Chapter 1742 - WMW 116

While Rafiniya had a screw loose, she was still a real high-ranked knight. A hot-headed idiot like her was still useful in battle, able to take care of things on the front lines. As long as he brought up the path of knights and justice to sway her, this little lady knight would be charge forward like an enraged bull in spite of the dangers ahead.

"Well then, I'll leave things to you!" The female knight casually spoke, making the few servants behind her turn pale.

"Miss, the master let you come out and travel, not to join the army. You're making it hard for us to answer to the master…" the oldest servant summoned up the courage to say.

*Boom!* However, before he could finish his words, the little girl's slender fist struck his right eye directly and he toppled. The power of a high-ranked knight was not something that a mere servant could take on.

"How shameless… Too shameless…" Rafiniya's entire body trembled, "Such a person with no heart for justice whatsoever is my servant? That's an insult to me!"

"How about you? Anyone against it?" Rafiniya's metallic gloves produced sharp sounds, causing the other servants to immediately shake their heads and toss the unlucky guy on the floor aside.

"There's no problem now!" Rafiniya clapped.

"You guys… come with me!" Leylin had a dark cloud over his head but did not say much in the end as he led the way.

...

In the barracks.

"Hey, Leylin! There's trouble…" Aulen's anxious expression did not ease up, and she didn't seem to notice Rafiniya who was behind him. She looked completely disheartened.

"What's going on? Is this the mission that Cassley messed up further?"

"You know about it already? That bastard mixed blood! If not for his sorcery, it would have been impossible for him to become a high-ranked wizard even in three centuries…" Aulen cursed. Life in the army had caused the elves to lose their original elegance.

"Skill with sorcery? Bastard mixed blood? Haha… Aulen, I never knew you were good at swearing…" Leylin chuckled. The A.I. Chip had already told him Cassley had both elven and giant dragon blood in him.

With three bloodlines, he truly was a mixed blood. Giant dragons and elves were both proficient spellcasters, and with their blood Cassley had become a high-ranked wizard before he turned two hundred. That was a classic example of relying on the heavens to succeed.

"Oh, there's also an outsider here! My apologies!" It was only now that Aulen saw Rafiniya behind Leylin. The female knight was astonished by the profanities the elf had spouted.

"This is Rafiniya, a high-ranked knight and an old friend of mine. She wishes to join us." Leylin introduced her to Aulen, as this was basic courtesy amongst nobles. "Rafiniya, this is Aulen. She's not usually like this…"

"A high-ranked knight? Not bad, not bad! Is this the external help you got for this mission?" Aulen's eyes brightened.

"No! It's actually just a coincidence. Besides, I don't know the contents of the mission in detail yet…" At the mention of proper business, Aulen turned grim.

"It's an extermination mission. They want us to annihilate a camp of werecreatures, with at least five high-ranked Professionals and even possibly Malar priests. Damn it, it's basically telling us to go on a suicide mission…" Aulen spoke aggrievedly.

"How about that elven wizard? Has he managed to get us anything?" Leylin was referring to their backer.

"He seems quite determined now. A team of theirs with powerhouses is also going on a dangerous mission, and the upper house as well as master of the city have approved it…" Aulen laughed wryly, "All that he's obtained for us is a group of new soldiers and some supplementary items. We still have to do the mission though."

"Never mind the new troops. They aren't that powerful and might affect our rapport. What do you think about roping Rafiniya in?" Leylin suggested.

Aulen had the same thoughts as Leylin, and she nodded, "Mm, that's what I was thinking! As for those stupid new recruits… I know them better than you do…"

"Well then… Are you willing to enter the city guards and join my team, Miss Rafiniya?" Aulen asked seriously.

"Of course! Spreading justice and punishing evil is the reason I'm travelling around, and my lifelong path as a knight!" Rafiniya's face seemed to glow.

"Great. Welcome! From today onwards, you are a comrade that we can rely on." Aulen exclaimed seriously. She seemed to have a favourable impression of this female knight whose thoughts were incomparably pure. Rafiniya had always been very carefree, and that personality allowed her to integrate into the team quickly.

Upon noticing this, Leylin asked for information regarding the mission and headed out of the camp. He walked along the streets aimlessly, suddenly disappearing into a little alley.

A layer of dark magic light began to spread around Leylin's body and completely concealed his figure.

In a private house nearby, Leylin caught sight of Tiff.

"Young master!" Tiff had now swapped to another face and was wrapped up in a black coat, emitting a strange aura. After seeing Leylin's arrival, he immediately bowed respectfully and set up a powerful isolating barrier.

With his strength nearing the legendary realm, nobody would be able to see through it unless the Chosen herself decided to stalk him by intention.

'Is he already about to break through?' As the 'god' that Tiff believed in, Leylin had a great understanding of Tiff's feelings. The energy in Tiff's body had already almost been completely purified, and he was truly only one step away from becoming a Legend.

Observing the process of someone else becoming a Legend was a huge source of enlightenment and motivation for Leylin now.

'The realm of Legends holds true power in the World of Gods. It's also the beginning on one's path to godhood, not as easy as purifying one's power…' While Tiff was not purely a wizard, there was still much information that Leylin could make use of. Light flashed in the depths of his eyes, and Tiff's stats and aura undulations were accurately copied by the A.I. Chip.

"Mm. How have things been lately?" Leylin indifferently asked.

"I've taken in more followers, though a few organisations have begun to take notice of this… Also, news of the incoming war can no longer be hidden. It's quickly being spread amongst the regular people, and the price of rations and weapons in the black market has been steadily rising…" Tiff reported conscientiously.

He had initially been a loyal believer of the winged serpent god, Kukulkan. He now treated Leylin as the saint of his god and his substitute, so if his loyalty was quantified it would be at the highest possible value.

With Tiff's strength approaching the legendary realm, he was one of Leylin's trump cards. Leylin sent him out to gather strength, ready to make a move at the most opportune moment. He was someone who had been able to do as he pleased for a long time due to his strength. His abilities and schemes were marvellous, and with Leylin's financial help, the plans proceeded smoothly.

After reselling some rare and scarce items, he had even earned much wealth.

"The war has yet to break out, and we still have our most important mission. Once the invasion of the orcs begins, nobody will have time to watch us closely…"

Leylin rubbed his chin, "Perhaps our mighty and benevolent city master will announce something that can coincidentally rid our group of all suspicion…"

War was comparable to allowing the people to carry arms, and demanding that they bring their own rations and take care of themselves. When the situation was dire, the city master probably would not raise too many objections against these empty promises of titles.

"Understood, young master, your will is my command." Tiff nodded gravely to show his understanding.

"Also, there's a large base in the dark forest. Do you remember it?" Leylin immediately produced a map used by the military and pointed at the location where the mission was to be carried out.

"This place…" Tiff's brows furrowed, as if he had been put in a difficult position. Such an expression on Tiff's face meant that something was abnormal, and it could even be dangerous.

"What is it?" Leylin immediately asked.

"This is a werecreature camp on the outskirts. I've had dealings with them before…" The people Tiff took in were obviously not good, pure people. They were the elites of the dark world, and werecreatures were included on the list.

It was completely normal for him to have had dealings with the Moonwood or even the Blackblood tribe before.

"How powerful are they?" Something that put even a near-legendary being on the spot was naturally not easy to take care of. Even knowing that Cassley would definitely give him the most difficult mission, the difficulty it posed seemed to have surpassed Leylin's expectations.

"There's a being there that even I feel is dangerous. Also, they have priests of the God of the Hunt there…" A being that could make Tiff feel danger was at least on the same level as him. On top of that, if this organisation had a priest, then they would be at a completely different level than before.

"If young master must attack this base, please allow me to follow you in secret!" Evidently, Tiff was not optimistic at all about Leylin's mission.

"Alright. Add the more powerful ones you've recruited as well, and have them tail us secretly." Leylin did not try to make things hard for himself. He was merely a rank 12 wizard now, and there was quite a number of people who were more powerful than him in Silverymoon.

"However, compared to the great tide of orcs and orc Legends, as well as the god backing them, the Blackblood tribe is rather weak…" Leylin sighed.

Given how difficult this mission was, Leylin would probably rise to the middle ranks of Silverymoon after it was completed.

-x-X-x-

'Cassley… I'll remember this!' Leylin obviously wasn't someone who'd take a blow lying down. Everything Cassley had done to him would be returned tenfold, even a hundredfold! Wasn't everything possible in times of war?

...

As the cold wind whistled, a small team slowly set out from the gates of Silverymoon, radiating a solemn atmosphere. Although they know that the journey was perilous, they could not escape their orders. Such was the sorrow of enlisting in the army.

"Rafiniya, knights can't be mounted in the Moonwood. There are too many trees and brambles…" Aulen was still telling Rafiniya about things she should take note of.

"Don't worry! My skill is passable. I don't need to work together with a warhorse…" Rafiniya patted her black sharkskin scabbard, looking relaxed.

Mounts were usually half the strength of many high-ranked knights, but things were different with Rafiniya. After her previous experiences, she had deliberately trained herself in this area. She still retained much of her original strength even without a mount.

She was on a completely different level when compared with those who could only become heavy-armoured fighters once they lost their horses.

"That's good… Let me introduce you to the main forces of the troops!" Aulen exclaimed happily while introducing her to the rest of the men.

