After Leilin finished speaking, he flicked his robe and was about to leave.
"Where are you going?" Xishan asked coldly.
"Obviously to clean up the aftermath, and to arrange for the Dark Wizards to take over the defensive array and supplies…" Leilin's figure gradually faded into the distance, his voice the only thing left echoing in the room.
Leilin returned to his own quarters the whole way. He opened a hidden door, revealing a basement underneath.
"My Lord!" A dwarf dressed in black bowed to Leilin.
"Mm." Leilin nodded, then pointed a finger at the dwarf. A spark of bright yellow light shot from his fingertip and sank into the dwarf's forehead.
The dwarf's body swelled in an instant. Dark green veins writhed across his muscles like small serpents.
Crack!
The dwarf's body kept expanding, and in the blink of an eye he transformed from a small runt into a hulking man a full head taller than an average adult! As his frame grew larger and larger, his black clothes were ripped apart, revealing a masculine, athletic physique. Yet across what had been an almost perfect male body, all manner of rune brands now covered the skin, forming the pattern of a strange magical array.
The big man, whose body was branded with the wizard's array, twitched unconsciously without cease. Beads of cold sweat the size of beans dripped from his face. It was clear that this transformation was anything but pleasant for him, but the man clenched his teeth so hard they creaked, and did not let a single sound escape.
"Good work! Number Two!" Leilin looked at the big man and offered faint praise.
"It is my honor to serve the Master!" The big man was none other than one of the two Branded Swordsmen under Leilin's command!
Originally, with Number Two's strength as a Branded Swordsman, he should have been more than capable of killing Wader, who was suffering from a curse and whose power had been drastically weakened. The mission's failure had been entirely at Leilin's deliberate instruction.
Even the warning note Wader had received beforehand had been planted by Leilin on purpose.
"I've already given you a helping hand as it is! What comes next depends on your luck!"
Leilin let out a soft sigh. His gaze seemed to pierce through the void itself, settling on Wader, who was already on the run.
He had done this on a mere whim.
After all, he and Wader had a decent relationship, and it was through Wader that he had gained entry to the Four Seasons Garden. There was some debt of favors between them.
Though Leonaut had harbored malicious intentions and Leilin had struck back fiercely—even causing Leonaut's death indirectly at his hands—none of that had anything to do with Wader.
So Leilin didn't mind letting him go when it was convenient to do so.
Even setting that aside, the current Wader, even if he still possessed a sliver of wizard talent, was long beneath Leilin's notice. If he wanted to seek revenge someday, Leilin could simply kill him then.
After this, Leilin considered himself to have fully repaid every favor he owed Wader. If next time the man was foolish enough to provoke Leilin again, he would be killed on the spot without any discussion.
In Leilin's heart, there had always been a clear line drawn.
As long as Wader was still somewhat useful and their relationship remained decent, Leilin would let him off once in passing. Had their bond been even stronger, Leilin might well have arranged for Number Two and Three to escort him out entirely, rather than leaving him to fend for himself as he was doing now.
Of course, all of this was predicated on not harming Leilin's own interests. Otherwise, no relationship or favor would save anyone from his blade!
"I won't be sending anyone to hunt him down, but Xishan, to ensure security, will certainly deploy the Dark Wizards of the Thousand Leaf Hand to pursue him! Good luck to you!"
Leilin estimated that Wader's chances of surviving outside were no more than forty percent—and that was factoring in his own luck and other favorable variables.
Still, that was infinitely better than the certain death that awaited him at headquarters. So Leilin merely let out a brief sigh of emotion before casting Wader's affairs to the back of his mind. After ordering Number Two and Three to remain hidden as his reserve cards, he headed straight for the area where the Array Spirit's core was located.
As for Xishan's orders or anything of the sort, they had long since been cast aside. After all, did Xishan really dare to fall out with him over something like this?
The Array Spirit's core was now located at the very center of the Four Seasons Garden headquarters, not far from where Leonaut's office had once been.
Here, every few steps brought sight of solemn-faced White Wizards carrying out patrol duties. Among them were not only White Wizards from the Four Seasons Garden itself, but Leilin even spotted a few from the Lightning Corps.
In Leilin's view, the Array Spirit core was equivalent to a server room in later ages—it governed the entire Four Seasons Garden's magical defensive array, making its position vitally important. And after the previous attack, the defensive level had naturally been raised several more notches!
But all of this was nothing more than a showpiece to Leilin. He was now one of the two highest-ranking individuals in the Four Seasons Garden here, and when these wizards saw him, rather than stepping forward to question him, they saluted on the spot.
After dismissing the wizards outside, Leilin walked straight into the room where the Array Spirit resided.