Island
"Kill him," Leylin indifferently waved his arm, as if he were chasing a house fly away.
"Why?" Arfo's expression immediately changed, his body flashing with the undulations of a teleportation scroll.
However, the bright light shattered immediately, leaving him in despair. Numerous weapons struck out. One filled with red qi, which was almost on par with a legendary dragon, immediately made mincemeat out of this emissary.
Only after they subconsciously acted did the pirates respond, bodies beginning to tremble slightly. Dear gods! They had actually killed the priest of an actual deity! While the pirates were capable of anything evil under the sun, they still held reverence for the gods.
"Isn't this just a priest? If he's dead, he's dead. There's something more terrifying than this to deal with next…" Leylin clapped his hands indifferently. Red flames descended and burnt the body to ashes, causing the pirates to feel as if they were in a dream.
"So, his information was false?" Isabel's attention was on something else.
"No, the information is true." Leylin shook his head and rolled the map up, "Give this to our navigator and have him go on the offensive while we head along this route."
"You still…" Isabel found herself unable to keep up with her cousin's thoughts.
"While the map is real, he has malicious intent. I have enough strength now, so I have no choice but to kill him!" Leylin laughed as he spoke, his eyes cold.
He had been too weak during the Pirates' Tide, and had even needed help from the Barbarians and the Thieves' Guild. At that time, he had to tolerate these people's sneaky actions. But things were different now: he was a high-ranked wizard and an arcanist, far exceeding others of the same rank.
He had Tiff under him who had legendary strength, and Isabel had become a Dragon Warlock which allowed her strength to increase rapidly. While her bloodline limited her, it wasn't an issue until she became legendary herself.
On top of that, the Faulen Family was not the same as before. They might not rule the outer seas, but their power controlled most of the seas' regions.
With such strength, Leylin was the king through and through. Was there a need to make compromises?
On top of that, if the priests of the God of Murder truly were powerful, why would they still scheme and plot to stir up more tension between the two sides and not take over this region themselves?
Hence, Leylin was sure that they did not have favourable impressions of neither himself nor the Barbarians, and should be making plans to eliminate them all at one go.
"The God of Murder…" Leylin used the A.I. Chip and instantly found all the information regarding this greater god.
'While he is very old, he's known for being temperamental. There have been recent rumours that he's going insane. Given that he's like this, he will probably find it difficult to react quickly even if a branch with a bishop in charge were annihilated… Also…'
Leylin looked through the description displayed on the A.I. Chip's screen, a look of fear flashing across his face.
'He once fought with Distorted Shadow and announced that he killed this great rank 8 Magus…' Leylin now had a profound understanding of the might of Distorted Shadow. It was impossible for him to fall so easily at this god's hands.
'Things started changing from that time. Cyric started to become more insane and unreasonable…' Leylin stroked his chin, looking to be deep in thought, 'Was he seriously injured in battle, causing the change in temperament, or was he tricked by Distorted Shadows and affected by the power of distortion?'
While the dusk of gods was over, the shadow Magi left behind in the World of Gods were not easily dispersed.
'Whatever it is, the claws that the God of Murder extended into the outer seas must be cut off!' Leylin decided and announced, "Let us set off!"
The tremendous Scarlet Tiger thundered, like a deep sea giant monster advancing to a battlefield.
Such a huge movement of the Scarlet Tigers had naturally attracted the attention of many organisations in the outer seas. The Barbarians had also assembled all their warriors in Pirates' Cove, and a life or death battle was coming up between these groups. This would determine the ruler of the outer seas.
Such an enormous change immediately made many people fear the consequences. They knew full well that no matter the winner, this would be doomsday for them.
Even more crazed beings were making preparations in the shadows, hoping to get some benefits from the battle. They hoped to wipe out the two large pirate organisations so that they could become the kings of the dark world!
"He killed my child, Arfo!"
*Rumble!* The flames suddenly rose several times in size, reflecting the distorted face of the bishop underground.
"Y– Yes, my lord!" The thief's voice quivered as he made the report. Ever since the bishop had gotten their god's grace, his personality had also been affected. He had become very stubborn… and crazy!
For instance, the bishop would definitely not provoke the two pirate groups into a deathmatch to wipe them out together before.
"Hah… how despicable… I want to kill him. Kill Leylin!" In the hidden room was a statue of Cyric. There seemed to be a layer of dark red smoke around it, causing some changes. At times, the bishop looked sinister standing under the statue, and at other times poised. He was basically a madman.
"Hehe… It's also good that he's dead. Arfo should have gone to hell long ago. He did well, because that's saved me a lot of trouble!"
"My- My lord, I'll take my leave now!" Seeing the bishop in this state was also very stressful for the thief. He reported all this with fear, trying to shuffle backwards.
"Since Arfo is dead, why are you alive?" The bishop turned back, glaring at the thief. His gaze was so chilly the thief felt like he'd fallen into a house of ice.
"No, that's none of my business, my lord!" Knowing that things did not spell well for him, the thief turned and ran, but it was too late.
The black flames rumbled around and swept through the area, enveloping the thief and causing him to squeal like a dying pig.
Seeing the thief gradually disappearing in the flames, a sick smile appeared on the bishop's face. After he was done executing the thief, he knelt before the statue and lowered his head, beginning to pray, "Keke… Soon, my master. I will sacrifice more flesh and souls to you!"
The statue gazed at the bishop below coldly, the dark red rays around it becoming more dazzling…
...
"It's Fire Slave Island. This is it!" It was impractical to get the pirate fleet to completely encircle the island. However, with the help of magic, it was not difficult to seal off a few shipping routes.
Leylin gazed at a completely red island through his telescope, one that had a volcano on it.
"Based on the intel, Odge's barbarian tribe should be staying back and increasing their numbers here…" He put the telescope down.
"All fighters are to leave the boat. We will massacre this place!" he ordered.
One could be completely unscrupulous in war, but this was still taboo. Leylin would not have the courage to do such a thing in the past. The moment he did, the other party would also head over to Port Venus and attack his family. Now, however, he had the wizard tower. Leylin even hoped Odge would take the initiative, and seek his own death at Port Venus.
The order was sent down quickly. Numerous pirates got on little boats and headed to the shore like ants.
"Robin Hood, Ronald, Karen." Leylin spoke more slowly.
"Boss!" Robin Hood came to Leylin's side and respectfully waited for instructions.
"Take the fleet and leave. Only come when I send out the signal!" Leylin ordered.
He could tell that once news of him attacking this area got out, the Barbarians would definitely pounce here like madmen. When the time came, Leylin definitely did not want his pirate fleet to be damaged.
It would be too troublesome to attack Pirates' Cove, so if he could draw the opponent out here, why not?
"I can't even imagine the heat and terrible environment here. Why did the Barbarians choose this place?" Isabel cut apart the vines blocking her way. There were broad green-leaved plants that dropped dew with a pungent smell. It caused her to frown.
"These barbarians migrated here. The safety of the tribe is of the utmost importance. Since you think they won't like this place, they can do as they wish…" Leylin explained.
He had nothing to worry about once they were on the large island. As long as he knew the general location, large life force undulations couldn't be hidden from him.
"Boss! We've encountered resistance on a mountain pass up ahead. It's barbarians!" A pirate said, having just run over.
"Kill him, we don't need prisoners." Leylin nodded indifferently. The pirates wouldn't mind killing them even if they were the same race, much less people of another.
Soon enough, Leylin passed through the stronghold and saw the ground full of barbarian corpses. Many wounds were still leaking blood, and these ones looked smaller and weaker than average.
"Seems like these are the old and weak, females and children. Odge must have pulled all the strong youths to his crew." Leylin nodded, no longer having any doubts about destroying the tribe.
Honestly speaking, Odge was a very wise leader. Not only did he resolutely bring his race to the outer seas, he had also survived tenaciously. A tribe like this needed external help and resources to develop, and for that reason they were forced into piracy.
He was very capable, able to mould them into one of the three large pirate groups in the outer seas and even gain control of Pirates' Cove. It was a pity that he was in Leylin's way. His only fate was to be purged…
Altar
The raging flames continued to blaze. The piercing screams and wails never ended, accompanied by the roars and manic laughter of pirates.
Barbarian corpses piled up in this place one after the other, the blood splitting to form little streams. Once Leylin decided to attack this place, the Barbarian tribe was completely done for.
As Odge had taken most of the strong and the young, all that were left behind were a bunch of frail, elderly, female or children beings. It could be said that in front of these vicious pirates, resistance was pointless.
"This barbarian tribe seems to hold some secrets…" Leylin touched his chin, a devilishly charming smile on his face as he arrived at the heart of the tribe.
The sacrifices were made here, but it was to some unknown god. A large piece of obsidian was carved into a firm altar, on which there was a large animal skin flag and strange crimson runes.
In front of the altar were a few struggling barbarians, all of them unbelievably old.
"You of another race, do not come here!" they exclaimed. They were so frail they looked like reeds. A few youths next to them held on to the last spears and weapons they had, trembling as they aimed at the invader with eyes full of fear.
"A barbarian priest? A sorcerer?" Leylin watched these barbarians who already had one foot in the grave and sensed the power of their bloodlines. He could not help but nod to himself.
