The Ouroboros Ring had previously been attacked by the allied forces, and if not for Leilin's meteoric rise, it would likely have been reduced to ashes long ago.
But even though Leilin had demonstrated terrifying combat power and talent, and through various means such as alliance-building had forced the enemy to withdraw, the vast territories and resource points that had been previously occupied could not possibly be reclaimed.
At the time, Leilin was only a newly advanced Morning Star. How could he demand territory equal to what the three previous Morning Star warlocks had held?
Even if he managed to reconquer the land, he alone wouldn't be able to hold it down.
One should only demand treatment commensurate with one's actual strength. Leilin was very clear-headed about this.
Now, however, with the return of the two Dukes—especially with the improvement of his own combat power—Leilin felt he had sufficient confidence to make these demands.
As for offending Thunder of Jupiter? Hadn't Leilin already done more than enough of that? Since he had already offended them completely, it didn't matter anymore.
"Mm! The Black River Basin was originally Ouroboros Ring territory. Having it occupied by others is an insult to us Bloodline Warlocks!"
Philip was the first to stand up, looking righteously indignant. "I will definitely apply to the Alliance for this!"
Seeing his reaction,
After all, those territories had originally belonged to the Ouroboros Ring. Now they were simply being reclaimed.
And they would offer verbal support at most, and wouldn't truly take action unless the Ouroboros Ring made greater concessions in terms of benefits.
But Leilin only needed them to serve as witnesses—he wasn't planning to have them take action.
Setting aside his current strength, even
When the other crystallized warlocks present heard that Leilin intended to reclaim their old lands, although they couldn't speak, their faces were filled with excitement.
The allied forces were still occupying their fiefdoms and population—an absolute humiliation!
The scene of being attacked at their headquarters, nearly uprooted entirely, was deeply engraved in these warlocks' hearts, planting seeds of hatred. Now, hearing that Leilin was about to lead them in revenge, their faces showed irrepressible excitement.
Leilin observed this scene and nodded inwardly.
His reason for doing this was to expand the pie and divert contradictions. After all, with three Morning Star warlocks now present, if they still kept to the original meager resources, there wouldn't be nearly enough to go around—especially with all the assorted subordinates below them.
Furthermore, by leading them through this act of revenge, Leilin's prestige would likely reach an unprecedented level, making it far easier for him to maintain control over the entire organization.
This was an open stratagem. Even if Gilbert and Emma saw through it, they couldn't say much.
After setting a time, Philip and the others took their leave. Even Furie and the other senior warlocks voluntarily walked out, leaving the space to Leilin's trio.
"Are we going to start a war with Thunder of Jupiter now? Didn't you say before that we should maintain the status quo?" Emma asked with some concern.
"What I meant by maintaining the status quo was the pre-war status quo!" Leilin let out a cold laugh, and a tyrannical aura suddenly radiated from his body. "Besides, Thunder of Jupiter is probably too busy dealing with their own problems right now..."
"Oh? How so?" Gilbert's interest was piqued. Any method that could weaken Thunder of Jupiter never failed to draw his attention. In Leilin's view, this hatred had already sunk deep roots.
"When I went to the Magma World before, I enlisted the help of the Fifth-level Warlock, Lord 'Golden Lion'
"What agreement?" Gilbert and Emma exchanged glances. Since meeting Leilin, they had never seen the young man come out at a loss. If he was doing this now, there had to be some deeper meaning behind it.
"He helped me hold off Jesiah, and in return, I'll give him the coordinates to the Magma World!" Leilin smiled. "Just a moment ago, Wade received my message..."
"What?" Gilbert and Emma shot to their feet. "That's an entire world! Do you know what you've done?"
The benefits represented by a massive otherworld were absolutely unprecedented. The power systems and paths alone, which could be studied and borrowed from, would be immensely beneficial to wizards—and could even lead to dramatic breakthroughs.
Setting everything else aside, one only had to look at how all the Solar Throne holders had advanced only after conquering a major world, and how even Leilin himself had gained tremendous benefits, to see this clearly.
Therefore, regarding world coordinates, which organization didn't guard them as the highest secrets? Last time, if Jesiah hadn't been confident—especially having been incited by someone—he wouldn't have brought out those coordinates to frame the three Comorin Dukes.
An unexplored world's appeal was extraordinary. The three Comorin Dukes hadn't been without suspicion before, but they had still fallen into the trap. The reason was simple: the rewards were too great, enough to cloud their judgment!
