Chapter 1694 - WMW 67

The Crystal Phase Magi who were on site held their breaths for a moment.

In the past, small organisations like the Arm of Vengeance could only be low-profile, as they would be attacked on site. When did they get the guts to begin a fight?

A well-built Warlock suddenly stood up and exclaimed, "I want to go out and kill them all!"

"Don't be rash!" Faisal responded while holding the person back, "With the combined defensive spell formation already activated, attacking them now will only ruin our only chances to turn the odds around! Do not let your emotions cloud your judgement!"

Faisal truly was quite capable. At the very least, he was not a fool and could see through ordinary schemes.

But then again, looking at how the enemy was valiantly showing off in front of him, Faisal must have been filled with anger as well; he was only forcing himself to hold back and not act rashly.

"Once this ordeal is over, I will lead my team out again and have all these rats killed!"

"Guys, look at this!" Freya exclaimed, pouting out the window towards the troops.

"Eh?!"

At this point in time, most of the Warlocks had not realised that the massive spell formation that Robert had cast earlier was gradually activating.

*Rumble!* The earth shook repeatedly, giving rise to landslides that covered up the wetlands with all their sludge and sewage. The phosphorescence in the air rapidly dissipated.

After the phosphorescence disappeared, the large amount of steam that evaporated from the wetlands turned it into a field of mud and soil. The soil became more compact, and eventually gained a rock-like texture.

These tumultuous changes occurred all along the spell formation.

"How dare they touch our base!" many enraged Warlocks started to cry out.

The Ouroboros Clan back then had decided to chose this area precisely due to the unique phosphorescent wetlands. The abundant amount of darkness elemental energy particles and fire elemental particles that were present there matched perfectly with the bloodline of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent.

Not only was the growth of the Warlocks boosted in this place, but it even enhanced the power of their spells.

However, the destruction of large swathes of wetlands meant that the darkness elemental particles and fire elemental particles were gradually diminished, to be replaced by earth elemental particles.

Even though the area affected was only this city, the impact it had on the high-level Warlocks was not small.

"Haha… Robert who was outside laughed out loud unexpectedly.

"Did you think we hadn't planned out our revenge? What a big mistake! Even though we were chased all over the central continent, we never once stopped plotting our vengeance. This time round, we'll uproot the entire Ouroboros Clan!"

"There is no other way!" Looking at how the city gradually turned into a wasteland, and how the concentration of earth elemental particles slowly outweighed the now-meagre amount of darkness and fire elemental particles, Faisal's face turned pale.

"Alchemised puppets, attack! Work with the combined spell formation!" After he gave the orders, his face displayed a moment of shame. He had a sudden realisation that he himself actually initiated the entire defence spell formation, and all of this seemed too rushed.

Especially after giving his last orders, it seemed as though he was slapping himself across the face.

Upon seeing his actions, Freya and the other Warlocks could only sigh under their breaths. Faisal was relieved that they did not condemn him upfront.

"At least there are still some smart people around!" Lucian surreptitiously nodded his head. Knowing that they had reached a point of life and death, it was not the time for resentments and conspiracies.

From their common bloodline, it was already predetermined that these Warlocks would not obtain the mercy of the rest.

*Crack!* The translucent spell formation that once enveloped the city had split open to form a large opening that had a current of steel streaming out from it.

*Clank! Clank!* What appeared in front of Robert's eyes was a giant troop of steel puppets.

All these alchemised puppets were at least three metres tall, with intricate runes covering the bodies. The barb wires and hooks that hung on their bodies stood out reflected chilling lights.

Furthermore, the massive barrels that hung on both sides of the puppets sent chills down Robert's spine.

"Portable spell-casting barrels! The Ouroboros Clan is not only gifted in bloodlines!" A masked boy, who was in the corner observing the whole scene, started to record everything down immediately.

Simultaneously, he asked another observer behind him, "Have you recorded every movement that occurred since the activation of the spell formation?"

The young girl, who only seemed to be seven-or-eight years old and was wearing oversized spectacles and a massive red ribbon, replied formally, "Yes Sir! Everything has been recorded clearly and the energy nodes have all been marked! In the process of calculating the geographical locations of the pressure points and the core!"

"Very good! Continue recording it down! Such micronised cannon spells are still very useful. Remember to inform the rest of our people and I propose that we get this technology in our hands during the distribution of the spoils."

The masked man waved, clearly in high spirits. To him, breaking through the headquarters was only a matter of time.

"Target locked on! Beginning fire!" The steel puppets that walked out from the city had lasers for eyes that marked a luminous red cursor on their targets. Robert and most of the Magi were locked on to. Just then, sounds of machinery could be heard within their bodies.

"Not good! Hurry up and hide—" Robert couldn't finish his sentence before he was disrupted by the glow of a white laser.

*Pew!* The white laser beam swept through the area horizontally, disintegrating anything that stood in its path. Even the ground caved in where it passed.

"No!" "Sir!" urgent and sharp cries were heard.

A number of Magi did not even have a chance to speak before the laser burned them to ashes.

Even a rank 3 Magus like Robert was put in a difficult situation because of the lasers. His clothes had been destroyed, and his wooden leg had vanished into thin air.

"Initiate destruction!" a cold voice rang out once again, and the steel puppets reacted, firing towards the remains.

It took but a moment for chaos to ensue. Light flashed everywhere, and many of the Magi were severely injured.

The massive spell formation that had been operating till now was destroyed immediately, and the earth started to stabilise.

"Tsk! How dare such a small organisation provoke the prestigious Ouroboros clan!" Faisal laughed out.

"The real enemy hasn't even begun attacking, and yet you're satisfied beating these mere distractions," Freya said coldly while rolling her eyes.

It was indeed true that destroying the Arm of Vengeance was a piece of cake for the Ouroboros Clan. A simple slightly-powerful formation would be enough to send them packing, and even the heavens above would not be able to save them.

However, what worried the Magi the most was how these hostile forces could cold-bloodedly watch the members of the Arm of Vengeance die so easily. They did not seem to even consider the possibility of helping the battered and exhausted Robert out, which was why they stopped considering the option of initiating the spell formation.

"Sir! Why did…" Robert, who was seriously injured, shouted with a sore voice when he was finally saved. However, the rest of the members of the Arm of Vengeance were not as lucky as him; most of them fell at the hands of the steel puppets.

"Don't worry. Your sacrifice will not be in vain! Now it's time for us to avenge you," A green-haired magus said coldly, sounding insincere. He had an air of steeliness about him.

Yet, he was sneering secretly, 'It's only a given that we'll reduce your strength and manpower after we're done using it. Did you really expect us to leave you with so many benefits after the war? Dream on!'

Not giving Robert, whose fists were clenched, a chance to say anything else, the green-haired Magus waved his hand, "Plant legion, attack!"

*Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!* Many of the vines started moving and, within a moment's time, a gigantic Man-eating Flower emerged from the mud and started moving towards the steel puppets.

"Targets locked! Beginning the second wave of attack!" In front of the steel puppets stood a gigantic black steel robot which was more than five metres tall. After its laser eyes marked its target, the gun barrels that were hung on either side of its shoulders begin to roar.

*Pew!* When the white lasers swept past the Man-eating Flowers, many of them fell and thick sludge started to permeate from their wounds.

"Even the Azure Rain Knights would find these kinds of lasers hard to endure. Fortunately for my plant legion…" Looking at this scene, the green-haired Magus displayed a teasing smile.

A large amount of spores started to shoot out from one of the Man-eating Flowers. Before these spores even reached the ground, they began to swell up into a giant ball, and within seconds another one emerged from the earth. The two intertwined, forming a gigantic one, at least ten metres tall, that swallowed the huge puppet from earlier.

The earth rumbled as a war of green and black, nature and machine played out. These two incredible forces were fighting head on against each other. The whole surroundings were filled with white rays and green sludge.

Looking at the scene outside, Lucian sighed.

"I'm afraid that they've already found out about our last defence system from their earlier experiments, even keeping their battlefront exactly one kilometer away which exactly reaches our boundary of attack."

Faisal's face turned black. Even though none of them said it out loud, everyone knew that this was his fault for initiating the combined spell formation too hastily.

At this moment, another Crystal Phase Warlock screamed, "Look at this!"

*Gush!* All the Crystal Phase Magi looked up. The sky was enveloped by the giant shadow of a sail that enveloped the place in complete darkness.

"Initiate warzone number 2's all-over attack!"

*Bang! Bang! Bang!* Like shooting stars falling from the skies, bombs were thrown down from the giant ships above, wiping away the mess created by the Man-eating Flowers and puppets.

Under these terrible attacks, the original giant puppets became a pile of scrap iron.

-x-X-x-

With explosions ringing continuously, the Warlocks fell silent as they fixed their gazes on the battlefield, watching the debris from the occasional fights between broken metallic limbs and vines of flowers.

