Leilin was already furious from the earlier ambush.
And Leo was the patriarch of the Oakheart Family — killing him here would surely deliver a heavy blow to the Blue Mountain King as well.
His earlier stalling and chasing weren't games — they were buying time for the Chip to collect data and build predictive models.
Now, all the data had been gathered. The Chip had derived numerous scenarios, weeding them out one by one until only the most viable remained.
"Modeling complete. Simulated combat win rate: 67.9%!" the Chip reported faithfully.
"Initiate auxiliary mode!" Leilin's voice carried an unmistakable edge of killing intent.
"Target One is beginning to condense energy particles — estimated as a Third-level Spell: Aurora Burst! Recommend immediate evasion 3.7 meters to the right!"
On the projected map, as the Chip calculated, Leo — designated as Target One — seized the opportunity to activate a colorful gemstone necklace in his hand. A torrent of aurora light instantly engulfed the area where Leilin stood.
Leilin immediately dodged to the right, and at that very moment, the enemy struck.
"Aurora Burst!" Leo activated one of his high-grade Magical Items. A five-colored torrent instantly swallowed the rock where Leilin had just been standing, leaving behind only a massive crater.
"Target Three is activating transformation mode! Estimated to be a Banu descendant — Polar Storm Bear transformation bloodline activated!"
"Roooaarrr..." No sooner had the Chip's voice faded than the figure beside Leo let out a thunderous roar, tearing off his clothes and transforming into a massive bear covered in stiff white fur.
Glistening icicles hung in a ring around the bear's fur, emanating waves of frigid cold that formed wisps of white mist around its body.
"Kill!"
Leilin's eyes blazed with blue light as his entire body moved with nimble footwork beneath the giant white bear's paws, evading attack after attack until he stood directly before it.
The Falling Star Longsword traced a graceful arc across the Polar Storm Bear's body.
"Splurt!" The white fur parted, revealing crimson muscle fibers and the faint outline of internal organs beneath. A massive spray of blood erupted outward.
The enormous white bear let out what seemed like a roar of disbelief, its voice growing fainter and fainter until it disappeared entirely.
BOOM!
The bear's corpse, as large as a small hill, crashed to the ground, kicking up clouds of dust. Its white fur receded, and it reverted to the form of one of the Wizards who had besieged Leilin.
"Number Four!" Numbers One and Two cried out in alarm upon seeing Number Four's body on the ground.
They knew Number Four's strength very well. After transforming, Number Four could trade blows with Third-level Spells using raw physical power alone without falling behind — how could he have died so quickly?
Number One's gaze fell on the pitch-black Cross Sword in Leilin's hand, and his pupils contracted involuntarily.
"Watch out for his sword! There's something wrong with it!"
The Falling Star Longsword already held the rank of a high-grade Magical Item, and after Leilin's repeated optimizations, its base materials could rival those of a true magical weapon. Combined with the power borrowed from the Venom Gall, the Falling Star Longsword was now formidable enough to pose a genuine threat to a Crystallized
And against brute-force beasts like the Polar Storm Bear — powerful but witless — this was exactly the kind of fight Leilin relished.
"Hokada Beast!"
On the other side, after witnessing Leilin's explosive display, Leo's face alternated between red and white before he finally called out his trump card.
"Roooaaarrr!"
A monster with a wolf's upper body and an octopus's lower body squeezed itself out of the void, landing before Leilin. Countless tentacles tipped with white suckers bloomed outward like a cascade of brilliant flowers.
"Useless!" Leilin's voice was low and cold. His silhouette flickered repeatedly as he dodged the siege of tentacles and arrived directly before the Hokada Beast.
"Multi-Arm Power!" The massive silhouette of a Many-Armed Clan warrior materialized behind Leilin, channeling tremendous force into his body.
"Alert! Multi-Arm Power engaged — temporarily boosting host's physical strength!" the Chip's notifications rang out ceaselessly.
"Hah!" Gripping the sword with both hands, Leilin brought it crashing down toward the Hokada Beast's head!
CRACK! Like shattering glass, fine cracks spread across the Hokada Beast's body before chunks of flesh began falling away.
BOOM — in the end, the entire massive creature disintegrated into fragments and crumbled to powder.
"Damn it — how... how is he this strong?!"
After destroying the Hokada Beast, Leilin turned to glance at Leo. The killing intent in his eyes made Leo's scalp go numb.
"Next — it's your turn!"
Through Leilin's lip movements, Leo seemed to grasp his meaning, along with the mocking gleam in those eyes.
This utterly unprecedented experience dealt a devastating blow to his pride.
"Number One, Number Two — with me!" Leo roared.
"Storm Barrier!"