Of course, the final outcome was that Jesiah ended up with nothing—gaining no benefit while suffering devastating losses, nearly losing everything he had.
And now, Leilin actually wanted to give away this enormous secret?
Emma and Gilbert couldn't understand this at all.
In their view, the only people who currently knew the coordinates to the Magma World were themselves and Thunder of Jupiter. All they needed to do was guard the secret tightly, wait for the right moment to destroy Thunder of Jupiter in one decisive blow, and then take complete control of the Magma World!
"You two..." Leilin shook his head, looking somewhat exasperated. "How easy do you think it is to control an otherworld? Not to mention that world already has several Fifth-level powerhouses, and Thunder of Jupiter is watching from the sidelines!"
"What we need most right now isn't an otherworld—it's enough time to recuperate and restore our strength!"
"Wade is also a member of our Warlock Alliance. Once he's drawn in, Thunder of Jupiter will inevitably engage in fierce competition with him over the Magma World. That will give us ample time to develop!"
Leilin spoke with eloquence and boundless confidence, his eyes blazing with incomparable brilliance!
"Both sides are Fifth-level powerhouses. The Magma World won't fall that easily. In that time, we'll have plenty of opportunity to fish in troubled waters and reap our own benefits!"
"Moreover! Once our strength has grown, there's nothing stopping us from snatching the Magma World back from their hands!"
Leilin not only made the final decision but also painted a grand vision for Emma and Gilbert.
"Since you put it that way..." Gilbert and Emma exchanged glances, looking somewhat resigned.
Watching their reactions, Leilin laughed inwardly.
He could indeed afford to be somewhat indifferent to the Magma World, since he had already reaped the greatest rewards there. Not only had he obtained the transformed Fire Feather Technique, pushing his Morning Star mass point to its limit, but he had also acquired one-third of the Phoenix Egg's essence!
These items could be considered treasures of the entire Magma World, and Leilin was naturally quite satisfied with his harvest.
Furthermore, after the Sacred Dawn Day incident, he had managed to make enemies of both Scarlet Eye and Archibald—the leaders of the Magma World's two greatest powers—and had formed irreconcilable feuds with both.
Setting everything else aside, the mere news that he had obtained fragments of the Phoenix Egg was enough to attract the covetous attention of far too many powerhouses in the Magma World.
Leilin's decision to hand over the Magma World coordinates was also motivated by this consideration. With Wade holding the fort up there, he could still keep what he had obtained. And since he'd handed over the coordinates, if Wade or anyone else wanted more? Simple—they could go fight for it themselves in the Magma World!
"I imagine that after I throw out these coordinates, Jesiah over at Thunder of Jupiter will be stamping his feet and coughing blood?"
Leilin rubbed his chin, a mischievous grin spreading across his face.
...
After the council concluded, Leilin dismissed the two Dukes, chatted with Furie for a while, shared dinner with her, and finally returned to his own Morning Star
"Master!" The enormous wizard tower still soared skyward as before, exuding an air of ancient grandeur and the weight of ages. Once Leilin entered the tower, the intelligent Tower Spirit immediately flew out.
"Mm! Pull up all records from this period, and give me the current operational status of the wizard tower!"
Leilin commanded.
"During the Master's absence, the Astral Gate was maintained at minimum energy levels. Astral Stone reserves have been completely depleted. The wizard tower structure was operating at overloaded capacity, sustaining 3.78% damage to the main body. As for materials..."
The Tower Spirit spoke without expression, beginning its report in an orderly and meticulous fashion, like the most exacting of stewards.
"Tsk... This time nearly drained all my accumulated Astral Stones and the tower's energy reserves!"
Leilin sighed, feeling a pang of heartache.
"However, compared to the enormous gains, these expenditures were well worth it—the profit margin is terrifyingly high! Of course, that's probably because I have the Chip, which allows me to extract maximum benefit from otherworld resources..."
Returning to his study, the Eternal Bright Flame blazed with fierce radiance as Leilin sat behind his desk, beginning to tally up the harvest from this endeavor.
"This time, our objectives were fully accomplished. We brought back the two Comorin Dukes, and the strength of the Ouroboros Ring has surged enormously. That alone is more than enough to recoup our costs!"
Leilin's eyes flickered as he sketched and scribbled in the black notebook spread open on his desk.
"As for materials—the essence of the Phoenix Egg! An absolute world-class treasure. It can not only advance the Fire Feather Technique but also has miraculous effects on a wizard's soul and mass point... And the otherworld resources I specifically gathered from the Fire Feather Clan count as a bountiful harvest!" (...)