"What mission?"
"This time, you'll be heading into the Ganges Secret Realm. We need you to relay any information from inside the
The boy's voice carried a tone of commanding arrogance, which only stoked Leylin's fury further.
"So you want me to be a spy? What about the contract I signed? If I betray the Four Seasons Garden, I'll definitely face the judgment of the Eye of Retribution, won't I?"
"Er… the Master behind me will take care of that for you!" The boy's reply was clearly dismissive.
"So let me get this straight — you want me to risk my life for you without offering a single thing in return? Do you think I'm someone you can push around?"
Leylin suddenly let out a cold laugh, and a flash of crimson light flickered through his eyes.
Boom!!!
The instant his words fell, Leylin struck without hesitation!
Several fireballs, each the size of a human head, were blasted directly toward the boy's position.
Scorching flames swept outward in all directions, rapidly evaporating the surrounding mist and revealing the small figure of a boy lurking in the shadows.
"Have you lost your mind?!" the boy shouted in fury and shock.
"You're the ones who've gone mad! How dare you threaten me!"
Leylin spoke coldly, his hands suddenly turning an intense red as he thrust them forward in a vicious grasping motion!!!
The Scarlet Hand!!! The signature technique of the Blood Hand!!!
A massive blood-red claw projection materialized across midair, wreathed in raging crimson flames.
Empowered by Leylin's elemental spirit enhancement, this spell had already reached a power approaching thirty-four degrees!
"Damn it!"
The boy, still reeling from the fireballs, rolled across the ground to dodge the incoming flames, getting covered in dust and looking for all the world like a clown.
Immediately, after seeing Leylin's blood hand attack, his entire face turned green.
Who would have thought that Leylin would be so reckless, and moreover, so powerful — far beyond the realm of semi-elemental transformation.
In the boy's mind, he held the secret of Leylin's identity. Once he revealed it this time, Leylin would surely become obedient as a dog. He would do whatever was asked, and might even gain quite a few extra benefits.
But he never expected that Leylin would actually be so utterly reckless — attacking directly without a word of negotiation!!!
Seeing the blood claw, the boy let out a strange shriek. He quickly threw down a peculiar pendant that had been hanging on his chest.
Ssss!!!
Countless ice crystals surged forth, condensing in front of the boy into a crystalline ice mirror.
BOOM!!!
A giant spectral claw, wreathed in blood flames, smashed violently into the ice mirror with an enormous crash.
VRRRM!!!
Blood flames and ice crystals scattered in every direction.
Every ice crystal that fell to the ground froze into a thick layer of ice, while anything touched by the blood flames — whether trees, moles, or even stones on the ground — kept emitting corroding sounds before ultimately crumbling into a pile of gray powder!
"You think a single high-tier scroll can save you? Naive!!!"
Leylin took long strides, charging toward the boy.
"This was an instant-cast scroll that cost me two hundred and fifty thousand Magic Stones to acquire!!!" Heartache and fury twisted together on the boy's face, distorting his very muscles.
"How dare you! How dare you... I'll make you pay!"
Even as he roared, the boy fished out a Magical Item radiating intense fluctuations from his body, ready to activate it!
"Imprison!!!"
At that moment, Leylin let out a low growl. On his right arm, a metallic ring that looked like mere ornamentation suddenly flared with a ring of light, shining directly onto the boy.
The boy, locked in place by the Ring of Imprisonment, was like an insect trapped in amber — unable to move a muscle, unable even to activate the Magical Item in his hand.
"You dare threaten me?"
Leylin stepped forward and kicked the Magical Item off the boy's body, then lifted him up with a single hand.
"You... lots of other people know your identity. If I die here, you'll... ugh..."
The boy struggled to squeeze out a few words through clenched teeth, but his reward was Leylin's merciless slap.
Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!
Leylin's strength, a full 71 points, came crashing down on the boy's face without any restraint. In an instant, both sides of his face swelled up grotesquely, several teeth were knocked loose, and his mouth was filled with bloody foam—he couldn't even form coherent words anymore.
Then, Leylin grabbed the boy by the throat.
And held him up in front of his face.
"Don't even think about threatening me, or you'll die a very ugly death!"
"You think I'm afraid of my identity being exposed? Ha... The worst case is we both go down together and I wander the world freely—but before that happens, I will kill you!!! No matter who's behind you!!!"
A dark, pitch-black gleam surfaced in Leylin's eyes and shone directly into the boy's pupils.
Terrified!!! The boy was absolutely terrified!!!
At this moment, he was consumed with regret. This Leylin was nothing short of a lunatic, utterly without scruples. He had a premonition—if he kept acting tough, Leylin would definitely kill him!!!
