The threatening words only made Leo's hands pause for a moment, but he quickly resumed channeling power into his scroll.
Strength was the prerequisite for any interaction — and in the world of Wizards, this was doubly true.
Why would someone bother with an ant's threats? Perhaps such words might carry some weight once Leilin advanced to Morning Star, but now?
Leo sneered, continuously pouring his Spiritual Power into the scroll.
If worst came to worst, after eliminating the target, he could have that Master sweep away every
Leilin understood this principle perfectly well. All he had been after was that brief instant of hesitation.
The very moment Leo froze from Leilin's telepathic message, Leilin struck.
"Komoyn Scales!" "Venomous Gall!" "Terror Suppression!"
With barely a thought, three innate Wizard Arts were unleashed simultaneously.
Unlike spells and potions that required preparation, a Wizard's innate arts could be cast instantaneously — they were always the first line of defense when danger struck. Leilin was no exception.
A layer of black scales immediately covered his entire body, and the dual Domains of toxin and suppression unfurled around him without reservation.
At this life-or-death moment, Leilin was pouring everything he had into the fight.
The Venomous Gall, unleashed without any restraint, first killed Roia standing beside him, then slammed into the surrounding crystallized Wizards, sending countless ripples through the air.
Meanwhile, the Terror Suppression — dramatically strengthened after the radiation from the Serpent Woman's finger bone — managed to suppress even fellow crystallized Wizards to a staggering degree.
"This kind of Domain power? An ordinary Komoyn warlock, even a crystallized one, shouldn't be this strong!"
The overwhelming aura even set the iron chains rattling.
The surrounding Number One, Number Two, and other crystallized Wizards cried out in alarm.
"
At this critical juncture, Leilin held nothing back. A beam of black death-light, vicious as the most venomous serpent, bared its fangs at Number Three — the one whose combat power had deteriorated the most.
"Number Two, Number Four — support him!" Number One immediately roared.
As the squad leader, he had to buy Leo enough time to activate the fourth-level spell!
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Countless chains surged forward like a wall, blocking Leilin's path.
"Cross Slash!" Leilin gripped the Falling Star Sword, its black radiance flashing repeatedly as chain after chain was severed, clattering to the ground. Even the chains that remained were riddled with tiny holes, still corroding away at an alarming rate.
Crack! The chains split apart, and the death-light reached Number Three.
"You think you can kill me?!" Number Three was a grim-faced old man with thin, elongated lips. Now his composure shattered entirely as he screamed, his facial muscles twisting grotesquely.
"Thunder Shield!" Blue sparks danced before him, coalescing into an enormous azure shield crackling with arcs of electricity.
Boom!
The black death-light collided with the blue shield, two beams of opposing radiance entangling each other in midair.
Though the lightning shield began to buckle almost immediately, those precious few seconds were enough for Number Three to hold on until reinforcements arrived.
Seeing this, a smile spread across Number Three's face.
But in the very next instant, that smile froze completely.
The Leilin figure that had just appeared before him flickered, and two identical silhouettes materialized, both charging straight at him.
"Lightning Spears!"
Number Three waved his hand, and two spears crackling with blue arcs materialized in his grasp. Following his command, they shot toward both Leilins.
Crack! One "Leilin" shattered under the spear's impact, exploding into a shower of dark shadows. The other Leilin met the same fate.
"No!" Number Three's eyes nearly split open with horror as he whipped his head around.
But it was already too late. Leilin burst from a Shadow fissure, arriving directly before him.
"Multi-Arm Force!" A bizarre, alien phantom rose behind Leilin — a strange, towering humanoid race with green scales covering its body. On its left side grew three thick arms, while the right side bore four, frozen in a posture of skyward roaring.
Leilin's muscles swelled in an instant, taking on an eerie luster. The green and black membranes of light merged together, forming a terrifying ink-green energy.
"Innate Defense!" Number Three deployed his last resort, channeling currents across his entire body until they formed a full suit of armor forged entirely from blue lightning.
"Break!" The crackling current seared into Leilin's skin, but the Komoyn Scales absorbed the lion's share. Leilin's fists bulged with terrifying strength as he seized the lightning armor and tore it apart with both hands!
Riiip!! Under the horrifying physical power of Leilin's body and the amplification of Multi-Arm Force, the lightning armor was ripped clean open.
The violent currents shredded Leilin's defenses, searing horrifying black marks into his skin and muscles, but Leilin didn't even furrow his brow.
Though he had other methods to break through the enemy's blockade, in a situation where every second counted, the plan the Chip had simulated numerous times was by far the most cost-effective.