"Scram!" Arcane spells burst forth, forming terrifying large elemental hands that tore the few sorcerers into shreds. Their stubborn resistance was futile, and such strength instantly left them at a loss.
A few arcane fireballs rumbled forth, burning the rest of the barbarians to ashes. Leylin stepped over the corpses to arrive at the altar, nothing in his way.
"Spirit? Soul? Or is it without a conscient…" As he felt around the coarse notches carved into the stone, Leylin closed his eyes.
'Are these barbarians trying to gather divinity with the power of their community?' With tons of experience, Leylin immediately saw through their plans. The power of faith far exceeded extraordinary force. With years of worship and sacrifice, this place had already begun to develop traces of a primal power.
The altar had strong faith within it. There were spirits of powerful beings mixed in, those who had died over time, and the foundation was currently very firm. Just a bit more time could really have given birth to divinity.
This was how many ancient tribal gods had been born. A high-ranked barbarian could use this bit of divinity to cross the threshold of becoming legendary. They could even become a demigod with their advance, combining that with their faith to ignite godfire.
As he too had plans to become a god, Leylin could comprehend this thought process.
"As for the person chosen to become a god, it should be Odge, or do they have another powerful pawn? How ambitious…" Leylin stroked his chin.
There had always been many intelligent people in this world. As the outer seas did not have the attention of too many gods yet, becoming a god in the outer seas was much less difficult than in the continent. For this reason, Odge had set his sights on this area, which coincided with Leylin's plan.
"Is this a god of the barbarian race? With how weak the outer seas are, a demigod would immediately unify the place, making it a playground for the barbarians…"
Leylin's eyes glinted, "Very creative, but it's a pity that you met me."
Leylin had long since treated the outer seas of Dambrath as his territory. While the barbarians had their own plans, he would have to disappoint them.
"The spirits are valiant, guarding the tremendous power of faith and soul origin tightly." Leylin observed the obsidian carvings and animal skin runes, an unenthusiastic look on his face, "Seems like every barbarian that dies will return to this place…"
This was the hope of a race! In the World of Gods, a race without protection from a god would not have a future. Mixed with their hot-bloodedness and sacrifices, it was both inspiring and tragic.
Leylin shut his eyes, and he felt like these spirits had encircled him. A tremendous malicious intent descended, "Scram! Scram!"
This was no illusion, but the power of rejection from the altar itself.
"Tsk tsk… How powerful does the unified heart of an entire race get, with blood sacrifices urging it on?
"Such strength! I wish to defeat it. I shall strike down the ascension of your race, and crush your hopes completely!"
A deep and dark power could instantly be seen in Leylin's eyes.
"Devour!" Leylin willed it, and the altar creaked like it couldn't bear the weight. The ground began to shake as if there was an earthquake, creating numerous dark holes.
Heat! Lunacy! Energy that was filled with soul force surged out from the altar like a tsunami.
"Mm…" Leylin's expression was incomparably sinister for an instant, all sorts of emotions flashing in his eyes. The barbarian spirits were extremely crazed and vengeful, launching forth with all sorts of snarls and counterattacks as they began their last struggle.
It was a pity that this was a minor issue for Leylin. After all, he was experienced with souls.
"Hss…" The phantom of a Targaryen emerged in Leylin's mind, and in one mouthful devoured the numerous souls and conscients. In the face of Leylin's soul origin, the attack from these valiant souls were as weak as ants.
Varied soul force burst forth as they shattered, carrying berserk emotions and numerous memory fragments.
"A soul is a small matter. The issue is that there's still these berserk emotions within the soul force…" Leylin sighed.
The basic requirement to absorb divinity was that one was legendary, and this was not without reason. Those who were yet to cross that threshold wouldn't even be able to live through the attacks of these souls.
"God… I pray that you protect our barbarian race!" "You must make the barbarians the most powerful race!" "Please ensure the survival of the barbarians…" "I want to have meat. I want meat everyday…"
Such chaotic thoughts appeared in Leylin's mind that they could cause a regular person to go mad. Even someone with legendary strength could acquire a mental disorder, the chaotic soul energy causing cracks in their memories.
However, Leylin had the A.I. Chip. He also had prior experience in this area, and his own soul origin was near rank 7. He could still take this.
"Hss…"
"I am the limitless Jörmungandr, the master that devours all things!" The Targaryen phantom appeared in Leylin's pupils, and the power of devouring appeared, forming spirals that devoured all the chaotic soul origins at one go.
After being converted, the strength surged into Leylin's sea of consciousness.
The A.I. Chip's prompt sounded at this moment. [Beep! Host has taken in a large amount of energy, determined to be soul origin essence. Absorbed!]
Large amounts of icy streams of air converged in Leylin's mind, allowing his spiritual force to revolve rapidly.
[Beep! Host has absorbed soul energy. Spirit +1]
The accumulations of the barbarian tribe over countless years had made things easy for Leylin, and even allowed him to raise his spiritual force.
Leylin looked at his hands and murmured, "My spiritual force has increased a bit. I feel like every small increase in stats past fifteen points is a huge advance."
The A.I. Chip's prompts continued. [Beep! Host's spirit has broke through, becoming rank 16 arcanist!]
At this moment, his stats were refreshed.
[Leylin Faulen. Age: 22. Race: Human, Rank 16 Arcanist. Strength: 13. Agility: 11. Vitality: 12. Spirit: 16. Arcane energy: 160 Status: Healthy. Feats: Sturdy, Erudite, Elementary Perfect Body. Specialties: Arcane Energy Detection, Arcane Amplification.] [Progress on Weave analysis: Level 0: 100%, Level 1: 100%, Level 2:100%, Level 3:100%, Level 4:100%, Level 5: 67.35%, Level 6:41.91%, Level 7:22.33%.] [Spell slots available: Rank 7(2), Rank 6(5), Rank 5(7), Rank 4(???), Rank 3(???), Rank 2(???), Rank 1(???), Rank 0(???)]
The advancement of arcanists required growth in both spiritual force and soul force, as well as the comprehension and sensing of arcane energy. However, with Leylin's attainments in magic with his main body, he already surpassed many legendary arcanists. There was practically no bottleneck for his advance, and his spirit breaking through automatically led to a rise in his rank.
'The barbarian tribe hasn't formed a divinity yet. Just a bit of the power of faith mixed with soul energy can help me increase a rank? Perhaps I should focus on finding information in this area…'
In Leylin's eyes, the power of faith was the power of emotion, and also soul force. There had been no bottlenecks in his advancement, and all he needed was enormous energy and his ability of devouring. When all the conditions were met, he could quickly advance.
For Leylin, this was also a shortcut to more power. As long as there were barbarian worshippers, it was possible that they had formed great soul energy like this, be it in the outer seas or various other areas in the continent.
Of course, if an altar had truly gathered divinity, Leylin would not dare devour it. If not, his own temperament could change, and that was not something trivial.
Becoming the patron saint of the barbarians would be even worse than killing himself.
Mage's Sword
Outer seas, on board the Barbarians' ship.
"AGH…" Odge suddenly dropped to his knees, roaring in pain.
"Dear, what's the matter?" Madam Tillen rushed to his side and helped him up.
"My family's sacrificial altar… It's gone! The response has been completely cut off…" Odge spat out the words through gritted teeth, and the implications in his statement made Tillen pale in response.
"We haven't caught up to them?" After they had received the news, Odge had immediately set off. However, they had to conceal their movements and the barbarian lands in Fire Scale Island were very far from Pirates' Cove.
Originally, this had been done for their own safety. But something like this happening would make it extremely difficult to mount a rescue.
"We must avenge them!" Tillen bit her lip so hard that a trickle of blood spilled out. Since their sacrificial altar had been destroyed, it was obvious what had befallen the members of their tribe.
Her heart dropped. It wasn't just one or two barbarians that had fallen. Everyone in the tribe, be it the elderly, the frail, the women, or the children, had perished. The souls of hundreds of years of the tribe's experts, their sacrifices and devotion, had been completely destroyed.
Even if she wasn't a barbarian, Tillen could imagine how this sort of aftermath would lead to the Barbarians going berserk.
"Ah… In my name as Odge, the king and leader of the barbarians, I vow to the gods that I'll wrench that damned wizard's skull off!" Odge roared, slicing his cheek with his dagger. Boiling dark red blood rolled down from the cut, making his boorish face seem even more malevolent and terrifying.
"Oh! Kill him! Kill him!" The barbarians below him all saw red, as their family and children had all been at Fire Scale Island. There was no chance that they had survived.
The fox woman Tillen gritted her teeth, but spoke out in the end, "Odge! I believe that now isn't the best time to fight him, he must have prepared a trap for us!"
After the words left her mouth, she could no longer continue speaking. This was because she saw the expression in Odge's eyes, that look of undying, frightening hatred! After what had happened, forget a trap, Odge would traverse hell and high water without the slightest hesitation.
At this moment, even if she had come to advise on the situation, her persuasion would not have the slightest effect.
'Is this part of his plan? Using the power of hatred to lead these barbarians into a trap…' At this moment, Madam Tillen suddenly felt a deep chill in her heart, caused by that noble wizard.
...
Fire Scale Island was within their sights. Dense black smoke continued to pour into the horizon, and the entire island seemed to have descended into hell. Seeing their tribe's land wrapped in a great fire, the barbarians all descended into frantic roaring.
