"Is that so..."
Leilin said mildly, his attitude making it difficult for Illyrio to keep laughing.
In truth, Leilin was somewhat tempted to recruit the other party. After all, this was a high-tier Legendary powerhouse with extraordinary combat ability, not to mention a wealth of knowledge — a research-oriented magical talent.
Most importantly, Illyrio was also aligned with evil, which meant there was at least some possibility of recruitment.
"Fine... I admit you're strong, but so what? As long as you can't find my Phylactery, the worst you can do is kill me..."
Illyrio wore the look of a dead pig that didn't fear boiling water.
"No. I can also choose to seal you away permanently, preventing you from resurrecting through suicide..."
Leilin's boot came to rest on the crystal skull. At that moment, Illyrio realized with horror that his connection to the Magic Network had been completely severed — he couldn't even kill himself.
"Wait..."
Overwhelmed by intense fear, Illyrio finally loosened his stance. Being sealed away was no pleasant prospect. Without someone to break the seal in the future, it would be no different from death.
"While I could take my time persuading you... you've actually given me a rather useful suggestion."
Leilin smiled faintly as he sealed the crystal skull away, a glint of amusement in his eyes. "A Phylactery, you say?"
As the supreme achievement of a Necromancer, a Lich chose to store its soul within a Phylactery, thereby gaining near-immortal life and an undying body — as long as the Phylactery remained intact, even death could be reversed through resurrection!
The existence of a Phylactery was also a Lich's most closely guarded secret and greatest vulnerability. Every Lich would carefully store its Phylactery in a hidden location, often layering it with numerous anti-detection and prophylactic spells.
Conversely, whoever controlled a Lich's Phylactery effectively controlled the Lich itself — unless it wished for true death.
"So that's why you were so fearless — you were banking on your Phylactery?"
Leilin stroked his chin. "In the world of the gods, finding a Phylactery that a Lich has hidden away is indeed extremely difficult. What a pity..."
In the study of souls, Leilin now clearly surpassed the world of the gods by a great margin — an advantage accumulated across an entire major world.
Moreover, in this Lich Transformation technique, he had spotted something very familiar.
"This Life Conversion... and the Soul Transfer technology — they seem to carry traces of the Arcanists... no, of Witchcraft. It looks like the mages of this world absorbed some experience from the
Leilin gazed at Illyrio with a look of pity now. The poor Lich couldn't even kill himself anymore.
...
Inside the core control room housing the Mithril Energy Core, Leilin's figure materialized directly.
"Master!" The flower sprite Shalin immediately flew to Leilin's side, perching on his shoulder.
"All intruders have been eliminated, and the energy for activating the Random Teleportation Array is ready..." Shalin reported with some excitement.
"Mm. Begin the transfer. Make sure to conceal the spatial coordinates — I don't want those gods setting their sights on me..."
Leilin waved his hand and began operating the
"Hm? The other gods have arrived as well? Too bad — it's already too late..."
Watching the surveillance screen, Leilin let out a cold laugh. He guided the Floating City to easily shatter the gods' divine power blockade, vanishing from the skies above Frostfall Canyon.
"They actually got away?"
Ogma's divine avatar turned to
"To have seized control of the entire Floating City in such a short time — it must be a Grand
"This is your problem, Mystra!"
The other gods immediately began buzzing with discussion, some even directing the conflict straight toward the Goddess of the Magic Network.
"The destruction of Netherese civilization was witnessed by all of you present. I can guarantee that not a single Legendary-tier Arcanist survived..."
Mystra took a deep breath and explained slowly.
"Regardless, this falls under your responsibility. I trust you'll handle what follows appropriately..."
One of the golden beastkin among the gods spoke bluntly.
Meanwhile, the other gods wore expressions of gleeful spectators, as though the Goddess of the Magic Network had been too domineering before, and now, through successive blows, was finally giving the others a chance to rise.
Numerous powerful divine thoughts collided in midair before the assembly dispersed in discord, leaving only Mystra gazing thoughtfully in the direction where the Floating City had vanished...
...
In the silent void, boundless darkness stretched in every direction. Spatial currents raged and howled, and a Floating City as massive as a colossal metropolis stood serenely above the turbulence.
