Warlock of the Magus World

by Stayrr

What happens when a scientist from a futuristic world reincarnates in a World of Magic and Knights? An awesome MC is what happens! A scientist’s goal is to explore the secrets of the universe, and this is exactly what Leylin sets out to do when he is reincarnated. Dark, cold and calculating, he makes use of all his resources as he sets off on his adventures to meet his goal. Face?

12. 332

Read Warlock of the Magus World - Chapter 332 – Notta Highlands online free - Light Novel Full

Notta Highlands

"Have you made inquiries about this already?"

Leylin asked Celine, who was at the side.

"Based on intel from a few close friends, the person targeting us at this joint conference is Skrill of the Eight-Clawed Spiders!" Celine smoothed her hair out, revealing her pale neck. One could also see her well-developed chest.

"Skrill? That spider man?" Leylin turned a blind eye to Celine's unintended seduction. The Crystal Mask that Celine trained in had a special effect, in which the Magus would unwittingly bewitch the people around them.

This was not very effective on a semi-converted Magus, and even less so on Leylin.

"He's merely a semi-converted Magus. With a few helpers, you'd be able to take care of him, right?"

Leylin glanced at Celine.

"If it was only him, I could somewhat contend against by using some help my mentor left me, but…"

Celine's eyebrows showed her gloominess at this. "There seems to be another power supporting Skrill.."

"I see!" Leylin nodded.

"Of course, all I hope for is that my lord maintains the Nature's Alliance's current standing. Celine has no wish for anything more." As if afraid Leylin would change his mind halfway through, she quickly spoke and clarified herself.

"Don't worry. Since I've already agreed, you can trust me."

Leylin didn't pay any attention to whoever was working behind the scenes.

The bloodline imprint of the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor was completed, and once his body could adapt to the icy radiation, he could regain his strength as a rank 2 Warlock!

A rank 2 Warlock, and especially one like Leylin with a powerful bloodline, had a strength that far exceeded that of a regular rank 2 Magus.

Whatever Nature's Alliance had, it wasn't enough for a rank 2 to covet it, was it?

"A.I. Chip! How much longer will it take until my body adapts to the icy radiation?"

Leylin closed his eyes and asked.

[Beep! Based on the current data on Host body, estimated time left: 56h 34min.]

The A.I. Chip quickly gave an answer.

"Two days later, which is after the joint conference ends?" Leylin muttered to himself and then checked his stats again.

[Leylin Farlier. Rank 2 Warlock, Bloodline: Giant Kemoyin Serpent. Strength: 21.1, Agility: 14.4, Vitality: 27.9, Spiritual force: 79, Magic power: 79 (Magic power is in synchronisation with spiritual force).]

After so many days of hard work and treatment using all sorts of potions, he could only draw out a small amount of his solidified spiritual force. This was not enough to break through the bottleneck of rank 1.

This strengthened Leylin's resolve to use the freezing innate ability. If not, who knew how much longer it would take for him to regain his strength as a rank 2 Magus!

"After mending my sea of consciousness, my battle power will be even more powerful than it had been on the south coast since I'm no longer affected by my emotional instability…" Leylin calculated in his mind.

"I look forward to it!"

In the icy caves, with the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor's Breath, as well as its Icy Jade Scorpion's bodies, he had thoroughly eliminated the issue of emotional instability.

However, this was not a complete elimination. Perhaps after he advanced to a higher rank, the chaos and tyranny in his bloodline and genes would explode forth once more.

However, with the detections by the A.I. Chip, Leylin was sure that while he was a rank 2 or even rank 3 Warlock, the emotional instability would not affect him.

Getting rid of this issue, he now possessed all the advantages of being a warlock with an ancient bloodline with no disadvantages at all. How much more power could he display?

When strength and intelligence were combined, there was nothing that could hinder a Warlock in a pursuit of the truth.

"My lord, what's on your mind?"

Celine leaned over.

"Nothing much!" Leylin tugged her into his lap, a hand slipping down while following the curves of her waist.

"M-my lord, not here. Outside–there are people outside!"

Celine blushed, rejecting Leylin's embrace.

Outside, Obo and Ilya outside ducked their heads in embarrassment. All the thoughts they had died down after seeing the strength that Leylin flaunted every once in a while.Notta Highlands. The ground in this desolate area was filled with a white quartz gravel.

Usually, this place would be filled with creatures of the darkness, but they had now left the area.

At the heart of the Notta Highlands, a bright ball of light that spanned for around ten metres was hanging in mid-air like a little sun, emitting light and warmth.

Under it gathered Magi of different tribes who looked different and wore clothes of various colours.

Even if it was just passive radiation and energy fluctuations that were emitted, the gathering of so many Magi forced the creatures to avoid them.

After all, this was still within the eastern capital of the Twilight Zone, and not a place for the creatures to flaunt their prowess. Any Magi that was stronger than them, could exterminate all the higher ranked darkness creatures.

However, if this was outside the Twilight Zone, where human activity was low, the situation would be reversed.

The creatures of the darkness had an absolute advantage based on their numbers. There would even appear formidable creatures that could rival a Magus, which would encircle and annihilate Magi.

"Lu lu!"

Meanwhile, another horse carriage bringing a few Magi passed through. The Horned Horse pulling the carriage seemed to sense the strength of the Magi, and neighed in worry.

The Magi merely shot a glance at this area. Upon finding out that it was a small-scaled guild, they promptly lost interest and continued along their way.

However, there were a few Magi that exchanging glances in secret, staring at the carriage without even blinking.

Rattle!*

Obo and Ilya respectfully opened the door to the carriage, bowing as they welcomed the two professors inside.

Celine alighted first, her face unusually flushed and clothes slightly untidy. However, she soon regained her calm.

"That's quite a lot of Magi!"

Leylin also descended from the carriage, scanning the area and commenting with a smile.

He had sensed the aura of large amounts of energy while on the carriage, and now, using his naked eyes, he knew that there were at least 400 official Magi gathered here.

This was no small number, and these were merely the representatives from various large organisations. They still had much more guards than their headquarters.

Only Celine, whose guild was about to fall apart, would come with the full power of her guild, leaving no one behind to protect the headquarters.

These 400 Magi seemed to intentionally cause pressure on the area, the radiation from their bodies slowly yet steadily emitting, and even causing the land here to have a different smell.

"Four hundred nuclear reactors piled together, exposing all their strength. If this happened in my previous world, it would be a huge issue!"

Leylin's lips curved up in a grin.

"But upon closer inspection, there are still some differences between Magi in the subterranean world and in the south coast."

Leylin observed and thought.

As there was less light, or perhaps because they had never been under the sun for a long period of time, the Magi in Twilight Zone were paler.

In terms of clothing style, there was a large variety. There were even some bizarre Magi who were completely naked and did not have any clothing on their skins.

Some nature-elemental Magi advocated being in harmony with nature and felt that clothes would interfere with this process. Hence, they had this strange behaviour. Though this was not acknowledged by many Magi, this was a matter of principle, and for this reason, others could not oppose this logic.

Leylin also found another point. These Magi did not have any distinctions such as light and dark Magi.

Black and white robes were merely the formal attire of the Magi here. There was no special meaning.

He saw many Magi donning black and white robes joking together, and it didn't seem like they were going to attack each other.

"Perhaps the distinction between light and dark Magi is a situation unique to the south coast!"

Upon seeing this scene, Leylin's eyes flashed.

"My beloved Celine, it's been about a year since we had last met, yes?"

At this moment, an upper-class woman wearing clothing filled with gems and tassels, looking as if she were about to attend a ballroom dance party at a palace, approached them, greeting with a smile.

"This is Mistress Sache of the Obsidian Throne guild. She's a good friend, as well as an ally of our guild!" Celine explained in Leylin's ear and then proceeded to press her cheek to Mistress Sache's as a greeting.

"Hello, Mistress Sache! This is the famed professor of our guild, Mister Leylin!" Celine introduced him to Mistress Sache."

"Hello!"

Mistress Sache looked Leylin up and down, her eyes glimmering with curiosity.

"I remember that with the conditions of your Nature's Alliance, as well as permission of the joint conference, you could only recruit one famed professor, right? It looks like Celine is betting everything on you!"

Leylin also observed this Mistress Sache.

Along the journey the conference, Celine had given Leylin a simple introduction to this ally guild, the Obsidian Throne.

Mistress Sache was very tall, and her nose was pointed. Paired with her blue eyes, she gave off a unique feeling that was similar to the European style in Leylin's previous world.

"I will do my best, Mistress Sache!"

Leylin was naturally aware that though there had been precedents of finding outside help for the joint conference, things still had to go according to the rules.

A small-scale guild like Nature's Alliance could, at most, allow one person to vie for their ranking under the name of a famed professor.

How did one tell which guild they were from? This was actually very simple. Just by looking at the high-grade meditation technique the Magus cultivated in would make everything clear.

After advancing to become an official Magus, high-grade meditation techniques produced different effects that made them easy to distinguish between.

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Killing Intent

The only high-grade meditation technique in the Nature's Alliance, the Crystal Mask, had been recorded by Leylin. It was a technique based on illusions that used energy from plants as supplements. There were merely two levels to it.

As specific materials required to advance to the second level were only able to be acquired from another world, there had never been another rank 2 Magus in the entire history of Nature's Alliance.

Leylin possessed the Kemoyin's Pupil, and had already confirmed his path as a Warlock. Naturally, he wouldn't change his meditation technique.

As a result, with one glance, outsiders would be able to tell that he was not a Magus trained by Nature's Alliance.

Based on the rules at the joint conference, Magi like himself were able to make an appearance, but small-scaled guilds could only choose one such Magus, and the chosen Magus could not be be changed.

"Dont worry, I have faith in Leylin!" Celine said confidently.

Leylin appeared to be a peak rank 1 Magus. This kind of strength was a equivalent to a medium-scaled guild's trump card. Naturally, Celine wasn't very worried.

"Is that so? That's great!" Mistress Sache covered her lips with a black foldable fan, and smiled coquettishly.

"What? Did you receive some information too?" Upon seeing her reaction, Celine immediately set up a soundproof barrier around the three of them.

"Yes! I received intelligence from my boy toys. Skrill of the Eight-Clawed Spider Guild seems to harbour unkind intentions towards you. Moreover, he has the support of a medium-scaled guild called the Dense Fog Forest!"

After saying that, Mistress Sache looked at Leylin and said, "And they seem to have made preparations against you, an external support."

"Medium-scaled guild! Dense Fog Forest!" Sure enough, Celine's face registered a slight change.

These medium-scaled guilds possessed at least one peak rank 1 Magus as their trump card. The number of official Magi and their knowledge greatly surpassed that of Nature's Alliance. How could this not worry Celine?

"Is there anything valuable enough inside Nature's Alliance that the Dense Fog Forest guild is coveting?"

Leylin immediately wondered.

Being a medium-scaled guild, Dense Fog Forest guild possessed resources and minerals that Nature's Alliance could not compare with. Furthermore, even if the Nature's Alliance were to fall to an unrated guild, the Dense Fog Forest guild might not be the one that would gain control of their territory and resources.

"So the Dense Fog Forest has to be allies with the Eight-Clawed Spider. Once the Nature's Alliance falls and loses its seat within the guild alliance, Eight-Clawed Spider would be able to take over its resources. With a little more edging from the Dense Fog Forest, the committee of the alliance would not hesitate to hand the empty seat over to them.

"What resources do the Nature's Alliance and Eight-Clawed Spider have in common? Only one! The icy cave!"

Leylin needed just a bit of time to understand the nature of this power struggle.

As long as one found out who the beneficiaries, or those indirectly gaining benefits were, the situation would then be made clear.

After all, nobody would be willing to do thankless jobs.

During this period of time, Leylin had somewhat gotten familiar with the resources Nature's Alliance possessed. Honestly speaking, these resources weren't valuable enough for Dense Fog Forest to be interested in.

The only possibility for this was that the secrets within the depths of the icy cave had been exposed!

"In the past, the icy cave had only been an area rich in production of frozen materials, with the Icy Jade Scorpion as a specialty. It isn't that valuable, which is why it was allocated to Nature's Alliance. However, within the cave's depths actually lies an icy world of a larger scale. The icy world even has the remains of a creature with the strength of a Morning Star Magus and a drop of blood from an even more powerful bloodline!"

After obtaining the information held within the Icy Jade Scorpion's bloodline, nobody could be more knowledgeable about the icy cave than Leylin. Bluntly speaking, this was a big treasure trove, especially for a bloodline Warlock!

Leylin's eyes sparkled, with a tinge of chilliness within.

"Only benefits like this would be valuable enough for Dense Fog Forest to act secretly. Looking at the situation, information about these benefits has not been spread. If it was, the entire Twilight Zone would have been in an uproar, and numerous Magi would have formed groups to explore it."

"Celine, Please ask around and find out how the Oaken Leaf Guild and Emerald Vine Guild been doing lately."

Leylin ordered Celine suddenly.

"Yes, my lord!" Celine straightened her body and walked over to a corner. The runes from the secret imprint on her body continuously brightened. Thereafter, she returned, a worried expression on her face.

"They have all received Skrill's invitation. His influence is now similar to a spider web, extending to these two guilds…"

"Just as I thought…" Leylin sighed.

This was the final point of confirmation.

Right now, Leylin was certain that the Dense Fog Forest must have found out about the Icy Cave's uncanniness, and decided to bribe the Eight-Clawed Spider to crowd out other guilds so that they could monopolise the entire icy cave!

"Find an opportunity to kill them!"

The flash in Leylin's eyes caused Celine to be nervous, as if an ancient monster was seated beside her.

Currently, Leylin had impolitely claimed the entire icy world. Should the Dense Fog Forest dare tread on his property, he would not let them off easily.

"Actually, if we just want to resolve the crisis Nature's Alliance is facing, there's a better way, which is to reveal the secret of the Icy Cave! Even Dense Fog Forest cannot oppose the entire Twilight Zone. Under the pressure of the joint conference, the Dense Fog Forest would be akin to an ant that could easily be crushed. However, this would not be in my best interests!"

With Leylin's strength, he could probably gain benefits merely by following the majority of the Magi, but there was just too much uncertainty.

Should those overpowered Rank 3 Magi be lured out, Leylin did not have confidence that he could snatch anything from them.

If that were the case, he would only get the leftovers, and that would truly be a pity.

Not to mention, should the Twilight Zone still have the presence of Morning Star Magi that could destroy the entire icy world, Leylin would definitely be reduced to tears.

As a result, for Leylin, it was best to let the secret of the Icy Cave Guild stay a secret until he advanced to become a Morning Star Magus. He would later then return and reap all the benefits!

"But… If that's the case! The Dense Fog Forest would have to be eliminated, and that needs to be done fast before their leader has the time to react!"

In his heart, Leylin had already meted the death penalty to Dense Fog Forest and Eight-Clawed Spider.

With just a few thoughts, Leylin had already roughly understood the gist of the problem.

To him, since this possibility was the greatest, he would rather kill the wrong person than to not let the matter go. Dense Fog Forest and Eight-Clawed spider needed to be eradicated, and he would even be able to conveniently seize their high-grade meditation techniques and collection.

What was more wonderful was that this could be done in the name of revenge for Nature's Alliance, which would be killing two birds with one stone.

While pondering, Leylin emanated a massive spiritual force with traces of killing intent, which caused Celine to retreat. Even Mistress Sache gave an excuse and walked away.

"What happened?" Celine worriedly asked.

Naturally, she didn't know that with merely a word or two, Leylin had managed to deduce the truth, which had helped him make the decision to kill.

"Nothing much!" Leylin smiled, hiding the truth from her.

For interests of such a huge scale, Leylin did not feel at ease revealing his plans to others, even to Celine, whom he had gone to bed with!

"I'm thinking about what Mistress Sache said about her boy toys. What did she mean?"

Leylin cleverly changed the topic.

"Boy… toys?" Celine's face changed, and she replied: "You- you know, some Magi may have strange interests and bizarre hobbies. Mistress Sache has sadistic tendencies and is also skilled in this area, so…"

"Oh! Sadism and masochism? I know!"

A look of understanding flashed in Leylin's expression, but he then rolled his eyes. There really were all sorts of Magi.

"Leylin… Are you skilful in things like that?"

After some moments, Celine returned to Leylin's side and asked shyly.

"Don't worry!" Leylin replied matter-of-factly.

Since the culprit had been identified to be merely a medium-scaled guild, Leylin didn't have anything to fear. What he was concerned with was how he had to proceed in order to prevent higher ranked Magi from interfering.

It was at this moment that a commotion arose among the Magi; they dispersed in two directions, revealing a line of people.

"The nine enforcers are here!"

Celine whispered to Leylin.

"Hm?" Leylin stared at the nine Magi walking over.

There were both male and female enforcers, but they were no longer young. Their hair was white, and many of them wore glasses. They held dictionary-like books and feather pens or scales, and their eyes glistened with wisdom, giving them a scholarly aura.

However, their energy fluctuations left Leylin dumbfounded.

"Peak rank one! Peak rank one! Peak rank one! They are all peak rank one! How… weak."

Leylin rolled his eyes. "The subterranean world only possesses this much strength?"

Honestly speaking, if these nine enforcers only had this much strength, using Toxic Bile before he had gotten injured would have resulted in the instant death of these nine enforcers. He would even have killed or injured the surrounding Magi as well.

"What is going on?"

Looking at the surrounding Magi paying their respects to the nine enforcers, Leylin pondered.

"Looking at the situation, either the subterranean Magi have flaws that make it hard for them to advance, or the higher rank Magi have a more intimate circle, and hence do not participate in the conferences of us rank one Magi…"

Leylin stroked his chin, "Whatever it is, I have to reevaluate the strength of Magi in Twilight Zone!"

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The Fallen City

"Since everybody has gathered, then I can begin the announcement! Let the 325th Eastern Region Magi joint conference begin!"

After looking around, the council member in the middle immediately spoke.

Even though his voice was not loud, he could be heard by every Magus present.

Once he spoke, the books, calligraphy brushes, weighing scales, and the other items in the arms of the nine enforces immediately emitted faint rays of white light that floated in the air.

"I summon the Fallen City!!!"

Nine rays of light shot out from the books and other materials in a flash and converged into a big white sun.

Boom! *

The tall pagoda violently shook and a big crack from the abyss opened.

The Magi looked very calm during this kind of disastrous earthquake and only used their powers to protect themselves and their apprentices, as well as their luggage, horses, and so on.

Bang! Bang! Bang! *

A few huge stone statues suddenly broke through the ground floor, emerging like tall mountains that cast large shadows on the surface.

"These are the Twilight Zone's ancient Magi: Ignis, Nikolat, and Morfe."

As this was happening, Celine casually introduced the Magi joint conference to Leylin.

Since ancient times, the joint conference was not just organized by anybody but fixed in this location.

In the legends, the Fallen City was an ancient city to consecrate the Ancient Magi.

The nine huge stone statues in the middle were in fact the nine most famous Magi in the ancient times.

As a matter of fact, the nine Magi of the joint conference were also emulating these few Magi.

Crash!*

Big chunks of stone fell, like how bamboo shoots fall off in springtime when it rains

A piece of solid stone beneath Leylin lifted him up as it rose to the last position at the top.

Leylin looked around.

The Magi were now seated exactly in the center of the Fallen City.

The entire building appeared similar to the ancient Colosseum of Rome, just like what the people of ancient Greece practiced. The circle of outdoor seats surrounded the middle area.

Outside the conference, twelve slim, spotless marble pillars glistened in the sunlight and appeared to support both heaven and earth.

"The joint conference controlled the way to summon the Fallen City. It's a pity that we cannot find any materials related to the end of the war… or a single living creature. Otherwise, we can restore the glory of the ancient Magi…."

Celine, who was beside Leylin, gasped in admiration.

Many Magi went to their respective places and formed a circle, surrounding the altar in the middle.

Leylin looked, the ones in the front were the middle-level Guilds, followed behind them by the low-level guilds, like him and Celine, that sat in the middle section closer to the back seats. As for the rest, the unranked guilds, they sat in the outermost section.

Each seat took up a lot of space as a suitable distance was maintained between each one, which allowed the Magi to be able to see each other without feeling restricted.

This site was enough to accommodate ten thousand people, but now there's barely a few hundred Magi. Naturally, the there was ample space between each Magus.

"How were these nine council members selected?"

Leylin pulled Celine closer into his embrace, and whispered into her ear

"Each large-scaled guild would send a representative, before us Magi present voted for them!" Celine was slightly embarrassed, but she still explained it to Leylin.

"Oh! Basically, the Eastern Twilight Zone only has about nine high-leveled guilds?"

Leylin stroked his chin, this kind of strength was similar to the south coast. Only that he was unsure of the numbers of rank 3 Magi present.

But deep down he had some reservations. Although high-grade meditation techniques were widely taught and of a higher grade than in the south coast, most of them were incomplete, and needed a few special otherworldly materials for their practitioners to advance. This meant that there would be fewer higher rank magi in the Twilight Zone and they possibly would be weaker than their south coast counterparts due to the Twilight Zone being isolated from the external world.

"The first point of the conference's agenda is to observe a minute of silence in tribute of our Magi ancestors! They were true pursuers of knowledge, the founders of the the Twilight Zone!"

The nine council members in the front immediately stood up, as they solemnly and respectfully bowed their heads.

And in their hands, a pure, white flower bud slowly bloomed.

The petals of the flower bud looked like countless rays of light that created a dreamy illusion.

Immediately after, the Magi disorderly stood up to observe the minute of silence, the rays of light in their hands transformed into the shape of the white flower bud.

"This is the light daisy, a specialty of the Twilight Zone that is used to represent the recollection of the dead and our grief!"

Leylin's eye flashed and concentrated some of his spiritual force to observe Celine's actions.

The magic of transforming the flower was only a magic trick, one that even acolytes could easily learn. Celine's abilities were immediately recorded by the A.I. Chip, which then provided the composition of the spell model and the spiritual force.

Zoom!* Leylin followed swiftly with a layer of white light twinkling in his hands.

In a flash, numerous light daisies in the open space bloomed as formless ripples continuously circulated, and pure light rays of flower petals dispersed and spread to the sky.

A rain of petals floated down, some of them dispersed atop the sculptures of the nine ancient Magi.

"Hm?" It was at this moment that Leylin suddenly raised his head.

To his eyes, numerous petals seemed to use some form of mechanism or magic, and the nine stone statues at the heart of the center were subtly trembling.

A desolate, ancient aura filled with abundant energy surfaced in the center.

And looking at the surrounding Magi who were calm earlier on and had seized the moment to close their eyes, Leylin realized that they were actually in concentration.

Leylin also released his energy, letting his spirit and that aura connect.

Boom!* Like the eruption of lava, like the coming of a tsunami wave, an intense vibration incessantly shook Leylin's heart and at the same time, many confused thoughts crossed his mind.

"This is… a high-level meditation aura!"

Leylin gave Celine a somewhat intoxicated look, and immediately came to his senses.

"Regarding what these Twilight Zone Magi said, they're lacking materials only obtainable from other worlds and their meditation techniques cannot be improved, and now this aura that comes from an ancient meditation technique is to guide them on which path to follow!"

Although this acted only as a guide, there were still many benefits for a rank 1 Magus. Moreover, who knows, there might be geniuses that could use this ancient aura and be able to make modifications on their meditation techniques and skip the steps of using rare and ancient resources.

"It's a pity! In fact, there is no ancient technique that inspires me. Furthermore, rank two Magi have already decided their path and are continuously intensifying further. So those Magi who have been promoted to the second rank also don't look up to these…"

After waiting for the rain of petals to pass, the nine huge stone sculptures regained their tranquility and many of the Magi were then obsessed with keeping their eyes closed.

"Alright! Now to the second point of the agenda, let's come to an agreement!"

The Magus that stood in the middle and who held the weighing scale said softly, with his voice being channeled through an unknown device, was heard by every other Magus present.

Soon after, two Magi walked up to the front and debated loudly with him, and occasionally displayed the recordings of light.

And the Magus holding the weighing scale would make his judgement after having listened to both parties.

Magi from both sides would generally accept the result, and occasionally those who did not would start to challenge each other at the center of the site.

"Can we believe this council member's verdict?" Leylin asked Celine, who was beside him.

"Gandor the council member is a fair and wise senior, and we usually trust his judgements. Moreover, the golden weighing scale that he holds symbolizes fairness. His personal beliefs forbid from violating fairness and justice.

Celine explained softly to Leylin, "Do not ask such questions out loud, otherwise the other Magi will despise us!"

"Oh!" Leylin nodded his head indifferently.

However, he was somewhat bored looking at the issues that were discussed one by one here.

Although there are contradictions in this joint conference, he understood clearly that it was for the protection of the entire strength of the Twilight Zone's Magi and instead of internal conflicts, we should be focusing on foreign enemies.

Humans were not the only rulers in the Twilight Zone, there were also many darkness creatures out there, just like the neighbouring elven empire beside the humans that left many intelligent beings wary of them.

But Leylin was not convinced by this concept. To him, if the Dark Magi were to come in power, they would have already started a war and would be constantly fighting. And through such bloody wars, a selection of the acolytes would be conducted. They would start off from a low-intensity battle which would then gradually increase in difficulty. In this manner, an elite force of magicians could be created!

It was not worth having such an indecisive situation.

This situation was similar to current state between the light and dark Magi.

"Leylin! It is the guild evaluation right after, you need to be careful!" Celine cautiously reminded Leylin.

"Dont worry!" Leylin replied calmly, and at this moment, two unfriendly gazes were laid on him.

Leylin's brows furrowed as he looked at the source of discontentment.

At the seat of the Eight-clawed spider, Skrill lowered his head without delay, but his eyes had a sinister tint.

"You will never survive today's ordeal! From today onwards, Celine is mine!"

"What trump card do you have? Or is the Dense Fog Forest going to interfere?"

Leylin remained calm, knowing that Skrill had slipped away like a beaten-up dog at the sight of him. He strongly believed that Skrill had some sort of backup to rely on.

But to Leylin, the strength of a middle-scaled guild was not enough to threaten him!

"Alright, continuing to the fifth agenda of the conference! The guilds' evaluation" A council member declared.

In a split second, the Magi on site all looked on with eagerness and attention.

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Challenge

For these Magi, mediating the conflicting views from before was merely a small matter. However, the evaluation of guilds could directly affect their interests!

Hence, the atmosphere turned solemn very quickly.

Cough cough!* The council member in the middle coughed lightly, and only after it quietened down did he begin to speak, "The evaluation process will go the same way as before. We will first announce the results before the evaluations are open to challenges. Each guild has, at most, three chances. Lower rated guilds can challenge higher rated guilds, but higher rated guilds are not to interfere with the lower rated guilds. Guilds of the same evaluation can challenge each other to settle any conflicts, and those who are defeated have to wait until the next time…"

Leylin found Celine stiffen from worry after hearing the council member's words.

"Even if you don't have enough strength, those resources are all given out to you by the joint conference. They're not yours in the first place, so why are you so worried?"

Leylin was a little speechless.

From his perspective, one would be able to obtain territory that was proportional to one's own strength. While Celine's mentor had still been around, there had been nothing to fear, but once Celine took over Nature's Alliance, she should have reduced the scale of the guild and given out the resources she had. That was the most sensible course of action.

This time, if not for Leylin sticking his head into the matter, things would not end well for Celine.

Of course, the situation would be vastly different with Leylin around. Furthermore, the icy caves were something Leylin needed to have, by hook or by crook.

Next, after the declaration from the council members of the start of the event, the site began to get livelier.

Many Magi exchanged glances. Though they had many thoughts, none of them made their move right away, as if they were waiting for something.

After a long silence, a Magus in ashen robes stood out from a corner.

"We from Gulde wishes to challenge the Seaflower Society!"

"En! Gulde is an unrated guild, while the Seaflower Society is a small-scale guild. The challenge is permitted; may the Magi of both guilds enter the stage!"

A Magus wearing presbyopic glasses flipped through a thick book and nodded.

The Seaflower Society sent out an old geezer with blue hair and some strange runes on his face. His guild had been pointed out and challenged, so naturally, he was not in a good mood.

Didn't this imply that their Seaflower Society had already fallen this low?

At this thought, killing intent flashed in his eyes as he made up his mind to make this an unforgettable lesson for his opponent.

Meanwhile, the Magus in ashen robes was stupefied.

Upon waiting for the confirmation from the council member once more, two fluctuations from spells exploded at the site.

At the same time, a light-yellow dome of energy shot out from all corners, protecting the audience and council members from any stray attacks from the battle.

Leylin watched on with interest.

He wasn't very clear about the strength of the official Magi in Twilight Zone, and this was a good opportunity for him to find out.

Through the few mediations from before as well as what was currently happening, he was able to understand many things.

As subterranean Magi were faced with powerful enemy forces, there were no scholars who solely focused on just research.

These Magi were quite formidable, and they were fast in setting up their spell models. They had also grasped the technique of the instantaneous and silent release of spells, and on average, their battle power was one level higher than that of Magi from the south coast.

In addition, most of them had grasped one or two spells with immense killing power, and they had no apprehensions about using them.

This was another characteristic of theirs that allowed them to surpass the Magi of the south coast by a large margin.

Bang!*

All of a sudden, the scene of the battlefield changed.

The ashen-robed Magus waved his arm, and two large black crosses appeared, which criss crossed and pierced towards the Magus from the Seaflower Society.

"The Cross of Anginus!" The Magus from the Seaflower Society yelled out the name of this spell in fear, continuously adding a few more protective layers in front of him and evaded at a flying speed.

"Serator! You can't escape!"

The ashen-robed Magus hissed for a long while, and his clothes split open at the back, revealing a pair of giant wings.

Whoosh! Whoosh!* The black feathers on the wings were like steel, the tip revealing a luster seen on sharp objects. With the impetus from the wings, he soared into the sky.

Two grey crosses of light flew to his feet, forming something like two sets of eagle claws.

Sou! Sou! Sou!*

The grey figure constantly flashed, and after producing his wings, his speed increased until he almost became a shadow.

The grey figure constantly collided with the defensive layers.

Ka-cha!*

The defensive layers of the Magus from the Seaflower Society seemed to produce a tearing sound before it was being completely ripped apart.

Pu!* Large claws mercilessly tore at the chest of the Magus from the Seaflower Society, and the man let out a miserable cry.

Meanwhile, one could see with their naked eyes, the withering of flesh spanning out from the Magus of the Seaflower Society's wounds.

"I admit defeat!"

Before the other claw reached his body, this Magus immediately yelled.

However, a cold glint appeared in the gaze of this ashen-robed Magus, and the grey claw increased its speed by thirty percent

"That's enough!" A council member holding a scale shouted coldly, and the powerful spiritual force of a peak rank 1 Magus swept across. A brownish-yellow hand rose from the earth and protected the injured Magus from the Seaflower Society, protecting him from the attack of the ashen-robed Magus.

"My apologies, my lord! I was unable to hold back in time!"

The ashen-robed Magus descended onto the ground and removed the effects from his spells regaining his appearance as a regular human. He bowed, looking respectful.

"Hmph! Gulde's challenge was successful, so it is now promoted to be a small-scaled guild. The Seaflower Society will now be demoted a ranking and is now in the unrated category. All the resources that have been allocated to the Seaflower Group guild by the joint conference will be transferred over right away, and our council members will supervise this process."

This council member furrowed his brow and snorted, but still announced loudly.

"Many thanks, my lord!" The ashen-robed Magus bowed once more.

Meanwhile, the Magus from the Seaflower Society became deathly pale and fainted.

Leylin, who watched on, was not too surprised. After all, since the ashen-robed Magus had taken the initiative to challenge the Seaflower Society, it was natural that he must have been confident.

After that, a few unrated guilds chose to challenge some other guilds.

Most of the challenged guilds were small-scale guilds that were declining, and almost all of the challenges were successful. Only one small-scale guild won, protecting what belonged to them.

This contest mostly happened between small-scale and unrated guilds. The medium-scale guilds rarely went onstage, and as for large-scale guilds, they were remote existences that only served as witnesses and judges.

"Dear council members, we of the Eight-Clawed Spider wish to challenge the Nature's Alliance guild!"

Suddenly, Skrill's voice sounded out.

"Hm?" The Magi present shifted their gazes towards him.

Usually, challenges between similarly ranked guilds rarely happened unless there was enmity between them.

As the Eight Clawed Spider Guild was already a small-scale guild, they would only cause Nature's Alliance to lose their resources if they were victorious. What they would obtain would be meagre.

"Skrill! If you had any conflicts with Nature's Alliance, why did you not mention it during the mediation period and instead wait until now?"

The council member holding the scale furrowed his brows.

"My apologies, my lord! The animosity between us and Nature's Alliance is not appropriate to be declared here, but please approve my request!" Skrill bowed, sounding resolute.

The lines on the council member's forehead became deeper.

Honestly speaking, he did not want there to be internal friction between two small-scale guilds. However, Eight-Clawed Spider was not a medium-scale guild, and challenges between guilds of the same ranking were allowed.

The moment Nature's Alliance was defeated, not only would they lose their spot, but they would also have to hand over all their resources to be re-distributed by the joint conference. Skrill could only, at most, obtain a portion of these resources.

As there were no benefits to it, few Magi chose to do this.

However, Leylin knew that they would definitely choose to take the icy caves! Knowing the situation, the abyss in his pupils grew darker, and a sneer appeared on his lips.

"Alright! Guild leader of Nature's Alliance, Celine, who will you send onstage?"

The council member looked towards Celine.

"I invite our famed professor, Mister Leylin, to represent my Nature's Alliance guild and battle!" Celine gave a slight bow.

Leylin sighed and stood up.

"I am also sending out our famed professor to represent we of the Eight-Clawed Spider onstage!" At the other side, Skrill immediately bowed and moved aside to reveal the figure behind him.

It was a human figure completely wrapped in black mist. There were also numerous black tendrils fluctuating around it.

"Hm? They both sent out famed professors!"

The surrounding Magi broke out into a discussion.

Though small-scaled guilds could invite famed professors to act as external support, only one professor was allowed to act. Since there were very few Magi working alone, such situations rarely appeared.

Now, with two suddenly appearing, it was no wonder that the Magi were surprised.

There were a few Magi who could somewhat see through part of the strength of Leylin and the person wrapped in mist, and they shrunk back in fear, their eyes showing their terror.

"En! You have both chosen famed professors to battle?"

The council member holding a thick book looked at Leylin, and some probing spells even flashed, before he flipped through his book.

"Professor Leylin of Nature's Alliance guild does not belong to any other guild, and can thus represent Nature's Alliance!"

"Magus Skrill, please get the Magus behind you to reveal his face for inspection!"

The council members spoke to Skrill.

Seeing this, Skrill could only speak to the person wrapped in the mist in a low voice.