"Their plant legion can obviously regenerate very fast. On the other hand, our steel puppets have complicated structures and use too much of the energy stored in our Magus Towers. This exchange is a huge loss for us…" Lucian smiled bitterly, his voice sounding raucous.

Outside the city, a sea of flowers lay above the ruins, numerous shoots struggling their way out of the earth. The army of carnivorous plants had reformed in a few minutes.

Not only that, the other military forces were closing in along with the Azure Rain Knights and the Demon Magus Army.

"Let's focus on our own areas of defence! Although we have the protection of the Magus Towers, it will still be best if our Crystal Phase Warlocks attend to them." Faisal smiled.

The images disappeared with a few snaps, leaving Faisal and a few others remaining.

Most of the people here were just projections of the other Crystal Phase Magi using the network of the Magus Towers. Due to their advanced technology, the projections were almost the same as themselves.

Faisal's face turned dark, his thoughts indiscernible.

In the meantime, a wisp of dark smoke sprouted from the corner, forming a dark shadow, "My lord! Will you consider what I said before?"

Faisal frowned at his appearance, but he then calmed down. The people here were all his men, and he wasn't afraid that they'd leak his secrets.

"What are you doing here?"

"Hehe! The Ouroboros Clan is about to vanish! There might be traitors among the people you met just now, my lord. Think about your future, and the future of your family!"

The shadow said slowly and with a confidence derived from the chasm between their absolute strengths.

Faisal's men grew angry, and even his own face showed some hesitation before he waved his hands.

"I… I need to reconsider this!"

"I hope you reply soon. Our offer only exists up to the city's fall!" The envoy said patiently, then disappeared like a ghost.

"Ah…" Faisal sighed after he was gone. Something crossed his mind, and his eyes glowed with a strange light.

…...

West Zone. Freya smiled bitterly while looking at the approaching enemies, "Such bad luck. I have to meet these Demon Magi…"

The opponents in her area were the elites of Nefas— the Demon Magus Army!

All members of the Demon Magus Army were at least rank 2 Magi. And since they'd made deals with unknown demons, most of them had mysterious abilities or powerful skills.

What's more, the Magi from Nefas were wanted men with bad reputations. They were tough and bloody, even more crazed than the uber-emotional Warlocks!

No wonder Freya was unhappy.

"Hehe! I didn't expect such a beautiful woman to be my opponent!"

Below the wall, the head of the Demon Magus Army touched his chin with his left hand. A pair of horns were on his head, and his right hand was tied up in iron chains.

The Demon Magi around him maintained a distance out of fear and admiration. Many glanced at his right hand, their eyes full of dread. It was as if some horrible demons existed under the cover of those iron chains.

This leader paid no attention to the fear of his men, and instead waved his hands, "Attack!"

Many Magi roared at the sound of the command and their bodies began to undergo massive transformations. Some even grew blacks wings as they charged towards the city walls.

"Get ready!" Freya ordered with an emotionless expression. Many of the Warlocks couldn't help but get wound up.

The next moment, the attacks from those Demon Magi reached the defensive light membrane.

"The energy of the defensive matrix can't be consumed like this. We must attack!" Freya grit her teeth. A layer of black scales covered her body, and her pupils turned amber.

*Swish!* Her body disappeared from on the wall, and when she appeared again she'd already grabbed a Demon Magus and torn him apart. Blood rained down, interspersed with flesh, organs, and bones.

"Petrifying Gaze!" Every Magus below rank 3 she stared at turned into a stone statue. Even Magi at rank 3 would lose their minds for a moment, during which they couldn't fight back.

"Kill them!" Seeing their chief fighting outside, the snake bloodline Warlocks rushed out with red eyes, fighting the Demon Magi.

Relying on the defensive matrix of their spell formation, they didn't have to care too much about their own safety. Thus, they acquired many victories, and a lot of Demon Magi fell.

"I'm your opponent!"

Freya's attack crashed into a giant hand bound by iron chains as the chief of the Demon Magus Army appeared in front of her.

"Warlocks with the dirty bloodline of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent have no right to live in this world!" he said with an indifferent face as a weird energy sprouted out of his right hand.

"Dirty worms that make deals with demons! You have no right to say anything!" Freya frowned. Her opponent's aura made her feel discomfort, even fear. But since he was an enemy, there was no need for her to hold back.

"Throughout history, branches like the Branded Swordsmen, Elemental Bards, and Steel Knights have continually disappeared. You bloodline Warlocks are meant to join them!" The head of the Demon Magi roared, turning into a streak of black as he crashed into Freya.

Scenes like this occurred all over the defensive perimeter of the Ouroboros Clan.

Magic shone in all sorts of colours, flooding the whole city.

However, under the joint defence of the Magus Towers, these attacks just left small marks on the translucent membrane which soon disappeared.

"It seems like the Magus Towers in the Ouroboros Clan's headquarters have stored plentiful amounts of energy!" Seeing this, the green-haired Magus frowned.

"So what? Inform your guys, they can start their plans now!" A female Magus with red hair sashayed in, rolling her eyes at him.

"Okay!" The Magus nodded, "And that thing, let it out now!"

"You want to use 'that' now?" The female Magus with red hair covered her mouth in shock.

"We have to. I promised those lords that we could deal with the headquarters of the Ouroboros Clan within 3 days!" The Magus with green hair smiled, saying something to his envoy.

Something sinister flashed across her eyes as she watched the movements of the Male magus, and she followed him...

…....

"My lord!" Even though there was fighting outside, some important places were still under heavy guard.

And currently, two elites of the Blood Serpent Family were saluting to Ivanov.

"Good!" Ivanov nodded. But suddenly, his eyes suddenly started glittering.

*Schlick! Schlick!* Two black daggers shot out of his sleeves like lightning, disappearing into the guards' chests.

Their Kemoyin Scales were pierced through by the daggers in an instant, as if they were nothing more than a sheet of paper. The light in their eyes dimmed, before they crumbled to the ground.

"Hmph! You idiots. Even if they're innate defensive spells, there are methods to pierce through them. How can you two defend against an elite of the family like me?" Ivanov sneered, and pushed open the wooden door they were guarding.

Behind the wooden door was a small sealed room, magic tools and spell formations lying everywhere. It was enriched with energy, and obviously working at full capacity.

"This seems to be one of the key points. As long as I ruined this, the defence of the city should be weakened by at least 20%!" Ivanov smiled proudly, and gave the formation genie an order, "Deactivate both the defence and alert mode!"

"Please input the code!" A robotic voice sounded from it.

"Long live the bloodline!" Since he was one of the elders in the family, he naturally knew the code. At this moment, he thought about Freya.

"Fools like you can die, because as long as I'm alive, our bloodline will be preserved…"

However, Ivanov's expression changed at the next words of the formation genie.

"Wrong code! Intruder alert! Beginning annihilation!"

"What? What?" Ivanov murmured. At this moment, the image of a well-behaved and sometimes rebellious girl popped into his mind.

"You're saying she was acting all along?"

But there was no time left for him to think. Blood-red lightning in the form of snakes appeared out of thin air, drowning him within.

Blood red light flashed, and Ivanov was slowly melted within.

After the lightning faded, the space in the room distorted to reveal a red figure.

"Traitor verified. Blood Serpent Family, Ivanov!" The voice sounded cold and chilling.

-x-X-x-

"Have you decided, my Lord?" The black shadow couldn't help but feel delighted in front of Faisal.

The satisfaction in being able to threaten the leader of the Ouroboros Clan, one of the largest clans on the continent, was something that could not be described with mere words. It was only furthered by the conflicted expression on the other party.

The rewards if he succeeded at this were so great he wouldn't even dare to think of them before.

"Reporting in, my Lord!"

At this timing, a high-ranking Magus pushed opened the door. Ignoring the shadow's existence, he began his report, "The operation was a success! We've captured seven traitors and killed twelve. The energy of the combined spell formation has been conserved, and we've only lost a mere 2.75%..."

"What is this supposed to mean?" the envoy questioned, his voice growing deeper and gloomier.

"What is this supposed to mean? It's exactly what you think it is!" Faisal suddenly gave an empty smile as his body instantly appeared before the shadow, grabbing his neck and lifting him up.

"If you do this, the Lords outside will definitely not let you off!" Surprisingly, even at this moment, the shadow was calm.

"I'll be waiting," Faisal nodded his head as he said seriously, "If you think that I'm unable to deal with you just because you're a spirit projection, you're wrong. You're very, very wrong."

The moment he finished speaking, there was a visible change in the expression on the blurred face of the black shadow and he couldn't help but give a cold smile, "It's a pity, but it's too late!"

*Boom!* Huge amounts of blue electricity rushed towards the shadow, blowing him to pieces.

Faisal sighed. "With such a huge stream of disordered data rushing in, even the main body would have its sea of consciousness suffer irreversible damage!" he said in an unhurried manner.

