Residence Permit
"Hehe… we were only joking earlier, don't mind us! Of course, I'll take care of Nick's situation as well!" Aegnis smiled along, and Belinda immediately looked at ease. After all, she had asked a favour of Aegnis.
"Alright, I'll bring everyone in to go through the formalities," Aegnis rested her arm around Belinda's shoulders, and with her other hand pulling Sophia along, she did not forget to yell at Thomas, "Kid, why haven't you apologised to Sire Nick yet?"
Seeing what she was doing, Belinda smiled once more, no longer resistant to her actions.
"My apologies, Sire Nick!" Watching the backs of the three females walking ahead, Thomas shouted loudly.
However, his lips mouthed something else, "You weakling who only knows to rely on women!"
Leylin merely shrugged in answer to his provocation and insult and continued to follow behind Belinda, which left Thomas flabbergasted; it was the first time he had seen someone so shameless.
Leaving the stunned Thomas far behind, Leylin followed behind the three ladies expressionlessly with an air of resignation. In reality, however, he was snickering in his mind. What glory or reputation did he care for when he was dying? Was that important?
The Curse Mark of Ten Thousand Snakes was now eating his life force away, and he did not have not have many years left. In this situation, would he abandon such a simple method of entering the city and look for something else?
Whether he would succeed or not eventually, wasting time on reputation would be treating his life too lightly. When comparing his life to being taken as a fellow who could only rely on women, what loss was there for him?
"You…" Thomas puffed his cheeks out and followed behind them, but could do nothing against Leylin's shamelessness. Aegnis, in front, seemed to have noticed this, and her eyes glinted.
"Go away, you peasants! Don't block the path of us noble Stuards!"
As if trying to vent all the anger he'd gained from Leylin, Thomas flicked a nine-segmented whip of a snake leader, unceasingly creating crisps ounds and threatening the group of half-blooded snake beings in front of them.
*Pila!* Seeing the half-blooded snake beings fearfully separating to two sides and giving way, Leylin couldn't help but stroke his chin. It seemed that the siblings who were in the Stuard family had a rather terrifying reputation in the holy city.
"Are you guards blind? Why aren't you here to welcome us?"
Immediately after, the guards who had been like fiends and slaughtering people as they wished instantly came over to help out with Thomas' call, bringing Belinda and the rest to the main gate.
Thomas had his nose in the air as he peeked at Leylin, eyes full of arrogance.
Leylin merely rolled his eyes in answer.
In the Magus World, this sort of person would have died several times over already, but this was the Hail Continent! This was where the descendants of the Snake Dowager had high statuses, and there were few bloody contests for power over them. Such a state had continued for tens of thousands of years, and had even become an iron rule.
Hence, it was entirely understandable that Thomas who had grown up in a sheltered environment was acting this way. This was one who had been spoilt by superior living conditions.
Leylin obviously would not stoop to the level of weaklings like him. His focus was now on the sculpture at the main gate.
"Mm, bloodline appraisal! A test of the soul! Though I'm confident I can pass through with no problems, the identification proof is a problem. After all, I can't invade the holy city's core database and create a fake history. What I said before had too many loopholes…"
Leylin looked slightly gloomy, which Thomas took to be a accomplishment on his part.
"You're very lucky! You should know that very few half bloods like you can stay in the holy city for a full year!"
Thomas jeered at him disdainfully, "Of course, you might not even be able to handle the living expenses here… But even if you stay here for a short period of time, it's enough for you to shine in the Hail Continent, or… You can write this in your diary, and some low-ranked bloodlines might be attracted…"
"Thomas, that's enough!" Evidently, even Aegnis could not watch on any longer.
Of course, Leylin had strong suspicions that Aegnis only felt that Thomas was bringing shame to the Stuard family with his words, which was why she got him to stop.
"Come, Belinda, and adorable little Sophia! This is the residence permit that I especially requested for you. As long as you bind it to your bloodline and soul, you will be recognised as free citizens of the holy city!"
Aegnis smiled slightly, producing two jade-green crystal cards. From the envious gazes from the half- or even pure-blooded snake beings, they should be amazing items.
"Thank you so much, Aegnis!" Belinda took the crystal card. With this identification, she could join organisations under the Snake Dowager's command. Trial's Eye would not be so brazen and might even automatically withdraw the order of her arrest.
"Then… how about Brother Nick?" Sophia bit at her fingers, finding that something was off.
"Sire Nick? When Belinda contacted me, she didn't mention it, so I didn't prepare it…"
Aegnis rubbed at her feelings as if embarrassed, "Permanent residence permits are hard to take care of in the holy city, so…"
Seeing that Belinda seemed to be on the verge of flaring up, Aegnis shook her hands, "ThoughI didn't get a permanent residence permit, I still have a temporary certification! It's for ten years, which should be enough for Sire Nick. In these ten years, I'm sure he can handle the procedures for his identification!"
"This… Nick…" Belinda peeked at Leylin slightly embarrassed. She had obviously noticed that Aegnis was purposely making things difficult for him.
"Sire Nick, a ten year certification is already very rare! For half-blooded snake beings who provide services for us residents of holy residents, their certification needs to be changed daily in order to prevent any tarnish to our noble holy city!"
Thomas, who was at the side, snorted.
"That's enough! Thank you very much, Lady Aegnis!" Leylin smiled slightly, taking another residence permit from her.
Ten years was enough time.
In the holy city, where the Snake Dowager's radiations were the most concentrated, with the the Curse Mark of Ten Thousand Snakes increasing in intensity, Leylin would probably be reduced to pile of bones if he could not solve the bloodline shackles within ten years.
Compared to Belinda and Sophis who had permanent residence permits, his own was duller, though there were intricate runes and concealing techniques on it.
"This pattern… Even with a sample, it's not easy for the A.I. Chip to make another one. On top of that… what's more troublesome is the soul and bloodline binding!"
Leylin's eyes flashed.
"Alright! Since you three now have the pass, please bind it to you. If the permits are lost, things will get very troublesome, so please keep it well and love them as you love your eyes!"
Aegnis spoke with an accent.
"The binding ceremony is very simple. Drip a droplet of blood and then use your spiritual force to scan the detection runes!"
With Aegnis' guidance, Belinda was the first and dripped her blood onto the crystal card. Once the dark red liquid touched the card, it was like water reaching sponge and was absorbed.
In the next instant, the whole green crystal card shone brilliantly and with flowing luster, Belinda's image emerged.
"Boo hoo… Sister, Sophia's afraid of pain!" Hearing that she had to bleed, Sophia's eyes were full of fear.
Such a pitiful stance immediately had Aegnis on the verge of turning into a big bad wolf.
"Keke… don't be afraid, little sister. Let your big sister help you!"
Aegnis, who was watching, only seemed to shock Sophia and bit at her finger to complete the binding process. Aegnis watched on with regret.
When Leylin was done with the procedure too, with Aegnis in the lead, they passed through a round arched door. Of course, there were sculptures ahead.
*Hss hss!*
The miniature sculptures were even more intricate. They were made of some crystals similar to rocks, and especially the faces were carved very vividly, their eyes seeming to be connected to some enigmatic soul
Belinda and Sophia passed by, and the sculpture produced green and tender rays.
[Currently concealing with bloodline of Alabaster Devilsnake. Beast spirit undulations covering. Preparation to activate Feather of Chaos at anytime.]
Along with the A.I. Chip's voice, Leylin took a deep breath and passed through the formless boundary.
"Hss hss!" The eyes of the sculpture immediately produced green, tender rays, and caused Leylin to sigh in relief.
Immediately after, he was dazzled by lights.
Once Leylin got used to it, he began to size up the holy city of all descendants of the Snake Dowager.
On the ground, walls and even in the sky, a thin layer of light lined the area, causing everything to seem glorious.
The giant sculpture at the heart was filled with milky-white rays like a shining human being, giving off the feeling of holiness.
[Beep! Detected large amounts of radiation undulations. Curse Mark is being strengthened.]
The A.I. Chip intoned, while Belinda and Sophia beside him had a flush on their faces, looking intoxicated. Even their undulations were reinforced, and they obviously had obtained some benefits.
Settling and Loft
'Rumours say the Snake Dowager favours the holy city, granting huge benefits to all her descendants…' Leylin thought, watching the siblings who were drunk on the feeling. 'Truth be told, the holy city is just affected by the presence of her main body. The radiation from it refines their bloodlines.'
Of course, there was a limit to this process. However, the guarantee that their bloodlines wouldn't deteriorate was enough for all of them to scramble here without delay.
'Pity. This sort of high energy radiation is basically poison to me now.' Sensing the curse mark continuously absorbing radiation and gaining strength, Leylin could only smile wryly. The Allsnake Curse had been sealed, but the closer he was to the Snake Dowager the more obvious the flare ups would become.
Hiding any signs of abnormality and taking the initiative to get closer to the Snake Dowager day by day, he was dancing on the edge of a knife.
'But at least it's confirmed that the Snake Dowager's main body is close to the holy city.' Leylin's eyes lit up. Just for that, he had to stay here in spite of the threat to his life.
"The Matriarch's sculpture is the core of the city, with the circles extending outwards from it. In the business district are H0LP and Imagia's Cabin, which are pretty good. Once you've settled down, I can accompany you on a stroll." Aegnis was evidently extremely excited as she brought them to a region with majestic mansions around.