The black mist then dissipated, revealing a face that was foreign to all the Magi here.

"Xerxes greets all of you!"

What appeared in front of the audience was a very androgynous face. Even the voice was neither male nor female; one could not tell this person's gender.

The Magus called Xerxes seemed to want to provoke Leylin, shooting him a glance from the corner of his eyes.

"En! The famed professor from the Eight-Clawed Spider meets the requirements as well. I hereby announce…"

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Six Stars

Just when the council member was about to announce the start of the fight, Leylin suddenly interrupted him.

"What? Do you want to admit your defeat right now, Celine?"

Of course, Skrill did not dare to be brazen with Leylin. In fact, regardless of whether it was Leylin or Xerxes, he could not afford to offend either of them. Hence, he could only taunt Celine.

"Rubbish!" Celine retorted angrily, worriedly looking at Leylin at the same time.

"Leylin… He… He wouldn't just give up because of his inability to clearly see through Xerxes's strength, would he?"

Celine clenched her fists, and even started breaking out in cold sweat.

Honestly, with her talents and meditation skills, Celine was very confident previously that she would be able to defeat all the Magi that had competed in the previous rounds.

However, upon seeing Leylin's strength, her confidence had dissipated into thin air.

Right now, Celine realised that she did not understand Leylin a single bit.

"Magus Leylin! Do you have any problem?"

The council member holding the books asked.

"I recall that during the evaluation, other than these battling methods, aren't there other ways as well?"

Leylin looked around the arena and took in Skrill's taunting, Celine's anxiety, and Xerxes's killing intent. He laughed abruptly and then questioned.

Once the word went out, all the Magi looked stunned.

"Yes, there is such a rule. You can even be exempted from fighting through your research contributions." The council members quickly responded with little emotions.

"However, the results of your research have to be made public, and must be recognised by the council members. Furthermore, since Nature's Alliance is a small-scale guild, the information you provide has to be at a rank of at least 5 stars"

Research with a rank of 5 stars was equivalent to research conducted by peak rank 1 Magi, and is obviously not easy to obtain.

Celine had the same idea previously, but unfortunately, the council members' evaluation of research was extremely strict. Furthermore, the nine biggest large-scale guilds were already at the level where you could find the region's finest research. Hence, very few things would interest them.

Moreover, a lot of time and effort was required to obtain research data of this level. The time invested in the research is no less than the time taken in inviting a semi converted elemental Magus. Hence, after conducting the research for a period of time, Celine gave up on that idea.

"Should you research data not be at the level of 5 stars, it would mean that you lose your independent research without garnering any gains. We hope you can think it over!"

"Please do not worry, I am very confident in my own research!" Furthermore, Magi have always been virtuous people searching for the truth, so in this path of the search for knowledge, I do not mind sharing the results of my research with my fellow man"

Leylin's words were immediately well received by the crowd of magi.

Many high-level magi that are on friendly terms would gather to exchange their own experiences so that they could improve together.

"We can see the glory of ancient times in your being!"

The nine council members nodded their heads, "Please present your information!"

"I object!" Skrill immediately shouted. He agitatedly pointed towards Leylin, his eight-clawed spider legs seemingly trembling "We were first in issuing our challenge. Even if the information were to be presented, it can only be done so after the challenge!"

"Objection overruled! Magus Leylin's ways are in accordance with the ancient rules!"

A few council members immediately suppressed Skrill's objection. Magus Xerxes, on the other hand just coldly started, his thoughts unable to be determined.

Looking at the scene before him, Leylin snickered to himself.

Under the witness of so many Magi, a battle to the death would be like a monkey show set up for an audience. Was that really in his best interests?

Even though many Magi would be willing to do so under the influence of the interests involved, Leylin was not one of them!

Furthermore, in front of the nine peak rank 1 Magi, along with the Magi troops, Leylin would not be able to kill. Otherwise, as Leylin's injuries were not yet completely healed, he would not be able to defend against the joint attack of nine peak rank 1 Magi. He also did not want to offend the nine large-scale guilds that the nine peak rank 1 Magi belonged to.

After all, the large-scale guilds must have Magi of at least rank 2. Leylin did not want to find trouble at all.

Hence since he was not able to kill, there was no point in accepting the challenge and putting on a monkey show for others.

Naturally, Leylin would choose the most effortless method.

He smiled, his every movement resembling how the ancient royalty were trained. He seemed calm, and together with the unique warlock's charm that he had, this convinced many of the Magi.

The eyes of Mistress Sache, whom Leylin had previously met, lit up like two balls of fire.

Immediately, Leylin passed his already prepared research data to the council members.

This was, in part, the flawed articles he had seen in the Nature's Alliance. The research had already progressed to the final stages, but unfortunately, because of the lack of crucial steps, the articles were not able to be developed into a meditation.

However, Leylin was different. He was a rank 2 Warlock, and had the support of the entire knowledge vault of the south coast. He could be said to have a bird's eye view of the whole situation. Together with the incredible mathematical operations of the A.I. Chip, with a few tweaks here and there, Leylin would be able to produce research of a high calibre.

Leylin was able to obtain the data without much trouble, and the information did not cost very much. However, when presented externally, these data were considered to have at least a rank of 5 stars, the equivalent importance of a peak rank 1 Magus. This was sufficient to allow the Magi present to vie for the information .

Sure enough, upon receiving the crystal ball filled with research formulas and graphical information, the faces of the council members became more solemn.

Their faces were serious while they perused the crystal ball in succession, and all the while, they were animatedly engaging in discussion.

In the end, they even gathered in a circle, agitatedly discussing and letting out cries of argument from time to time.

Meanwhile, Skrill's heart grew heavier, while Celine's face revealed a smile. The Magi outside were anticipating the results, eager to see Leylin's research data.

With regards to all the goings on, Leylin pretended not to notice and continued to calmly stand upright.

Just based on this cultivation of calmness during the chaos, Leylin received the admiration of the Magi here.

"Hu!"

Eventually, the council members returned to their seats. The council member sitting in the middle even removed his presbyopic glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Bang!* He aggressively slammed his gavel downwards, which meant that the official evaluation of the research would begin.

"According to the council members' unanimous decision, the information Magus Leylin has provided regarding the biological structure and bloodline of dark elves is to be classified as having a rank of 6 stars!"

Hua!* The venue resonated with cries of wonder. The fact that Leylin's provided information would be able to be pass the test was within the expectations of many of the Magi. This was because Magi were not stupid; if they were to present any information, it must be because they were confident that it would suffice.

However, little did they expect that the information Leylin provided would actually have a rank of 6 stars!

Research of this nature must be close to the standards of a rank 2 Magus.

"These data will be recorded in the collective data vault. All Magi present will be able to use these contributions…"

After the council member had made the announcement, he immediately beamed. "Magus Leylin's aspirations and intensive studying spirit has obtained my admiration. May I know whether there will be a chance in the future to invite Magus Leylin to my institute to undergo an interview?"

"It would be my honour!" Leylin bowed slightly.

Meanwhile, on the side, Celine seemed a bit dazzled.

"Master! We have succeeded!" Only when the sound if Ilya cheering entered her ear did she return to her senses, her eyes watery with tears that were on the verge of falling.

At this moment, all the difficulties they had experienced in the past, along with the ridicule they had to suffer, appeared in her mind. "Teacher, can you see this…"

"Hmph!"

Skrill's face was extremely dark. He glared at Celine, "Consider yourselves lucky this time around. I hope that luck will always follow you!"

After which, without turning back once, he left the venue, with Xerxes unhurriedly following behind him.

This time around, the plot of the Eight-Clawed Spider was fruitless, and with the possibility of inducing rage from the Dense Fog Forest, Skrill did not want to stay at the conference for a single minute longer.

"Leylin! Thank you!"

After Leylin returned to his seat, Celine held his hands, her face filled with a genuine smile.

"It was nothing!" Leylin smiled.

Actually, Leylin was very sure that this matter was far from over.

After their open and aboveboard plans have failed, the opponent could only utilise underhanded means now.

"Underhanded means? But those are my favourites!"

Leylin smiled coldly. Right now, during the joint conference, the only restrained party in this case wasn't merely his opponent but himself as well. After all, he had started off as a legitimate dark Magus. Bloodshed and killing were very common to him.

When that happened, it would be too late for the other party to have regrets.

With regards to Leylin's contributions, the Nature's Alliance was able to be exempted from the challenge this time around, and could be considered to have survived an ordeal.

After the evaluation, there was nothing much to see at the conference.

There were only a few guilds left to compete with one another. During the majority of the time, the apprentices would compete in a friendly context. This was also one of the reasons why Celine had brought Obo and Ilya to the conference.

Leylin had completed his task at hand, and so he sat with Celine, who was beaming, as they watched other Magi compete.

"Leylin! I can't believe that I would see you here!"

At this moment, a Magus with a gold-plated, robotic right hand walked over, his face radiating with happiness.

"I can't believe this, you actually joined the Nature's Alliance without telling anyone!"

"Hello, Siegfried!"

Leylin greeted him. "There was no other choice since they had something very tempting to me in their hands! Moreover, I'm only a honorary professor, which means I can also guild."

"Oh, I know!"

Siegfried's face revealed a smile that all men would be able to understand. It was obvious that Leylin was bewitched by Celine, was it not?

"Come! Let me bring you to meet some of the high-ranking officers in the Earth Fire Association!"

Compared to his previous interactions with Leylin, Siegfried was now more cordial.

After all, Siegfried was currently not able to discern Leylin's true abilities. However, based on the presentation of his high-end research standards and academic attainments, it was worth it to rope Leylin in.

In addition, a few high-level guilds council members had all expressed their friendliness in succession, which made it even more plausible to try and rope Leylin in.

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Mist Transformation

A carriage travelled across the dark plains unhurriedly.

Two wildebeests pulled the carriage. Due to the unhurried nature of the journey, these two steeds snorted as they gnawed at the plants along the path from time to time.

Around the carriage, a layer of light illuminated the surrounding land.

This was due to a constant illumination magic being applied to the horse carriage.

"Leylin, you made Obo and Ilya lower the speed of the carriage, and you also had me prepare this. What is this all about?"

Within the horse carriage, Celine asked Leylin as she suddenly raised her head and lifted a crystal ball that glowed with runes.

"It's obviously to wait for somebody!" Leylin reclined on the cushioned seat as he squinted his eyes.

"Is it...Skrill from the Eight-Clawed Spider?"

Celine was an intelligent woman, and her expression changed immediately.

"Not only that, but perhaps also Magi from the Dense Fog Forest. After all, I am here!"

Leylin chuckled and suddenly walked out to the front of the carriage.

"Prof...Professor, look!"

The horse carriage stopped, and Obo, who had been riding, stuttered. In front of him, a dense wall of fog formed and blocked the way.

Although there were areas in the Twilight Zone with dense fog, such thick fog was abnormal. The power of the Magi who were mingled within the fog had given away their determination to massacre them tonight.

"A fog barrier! A specialised spell only known to Magi from the Dense Fog Forest. It really is them!"

Celine sighed from behind, "What should we do?"

After having experienced so many things, Leylin had already taken a leading role in Celine's heart. Since this was the case, once she encountered a problem, she would seek out Leylin's opinion first.

"As planned, all of you do not have to interfere with this, just keep yourselves safe!"

Leylin hopped down from the horse carriage and walked towards the wall of fog.

Under the illumination of the light, the grey fog seemed to congeal like a serum, with spiral waves occasionally forming.

"No matter how well-mannered, organised, or awe-inspiring they are, a Magus will always be a Magus! For the sake of benefits, taking a small risk like this is nothing!"

Leylin smirked.

Under such circumstances, if all of them were to perish here, Leylin would be able to take care of any repercussions later by tidying things up a little after having killed them.

As such he wasn't surprised but was rather happy instead.

"It really saves me the time of gathering them all in one bunch like this!" Leylin immediately raised both his hands and pressed on the wall of fog.

Ka-cha!* *Ka-cha!*

With Leylin as the centre, a layer of frost began to spread and froze the wall of fog.

In a very short amount of time, the wall of fog had turned into walls of ice that revealed inverted images of the objects in the surroundings.

This frost power came from the aftermath of the icy radiation he had received, which he had just released all at once.

"En! Not bad!" Leylin looked at both his hands.

His hands now were snow white, like jade, and even revealed a lustre deep inside them.

"With the adaptation to increased tolerance to the icy radiation completed, I can begin to freeze the imprints inside my bloodline!"

Leylin smiled and gently tapped on the icy wall.

Ka-cha!* *Ka-cha!* *Ka-cha!* *Ka-cha!*

Fine cracks appeared and spread rapidly from where his fingers had tapped.

Seconds later, the web of cracks covered the entirety of the ice walls, which subsequently shattered and turned into fine shards of ice that fluttered into the wind.

Rumble!*

With a huge rumbling sound, the wall of fog crumbled like toy bricks breaking apart.

Several figures were soon revealed after the dispersion of the fog wall.

"As expected, it's you Skrill! And also, Xerxes!"

Celine gritted her teeth.

The ones obstructing their way were Skrill, Xerxes, along with several old geezers. Their bodies radiated the might of semi-converted elemental Magi, with traces of grey fog that continuously swirled around their fingers.

Expressions of alarm could be seen on the faces of the geezers as they were rather frightened by Leylin's apparent ease in his dispelling of the fog wall.

"You are indeed a peak rank 1 Magus, Mister!"

Amongst this group, the androgynous Xerxes, who was distinctly the leader, said and bowed.

"These are issues that we have with the Nature's Alliance, would Mister Leylin please choose to back down for the moment? After this matter, no matter what conditions you have agreed on with them, we will multiply them manifold!"

As he finished speaking, it was like as if seal that had come undone as a violent power coursed through Xerxes' body, which made Celine turn pale. As for Obo and Ilya, they had almost fainted.

"A peak rank 1 Magus! He is actually a peak rank 1 Magus!"

Celine clutched the hem of her robes tightly.

Under the presence of another Magus of equal standing, one might choose to compromise. However, Leylin shook his head and outright refused Xerxes's suggestion. To him, anyone who coveted the icy cave could only be a certain type of person, a dead one!

"Pardon me for my impudence then!"

In the next moment, Xerxes, who still had a calm air, underwent a tremendous bodily change.

Similar to a fiery volcanic eruption, intense energy waves emanated from his body, and countless grey energy particles condensed and formed a tide of energy waves.

"Fog Giant!"

Along with Xerxes' incantation, a giant elemental genie appeared.

From waist down this genie was a mass swirling fog and its upper body had the shape of a man. It's whole body was greyish white, and the muscles on both arms were extremely defined. Its ginormous stature was also extremely impressive.

"In my name, I order you to kill him!" Xerxes pointed at Leylin.

The Fog Giant roared, and two fists the size of hills smashed towards Leylin's direction!

"Attacking with such power from the start? Are you planning to kill me?"

The slight smile about Leylin's lips did not falter.

"Looks like he's guessed that I know about the Icy Caves and thought I was a contender, so he's planning to kill and silence me?"

In actuality, this opponent had guessed correctly, but what they did not know was that Leylin's strength far surpassed them, and had the same intentions of killing them!

"Wind!"

As he faced the Fog Giant's attack, Leylin merely recited a syllable.

Weng!* A violent black tornado formed between him and the giant. The large number of wind blades pushed the giant's fists back.

Hsss!*

Following that, a spiritual force more powerful, more sinister than Xerxes' descended upon the battlefield.

Black darkness elemental particles swept through like a tide, crushing the energy wave that Xerxes had formed into nothingness.

In the Twilight Zone, darkness elemental particles were very concentrated. On top of that, the solidification of Leylin's spiritual force as a rank 2 Warlock could overpower his opponent.

Countless darkness elemental particles gathered around Leylin, to the point that they could be seen with the naked eye.

As a light wind lifted him into the air, the elemental particles fused with the tornado! Its volume had expanded immediately and it turned into an ancient creature with a ferocious, violent aura.

This was a tall and lanky giant beast that was around seven to eight hundred metres long. It had dense black scales on its body, and a pair of amber eyes that were as large as a water jar. It carried with it a malevolent, bloodthirsty aura!

Meanwhile, Leylin stood on this large black giant snake, appearing to be calm.

Just the confrontation between this giant snake and giant was enough for Skrill, Celine and the others to try their best to take shelter and quickly retreat to another area.

"This is a battle between peak rank 1 Magi! Just a single ripple of energy can easily destroy you. Be careful!"

While Celine retreated, she protected the two acolytes and warned them.

Meanwhile, Obo and Ilya were staring at the person on top of the large giant snake enviously, their expressions filled with yearning and hope.

Celine could only smile wryly at this scene.

How could one reach the peak of rank 1 so easily? These two acolytes were the core seeds of her guild. One would already thank the heavens if they could rise to become an official Magus in the future, but to reach Leylin's level? Difficult!

"He… He's actually this strong?"

On the other end, while Skrill knew Leylin was at the peak of rank 1, he had no idea how powerful Magi like Leylin could be, and he could only gape in response.

"How is Lord Xerxes?" Seeing the Fog Giant beaten down by the giant black snake, Skrill was extremely anxious.

"Don't worry! Our guild leader is very strong, and he hasn't even brought his trump card out yet!"

The other two semi-converted elders immediately comforted him. In their eyes however, there was very little confidence.

"Distinguished Leylin, you truly are an opponent worthy of respect!"

At this moment, Xerxes suddenly exclaimed, "This next attack will be my last. I hope you won't disappoint me."

"Mist Transformation!" Xerxes muttered in a low voice.

Large amounts of fog were sent out from his body, and it constantly gathered at the body of the Fog Giant. Meanwhile, Xerxes' body shrunk until all was left was a pile of clothes.

Meanwhile, the Fog Giant rapidly increased in size until it was 50% larger than before, and fluctuations could be seen on its face. With a grey flash of light, Xerxes' face appeared there.

"I remember now! This is Mist Transformation, the strongest attack of the guild leader of the Dense Fog Forest! He once used this attack to kill a Magus who was similarly at the peak of rank 1! Be careful, Leylin! This Xerxes is the disguise of the guild leader of the Dense Fog Forest!"

Celine, who was standing not too far away suddenly seemed to remember something and reminded him loudly.

"I see!" Leylin nodded.

The effects of his opponent's spell were not half-bad.

The original Fog Giant's attack power was only around 60, but after Mist Transformation, the A.I. Chip warned Leylin that the number had increased to almost 79.

This was practically the limits of what a rank 1 Magus could do! It was no surprise that his opponent could kill Magi of similar rank with this attack.

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Severe Injuries

Leylin glanced at the Fog Giant that was in front of him.

After Xerxes fused with the Fog Giant, not only did its strength increase, but its movements also became more agile.

"Based on the principle of elemental essence conversion, can the physical body itself be converted into an element? An interesting train of thought!"

How knowledgeable was Leylin in this area? He had stored all the academic knowledge from the south coast in the A.I. Chip, and with a few glances, he could roughly deduce the theory and application behind this ultimate attack formed from fog.

"It's a pity that a Magus' body is the only place where spiritual force can be stored. The moment the physical body is converted, it will then lose the chance to go one step further!"

Leylin sighed, seemingly looking upon his opponent with pity.

This attitude had obviously infuriated Xerxes, and with a roar, the Fog Giant charged over.

Leylin fearlessly manipulated the large giant serpent and had it coil around his opponent.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!*

The scale of the battle increased in size, and giant rocks the size of hills were smashed by the two of them, flying in all directions. There were even some sparks at the tail, creating a trailing flame.

"To this extent?!"

Not only Celine but also the other Magi were stunned.

Meanwhile, while on the back of the giant snake, black light flashed in Leylin's eyes. Numerous black fireballs flew out from the shadows.

The fireballs converged and condensed, forming a small, blazing black sun that was even more sinister looking.

Latent Fireball, the spell that Leylin had invented, had a reputation that could rock the south coast with the numerous Magi that had been killed by it, had finally revealed itself once again in Twilight Zone.

And the Magus he was facing was at the peak of rank 1!

Xerxes' expression became serious, evidently sensing the destructive power hidden within Latent Fireball. *Hah! Hah!*

Pant!* *Pant!*

Making the first move, Xerxes took in a deep breath, and two streams of white gas that could be seen with the naked eye rushed into his mouth.

This stream was extremely powerful, to the point that even a tornado appeared in the air. Even bits of plants and little rocks began to float.

After taking in this large amount of air, the Fog Giant's chest expanded at a speed that was visible to the naked eye. It was as if it was a giant frog.

"Secondary Energy Air Cannon!" The giant opened its mouth, puffed out, and a light green compressed air bomb-like cannonball attacked Leylin.

"Go!"

The air cannonball brought with it immense wind pressure, and Leylin's clothes rustled loudly from the wind.

Meanwhile, Leylin indifferently pointed at the Latent Fireball in the air.

The black latent fireball immediately stretched out, formed a black lance that caused distortion ripples in the air, and charged to the front of the air cannonball.

Pu!* Like a balloon that had been pierced, the black lance pierced through the air cannonball.

Following this, the Secondary Energy Air Cannon exploded and deflated.

The black lance's power continuosly extended as it ruthlessly used its momentum to plough into the chest of the Fog Giant.

Black rays flashed and some flames blazed on the body of the giant, tenaciously extending till they covered half its chest.

Xerxes, who had fused with the Fog Giant, winced, and had evidently felt pain.

"Ah…" The Latent Fireball burnt not only the physical body, but also the formless spiritual force, and even the spirit! Xerxes began to scream pitifully.

"Don't think you can get away with this when you've gotten me in this state!" Xerxes' looked resolute, bringing the Fog Giant in front of the black giant snake.

"Self-detonate!"

With this thought, the entire Fog Giant exploded.

The black giant snake was drowned in fog and fire.

Rumble!*

The ground constantly vibrated, as if a large earthquake had happened. Dust floated tens of metres high and blocked the whole scene from view.

Moments later, a human figure was launched out from within the dust.

"It's the Guild Leader!" A few Magi from the Dense Fog Forest immediately went up to help.

Xerxes did not look to be in a good state, with a large hole in his chest and numerous wounds all over.

All of a sudden, rays of light fluctuated above his face, and his original face disappeared, revealing that of a middle-aged man who looked to be a pacifist.

"It really is the guild leader of the Dense Fog Forest!" Celine muttered not far away, the crystal ball in her hands constantly flashing with light.

"Guild leader, are you alright?"

A few semi-converted Magi elders immediately asked concernedly, after catching hold of Xerxes.

"He's also injured, but his injuries are slightly lighter than mine. He can still battle. Let's leave quickly!"

Though Xerxes looked to be seriously hurt, his ability to think was not compromised.

"Understood!" The few Magi made to leave, with Skrill following closely behind.

"All of you can leave except for him!" Leylin's voice sounded from within the cloud of dust.

Shortly afterwards, an icy blue ray of light shot out, striking Skrill who was trying to activate a scroll!

A blue layer of ice immediately formed around him, turning him into a blue, human-shaped ice sculpture.

The dust settled, revealing Leylin's figure.

He was now extremely pale, with some blood at the corner of his lips. The fluctuations of his spiritual force were unstable, and he looked to be seriously injured.

"Since Lord Leylin has spoken, we'll leave him behind!"

Xerxes struggled to answer, and upon hearing this, the semi-converted Magi supported Xerxes and retreated, not even sparing a second glance in his direction.

"Leylin!" Celine immediately rushed out, not hiding any of her worry.

"I'm fine!" Leylin waved his arms, "Have you recorded everything down?"

"Yes. I'll send them to the council members of the joint conference and indict them!" Celine looked furious.

"No, not yet." Leylin waved his arms.

"Also, bring Skrill along as well. He's an important witness!"

"Yes!" Though Celine was still doubtful, she naturally did not dare ask more questions after having seen Leylin showing off his might.

As she wanted to give Leylin space to recuperate, Celine went outside and squeezed in with Obo and Ilya.

In the carriage, there was only Leylin and the frozen Skrill.

A layer of black elemental particles instantly formed a divide that split the interior and exterior of the carriage into two completely different sections.

Leylin stretched and stood up.

It did not even look like he was injured at all.

"A surprise attack midway and having a witness is crucial enough to indict the other side for serious penalties. However, this will, at most, shake Dense Fog Forest's position. It isn't practical if we want to completely uproot them."

Leylin understood this well.

In addition, since their opponents had tried to kill them, it was alright for Leylin to fight back and even kill one or two Magi from their side. However, if he did not let this matter rest and eradicated them completely, then that would be going against the laws of the subterranean world.

Magi grasped the bigger picture in the Twilight Zone and attempted to unify against the elven empire and darkness creatures. Hence having such internal conflicts were disapproved of within the committee.

Even a rank 2 Magus would find it difficult to deal with this situation, much less Leylin, who had yet to completely recover.

Hence, he had to tempt his opponents to slip-up even more, and then respond while protected by a valid excuse.

"After seeing my strength, I'm sure they must be feeling uneasy!"

Leylin grinned while stroking his chin.

"Besides, the seeds of enmity have been planted. Believing we're almost equally powerful and considering my status as 'heavily injured', paired with the tremendous benefits from the Icy World, I believe they wouldn't consider trying to settle this with us. Rather, they'll try to eliminate me as soon as possible!"

Medium-scaled guilds had an ample number of hidden cards. Furthermore, besides the guild leader, they had many powerful Magi that, when they banded together, would cause a great deal of grief even to a peak rank 1 Magus.

Xerxes had not gone all out this time, naturally because he believed in his might.

The next time, he would come out at full strength!

However, this was what Leylin wanted. Their opponent was already at their doorstep, and wanted to eliminate the guild! Under this circumstances, it was reasonable for him to strike back brazenly and destroy the enemy, right?

Besides, the buffering time before this that had happened was enough for Leylin to use the freezing bloodline imprint to regain his full strength.

Once he regained his strength as a rank 2 Warlock, he would be free to wander freely. As long as he did not meet anyone like that old rank 3 freak previously, he would definitely be able to protect himself.

"Next up!" Leylin shifted his gaze to Skrill, who was in the block of ice.

The Spider Man's eyes were unblinking, and he was only able to display a pleading expression.

Leylin smiled gently and advanced…

When the carriage reached a waterfall, Leylin descended from the carriage with a pale appearance.

Meanwhile, Skrill had already been retrieved from the ice and was now merely unconscious. Celine ordered for him to be imprisoned.

This was obviously Leylin's plan.

Using a few methods, he found that Skrill did not, in fact, know much about the Icy World. All he knew was that the Dense Fog Forest was drooling over the icy caves, and Leylin's killing intent died down.

From his perspective, Skrill would make a pretty good subordinate. He was semi-converted, and that was enough to do many things in Twilight Zone.

In addition, he was an able witness. Though Leylin did not believe in this method, this was enough to mitigate some potential troubles.

Though he was unafraid of trouble, he did dislike it. It was not a bad idea to reduce it as much as possible.

Lastly, Nature's Alliance was much too weak. To complete his grand plan, he would need a few capable subordinates.

Leylin could not really trust Celine.

It wasn't in fear of her betrayal. This woman was far too intelligent, and after gaining a large amount of power, she might prioritise her own benefits over Leylin's words.

She might not betray him, but there might be instances where she paid lip service to him, using her position and getting overconfident.

Hence, it was necessary to pull in and control people who would definitely side with him.

In Leylin's eyes, Nature's Alliance's power would expand greatly, and would require his own staff.

If not, it was easy to be hoodwinked.

After seeing the demise of the Dense Fog Forest, he was sure that Skrill would make a sensible decision. After all, dark Magi were also very adept at controlling emotions!

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Frost Innate Spell

A few days later, rumours had begun to spread around the Twilight Zone.

The rumours claimed that the guild leader of the Dense Fog Forest longed for the resources held by the Nature's Alliance and the other small-scale guilds, and had been plotting to absorb them on the sly. There was even news that the Dense Fog Forest wanted to openly rob and murder the guild leader of the Nature's Alliance!

Even though the assassination was not successful, there were rumours about both Celine and the Nature's Alliance honorary professor, Leylin, being seriously injured.

These rumours first started spreading within a small circle of Magi, but very soon more people came to know about them. What was stranger about this situation was that the Dense Fog Forest had not sent anyone to refute the rumours, but had instead added fuel to the fire.

The largest propagator would reap the most benefits! Even though medium-scale guilds or even large-scale guilds had done the same, it was rare to see such unfiltered, unsightly tactics like those of the Dense Fog Forest.

Immediately all small-scale guilds of the Eastern Twilight Zone became cautious and distanced themselves from the Nature's Alliance.

At the narrow valley behind a big waterfall, Nature's Alliance's headquarters.

Celine looked inside the laboratory within a large icy mountain that was a short distance away and sighed.

Upon returning to Nature's Alliance's, Leylin had practically stayed in the laboratory the entire time.

"I need time to heal! Remember, whatever the matter may be, don't disturb me!"

That was Leylin's words then, but the cold icy look within his eyes had caused Celine to be even more fearful.

Obviously, Celine had instructed the release of the rumours within the Twilight Zone as to ensure that the Dense Fog Forest would have some reservations before making their next move.

However, Dense Fog Forest's silence was not expected, and this made Celine's heart very heavy.

In these kinds of situations, the natural thing to do would be to first flare up and then to maintain silence.

"I hope Leylin can recover soon!"

Celine's eyes revealed a sense of worry.

At this point in time, Leylin was the only person she could depend on.

At this moment, within the laboratory that had already transformed into an icy mountain, Leylin seemed to have been leisurely observing his palm.

On his palm that was as white as jade there appeared to be a glowing white layer radiating from it.

"Frost!" Leylin gently recited an ancient spell in the Byron language.

Whoosh!*

A cold wind whistled, and many snowflakes rotated on his palm and formed a small frost tornado.

"I can't believe that after the frost had taken effect, not only has my sea of consciousness fully healed, a power within in my body regarding an ability related to frost energy has also been awakened!"

Leylin casually toyed with the mini frost tornado on his palm, his eyes revealed that he seemed to be distracted.

In his mind, his rejuvenated body had received a set of data from the A.I. Chip.

[Leylin Farlier. Rank 2 Warlock, Bloodline: Giant Kemoyin Serpent. Strength: 21.1, Agility: 14.4, Vitality: 27.9, Spiritual force: 104.3, Magic power: 104 (magic power is in synchronisation with spiritual force)] [Beep! A new innate talent has been created within the Host's body, transferring data]

The A.I. Chip's voice intoned.

[Host's innate spell: Increase in affinity and control of frost energy particles. Reduction by 40 degrees of frost related attacks! Ability to manipulate frost energy in a small area!]

This is similar to having a new innate spell, even though it is only rank 1.

"No! That's not all!" Leylin immediately ordered the A.I Chip to show his graph on elemental capabilities.

In fact, everyone has an affinity with various element types, only that it is extremely small and almost negligible.

Talented acolytes had affinity with various element types far greater than that of the normal levels, at least 50 times and above, and that was also the Magi world's official levels.

Originally, Leylin had the most affinity with the darkness element type followed by the fire type, and then the plant type which was such a small amount that it could be ignored. With regards to his affinity with the other elemental types, they were so minute that it could only be represented in decimal points.

As for now, the graph representing Leylin's elemental affinities had experienced minor changes.

The darkness element type still had the longest bar, and even exceeded that of previous levels. This strengthening of Leylin's innate gift could be attributed to the numerous triggering of Leylin's bloodline, and because he chose to cultivate in the darkness element. Thus, he obtained an increase in the element, which was a lot higher than that of other elements, even exceeding that of the total of the remaining elements.

The next highest ranked element Leylin had an affinity with is that of the red bar that represented the fire element, which had also experienced an increase, though of a smaller magnitude.

After the fire element, was that of the green bar representing the plant element type. It was extremely short, indicating that Leylin's innate gift in this area was not as developed as the other elements.

After this, there was an additional bar.

It was a shade of pale blue, representing the element pertaining to freezing, frost, and ice.

Originally, the affinity levels were extremely low, to the point that the A.I. Chip did not represent it in the histogram. However, now the frost element type had obviously obtained a large-scale increase.

Under the detection of the A.I. Chip, Leylin now possessed an innate talent in the frost elemental affinity!

"So, this is the way to increase elemental affinity after birth…"

Leylin sighed deeply: "What a pity. This is not of any use to me anymore."

The elemental affinity typically represented the path a Magi took. When Leylin was still a rank 1 Magus, he had already chosen the darkness elemental particle type to develop in, even choosing to convert his elemental essence in it.

This was the most sensible decision because the darkness type had the highest elemental affinity, which meant that the results it could produce along this path would be the greatest!

Hence, he was currently not able to change his elemental type, nor wished to change it.

Furthermore, his innate ability with the frost elemental type was too low, and could not even measure up to that of the plant type!

To have an insignificant increase of innate ability was of little value!

"However, this can be something worth thinking about!" Leylin stroked his chin, and appeared to be in deep in thought.

Since the elemental affinity type could be changed and influenced by skills acquired after birth, what about that of the spiritual aptitude?

Honestly, compared to the newly increased frost elemental affinity, Leylin would much rather have hoped for an increase in spiritual aptitude.

His spiritual aptitude had been examined when he first entered the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy; it was of the most common grade 3 aptitude. Amongst the many acolytes this is considered as a medium level!

After his bloodline as a Warlock had experienced numerous advancement, upon the A.I. Chip's re-examination, his spiritual aptitude had now received a boost, and was now considered a good level within that of the other grade 3 aptitudes.

However, it was still far from enough.

Compared to geniuses with grade 5 aptitudes, Leylin knew that he still had a long way to go. If not for the help of the A.I. Chip, the support of large doses of potions, and the good fortune of acquiring the bloodline Warlock heritage, he would not know where he would have been now.

As a result, he had been continuously searching for the easiest ways to alter his spiritual aptitude.

However, these methods were rarely seen in the Magi world.

There were probably ways to increase one's elemental affinity, but with regards to spiritual aptitude. Its involvement with many other aspects and its intangibility, made it difficult to conjecture.

At most, only a handful of Magi who were skilled in high-grade meditation techniques could have, when promoted to a new level, forcefully increase their spiritual aptitudes by a small amount.

At this moment, Leylin involuntarily laughed.

"Perhaps I was too greedy. The spiritual aptitude involves the spirit. I had not been as in-depth in my previous research, and am now lacking in skills as well. After I get promoted to a Warlock of a higher rank, and have commenced discussions with a few other higher ranked Magi, perhaps I would be able to find solutions to rectify problems of this nature!"

Leylin thought to himself.

"Regards this the frost innate spell…" He glanced at the pale blue bar chart again, "I can only put it aside for now!"

However, in his heart, he had already been making plans. For the innate ability he had in the frost element type, perhaps in the future this gift would be useful, in particular when he would decide to explore the Icy World or when side effects from the removal of his Warlock bloodline.