"My Lord, this is brilliant!" The Magus that had just entered immediately bowed.

"This is nothing, it's just a little scheme, and it definitely won't affect the general situation," Faisal said. He then exclaimed, "The Ouroboros Clan is my family and the pillar of support for all Warlocks of our Giant Kemoyin Serpent bloodline. I want to be in control of it, not let it be destroyed…"

...

*Thump!*

The green-haired Magus who was standing outside the city fumed upon listening to the grievous news as he witnessed the death of one of his envoys.

"Release the Kyasha Beast immediately!"

"But, my Lord…" Just as he was about to continue, the attendant at the green-haired Magus' side was interrupted, "I know I have limited authority. I'll explain things to the other Lords later, but for now, I want those ignorant Warlocks to pay with their deaths!"

"Coo coo…" After the order of the release of the warbeast, the brave and blood-soaked Magi standing on the frontline heard a bizarre roar.

The roar resembled the beating of a broken drum, and carried a heavy pant with it. It created a sense of oppression that made one feel like they were suffocating the moment it fell on their ears.

*Thump!*

*Thump!*

The ground started to shake. How scary was it for only one creature to cause the entire city to shake with its mere footsteps?

Faisal couldn't help but feel uncomfortable in that moment, as he quickly ascended to the highest vantage point.

From there, he saw an incomparably large creature, a four-legged beast with a horn on its head. The creature was so huge and tall that in order to avoid it, the enormous airships in the sky could only wave their flags and ascend further into the sky, opening a pathway for it to walk through.

The earth rumbled under this creature's arrival, its enormous aura even causing Faisal's breathing to stop momentarily.

When it finally stopped right outside the Ouroboros Clan headquarters, Faisal thought he was seeing a mountain range instead.

The Kyasha Beasts roared in anger. A terrifying and violent wave of energy swept across the battlefield, causing everyone to lose their balance.

"Morning Star! It is a Morning Star realm creature!" Faisal's expression blanked out as he clenched his fists tightly. "I'm afraid the cleansing operation this time provoked the enemy so badly that he's using the deadly weapons that were used in the last big war. ."

On the other hand, the enemy who'd lifted the restriction on the warbeast didn't feel too good about it either.

"My Lord, is it okay to lift the restrictions now? After all, we haven't performed final adjustments on it… Besides, a lot of our soldiers will be injured by it as collateral damage…" One of the Magi smiled bitterly as he looked at the giant Kyasha Beast with a heavy heart.

This giant beast was absolutely not a natural creature. It was a precious experiment created by a Morning Star Magus.

When the creature was not in use, it would be sealed in ice. The Morning Star Magus that created it even warned that if they didn't provide enough food for the beast to eat, even a large troop of Magi would be eaten alive by it.

Naturally, despite such shortcomings, a Morning Star realm creature had its own worth. This was a beast that had a physique at the Morning Star realm. Together with its enormous body and terrifying defence system which included the ability to heal itself, the idea of battling such a creature was a joke.

Moreover, because its intelligence was sealed, even a rank 3 Magus could, albeit barely, control it. This resulted in a great increase in its worth.

After feeling embarrassed and insulted by the other party, the green-haired Magus immediately lifted the restriction on the warbeast.

The green-haired Magus, their leader, clapped his hands. "Don't worry! The other Lords have given me the authority to lift the restrictions whenever I want to."

"After all, this is the last experiment. The warbeast summoned by the other party has to be at a Morning Star level to be able to defeat this creature. Since we've already made the first move, it's up to the Ouroboros Clan to retaliate with their last resort."

The warbeast's roars shook the earth as it moved closer to the defensive membrane on its long legs. A large number of Warlocks were eagerly showering it with any spells that they could throw.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

Blizzards, lightning, flames, and acids were all aimed at the Kyasha Beast. Yet, they were unable to so much as slow the rate of its advance.

While a rank 3 spell occasionally broke through its defences, it was not enough to cause any significant damage in comparison to its enormous body. This left the Warlocks disappointed.

By the time it reached the defensive barrier, the wounds on its body had been healing so quickly that it appeared to never have been wounded at all.

The thought that this creature was invincible caused dismay among the Magi. Adding to the fact that it seemed impossible to wound the creature and they could only wait for their deaths, the Warlocks were extremely discouraged as they felt like the world was coming to an end.

The enemy's passion for battle increased greatly with the boost in morale brought by the warbeast. This further decreased the chance of the Ouroboros Clan winning the battle. The enemies depended on the strength and ability of the warbeast, it was able to kill all Warlocks standing in its way.

"This won't do. If this continues we might not even win against the enemy even if we use up all the energy within the Magus Towers…"

Faisal's expression became gloomier as he snarled into his own secret imprint, "Activating Kemoyin Gargoyles, I need all of you to authorise me to activate it!"

"Agreed!" "Agreed!" "Agreed!" Immediately, Lucian and the rest could be heard as they brought out the runes specially designed for them.

"Two-thirds of the council has agreed, Kemoyin Gargoyles activated," a robotic voice announced.

Following that, a large and powerful energy wave swept across the battlefield.

The numerous Magi and Warlocks were stunned. The large Kemoyin Gargoyles that were always standing in front of headquarters as if mere decorations opened their eyes, a ferocious glint revealing the huge amber gemstones within. Beams of light were emitted from those eyes, heating up everything in their line of sight.

The stone 'skin' on their bodies snapped off as if a huge jacket was being taken off. The statues grew rapidly, and within the blink of an eye had reached half the size of the warbeast.

"Hiss…." The Giant Kemoyin Serpents hissed as energy waves at the peak of rank 3 erupted from them.

"These two gargoyles that are peak rank 3 together have power equivalent to that of a Morning Star. Yet, this is not enough," Faisal fumed, "Combine!"

*Buzz!* On top of the headquarters, the main defensive spell formation shook as it released a wave of energy, drowning the two heads of the giant snakes.

The two giant snakes hissed as they tangled with each other. A large layer of black light wrapped around their bodies, and when the creatures rose up as one, the body had reached the same standard as the warbeast.

*Rumble!* The Kyasha Beast was no longer relaxed, and its eyes showed caution as it stared at the enemy that was just as strong as it.

The huge two-headed snake in front hissed, and both heads spit out their scarlet tongues even as their amber eyes emitted rays of light.

"It's just like the rumours say. The "Duo Serpent Annihilator" is a capable puppet that has the power of a Morning Star. Indeed, this is the last resort of the Ouroboros Clan." Freya looked at the double-headed black snake from afar as she showed a complex expression.

This ultimate move was actually used on the first day of the battle. Did this mean that the reign of the Ouroboros Clan would end? Just like this?

Freya and the other high ranking Warlocks suddenly had an ominous premonition.

Despite facing an enemy that was far larger than itself, the Duo Serpent Annihilator took the initiative as it whipped its large tail at the Kyasha Beast.

*Thud!* The large warbeast that looked like a mountain range was actually swept off the ground by the snake's tail.

*Rumble!* It was almost as if meteors were falling from the sky. The moment the huge body of the beast came into contact with the ground, it formed a depression and created a magnitude 8.0 earthquake.

The allied armies that were unable to run fast enough were eventually squashed under the huge body of the Kyasha Beast, resulting in chaos.

*Rumble* The warbeast that was stuck inside the hole roared, and a large amount of glittering light gathered on its horn.

*Hiss!* The Duo Serpent Annihilator fearlessly fought the warbeast as it wrapped its long body all over it, layer after layer.

-x-X-x-

A wild blaze surged up as corrosive artillery shells created a blanket of lightning across the sky.

The glows of numerous attacking spells revolved around the Ouroboros Clan headquarters, unfolding in layers continuously at the Phosphorescence Swamp.

In order to protect their organization and their homeland, the formidable Warlocks went all out against their equally-powerful opponents. The earth was stained with blood and bones.

Outside headquarters, two behemoths roared ferociously in their entanglement. Every strike sent tremors through the land, as if forming an unending earthquake. This sort of remarkable battle was uncommon even in the central continent, and deserved to be recorded as a legendary one.

The intense confrontation had lasted a full day, yet not the creatures, nor the Magi nor the Warlocks showed traces of backing down. The Magi could bear the intensity of the battle, and the two giant creatures could do it even more easily.

On the other hand, Faisal wore a displeased look from within the command room.

"The East Zone is 37% damaged, the city walls 55%. The energy consumed by the Duo Serpent Annihilator is too large, 67% of our combined storage is already depleted. We can't keep going much longer…"

How could there not be a price be paid for them to maintain a Morning Star realm combat strength?

The Kyasha Beast depended on a frightening amount of food as sustenance. On the other hand, the Warlocks of the Ouroboros Clan could only use the stored energy from the multiple Magus Towers to power the Duo Serpent Annihilator.

