Chapter 184 - 348 - 355

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!"

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.

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….."

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.