Jesya was indeed a fifth-rank Radiant Moon
"The key now is still to deal with Leilin Farell! I have a premonition — he will be the greatest obstacle to my ascension to Radiant Sun!"
Jemos muttered, his expression utterly ferocious.
"Oh? Has he advanced to the fifth rank? The bloodline shackles aren't so easily broken, are they?" The woman's voice carried a hint of curiosity this time. She was growing increasingly interested in that little fellow called Leilin.
"He hasn't broken through! But he's already reached the peak of Morning Star. Combined with those bizarre techniques from the Lava World and other methods, I'm afraid..."
Jesya's expression was grim, but he had to admit it — that Leilin truly was a genius seen only once in tens of thousands of years, having reached such power relying on nothing more than the Comorin Giant Serpent, a low-tier bloodline and legacy.
Even now, even if his true self took action, he could defeat the opponent, but the hope of killing him on the spot was exceedingly slim.
Unless he could find some kind of weakness in the opponent — something that would force him into a battle to the death!
But was that possible? Jesya only needed to briefly recall Leilin's intelligence to dismiss this approach entirely. He knew that, in some respects, the man was the same kind of person as himself — he would never risk his life for anyone or anything.
A powerful enemy with no exploitable weaknesses was the most terrifying of all!
Jesya rubbed his brow, a headache beginning to set in.
"In that case, why don't we activate our earlier plan..." After a brief silence, the woman spoke again.
"You mean..." Jesya's eyes lit up.
...
"We're finally home!"
In the Phosphorescent Marsh,
"What do we do now?" Gilbert asked.
Emma also looked at Leilin. The two of them now regarded him as their pillar of support entirely.
After witnessing Leilin's strength, even if he were to strip them of their power right to their faces, these two warlocks would likely offer little resistance. With the submission of two Morning Star warlocks, the entirety of the Ouroboros Circle's authority had fallen into Leilin's hands — more firmly than before his departure. This outcome would undoubtedly leave many people's jaws on the floor.
"We don't need to do anything. Just keep things as they are!"
Leilin shook his head mildly.
"Leilin! Have you advanced to the fifth rank?" There was hope in Emma's eyes. For her, if Leilin had broken through to the fifth rank — if there was a way to circumvent the bloodline shackles — that would be the best possible news.
"How could that be?" Leilin smiled bitterly. "Right now, I'm at the peak of Morning Star at most. I just happen to have a few more tricks up my sleeve!"
This was the honest truth. Leilin's assessment of his own strength was quite accurate.
Despite having swept through the Lava World undefeated, defeating Scarlet Eye and Jesya in succession, even destroying one of Jesya's fifth-rank avatars in a brutal clash, he knew full well how things had actually played out.
Scarlet Eye's true body had already sustained severe injuries from a previous siege and had been countered by his techniques — that was why he had suffered such an unlucky defeat.
As for Jesya's avatar, not only was it merely a projection, but it had also been heavily damaged by Scarlet Eye beforehand. Facing Leilin's full-power Morning Star killing strike with his Comorin Serpent Transformation, it had been dispatched in a most frustrating manner.
In the end, the moment Scarlet Eye showed signs of joining forces with Archibald, Leilin had hurried to flee. If he hadn't left when he did, he likely would have perished there.
Still, Leilin did not sell himself short. At his current level of strength, while he still couldn't defeat a fifth-rank Radiant Moon powerhouse, his chances of escaping with his life were quite good.
"Just a few tricks?" Hearing his words, Gilbert and Emma both silently rolled their eyes. That terrifying black flame and the Comorin Serpent Transformation — those were just "a few tricks"? Then what did that make them, who had been nothing but cheerleaders the entire time, never even getting a chance to act?
"However! Our Ouroboros Circle now has nothing to fear from external threats. It's time to embark on a new journey!"
Leilin smiled faintly toward the sun, his entire figure seemingly draped in a veil of golden light.
The power to stand fearlessly against the fifth rank — there were precious few such forces across the entire Central Continent. Those fifth-rank Radiant Moon Wizards would not go out of their way to provoke an enemy who could rival them! Therefore, under Leilin's leadership, the Ouroboros Circle was destined for even greater growth!
Gilbert and Emma understood this as well, and so their gazes as they looked at Leilin were filled with hope...
"Lord Gilbert! And Lady Emma! Your safe return this time is truly a great fortune for our Bloodline Warlock Alliance!"
Inside the headquarters, Leilin and the other two Comorin Giant Serpent warlocks were chatting with
Furui and the other Crystallized Warlocks stood respectfully behind the Morning Star warlocks, their eyes alight with barely contained excitement.
However, those of the late Grand Elder's faction, though they wore smiles on their faces, could not conceal the worry in their hearts.