Faisal understood that a puppet would always remain a puppet. Once the energy supply was terminated, the Duo Serpent Annihilator would revert back to its original form.

The remaining energy was insufficient for them to continue holding the fort.

If this went on, with the exhaustion of their trump card, the Ouroboros Clan looked to be set for extermination…

"Mentor! Please come back as soon as you can!" It didn't matter what Faisal thought previously. His pleas now were extremely sincere.

"For the Family! For the bloodline! For the glory of our Warlocks!"

At the battlefield at the West Zone, Freya was covered in blood from head to toe, multiple cuts all across her body. Yet, she fought on through sheer force of will and obstinance, directly blocking the Demon Magus ahead of her.

"Admit your defeat! You no longer have the protection of your Morning Star Magi, you are destined to fall…"

The Demon Magus chief' was out of breath, as he spoke sentimentally, "There are few Magi who can sustain battle with me for over 30 hours…"

"…" Looking around at the messy battlefield filled with corpses of bloodline Warlocks, Freya shut her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, they glowed with ferocity.

"I vow not to yield! The glory of the bloodline Warlocks cannot perish in my hands!"

"What a foolish decision!" the chief chided, "If it is so, I will not show any mercy!"

As if a seal had been unlocked, the iron chain on his right hand cracked apart, snapping off and dropping down in segments. Dark black flames rose continuously from the arm, and Freya's previous sense of danger had increased tenfold.

"This Demon's Arm is a precious treasure that I acquired after braving countless dangers…"

A terrifying arm, completely coated with scales and tipped with sharp claws, was revealed as the chain broke. Compared to the transformation of the other members of the Demon Magus Army, the horror that this arm exuded was far more terrifying. This could be considered a true Demon's Arm!

"The Crystal Phase Magi that have fallen to this arm number seven. Today, you shall be the eighth!" The chief roared, swinging his arm towards the front. A frightening black blaze erupted, barricading the whole area like a cage.

With the allied army winning, a loud humph sounded, audible to the entire region. A Magus appeared in the middle of the battlefield.

With eyes of silver and brows as sharp as swords and a Magus robe, decorated with the images of tortured demons, draped over his body.

Although he just stood silently in empty space, his presence generated a strong domain that had the whole Ouroboros Clan headquarters engulfed.

In but a moment, the chaos of the battlefield had died down, giving birth to a deathly silence.

Even the Kyasha Beast and Duo Serpent Annihilator had stopped in the middle of their intense battle. They felt a huge, imminent threat from this tiny human body.

"It's Demon Hunter Cyril! Why did he show himself in advance?" the red-haired female Magus asked in disbelief.

"Cyril, it's said that you're a person who doesn't bother with reputation!" the green haired Magus looked unimpressed, "Seeing the positive circumstances on our side, you must have rushed here to forcibly take credit for it!"

"He's an exalted Morning Star Magus, why would he snatch anything from you?" The female Magus covered her mouth and sniggered.

"Hehe… Cyril's reputation amongst Morning Star Magi… You will find out soon enough…" the male Magus smiled bitterly. In the world of Morning Star Magi, everyone knew that Demon Hunter Cyril lacked all form of chivalry. He was overbearing and shameless, seizing the resources and treasures of lower-ranked Magi.

"Are you not going to act anymore?"

"Me? How can I interfere?" The male Magus spread out his hand and gestured, "Everyone clearly has made some deals with the Demon Hunter. In front of a Morning Star Magus, I am but a slightly bigger ant, no more than that…"

Thereafter, he laughed at himself and continued, "No matter what, with the addition of the Demon Hunter, this battle will end soon."

...

On the battlefield, the Warlocks who had yet to reach the Hydro Phase were confined by the enormous pressure, and even moving seemed to be difficult.

Even rank 3 Crystal Phase nobles were helpless as they realised that their ability to gather elemental particles had been halved. Even activating their spiritual force proved to be extremely difficult.

Under the effect of the domain of a Morning Star Magus, all lower-ranked Magi were like ants.

"It's over! It's all over!" Faisal slid to the ground, witnessing the ruthless massacre of the Warlocks. His expression turned deathly pale as he felt the life draining out from him.

With the support of the domain of the Demon Hunter, the allied military immediately stomped out many regions of defence, even as the last bit of the defensive barrier was destroyed.

At the centre of it all, Cyril sneered in mid-air. A projection of huge sharp claws appeared and it reached out and attacked the source of energy at the city center.

*Po!* A colourful barrier appeared, blocking the sharp claws. Then, both the barrier and the claw in an instant before turning into ashes, disappearing into the emptiness.

"A rather good item! Pity that it could only block one attack at the Morning Star realm!" Cyril laughed heartily, his body's radiance growing brighter. Horrifying amounts of elemental particles coagulated once again, as if a tsunami had crashed into the bright barrier.

The membrane cracked, and the energy source was extinguished!

The huge defensive spell formation supporting the whole city had been under the attack of the army for an entire day. The combined Magus Towers, as well as the various spell formations, collapsed loudly.

Like a screen of water being dispersed, the membrane disappeared, and the entirety of the Ouroboros Clan headquarters grew visible to the enemy.

"No!" Two rolls of tears streaked down Lucian's face as he cried out. An enormous carnivorous flower that was almost ten meters high devoured him completely.

Even though he'd suppressed the other party with all his might, after being weakened by the Morning Star domain he could only await his death.

"Is this it?" Freya's jaws were clenched hard. She knew she wasn't a match for her opponent. Under the attacks of the Demon's Arm, she now cut an extremely sorry figure, collapsing on the ground after sustaining heavy injuries from the domain.

Seeing the sharp claw advancing towards her and the cold, ruthless eyes of the Demon Magus who owned it, Freya was dazzled.

In the blink of an eye, time seemed to slow to a crawl. Her life flashed in front of her eyes as if she was reading a picture book, flipping page to page.

In the end, her thoughts drifted to a young, black-robed Warlock. He smiled warmly at her, the passion in his eyes enough to sent the hearts of all female Warlocks fluttering. They would be attracted to him like a moth to the flame… Regardless of the danger of the blaze… Regardless, that attraction would end up fatal…

"Goodbye… Leylin…" A single sparkling tear slipped out of the corner of her eyes.

....

The sharp, scaly claw with its dark flames and terrifying energy brought with an intensely violent wind as it aimed at her body.

The Demon Magus across her was very confident in his abilities. He could handle a Crystal Phase Magus that was armed to the teeth easily, forget a Warlock who was seriously injured and suppressed.

He was even imagining the death of this female Warlock in front of him, the blood and internal organs spilling everywhere.

However, nothing was set in stone.

Suddenly, The chief felt like his hand had been trapped in an iron hoop, rendering him unable to take another step forward.

He looked up and was stunned. A Warlock wearing a black Magus robe stood in front of him. He had long black hair, an extremely handsome face and had traces of a demonic charm on him that could attract the attentions of all female Warlocks

He seemed to have appeared in a flash. His right hand gripped the Demon's Arm, and the other radiated a black serpent-shaped airflow which held Freya in place.

Freya's shut eyes popped open, and she saw Leylin. Unable to contain herself, she blurted out, "Ley… Sir Leylin! Am I dreaming?"

"No. You're not dreaming. You've exhausted yourself. Take a rest while I handle everything else!" Leylin's bright smile was soothing and it put Freya's heart to rest. Drowsy, she fell asleep.

"Who are you?" The chief was shocked beyond words. For someone to be able to remain calm under the Morning Star domain and even cause the chief himself to be helpless, this person must not be easy to deal with.

Besides, he couldn't even see through the opposing party's energy. The feeling was as if…

The Demon Magus shook his head, forcing his mind to abandon such thoughts as he didn't want to frighten himself. He was afraid he might lose all confidence, kneeling and asking for mercy if his train of thoughts was to develop further.

-x-X-x-

*Boom!* Dark black flames exploded forth from the Demon's Arm along with sharp knife-like blades. It was obvious that the Demon Magus chief had definitely used everything he had up his sleeves for this attack.

Unfortunately, be it the flames or the blades, they couldn't even leave a scratch on Leylin's pure white palms. The flame was even extinguished moments after it burst forth.

"Morning… Morning…" This chief's teeth began chattering. He had a feeling that things were progressing in a bad way. Who knew, the entire alliance army's plan could have been hindered.

"Master! Save me!" At the edge of life and death, he immediately cried for his master's help.

"Looking for him? Too late!" Leylin shook his head, and a black blade of light swept across him.

This frightening magus, who was in the Crystal Phase and had an unfathomable strength with the addition of his Demon's Arm, was sliced into two just like that.

Be it innate defence or magic equipment, they were all like air in front of the black light blade, posing no resistance at all.

Even at the moment of death, the other party's face showed bafflement.

"Um?" Seeing his best subordinate killed, Cyril naturally had a reaction. By the time he understood the situation, an even more horrified expression emerged on his face. "Leylin!"

