Sibera glanced at Leilin.
"I can hold off three Morning Stars. Leave the remaining one to Lord Leilin — that should be fine, right? After all, you're the powerful Morning Star who once slew Demon Hunter Ganliel! I'm also looking forward to you breaking through their lines, or even ending the battle quickly so we can reinforce the others!"
"No problem!" Leilin rubbed his nose.
This Sibera was clearly among the top echelon of Morning Stars — to take on three of them single-handedly was no small feat. No wonder the other Morning Star warlocks treated him with such deference.
"Sigh..." After assigning the tasks, Sibera let out another sigh, tinged with regret.
"If only your teacher were still around at a time like this, Leilin — we'd have an overwhelming advantage! But alas, it's too late for a rescue now, and this is something you'll have to handle alone. At most, we can provide logistical support!"
"Having even this much is already more than enough!" Leilin quickly replied.
Rescuing Morning Star combat power fundamental to an organization — there was no way to let other organizations interfere. That would be an obvious power grab. What if Sibera and the others deliberately sabotaged the operation, ensuring that
The likelihood was slim, but it couldn't be ignored.
Which was why Sibera and the others also needed to avoid suspicion.
"Alright! We move out immediately — head for the Crystal Mountain Range. This time, we must secure every last relic of the Crimson Arc!"
Sibera waved his hand with commanding flair, and the eyes of the other Morning Star warlocks flickered with desire.
...
This was a wizard stronghold.
Detection towers and barriers were everywhere. Grotesque steel puppets and biochem beasts filled the grounds, their cold cannon barrels and sharp fangs forming a matched pair.
From time to time, the spiritual power of patrol wizards swept across the area — most were third rank or above. Occasionally, crystallized fluctuations mixed in, and in extremely rare instances, the terrifying will of a Morning Star descended. Even the most savage biochem beasts couldn't help but tuck their tails and whimper.
"We don't know the exact location where the relic will appear. But there are thirteen highly probable sites — five are in our hands, and the rest are in enemy territory. This is one of their strongholds, garrisoned by Hunter-Archer Borik and Ocean Giant Seibel..."
Above this heavily fortified stronghold, the figures of Leilin and Philip materialized.
"The convergence of the sun, moon, and stars, and the appearance of the Ocker Arc — the timing is very close!"
Leilin's eyes gleamed with sharp light. With the Chip's assistance, his calculations of stellar trajectories and celestial movements surpassed many of the continent's most renowned astrologers.
In the lower right corner of the Chip's projection interface, the critical time was clearly displayed: 1 hour and 24 minutes!
How laughable that Sibera and the others thought the relic would appear within a day or two and were still busy seizing strongholds.
Determining the precise location where a relic would appear was an academic pursuit requiring enormous computational power. Even Jupiter's Thunder and Sibera's group had only managed to narrow it down to these thirteen sites.
But Leilin was certain that the stronghold from his assigned task had an 80% or higher chance of producing the relic!
This was, of course, thanks to the Chip's terrifying computational power. But it also had something to do with Sibera, after Leilin joined, openly sharing all relevant intelligence without holding anything back. He probably never imagined that someone as extraordinary as Leilin could calculate the exact time and location down to the minute.
As for the Chip's secret, Leilin naturally said nothing about it. He simply maneuvered behind the scenes to secure the task of coming to this stronghold, then watched as Sibera distributed the remaining assault assignments one by one.
"It's starting!" Philip looked at the pocket watch in his hand.
Leilin turned to glance at this Wind Wolf warlock. According to his calculations, the relic entrance was about to appear here, and Philip would likely be among the first to enter alongside him.
"With him here, Sibera and the others will be drawn in quickly too. That saves me from worrying about fighting alone..."
Leilin was quite philosophical about it. Setting aside the earlier pact's prohibition against attacking allies, there was no way he could swallow such a massive relic on his own.
All he needed was to gain an initial advantage, then have Sibera's group take some of the pressure off Jupiter's Thunder — and he'd be satisfied.
As for Philip's "it's starting" — that was the time they'd agreed upon for the general assault.
Before Jupiter's Thunder's Brilliant Moon
BOOM!!!
At that moment, a wave of frenzied fluctuations erupted from nearby.
Leilin could faintly make out the phantom of a three-headed golden lion emerging, dragging another wizard etched with lightning patterns into combat.
"So this is fifth-rank power?"
Leilin stared at the phantom of the golden lion, his face showing a trace of being mesmerized.