"Find them! Tear them apart!" Odge tightly gripped Madam Tillen's shoulder. Rivulets of blood appeared on her skin.
"I will!" Madam Tillen vowed. After saying this however, she realised that she did not need to use tracing spells.
This was because several ships from the Scarlet Tigers appeared in her line of sight, and they seemed to have not left in time. Tens of small barbarian corpses were hung from the mast as bait.
*Roar!* After seeing those corpses, the barbarians collectively went berserk. Odge brandished his enormous saber and the other sailors rowed with all their might. There was only one wish in the barbarians' hearts– to find those damned robbers and get their revenge!
The Barbarians were the only ones allowed to bring death and suffering to other races in these regions of the outer seas. Now, they were suffering the fate that they handed down to others.
Madam Tillen's heart suddenly grew sorrowful, and a single tear rolled down her face. She could already see the shadow of her own death, and could not escape from it.
*Mmmmmmm!* The deep sound of a bugle horn could be heard, bringing to one's mind the coming siege.
The Scarlet Tigers' elite troops emerged and completely surrounded all of the Barbarians' ships. They were like an enormous pocket wrapping around its goods. In their fury, these simple-minded barbarians did not sense the danger before them at all, and immediately took the bait.
"Kill! The boss is giving 5 gold coins for every barbarian's head!" Ronald loudly ordered, and the reward was spread widely through the use of signal flags.
*Boom! Boom!* The goblin cannons boomed without end, and near them were the sounds of dwarven artillery firing volleys of gunfire. Under Leylin's command, the Scarlet Tigers had slowly come up with their own style of combat.
*Roar! Roar!* Row after row of barbarians collapsed in a flicker of flames. Even their tough skin could not withstand the combined power of gunpowder and magic.
Odge grew even more berserk at this presentation. After the long-range battle had ended, it was time for the traditional methods of jumping and boarding ships. Odge immediately ignored the charge of a pirate towards him, lifting the fellow up by his head.
*Krrch! Krrch!* The human pirate's complexion twisted, and rivulets of blood flowed down from his forehead. Crazed roars sounded as this unfortunate pirate's skill burst like a watermelon in Odge's palm.
*Chhh!* Blazing hot white light flashed past, and the surrounding pirates were directly slashed into two halves by the saber's qi.
As the strongest in the barbarian tribe, Odge was a high-ranked warrior. His barbarian bloodline and the support of magic items allowed very few below the realm of legendaries to rival him.
It was a pity that all of this was as negligible as a grain of sand in the face of the Scarlet Tigers. A scarlet red figure suddenly flew from the opposing ship, letting out a powerful clear cry in midair.
*Roar!* A domain of intimidating draconic power extended from the ship. This oppressive power stemming from a bloodline made Madam Tillen take a few steps back in fright. After, she saw a winged half-dragon creature swoop down at great speed, a longsword burning with raging flames intercepting Odge's saber. An enormous crack appeared on his blade.
'A human demi dragon? No, it's a dragon's disciple! This power…' Madam Tillen dumbly looked on at Isabel who was covered in red scales, with a despondent expression on her face, 'Is this the bloodline of a legendary dragon? But how is this possible? Wasn't she corrupted by demons?'
Madam Tillen did not know what power a successor of a legendary dragon's bloodline could wield, but now it was made clear to her.
"The Scarlet Witch?!" Odge looked at the crack on his enchanted saber with a pained expression on his face. This was the weapon he used most after all, and it had helped him cut off the heads of many troublesome enemies.
Now however, a crack had appeared on the enchanted saber after just one clash with the witch.
"A legendary item!" Odge looked at the blazing red longsword in Isabel's grasp with an increasingly ugly expression. He sensed an unknown danger coming from that weapon.
"Don't let her weapon touch you, and be careful of her dragon breath attack! I'll help you!" Madam Tillen's expression was very anxious, and she readied several amplification spells in her hand and was about to cast them.
"I am your opponent! We meet again, beautiful lady."
*Rumble!* The raging flames of a fireball engulfed them, blocking Madam Tillen's way. The entire area was thrown into chaos, with barbarians and pirates fighting wildly. One of the barbarians fell on occasion, and their head would be chopped off immediately.
Blood stained the ground, but even in this hellish scene Leylin had nary a speck of dust on him. He even greeted Madam Tillen in a refined and courteous manner, as if he was the most respectable noble.
"Leylin Faulen…" Madam Tillen called out the wizard's name through gritted teeth, her eyes slowly filling with fear. That man's grasp of human nature was even more terrifying than the devil's.
It had not been long since she had seen a true devil in Neville, but the feeling that he gave her was not as evil and as profound as what she felt in Leylin's presence.
"It has been four or five years since we last met, hasn't it? Madam is still as beautiful as before…" A sincere smile broke out on the noble baron's face, and Tillen felt that if she gave him her hand, he would have kissed it in greeting without the slightest hesitation.
However, the eyes of the wizard who stood across from her were ice-cold, and he looked at her with a face utterly devoid of emotion.
"I apologise, my beautiful lady. I don't have much time left, so can I ask you to hurry up and die for me?" In a single second, the light and breezy conversation turned dangerous. Wind howled, and Leylin smiled slightly as powerful magic converged. An earth-shattering attack was cast resolutely, ignoring all the beauty that Madam Tillen possessed and indifferently sending her to her death.
This sorrowful feeling made Madam Tillen's heart feel depressed. Her feelings lasted only for a moment though, and afterwards she no longer had the capacity to reflect on it.
Berserk energy particles converged into a splendidly brilliant longsword. The swordpoint had a spiritual quality to it, and it was directly thrust at Tillen. A strong wind seemed to directly slice at the skin on her face.
"Mage's Sword! A rank 7 spell! You're already a high-ranked wizard!" Trickles of blood dripped down, but Madam Tillen's face was still filled with incredulity. She finally knew how she had lost. A high-ranked wizard could completely crush the barbarians here.
'But he's only a little older than 21 years old! With this power, he must be a genius that even the gods will envy…' Madam Tillen was unable to think anymore after this. The sharp Mage's Sword pierced through the layers of her defence, directly running through the fox woman's bosom.
Even though she had been a sorcerer and the chief wizard of the Barbarians, Tillen's attainments in magic were only on par with Ernest. She had only achieved that through her bloodline power. She was simply unable to endure a single blow from Leylin.
Kill
At this moment, the victor of another battle had also been decided.
Dragon Breath! Isabel was still in the state of her draconic transformation. The flame-red scales on her body were just like a dazzling armour that looked like freshly-cut flowers. She looked like the incarnation of a valkyrie.
After she saw that the fight would drag on, Isabel activated her bloodline abilities without the slightest hesitation.
Dragon disciples would inherit the spellcasting abilities of a red dragon. The bloodline that Isabel possessed was indeed that of a Legendary red dragon. Her spellcasting abilities would gain an extremely powerful boost.
The frantic flames consumed Odge in a flash, and no matter how determined and how tough a barbarian he was, he now let out painful wails.
Sharp! Break! From the looks of it, Isabel had immediately activated the abilities of the Red Dragon Sword.
In a flash of light and a crisp snapping sound, Odge's peak-ranked alchemised saber suddenly split apart.
With its obstacle removed from its way, the Red Dragon Sword unhesitatingly pierced through Odge's heart. The blazing flames destroyed all the vital organs in his body immediately.
"Ah…" Odge lowered his head with great difficulty and looked at the scorched black flesh on his chest. The light in his eyes slowly dimmed.
"…No!" Madam Tillen let out a mournful wail. She summoned energy from some unknown well of strength and unexpectedly struggled to crawl next to Odge's body.
"My… beloved…" She held Odge's huge lifeless hand, her eyes filled with content as if she had grabbed hold of the most precious thing in the entire world, and slowly shut her eyes.
"What a sad and beautiful romance… Isn't it?" Looking upon them, Leylin and Isabel did not try and hinder them in any way. They quietly watched this pair of eternal soulmates pass into the afterworld.
"I really do feel that it's rather unlike you to say that sort of thing!" After hearing Leylin's idle comment, Isabel speechlessly roller her eyes.
"Also… Why are you this impatient?" Isabel looked all around them. Now, all of the barbarian pirate crew had been forced into a weak position.
After Odge and Madam Tillen had been slain, the remaining barbarians grew even more frantic. In the end however, they were ultimately left to struggle in the throes of death.
After the final few barbarian shamans had died, the entire barbarian pirate crew's destruction was inevitable.
Under such heavy suppression, the remaining barbarians crumbled at last. They jumped into the sea one after another to flee, but they were shot dead by Robin Hood who had long anticipated their retreat.
This was the trouble of naval warfare. Once they had lost, it was difficult to flee. One could only win absolutely or lose completely, but once you lost it was very difficult to free oneself.
Leylin's luck had always been good. Rather than calling it luck, it was better to say that he had the support of planning well-devised strategies.
Isabel turned towards Leylin. Since he was the planning type, seeing him choose to pursue a fast-paced fight and unhesitatingly massacre the barbarian tribe and even use their own people as bait was unexpected. His methods stank of shortsighted vision.
"You could tell? Then there is no harm in you guessing what guards I've prepared in advance…" Seeing his cousin mature, Leylin's heart was rather gratified. She could be considered his greatest helping hand in the outer seas.