"This region belongs to us Stewarts. I've arranged for Belinda to stay in a villa near me. We can—"
*Trring! Trring! Trring!* Before Aegnis could finish speaking, she was interrupted by a series of rings from her vambrace. She opened a notification on her arm, her voice showing her discontentment. "What is it? Didn't I specifically mention that you are not to bother me no matter what happens tonight?"
"My sincerest apologies, Lord Aegnis, but this incident is so strange that it requires your personal attention."
"What is it?" Aegnis grew serious. For a subordinate who knew her personality to still trouble her, it would be something difficult to deal with.
"It has to do with a mutant contamination. It's at least grade 4 in danger."
"Fuck!" Aegnis cursed, evidently surprised. Immediately after, she closed off the communications and apologised to Belinda, "I'm so sorry Belinda, Sophia! There's something I need to handle, but I've already booked a room at the Spiral Serpent Restaurant. Please do go!"
"Alright Aegnis, hurry on with your work!" Belinda nodded in understanding, pressing her cheeks onto Aegnis' causing the woman to smile cheerfully.
"Thomas, I'll leave the rest to you. If Belinda and little Sophia are the slightest bit unhappy, you know what will happen!" Aegnis left hastily after assigning this task. Leylin's lips quirked up in a mysterious smile as he watched her leave.
"Alright then! My ladies, and this Mister Nick, please come with me!" Thomas said with a clap. He evidently wanted to act like a gentleman in front of the sisters.
Belinda and Sophia held no distaste for him and cheerfully chatted and joked around with hm until they reached a gorgeous villa. The entire villa lit up there with a snap of his fingers, warm light flooding every corner with a beep sounding.
Motes of multicolour light flew out into the little garden like fireflies, like little stars as they appeared before Sophia's hands.
"The lights are voice controlled, and dust removal spells activate at specific timings everyday. There's another spell formation here that can set the temperature. And every piece of furniture here was prepared specially by my elder sister. Since she didn't know your preferences, she's prepared for it and allowed you to choose things like your servants…" Thomas smiled warmly.
In the meanwhile, Belinda and Sophia were very satisfied with this villa.
"Most importantly, sister's place is nearby. It's easy to contact her." Thomas smiled as he handed the keys over to Belinda.
"Thank you both, for everything you've done for us. What about Nick's place?" Belinda glanced at Leylin.
"Mister Nick? I'm sorry, but this is area is restricted to female guests," Thomas waved his arms helplessly. He made an alternative suggestion, "How about you two ladies get some rest while I bring Mister Nick to his room?"
Though Belinda and Sophia were slightly discontent with this, Leylin appeared to very enthusiastically agree, and let the two sisters stay behind.
...
Thomas waited until he and Leylin left the villa to show his true colours.
"Listen to me, kid. I don't care who you are or what happened with those siblings on the way here. Just remember this. This is the holy city, and they aren't people you should expect anything from. Understand?" he asked, levelling a threatening gaze at Leylin. He already had a plan; if Leylin tried to resist or look for the sisters, he would get the guards and throw this guy into the moat.
In any case, the Stewart family was strong and had powerful defences. It was simple to get rid of a lone traveler with nobody to rely on.
As for those sisters? After wailing over Leylin for a while, they could only end up accepting it.
'Such is life!' Thomas laughed wickedly. He loved that phrase.
However, contrary to Thomas' expectations, 'Nick' actually seemed to be terrified and even hada flattering grin on his face, saying, "Alright, Mister Thomas. I have no expectations towards those sisters, and I'll break off all relations with them from hereon. This humble servant here only wishes to have a stable life in the holy city, and I am already extremely satisfied. Why would I expect other things?"
Leylin looked completely sincere as he continued, "Only Lord Thomas is worthy of Miss Sophia!"
"Mm, you're absolutely right!" This huge change in attitude dazed Thomas momentarily. He quickly recalled Leylin's indifference to his provocation, and passed it off as a show of cowardice and weakness in retrospect.
'Such a weak personality. He's probably someone the sisters made friends with on the way here,' Thomas wondered to himself, and suddenly found Leylin less of an eyesore.
A dark thought reared its head in the depths of his heart, 'In the future, if I bring the sisters over here, Nick's amazed expression will be very amusing…'
Leylin's position had lowered in his mind, from a love rival to a mere tool to be used. His malicious intent abated.
'If those sisters won't agree, wouldn't it be fun to have Nick knock them unconscious and then send them to my bed?' Thomas stroked his chin, daydreaming of this beautiful scene in the future. His lips arched.
"Well then. Lord Thomas, may I know where my lodging is? The prices in the holy city, they're really… Without anyone vouching for me, I can't rent a good place," Leylin seemed to hesitate before making his request.
However, Thomas, who now found Leylin less of an eye-sore, did not hesitate to agree. How could he make life difficult for Leylin if he did not have anything over him? In addition, placing the man right under his nose was better than having him going out by himself, where he could even try to hit on the sisters.
"Come with me!" Having thought this through, Thomas brought Leylin to another region. Compared to the luxurious villas before, this packed place seemed to be cheap. It was the difference between heaven and earth.
Thomas brought Leylin to another district, "This is the place! This estate belongs to our family, just that I don't know which idiot bought the rights to it then…"
Before him was an attic room. There were swirls on the wood of the walls and floor, and the place seemed dark and wet. It looked to be on the verge of collapse. It was also extremely small. There was a huge disparity between this and Belinda's luxurious villa.
Of course, this wasn't half bad considering the neighbouring residences.
"What do you think? This one isn't too bad compared to the surroundings. At the least, you wouldn't be able to pay a year of rent here even if you used up all your money…" Thomas laughed meanly without a care, "But I'm kind. You can live here as long as you want, no need to pay rent. I'll tell the guards."
"Thank you so much, my Lord!" Leylin bowed down nearly ninety degrees with a humble smile as he took the runic keys from Thomas. After multiple agreements not to look for the sisters, he finally managed to send a content Thomas away before activating them and sizing up his residence.
The wooden door let out sad creaks, as if unable to handle the stress. Leylin began to suspect that if this wasn't supported by the strength of spells, the whole building would immediately turn into a pile of rubble.
Rationality and Reality
'However, it's still not bad!' After scanning the room, Leylin nodded lightly.
The place was a little small, lacked furniture, and was covered in a thick layer of dust, it would still fetch a sky-high rent in the holy city, where an inch of land was worth as much in gold. Since he could live here for free, why would he be dissatisfied?
What made Leylin feel even more satisfied was that this place was the Stewart family's property, and Thomas had even specially registered it for him. With Thomas vouching for him, even if the entire city was thoroughly searched in the future, this place would be as steady as a rock.
Leylin had his own reasons for his actions today. They were only performed after careful deliberation. The holy city would be entering troubled times, and without a strong patron a simple search would be very troublesome. Why else would he live here? He had no lack of valuable materials to sell.
For one, he didn't want to offend Thomas. Another reason was that he was borrowing the Stewart family's tiger skin [1 Putting on a false facade to intimidate others] to shield himself. Of course, once his plan was exposed it would implicate the Stewart family, especially Thomas. That would be an incredibly sad matter for them, but it was all within Leylin's considerations.
In reality, the idea had flashed after he saw Aegnis and her brother's infatuation with the sisters. Once they got him into the holy city, Belinda and her sister had almost exhausted their potentials, and they would just spell trouble in the future. In this dog eat dog world, beauty without strength was the most troublesome.
His options were clear. On one hand he could maintain his relationship with Belinda and her sister, but in the process offend Aegnis and her brother. By extension, he would offend the Stewart family who backed them. On the other, he could renounce his relations with Belinda and gain the family's understanding and protection. From Leylin's perspective, the answer was obvious.
Some people chose to head down a path of ruin, refusing to live quietly and even blatantly standing out despite being weak. Only an author sticking out their Golden Thumb1 would be able to save such cases.
Although Leylin couldn't be considered weak, in the Purgatory World, and especially this holy city, he was as frail as someone who would die to light being shone on them!
Indeed, he could reveal his strength and ruthlessly strike Thomas down. That would be followed Aegnis, then the Stewart family's position in the top ranks. He could move the entire holy city! All for a single moment, it would be an incomparably glorious scene.
That is, until his origins aroused suspicion. Then, with one glance the Snake Dowager would know immediately that he was the one she was looking for, and he would've delivered himself to her on a plate. Then Leylin truly would have lost everything.
And looking back at the root of the problem, it would be for what? Two women? Were they really worth all that?
Leylin had no feelings for Sophie and Belinda, they were simply companions he had met on the road. Belinda had a vaguely good impression of him, and would at most casually joke around from time to time. For Leylin to have to fight for her and ultimately lose everything- wouldn't that be outrageous?
With the Allsnake Curse on his body, and at a time where he was slowly inching towards death, worrying about trivial matters like affection was just foolish.
'What I need now is to spare no effort in hiding myself, and conflict with the Stewarts, a tyrannical snake family, is clearly very unwise… And especially over two women…' Leylin shook his head. Compared to directly clashing with Thomas and finally triggering that situation of completely exposing himself, Leylin simply chose to implement a plan which would minimise his influence and give him the greatest benefits.
'However, Thomas couldn't tell that his greatest enemy in getting Belinda and Sophie isn't me, but his sister Aegnis!' Leylin stroked his chin thoughtfully, with a trace of an sneer on his face.
