A Scene
“I would like to walk around for a while, you may leave here!”
Leylin saw a hint of disappointment in Jessia’s eyes after he told her that, and Nolan heaved a sigh of relief.
He chuckled as he turned around and raised his hand and disappeared among the stream of people, with Kubler immediately following.
With his astonishing senses, Leylin faintly heard two people behind him arguing in constrained voices.
“This is really….” Leylin shook his head, “Instead of focusing your limited energy on pursuing the truth, you focus on such things...”
“But I suppose this is probably a commoner’s pleasure right!”
He nodded his head after shaking it, called out to Kubler and continued his journey.
“After entering the Black River Domain, the Ouroboros Clan Headquarters—Phosphorescence Swamp will be very near…” Kubler was naturally very familiar with this place and had a tinge of both fear and longing.
After hiring a horse chariot, both he and Leylin enjoyed the scenery along the way.
If they had hastened on with their journey, they would not have been so slow in progress. However, Leylin was not in a hurry and had wanted to enjoy the sights and sounds of the central continent, hence he chose to travel by chariot.
As night fell, the two arrived at a small town.
Accommodations at the inn were cramped, and the air was filled with the odour of alcohol, sweat, and manure.
Leylin furrowed his brows at such conditions. Since this was the only inn in town, he still reluctantly accepted it as it was still better than spending the night in the open.
After putting down their luggage, Leylin and Kubler headed to the main hall intending to have a meal.
The menu for dinner was beef and potato stew with some fresh vegetables. That was all the town had to offer. Surprisingly it was deliciously prepared with an enticing scent to boost one’s appetite.
“Huh?” At this moment, Kubler’s expression changed.
A gush of profound ash-colored dust started stirring from the main door of the inn, spreading continuously and extending to the other parts of the inn enveloping other travellers and the owners themselves.
*Crackle! Crackle!*
The commoners, whose bodies were covered with the ash-colored dust all stood frozen, their bodies as stiff as a candle.
“It’s a freezing spell! There is a Magus around and we are the target!”
A shocked Kubler stood up and exclaimed with anger. Yellow energy emerged from his body and spread all around.
A circular radiance surrounded their round table, protecting them against the fate of the other travellers.
Leylin was totally unfazed by what was happening and was still enjoying the town-brewed wheat wine.
*Bang!*
The wooden main door burst open and 2 Magi wearing black robes entered the room. In front of their chest, Leylin saw the familiar red ruby emblem.
“Nolan! We meet again!” Leylin raised his glass and greeted casually.
Indeed, Nolan was among the two entrants. He had a vexed expression and stood, glaring at Leylin. “Where is Jessia? Where? Hand her over!”
“Jessia? Isn’t she with you?”
Leylin chuckled.
“She left! I thought she was abducted. Based on the location markings marked on her body, I am sure she is here!” Nolan’s eyes turned red.
“Location markings?” Leylin laughed in amusement, "How insecure are you? To put such a spell on your lover?”
“I do not care. Uncle! It is him! I am sure this is the Magus who took Jessia!” Nolan tugged at the sleeve of the Magus standing beside him and pointed at Leylin.
The accompanying Magus shifted his eyes and abruptly took a step up.
A ray of silver flashed by and the light barrier on Kubler’s body collapsed immediately.
“A rank 2 Magus!” Kubler mumbled under his breath.
Nolan looked on proudly upon hearing it while the other Magus had no expression on his face.
In his eyes, he did not regard Kubler who was a semi-converted Magus. However, he was distracted by the silent Leylin who sat quietly by the side.
“Sir, we the Rolithe Family have no intentions to use force. The fiancée of our successor has gone missing and it is a big matter. We need to inspect this place and we seek your cooperation…”
Power was exhibited first, followed by etiquette. It was a remarkable way of handling the situation, much better than what Nolan did.
“Absolutely!” Kubler was surprised that Leylin agreed instantly.
“Many thanks!” Seeing how cooperative Leylin is, the two Magi eased the tension on their faces and Nolan fell silent.
“Over here!”
Nolan looked into an odd mirror he was holding in his hand and rushed forward.
“Let’s take a look!” After his satisfying meal, Leylin got up and together with Kubler, stepped forward as well. The two Magi followed closely as if they were afraid of Leylin’s escape.
