Discovery and Battle
“Legend?” What legend?” Carol wiped off the blood at the corner of her lips. Her truesoul had been injured by the curse in the dream, and she was no longer in the best shape.
“I’ve heard the Monarch mention that Giant Kemoyin Serpent Warlocks carry the bloodline of the Snake Dowager. Although very low, there is a chance of a rank 5 emperor appearing amongst them.” The leader’s voice was very low, and Carol and Eugene could even hear a tremble in it, “And after the appearance of the Kemoyin Emperor, the entire Kemoyin Race will unify under them to regain the glory of the bloodline Warlocks...”
”That’s obviously just a prophecy. Who’s going to believe that?” Eugene pursed his lips in disdain.
”If it were merely another prophecy, nobody would believe it, but what if the person who had made it was the great astrologer, Magus Derrick? And what if I told you he sacrificed his life to do it?” The leader glanced at Eugene.
“Derrick? That legendary Radiant Moon Magus who was the most likely prophet to reach Breaking Dawn?” Carol exclaimed, her eyes now full of fear towards Leylin.
“That’s why, even as we suppressed the bloodline Warlocks, we’ve been paying close attention to the Ouroboros Clan. If we hadn’t been afraid of turbulences of ill destiny appearing, which would cause them to join the dark side, we would long since have eliminated them...”
This Magus slowly revealed some confidential details.
“So Leylin is the hope of their bloodline?” Carol’s expression turned grim.
“Yes! No matter the cost, Leylin must die today!” The Radiant Moon Magi used their soul force to open a communication channel, and made a decision in practically an instant. It was at this moment that a large black serpent attacked them.
A crimson crescent of an energy blade shot out from the giant serpent phantom’s stomach, heading straight for Carol.
“It’s an attack from a piece of high-grade magic equipment!” Their expressions changed, and Carol quickly retreated, her innate defensive spells flickering into existence. The undulations of energy from middle-grade magic equipment burst forth, fighting against the crimson blades of light.
The crimson blades only dissipated after three pieces of middle-grade magic equipment exploded in quick succession, revealing a Carol who looked deathly pale.
“So you’re the ones plotting against me from the shadows?” The giant phantom serpent coiled up, and the devilishly handsome face of a magus was revealed as Leylin stared at these three Magi coldly.
Just the sweep of his gaze caused these three Radiant Moon Magi to feel their scalps go numb, as if they were being watched by some terrifying unmatched being.
Indeed, the opponent had a very handsome face. Even if she’d videos and acquired information about him before, Carol had to admit that a high-ranked Warlock like Leylin was someone who female Magi would go crazy over.
This unwitting charm he was giving off was very similar to a high-grade illusory attack.
“Who are you?” Leylin watched the three Magi, the gears in his mind turning.
His greatest enemy in the central continent, Jupiter’s Lightning, only had one Radiant Moon Magus in Zegna. However, none of these three was weaker than Zegna, and were total strangers to him.
‘Could they be from the Monarch of the Skies? Or is it someone else afraid of my development?’ Thoughts flashed quickly past Leylin’s mind. At this moment, the A.I. Chip had transmitted to his mind all the information it had gleaned.
‘Two peak New Moons as well as a Full Moon Magus! If it were the past me, I wouldn’t be able to kill them even if I used Sun Scorching Nirvana...’ These three Radiant Moon Magi were obviously here to kill him, and Leylin’s guard immediately went up.
“Who exactly are you?” He spoke slowly while the A.I. Chip scanned their auras and undulations in detail. There were only a few Radiant Moons in the central continents. He could search them up in the future, and he would eventually find out where they were from.
Currently, Leylin only needed to vent the fury in his heart! It had to be said, that dream curse they’d used on him had enraged him to no end.
The leader of the Magi watched Leylin, his eyes first flickering with terror but then glowing with a staunch resolve. “Leylin Farlier... So you were able to break through the bloodline shackles of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent and reach rank 5! You’re the most powerful bloodline genius I’ve ever seen, but it’s a pity that no matter how talented you are, you have to die here today!”
“Radiant Moon spell formation, three souls in one!” The bright figure of a full moon appeared behind the leader’s back, and Full Moon soul force burst forth, bringing with it a piercing chill.
Eugene and Carol stepped into formation behind him, each of them at the three corners of a triangle with this leader at the head. The soul force from their truesouls merged as well. Three cold radiant souls unified, appearing in front of Leylin like lightning.