"You already know Leylin, our wizard. That is our scout captain, the thief Lanshire…" Aulen pointed towards a slender figure wearing tight-fitting clothing with half his face covered.

"Then there's the brothers who lead our warriors, Ogg and Otto." As the defensive forces in the team, Ogg and Otto had sturdy muscles and carried halberds, claw hammers and other heavy weapons.

Behind them were almost twenty elite warriors wearing steel armour like chainmail. They were rank 3 warriors or greater, and could be considered rather strong.

"Hello!" Ogg and Otto smiled and greeted her. Their expressions were very innocent, a stark contrast to their insanity in battle.

"And then there's our healer and the beauty of the team, the cleric Jinx!" Aulen approached a blonde girl. She wore white cleric robes, and sat on a white horse summon.

"Sister Aulen… don't tease me. What do you mean by beauty…" Jinx blushed slightly. With her cascading golden hair, she had a calm aura.

"We used to be a team of 50, but due to a bitter fight, tens of our men died. We haven't had the time to replace them…" Aulen brought Rafiniya to take a look at the team, looking desolate and regretful. Even she did not dare bring in new friends when they were about to carry out a dangerous mission, not to mention that there could be spies in their midst.

"Rafiniya, you're a knight. As usual, you will be assigned two servants and four grooms. Every month, you'll receive an extra salary for them. Don't hesitate to report your name," Aulen waved her hand generously.

"I only have four servants. Sister Aulen, just do what you need to…" Rafiniya answered without care. With her background, she naturally did not think much of the allowance from the army. However, for many commoner knights, this was great wealth.

In order to get more gold coins, commoner knights did not mind reducing the number of servants and grooms while still earning the same amount. Leylin could not help but sigh— embezzling money by adding nonexistent servants to the payroll was a common situation everywhere, it seemed. It didn't need to be specially taught.

"Alright then. We'll treat it as two servants and two grooms…" Aulen watched Rafiniya attentively, but discovered she was not acting strangely. She could not help but shake her head, feeling ashamed of her thoughts.

"Oh look, are those goblins?" Rafiniya's mind was obviously not on this matter, and her attention was already on something else.

There were a few green-skinned creatures in the wilderness, looking exactly the same as the goblins Leylin had seen before. They were staring at the group greedily but did not dare charge forward, seemingly timid and afraid.

"Yes. Don't worry, they wouldn't dare attack fully-armed human troops…" Aulen exclaimed, and then watched speechlessly as Rafiniya urged her horse to go forth. She then looked towards Leylin, who shrugged his shoulders helplessly.

"Alright, I finally understand why you had such a reluctant expression when introducing Rafiniya to me…" Aulen urged her horse to Leylin's side and rolled her eyes.

...

Though the journey was more fun with the lady knight Rafiniya, they were now increasingly closer to the Moonwood. The atmosphere in the group grew increasingly solemn.

Night came, and tens of tents were erected in the army camp. Heaps of bonfires were ignited in an orderly manner, with simple army rations cooking above them. Leylin had opened a can and poured solid fish floss into the boiling soup.

"It's fish floss! I often ate this while travelling in the south!" Rafiniya, who was seated beside Leylin, twitched her nose.

"Is that so?" Leylin smiled slightly, not revealing that he was the master of the supply chain. Due to the location and matured supply chain, the church of wealth hadn't left the Faulen Family alone in its work. They'd invested in them to gain most of the ownership rights to the fish floss.

With the support from their tremendous wealth and network, sales of fish floss had extended to the north in a few years. It had even become the required army rations in Silverymoon, which made him feel rather honoured.

While imitations had begun to appear in the market, the quantity, scale and techniques could not compare with the shrine of wealth. Hence, the profits would be maintained for a long time. Leylin received these updates as the family sent him money every year.

Although he was improving himself, Leylin hadn't relinquished control of his family and other organisations. Becoming a Legend, or even a high-ranked wizard would be enough for him to do as he pleased in the World of Gods, but his goal wasn't just personal improvement.

He wanted to become a god, and personal strength wasn't enough for that. Even the great gods who were high above needed support from followers.

'Actually, the rules to become a god in the World of Gods aren't that strict…' With Leylin's foresight, he could obviously see through many things, 'If I become a new god, it will be easier to get support from the world origin force. A thousand pious believers are enough to support the birth of a new god. It's the old ones facing more trouble. They need to expand about tenfold, and can easily become enemies to other gods with similar roles…'

Leylin's eyes glinted, 'Of course, there's an easier way to become a god; through luck! If I I manage to obtain divine power crystals as well as the godhood of a fallen god, it would be easy to become one… But even after becoming one that way, I would still be a mortal. Resurrecting as a god will not be a certainty…'

Leylin actually thought little of these gods that had gotten lucky. Comprehension of the powers of laws could not be completed in a day. Even high-ranked Legends may not be able to fully comprehend the power of laws, much less those who had once been regular people.

It was like using a child's strength to brandish a huge hammer. The result would be obvious.

Of course, Leylin was different. His main body had the experiences of a near rank 7 Magus and assistance from the A.I. Chip. If he ascended to godhood with weak divine power, it was still possible for him to embrace and support it.

'It's a pity… Something as good the heavens granting divinity no longer exists… The gods will never be forgotten. Even if they die from unnatural causes, godhoods and divine weapons will still land in the hands of the gods that killed them. It can't be given to others…

'Comprehension of another law like this will only pollute my path…' Leylin looked incomparably grim. He was still a Warlock at heart, and followed the path of Magi. Rank 7 Magi needed to completely grasp the power of one law, and rank 8 Magi needed to comprehend multiple laws.

Only by finding their own path and smelting the power of laws into oneself would a person find themselves at the peak of rank 8, peering into the realm of rank 9. With a rough idea of the path, Leylin wasn't willing to mix in more laws.

'Unless it's a law of divinity that I need, even should a godhood with powerful divine power dangle before my eyes, I won't pay it any mind,' Leylin gave a deep sigh.

"Heh… what are you thinking about?" His expression naturally aroused the interest of Rafiniya beside him.

"I'm wondering when this fish soup will be done." Leylin shook his head. If he were to tell the female knight beside him that he was considering becoming a god, she would definitely think he was a lunatic. Someone who wasn't even a rank 15 high-ranked wizard dared say that he wanted to become a god? Even those Legends did not have the guts to do so!

"Mm, almost there." Rafiniya breathed in deeply. She obviously had more experience from before, and seemed to have some culinary skills.

"My apologies for bothering the two of you!" Jinx came over at this moment, her pure white robes gliding across the grass. She radiated a sense of exceptional beauty.

"Captain Aulen told me to notify all officers who are squadron leaders or higher to come to the central tent immediately…"

-x-X-x-

The flame of a thick wax candle flickered within the tent, illuminating the area brightly. Leylin, Rafiniya and the other team leaders formed a circle with Aulen in the captain's seat. The map of the Moonwood was hung on one side of the tent.

"This mission is going to be quite difficult. Do any of you have viable plans?" Aulen furrowed her slender brows, but the responses disappointed her.

"Leylin, what do you think?" She looked over to Leylin expectantly. As an army wizard, he held a remarkably high position. Besides, he had already proven his ability before; he was second only to herself in the team.

"There have been no further intelligence reports. I only know their rough position and the presence of high-ranked werecreatures within their team. In this situation, we can only reinforce our security and wait for the right opportunity to grab them by the throat."

Although what Leylin said made sense, it wasn't enough to satisfy her. Aulen knitted her brows once again. Leylin naturally understood her worries; he did indeed have a plan. However, it required Tiff and the devil worshippers, so he naturally couldn't tell Aulen and the team.

She looked around the room disheartenedly, before waving her hand to dismiss them, "Well, alright then. I'm sorry to have interrupted your dinner, let us end the meeting here." Despair was evident in her face.

"Don't worry, sister Aulen! Justice always prevails, those damned werecreatures will not win against us!" At this point, the only one left who was full of confidence was of course the young female knight.

Ultimately, this was still a world led by physical strength. Rafiniya only attended the meeting because she was a high-ranked knight: it afforded her a position equivalent to a military officer who was a low-ranked captain.

"I trust you." Aulen smiled helplessly, unable to find the strength to respond to Rafiniya in any other way.

"Leylin! Why did Aulen look so dejected towards the end?" Rafiniya wasn't able to contain her curiosity after leaving the tent, "Is the mission too challenging?"

"No idea," Leylin shook his head, and realised that the girl hadn't been changed at all by prior experience.

"The fish broth is done, miss." Rafiniya's servant brought up two bowls of fish broth and the staple white bread, not forgetting the wild berries they picked along the way.

"Woo!!" Rafiniya cheered and began digging in.

Leylin laughed mindlessly at Rafiniya and tore his bread unhurriedly before dipping it into the broth and sending it into his mouth. He only called out to her as they were about to part, "Rafiniya!"

"Yeah? What's the matter?" There were still leftover crumbs on the side of her lips, and she resembled a gluttonous little kitten.

"Nothing, I just have a premonition that tonight won't be peaceful. Keep your weapons close." Leylin notified her.

After going their separate ways, Leylin looked around to make sure no one had their eyes on him before sneaking into Aulen's tent…

The silver moonlight was exceptionally dull this night, broken only by a few lone storm clouds that passed the region every once in a while.

