"Who might this be?"
Leilin was on his guard. Anyone capable of slipping past his perception and passing himself off as an ordinary person was definitely no commoner.
"Heh heh… Allow me to introduce you, Leilin. This is the one I mentioned to you before — Beewis! He is the last remaining Radiant Moon Warlock of our Bloodline Warlock Alliance!"
As Geoffrey made the introduction, this Warlock Beewis lifted his chin with visible pride. "Prince Leilin appears before guests in such a state? Isn't that a bit of a breach of etiquette?"
Leilin was taken aback, then glanced down at himself. Thanks to the earlier incident, his robes were in tatters. It was, admittedly, a bit rude.
"This was my oversight! I apologize! Please, both of you, follow me to the nearby Black Serpent Castle — my wife is there as well!"
Leilin apologized sincerely and took the lead, having no intention of inviting the two to tour this castle of his.
In Leilin's plans, this territory was to be completely sealed off and abandoned. After today's events, he had grown uneasy about its security as well.
The Dream invasion had been silent and imperceptible, yet harbored immense terror.
Even a fifth-level Radiant Moon Warlock might not be able to effectively protect himself from such an intrusion.
Until he had fully grasped the power of the Dream and obtained the ability to defend himself, Leilin planned to keep his distance. He had no desire to gamble with his own safety.
Seeing Leilin concede and apologize so readily, the smile on Geoffrey's face grew a shade warmer. After all, he didn't want to see the fighting strength within their alliance fracture. As for that Beewis, a flicker of surprise flashed through his eyes before being expertly concealed.
Leilin noticed all of this and sighed inwardly. So this Beewis isn't quite the arrogant fool he appears to be on the surface…
Geoffrey had told Leilin about this before. The sixth-level bloodline bearer they all regarded as the last hope of every warlock was precisely the fifth-level warlock Leilin had never been introduced to.
Leilin had assumed the other party was somewhere beyond the Morningstar
"Can it be that his sixth-level bloodline grants the ability to block my detection?"
Leilin studied this warlock who carried the bloodline of a sixth-level creature.
Within his perception, a dense shroud of bloodline power enveloped the other man's body like a fog, sealing off all outside scrutiny.
Perhaps it was precisely this ability that had allowed him to evade the hostility of most wizards and grow to this point.
"Chip! Can you break through the other party's bloodline barrier?" Outwardly, Leilin chatted and laughed with the two warlocks as they walked, but inwardly he ordered the Chip to continuously attempt gathering information on the warlock across from him.
<Beep! To obtain specific data on this target, the opposing protective layer must be breached! This will alert the target! Execute?> The Chip responded promptly.
"No!" Leilin certainly wouldn't resort to such brute force. That would 100% provoke the other party's enmity.
"Ancient bloodlines with concealment abilities at the sixth level are rare — only a handful of possibilities…" Leilin stroked his chin and glanced at Geoffrey.
"Geoffrey himself should be a fifth-level creature with the bloodline of the Ancient Blood Bat. And Beewis? The Crystal Dragon? Or the Mist Giant?"
Possibility after possibility surfaced in Leilin's mind, and through the Chip's continuous cross-referencing, the list was eventually narrowed down to two bloodlines with the highest probability.
Beewis, of course, had no idea that in such a short stretch of time, his background had been nearly completely laid bare. He walked alongside them with measured restraint, listening to the conversation between Leilin and Geoffrey, occasionally interjecting a remark.
After the Dream World had been connected, Leilin had constructed a second Black Serpent Castle right beside his original one, transferring Furui and some of the other servants over to it.
Thanks to the unique properties of the Morningstar Space, the land here was virtually limitless, so Leilin had obtained a vast tract of territory without any difficulty. As for constructing a castle — with the aid of magic and the labor of numerous giant metal puppets, it was a simple matter.
Before long, the three warlocks were seated in the parlor of the new castle.
After a maid served tea and pastries, Furui came out briefly to greet them, then withdrew, leaving the space to the three warlocks.
Leilin toyed with the cup in his hands and did not speak first.
Geoffrey bringing Beewis here had been unexpected. But since Leilin already knew about the sixth-level bloodline bearer, Geoffrey presumably had nothing left to hide. Calling Beewis over now was likely meant to smooth over misunderstandings and prevent any lasting grudge.
After all, the Bloodline Alliance had deliberately concealed Beewis's existence for quite some time.
Had Leilin not discovered it himself, they might have kept it hidden indefinitely. Just from this attitude alone, Leilin could sense who was closer and who was more distant.