Boom! With his Innate Defense shattered, Number Three immediately went pale and retreated, but how could Leilin let him escape?
A devastating punch followed — Number Three's head exploded, splattering red and white matter in every direction.
"Number Three!" Number One and Number Two's eyes nearly burst from rage, and with Number Three — the crucial spellcaster — removed from the formation, a massive breach immediately appeared in the Wizard Array.
The cage of iron chains shuddered violently, and Leilin burst through it.
The very instant he broke free, a terrifying wave of white light swept across the area. Massive quantities of soil, rock, and even corpses were vaporized, carving a deep trench into the earth.
A fourth-level Wizard Art still couldn't compare to a Morning Star's killing move, but it was far beyond what a crystallized Wizard could withstand.
If Leilin hadn't escaped in time, he would have been utterly obliterated beneath that horrifying white light — not even ashes remaining.
"Useless! You're all completely useless!"
Watching Leilin's figure vanish over the horizon, Leo erupted into furious cursing, while Number One and Number Two could only listen submissively, a trace of sorrow flickering in their eyes.
Leo panted heavily. Having a third-level Wizard deploy a fourth-level scroll was simply too much of a stretch.
If a fourth-level Morning Star Wizard had activated it, it would never have been this slow, and Leilin would never have escaped.
"After him!" After venting his rage, Leo immediately led the remaining Wizards in pursuit.
"Absolutely cannot let him get away!" The wind howled past on either side, and in Leo's eyes burned an undisguised hatred.
It was this Leilin who had made him suffer a devastating loss last time, forcing him to forfeit a piece of Astral Stone!
If that were all, the worst he'd face was a scolding from his grandfather — nothing truly catastrophic. But what truly shocked him was that Leilin had uncovered the secret of the Stardust Insects!
Heavens! If his private stash were ever discovered, he would be torn to shreds by those furious female Morning Stars!
The methods Morning Star Wizards used to torture souls were things that even the most savage demons feared — Leo was no exception.
And to make matters worse, the target had destroyed all evidence so thoroughly that Leo had absolutely no leads.
As a result, his grandfather, the Blue Mountain King, had to seek help from a fellow Morning Star-level Divination Wizard, paying an enormous price before finally obtaining Leilin's true identity.
And as payment, his grandfather was still working off the debt at that person's place.
Since divination had indicated that Leilin had only recently reached crystallization, the task of hunting him down and silencing him had fallen to Leo.
To ensure success in a single strike, Leo had not only brought a large contingent of forces but had even activated a hidden agent within the Ouroboros Ring — Roia.
And as it happened, by sheer coincidence, while Leo had infiltrated the Ouroboros Ring's territory and was plotting with Roia, Leilin had walked right into their laps.
If it had been at Leilin's Black Fortress, with the Wizard Tower present, Leo and his men would have had nowhere to hide. Without an insider, and deep within the Ouroboros Ring's core territory, Leo wouldn't have dared make a move. But now? He would absolutely not let this opportunity slip!
Leo's eyes were bloodshot, and just then, he suddenly noticed that Leilin up ahead had stopped.
Watching Leilin land on a barren, rocky hillside, Leo and his group immediately closed in, surrounding Leilin on all sides.
"What's this? Realized you can't escape, so you've come to beg for death?" Leo looked at Leilin, hemmed in at the center, and raised an eyebrow.
"No. It's just that you flies are too irritating.
Leilin shook his head, while secretly communicating with the Chip.
"Ding! Scan complete! No items exceeding Morning Star level detected on any target. No Morning Star-level energy fluctuations in the surrounding area!"
Only after seeing this result did Leilin quietly breathe a sigh of relief.
His earlier flight had been driven not only by wariness of the fourth-level scroll in their possession, but primarily by fear that the Blue Mountain King might appear at any moment.
But it seemed — thank the heavens — whether the Blue Mountain King deemed him unworthy or for some other reason, the man hadn't come personally this time, having dispatched only these crystallized Wizards instead.
对付普通的巫师,Even对付衔尾蛇之环里面的天才晶化术士,由里奥带头的精锐巫师团,再加上四级卷轴之类,也足够了。But Leilin was no ordinary Wizard. Even those Morning Star candidates had been left far, far behind by him!
"Flies?!" Leo's face flushed crimson. "Once I catch you, I'll use a Transformation Scroll and turn you into a red-eyed fly!"
"Chip! Scan the surrounding terrain, construct a character model, and begin calculating the optimal kill solution!" A dangerous gleam flashed in Leilin's eyes.
Since the enemy had already uncovered his identity, there was nothing left to hold back. This could only end with one side annihilated.