Leilin had retreated many times before—not out of fear, but to avoid unnecessary trouble.
But now, this girl had something on her that interested him, and if his research succeeded, the benefits would be enormous.
He naturally had every intention of getting involved.
Still, out of caution, he chose to remain hidden to one side, planning to gauge the enemy's strength first.
If they turned out to be mediocre, he would naturally have no qualms about simply kidnapping or coercing the girl outright, with no fear of pursuit.
If they were truly too powerful, he would have to give it up. The world was vast, and warlock bloodlines were not limited to this one alone. They might be rare on the South Coast, but on the Central Continent there would surely be plenty.
Several days later, the carriage entered the territory of York City.
This was already the border region of the Yinglan Empire, and the old man's unease had intensified to its peak. He stayed inside the carriage almost the entire time, rarely venturing out, and even the little girl was kept firmly by his side, as though he were afraid of something.
The night was hazy, dyeing the sky a uniform dull grey, with only a faint sliver of light remaining at the distant horizon where earth met sky.
The carriage pulled over to the roadside, and the weary travelers climbed down, forming a circle around the campfire to eat and rest.
After so many days traveling together, the people inside the carriage had begun to warm up to one another. Especially when the small merchant pulled out a set of bagpipes and played a cheerful tune, and the pretty woman beside him danced a dazzling dance.
Several middle-aged men took wine bottles from their packs and stepped forward to lavish attention on the pretty woman. Her giggling laughter rang out continuously, carrying an air of welcome-alls.
The atmosphere reached a fever pitch. The travelers sang and danced, and even the coachman knocked back a few mouthfuls of strong spirits, the tip of his nose turning a faint shade of red.
Leilin leaned casually against a tree to one side, a wine bottle in hand from which he took occasional sips. He glanced sideways at the carriage, a faint smile playing at his lips.
Tonight, even though darkness had already fallen, the old man had been pushing the coachman to press on.
But traveling by night was an extremely dangerous affair. As a result, the proposal had been unanimously rejected by all the travelers and the coachman alike.
The little old man's expression at that moment had been quite a sight to behold.
And tonight, the old man once again insisted on staying inside the carriage with his granddaughter, refusing to let her step outside even for a moment. Murmurs, none too flattering, had already begun circulating among the travelers.
But Leilin knew that this pair posing as grandfather and granddaughter had likely joined the caravan to escape some pursuer, and judging by the current situation, their pursuers would be arriving soon.
No—they had already arrived. Leilin turned his head and looked toward the shadowed area to one side. Several figures radiating energy fluctuations appeared without any attempt at concealment under the Chip's scan.
Judging by their energy levels, they were all Third-rank Apprentices.
Bang!
A red arrow shot forth, piercing straight through the skull of a bare-chested man beside the campfire, his well-built muscles on full display.
"Aaaah!!!" Blood sprayed onto the woman beside him. Her face went blank, and it took several seconds before she let out a piercing scream.
"Bandits!" "Help!" All manner of cries erupted throughout the camp.
Meanwhile, the coachman, ever resourceful, quickly strapped on a piece of leather armor, tucked his head down, and crouched motionless on the ground.
The carriage company had secret understandings with the local bandits. Robberies generally targeted only the passengers. As for the coachmen themselves, the bandits usually turned a blind eye—after all, they wouldn't have any money on them.
But tonight, the coachman's calculations fell completely apart.
Whoosh! The red arrow flew once more, piercing straight through the coachman's throat! He clutched his neck with both hands, eyes bulging, blood foaming from the corners of his mouth, his body still twitching with labored breaths—as if he wanted to savor one last lungful of fresh air before dying.
"So they've attached a Sharpness enchantment to their arrows? Interesting!"
Beside the chaotic camp, Leilin remained leaning against his tree, taking a sip of fruit wine. His tone was one of casual commentary.
His leisurely demeanor stood out glaringly against the scene around him, but no one was paying him any attention anymore.
The second attack had clearly thrown the camp into even greater chaos. Men, women, old, young—all were running frantically.
A few minutes later, all that remained of the once-lively campsite were the burning campfire and scattered cups, bottles, and other discarded items strewn across the ground.
Crash! Three figures in black robes emerged from the treeline.
Leilin's exceptional eyesight allowed him to make out their faces clearly from a great distance.
Two men and one woman, all appearing to be middle-aged. The woman wore heavy lipstick, giving her mouth the appearance of a bloody maw.
These three were clearly not students of the Academy. Their attire was rather casual, though embroidered on their clothes was the image of a dodo bird—apparently a family crest.
These were family-trained
Those Wizard Family members whose aptitude was too poor to be admitted to the Academy would receive unified training within their families.
Most of them could never advance beyond the Third-rank, destined to spend their entire lives as First-rank or Second-rank Apprentices.