These abnormal changes had been caused by the radiation from the Icy World and might not be that simple an affair after all.

"No matter what, being able to increase an area of ability, albeit not being able to raise it any further in the future is still pretty good!"

Leylin opened his eyes and his face revealed a smile.

"Furthermore, what's most important is still this!"

Rays of silver spiritual forces radiated from Leylin's eyes into the frost tornado within his hands.

Whoosh*

Together with the rapid wind movements, the frost tornado's physical form expanded multiple times, and the edges of the spiral formed sharp knife blades.

The surrounding areas were seemingly frozen as pressure radiated from Leylin's body.

"Finally, I've managed to recover all my abilities as a rank 2 Magus!"

Leylin's smile became bigger. Having recovered his peak strength from when he was on the south coast, and having removed the emotional instability of his bloodline, the power he now possessed was greater than ever before.

In actual fact, on the night of his return to the Nature's Alliance headquarters, Leylin had used the runes that the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor was carrying on its back and had made a mark of the frost bloodline!

Furthermore, Leylin had secretly left Nature's Alliance headquarters and had chosen a safe place to practice the defrosting process.

With regards to his personal safety, Leylin had never liked or wished to depend on others.

He had left for treatment, and had not allowed for anyone to discover him. During his defrosting period, he had created a protective ice layer around him, one that was harder than steel, and hence could have assured his own safety.

Furthermore, under Leylin's deliberate control, the entire thawing process was extremely fast. It took just one night for him to have solved the problem.

Under Leylin's meticulous calculations, it was no wonder that he had smoothly restored his original abilities without any big hiccups.

The so-called 'treatment' here was merely a facade Leylin had let out to lure others into taking the bait.

"It's about time, I have already ordered Celine to secretly release the news. Through the interrogation these few days, Skrill has already given in, and will soon be sent to the committee members of the conference just like that of the crystal ball!"

Leylin's eyes shined with a tint of deep thought. Imagery evidence could be falsified, but if a witness was present, the Dense Fog Forest, who was a medium-scale guild, would definitely still be in trouble.

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Invasion And Siege

Continuing the trial of the joint conference, the Dense Fog Forest would most likely not be destroyed, but there would be bloodshed. In addition, a decrease in their evaluation was a possible punishment, which would be a big loss in benefits!

Needless to say, the "seriously injured" Leylin was here too!

Since there was so much hatred, the only way to end this would be through complete destruction, was something that the other party could not tolerate.

Thus, they would take advantage of Leylin being in the midst of recovery by gathering all their manpower, and destroy the Nature's Alliance!

This was what Leylin also hoped for.

"I had specially given him a few days to rally his men. I hope he doesn't let me down!" Leylin sneered.

Shortly after, he turned and looked towards the canyon's exit.

"Coming!"

At this moment, Magi wearing black Chinese-styled gowns stood in a circle outside the Canyon, silently crowding around several figures in the middle.

The leader of the group, a middle-aged man with a face worthy of veneration, was the escaped guild leader of the Dense Fog Forest.

"Tsk Tsk! Gus, you really should be embarrassed, being reduced to this miserable state after getting injured from an honorary professor in a small-scaled guild!"

So 'Gus' was his real name, and the previously used name, 'Xerxes,' was fake!

Another man who stood tall beside Gus, was an elderly man in his 50s or 60s. He had wrinkles all over his face. With his slanted nose, sharp, narrow pairs of eyes, it made him look even more sinister than Gus.

Even as he mocked Gus, no anger was seen in the eyes of the surrounding Magi from the Dense Fog Forest, as if they never heard what was said.

The reason for their change in attitude was that this old man was radiating huge waves of energy.

Among the emptiness in the middle of the circle formed by the old men, radiations of spiritual force could be observed. Impressively, it was the strength of a powerful peak rank one Magus!

"If you had been me, the result would not have been any better!"

Gus sighed in the face of mockery, but deep down, was still fearful of Leylin's strength.

Having profound knowledge of Gus' strength, the old man turned solemn too; "If Leylin has already recovered from his injuries, then I want twice the compensation!"

"If it's doubled, let it be doubled!" Gus promised immediately with clenched teeth.

"I have actually used an ancient 'light protector' rune. That's the reason why I could recover fast in such a short period of time. The other party could not possibly have such a thing…"

This was the confidence Gus had, as he hailed from a medium-scaled guild. To him, as a small-scaled guild, it was impossible for Nature's Alliance to have such an asset.

"Je Je! You're right. Besides, they are at most at the same level with you, how can they stop us two on their own?"

The old man chuckled.

"My Lord guild leader! The broken signal has been repaired!" At this moment, a semi-converted elemental Magus walks over and spoke to Gus

"Great! Attack immediately! I want the Nature's Alliance guild removed entirely from the Twilight Zone!"

A malevolent look swept across Gus' face, and he suddenly raised his hand.

More than a dozen of different coloured bright lights fluttered out of the Canyon. Unexpectedly, each one was a rank one Magus!

As a medium-scaled guild, it was not a big problem if the Dense Fog Forest nurtured or recruited official Magi. considering the long, accumulated history of the more than 30 Magi.

This time, Gus planned to use a large number forces from his guild.

Bang!*

More than a dozen brilliant lights rushed to the entrance of the canyon, but were immediately stopped by a membrane formed from a defensive layer of light.

"It's just defensive formation made by an insignificant small-scaled guild! Destroy it!"

From the layer of bright light, a screeching sound was heard and black light converged, forming the shape of a large axe. The head of the axe even had strong black iron chains coiled around it which were threads of bright, cold and threatening light.

Ka Cha!*

The giant hatchet ruthlessly struck!

In the wake of the loud strike, the entire membrane of light fell apart, disintegrating and dispersing into small specks of light that gradually darkened.

"Enemy Attacking!"

As an official Magus, Celine was the first to react. Her face turned deathly pale and a gush of cold wind sent her to the entrance of the experiment lab within the icy mountain.

Shaaa!* The black light flashed past, a mole no smaller than the size of a young boy crawled out, his two long, grizzly beards dragging across the floor.

"This Celine! Causing trouble this time! If I am still alive later, you'll have to send me 10 times as many berries as before!"

The mole stroked his beard, with an unwilling look on his face.

"Damn it! If it wasn't for the deal that I made with that stupid old man at that time, I wouldn't have to be stuck here defending his place!"

"All of the acolytes, meet me here now!"

Celine did not even have the time to force a smile, let alone talk to the mole. She just communicated directly with the rest of the acolytes in the guild.

She was extremely sure that the attack this time around was from the Dense Fog Forest's men!

In fact, during a war between the official Magi, acolytes were just cannon fodder! By sending them out was only a disgrace, and even causing needless casualties.

Currently, they had a slim chance of survival!

Celine's eyes flashed with a tinge of hope, and started shouting towards the laboratory, "My Lord Leylin! It is the Magi of the Dense Fog Forest! They have violated the rules of the joint conference and launched an attack on our guild!"

But what took with Celine by surprise even more than the sudden attack was the fact that there was no reply from inside.

Celine repeated the message thrice, and it was only after she could not wait any longer and broke the layer of ice, that Leylin's voice responded. "I'm still in the midst of recovering! If this gets interrupted, I'm afraid that there will be immediate repercussions…."

"How much longer do you need?" Celine clasped onto her handkerchief tightly.

"Ten minutes!" After some silence, Leylin's voice was heard again.

"Alright! I will fight for you during this period of time!" Celine took a deep breath towards the acolyte that was previously there and cleared her throat.

"As the guild leader, I command you to protect this place at all costs! It might be hard to you, but with the help of spell formations, I need you to persevere just for ten minutes!

"Yes, my Lord! We will fight to the end!"

After being distracted for a moment, the acolytes below started an uproar one after another, Obo and Ilya were among those acolytes.

It was obvious and they clearly understood what the future had in store for them if their guild was defeated today.

"That's great! Let's activate it! Grandpa Cedric!!!"

Celine took a deep breath.

"Okay, alright! I can't stand youngsters like you all!" the mole shook his head and suddenly plopped to the ground!

In some instant, black rays of light spread out, forming a big spell formation runes on the ground.

A barrier of light rose and combined with the original spell formation, engulfing Leylin and the experiment lab within.

Boom! Blast!*

At this moment, a group of enemy Magi arrived at the scene, and the acolytes that were not able to get into the barrier in time were severely injured.

A small boy was cut in half by a blade of light. His upper torso was still wailing as he tried to breathe.

Another female acolyte, who was decimated into a pool of blood by a green sphere that fell from the sky, did not even had time make a sound.

More and more acolytes were instantly buried to death, by huge broken structure of the building that was shattered by magic spells, also without being able to make any sound.

As Celine looked at the devastating scene in front of her, she was unable to control herself and broke down into tears. They were the future potential Magi of Nature's Alliance, where her sweat and blood were poured in.

"I found it! It's here!"

This new barrier of light, which was visibly thicker and stronger than the ones before, caught the attention of the enemy Magi quickly. Very soon, more than a dozen rays of light enveloped the entire place, creating faint shadows in the middle.

Clang!* Celine threw a communication device on the ground.

"The signal is disrupted! Hold on!"

She placed her palm on the barrier, as a huge wave of spiritual force and magical power was poured forth and injected into the barrier.

The rest of the acolytes followed suit, though their spiritual powers were very weak. With a mere touch, most of the acolytes' faces turned pale, as though they had been beaten up by a large hammer.

Boom!*

Both sides did not exchange many words, and more than a dozen colourful energy beams bombarded the spell formation.

Bang!* Numerous acolytes lay paralyzed on the floor, most of them having fainted. Celine could barely even stand up straight and was on the verge of collapsing.

Upon seeing two shadows behind the numerous Magi, Celine's expression was filled with despair.

At this time, it has not even been half the time that Leylin had requested. Fighting against the two peak rank one Magi had made Celine lose all hope and strength to fight back.

In the laboratory behind Celine, Leylin quietly waited, a cold and detached expression on his face…

"It should be roughly about now, right?" He muttered.

In fact, Leylin could have fought back, but he had waited until the Nature's Alliance had racked up a disastrous amount of casualty…

As for the dead acolytes, they did not have much importance to Leylin, and their deaths weighed lighter than specks of dust in his heart.

As long as the opponent left irrefutable evidence of an attack, what were the deaths of a few acolytes? Also, these acolytes were under Celine's guidance. If he really wanted to gain complete control of the Nature's Alliance, more blood would have to be shed!

Now, however, it was time.

Gus and the rest of them had done so much damage to the Nature's Alliance that even if Leylin were to kill them all, it could be reasoned as self-defense.

This excuse may not be very good, but it was definitely better than having none! The acolytes that have died and the data that have been perished

"Magus Gus! Why? Just why?"

Celine retracted her hands and looked at the barrier which was damaged by the combined attacks of the enemy. The guardian animal too was severely injured as it spat out blood, smiling bitterly.

"Benefits! Naturally, everything is for our own benefits!"

Gus' voice was ice cold, as if not having any of the emotions that a normal person would have. He had also turned a blind eye to Celine's charms.

"You hindered my path, and I just want to settle the dispute, that's all!"

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Ruthless Retaliation

"What gains are you referring to? I can give them up straight away!"

There was a glint in Celine's eyes…

"This is your final chance! If this happened before the joint conference, I might have given it a thought, but now…"

Gus shook his head and said, "There is no further need for you to stall for time! There has been no Magus who has ever been able to survive after being hit by my Fog Giant's self-detonation. Even if Leylin manages to survive the blow, he's probably incapacitated unable to move a single muscle."

Celine felt complete despair as her last hope was shattered.

"Get on with it!" She closed her eyes and exposed her pale neck.

"Where is Skrill?" Gus asked at the end while he formed a ball of distortion-filled with destructive energy.

"I have no idea. Leylin personally carried out the interrogation!"

"Then you are no longer of use!"

The indifferent Gus released the ball of distortion in his hands.

Pu!* A layer of a black scaly shield appeared out of nowhere in front of Celine, and it managed to block the explosion from the attack.

After the smoke dissipated, a black-robed Magus had already appeared in front of Celine.

"Leylin!" Gus' eyes widened in fear as he fearfully uttered the name.

"Tell me! How do you guys want to die?" The corners of Leylin's lips curled into a vibrant smile.

"Do it!"

Gus' face flushed red as he shouted.

"Double the amount! Bear in mind that it is double the amount!" The old man with a hawk nose beside him released large amounts of elemental rings, forming a brass ring with mysterious runes on the surface.

While executing this attack, he did not forget to turn back and remind Gus about his remuneration.

Grey mist started to form immediately and the Fog Giant from their previous encounter appeared once again. Unlike the last time, rays of light which resembled starlight started to emerge from every Magus who was present and connected to the body of the giant, making the giant's aura rise to a frightening level.

The brass ring was thrown around the waist of the giant and it strapped tightly around it in that instant.

"Roar!"

The giant let out a devastating roar. While its lower body was shrinking non-stop, the mist on its upper body started to aggregate once again, and formed a body of muscle with a toughness that was as strong as granite.

"A combination spell!"

Celine, who was behind Leylin, couldn't help but to let out a sound at the sight. Even her breathing began to get rough.

"The opposing side has two peak rank 1 Magi, along with ten or so Magi elders. Meanwhile, Leylin…"

Celine had no time to process the thoughts in her head before her jaw dropped at the sight.

Silver!

A faint sliver of light started to appear on Leylin's body.

At this moment, even the air seemed to be frozen. An oppressive pressure could be felt descending onto the battlefield.

"Materialised spiritual force! A rank 2 Magus!"

The hawk-nosed old man made a strange sound. Despite bleeding profusely from his mouth and nose, the old man started to recall his spells, risking recoil in doing so while he retreated in haste.

It was a pity that this was all too late!

A pillar of silver light streaked across the sky and arrived at the top of the old man's head.

"No!" The old man exclaimed in anger, and an incomplete protection ruin on his neck exploded, resulting in an inferno of crimson flames.

Following that, the old man stopped in his tracks for a moment and nearly fell to the ground.

He had obviously felt the peak elemental spiritual force residing in the flames being instantly destroyed by the silver materialised spiritual force when the two forces collided.

As the spiritual force being manipulated was dispelled, the inferno of crimson flames lost sight of its target and began spreading to the surroundings.

The silver spiritual force soon descended down on its target. It formed a silver cross-shaped sword after having elongated and pierced the old man in the chest.

Drip! Drip!*

The old man was bleeding profusely and droplets of blood could be seen dripping onto the ground. He tried humming, but no energy particles were triggered.

The solidified spiritual force of a rank 2 Magus far surpassed the spiritual force of an converted Magus in terms of quality. The spiritual force residing inside the old man's consciousness was no match for the silver spiritual force and was completely locked down with a single hit.

This rationale was very similar to what had happened to Leylin, when he had been confined by the Gargamel on the mountain of white bones.

After Leylin had completely recovered his rank 2 Magus power, even a peak rank 1 Magus was nothing more than a slightly stronger ant in Leylin's eyes.

"He…! He…! He…!"

The sight had the Magi from the Dense Fog Forest at a loss.

With just one single blow, the peak rank 1 Magus was on the verge of death! They had only heard of this kind of terrifying power in legends.

Gus' face started to turn pale from despair before it finally became a grim.

"Roar!" Under his manipulation, the gigantic Fog Giant ferociously charged in Leylin's direction.

Leylin started to slowly open an ancient scroll in his hands which was radiating with destructive energy that could be felt in the surroundings.

"Scorching Touch!" A bunch of red powder started to spill out, and two long and narrow energy beams which carried the destructive force of a rank 2 spell shot out from Leylin's hands. The fog giant was immediately scorched and two large holes were created from the attack.

Boom!* A large amount of the mist started to dissipate and all the Magi who were connected to the mist giant started to collapse to the ground.

In the blink of an eye, Leylin appeared in front of Gus.

Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!*

While he was moving, several snow-white ice arrows were abruptly shot out.

Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!*

Confronted with the might of the arrows, the innate defensive spell formations of rank 1 Magi were shredded easily like pieces of paper. The heads of numerous Magi exploded, similar to watermelons exploding.

"You…"

At the sight of this unbearable scenario, even Gus, who was preparing a spell, could not help but feel anger and a sense of despair.

The number of rank 1 Magi that had died constituted almost half of the Dense Fog Forest's forces. All his efforts to accumulate this power all these years had gone down the drain as he lost 70 to 80% of his forces.

But at this moment, Gus had no time to think about this as Leylin arrived in front of him.

"Protection of Andes!" Gus shouted loudly and a colony of black ants emerged from his face, clothes, shoes and all over his body and formed a peculiar-looking black shield.

"A futile effort!" Leylin looked indifferent and raised his right hand.

A layer of black rays started to gather around his palm and formed a bunch of black scales. "Kemoyin's Scale! Partial Snake Transformation!"

Po!*

Leylin's palms were filled with an enormous amount of energy which penetrated the shield. The colony of ants on the shield let out a shrill sound as they tried to gnaw at the black scales, but it was to no avail.

"Your last resort is just a scroll engraved by a rank 2 Magus? How disappointing!"

The silver ray of light in Leylin's eyes started to shine brightly, and with his right hand, he grabbed Gus' wrist.

Pak!* The scroll, which was already triggered halfway, suddenly lost all its luster and revealed its true appearance of what seemed to be a broken piece of goatskin paper as it fell to the ground.

"Do you have any last words?"

Leylin asked Gus as he sealed his spiritual force.

"You will be punished by the joint conference. I swear on that!" Gus' eyes turned red.

Pak!* After which, his brain exploded, white brain juices, blood, and fluids spurting everywhere.

"Just this? How pointless! "

Leylin retracted his right hand.

He appeared in front of the hawk-nosed old man and placed his hands on the head of an old man who was on the verge of death.

"Do you choose death or subservience"?

The old man who was bleeding profusely and nearing death struggled to open his mouth. "I… I'm willing to be subservient to you, my lord!"

"Set a pact now and surrender a strand of your spirit source, or else you will end up like the others!"

The tone of Leylin's voice was very indifferent, and the pile of corpses surrounding him made the old man have no thoughts of defying the order.

"I, Iren, am willing to serve under your command and become your most humble servant! Your future commands shall be my eternal mission!"

Even with his eyes blurred with tears, the old man still struggled to speak.

A fluctuating thread from the abyss was established between the two.

"Very good!" Leylin recalled the silver spiritual force that was restricting the old man.

"My lord!" Iren kneeled down to give his regards, the wounds on his body already beginning to heal on their own.

He had been restricted by Leylin and lost his ability to recover. Once he was freed from the silver spiritual force that was restricting him, there were far too many ways for Magi to heal themselves.

"Please accept your humble servant's loyalty!" Although he had regained his freedom, the old man Iren had no desire to fight against Leylin as he had been deterred by Leylin's actions.

With Iren's words, a glowing spirit source floated out of his forehead and flew to Leylin's hands.

After losing his spiritual source, Iren's face turned pale and beads of sweat could be seen dripping down.

Leylin for his part kept the spirit source carefully.

A Magus' spirit source was very important to them, and if Leylin were to destroy the source in his hands, the old man would suffer a severe blow and might even die straight away. The best-case scenario would be for him to have a mental breakdown.

It could be said that once Leylin had the spirit source, it was akin to him holding the old man's fate in his hands.

"All good and done!" Leylin clapped his hands.

This kind of one-sided process and astonishing means from Leylin had made it difficult for Celine to process anything.

"My lord! You…." Celine had no idea of what to say.

"Have you … ascended to rank 2?" She said this carefully after deliberating over it for a while.

"Yes!" Leylin happily smiled "The injury I suffered has, instead, made me break through the restraints to my meditation technique and allowed me to rise to the realm of rank 2."

Celine did not have the courage to continue probing despite knowing it was not the truth.

A rank 2 Magus! This was already a power that belonged to large-scale guilds! Facing this insurmountable gap in power, Celine could only accept whatever Leylin had to say.

"Wake those acolytes up and follow me!"

Leylin pointed to a few of the acolytes who were lying on the ground that included Obo and Ilya.

"Hm? What for?" Celine's face was filled with doubts.

"Naturally, it will be to retaliate!"

Leylin's face broke into a cold smile, "Since the opposing party has been so eager to find us, how can we not repay what they have done?"

"But…. The joint conference…."

Celine had only spoken a few words, but she decided to swallow the rest. At this moment, she had no other choice.

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Abyssal Breath

"My Lord! That's the Dense Fog Forest's headquarters!"

Old man Iren pointed to a fog-shrouded forest in the middle of the basin, with a look of respect on his face.

Currently, Iren was completely submissive to Leylin and existed as his servant.

Leylin walked behind him with conflicted feelings. Together with Obo, Ilya, and the other rank 3 acolytes, their faces were red with emotions.

Rank 2 Magus! Their famed professor was actually a rank 2 noble Magus who actually defeated a lot of enemies with just one blow!

They were proud of this kind of glory.

"The Dense Fog Forest is still a medium-scale guild, with an extremely strong Magi formation barrier. With several protected and contracted beings as the first line of defense, does this not mean that we are…"

Iren had revealed all of Gus' defensive lines backhandedly.

"We do not need anything! I alone am sufficient. All of you keep in mind, without my orders, no one is allowed to step into the basin!"

Leylin's face was stern. After which, he transformed into a gust of wind and disappeared in mid-air.

Ssiii*

A sound could be heard as he travelled. Celine and the rest saw an illusory shadow of a snake appearing in mid-air. The huge snake forcefully appeared and seemed to transform into the face of a terrifying devil. The shape of the devil's face seemed to resemble Leylin.

After half an hour passed they had obtained permission to enter the Dense Fog Forest, and they saw huge amounts of rotten corpses!

A few huge high-energy beings whose size resembled small mountains could also be seen dead on the floor, their corpses, not yet fully decomposed, had emitted an unpleasant small.

"Your task is to completely search this area, and take away any resources that are of value!"

Leylin slowly landed on the corpse of a huge beast. That scene had made many absolutely horrified.

"Yes! Yes, My Lord!"

Initially, Celine had doubts over why Leylin had wanted to bring a batch of acolytes over. However, now she fully understood his intentions.After having searched the Dense Fog Forest, Leylin had arrived near the premises of the headquarters of the Eight-Clawed Spider guild.

This time around, Skrill appeared beside him.

If Leylin could subdue even Iren, naturally Skrill was not a big issue.

"Go! Announce that the Eight-Clawed Spider will be disbanded! And that all the Magi shall join Nature's Alliance!" Leylin ordered Skrill.

"As you wish, my Lord!" Skrill bowed to Leylin, evidently afraid of him.

His fear was to the extent that he was willing to accept such orders.

With regards to the subsidiary guilds of the Dense Fog Forest, Leylin did not intend to exterminate all of them fully.

In any case, since they had no chance of knowing the Icy World's secret, it would be for the best to subdue all of them to increase Nature's Alliance's strength.

Furthermore, all of the Dense Fog Forest Magi had been exterminated without any exceptions under Leylin's rank 2 Magi spell that covered a vast area. There was no longer any living beings within the entire basin.

It could be said that the Dense Fog Forest guild had disappeared from the face of the earth.

Looking at the uproar from the guild headquarters, together with Iren and the people that went forth to subdue them, Leylin smiled icily.

"Next, perhaps it's time for the rank 2 Magi?"

How long had it been since such a large-scale attack, and such a vile way of exterminating an entire guild, had happened in the entire eastern Twilight Zone?

No matter how dim-witted the large-scale guilds were, they would have to make a stand.

Moreover, according to the latest news, the dark elven empire was starting to become restless, and it was also nearing the time when the darkness creature horde beyond the Twilight Zone was approaching. It was precisely during this period of time where Magi were supposed to collaborate that Nature's Alliance's move could be said to be going against the tide.

"So what?"

Leylin's face revealed a smile that seemed to suggest that he did not care, "It is precisely because of this that I am making a move now!"

"The combining of forces to deal with external forces not only restricts the Nature's Alliance but all the other large-scale guilds as well!"

"Would they be willing to, under these conditions, lose a rank 2 Magus? How can the strength associated with a medium-scale guild measure up to a newly promoted rank 2 Magus? Furthermore, we still possess sufficient evidence to prove that the Dense Fog Forest had started the fight first, and had even encroached into our headquarters and caused a large number of casualties…"

With strength and evidence, even large-scale guilds would not act recklessly.

With regards to this, Leylin understood the logic very clearly.

After 10 minutes or so, Skrill and Iren returned.

"My Lord! The Eight-Clawed Spider guild has officially disbanded. This is our high-grade meditation technique—Abyssal Breath!"

Skrill respectfully half-knelt and passed a black crystal wand to Leylin.

"Mm. Well done!" Leylin took the wand gently, with a thread of his silver spiritual force reaching into it.

Increasing the power of Nature's Alliance was only part of the reason why Leylin had destroyed the guilds. The main objective behind his actions was actually to collect the high-grade meditation techniques!

As time passed, Leylin frowned, which caused Skrill to start trembling.

"Only rank 3?" Leylin sighed. The Eight-Clawed Spider guild's meditation technique had the same flaws as Celine's Crystal Mask. Not only was it hard to develop, it was only rank 3.

This implied that the Magi from the Eight-Clawed Spider guild could at most be promoted to rank 3, and not beyond.

"I, your subordinate, am ashamed! Our high-grade meditation technique does only have 3 levels! Personally, I have been stuck at rank 1, and can only use the irrigation of the abyss' strength…"

Skrill lowered his head and quickly explained.

"Of course, I know!" Leylin knew that this Abyssal Breath mostly used the strength of the abyss to continuously change the body to adjust to a physical state more fitting to the abyss. Skrill's half-human half-spider appearance was the way it was due to the imitation of a special being from the abyss.

And this is merely rank 1 of the Abyssal Breath. According to the introduction of the meditation technique and the A.I. Chip's deductions, if one were to promote the meditation technique to its highest level, one would be able to return to their original state and have the physical appearance of a normal person.

Only then would the Magus, who had been entirely transformed by the abyss, be known as the spawn of the abyss!

But of course, these were only deductions made by the A.I Chip.

According to Leylin's estimations, to reach the state of the abyss' spawn, one would have to develop the Abyssal Breath higher than rank 5.

Honestly, one could not be sure whether the high-grade meditation technique even had a rank 5.

"However, after all, this is a high-grade meditation technique and is a grade higher than the Crystal Mask. This can improve the A.I. Chip's meditation techniques information database!"

Leylin kept the black crystal wand.

Because many ancient Magi were passionate about researching about all living beings in the world, they looked for patterns, obtained strength, and frequently interacted with beings of different realms. Hence, many ancient meditation techniques had a strong and strange aura.

With respect to the Abyssal Breath, Leylin estimated that it had a deep relationship with the abyssal world, and could even have been released by a strong and powerful being living within the abyss.

"Dense Fog Forest has other auxiliary guilds, namely 3 other small-scale guilds, and 15 unrated guilds. All of you shall break into 3 groups, Iren and Skrill will lead 2 groups to sweep the unrated guilds while I will be in charge of the small-scale guilds!"

Leylin immediately gave out his orders.

"As you wish, My Lord!" the surrounding Magi all bowed with respect.

Leylin nodded. Iren was a peak rank one magus, and Skrill was a semi-converted elemental Magus. To put them in charge to deal with the unrated guilds was a terrifying force to be reckoned with.

The unrated guilds did not stand a chance with the teams led by the two of them.

Furthermore, upon performing this deed, these newly subdued Magi would have no way out, and would only be able to come under Leylin's wings.Several days later, explosive news spread across the entire Eastern Twilight Zone that caused a sensation in the Magi world, and even continued to spread in the 4 other zones.

After having existed for a few hundred thousand years, large amounts of contracted guardian beasts, countless official Magi, and even a peak rank 1 Magus that oversaw a medium-scale guild, the Dense Fog Forest, were entirely destroyed!

The one responsible for it was actually Nature's Alliance! This news had revealed that the honorary professor of Nature's Alliance had made a breakthrough to rank 2!

A peak rank 1 Magus was considered as a large power, while a rank 2 Magus was the goal of many official Magi, which were also known as the elites of the human forces!

Typically, a rank 2 Magi would only appear in large-scale guilds. The presence of the one or two old and experienced rank 2 Magi was that of the trump card of these guilds.

Nature's Alliance, on the other hand, was only a small-scale guild!

At this point in time, the entire eastern Twilight Zone was shocked.

Under Leylin's control, the actions of Nature's Alliance went extremely smoothly.

Not only did Nature's Alliance attack all of the Dense Fog Forest's auxiliary guilds and wiped out all traces of its history, many Magi had joined Nature's Alliance and enhanced its strength, such that it had been promoted to a medium-scale guild! These were all within Leylin's expectations.

Moreover, the taking over of the Dense Fog Forest's resources was also proceeding smoothly.

This, of course, was not in accordance with the rules set by the council members and had sparked their displeasure.

However, under Leylin's suppression, Nature's Alliance continued doing whatever they wanted to without any hesitation. The guild sent out many troops and their strength increased day after day.

With regards to small matters like the strength of the guild, Leylin could not be bothered to oversee them and would casually instruct his acolytes to handle them.

The newly-joined Magi that were now part of Nature's Alliance were all given roles as professors or guest professors, but in actual fact, they would only listen to Leylin's bidding.

Celine's powers were suppressed to the maximum, but she could only force a smile, and could not complain much.

Leylin had suddenly been promoted to a rank 2 Magi, and just his strength alone would make Celine's previous plans prove futile. Furthermore, in terms of trickery, back in the southern coast the underhanded means that Leylin had employed did not pale in comparison to that Celine's.

Under these conditions, Celine could only give up.

Due to her special status, other official Magi would still be slightly respectful towards her and would not reject her requests towards small matters.

Furthermore, these Magi were still under Nature's Alliance, even if only in name, which gave Celine some comfort.

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Dragon King's Mystic Might

Nature's Alliance headquarters.

The headquarters had now undergone renovations. The reconstruction had started from the bottom, with magic spells fixed up and the acolytes who had died in battle buried.

Powerful energy fluctuations were concealed within these few building structures. They were like multiple stars aiming to bring out the moon, crowding around a laboratory right in the centre.

Whether it was the original acolytes of Nature's Alliance or the newly-joined Magi, they would always unconsciously slow their footsteps when they passed by and exhibit their respect.

In the middle of the laboratory.

Leylin stood by a table, deep in thought while gazing at the few items on the silver desk.

These ten or so items were very simple. There were green leaves, red earrings, a short brown rod, and even the black crystals that Skrill had previously given him.

The silver surface of the table was made using a special alloy. It was incomparably hard and had a high resistance against specific magic experiments. Hence, it was widely used in this area.

Currently, the shining, sparkling metallic surface reflected Leylin's troubled expression.

These were naturally the numerous high-grade meditation techniques Leylin had forcefully obtained.

Though the Twilight Zone had obtained a larger number of complete inheritances from the ancient Magi, high-grade meditation techniques weren't anything common. Some unrated guilds only had the simplified versions that had been altered based on incomplete high-grade meditation techniques, which were completely useless to Leylin.

There were also a few guilds who had the same high-grade meditation technique as the Dense Fog Forest. However, they only had the first or second levels, and these were slightly modified. Leylin could immediately recognise this.

These guilds must have been the Magi guilds that had split up from the original Dense Fog Forest.

This was not uncommon. It was not unusual for Magi in the Twilight Zone to split up based on differences in opinion while still having a good relation with the original guild. This was somewhat similar to a branch of the original guild.

Hence, though Leylin had technically destroyed ten or so guilds, what Leylin actually gathered were only six high-grade meditation techniques.

Of course, the rate of advancing was much higher here than in the south coast, but Leylin was still in a bad mood.

This was because out of the six high-grade meditation techniques, there were five that were incomplete!

This was not something that could be explained just by the chaos of war. Only after checking some documents regarding this guild did Leylin gather a more reasonable explanation.

In ancient times, the inheritance of high-grade meditation techniques was not open to everyone in one go.

Only one or two levels would be passed down at a time, and only after Magi succeeded would they gradually be passed down more.

This was to ensure the secrecy of the high-grade inheritances. The other reason was to prevent Magi from seeking instant returns.

However, after the fall of the ancient Magi in the final war, there appeared a huge problem—a discontinuity in the passing down of meditation techniques! The higher-ranked Magi had fallen before they could pass down the other portions of their meditation techniques, which had resulted in the Magi of the Twilight Zone being unable to advance further.

The level of Morning Star Magus was the bare-minimum requirement to participate in the final war, and hence, the high-grade meditation techniques left in the Twilight Zone mostly had two or three levels, and there was a lack of information on the essential later portions.

In ancient times, rank 2 and rank 3 Magi were considered to have just finished their apprenticeships, and as such, they were naturally not required to enter the battle. They had survived and passed down their meditation techniques.

However, it wasn't as if there were no surprises.

Leylin extended his hand and picked up something like a part of a white bone joint from the table.

Though it had an interesting appearance, this was actually a tool used for storing information. Leylin connected his spiritual force to it and information about a high-grade meditation technique appeared.

Ancient symbols appeared at the beginning of the meditation technique, emitting an ancient aura. There was even the sound of a dragon's roar.

"Dragon King's Mystic Might! High-grade meditation technique for Dragon Magi split into four levels—Infant Dragon, Young Dragon, Adult Dragon, Elder Dragon!" Leylin slowly read through the content regarding this high-grade meditation technique.

In ancient times, 'Magus' was a term that was inclusive of all powerful beings, whether they were of other races, humans, or even high-energy creatures. As long as they possessed intelligence had strength, and pursued the truth, they could all come under the umbrella of being a Magus!

This Dragon King's Mystic Might was obviously a high-grade meditation technique meant for the Dragon race to train in!

"Based on the A.I. Chip's estimations, as well as a few illustrations from Dragon King's Mystic Might, creatures of the dragon race, would accelerate their growth rate if they trained in this high-grade meditation technique. They would develop twice as fast as their peers, and would enter the sequence of being a mature dragon earlier…"

Leylin unhurriedly caressed this bone.

This Dragon King's Mystic Might was what the Dense Fog Forest had in storage, but it was a pity that this was merely a decoration for Dense Fog Forest, as it was comprised of only humans.

This was a high-grade meditation that was meant for another race and was unsuitable for the human body. Even Warlocks that had the bloodline of dragons could not do this!

However, after Leylin discovered this Dragon King's Mystic Might, it was like he had gained a treasure.

Though he could not train this technique either, he could see the traces of a new bloodline in this high-grade meditation technique.

Similar to the Kemoyin's Pupil, the Dragon King's Mystic Might was a high-grade meditation technique that had very stringent requirements in terms of bloodline. It was probably even more strict than the Kemoyin's Pupil.

This would be of immense help to him in completing the next few parts of Kemoyin's Pupil.