The winds howled and temperatures dipped, and everyone else but from the patrolling soldiers had long ducked into their respective tents. Only the unfortunate soldiers on night duty were left to fend for themselves as they cursed at their luck.

Out of nowhere, a thick dark cloud floated across and swallowed the moon whole. The moonlight disappeared completely in the span of a second, and the only remaining light was from the handful of bonfires around. The guards' line of sight grew hazy and they could only see things within 5 metres even if they sat by the bonfires.

"What a dark night… And such dense fog!" A patrol soldier grumbled.

"Come on! I've seen even scarier fogs in the endless wilderness, to the extent that you can't see your fingers even when you've stretched your hand out." Another patrol soldier replied with disdain.

"Well, you're right!" The younger soldier nodded his head, but then he tightened his grip on his weapon, "Who's there?"

A shadow approached them in the fog. "It's me!" it spoke with a familiar voice.

"Oh, it's the captain. Ma'am!" The patrol soldiers saluted immediately. However, in the instant they bowed, a few slashes flashed coldly in the night.

"Ack-" Fear and confusion brimmed their eyes as they tightly pressed their hands to their necks for dear life, blood seeping through the fingers. The collapse of both their bodies attracted no unwanted attention.

The hazy shadow seemed to let out a sigh of relief before arriving in front of another tent.

"Who's there?" Leylin asked from within the tent.

"It's me, Lanshire." The shadow sounded calm.

"I see, is there anything? Hold on, I'll deactivate the alarm!" The tent lit up for a brief moment and Leylin lifted the entrance open with confusion written all over his face, "Come in!"

Walking into the tent, the bright light carved out the figure of the shadow. She was slender, as thin as a thread, and wore a mask that covered half of her face. It was the scout of the team—Lanshire

"It must be urgent for you to visit at such an unearthly hour." Having shed his wizard robes and wearing only a plain white shirt that revealed his firm chest, Leylin exuded masculinity.

"Well.. I have an idea with regards to the mission." Lanshire's voice was rather strange.

"Idea? Why didn't you bring it up during the afternoon meeting? Was something preventing you from mentioning it?" Leylin's expression turned dark and he took a step closer to her.

"Um, actually…" Lanshire lowered her voice causing Leylin to move closer towards her in an attempt to catch what she said.

Something unexpected happened at that moment. A bright silver dagger appeared in Lanshire's hand out of nowhere as she mercilessly slashed at Leylin's throat, the moment he was completely defenceless.

Given that she was a high-ranked assassin, there was only one way for this to end. Leylin would die.

*Pew!* The dagger cut into Leylin's throat without difficulty, but the situation was different from what Lanshire had expected. Instead of having blood splatter all over, Leylin's body turned into a huge soap bubble, burst in front of her and left nothing but a strong gale in its wake.

"This must be… High-grade illusion!" All colour drained from Lanshire's face upon realising that the Leylin she had just encountered was just a fake. She fled from his tent.

But things did not go well for her as she walked out into a group of people surrounding her. The real Leylin was wearing his robes neatly and was already aiming his staff at her, with a fully-armoured Rafiniya by his side.

And in the midst of them all, Aulen looked at Lanshire in disbelief and, of course, disappointment.

"Lanshire! I can't believe it's you. We've already been friends for more than 50 years, and you still couldn't resist the temptation of having power!" Aulen looked sorrowful.

"Friendship? Really?" Lanshire removed her mask to reveal a youthful face, but the remnants of a scar were still evident on her left cheek. It was like a flaw on a piece of art, completely destroying her beauty and rendering her rather ugly.

In a world of divine powers, scars like these would be easily healed. But the people who had gifted her this scar back then left a destructive power in the wound that deterred the healing abilities of any divine powers.

"Since that night, I've never been the same!" Lanshire laughed coldly before putting her mask back on with hatred-filled eyes.

"I see, you've never been able to let it go…" Aulen said in a sorrowful voice, "Who are you working for exactly? The werecreatures? Or another faction?"

Leylin couldn't care less about emotional entanglements like these. He stood out from the crowd and sent orders to surround Lanshire completely. Anyone who fought him was an enemy, and if they could not be roped in then he could only kill them. This was the code of law in the World of Gods!

"Kneel and confess all your sins! This is your last chance of survival!" Leylin stated fiercely, but he knew a surrender from Lanshire was almost impossible. She was a particularly determined avenger with a strong will. People like her could even drag others to hell with them just for revenge.

Leylin was familiar with unmoving fellows like these, thus he sent the command just as Lanshire smiled: "Kill!"

Magic and vindication clashed in the blink of an eye. Lanshire was just a high-ranked assassin, and though she could certainly bring much trouble to Leylin and his team if things were done in the dark, an open face-off like this was obviously not a strength of hers.

Having cast Slow and with Rafiniya's help, Leylin brought Lanshire down in no time. She was stabbed in the abdomen by two enormous steel swords, and hot blood trickled from her wounds.

"Cripple her of all fighting ability! Jinx, treat her!" She was Aulen's friend, after all, Leylin still had some sense in him.

"Hah! I'd rather die than receive treatment from you! And do you think this is over?" Lanshire's mask had fallen off long ago in the middle of the fight. Blood trickled from the corners of her lips, and she looked even scarier than before with her menacing appearance.

"What?" Aulen's expression didn't look too good.

"Cap- Captain!" Just then, Ogg who had originally been in charge of planting traps and exterior defenses was carried in by the others, and it was clear he had suffered an attack.

"It's the werecreatures! Their abilities are beyond what we've imagined!"

-x-X-x-

The roars and howling of beasts filled the vicinity, putting everyone on edge.

Lanshire laughed hysterically, "Hah! All of you will die with me! You can never beat those werecreatures! Every one of you will be torn apart and then swallowed; your souls will be caged in the depths of hell!"

After spitting out her malicious curse, Lanshire's face flushed and fresh blood spurted out from her mouth. Her aura completely disappeared as she died.

"Ignore her! Listen to me, engage defensive formation." Seeing that Aulen wasn't in a good condition, Leylin took over command.

It was only now that he found out what exactly had happened directly from Ogg, and began to organise the troops. In reality, everything that happened tonight was within Leylin's plan. Firstly, he found Aulen and told her that they may have a spy within their ranks to win her support, which allowed him to plant the trap.

And to make things easy for the possible attack, the brothers, Ogg and Otto were sent out to be on standby.

"There were high-ranked werecreatures, so many of them, I– I can't be sure of the exact number, but my brother tried to protect me- He tried to protect me and-" Ogg's eyes swelled red with tears and his facial muscles began to twitch.

"Heal!" A spell flew forth from Jinx's hands, and swiftly cured most of Ogg's severe wounds.

"I'm gonna kill those damned beast bastards!" He stood up and grabbed his enormous claw hammer without waiting for his wounds to recover completely.

"Were you the only one who managed to escape in the close combat team? It looks like I underestimated our enemies this time round." Leylin looked slightly ashamed, but a light flashed deep within in his eyes.

Whether it was done intentionally or not, the capture and exposure of Lanshire's identity as a spy and her death had dealt a huge blow to Aulen. Moreover, the troops led by Ogg and Otto were now left with casualties, and Otto had even died; Silverymoon City would have to compensate Otto's family for that later on. Jinx was a priest and under heavy restriction, while Rafiniya was a new member and did not have enough experience.

The event seemed to have cleared quite a number of obstacles for him, but Leylin would never admit to that. He would probably say that it was a coincidence!

By then, the werecreatures were already directly outside the campsite, their mountainous shadows and the screams of the guards causing horror to tinge the atmosphere.

"Everyone stay close, we're in trouble." An Eternal Flame spell lit up Leylin's palm, and he managed to repel a large amount of the fog. As the soldiers gathered together, he managed to see the werecreatures more clearly.

This was a humongous group with at least 200 of the monsters among them, six of which had exceptionally strong physiques and savage auras.

"High-ranked werecreatures, and there's 6 of them!" Even the perturbed Aulen was now anxious. The werecreatures' strength had greatly surpassed their expectations. If they were at all careless, their troop would be completely wiped out.

Suppressing her emotions, Aulen returned to her cool-headed self and sent out commands, "Defensive formation number 2!"

How could she not have realised that Lanshire had conspired with the werecreatures to kill everyone here?

"Lanshire, my friend. I'm sorry!" Aulen muttered to herself and drew out her elven sword, the shaft decorated in plant motifs. Its lustre suggested that it was an enchanted item.

*Boom! Boom!* Giant footsteps sounded out, and several giants that were at least ten metres tall emerged from the fog. They were like walking hills clothed in coppery skin.

"G-Giants! These werecreatures managed to tame giants!" Aulen's hand trembled ever so slightly as she watched these human-like but also bizarre creatures, and some soldiers even yelped in despair.

"Giants? Those extraordinary creatures from the north?" Leylin massaged his temples in distress as data of the creatures was presented to him.

[Name Unknown. Race: Giant. Strength: 15. Agility: 6. Vitality: 13. Spirit: 2. Feats: 1. Strong 2. Regeneration 3. Armoured Skin. Description: A unique creature that only exists in the north. Cruel and fierce in temperament, unintelligent, easily tamed by other barbaric tribes.]

"Looking at this strength, they're most certainly connected to the Blackblood tribe. They might even be a branch! Cassley obviously wanted us to die." Aulen laughed bitterly.

