Radiant Guardian
“It’s still a no.” Leylin kept the Coin of Destiny, feeling slightly crestfallen.
The Coin of Destiny had been cast rather crudely. Due to the involvement of Morning Star Magi, it was already damaged, and if it got worse, Leylin truly had no idea where else he would find a child of destiny to offer as a sacrifice.
Though he could make prophecies the way he had used Aaron, they had no way to make predictions regarding higher-ranked existences, and the risks in that were too huge.
Humans were creatures full of possibilities. If the Magi that Leylin had chosen managed to advance till they were on the same level as Leylin and managed to prophesize his actions, there would be no way Leylin could benefit from it
Leylin would rather use these dead creatures. Though they were troublesome, they were convenient and very safe! That was what he prioritised.
“Even I with my rank 3 strength will meet with dangers that cannot be measured in the Icy World. Looks like that’s still a place that I can’t peek into.” Leylin was clear on his situation. He now held most of Twilight Zone in the palm of his hand and had nothing to be anxious over.
The Icy Cave would always be present, so the things inside would be his sooner or later!
After the entire dark elven race surrendered, all that was left to take care of in the northern region were the gnomes, dwarves and few remaining guilds there.
Leylin could not be bothered with this and used his overbearing power to take care of it.
A few days later, a shocking rumour spread.
Lord Leylin, Guardian of the Realm in Twilight Zone, charged into the dwarves’ stronghold, the Taline Caves, alone.
They said that the lord relied on his own power and barged in head on, and went all the way into the dwarves’ royal court.
Berserk lightning and the terrifying aura of death constantly shrouded the area. The battle continued for numerous days before it stopped.
From then on, however, the royal dwarven court sent out an announcement, saying that their respected ruler, King Greybeard, and various other important ministers had died from illness. The young dwarven price inherited the throne and immediately withdrew his troops...
The same thing happened in the gnome kingdom.
This time, the explosions could be seen with the naked eye. Their machinery was ruined, and the three godly weapons which represented the peak of their alchemic skills were turned into trash. Many of their outstanding artisans were also kidnapped, and thus they lost many essential resources and research material about advanced alchemy.
From then on, Leylin’s fame spread throughout Twilight Zone. Besides humans, even when dark elves and gnomes mentioned him, they did not dare call him by his name. He had been titled the Radiant Guardian.
His image had been recorded as a legend by other races, and news of his being an exceptionally terrifying existence was passed down.
Of course, Leylin had not considered all these. He was now sitting on the most respected gold throne in Potti City and instructing Iren.
“Divide the resources in the newly-recovered northern region, and prioritise the guilds who’ve sided or displayed their goodwill towards us. As for the rest of the harvest, confiscate it all.”
Leylin’s intentions in attacking north Twilight Zone was not to be a good samaritan, but to get rich.
Through many years of development, there were various abundant resources in the northern region. Most guilds had died out during the chaotic war, which gave him another excuse to take them over.
As for those lucky enough to survive? Besides those who sided with Leylin’s side, whom he gave special treatment to, he was not planning to bother with the rest.
“Then... How about the Magi who’ve set up organisations there?” Iren was slightly hesitant.
Due to the chaos, not just other races but also other guilds from Twilight Zone had dispatched people to the former north Twilight Zone. They attempted to seize some things and even occupied a small territory, having a long-term confrontation with dark elves and managed to survive with their tenacity.
This was a result of Leylin killing the opposite party’s great matriarch in one blow. If not, no matter how gutsy they were, they would not dare even consider this area.
“Handle this in the same way. Also, for those stubborn guilds unwilling to submit to me, arrest them on the grounds of treason and colluding with the enemy. As for the evidence? Just look for Alicia. I’m sure she’ll be willing to supply it.” Leylin smirked.
This was basically an act to eliminate all outsiders, but Leylin’s crushing strength and his advantage of acting on an absolute righteous cause allowed everything to seem calm and organised.
In reality, Leylin was building north Twilight Zone up as the headquarters of Nature’s Alliance.
In the other regions, the strength of the Magi made everything tricky, and it was difficult to just insert an exceptionally large-scale guild within.
Nature’s Alliance Academy in the central and eastern region had expanded to its peak already.
If this was in the past, Leylin could simply continue expanding outwards, but the situation was now different. Due to the war, the northern region was destroyed by the chaos and many guilds had died out. The nobility and other chains of command had almost completely been wiped out as well.