The Kemoyin's Pupil that Leylin had acquired only had three levels and lacked the most important part, which was a description about the Morning Star Realm at the fourth rank. Dragon King's Mystic Might could be used to make up for this.

In addition, the other high-grade meditation techniques had their unique features, which could be used to improve the A.I. Chip's database.

No matter how different they were, they were high-grade meditation techniques and had to have some similarities. This was what Leylin was going to rely on to complete Kemoyin's Pupil and Sacred Flame.

"Even so, the last few portions of the Dragon King's Mystic Might are missing!"

Leylin felt a little regretful.

He still wanted to know what was after the fourth level of the Dragon King's Mystic Might.

"In ancient tales, after the Elder Dragon were the Ancient Dragons, top creatures that could contend against great rank 5 Magi! And after that, there were the beings that only existed in legends—the Immemorial Dragons! However, the Dragon King's Mystic Might lacks content after the fourth level."

Leylin looked at the description of the fourth level of the Dragon King's Mystic Might. "The Morning Star realm for humans is equivalent to the Elder Dragon in our Dragon race. At this position, the power of domain has penetrated into our bones, and our dragon might have also been developed to the limit. In addition, all our spiritual force, magic power, physical strength and even bloodline will, under influence of some rules, concentrate into 'point mass'. This point mass is what humans call 'Morning Star', and what we call a 'Dragon Crystal'."

"So at the Morning Star realm, it is where Magi pathways will become condensed. All creatures of the Magus World at this realm are all the same. Point mass formed from hundreds and thousands of energy all can refine one's strength. Hence, there is a difference like that between heaven and the earth between Morning Star and rank 3 Magi."

Leylin gradually understood.

In his mind, the A.I. Chip constantly recorded information regarding high-grade meditation techniques to fill its database.

After goodness knows how long, a prompt from the A.I. Chip appeared in Leylin's mind. [Beep! Recording of six high-grade meditation techniques complete. Dragon King's Mystic Might, Abyssal Breath… Completeness of high-grade meditation techniques at 14.7%, beginning to infer actual level of the meditation technique…]

Following this, the Magi strength chart in Leylin's database experienced some changes.

On top of the rank 1 and rank 2 Magi, information regarding rank 3 Magi constantly generated. This was the most accurate information the A.I. Chip had gathered after doing simulations with multiple high-grade meditation techniques.

[Beep! Requirements to advance from a rank 2 Magus: Spiritual force reaches the boundary of 200, solidification 100%. Paired with the momentum from the essence of the Wisdom Tree, probability of advancing to rank 3: 46.9%.]

"I'm a Warlock, so I have an added requirement from my blood. However, my bloodline directly came from a Giant Kemoyin Serpent at the Morning Star, rank 4 level and completely fits the requirements. It even aids me when my rank is too low!"

"In addition, having almost a 50% chance is not a low percentage! It's no wonder Alistair had made his move and did not hesitate to betray his faction!"

Leylin touched his chin.

The conditions that the A.I. Chip inferred were based on the most regular Magi that trained in high-grade meditation techniques. This meant he was not included in there.

"A.I. Chip, if I use myself as a model, what are my chances of advancing to a rank 3 Warlock?" Leylin asked silently.

Immediately after, a virtual 3D image that looked similar to Leylin was projected in front of him, and large amounts of information streaked through.

[Chances of Host body advancing to rank 3 Warlock: 61.72%!]

This was with the added bonus from the Giant Kemoyin Serpent Bloodline. It was a matured body that had reached the Morning Star Realm. To break through rank 2, it was still able to provide an impetus.

"Looks like breaking through is not an issue. The most important part is to accumulate more spiritual force!"

Leylin suddenly sighed, looking at his data.

[Leylin Farlier. Rank 2 Warlock, Bloodline: Giant Kemoyin Serpent. Strength: 21.1, Agility: 14.4, Vitality: 27.9, Spiritual force: 104.3, Magic power: 104 (Magic power is in synchronisation with spiritual force).]

The injury to his sea of consciousness had only recently healed, and during the time where he had solidified his spiritual force, rather than improving, it was already very fortunate that he was able to maintain his strength.

It was for this reason that the numbers for his spiritual force did not rise.

Now, with the repairs to his sea of consciousness completed, his spiritual force could increase once more.

Leylin couldn't help but ask, "A.I. Chip, based on my current speed, how long will it take me to be able to meet the requirements to advance?"

A few minutes passed, and the A.I. Chip gave an answer. [Host body is estimated to reach the limit after 200 years, 12 days and 13 hours.]

"That long?" Leylin's eyes widened.

He had increased his lifespan after advancing to become a bloodline Warlock, and after rank 2, he could live past 500 years, but 200 years! That was an extremely long period!

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Rank 3 Magus

One property of high-grade meditation techniques was that they tended to get harder to cultivate towards higher cultivation levels.

Typically, many Magi would not be able to wait for their meditation techniques to be promoted because they tended to die of old age before their meditation techniques could be cultivated to a higher level.

This was why Magi were all passionate about collecting data since they wanted to increase the pace of the cultivation of their meditation techniques.

"Hu…" Leylin let out a long breath.

"Looks like it is imperative that I use potions or other methods to hasten the pace of the increase in the level of my meditation cultivation. 200 years is way too long!"

There were many differences between the resources of the Twilight Zone and of the south coast; perhaps it would be possible to find spiritual force potions suitable for a rank 2 Warlock. Leylin remained confident in the resources that the Twilight Zone possessed.

[Beep! Rank 3 Magi simulation data has been completed. Completion level: 69.24%]

The A.I Chip intoned. Behind the data on rank 2 Magi, a new data was quickly generated.

[Rank 3 Magi, estimated spiritual force: between 200-400! There are three stages in the spiritual force: vapour, liquid and crystal forms. The differences in strength between every rank is estimated to be between 3 to 5 times!]

The A.I Chip projected a large paragraph of information before Leylin.

"Towards the end, the spiritual force span within one rank will be of a large amount and is terrifyingly difficult to achieve!"

Leylin sighed.

An acolyte's spiritual force was within 20 degrees, whereas that of a rank 1 Magus was between 20 and 80, that of a rank 2 Magus between 80 to 200, and upon reaching rank 3 the spiritual force was between 200 to 400.

The larger the spiritual force span, the more obvious the differences between the displayed strength.

As a result, newly promoted rank 3 Magi and rank 3 Magi with crystallised spiritual force would have an unimaginable difference in strength.

After understanding the strength of the rank 3 Magi, Leylin had recognised the formidability of a Morning Star Magi.

He had known vaguely that rank 3 Magi would enter a very long transmutation transformation period. Should the Magi be promoted successfully, they would have a rank equivalent to that of a Magus from ancient times!

"That makes sense! Even in ancient times, Morning Star Magi were the rulers of a region and hence could have had a role in the Final War. How can it be so easy to level up one's rank?"

Leylin stroked his chin "Only through the continuous concentration of the spiritual force, can it crystallised and turn into point mass, before promoting to a Morning Star Magi!"

At this moment, the path that a Morning Star Magus took had appeared in its entirety within Leylin's mind.

First, the elemental essence conversion. Only when the elemental essence conversion had reached 80% were Magi qualified enough to transform their essence and be promoted to rank 2.

Upon promotion to rank 2, all spiritual force would have to have a substance form, appearing as the smallest spiritual force particles!These spiritual force particles, upon approaching rank 3 would gradually be condensed. Through the three stages of vapour, liquid, and crystal, they would condense further to form point mass!

At this point in time, these Magi would have entered the Morning Star level!

"The path of a Magus is indeed getting tougher! Merely 80% of elemental essence conversion would easily kill many Magi. Needless to say, the barrier at the end would be an even more difficult task!"

Leylin exhaled deeply. "Thankfully my path ahead is clear, I only have to follow the path accordingly!"

"A.I Chip. Set up a long-term mission: Deduce what happened to Kemoyin's Pupil and Sacred Flame!"

Leylin immediately ordered.

The A.I Chip automatically projected two progress charts that deduced the mission progress. The progress had not even reached that of 1% and had been increasing incredibly slowly, but at least Leylin could see hope.

Amongst these, Kemoyin's Pupil was the main meditation technique that Leylin was cultivating and was the path that he had decided to take a long time ago, and as such, it could not be easily changed.

On the other hand, Leylin had gained interest in Sacred Flame, the meditation technique that had its roots from the prophetic Botelli family.

Even after having accumulated so many high-grade meditation techniques, from what Leylin could see, the value of Sacred Flame was above that of the other meditation techniques, and could even be on par with that of the Dragon King Mystic Might due to its ability to predict the future. This ability was honestly a tad too terrifying. Even though there was the possibility of errors, Leylin still longed for it.

"Based on the A.I Chip's deductions and information database on high-grade meditation techniques, one day it will be able to prophesize things. Of course, if I am able to continuously add in new high-grade meditation techniques, the process will be accelerated…"

Leylin was very clear on this line of reasoning.

Boom*

Suddenly, a wave of invisible spiritual force passed through numerous barriers and exploded next to Leylin.

"Is it finally here?" Leylin's eyes revealed a hint of a smile, and he immediately flicked his hand.

The numerous high-grade meditation techniques had disappeared after a silver flash, and Leylin turned into a phantom before arriving in front of Nature's Alliance's headquarters.

Following the directions of a thread of spiritual force, Leylin arrived at a location.

This area was originally a wasteland, but in the middle of it now lay a silver-white metallic building.

Leylin went up to the door and raised his hands with the intentions to knock.

Ka-cha*

But before Leylin had transformed his thoughts into action, both steel doors, decorated with floral patterns, had opened automatically and revealed the interior of the building.

In the middle of the huge living room sat an old man on a steel chair who smiled gently at Leylin.

"Distinguished Leylin! You have indeed been promoted to a rank 2 Magus!" The old man stood up and smiled while having given up his seat.

This Magus wore burlap clothes and had an average appearance, like that of an ordinary old man, but Leylin had not dared be brazen in front of him.

"I'm lucky to have advanced a little further on the path in search of the truth!"

Leylin appeared extremely humble. From this old man, Leylin could feel that he had a deep solidified spiritual force that had surpassed his own accumulation.

Of course, having a high spiritual force was one thing, but having the actual strength was another. Leylin, had, in addition, the strength of his bloodline and a few other hidden trump cards, did not think he would be at a disadvantage, but felt no need to show his abilities.

"Hahaha… Please take a seat! You still don't know my name, do you? I'm Logan, the Melhawk Guild's leader!"

Logan beamed and introduced himself.

"Magus Logan, the protector of the Eastern Twilight Zone, I have long heard of your name!" Leylin smiled and replied, and at the same time sat down on a chair.

"Eh?" Though the chair's exterior still had the glow of steel, it did not have the hardness of one and instead felt like a sofa that had caved into a certain arch. It comfortably supported Leylin's body.

"How's that? This is a steel lifeform I had specially acquired from the external zones!"

Logan revealed a smile as he observed Leylin's expression.

"Not bad!" Leylin indifferently evaluated the chair. Though this steel lifeform could not compare to the organisms entirely constructed from the elements of the Steel World, this was already very hard to come by.

"If I'm not wrong this entire room is a huge steel lifeform, right? And we are currently speaking to its body?"

"Haha! 'Dark Steel' has an innate gift in concealing its life aura. You are the first person to be able to guess this so quickly!" Logan chuckled, and hit the table top, "Dark Steel, come and say hello!"

Ka Cha Ka Cha*

The steel flowed like liquid and formed a rough face on the table top. "Hello, Mister Leylin!"

At this point, because there was no need for Dark Steel to hide anymore, Leylin could clearly feel a wave of energy that was of a certain standard. Should it be a Magi, it would be of peak rank 1.

After conversing for some time, Logan entered the main topic.

"Magus Leylin, I think you should be clear about my intentions, no?" At this point in time, the old man's face became more solemn.

"Of course!" Leylin nodded his head.

"In that case, with regards to the matter of Nature's Alliance Guild violating the rules and exterminating the Dense Fog Forest Guild, and subduing all other subsidiary small-scale guilds, what is your explanation?"

Logan glared at Leylin as if he would make a move on Leylin should he say something not conforming to what Logan expected to hear.

"With regards to this?" Leylin smiled mildly and took a step back, his fingers crossed, and seemed to be very uneasy.

"The Dense Fog Forest first robbed and killed us, then barged into Nature's Alliance's headquarters and engaged in so much killing that they almost exterminated the Nature's Alliance guild. As a result, out of self-defence, we naturally retaliated. If I remember correctly, shouldn't this be in accordance with Eastern Twilight Zone's laws for revenge?"

Leylin continued smiling and passed the crystal ball with Celine's previous records to Logan. "Furthermore, we have eyewitnesses as well. If you would like to hear the words from one of them, you can leave with me now to meet him…"

"But the dark elven empire is left running amok, and the tide of darkness creatures is approaching. Distinguished Leylin, aren't you being too reckless? If you were to just showcase your abilities, Gus would probably surrender…"

Upon receiving the crystal ball, Logan did not immediately look into it, but the gloomy clouds on his face had dissipated to a large extent, though his brows were still furrowed.

"He offended me! The dignity of a rank 2 Magi!"

Leylin squinted his eyes, the atmosphere suddenly became tenser. "He almost interrupted my promotion. Only by offering all his blood, will it be enough to cleanse his sins!"

"Are these all the excuses that you have?" Logan looked right into Leylin's eyes.

"These are all facts! Not excuses!" Leylin retorted without restraint.

Two rays of silver glow seemingly collided in mid-air and produced a crisp sound.

"Haha…."

All of a sudden, Logan's face revealed a smile, resolving the tension in the atmosphere.

"Since the opponent started it first, and offended you, then I would have nothing else to say…"

"Thank you for your understanding and support!"

Leylin smiled respectfully.

All of these were actually within his calculations. After all, Magi were all smart people, especially the more so the older one gets!

A medium-scale guild or a rank 2 Magi, this decision did not need deliberation to choose between!

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3 Years

The Magus world was extremely pragmatic; no one would make life difficult for a rank 2 Magus just for a guild that was already exterminated.

Given that the demise of Nature's Alliance would benefit quite a few other guilds, if Dense Fog Forest still had survivors who could repeatedly report them and collude with the authorities, there would have been a small bit of hope. However, Leylin had directly uprooted them. Under the massive Toxic Bile attack on their headquarters, not even a dog had survived. Thus, this matter had been met with little resistance.

This was another reason why Leylin had to exterminate the headquarters of Dense Fog Forest, not only to protect the secret of the Icy World.

Since the way forward had been decided, the other matters were much easier to take care of. Hence, Logan immediately remarked, "In that case, the joint conference will handle this situation appropriately. Dense Fog Forest's remaining strength should also be handed over to another guild!"

"Don't worry, I'll get Nature's Alliance on the path to becoming a medium-scale guild once I go back. However, will the council members cooperate?" Leylin asked. Eastern Twilight Zone's joint conference was held once every 20 years, and the current one had just ended.

"That's not a problem! The nine enforcers can make an exception for you, but the matter would still have to be presented at the next joint conference for the sake of formality!" Logan waved his hand.

"That'll work!" Leylin immediately returned the favour saying, "For the upcoming wave of Dark Creatures as well as the looming threat of the Dark Elven Empire, I will help with the defence. After all, I'm a part of the human race as well!"

After being reassured by Leylin, Logan chuckled, the wrinkles on his face smoothing out.

"In that case, Leylin, since you're a newly promoted rank 2 Magus, you must have many new perspectives and enlightenments. Now is a good time for us to discuss our viewpoints!"

Logan beamed, and with a flick of his hands, the steel table folded inwards, and two cups of steaming, warm, beverage floated up.

"I'm extremely honoured. I too have many questions pertaining to meditation techniques that I wish to consult Mister Logan on!" Leylin said, smiling and raising his cup.

A few hours later, Leylin left Logan's estate. After he left, the exterior of the steel building immediately changed. The four thick legs on the steel building stretched out, and the building slowly moved away.

Meanwhile, at the side, Leylin's mouth revealed a smile which showed his good mood.

This time around, not only did this move help prevent any future troubles, the experiences Magus Logan offered to him were all very useful. Because he had experienced a rapid advancement into a rank 2 Warlock, he had lacked some understanding in regards to rank 2, especially in regards to the path of pursuing the truth!

Even though these things did not look very important right now, they would definitely create a lot of inconvenience for him when he attempted to condense the point mass as a rank 3 Magus.

Now, there was a chance to remedy this.

Moreover, Leylin's depth of knowledge, acquired from the accumulation of information from a different part of the world, greatly surprised Logan. The insight he had gained from this exchange was no less than Leylin's.Ever since Leylin had returned, Nature's Alliance's strength had reached a new peak. Rapidly, all the remaining factions within the Dense Fog Forest was absorbed, and the influence of Nature's Alliance had even spread its net even wider.

Regarding these actions, the joint conference enforcers turned a blind eye; they eventually even produced a formal letter that openly announced Nature's Alliance's promotion to a medium-scale guild, a move which left many Magi dumbfounded.

Through the development during this period, Nature's Alliance had broken through from a declining small-scale guild to a peak medium-scale guild! After all, with a rank 2 Magus like Leylin overseeing the guild, it could be considering as a trump card that could surpass most medium-scale guilds.

However, Leylin obviously knew Logan's bottom line.

The nine existing large-scale guilds had already stretched the resources of eastern Twilight Zone to their limits; the remaining resources were insufficient to support the birth of yet another. Leylin had no intentions of vying to make Nature's Alliance a large-scale guild, and hence Nature's Alliance finally stopped growing and began to consolidate their strength, which left many Magi heaving a sigh of relief.

Honestly, Nature's Alliance's expansion this time was way too aggressive and depended solely on Leylin's powers. The guild's foundations were very unstable.

However, after passing this period, everything they took in would have been assimilated, and their abilities would naturally improve as a whole!

As the ceremonial guild leader, Celine had been so busy lately that no one knew of her whereabouts.

Leylin was far too busy to care about tangible powers. Hence, since Celine was the original guild leader and as someone who shared an intimate relationship with Leylin, she had obtained a great portion of this power.

At this point in time, Celine was full of gratitude for Leylin.

Nature's Alliance had once again achieved glory under Celine's leadership, and the extent of its success exceeded that of the past. If her mentors knew about this, they would have been very pleased.

Leylin did not care about any of this. After the situation had more or less stabilised, he continued staying in the headquarters of Nature's Alliance and sank into the deciphering of high-grade meditation techniques along with his own cultivation.

No matter what resources and materials he required, an instruction to his subordinates was all it took for them to be collected immediately and sent to him. Hence, Leylin became even more reclusive.

He could feel that he had improved at a pace that was way too fast, and hence, he needed to reinforce his foundations for a while. As a result, he chose to enter seclusion.

Time passed bit by bit without anyone noticing.Three years later, the borders of eastern Twilight Zone.

At the outskirts of a small town stood a small wooden house. Some animal skins were hung on the walls of the house, which attracted many envious stares.

Many townspeople passing by would greet the female owner of the house through the walnut wood fence.

"Good morning, Madam Ginny!"

"Good morning Aunt Veeya!" Currently, Jenny had already grown to become a mature woman, her face revealing more of the charm of a young lady, while she smiled and conversed with the lady at her side.

After Aunt Veeya had left, Jenny looked at the burlap clothes she wore, and the basket of wheat bread in her hands; her face revealed that she was distracted.

"How time flies! Three years have passed just like that!" Jenny muttered to herself. It must have been 1 or 2 years since she had defected from her family, and it had been another year since she had escaped with Baelin to this place, and changed her name to Ginny.

Initially, when she had decided to elope with Baelin and was escaping the Argus Family's assassination attempts, they had encountered numerous dangers during their journey. Thankfully, Baelin was already a Grand Knight, and hence they reached the peak of commoners' lives. In addition, Jenny was an acolyte with the knowledge and experience of nobility. After escaping the incessant pursuit of soldiers and the many dangers nature had in store, Jenny finally crossed the border and arrived unharmed.

Although this small town was positioned at the border of the eastern Twilight Zone and was extremely remote, it was considered a safe location and no one had ever called on them.

"But…" Jenny gritted her teeth. Vengeance for her father! Her own hatred! Was she to just give up on them?

After several chaotic memories came to mind, Jenny unknowingly clenched her fists, until a voice roused her.

"I'm back! Do you want to see what I got?" Baelin, who was wearing a hunter's outfit and carrying a bow and arrows, dramatically raised the pot in his hand.

"Yellow oil! This is high-grade yellow oil! I exchanged a grey-toothed snake for it! If you spread it on bread, it's something that even royalty might not be able to enjoy!"

"You!" Jenny rolled her eyes and led Baelin into the house.

Though the house was not big, all necessities had been provided through Baelin's capabilities. Even though they had to maintain a low profile, they were still living better than commoners.

In regards to the lives they were leading now, Baelin was naturally very content, but Jenny seemed to have other ideas.

After the door was closed shut, Jenny solemnly turned her head around.

"We need to leave!"

"Leave? Why? The environment here is so good!" Baelin was at a loss. Immediately after, his face tightened. "Could it be that the men from your family have tracked us down?"

"No! It's war! The horde of darkness creatures is approaching soon, and the Dark Elven Empire might even commence their attack!"

Jenny smiled wryly. "You haven't discovered anything after all the constant hunting you've been doing?"

"Now that you mention it, there does seem to be something like this!" Baelin rubbed his head. "Currently, the number of Dark Creatures has increased by a large amount. A few days ago I was chased by a giant wolf that was the size of a hill for almost an entire day!"

"Now you understand! With regards to the horde of darkness creatures, towns like ours are the least safe. Any small wave of attacks will be able to demolish the town. We have to move closer to the central region, or even the capital before we are safe from them!"

"But!" Baelin scratched his head, "I'm worried about our identities…"

"Although the Argus Family has very deep connections within the eastern regions, we are in the northern region, where they have much less influence. Don't worry, there won't be any problems!"

Jenny comforted him on the surface, yet she was not too confident on the inside. What she said only applied to regular humans; she had no confidence if the powers of Magi were involved.

Even if that was the case, they still needed to move!

Jenny was extremely aware of the looming threat of the horde of darkness creatures. Baelin was just a Grand Knight, even with her might as a level 2 acolyte, they would only be swept away by that force.

However, with her drive to survive and encouragement from her hatred, Jenny had advanced into a level 2 acolyte in these three years, and could now cast rank 0 spells with some effort.

"Alright, I'll leave it to you then!" Baelin smiled boorishly. "However, can't we leave in two days? Uncle Veeya's birthday is approaching, we have to at least congratulate him before setting off!"

Aunt and Uncle Veeya were a couple in the small town that had played a huge role in Baelin and Jenny's settlement here. Hence, no matter what, Baelin had wished to leave the town after the birthday celebration.

"Two days is doable!"

Jenny bit her lips. Large-scale battles often took a long time to prepare, so two days was not a significant amount.

However, it was regretful that, sometimes, the events in the world have anomalies.

For those in northern Twilight Zone, the Wheel of Fate was beginning to slowly turn…

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A Coincidence

On a dark field, a group of cavalry chased after a lone figure.

The fleeing figure was a strange sight. He floated a few metres above the ground and had a pair of white translucent wings sprouting from his back. Each flap of these wings propelled him forward a great distance.

Behind the winged figure was a group of knights chasing after it! These knights rode on large spiders, each with eight brown, clawed legs. There were also icy blue stripes on them, and their eyes shone with bloodlust.

These were Underground Winter Spiders, the mounts of elite dark elves.

The knights riding on these spiders were not humans, but tall, slim creatures with exquisite skin; they had beautiful androgynous contours on their faces, with sharp ears and silver eyes that granted them vision in the dark.

Bang!* The figure that was escaping in front suddenly turned his head, which revealed his handsome features and pointed ears, before he started chanting something undecipherable while swinging his arms backwards.

Five crimson red fireballs were fired out of his palm but were all dodged by the Underground Winter Spiders, exploding on the ground.

Surprisingly, the escaping figure was a dark elf as well!

"They really think highly of me huh, even sending the Underground Winter Spider knights after me!" The silhouette continued to escape but was unable to break away from the knights chasing after him.

Not only could these Underground Winter Spiders move at an incredible speed, they could crawl over any terrain, regardless of whether it was in mountains, fields or even the misty canyons. Their advance could not be stopped.

"Memphis! How dare you betray the glory of the Dark Lord? I will make you suffer, and offer your head as a sacrifice to the Sovereign Mother!"

The knight in charge wore a thin layer of leather armour. The Underground Winter Spider below him was a bit larger than the ones around it, and its upper body was covered with golden stripes.

He inhaled deeply, and the Underground Winter Spider increased its speed. Immediately after, he aimed his bow and shot an arrow that flew elegantly, the arrowhead containing a secret, constantly-glowing rune.

Zoom!*

A black ray of light emitted out of his hand, piercing through the sky and eventually landing on Memphis' back!

"Ahh!"

A fiery red barrier of light appeared behind Memphis' body, but when the arrow came into contact with the shield, the barrier could not even last a second and shattered instantly.

The black arrow continued its flight, and with its unknown strength pierced Memphis from behind, protruding out of his chest.

Memphis screamed, and the glowing arrow in his back disappeared. He collapsed to the ground, his flowing blood forming a pool of red streaked with silver.

Hiss Hiss!*

The knights in the front surrounded him.

"Cut off his head!" The knight in charge heartlessly said and motioned to his men, resulting in two of his men walking up.

At this moment, the expression on the knight's face changed. "No! Fall back!"

But it was too late.

Bang!*

A strong wave of energy emanated from the body of Memphis, who was suddenly holding a scroll.

Two huge balls of light were shot out, and the two approaching knights were burnt to ashes, creating a huge cloud of smoke and dust.

After waiting for the aftermath of the explosion to subside, the knight in charge stepped forward with an irritated look on his face, but by that moment Memphis had already disappeared from the ground.

"Find him for me!" His face contorted in anger. "He has been injured by my curse; he will not be able to travel far!"Baelin aimed with his crossbow, and it cut through the air with a *swoosh* hitting the wild boar in front of him.

The wild boar squealed loudly, bleeding nonstop, but all Baelin did was to pull his crossbow bolt out.

"Haha! Uncle, Baelin's present is here!"

After a fierce battle, Baelin smiled slightly while looking at the beast lying on the floor.

At this moment, a silhouette appeared from the other side of the battle field.

"Eh? Who is this?"

Baelin walked up, and the silhouette turned around, revealing a handsome white face….

Two hours later, Jenny was on her way home when she saw the dark elf that Baelin brought back. Putting her hand on her forehead, she groaned in despair and shouted, "You idiot! We've already offended the higher-ups and caused enough trouble……."

Hearing Jenny's complaints, Baelin innocently touched his head "I had no choice, seeing how pitiful he looks……."

"Pitiful? Do you know what that is? It's a dark elf! He is a purebred dark elf!"

Jenny's face was flushed.

"This may be the border, but if you bring a dark elf, it could bring so much trouble to the town!"

In these recent three years, the Dark Elven Kingdom had frequently caused much insecurity and restlessness among the people!

Just with one look at the dark elf's luxurious clothing, Jenny only had one thought, and that was whether or not the dark elf was like her, a member of nobility on the run because of a failed power struggle.

Thinking about this connection, Jenny started to break out into a cold sweat.

Regarding the cruelness of power struggles, she finally understood and knew that regardless of where this Elf hid, in the end, it would just be extending an endless cycle of fleeing and being hunted down. On top of this, her own people would suffer the consequences!

Thinking up to here, her eyes flashed with ferocity, but could only sigh when she saw the confused and helpless Baelin. Her tone also changed to one that was milder.

"Whatever happens, we must send him away quickly. I'm sure you don't want to cause Aunt and Uncle Veeya any more trouble, right?

Baelin scratched his head. "Oh, alright!"At Baelin's former hunting ground, a bunch of Underground Winter Spider knights surrounded a pit where Memphis the dark elf was concealed.

A small Underground Winter Spider that was no bigger than a dog placed one foot into the cave, and then clicked at the knights.

"He said that aside from Memphis', a human's scent was found"

"Human?" the expression on the leader's face sank, but then he suddenly started laughing maliciously. "No wonder Memphis is well known for peace! He has already been making connections with the humans"

He gestured to his men, "Follow them. I don't care who dares to protect him, I want to chop their heads off personally as sacrificial offerings!"

"Yes my Lord!"

The Underground Winter Spider knights responded in order. The relationship between the people of the Dark Elven Kingdom and Twilight Zone was not the best. Crossing the border by a little bit was not such a big issue, but currently, it looked as if a new war was about to break out. Even so, they could still kill a few more men, steal their food, and enslave their women!

At this point in time, the eyes of many Underground Winter Spider knights flashed red.

An hour later, a horse wagon pulled by an old, slow, horse.

Baelin was guiding the horse, while Jenny was lying on a pile of straw with the dark elf that Baelin had previously saved.

The elf's clothes were cut open at the front, revealing a skinny body. His delicate chest was marred by an arrow wound bordered by a black aura, shaped like a spider and continually expanding.

"How is he?" Baelin turned to ask.

"The external injuries are almost healed, but a curse was cast on him, and I do not have any ideas or methods to cure it!" Jenny raised her hands.

Although this injury was shocking, what surprised Jenny even more was the Elf's vitality, which had allowed him to persevere and survive this long while suffering from the combination of such a serious injury and curse.

"The more that I think about it, the more I feel that this is not such a good idea. Judging from the curse, it is obvious that there is an official Magus after this fellow. If we do this, we will definitely infuriate his opponents!"

Jenny's face turned gloomy.

Upon hearing that, Baelin could not help but tremble—this was an instinct that had been cultivated over many years. "Is an official Magus something like Lord Leylin?"

"Yes! Do you now understand how much trouble you have brought us?" Jenny gave Baelin an arrogant look.

"But haven't we already saved him?" Baelin bitterly laughed. "What else can we do now then?"

All of a sudden, a burst of flames from afar roused Baelin from his thoughts.

In the dark, vast surroundings, this blaze was getting more and more obvious, almost dyeing the colour of the entire sky a fiery red.

"That is…. Our town!!!" Baelin stopped the horse, a frightened look on his face, "What happened? Why would this big fire suddenly appear?"

Jenny had a bad premonition. At this time, Baelin turned the horse without hesitation and headed towards the direction of the fire.

"Are you crazy?" Jenny cried out loud.

"Uncle Veeya and the rest are still inside, I want to save them!"

"They can't be saved; can you calm down a little?" Jenny said with an agitated tone.

"What? How can you be like that? Have you forgotten? Aunt Veeya has treated you so well all this time!" Baelin said as he choked on a breath of air.

"This is not…"

"Sigh…."

While the two were arguing, the dark elf in the wagon suddenly coughed and woke up.

"A human!" He blurted out in the Twilight Zone' Language.

Jenny's heart went cold. The dark elves spoke a different language from humans, and this elf's proficiency in their language was jarring.

In the subterranean world, knowledge was a trademark of nobility, and mastery of foreign languages was prominent amongst them.

When she was young, Jenny had been taught the languages of dark elves, gnomes, and even grey dwarves by a private tutor. Learning them despite the physiological differences was simply a nightmare! And yet, this dark elf spoke so cleanly that it took Jenny by surprise.

"Where is this place?" the dark elf asked as he sat up and looked at the lost Baelin.

"This is the Twilight Zone. Who are you?"

"I'm Memphis, and I need to go now. I've given you enough trouble already; I'm really sorry!"

The dark elf named Memphis had an apologetic look on his face.

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Destiny

Memphis struggled and wanted to get up. But immediately, the spider made of dark aura on his chest let out a hiss. His face went pale, and he fell back down as large beads of sweat rolled down his face.

Shuffling*

Baelin suddenly heard a mild, yet periodic rumble.

"It's coming from the town! Did someone survive?" Baelin beamed with delight.

In contrast, Memphis' face suddenly changed. "It's the footsteps of the Underground Winter Spiders! They have caught up with us!"

A short while later, the silhouettes of five Underground Winter Spider Knights appeared before Baelin's eyes.

"Memphis! You're really here!"

"That's great, we actually found you!"

"His head will definitely give us some merit!"

The knights started chuckling, talking in their language. Jenny only managed to understand a few terms, whereas Baelin had a blank face as he could not understand it at all.

Very quickly, the blank look on his face turned into one of horror.

This was because the knights were sharing the backs of the Underground Winter Spiders with groups of severed human heads, which were still dripping with blood!

He could even see a few familiar faces amongst them.

"Unc—UNCLE VEEYA! What did you do to them!?" Baelin's veins popped out with anger, and he unsheathed the cross sword on his back.

"Haha…" Although the Underground Winter Spider Knights could not understand Baelin's reproaching them, they could infer his fury from his body language. One of them used a spear to pick up a head and started taunting Baelin

At the same time, another knight held a spear and rushed forward.

"Aaaaah… I'm going to kill all of you!" Baelin's eyes were bloodshot, and he too rushed forward.

"Secret technique! Cross Star!" Baelin's life force abruptly exploded and formed an illusory armour around his body.

"Kill!"

Cross blade and spear collided, and Baelin and the Underground Winter Spider knight both retreated a few steps.

Underground Winter Spider knights were the pinnacle of an army whose regular soldiers each matched human Grand Knights. Combining their own ability with runes and their mounts, their strength vastly surpassed that of the average Grand Knight.

However, Baelin himself was no ordinary Grand Knight and could fight him evenly.

Unfortunately, Baelin had to fight not one opponent, but five!

After seeing the life force explode out from Baelin's body, a few knights looked at each other, shouted a few words Baelin could not understand and rushed forward.

Pew*

A black ray shot through the sky and landed on the shoulders of an Underground Winter Spider Knight, piercing into the knight's shoulder with some difficulty.

Jenny stood on the carriage, bow in hand. Her face was calm whilst she shot arrows non-stop.

Naturally, she could see the situation clearly. Under present circumstances, the only way to survive was eliminating this small party.

The problem was that they were badly outnumbered, and each of their opponents was stronger than Grand Knights; exterminating them would not be easy.. Jenny smiled bitterly in her heart.

As was to be expected, Baelin was slowly surrounded by the knights and seemed unable to endure any more attacks. The illusory armor around him began to appear as if it would explode any moment.

Creak! Creak!*

One of the Spiders, under its rider's commands, leaped past Baelin's resistance and arrived before the carriage

The black spear pierced forth, and the resulting winds caused Jenny's face to change.

"Ouch!" Nearby, Baelin let out a groan. His armor had disintegrated, and blood was gushing out from all of his wounds.

Buzz! Buzz!*

Suddenly, Jenny felt a strong energy wave explode violently next to her. She turned her head and saw Memphis struggling to open a scroll in his hands.

A grey ripple swept out, the ring of light seeming to be a spirit avoiding both Jenny and Baelin as it reached the Underground Winter Spider Knights. It was like a halo that bound the knights and their mounts.