"Prepare to break through! We can only evacuate as many as we can." She now seemed to have lost heart.

"Elf from Silverymoon City, and other humans!" A shadow walked out from the group of werecreatures.

He was 2 metres tall, and had an appearance similar to that of a human. The difference was that he had unusual beastly patterns all over his face, and certain body parts of a beast.

He choked in disgust after sniffing in the direction of Leylin and the rest, "Damn Silverymoon City! That is a place of evil, it should be wiped clean!"

As followers of Malar, the werecreatures were naturally hostile towards the civilised beings of Silverymoon City and hated all who dwelled within it. The city guards were undoubtedly their first target.

"All of you will die here today! You are all too worthless to even be sacrificed to my Lord!" The werecreatures growled, and more petrifying shadows headed towards them.

Werecreatures had robust physiques and a staggering jumping ability. The temporary barriers by the side of the campsite posed no deterrence to them. *Roar!* The giants grunted and every step they took was like a miniature earthquake, flipping tents and crushing soldiers under their feet.

"Damn it! Leylin, protect me!" The elegance of an elf was long forgotten to Aulen as her eyes were red with anxiety and she pulled the elven bow from her back.

Greater Magic Weapon! Leylin's expression became heavy as the lustre of a high-grade spell burst forth from his hand.

*Phew!* Silver arrows went off like shooting stars, the spell-filled arrowheads hitting the giants right in their eyes, their weakest points. The giants' defences still couldn't match high-grade spells, and this was aimed at their eyes.

The giants roared as their eyes cracked apart in a soft explosion, copious amount of shimmering liquid and blood dripping everywhere.

One pressed a palm against his injured eye as he went berserk, charging towards Aulen.

Grease! Spell rays enveloped the giants as Leylin took advantage of this moment. He wouldn't be himself if he let go of the chance to target the giants' weakness.

*Bang!* Magnificent lights shot out of his hands like fireworks, and the group of giants immediately went berserk. Even the werecreatures were unable to calm them down.

Everything was in a frenzy as they roared wildly and attacked everything in their vicinity, including a handful werecreatures who were shredded into pieces.

"It's a high-grade spell attack! Get rid of that darned wizard, I'll dispel it!" A werecreature clad in a priest robe stood out in the chaos. He, too, had strange decorative motifs and paint on his face.

"Kill!" Aulen made use of this chance and charged forwards with Rafiniya and the rest. The only way they could survive under a situation like this was to go all-in. The soldiers were well aware of this too as they plucked up their remaining courage, following Aulen's lead and charging ahead.

*Roar!* The clash of the two opposing sides created a fierce orchestra of howls and clangs of steel meeting steel.

And yet everything was in vain. Aulen's numbers started to dwindle, and they could not win no matter how great their fighting spirit was. The werecreatures were just too many.

"Go to hell!" Having been enhanced by magic, the sword in Aulen's hand was brighter than ever. It could easily pierce through the defences of the werecreatures and cause unimaginable damage to their internal organs.

With it, Aulen severed the heads of 3 werecreatures in a flash and attracted the attention of their companion— a high-ranked werecreature.

"I admit you're strong. But too bad; you're still going to hell!" The werecreature priest suddenly towered over Aulen like a huge and tenacious mountain which she could not scale.

...

"I'm your opponent!"

Leylin had already cast Fly, and was blocking the priest from saving his companions.

"Mid-ranked wizard, you're not worthy to become a sacrifice!" The werecreature said in pity, and looked into Leylin's blood-lust-filled eyes as if looking at his prey. It caused Leylin to furrow his brow uneasily.

'I can't be sure what other abilities this rank 15 or higher priest has. Hopefully Tiff and the rest will make it here soon!'

But of course, Leylin had more than one plan. He was also confident of escaping. As a wizard, there were countless life-saving spells. A simple Fly could get him out of the scene in a matter of seconds as long as he wasn't shot down. Rank 15 wizards would escape death even more easily with Teleport.

This priest in front of him would just be a headache.

-x-X-x-

'Although it's possible for me to deal with a magic-based Professional at rank 15 or above, it really doesn't make sense…' Leylin watched the werecreature priest while feeling a headache coming on.

He was only a rank 12 mid-ranked wizard, and could not do anything that stepped beyond the boundaries of what was proper. Such a thing would attract the attention of powerful forces, which was the last thing Leylin wanted.

However, with spiritual force that exceeded that of regular wizards, as well as the scanning functions of the A.I. Chip, Leylin was able to discover some magic undulations that had been concealed.

He abruptly stepped sideways, turning left to dodge a sudden long green arrow. This corrosive arrow did not reduce in strength as it whizzed right through the body of a werecreature, turning it into froth.

High-grade Poison Arrow! Leylin looked grim, and the Mage Armour inlaid in his uniform activated.

"Why are you not in your Blackblood Tribe? What are you doing out here?"

"Hehe… that's not something you need to know, because your head's about to become my loot!" The priest opposite him snickered.

At this moment, the situation changed again. Another high-grade werecreature suddenly emerged, launching a sneak attack on Aulen!

A dagger with terrifying black corrosive energy stabbed into her chest. "AH… AULEN!" Upon seeing this, powerful and dazzling qi burst from Rafiniya. It seemed to have a burning effect, causing the other werecreatures around her to back off as she took Aulen into her arms.

"See this? Your leader's going to die. Give up! As long as you give up your faith, swear in the name of the God of the Hunt and join us, I can let you off…" Tempting words left the werecreature priest's mouth. Perhaps he had also realised that Leylin would be difficult to deal with. While it was possible to win, there was a high chance that Leylin would run off.

"Hmm...." Leylin chuckled, and it caused the priest's expression to change suddenly. Seeing the summoning rays light up on the opponent's body, Leylin knew that his preparations had been successful.

Even as the priest looked confused, he suddenly retreated and activated the spell scrolls he had prepared long ago.

Magic Barrier II! Thorns! Summon Guards!

Immensely powerful spell barriers instantly cleared out the area, enveloping Leylin and his teammates. Meanwhile, a thorny forest rose swiftly from the ground. Heavily-armed soldiers were constructed from the soil, rising to confront the werecreatures.

"What's going on?" After seeing the fall of the werecreature priest, a few leaders immediately headed over.

"Our base is being attacked. It must be a plot by those crafty humans!" The priest spoke in frustration.

The other werecreatures' expressions quickly changed, "What do we do?"

The high-ranked werecreatures watched Leylin and the others within the barrier. While basically everyone had injuries, they naturally still were able to fight to a certain extent and had magic protection. While it wasn't impossible to break through and wipe them out, they needed time...

In this period of time, their own camp could be wiped out! However, if they were to divide their troops, not knowing the power of the opponent would be very dangerous. Leylin's troops were not the benevolent type.

These vile humans were of no importance at all compared to their own mission. While werecreatures were synonymous with brainless savages, the ones who could become leaders still possessed some level of intelligence.

"Let's go!" The leader suddenly waved his arms, and the others quickly retreated.

"What about them…" One of them looked unwilling to do so, but was immediately shot down, "Just think for a moment with your stupid brain. What is more important, our camp or these humans?"

The priest was also in favour with this decision. As he left, he gave Leylin a deep look. "This isn't the last you'll see of us!"

"I look forward to it!" Leylin answered with a slight smile.

They retreated quickly. In tens of seconds, they'd completely disappeared.

Arcane Eye! After using a few detection spells, Leylin nodded in surety, "They really left and didn't leave behind any traps…"

"Oh, we succeeded!" "Haha… I survived!" "I knew I wouldn't die so easily…"

The ecstasy of living through a desperate situation immediately caused the soldiers who had survived to descend into a chaotic mess. Many of them even began to cry.

After this excitement, they looked at their camp that now looked to be in complete disorder, as well as their comrades who were dead or gravely injured. A soldier began to sob, and soon and all sorts of wails began to burst out from the others.

"Ley- Leylin!" Aulen had a huge wound on her chest. Even with Jinx applying pressure and casting divine spells with milky-white light, the blood still gushed out. The bright blood dyed Jinx's pure white priest robes red, making her look slightly disturbing.

"I'll leave my brothers to you. Promise me that you'll bring them back to Silverymoon alive!" Aulen's lips were cracked, looking like a traveller on the verge of dying of thirst.

"What do I do? What do I do? This sort of wound needs a Cure Serious Wounds spell at the very least! I've used up all my divine spell slots…" Jinx sobbed. Clerics and priests that used up all their divine magic were even more useless than wizards without spell slots.

"I promise!" Leylin nodded grimly.

"Then… I can relax now…" Aulen's hands hung down, her eyes closing slightly.

"Captain! Captain!" Jinx began to weep.

"She's not dead yet!" Leylin was speechless as he pulled Jinx aside, a spell scroll abruptly appearing in his hands.

Create Water! Freeze! The powerful magic encased Aulen in a gigantic later of ice like an insect. There was still a look of shock on her face.

"She might be able to hold on for a while longer." Leylin looked serious, "Jinx!"

"Yes!" The female priest looked up, stunned.

"I have an important task for you!" Leylin looked at the priest before him, "I need you to escort her back. You're our only cleric beside Aulen, only you can keep her alive… As for safety, I'll send a few people to accompany you!"

