"Hmm?"
At that moment, both Fantix and the dark elf matron across from them turned their heads to the side.
"Fantix, I'm coming to help you!"
Leilin was closing in at high speed, the wind whipping at the hem of his robes with a sharp, snapping sound.
"Shadow Hand!"
Massive shadows extended from behind Leilin, coalescing into the shape of enormous hands, blocking the matron to one side.
"How are you? How much mana do you have left?" Leilin glanced at Fantix, whose face had already turned noticeably pale.
"Half left — enough to sustain one high-powered spell! What about you?"
Seeing Leilin arrive, Fantix let out a heavy sigh of relief.
"I've already dealt with that matron. Now there's only her left!"
Leilin pointed at the matron opposite them. "I remember you have one more devastating offensive spell — Prison Chain Thunder, right? I'll hold her down, you get it ready fast!"
"Done!" Fantix gritted his teeth.
Though he had some inkling of what Leilin was planning, the matron across from him was his mortal enemy! In the previous wars, even his mortal counterpart, Duke Fantix, had fallen to her armies. He wanted nothing more than to see her dead!
Besides, this was wartime — killing the enemy matron would be an enormous military achievement!
And Leilin, looking at the matron across from them, allowed a faint smile to cross his face…
Minutes later, following a tremendous roar from Fantix, blinding blue lightning instantly flooded the area. Countless serpents of electricity writhed wildly, enveloping the matron completely.
Thunder rolled and churned, and after several minutes, fragments of charred remains and ash drifted down from midair.
"The dark elves are retreating!"
Just as Leilin and Fantix finished tidying up their side, a second-rank female wizard hurried over. "The matron who was fighting me received some kind of intelligence and suddenly fled — I couldn't even keep up with her… Ah! You… you killed her…"
The female wizard clapped a hand over her mouth, shock written plainly across her face.
…
The dark elves besieging Dulun City soon withdrew.
The three thousand Cold Spider Knights that had attacked earlier had already represented the bulk of the Eastern Domain's forces, and many had been temporarily requisitioned from the other two armies.
Now, suffering the double blow of Leilin's toxins and the subsequent counterattack, they had lost more than half their number. The siege of Dulun City was resolved in an instant, even triggering a chain reaction.
More than that, the death of a second-rank matron thrust Dulun City into the spotlight.
But neither Fantix nor Leilin chose to rest. Instead, they pressed on without pause, leading their armies to reinforce the other two major cities.
With the balance of power shifted, the dark elves retreated in succession until they were driven entirely from the Eastern Domain — a much-needed shot of morale for humanity.
As for the credit for slaying the matron? Due to Leilin's deliberate low profile, it all went to Fantix.
He didn't care about empty titles, but Fantix clearly needed them — there seemed to be some deeper grudge involved. Leilin was happy to do him the favor. After all, Fantix had helped him quite a bit before, and had even promised to repay it double in the future.
…
"The Eastern Domain won? That's wonderful!"
Meanwhile, in another city, Ailin also received this news.
He was wrapped in a tattered grey cloak, his face smeared with soot, the fluctuations of his energy concealed by the ring on his finger.
The entire city had plunged into an ocean of celebration.
Whether nobles, commoners, or knights, the moment they heard the news, they flooded the streets, venting their elation without restraint.
The shadow of the dark elves had loomed over this land for far too long. Coupled with the fall of the Northern Domain and the horrifying reports of countless mortal towns being massacred, people desperately needed some good news to lift their spirits.
As a result, even the city lord's manor generously opened its plaza and ordered the cooks to prepare large quantities of oat bread and fruit preserves to treat the citizens.
"These are all good things — but they're far too distant from your concerns!"
A streak of white light shot from the black ring, projecting into Ailin's mind and forming the image of a wise old man.
"Now that you have the item, get moving! The Manbo Family that rules this place won't take kindly to theft!"
"I know!!" Ailin nodded grimly, then vanished into the crowd.
Within minutes of his departure, a small squad of soldiers surrounded the area. Red flames burned as the silhouette of a woman in pink robes emerged from within.
"I sense it — he was just here! Seal the city! He must not escape!"
The woman spoke with a dark expression, and the soldiers around her immediately dispersed. Soon, piercing horn blasts echoed across the entire city.
"How dare you steal our family's most precious treasure! I'll make you pay in blood and flesh!" The woman cast one final glance at the area, uttered her terrifying oath, then strode into the flames.
Whoosh! The flames surged violently upward to a height of five or six meters, and the woman's figure vanished completely.
