"It would be such a waste to use the Son of the Sun's bloodline for an ancient bloodline combustion experiment... Besides, the Ouroboros Ring is about to go to war with the coalition forces backed by Jupiter's Thunder, and afterward I'll need to seek out body-tempering magical arrays and even explore the Ice World, so I need some kind of devastating deterrent!"
Leilin stroked his chin.
With his current strength, he could escape from a Fifth-rank Moonlight wizard, but he had no means to actually threaten one — which meant he desperately needed several sources of overwhelming deterrent power.
The Morning Star killing technique, the Comorin Snake Transformation, was certainly one such option, but it was too well-known and easy to counter, so Leilin wanted to secretly prepare a few more trump cards.
"A one-time bloodline imprint crafted from a sixth-rank bloodline — that should be enough to pose a lethal threat to a Fifth-rank Moonlight wizard, right?"
Leilin calculated ceaselessly. "It's a pity, but there's no other way!"
Using an ancient bloodline to craft a bloodline imprint could even recreate the full power of certain ancient creatures in their prime. Even with just a single strike, the deterrent force would be terrifying.
The Leilin of before, even with this idea, would have had no way to do anything with the Son of the Sun's bloodline.
But now he had not only advanced to the peak of Morning Star and gained a tremendous boost in power — he had also mastered Phoenix Fire, which was in no way inferior to the Sun's Flame, making the creation of a bloodline imprint possible.
"Let's begin..."
Leilin gazed at the golden flame sun at the center of the sealed chamber, took a deep breath, and thick, eerie black flames erupted from his palms, shooting outward like fine threads...
The creation of the bloodline imprints continued for several days, and it was only when
He seemed somehow different now, though Gilbert and the others couldn't quite put their finger on it.
"I've made my decision! Assemble the army! We begin the reconquest of our lost territory!"
Leilin wore a platinum wizard's robe and white gloves, his bearing radiating authority and gravitas. When the Ouroboros Ring sorcerers heard his declaration, they erupted in cheers — they had been waiting for this day for a very long time.
After showing himself once more to stabilize morale, Leilin dismissed Gilbert and the others. He removed his gloves and looked at the backs of both hands, an irrepressible look of wild joy surfacing on his face.
On the back of each hand there was an intricate sun rune. A ring of black flames surrounded each one, like a seal, locking the power of the sun firmly in place against his skin.
With the Chip's assistance and the suppression of his Phoenix Fire, he had finally succeeded in forging the Son of the Sun's bloodline into bloodline imprints!
Leilin gazed at the bloodline imprints on the backs of his hands for a long time before he finally exhaled and put his gloves back on.
Moreover, there had been enough of the bloodline to craft two imprints — more than he had expected. And that wasn't all: he could feel that under the influence of the Fire Feather Technique, the imprints on his hands were undergoing tempering and some kind of mysterious transformation, seemingly growing in power together. If both were suddenly unleashed, even a Fifth-rank powerhouse would not be able to withstand their edge!
Because Leilin's own Fire Feather Technique had formed a mysterious resonance with the Son of the Sun's bloodline, the power of the bloodline imprints had actually been charged and amplified. According to the Chip's estimates, these two bloodline imprints were equivalent to two full-power strikes from an ancient sixth-rank Son of the Sun!
It was having this devastating weapon in hand that gave Leilin the confidence to boldly launch the war!
Green Flame City — the bridgehead for the original push into the Phosphor Marshes and a strategic stronghold of the entire Ouroboros Ring.
Ever since the Sky Legion had seized it the last time, the fortress had remained in the coalition's hands — the original civilians had even accepted the situation as reality.
Over the years, it had gradually recovered from the ravages of war and even shown signs of prosperity.
"No matter which wizard organization comes to rule, they won't attack ordinary people without reason. So their loyalty is never guaranteed — they accept whoever the ruler happens to be with almost equal ease. Should I say this is the survival wisdom of the smallfolk?"
High above Green Flame City, Leilin and several other Morning Star sorcerers hovered in midair, gazing down at the prosperous town with expressions that bordered on speechlessness.
The Ouroboros Ring had held this territory for thousands of years, yet the result with ordinary people was still like this.
"We've never really been interested in that aspect. As long as they can provide a certain amount of grain and supplies, plus fresh bloodline candidates each year, that's enough..."
Gilbert stood off to the side, his face slightly flushed.
"Well, that's fine by me! At least we won't have to feel guilty about dragging them into war again!"
And the wrath of a Morning Star could only be washed away in blood!
"If none of you are going to make a move, then I will!" Seeing that Leilin and several of the invited Morning Stars, including
"Spirits of flame bound since the ancient times, heed my command — descend as rain of fire!"
