"Rest assured, I absolutely won't let any of this slip!" Leilin, who understood what he meant, immediately gave his guarantee.
"Mm! Good! Next I'll take you around to see the estate you've been assigned, the trading hall, and so on! Every Komori Giant Serpent warlock is one of our organization's most precious resources, and will receive the best allocation and care…"
The Ouroboros Ring held a fair amount of renown on the Central Continent, and naturally controlled a vast territory on which many mortals and even Wizard Apprentices lived.
A portion of these territories would typically be carved out as noble fiefs and distributed to members of the organization.
Among the warlock nobles of the Ouroboros Ring, some built grand castles on their lands, settled there permanently, rarely visiting headquarters, and gradually branching out to establish their own families.
Those warlocks who still harbored ambitions for advancement did the exact opposite — they handed their territories over to others to manage and spent all their time at headquarters.
Leilin held the rank of Marquis, so the territory he would receive was quite extensive, and the resources and Magic Stones produced there were far beyond what the barren South Coast or the Dark Pole Region could offer.
Moreover, even at the Ouroboros Ring's headquarters, he would be assigned an independent space the size of an estate as his personal residence.
Screens resembling stock exchange tickers hung in midair, their numbers constantly flickering in various colors.
Below them, warlocks of every rank hurried to and fro, whispering through small service windows.
This was the kind of place every organization had — a mission board of sorts that also handled a portion of trade and exchange functions. Leilin was naturally quite familiar with it, though the scale of this trading hall dwarfed anything he had experienced before. What made him flush with embarrassment even more was a line displayed on the screen: "I am a Level One Komori Giant Serpent warlock with excellent bloodline purity. Offering a one-night seed-planting opportunity! Price: 1,000 Contribution Points. Condition: The female partner's appearance must pass approval!"
"This is…" Leilin didn't even know what to say.
"Ha ha!" Robin, on the other hand, was completely used to it.
"After a bloodline warlock family goes through ten or so generations, the inherited bloodline concentration gradually diminishes — there are very few exceptions. Even in families of Komori Giant Serpent warlocks, degradation can occur, producing descendants with Horall Black Serpent or even Manxter Giant Serpent bloodlines… If this continues, those families will gradually decline and eventually perish… So, seeking out warlocks with higher bloodline purity to sire children, in order to improve the family's bloodline, has become a common practice for many warlock families. Some lower-level Komori Giant Serpent warlocks even make a living this way — though warlocks find it difficult to produce offspring, with enough attempts, there's always a chance…"
"I know that!" Leilin rolled his eyes, though this sort of behavior — not unlike the gigolos of his previous life — still left him rather dispirited.
"Come to think of it! Looking at you, Leilin, your bloodline is extremely pure and your own rank is quite high — you should watch out for those female warlocks. They can be absolutely crazy!"
Robin's face wore a teasing expression as he said this with a half-joking tone.
"Regardless, I am absolutely not doing anything like that!" Leilin said with firm conviction. This was simply pushing past his tolerance threshold — no matter what, he would never accept such a completely shameless method.
"It's not really up to you whether you want to or not. Some female warlocks will even forcibly abduct male warlocks with high bloodline purity and keep them until they've conceived a child with the bloodline, then release them. Because the males don't suffer any real material loss and the matter would damage their reputation, they tend to swallow their grievances in silence — and it's very difficult for us to intervene…"
Robin continued with words that left Leilin completely speechless.
"Of course, with your current strength, there aren't many female warlocks in the Ouroboros Ring who could forcibly drag you away anymore!"
Robin looked Leilin up and down, then nodded.
"Robin! What a coincidence!" Suddenly, a female voice rose from behind them. Robin turned to see a female warlock with long black hair pushing through the crowd on both sides and walking over. She kept glancing at Leilin beside him, her face showing undisguised excitement, while Leilin felt his scalp tingle.
"Who's this handsome young man? We don't seem to have met before, have we?" The aura emanating from this female warlock was vaguely similar to Robin's — both were powerful warlocks who had reached the third-tier liquefaction stage. She had a seductively beautiful face, a tall figure, and fair, delicate skin — a rare beauty.
"This is Lord Leilin! My mentor Gilbert's new student, who has just joined our Ouroboros Ring!" Robin wore a smile on his face, but inwardly he was groaning. He transmitted his voice directly to Leilin:
"Watch yourself! This is one of the few female warlocks I told you about — the Blood Serpent, Miranta!"
"Hello, Lady Miranta!" Leilin naturally knew how to address her and bowed immediately.
"Lord Leilin! This must be your first time here? Why don't I give you a tour of the place, and then we can head back to my manor so you can enjoy the hospitality of us female warlocks!"
Miranta's eyes lit up as she gazed at Leilin, unconsciously extending her tongue to lick her lips. This gesture, performed by such a stunning beauty, only added to her captivating allure, causing quite a few of the surrounding male warlocks to feel a rush of heat in their bellies.
"Thank you, but I'd prefer to stay with Senior Robin!" Leilin declined. Though he was rather fond of women, he would only ever take the leading role. Being used as a breeding tool was far too humiliating.
"Don't be so quick to refuse! Five thousand contribution points! Five thousand for a single night! What do you say?"
Miranta threw out her offer without hesitation, and the surrounding warlocks collectively gasped. It was clear that five thousand contribution points carried no small amount of purchasing power.