"It can't be… The priest and thief from last time!" Isabel only needed to think about it for a moment before her eyes flashed in understanding.
"Mm!" Leylin nodded, waving his hand carelessly.
A translucent wave rose, with a small water screen floating atop it.
Although there was no indication of their identity, the sailors onboard radiated a uniquely murderous aura.
"Are these… Pirates? Ones which were groomed by the god of murder? They've always been hiding in Pirates' Cove, I never thought…" Isabel breathed in sharply. Until now, she had always believed that the pirate crews in the outer seas now only consisted of the Scarlet Tiger and the barbarian pirate crew. She had neglected those fragmented little pirate crews.
In reality however, these fragmented, small-sized pirate crews were the most important strength of Pirates' Cove! They formed the majority of the ships within the Tide of Pirates.
Even a small part of those in service could assemble into a power force to reckon with.
"Luckily you discovered them already, otherwise after we engaged in mutually assured destruction with the barbarians, these locusts would descend. The consequences would have been unbearable…" Isabel said, with a grave expression on her face.
She now no longer had the slightest doubt in her mind that the church of murder were not just ordinary fishermen.
"Mm, you're absolutely correct!" Leylin agreed with Isabel's point.
"In reality, the reason why I avoided using Pirates' Cove as the place for this final battle, apart from not wanting the Barbarians to have a favourable location, was to avoid these maggots of the dark…" The corners of Leylin's lips quirked up into a sneer, "However, now that we've discovered their plan and made the preparations after destroying the Barbarians, what have we got to worry about?"
"What do you mean?" Isabel hesitantly asked. She stood by Leylin and smelt the special scent of bloodthirst.
"Let's welcome them and kill them all!" Leylin's eyes flashed as he made up his mind, "Now is the best time, the entire church of murder in the outer seas have all assembled here. Once they're all dead, it will deal a great blow to the church."
"A blow?" Isabel had never thought that Leylin's ambition would grow so large to the point where he would dare to strike down a true god's church.
'Without getting rid of them, how can i spread my own religion…' Leylin smiled coldly to himself, 'There is a dead calm here in the outer seas, and the dark world's greatest religion is Cyric. Once he is cut off from his lackeys in the secular world, all the faith in the outer seas will belong to me…"
In reality, this wasn't a question of benefits.
Leylin had long taken a fancy to the outer seas as his base, and had prepared to establish it as a base for his followers. Thus, there had been a clash with the existing religion here.
The first was Cyric, because he had the biggest influence in the outer seas, and even had quite a few of the pirates as his followers.
In addition, this god was an evil god. Publicly fighting him wasn't an issue, and on the contrary it would perhaps earn him favour from the benevolent gods.
It was possible to predict that in the future, Leylin would sweep across the outer seas and possibly eliminate all the native religions and evil gods in one fell swoop.
"Don't worry, cousin. The god of murder's influence isn't that strong in the outer seas, and he is suppressed by many other benevolent gods… Additionally, even the Thieves' Guild is not entirely under his control…" Leylin had acquired a lot of inside information on the three great guilds after travelling in the continent.
Cyric could only considered a shareholder in the Thieves' Guild and not a chairman. There were still many other gods supporting the organisation from the shadows.
The Warriors' Guild was the same, and those gods would not permit some true god to monopolise their channels.
Even the narrow-minded Wizards' Guild was not monopolised purely by the Weave Goddess, and still had the God of Knowedge Oghma and others dividing up the goddess' believers.
Consequently, his fight against Cyric and attacking the Thieves' Guild were two entirely separate matters.
"So it's like this… After all, he's a powerful true god," Isabel's eyes were full of anxiety.
Needless to say, not even a weak god would willingly relinquish his own territory, let alone suffer a big loss to their believers.
Even if Cyric's influence in the outer seas was very weak, he wielded great power on the continent. He controlled many high-ranked military powers from the shadow.
Dispatching one or two Legends over to fight for him was something that was entirely possible.
Legends were the ultimate decisive force in the entire Prime Material Plane. Once such a high-ranked expert arrived, Isabel was very aware that there was no one on her side who could offer the least resistance.
Ordinary people could not reach the realm of Legend. Everything that the Faulen family possessed was nothing in the eyes of a Legend.
"Even if a legendary comes to hurt my family, they'll have to step over my dead body first!" Isabel declared firmly, tightly grasping her red dragon longsword.
Leylin was naturally aware of the resolution in her eyes, but did not speak of his intended plans to her.
Cyric could possibly be fly into a rage and send legendary over from the continent. However, this required time. Perhaps by then, Leylin would have already advanced to become a Legend himself!
In addition, if one wanted to develop, it was absolutely necessary to forcibly plunder the benefits that originally belonged to others. Naturally, this would lead to conflict.
Leylin had chosen the outer seas, and it was already the least controversial decision he could have made.
If he had chosen to start developing in the continent, perhaps he would have already attracted Legend-ranked experts over to take him down.
'Ultimately, it's all a question of strength! With enough strength, even if I take over the outer seas and slay the priests of the church of murder, what else can i do?' Cyric and Malar, these chaotic evil gods, were already held in poor opinion by the public. Leylin could thus use any means he wanted to deal with them.
'Choosing the right faction is of the utmost importance. Since the good faction is out of the question, I must not lose the lawful faction…' Leylin stroked his chin as he pondered the situation meaninglessly.
"My lord! The Barbarians have been destroyed! Only five ships have been sunk, the rest are now under our control!" Just when Leylin and Isabel were about to speak, Ronald had completed his mission and bounded over to excitedly report to them. There were still traces of barbarian blood on him.
"Mm, prepare to launch plan 2! Take all the heavily damaged captive ships away. We must prepare to fight the next battle," Leylin lightly ordered.
"Hm? We still have enemies left?" According to Ronald's thoughts, after destroying the barbarian pirate crew, the Scarlet Tiger was now the strongest crew in the entire outer seas.
Assassin
"As long as we are the kings of the outer seas, our challenges will never cease…"
Leylin smiled, "This time, it's only a few little mice who overestimate themselves… Ronald, how do you think we should deal with them?"
"Of course we should mercilessly cut off their heads and claws, and store them in oil bottles!"
Ronald answered with a murderous spirit. For those that challenged their status and profits, there was only one answer, as was law of the pirates in the outer sea— To kill them all!
...
The shadow of the sail danced. Numerous sailors and pirates yelled as they controlled the sail and steering oar, allowing the pirate ship to sail more quickly.
Amongst them all, on the largest ship, a bishop was frowning while having a bad feeling about this.
"Rogers, make the ship faster! We need to hurry there as soon as possible!"
"Understood, master!" A pirate captain next to the bishop answered respectfully, "But this is the fastest we can go…"
"Is that so? Then why is it that the Scarlet Tiger and the Barbarians' Tsunami can go faster than eighteen knots?" The bishop frowned.
"That's because those are large pirate groups. Those two are also the main battleships that have been enchanted!" Rogers thought inside but did not dare speak his thoughts. After hesitating for a while, he answered as if put in a spot, "Those are individual abilities and nothing to do with the speed of the fleet…"
"No, no. You're all trying to deceive the mighty God of Murder and his priests!" The bishop watched Rogers, facial muscles contorting to become incomparably sinister.
"No, that's not it… Master, my loyalty to the god… No, please forgive me! Please forgive me!" The captain of the pirates, who had seen the ruthless methods of the bishop, immediately knelt while looking absolutely terrified.
This accusation was not something trivial. Recently, this bishop had become strangely bloodthirsty and insane, and would occasionally kill people because of small matters.
The captain, Rogers, was now beginning to regret responding to his recruitment.
*Pu!*
However, before he could plead and beg for forgiveness, a black dagger had slashed through his throat and cut apart his windpipe. Large amounts of blood spurted out.
Rogers' eyes rolled back, hands grasping at his throat tightly. Blood unceasingly flowed from between his fingers, causing guttural groans from his throat.
The struggles of a dying man ended quickly. The captain, who had been lively and frisky all this while had turned into a corpse in a instant.
The surrounding pirates froze, beginning to wish they could hide their heads in their chest.
"Dispose of him! Also… increase the speed. Any questions?" The bishop glanced at the assistant pirate next to him.
"No– None at all! I guarantee you, my lord, that there's no issue at all!"
The assistant had been scared stupid, but after seeing the chilly glint in the bishop's eyes, he immediately felt sober and shouted.
"Then go, or else this is how you will end up!"
The bishop waved his arms, no longer caring about those pirates who were doing everything in their capabilities. Gazing into the distance, he had a profound look in his eyes.
"Damn it! That darned little noble! I shouldn't have let him off during Pirates' Tide!"
The bishop's plan had been perfect, where he would provoke both sides and help the weaker one. Once the Scarlet Tigers and Barbarian Pirates weakened, his team would gobble up these two organisations and become the king of the outer sea.
He even had plans to unify the dark world and make the outer seas independent, and even construct a godly realm on the ground here!
However, all of this had been wrecked by the darned noble.
Veins began to show in the bishop's eyes. He'd never thought that the noble would be so gutsy as to kill the emissary he had dispatched.
