"A strange and powerful mage! I can feel the radiance upon you that only the priests of our tribes possess!"
The high-ranking barbarian warrior Orgud fixed his gaze on Leilin's hands. "And you are also a warrior worthy of respect!"
His remarkable keenness had allowed him to sense the level of martial cultivation within Leilin.
"Then… state your purpose!"
After Orgud spoke, the fox-woman Lady Tiren immediately stood aside obediently, like a demure handmaiden.
"I wish to join forces with the Barbarian Pirate Corps to launch an attack on the Bodie Archipelago!"
Leilin took a deep breath and laid out his demand.
"Are you out of your mind, boy?" Even the fox-woman couldn't stomach such an outlandish proposal. She sprang to her feet, her chest heaving with labored breathing. "Do you have any idea how many professional-class fighters serve under Marquis Louis? And you want to drag us into a war against him? Don't think that just because you wiped out the Black Tiger and the Merfolk, we'll hold you in higher regard! Come back and say that after you've taken out the Black Skulls or the Tiger Sharks!"
"But… you're already at odds with the Marquis, aren't you? I'd simply be an additional ally — isn't that right?" Leilin shrugged his shoulders and said with a smile.
"Gods above! I've actually run into a brat who doesn't know the first thing about his place in this world…"
Lady Tiren was so furious that her whole body trembled, and she was on the verge of having them thrown out immediately.
"Let him finish!" But at that moment, a pair of powerful hands moved to physically stop Tiren from carrying through.
"Orgud… you…" The fox-woman turned to see a look of genuine interest gleaming in the barbarian's eyes.
"The enemy of our enemy is our friend!"
Leilin spoke with a calm, confident smile. "And our Faoilan family can not only provide you with support on the aristocratic front, but I am also a mage. Behind me stands an even more formidable mentor…"
The power of magic had always been the barbarians' greatest bane. Orgud's expression shifted several times. Even with a handful of barbarian shamans who had inherited magical abilities, they had always been at a disadvantage when facing human mages.
"I imagine… you're well aware of what magic can do?"
Seeing this reaction, Leilin grew even more confident.
"Yes, we need powerful magical support to help us deal with Polujie!" The barbarian warrior nodded.
"Polujie… the Chief Magus of the Louis family?" Leilin quickly recalled the intelligence he had purchased from the Thieves' Guild.
"Yes! I can tell you clearly that he is a high-ranking Magus of level fifteen or above! If not for his presence, the Black Skull and Tiger Shark pirate bands would have been torn to shreds by me long ago…"
Ogde revealed a piece of information.
"A level fifteen-plus Magus!" Leilin drew in a sharp breath. High-ranking Maguses of this caliber typically also mastered powerful plane-transmission spells and life spells, making them extraordinarily difficult to kill.
"A Magus like that—surely there aren't many even within the Kingdom of Danbress? Why would one agree to serve as a subordinate to Marquis Louis?"
If it were an Imperial Marquis, it might still be plausible to recruit a high-ranking Magus, but this Marquis Louis clearly didn't have the means to do so.
In the entire Kingdom of Danbress, the only one with the strength to recruit a high-ranking Magus would be His Majesty the King.
"I actually know a little about that…" Seeing that Ogde didn't seem opposed to allying with the other party and even appeared quite appreciative, Madam Tiren took a deep breath, and her attitude toward Leilin softened noticeably.
"According to my intelligence, the Marquis apparently promised to build a Mage Tower for him, and it was at that price that he obtained the man's service…"
"We absolutely cannot allow him to successfully establish that Mage Tower!"
Before Madam Tiren had even finished speaking, Leilin had already made his decision. Even the lowest-grade Mage Tower required an astronomical amount of wealth—two million gold coins at the bare minimum, and they had to be Crowna gold coins!
Such an enormous incentive was no wonder Polujie had pledged himself to Marquis Louis's banner. It also explained why the other side was grabbing at every scrap of profit so shamelessly.
But the more it was so, the more determined Leilin became to sabotage their alliance, because no one understood the terror of a Mage Tower better than a Magus.
A single lowest-grade Mage Tower could function as a level-fifteen Magus with limitless mana—and one that never needed to rest day or night, with inexhaustible energy.
If the other side successfully completed the Mage Tower, the entire Bodie Islands would become an impenetrable fortress under their surveillance.
Furthermore, with a Mage Tower in place, not only could Polujie advance even further, it meant the other side could continuously train Mage apprentices in an endless stream!
After Leilin merely hinted at the implications a couple of times, a resolute gleam blazed in Ogde's eyes.
"But… according to our intelligence, Marquis Louis's side has already been purchasing massive quantities of mithril and gold essence, stepping up the intensity of their slave-catching fleets, and even sending agents to the mainland to procure advanced construction blueprints…"
"The more they do this, the less we can afford to let them succeed—otherwise, the outer seas will truly belong to only one voice from now on!"
Leilin's expression turned grave. "From this point forward, I will launch continuous raids on their fleets and supply routes, doing everything I can to slow their progress. And you will need to cooperate with me on intelligence and fencing channels!"