The knights that had been bound by the halo immediately felt the enormous power they were proud of dissipating. Even their mounts began trembling as if they could not stand under their own weight.

"A Weakening Imprint! Retreat!" A knight immediately shouted.

But at this time, Baelin lost all self-restraint. "Die!"

"Cross Blade!" He violently used the last bit of his spiritual energy and executed the killing stance of the cross sword technique.

A blade of light in the shape of a cross mercilessly slashed through the four surrounding knights.

Their faces became lifeless, and in a few moments, they disintegrated along with their mounts.

Whoosh* Jenny seized this chance and used a single arrow to pierce through the neck of the last escaping knight.

Memphis let out a smile, but abruptly spat out black blood, after which he fainted.

Half a day later, on the carriage, Jenny looked at the defeated Baelin, and Memphis beside her, and was speechless.

"Why? Why must we kill? Why must there be war?" Baelin muttered under his breath, the world having lost all colour.

"This is an answer that I've been looking for, but unfortunately I have not reached a conclusion!"

Currently, Memphis was using the sap from a green plant to wrap the wounds on his chest. He laughed bitterly, "The two of you have saved me. I, Memphis, swear upon the honor of the dark royalty that I will repay the two of you!"

"Let's not talk about that for now. The conflict you mentioned previously, is that real?" Jenny was obviously more concerned about this issue than other matters.

"It's real! I have suffered from persecution and attempted assassination from others just because I advocated for peace!"

Memphis' eyes glowed, and his voice sank.

"What's our plan now?"

Jenny looked at Baelin.

"I have decided! I must do my best to prevent the war this time around. I don't want to see more people shedding blood!"

Baelin's voice was coarse but held an unquestionable resolve.

"You're crazy!" Jenny was trembling: "Based on your ability alone??"

"No! There's still him!" Baelin pointed to Memphis. "I will escort him back to the Dark Elven Empire and try my best to stop the war!"

Having made that decision, Baelin suddenly felt like he was heating up.

He ripped opened his clothes, revealing a gold coin that had a peculiar exterior. On one side of the coin was a skeleton, whereas on the other side was a lucky bird; the rim of the coin gave off a dim glow. Baelin had pierced through the gold coin, run a string through it, and hung it on his neck.

Baelin caressed the gold coin, his eyes showing signs of even more determination, "Mister Leylin! Master! You support me as well, don't you?"Eastern Twilight Zone, Nature's Alliance headquarters.

Currently, Nature's Alliance had stabilised its strength as a medium-scale guild and had countless hundreds of acolytes, far from what it was like in the past.

Moreover, the increased presence of Magi strengthened their defenses greatly. They were now a few ranks higher than before.

In the forbidden area in the middle of Nature's Alliance, within a huge laboratory.

Leylin blanked out and immediately looked towards the golden crystal in his hands. Currently, the crystal was emitting a faint heat, and the golden light generated from within enshrouded it.

"A portion of the spiritual force has been received?" Leylin suddenly laughed.

"It looks like Baelin has already started walking along with his destined spiritual path! The strength of fate will accumulate in his body!"

Leylin glanced at the A.I. Chip's progress with the recovery of the meditation techniques.

Sacred Flame, the high-grade meditation technique that Leylin longed for, the same one that could predict the future, had finally been fully recovered. There were even a few areas that were being constantly improved.

On the other hand, Kemoyin's Pupil had not advanced at all in the past three years, remaining at halfway to completion. Leylin assumed that the lack of high-grade meditation techniques meant that advancing it to the fourth grade was exceedingly difficult.

After all, the only one rank four technique in his possession could only be cultivated by Dragons, while the others had no information that could assist in the progress of Kemoyin's Pupil.

On the other hand, Sacred Flame had been recovered much earlier, and even went through a few modifications to remove the negative repercussions.

It was a pity that the A.I. Chip only managed to simulate it to the third rank. This meant the technique only went this far, and that left Leylin feeling slightly regretful

"Since the gears of fate have started to turn, then I can only continue to scatter more of these 'seeds' so as to anticipate a harvest in the future!" Leylin stroked his chin and looked towards the experiment table.

The silver-white table top had a few peculiar objects on it. Among these items were a black ring, a five-coloured pendant, and a tattered notebook.

"A.I. Chip! Begin!" Leylin's eyes shot out a blue glow, and he picked the few objects up.

[Limited AI programming has been completed, inputting data!] The A.I Chip intoned.

After a few minutes, Leylin picked up the black ring. A ray of light shot out, and out came the figure of a scholarly looking Magus.

"I am the legendary Grand Magus Merlin, you lucky fellow! You will receive my advice and become the Twilight Zone's strongest genius!"

Leylin's mouth quivered. The Grand Magus figure seemed to have life, as it spoke with charm.

These were the limited Artificial Intelligences that Leylin had been designing. He had the ability to control the programs remotely, which made them very useful.

Having been pleased with himself after the adjustments, Leylin placed the few items into an empty bag and walked out of the laboratory.

"My lord!"

Along the way, no matter whether they were official Magi or acolytes, all of them lowered their heads in respect. Some acolytes would even bow from a distance, and quickly walk away.

"I can't believe that even I would receive such treatment!" Leylin abruptly laughed.

If high-level Magi had not intentionally exercised restraint, the strong radiation that emitted from their bodies would be a type of contagion that could even be lethal to low-level acolytes.

As a result, previously in the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy, there were many forbidden areas, which were actually the living areas and experimentation areas of high-level Magi.

In the past, when Leylin had seen those Magi, he would also bow from a distance before quickly avoiding them.

But now, it was time for others to do so instead.

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Dolon

In a short span of three years, Nature's Alliance had cemented its status as a medium-scale guild. After absorbing Dense Fog Forest's remains, it had even managed to become a peak medium-scale guild! All of these achievements had been largely attributed to Leylin's contributions, a fact that went undisputed.

Even if he did nothing personally, the mere presence of a rank 2 Magus would eliminate most of the Alliance's troubles.

Hence, the faith that he commanded from members of Nature's Alliance had been increasing day by day up to a point of reverence, even deification.

Additionally, a lot of Magi had joined during this period of large-scale recruitment. Although Celine's strength as a rank 1 Magus afforded her some bit of status, there was no longer any influences that she could have.

This meant that even if Leylin intended to take away her nominal position as the guild leader, he needed but to ask.

Passing through layers of glowing spell formations, Leylin ended up at a purple villa.

"My lord!" Celine and Iren respectfully bowed.

"Mmm!" Leylin nodded, and directly asked, "Has anything happened recently?"

"The guild's development has been very smooth. Currently, our influence has expanded to the vicinity of the Ural mountain plains. Two local small-scale guilds have also expressed their desire to subordinate themselves to us…" Iren took the lead and bowed while reporting to Leylin.

A peak rank 1 Magus—Leylin's strongest military force—Iren ranked highly within Nature's Alliance, where he specialised in the guild's expansion.

"What about the approaching horde of darkness creatures and the Dark Elven Empire?" Leylin asked.

"Reports of abnormal activity of the darkness creatures are starting to come in. In addition, the warmongering faction in the Dark Elven Empire successfully staged a coup, eliminating all influence of the pro-peace faction. They've mobilised the entire army, and are ready to attack any day now."

Wars were not uncommon in the subterranean world, but they rarely coincided with the attacks of the horde of darkness creatures. This was so rare, in fact, that even a peak rank 1 Magus like Iren had only encountered such a situation once in his lifetime.

That period had seen the loss of many Magi and numerous large-scale guilds. It had come to be known as the subterranean world's Great Power Reshuffle

An event that destabilised the world of Magi would obviously be a long period of suffering for the commoners.

"From the looks of it, a big war is inevitable!" Leylin sighed lightly.

A war between two intelligent species wouldn't be quick to occur. It would be prefaced by a long period of strategy and preparation, with very little surprise attacks occurring. High ranking Magi had started keeping tabs on their opponents as early as three years ago, and their preparations had begun even further back.

However, precisely because of this long preparatory phase, any and all strategies tended to be useless; the war would devolve into a contest of information gathering and military might.

"Have we made any moves yet?" Leylin looked at Celine.

Recently, this woman had become much more beautiful. It was as if the power she'd gained made her glow more than she already did.

Power was an elixir to men. This was no less true for women as well. It was a pity that although these women were as beautiful as roses, every rose has its thorns. To conquer them was not a simple task.

Were he on Earth, Leylin would naturally not think like this. But the Magus world was different. Dominance, status—everything came from his own power, and he was not in the least bit concerned that Celine would one day surpass him.

"Forget the commoners' war for now. The joint conference has commissioned a war council headed by the nine enforcers. It issued a formal request for your assistance!"

Celine arranged her hair. This revealed a translucent earring inlaid with a glowing red ruby.

The request was a result of Leylin's agreement with Logan. In exchange for his participation in the war, Nature's Alliance had been allowed to expand unchecked.

"Where have they stationed me?" Leylin asked with interest as he sat on a reclining chair. He raised up a crystal goblet, the fresh red wine within as thick as blood."

"Dolon City! A large number of the Magi who responded to the call have gathered there! Of course, Duke Fendix and the royal military have been stationed there as well!"

"Dolon!" Leylin raised his glass, and a map of eastern Twilight Zone appeared within his mind.

"They've retreated too far! That's basically giving up the borderlands!"

"Most of the commoners have already been evacuated!" Celine smiled wryly, "But for some areas, it's beyond our control."

As a Magus, Celine generally thought of problems purely based on how they affected her, but now that this matter concerned everyone, she exhibited the sympathetic nature of a woman.

Immediately, the sympathy turned into worry.

"The war council intends to use Dolon, Wakeshire, and Sadoor to form a tripartite defence that makes full use of our geographical advantages. When the war begins, my lord, you will have to face the military might of the Dark Elven Empire, including many of their matriarchs."

The Dark Elven Empire was still a matriarchal society and was more a united kingdom made of numerous smaller clans than anything else.

The matriarchs of the smaller clans were at least as strong as official Magi. The ones Celine referred to were the matriarchs of the larger clans, existences that rivalled rank 2 Magi in might. Dark elves were naturally gifted with extraordinary strength, something which made the average elf much more powerful than the average human. Were it not for their low fertility, they would have conquered the Twilight Zone long ago.

Celine's face was full of worry. After all, she was very clear that the powers she had came from Leylin. Should anything befall him, even if Nature's Alliance didn't crumble, it would fall dramatically in power.

"Don't worry, I have confidence!" Leylin let out a smile. That he had decided to go forward meant he was amply prepared for anything that he might come across. At the very least, his personal safety wasn't an issue. After all, even in a war as large in scale as this one, rank 2 Magi rarely fell.

Furthermore, he was not there to fight but to observe. The moment something was amiss, he would flee. Which Matriarch would dare sacrifice herself to prevent his escape?

Leylin had already recovered his strength as a rank 2 Warlock, even advancing in some areas. He was confident that, as long as he didn't meet an old freak that rivalled rank 3 Magi, nothing could stop him.

However, thinking up to this point, Leylin felt a bit depressed.

In a world of beings with extraordinary abilities, large-scale wars generally depended on the strength of the higher-ups. Wouldn't the humans turtling up mean that even his monstrous strength would not be able to turn the tide of this war?

Neither Celine nor Iren was qualified to know of this. Perhaps only rank 2 Magi would be able to see the situation more clearly.

"No matter what, I need to go and have a look. If I were to pass the completed techniques to the acolytes of Nature's Alliance, it would arouse suspicion. Furthermore, the shifting landscape of war could hold good opportunities for me…" Leylin considered.

Upon seeing Leylin deep in thought, Iren immediately took his leave. Celine was a little disappointed and just curtsied.

Just as she turned to leave, Leylin grinned. "Celine, don't go just yet…"

Having heard that, Celine's face revealed a charming smile.

Dolon City was a military town along the Eastern Twilight Zone's border. The town was built purely of black granite, which made it look like a huge fort from afar.

Currently, militia lined the entrance of the town, and soldiers and fleets of carriages crossed the gates occasionally.

Flags bearing the royal family's crest were everywhere, and the silhouettes of knights leading small patrol teams were scattered around.

The entrance was guarded by official Magi in grey robes, and stringent checks were performed on everyone.

Dolon City originally supported 100,000 residents. Most of its current population, however, comprised of soldiers.

Now that the joint conference had commissioned a war council, the royals they backed could only execute their battle plans. All of Dolon City was preparing for war, and had begun wartime operations.

The center of the city was occupied by the grandest villa in town. However, this villa was not for royalty; it was meant, instead, for distinguished Magi.

Numerous Magi, robed in all colours, could be seen on premises. They'd even set up a large spell formation for defence. Some of the Magi patrolling the city walls would occasionally cast spells on the wall to strengthen it.

"The atmosphere here is so stifling!" A rank 3 acolyte wearing a grey acolyte robe walked along a deserted road, and intermittently glanced at both sides of the street. Passing soldiers would bow to this mighty magician.

"With one foot already in the grave, how can I still be considered a magician?" Aaron smiled wryly.

This acolyte was among the first group of people Leylin had met when he was transported here.

Back then, Aaron was among the party of three acolytes and two grand Knights that Leylin had saved in the Woody Wastelands. As recompense, Leylin had scanned their souls, which resulted in them losing a lot of things.

Aaron sighed deeply.

During his previous reckless foray into the Woody Wastelands, he had luckily obtained bio-materials worth a lot of magic crystals. Still, he felt like something was amiss, although he could not put a finger on it.

What terrified him further was that, after his return, he found out that his aptitude had dropped a grade!

Aaron and the other acolytes had been lucky to survive Leylin's reckless scanning of their soul. However, his random tampering of their memories had grave consequences.

The development of magicians depended largely on their aptitude. Aaron's original aptitude was not astounding, a mere grade 3. When it fell to grade 2, he felt as if the world began to crumble down on him.

He still remembered the regret and disappointment in his mentor's eyes after the examination, as he said, "Perhaps an abnormal being attacked you leading to the demotion of your aptitude. It might never be reversed. Pity! What a pity!"

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Anya

With the drop in his aptitude, he turned from an acolyte with a bit of hope into a good-for-nothing.

After seeing Aaron's state, his mentor did not beat around the bush, telling him directly that he no longer had the qualifications to train in a high-grade meditation technique.

Some high-grade meditation techniques had stringent requirements for those cultivating them, and currently, Aaron did not qualify to cultivate his.

"It's much more difficult to advance to an official Magus using the simplified version of the high-grade meditation technique. Doesn't this amount to completely giving up on me? And then there's her…" Aaron lowered his head, fingernails digging into flesh.

After finding out that his aptitude had lowered and that he could not train in the high-grade meditation technique anymore, his relatives and former friends had shunned him. Even his fiancee had abandoned him!

The memory of her firmly leaning into another's embrace as she looked at Aaron in disdain left him feeling like his chest would burst into flames.

What infuriated him further, even driving him into the pits of despair, was that his enemies in the guild had taken the opportunity to beat him up. There were even traces of evidence showing that woman pulling strings in the background, for him to be dispatched to a place like this.

Dolon City was at the frontlines of the war. Official Magi might be able to retreat calmly if the city fell, but level 3 acolytes like him had no chance!

In wartime, the army would be much more willing to give up on cannon fodder like him than on those of higher rank. Historically, an intense war like this would spell doom for over half the acolytes!

Aaron found himself feeling numb. He had to drag his body to the city gate. "Level 3 acolyte Aaron, reporting for duty!" he said, trying his best to look more alert.

"En!" The Magus at his post nodded, neither finding anything strange nor getting mad.

He'd seen numerous acolytes who were dumped here. With no backing, this fellow wouldn't live past a month, so why would he grow angry at a walking corpse?

"Your mission is to maintain this detection spell formation. I've already adjusted it. White dots are regular people, while red dots are acolytes and knights. The purple dots are official Magi. Is that understood?"

"Yes!" Aaron nodded.

Suddenly, the spell formation rumbled and produced a loud bang, cracking apart at the edges. A black ray of light exploded forth.

"And what does black mean?" Aaron asked, dumbfounded.

"Rank 2! A powerful existence that is at rank 2 or above that!" The Magus answered in a daze, and then snapped out of it. "Quick! Sound the alarm!"

Not far away, a black dot expanded in the sky, gradually forming a human figure.

Watching the city gates where there was an uproar, Leylin shook his head slightly. "Looks like there's been a misunderstanding!"

He ceased advancing and silently waited.

Minutes later, two streaks of similarly powerful energy undulations burst out from Dolon City, and two figures transformed into rays of light, darting in front of Leylin.

These were two rank 2 Magi, one male, and one female. The man, in red robes with silver patterns embroidered on, laughed heartily as he greeted, "Sir Leylin! It's great that you were able to get here in time!"

The female Magus merely stood aside and smiled, seemingly leaving the situation to her counterpart.

"It's my honour to meet you, Sir Fendix!" Leylin bowed while smiling gently.

In these three years, it was not as if Leylin had done nothing. At least, he had gotten familiar with a few rank 2 Magi in the east.

This rank 2 Magus was a leader of a large-scale guild. Duke Fendix was one of his descendants.

"Come! If there's anything else, let's talk about it after we get back!" Fendix looked at the uproar around them and laughed towards Leylin, then slowly descended.

Leylin and the female Magus followed behind him.

"It's a rank 2 lord! Quick, bow!"

Leave alone ordinary soldiers, even high-ranking military officers and nobles knelt in front of him, while the official Magus from before respectfully bowed to his waist.

Aaron quickly bowed as well, and then raised his head, confused. He secretly glanced at the young person in the middle, "I seem to have seen that lord before somewhere, but I don't remember where…"

Just as Aaron's gaze swept over him, the Magus seemed to sense it and a pair of black pupils flitted over.

All of a sudden, a surge of darkness and shadows surrounded Aaron, causing him to retreat a few steps, feeling suffocated.

Aaron was so afraid he broke out into a cold sweat and quickly lowered his head, not daring to raise it.

"It's actually him! I didn't expect us to meet here!" In contrast, a grin appeared on Leylin's face.

Strictly speaking, all that he knew about Twilight Zone had originated from this acolyte's memories. To be able to meet again, he was considered quite lucky.

"I'll choose you first then!" The notion of a twisted delight seemed to rise in Leylin.

This thought flashed past, but Leylin's expression remained unchanged as he descended to the mansion at the centre with the other two rank 2 Magi.

The interior decoration was not bad, and it looked to be the residence of some nobility or even mayor of the city. Of course, it had now been taken over.

The three Magi entered the hall and took a seat, a few acolytes bringing drinks and some fruits, and then carefully making their way out.

"The main forces of the dark elves have reached the border. They seem to be very determined this time and have even dispatched the matriarchs of several ancient families. Looks like we'll be under immense pressure this time…"

Fendix looked grim but smiled at Leylin, "Of course, with Sir Leylin here, we'll have even more hope!"

"As a human, I naturally can't shirk my responsibilities!" While Leylin said this solemnly on the surface, he was meanwhile thinking about retreating the moment the situation wasn't in his favour.

Though he didn't mind helping human beings occupy more land for the sake of survival, this was only if this would not harm his own interests. If not, there was nothing to consider.

Of course, this was also how many other high ranked Magi thought.

Even if the war council was aware of this fact, there was little they could do.

Meanwhile, Fendix was still speaking, "Battles between humans, as well as the regular dark elves and beast waves are usually handed to the duke to settle. Underground Winter Spider Knights and dark elf Magi, as well as powerful darkness creatures will require Magi to act, and there is but one reason for our existence, which is to prevent the matriarchs of the dark elves and the emperor of the darkness creatures from meddling!"

Leylin nodded. The powers of rank 2 Magi were good at suppression and deterrence. After all, if a rank 2 existence let go of all their inhibitions, even the Dark Elven Empire would not be unharmed.

"By the way, why is the Dark Elven Empire so confident this time?" Leylin's eyes flashed and he asked.

Hearing this, Fendix and the female Magus exchanged glances and smiled wryly, "This is supposed to be top secret, but Leylin, you're a rank 2 Magus as well. You've also joined up with us, so there's nothing left to hesitate about."

Fendix set up a sound-proof boundary, "The protector of the entirety of our Twilight Zone, the person who has become a rank 3 Magus, does not have much time left…

"The limit of the lifespan of a rank 3 Magus is a thousand years! Only Morning Star Magi can break through this limit. Ever since he started protecting this region, it has been over nine hundred years…"

Leylin went silent for a while. Then, he asked, "In other words, this war is but a probe?"

"The dark elves must have received some information from their end and started probing, but now…" Fendix forced a smile, "All I can say is that Twilight Zone is not allowed to fall back."

Leylin's heart fell. It looked like this rank 3 Magus was not in a good condition.

Under these circumstances, the dark elves' probing would likely become an invasion on a large scale, perhaps even threatening the existence of humans!

Something flashed in his mind, and he suddenly thought of Baelin.

"Chaos and suffering will give birth to the child of destiny. Looks like this is the overture to troubled times."

With Leylin's silence, the hall was filled with a tense atmosphere.

"Alright, let's not talk about these. Shall we prepare a grand welcoming banquet? We could use this opportunity and let those Magi meet you!" Seeing that the atmosphere seemed to have frozen, the rank 2 female Magus smiled slightly and suggested.

"No, there's no need! Let me rest for a while and then prepare a few rank 2 spells!"

Leylin did not have the slightest interest in these customs.

"That's fine!" Magi were generally antisocial, and this was even more so for higher ranked Magi. Fendix and the others did not take it to heart.Central Twilight Zone!

This was the core of Twilight Zone, and where there was the largest population. Caravans passed by the routes frequently and were bustling with life.

In an unknown area deep in the earth's crust, a green ray of light illuminated a room.

Bathed in the green light was a withered old man. His body was covered with wrinkles and his eyes had sunk so deep into his skull that he seemed like a dead man walking.

A large bizarre flower had tendrils wrapped around his back. Its densely packed sizeable leaves and branches were a dark green that made them seem fat and juicy, and many of its feelers hung low, extending deep underground to an unknown destination. The stolon penetrated the man's flesh as if taking root there, the man's eyes shining as the roots swelled, channeling a great amount of plant matter into him.

A black ray shot out from the back of the old man's hand, projecting a totem in the form of a large spider.

"My old friend, I can sense your feebleness. The aura of life is constantly waning from your body, and you can't even reject my 'Life Absorption' much longer…"

This was the voice of a young lady. It was pleasant to listen to, and even a little bewitching.

"Anya! The ruler of the Dark Elven Empire, the most respected matriarch of the ancient clan!" The old man slowly called out this woman's identity, and immediately after, an absolute formidable energy undulation exploded from behind the old man.

"You can't stop me…" The woman in the totem imprint sighed.

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Serendipity

Snap!*

Space seemed to freeze for a moment, but then it seemed like nothing had happened.

The black spider totems began began to dissipate slowly, and Anya's voice sounded out, "You've grown old already"

Bang!* The black imprints dissolved into light. There were fewer stalks on his back now, and milky white sap flowed out of his injuries.

When the old man raised his head once again, he seemed older; patches of grey had begun to appear on his skin.

"Has this body's vitality been taxed to its limit?" The old man looked at the spots on his body,and couldn't help but laugh bitterly his eyes dull and lifeless.

"Time…" the old man said with a long sigh that instantly swept away the rays of light. The cave turned dark once more.Aaron had returned to his room.

The last rays of twilight revealed a mix of rotting wooden boards and moldy corners. This stinky room was the 'luxury' he was awarded sole residence in. This dilapidated room showed how much he was valued.

Yet, at this time, he could not bring himself to care about it. His mind was occupied with his earlier encounter.

Patrol. Detection spell formation. The youth with black eyes… Memories flitted across his mind.

'I've definitely seen him before! But why can't I remember where?' he was trying hard to recall. Suddenly, he covered his face and started screaming, veins popping out at his temples. The pain caused him to black out. His screams permeated the room until he returned to his senses a few moments later, finding himself on the ground.

Hot sweat rolled down Aaron's face as he gasped.

"Again and again! This disease from my adventure in the wastelands is wasting away my spiritual force…"

Bang!*

At that moment, as if unable to withstand his frustration, a piece of the floor rose up. A black gleam immediately caught Aaron's attention.

"What… is this?" Curiosity piqued, he dug out the black object and placed it on his palm. It was a ring with ancient writings on it, one whose surface was coated in black. Aaron's heart skipped a beat.

"A ring?" He twisted it around, "It's still giving off faint energy waves, is it a magic artifact?"

Magical artifacts, regardless of size and grade, will save your life on the battlefield. As his thoughts turned towards that direction, Aaron couldn't help breathing heavily.

All of a sudden, he felt a surging pain from his hand, a prick which caused him to shout and almost throw the ring to the ground.

"What's this?" Aaron looked at his forefinger, stunned, as blood dripped onto the ring from the punctured skin. A small thorn could be seen on the edge of the black ring, which was what had hurt him just now.

Xiu!* The blood drop was immediately absorbed like water on a sponge. The black ring flashed before turning grey. Simultaneously, the energy waves it was previously giving off vanished and the ring seemed to lose all power, now just an ordinary object.

"This… is it the 'Binding Ceremony?' in myths" Aaron scratched his head with uncertainty.

Although Aaron did not know much about magic artifacts, he was aware that some high-grade magic artifacts that were extremely rare required a ceremony to bind them to oneself. And the catalyst to begin these ceremonies… was blood!

"Hahaha! Kid, you're right!" At this moment, a voice sounded in Aaron's head.

"Who is it? Who's there?" The sudden voice bewildered Aaron and he began to look around. He could see no one..

"I'm in the palm of your hand!" replied an aged voice.

"You are… the ring?" Aaron's eyes suddenly widened.

"Mm! Kid, how about we make a deal?" the old man laughed heartily.

"No! I will not make any deals with you, nor will I sell my soul to you!" Aaron said firmly.

Magi were not reclusive people. Aaron had heard stories about ancient beings and exotic creatures that made deals with humans, toying with them and harvesting their spirits.

"Really? You don't want to restore your aptitude anymore?" The old man's laugh was sinister.

"Re… Restore my aptitude?" Aaron's heartbeat quickened.

"I've grasped the mysteries of the soul. If your aptitude had been this low originally, it would have been difficult to increase it. But it's still possible to reverse the effects of the damage to your soul…" the old man explained.

"Who are you exactly? Why would you help me?" Aaron asked, reigning his emotions in.

"I am the ancient legendary Magus, Merlin…… 's memory fragment!" the old man paused, causing Aaron to slip.

"Memory fragment?"

"Yes. My physical body has long since decayed, but this fragment has remained here, stuck in this ring…" The old man seemed to be reminiscing.

"As for why I'm helping you, I told you before. I want something in return!"

"What do you want?" Although Aaron was desperate for a cure to his problem, he was still alert and vigilant.

"Don't worry, you're someone destined for death. How much can I really ask of you? I'm not a devil that is here to collect your soul!"

Merlin chuckled, "I need you to gather my remaining fragments! And in return, not only will I cure your disease, I'll even pass on a complete high-grade meditation technique to you and help you advance to become an official Magus…""High-grade meditation technique, an official Magus!" Aaron was delighted, but this was immediately followed by piercing agony. Originally, he had hopes of achieving all these, but now….

"Your remaining fragments? What do you mean?"

"I'd originally made many magic equipments into which I'd placed fragments of my spirit. I'd been expecting big misfortune, and prepared them to tide it over. You need to help me find the remaining fragments of my spirit…"

"Every artifact you find will be of great help to us!" Merlin reassured Aaron upon noticing his hesitation. "Besides, the current you is too weak to help me, so I'll also help you increase your strength as much as possible!"

"What are you trying to do? Do you intend to resurrect yourself?" Aaron guessed.

"Hehe… The rules of Death aren't something a trifling Magus like me can interfere with. I'm only a remnant filled with unfulfilled desires, and I'm unwilling to remain cooped up in a ring forever. I need your help to find my remaining fragments. Do this one thing for me, and we will be even. I swear on my own spirit!"

"You don't need to swear, I will help you!" Aaron fiercely said.

"You're right! What have you to gain from fooling a dead man like me? For that woman to abandon me for her own pleasure, I will not stand for it!" Aaron said with red eyes.

"Haha! Alright, even if I'm a mere fragment, I still possess a huge amount of knowledge. All you need is that to become Twilight Zone's premier genius! Then, you can easily rise above the others once again!" Magus Merlin laughed heartily in Aaron's head.

"Then, let's summon the Trial's Eye and sign a contract?" The fury on Aaron's face disappeared, and he calmly stated this condition.

"Of course!" the old man said after a brief period of silence.

Aaron's eyes flashed and he immediately summoned the Trial's Eye hologram as a witness.

"Under the witness of the Trial's Eye…."

In the room, the voices of two people swearing an oath could be heard."It's done!"

On the other side, Leylin who was in the laboratory laughed, looked at his own body bound by Trial's Eye and held a pitcher with the solution of a Nefarious Filthbird's feathers.

That thing was sent on purpose by the ring.

Merlin was just a limited AI, but it could fool the inexperienced Aaron. Furthermore, at critical moments, Leylin could control him from afar.

All in all, this was just a counterfeit of a certain ring and grandfather.

"With what I've given you, how will you affect the wind and waves of Twilight Zone? I'm looking forward to it!" Leylin chuckled, and an intense light flashed in his eyes.As a nervous atmosphere permeated Dolon City, all the commoners were evacuated. Within days, many darkness creatures surrounded it, and among them could be seen the faint silhouettes of people.

"Sir Leylin! Sir Fendix has invited you to the City Wall!" A middle aged man wearing golden armor respectfully informed Leylin.

This middle aged man was Duke Fendix, the commander of the army. The Fendix Family had consecrated numerous official Magi, many of whom were famous. Furthermore, this included two of Fendix's own descendants.

But in front of Leylin, they were required to lower their heads like a commoner in the presence of a noble.

"Got it!" Leylin said as he slowly closed the big book in his hand and arrived at the City Wall.

Because this was the first attack, not only were there numerous soldiers and generals, but Magi were also present to watch.

"Sir Leylin!" Fendix greeted Leylin, floating in mid-air.

Leylin laughed as he flew up to join him. The two looked at a black line at the difference that was rushing at them like a tide.

"Magnificent, is it not?" The beginning stages of the war would be fought by cannon fodder. These creatures did not possess much strength, and Fendix's expression did not even change.

"Magnificent indeed!" Leylin could not help but say lightly as he looked beyond the wall. There were hundreds of thousands of darkness creatures down below.

He had not expected so many darkness creatures to be here. And this number was only that of those in the area. The total number of darkness creatures in all the armies was definitely astronomical.

"Darkness creatures, human beings, and the other species; this land cannot support all of us. Thus, every once in a while, all these races go to war….." a female rank 2 Magus said softly at the side.

"Among all the races, war and alliance both have occurred countless times since long ago……"

"This war will have no winners and losers. Only after all groups have used up nearly all their resources, supplies and soldiers, only then, can the war end….."

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Bestowal

Upon hearing that, Leylin turned silent.

History showed that, when both sides in a war had equal military strength at all levels, this was indeed the largest possibility.

With the lifespan of the protector of Twilight Zone being at an end, they were actually at a disadvantage. Although the entire race wouldn't be exterminated, the humans would lose large amounts of their territory.

"Our strategy this time is to rely on using the three cities to defend. Every city has three rank 2 Magi stationed there, as well as a large army. The protector of the east is on standby, ready to reinforce any of the cities as required!"

Leylin stroked his chin. "The bloodbath here will truly be terrifying…."

"Hoo.. Hoo…."

As if tired of waiting, many darkness creatures started an uproar as they charged towards the city's walls.

Ten thousand horses charged on the field, causing the ground to tremble a little.

Fendix's face remained unchanged and he used a secret imprint to pass a message. "Engage the first layer of defense!"

Instantly, many runes appeared on the massive city walls of Dolon, radiating light that shaped itself into a barrier.

Boom!*

Flames! Tongues of flame shot out, swallowing the darkness creatures nearby. They gradually grew larger, slowly spreading out further.

"Isn't it a little early to be using fire elemental formations?" Leylin cringed his brows.

"These darkness creatures may not be strong, but there are too many of them. We cannot let them exhaust our strength in numbers with just the first exchange. In addition, we need our troops to have high morale. We still have a lot of magic crystals in reserve and these outermost formations don't consume as many. There's no need to worry!" Fendix gazed at the battlefield and explained to Leylin casually.

Raging flames burned like a giant torch in the middle of the night, attracting innumerable Dark Moths to them.

Aaron stood at the top of the city, his face pale at the sight before him. The burning corpses had a pungent odour which sent shivers down his spine.

After waiting for the fire to burn out, the darkness creatures charged to the base of the walls and were about to enter battle with the city guard.

Out of the corner of his eye, Aaron noticed a ferocious beast with sharp claws and fierce, pearly white teeth drooling. Immediately, he looked at the grey ring on the forefinger of his right hand and shouted out within his mind: "Grandpa Merlin! If you don't help me now, I'm definitely dead meat!"

"Fret not. With me here, nothing will happen to you!" Merlin's voice sounded inside Aaron's head. This was not Leylin talking to him, but the limited AI.

"Originally, you could simply have defected and run away, but it's a pity that we are now in the middle of war! If you try to escape, all the magicians in Twilight Zone will be left with no choice but to immediately hunt you down!" Merlin seemed to sigh.

If this was during times of peace and Aaron had defected and escaped, naturally only the members of his own guild would be hunting him down. But all that changed during war,

"Of course I know this!" Aaron panicked.

"Move three steps backwards! Use the Secondary Energy Fireball Technique! Aim 50 degrees to the right!" Merlin commanded with a cold and stern tone.

Aaron's body could not help but obey the voice, and he moved three steps backwards, avoiding the claws of a beast.

"Quack! Quack!"

A huge black crow spiraled downwards and upon seeing Aaron's escape, an almost human glint of regret flashed in its eyes.

"Dammit! I. Want. To. Kill. You!" Aaron said quickly as he paused at each syllable and swung his right hand at the bird.

A small fireball cut through the air and struck the crow.

Boom!* A scarlet red flame burned the crow to cinders within moments. The creature did not even get to make a sound before it was burnt to a crisp.

"Just now, that was……" Aaron's eyes lost focus.

He was certain that his fireball had been aimed nowhere close to the crow. Still, it seemed to have foolishly flown into its path.

"Foresight! This is something you must learn quickly if you don't wish to die on the battlefield!" Merlin said from within the ring.

And Aaron looked at the admiration in the eyes of the acolytes surrounding him, and clenched his fist tightly in the dark: "I will…."A few hours later, the sound of a desolate beast's howl travelled from afar, and like the tide, all the darkness creatures retreated. Fendix nodded his head: "It seems like today was just a probe. Let us head back!"