"Such a fearless and disrespectful being must be executed immediately, and then nail his soul on the wall of the faithless as he howls in anguish…"
As a religious person, the bishop immediately loathed Leylin with all his heart.
A person who held no respect for the gods could never become a lamb of his master. If Leylin could not be subdued in terms of his mind, then he would have to destroy his body.
From ancient times, this was how power worked.
However, he had no idea that when the gods started out, they were also just as fearless. This was the joint belief of all those heroes whose names remained in historical records
If they could not succeed, then they could only roll of a cliff and turn into the corroding soil underneath.
While he did not know of this concept, the bishop determined to have blood.
He wished to eliminate this being as soon as possible…
"There's still time. The Barbarians must have just fought them not long ago… Even if my plans are slightly affected, the Barbarians' strength should be enough to cause immense damage to the other side. When the time comes…"
While the bishop was immersed in his fantasies, he suddenly gaped at the dense number of sails in the distance, at the horizon.
The Scarlet Tiger ship took the lead. The bloody skull and dagger symbol had all of the pirates becoming restless.
Gods! The Scarlet Tigers was the finest pirate organisation in the outer seas. He had basically heard them expand and gain reputation, and now that they were going to fight them, it was impossible for him not to feel stressed.
*Rumble!* *Rumble!* *Rumble!*
The Scarlet Tigers unhesitatingly opened fire. Like table knives, the many ships cut the huge fleet apart into numerous fragments like butter.
Compared to how the pirates at the lowest rung depended on their elite troops and morale, the Scarlet Tigers wanted to leave their opponent far behind. This was an unequalled confidence in themselves from cutting off the heads of countless enemies.
"Do you see it now?"
Leylin handed the commanding to Ronald and Robin Hood. After all, he was more proficient in casting spells. From the many years he had not been around, he was also unfamiliar with the group.
Knowing one's flaws and doing his best to make up for it was the attitude of those looking to improve themselves.
While I'm not suited to some roles, I can choose people who would do better and control them.
If not, someone wanted to do everything well would only tire themselves to death.
"Seems like Robin Hood and Ronald are doing very well!" Leylin said to Isabel next to him while laughing..
"They are the people you've nurtured. Are you trying to brag about your extraordinary foresight?" Isabel was actually very astonished. Leylin seemed to have a pair of special eyes, and he would never go wrong when it came to judging people.
However, in order not to make Leylin too cocky, she worded her answer huffily.
"No! I just…"
Just as Leylin was preparing to answer, his expression suddenly changed and he abruptly pushed Isabel aside.
A translucent figure arrived before him, as if traversing through space.
Shadow Jump! The powerful ability of a high-ranked assassin, and a high-ranked technique that could only be comprehended by assassins nearing Legendary! It allowed one to shift locations through the shadow dimension and attack enemies instantly.
This ability was basically everyone's nightmare!
When a wizard like Leylin was in close quarters with a thief and was the one who was being attacked in surprise, the result was obvious.
This high-ranked assassin did not have any excess movements, and lacked even the elation of completing a mission successfully. There was only an apathetic and dead look in his eyes. The black dagger that held a powerful curse inside had already pierced through the defences and into the area where Leylin's heart was.
"No!" Isabel immediately went crazy, transforming into half-dragon form and pouncing over.
The feeling of meeting flesh and the scalding blood spurting out finally gave rise to a glimmer in the eyes of the assassin. With a burst of strength in his right hand, he planned to draw the dagger out and leave.
After all, fighting with a high-ranked swordsman was not something for an assassin to do. He had assassinated the leader of the opposing side, and that was enough!
Surprisingly, he was unsuccessful in plucking the dagger out. The assassin froze, and was stunned to see flesh 'sprouts' appearing in 'Leylin''s chest. They were like the vines of plants that bundled up the dagger tightly.
Just that moment of being stunned left him no chance to flee for his life.
*Boom!* 'Leylin's' chest exploded, and numerous bloody tendrils burst towards him and bound the assassin tightly. Like suckers, they were already trying to pierce through the skin and absorb fresh blood.
"Necromancy? No, no…" A shocked, coarse voice sounded from under the assassin's veil.
"That's just a Flesh Puppet, a spell I made just for you!"
A teleportation door opened to reveal the real Leylin.
"You should be the high-ranked assassin who tried to assassinate numerous bishops of varying churches during Pirates' Tide, right? This is a rather great gift!"
"So… you've already become a high-ranked wizard!"
The assassin's eyes did not fluctuate at all, allowing the bloody vines to take over his body. It seemed that he had lost all will to escape.
"Stop pretending. All of your methods are visible before my eyes!"
Leylin spoke coldly. Numerous spells shot out. With Dimensional Anchor locking on, even the shadow plane had been sealed.
"Damn it… you!"
Now that his last trump card had been seen through, the assassin was now no longer as relaxed before. He was then killed with Leylin's Finger Of Death.
"Bastard, do you know how worried I was for you? At least discuss this with me beforehand!"
Pendant
"I'm sorry, dear cousin! At this point, it's better to get things done before we discuss things…" Leylin waved his arm, and another teleportation door opened.
Isabel stepped out of the teleportation door and immediately heard the uproar from the surroundings, as well as enraged shouts. Without any excess movements, she activated her bloodline abilities and the hidden techniques of the Red Dragon Sword
Dragon Aura Domain! Fireball! The legendary dragon's spiritual domain and blazing fire rumbled, causing all the pirates to cry out miserably as they were sent flying. There were traces of charring all over their bodies.
The other pirates in the distance were also shrieking as they lay immobile on the ground. There was no way out for the weak in the face of the spiritual domain of dragon aura, and they would only be massacred by their enemies.
In actuality, the dragon aura of a regular dragon was still just average. One from an ancient or primordial dragon could take out even most high-ranked Professionals, and even affect legendaries to a great degree.
"Teleportation doors? High-ranked wizards? And a dragon sorcerer!" The God of Murder's bishop cried out in alarm, light shining around his body.
After seeing Leylin step out of the teleportation door as well, his pupils shrank, "It's you! You've already advanced to become a high-rank wizard?"
"Cut the bullshit…" Leylin gave the bishop a disdainful glance, the arcane spell he'd already prepared launching forth.
Mage's Disjunction!
*Boom! Boom! Crackle!* Numerous spell rays shattered, returning to form the original magic item. They returned to the ring in the bishop's hand, then his necklace, followed by his luxurious clothing.
One after another, magic items exploded on the bishop's body. As he had too many on him, he was unlucky enough but to have to flee naked.
"A rank 9 disjunction? A high-ranked wizard above rank 19?" Uncaring of his own image, the bishop sunk into shock. In a few years, the opponent had become a high-ranked wizard, which shocked him to no end. On top of that, he was already a rank 19, very close to becoming legendary.
However, the power of Mage's Disjunction had been shown right in front of him, which was something he could not understand at all.
'This is the might of arcane spells…' Seeing the bishop who was now completely in the nude, Leylin sighed inside. He was a high-ranked priest who was at least rank 17, and his wizard ranking would not be enough to subdue the priest. The opponent possessed a large number of powerful magic items.
However, being an arcanist allowed him to bypass the limitations of spell slots and the Weave. As long as he had enough arcane energy and the correct spell models, any spell under the legendary realm could be cast for a price.
This rank 9 Mage's Disjunction, for example, was a spell used specifically to deal with magic Professionals. Its focus was very powerful, and all items below legendary would be undone under this spell.
It could be said that arcane spells were the bane of all wizards! Most of the battle might of wizards depended on their magic items, and being stripped of them would be a deadly blow!
On top of that, the heartache of having the magic items formed with blood and tears, made of materials and resources that had been gathered painstakingly, was enough for wizards to cough up blood.
A prime example of this would be the bishop now. With his wealth and the numerous spells and items to aid his escape, Leylin's surprise attack alone was not enough to kill the opponent.
Now, however, all of the preparations he had made had been unravelled under Leylin's spell, completely losing their effects. Most high-ranked priests' divine spells were for buffs and healing. There were few that were meant for killing. Leylin's spell had taken out most of the bishop's strength.
"Damn it… How did you advance so quickly?" The bishop's face was almost green, eyes now bloodshot. No matter how much he had overestimated Leylin's strength, he would never have imagined that Leylin was extremely close to becoming legendary.
It was this huge oversight that led to his failure.
'This is just the effect of a Mage's Disjunction spell. If it's the legendary version, that would be the nightmare of all legendary wizards! Not only legendary items, even divine weapons could be damaged…' Leylin's eyes showed his thirst and intoxication. He then landed his gaze on the bishop.
"Wha– What do you want?" The bishop still held no fear for Leylin. There was only immense regret; regret that he had not prepared more.
"What I want? That's what I should be asking you, my dear bishop!" Leylin answered with a slight smile. At this moment, Isabel had abruptly sent out a few Dragon's Breaths and burnt a few high-ranked assassins to ashes.
Upon seeing this, the corner of the bishop's eyes began to twitch. These high-ranked assassins had been great helpers that he had nurtured with care. While their power was lacking in comparison to the one that had attacked Leylin, they were all elites! Now, however, their corpses lined the area, destroying all of the bishop's hard work over the years.
The defences of a Dragon Warlock's scales were exceedingly terrifying. On top of that, she had a legendary item in the Red Dragon Sword. These assassins' high-ranked enchanted daggers were no match at all, and once they crossed swords their lives were easily ended.