"No problem!" Jinx wiped off her tears and answered quickly. After they lost Aulen, Leylin now had the right to command them all.

"Wait, won't you go back with me?" Jinx only managed to react after a moment, asking in surprise.

"Go back? Do you want to be court-martialled? Cassley definitely won't let us off…" Leylin looked serious, "I'll stay behind and complete the mission!"

Leylin now had a noble aura similar to a hero, which touched Jinx's heart.

"Oh…" Her tears began to flow again, "Don't worry, I'll complete the task without fail and tell the church of your achievements…"

As she was a cleric, Jinx was one who would not be criticised. She obviously believed that Leylin was giving her this chance of survival, which completely moved her. Leylin picked two soldiers who seemed alright to send Jinx and those who were gravely injured back.

After Aulen left, the entire squadron was now entirely in Leylin's control. With the priest leaving, there was nobody who would be monitoring Leylin, and he could now act without reservations!

"But this method… will it work? I've never heard of it before…"

Watching the large horse carriage with ice inside leave, Rafiniya stood by Leylin's side, looking confused, "Can using ice slow down the worsening of injuries?"

With this method, business at the shrine would pick up. Wizards would also begin to pay more attention to ice-type spells, but Rafiniya had never heard about this before.

"Yes, in theory. I haven't tested it out before though…" Leylin nodded.

"IN THEORY!" The female knight shrieked.

"Yes. That's at least some hope!" Leylin answered irresponsibly, and then clapped his hands to gather the rest of the soldiers.

Standing high above, Leylin looked at the few men they had below. The team had had less than 50 people originally, and with last night's massacre and today's injured leaving, there were only a dozen or so people left. It looked rather pitiful.

"You'll definitely ask me why we aren't going back…" Leylin's voice was low. Now, with the deaths of the many leaders and those who had gone off, he had the most authority here and was the only reasonable commander.

Of course, Leylin only needed this authority. It would be much easier for Leylin to just die than make use of these scattered remnants of a defeated troop. To get them working together, Leylin even spoke of what had happened before with the mission, as well as their hostility with Cassley.

After saying all this, he saw looks of despair in the soldiers' eyes.

"Yes. With Cassley around, we will become deserters if we go back and be sent to trial… Don't think about escaping, because your identification as free citizens as well as your family are all in Silverymoon…" Leylin's voice had a strange infectious effect.

"This battle is not just for yourselves, it's for your future! We must eliminate those wretched werecreatures. At the very least, we need to succeed in battle and return without blame…" The soldiers below were first bewildered and afraid, but flames were now blazing in their eyes. Noticing it, Leylin secretly burst into laughter.

-x-X-x-

'Once their commander was defeated, the subordinate stood out to lead their ruined army. They faced powerful enemies and obtained an unimaginable victory! Indeed, this is how a hero should be!' Leylin nodded inside.

His thought process was completely based off some melodramatic models in his previous life, but it appeared to be popular in this world too. After placating the soldiers and ridding himself of Rafiniya, Leylin left the camp in the name of investigating the situation.

"Young master!" Tiff appeared from the shadows.

"Mm, you did well. What harvest did you reap?" Leylin asked calmly.

Leylin's plan had two parts, one in the open and one in the shadows. In the open, he would attract all the attention onto himself, while in secret, Tiff had brought his men to the vicinity.

This is why he had allowed Lanshire to get in contact with the opponents and reveal the location of their camp, allowing for the attack. While the werecreatures turned out in full strength, Tiff would destroy their nest.

Meanwhile, with the perfect timing, they could also take care of the siege surrounding them. While Leylin alone could not match up to the joint attack of the high-ranked werebeasts, he would crush them in terms of intelligence.

"Their camp was very strictly guarded and they recovered very quickly. We only managed to break through a part of the surrounding camp and did not manage to get to the core campsite…" Tiff looked serious as he produced a scroll with powerful spell remnants. However, it had obviously been used once already.

"Based on the traces on the outside, their goal seems to be to slaughter dragons."

"Slaughtering dragons?!" Leylin froze slightly. Dragons naturally still existed in this world, and they were extraordinary high-grade beings. They were also considered a legendary species, purebloods of which could naturally become Legends upon reaching adulthood. With skin that was basically immune to magic, they were effectively the children of the gods.

The group of high-grade werebeasts had conspired for a long time, and it was obviously not to kill a few mixed-bloods or subspecies. They would probably target an adult dragon, a Legend!

'Why would they slaughter dragons?' Leylin pondered over this. While the heroes of human legend gained benefits and divine items upon slaughtering dragons, he knew that things weren't quite as simple. The dragon race was very powerful, and they had their own backers. If one were tainted with the vengeance of a dragon's soul, they would be pursued with hatred by the entire dragon race.

Even historically, unless the heroes that slayed dragons had strong backing, few ended up well. On top of that, not every one of those dragons were wealthy enough to rival a country. Wanting to make a fortune off slaying dragons was just a fantasy.

Of course, many werebeasts were lunatics, and they could not be judged by normal standards.

'Could it be a ceremony for the God of the Hunt? A legendary dragon would be enough for the god to show his grace…' With a god acting, the dragons could do nothing even if they harboured a grudge.

"But… What they would lose from this would be far too much to bear. Unless there's something else that's attracting the higher ups of the werebeasts…" Leylin muttered to himself and asked Tiff, "Have you found their target?"

He first unrolled the scroll Tiff had gotten. There was a map of the northern lands here, with detailed markings of the various villages, mountain ranges, forests and rivers. Even the copy Leylin had made with the A.I. Chip's records was only slightly better than this, and a map with this much detail would absolutely fetch a great price in the northern lands.

On one mountain range was a little blood-red mark of a beast tooth, looking formidable and evil.

Tiff pointed at the mark on the map. There was a label beside it— The Nether Mountains. "I used Memory Retrieval used on a few slaves, this should be their goal. The werebeasts have received intel of the existence of an adult red dragon there through various means. They aim to behead it!" he answered with certainty. While Memory Retrieval was thought to be a sinister spell, neither Leylin nor Tiff cared about it.

"Nether Mountains? The red dragon…" Leylin mumbled, the glint in his eyes brightening. All of a sudden, his eyes suddenly flashed as the Nether Mountains combined with an incomplete image of the map formed by the A.I. Chip.

'A.I. Chip, show me the part of the northern lands where the inheritance of the Arcanists could be!' he immediately commanded inside.

The A.I. Chip worked quickly, and a slightly blurred map appeared with a few tags. This map was something Leylin had copied from the notebook of the arcanist. Sadly, with the passing of generations, most of the map was lost even with the magical protection.

Leylin looked unperturbed as the A.I. Chip copied a version of the map from the scroll and overlapped them.

'As expected…' Seeing the location where the arcanist inheritance was and the beast tooth marking match up, Leylin's eyes flashed with understanding. Tiff beside him obviously could not see changes in the A.I. Chip, but he knew that Leylin had discovered something. Still, he did not ask. This was smart of Tiff, and Leylin could not help but nod inside.

'Red dragon… Werebeasts… The arcanist… What is the relation between the three? Did those werebeasts obtain clues of the arcanist inheritance? Or am I thinking too much, and they purely want to offer a sacrifice to Malar?' Leylin's eyes flashed with all sorts of emotions, but then went still.

'Whatever it is, the werebeasts must be wiped out!' Leylin made up his mind. He put a silver mask on his face, and his eyes turned a frightening red and white. Terrifying unstable strength burst forth from his body. In that moment, he changed into his identity of the divine devil.

"My lord!" Tiff changed his method of addressing Leylin, knowing that he wanted to hide his identity.

"Alright, let's go see the underlings you recruited!" Leylin nodded, the glow of Fly coming forth from his body…

In a hidden valley, Leylin stood on high ground to look at the underlings Tiff had brought. Almost all of them were scattered around secretly, being of various races. The only commonality was the bloody and savage aura they possessed, making people fearful at the sight of them.

"Welcome, brothers of my sect!" Leylin now wore the robes of a high priest. His clothes that were lined with gold fluttered in the air, making him appear splendidly luxurious. Tiff stood behind him respectfully, emphasising Leylin's status.

"The winged serpent god Kukulkan is a powerful and rewarding god!" Leylin scanned through these men who would be considered the trash of their races. They had no faith to speak of, and only believed in strength. This was how they were subdued by Tiff, "As long as you believe in our god, you will then be rewarded!"

Leylin saw the looks of disbelief in their eyes and pointed at a beastman wrapped in beast skin, "You, come here!"

"What is it?" The beastman had the head of a lion and a sturdy body filled with muscles and scars. There was a rebellious look on his face.

"You will receive the blessing of our god." Leylin's arms wrapped around himself as he moved in a modest and respectful way. When it came to acting as a medium, Leylin had nothing to learn.

Meanwhile, powerful energy undulations exploded from his body, filled with a dignified and heavy aura. Even the air was beginning to freeze.

"Hss…" A bundle of flames in the air turned into a strange giant snake with two wings. The giant snake's pupils were trained on the lion-headed man, and a terror from his very soul got him to kneel, body quivering.

"My master, the mighty winged serpent god, Kukulkan. I finally meet you again…" Tiff who was at the side knelt down piously.

"My master is the only serpent of the world and possesses boundless strength. Your mighty divine force can swallow the heavens…" Leylin began to chant ceremonial verses, and a black ray of light descended from the snake's mouth, falling on the lion-headed man.