At this moment, several dark elf knights on their Underground Winter Spiders stood on the mud slope before the horde. Gazing at the scene, one of them nodded.

"The enemies' three rank 2 matriarchs are gathered here; this is where the battle shall occur. Send the signal!"

One of the knights said a few words to a white carrier pigeon and released the bird immediately after.

The white carrier pigeon circled in the air and flew away into the horizon.Night had fallen, and military curfew had made the entirety of Dolon quiet. Back in that small, moldy room, Merlin was talking to Aaron with assurance.

"You have already been sent here. No matter what reason you have, escaping your duties is a one-way street to death. There is only one thing you can do now, and that is serve! Accumulate a lot of contribution points, and use them to speed up your advance to a rank 1 Magus! Magi all have the power to make their own decisions, which will greatly increase your chances of survival……"

Although the entire battlefield was full of danger, there was still some hope.

At least for the magicians, the war council had set up a reward system. This allowed one to exchange contribution points for resources.

It is difficult for one to rise to power in periods of peace. War, however, produced countless heroes. It was a time when high risk met high reward.

"Of course, I know this!" Aaron thought deeply: "But my aptitude and meditation technique…." He hesitated.

"I'm working to fix your aptitude. After yesterday's minor operation, you felt it too, didn't you?" Merlin chuckled. The only thing manipulating him now was Leylin, who was free at the moment.

It was Leylin himself who had harmed Aaron's aptitude in the past. Now, with the A.I. Chip and the information he had obtained from his time in Nature's Alliance, this sort of minor injury was easy to heal.

Hearing this, Aaron's expression relaxed. Ever since Merlin had conducted an operation on him, the pain from his injuries had alleviated, and his aptitude had been restored.

"However, just this is not enough!" Merlin continued explaining, "Your aptitude is only in the third grade, and this is your limit. Magi who can increase your aptitude have long since gone extinct. Although with your current rank you can force yourself to practice your guild's high-grade meditation technique, it doesn't really suit you…."

Aaron's face sank. The high-level meditation technique passed down in this Guild was Blazing Heart, and it didn't have many requirements. As long as one had affinity for the fire element and possessed an aptitude that was at or above the third rank, they could practice it.

But there was a problem here. His primary affinity was not fire, but water. Fire was only a secondary affinity of his. Furthermore, for a magician to practice Blazing Heart, the higher the aptitude the better. His third rank aptitude just barely met the standards.

"Basically, you have no way of getting recognition and learning the high-level meditation technique from your guild!" Merlin concluded.

"Yeah! So what now?" Aaron's eyes were tinted by dejection.

"Hahaha…" At this time, Merlin laughed out loud and said: "Have you forgotten? I, Merlin, am a legendary Magus. How would I not have high-grade meditation techniques of my own?"

"I will bestow upon you a complete high-grade meditation technique. Furthermore, it has the frightening ability of allowing you to peer into the future! If you can predict the future, you can control everything!" Merlin's voice was full of confidence.

"Foresee the future, control the future!" Aaron's breathing grew heavier.

"That's right! This meditation technique is called—Sacred Flame!"In Dolon City, Leylin's bedroom was vastly different from Aaron's.

The gold-plated floor, the soft, silk brocade quilt, huge crystal chandeliers and gold and silver plates holding many fruits… comparing Aaron's room to this place was like comparing a beggar's shack to a grand palace.

"Few acolytes can resist the temptation of a high-grade meditation technique…" Leylin sighed. With his connection, he could tell that Aaron had begun using this new technique, and he let out a soft gasp.

Although the A.I. chip had repaired Sacred Flame and eliminated its side-effects, Leylin was still cautious of it. The soul was a huge mystery. While Leylin had previously assumed that his research into spirits was profound, after being at the mercy of a ghost, he had realized how ridiculous his thoughts were.

The amount of research he had done in the field of spirits was negligible. He had realized he was like a frog in a well, and completely abandoned any previous notions he had about the depth of his research.

Even more so, regarding the high-grade meditation technique Sacred Flame, he wished only to admire and respect it from afar. Although he thirsted for the power of destiny, he did not want to devolve into a schizophrenic madman.

Thus, it was necessary to collect data through live tests, which was what he had put into motion.

Leylin had a blank expression on his face, full of indifference. His gaze pierced through a veil of light and stared into the future.The next day, the darkness creatures besieged the city as usual with their cannon fodder.

Boom!* A fireball was shot and turned a huge black bear into a torch.

Aaron calmly retracted his hand. Uncaring of the increasingly reverent looks of the acolytes around him, he walked to the side and began meditating to restore his spiritual force.

"How does the new meditation technique feel?" Merlin and Aaron were conversing inside his head.

Aaron had previously only practiced in a simplified meditation technique. Even Leylin felt unfathomable that the transition was this smooth.

And after practicing the Sacred Flame, Aaron's aura had faintly changed.

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Ten Years In A Flash

"I feel great! Be it restoring my spiritual force or during cultivation, high-grade meditation techniques are leagues beyond the simplified versions," Aaron told Merlin as he stood up.

"But what about the aura that I'm giving off? If any of the guild members find me, I'll definitely be caught and interrogated…"

"Haha… Don't worry. This magic ring that I've smelted can conceal your aura and create artificial fluctuations in your spiritual force. With your current strength, even an official Magus won't be able to discover you!" Merlin was very confident.

"Really?" Aaron's eyes brightened.

"Of course, don't you know who I am? Furthermore, this is a magical artifact! A magical artifact! Do you know what that means? You're far too weak right now, or else you'd be able to display more of its power…"

"Not really, but I've heard about them before."

Aaron scratched his head. "What do I do next?"

"Keep killing our enemies and accumulate merit points! I took a look at the reward list yesterday, and the potion there that can suppress your spiritual force will be of use. You absolutely must get that!"

"I understand!" Aaron clenched his fist tightly, eyes showing his resolution. "That lowly woman and the Botelli Family, I'll be back!"Two months passed by.

Outside the walls of Dolon, the war raged on. Numerous armies of dark elves had stationed themselves across from the city, their camps stretching out along tens of miles. Several golden tents stood at the center of their army camp, the aura within enough to cause even Leylin to furrow his brows.

Under organized command, the battle power of the darkness creatures and elves had risen by several levels. Dolon City was embroiled in intense battle, with the weakest rung suffering the most casualty.

However, there was a steady supply of cannon fodder from the eastern region which allowed them to hold on.

Under such high pressure, the atmosphere in Dolon City grew increasingly heavy. A sense of an impending crisis enveloped everyone's hearts.

Aaron was now a little famous, the limelight finding him after he beat up a few acolytes who had been sent to make trouble for him.

Given that Magi valued strength more than anything else, his residence had now been shifted. This one was bright, clean, and much larger than before.

Aaron was currently sitting on a blue striped bedsheet with beads of sweat rolling down his face. Leylin, in the meantime, was monitoring his actions from within the black ring.

This was the first time he was using the unique spiritual force born from his new meditation technique, Sacred Flame, to explore the tides of destiny.

Leylin paid close attention to this and ordered the A.I. Chip to periodically collect data and accumulate information in his database.

The Sacred Flame Aaron trained in was obviously not the one which the A.I. Chip had perfected. This version had been modified by Leylin using the chip, and many manipulative portions had been added in.

"It's here!" Leylin laughed, and black undulations filled his eyes.

Immediately after, the visions were intercepted by the ring.

Above the city, Aaron rose his arms and shot out a fireball, causing a huge wild boar to roll down, while a grin appeared on his face.

But at this moment, an anomaly occurred. A large black monkey jumped out of the retreating horde. It had three eyes, and the centre one shot out a red beam. The monkey itself exploded forth with a power that equalled an official Magus!

Without any time to dodge, Aaron was blasted into smithereens!

Such scenes flashed across Leylin's eyes but were rather blurry and unordered.

"So that's how it is! At this rate, Aaron will die in the siege three days later?" Leylin touched his chin.

[Information from the meditation technique has been intercepted! Allow transmission?] The A.I. Chip's robotic voice intoned.

"Yes!" The moment Leylin spoke, Aaron's body trembled on the bed, his two eyes losing focus and rolling back as if he had seen something terrifying.

Leylin's had implemented backdoor changes to the Sacred Flame. By coupling these changes with the limited AI in the ring, any premonitions Aaron had would be intercepted and first seen by Leylin. Only with his approval would these scenes from the future enter Aaron's mind.

Besides interception, Leylin could modify these bits of vision at will. In other words, Aaron only saw what Leylin had wanted him to see.

After all, it was better to be cautious towards acolytes whose training in this allowed them to see the future. If not, what was he to do if they got a hold of his plans through their prophecies?

Of course, Aaron did not have a strong cultivation in this technique yet. He was only capable of prophesying events at the ability of a level 1 acolyte, which kept him from being able to sense anything about Leylin.

Even if he advanced to become an official Magus, with Leylin intercepting first, he would not sense anything.

To become cognizant of the interception, he needed to, at the very least, equal Leylin in power. This meant he could not predict Leylin's actions and prepare against them until he was promoted to a rank 2 Magus! Unfortunately, Leylin would not give him the opportunity to do so.

"Although the A.I. Chip could not upgrade Sacred Flame past rank 3, at least it's no longer restricted to only females." Leylin touched his chin.

"There aren't enough guinea pigs yet!" He turned around and glanced at the colourful necklace and incomplete notebook on the table.

These were at most special magical objects. He only called them magic artifacts to fool acolytes like Aaron.

But it was enough.

"On the battlefield, one cannot control their own life nor death. If I put out this bait, they'll have to bite no matter how suspicious they are.!" Leylin beamed confidently.

As for why he had not bought slaves or chosen people from Nature's Alliance? It would be too obvious that he was the mastermind, which was not conducive to Leylin's plans.

Meanwhile, Aaron was scared stupid by the prediction.

"Hah… I'll die three days later, at the hands of a darkness creature with the strength of an official Magus," he huffed roughly. He had visibly paled and was trembling in the aftermath of that premonition.

"What are you afraid of? This is just a possibility in the river of destiny. I've already predicted my death tens of times, but haven't I gotten through alive and well?" Merlin appeared, looking disdainful.

"Yes, yes!" The light in Aaron's eyes brightened. He now knew the many benefits of being able to make use of the power of destiny.

"What should we do now?" Aaron began to ponder enthusiastically.

"It's simple! Just apply to leave this region or pretend you're injured and hide for these few days!" Merlin seemed to be very experienced in this.The dark elves' offensive was not limited to just the eastern region of Twilight Zone.

The northern region had also suffered the charge of the dark elves. City after city fell until a few rank 2 Magi struck out, finally stabilising the situation. Still, they had been able to push the battlefront inwards by a few hundred meters. They had even dispatched elite Underground Winter Spider knights who seemed to be scouts sent for reconnaissance.

The eastern region was comparatively quiet. The tripartite defense of Dolon, Wakeshire, and Sadoor, with the continuous supply of troops, maintained an uneasy stalemate. Even so, capitalising on the endless darkness creatures as cannon fodder, the dark elves had caused many injuries to the Magi defending the posts.

It was a given that numerous acolytes would die, but even some official Magi had fallen. As for regular soldiers and knights? Too many of them were lost to even count.

In the blink of an eye, ten years passed. Leylin had been relieved a few times and periodically returned to Nature's Alliance.

In this period of time, however, he kept a low profile and seldom did anything flashy. Hence, he did not have a large reputation.

Only he knew how much he had improved during this period of time.

"Leylin! I've received the heart of the Earthen Fiend. There are fifty here, and I've sent them to your lab!" A rune lit up and transmitted Fendix's voice.

"Thanks a lot! I'll get in touch with you later." Leylin answered delightfully. "I've finally gotten it! Now all the requirements have been met!"

He hurried to the laboratory, where a Magus dressed in black robes was waiting for him. The man respectfully bowed his head, saying, "This is the heart of the Earthen Fiend that Lord Fendix wanted me to pass on to you. Please sign here to show that you received it."

"En!" Leylin nodded and took the ingredients. After checking every single one, he nodded in satisfaction. He waved his arm over the piece of parchment the Magus in black robes proffered, and a black snake imprint formed immediately.

Seeing this, the Magus bowed and respectfully left.

Leylin entered his laboratory and activated spell formations for isolation and defense. A layer of various lit runes began to circulate outside.

"With all the ingredients here, I can finally attempt to brew potions!" Smiling, Leylin looked at his stats.

[Leylin Farlier. Rank 2 Warlock, Bloodline: Giant Kemoyin Serpent. Strength: 21.1, Agility: 14.4, Vitality: 29.9, Spiritual force: 127.9, Magic power: 127 (Magic power is in synchronisation with spiritual force).]

He had spent every day of the past ten years training in his high-grade meditation technique, slowly tempering his spiritual force. Over the course of his training of Kemoyin's Pupil, he began to feel that the issue of irritability that was caused by his premature advancement was slowly corrected.

Given the quick pace of his advancement last time, an unstable foundation was only to be expected.

However, all of that was made up for in the past ten years.

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Giant Serpent's Breath Potion

Ten years was a long time.

In this period, besides training in his meditation technique, Leylin constantly absorbed more information regarding Twilight Zone to supplement his A.I. Chip's database.

Given that he was already a rank 2 Magus, he was respected everywhere. To his benefit, most guilds simply gave up all the information they had to him.

In addition, he'd exchanged his contribution points for large amounts of the best research in Twilight Zone. This new research synergized perfectly with the data he had already stored from the south coast.

"A.I. Chip! Begin experimentation on brewing the "Giant Serpent's Breath" Potion!" Leylin's eyes flashed as he commanded. Immediately after, with a pat of his spatial pouch, all sorts of ingredients filled the table.

The Giant Serpent's Breath Potion was an unexpected gain from the storage of a small-scale guild in Twilight Zone.

It was originally an incomplete recipe for an ancient spiritual force potion. It was originally not named such, but Leylin and the A.I. Chip had modified to suit Warlocks in general, and his own Giant Kemoyin Serpent bloodline in particular. Thus, it had been renamed after all the changes.

In other words, he had adjusted the foundations of the ancient formula to suit his individual needs.

After he'd advanced to become a rank 2 Warlock, all the previous ancient potions he had gathered, such as the Tears of Mary, were now useless to him.

On the other hand, this Giant Serpent's Breath was the fruit of ten years of laborious research. It was a potion capable of increasing the spiritual force of Warlocks.

Pitifully, Leylin had been unable to find a substitute for the heart of the Earthen Fiend until now, and he was not able to proceed any further. Training in ancient high-grade meditation techniques was about relentless effort which would eventually pay off. Time was of the essence.

But at this point, the improvement in Leylin's spiritual force had begun to slow down.

This was common when cultivating using high-grade meditation techniques. The farther one went, the more difficult it was to advance. Sadly, the increasing intensity of the war, as well as the deaths of several official Magi had left Leylin feeling a rising urgency.

The heart of the Earthen Fiend came at the right time!

After ten years of hard work, all the hidden damage to Leylin's body had been healed. He could now continue to advance his strength using potions. This was obviously a good thing for him.

But that was not all. Leylin shut his eyes and took over Merlin's role in Aaron's ring.

Aaron was now ten years older, but due to the unique ability of Magi, he still looked rather young on the outside.

"Finally… I'm finally back!" Aaron stroked a roadsign, looking emotional.

This was where the headquarters of his guild was located. Seeing the unchanged architecture, Aaron felt like nothing had changed.

"Ha, Aaron? Are you not dead yet? Weren't you at Dolon City? Why are you back? Did you desert your position?" a young magician with an aquiline nose said with an incredulous look on his face.

Immediately, large numbers of acolytes came out of their rooms, following behind a young man, as if grouping around a revered leader. Behind him was a young woman who was glancing at Aaron with a complicated expression.

The magician at the center was dressed in luxurious robes. Although he only had the energy fluctuations of a level 3 acolyte, he wore quite a few magic artifacts.

"Aaron?" He furrowed his brows, and then looked at the woman behind him. "Is this that Aaron?"

"Yes!" The young woman nodded and grabbed the young man's hand, "But I no longer have any relationship with him. I was the one to suggest that he go to Dolon. Did you forget that?"

"Ah, yes, that did happen!" The young noble patted his head.

Aaron, who was watching this, looked increasingly gloomy.

"I don't care how you came back. Just remember this—she's mine. Behave, or else…"

The young man yawned, bored. Waving Aaron away just as one would a beggar, he prepared to leave. The surrounding acolytes all snickered, matching his actions.

"Hehe, what a great show!" Aaron suddenly lifted his head, and the spiritual force of an official Magus suddenly burst out of his body, sweeping across the area.

Many of the acolytes were paralyzed and fell to the ground, not even daring to move.

"Ah… An official Magus!" The young noble's expression changed, while the facial muscles of the woman twitched.

She had never imagined that the trash she'd abandoned would one day come this far.

Her regret lasted only a moment before it morphed into fear and resentment.

'Destroy him! Destroy him!'

She may feel betrayal and resentment now, but such was the truth. The young woman's expression distorted further.

"Which Magus has arrived?"

Xiu!* A black figure flashed, and all of a sudden, a white-haired old man appeared.

"Mentor, I'm back!" Aaron bowed towards this old man.

"Ah! You- You're Aaron!" The old man rubbed his eyes, thinking he had seen an illusion.A few hours later, in the old man's office.

"Haha, this is great! Not only have you regained your innate talent, you've also used the simplified version of Blazing Heart to advance into an official Magus, and even accumulated enough merits points to return…"

The old man's face was flushed red, and it was evident that he had communicated with the people at Dolon.

While Aaron accompanied him in his laughter, he was sneering deep inside.

Information about him was not a secret. If his mentor had been keeping tabs on him, then he would long since have found out. This display meant that this 'mentor' of his had assumed he would die at Dolon and had long since given up on him.

However, he was an adult who had experienced a decade in the warzone. He had long since grown adept at hiding his inner emotions.

"Mentor, I would like to apply for access to train in Blazing Heart, as well as the treatment that official Magi in the guild have!" Aaron spoke indifferently.

"Ah, that's right! You should train in that since the simplified version is useless after you become an official Magus!"

The old Magus nodded, "As long as you pass the test to confirm your meditation technique, everything you request will be granted!"

Aaron touched the black ring on his finger and laughed nonchalantly. Techniques to check for the aura of a meditation technique were invented by these guilds to screen traitors and spies.

Deep down, he was communicating with Merlin, "Grandpa Merlin, why do we have to ask for Blazing Heart?"

Over the past ten years, as Merlin saved Aaron's life multiple times and taught him a lot, the two had grown very close.'

"Even if you train in Sacred Flame, you'll still need to put up a front!"

Merlin appeared in Aaron's mind in the form of an old wise man as he slowly explained the situation, "You were initially a worthless acolyte without a high-grade meditation technique. If you didn't gain a guild's high-grade meditation technique as a front, how else would you explain your advancement from now? Also, don't forget the guild's resources. I have a magic artifact's blueprint for you. If you can craft it, it will definitely increase your strength by a huge margin!"

"What magic artifact?" Merlin's words piqued Aaron's curiosity.

"Meteor Sword, a high-grade magic artifact. Although I still have the designs of more powerful artifacts, they're all too much for you right now…" Merlin said nonchalantly.

Aaron nodded. With his current strength as an official Magus, it was practically impossible for him to make magic artifacts. Only rank 2 Magi had the opportunity to have a high-grade magic artifact, and for him to get one this early was already very lucky.

"I have to help find Grandpa Merlin's other fragments sooner." Aaron was currently feeling extremely proud of his achievements.[Beep! Recorded the high-grade meditation technique, Blazing Flame. Saving into high-grade meditation technique database!]

A few days later, the A.I. Chip prompted thus. Aaron had received the high-grade meditation technique, which meant that Leylin got it as well.

Although Leylin salivated over the power of destiny, the high-grade meditation techniques of other guilds still attracted him greatly.

Other than to keep away unwanted suspicions, this was another reason he didn't use his own acolytes for this experiment.

As a bonus, Leylin was now bringing into reality the sword he had designed.

Meteor Sword was a Warlock-exclusive weapon he had designed for himself. He had drawn inspiration for it from Rays of Dawn, the middle-grade magic artifact of the south coast. He had spent much time and effort on it, and it could be said that most of the time he had spent in Potter Town had been dedicated to this experiment.

However, the materials for this Warlock-exclusive weapon were far too hard to find. Even Leylin did not possess all of them.

Hence, he intentionally disseminated the blueprint parts to his 'apprentices' learning Sacred Flame, using them to gather the materials.

Their ability to see the future gave them a high success rate at this.

"I also lack some raw materials for my potions. I can get them to look for those as well!" Leylin touched his chin and had an idea.

The seeds he had planted were now beginning to bear fruit. Through distributing numerous 'grandpas,' he had picked out a few talented acolytes and taught them the modified version of Sacred Flame. He was now gathering all the information from their foresight without being anywhere near them. After collating all the information, Leylin managed to roughly discern what the future held.

He had even seen himself in some of the acolytes' predictions. Of course, these scenes were all intercepted, so the acolytes were unable to receive them.

Suddenly, Leylin's brows furrowed.

He saw a scene in front of him. A blonde female acolyte's eyes were rolling back, her body trembling uncontrollably.

Scattered images were sent to Leylin.

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Longbottom Strikes

In the many scattered images, there was also a figure that Leylin was extremely familiar with.

"Baelin?" A smile crept upon his lips."Are you sure it's here?" Baelin asked, swallowing hard. The pitch-black hole in front of him seemed like the mouth of some weird creature. The aura on his body rose rapidly, nearly exceeding the limits of a regular human.

"We dark elves get all our Underground Winter Spiders from this hallowed place. It is where the Underground Winter Spider Emperor lives. Do you really think I'd risk my life to bring you here if I wasn't sure?" Memphis rolled his eyes.

"As long as you can kill or dominate it, the Underground Winter Spider knights would immediately fall apart, and this war might just end," he said with a sigh.

"How powerful is that Underground Winter Spider Emperor?" Baelin felt uncomfortable looking at the hole as if he had been laid bare before someone's eyes.

"At least rank 2!" Memphis waved his arms, "But luckily, it's deep in slumber right now, and won't notice you."

"I can't help, though," he added, "Any dark elves who've signed contracts with Underground Winter Spiders will wake it up as soon as they enter the vicinity!"

Not all ancient creatures were at the Morning Star realm. Morning Star Magi were considered formidable even in ancient times, so how could such strong creatures be common?

Baelin and Memphis had a very simple plan: they would either kill the Underground Winter Spider Emperor or force it to submit, a move so drastic which would cause enough damage to the dark elves' military that they would be forced to withdraw,

"…Fine," Baelin huffed.

He turned and said, "I'm ready. Come!" In front of him was a bizarre lump of meatball that looked like a huge poached egg. What was even more terrifying was the presence of dozens of eyes on the thing, all open and staring at Baelin without blinking.

"How many times must I tell you? Even if you received my owner's inheritance and advanced to become a rank 1 Magus, the current you are far from an opponent for rank 2 Magi. Leave alone you, even with me joining the fray, we won't survive this encounter!" The lump said, blinking. It had the delicate voice of a child.

"That was an order!" Baelin's expression darkened.

"Alright, alright! Whatever! I finally find a new owner, and he turns out to be an idiot!" The egg-like creature shook its head.

With the order given, it shot over to Baelin's body, extending countless meaty feelers that fused with him. Baelin grew much larger than before as the meat solidified and formed a dull red armour patterned with tens of eyes, something that made it seem very mysterious.

The moment the armour formed, Baelin's aura broke through the limits of humans, stabilising at the strength of an official Magus.

"This map and amulet have been passed down from generation to generation. I wish you luck in this venture!" Memphis sincerely blessed him.

"Thank you!" Baelin answered, a pair of metallic large red wings spreading behind him before he charged into the hole.

The journey to escort Memphis back home had been arduous. Baelin, Jenny, and the dark elf faced danger after danger, all while being hunted down by people from both sides.

Fortunately, they had managed to survive the ordeal and infiltrate the Dark Elven Empire, getting him to a safe area. In addition, Baelin had acquired a unique inheritance which had led him along the path of a Bio Booster, a branch of ancient Magi.

After gaining this inheritance, Baelin's progress soared, until he became an official Magus.

With the Bio Boosting armour that he had obtained and inherited as well, his strength was beyond that of a regular official Magus.

The moment he jumped into the hole, he suddenly felt as if the coin he hung around his neck heated up…

In the laboratory.

Leylin glanced at the golden crystal in his hands. Golden liquid now occupied more than half the volume within and appeared to be glittering splendidly.

"As expected of the child of destiny. This rate of improvement is something even I might not be able to match!" Leylin sighed.

Back then, he had tested Baelin for his aptitude, but it had appeared to be meagre. It was basically impossible for him to advance to be an official Magus.

In addition, Leylin was only teaching him out of curiosity and playfulness, and would naturally not impart knowledge only Magi were privy to.

Now though, destiny had played its hand. Baelin's strength was growing boundlessly, to the point that he could now affect the results of the war.

In ancient times, the spread of ideas between different worlds, as well as the creativity and tolerance of ancient Magi, had led to the formation of many different branches. Some examples were Bloodline Warlocks, Elemental Bards, Branded Swordsmen, Steel Knights, and even the recently rediscovered Bio Boosters.

Leylin recalled the information he had recently found from an ancient volume about Bio Boosters.

These ancient Magi were extremely strange and required their inheritors to have the aptitude to become both Knights and Magi.

In addition, they had to have Bio Boosting armour!

After obtaining the armour, a Bio Booster's strength would rise sharply, and after fusing, the armor would automatically change the body of the host; this strengthened them continuously.

In addition, this armour could be inherited. The moment a Bio Booster gained the armour left behind by a higher ranked Bio Booster, they would immediately gain more strength.

In Leylin's eyes, Baelin was quite suited to become a Bio Booster.

"Destiny…"

Leylin sniggered and left the laboratory."Fendix, thank you for the hearts of Earthen Fiends. I'll make it up to you for whatever I haven't paid you!"

Holding a cup of coffee, Leylin chatted with Magus Fendix, who was in front of him.

"These are all small matters. You don't need to be so polite!" Fendix laughed but did not reject him. Magi were quite clear about this.

"I just came out from the laboratory. How is the situation with the war?" Leylin asked after some small talk.

"It's still the same. The tripartite defense is barely holding off the matriarchs. All our manpower is being whittled away." Fendix's expression showed his excitement.

"Quite a few darkness creatures have been eliminated. The regions we've given up already are enough for them to proliferate, so they've begun to show signs of retreat. All sorts of voices are already sounding among the inner circles of the dark elves. Although the matriarchs are currently suppressing them, they, too, have to worry about the repercussions of such an act…"

Leylin nodded. He knew that there were dissenting voices among the dark elves, and then there were Baelin's actions as well.

"I reckon that if there aren't any large changes, this war will end within five years!" Fendix seemed to heave a sigh of relief.

This conclusion was about the same as what Leylin had come up with, and he nodded as well.

Bang!*

The door to the parlor was suddenly pushed open, and a female rank 2 Magus entered, looking grim.

"Something's happened in the north!"A while earlier…

Potti City was the center of the north's defense. The human armies, backed by numerous Magi, confronted the coalition of darkness creatures and dark elves at that location.

A young Magus passed through a long paved pathway and arrived before a golden door.

"Magus Longbottom, is anything wrong?" the two Magi at the golden door asked.

"I have something pressing to report. Please let me see Lord Yade!" Longbottom looked to be in a hurry.

"Something pressing to report? Fine! We'll pass on the message!" The two Magi exchanged a glance, and one of them immediately ran inside.

A moment later, the Magus returned and nodded, "Lord Yade is willing to see you!"

Longbottom immediately entered through the door.

Behind the golden door was a large room, with a milky-white radiance around it.

A Magus that looked very youthful wore a loose and comfortable robe and was sitting behind a large writing table.

"Longbottom greets the great protector of the North!" Longbottom respectfully greeted while half-kneeling.

"It's little Longbottom! What's wrong?" An aged voice was produced from the young man's mouth.

"I found a small group of dark elves while on patrol. I discovered this after the fight!" Longbottom respectfully held a black scroll above his head.

A streak of blue light flashed, and it scanned the scroll up and down.

"No abnormal energy reactions! Level of danger: 0!" A gentle female voice sounded, and Longbottom trembled. He knew this was the voice of a spirit genie.

"Let me see!" With a wave of the young man's arm, the scroll in Longbottom's arms flew to the table and was unfurled.

Something that looked like a map appeared in front of the young man's eyes, with all sorts of red markings appearing all over it.

"Oh? This is?"

Magus Yade began to look grim, his body automatically leaning forward.

Suddenly, the situation changed!

A translucent black seed appeared from the map and turned into a ray of light, entering Yade's forehead.

"A parasitic seed! You-!" Yade was enraged.

Right after that, large amounts of black tendrils and vines wrapped up his body, sealing him within.

"Warning! Warning! Intruder!"

The spirit genie's voice became frigid.

Powerful magical rays formed from a powerful spell illuminated the room.

"I've been waiting for this!" A fiendish smile appeared on Longbottom's face, and he waved.

A black ray travelled by Magus Yade and destroyed the oil painting behind him, revealing a complicated spell formation.

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Revolution

"The core of the spirit genie!" Longbottom sighed slightly, unhesitatingly releasing a shockwave to destroy the spell formation.

Tss tss…* Instantly, the spirit genie's voice faded, and Potti City immediately grew chaotic.

Rumble!*

As if long since prepared, the opposing dark elves and beast wave unleashed their most ferocious barrage of attacks.

While the Magi were engrossed in battle, the defensive spell formation that had lost its spirit genie sputtered out.

"What are you doing?" Two Magi immediately rushed out.

"Life Absorption!" Longbottom's expression remained unchanged as he waved his hands. A few green beams flashed on the two, and they began to age visibly. Their life force was rapidly depleting.

"Begin localization!" Longbottom took a glance at Yade, who was still sealed, and produced some materials and began setting something up.

Rumble!*

Minutes later, with the guidance of a spell formation that glowed purple, eight large spider legs pierced through, tearing the ceiling apart. On top of the giant spider that entered was a completely naked girl.

This girl had a slight smile on her face, her skin pale and ears pointy. She radiated a captivating charm.

"Greetings, matriarch!" Longbottom immediately bowed.

"Well done, Longbottom!" The young girl giggled, causing Longbottom's heart to leap.

"Though you've wasted a portion of a precious Earthen Fetal Membrane, it's still not a bad result to be able to deal with a clone of your opponent. After all, that person's a peak rank 2 existence!"

The young girl spoke slowly. Just her voice was enough for his heart to be inflamed with desire.

Rank 2 Magi were powerhouses in their own right. If one was prepared, even the dark elves' matriarchs would find them difficult to deal with. Additionally, there were bloodline detection spell formations scattered throughout Potti City. Any dark creature that entered would immediately be discovered.

But Longbottom was different! He was a pure human, and what more a Magus. Though he was a wandering Magus, he had some achievements and was well received.

Earthen Fetal Membrane was a top-class treasure of the Dark Elven Empire used to conceal one's aura.

Only when all sorts of conditions were favorable to him could he make use of the parasitic seed.

This had made Longbottom very proud of himself, but her words had surprised him greatly.

"Clone?"

"Yes! Aren't you going to come out?" The girl giggled while speaking at the air beside her.

Xiu Xiu!* Two pure white arrows of light shattered the tendrils, revealing a hazy human figure.

This figure transformed into a long line and shot out, entering another figure that had just appeared.

"This is the real body of Protector Yade!" Longbottom stared at the figure overhead that looked exactly the same as the one before, his fists tightly clenched.

"I didn't expect Her Majesty, the Empress to come personally !"

Yade, who was floating in mid-air, paid no attention to Longbottom who was on the ground. His eyes were riveted on the young girl before him, gaze tinged with fear.

"Hehe… With your clone heavily injured, how much of your strength can you really use? 70%? Or 80%?"

The girl could not stop laughing, while her back tore open.A monster that was a cross between a human and a spider appeared in the air, and a massive darkness drowned out Protector Yade…

Not far away in the horizon, Magi were stunned to find that, besides the dark elves and the horde of darkness creatures, dwarves and gnomes had joined the battle.

Half a day later, an earth-shattering piece of news spread throughout Twilight Zone.

Potti City had fallen! The Empress of the Dark Elven Empire had personally acted and killed Protector Yade of the northern region!

The dwarven tribes and gnome kingdom had also entered the battle, and the entire northern Twilight region fell into enemy hands, entering a reign of terror.

Still in Potti City.

The master of this region had changed. Squads of elite Underground Winter Spider knights patrolled the streets, and one could occasionally see dwarven warriors and gnome puppeteers passing through.

In the great palace hall at the heart of the city.

The Empress summoned Longbottom in.

"You did very well this time, Longbottom!" The girl spoke from the bottom of her heart. If not for him plotting against their opponent's clone, she could not have killed him as easily.

"It is my honour to be able to serve the Empress." Longbottom gazed at the girl's absolutely beautiful face, seeming enchanted.

"Now, I need you to travel to the central region and drum up hate against Magi." The girl did not seem disgusted by his gaze, instead of wriggling her body to expose more of her skin to the Magus before her.

"Hate against Magi?" Longbottom could not understand the reasoning behind this.

"Yes. Magi and the nobility all hold large amounts of knowledge and power in their grasp, restricting peasants and regular humans from obtaining them. Animosity, abhorrence, and anguish have been building up through the generations. What we need now is a tipping point, an opportunity for it all to explode into a huge uproar!"

The girl continued quietly, "I need you to go to the central region and cause unrest in the name of a revolution. When the time comes, you can even spread high-grade meditation techniques."

"…Yes…" Longbottom answered after a pause. He would cause a rebellion at his enemy's side, and then flank the enemy from both sides.

He knew that under the governance of Magi, commoners had been living miserably. The Magi and nobles enjoyed everything, while the rest had to suffer from day to night. Even then, they might not even get a good meal out of it. Crimes could be pinned on them for offending nobility, or in the worst case scenario, they would be killed without recourse!

It was difficult for commoners to be allowed to grow even if they had the aptitude

Even if they were lucky enough to enter a guild, they would still be discriminated against and even treated as guinea pigs or cannon fodder.

Of course, if one only had resentment and no strength, they would only be mercilessly massacred by Magi. After all, power was still in the hands of Magi.

But it was different now. Magi now were confronting a great enemy, and their mental and physical efforts were mostly spent.

In addition, there were calls for a rebellion.

Sometimes, resounding catchphrase and beautiful promises for the future could attract many hot-blooded teenagers to turn their heads.

If they were given some power, it would be a disaster.

When that happened, there might be internal strife amongst Magi. How many people would die? How much blood would be spilled?

Longbottom knew this very well, but he had no thoughts of opposing this, nor any pity. All he had in him was the thrill of taking revenge.