This was a fifth-rank Brilliant Moon warlock. As a fellow inheritor of the bloodline path, the guidance it offered him was incomparable.
"That's one of Lord
"What?" He pointed in disbelief at the golden-furred lion spewing fire, ice, and lightning from its different heads. "That's just a clone? Then how powerful must his main body be?"
"We warlocks have always been stronger than wizards!" Philip said with considerable pride. "Lord Wade is one of the pillars of our entire Bloodline Organization Alliance. Even Radiant Sun Wizards have to be wary of his main body. Dealing with a single Brilliant Moon Wizard — one clone is more than enough..."
As he spoke, Leilin watched the three-headed lion phantom breathe out energy that formed a cage of lightning, dragging the opposing Brilliant Moon Wizard into a world rift.
"Damn it! Be careful, everyone! They definitely have more than this one trump card!"
At the instant the spatial rift closed, an unwilling voice surged outward, echoing throughout the Crystal Mountain Range.
The stronghold below had already been jolted awake by the powerful energy fluctuations. Now, two formidable Morning Star presences erupted from within.
"To draw them out, we had to expose ourselves — that's the inevitable price!" Philip sighed. "It's our turn!"
"Obviously!" Leilin nodded, then watched as an ancient Wind Wolf phantom the size of a mountain rose behind Philip.
The massive cyan wolf's fur bristled like thorns, each strand gleaming with a metallic sheen. Its eyes blazed with bloodlust, and countless storm currents swirled around its body, forming an odd shape like armor.
"Fourth-level spell — Annihilation Tempest!"
Philip's voice was low and deep. He didn't have the audacity to deploy a Morning Star killing move here in the central continent, but a standard fourth-level spell was clearly not subject to that restriction.
With his roar, the colossal ancient Wind Wolf phantom threw back its head and howled: "Awoooo..."
The long, desolate cry pierced through the air, carrying far into the distance. Massive quantities of wind elemental particles suddenly gathered and turned violent as the air churned, forming a devastating storm.
The Annihilation Tempest! The same Annihilation Tempest Leilin had once unleashed in the West Sea Great Canyon to destroy the Blue Mountain King's clone, now appearing here again — and on a scale far beyond the last time.
"Stop!" A panicked voice rang out as two streaks of light shot toward them.
"Haha... too late!" Philip roared with laughter, driving the Annihilation Tempest forward without mercy, grinding over the stronghold below.
Whooo... the wild winds howled. Before a storm capable of annihilating any being below the Morning Star rank, the heavily fortified stronghold was nothing but a joke.
Countless puppets and biochem beasts were reduced to ash, followed by a great number of wizards, and runic buildings...
"Stop them! Don't let them save anyone!"
Philip and Leilin blocked the two Morning Stars firmly, preventing them from rushing to the rescue.
Before long, when the black storm had passed, the stronghold that once stood there had been completely leveled, the ground sunken by several layers.
Before a Morning Star, any numbers-based tactic was a joke!
"You..." Two figures emerged, glaring at Leilin and Philip with fury.
Before Leilin stood a dwarf carrying an enormous wooden bow, and a burly man over three meters tall whose skin was the blue of the ocean.
From both of them, a stellar-level pressure radiated outward.
"Hunter-Archer Borik! Ocean Giant Seibel!" Philip grinned beside him, revealing the sharp fangs at the corners of his mouth. "I'll take the hunter-archer. The ocean giant is yours!"
The dwarf with the enormous wooden bow sneered, and a massive emerald whirlwind rose around him — he was also a Morning Star wizard who primarily practiced wind elemental particles, which had been rubbing Philip the wrong way for quite some time.
"No problem!"
Leilin took a few steps to the side, positioning himself in front of the blue giant.
"Change of venue, how about it?" Philip shot a provocative glance at the dwarf archer, and the wolf phantom bared its countless fangs.
"Hmph!" The dwarf gave a cold snort and unslung the massive wooden bow from his back.
Crack! The void split between them, opening into a massive gap. Spatial ripples swept aside like a curtain, and in an instant, Philip and Borik vanished from sight.
"We don't need to go anywhere else. Let's settle it right here!"
Leilin looked at the giant before him and suddenly laughed.
Because Morning Star wizards were so devastatingly powerful, they typically entered world rifts when fighting to avoid excessive damage to the main world.
And the moment those words left Leilin's mouth, Ocean Giant Seibel's expression shifted slightly.
A Morning Star wizard who dared to fight in the open was either a madman or possessed absolute confidence in his control. Clearly, this young warlock was the latter!