"Hah… hah…"
After evading several waves of searchers, Ailin finally slipped out of the city and reached a hiding spot he had prepared in advance.
It was an underground cavern. After erasing the traces of the entrance and activating a barrier of light for defense, Ailin finally let out a full sigh of relief and collapsed onto the ground.
"That was way too dangerous! It was just one material! Did they really need to chase me that hard?" Ailin grumbled, then turned his attention to
"Hee hee… Don't worry, the Tear Gem was the hardest to obtain. The next few items will be much easier to acquire… as long as you have your foresight…"
Then the old man's expression turned serious again. "The Tear Gem is the Manbo Family's greatest treasure — heavy guards are only natural. What's troublesome is the weakness curse you've been afflicted with. I need time to analyze it, and for at least two months, you'll be limited to apprentice-level strength…"
"Sigh… There's nothing I can do about it." Ailin sighed, and thinking of the pink-robed female wizard from just now, the muscles on his face twitched involuntarily.
"I'm still too weak, Grandpa Merlin. Is there any way to rapidly advance the Sacred Light Candlefire?"
"Of course there is!" Merlin stroked his white beard.
"While many advanced Meditation Methods become increasingly difficult at higher stages — and without certain special resources from other worlds, advancement becomes impossible — my Sacred Light Candlefire is different!"
Merlin's voice carried pride and a wistful note of reminiscence.
"My Sacred Light Candlefire not only grants you the power to foresee destiny, but it can also advance rapidly by absorbing convergence points of destiny's power! In theory, the greater the disruption you cause to the flow of destiny, the more terrifying the advancement you can achieve!"
"Hiss…" Ailin drew in a sharp breath. "Then if I turned the Dark Extreme Domain completely upside down, wouldn't I be able to advance to Dawn Star
"Keep dreaming!" Merlin shot Ailin a withering look of contempt. "How immense is the power of destiny! Even the slightest nudge to the River of Destiny could see you crushed to dust by its momentum! I practiced the Sacred Light Candlefire for hundreds of years, and I only dared to follow destiny's footsteps and accelerate the process ever so slightly…"
"Regardless! This can truly accelerate my growth in strength! I'm doing it!" Ailin clenched his fist fiercely.
His return to the school this time — while he had used his status as an official wizard to make the other party pay a certain price — still fell far short of what he had envisioned.
That young nobleman who had stolen his fiancée was backed by an entire wizard family with an official wizard of their own. Ailin couldn't do anything about it; he could only force the man to cancel the engagement and offer an apology.
After that experience, the desire for power that burned in his heart only grew fiercer.
That was why he had eagerly set out to travel and collect the materials needed to forge the Fallen Longsword.
"So where exactly are these convergence points of destiny?" Ailin looked at Grandpa Merlin, hope shining in his eyes.
"That, you'll need to find for yourself!" Merlin said meaningfully.
"Ah! It's the Sacred Light Candlefire!" Ailin's eyes lit up.
"That's right! You've advanced to official wizard — you can now catch a glimpse of the true River of Destiny!" Merlin's smile was exceedingly warm.
"I'll go look right now!"
Ailin eagerly sat down and sank into a state of meditation.
A strange spiritual power emanated from his body, connecting with the intangible currents of time and the River of History.
"Hm?" Ailin suddenly lurched, clutching his head as a scream tore from his throat.
Fractured images, carrying the stench of vengeful spirits and blood, bombarded his mind relentlessly.
"…In the Central Dark Extreme Domain, a young wizard in black robes was delivering an impassioned speech in a basement. Below him sat a circle of gaunt, sallow-faced youths — the only difference being that their eyes all burned with extraordinary brightness, as if lit by flame. Behind the wizard, a distorted spider pattern flickered in and out of view…"
"…The Elven Empire! A young man riding a giant cave spider was cheering exuberantly, while beside him walked a dark elf wearing a bitter, resigned smile…"
Beyond these, scattered fragments of other visions flashed through as well, making Ailin feel as though a brick had been forcefully jammed into his skull.
It took roughly half an hour before Ailin recovered, though he was still panting heavily.
"Those two people just now — they are the greatest convergence points of destiny's power!" His voice was utterly certain.
"As long as I stay close to them and earn their trust, I can exert influence over the sons of destiny and accelerate the advancement of the Sacred Light Candlefire!"
"When that time comes, you'll all die! Haha…"
Ailin began to roar loudly, a hint of creeping madness flickering across his features.