"Leylin, I'll make you suffer tens and hundreds of time for what you did to me. I promise!"

Longbottom howled in his heart.

If Leylin was here, he would find that this traitor called Longbottom was the little boy, Longbottom, he had played around with in Potter Town.

"En! Very good. When you're back, I'll carry out the bloodline changing ceremony. From then on, you'll be part of us dark elves, even in blood."

The girl nodded.

"Many thanks, Empress!" Longbottom touched his head to the ground."Longbottom?" Hearing the rank 2 female Magus' words, Leylin suddenly had the urge to cry and laugh as well.

"Though the name might just be a coincidence, I have a feeling that this traitor to our race, Longbottom, is the same person as the one in Potter Town!"

Leylin sighed ruefully. When he had found out that this boy had left to seek better opportunities, he had not taken it seriously. The chances of success were much too low.

Unexpectedly, he had actually succeeded and even become a rank 1 Magus!

Without proper tools, Leylin could not tell a Magus' aptitude. Hence, he did not know that Longbottom had the talent to become a Magus.

"But this is interesting. Looks like Potter Town is a place where Twilight Zone's destiny converges." Leylin touched his chin, deep in thought.

Potter Town had seemed like a regular little common town and had probably already fallen into enemy hands.

However, it was surprising that it had given birth to both Baelin and Longbottom, the two darlings of destiny.

"Baelin and Longbottom are like the two sides of a coin. One day, they will meet again, and that day will be when Twilight Zone's power of destiny is most concentrated!"

Leylin suddenly had a strange premonition.

"It's quite interesting being able to shape history…" Strictly speaking, he had personally created this entire situation. It was in Potter Town where everything began. It made him feel like the destiny of Twilight Zone was in his hands.

But this only left Leylin sneering.

"In that case, let me be the one to end this all!"

These thoughts merely flashed in his mind, while the other two rank 2 Magi's expressions were filled with worry.

"Now that the entire northern region is gone, we have lost a fifth of our power."

Fendix caressed a ring on his hand that had a ruby the size of a pebble, a dark cloud seemingly hanging over him.

"Not only that. Besides the dark elves and horde of darkness creatures, even the dwarves and gnomes have appeared!"

The female Magus smiled wryly.

Twilight Zone was a small area, and the subterranean world had all sorts of incredible races. The humans and dark elves were the two largest powers, but one could not underestimate the gnomes and dwarves either.

When they joined forces, the humans were definitely in a disadvantageous position.

"This war could result in genocide!" Fendix drew in a deep breath, "We need to get the war council and mobilise everything we have…"

"Before that, we need to first deal with the threats outside."

A golden ring on Leylin's finger lit up, and he immediately straightened his back, "The dark elves are on the offensive once again, and it can be confirmed that they have three regiments of elite Underground Winter Spider Knights, backed by three matriarchs."

"Those wretched pointy-eared bastards…" Fendix got up, furious.

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Red Mist

Emergency sirens were blaring throughout Dolon City.

Leylin, Fendix, and the others floated across to the front of the city, watching the scene outside.

Ten years where life and resources were constantly lost had visibly reduced the numbers of the horde of darkness creatures. The newest reports suggested that the beast emperors had already made plans to withdraw their troops and end the war.

If not for the fall of the north and interference of the dwarves and gnomes, the war was on track to end in a few years. The current situation was different, however. The humans of the subterranean world were now facing the possibility of extinction.

"Underground Winter Spider knights! And they're elites!"

Leylin looked up. Three regiments of Underground Winter Spider knights

Huge spider legs trod the ground silently, their dark elf riders wreathed in exquisite thin armor that looked ornamental. The surface of the armors was composed of intricate patterns. Matched with the handsome faces and lances, they seemed like a royal parade to Leylin.

Although these knights seemed extravagant and pretentious, the searing bloodlust they emanated was tangible. This was something only battle-hardened elites with fearless hearts could have.

"These are the dark elven royal family's knights. I didn't expect them to be sent out!" Fendix looked grim.

"Elite Underground Winter Spider knights are slightly more powerful than our Grand Knights. Those at the level of vice-captain and above are even as powerful as official Magi. Three formations of a thousand each, there are three thousand here!" The female Magus inhaled sharply.

"They're planning to conquer Dolon City in one go!!"

Leylin sighed lightly, "Do we need to act?"

"There's no other way!" Fendix smiled wryly, "But their matriarchs are sure to obstruct as well, and we have no guarantee that we can win against them. I can already feel the power of the abyss emanating from their bodies…"

Cities were usually watched over by rank 2 Magi. The opposing camp had three matriarchs whose mission was to tie down the rank 2 Magi of the defending city. If they could not, the three rank 2 Magi would cooperate to cast a few large-scaled magic spells which would decimate these troops.

"There's no choice. Let's use 'it'." Leylin suddenly exclaimed.

"Hm?" Fendix chanced a glance at Leylin. "That's our trump card that we're planning to use in the final battle…"

"This is already the final battle!" the female rank 2 Magus interrupted before Leylin could answer, "I agree!"

"Alright, I'll agree too!" Fendix glanced at the large dark elven army and laughed wryly, "This truly might be the final battle."

With the three Magi cooperating, a unique order was sent down using secret imprints, and under the lead of the Magi, the troops on the ground shifted some special items onto the city walls.

They were numerous giant casks. They were like the wooden barrels found in bars to store beer, with firm iron hoops on either side keeping them steady. There were also letters of the Twilight Zone written on them in blood red, indicating danger.

"Now, let us wait and see!"

The three Magi exchanged glances, and then fixed their attention on the fighting.

"Attack!" With the signal from the dark elves at the other side, a large wave of darkness creatures charged towards them.

"Engage the third layer of defense!"

Fluorescent light exploded at the walls, revealing unending defensive runes. Large amounts of energy particles brought with them a terrifying destructive power, launching outwards.

The darkness creatures charging over were injured by energy particles of multiple elements, covering their bodies with wounds. It resulted in a rain of flesh and blood.

A few of the more powerful ones dodged the attack. They climbed up on the carcasses of their comrades and clashed with the soldiers and Magi on the walls.

In a moment, blood and fire exploded!

The Magi and knights on the walls bellowed, and all sorts of spells and energy fluctuations were released. Numerous darkness creatures fell from the walls.

This scene had repeated often in the past, and each time the dark elves would end up retreating, which ended the fight. Now, however, things seemed to have changed. The horde continued to charge with reddened eyes, unfearing of death.

Tak tak tak!* Regular explosions sounded. The elite Underground Winter Spider knights seemed to have received an order, as they began to advance..

Although they were merely 3000 strong, they were like a surge of steel flooding over when they acted together.

"Go!" Underground Winter Spiders with barbs on their legs easily climbed up the city wall like monkeys.

For darkness creatures, the city wall was lofty and difficult to reach, but for these Underground Winter Spider Knights, they were like a level road.

"Attack!" One of them rushed towards the wall, brandishing the black lance in his hand.

Multiple snowy-white pointed javelins were sent thrusting like blooming flowers, and a few soldiers in leather armour collapsed, blood splattering everywhere. Amongst them, there was even a knight in heavy armour!

In front of the elite Underground Winter Spider Knights, regular soldiers and knights could not take on even a single blow, and only Grand Knights had a chance to win.

"Secondary Energy Fireball!"

"Vine Winding!"

"Icy Pearl!" The magicians waiting on top of the city walls immediately acted,and the knights who had just rushed up the walls were drowned in the colourful rays of magic spells.

Their powerful bodies and mounts that they had always been proud of were torn into pieces by various spells.

However, the surviving Underground Winter Spider Knights still charged on fearlessly, and many captains and vice-captains launched forth with spells of their own, clashing with the Magi on the walls.

"Hands of Corrosion!" A knight in gleaming armour, riding a larger spider than its peers, called out loudly. Numerous black palms extended from the air and advanced towards the opposing Magi.

"Ah!" A level 3 acolyte's face was caught by one of the black hands and immediately wasted away, blood and flesh wearing away.

"Be careful! He's a vice-captain and has the strength of an official Magus!"

A middle-aged Magus with white air spoke in a low voice, his innate defensive spell formation flickering.

"The situation doesn't look good," Leylin commented, watching the scene below.

At this moment, the three Magi felt a few bursts of spiritual force aimed at them that equalled their own strengths being released from the enemy camp. If they dared intervene, they would be faced with a terrifying attack by the matriarchs.

In a situation where the higher-ranked forces were level, whoever first made the first move would be at a disadvantage.

Thankfully, Leylin and the others were not planning on doing so.

From the looks of it, though, only rank 2 Magi could change the outcome.

"Let's begin!" Leylin spoke lightly, the apathy in his eyes becoming more evident.

"The command has been sent down. I only hope the matriarchs won't go crazy and fight with us!" The ring on Fendix's finger flashed red as he smiled wryly.

At this moment, it looked like the official Magi on the city walls had received the command.

"Begin! Activate!" They shouted, and all sorts of spells were aimed at the casks, causing them to explode into fragments.

Rumble!*

The wooden boards exploded open, and the red liquid within spilled to the ground.

This red liquid was very muddy and looked to be some red wine that had yet to settle. After reaching the ground, it became volatile and created a red mist.

In that moment, the top of the city wall was wrapped in red mist.

"Be careful of the toxic attack! Activate your defensive runes!"

A dark elf in golden armour ordered.

Weng Weng!* In the twinkling of an eye, multi-coloured rays rose from the dark elven knights' armours.

After being wrapped within this layer of light, the knights charged towards their enemies once again, undaunted.

They were very confident in the durability of their bodies, since they were members of a high-energy race. Dark elves might have lower reproductive abilities, but the durability of their bodies far surpassed that of humans. This racial ability extended to the immunity to many toxins.

It wasn't as if the humans hadn't considered using poison, but most poisons that were deadly to humans only left dark elves feeling slightly giddy, or gave them a nosebleed.

Using poison would only hurt them more, and lead to more city guards dying. Thus, after a few attempts, the humans had given up on this method.

Now, however, the situation was slightly different.

"Hm?"

An Underground Winter Spider knight rushed up the city wall and sent a Grand Knight flying. Just as he was about to stab his lance into his opponent's heart, he suddenly lost his grip, and the lance fell to the ground.

Recalling the short burst of weakness, the knight wondered, 'What's going on? How did these toxins paralyse me? Didn't I already activate the runes that defend against this?'

The sudden realisation that the red mist had passed through the defensive layer without obstruction alarmed him. It was as if these runes were fake.

Large numbers of yellow pustules and blisters erupted all over his skin, bursting as quickly as they had formed. The knight screamed out, miserably.

"Attack!" A ray of light flashed, and the Grand Knight that had been sent flying grasped this opportunity and brandished the giant steel sword in his hands, slashing it at this dark elf's neck.

A line appeared, which soon turned into a fountain of blood.

This dark elf's delicate, pale neck was severed, its skull rolling on the ground.

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Alicia

Similar events occurred all along the city walls. Even the Underground Winter Spiders weren't spared. Their eight legs crumbled down and their eyes dimmed, following which they were overrun by stampeding troops…

This frightening effectiveness in battle managed to surprise even Fendix who was hovering in the air. "This toxin is truly very strong! If we manage to produce it in large quantities…"

His eyes beamed with excitement.

"It isn't as simple as you'd think!" Leylin smiled bitterly, "I specifically concocted this using plant concentrate based on the anatomy of dark elves. On its own, it isn't a toxin, which is why it can pass through their defensive runes. Once it enters their bodies and begins circulation, it begins to react with their endocrine system. In a matter of moments, the benign gas transforms into neural poison.

"This is just a petty trick that makes use of a gap in their defenses. Once this battle ends, the dark elves will change their runes to protect against this method of attack, which will render it useless in the end!"

In fact, Leylin based this poison off his own rank 2 spell—Toxic Bile. With the help of Nature's Alliance's research, he managed to get the approval of the joint conference, which only helped him improve upon it.

"Even so, Sir Leylin's research on dark elves has far surpassed ours." The female Magus showed admiration at Leylin's accomplishment despite him downplaying it. That alone showed the level of Leylin's ability in alchemy and the depth of his research on dark elves.

"After this, I'm afraid that even I will have to pay a visit to the joint conference to learn from Sir Leylin's works," she said as she broke into a smile.

"I would gladly welcome any discussion with you, what's more, any fresh thoughts you may have on the subject," Leylin said humbly.

"This isn't the right time to speak about this, the matriarchs are about to act!" She pointed at the dark elves' camp across them where the spiritual force was climbing to its peak.

"They seem to have become anxious now, and might leap into action at any moment. We should prepare." Fendix took out a short black gentleman's cane. A sparkling diamond, as large as an egg, was embedded into the top.

Leylin smiled without saying a word.

Nearly three thousand of their elite Underground Winter Spider knights were fighting in this battle, half of their entire force. It was only to be expected that the turn of the situation had made them anxious.

At this moment, darkness energy particles gathered together, and a strong wave from a spell arose from the opposite side.

"Black Torrential Rain!!"

A sweet female voice was accompanied by a large amount of water vapour condensing above Dolon city. This was followed by a storm of endless black raindrops descending upon the city.

When the black raindrops and red mist came into contact, an explosion sounded out. They fused into a charred-black liquid that dropped to the floor, revealing the Underground Winter Spider knights who were lying on the ground, on the verge of death.

Leylin's poison was only powerful against the elite Underground Winter Spider Knights. A rank 1 Magus could use the energy in their body to resist it. As for matriarchs who were rank 2 existences? It could not affect them in the slightest.

"Peng! Peng! Peng! Peng!"

The ground cracked apart, and numerous strands of black hair emerged from the depths. These snake-like hairs wound around those knights who were still alive and pulled them back.

In just a moment, the hairs had managed to pull back a dozen miles, bringing the knights to safety.

Still, half of the Underground Winter Spider knights had already perished.

"You…!!!" A few rage-filled voices emerged from the sky above the enemy camp. The black vapors dissipated, revealing the appearances of the three dark elf matriarchs.

Leylin examined them.

These matriarchs all possessed the ravishing beauty intrinsic to dark elves. The revealing clothing made of a leather-like material displayed their voluptuous bodies and their hands were adorned with thorn whips.

'Yup! They definitely resemble the dominatrixes from my previous world!' Leylin thought as he rolled his eyes.

At this moment, the opposing three matriarchs were already on the verge of exploding into anger, powerful spells taking form in their hands.

"You guys dared to go against the agreement and take action!" Fendix touched the short cane which he was holding and remained stoic.

"Humans! How dare you use such despicable means to bring harm upon my brave soldiers, I will behead the lot of you and gift them to Her Majesty!" The matriarch at the center lashed out in the dark elven language, paying no heed to Fendix's accusation. She wore the most revealing outfit of the three, and the two golden rings at her bosom gave off a sensual vibe.

"Hehe! Since when did the dark elves that are renowned for being sinister and cunning start accusing others of using despicable means?" The female Magus said with a sneer before Leylin had a chance to speak.

"Speaking anymore is useless! Take action!!" Leylin exclaimed.

Large amounts of black mist appeared, forming a gigantic black snake whose back was filled with patterns. It sucked one of the matriarchs into it.

Leylin had grown bored of remaining in this place in spite of the minimal danger and occasional respites. He wanted to end this once and for all so he could head back and further his plans.

"Begin the counterattack!" Fendix sent out via secret imprint as he sneered.

"Retaliate! Retaliate! Retaliate!"

A sea of voices flooded out from within the city walls. The door which had been closed for a long time started to creak open. Numerous knights and magicians rushed out, heading for the dark elves' camp.

After the previous battle and Leylin's poison, the dark elves had suffered a devastating blow that had forced a retreat. It looked like the humans had taken hold of the advantage now.

Leylin did not pay much attention to the situation below. After some probing attacks, he had begun to lure one of the matriarchs to a suitable battlefield.

A dark elf matriarch had strength comparable to a rank 2 Magus, and Leylin could not afford to let his guard down against such a strong opponent. In addition, both the extent and range of destruction brought down by a rank 2 spell far surpassed that of one at rank 1. Thus, his opponent willingly followed him so that they could avoid unnecessary casualties.

After all, the two armies were in a melee, and any attack would definitely harm both parties. Considering their already low population, the loss would hurt the dark elves more than it hurt the humans.

In actual fact, looking at the two sides engaged in battle, the matriarch was pain-stricken by the loss.

Dark elves took 300 years just to reach adulthood. This made it much more difficult to recoup the loss of their soldiers, and every single member of their army was irreplaceable. On the other hand, humans with their high fertility and short life cycles had no such problems.

One-third of the elves on this battlefield belonged to this matriarch's army, and among them were her own descendants.

"Here should be fine!"

Leylin brought the matriarch to a plain which was not far from Dolon City

There were a few cities near this plane, but they had all been evacuated long ago. The roads leading to the plain were already covered with weeds, and unnecessary casualties were unlikely to occur here.

"I am known as Alicia, you are worthy of knowing my name!"

This matriarch had completely calmed down, as she had to face an existence whose power rivaled her own.

Looking at this elf who was dressed in revealing leather, Leyin flashed a smile. "I am Leylin!"

Kacha!*

As he said that, he suddenly shot backwards, dodging a shadow spider.

This floating shadow spider had ominous green eyes, and the mouth which had just tried to bite Leylin was now producing a crunching noise.

"Do all you matriarchs act this shamelessly?" Leylin had been stumped by her actions.

"There is no use for face when up against someone of a different race! Surrender and defect to our side; I'll gift you with my family's bloodline and bestow unimaginable rewards upon you!"

The matriarch licked her sexy lips and flaunted her voluptuous body, hinting at him subtly.

"Hehe… this kind of seductive energy once again!" Leylin shook his head.

A large amount of spiritual force chased the energy out.

"Scorching Touch!" He scattered a red powder just as he was chanting the spell, and red rays started ripping across the sky and immediately appeared in front of Alicia. The might of the two forces from the ray made her pale.

"Aldershkry!" Alicia started to chant and a white shield started to hover in front of her. On the surface of the shield was the image of a spider web and flowers.

Peng! Peng!*

The scorching rays attacked the shield one by one, and screeching sounded out.

Cracks started to emerge on the surface of the shield

Kacha!* Under Alicia's stunned gaze, the white shield shattered to pieces and fragments flew in all directions.

"This shield was smelted from the ore of the mine guarded by the Underground Winter Spider Emperor! You shattered it!" Alicia's gaze at Leylin was now filled with dread.

"Could you consider my proposal? You can have all the females in my clan, including me…"

"Sorry! I can't see any sincerity in your words!" Silver spiritual force continuously shot out with Leylin's detached reply.

He was not a lecher, and the price of betrayal was far too steep when compared to the profits he would obtain.

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Defeat And Assistance

Anyone who betrayed their community for profit would immediately be labelled as unreliable. How, then, would they do well in the opposing camp?

Furthermore, Leylin was confident in the humans' ability to defend. Even if the protector of the eastern Twilight Zone were to perish, and the entirety of it fell into enemy hands, he still believed the humans in the subterranean world were not weak enough to go extinct.

As a result, matriarch Alicia's temptations did not affect Leylin in the slightest.

On the contrary, Leylin was eager to fight this rank 2 matriarch.

"Perfect. The template of a rank 2 Magus, as well as the rank 2 spell models the A.I. Chip deduced, can now be tested."

Leylin's eyes flashed, which caused Alicia who was opposite him to feel cold within her heart. She had a bad premonition.

But Leylin would not give the other party a chance, and he swiftly made the first move. "Shadow Flames!" Dark red flames poured into the sky, forming a pillar of raging fire.

[Shadow Flames: rank 2 spell. Elements: darkness, fire. Might: 120 degrees (Elemental essence conversion added)]

These were the A.I. Chip's stats on the spell which had been evolved from the Latent Fireball that he had previously made.

Over the last ten years, Leylin had obtained the spell model of a powerful rank 2 spell from Nature's Alliance. The guilds that they had consumed had also net him quite a few such models as well. Of course the Alliance, as a medium-scale guild, had possessed the most outstanding model.

Thereafter, during his stay in Dolon, he had exchanged for many more rank 2 models. By luck, he had even managed to collect two damaged rank 3 models, which he had treated like gems and diligently copied down. The A.I. Chip had been tasked with restoring these two models.

The power of these dark red flames had clearly surpassed that of Scorching Touch from before.

Matriarch Alicia had a solemn face. Suddenly, she took out her whip and cracked it in the air.

Pa!* The cracking of the whip had compressed the air, producing a sonic boom.

"Come out!" Complex black patterns emerged on Alicia's face, covering the right side of it like a mask.

"As you wish, My Lady!" Space seemingly split apart, and a cute spider as white as jade materialised out of thin air. The blood red lines across its carapace only served to make it look cuter.

Hiss* The matriarch let out a hiss, similar to the sound of a spider stridulating.

That white jade spider immediately targeted Leylin, its back shooting out large amounts of thread that emitted cold air.

The densely packed threads tangled together, forming a white cocoon that surrounded the elf and beast.

The A.I chip made his vision flash blue, and the details of the white jade spider surfaced immediately.

[Underground Frost Spider, a mutation of the Underground Winter Spider. Has an extremely strong ability to mutate!

Strength: 35; Agility: 16; Vitality: 46.9; Spiritual force : 27; Special abilities: 1; Thread defense: the Underground Frost Spider's threads have the ability of ice, and is the bane of many rank 2 fire-type magi; Stealth: the Underground Frost Spider's shell has abilities to reflect light, allowing it to be concealed with the surroundings.]

Leylin had never slacked off on feeding the A.I. Chip's database with information after entering Twilight Zone. By now, a large portion of Twilight Zone's special items were already recorded within it.

"A matriarch with an Underground Frost Spider as a familiar? One that can suppress fire elemental Magi?"

Leylin's smiled lightly. "What a pity, my Shadow Flames are mainly composed not of fire, but of darkness!"

Along with the change in Leylin's intent, the dark red pillar of fire immediately transformed. The red glow at its center quickly faded, being replaced instead by a dark black which took over most of the space. In a moment, the shadow forces occupied most of the pillar.

"Ingest!" Leylin grabbed at the air with both hands, and the large pillar swept Alicia's giant white cocoon into itself.

Sssii!* Large amounts of white gases appeared on the surface of the white cocoon, moving about in the air.

Hiss* Leylin even heard the bloodcurdling sounds of the giant spider.

Boom!* The large white cocoon suddenly exploded, smashing into the reddish-black flames.

From within the white fog, a silhouette surfaced.

The matriarch had connected her body directly on top of the Underground Frost Spider, forming a monster that was half-human and half spider. It reminded him of his subordinate, Skrill.

'This look is very compatible with Skrill!'

Leylin laughed mockingly, but he knew that these two parties were vastly different. Skrill had used his meditation technique to alter his physical appearance, but this matriarch had fused her body with that of her pet, maybe even her soul!

Based on strength alone, Skrill could not compare to this elf who was already rank 2 and possessed many techniques that he did not.

"Disgusting, disgusting humans!" the elf that formed the upper half of this abomination hooted on the spider's back.

Ding! Ding!*

The elf held a spider leg that looked like white jade. The long spider leg instantly transformed into a white scimitar. Along the elegant curve of this scimitar were pretty patterns that glowed repeatedly. The blade emitted some white fog, which emanated cold rays.

"Kill!" The voice of the elf transformed into a wave of bright rays that enveloped her, which gradually disappeared into the air.

"Is she concealing herself now?" Leylin stroked his chin and smiled wryly.

Although dark elves were quite capable in open combat, they preferred more underhanded tactics. They would make use of their own bodies and beauty to tempt their opponents, or hide away in corners, to launch sneak attacks.

However, as a dark Magus, Leylin had come across many of these tactics, and employed them himself. He tilted his head and smiled, rooting himself to the spot and narrowing his eyes.

A few minutes later, a ray of cold white air quickly slashed across Leylin's body, but was met with the exterior of his body rippling. The body had been a mere phantom.

"You've fallen into my trap!" Leylin materialised in a corner, his body ringed by defensive darkness elemental particles.

"You are the one who fell into a trap!" Alicia laughed softly, as another body shot out explosively from the side, targeting him with his own tactic.

Boom!* A large white web filled with mucus flew out and trapped Leylin. White sap fell onto him, and the sounds of corrosion rang out as it continuously seeped into his body.

"So that previous attack was fake!"

Leylin smiled gently, but his expression did not show any dejection, as if the person trapped was not him.

With a flash of white light, Alicia appeared in front of Leylin. Currently, she looked apathetic. She held a white scimitar and was about to directly chop off Leylin's head.

However, Leylin's demeanor made her feel uneasy.

Boom!* As Leylin's head flew upwards, a strange transformation occurred in mid-air.

The head dissipated into a large number of black shadows, condensing many darkness elemental particles to form a cage that bound the matriarch.

"Rank 2 spell, Illusory Body: Second Stage!"

The surrounding space flashed as Leylin removed the darkness elemental waves concealing his body, appearing in front of Alicia.

Closer inspection revealed the sensuality of this matriarch's body; the temptation it induced was shocking.

However, Leylin's expression was as cold as ice. A black spear ringed with red flames instantly appeared in his hand.

"Rank 2 spell: Lance of corrosion!"

"Go die!" Leylin said beneath his breath, the black spear in his hand being launched forward.

The space warped where the spear passed, and a strong corrosive force continuously condensed onto its tip.

"Explode!!!" Upon seeing the terrible force the spear contained, as if able to destroy the very earth, Alicia's face changed instantly. She resolutely chanted a few spells under her breath.

Suddenly, the Underground Frost Spider screeched irritably, the blood lines on its body enlarging and dying almost its entire body red. Moreover, weirdly, its body swelled up.

A ray of white light swiftly separated Alicia and the white spider.

Boom!*

The spear exploded intensely at Alicia's original location.

The black chains instantly exploded, which caused the exploded flesh and blood to strike the black spear.

Two large energy forces melded and grew denser, causing large distortions to the void.

Bam! Bam! Bam!*

When the distortions had condensed to a point, it ended off with a violent explosion.

Even though the forces collided in mid-air, the remains of the energy waves they generated headed towards the ground, blasting off layers of stone and soil. The waves swept the area, causing large-scale destruction.

Alicia's silhouette flew out of the explosion. However, things did not seem to look good for her, her lower body dripping with fresh blood. Being caught right in the middle of the explosion, she'd naturally received the brunt of the force it generated.

However, she currently did not have time to care about her injuries. Looking over herself restrainedly, she turned into a ray of blood that disappeared into the horizon.

Leylin stood where he was silently, and did not give chase.

To him, helping the humans retain their lands was just a passing favour. He did not want to kill a rank 2 existence of the opposing party, as he did not desire an animosity that could not be resolved.

Of course, some preparations had to be made to expedite the end of the war.

Leylin smiled wryly. Having roughly figured out his next course of action, he rushed towards the other two groups.

Fendix's opponent was the matriarch who wore the two rings on her bosom. This opponent's strength was tyrannical, and she had suppressed Fendix and limited his movements. Fendix ended up constantly on the defensive, which embittered him.

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Death And Insanity

"Hm?" At this moment, Fendix and the dark elven matriarch looked toward the side.

"Fendix, I'm here to help!" Leylin closed in rapidly, his clothes rustling in the strong wind.

"Umbra's Hand!"

Large numbers of shadows emerged from behind him, and transformed into what looked like a giant hand which obstructed the matriarch.

"What's your situation? How much magic power do you have left?" Leylin glanced at Fendix, who was already slightly pale.

"Half, and I can release one more formidable spell. How about you?" Upon seeing Leylin's arrival, Fendix heaved a huge sigh of relief.

"I've already sent that matriarch away. All that's left is her," Leylin pointed at the matriarch across them, "I remember you still have a powerful offensive spell—Violent Thunder Chains, right? I'll keep her occupied. Quick, go and prepare it!"

"Alright!" Fendix gritted his teeth.

Though he had seen through Leylin's intentions, this matriarch was his arch-enemy! In the past, Duke Fendix, the army's commander and a member of his family, had been killed by this person's army. He could not wait to end her!

Besides, they were at war. Killing a matriarch would reward him with an enormous number of merit points!

Leylin watched the matriarch, a slight smile creeping onto his face…

Minutes later, Fendix roared. A dazzling blue light filled the region, and snakes of electricity began dancing in the air, trapping the opponent within.

Innumerable streaks of lightning fell, and a few minutes later all that was left of the matriarch was ash and charcoal falling from the air.

"The dark elves are withdrawing!" Just as Leylin and Fendix had taken care of the situation here, the other rank 2 Magus hurried to them, "The matriarch who was fighting me seemed to have received some news, and suddenly escaped. I couldn't catch up to her at all… Ah! You! You killed her…"

The female Magus clapped her hand on her mouth, unable to express her astonishment with words.The dark elves that surrounded Dolon City retreated quickly. The three thousand Underground Winter Spider knights that had attacked were a very large power in the eastern region. Many of them had temporarily been transferred over from the other two armies.

Now, with Leylin's poison facilitating a counterattack, a good number of them had been lost. The siege of Dolon had ended, and their victory even led to a chain effect.

What's more, the death of a rank 2 matriarch had caused Dolon City to become the heart of the battle.

However, Fendix and Leylin did not choose to rest. Instead, riding on this momentum, they led troops in to save the other two large cities.

After their formidable forces had been weakened considerably, the dark elves were pushed back step by step, and were finally chased out of the east. This gave the human race a ray of hope.

As for the merit points from killing the matriarch? Since Leylin was intentionally keeping a low-profile, all of them ended up in Fendix's hands.

He cared little for reputation, and this seemed to be very important to Fendix, as if there was a grudge involved. Hence, he was happy to do him a favour. After all, Fendix had helped him quite a bit previously, and had also promised to make it up to him in the future."We won in the east? That's great!" Aaron, who was currently in another city, heard the news.

Shockingly, he was dressed in a gray, tattered cloak, and soot covered his entire face. The ring in his hand concealed his energy fluctuations.

The whole city was now caught up in a wave of joy.

Whether it was nobles, commoners or knights, they darted to the streets the moment they received the news, exhibiting their ecstasy with no inhibitions.

The threat of the dark elves had loomed over this area for far too long. Hopes had plummeted further when the north was broken through, and the news of whole cities being slaughtered had terrified everyone. The people needed some good news to raise their spirits.

The city master's residence had been opened to the public, and he'd even ordered chefs to serve great amounts of oatmeal bread and fruit juice to the public.

"This may be good news, but it's much too distant from you right now." A white ray of light shot out from the black ring, projecting the image of a wise old man in Aaron's mind. "Leave the moment you get it! The Mambo Family that governs this city is not something you can take on easily!"

"I know!" Aaron nodded seriously, and disappeared into the crowd.

Gu!* Minutes after he left, a small squadron surrounded the area, red flames burning. Among them was the figure of a woman in a pink gown.

"He was here not long ago. Seal the city! We can't let him escape!" the woman exclaimed grimly, and the soldiers immediately dispersed. Soon, the shrill sound of bugles resounded throughout the city.

"You actually dared to steal my family's most valuable treasure! You will pay for this in flesh and blood!!" The woman glanced at the area once again, and issued this frightful vow before travelling through the flames.

Rumble!* A tongue of flame swept up to a height of five to six metres, and the figure of the woman completely vanished.

Hah…*

After a few close shaves, Aaron stealthily left the city and reached a hideout he had previously prepared.

This was an underground karst cave. After doing away with all traces of the entrance and activating a defensive spell formation, Aaron finally heaved a sigh of relief and sat on the ground.

"That was too dangerous! It was only one item, did they have to chase after me so fervently?" Aaron complained, and then glared at Merlin in his mind. "Let me make this clear. If it will still be this dangerous to gather materials for the Meteor Sword in the future, I might have to give up on it. The sword may be a precious high-grade artifact, but it isn't as precious as my life."

"Hehe, don't worry. This Teardrop Gemstone was the most difficult material to obtain. As long as you have your predictions, the rest are relatively easier to get our hands on."

Immediately after, the old geezer looked stern. "The Teardrop Gemstone is a precious treasure of the Mambo Family, and it's only natural that it was guarded so tightly. The weakening curses cast on your body are a pain, and I'll need to spend some time analysing them. For these next two months, your strength will be restricted to that of an acolyte."

"Sigh… But it can't be helped!" Aaron sighed, and then thought back to the female Magus in the pink gown, his facial muscles twitching.

"I'm still far too weak. Grandpa Merlin, is there any method to advance in Sacred Flame quickly?"

"Of course!" Merlin stroked his white beard.

"Although most high-grade meditation techniques become harder to train in the further you train in them, and require many otherworldly materials to allow one to advance, my Sacred Flame is different!"

Merlin's voice carried a hint of pride as he delved into his memories.

"Not only does my Sacred Flame give you the power to see the future, it can also allow you to advance quickly through the convergence of destiny's powers. In theory, as long as you interfere with destiny as much as possible, you can advance at a terrifying rate!"

"Hss…" Aaron breathed in sharply, "So if I cause havoc in Twilight Zone, doesn't that mean I can rush to becoming a Morning Star Magus?"

"Dream on!" Merlin was ruthless as he glanced at Aaron disdainfully. "How strong is the power of destiny? Just prodding the river of destiny could cause you to be ground into powder by the inertia of fate. I trained in Sacred Flame for hundreds of years and still only dared follow in Destiny's footsteps, merely speeding up the process."

"No matter what it is, this can help me increase my strength! I'll do it!" Aaron suddenly clenched his fist.

He had returned to his guild an official Magus. He had also made them pay, to a certain extent, but the result was far from what he had imagined.

That young noble who had stolen his fiancee still had a Magus family backing him, with an official Magus in charge. Aaron could do little more than accept his apology for stealing his bride.

After this experience, his thirst for power had become more intense. This was why he was in a hurry to wander around, as well as gather materials to forge the Meteor Sword.

"So where is the area where destiny converges?" Aaron looked at Grandpa Merlin, eyes full of hope.

"You'll need to find out yourself!" Merlin seemed to be implying something.

"En! I have to use Sacred Flame!" Aaron's eyes brightened.

"That's right! You've been promoted to an official Magus, and can therefore take a peek at the real long river of destiny!" Merlin gave an amiable smile.

"I'll take a look now!"

Aaron impatiently sat down and entered a meditative state.

A unique spiritual force emanated from his body, linking with passage of time in the underworld and the rivers of history.

"Hm?" Aaron suddenly moved, holding onto his head and crying out miserably.

Scattered images, containing the bloodlust and vengeance of spirits flooded his mind.

—In the central region of Twilight Zone, a young Magus in black robes was currently speaking in a basement to an audience of malnourished and sickly teenagers. These teenagers, however, had extremely bright eyes that were almost blazing. Behind the Magus, the twisted image of a spider seemed to appear—

—The Dark Elven Empire! A teenager riding on a large Underground Winter Spider cheered excitedly, with a dark elf smiling wryly beside him—

These and a few other sporadic fragments appeared in Aaron's mind, making him feel like a brick had been stuffed into it.