With Aegnis at the sisters' side glaring covetously like a tiger watching its prey, Thomas' plan could be declared a successful failure before it even began. And of course, once he broke through his bloodline shackles Leylin could naturally make Thomas pay the price for today's insults.
With this thought, he'd handed Sophie and Belinda over to Aegnis for a while, letting her safeguard them while he received a rare guarantee of safe entry into the city. It wasn't a difficult thing for him to accept, and in fact he had more important matters to attend to than this.
Without greeting the envious neighbours around him, Leylin immediately shut the door. This two storey apartment building with a little courtyard outside it met his expectations.
After seeing a small flowerbed in the enclosure, Leylin's face blossomed into a smile.
'Not bad. It really is decent! All that's left wanting is for nobody to come and bother me. Unfortunately, that is impossible…' Leylin sighed, looking at the palm of his hand.
Blue-green veins were revealed under the light, and he could still faintly feel his life force ebbing. His body even looked a little weak.
'This situation…' Leylin laughed bitterly, 'A.I. Chip!'
[Beep! Calculating data on host's life force... Analysis completed! The Allsnake Curse's corrosive ability has been amplified in the holy city. New estimated time: Three years and two months!]
"Even if I seal off my bloodline and soul, this life drain is still unavoidable… It really is too difficult to break through the shackles of a rank 8 existence…" There was a trace of a sigh in Leylin's expression. No matter how carefully he prepared, how far-reaching his plans were, the effect of a single seal from the Snake Dowager could instantly put him back in square one.
This was the result of an absolute gap in strength. Leylin himself always liked to bully the weak, and what he hated most was a situation where he was forced to challenge those who were much stronger than him.
Those thrillseekers who liked giving themselves heart attacks instead of safely profiting from a situation were all lunatics!
'Fortunately, I have my experience. Along with my Full Moon truesoul and all the preparations I've made, I still have a chance… Ha!' Leylin coughed, and entered the apartment building.
After spending half a day, Leylin had inspected almost every corner of this shabby apartment building, and had even secretly replaced all the defences with his own.
Leylin couldn't trust this kind of property that belonged to a family, there could be monitoring and probing equipment inside. With the A.I. Chip's atomic-level scanning and Leylin's own sight as a Grandmaster of spell formations, the few devices that had been set up couldn't escape him.
Naturally, Leylin did not choose to dismantle them immediately, which would cause him to completely fall out with the Stewart family. Instead, he prepared a layer of seals apart from the monitoring devices, to make the family feel that this place was still in their grasp. In reality, not a single trace of Leylin's actions would be leaked out to them. Once night fell, the fence surrounding the courtyard was covered with a layer of grey runes which slowly vanished from sight.
"Although it's just a temporary construction, it should be enough to deal with my neighbours!" Leylin muttered to himself, arriving at a completely sealed room with no windows.
The rotten floorboards emitted an unpleasant odour, and there was even a lot of dust on the floor. As it did not have any windows, the entire room looked extremely gloomy.
He immediately prepared a sacrificial spell formation, with a rune depicting a giant bird in the middle. Traces of grey power flowed above it continuously, making the rune of the giant bird seem as if it had spread its wings to fly.
"Almighty Ruler of Chaos! The Wings of the Storm! Free will from another dimension! Your majesty, the Nefarious Filthbird! Your Sacrificer requests that you give me your attention!"
A wave of intent burst forth from Leylin's body, containing the power of a Full Moon truesoul. It instantly linked up with someone through the spell formation.
"Kemoyin Emperor! You have actually already entered the holy city! Good! Very good! Excellent!" Excitement could be felt from the Nefarious Filthbird, although it didn't have a body to descend to. After all, they were in the Snake Dowager's back garden, and they were under strict surveillance.
In reality, were Leylin discovered to be making a Sacrifice to the Nefarious Filthbird, leave alone himself even Thomas would be hunted down and killed immediately.
This was the Hail Continent's holy city! Only one dignitary could ever rule it, and that was the Snake Dowager. Even an ally like the Trial's Eye couldn't spread its influence here, let alone the Nefarious Filthbird.
Consequently, seeing that Leylin had unexpectedly infiltrated the enemy's frontlines without a hitch, the Nefarious Filthbird's excited mood was understandable.
"Almighty dignitary, I appeal for you to bestow your chaos power, and conceal all the affairs in this apartment building so that I can escape from the gaze of the Snake Dowager!" Leylin sincerely prayed, but he did not offer any sacrifices.
"Of course! It will be your reward for bringing the power of chaos into the Holy City! If you are willing to sincerely offer sacrifices to me, in the future you will definitely become my helping hand, a rank 6 Sacrificer!"
A gentle chirp could be heard, and shortly after a grey circle began to rise up from the floors and walls, rapidly covering the entire apartment building. Everything was done in the dark and in secret, without emitting any strange undulations or radiance.
Watching the spell formation's radiance dim, a strange expression flickered within Leylin's eyes. Although he had not offered any sacrifices this time, the Nefarious Filthbird still magnanimously assisted him in concealing himself, and had even bestowed a great amount of power. This was obviously not just out of kindness.
The Nefarious Filthbird seemed to not have given up on the plan of using his chaos power to thoroughly contaminate him, and for him to finally become its underling. However, they were both currently reluctantly united due to their common enemy, the Snake Dowager. If a difference in opinion occurred in the future, they would very possibly become enemies instead.
"It looks like my success in infiltration excited the Nefarious Filthbird!" Leylin laughed coldly, "Unfortunately the bird has nothing to do with my future plans, and I will never find it again! The Nefarious Filthbird's plans are destined to be all for naught!"
1. Deus Ex Machina
The Calamity of Gluttony
The Nefarious Filthbird and the Trial's Eye were eternal enemies. Since the Snake Dowager had allied herself with the Trial's Eye, it was normal for her to be a target of the Nefarious Filthbird's resistance and hostility. Hence, Leylin decided to rely on the Nefarious Filthbird's support, using its chaos power to conceal himself.
Now, the Nefarious Filthbird saw Leylin take yet another step towards success, so its increased investment in him was understandable. It was too bad that Leylin had never placed his hopes on the Nefarious Filthbird.
From the beginning, Leylin never trusted the Nefarious Filthbird. After all, it was a treacherous and powerful dignitary from another world. When he came to the Purgatory World, he had always hidden his most important abilities and his trump cards, and had never revealed a single part of any of them.
'A.I. Chip! Initiate mission!' Leylin began to communicate with the A.I. Chip in secret.
[Beep! Mission established, opening the second spell formation.] Dark runes mixed with chaos power appeared on the walls and fence after the A.I. Chip's voice sounded, before they disappeared completely.
These were Leylin's own preparations. Apart from their concealment effects, they had all been arranged for this moment.
[Beep! Hybrid spell formation has been completed. Operating at 100% capacity, No signs of rejection.] The A.I. Chip loyally transmitted the information.
'Excellent,' Leylin nodded his head. With this spell formation, all the spying elements that the Nefarious Filthbird could have left behind would be exposed.
Only now could it be said that this apartment truly belonged to Leylin.
'Time, time! I hope I still have enough time.' Leylin sighed and walked to the flowerbed, with his hands clasped behind his back. What vegetation had originally been planted here had been completely uprooted by its host, leaving only a few agave plants with their pale yellow stamens behind.
A dense circle of yellowing grass wound around the plants, which themselves appeared to be full of vitality.
'All things in this world are like illusory flowers, and cannot endure the passing of time. This is why I must pursue eternity!' Leylin seemed to have an intoxicated expression in his eyes, as if he was absorbed in the plant's beauty. Soon, however, the plants were wrapped up in a radiant light.
Shortly after, Leylin took out a small garden hoe and began to fix the small flowerbed. He got rid of all the weeds and agave plants, and erected a wooden fence around it.
The flowerbed was semi-circular and very small, its area even less than one square meter. However, it was a lot better than the places around him, with more than a dozen people clustered together like an unbearably chaotic hotel. Although it wasn't the best, there were others who were less fortunate, so he would be satisfied.
The black soil seemed to hold a lot of water, and was clearly rich in top-grade nutrition. Obviously, all the radiation in the holy city would probably change the most ordinary of soil as well.
However, Leylin could not help but take out a few pieces of grey crystal. Within his strong grip, the crystals were immediately reduced to ashes and scattered evenly within the flowerbed. Lastly, Leylin covered them up with a fresh layer of soil.
After the preparation work was complete, Leylin grew even more cautious. A silver beam flashed, and space fluctuated as a translucent grey crystal appeared in Leylin's palm. One could see green at its core if they looked through the magnificent exterior.
'The Seed of Wisdom… It's finally time to use senior's gift.' Leylin's eyes had a tinge of reminiscence.He had encountered the Wisdom Tree in the Scarlet Ruins when he was but a rank 4 Warlock. This was the origin of wisdom! Thanks to it, Leylin had learnt to break through the bloodline shackles.
In the end, he had even obtained a gift from the Wisdom Tree, the green Seed of Wisdom.
'Rumour has it that the Wisdom Tree is the apex of wisdom in the entire astral plane, including all dimensions, planes, and worlds. It is an ancient and powerful existence that has enlightened many living creatures including Magi. Its offspring also possess many unfathomable powers.'