This was the outer membrane of the Material World — a place where many demiplanes were born and destroyed. Even the gods could scarcely map every corner of the outer expanse.
"Shalin, report the energy reserves and armory stockpile once more!"
At the heart of the Floating City, Leilin sat upon the golden throne, addressing the flower sprite intelligence core beside him.
"Yes, Master! Current Floating City energy reserves stand at 12.77%! It is estimated that another 271 hourglass-hours are needed before the Mithril Energy Core can fully replenish all energy reserves... Additionally, the outer energy membrane of the Floating City is damaged, 23.7% of the armory is unusable, two Legendary Diamond Golems have been lost, and one more has shut down with damage exceeding 50%!"
As she spoke, Shalin projected an image — the very Diamond Golem that had been destroyed by the combined efforts of the Legendary Paladin and the Ascetic Monk.
It had since been transported back to the storage bay, where numerous construct golems appeared to be carrying out repairs, though progress was exceedingly slow.
"Additionally, the Floating City possesses three Dimensional Rule Main Cannons, 347 Second-tier Magic Cannons, and 239,812 cannons of various other types. Currently, 80% are operational. Two of the main cannons have structural damage exceeding 20%..."
"Golem stockpile..."
"Arcane Garden..."
Shalin presented every detail of the Floating City before Leilin, who nodded with satisfaction.
"A true dimensional fortress that, in its prime, could rival the divine domains of the gods... Pity it's not in peak condition."
The Floating City clearly still sustained damage and its energy was far from full. Leilin would never choose to fight a drawn-out battle against the incarnations of other gods. For him, the Floating City held far greater uses.
"Oh, and Master — that Lich has regained consciousness. It seems to have sensed something and has been demanding an audience with you."
Shalin made her final report.
"Oh? It must have sensed something too. Bring it in!" Leilin waved his hand with a smile.
Moments later, accompanied by heavy footsteps, a massive puppet golem strode into the hall. In its hands it held an enormous silver tray, upon which sat a crystal skull — exquisite as a work of art, with two faint points of ghostly flame flickering in its eye sockets.
"Illyrio the Bone Lich. Have you finally decided to submit?"
Leilin toyed with an ancient purple-gold coin in his hand, his expression laced with amusement.
"My Phylactery — how did you find my Phylactery?!" the Lich shrieked. Had its powers not been sealed, it would have lunged at Leilin in a desperate fight to the death.
"I must admit... Illyrio, you're quite creative. Turning your Phylactery into the shape of a precious metal coin and mixing it into circulation — it took me no small effort to make that old coin merchant hand it over obediently..."
Leilin held up the purple-gold coin. It was an antique from the pre-Imperial era, its edges adorned with intricate, archaic patterns. It was clear that each of its previous owners had maintained it with great care — the purple-gold luster still shimmered brightly. No one would ever believe this to be a Lich's Phylactery!
Leilin had read accounts of Liches who treated the creation of their Phylactery with extreme casualness — some even shaped theirs into a pebble and tossed it into some river, after which even they could no longer find it.
This did indeed prevent enemies from discovering and destroying it, though the Lich would inevitably perish the day it was accidentally broken.
In comparison, Illyrio's creativity was a cut above. Purple-gold coins held great value — even in the pre-Imperial era, one could be used as the equivalent of a hundred gold coins, and in the present day they had become rare collectibles in the antiquarian world. Each of their owners treasured them as they would their own eyes, eliminating any risk of deliberate damage.
Yet despite all the precautions, in the face of Leilin's soul-tracking abilities, the Phylactery's trail was still exposed.
"How it ended up in my hands is no longer important. Well? Submit — or die?"
Lein asked directly. "If you refuse, that's fine too. I'll simply convert this Phylactery into a Phylactery Golem — I imagine it would be roughly equivalent to one Legendary combatant..."
"If it were turned into that, who knows how much of my Life Energy would be drained — not to mention that frontline combat makes it far too easy to destroy the Phylactery... Do I even have a choice..."
Illyrio grumbled reluctantly a few more times before finally choosing to submit. "Great Arcanist! Ruler of the Floating City! I, Illyrio, swear my allegiance to you..."