For these three to have reached the Third-rank, they either had decent aptitude, or they had been expelled from the Academy, or were graduates who had already completed their studies.
"Miller, come out! We know you're inside the carriage!"
The three formed a triangle around the carriage, and a silver-haired man let out a triumphant laugh.
Boom!
In reply, a scorching fireball hurtled toward him.
Slap! In the instant the middle-aged man dodged the fireball, the carriage window suddenly shattered. A dark figure, a small body wrapped around his waist, darted through the gap the man had left exposed.
"Trying to run?" The woman sneered, rapidly chanting a few syllables. A deceleration spell was cast directly at the fleeing figure.
A ring of dark green light flared around the dark figure, and its speed plummeted.
Whoosh! The last man—the one carrying the bow—lit up with excitement and loosed a red arrow.
Thud! The arrow buried itself in the dark figure's left chest, drawing a jet of blood. The figure grunted and collapsed to the ground, revealing the face of a white-bearded old man.
"Run! Go on, keep running!"
The man who had been flustered by the fireball returned and saw the old man lying on the ground. A savage expression crossed his face as he drew a curved blade and brought it crashing down on the old man's left leg!
Crack! The old man's left leg was severed clean off.
"Aaah!" The little girl, splattered with blood, fainted on the spot.
"What a pretty little girl. What a waste to kill her outright!" The archer licked his lips, a lecherous smile spreading across his face. "Why not let me have a go at her first?"
"Help yourself. We've got plenty of time!"
It was clear that the three Apprentices held the old man Miller in contempt, remaining extremely relaxed with their guard thoroughly lowered.
And rightly so. Miller was merely a Second-rank Apprentice, and the little girl wasn't even an apprentice at all. Against this lineup, a single Third-rank Apprentice would have been enough to wipe them out.
The only reason three had been dispatched at once was for added insurance.
Just as the archer stepped forward with his lustful grin, a lazy voice rang out: "I say, it seems you've forgotten about me."
Leilin tossed his wine bottle aside with a crisp clatter.
"You… you didn't run?" The other male apprentice looked genuinely surprised. When ordinary people witnessed killing, wasn't their first instinct to flee as far as possible—let alone when Wizards were involved?
"Perfect. I've been chasing this old man for a while, and I could use some entertainment. Leave him to me!"
The sole female apprentice looked at the handsome Leilin, her eyes lighting up. Her heavily painted lips parted and closed as though she wanted to swallow him whole.
Leilin's charisma had soared enormously since his advancement to Warlock, and he had encountered plenty of women giving him seductive looks along the way. But affection from this auntie-level woman still made him feel a bit queasy.
"Sorry, I'm not interested in old ladies," Leilin said with complete "sincerity," turning the female apprentice's face crimson with fury.
"You brat! I'll make you feel the most unbearable pain in the world. In one hour, if you're not crawling on the ground begging me like a dog, I'll eat my hat!"
The female apprentice stared at Leilin, now truly wanting to tear a piece of flesh from his body.
"No need. Right now, if you're not on your knees begging me like a dog, I'll eat mine."
A cold gleam flashed through Leilin's eyes. He dropped the concealment of his Mimicry Spell, and a massive Field unfurled, enveloping the carriage and its surroundings.
"A… a full-fledged Wizard!" The man who appeared to be their leader had his eyes bulge out of his head as he collapsed to the ground.
"M-my Lord! Please forgive our unintentional offense!"
The archer lost all interest in violating the young girl and dropped straight to his knees before Leilin, mentally cursing that damned woman ten thousand times over and then some.
"Well?" Leilin regarded the female apprentice with amusement.
"L-l-l…" The woman crumpled to the ground, teeth chattering so violently she could no longer form words.
"My Lord, we are members of the Yili Family… the Family Head is also a full-fledged Wizard!"
The leader, seeing Leilin's unfavorable expression, hastily brought up his patron.
"The Yili Family?" Leilin shook his head, indicating he had never heard of it.
He had studied all the major Wizard Families near the Marsh Duchy in detail. The Yili Family did not appear anywhere.
"Chip, search the database!"
"Ding! Yili Family: Located in the Danisichi Province of the Yinglan Duchy. Family Head: Isaac Yili. Graduated from Gothic Sage's Cottage as an apprentice. Advanced to full-fledged Wizard thirty years ago. Source: History of Wizard Families, page 1928!"
A very brief entry. From the data recorded in the Chip, this was an up-and-coming Wizard Family, propped up entirely by one apprentice who had advanced by chance.
It was far from comparable to major families like the Lilisite clan, only marginally stronger than Biji's family, and without any real foundation—easily dismissed in the Wizard world as new money.
"Wait! Wait! I bear the Family Head's secret imprint!"
Seeing that Leilin was about to act, the leader hastily shouted and tore open his own clothes.