Longbottom Strikes
In the many scattered images, there was also a figure that Leylin was extremely familiar with.
“Baelin?” A smile crept upon his lips.
……
“Are you sure it’s here?” Baelin asked, swallowing hard. The pitch-black hole in front of him seemed like the mouth of some weird creature. The aura on his body rose rapidly, nearly exceeding the limits of a regular human.
“We dark elves get all our Underground Winter Spiders from this hallowed place. It is where the Underground Winter Spider Emperor lives. Do you really think I’d risk my life to bring you here if I wasn’t sure?” Memphis rolled his eyes.
“As long as you can kill or dominate it, the Underground Winter Spider knights would immediately fall apart, and this war might just end,” he said with a sigh.
“How powerful is that Underground Winter Spider Emperor?” Baelin felt uncomfortable looking at the hole as if he had been laid bare before someone’s eyes.
“At least rank 2!” Memphis waved his arms, “But luckily, it’s deep in slumber right now, and won’t notice you.”
“I can’t help, though,” he added, “Any dark elves who’ve signed contracts with Underground Winter Spiders will wake it up as soon as they enter the vicinity!”
Not all ancient creatures were at the Morning Star realm. Morning Star Magi were considered formidable even in ancient times, so how could such strong creatures be common?
Baelin and Memphis had a very simple plan: they would either kill the Underground Winter Spider Emperor or force it to submit, a move so drastic which would cause enough damage to the dark elves’ military that they would be forced to withdraw,
“...Fine,” Baelin huffed.
He turned and said, “I’m ready. Come!” In front of him was a bizarre lump of meatball that looked like a huge poached egg. What was even more terrifying was the presence of dozens of eyes on the thing, all open and staring at Baelin without blinking.
“How many times must I tell you? Even if you received my owner’s inheritance and advanced to become a rank 1 Magus, the current you are far from an opponent for rank 2 Magi. Leave alone you, even with me joining the fray, we won’t survive this encounter!” The lump said, blinking. It had the delicate voice of a child.
“That was an order!” Baelin’s expression darkened.
“Alright, alright! Whatever! I finally find a new owner, and he turns out to be an idiot!” The egg-like creature shook its head.
With the order given, it shot over to Baelin’s body, extending countless meaty feelers that fused with him. Baelin grew much larger than before as the meat solidified and formed a dull red armour patterned with tens of eyes, something that made it seem very mysterious.
The moment the armour formed, Baelin’s aura broke through the limits of humans, stabilising at the strength of an official Magus.
“This map and amulet have been passed down from generation to generation. I wish you luck in this venture!” Memphis sincerely blessed him.
“Thank you!” Baelin answered, a pair of metallic large red wings spreading behind him before he charged into the hole.
The journey to escort Memphis back home had been arduous. Baelin, Jenny, and the dark elf faced danger after danger, all while being hunted down by people from both sides.
Fortunately, they had managed to survive the ordeal and infiltrate the Dark Elven Empire, getting him to a safe area. In addition, Baelin had acquired a unique inheritance which had led him along the path of a Bio Booster, a branch of ancient Magi.
After gaining this inheritance, Baelin’s progress soared, until he became an official Magus.
With the Bio Boosting armour that he had obtained and inherited as well, his strength was beyond that of a regular official Magus.
The moment he jumped into the hole, he suddenly felt as if the coin he hung around his neck heated up...
In the laboratory.
Leylin glanced at the golden crystal in his hands. Golden liquid now occupied more than half the volume within and appeared to be glittering splendidly.
“As expected of the child of destiny. This rate of improvement is something even I might not be able to match!” Leylin sighed.
Back then, he had tested Baelin for his aptitude, but it had appeared to be meagre. It was basically impossible for him to advance to be an official Magus.
In addition, Leylin was only teaching him out of curiosity and playfulness, and would naturally not impart knowledge only Magi were privy to.
Now though, destiny had played its hand. Baelin’s strength was growing boundlessly, to the point that he could now affect the results of the war.
In ancient times, the spread of ideas between different worlds, as well as the creativity and tolerance of ancient Magi, had led to the formation of many different branches. Some examples were Bloodline Warlocks, Elemental Bards, Branded Swordsmen, Steel Knights, and even the recently rediscovered Bio Boosters.