Though this partly had to do with the cruelty of dark elves, most of it had to do with various organisations who were hidden deep within. Leylin had also played an important role there.
After most of the original organisations in the northern region were purged, it was time for the strong to divide up the feast.
Leylin, who held an absolute advantage and Nature’s Alliance Academy, gained the largest part of the benefits!
A few months later, a large branch academy of Nature’s Alliance was established there. Besides being a branch in name, the facilities and allocation of staff were based on the highest standards and even bested the headquarters in the central region.
With the completion of the branch academy, Leylin gained complete control of north Twilight Zone. For the two areas which were still hesitating, this was a huge shock.
In the year 5786 of Twilight Zone, the western and southern regions that had only been pledging their allegiance on the surface could no longer hold on and announced their agreement to support Nature’s Alliance academy in the central region. They received guidance from the great Guardian of the Realm and built a joint academy.
Twilight Zone was unified, and the prestige of the Guardian of the Realm, Leylin, was deep in the hearts of the masses. Human society also began to develop at a quick rate.
It was a new page of history. The end of the former era, as well as the ascension of the new one, proceeded so quickly that many Magi found it hard to react to.
North Twilight Zone, in Nature’s Alliance Academy.
“Crap, I’m going to be late!”
Will quickly got out of bed and hugged his thick notebook and textbook, a sandwich fresh out of the oven in his mouth as he dashed across the roads of the academy.
The academy was illuminated with large amounts of sun stones and eternal flames. There were even bonsai transplanted to the side of the roads for viewing pleasure. This would have been unthinkable in the past.
On the roads, there was the occasional sight of acolytes who were all darting towards their own classrooms.
“Mentor Jeline’s reaction field theory is so profound. I don’t understand at all...”
“The principle behind the construction of spell models is very important. It is the basis of all spell models that can be performed, and it needs to be solid. There cannot be any mistake!”
“It’s almost time for the academy competition. Rumours say that the victor can even get guidance from an official Magus!”
Many conversations flew into Will’s ear, and there were even many familiar voices. However, his feet did not stop moving as he ran at a flying speed.
As an acolyte chosen from among the commoners, he truly appreciated this hard-to-come-by opportunity.
It was because he had been up studying till late last night that he had overslept.
After passing by the teaching plaza, all acolytes would respectfully bow towards a statue in the middle.
The statue was carved out of black dazzling stone and formed the image of a handsome young man. His gaze was set far away, as if surveying the scene in the distance from his elevated position. Under the statue, these words were carved in the language of Twilight Zone—
‘Distinguished Guardian of the Realm, Leylin Farlier. Rank 3 Magus, the founder of Nature’s Alliance Academy, once gloriously killed the dark elven empress, dwarven king and gnome prophet in battle, saving all humankind. The patron saint of Twilight Zone, he also has other names, such as the Hand of Sacred Light, the Glorious Guardian and so on...’
“The lord Guardian of the Realm!”
Will bowed slightly towards the statue, admiration apparent in his expression, “If only I could become such a mighty Magus one day...”
Immediately after, however, he couldn’t help but laugh. He really was imagining the wildest things.
Some time after passing by the sculpture, Will couldn’t help but turn back and look, only to find a figure under the statue that had the exact same face as the sculpture.
“It’s- “ Will’s eyes widened, but when he looked once more, the figure had disappeared, as if all he had seen was merely an illusion.
*Shua!* Celine drew the curtains, and the giant French window revealed the current bustling, lively situation of Nature’s Alliance.
“How is it to see the splendour you created by your own hand?”
Celine laughed as she embraced Leylin’s waist from the back.
“Also, welcome back! You’ve stayed in the laboratory for about fifteen years, haven’t you?”
Celine gently placed her head on Leylin’s back.
She, who had tasted power, was now even more alluring than beautiful, as enchanting as a poppy.
However, Celine was very aware where her power and status had come from. This was especially so during the period of debauchery Leylin had engaged in when in the central region. She had, at that time, come to realise exactly how stable her position had been. She had even abandoned her work in the east and dashed to Leylin’s side.
It was a pity that Leylin’s thoughts were all on gathering high-grade meditation techniques and all sorts of information, giving Celine the cold shoulder.
“I don’t really feel anything.” Leylin was quite indifferent to all this. The reason why he had established an academy was just so that it would be more convenient for him gather meditation techniques and precious resources.