"It's me!" Leylin handed Freya over to his subordinates' care, and floated up to mid-air. His gaze fixed onto Cyril, showing not a trace of weakness.

*Boom!* As if an ancient beast had awakened, a mysterious yet powerful force field began to emanate from Leylin, rapidly offsetting Cyril's Morning Star domain.

To their relief, all the Warlocks of the Ouroboros Clan felt like a load was being lifted off their backs, immediately restoring their previously sluggish spiritual force to full capacity.

"You have already advanced to the Morning Star realm!" Cyril managed to squeeze out from the crevices between his clenched teeth.

"Of course!" Leylin laughed brilliantly.

With just those two words of his, everyone on scene was amazed.

...

A while ago.

"I've left Parker and Tanasha at Freya's side. There's no need for me to worry!" Leylin, wearing a loose black robe, activated the last spell formation. A mechanical door dropped down, along with the activation of multiple layers of seals.

Vibrant runes wandered close to one another across the surface of the iron door. Leylin had used every bit of knowledge he had about defensive spell formations in this, and together with the A.I. Chip's deductive capabilities, even a Morning Star Magus would take a while to force his way in.

The walls of the secret chamber were littered with aura isolation runes. This room could be said to be one of the best-hidden places on the continent right now.

There was no choice about it. This matter concerned his advancement to the Morning Star realm, and Leylin wouldn't dare to be sloppy.

This was not his manor at the headquarters, but a cellar where he kept his secret purchases. The entire process was controlled by him alone, and to an observer, it would seem completely unrelated to Leylin.

In his own manor, he had set up the same defensive spell formation, displaying the facade that he was still there.

At such a critical junctures, Leylin was extremely vigilant. He even found it hard to trust some of his subordinates.

"As long as we make it through this, everything will be fine and all the future holds for us is boundless open vistas…" Leylin sighed softly. As if he released all of his emotions, his eyes became clear and he calmed down.

He sat on the ground, and some items emerged in his hands.

A milky-white fingerbone with a few narrow cracks on it, a tube of golden blood emitting terrifying energy waves, as well as a messy pile of spiritual force crystals. These crystals were mostly from his spoils, while a portion of it came from Freya's gifts and his own collection.

"The road to the Morning Star is vast and long. Many Crystal Phase Magi do not even have the chance to come into contact with this bottleneck…" Leylin held a solemn expression.

He had only advanced to the Crystal Phase not long ago, and he was already thinking of breaking through to Morning Star. If it was an ordinary Magus, it would be nothing but a dream!

But he was different. He had a lot of cards in his hand and abundant knowledge, so much so that even some Morning Star Magi could only wish for it.

Even with just the Lamia fingerbone, Warlocks who had been stuck for years would gain the possibility of breaking through.

"A.I. Chip, report my current condition!"

[Leylin Farlier, rank 3 Warlock (Crystal Phase) Bloodline: Giant Kemoyin Serpent Strength: 40 Agility: 35 Vitality: 55, Spiritual Force: 356.5, Magic Power: 356 (magic power in synchronisation with spiritual force)]

The A.I. Chip replied loyally.

After advancing to the Crystal Phase, his own spiritual force had increased only slightly. It was instead his strength and vitality that had gotten a growth spurt under the effect of the techniques of the Multi-Armed Race.

"Rank 3 spiritual force varies from 200 to 400. The first threshold for advancing to the Morning Star realm is for it to reach a critical value, filling up your entire sea of consciousness…"

Because the A.I. Chip had already deduced more than half the information about the Morning Star realm, Leylin currently had no doubts as to his path.

In fact, this was why he had to wait for the A.I. Chip's deduction progress to reach such a point before he could advance. Many times, the crucial reason for failure in advancing was exactly a lack of knowledge about the path to Morning Star, as well as the handling of the many real-life problems during the promotion.

The A.I. Chip's deductions on the Morning Star realm happened to make up for this, clearing any remaining confusions that Leylin had. To a certain extent, he also needed to thank the Azure Mountain King for this. If he had not anxiously sent a clone, the A.I. Chip probably would not have been able to progress in the Morning Star deduction to over 50%.

"My spiritual force now can only be said to have just reached the Crystal Phase. It's still far from the critical value. I'll need the help of bloodline ignition." Leylin picked up the test tube which was filled with golden blood.

This was the bloodline of the ancient red dragon, obtained from the Kobold Warlocks of the Forgotten Land. Although it was extremely pure, because Leylin's own bloodline had long before been fixed, there was no chance to use it. That opportunity would only arise after he completely analysed the ancient Quicksand Organisation's bloodline experiment results.

The bloodline ignition experiment, as its name implies, was conducted by burning various kinds of bloodlines to strengthen one's own power.

Its requirements towards the bloodline was very strict. One had to be a Warlock in order to conduct it, and the grade of the bloodline that was to be burnt could not be too low. If not, the entire experiment would not succeed and could even backfire. The bloodline of the ancient red dragon fulfilled this requirement perfectly.

As for the supplementary resource for the experiment, it was a Crystal Phase Magus' spiritual force crystals! Only the spiritual force fire produced by such crystals could completely burn the ancient bloodline, and convert it into energy that would serve as the driving force for the Warlock's advancement.

A complicated, detailed spell formation was already drawn on the surface of the ground. Leylin inlaid the many spiritual force crystals one by one in an orderly manner, filling up the spell formation quickly.

The spiritual force crystal of a Crystal Phase Magus was a top-grade resource in many social circles. It could even be used as a currency on its own and was of high worth.

But now, a large amount of spiritual force crystals were laid on the ground as if they were worthless, radiating a pure, sparkling light.

The marks of the original owners of these crystals had naturally been erased by Leylin.

"The ancient red dragon bloodline is preceded only by that of the Sun's child. It's an extremely powerful bloodline that can at least reach rank 5! Frankly speaking, if not for the fact that my bloodline cannot be changed once absorbed, I'm afraid I too would not be able to resist the temptation, and would convert into a dragon bloodline Warlock..."

Leylin sighed, taking off his Magus robe. He then smeared the golden blood all over his body, without missing a spot.

The golden blood felt viscous to the touch, and smelt like orchids. It was cool to the touch at first, but soon became boiling hot.

At the same time, a translucent flame rose from the spell formation below Leylin's body.

Streaks of crystal-clear light were pulled out of the many spiritual force crystals like threads. They then converged at a point, forming a translucent flame comprised of spiritual force!

Although this flame was not really hot, once it came in contact with the essence of the ancient red dragon's golden bloodline, it sparked a violent reaction.

"Ow!" Leylin groaned. His body grew rigid in a moment, and under the burning of the spiritual force flame, he could feel the strange transformation in the ancient red dragon bloodline. It even turned into a blood-red energy, passing through his pores and making it all the way into his bone marrow.

For an ordinary person, such pain was almost unbearable, but Leylin was just more focused on the A.I. Chip's monitored information:

[Beep! Large amounts of bloodline essence has been absorbed by host body! Identified as the ancient red dragon's blood, beginning bloodline ignition experiment!]

[The curve of the spiritual force's fire is stabilised, converting the ancient red dragon bloodline into energy…]

[Beep! Bloodline energy absorbed by host body, spiritual force increasing!] The repeated prompts caused an expression of delight to surface on Leylin's face suddenly.

He noticed the initial value of 356 for his spiritual force spiking suddenly, and at the same time, a large amount of blood-red energy was injected into his sea of consciousness, expanding its boundaries continuously. Black spiritual force crystals, faintly hued red, condensed in large quantities.

Even if his spiritual force was spiking suddenly, with the amplification of Multilimb Strength, Leylin managed to hang on without losing his consciousness. This gave him an opportunity to deepen his understanding of his own body.

His spiritual force rocketed up continuously, exceeding 370, then 380. It reached 385 before it began to slow down.

Shortly after, the value shot past 390, making its sprint towards 400, the limit of the Crystal Phase.

395, 396, 397!

At this value, it began to slow, with the swift change relegated to decimal places.

*Pop!* At this moment, all of the numerous spiritual force crystals were sucked dry, and the spiritual force flame swelled! With the support of this power, Leylin's spiritual force began to rise again, all the way to 399 before it came to a stop!

-x-X-x-

[Beep! Injected spiritual force reaching critical levels!]

With his sea of consciousness swelling up, and the reminder from the A.I Chip, Leylin realised that not only had his spiritual force reached the value of 399, even his sea of consciousness were filled with black—with a tinge of red in the centre—spiritual force crystals.

Inside his sea of consciousness, the three layers of the spiritual force core nucleus started to emit dazzling lights.

'The results of the first time the bloodline ignition experiment is performed is the best, and they decrease over multiple uses.' As he could still feel the strong surge of bloodline energy, Leylin ordered, "A.I. Chip, initiate the promotion to Morning Star!"

