The former
But now, the other party's temperament seemed to have changed a great deal. It was even said that after his crystallization, he had resigned from his original position entirely, spending his days doing heaven knew what.
Leilin recalled these things, a dark expression unconsciously surfacing on his face.
Walking into the villa, Leilin found Duke Gilbert in his study.
Gilbert's appearance was the same as ever—not a single hair or whisker, not even visible pores, giving his skin an unnaturally smooth sheen. Combined with his bald head, the overall effect was somewhat eerie and terrifying.
But to Leilin, the other party was a good teacher. At the very least, he had fulfilled his duties as a mentor, teaching him with genuine effort and dedication.
Therefore, Leilin bowed respectfully and stated the purpose of his visit.
"It would do you good to get out for a while!"
Gilbert reclined in his lounge chair, holding a steaming beverage in his hand. Occasionally, tiny mermaid-like creatures could be seen emerging from the drink.
"A century has passed—Ganfulin has surely long forgotten about you lot. And those criminal warlocks don't have that kind of patience either. It really is time for you to go traveling. It'll benefit you!"
"However..."
Gilbert paused mid-sentence.
"If the teacher has any instructions, please don't hesitate to give them!" Leilin's mind stirred, sensing that his mentor might have a task to assign.
"Since you're heading out anyway, you might as well take on this mission while you're at it!"
Gilbert tossed over a scroll. "Our warlocks of the Ouroboros Ring must periodically complete a mission as contribution to the organization. Even though you're my disciple, you can't keep doing nothing forever. Take care of this while you're out!"
"Understood, Teacher!"
Leilin bowed and accepted obediently.
After leaving the villa, Leilin unrolled the scroll in his hands.
"Detecting spiritual power data interface—accept transmission?" The Chip immediately popped up a prompt.
"Accept!" At Leilin's command, a stream of information flooded into his mind, becoming impossible to forget.
"An extermination mission?"
Green phosphorescent flames burned on Leilin's hand, reducing the scroll to ashes. His expression, however, was somewhat unsettled.
The mission was straightforward—go to a specific location and eliminate a small wizard organization that was opposing the Ouroboros Ring.
Though the Ouroboros Ring was the dominant power in this region, when they had first established themselves here, they had wiped out numerous large forces, causing countless casualties among even the mundane population.
Some remnants from that era had survived, and combined with the inevitable conflicts with indigenous interests that came with ruling the area, opposition organizations would occasionally emerge.
These groups were never particularly powerful—not a single Morning Star
Once discovered, however, they rarely escaped annihilation.
The mission Gilbert had given Leilin was to exterminate the most recently discovered stronghold.
"Doing the dirty work, huh?"
Leilin sighed, though he knew this was an inevitable process.
Having joined the Ouroboros Ring, such tasks were something he had to do—otherwise, how could the organization trust him? Moreover, through this kind of compulsion, newly joined warlocks could be firmly bound to the cause.
In truth, as Gilbert's disciple, Leilin was only now receiving such a mission, and its difficulty was quite low. This was already a form of preferential treatment.
"The mission location is in the Duoro Forest, situated between headquarters and Blue Mountain City. I'll deal with them first, then head to the auction!"
Leilin made his decision.
...
On streets paved with flagstones, miscellaneous human refuse lay scattered about in disarray. Here and there, one could see traces left by large livestock such as cattle and horses.
A thick stench perpetually lingered in the air. Groundwater seeped up, forming disgusting puddles on the surface.
This was a scene from the most ordinary of mundane cities.
No matter how advanced and sophisticated the world of wizards might become, the lives of ordinary people changed very little—they were merely fortunate enough to obtain sufficient food to keep their families alive.
At that moment, Leilin was strolling along just such a street.
After accepting the mission, Leilin hadn't lingered at headquarters. Instead, he had taken an airship directly here.
If the intelligence was correct, a hidden branch of the Ouroboros Ring was established here—it was this branch that had discovered information on the enemy organization's stronghold and reported it upward.
Leilin's appearance had been altered through the Mimicry Spell, and his aura was suppressed to the level of only a first or second-rank.
Although Gilbert had said Ganfulin wouldn't pay much attention to them, Leilin still didn't want to be too careless.
Besides, those crystallized warlocks under Ganfulin's command might still be keeping tabs on a few of them, trying to curry favor with Ganfulin. Leilin felt he had to be prepared.
Following the address, Leilin arrived at a bar that looked completely ordinary from the outside.