"Sprout, root of all wisdom!" Following Leylin's voice, the A.I. Chip emotionlessly notified him, [Beep! Releasing the seal on the Eternal Crystal.]
The translucent crystal shattered into a fine white powder which gradually disappeared with the wind. A ring of green light formed, growing in intensity within Leylin's hands.
A bit of the green light caused even the agave plants that had already been uprooted to flutter happily. These plants were already being transformed into intelligent beings, even though they had only been touched by a small amount of it.
"Disappear!" Leylin said lightly, and all of the agave plants on the floor turned into ash.
'If I hadn't prepared the spell formation in advance, it would have been a mess.' Leylin looked at the seed in his hand. The brown coating had complicated patterns on it, and the top end exposed a core that was as green as an emerald.
'If this Seed of Wisdom were to grow for a very long time, would it ultimately mature into another Wisdom Tree?' Leylin lost himself in his daydream for a while, but shortly after he buried the seed in the flowerbed and covered it with solid earth.
Afterwards, Leylin acted the part of an industrious farmer as he attentively took care of the entire flowerbed, paying no attention to the clumps of dirt on his elegant robes.
'My seed of hope has been planted. From now on, I have to continuously water it, apply fertiliser, and wait until the day it puts down roots and grows to its full size.' Leylin took up his spray bottle, with a hopeful expression in his eyes…
A lot had happened that evening, and in contrast a resident of the holy city planting a seed in his flowerbed was something extremely insignificant. While Leylin was engrossed in his flowerbed, a pair of Imperial Bodyguards solemnly stared at the scene before them, outside the Holy City.
"What did you see?" Aegnis touched the scratch on the floor and sensed the intent left behind by the creature, especially its intense hunger for food. This left her fearful.
"Very clean. Extremely clean." Behind Aegnis, a black haired youth took off his helmet and placed a clump of soil squarely in front of his nose.
"What do you mean? Tell me the important stuff!" Aegnis glared at him.
"I meant that the marks left in the scene show that there were clearly two giant creatures here. I reckon the probability of it being a giant snake is over 70%. Thus, it is clear that the winner got everything from the loser." The youth took out a device similar to a magnifying glass and attentively looked at the small purple crystals within the soil. The expression on his face was both sincere and focused.
"What I meant by 'clean', was the winner's behaviour. It ate so cleanly that not even a single drop of blood fell to the ground. This level of food craving surpasses normal biological limits."
"Biological limits?" Aegnis wrinkled her brow in confusion.
"Right! Creatures of nature, including serpents who devour each other, will always leave some traces of their meal, either blood, scales or any other remains. However, there's none of that here. There's nothing left. It seems that the winning serpent is under the control of a powerful evil existence instead of its own instincts."
"Was it contaminated by a different kind of energy? Which dignitary dares reach out to the Serpent Plains? Don't they know that this is our Matriarch's forbidden land?" Aegnis' anger was immense. It was clear that she resented being dragged here to carry out this mission.
The dark haired youth tactfully avoided trouble, stating with a businesslike expression, "Taking into account these traces, I believe that this case is connected to the violent occurrences in Central."
"Are you saying that the contamination has already spread all the way here? So quick!" Aegnis' pupils contracted. After all, even rank 4s or 5s like Leylin and Belinda, needed almost a month to cross the vast Serpent Plains.
"In that case, it's only a matter of time before the contamination spreads to the holy city!" Aegnis had a heavy expression on her face.
"That's correct. The contamination has already extended here. Although I would like to say it is only an isolated accident, we absolutely cannot take it lightly." The dark haired youth put down the device in his hand with a trace of fear in his eyes.
"This type of contamination spreads quickly, and can also affect intelligent rank 4 and 5 snake tribes. It is a serious threat to those giant serpents in the wild. I propose we immediately report this to the Snake Dowager."
"Are you joking? Just because of this small matter? Some gluttonous snakes? You want to alarm our almighty dignitary?" Aegnis looked incredulously at him.
Although she felt that the situation was rather serious as well, she had never thought that it was to the extent where she had to report to the Snake Dowager. The Stewarts, as the Holy City's garrison family, could not allow such a humiliating thing to happen.
"Continue the search! Find a damned person! I want to cut open their stomach and finally see what's inside!" Aegnis ordered. She had a faint premonition that this event could delay her for a very long time.
'It's a shame. Belinda… Little sister Sophia…' In her heart, Aegnis was wailing with anguish, but she maintained an appearance of an icy commanding officer. The small squad went deeper and deeper into the plains. Soon, a cry specific to serpents was transmitted into Aegnis' ear.
"Excellent! Let's chase it!" Aegnis excitedly chased after it. What happened afterwards, however, became a nightmare that haunted her for life.
That night went down in the records of the holy city, remembered as the beginning of the Calamity of Gluttony.
Allsnake and Tyrant
'There seems to be some disturbance in the holy city today.' Leylin looked at the sky. The sound of a piercing alarm could be heard, but he ignored it as he continued to water his garden.
'According to my plan, those serpents contaminated by gluttony should have reached this place. It seems like the guards have discovered something,' Leylin was unhurried, busying himself with his own matters.
In reality, with all the time that had passed gluttony had already permeated the Serpent Plains. This epidemic wouldn't disappear unless the plains were completely destroyed. That was how certain Leylin was of his own work.
With a push on his end, the original power of gluttony on the plains had become unstoppable. The large amount of giant high-energy snakes, combined with this terrifying power that made use of food intake to break through, created a horrifying effect that exceeded even Leylin's expectations.
'With this speed, perhaps even those rank 5 or 6 creatures won't be able to avoid being contaminated by the power of gluttony,' Leylin's lips quirked up in a smile.
Even a rank 6 snake nest on the plains had no choice but to run away or be consumed by their gluttonous desires, and ultimately consume others or become fodder. There was no other way out.
As for the Snake Dowager? She might an incredibly powerful rank 8 being, and the dignitary who ruled over the Hail Continent, but the Sovereign King of Gluttony, Beelzebub, was no pushover either. As a being who was equally at rank 8 and someone who had grasped the laws of gluttony, he ended up discovering the Purgatory World and making use of his power to take over the whole plains.
Now, it was too late even if Beelzebub decided he wanted to halt the war with the Snake Dowager. After all, as an invader, how could he give up such a huge, splendid area in the Hail Continent?
Consequently, unless the Snake Dowager were to abandon the entire holy city and hand over the Serpent Plains, the two of them would not be able to come to an agreement.
If she chose to give in and gave up the plains, it would be an invitation to share rule over the Hail Continent. This was equivalent to slowly committing suicide, which was obviously unacceptable. It was foreseeable that the conflict between them could only increase in intensity.
The earth trembled, sending pebbled jumping around on the ground. A ball of coiled snakes that was like a star rose above the skies of the holy city.
"It's the Matriarch! The mighty Holy Mother!" In that moment, the residents of the holy city all began to pray. Leylin appeared to be doing the same, but on the inside he was raising all of his defences.
*Rumble* Like an earthquake or an erupting volcano, a conscient that was extremely terrifying began to spread in all directions, with the sculpture at the very centre of it all. Leylin could sense the Snake Dowager's immense fury from the terrifying wave. The other free residents could only lie on the ground, trembling.
'The laws the Snake Dowager has grasped… Are they of bloodlines, serpents, or reproduction?'
Leylin seemed to react the same way as his surrounding neighbours, even looking more devout than some of them. However, he was inwardly attempting to trace the source of the Snake Dowager's laws through her conscient's undulations.
'It seems to be the mix of a few. There's also a trace of darkness.' His astounding knowledge, coupled with the A.I. Chip's tremendous database, allowed Leylin to somewhat identify these laws.
'The Snake Dowager is terrifying. Not only does she grasp multiple laws, but she has already begun to refine her comprehension of her laws and fuse it with the law of shadows to form an entirely new law…'
The realm of rank 8 was naturally superior to rank 7, where only one law had been grasped. From this wave, Leylin had pried into the path that she had probably taken.
'Rank 7 Magi have to grasp the powers of a single law, but in order to grasp multiple laws, rank 8 beings have to attempt refining them?' Leylin stroked his chin, 'Then what about rank 9 Magi? The legendary most powerful realm of all? Does it mean containing all laws in one body and trying to create something more powerful?'
A murky understanding seemed to dawn on Leylin's mind. The Snake Dowager's path might be wrong, but her actions still gave Leylin, who was going in blind, a great enlightenment.
'Let's leave that aside for now. The Snake Dowager must have discovered the contamination from the power of gluttony, but I still don't know how Beelzebub will react.' Leylin watched the battle from the shadows.
"I am the Snake Dowager, source of all snake bloodlines." The ball of snakes uncoiled, revealing the charming face of the mother of all snakes. Every strand of hair represented an astounding amount of power that caused the air to distort.
While she was transmitting her will, Leylin abruptly felt the Snake Dowager launch a probing force even more powerful than before.
'Seems like she still has yet to give up on finding me. Or, has she guessed that I'm the one behind all this? But even if she has noticed it, what can she do?' Leylin snickered.
He was now using an obvious scheme. Using the Purgatory World and the Allsnake Plains as bait, Leylin had attracted Beelzebub over. And, as long as he had the desire to take over this world, Beelzebub would never reach an agreement with the Snake Dowager.