About half an hour later, Aaron reawakened, but he was breathing roughly.

"Those two people must be the ones around which the powers of destiny converge!" He sounded resolute.

"As long as I'm by their side and gain their trust, I can affect the children of destiny and accelerate the progress of Sacred Flame!

"When the time comes, you will all die! Haha…"

Aaron began to laugh madly, a faint trace of insanity in his expression.

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Invitation From The Central Region

The war had ended. Leylin, who had returned from the battlefield, was now leisurely drinking some coffee.

With a thought, he accepted the scenes that the A.I. Chip transmitted to him.

"Baelin truly is Twilight Zone's child of destiny, but Longbottom is really surprising me…" Leylin stroked his chin, watching Longbottom who was currently spouting resentment.

"Using a revolution to cobble together an army, gathering wandering Magi who are unsatisfied with the rule of the guilds, and passing high-grade meditation techniques to common acolytes? Ingenious!" Even he had to appreciate Longbottom's methods.

The Magus World had never been a fair place, but the immense strength of Magi had meant that nobody could overthrow them.

To cause trouble in the Magus World, it was necessary to incite disharmony within their ranks. It looked like Longbottom was doing well. He was even bringing about a revolution!

"Perhaps this happened in the south coast's past as well, causing the power of guilds to wane and letting academies take their place…" Leylin made a sudden association.

However, the first of the revolutionaries would not be able to find peace, as the conservative factions would attack them, giving them a horrible death.

This was why Leylin had no intention of introducing the system of academies to Twilight Zone and had instead kept a low profile and assimilated into their culture.

"It looks like Baelin and Longbottom are like two sides of a coin. Both are the children of destiny for this era! However, one is a hero, while the other is a rebel." Leylin picked up the cup of coffee on the table and took a sip.

Sometimes, rebels were merely heroes who failed in their conquests! If Longbottom's revolutionary efforts succeeded, then he would be immortalised as a model in the Magus World, extensively praised and recorded down in Magus history.

If, instead, Longbottom was bested by Baelin, he would go down in the books as a rebel; a traitor who had betrayed mankind, forever shamed by history.

"The final decisive battle will definitely be between these two! Before that, the force of destiny will quickly increase their power, even if it might not be beneficial to them in the long run."

Leylin was very clear about the path a child of destiny could take.

While they were making their mark on the world, they could obtain an inheritance just by wandering around. By going into a random danger zone, there could be a grandpa giving out techniques, allowing them to advance quickly, and thereby causing many geniuses to be so ashamed of themselves that they committed suicide!

"Longbottom seems to have gained a bloodline, and Baelin is even better off. Not only has he even found the path to becoming a Bio Booster, which suits him best, he has even subdued the Underground Winter Spider Emperor, which is a creature with a might similar to a rank 2 Magus!"

Leylin, who had seen much in the world, could naturally judge their general strength through these scenes. The unexpected luck they had caused even Leylin to envy them.

At the same time, he had been frightened slightly. "If I had continued with him, wouldn't I have been played by destiny and become the grandpa handing out techniques?"

Leylin looked grim. Baelin had actually gotten some benefits from him. Although he had been affected by his emotional instability as a warlock, one could not deny the hand of destiny in this matter.

After all, destiny was not created out of anywhere. It needed a form of catalyst, which would infinitely increase the probability of it appearing.

For instance, Leylin could have chosen to craft potions instead of taking in a disciple to while time away, but he had instead chosen to teach Baelin the ways of knights.

Out of everyone in Potter Town, he had settled on Baelin. How much probability and luck was involved?

"Since you want to play, let's have a good time!" Leylin raised his cup and sent a challenge out to the skies.

[Beep! Based on scans by the limited AI, slight instability has been detected in target Aaron. The target seems to be in the early stages of mental breakdown. Immediate adoption of countermeasures suggested.]

At this moment, the A.I. Chip prompted, and an image of Aaron going crazy was projected in front of Leylin's eyes.

"Looks like things are getting quite troublesome! Although the effects when training as an acolyte were removed in this new version of Scarlet Flame, the effects don't seem sustainable for those who advance to become Magi."

Leylin's expression darkened. This was why he had not trained in Sacred Flame. Not only did he already have Kemoyin's Pupil, he feared the side-effects brought about by training in the technique.

The spirit had far too many secrets. Even with the unworldly calculative ability of the A.I. Chip, it was still not able to analyse the mysteries of the spirit.

"A.I. Chip! Gather stats from Aaron's current condition, and modify Sacred Flame again. Also, check on the other guinea pigs!" Leylin commanded.

Immediately after, the images of two other people were projected before Leylin.

He had not limited himself to forging the ring. His counterfeit grandpas had been passed on in secret during these past ten years, disguised by various methods as a 'coincidence' each time.

The A.I. Chip's scenes showed him a young female acolyte and a strong man who also trained in Sacred Flame, cold sweat rolling down their faces.

"The power of destiny!"

All of a sudden, the two of them opened their eyes and looked at the central region.

"Everything starts and end at the same place! There's them as well…"

The two of them made the same prediction, fear flashing on their faces.

Through the interception of this information, Leylin naturally knew what they were afraid of.

"Hehe… have they sensed the others training in the technique? It seems Sacred Flame still can't be practiced by more than one person."

The high-grade meditation technique, Sacred Flame, had come from the Botelli Family. Traditionally, only one person in a generation could successfully train in this meditation technique, while the rest would suffer a mental breakdown and die.

However, with modifications from the A.I. Chip, as well as Leylin's lack of concern, this meditation technique had been passed down to many acolytes, and they had all risen to become official Magi through Sacred Flame!

[Due to the unusual nature of this meditation technique, they will need to kill each other to determine a victor. Only then will Sacred Flame be complete.]

Leylin smirked at the A.I. Chip's newest conclusion.

"This Sacred Flame really is a fraud!"

His thoughts were now very clear. He would definitely not train in such a bizarre meditation technique.

How to take advantage of their prophetic powers and set up the situation was worth looking into, as well as the question of who would win the fight.

Leylin touched his chin, deep in thought.Five days later, an unexpected guest paid a visit to Leylin's villa.

Clang!* Four giant metallic legs charged straight through and finally stopped by Leylin's garden, setting off a cloud of dust and creating a ruckus behind them.

"My apologies, Magus Leylin! This large guy hasn't been easy to control. It might be because it's in its mating season…" Logan jumped off the back of his metallic lifeform, looking apologetic.

"No worries Magus Logan," Leylin smiled. Shaking his head to show he did not mind, he gestured to invite the Magus in, continuing, "Please come in. I've collected some items which may interest you."

A bit later, Celine who'd rushed over for some business saw the protector of the east, Logan, sitting on a chair and singing praises of the giant grilled fish on the long table.

"What type of fish is this? I've never seen it before."

"It's a hybrid of the Mamhar Fish and the Barracuda. I bred it myself!" Leylin laughed.

This creature was an accidental product of a bloodline experiment. Unexpectedly, it had ended up tasting quite good, which prompted Leylin to serve it to guests.

As the flesh of this fish was extremely delicious, and also had the function of strengthening the body of a rank 2 Magus, it was very popular.

After finding this out, Leylin immediately ordered Celine to open up a massive aquafarm, preparing to breed this type of fish at a large scale. It would be another addition to his profits.

While learning under the light Magi of the south coast, Leylin had taken care of numerous secret planes and had learned that something like that had a lot of significance and value.

As a bonus. Celine had been extremely agreeable to him recently at night, her eyes so bright it seemed like she could blink out liquid.

Leylin's conjecture was that she had thought he had been diligently managing the guild, which touched her.

Leylin had merely laughed off her misunderstanding, not bothering to explain and instead enjoying his luck with her.

After enjoying the fine liquor and good food together, Leylin finally cut to the chase. "I wonder what I can do for Protector Logan, that you've come all the way here?"

"I came here today because I have a presumptuous request of you." Logan looked serious, and slightly embarrassed.

"What is it?" Leylin seemed calm, while Celine who was beside him grasped his fingers.

"On behalf of the central region's guilds' alliance, I invite Nature's Alliance to move to the central region! We have prepared the resources afforded to a large-scale guild for you, and there is a seat for Nature's Alliance waiting amongst our ranks. In other words, once you go there, Nature's Alliance will become a large-scale guild!"

Logan went straight to the point, saying everything in one breath.

The moment the words left his mouth, Leylin could feel Celine's breath becoming more hurried.

Large-scale guild! That was the ultimate dream of all guilds in Twilight Zone! As the heart of Twilight Zone, the central region was also where the population was the densest, and represented the essence of the subterranean humans.

Most guilds could only wish to expand there.

Celine had always been striving for Nature's Alliance to rise through the ranks, and she did not seem to find this situation to be strange as all. Meanwhile, Leylin was thinking of something else.

"Has the situation in the central region become that bad?" He suddenly asked.

"Hm?" Logan's expression froze.

Moments later, he laughed wryly.

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Movement

"I really can't hide anything from you!" Logan laughed bitterly. "As you know, the situation in the central region is not favourable. The dark elves are a part of it, but the Protector of Twilight Zone is the more pressing issue…"

Leylin roughly understood the situation. Powerful rank 2 Magi normally overtook the duties of protecting the north, south, east, and west of the Twilight Zone, but central Twilight Zone was different.

That area housed the elite forces of Twilight zone, so the overseeing Magus was titled the "Guardian of the Realm". The current generation's Guardian possessed the strength of a rank 3 Magus.

But intelligence reports said that the lifespan of the Guardian was nearing its end; he hadn't even appeared in public in the last few decades. His seclusion was so foreboding that it was probably the main reason for the dark elves, dwarfs and gnomes to gang up on them.

"You…" Celine clenched her fists tightly, her face turning red from anger, she had finally realized the meaning of the invitation. If it was during peacetime, and one was allowed to enter the central region and become a large-scale guild, that was a truly fortunate event. But now?

The dark elven army had just been routed in the east, giving them some room to breathe. On the other hand, with the fall of Potti City, the center was facing a surge of dark elves and other enemies from the north. This meant the situation in the center was currently much worse than in the east.

At such a time, what sort of invitation was this? Wasn't this just a request for troops and cannon fodder?

Celine almost cursed before she realised that the person sitting across her was the rank 2 Protector of the East. She suppressed her rage by force of will, leading to nothing but a smudge in her expression.

Leylin remained silent for a while. He finally let out a bitter smile. "The central region was originally protected on all four sides. It was extremely stable and peaceful, and was the best choice for accommodation. But currently, it's being eyed by our enemies. Logan, do you really want me to suffer?"

"I understand your problem! But…" Logan said hesitantly, "Firstly, I can tell you, this is an order of the Guardian of the Realm. We are to summon forth assistance from all four regions. Additionally, regardless of the other large-scale guilds' intentions, I can guarantee that my own guild will step forward and enter the central region!"

Logan stood up and vowed solemnly to Leylin, even bending his head all the way to his knees.

"Sir Leylin! For Twilight Zone, and for the entire human race, I hope you can help us!"

In that moment, Leylin felt like Logan's body was glowing. That expression greatly moved Celine who was at his side.

"Hu…" Leylin locked his brows, and seemed to be deep in thought. Logan and Celine, on the other hand, were afraid to even breathe too loudly for fear of interrupting Leylin's ruminations.

"I'll help you…"

After a few moments, Leylin produced an answer, bringing a sudden streak of joy across Logan's face and causing Celine to worry. She wanted to speak out, but was abruptly thwarted by Leylin continuing, "but I have a few conditions!"

"Speak!" Logan's voice could not conceal his excitement.

Leylin raised his index finger. "Firstly, The resources and seat you promised previously must be handed over to us unconditionally!"

"Of course; you're entitled to the resources and treatment given to a large-scale guild. If that bunch of brats dare to embezzle anything, I will kill them immediately!" Logan's tone was merciless, but during war the protector did indeed have the authority to do such a thing.

"Great!" he raised another finger, "In addition, I need to keep my land and position in the east!"

"Want to leave an escape route? Sure! I can promise you that! Anything for mankind!" Logan considered the condition for only a few moments before he agreed in delight.

"Anything for mankind!" Leylin chuckled to himself. He had always known that the central region would be where everything would come to a head, and his plans also required that he go there. Hence, he had already considered going to the central region.

Keeping a hold of their land here was obviously for him to retain the icy cave. There would have been no further negotiations if this point had been rejected. Leylin would rather secede from Twilight Zone than share the icy cave with anyone.

Now, he didn't mind putting on a little show.

Logan was truly touched. Many large guilds that he had visited previously had refused to help. After all, Magi were all rational beings, and they too had to think of their subordinates. The central region was now full of danger; how then was it more alluring than the east?

"Ley… … Sir Leylin, Twilight Zone will forever remember your contribution!"

Logan appeared very reassured, as he entered his metallic lifeform and hurriedly left. It seemed like he still had many guilds to visit.

"Sir! Why did you…" Immediately after Logan left, Celine asked with urgency.

"I have already decided. You can stay behind and guard this place if you wish. In any case, we will retain our land in the east. Going to the center is merely a gamble. It doesn't matter if we fail, and if we do manage to succeed, Nature's Alliance will become one of the central region's large-scale guilds! Isn't that what you've always been dreaming of?" Leylin smiled at Celine, placid.

"But… what about your safety?" Celine knew that the rise of Nature's Alliance was founded completely on the formidable strength of the man before her. Were they to lose him, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"You do not need to worry about my safety, for I will not put myself in a deadly situation. Furthermore, do you not trust my abilities?" Leylin persuaded her calmly.

Celine nodded and her heart calmed. As the person who came into contact with Leylin the most and the one closest to him, she deeply believed in the man's unfathomable abilities.

Sometimes, the display of just a fraction of his power could scare her breathless.

"Okay! Pass the orders. A new batch of Magi and acolytes are to be chosen, we set off in ten days!" Leylin commanded.

"Yes!" Celine saluted withdrew herself with a bow. Nature's Alliance was currently under Leylin's sole command, and nobody in the guild could disobey him. Although there were some small troubles initially, Leylin's absolute authority ensured the orders for the mobilization of their forces were sent out methodically.

Although many acolytes feared the disorder in the central region, they also craved adventure. Despite the danger, there were also many magicians there who had gained rewards aplenty.

As for the higher ups? Their fates were in Leylin's hand, so what choice would they have?

After ten days, an enormous squadron had been formed, and began advancing towards the central region

Meanwhile, at the entrance of the canyon of Nature's Alliance, Celine was clad in a purple gown. She observed the squadron proceed slowly until they disappeared along the horizon.

Due to some considerations Leylin had, he wanted Celine to remain here.

"You must definitely return alive!" She prayed as she returned to Nature's Alliance.

"Guild master!" Several official Magi and acolytes hastily greeted her. They knew of Leylin's and Celine's relationship, and the fact that both of them were the nominal masters of the guild, so they did not dare to be negligent

Upon witnessing this scene, Celine felt some emptiness in her heart, but shortly after, another unfamiliar feeling arose.

"You may rise! The dark elves in the eastern region have already retreated, leaving behind many resources for us to conquer. This is our chance!" Celine's voice was cold yet noble, and no one dared to look straight at her.

"Things will only be interesting when some leeway is given to these sorts of women"

Meanwhile, on a luxurious vehicle pulled by a giant salamander, Leylin stroked his chin and he broke into a demonic chuckle.

A woman like Celine could only bloom completely if authority was given to her. Hence, Leylin had intentionally given her position and power in the guild. He was sure that, in their next meeting, she would definitely not disappoint him.

Furthermore, his goals during this journey to the center were too large for Celine's strength to be of assistance to him. He was also not in the mood to get intimate with her, so he had left her behind.

"The central region!" Leylin quietly went over the intelligence he had gathered regarding the central region.

It was the core of the entire Twilight Zone with a very high population density. The strength of its large-scale guilds largely surpassed that of guilds in the other regions. Yet, this was not the most horrifying fact…

"The Guardian of the Realm… …" Leylin let out a sigh.

The position of the Guardian was normally given to the most powerful Magus in the entirety of Twilight Zone.

But the Protector of the East, Logan, had met him several times and their abilities should be on par. Hence, the Guardian of the Realm should be a powerhouse even amongst rank 3 Magi. If not for his lifespan that was almost depleted, Leylin would not dare to play such tricks.

The squadron proceeded gradually, and the roaming darkness creatures and bandits on their path fled in all directions the moment they spotted them. They did not dare to obstruct Leylin's party and offend them

The bandits were observant and naturally realised that this squadron was composed of Magi. As for the darkness creatures, they could sense the strong aura travelling towards them and escaped for fear of death.

Thus, the journey was rather a peaceful one.

Along the way, Nature's Alliance had amassed a following of several other medium-scale guilds as well as a few small-scale guilds. They, too, had heeded the call and wanted to go to the central region to keep watch.

Upon witnessing Nature Alliance's standard, the guild masters of different guilds immediately came forth to visit him, and even let go of their pride to discuss the possibility of joining forces to advance.

After all, the fact that Leylin was a member of Nature's Alliance was made known to many. That was a rank 2 Magus! With him there, the procession would definitely make it to the central region without any hiccups.

"Although there are a few idealists in there, most of them are those with great ambitions who are willing to take a gamble!"

After a look, Leylin evaluated these people indifferently.

However, he still agreed to their requests. The horse carriages, which formed a large procession resembling a river, began to travel towards the central region.

As Magi could illuminate the path ahead with spells, there was no need for the carriages to carry torches.

The giant sunstone was placed on the top of a carriage, illuminating the surroundings and their path brightly.

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A Fair Trial

Rumble!*

Faint fluctuations travelled over, and for there to be so many undulations despite the long distance allowed the people in the carriage to ascertain their identities.

"They're Magi, official Magi! It looks like they're battling. Do we still proceed?" A peak rank 1 Magus guild master approached Leylin's carriage and bowed, asking for further instructions.

"Of course!" Leylin spoke indifferently. With the power, they held when they banded together, they could easily go on a rampage in the eastern region. Thus, they were fearless.

The guild leader seemed to have the same thoughts and, after a moment of pause, they continued to advance.

The rest of the party noticed the energy fluctuations as they closed in. One of the two seemed to have reservations with approaching them, while the other hesitated for a moment before heading in their directions.

"Trying to use us to block the enemy?" The Magi in the group of carriages silently waited while smirking.

Xiu!*

Seconds later, a red streak shot over from afar, and a young Magus appeared.

This Magus looked quite ordinary but for the black ring on his right index finger and his resolute eyes. After seeing so many official Magi, his eyes widened and he tried to take a long way around them.

"You can't escape! How dare you steal our family's treasure!" a woman's voice sounded out. The young man quivered, bit his lips, ground his teeth, and then dashed towards the group of carriages.

"Save me! I'm a wandering Magus, and for some reason, this mad woman is chasing me. She keeps slandering me and saying that I stole her treasure!"

This young Magus was naturally Aaron. After recuperating from his injuries, he had been unlucky enough to meet with the Magus from the Mambo Family, and had been chased all the way here.

As for blocking this group's path, that was naturally Merlin's idea.

"Will they save me? After all…" Aaron worriedly communicated with Merlin in his mind.

"Don't worry! I've already completely concealed the aura of the Teardrop Gemstone. That crazy woman behind us won't find anything!" Merlin promised confidently.

As for that confidence, it was definitely due to a certain someone within the carriages.

"Hehe… Young man, you're pretty good to have actually helped me gather the Teardrop Gemstone. I didn't even know the Mambo Family had this in their collection!" Leylin smiled lightly, a cold glint in his eyes.

Xiu!* At this moment, a pink ray shot into this area, and the female Magus who had been chasing after Aaron appeared in their midst.

After seeing the group of carriages with so many Magi, she felt her chest tighten perceptibly.

"I am Ophelia of the Mambo Family! My apologies if I am offending you, but please do not stop me from pursuing this vile thief!"

The group was arranged haphazardly, with a few small scale guilds in front. Ophelia's tone was therefore not that polite.

After all, the Mambo Family was quite famous in this region.

"How dare you! Who do you think you are?"

"The Mambo Family? Never heard of it before."

Although those in front were a just few small scale guilds, their higher-ups were watching on from the back, and even the legendary rank 2 Magus in charge of Nature's Alliance was present. They were naturally unrestrained in their answers.

"You…" Ophelia's voice lowered, and a faint aura of danger emanated from her body.

How many people in her family dared to speak to her like this?

At this point, however, more carriages had arrived, and the markings caused Ophelia to swallow the words she was planning to say, making her dumbstruck.

"The Lost Clock, Twisted Black Clouds, Infernal Blood, and… Nature's Alliance!"

Ophelia's eyes widened. These were all medium scale guilds, and each one of them was powerful enough to pressure the Mambo Family—especially Nature's Alliance, which had a powerful rank 2 Magus in charge.

The moment they were provoked, they would squash her like one would an ant.

On the other end, Aaron gaped, stunned. "So many! So many Magi and acolytes! Are they migrating?"

"Ophelia had no intentions of offending anyone; please forgive me!" Cold sweat rushed down Ophelia's spine, and she immediately dropped to the ground and bowed.

"Haven't you dealt with this yet?" At this moment, Leylin opened the door and descended from the largest and most luxurious carriage in Nature's Alliance's group.

"Lord Leylin!" All the Magi there immediately bowed.

"Ley-Leylin! The legendary rank 2 Magus said to have heavily injured a dark elven Sovereign Mother! Why is my luck so bad?" Ophelia was snarling on the inside, but she wouldn't dare to even break into a cold sweat in this man's presence.

"What's going on?" Leylin furrowed his eyebrows, asking even though he knew the situation.

"My- My apologies, my lord!" A Magus from the Alliance was frightened so badly he couldn't even speak clearly.

"What's going on?" Leylin repeated once again, but the atmosphere had frozen. The entire group was quiet, and even some guild leaders of medium-scaled guilds, who were peak rank 1 Magi themselves, did not dare to make a sound.

"My lord, it's like this…." Ophelia tried her best to make herself sound calm, narrating the whole story.

"Oh! Is that so?"

Leylin turned, and Aaron was pressed to the ground by an invisible force.

"I'll give you one chance. You said you used your family's secret method and found him. Do it again in front of us! If the Teardrop Gemstone is on him, then he shall be judged by us all. If not…" Leylin's dangerous gaze landed on Ophelia, causing her head to tingle.

"If it isn't, then Ophelia is willing to accept punishment!" Ophelia grit her teeth and forced out an answer.

"Not only that, those of us here are responding to summons from the central region to engage in battle. If you are proven to be wrong, you shall be prosecuted by the war council for obstructing military affairs."

Leylin smiled to make up for his harsh words. "Well then, begin!"

"What do I do? What do I do?" Aaron watched Ophelia who had already begun to use her family's secret method and the official Magi who were preparing to watch a good show. He repeatedly asked Merlin in his mind, while not even daring to look at the legendary rank 2 Magus at all.

"Don't worry. I'm the legendary great Magus Merlin. What is a little rank 2 Magus to me?" Merlin boasted shamelessly, "With my spirit force concealing it, this girl definitely won't find anything!"

"Then why didn't you use it previously?" Aaron felt like he had been conned.

"A lot of my spirit force has been used, and it hasn't been replenished," Merlin explained vaguely, causing Aaron to immediately begin reproaching himself. How could he not trust Grandpa Merlin, whom he had grown up with?

"You're dead meat!" Ophelia snickered while lowering her head, pointing at Aaron with the ring.

"There is a tracking spell formation on the Teardrop Gemstone passed down by my ancestors. As long he has it on him, my ring will emit red rays of light. Look, my lords!"

Ophelia pointed the ring at Aaron, and shouted a word, "Mambo!"

Aaron's heart was at his throat, and he almost closed his eyes to wait for the judgment of destiny.

"Eh?" "Oh!" "Ah?"

All sorts of sounds resounded by Aaron's ears, but none of them were the accusations he had expected.

He secretly chanced a glance at Ophelia, who was now looking lost and dejected.

"How is this possible? How is this possible? It wasn't like this the last few times!" She lifted the ring and scanned him a few more times.

The ring had no response, as if it were just an ordinary ring.

"Haha! How is it? Aren't my concealing methods powerful?" Merlin chuckled heartily in Aaron's mind.

In reality, all of this was Leylin's work. If not for him being there, Aaron would definitely have been seen through.

"How?" Ophelia shrieked, unwilling to give up as she took off the ring and inspected the formations within.

Moments later, she yelled out, "It must be you! You must have hidden the Teardrop Gemstone somewhere along the way!

"No! It must definitely be on your person. Hand it over!" Blazing pink flames appeared on her body.

"Enough! What a farce!" Leylin was still playing the role of a fair, altruistic judge.

"No! My lord, you need to believe me!" Ophelia's voice cracked, sounding a little hoarse.

Bang!*

A resplendent, silver light flashed, and the flames on her body were extinguished. She retreated a few steps and fell to the ground, her expression still full of stubbornness.

"Haha, that girl actually dares to resist. She's in trouble!" Merlin rejoiced in Aaron's mind.

"What's happening?" Aaron immediately asked.

"That Lord Leylin is a rank 2 Magus! His solidified spiritual force is not something a little girl like her can withstand, but she actually dared do so. What should have been a light injury will now become more serious, and might even affect her sea of consciousness…"

"Ah? Then what's going to happen to her?" Aaron began to blame himself.

"What else can happen to her? If a rank 2 Magus wants to discipline her, she'll still need to endure it even if she's not in the wrong. She can't complain either," Merlin continued taking joy in her pain, and took the opportunity to educate Aaron, "This is the law of the Magus World!"

"Leave this place and never appear in front of me again! It seems like you just made a mistake this time. I won't report it to the war council!"

Leylin hummed lightly and returned to the carriage.

"Thank you for your mercy, my lord!" His actions elicited words of gratitude from the female Magus.

Ophelia left the area in a daze. Although she was in despair, were she to continue staying here, a few peak rank 1 Magi would make short work of her without Leylin even lifting a finger.

"What are you looking at? We're leaving!"

Soon enough, the carriages continued their journey.

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Infiltration Into The Central Region

Aaron stood in a spot alone, and no Magi bothered him.

This was his second time experiencing a feeling of loss. The first time? Naturally, it was when his spiritual aptitude had deteriorated, and his engagement was broken off.

Aaron held onto the black ring in his hands tightly. That was the gloomiest moment of his life, but thankfully he found this!

"Grandpa Merlin? When do you reckon I will reach the level of Master Leylin?" Aaron silently asked in his heart.

It had never occurred to him to use his connections. In Dolon City, he was but a small acolyte, whereas Leylin was a powerful rank 2 Magus. The latter would surely not remember him!

"Relax, isn't it just rank 2?" Merlin had inherited Leylin's twisted sense of humour. It whispered into Aaron's mind: "As long as you can find the two children of destiny, and trigger the river of destiny, your cultivation in Sacred Flame will increase exponentially. Advancing to rank 2 or 3 will be a simple task!"

"In that case, I have to increase my speed!" Aaron clenched his fist and looked into the far distance; for an instant he was filled with hope.

To Leylin, what happened to Aaron was but a hiccup in his journey.

Even though Aaron was a chess piece of his, he never requested Aaron to join him. After all, keeping Merlin at his side was enough.

Moreover, he did not want to give Aaron or the others any clues, lest they discover his intentions.

Leylin lowered his head, concealing the bottomless glow in his eyes.After advancing for half a month, the squadron had entered the central region.

Their journey there had been very peaceful, with nothing happening.

Their squadron was one that was composed of magicians. They had no lack of even peak rank 1 Magi, and Leylin, a rank 2 Magus was leading them. It was already considered pretty good that they had not looked for trouble with others, forget anyone daring to offend them.

With the aid of spells, they travelled rapidly, not being impeded even by rough terrain. Commoners would face difficulties when trying to trek through narrow valleys and scale steep cliffs. Magi just settled any problems with a few spells.

"Is this central Twilight Zone? The quality of life here far surpasses that of the east!"

Leylin had lowered his hood and looked around at the neatly built houses by the roadside. He nodded at the occasional farmer he saw.

The center was the essence of Twilight Zone. Darkness creatures were a rare sight here, and the population density was very high.

However, currently, Leylin could see squires dressed in leather armour running across the region. The farmers mostly looked worried; with north Twilight Zone having fallen, the big war was at their doorstep! The dark elven soldiers and dwarves, gnomes and even darkness creatures from outside the region could all directly arrive at the central region after bypassing the north, which could create a lot of trouble for them.

The central region lacked the strength to repel such raids, especially in terms of magicians. They had no choice but to send out orders to all 4 zones and recruit more acolytes.

At this point in time, a Nature's Alliance Magus came forth and reported to Leylin: "My lord! The leaders of a few medium-scale guilds have come forth to say their goodbyes; they are going to return to the zones they came from!"

"Let them go! They don't have to specially report to me!" Leylin coldly ordered.

A large number of orders sounded in the distance. Some of the smaller troops, like the distributaries of a river, left Nature's Alliance's side.

"What a pity!" Leylin glanced at the small and medium-scale guilds that were leaving, and let out a sigh.

Even though the resources in the central region were good, they had to be exchanged for with one's life!

If these guilds could survive the big war, they would naturally get land as their reward. However, if they risk suffering heavy losses, or even being completely wiped out, then leaving would be the best choice.

Though the central region was rich in resources, even it could not support all the guilds that came.

The war would choose the real winners who would end up with the last laugh! Still, many guilds swarmed to the central region. Even though they knew it was all a gamble, they did not hesitate for a moment to stake everything on this wager. They hoped to gain a lot from it.

"After the war, how many guilds would there be left?" Leylin sighed lightly and closed the windows.

"Send the orders down, we are to advance at full speed and rush to our territory as soon as we can!" On the surface, Leylin was still representing Nature's Alliance's interests, and hence he had ordered so casually.

"As you wish, my lord!"

The orders were quickly passed down through magic spells , and the sounds of the Earth Salamanders and Wildebeest came repeatedly as the entire squadron's speed increased a level.In yet another region, a few haggard travellers entered the boundaries of the central region.

"Is this the central region?" Baelin swept off the dust on his body and looked at the big city ahead.

He was dressed in oversized grey gunny robes, and a spider streaked in gold would pop out onto his shoulders from time to time.

"Yes! Advancing after Tran City should lead us to central Twilight Zone!" Memphis was next to Baelin. However, he had currently lost all resemblance to a dark elf, and only looked like a pale-skinned royal.

"Could you get your Underground Winter Spider Emperor to hide? It's very easy to attract attention here!" He once again looked at the mischievous spider that climbed onto Baelin's shoulder, and smiled wryly.

Hiss* This golden spider seemed to be able to understand human languages, and upon hearing what Memphis said, it let out a threatening screech.

"Aru says that he has restrained his aura, and only rank 2 Magi can see through his transformation; so even if formal Magi were to see the Underground Winter Spider Emperor, they would only treat it as a mutated ordinary spider!" Baelin translated for Memphis, "Also, if you dare to suggest this ever again, he'll eat you!"

"Alright!" Memphis was rendered speechless.

This Underground Winter Spider Emperor was Baelin's reward from their excursion into the Dark Elven Empire! Originally, they had planned to attack or subdue the Underground Winter Spider Emperor to halt the war.

However, the Underground Winter Spider Emperor had confoundingly decided to follow Baelin, becoming the Magus' contracted familiar.

Memphis had not expected that, and after he found out that it could have been the workings of his ancestral amulet, he felt so cheated that he almost went and banged his head against a wall.

Although he knew that his ancestors were royals of a strong clan, he had not expected them to have left such a strong agreement that the owner of the amulet could actually control the Underground Winter Spider Emperor!

That was a being with the strength of a rank 2 Magus! Were he to have gained control of it, the Underground Winter Spider knights would have defected to his side, but now?

Memphis smiled wryly as he looked at Baelin who was standing at the side.

Even though they had the Underground Winter Spider knights, the proud dark elves simply would not admit that a member of another species could exercise control over their sacred objects. On the contrary, they had viewed this as a great humiliation, and had even launched into a relentless killing spree!

Memphis had seen the Dark Elven Empire's plans fail. He learned through his connections that the dark elves were plotting yet another scheme in the central region, one that could potentially destroy the foundations of the human race!

Upon receiving the news, Baelin had become restless and filled with a strong sense of duty. After ensuring that Jenny settled down, he secretly entered the central region with Memphis.

"What happens to us after this? Do we tell the Magi what we found out?" Baelin suddenly realised that he had no idea about his next course of action.

"Just based on our own merits?" Memphis pointed to himself and smiled bitterly, then pointed to the Underground Winter Spider Emperor on Baelin's shoulders, "A dark elf and a suspicious man with an Underground Winter Spider Emperor?"

"I'm afraid that, before we even utter a single word, the other side will have started flinging spells at us. Needless to say, this information would only be heeded if a rank 2 Magus passed it on, and Aru's stealth would not hold up against such an existence!

""Furthermore, upon seeing an Underground Winter Spider Emperor, a rank 2 Magus would even kill us immediately! After all, their bloodlines ensure that dark elves would instantly weaken the moment an Underground Winter Spider Emperor dies. They would even lose their endless supply of mounts! This would definitely be a huge blow to the Dark Elven Empire! What do you think they would choose to do?"

"Essentially, there's still no way!" Baelin squatted down and felt dejected.

"However, it is not entirely hopeless!" Memphis' tone changed.

"There's hope?" Baelin's eyes lit up.

"Do you remember that I mentioned Magus Leylin earlier?"

"Master Leylin?" Baelin's voice held a tinge of respect within it. He saw Leylin as a teacher and was grateful and respectful to him.

"Yes! That Leylin! Did you know that he is actually the most recent Magus to reach rank 2?" Memphis lowered his voice. Even though Leylin was a member of another species, he still held a respect for the strong.

"According to the news I received, not only did he help Fendix attack and kill a rank 2 matriarch at Dolon, he had defeated another matriarch before it! My clan's intelligence has already marked him as a threat with a danger level of 8!"

"Master! He is actually so… strong?" Baelin's eyes widened. He had personally witnessed the strength of a rank 2 matriarch.

In the Dark Elven Empire, he and Memphis had been hunted down by a matriarch. If not for the protection of the Underground Winter Spider Emperor, they would definitely not have been able to escape.

The matriarch's unyielding strength had left a deep impression on the minds of the two.

And now, he was being told that the Master Leylin who had taught him before was even stronger than a rank 2 matriarch?

Baelin's feelings at that moment were very complicated. There was pride, but there was also regret.

"Yes!" Memphis nodded his head: "Though we're not of the same kind, I admire him greatly as well!

"This Master Leylin is definitely a heavy presence in the Magi world, and even has ties with you. You need only pass the intelligence to him…"

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