The thought hit him like a bucket of ice water poured over his head from top to toe, and his mind finally snapped back to clarity.
"M-Mr... Mr. Leylin! I'm sorry, please forgive my offense!"
Because the boy's mouth was so badly swollen, his words came out somewhat slurred, but the general meaning was still understandable.
"What was that? Louder!!!" A cold smirk crept across the corner of Leylin's mouth as he tightened his grip.
Feeling his neck crack under the strain, with even his innate Wizard abilities suppressed, the boy finally broke down completely.
Trembling, tears and snot streaming down his face: "Mr. Leylin!!! Mr. Leylin!!! I was wrong! Please spare me!!!"
Leylin fixed him with a curious stare, sending the boy into a feeling of impending doom.
Suddenly, Leylin's grip loosened, and the boy collapsed directly onto the ground.
But he gasped for the fresh air in great gulps, and a strange sense of happiness actually welled up in his heart.
Of course, at this moment his head was hung low, not daring to meet Leylin's gaze again.
"People! Only when they truly face death do they reveal their truest selves…" Leylin looked at the boy in this state and let out a sudden sigh.
"Get lost! Send whoever's behind you to talk to me!"
At the same time, Leylin bent down and picked up the Magical Item that had fallen to the ground from the boy's hand earlier.
It was something resembling a dagger. According to the Chip's detection, the energy intensity on it had already reached the rank of a mid-tier Magical Item.
"Consider this Magical Item the price of your offense against me!"
If not for the second-rank Wizard behind the boy, and the fact that he didn't want to completely fall out with the Thousand Leaves Hand, Leylin would have killed the boy long ago.
Though he was letting him go now, Leylin was absolutely going to make him pay a painful price. Otherwise, people like this would keep popping up endlessly in the future.
Watching the boy flee in a pathetic, scrambling escape, a contemplative expression settled over Leylin's face.
This unprecedented, super-large-scale resource secret realm really was a massive piece of fat meat—even the second-rank Dark Wizard who had been lurking behind the Thousand Leaves Hand had been lured out.
Moreover, behind this second-rank Dark Wizard, there were certainly major powers from the Dark Wizard Domain.
After all, a mere Thousand Leaves Hand could only pick up scraps from the sidelines—how could they possibly be qualified to get involved in a struggle between such large factions?
"The world is like a chess game—what a hassle!!!"
Leylin had a premonition that once he went, he would definitely be caught up in a massive whirlpool of trouble.
Unfortunately, the pressure from both the Light and Dark Wizards forced him to move like a chess piece along the prescribed path.
"You want to use me? I wonder if you've gotten yourselves ready for that?"
Gazing at the distant sky, a cold smile suddenly appeared at the corner of Leylin's lips.
The Thousand Leaves Hand's response came very quickly. That very evening, Leylin met the person behind the boy.
The orange glow of the setting sun continued to dim as the dark veil of night gradually enveloped the land.
Just as Number Two and Number Three were preparing to set up their overnight camp, Leylin caught a glimpse of a white owl perched on a massive tree nearby.
"I'm going out for a walk by myself. You don't need to follow!"
"Yes, Master!" Number Two and Number Three answered in unison.
Following the white owl, Leylin arrived beside a winding river, where a solitary figure stood atop a massive white boulder.
Surrounding the figure was a thick green mist that radiated outward in all directions, completely obscuring his features.
"The Giant?" Leylin asked, a trace of surprise in his voice.
Having participated in the first operation, Leylin had a deep impression of this Giant who was capable of matching a peak Tier 1 Wizard. He had never expected that the one behind the little boy was actually him!
"The boy told me everything about what happened before. He went a bit too far, and I apologize on his behalf! Consider that the Magical Item — the Blood Dagger — as compensation!"
The Giant's voice was surprisingly gentle, and he oddly enough did not speak in defense of his own people, which caught Leylin somewhat off guard.
"We know something about your situation as well. The organization will not mistreat those who contribute to it! For this matter, as long as you can pull it off, you'll receive fifty percent of the profits! Moreover, we can mediate between you and the Lillitul family, allowing you to return to Black Bone Forest Academy... Of course, you could also choose another Dark Wizard Academy — our doors are always open to you..."
What the Giant said next was even more beyond Leylin's expectations.
To be able to guarantee the suppression of the Lillitul family and secure Leylin's return to Black Bone Forest Academy — the forces behind the Thousand Leaves Hand were likely far greater than Leylin had imagined.
"And the contract with the Eye of Judgment?" Leylin directly asked the question he cared about most.