*Boom!* The moment the black light descended, it turned into the most ferocious of flames for an instant as it wrapped him within itself. Miserable cries sounded out from within.

Such a terrifying scene left the audience silent in their fear. However, before they could even think that Leylin was reprimanding him, the figure of the winged serpent god and the black flames had dissipated, revealing the figure of the lion-headed man.

However, there was now a huge change to his body. His golden fur was now completely black, and there was even a black skull brand.

"Thi- this…" He touched his body after the transformation, looking to be in disbelief.

"My master has enlightened you with abilities in magic, transforming you into a sorcerer!" Leylin's eyes were aimed at the ground as he spoke calmly.

"Sor–sorcerer?" The dark lion-headed being looked puzzled, and then lifted his right arm.

Demonic magic rays lit up on his body, and the black skull brand on his body flickered layer by layer. This was Summon Undead!

*Crash!* The ground split open, and numerous incomplete skeletons crawled up.

"It's really magic!" "This is a sorcerer!" "How terrifying! He can actually bestow the gift of magic and sorcery!"

Amongst the stunned looks, the lion-headed man immediately knelt in his ecstasy, "My god, the winged serpent god! I believe in you…"

As a Professional who specialised in physical attacks, just a bit of magic would be a huge help to him. The lion-headed man sensed that he now possessed the power of a sorcerer of at least rank 5, and there even seemed to be a possibility of raising this strength. How could he not be delighted to the point of insanity?

When compared to the rewards, his faith was nothing.

"Winged serpent god… You are the serpent of the world and possess boundless strength…" The eyes of the others' began to shine as they started to pray, voices filled with sincere piety.

-x-X-x-

'Faith is actually a contract between gods and mortals. Mortals place their faith in the gods, and in return they receive divine skills. When they die, their souls will have the right to advance to the kingdom of the god.' Leylin watched those fellows who were fit to be ordinary believers with bright eyes.

'If they receive more benefits in return, they won't hesitate to make offerings and worship even a bogus god. This is why there are still so many worshippers of devils and demons in this world…'

Of course, there was a limit to the worshippers that gods took in. They naturally couldn't bestow their divinity without restriction, or they would make a loss. They could possibly lose a chunk of their divine force, even their godhood!

Leylin was currently in the early stages of building the foundation of his church. He had to give his first believers more benefits than normal. How else would he attract the faith of others and have them believe in this non-existent feathered serpent god?

As his main body was still in deep slumber, he was completely unable to respond to his followers' prayers and bestow them with divine skills. In reality, that winged Targaryen phantom and the bestowal of the sorcery was all part of a show that Leylin had fabricated and performed with this body.

Given that he was but a part of the main soul, even Tiff wouldn't be able to discover any flaws once he disguised himself. As for the magic-like abilities, although those with bloodlines in this world could only rely on what they inherited, Leylin had no fear of bloodline transformation experiments. He was already a mid-rank 7 Warlock after all.

Warlocks had always been the best among those who possessed bloodlines. Leylin himself had reached great peaks in the use of bloodline energy, and to use a few captured bloodlines to manufacture a few fake sorcerers did not take much effort.

Of course, in the World of Gods, this was a miracle that only gods, demons and devils could achieve, explaining the fervent looks of these men. Sorcery could even be passed on to their children!

These benefits were attractive enough to make his subordinates gather around the church of Kulukan, and unite under its name for the time being. They were all ready to drench themselves in blood and fight for Leylin.

Another voice sounded at this moment, and Leylin's lips lifted even higher than before.

[Beep! Rank 3 Weave analysis: 100%! Host body has obtained all rank 3 spell models. Spell amnesia has been blocked automatically. Casting of rank 3 spells no longer requires materials.]

The analysis of the third level of the Weave had already been at the final leg, and now the conditions were ripe enough for it to complete. Leylin couldn't help but feel that the world origin force was watching over and taking care of him.

Gods always achieved success. None were unfavoured by the world origin force, and they were said to be the World Will's darlings!

'Seems like the dormant will of the World of Gods can't control the world origin force anymore. There's a vacancy for me, eh?' The edges of Leylin's lips spread even wider. "In the name of our god, let's make war!"

"Kukulkan! Kukulkan" Everyone's thirst for battle had already reached its peak. Of course, Leylin wouldn't admit that he had intentionally influenced this.

Within the high-ranked werecreature camp in the Moonwood.

"Damn it! There are actually other humans!" The werecreature commander ruthlessly flung a trembling werecreature onto the ground as he huffed.

"Luckily, only the outskirts were taken down, and they didn't reach the core camp!" The werecreature priest on the other side added coldly as he held onto his human bone staff.

"We need to tighten security across the entire camp, I'm ready to carry out a large-scale sacrificial ceremony for our Lord's favour. He'll send out hunters from his kingdom to assist us." The lesser God of the Hunt, Malar, was a gigantic monster similar to apes and monkeys. It didn't get rid of most of its bestial characteristics after it successfully deified, and had a morbid thirst for slaughter.

The hunters were an exotic species in Malar's kingdom, and they were created specifically to hunt prey. The weakest of them was more powerful than a high-ranked Professional, and if the sacrifices of his followers in the mortal world pleased Malar, he would even open up a passage to dispatch the elite forces of his kingdom.

Although such forces from the heavens were definitely a little weaker as compared to a incarnated deity, the advantage was that they could be replenished without much heartache.

"Hunters?" The highly-ranked werecreature grimaced; the sacrificial offering required clearly cost him dear, "Our forces were already enough, but in order to ensure nothing will go wrong, let's go ahead with that! I believe… if we can use the legendary red dragon as an offering in a moment, our master will surely be very pleased…"

"Then I will begin…" The werecreature priest arrived at a miniature altar within the camp. This was clearly the core of the camp; it did not suffer from any damage from Tiff's surprise attack.

But the instant the priest entered the temple, his expression changed drastically.

*Wooo! Wooo! Wooo!* Crimson divine force poured out from the altar into its surroundings, the dazzling radiance representing some sort of special message.

"There's an enemy…" The sound abruptly came to an end, following which an icy cold ray of light flashed past. With a blade cold enough to freeze the entire room, it ferociously thrust itself into the chest of one of the highly-ranked werecreatures.

"A thief who has almost reached the rank of Legends! It's the person who launched a sneak attack on us!" The werecreature chief roared violently, and landed his fist on the ground with a thump. Powerful undulations spread in all four directions.

Earth's Fist! A high-level physical Professional skill erupted in a series of invisible ripples, forcing a black shadow out of thin air.

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!* The silhouette bounced around nimbly, and ran several hundred metres away, his figure barely visible. The werecreatures he passed by on the way collapsed with their hands covering their throats.

"You won't get away, despicable raider!" The werecreature chief had a fierce look on his face as he followed behind at supersonic speed.

But right when the chief was at the entrance of the camp, the priest's voice could be heard. "Be careful, it's a trap! He might have a formidable spellcaster!"

The reminder obviously came a little too late. Just as the werecreature chief came to a halt, a sinister figure with a silver mask suddenly appeared, with a terrifying spell instantly taking shape on his palm.

Rank 5 spell: Dragon's Breath! A powerful corrosive force instantaneously swept across the entire area, scorching the hair on the werecreature chief's chest.

"Damn it!" The werecreature flew backwards as a dark green radiance on his body flickered continuously. A powerful force was resisting against the corrosive effects of the Dragon's Breath at lightning speed. The werecreature priest behind the chief was constantly employing treatment spells.

After retreating more than ten metres, the werecreature chief had already completely broken away from the attack range of the Dragon's Breath. However, the average werecreatures around them were not so lucky. They all collapsed onto the ground, and the entrance to the camp was instantly filled with victims everywhere.

The crowd controlling powers of wizards were always one thing that commanders were most fearful of.

"Who are you?" The werecreature chief clearly didn't recognise Leylin, who was in disguise. Moreover, his opponent was formidable and nefarious, which made him feel as though he was facing his greatest foe.

"This feeling, as if he was devouring everything around him!" The werecreature chief's pupils constricted. He now saw Leylin as the most dangerous enemy he had ever met.

*Zoom!* Without giving the chief a chance to even speak, Tiff immediately charged forward. His powers as a highly-ranked Professional, which were close to being legendary, burst out from him completely. His magic abilities flashed on his body from time to time, and he actually managed to forcibly stall five highly-ranked werecreatures although it was one against five.

"Kill! Argh!" A wave of troops charged towards the camp. An eldritch lion-headed person who was almost entirely covered in black led the front line. With a ferocious roar, a suit of armor made of bones appeared on its body, along with numerous bony pikes that suddenly thrust forward into the line of werecreatures that couldn't flee in time. Fresh blood dripped continuously along the bony pike.

"Charge!" The army of scum instantly broke into the werecreature camp. They were from different walks of life and all kinds of races, but had been brought together by Tiff recently. After seeing what happened to one of them earlier, these dregs of society were investing 120% of their strength in combat in order to obtain the power of a bloodline and even let their descendants inherit it.

Even though their opponents were blessed by the lesser god of the hunt, Malar, they too were protected by the mysterious feathered snake god, Kukulkan.

It was undeniable that those who were chosen by Tiff were all rather strong and talented. They were on par with the werecreatures in the camp.

