"Hmm!"
Facing this dark wizard who resembled a large rat, Leilin simply nodded.
"You've arrived just in time. There are certain places here that could use your particular talents. Stay close to my side!"
"Yes! My lord!" A gleam of joy flickered in the rat-like creature's eyes as it quickly took up a position slightly behind Leilin.
It was well aware that in a large-scale war of this magnitude, even official wizards faced a high probability of death!
And to better protect oneself, besides improving one's own strength, attaching oneself to a powerful protector was another viable path!
"Who is that?"
The opposing
"That's the Blood Hand from the Thousand Leaf Hand! He's committed his crimes with wild abandon — in the span of just one year, he's already carried out nine major incidents. He's a formidable figure on the wanted list!"
An older light wizard stared at Leilin, his eyes filled with an indescribable wariness.
Leilin smiled faintly and walked forward. The dark wizards on either side respectfully parted to make way.
"I'll only say this once. Back off!" He looked at the light wizards opposite him and spoke with commanding force.
"Are you insane?"
Seeing Leilin dare to single-handedly threaten the entire group of light wizards, even several wizards within the Thousand Leaf Hand thought he had lost his mind.
But the rat-like wizard and others who knew him better felt their scalps go numb and retreated several steps in succession.
"You despicable, deranged dark wizards! Lord Leono will return soon, and when he does, you'll— mmph—!"
A light wizard stepped forward, delivering his words with righteous indignation.
But in the next instant, a semi-translucent black serpent, as if it had traversed through space itself, appeared directly before him. Its maw, bristling with razor-sharp fangs, lunged straight for his neck!
"Crack!" The teeth-grinding sound rang out as the light wizard's innate magical defense shattered completely under the serpent's bite before lasting even a single second.
Then, the black serpent bit clean through the wizard's neck! The cervical bones crumbled, and blood and flesh sprayed in all directions!
"I said... are you all deaf?"
The light wizard's body toppled heavily to the ground. The blood-red robes Leilin wore seemed to pulse with rings of crimson luminescence as he looked coldly at the light wizards opposite him and spoke quietly.
"H-How far has he actually advanced... This level of power is leagues beyond the semi-elemental transformation of before..."
Behind him, the large black rat-wizard watched Leilin kill an opposing official wizard in a single strike, and an expression of shock crossed its face. In its view, within the old Thousand Leaf Hand, only a precious few — the Giant and others at the peak of the First Rank — could have accomplished such a feat. But now, Blood Hand had to be added to that list!
Even more, it harbored a faint suspicion — could it be that Blood Hand had already surpassed the Giant and the other elders? At the thought of this, a look of joy immediately spread across its gaunt, elongated face, and it fixed Leilin's retreating back with an even more fervent gaze.
"He... He actually killed Duoguo!"
A female wizard from the Four Seasons Garden stared at Duoguo's corpse on the ground, her face barely able to believe what she had witnessed. Then she descended into a frenzy.
"I'll kill you!"
Her face contorted with madness as her body was suddenly engulfed in a massive sphere of milky-white light!
Crack!
Under the light's embrace, the upper portion of her clothing burst apart, revealing the figure of a young woman.
At the same time, patches of pristine white feathers extended from her back, gathering together to form a pair of enormous white wings.
"Holy Light Form! She's going all out!"
The surrounding light wizards cried out involuntarily before splitting into different actions.
Several light wizards quietly retreated and hurried toward the edges, while a greater number closed in, subtly surrounding Leilin.
"Holy Light Judgment!"
Like an angel descended to the mortal realm, the female wizard's face now radiated an aura of pure sanctity, her eyes having turned entirely gold. She pointed a finger directly at Leilin.
Light! Pure, pristine holy light coalesced into the shape of a knight's lance, accompanied by the sound of hymns. Propelled by tremendous kinetic force, it surged toward Leilin!
"Kill him! All of us, together!"
The surrounding light wizards unleashed their signature spells, and a torrent of multicolored magical light cascaded toward Leilin like a tidal wave!
Faced with this onslaught, the black rat beside Leilin immediately retreated several steps. As for the other dark wizards, they scattered far into the distance.
Leilin was not their commanding officer and held no authority to order them into battle.
Moreover, as dark wizards stained with countless crimes, even if a leader had ordered them to attack, they would very likely have feigned compliance while doing nothing.
"At the critical moment, still a bunch of unreliable curs. Good thing I never placed my hopes on them..."
Leilin raised both hands forward and loudly recited several syllabic incantations.
Whoosh! A vivid red crawled across both his hands in an instant, the crimson so deep and saturated it resembled fresh blood, almost dripping to the ground.
"It's appeared! Blood Hand's signature spell — the Scarlet Hand!!!"
The dark wizards hiding in the distance immediately cried out with excitement.