“A competition between truesouls?” The giant Kemoyin Serpent Emperor roared, and crimson runes began to spread across Leylin’s body.
Even after reaching Radiant Moon and becoming a rank 5 Warlock, his truesoul was still weak in comparison to the combined truesouls of his opponents. With their spell formation, they’d suppressed his to the maximum, to the point that even his domain was weakening.
“Though my soul force has been stimulated by my bloodline to reach the peak of New Moon, it’s too strenuous to fight three Magi at the same rank, let alone one with power at Full Moon...” Leylin’s brows furrowed, the image of a truesoul similarly appearing behind him and soul force at rank 5 being released. Cold moonlight that brought with it a terrifying soul force competed with theirs.
The danger of such a battle was far greater than one of the spells. Just a slight misstep could push any of them to a point of no return.
The void was still, with no sound being emitted. A formless ripple was quickly spreading in all directions, and all beings in range of this battle between soul force, ordinary or otherwise, collapsed without a sound. This even included rank 3 beings. Terrifying soul undulations even spread as far as Nature’s Alliance Academy, and even with the defensive formations Leylin had set up before there were massive casualties.
*Pu!* Leylin abruptly staggered back as his blood flowed down from his eyes. In the battle between soul force, he had clearly been on the losing end.
However, the Radiant Moon Magi weren’t faring very well either, the huge loss of soul force causing their faces to turn pale.
“He’s already reached peak New Moon?” The leader stared at Leylin in disbelief.
He knew full well how difficult it was for Radiant Moon Magi to advance, and the opponent was a newly-advanced Warlock. In such a short period of time, he had pushed his soul force to peak New Moon, and that was a huge shock for him.
Traces of jealousy began to form in the depths of his heart, even, nibbling at his spirit like a toxic serpent.
“Admit defeat! You’re not our match when it comes to soul force. Injuries to soul force will reflect on your body, there’s no way out for you!” The Magus Leader watched Leylin, whose blood was seeping from his skin, and hummed coldly.
“Is that so?” Leylin sneered instead, giving his opponent a bad omen.
“Devour!” The tremendous and elegant Kemoyin Serpent Emperor figure appeared behind him, widening its huge mouth towards the three Radiant Moon Magi.
A terrifying black hole was produced, causing everything within range, even light and space, to be sucked in. The powerful attractive force gave rise to a horrifying energy storm.
*Rumble!* In an instant, the ground under the three Radiant Moon Magi turned nothing as an unending stream of life force flowed to all parts of Leylin’s body, allowing his wounds to heal quickly.
With the Devouring innate skill, he was practically immortal, and could even mend his truesoul using his body. No matter how grievous the injury, he could recover quickly. In a battle between Magi, this was completely like a cheat move.
*Pu!* The opponents cooperated to deal another blow, soul blades carving out a huge wound on Leylin’s chest. However, large amounts of life force were channelled instantly once more, and blood and flesh regenerated. In the blink of an eye, he had recovered.
Leylin exchanged blows like a lunatic, injury for another injury, crimson energy blades flying everywhere and causing the three Magi to find it difficult to keep up. This was especially so for the frail Carol. Due to the backlash from before, she was now on the verge of collapsing.
“This isn’t working. His regenerative ability is just too terrifying!” The leader of the Magi felt a chill in his heart. They had to fend against not just Leylin’s attacks, but also the devouring force of the black hole. Leylin was contending with them with no qualms whatsoever, and he was finding this precarious situation difficult to manage.
“The opponent evidently regains life force through devouring matter. Let’s go into a spatial rift. There shouldn’t be much for him to absorb there!” His eyes flickered as he found the way to get around this devouring ability, its weakness.
If he were in a void, Leylin’s devouring ability would definitely be affected. While he could devour space, the efficiency would definitely decrease, and the amount of life energy generated would be lessened.
“Trying to leave?” Crimson light flashed in Leylin’s eyes.
*Hss hss!* The terrifying amber slits of the Kemoyin Serpent Emperor’s eyes fixed onto the weakest member, Carol.
A layer of ash-white stone began to emerge on her body.
*Boom! Boom!* Leylin let the opponents’ attacks land on his back, scales and flesh flying as he charged into the centre of their spell formation. Numerous black shadow claws appeared and forcefully grabbed Carol.