Knock! Knock!
He rapped on the door.
Over ten minutes passed before an impatient voice finally called out.
"Who is it? We're closed during the day!"
"I'm looking for Daman," Leilin said in a low voice.
"You're looking for our boss? What's this about?" The door swung open, and a burly man with golden hair eyed Leilin warily.
Leilin could sense a faint energy fluctuation from the other party—barely at the apprentice level.
"Take a look at this." Leilin smiled faintly and produced a badge.
On a golden base, a black serpent composed of runes chased its own tail, forming a distinctive circular pattern.
This was the emblem of the Ouroboros Ring. Since the other party was also an apprentice, he would certainly recognize it.
Sure enough, the big man's eyes lit up, and his wariness diminished considerably.
"Let me go ask..."
This time the response was swift—within barely a minute, a short man with brownish-yellow hair came out to greet him.
The scent of bloodline was quite apparent on him, but it was only at the second-rank level and appeared quite mixed and impure.
This was the most common type of low-ranking warlock in the Ouroboros Ring—due to their weak personal power and declining families, they could only perform menial tasks, silently accumulating contributions in the hope that one day a bloodline genius might be born, or that they might eventually return to headquarters.
"Greetings, my lord!" A single glance was enough for the man to confirm Leilin's identity. For warlocks, the aura of bloodline was absolutely impossible to fake—that innate sense of kinship and deference was deeply etched in the little man's memory.
"With this level of bloodline concentration, could he be some sort of bloodline noble?"
The little man thought to himself, bowing respectfully. "Daman greets my lord!"
"Mm." Leilin nodded and slipped past him into the bar.
He navigated around the counter and descended into the more hidden and complex rooms below ground.
"Tell me everything you've discovered—don't leave out a single detail..." Leilin removed the cloak from his shoulders, and with each movement, an unconscious aura of authority radiated from him, making Daman even more deferential.
He didn't dare hold anything back. After seeing the token Leilin had presented, he immediately began his report. "It was three days ago, at my location..."
More than ten days later, deep within a dark jungle.
The combined chorus of countless insects drowned out every whisper between the two warlocks.
This was the Duoro Forest—a vast primeval woodland. And the enemy organization that Daman had discovered was hidden right here.
"Are you certain this is the place?"
Leilin wore a black wizard's robe trimmed with gold. The elegant garment, combined with his tall, slender frame and aristocratic bearing, made him look less like someone here to kill and more like a tourist.
"Yes, my lord!"
Daman's brownish-yellow hair reflected a faint sheen under the dappled light. His face was filled with respectful deference.
As a bloodline noble of the organization, Leilin held an exalted status and wielded life-and-death authority over these field operatives. Daman had no choice but to take him seriously.
"After months of investigation, we've finally confirmed that the warlocks of the Hand of Vengeance are hiding here!"
"Based on the traces in the surrounding area, there are indeed concealed magical array formations, as well as evidence of warlocks entering and exiting!"
Leilin nodded.
"These little brats sure know how to hide. But don't worry, my lord! All my subordinates have been assembled. At your word, we can join forces with the men you've brought and break through their defensive array!"
The small warlock thumped his chest in assurance.
In his eyes, this special envoy Leilin didn't seem to radiate much power—perhaps first or second-rank at most. He was also remarkably easy to talk to, clearly not a particularly domineering person. But since he'd been sent out on a mission, he must have brought along a substantial force, right?
Weren't bloodline nobles always accompanied by large retinues dispatched by their families, well-protected whenever they ventured out?
"Who said I brought anyone?" Leilin turned back to look at Daman.
"N-Nobody?" The little man's face tried to smile but couldn't quite manage it. "My lord, please don't jest with me. Inside that stronghold is Torlan of the Hand of Vengeance—she's the second-in-command. She reached the third-rank liquefaction stage two hundred years ago..."
"Oh? So the strongest one is this Torlan? What a perfect opportunity!"
Leilin clapped his hands together, checking the Chip's notification.
"Third-level spell simulation complete. Number of simulated runs: 42,912. Error rate: 0."
"It looks like this spell can be field-tested right here." Leilin mused.
The Chip had been specifically custom-building a high-powered third-level spell tailored for Leilin—meant to be one of his go-to heavy-hitting techniques. It had consumed an enormous amount of the Chip's computing capacity and had only just finished its simulation.
And the enemy's strength was just right for the occasion, bringing a smile to Leilin's face.