"Kill!" A cold gleam flashed through Leilin's eyes as his hands shot forward in an unhesitating grab!
BOOM!!!
Two enormous phantom blood claws materialized, hurtling toward the holy light lance and the flood of spells!
WHOOSH!!! Blood-colored flames ignited across the surface of the claws, the fire climbing into the sky until it dyed the entire expanse overhead a deep crimson.
RUMBLE!!!
The flame-wreathed phantom claws collided with the lance and the multitude of spells, unleashing a tremendous roar.
A black, mushroom-shaped cloud billowed upward from the center of the explosion, and a massive shockwave rippled outward in every direction, stripping away layer after layer of earth.
BUZZ!!!
Countless plumes of dark smoke and dust rose, completely obscuring the scene at the epicenter.
THUD! THUD!
Suddenly, two slightly battered phantom blood claws burst through the barrier of smoke, charging out from the heart of the explosion!
The colossal crimson claws seized savagely toward the angel figure hovering in midair!
Light! A vast amount of pure holy light condensed into a suit of crystalline armor that materialized automatically over the female wizard's body.
She now wore crystal battle armor upon her form and great white-feathered wings upon her back, resembling an ancient valkyrie returned to the mortal world.
And the blood-colored giant claw, like the hand of some abyssal demon lord, reached for the valkyrie without a trace of mercy!
Crack!
The crimson claw met the armor, and a cascade of fine shattering sounds rang out.
Before the disbelieving eyes of the assembled wizards, that crystalline armor — as though descended from the heavens — cracked and splintered beneath the blood-colored claw like a butterfly falling to pieces, dissolving into motes of milky light that dissipated into the air.
Then, the crimson claw seized the female wizard without hesitation.
The wings on her back were violently torn away, and patches of pristine white feathers drifted down from the sky like falling snow.
The colossal blood claw clenched with savage force!
POP! As if crushing an enormous watermelon, the female wizard was torn to shreds. Blood streamed endlessly downward, only to be siphoned back into the giant claw, its appearance growing ever more terrifying and grotesque.
"Alert! The Scarlet Hand's power has reached a second threshold of its limit. Stacking ability activated: 1 — Blood Flame: crimson flames now emanate from the Scarlet Hand as a form of area-of-effect attack! 2 — Bloodthirst: the Scarlet Hand automatically replenishes expended energy each time it absorbs the blood of a slain opponent!"
The Chip's notification tone sounded coolly in Leilin's ear.
"So this means every time I kill an enemy, the Scarlet Hand automatically recharges itself without the wizard needing to supply additional energy?"
Leilin was somewhat surprised. This spell had been obtained from Archmage Deep Crimson's Serpent Book.
Now it was clear why Deep Crimson deserved his reputation — as a Fourth-rank
After absorbing the female wizard's blood, the originally dimming and dissipating phantom claw suddenly flared with renewed brilliance, as though it had received some powerful reinforcement.
The previously extinguished blood flames reignited across the surface of the claw, blazing fiercely once more.
BOOM!
The crimson claw slammed downward!
A colossal palm print immediately cratered into the ground, surrounded by crackling blood-colored flames that continued to burn without ceasing.
The Four Seasons Garden wizards struck by the claw were consumed entirely, reduced to ash within the inferno!!!
A single strike! Just a single strike!!! Leilin had slain several official wizards!!!
If word of this feat spread, his name would resound throughout the entire South Coast and perhaps even be recorded in the annals of history!
"Im-Impossible... Blood Hand is actually this powerful??? Could it be he's already advanced to Second Rank Wizardry???"
The dark wizards of the Thousand Leaf Hand were equally stunned by Leilin's savage and overwhelming blow, left speechless for a long moment.
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!!!
A great number of light wizards, having witnessed Leilin's devastating strike, lost all remaining confidence. They activated various spells, transforming into gusts of wind, great birds, or other creatures as they fled the scene at high speed.
Leilin stood there quietly and did not pursue!
For him, killing light wizards served no practical purpose. Securing resources with the limited time available was what truly mattered.
BOOM!
Another massive blood claw shot forth, tearing through the rubble and exposing a subterranean passage.
Leilin barreled forward like the most ferocious primordial beast, relying on the memories the traitor Bill had provided during his previous visit. He demolished every trap and magical array along the way in short order.
Moments later, he arrived once more before the enormous secondary resource vault.
The massive metal doors melted under the burning blood flames into rivulets of molten iron that flowed slowly across the ground. Leilin clasped his hands behind his back and strolled casually into the vast treasury.
"My lord! Please, go first!"
The dark wizards who had followed Leilin throughout the assault — even upon encountering such an immense trove of treasure — did not dare to act presumptuously under his overwhelming authority. Instead, they deferentially invited him to select the spoils first.