A pale blue cyclone burst forth instantaneously from the black short staff in his hand.
The swirling winds immediately formed a terrifying barrier, with blades of wind sweeping toward Leilin in a torrent.
"Water Elemental Tribute!" Numbers One and Two nodded in unison and struck together.
A massive blue sphere of water materialized on the battlefield.
Number Two summoned an immense volume of cold energy and attached it to the water sphere.
"Frost Breath Wind!"
The freezing wind reacted violently the moment it touched the water sphere. An enormous amount of thermal energy was absorbed, forming a terrifying white ice ball.
"Combination Spell — Iceberg Descent!"
A colossal iceberg, hurtling like a meteorite, came crashing down on Leilin from above.
"A decent combination spell!"
The blue light in Leilin's eyes flickered intensely. Though frost covered his body, the Falling Star Longsword in his hand seemed as though it would never stop — he charged straight into the massive ice ball, carving out a path.
The cold — cold enough to freeze a Third-level Wizard solid — merely slowed him down slightly.
"Shadow Swift Fire!"
A barrage of black flames shot outward, annihilating Leo's hurricane on contact.
"Compared to that combination spell, someone who relies solely on a magical weapon is hardly worth worrying about!"
Leilin tore through the hurricane and arrived before Leo, the icy glint in his eyes making every hair on Leo's body stand on end.
"
A beam of black death-light sliced through the air, arriving before Leo in an instant.
A black wooden crucifix around his neck immediately shot outward, manifesting a magical symbol representing rebirth and renewal.
CRACK! The light shattered. The death-beam's force was mostly neutralized by the symbol's protective power, and it deviated from its original trajectory, boring a thumb-sized hole through Leo's body. Blood gushed out.
"How... how can this be?" Leo stared fixedly at the spot where Leilin had been, unmistakable fear surfacing in his eyes.
He let out a bizarre shriek and turned to flee, while Numbers One and Two moved to block the road like the most loyal bodyguards.
"To think he'd be scared off by such a small setback — truly worthy of a scion of a great family!" Leilin shook his head with a laugh at the sight of Leo's expression.
Numbers One and Two, looking at Leilin drenched in blood mist, felt their scalps go numb as well.
Over the years, they had followed Leo and ambushed all manner of Wizards, but someone as ferocious and powerful as Leilin — this was a first.
In their hearts, they had already cursed Leo countless times for ordering them to provoke Leilin. But with their vital points in the Oakheart Family's hands, they had no choice but to serve as the rearguard.
"Stand aside, or die." Leilin pointed his longsword at them. Numbers One and Two exchanged a glance, saw the resolute refusal in each other's eyes, and shook their heads.
"A pity." Leilin felt no sympathy whatsoever for the death warriors cultivated by great families. And with their vital points firmly under the Oakheart Family's control, Numbers One and Two had no capacity to resist — they could only take up their positions before Leilin with the resolve to die.
...
"Damn it! Damn it! How did it come to this?!"
Leo ran for his life, his mind anything but calm.
This time, he had brought not only a Fourth-level Attack Scroll but also a vast array of potions, Magical Items, and even four Crystallized Wizards — Numbers One through Four — to accompany him.
Such a force, against a mere newly advanced Crystallized Wizard, should have been more than sufficient. But he never imagined the opponent's strength would be this terrifying, driving him to the brink of total annihilation.
CRACK! CRACK!
At that moment, the sound of two crystals shattering rang out from inside Leo's robe.
"Number One and Number Two have fallen too? Useless, all of them!"
Hearing this, Leo's expression contorted wildly, and he pushed his speed even higher.
Then, gritting his teeth, he pulled out a communicator and crushed it, transmitting a covert signal from his hand.
"I still have a chance! I'm the patriarch of the Oakheart Family! As long as I make it back, Grandfather will never stand by and do nothing..."
Leo fled in a sorry state, steeling himself with these thoughts.
"I've caught up to you!"
The voice from behind froze Leo's body. He turned to see Leilin hurtling toward him in a streak of black light, closing the distance with terrifying speed — in mere seconds he would be upon him.
The layer of blood mist covering Leilin's body had grown even thicker — clearly, Numbers One and Two's blood.
"No! You can't kill me! I'm the patriarch of the Oakheart Family! Let me go and I'll give you anything you want—"
Leo screamed the offer through his distorted voice as he ran.
"All I want is your life!" Leilin knew full well how worthless promises made in such moments were. His expression remained flat, but the killing intent inside him surged as his speed increased by another thirty percent, nearly closing the gap — Leo's twisted face was now clearly visible.
"Die!" Leilin drew the black Falling Star Longsword.
"Stop!"
An exceedingly authoritative voice suddenly resonated within Leilin's mind.