Beelzebub had previously suffered great losses under Leylin's hand, and nothing would change this fact even if they had a common enemy in the Snake Dowager.
In their eyes, Leylin was merely a tiny bug that could easily be pinched to death. Why would they pause their conflict to work together and attack him?
This was reality. As long as there was a victor, either side would have no problem dealing with Leylin later. This situation gave Leylin the amount of time he needed.
"Purify!" The eyes of the Snake Dowager held benevolence and compassion as she spread her arms. Holy golden rays of light rained down in every direction, with the holy city at the heart of it all.
Bits of a dark red liquid were repelled from the roots, water sources and even pores of some giant snakes, and then neutralised by the golden rays, turning into pure water droplets.
'The Snake Dowager of the Shadow World has such knowledge on light-type purification spells? As expected of an ancient being who has lived through the ancient war. She has no weaknesses…' Leylin's pupils shrank as the the A.I. Chip recorded the information, trying to simulate the limits of her power.
While the A.I. Chip couldn't really tell how much power an existence like the Snake Dowager had, just having a vague idea was still helpful for Leylin.
Under the golden holy light, the region around the holy city was completely purified. The area continued to expand all the way to the depths of the Serpentes Plains.
Watching what should be a worrisome scene, Leylin's eyes glinted with delight, 'It's a pity. If I was the only one behind this, just a few purification processes by the Snake Dowager would save the Serpentes Plains. However, there is someone else who lords over the power of gluttony.'
At this very moment, a strange happening occurred with a loud crash!
Large amounts of the dark red contaminated liquid that should have disappeared began to boil. The red motes of light converged and formed a huge ball of red light that soared into the air like a bloody moon.
"Hail to master Beelzebub! You are the Sovereign King of Gluttony, the child of original power, the master of everything in this world." A resonant praise that held traces of insanity began to echo in the holy city, striking the Snake Dowager's holy light display.
"This feeling… you're…" The Snake Dowager's enraged voice was heard from within the holy light, before it was drowned out by large amounts of crimson lightning.
The crimson lightning looked like long lines that danced in the air, tearing out cracks and revealing huge terrifying spatial rifts.
Two webbed hands with seven fingers each pressed on the side of a rift, causing it to roar as it expanded. There seemed to be a terrifying existence at the other end of the spatial crack trying to squeeze in.
"Ha, Beelzebub! You can't endure it anymore? That makes sense– a place where the World Will is this chaotic must be heaven for you."
Leylin laughed as if he had the upperhand. With the temptation of a huge world lacking a will, Beelzebub decided to take the risk. Even if this wasn't his real body, it was at least a clone with 50% of the strength of the real body. For Beelzebub, the losses incurred if he were to fail would cause his main body to be severely injured and enter a deep sleep, or he could possibly die. It made obvious his intentions.
"You dare trespass on my territory? Do you attach any importance at all to the treaty of alliance, which has been in place since time immemorial?" If Beelzebub was full of determination, then the Snake Dowager was full of fury. After all, anyone would be in a foul mood if they were relaxing at home and someone else just decided to barge in.
While the Snake Dowager fired her questions, the golden holy light seemed to transform. A layer of darkness appeared like a huge web, vast and layered, dispelling the crimson lightning out of the holy city.
After being challenged by someone of the same rank, the Snake Dowager finally showed her true strength.
Descent of Clone
Rumours said that the Snake Dowager could take over the Shadow World, it was clear how great her comprehension of the power of shadows was. As expected, the moment the power of shadows appeared, it replaced the purifying holy light from earlier. Even the crimson lightning and spatial storm's destructive power could not affect it, and it remained as steady as a rock.
"Allsnake Devour!" The dark power of shadows transformed to form numerous giant snakes, revealing their fangs to the huge monstrous palm opposing them.
"Hah! The doors to a new world shall be opened by me!" A multitude of terrifying grey snakes hissed at the owner of this voice. Alabaster Devilsnakes, Giant Kemoyin Serpents and practically all of the Dowager's descendants could be found amongst the shadow snakes.
Terrifying and tremendous force, backed by the corrosive power of shadows, immediately left lacerations on the monstrous hand.
However, Beelzebub paid no mind at all. His skin and muscle was completely shredded, with dark red blood falling like raindrops, but he still resolutely endured the pain. The two huge hands abruptly spread out, using their strength to completely tear apart the spatial crack.
A streak of black light suddenly darted out from the crack, fusing with the crimson moon in mid air.
The ball of light squirmed and then formed an enormous phantom figure. A pair of enormous wings made of membranous meat, riddled with holes, were attached to arms with seven-fingered hands. Black muscle tied everything together; the many compound eyes on the face formed a soul spiral; the flames of the Devil King blazed around him, showing off his might and power.
Beelzebub, the powerful Devil King, child of the power of gluttony, had descended into the Purgatory World! In that moment, it seemed as if the whole world was suffocating. Numerous terrifying conscients focused on this place from afar.
'A clone?' Leylin carefully observed Beelzebub. From traversing worlds and the attack from the Snake Dowager, he seemed to be in a rather miserable state, especially with those two devilish arms that were now heavily injured. He also had numerous terrifying injuries from his travel through space.
However, this did not deter the spread of his power or the feeling of evil. Even the air seemed to be polluted as it spread.
'The main body must be too powerful and he can't bring it over, so he chose to separate his soul from his body and move over with his soul…' Leylin's eyes darted around.
'Compared to moving physical materials over, the consumption of having just the soul travel over is much lower. Even so, he was gravely injured from moving between worlds… Of course, if this weren't the Purgatory World, he would probably just die…'
The resistance that Beelzebub experienced in travelling to the Purgatory World was minimal. If he dared to enter the Magus World, the suppression from the World Will and the spatial storms combined would kill even his soul.
The more powerful one was, the easier it was to get suppressed by the World Will. Beelzebub could place clones at Morning Star or Radiant Moon in the Magus World, but separating his truesoul like this was far too powerful, and he would easily be suppressed.
And if he were to find some small world, where the World Will could do nothing against his descent, it could just self-destruct and make things backfire on him.
Hence, as he could not go to high-ranked worlds nor smaller ones, the discovery of the Purgatory World was like that of a precious treasure!
He didn't hesitate to split his truesoul to reach this place.
'But in his 'half truesoul' form without even a corporeal body, he's definitely not a match for the Snake Dowager. They won't be able to fight today…' Even as the residents of the holy city were quivering in fear, Leylin's thoughts moved further, 'Of course, with his power as the Sovereign King of Gluttony, finding a body is very simple. As long as he has enough food, he can regain his strength. Also, with him around, it won't be so easy for the Snake Dowager to purify the Serpent Plains…'
Though Beelzebub could not do much against the Snake Dowager now, she might not be able to defeat him. This was the truesoul of a rank 8, which meant they were at the same level!
"The power of Gluttony shall rule this place henceforth!" As he soared in the skies, Beelzebub's numerous compound eyes surveyed the Snake Dowager without fear, though his body was gradually becoming more transparent.
Whether in terms of the grasp of laws and flawless wisdom for a rank 8 existence, Beelzebub immediately chose to leave after realising he would not be gaining benefits from the Snake Dowager today.
Similarly, she would not let go of a chance that was so difficult to come by.
"Shadow Cage!" A circle of shadows spread from her body, and instantly turned into a cage formed of numerous shadow snakes that enveloped the whole holy city. Terrifying shadow chains were like agile snakes, twining around Beelzebub's truesoul.
"It's no use! I am the personification of laws, and I cannot die in the presence of gluttony. I will not be destroyed…" Along with his voice, that was like an announcement, his body exploded.
A large amount of energy spread, but it did not harm the shadow cage around it. Once the explosion ended, there was nothing left in the chains.
"Damn it, he even found this world…" A few tremendous conscients that carried the will of the dignitaries conversed above the holy city. Immediately after, the Snake Dowager's face turned extremely grim. Along with loud explosions, the shadow cage disappeared. Finally, a purple moonlight shone down, making the last battles feel like a mere illusion.
However, the slight spatial storms in the surroundings as well as the wrecked regions around the holy city were hard proof of what had happened.
'In an area where his law exists, he will never die nor can he be destroyed?' WIthin the holy city, Leylin's eyes were on the ground as he pondered over Beelzebub's words. 'From his words and abilities, they might all be existences that deal with laws, but Beelzebub's path is evidently different… Furthermore…'
Leylin brightened up, 'The Snake Dowager seems to be rather fearful of him, or rather, his world…'
This provided some verification to Leylin's previous conjectures.
'But that's all in the future! Now, with Beelzebub around, the Snake Dowager won't place too much emphasis on a wretched mortal like me…' Leylin immediately felt relieved. Compared to an arch enemy like Beelzebub who was rank 8, he was like a mere ant, where none of the two could be bothered with him.
It was only at this time that he would be able to pull chestnuts out of the fire!
'Fight! Fight! Go on, fight!' Leylin snickered inside, while looking incredibly calm.
"Just fight, while I quietly tend to my garden and wait…" He spoke light-heartedly as he picked up the watering can and took care of the little flowerbed, as if putting all his efforts in here.
*Bang!* However, his peace did not last for long. Practically the moment after the Snake Dowager's figure dissipated, the sounds of the door being bashed on could be heard.
"What's going on?" Leylin opened the door and watched two snake beings who were like guards. They had emblems on their uniforms and were obviously looking for Leylin. They were clearly the guards of the holy city.