Meanwhile, the battle between the Scarlet Tigers and the bishop's pirates began to show who was on the winning side. The high-ranked pirates that had been hastily gathered were no match for Leylin's elites that had gone through countless battles.
The sounds of yells closed in, and even the warship that was the main force was caught up to and surrounded by the pirate ships. Numerous fleeing pirates surged out like the tide. Leylin seemed unruffled in the situation, a confidence inherent to his very being.
"Bishop. I haven't dealt with your church before, but you show malicious intent against us. Care to explain?" Leylin watched him, the glint from the A.I. Chip strengthening.
This bishop gave him a very different feeling from many priests. He'd seen his fair share, like the Gold Priest Xena who was in charge of the church of wealth on Faulen Island. The bishop wasn't like that.
[Beep! An abnormal energy reaction has been detected within the host's body.] The A.I. Chip performed a full body scan in front of Leylin's eyes. Many dark red spots had appeared on the translucent model, making it look demonic.
'As expected… Is this the contamination from abnormal energy?' Leylin wondered inside, 'It's a high-ranked priest, so this contamination should come from divine force!'
In Leylin's eyes, the holy light of a high-ranked bishop had now been contaminated so badly that it was beyond recognition. No matter what kind of god, divine force was better when it was pure. However, what Leylin saw was divine force that had been contaminated and warped.
'Has the God of Murder really gone mad? He doesn't even care about his priests… Also, this power of distortion…' Leylin felt a chill in his heart.
Legends said that Cyric, the Greater God of Murder, had begun to go insane. He was even planning to transform into a demon. His divine realm had signs of falling to the abyss, and it looked to be a possibility now!
The only being able to influence him that greatly would be Distorted Shadow!
'As expected of an ancient peak rank 8 Magus! Even after falling, he can still cause his opponents so much trouble…' Leylin could not help but sigh inside.
"Hm?" The bishop's eyes raised slightly. In this situation, Leylin's words sounded like he was amenable to persuasion.
"This… I can explain…" The bishop immediately gave Leylin a reason. Backing him was a true god, and a greater god at that. It was understandable that Leylin feared him. In the prime material plane, there had never been anyone with the guts to go against a greater god!
This was his belief in his god.
'The plan to use military force has completely failed, but it won't be bad if I can pull him to my side and make him a follower…' Traces of dark red light flashed in the bishop's eyes. He could not help but unclench his fingers from around a pendant he'd been clutching tightly.
"Now!" Leylin's eyes flickered, and an invisible spatial undulation flashed with a bright light.
"Hm?" The bishop was stunned, and immediately felt a sharp pain at his wrist.
*Pak!* His right hand fell to the ground, bright red blood seeping out. A miniature statue of a god fell down.
'He had no plans of complying!' The bishop's eyes went wide, and insanity flashed within. The only hand he had left began to grab towards Leylin's heart.
"It's too late… Finger of Death]" Leylin sighed. The dark rays from his hand disappeared into the bishop's forehead, causing the light in his eyes to dim.
*Thud!* The bishop's corpse fell heavily to the ground, causing the pirates to break down.
The rest of the matter was naturally left to his underlings. Leylin stood beside the Bishop's fallen right hand and saw the small pendant, looking deep in thought.
'God Descent? The material is strange, and it's even immune to the Mage's Disjunction attack…' With this thought, Leylin picked the pendant up.
It was rather small. It was a miniature statue of a god, with thin silver chains threaded through it glimmering brightly.
Greed
*Buzz!* The statue of the god began to rumble, divine force rippling like waves in water. It was as if it was about to come alive.
However, with the external activation not coming forth, the pendant restlessly shook a few times and then unwillingly stilled, losing its sheen.
"The divine summoning failed, huh. Apart from the divine force here, there is also the presence of the divine realm's coordinates and even the conscient of a god…" Leylin muttered.
At this moment, he felt an extremely bitter conscient radiating great power from the pendant, as if its rage was about to overflow.
'I'd need to worry if this was the true body, even if it's an avatar… But what's a trifling conscient like this?' Leylin harrumphed, and a Targaryen phantom appeared in his eyes.
"Hss!" The conscient of a near rank 7 descended, annihilating all signs of the conscient lingering in the pendant. Just before that conscient dissipated, the raging divine force calmed down like a wave in a tranquil sea.
"Not bad at all! The divine force contained in here could perhaps give me an unexpected surprise…" An expression of glee spread across Leylin's face.
The divine force of gods, to put it bluntly, was just a high-ranked power in a different form. It was considered venomous to others, and clerics could only receive the divine force of the gods they worshipped. However, it was all a supplement for Leylin.
'What a pity… If not for those powerful gods, I would have long since broken into many churches and robbed them of their divine force…' Leylin began his deductions.
Divine force, divinity, godfire, worshippers, divine spark; these were what the gods needed the most in increasing order.
With his current strength he could barely absorb some divinity, but it would destroy the foundations of his own cultivation. Needless to say, godfire or divine sparks were even more destructive for his body.
As for divine force? That was still well within Leylin's absorption capabilities. Moreover, Leylin had deliberately digested the divine force of certain gods. Until now, he had only managed to have chance encounters with Malar and Cyric.
These two crazy and sinisterly evil gods had overlapping domains, which laid out a foundation for Leylin's future plans.
'Looking at the divine force stored in this pendant… It should be enough to increase my spirit a little, or even balance the other aspects of my stats…' Leylin rubbed his chin. After eradicating the original conscient in the pendant, the divine force was now ownerless. Leylin could now absorb it slowly, with the greatest efficiency.
Through digesting this divine force Leylin would be able to analyse the process, helping him understand Cyric's divinity. If he met other gods of different domains, he would be able to create a whole new divinity all for himself!
'After tossing away this thing, even if this bishop managed to survive, he wouldn't have a happy ending… No! He would be even worse off after his death!' Leylin looked at the corpse on the floor and sighed.
Gods held control over the souls of their worshippers, and this was a high-ranking priest on top. Leylin hadn't completely destroyed his soul just now. Once it was inspected by the God of Death, this priest's soul would definitely be sent to Cyric's divine realm.
As for what punishments the cleric would receive, no more words had to be said.
"What a pitiful fellow… " Leylin was, of course, not sympathetic in the slightest bit. He quickly tossed this matter to the back of his mind.
"It seems like they were small crews roped in from Pirates' Cove. Apart from the elites of the churches, there aren't many forces would could execute something like this!" Isabel trod on the face of a pirate captain, using their robes to wipe clean the Red Dragon Sword as she grumbled.
With the activation of the bloodline, she'd also inherited a warrior-like thirst for war.
"Yes. Had they been given time to train we would've had a much bigger problem…" Leylin nodded his head in approval, very soon ordering Ronald to clean up the mess.
As dusk approached, the sky above the sea was dyed a crimson red. The entire region was littered with the remnants of broken ships and boats. Splintered masts and flags covered half the place, and not too far from that scene were many floating corpses, blood continuing to ooze and trickle from their bloated bodies.
The enormous pirate crew slowly left, leaving a trail of destruction behind them. From this day onwards, everyone would know that two epic battles were fought in this forsaken region, devastating and annihilating two giants of the seas in one stroke.
"This atmosphere and scenery… I really want to lift my voice in song…!"
*Crash! Rumble!* A figure wearing lavish noble robes descended from the sky. He exuded an aura of charisma and elegance, yet a pair of black wings spread from his back. Apart from the difference in colour, this figure looked just like an angel, with many beautiful features. However, his image was shattered the moment anyone looked into his eyes.
"That Baron Leylin… He rules the outer seas from today, eh? I really am looking forward to it…" This person was obviously Neville, but his pupils had now turned a silvery hue, with no traces of affection in them. With just one glance into his eyes, one would feel their soul turning frigid.
Neville's black wings shook slightly as they supported his weight. At this moment, this demon looked at the Scarlet Tiger ship sailing away, as he pondered deep in his thoughts. 'Strong, determined, decisive, brave…Once a soul with these qualities falls, the strength that would manifest would definitely be able to give birth to a greater devil…'
"As expected, it's a devil huh?" An indifferent voice sounded behind him, which turned made Neville freeze in his motions.
He turned his head around slowly, looking at the young noble wizard that should have left. Yet he was now floating in the air alongside him with his arms crossed, a hint of mockery flickering in his eyes.
"Hello mighty wizard, ruler of the outer seas! I am Neville, of the third hell. I hereby extend my greetings to you, with utmost respect!" After giving Leylin a once-over, Neville greeted Leylin decorously, with his right hand on his chest.
"I believe that in the future there will be a day where you'll require my services!"
"One cannot trust a deal with devils. Not to mention that you tried to lure me into a ploy… Anyone who tries to challenge me will never live past the day…" Leylin uttered his words icily, and a silver spell formation wrapped Neville up.
"Wait… I can still give you… Many things that you would not think of! Material possessions of the prime material world, authority that cannot be challenged, and also many beauties…" The silver spell formation seemed to be able to suppress devils. As his black feathers came into contact with the light barrier, they burnt up to release a charred smell.
"The promise of a devil? Hahaha…" Leylin smiled faintly, his golden pupils turning a deep hue that was darker than the abyss. The phantom of a Targaryen appeared behind him.