Emma chanted in a loud voice as a terrifying elemental particle vortex manifested around her, massive waves of elemental energy forming into a surging tsunami.
A point of crimson light appeared in the sky, growing denser and denser until it formed a thick blanket of fire clouds.
"Fourth-level Spell — Heavenly Fire Descent!" Brilliant flames, trailing long tails like feathers, plummeted into Green Flame City like a meteor shower.
Explosions erupted in rapid succession, thick black smoke billowed upward, and flames blazed everywhere.
"Enemy attack! Energy fluctuation — Fourth-rank!!!" Inside the city lord's mansion, an alarm operator stared at the data on his screen and shouted in disbelief.
At the same time, he abruptly bowed his head and closed his eyes in prayer. "The Throne above! Is a war between Morning Stars about to begin again..."
He knew the horror of a Morning Star battle all too well. If Green Flame City became the battlefield, low-ranking wizards like him wouldn't stand a chance of escape — the magical aftershocks and terrifying radiation alone would be the death of them all.
"No! The airship camp!" After finishing his prayer, the alarm operator suddenly remembered something, and — his face draining of color — activated an arcane seal on his hand.
"Hello! Hello! Is this the airship camp? This is the city lord's mansion! Morning Star assault! Level-four alert! Repeat — level-four alert!"
No matter how much he shouted, there was no response from the other end. Sensing that something was terribly wrong, the alarm operator rushed out of the monitoring room and saw a torrential rain of meteoric fire descending — accompanied by tremendous explosions, the airship camp stationed beside Green Flame City had already been engulfed in a massive fireball.
"It's already too late!" The alarm operator smiled bitterly and turned to flee the battlefield.
BOOM! A scorching meteor of flame swept down and enveloped him entirely, raging fire surging to life.
"Alert! Alert! Shield energy depleted! Unable to maintain energy defense!"
Ear-splitting alarms blared throughout the camp. Panicked wizards and technicians ran in every direction — the entire airship camp had descended into chaos.
A few airships managed to take off, only to be swatted back down by massive black arms, crashing into the camp in enormous bursts of sparks.
"Those airships are rather impressive. What a pity they can't be of use to me!" Leilin sighed with some regret, but his hands didn't slow for a moment. A colossal black apparition of the Comorin Giant Serpent tore across the sky, ravenously draining life force — every enemy within the range of its shadow had their vitality completely siphoned away, reduced to desiccated husks without a single drop of moisture left in their bodies.
The Ouroboros Ring simply didn't have the capacity to absorb so many airships, and the post-war arrangements would be a tremendous hassle. Rather than haggle with the other Morning Stars afterward, Leilin simply opted to destroy the entire air fleet.
"Stop!" This brazen act of destruction immediately provoked the fury of another wizard. A streak of blue light shot toward Leilin and his group, resolving into the figure of a young wizard.
The young wizard radiated fluctuations at the Morning Star level as well, and a world-weary wisdom shone through his bright eyes. His face was currently twisted with rage, but the moment he saw that Leilin, Paul, and four other Morning Stars had arrived together, his pupils contracted slightly, and a flash of wariness crossed his features.
"Grand Duke Farell! Have you decided to tear apart the previous peace accord?"
Leilin recognized this wizard — he was one of the Morning Stars who had besieged the Ouroboros Ring before, and the master of some minor organization that served under Jupiter's Thunder.
Of course, to Leilin now, he was as weak as an ant.
"Peace accord? Hmph! It was nothing more than a temporary ceasefire!" Emma surged forward a step, and a snake-shaped spore dropped from her hand into Green Flame City below.
POP! The spore quickly parasitized a wizard on the ground. The man's face contorted in terror as large tumors rapidly sprouted all over his body.
SPLAT! SPLAT! Seconds later, the tumors burst open, and even more spores flew out from within.
In just a brief span, the entirety of Green Flame City was plunged into an inferno of suffering.
"You—" The Morning Star wizard was seething, but he didn't make a move. There were six Morning Star sorcerers present — if a fight broke out, he would be the one to suffer.
All he could do was glare hatefully at Emma. "The lords of Jupiter's Thunder will not let you get away with this!"
"I'll be waiting!" Leilin smiled and stepped forward to take over the conversation.
Of course, to outsiders, he had clearly lost his mind. Even with three Comorin Grand Dukes joining forces and support from the Bloodline Alliance — did he really think that was enough to challenge the standing of a Fifth-rank Moonlight Grand
The Morning Star wizard sneered inwardly, but quickly sensed something was off.
Among these sorcerers, Leilin was merely a newcomer — it was understandable that he didn't grasp the gap in power. But didn't Gilbert and the others know the true might of a Moonlight wizard? Why were they all looking so at ease?