Leylin recalled the information he had recently found from an ancient volume about Bio Boosters.
These ancient Magi were extremely strange and required their inheritors to have the aptitude to become both Knights and Magi.
In addition, they had to have Bio Boosting armour!
After obtaining the armour, a Bio Booster’s strength would rise sharply, and after fusing, the armor would automatically change the body of the host; this strengthened them continuously.
In addition, this armour could be inherited. The moment a Bio Booster gained the armour left behind by a higher ranked Bio Booster, they would immediately gain more strength.
In Leylin’s eyes, Baelin was quite suited to become a Bio Booster.
“Destiny…”
Leylin sniggered and left the laboratory.
……
“Fendix, thank you for the hearts of Earthen Fiends. I’ll make it up to you for whatever I haven’t paid you!”
Holding a cup of coffee, Leylin chatted with Magus Fendix, who was in front of him.
“These are all small matters. You don’t need to be so polite!” Fendix laughed but did not reject him. Magi were quite clear about this.
“I just came out from the laboratory. How is the situation with the war?” Leylin asked after some small talk.
“It’s still the same. The tripartite defense is barely holding off the matriarchs. All our manpower is being whittled away.” Fendix’s expression showed his excitement.
“Quite a few darkness creatures have been eliminated. The regions we’ve given up already are enough for them to proliferate, so they’ve begun to show signs of retreat. All sorts of voices are already sounding among the inner circles of the dark elves. Although the matriarchs are currently suppressing them, they, too, have to worry about the repercussions of such an act…”
Leylin nodded. He knew that there were dissenting voices among the dark elves, and then there were Baelin’s actions as well.
“I reckon that if there aren’t any large changes, this war will end within five years!” Fendix seemed to heave a sigh of relief.
This conclusion was about the same as what Leylin had come up with, and he nodded as well.
*Bang!*
The door to the parlor was suddenly pushed open, and a female rank 2 Magus entered, looking grim.
“Something’s happened in the north!”
……
A while earlier...
Potti City was the center of the north’s defense. The human armies, backed by numerous Magi, confronted the coalition of darkness creatures and dark elves at that location.
A young Magus passed through a long paved pathway and arrived before a golden door.
“Magus Longbottom, is anything wrong?” the two Magi at the golden door asked.
“I have something pressing to report. Please let me see Lord Yade!” Longbottom looked to be in a hurry.
“Something pressing to report? Fine! We’ll pass on the message!” The two Magi exchanged a glance, and one of them immediately ran inside.
A moment later, the Magus returned and nodded, “Lord Yade is willing to see you!”
Longbottom immediately entered through the door.
Behind the golden door was a large room, with a milky-white radiance around it.
A Magus that looked very youthful wore a loose and comfortable robe and was sitting behind a large writing table.
“Longbottom greets the great protector of the North!” Longbottom respectfully greeted while half-kneeling.
“It’s little Longbottom! What’s wrong?” An aged voice was produced from the young man’s mouth.
“I found a small group of dark elves while on patrol. I discovered this after the fight!” Longbottom respectfully held a black scroll above his head.
A streak of blue light flashed, and it scanned the scroll up and down.
“No abnormal energy reactions! Level of danger: 0!” A gentle female voice sounded, and Longbottom trembled. He knew this was the voice of a spirit genie.
“Let me see!” With a wave of the young man’s arm, the scroll in Longbottom’s arms flew to the table and was unfurled.
Something that looked like a map appeared in front of the young man’s eyes, with all sorts of red markings appearing all over it.
“Oh? This is?”
Magus Yade began to look grim, his body automatically leaning forward.
Suddenly, the situation changed!
A translucent black seed appeared from the map and turned into a ray of light, entering Yade’s forehead.
“A parasitic seed! You-!” Yade was enraged.
Right after that, large amounts of black tendrils and vines wrapped up his body, sealing him within.
“Warning! Warning! Intruder!”
The spirit genie’s voice became frigid.
Powerful magical rays formed from a powerful spell illuminated the room.
“I’ve been waiting for this!” A fiendish smile appeared on Longbottom’s face, and he waved.
A black ray travelled by Magus Yade and destroyed the oil painting behind him, revealing a complicated spell formation.