A terrifying devouring energy burst forth from the spell formation, completely engulfing Neville within.
"This devouring power… as well as laws… You are…!" Neville's eyes flashed with understanding, but before he could utter the truth his body vanished into the spell formation.
"The ruler of the third level of hell, the Duke of Greed… Mammon, huh?" Leylin uttered his breath and closed his eyes, relishing in the energy that he was absorbing.
[Beep! Host absorbed a large amount of energy. Agility +1, Vitality +1.] The A.I. Chip voice intoned.
Very soon, another notification appeared, and it caused Leylin to become gleeful.
[Host has devoured a devil from the third hell. Laws of devouring have been activated, obtained information on laws of greed]
"Isn't this the devouring technique of my main body?" Leylin muttered. His main body controlled the laws of gluttony, and through constantly devouring these laws he would gain a higher enlightenment of them. The devil from the third hell had enlightened him a little in that aspect.
"My main body's injuries have begun to heal faster than normal then… Its support has increased…" Leylin was elated. His stats had now changed:
[Leylin Faulen, Age: 22. Race: Human, Rank 16 Arcanist. Strength: 13. Agility: 12. Vitality: 13. Spirit: 16. Arcane Energy: 160. Status: Healthy. Feats: Sturdy, Erudite, Elementary Perfect Body. Specialties: Arcane Energy Detection, Arcane Amplification.]
"I have also absorbed some information on the laws of greed? It seems like Beelzebub was indeed one of the dukes of hell. Even after making changes to it, it is still highly adaptable to the laws from the abyss!"
Leylin gazed towards the horizon. "The outer seas are now my base, impenetrable to outside forces. Be it from hell or any divine realm, no threat…"
A high-level flight spell lit up, and very soon Leylin's figure was just a black dot in the distance, slowly disappearing into the horizon.
More repercussions were brewing and intensifying in the aftermath of this event…
...
In another part of the continent, in the midst of a gloomy valley.
An aura of death permeated the air, and there was a black church at the valley's center. Magical light filled the area, and even legendaries would perish within it.
Just as the bishop was about to perish, a white-browed priest raised his head in the church.
"Men!"
"Your holiness!" Several dark robed priests answered immediately with reverence in their eyes. Standing in front of them was a core member of the Church of Cyric, a legendary priest!
Divine Force
"Jesfano, that piece of trash. Not only did he die, he also lost the master's token…" The old man's voice was incredibly hoarse, and it held an unendurably strange tone as he pointed out an earth-shattering fact.
"What? That happened at the Dambrath outer seas?" These black-robed priests exchanged glances, seeing shock in all of their eyes.
They were unwilling to think about what had happened to Jesfano.
In the Underdark, the druid elves that angered the spider empress Lolth would turn into terrifying half-spider monsters. For Jesfano, whose soul was in the hands of his god, he would be in a worse state.
Even the black-robed priests felt sorrowful on his behalf., but it didn't last for long. The old man slowly scanned them, the whites of his eyes brightening slightly, "Jesfona was already a high-ranked priest. We'll have to dispatch a legendary to be able to find out what happened. Who's free right now?"
One of the priests muttered to himself, then continued, "Lord Shadow Mask's whereabouts are unknown now, while Crimson Eye is at the barren west. It'll be very inconvenient for them…"
"As for my own subordinates, the north is still rather unstable. A few lords have been pursuing Queen Alustriel, and there still haven't been any results…" another black-robed priest reported. This was the pain of large organisations. While their influence was spread throughout the prime material plane, it was not so simple to make use of their high-tier forces.
"How's the Cadaver Collector doing?" Since the old man had ordered this, he must have his own plans.
The last one hesitated for a while before speaking, "He has yet to complete his experiments…"
"Tell him to rush to the outer seas once he's done. I want him to skin the scalp of the sinner who had the gall to kill my master's priest!" The elderly man spoke slowly, and then knelt in front of the idol and began to pray, immoveable. He was like the most solid statue himself.
The black-robed priests glanced at each other and retreated.
...
Leylin was completely clueless about the matters on the mainland, but he had his own predictions. He had returned to Port Venus undisturbed, and hid in his wizard tower.
"This serenity should be maintained for a period of time. Even if the God of Murder's church wants to take revenge, the time taken for them to investigate and dispatch men should be enough for me to advance…"
Leylin was now seated in the core of the wizard tower. There were terrifying isolation runes on the walls around him, and the tower genie was strictly monitoring everything. With its help Port Venus had become the harbour with the best security. Crime rates were currently very low, which attracted even more merchants into business here.
Leylin knew very well that even more trade was coming in. That was the result of eliminating the Barbarians.
'Cousin should know that they can attack Pirates' Cove and treat that area as an eternal base…' Leylin placed the steaming cup on the table, a ruminating look on his expression, 'I never thought I would become the source and driving force of chaos in the outer sea…'
At this thought, Leylin could not help but look at the other item on the table. This was a pendant of a strange make, containing surging strength within. Yet, it had lost its own spiritual nature and turned into an enormous source of energy that anyone could use.
"Now that I've removed the conscient and sealed it, the God of Murder shouldn't be able to sense it anymore, no?" Leylin did not mention Cyric's name. This was cautiousness on a fundamental level. Just mentioning a god's name would allow them to sense things.
'The information in the Wizards' Guild stated that greater gods can obtain 15 to 18 words of information on the ones who call their truenames, regardless of where they are…' Leylin stroked his chin.
This ability was somewhat similar to a part of the abilities of great rank 9 Magi, who were capable of everything and knew everything. It was a pity that this was just a part of it, and was a unique law that had been generated specific to the World of Gods. There were far too many ways to evade it.
'Also… such a tremendous divine force… What a huge gift!' Leylin spread his fingers and began to rub on the surface of the pendant. Threads of chaotic energy had been transformed by his devouring power, becoming the purest dark gold. Leylin absorbed it unceasingly.
Leylin now had given up the vulgar method of devouring everything at one go, and had switched his method to making fine adjustments and changes continuously. While the divine force of the God of Murder was powerful, it seemed to impure, and the power of the Distorted Shadow was continuously seeping in from it. What Leylin needed was to refine the purest divine force and use it on himself.
As the divine force was poured into himself, a golden mist formed around Leylin, like he was a god cast of gold.
The A.I. Chip's prompts kept sounding out. [Beep! Host has absorbed large amounts of energy essence. Determined to be a greater god's divine force. Effect similar to eternal grace from the god.] [Host's stats have increased, Strength +1. Agility +1. Vitality +1.]
As the A.I. Chip's robotic voice sounded, Leylin felt like his body had been enhanced. Terrifying strength burst forth from all his cells.
"As expected of a greater god's divine force…" Leylin sighed with satisfaction.
"A.I. Chip, assess the value of all the divine force!" He commanded.
[Beep! Mission established. Constructing model of host's body. Beginning simulations…] The A.I. Chip loyally carried out Leylin's orders. Within seconds, it had a comprehensive conclusion.
[Beep! Preliminary results show that the pendant will be used up completely in 145h 12min. Host's average stats estimated to reach 15, will advance one rank as an arcanist.]
"Is that so? That's not bad… On top of that…" Leylin saw the A.I. Chip's prompt below. [Beep! Analysis of level 5 Weave at 100%. Host has obtained all rank 5 spell models, is now immune to forgetting spells. No materials needed to cast rank 5 spells.]
There was a new change to the A.I. Chip's interface, in the portion related to the progress on the Weave.
[Analysis of Weave: Level 0: 100%, Level 1: 100%, Level 2: 100%, Level 3: 100%, Level 4: 100%, Level 5: 100%, Level 6: 53.33%, Level 7: 34.97%.]
'So divine force is also effective at deciphering the Weave…' Leylin nodded, 'It also seems to have something to do with me becoming an arcanist. Now that I've somewhat broken away from it, the analysis has quickened quite a bit…'
Becoming an arcanist was a huge advancement for Leylin. It wasn't just a change in combat ability, he could now completely break through the Weave that limited wizards.
With the restrictions of the Weave, high-ranked wizards after rank 15 would find advancing extremely difficult, Becoming a legendary was also incomparably harsh. It was easier for legendary warriors; becoming a legendary wizard before turning three hundred would already make one extremely young!
Leylin had a feeling that, after experiencing the dusk of the gods and the rise of the Netheril Empire, the gods had consciously limited the abilities of the spellcasters and prevented them from improving and growing.
However, this did not apply to arcanists. As long as they had the theories and a foundation, as well as enough resources, there was nothing stopping arcanists from advancing! However, the difficulty for arcanists lay in constructing theories applying to the higher ranks or even legendaries. This was much harder than for wizards.
In ancient times, the difficulty in arcanists advancing far exceeded that of the wizards. But Leylin was different. His main body was a near rank 7 Magus of laws! His foundation was extremely solid for the nonlimited arcane arts. With enough capabilities, he could constantly improve.
With the recuperation of his body and restoration of his law of devouring, as well as Cyric's bishop's 'altruistic' offering, he was pushed into the fast lane of advancement.
'Only legendaries are high-end battle powers in the prime material plane. I must become a legendary as soon as possible; only then will I have the confidence and capital to separate the outer seas…' When it came to his future development and plans, Leylin practically had a complete set of steps to follow.