"By order of the Holy Mother, all snake beings in the holy city are to be searched!"
The head of the guards had Morning Star strength. This would be impossible in other worlds. Only in the holy city where the bloodlines of the descendants were concentrated to the extreme would guards have such powerful military strength.
"Sure! But this is property of the Stewart family, and I am a guest of Young Master Thomas. I hope you won't make things messy in my home!" Leylin smiled and leant towards the side.
From this position, he could see teams of guards in light armour already on the streets, perhaps conducting searches on the whole region.
"Sir, we have found nothing!" As if due to Leylin's warnings, the guards had roughly looked here and there through the area vaguely and returned to report.
Due to Leylin's arrangement and the concealment of the power of chaos, none of them had discovered everything, and the little flowerbed was nothing special.
"How about your residence permit? Can I take a look at it?" The team leader sized Leylin up and spoke in a low voice.
"What are you doing? Which squadron are you from?" At this moment, a voice full of haughtiness sounded. Leylin took a look and found it was Thomas, along with Belinda and Sophia. They had arrived at his door.
Thomas now wore a luxurious silk robe, looking obviously humiliated and angry. It was clear that this team leader had not respected his reputation at all, and he was feeling very annoyed about it.
"Which squad are you from? Do you know that this is property of our Stewart family, and Nick here is my guest?" Thomas narrowed his eyes, fingers about to poke at the team leader's nose.
"But… the order from the higher-ups…"
"There are no buts! I'll take responsibility for Nick," Thomas waved his arms around, "Order from higher-ups? Is our Stewart family not important enough to be given special treatment?"
The Stewart family had control over the defences of the holy city. If it came down to it, Thomas could very well rank above his own superiors, which was why the pair didn't even dare to squeak in answer.
"Everything's fine now. Thank you very much, Young Master Thomas! He was merely doing his job, so don't make things difficult for him!" Leylin mediated and then passed his residence permit to the team leader.
Dreamscape Waning
"Soul undulations, bloodline detection, identity testing— pass!" A mechanical voice transmitted from a small sculpture of the Snake Dowager held by the squad leader.
Sensing the detecting undulations sweeping past him, Leylin inwardly sneered. With his soul force and bloodline concealed, and especially with Aegnis inadvertently protecting him as his original information had been entered into the database, the identity test that was most likely to expose him had its leaks completely sealed. Even if they examined him again, it would be to no avail.
"Haven't you finished the inspection? Shouldn't you get lost then?" Thomas looked at the bunch of guards who hurried away in confusion, with a satisfied look in his eyes.
"Little Sophia! These guards all belong to the Stewart family. If you encounter them in the holy city, don't be frightened, just give them my name!" Shortly afterwards, Thomas made this solicitous offer.
Leylin secretly rolled his eyes. He knew that if it wasn't for Belinda and her sister, Thomas wouldn't have so hot-bloodedly rushed out to support him.
"Nick, are you alright?" Belinda and her sister went into the little courtyard, and when they saw how narrow the place was and how cramped the apartment was, they wrinkled their brows. "Would you like to come and live with us instead?"
"That's not necessary!" "That's not necessary!"
Leylin and Thomas spoke almost at the same time, and seeing the threatening expression in Thomas' eyes, Leylin inwardly sneered. He switched to a smile and said to Belinda, "This place is very nice! And besides, Young Master Thomas is letting me live here entirely for free, this is very rare in the holy city… To be honest, being able to become a free citizen of the holy city, even if it's only for 10 years, I can't ask for anything more than this..."
Leylin intentionally emphasised the last few words, and from Thomas' point of view, this was Leylin surrendering to him, so he nodded his head with satisfaction.
Belinda, on the other hand, looked at Leylin with astonishment. From her impression of him, Leylin definitely wouldn't behave like this.
"But… Brother Nick! How can you live here? Sophia's heart is distressed…" Sophia tugged at Leylin's sleeve.
"Alright, alright! The both of you, don't come back and give me trouble!" Leylin didn't care, pushing Belinda and Sophia out with an impatient expression. He then shut the door in their faces/
"Very good. You've done well." Once the door had been shut, he heard Thomas' secret message, but at the same time he heard other news.
Immediately after, Thomas' arrogant and proud voice could be heard just outside. "Don't bother with that Nick anymore. Look! He actually treated you both like this. Little Sophia, shall I bring you to play at the Holy Mother's Sculpture?"
As their voices grew more distant, Leylin shook his head with a laugh.
"Sometimes, when you don't want trouble, trouble comes to find you instead! Did I put on too good a performance when we were on the road?" He currently wished for the entire world to forget him, and let him quietly farm properly.
However, now it looked like—
...
Night had fallen, and the purple halo of the moon had slipped down. Inside the holy city there was none of the clamor of the day, and even the places filled with holy light had all dimmed down.
After a full day of searching the entire city, and with dozens of unlucky people without papers thrown into the moat, dissolving until their bones couldn't be found, the streets were completely deserted with a desolate atmosphere.
"Activate the bloodline imprint!"
In the small courtyard next to the flowerbed, Leylin looked at his right arm. On his wrist were ten small white snake imprints lying side by side.
These were naturally the bloodline imprints he had made using the Alabaster Devilsnake bloodline.
*Hss—* A rank 5 beast spirit tattoo appeared before his eyes, making Leylin's control over the bloodline imprint much easier.
"The beast spirit's power has an effect of resisting suppression, and can maximise the imprint's effect!" There was a trace of a smile on Leylin's face, and soon he saw the brand on his hand fading rapidly and disappearing.
[Beep! The host has consumed the Alabaster Devilsnake's bloodline imprint, initiating connection with Dreamscape!]
The innate skill of the Alabaster Devilsnake was the ability to travel to Dreamscape. Leylin himself had acquired this ability through the bloodline imprint.
However, in his heart, he had some doubts about it. After all, this was something he gained from the Thousand-Eyed Woman on his previous adventure in the Dreamscape. As a result, when his truesoul connected to the monstrous and dazzling world, Leylin did not choose to immediately enter it. Instead, he attempted to draw on some dreamforce.
*Ssss—* The air seemed to shimmer and warp like in a hazy heat, and traces of dark red dreamforce began to fall in without end, sinking into the earth of the flowerbed.
The green Seed of Wisdom seemed to welcome it, and absorbed the dreamforce. It even budded a little green shoot, and seemed to be filled with the breath of life.
The dark red dreamforce was like a fog, and lingered on around the small bud. It was continuously absorbed by the bud, and appeared to have become a nutrient source.
At this moment, it sounded as if a bowstring had snapped in the void. An oppressive voice sounded, and the dreamforce rapidly faded, disappearing in a flash.
"What's going on? I used the bloodline imprint to pull dreamforce in, and it's just this little… It's not equal to the previous times I've used it… Don't tell me…" Leylin's expression immediately turned gloomy.
[Beep! Dreamforce has rapidly decreased, determined to be at the nadir.]
"What bad luck! To think that it also had this uncertain and deceptive characteristic…" Leylin could only laugh bitterly.
Although dreamforce at its peak phase could be compared to the power of laws, it was full of uncertainty. Now it had declined, dropping from the zenith to the nadir. Currently, it was perhaps far weaker than bloodline force.
"I can feel it! The entire Dreamscape seems to have sunk into stillness, and all dreamforce has vanished!" Leylin had a solemn expression. He could feel a lot of things through the Alabaster Devilsnake beast spirit and bloodline.
Not only had dreamforce fallen into its weak phase, even the Dreamscape itself had sunk into silence, meaning that if he wanted to draw out dreamforce, he needed to waste even more power than before. And its effects would be greatly reduced as well!
'As expected, choosing not to rely on dreamforce was the correct decision; this random and uncertain behaviour is basically used to cheat people…' Leylin shook his head, and at the same time he suddenly understood, 'No wonder the Snake Dowager's performance today was so poor! She seemed evenly matched with the divided truesoul clone of a rank 8, it was because dreamforce had fallen into its trough phase and reduced her strength… '
The weakness of dreamforce was both a blessing and a curse for Leylin. The best advantage was that the Snake Dowager clearly could not use dreamforce without restraint, which was the same as cutting off an arm.
'If it's like this, the advantages of Dreamscape entering its silent phase outweigh the disadvantages for me!' Leylin stroked his chin, 'Besides, I have my reserves of chaos power and so many bloodline imprints. I can afford to use them up a little, I can still complete the plan.'
From Leylin's point of view, if one bloodline imprint from before could draw over 10 units of dreamforce, then now it was only enough to draw over 1 unit. For those who primarily used dreamforce, this terrifying reduction was a complete nightmare!
Once dreamforce grew weak, perhaps even existences on the level of the God of Evil could only withdraw into Dreamscape or even take the initiative to lie dormant and reduce their consumption until dreamforce was restored.
However, Leylin staked it all on his abundant bloodline imprints; even if he wasted a few, it wasn't as if he couldn't make up for it.
In any case, he had reaped many bloodlines from Belinda's family and it was enough to support his consumption, and it wasn't as if the Alabaster Devilsnake bloodline was limited to that family.
"When you think of trouble, trouble will arrive!" Leylin's brows pressed together, and he sighed helplessly. With a wave of his right hand, a whirlwind of energy particles appeared and swept across the flower garden.