Mass Frenzy! Mass Healing! The werecreature priest hid somewhere behind as he watched the enemies solemnly.

The races that made up the opponent's army were very diverse, thus he couldn't think of which influential party they belonged to at all.

"Could it be that a new influential force is already emerging in the vicinity? With their nearly-legendary experts, this group cannot be belittled!" The werecreature priest muttered. He raised his hand and continued producing a spell which he had been preparing for a long time.

Dispel Magic!

A violet pillar of light descended from the sky, interrupting the werecreature priest and hindering him from casting spells. Leylin folded his arms, calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, as he stared at the werecreature priest on the ground.

"Your opponent is me!" Leylin's eyes were ice-cold. Previously, he couldn't employ all of his strategies in order to conceal his true strength. But with his identity as a 'divine emissary', he didn't need to have any considerations!

He raised his hand, and lightning chains shot out. Pale blue electric currents bounced across the place, causing a few low-level priests to collapse to the floor.

When in combat, kill the clerics first. That was the norm in practically every battle, and Leylin certainly wouldn't sit idly by and let those low-level clerics leisurely heal and assist their troops.

After Leylin fixed his attention on him, the werecreature priest suddenly felt a chill in his heart, as though he was facing a gigantic dragon. Vast amounts of probing spells flashed by, yet shortly after they returned with a message that made his expression change drastically.

"Divine one! Which god do you serve?" The werecreature priest asked in a deep voice, scared out of his wits by Leylin's false godhood.

On the continent in the World of Gods, stronger beings who could obtain divinity were scarce. The greatest possibility would be that they were bestowed divinity by the gods. Evidently, this werecreature priest considered Leylin as the saint of some deity.

-x-X-x-

Communication between gods was an extremely solemn affair. If a powerful being was bestowed with divinity, he was bound to have an eminent status even in a god's church.

As for a subordinate of one god provoking another? That would practically be the beginning of a war between the gods! The werecreature priest began to feel rather dizzy. Although there had been conflicts and friction between churches and even between the gods themselves ever since the dusk of the gods, starting an undeclared war like this was a rare event.

After all, even a weak god would almost be unrivalled in their divine kingdom. Battle between two gods was a very grave matter, and it could span various dimensions and thousands of years!

As a cleric, the priest undoubtedly knew this. He watched Leylin with restrained fear.

"You had the cheek to covet our master's wealth!" Leylin's reply was very vague, but the werecreature priest's expression changed drastically. "As expected, it had to do with the Nether Mountains..."

Although the priest stopped himself in time, Leylin still got what he wanted. 'Sure enough, these werecreatures are up to something. It's not as simple as just the red dragon…'

He didn't give the priest another chance to speak. Leylin moved swiftly in mid-air, and the spells that he had been preparing for a long time shot out continuously.

Fog Barrier! Missile Storm! Fireball!

A layer of dense fog formed both a barrier and a cage, confining Leylin and the werecreature priest within. It prevented outsiders from intervening and probing them while spell attacks rained down like terrifying meteors with great destructive force.

"A presumptuous extremist that started a battle on his own initiative. You shall suffer from punishment by the gods!" The werecreature priest had a pious expression on his face. He seemed to be clothed in a milky white suit of protective armour, and a strong radiance kept emanating from his body.

*Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew!* The missiles rebounded off his glowing vest. It flickered, and eventually exploded.

The enormous scorching fireball struck the ground. Chrome yellow flames started spreading in all directions, continuously engulfing everything in their way. They quickly formed a gigantic depression in the ground that was covered in black scorch marks, as if it had been crushed by the bottom of a black pan.

The werecreature priest stood at the edge of the blackened pithole, his expression extremely solemn. The priest robes he was wearing had been torn into shreds, and he was almost entirely charred.

"Master, Malar, Please grant me strength…" The werecreature priest murmured. He stripped off his robes in one stroke, exposing his hairy torso. His muscles started to throb, and the dark scars from the flames burst open.

[Beep! Opponent has activated an innate skill, Wild Surge!] A glimmer of light flashed in Leylin's eyes. The Eye of the Hawk, coupled with the probing abilities of the A.I. Chip, revealed everything about the opponent right in front of his eyes.

[Wild Surge: A special ability of the followers of the Lesser God of the Hunt, Malar. Activation buffs strength and vitality by one point, additionally granting hunting vision. (If in the massacre state, the ability will bestow mid-rank regenerative effects. Cell activity will increase by 50%)]

The extraordinary Wild Surge technique was an unusual ability bestowed by the Lesser God of the Hunt to his followers, and its usage would lead to terrible aftereffects. The increased cell activity would drain one's vitality to make up for the deficiencies, and the use of this skill would reduce life expectancy greatly.

But it was undeniable that this technique was still incomparably formidable. Leylin could feel the werecreature priest on the ground enter a strange state. Not only had the injuries on his body completely disappeared, sharp claws had even shot out of his fingers. Even though he was just a clergyman of the Lesser God of the Hunt, he seemed to have transformed into a horrifying Hunter after activating the skill!

"AAHH…" The muscles on the priest's leg twisted as he leapt more than ten metres high. His cold razor-sharp claws ferociously slashed across Leylin's face.

'So fast!' Leylin's eyes sparkled.

"Your greatest mistake was to falsely think that you could take me on alone!" Two white puffs of air spurted out from the werecreature priest's nostrils.

"I have a premonition that you will be the most terrifying enemy us werecreatures will ever have! I must kill you here, and this little amount of strength is not enough! Not enough!" The priest roared. He suddenly pointed his claws towards himself, and ripped out a huge chunk of skin and flesh.

"Our god, I offer you sacrifice! Please bestow me with the strength to kill this foe!" The two clumps of flesh started to squirm violently, and then exploded. A temporary portal opened to reveal two enormous beasts.

'Dimensional summoning? This creature does not seem to be from the prime material plane of the World of Gods…'

*Oo Ooh Aa Aah! Oo Ooh Aa Aah!* What appeared before him were two giant primates covered in green scales. They were over three metres tall, and their sharp claws were nearly a foot long. Their crimson eyes were filled with bloodthirst.

'A.I. Chip!' Leylin inwardly commanded. The chip loyally returned information on them in the blink of an eye.

[Hunter: Strength: 13, Agility: 15, Vitality: 10, Spirit: 5. Feats: 1. Wild Instinct 2. Poison Claw 3. Extraordinary Regeneration. Description: This is not a creature from the mortal world, but a beast bred by the God of the Hunt in his divine domain. It has been specially bred for the hunt, and has almost no rationality. If Malar is pleased with his worshippers' sacrifices, he sends down these creatures to assist them.]

'It has flesh, blood, and a life force, and it even requires a sacrifice of the soul?' Leylin thought indifferently as he watched the light dim in the eyes of the werecreature priest.

"Kill him!" The two tall hunters at the werecreature's side saw a finger point directly at Leylin.

*Swish!* The two hunters who previously seemed to have been playing a game instantly disappeared into thin air. Even Leylin with his powerful sight could only see the afterimages of their movements.

'They're even faster than the priest when he activated Wild Surge!' Leylin rapidly ducked under the sharp claws sweeping across him, but a shadow flickered and another hunter emerged behind his back. Two arms twisted with muscles violently swept towards Leylin, seemingly wanting to tear him to pieces.

*Bang!* Mage Armour II appeared on Leylin's back, buying him a second's time. Once that was done the clothes on his back seemed to get shredded completely, the scraps flying up into the air like scattered butterflies.

*Thump!* Leylin hit the ground heavily, and dust and smoke flew up into the air.

*Oo Ooh Aa Aah! Oo Ooh Aa Aah!* The two enormous hunters surrounded Leylin, one on either side of him. They roared loudly together.

"You can't outrun them. Hunters can bring out their utmost power while hunting!" The werecreature priest stood opposite Leylin, his eyes filled with a longing for fresh blood. He could already see his claws tearing across Leylin's throat.

'It deserves to be called a creature made by a god. I didn't know the hunters of legend had such power.' A crack appeared in Leylin's silver mask, and he stood up as his body shone with a healing glow.

'However, even high-ranked hunters still have their weaknesses,' Leylin's hands hung down, enveloped in his billowing sleeves.

"Kill him!" Having lost his ability to fly, the werecreature priest found it more beneficial to stay on the ground with the hunters. Both the priest and the hunters seemed to have transformed into black hurricanes, enveloping Leylin in their midst.

The formidable wind swept up several small rocks, smashing them to powder. As dust and dirt flew around the area, the three clawed beasts completely sealed off Leylin's escape. They flew at him violently, and with evil intent.

"Even if they are a god's creation, they will still have some defects," Leylin sighed. In the instant before the clawed beasts arrived, he urgently used the Ring of Wizardry on his hand.

*OOOOOOHH!* A piercing and shrill female voice rang out suddenly, and in a moment overwhelmed their senses. The earsplitting noise was like that of metal scraping metal, and it brought everything in that space to a standstill.

The ear-piercing sound became an air explosion which pushed the three shadows apart.

"Ow…" The werecreature priest cut a sorry figure as he departed, blood trailing from his eyes and ears.

"Sound wave attacks? Wail of the Banshee? No, if it was that I would be dead already!" The werecreature priest was already in this state, and the two hunters were in an even worse situation. They rolled back and forth on the ground, letting out pleading cries as if they had suffered an injury to their very souls.