'Before this, I need to crack down on the faith of the natives and the various devil and demon worshippers, as well as the followers of evil gods…' Leylin got up slowly, the great energy in his body turning into terrifying streams of air in the private room.
'I'll need to alter my outer appearance. It wouldn't be fun to be misunderstood as related to the God of Murder!' With a thought, all of Leylin's divine force was converted into the purest energy. The faint golden light on his skin completely disappeared.
"Master, the guests have arrived outside the tower!" The tower genie spoke respectfully, her little face appearing at this moment.
"I'll greet them myself!" Leylin nodded.
He headed outside the wizard tower and saw the figure of Gold Priest Xena. Beside her were the priests of a few other churches, though they were only around rank 10.
"Bishop Xena, everyone else, welcome to my wizard tower!" Leylin had a cordial smile on his face. In that moment, it was as if spring had arrived and all sorts of beautiful flowers were blooming.
'This power of influence… How terrifying! What state is his spiritual force in now?' While having shock in her eyes, Xena similarly revealed a smile, "Lord Baron, you're too courteous! As guests, our gifts are lacking. This isn't good manners…"
Meeting
After giving them a tour of the tower, Leylin brought the priests to the drawing room. The metallic golems arrived quickly, presenting tea and snacks in elven porcelain.
"May I know why Lord Baron invited us here?" Xena took a look at these golems that were about as strong as rank 10 Professionals, and increased Leylin's rating in her mind.
Beside her as a representative of the Goddess of Wealth's church, there were also priests from the Gods of Knowledge and Suffering. However, Xena was the highest-ranked, and the influence of the Goddess of Wealth was the greatest here. It allowed her to act on behalf of the other two.
"Before all that, I'd first like to give you two gifts!" Leylin clapped, and another golem came forward, placing two boxes in front of them. Once they were opened, a pungent smell wafted out with large amounts of lime powder. It caused Xena to furrow her brows. She slowly drew closer.
"This is…" She suddenly took several steps backwards after seeing what was inside.
"Ah…" "It's actually…"
If Xena had reacted that way, the other two priests had even larger reactions.
"Lord Leylin, are you using this to scare us?" Xena's tone was of dissatisfaction, as the box contained two sinister heads. Showing heads to these priests was no sign of goodwill.
"Hehe… I'm obviously not offending you. Please take a closer look…" Leylin had an easy smile on his face.
After confirming that Leylin would not fall out with the church of wealth, Xena endured the nausea and discomfort and began to observe the sinister faces in the box.
After taking a closer look, she found something was wrong. "Hm? This …"
The two other priests also seemed to have noticed something as well, delight showing on their expressions.
"Lord Leylin, this is…" The priest of the God of Suffering, Avdonia, began sounding unsure.
"Indeed, this is the high-ranked assassin that killed numerous men of the clergy during the Pirates' Tide."
Leylin pointed at the box on the left, "As for the one next to him, it is the bishop of the God of Murder hidden in the outer seas, Jesfano!"
"Hah… On behalf of all my comrades that met harm, I thank you!" Xena covered the boxes and sighed. The two other priests also thanked him happily.
During the Pirates' Tide, the God of Murder had dispatched his subordinates to assassinate those of godly duties without regard. This had resulted in massive losses on the gods' end. The churches that the three priests in front of Leylin represented were also included in the scope of the attacks, so it could be said that they had a feud with these two people.
The fact that Leylin had given them these two heads as gifts made them rather pleased.
"Well then… What does Lord Leylin wish to speak about?" The priest that had come in the bishop of the God of Knowledge's stead was one that looked like an elderly scholar. The man called Salilus questioned Leylin with an intelligent glint in his eyes. After hearing his words, Xena and Avdonia focused on Leylin.
"Actually, these two heads were surprises that I obtained when exterminating the notorious Barbarians…" Leylin explained slightly.
"The Barbarians? You mean the culprit that started the Pirates' Tide causing heavy casualties in the outer seas? They've been wiped out?" Xena was rather surprised, while Leylin snickered inside.
By defaming the Barbarians over the long term, especially with the king's announcement, the Barbarians were now complete criminals. There was no way to absolve themselves of this reputation.
"Mm. They weren't just pirates, they were connected with the God of Murder's church!" Leylin declared, which then earned him flattery reserved for young heroes from Salilus.
"But…" When Leylin continued however, his tone completely changed, which made the three priests aware that Leylin was about to come to the main point.
"I believe that the outer seas as they are right now are in urgent need of a purge of faith in evil gods. This applies especially to those pirates and natives…" Leylin spoke in a low voice, his true intentions now revealed.
"A purge of faith?" The three of them exchanged glances in their surprise.
"Yes, a purge!" Leylin nodded resolutely.
While he treated the outer seas as his trump card, he could not offend all of the gods. Cyric and Malar's reputations were rotten to the core, so that didn't matter, but the few churches on Faulen Island needed to be roped in to his side. They could be considered as the Faulen Family's natural allies.
As for the unlucky bishop of the God of Murder, Leylin was sorry to say that he could only be treated as just another stepping stone.
"Also… when it comes to dealing blows to the devils and demons, there are many ways we can cooperate in the future. I myself have come up with many new spell formations to detect demons and devils…" Leylin looked extremely furious.
Getting the favour of the good faction via proclaiming his wish to attack the devils and demons was a part of his plan. He could keep subduing them in the shadows to expand his strength, which made it like killing two birds with one stone.
"Oh? Please allow us to discuss this for a while…" Xena looked towards the priests beside her and answered, finding herself put in a spot.
From Leylin's actions, it was apparent that he was making a declaration to dominate the outer seas. Most importantly, with the annihilation of the Barbarians and uprooting the God of Murder's church, there now seemed to be no other opposing forces on the sea.
As those of the clergy, they would first have to consider the benefits to their churches. Everything else was secondary.
Unifying the outer sea and cracking down on faith in evil gods and devils was unquestionably beneficial for the gods they had faith in. Of course, this was only if they stood on the same side as Leylin and worked together with him.
'He has the ability to destroy the Barbarians in secret… Seems like the rumours that the Faulen Family has control over the Scarlet Tigers is true…' Xena glanced at Leylin, who was all smiles, and pondered over this.
'With huge armed fleets on the surface and a pirate group in the shadows, as well as huge trade benefits and shipping routes supporting him, it is undeniable that he shall be king of the outer seas. Rejecting his goodwill at this time is very unfavourable to the goddess' upcoming plans…'
Xena was actually very unwilling to see a single organisation becoming the dictator of the outer seas. She would rather this region be a place for free trade. However, she was currently left without choice.
The moment she infuriated a large organisation like this capable of unifying the outer seas, there would be a huge blow to trades in this region. This was also disadvantageous to the spread of faith in the Goddess of Wealth. Xena kept weighing her options.
'But… attacking the evil gods, devils and demons?' Zona shot Leylin a glance. While she had no clue what he was actually thinking, doing this meant she could tell what faction Leylin was in. At the very least, he was not on opposing ends with the Goddess of Wealth.
"In this regard… Please give me some time, my Lord. I need to discuss this with other members before I can make a decision!" While she already had a general inclination to agree, Xena still answered this way.
"The same goes for us." At the other side, Salilus and Avdonia gave the same answer.
"Of course! This is just my intent. My family also has no plans of sending out troops on a large scale as of yet…" Leylin knew that these priests needed the permissions of their churches and even gods, which was why he didn't pressure them. Whatever it was, this would be beneficial to them. He was sure that those with foresight could see this.
"As for the new detection spell and spell formations that you mentioned…" Before leaving, Zona displayed her strong interest in what Leylin had mentioned.
"Those are things I put research into and created unwittingly. They're about half a fold more effective than ancient detection techniques, and the same goes for the range!" Leylin spoke indifferently, but that only caused the priests' eyes to glint.
Demons and devils were the most hated beings in the prime material plane of the World of Gods! Altars and spells that could detect and distinguish them, especially those as effective and with as large a range as Leylin had said, were definitely the dreams of the churches.
"To be able create new spells alone… I was actually doubtful of my Lord's talent in spells, but my doubts have been set aside." The priest of the God of Knowledge, Salilus, spoke with conviction.
Even if it was the simplest distinguishing and detection spells, being able to create a whole new spell model meant that Leylin's knowledge in terms of spells had reached a very profound level. Wizards like these were more capable of reaching the realm of legendaries. This was how it was recorded in many documents. Leylin had exhibited his abilities here, and Salilus could not help but brighten up.
"Many thanks for the praise. I can discuss matters related to this more comprehensively if you wish to!" Leylin was, on the surface, still a follower of Oghma. Naturally, he had to give this bishop preferential treatment, as well as give the other two some pressure.
"Of course, of course!" Salilus nodded with his eyes wide, while the other two looked wary.
After sending the three priests away, Leylin strolled back to his room.
'There aren't anymore issues in persuading them…' he thought, 'I'll have a reason to purge the outer seas and call for help. All that's left is to make preparations…'
By purging the faith of the natives in the outer seas and stealing their soul strength, he could constantly advance, speeding up his contact with the legendary realm. In the meanwhile, he could also expunge the devils and demons. This was Leylin's main plan that would never change!