Although he had already prepared for this, the energy aura from earlier could leak out some things, and Leylin naturally would not leave such a huge leak without caring.
After a moment, a dreamlike figure came out from the moonlight.
"Nick!" She looked at Leylin with a complicated expression on her face.
She had long golden-white hair which shone with vibrant lustre under the moonlight, scarlet eyes which were as beautiful as rubies. She seemed like the very personification of beauty, and she had a strange attractive force about her.
"You've come!" Leylin greeted her without even turning his head.
"I already left a message for you earlier, you know this!"
Belinda went directly to Leylin and looked at him with her beautiful eyes that were devoid of restraint, "I know that the outsiders from earlier could have given you trouble so I've come secretly, the other's don't know. Did Thomas, that disgusting fellow, pressure you?"
It had to be said that Belinda was a very intelligent girl, she was after all a senior Sacrificer for the Trial's Eye who even mercilessly exacted vengeance on her own family. How could she not be scheming? Leylin's transformation was far too obvious, anyone could see the difference.
"Even if he did, so what?" Leylin spread out his hands helplessly: "In the holy city, do we have any other choice?"
"I'll kill him!" Belinda let out a murderous aura, and it wasn't faked.
"And after that? After becoming a wanted criminal of the holy city, and really flee to the other end of the world? How childish!" Leylin coldly refuted her.
"So what?" Belinda bit her lip, and her eyes seemed to sparkle a little: "Even if I don't kill him, we can just move out and become mercenaries and do missions, we will still be able to live in the holy city…"
Tacit Understanding
At the end, Belinda's voice was choked with sobs.
Leylin looked at how Belinda was speaking in her tearful voice, and was rendered speechless. 'Alright I didn't think my acting would have such a great effect, did the mental suggestions affect her too deeply?'
However, what he needed now was to be low-profile, and he couldn't be together with Belinda and bring trouble onto himself. The beauty of the two sisters would be a source of chaos anywhere.
Knowing this, how could Leylin put himself in danger?
"Become mercenaries? Hah, how would we afford the holy city's rent and prices? Particularly with the Stewart family, you can't just break away from them just because you want to. Against this family who have extended their tentacles in all corners of the holy city, what can you possibly do?"
Leylin could only play the role of a realist, and coldly strike down Belinda.
"Nick, you've changed! You weren't like this before!" The callous words made Belinda a little dull, and she looked at Leylin with a rather foolish expression.
"I haven't changed, I've only accepted reality! Go!" Leylin seemed to wave his hand impatiently, and also violently began coughing at the same time.
"Uh, no!" Belinda stepped forward and directly brushed away Leylin's palm, and finally saw the blood that Leylin had coughed up.
"Your life force! How could it became this weak, and why do you have all these symptoms? What happened to your strength? Has it disappeared?"
Leylin's life force was continuously degenerating, and although his appearance was the same as before, his vitality was constantly sapped away. Compared to before, it was like the difference between a candle and a torch.
"It's an old wound from past adventures, it's nothing!" As for this, Leylin did not try to hide it, and it could no longer be concealed either.
This was the reason he had done his best to avoid conflict. With his strength in decline, unrepentantly provoking formidable powers could only be described as foolish.
"I knew it! You were afraid! Afraid of burdening me and Sophia!" On the contrary, Leylin's condition made Belinda seemingly join the dots.
"Are you afraid of becoming a burden to me? It doesn't matter, I can certainly cure you!" Belinda looked deeply into Leylin's eyes, her figure disappearing into the moonlight.
Leylin stood there somewhat speechlessly: "She actually thought of something? Although it's not quite the case at all…"
However, if Belinda wanted to think of it like this, it didn't seem like it would do him any harm. Leylin thought about it a little, but did not intend to expose himself.
"Now… perhaps after the Sovereign King of gluttony's appearance today, the structure of the holy city is likely to have changed dramatically…" After Belinda had left, Leylin took up his sprinkler again and attentively tended to the budding shoots in his flowerbed. His expression was peaceful and serene, and he seemed to have nothing to do with the outside world.
In fact, this truly was the case. On the second day, along with a heavily injured Aegnis returning home, an even more terrifying news came about— mad beasts contaminated by gluttony had appeared near the holy city!
Even if the Snake Dowager had already discovered this and carried out her purification, with Beelzebub's disruption her schemes clearly could not succeed.
However, her earlier purification still had some effects. At the very least, Aegnis still managed to retain her life, but she had suffered severe injuries, which filled many serpent guards with endless fear.
According to Aegnis' report, a group of giant serpents contaminated by gluttony had already broken through into the holy city. The neighbouring half snake people had suffered enormous losses.
The members of the squad that was with her had all unfortunately perished, and even their corpses had been swallowed up by those insatiable beasts, until there was nothing left.
After all, compared to ordinary food, snake flesh of a superior species was abundant in energy, especially those snake people who were of high rank. It was even easier for them to become the targets of the gluttonous beasts!
gluttonous beasts! This description had come from Aegnis, and was very quickly widely adopted to distinguish them from other giant serpent species.
No matter what creature it was, once it was contaminated by the power of gluttony, it would enter a horrifying state of hunger where it didn't mind what it ate. They were all called gluttonous beasts.
The holy city and the Stewart family attached great importance to this report, They prepared both the city defence soldiers and a great number of reserves. They declared that the holy city was imposing martial law, and even released a large number of tasks for mercenaries and adventurers to target the gluttonous beasts invading the holy city.
In a short while, the entire Serpent Plains seemed to ripple unpredictably with activity, and this chaotic scene seemed to spread ceaselessly in the Hail Continent.
What the ordinary citizens of the holy city didn't know was that this situation would continue for a very long time. Furthermore, in a short span of time, the gluttonous beasts would replace all the previous natural and manmade calamities to become the primary threat to their survival.
...
Time seemed to pass in a flash, and a year went by before he knew it.
"Brother Nick! Sophia is here to see you!" Looking like a younger Belinda, Sofia pushed open the door and walked in. She wore a hunting outfit and looked very exuberant and heroic, overflowing with the vitality of youth. Looking at her, Leylin felt a little envious.
"You've come, Sophia!" Leylin smiled and greeted her, inwardly shaking his head.
Although he had come to a tacit understanding with Belinda, Sophia clearly did not know much. Not only this, neither Leylin or Belinda could possibly tell her that much, because with her intelligence it was impossible for her to keep secrets.
As a result, although Belinda had cut back on coming to Leylin's place, Sophia still remembered her brother Nick, and came over from time to time.
"Brother Nick, haven't you recovered from your illness?" Sophia drew closer to Leylin, with obvious worry in her eyes. It was now possible to tell that Leylin was beyond saving. Although his appearance had not changed too much, wrinkles had appeared on his forehead and the back of his hands. His body's life force continuously disappeared, giving an account of just how weak he was.
"*Cough*… It's alright! *Cough*…" Leylin took out a white handkerchief and covered his lips. The back that stood so tall and straight in the past seemed to have become a little hunched.
"It's already become like this, how could you say it's alright? The Spring of Life that elder sister Belinda asked me to bring last time, are you using it?"
"I have!" Leylin smiled, and picked up his sprinkler.
A milky-white spring water with a rich fragrance was poured into the soil.
The budding shoots in the flowerbed before had now grown into a small tree, the glistening verdant leaves appeared even more full of vitality after being watered.
"Oh! This small tree has unexpectedly grown so tall?"
Sophia was a little surprised: "Only… Brother Nick, why are you giving your medicine to the small tree? Is it also ill?"
"No. To be honest, it needs this more than I do…" Leylin had a deep expression in his eyes, but did not continue his explanation. Instead, he picked up a small gardening hoe and slowly plowed the soil and removed weeds, just like an earnest gardener.
Sophia appeared very familiar with Leylin's behaviour, and immediately sat by his side and began to talk to herself:
"Recently, the Calamity of Gluttony has gotten even more serious! Sister Aegnis said many garrison squads have suffered heavy losses, and the frontline reached the Crescent Moon Lakeside for a while, which isn't far at all from the holy city. There are still lots of giant serpents that have been contaminated, and even rank 6 Serpent families cannot escape. Over half of the Serpent Plains are now occupied by gluttonous beasts…
"The entire Serpent Plains already does not have many places for us to live, and recently even a lot of the holy city residents are beginning to flee, which complicates things for sister Aegnis…
"And sister Belinda, she recently keeps on accepting missions, it's said that she's thinking of exchanging it for the highest grade Holy Light Crystal, and to get it she took on a very dangerous mission, and will leave tomorrow…"
"Oh!" Leylin's hand stopped slightly, but then continued to move. He could understand Belinda's current situation a little, she seemed to accept the holy city's missions without stopping, and exchanged her contributions for materials full of life force, then secretly sent them to him.
These things were almost of no use to him, otherwise with Leylin's methods, he wouldn't need to keep living in seclusion here.
"The Holy Light Crystal?" Leylin shook his head, this type of life crystal was full of life force, and had good effects on purifying and suppressing various curses, it was said to be the Hail Continent's peak grade material, and even though Belinda was rank 4, obtaining this was not an easy task.
An even more crucial point was that this material wouldn't be of much use given his current condition, but it could have an even better effect on the Seed of Wisdom.
*Bang! Bang!* At this moment, a rough sound sounded out. "We're inspectors!"