And Beewis's attitude toward him — that was certainly worth pondering…
Seeing Leilin's demeanor, Geoffrey grew a touch embarrassed. After all, the fault had been theirs to begin with, so he could only step in to mediate: "Your Highness Leilin is the warlock in the entire history of our Bloodline Warlocks who advanced to Radiant Moon in the shortest time. His talent is extraordinary, and his future knows no limits…"
"Hmph…" Beewis spoke coldly. "If I hadn't placed a seal on my own bloodline to keep it hidden, why would I have yielded that title to anyone…"
With the amplification of a sixth-level bloodline, this Beewis might well have surpassed Leilin's record. Some resentment was entirely understandable. But Leilin caught something unusual in those words.
"So it sounds like he's… dissatisfied with me?" Leilin regarded Beewis with open curiosity.
He and this Beewis were meeting for the very first time today, and yet the other party was already so eager to show his displeasure. What was he after?
"Could it be that some prophecy has given him a sense of crisis? Or is he simply a spoiled child? More likely, he's trying to use this attitude to force the other warlocks to take sides?"
Leilin suddenly had a premonition that his very existence might be a problem for Beewis.
The other party had always been the warlocks' last hope. The weight of importance placed on him was beyond imagination. And now, Leilin's arrival had dealt him a significant blow.
Advancing to the fifth rank of Radiant Moon faster — and potentially at a younger age than Beewis — even with the shackles of bloodline limits, given Leilin's track record of creating miracles, there was no saying he couldn't break through them.
And even if the fifth rank was Leilin's ceiling, he would already stand at the pinnacle of warlocks! Worth investing in.
As a result, the entire warlock alliance had begun allocating some of its resources to Leilin. It was only a small fraction, but it was more than enough to stir Beewis's resentment and wariness.
"Are you afraid that my rise will threaten your position?"
Leilin, who was extraordinarily experienced in power struggles, immediately caught the unusual scent.
But this possibility left him quite speechless. Sometimes hatred came so easily — perhaps born from nothing more than baseless conjecture, or simply because someone rubbed you the wrong way.
"Your Highness Beewis possesses a bloodline far beyond mine…"
Leilin paused briefly, then continued: "But as the hope of our Bloodline Warlock Alliance, what Your Highness should be doing now is breaking through the sixth-level boundary as quickly as possible, ascending to the Throne, and securing greater living space for us warlocks…"
Since he now understood the other party's attitude, Leilin saw no reason to be polite. He returned the remark in kind.
This patronizing tone immediately made Beewis's face flush red — Leilin was lecturing him as if he were a child!
In truth, Beewis had done remarkably well. Through the Chip's information gathering over this period, Leilin could tell — even without breaking through the other's concealment — that Beewis had not only advanced to the fifth rank, but had elevated his soul to the Half Moon level. Moreover, bolstered by his bloodline power, he could even hold his own against a peak Radiant Moon Magus!
Such strength placed him almost as the second most powerful in the entire warlock alliance.
The boost from a sixth-level bloodline was that terrifying! Any rank below the sixth could be gradually amplified and broken through via bloodline power.
For someone with such an enormous advantage, a somewhat proud personality was only natural.
Furthermore, having been so thoroughly sheltered all this time, he likely had very little life experience. The emotional volatility of a sixth-level creature's bloodline made this an even greater liability.
Therefore, upon hearing Leilin's provocation, Beewis erupted without hesitation: "I have come this time to raise objections to Prince Leilin's previous proposal!"
"Previous proposal?" Leilin looked at Geoffrey with some confusion.
"The matter Your Highness Leilin raised last time — about making a move against the forces under the Flame Throne! I personally think it would be better for us not to get involved, but it was still brought up for discussion!" Geoffrey explained with some embarrassment.
"Prince Leilin! As a Radiant Moon of our warlock alliance, how can you disregard our collective interests because of personal vendettas and provoke a sixth-level existence like the Flame Throne? Even acting in a personal capacity is unacceptable, since you cannot guarantee the other party won't take their anger out on the rest of our warlocks!"
Beewis's voice was loud, his words brimming with righteous conviction.
"Personal vendetta?" Leilin let out a light laugh. "In recent times, the persecution of warlocks has nearly driven our legacy to extinction. Most recently, the Flame Throne even sent assassins to target our most promising bloodline heirs. Are all these countless crimes, in Your Highness Beewis's eyes, nothing more than personal grudges? Don't forget — you are a warlock of our Bloodline Alliance!"
Never having faced the cutting edge of verbal combat, Beewis was immediately seized upon by Leilin.