"Wailing Howl… The power of this simplified version of Wail of the Banshee is rather good," Leylin touched the ring on his left hand. He'd released the spell from his Ring of Wizardry a moment ago, pulling off an attack against his enemies.

Even a god could not create life, and those hunters were clearly hybrids that Malar had cobbled together from different animal characteristics and souls. Once they were attacked by sound, they immediately became violently unstable.

When it came to experiments on flesh and life, were Leylin to claim second nobody would dare claim first. He was the pinnacle expert of the World of Gods in that field. This was the pride of a bloodline Warlock.

"Very well, I've seen most of your spells and abilities. Let's bring this to an end," Leylin looked at the werecreature priest before him as dispassionately as he would look at a corpse, with neither joy nor sorrow in his eyes.

"To an end?!" The werecreature priest's expression grew heavy, and his heart was filled with a dark premonition. A rune of a beast fang had soundlessly fallen into his hand.

"Up!" Along with his command, the two hunters who had already stopped their plaintive wails once again threw themselves at Leylin. The runes in his hand flashed with the light of a portal.

-x-X-x-

Using its inborn sharp senses, the werecreature priest immediately felt a sense of danger— one that was enough to threaten its very life! Hence, it happily abandoned the two hunters behind to serve as cannon fodder and activated the transportation device it had to leave.

But how could Leylin give it the chance to do that?

"Dimensional Anchor!" Exquisite control over this spell allowed Leylin to destroy the werecreature priest's transportation rays in an instant. Afterwards, the now-grim priest saw something it could never believe, causing its huge mouth to gape even more, to the point of dislocation.

Seven-coloured rays of light were launched from Leylin's hands

Rank 2 spell: Colour Spray! The effects of such a weak spell only forced the hunters to pause for a while, but then they charged over again without hesitation.

But Leylin's performance was far from over. Colour Spray, Colour Spray, Colour Spray ...

Nine spell rays flashed at Leylin's hands as if from rainbows, each one cast instantly. While a low-ranked spell had limited effects, a large enough number would result in a fundamental change unless one was completely immune to them.

Evidently, these two hunters were swallowed up by these many spells, and they sunk into dizziness and hallucinations.

Flaming Sphere, Flaming Sphere, Flaming Sphere... Fireball, Fireball, Fireball...

Numerous rank 2 and 3 fire spells took shape in Leylin's hands, forming a scene like the stars in the sky. While they were all low-ranked fire-type spells, amassing them like this made them similar to the legendary spell, Meteor Shower!

Even the two hunters that had broken away from the attack before still sensed immense danger and retreated quickly.

"Consider it an honour that you're dying under this move." Leylin smiled slightly. With the guidance of his spiritual force, the flames in the sky descended like meteors.

*Rumble!* Continuous explosions sounded out, and the two hunters were drowned out by the multicolour spells.

"Hehe… The internet in my previous world also had the five fireball school, where they took over the world with five casts of fireballs. But this isn't just five!" Seeing the dazzling flames, Leylin continued to let his imagination run wild.

Meanwhile, the werecreature priest saw the hunters who had exploded till there was nothing left of them, and now had a very grim look.

"So many spell slots, and you can even cast them instantaneously? Are you a Legend? No, even Legends can't do anything about the limit of nine spell slots…" The werecreature priest now looked to be in a complete mess, on the verge of a breakdown.

Leylin smiled at the priest's reaction. Spellcasters suffered in this world; while they could use the Weave, they were restricted by spell slots. On top of that, Mystra took something from them every time they cast a spell, holding a part of their spiritual force. For this reason, a few wizards could only cast some low-ranked spells. Even Legends lost all battle power after casting a few legendary spells.

But Leylin was different. He had completely analysed the first four levels of the Weave, and there were no restrictions whatsoever on rank 0 to rank 3 spells. As long as he had enough spiritual force, he would be able to cast low-ranked spells instantly!

On top of that, he'd refilled his spell slots the day before. Leylin could cast spells now, but also had extra ones from before and therefore more spiritual force to spare.

This resulted in his terrifying abilities in casting spells. In terms of the number of low-ranked spells, he surpassed regular wizards by several times, and could easily use the power of his low-ranked spells to drown his opponents out. As long as the opponent was not completely immune to spells, he had nothing to fear!

Of course, this was his greatest trump card. If news of it were ever to spread, the consequences were obvious. Hence, all those who saw his trump card would have to die!

With Leylin's previous identity, he had not dared used this without thinking it over. Now, this werecreature priest was fated to die here.

Watching Leylin unceasingly drawing close, the werecreature priest now looked to have given up all hope. All of a sudden, his face twitched, "I know, I know! You're an arcanist. You must be an arcanist! Your companion is in my hands… I can… Ah…"

Terrifying spells flooded out once more. While they were merely low-ranked rank 0 to 3 spells, they were enough to drown out opponents. Watching the priest melting away in the flood, Leylin's interest was visibly piqued.

'What a surprise… I never thought a werecreature priest in a remote camp would know of the existence of arcanists! On top of that… a companion, huh…' It seemed like the priest had also met an arcanist before, and had even kept them captive. As long as he killed the priest, everything in the camp would belong to him. Why would Leylin bother trying to bargain with him?

The misty barrier dispersed, and Leylin looked at the surroundings. The entire camp was in chaos. Numerous werecreatures and the bodies of their comrades had fallen everywhere, the flowing blood enough to even form little streams.

Motivated by the great rewards, Leylin's underlings had gone all out, and they were all immersed in battle.

On another battlefield, however, even with near legendary strength Tiff was still on a disadvantage. He was facing five high-ranked werecreatures, and looked to be in a sorry state.

"Let's go!" With Leylin's arrival and the disappearance of the werecreature priest, the high-ranked werecreature leader's expression changed, and he abruptly waved his arms.

He was intellectual, and could obviously tell that his spellcaster had been taken down. Now that the other side's high-ranked spellcaster could attack as he wished, there would be a calamity. While he was unwilling to do so, he still gritted his teeth and sent down the orders to retreat.

But how could Leylin give him this chance? While he could not cast a torrent of spells again, as someone who was nearly a high-ranked wizard he could still turn the tables.

Greater Entanglement! Hold Person! Greater Vertigo! After taking a casual glance at the battlefield, Leylin flew over to Tiff's battle. Debuffing spells rained down like a storm.

"Damn it, he has so many spell slots? What's up with the priest? He didn't even make this person use up that many spell slots and died so fast!" The werecreature leader roared, but no matter how hard he thought about this, he could not guess the truth. He could only fly into a rage and then welcome the attack from above and around him.

After seeing the death of the high-ranked priest, the werecreatures' morale had already dropped, and Leylin was now even more ruthless. Considering the circumstances and taking one of them captive, Leylin then began to crush the werecreatures.

Moon Bow! A dazzling lightning bow and arrow descended from the skies, piercing through the werecreature leader's chest.

Even with this terrifying attack, the leader could still persist for a while before it crumpled to the ground, exhibiting its powerful life energy. After the deaths of the spellcaster and high-ranked werecreature, the entire werecreature camp lost all courage to continue resisting them.

Numerous werecreatures howled as they left, while some were hacked to death by some underlings who had gone mad in the fun they were having in the slaughter.

"Clear out the camp and maintain order. Prepare a few slaves, I have uses for them." After handing the only surviving high-ranked werebeast prisoner to Tiff to tie up, Leylin did not care any longer and headed into the core of the camp.

The ground still had bloodstains that had yet to dry, and it was still slightly sticky when one walked across. However, the battle had ended quickly and the main infrastructure had not been damaged.

*Boom! Boom!* With Leylin's lead, the statue of Malar and the altar was destroyed. Traces of dim golden rays were still shining from the fragmented pieces.

"Even a true god will still have restrictions. For instance, they can only sense the surroundings of the altar up to a certain distance, and if they were to descend, they would need to cooperate with the priests here, where they would offer sacrifices or even trigger a holy tide… But there's nothing here at all. Coming down here forcefully would result in damage to one's divinity. Why would that happen for a few high-ranked werebeasts?"

Leylin guided the underlings outside, and only after Malar's statue was destroyed did he enter the range of the altar.

"Once it's completely smashed up, he won't be able to sense anything around it…" Until now, the altar had been the safest place. With a wave of his arms to send away a few men who were quivering on tenterhooks, he arrived by the altar..

"While there's no divinity here, I can still sense the God of the Hunt…" Leylin closed his eyes, caressing the shattered giant cyan rocks of the altar and sensing the divine force left behind by Malar. An aura filled with bloodlust, death and hunting lingered around him.

"While this is a lesser god, the accumulation isn't half bad…" Leylin sighed, the darkness in his eyes expanding, "Devour!"

Traces of golden divine force surged out of the remains of the ruins, and Leylin devoured it all. While it wasn't quite possible to grasp divinity like this, he could still ingest some divine force. In the World of Gods, gods still sent down their divine force to help their followers advance in their professions on occasion.

But Leylin was different. He was not Malar's follower, and Malar would not bestow his grace upon him. Since the god wouldn't give it on his own, Leylin would take it himself. This was the kind of person he was!

As the divine force entered his body, a terrifying, fragmented conscient slowly awakened in Leylin's sea of consciousness, turning into a huge incomplete ape monster.