"Ah…" Leylin sighed in recognition and came to the door. "Please come in, sirs!"
Seeing a large group of guards boorishly rush in, Sophia stuck out her tongue: "There's a lot of people. Sophia doesn't like them. See you, brother Nick!"
The young lady prepared to say goodbye and left, and soon after the guards did the same, fully explaining that they were absolutely not here for inspection, but to serve as a reminder and a warning.
Leylin could only bitterly laugh.
Although in the space of this year, borrowing the Stewart family's and Thomas' name saved him a lot of trouble, Sophia was still an enormous problem. Leylin had already felt that as Sofia came to visit him more often, that Thomas had the tendency to become even more impatient.
"Ah… Just how is Belinda managing her sister?" Leylin helplessly massaged his temples.
He had a very bad feeling that if Sophia's vague affection for him was discovered, the good relationship that he had with Thomas would be gone forever. He'd already failed at shutting her down after several attempts.
He was afraid that his position would go back up in Thomas' mind, from the tool he was currently to something along the lines of a love rival or competitor.
Green Leaves
The small courtyard that had been peaceful and quiet for over a year had recently received more and more visits from guards, and that was because of that Thomas' secretly hostile behaviour.
'Perhaps he will come and have a showdown with me soon?' Leylin sighed, 'This sort of situation is so troublesome, especially at this crucial moment…'
Shortly after, Leylin shut his eyes. 'In this situation, even if I don't fight back and make some vows instead, Thomas won't ever believe me again. After all I've done that many times already, and having Sophia pretend is also not desirable. With her intelligence, she'd be found out.
'Unless, I directly take over her consciousness, but that would demand too much from me… Or I could send her over to Thomas' bed? No, Belinda would probably go crazy. It's fine if she does, but if she mobilises Aegnis, that'll be more troublesome than that moron Thomas…'
In just a moment, Leylin had completely thought over the outcomes from the situation, and discovered that it seemed as if he had no other option apart from running away.
But that would be impossible! After entering the holy city and planting this seed of Wisdom, Leylin had not taken one step out of the courtyard.
After all, the thing that held the power of life or death over him was here, how could he possibly divert his attention to something else? Besides, if he left his camp for too long, with all these hidden rats around, he wasn't sure he would be able to continue hiding in the holy city.
'I can't show weakness… It looks like I can only demonstrate my strength!" Leylin stroked his chin. Sometimes a reasonable show of force could still be put to good use.
However, he would definitely face Thomas' counter-attack afterwards, but from Leylin's perspective he only needed a little bit of time for his plan to succeed.
"This period of hesitation, I think it can still be obtained!" Leylin's eyes flashed.
"Keke…Sophia, wait a moment!" After thinking clearly about his plan, Leylin immediately called out for Sophia.
"Brother Nick, is there anything else?" Sophia jumped and hopped to Leylin, the fragrance of a young lady mixed with the vitality of youth lingering in Leylin's nose.
Shortly after, the warning gazes from the guards from earlier could be seen.
"Oh! I have something that I need you to give to your sister!" Leylin acted as if he hadn't seen the warning glares from the guards, and smiled at Sophia.
"What is it? Is it delicious food? The roasted meat that brother Nick made last time tasted good!" Sophia's eyes lit up.
"It isn't something to eat, you little glutton!" Leylin shook his head and smiled, he never thought that his cooking skills from his previous world would have fans in a different world, "It's a protection amulet! Take it to your sister for me! Perhaps it will be of assistance to her in her mission."
It needn't be said that a mission where the holy light crystal could be obtained would have a frighteningly high difficulty. Just relying on Belinda, even if she was Rank 4, even if she had support from Aegnis and the Stewart family, it would still be extremely dangerous.
However, in his current situation, it was not suitable for him to go out by himself, so he could only entrust it to Sophia and believe that no matter how naive she was, she would be able to hold on in the face of her own sister being in danger.
"Alright! Sophia will definitely bring her this thing to her!" Sophia clenched her first and nodded her head.
"I believe in you!" Leylin immediately went to the side of the flowerbed and plucked a single leaf from the small emerald-green tree.
"It's this, help me pass it to your sister!" The dark green leaf had a faint lustre, and Sophia's eyes lost a little of their spirit.
"I know!" Sophia put away the leaf like it was something precious, and even her eyes seemed a little more quick-witted.
It appeared that coming into contact with the leaf for such a short time had already changed her a little. This was beyond Leylin's expectations.
"Let's go! Unless you want to be scolded by Brother Thomas?" Sophia shot a glance at those guards who watched her like a tiger guarding their prey, and immediately walked out aloofly, just like a refined princess.
And these guards looked at each other and hung their heads down in dejection, following behind Sophia like bodyguards protecting their princess.
'The effect is this good? She merely touched it a little!' Leylin's pupils contracted as he looked at the little green tree in the flowerbed.
'The Wisdom Tree's branches are so inconceivably formidable. They can provide such great enlightenment and wisdom!'
'No! Sophia was so diligent in coming here, so perhaps she had been influenced by it. Knowing that this place could bring her great benefits, she did not hesitate to disobey Belinda's guidance as a result!' Slowly, Leylin suddenly understood the reason behind Sophia's determination to visit him, and it seems that her previous goodwill was only a small part of it. To break through her sister's command, perhaps only the craving for wisdom could do that.
'This is good, it gives me more confidence in my own plan!' Leylin secretly clenched his fist.
...
At the same time, next to a street not too far away from the courtyard stood Thomas, with a gloomy expression on his face.
"That slut!" Seeing Sophia leaving Leylin's courtyard with a brilliant smile, Thomas' expression grew very dark.
"And that Nick, he actually dared to ignore my warning, and continue to meet Sophia!"
*Bang!* Thomas' fingers directly left long marks on the nearby wall, and a lot of powder fell from it.
"Get ready to go down there! I want to properly teach that Nick a lesson! It looks like I have been far too lenient to him this year..."
"As you command, Young Master!" the other two appeared to be captains of the garrison, but they respectfully knelt before him.
"Also, carefully investigate his background and strength!" Thomas added.
As a descendent of an influential family, although he was infatuated with Sophia, he couldn't lose his head over her. After all, he understood restraint before power. As a result, if he was prepared to fall out with Nick, he would first investigate him as much as possible.
However, his influence as the heir of the Stuart family, as long as Leylin wasn't the top of a small family of descendants, he could easily be crushed like a little ant. Still he would first investigate, just in case.
"An Alabaster Devilsnake bloodline! Even if you are rumoured to be the purest White Devil nobility, I'll still send you to hell!"
Thomas looked at Leylin's courtyard, with a cold light flashing in his eyes.
...
"Sister! Sister!" Sophia threw herself into Belinda's arms and began to act spoilt, but Belinda's expression was like ice, "Did you go to Nick's place again? Haven't I told you many times not to do that, or you will bring him a lot of trouble? Why don't you ever listen?"
Belinda rarely spoke so strictly.
"But… I wanted to go!" Sophia felt wronged. She twined her fingers as she said, "I feel comfortable and very happy in Brother Nick's place."
"Oh? What did he do to you?" Belinda's expression suddenly grew alert, even her finger joints began to crack.
"It's not like that! It's the small tree, just smelling it makes me feel good!" Sophia's face flushed red.
"Nick's darling tree?" Belinda shook her head, and felt that she had thought too much.
Belinda could not understand why Nick treated that tree like a precious treasure, and because of it she had consulted many resources and almost considered the Seed of Wisdom as some demonic thing that could bewitch a person's heart.
She felt somewhat dissatisfied by his continuous attention to the tree, without even a care for himself.
"Mm! Also, Brother Nick let me give this to you, and said it would be very useful to Sister's mission!" Sophia's expression seemed a little reluctant, but she still gave the leaf to Belinda.
"What is this? Is it a calming amulet?" When the leaf touched her palm, Belinda did not feel any powerful sensation, only a slight chill from the leaf helping her mood to calm down a lot.
"It's just some calming amulet? It doesn't seem to be of much use! Why did he give this to me?" Belinda's eyes seemed puzzled.
"No! Sophia feels that this leaf will be very useful to Sister, so you must bring it!" Sophia nevertheless had an imposing expression on her face.
"Alright, alright! I really can't deal with the both of you…" Belinda's face was brimming with a warm smile, she put away the leaf safely and stroked Sophia's head, then her expression changed: "This is wrong!"
She looked Sophia up and down and stared at her sister without pause, "Sophia, why do I feel like you've gotten smarter…"
Due to an accident in her childhood, Sophia's intelligence was like a child's, but today her speech was very orderly, which was a ceaseless surprise to Belinda.
"Have I? I've always been very smart, it must be that sister has gotten it wrong!" Sophia smiled sweetly, but a crafty light flashed in the depths of her eyes.
"What? Perhaps the stress of tomorrow's mission is too much! Has it driven me insane?" Belinda touched her own forehead.
"Belinda!" At this moment, another figure charged towards her, with an expression of unconcealed rage.
"Why did you take that mission? Don't you know that the Crescent Lake has already become a dangerous area of gluttonous beasts?" Aegnis asked. The armour on her body hadn't even been removed, and was still stained with blood… As the leader in charge, Aegnis spent almost every day active on the battlefield with the gluttonous beasts.
"I'll leave first!" Seeing this situation, Sophia stuck out her tongue and slipped out of the door at lightning speed.