[Assignment received! Vital signs under observation, initiating Morning Star deduction, starting from the prototype of the point mass…]

Numerous amounts of data, both numeric and otherwise, relating to the construction of the point mass began streaming in front of Leylin's eyes. If not for the Azure Mountain King's clone, Leylin could never have gotten a hold of all this secret information about the Morning Star realm as easily.

"Lamia fingerbone!" Looking at the other bloodline treasure, he realised that it was actually his biggest gain from Quicksand Castle. If he were to use it then, he could have advanced immediately to the peak of Rank 3, skipping the Hydro and Crystal Phases.

Yet, Leylin was one who did not give in easily to temptations, forcing himself to control his impulses and merely using the radiation emitted by the fingerbone to slowly nurture his bloodline.

Even though the Lamia fingerbone could help him advance tremendously, but under comparison with the advancement to the Morning Star realm, he knew which one was more important. So what's there left to think about?

*Peng!* The milky white fingerbone disintegrated into ashes, and one of the rays of lights that appeared during the explosion pointed directly towards Leylin's forehead.

*Hong!* The Lamia fingerbone was absorbed into his body.

A terrifying change started to occur immediately. In Leylin's sea of consciousness, under an enormous compressive power, numerous amounts of spiritual force crystals moved towards the centre.

His face paled under the enormous pressure exerted at the heart of his spiritual force. It was so bad that his whole body started twitching.

The sea of consciousness was essentially the home of the soul. The moment that it experienced any damage, the Magus would be in deep trouble.

Under the immense pressure that the spiritual force was experiencing, sounds could be heard coming from the centre of Leylin's sea of consciousness. It wasn't a good sign.

"Construct the fourth innate spell!" Leylin commanded with red eyes.

[Beginning assignment. Supplementary work initiated, transferring atomic microscope!] the A.I Chip replied loyally.

Leylin's sea of consciousness consisted of three layers presently. The outer layer held runes for two innate spells— one for Kemoyin's Scales and the other for the Eye of Petrification. On the layer beneath was the rune for rank 2— Toxic Bile. The innermost layer held rank 3 spiritual force crystals, consisting of his rank 3 innate spell— Intimidating Gaze.

Under a sudden flash of red light, the three layers of runes perfectly combined, forming the exquisite image of a Warlock's rune. Yet, it was missing one final thing.!

At this very moment, a fourth layer of crystals started to appear in the centre of the third layer.

As the centre of the core nucleus had a unique structure, the crystals became smaller as one went closer to the centre, but at the same time, the details on each rune became more intricate and they grew much more specialised.

At the centre of the fourth layer, even though it was a quarter the size of the first layer, it was still important that there be no errors when one was carving the rank 4 rune. That was an out-of-the-world request of a Magus' spritiual force manipulation abilities.

"It's no wonder that most Magi fail at advancing to rank 4. Even with the assistance provided by the A.I, Chip, this task seems to be too difficult …"

With the help provided by the A.I. Chip, Leylin who had already initiated the atomic microscope had started to carve down the Kemoyin's Pupil innate spell on the fourth layer with the innate runes he'd recorded.

This was something every Warlock must choose and only in high-grade meditation techniques do innate spell models like these exist.

The attention to detail required to carve a rune in the sea of consciousness was much greater than carving a statue, and the act was much more difficult. Once Leylin completed the final stroke of the rune, his body almost collapsed due to exhaustion.

Under the immense pressure, it seemed like completing the fourth level rune properly was a big challenge. It took a while for Leylin's consciousness to stabilize.

Once the innate spell had been completed, his entire sea of consciousness started to tremble.

Boundless rays of lights started to radiate from the centre of his sea of consciousness. The four layers of intricate runes started to bind together in a picturesque order, much like a piece of artwork.

Once the centremost part was filled up, the entire crystal started to shake violently, strengthening tremendously within seconds and the immense pressure that was present previously had disappeared.

"This rune?" Leylin observed the rune that was a combination of all his innate runes. It represented all of his achievements so far, and hence he commanded the A.I. Chip to record it down.

Perfection! The first impression this rune would leave on a person was that of perfection!

A gigantic rune was created by the combination of these small runes, which cirulated continuously and looked pretty much 3D. Regardless of how one looked at it, it was flawless.

"Is this… the path of my bloodline?" Leylin mumbled. At this very moment, he was almost moved to tears.

*Rustle!* Once the four layers perfectly crystallized, they started to crumble inwards, shrinking to a point that rapidly started revolving. Much like a black hole, it started to suck in everything in its surroundings.

The spiritual force crystals inside his sea of consciousness started to shrink as they got sucked into the black hole.

[Initiating the construction of point mass. Guidelines activated.] the A.I. Chip reported.

Leylin, too, started to construct his personal point mass according to his understanding and the information from his A.I. Chip.

*Boom!* An immense suction force could be felt coming from the mass point of the spiritual force. Not only were the spiritual force crystals sucked in, even the sea of consciousness was broken through and more energy, flesh and soul aura were pulled in.

*Slap!* Leylin's consciousness suddenly blurred. Time seemed to pass extremely slowly, and at times it felt like eternity was squeezed into an instant.

It took the sounds of glass shattering for Leylin to wake up again.

This time, his sea of consciousness felt empty. There was a dim light shining at the centre of the core, the result of shrinking the spiritual force a million times over such that the nucelus core's density and purity had reached an remarkable level. This was the point mass of a Morning Star Magus!

The source of the light shook, and the purified energy of the Morning Star realm, the energy of the point mass that was also known as soul force, started to leak out into the entirety of Leylin's body.

At that point, he had entered the Morning Star realm!

[Beep! Host's Kemoyin's Pupil meditation technique has advanced to the fourth level. Host has advanced to rank 4!]

The A.I. Chip sounded out.

[Host's spiritual force has undergone a qualitative change. Data is inaccurate, recalculating…]

It was a long time for the new data to go up.

[Leylin Farlier, rank 4 Warlock Bloodline: Giant Kemoyin Serpent (complete form) Strength: 50, Agility: 45, Vitality: 65, Spiritual Force: 503.7, Magic Power: 503 (magic power in synchronisation with spiritual force) Soul Force: ???]

[Due to a lack of information about soul force, it is currently not possible to calculate stats.]

Looking at the A.I. Chip's report, Leylin touched his chin and went into deep thought.

After advancing to the Morning Star realm, the original spiritual force would undergo purification and turn into soul force. This energy was on a whole new level compared to spiritual force! Yet, as the information and data that the A.I. Chip had on soul force was limited, there was too little knowledge in the database to display a value. It could only display numbers in terms of spiritual force.

He had to wait until the A.I Chip had collected sufficient data to thoroughly calculate his soul force statistics.

"The boundary of the Morning Star realm is 500?" Leylin felt the terror of having such strong energy and sighed, "This is nearly a hundred higher than a rank 3's spiritual force value. It is no wonder rank 3 and rank 4 are worlds apart.

"Soul force!" Something came into Leylin mind and a gloomy light appeared above his palm. This was the mutated spiritual force from the point mass, it is also an energy of a greater level.

All Magi at the Morning Star realm and above used soul force. It was only when one reached this stage that they could find their own path in life.

"This is why in ancient times, Magi below rank 4 weren't even deemed to have entered the world of Magi yet."

There was a huge difference between rank 3 and rank 4, and the same was true between ranks 6 and 7. Leylin had no idea about what happened one reached rank 7, but after advancing he now clearly knew the differences between ranks 3 and 4.

"Magi at rank 3 and below mainly use spiritual force. However, once that is crossed, the Morning Star, Radiant Moon and Breaking Dawn Magi will have to come in contact with the soul force and pay extra attention to explore the potential in their soul"

Leylin couldn't help but look at his own point mass. In the heart of his sea of consciousness, that small glow of light continued to spin around, forming a nebular spiral that pulled many of the energy particles around within, only to regurgitate them upon purification.

From this point forth, his spirit had been concentrated into the point mass, creating a truesoul. At the same time, due to the protection from the point mass, his resistance toward the previous spiritual force and soul attacks were largely maximised.

The point mass, with its extreme density, was the last defence of Leylin's truesoul.

"My truesoul..." Leylin subconsciously remembered the last moment before he advanced.

In that instant, it seemed as though he saw the life and death of the universe, and also the rise and fall of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent clan. It was also at that very moment that his soul truly bonded with his bloodline to form one body, making him a true Giant Kemoyin Serpent Warlock!

-x-X-x-

A Warlock's path was one of a bloodline.

However, before a Warlock reached rank 3, the influence of the bloodline extended only to his body, and was not sufficient to affect his soul. Even if the two were linked, they were completely different.

But after advancing to the Morning Star realm, a Warlock's true spirit would have harmonised with the power of his bloodline, the two no longer separate.

'The reason this promotion went so smoothly… Is it that, besides my sufficient preparations, there was a great deal of help from the Giant Kemoyin Serpent bloodline?' Leylin contemplated while touching his chin.