“Ah…. Jessia…… My Jessia……”
Upon reaching the room where Leylin and Kubler’s luggage was, they heard Nolan’s cries.
“Bad news!” Kubler rushed in and saw a white coloured woman’s dress on the bed, there was a big patch of blood stain on the stomach area and some portion had dried to a dark colour.
“What happened?”
“Jessia! Jessia! How dare you….” Nolan’s face flushed a fiery red as he yelled and stormed forward.
“This is trouble!” Kubler frowned, a layer of yellow scales appearing on him and his huge hand and suppressed Nolan who had lost his self-control onto the ground.
“Warlock from the Ouroboros Clan?”
The Rank 2 Magus expression immediately changed to become a vicious one as well.
“Even if you belong to the Ouroboros Clan, abducting the fiancée of our Rolithe Family's successor and treating him with such disrespect, you have to give me an explanation!”
The rays of silver in his eyes amplified and streaks of silver whips appeared in his palm.
“Wait!” Leylin smiled subtly, his hand on the shoulder of the Rank 2 Magus.
“Huh? What is happening?” Although it is just a hand, but it felt like a mountain. In fact, the Rank 2 Magus felt his body stiffen and couldn’t even lift a finger.
“Innate spell—Ring of fire resistance!” the Rank 2 Magus emitted a layer of flame from his body, forming rings of fire with it, with streaks of silver on the edges, blazing the surrounding atmosphere ferociously.
“Annihilation!” Soon after, he heard Leylin mouthing the word.
*Hiss Hiss!* The blazing flames were put out immediately, leaving no room for the smoke to reignite the fire.
An enormous and horrifying spiritual force assaulted the Rank 2 Magus, destroying his defences, took over his consciousness and confined his magic power.
“Ra… rank 3 Magus?” The Rank 2 Magus turned his head with difficulty, his throat dry and rough.
Leylin had been using his skills to suppress his spiritual force and energy undulations all this time. Now, he undid the suppression bit by bit, and a huge tide of energy was released causing the atmosphere to become heavy.
“So tell me, if I want Jessia, do I need to be sneaky about it?”
Leylin shot them a look and asked sarcastically.
“Of… of course not! It is our mistake! We're sorry!” the rank 2 Magus shook his head promptly. In the central continent, the sighting of Magi might not be uncommon, but it was not easy to witness the presence of a rank 3 Magus. And among the large-scale powers, rank 3 Magi were high-ranked with stable power and authority. They did not need to resort to any unscrupulous methods when dealing with rank 2 Magi.
At this time, Nolan was speechless. Although Kubler had lifted the spell on him, he lay helplessly on the floor with cold sweat trickling endlessly.
The Magus with the highest power in the whole of the Rolithe Family was only at Rank 3. If Leylin was displeased and had them killed, the other Magi might not even have the ability to seek revenge.
Thoughts of killing them crossed Leylin’s mind, but he eventually let it slide.
To him, there were no benefits in killing either these 2 Magi or even Jessia. Additionally, he might provoke an enemy with rank 3 strength.
Even though he was not afraid of the opposite party, he did not want any trouble.
“Follow me!” As such, he looked nonchalantly at the rank 2 Magus and Nolan, who was still lying on the floor before heading out.
Kubler followed Leylin closely, with the rank 2 Magus and Nolan close behind. In the face of a Rank 3 Magus, they had no chance of trying any tricks, hence they could only follow Leylin’s orders.
Leylin walked on with a destination in mind and soon they left the town and reached a paulownia tree forest.
Nolan didn’t quite understand anything, he merely followed suit.
Leylin came upon what seemed like the biggest paulownia tree, and knocked gently on the trunk as if he were knocking on a door. “Anyone there?”
*Dong Dong!* The tree trunk produced a dull sound, but there was no response and all was quiet.
“You are very clever! And attentive to your set-up. However, you are still not wise. After completing your work, you can’t help yourself but return to find out the reactions of others!”
“I have already noticed you, you should show yourself! Otherwise.….” Leylin’s voice turned chilly.
“Humph! Alright, alright, here I am, what are you going to do about it?”
*Shhrrk*, the surface of the tree trunk split open to reveal a round door. Jessia, whom they had first met on the airship, jumped out and grabbed Leylin by the arm.
“Brother Leylin! You are so awesome! How did you discover me?”
On the other side, both the rank 2 Magi and Nolan were speechless, anger filling them to the brim.