands.
Based on standard practice in the Magus world, before confirming that Leylin was dead, any dark and light Magi would not dare strike against the Farlier family. If not, they would be met with the crazy retaliation from a Magus who had already reached rank 2 and had a terrifying destructive might!
This level of attack was something that not even the Lighthouse of the Night, which had a rank 3 Magus, would be willing to go up against!
Hence, with the protection from these spiritually bound slaves, the Farlier family that was on the Chernobyl Islands were completely safe, and would also receive a huge boost to develop further!
"These three people and their successors should be able to protect the Farlier family for at least five hundred years! In that case, I do not have to feel anymore guilt towards them…"
Leylin huffed out a sigh. His body belonged to the original Leylin Farlier. No matter what kind of person he had been, he was still apologetic for having possessed someone's flesh and blood.
But if he had to return and acknowledge a bunch of strangers to be his relatives and even parents, then he was not going to do that.
In the end, not concerning himself with them was his best choice. If that did not work, it was still possible for him to wait a few hundred years and wait till everyone Leylin knew died, and then give their family some advantages.
"And this!"
Leylin pondered for a moment, and then removed the dark red cross pendant from around his neck.
This was the middle-grade magic artifact he had carefully made—the Fallen Star Pendant!
After becoming a rank 2 Warlock, the help this magic artifact rendered him was insurmountable. Due to the limitations of the resources he had, it was difficult for the Fallen Star Pendant to be powered up any further.
"Bring this back too! If a successor of the Farlier family with potential to become a Magus appears, give it to him!"
Leylin handed the Fallen Star Pendant over, and at the same time, he felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.