'The Giant Kemoyin Serpent of ancient times was originally a creature that could reach rank 4 at adulthood. My bloodline is incomparably pure as well. After the complete fusion with the spirit and its maturation under the radiation of the Lamia fingerbone, my body can totally be viewed as a pureblood Giant Kemoyin Serpent. All these factors were key in my promotion to the Morning Star realm.'

Now, Leylin could obviously feel that his spirit body possessed a desolate and distant ancient aura. It even glowed a blood-red on the outside.

"The emotional instability of the Warlock bloodline can no longer pose a problem to me now that I've promoted to the Morning Star realm. It has integrated into me as my personal state of mind and emotions, instead of being under the influence of my bloodline."

Leylin forced a smile, handing over the bits and pieces of the memories he received about Purgatory World and Shadow World to the A.I. Chip for storage. Although these fragments of memories could be incomparably useful, they were likely to tempt the brutality in his heart.

However, as compared to the common bloodline flaw of a Warlock, this innate emotion was even harder to control.

Because of how pure his bloodline was, Leylin learned a lot of things from his bloodline inheritance when he advanced to rank 4.

"My path as a Giant Kemoyin Serpent Warlock, has already come to an end?" Leylin stood up, feeling the strong power surging in his body. He couldn't help but feel a little depressed.

He had already advanced to the peak of all Giant Kemoyin Warlocks. Those like Gilbert who were older than him had just accumulated more time at the rank. Essentially, there was no difference between the two.

Due to the limitation of their bloodline, rank 4 was the highest rank a Giant Kemoyin Serpent Warlock could reach. This was the shackle of the bloodline, and was a curse no Giant Kemoyin Serpent Warlock could escape from.

Now that his future was bleak, Leylin felt lost.

No matter his bloodline or the A.I chip, they clearly told him that in his current state, the Morning Star realm was the limit! And this misery killed him.

This was the most difficult thing for Leylin to tolerate. He was determined to reach the peak of the Magus world.

"The stars are boundless, the numerous worlds were even more in number than stars in the universe. Some other world definitely has the solution to this. If not, I can always find the coordinates of the Snake Dowager through the Icy World of the Twilight Zone…"

Leylin comforted himself. His scope was a lot wider now compared to before, and he even had the ability to adventure through astral gates independently.

A Magus who advanced to the Morning Star realm could cross over to other worlds on his own. The knowledge and resources they could gain through this were incomparable to the rewards from using a spirit seed.

"Alright let's do it this way. I'll first lay low for a period of time, stabilising my Morning Star realm or even trying to reach the peak. Once that's done, I'll immediately adventure through the different planes…"

Leylin decided.

At this moment, an explosion sounded as what seemed to be the tremors of an earthquake made it through the multiple layers of defence, being transmitted to the room.

"This kind of effect even after being damped by my defences?" Leylin's face grew heavy, "The situation outside has probably escalated to the extreme. The enemy might even have entered the city!"

"It's time to go!" He waved his hand, and a luxurious black gown was automatically draped over his body. He then disappeared from the secret room as if a shadow.

If he'd failed to advance to the Morning Star realm this time, Leylin could only wait for the opportunity to escape when the city was destroyed by the enemy. Even that was not likely, because he was still being hunted by the Azure Mountain King.

But since he'd already been promoted to one of the most powerful existences in the central continent, he had the confidence to try and rescue the Ouroboros Clan!

....

Looking at the genuine Morning Star domain being issued forth from leylin, even offsetting his own, Cyril's expression turned extremely ugly, as if he was a dead person.

Morning Star! This was one of the highest-ranking powers in the entire central continent! It took the protection of a Morning Star Magus for an organisation to be called large-scaled, and such organisations could last for millennia.

And this time, only after seeing the three Morning Star Warlocks of the Ouroboros Clan disappear did the allied armies set out to attack them. Their own side wasn't irresistible. Once a Morning Star from the other side attacked, more than half their legion would definitely be dead or injured. This was why they were very cautious to the point of being timid.

Now that there is a fresh appearance of the Morning Star in the Ouroboros Clan, undoubtedly it will strengthen this operation!

"He… What did he say? Morning Star? He is a Morning Star ?"

On the battlefield, Julian's face grew dull looking at Leylin's back view and was flabbergasted. He would never have guessed that the Marquis Leylin who had only recently advanced to the Crystal Phase would break through to the Morning Star realm at such a critical juncture!

"It's mentor! Mentor has advanced to Rank 4!" On the other side, a blood-covered Snoopy grew so excited he hugged Parker in revelry. Tanasha smiled while watching from the side. She had always been optimistic about Leylin's future, but she'd never have thought that this day would come so quickly.

Compared to them, the expression of another person was very complicated.

"Leylin Farlier? Wasn't he searching for the astral coordinates? So it was actually a pretence for his secret breakthrough to the Morning Star realm…" Inside the main control room, Faisal felt the two large force fields counteract each other and stood up from the ground, his mood very complicated.

With Leylin's protection, it was possible for them to survive this crisis.

And what made him feel complicated was that, be it his own painstaking effort or his persistence, it was still a joke in front of the sheer power of the other party. He was just like a soap bubble that could be burst by a mere finger.

"Duke Gilbert! Your student is excellent…" After a long time, Faisal sighed, covering up all his disappointment and loss. Shouting himself hoarse through the communications, "Ouroboros Clan! Strike back!"

*Boom!* Like a signal light, his command brought about an immediate change.

On the battlefield, the numerous Warlocks that had recovered suddenly burst forth and struck down the enemies that had come to invade until they drew back, shifting the battlefront to its initial location in no time.

Faisal surveyed the battlefield comprehensively without any cheer. He knew well that the key to their victory was not here, but instead, the confrontation with Demon Hunter Cyril.

'Leylin is just a newly promoted Morning Star Warlock. Can he obstruct the other party?' With a worried heart, Faisal moved his gaze up above, and saw an imposing figure blocking Cyril.

"How about just giving up this time?" Leylin started the conversation. Demon Hunter Cyril was an impressive existence among Morning Star Magi, not to mention the allies waiting for him.

Leylin felt the attention of several conscients watching him the moment he appeared. And one of them even had a scent of deep hatred and shock.

'Not only Cyril, there are at least three or four Morning Star Magi observing from the outside. The Azure Mountain King is among them!' He understood the situation after a sweep of his soul force.

"With just you?" Cyril jeered. It was not because he looked down on Leylin. But Leylin was obviously a newly promoted Morning Star Warlock while he himself was an existence who was well known for a long time in the Morning Star circles.It was impossible that he would be frightened by the words of the opponent. If he was, how could he mix in with the others afterwards?

Besides, he still had some impression on this young Warlock. They were the ones who caused him to fall at the last hurdle and lose a huge share of loots from the Forgotten Land the last time.

The new and old hate compounded, and there was no way he would cower! Besides, even if he himself agreed, the others behind him wouldn't. This was a war that they had prepared for over a long time, and the hate had already been planted. How could they back down at his words alone?

"In that case…" Leylin shook his head and seemed very sorry, "I can only request that you die first!"

*Crash!* Leylin tried to attack first, striking like lightning. Powerful energy waves ripped apart the space and formed a huge rift. A silver spatial wave rippled, swallowing both him and Cyril.

"They went to the edge of the world to battle! Let's follow them!"

"This type of battle between those at this rank is very rare. If we record it, we can definitely sell it for a sky-high price."

Several Morning Star conscients communicated, but another voice chimed in, "Although Morning Star Warlocks have the additional power from their bloodline, I still look down on that fellow. Although Cyril has a bad personality, his nickname of Demon Hunter was rightfully earned!"

"I also agree. I bet that Warlock will be defeated in ten rounds! What do you think, Azure Mountain?"

"I…" the Azure Mountain KIng touched his chin and recalled the loss previously. Although he wished that Leylin could just be defeated and even killed, he still didn't speak out. "You guys need to be careful, that kid is unfathomable."

"Hehe! I remember now. Wasn't Azure Mountain's clone killed by a Crystal Phase Warlock? Was it him?" Another voice sounded, making the Azure Mountain King's face turn dark.

"Enough!" The largest conscients spoke, and the place suddenly became quiet.

"Watch their battle carefully. The result of this battle will be the basis of our next actions!"

A battle between Morning Stars usually lasted a long time and it was difficult to kill the opponent completely. Thus, Leylin's strength would be the key to the upcoming battle!

-x-X-x-

'Although the data paints a similar picture, the magnificent beauty of the edge of the world can't ever be fully described by mere words and pictures…'

Leylin sighed faintly. Currently, he was in a mysterious space surrounded by darkness. Multiple silver rays of lights streaked across among the stars, and it was like the universe in his previous life, boundless and magnificent.