Leilin's dominant rise to prominence, combined with the return of the other two Comorin Dukes, meant that their share of interests would undoubtedly be squeezed further — and this time, there would be no Morning Star to back them up.
Of course, this type of warlock was only a very small minority. Gilbert and Emma's former disciples and clan members, on the other hand, were now filled with nothing but joy, and felt an even deeper sense of gratitude toward Leilin.
Thanks to her connection with Leilin, Furui had been given a seat — right between Leilin and Emma. Her eyes drifted between Leilin, Emma, and Gilbert, and she arrived at a conclusion that left her somewhat astonished.
"Teacher Emma and Duke Gilbert — they're both yielding to Leilin's authority now!"
Although Leilin was a newly advanced Morning Star, he had taken sole charge of receiving the visiting Morning Star warlocks this time. He was even seated in the central seat of honor. Furui, sharp enough to notice all of this, was immediately struck by tremendous shock.
This meant that even Emma and Gilbert acknowledged Leilin's leadership!
For some reason, upon realizing this — even though her fellow senior and junior disciples wore expressions of confusion or unwillingness — Furui felt a tremendous sense of relief.
She was indeed Emma's student, and the relationship between them was close, but compared to Leilin, there was still a slight gap.
If the two sides truly began fighting for power, she truly wouldn't know what to do.
But now, everything had been resolved! Furui stole a glance at her husband, her eyes shining with undisguised admiration.
At his wife's girlish display, Leilin merely smiled to himself. After he had revealed strength that could nearly rival a fifth-rank Radiant Moon Wizard, if Emma and Gilbert still hadn't known what was good for them, he would have been forced to resort to certain unpleasant measures.
But Morning Stars were no fools — especially Emma and Gilbert, who were quite pragmatic. That had saved him a great deal of trouble.
"Indeed! When I first learned that both of you had been lost in an alternate world, I was absolutely stunned. And then came the battle with the allied army — fortunately, we had Leilin..."
Regardless of what the Crystallized Warlocks below were thinking, the Morning Star warlocks carried on with their own discussions.
Philip looked at the unfathomable Leilin in the seat of honor, and at Emma and Gilbert — fellow Morning Stars whom he had once known so well — and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
The events of these past few years had been more than everything that had happened in the preceding centuries combined. Swept up in the Chaos Storm, many of the Central Continent's Morning Star factions had undergone a complete reshuffling.
The Psychic Circle and the Wind Wolf Den had both suffered successive losses of Morning Star combat power in the earlier Battle of the Scarlet Ruins, and had now fallen to the point where only a single Morning Star remained to hold the fort — a devastating blow.
As for the Ouroboros Circle, though it had once been on the verge of annihilation, it had soon produced the terrifying genius Leilin and successfully rescued two Dukes. Its overall strength had actually increased compared to before the war!
"I'm afraid the equilibrium between our three organizations is about to be broken. For the next several hundred years, it will be Duke Leilin of the Ouroboros Circle who dominates the landscape..."
Philip gazed at Leilin, whose aura was even more profound than the former Comorin Grand Elder's, and a thought surfaced unbidden from the depths of his heart.
"Still! Regardless of everything, the Wind Wolf Den's relationship with the Ouroboros Circle has always been solid. My personal friendship with Leilin is more secure than Paul's. As long as we're careful going forward, there shouldn't be any problems. And with Leilin as an outside ally, he'll be more than enough to protect the Wind Wolf Den's safety and see us through until the next generation comes of age..."
Philip might have been a bit hot-blooded, but he was no fool. Once he had thought it through, he began showing even greater respect toward Leilin — an attitude that left Paul watching from the side with a somewhat sour expression.
"Very well! As per our agreement from the Astral Plane, here is your payment for this mission!"
Leilin waved his hand, and three streaks of light shot toward Paul and the other Morning Star warlocks, each beam of dark radiance enveloping a spatial artifact.
After Paul and the others probed them with their soul force, satisfied expressions appeared on their faces.
"The Ouroboros Circle is deeply grateful for all your help this time! You truly intervened on several occasions, driving off those covetous intruders. Therefore, I've added thirty percent on top of the original payment!"
Leilin's smile was thoroughly warm, giving Paul and the other warlocks the feeling of a gentle spring breeze.
This kind of demeanor, even if somewhat affected, when displayed by someone of Leilin's subtly elevated status, appeared all the more approachable yet unfathomably profound.
Paul and the others straightened respectfully, expressing their gratitude profusely with looks of excitement.
Leilin shook his head inwardly while maintaining his smile. "Furthermore, the Ouroboros Circle is preparing to launch a new campaign to reclaim the territories we previously lost. You will all make excellent witnesses!"
Upon hearing Leilin's words, the expressions of the various Morning Star warlocks differed.