Cyril sat opposite him with gloom clouding his face. Subtle chaotic flows of turbulence struck him, but were rebounded by the layer of soul force on his body, unable to cause even the slightest of injuries.

All Morning Star Magi possessed the ability to survive in the crevices of space. They relied on it to pass through the different worlds.

Of course, it also depended on the grade of the crevices.

The one that Leylin chose was situated at the edge of the world. The space there was comparatively stable, and the slight spatial turbulence could easily be held off by one's soul force.

If, by any chance, the space encountered violent turbulence similar to that caused by ancient battles, or due to the wild and violent storms occurring within the crevices of two worlds, leave alone Morning Star Magi, even Radiant Moon Magi were likely to succumb to the force, leaving just ashes. The Scorpion Man from the Icy World had met his death in that exact same manner.

Clashes between Morning Star Magi caused extensive damage. A battle between two could destroy the entire continent. As such, if any Morning Star Magi desired to take revenge, they would choose to settle scores inside these spatial crevices instead.

No matter how extensive the damage was, it would not affect the stability of the world.

The venue of the big battle this time was the Ouroboros Clan headquarters at Phosphorescence Swamp. If their clash had occurred there, regardless of the outcome Freya, Parker, and the rest would certainly meet death. In fact, the entire Ouroboros Swamp could cease to exist.

Leylin definitely would not want that to happen. Hence, he voluntarily dragged the opposite party here.

"You're good!" Cyril raised his eyebrows in rage, traces of blue current circulating between them.

He felt insulted at being outschemed by a junior. Even though he didn't want to be criticised by the other Morning Star Magi for starting a battle in the main world, he felt he was entitled to choose another location as the battleground instead of being forced here by the opposite party.

"Cyril! This and he matter at the Forgotten Land, let's settle everything today!" Leylin's voice was soft yet strangely firm. He had not let go of his grudge from when he'd almost been killed in a single blow and was forced to take refuge in the main headquarters for over a century.

He'd shelved the idea of revenge then due to lacking power, but now the time had come.

"How dare you bring up the past?!" Cyril fumed as he recounted the interference of these fellows who took away a portion of the gains. If not for them, the natural resources at the Forgotten Land and the Quicksand Organization would have all been his.

He had also been suppressed by the three Morning Star Warlocks and been left with no possible means of escape.

"You have to account for your teacher's sins too!" Cyril's silver pupils shone with a sharp icy chill. A long black pike appeared in his hand.

Faint, yet audible demonic cries were sounding out from its tip, chilling to the bone.

"You're a brat who just advanced to rank 4, just how much do you understand about the abilities of the Morning Star realm? Prepare to accept your fate of failure!"

Cyril's growl was steely, "Rank 4 spell— Demon's Wail!"

He tossed out the pike from his hand. *Boom!* The horrific scene was like history repeating itself, when the legendary giant Argyle threw the ahlspiess that destroyed the sun and killed the Sun's child!

Violent waves of torrential power descended, and the black pike transformed itself into a ray of black lightning, streaking through the turbulent space before arriving at Leylin.

Powered by a Morning Star Magus' soul force, the results of the spell were earth-shattering!

"Demon Hunter Cyril, you are indeed worthy of your name!" Leylin gasped in admiration, "Unfortunately, I too am not as weak as you think!"

He had prepared to advance to rank 4 for a long time. During this period, he had managed to acquire some badly damaged rank 4 spell models. With the A.I. Chip's simulations, he had managed to repair the content, and skillfully grasp them.

Besides, the numerous memories he'd inherited from his bloodline also net him a battle experience that was even marginally better than Cyril's!

The phantom of a Giant Kemoyin Serpent, with large amber eyes, smooth scales, and ferocious razor-sharp teeth hissed from behind Leylin.

"Complying with the ancient contract, I call upon the power of the bloodline, serve me now and transform into a resolute shield…" Leylin spoke with a delicate yet intense tone, similar to the hissing of a giant snake, as he chanted awkward-sounding ancient incantations.

With every syllable distinct and audible, Leylin chanted the incantations before the pike arrived, completing the spell's preparations and causing everyone an eerie sensation of time disorder.

"Bloodline Shield!"

As if an existence from ancient times, a black-scaled shield that had ferocious Giant Kemoyin Serpent images portrayed on it appeared out of empty space. Crimson lightning still bounced across its surface.

*Bang!*

Like a clash between the sun and the moon, or the impact of a star hitting the earth, the long devilish spike that had transformed into black lightning suddenly bombarded the shield. Blood red and coal black tangled, and the explosive aftermath was horrifying.

A huge spatial turbulence resembling the gushing of a tsunami struck from both sides. If it were the main world, one single wave could have left the entire Ouroboros Clan completely destroyed.

"No– No way!" Cyril yelled hoarsely from afar. From the connection with his soul force, he clearly witnessed the crimson point on his pike fade to its original dull colour. The Giant Kemoyin Serpent on the shield seemed to have come to life as it opened its mouth and ruthlessly chomped the tip off the pike!

The black pike cracked, and violently blew up.

Space itself rumbled as the turbulence started wreaking havoc. It created enormous sharp rifts that even Leylin and Cyril had to avoid temporarily.

"Shield Strike!" The huge shield collapsed like a mountain, taking aim at Cyril. With Leylin following closely behind, the attack was incomparably fierce.

"No way! No way! No way!" Cutting a sorry figure, a defensive Cyril yelled despondently, "You're a newly promoted Warlock. Why…"

He was clearly agonising over his situation. Leylin was not like a newly promoted Morning Star at all, being extremely familiar with battling in spatial rifts. His ability to handle difficulties even exceeded that of Gilbert and the rest!

'It looks like my inherited bloodline is indeed rare!' Assessing his expression, Leylin understood his display of abilities had been too outstanding, even exceeding that of the three dukes.

"The exceptional purity of my own bloodline must have meant that the bloodline inheritance I received is more complete. As for Mentor Gilbert and the rest, what they'd received was much weaker…"

The inherited memories of a creature were always stored in its bloodline. Thus, if the descendant's blood was pure, the arousal of the inherited memories would be greater, and the inheritance itself would be richer, resulting in more benefits.

With the A.I. Chip having purified his bloodline and the Lamia fingerbone's supplementation, Leylin could potentially be the best of the Kemoyin Warlocks!

Suddenly, Leylin was clear about his fate and he had no intentions to be lax about it.

*Crackle!* Multiple black scales appeared on his right hand, morphing into a sharp blade.

The runes of the rank 4 Kemoyin Scales were even more simplistic and reflected only a minimal amount of light but still carried a uniquely daunting aura.

*Swoosh!* A layer of menacing black light surfaced on the blade, and Leylin mercilessly cut across Cyril's chest.

The soul force from both sides came into contact. With Leylin's formidable strength and the razor-sharp blade, he successfully broke through Cyril's innate defence. The knife-like blade left a huge wound across his chest, and blood splashed everywhere. It left a hole so large even the organs could be seen within.

"How… how can it be?" Cyril attempted to cover his chest while stumbling backwards, disbelief in his eyes.

"How can I lose? And to a newly promoted junior?" Cyril yelled fiercely, his face distorting with anger. The poise he previously possessed evaporated, and the fury tinged his silver eyes blood red.

"No! I have not lost! I have my last trump card!" Cyril suddenly looked up, his body filled with an extremely dangerous aura. "Leylin Farlier! Today I will show you what it means to be a true rank 4 Morning Star Magus!"

The halo of an innate spell appeared from his body before brightening.

"Rank 1 innate spell— Anarchic Forcefield!"

This was followed by the halo of his rank 2 spell…

By the end, Cyril's aura had risen to the maximum, and four unstable rings revolved around his body.

This was the Morning Star Arcane Art! Forced to the edge by Leylin, Cyril he'd ended up brazenly using his final trump card!

"The Morning Star's final technique…" The corner of Leylin's mouth curved up in a smile. His old memories of witnessing one being performed had been refreshed, and it came to life.

"I have one too!" Restraining his smile, the brilliant red glow on Leylin's body started twinkling.

"First, the rank 1 innate spells— Kemoyin's Scales! Petrifying Gaze!" A fine layer of black scales covered Leylin's body entirely, and his pupils glowed amber.

"Next up, the rank 2 innate spell— Toxic Bile!" A poison from the ancient times surfaced, swiftly surrounding him.

"Then the rank 3 spell— Intimidating Gaze!" After his promotion to rank 4, the dignified aura exuded by Leylin's body had grown even more terrifying. His body had rightfully regained the power and influence of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent itself. He now radiated the aura of an ancient first-rate predator.

"Finally, the rank 4 innate spell— Bloodline Metamorphosis! Combining to form the ancient Morning Star Arcane Art— Kemoyin Serpent Transformation!"

The point mass in Leylin's sea of consciousness started rotating violently, with his and his soul force spurred him on. The four innate spells synchronised with each other, with an amplification that caused a horrifying change.