Deceit Seen Through
The Forgotten Land was very infertile and could be said to be a desert of the Magus world. Magi who travelled there were all fugitives who had been driven to desperation in the central continent.
Of course, Tanasha was no different. If her identity was exposed, it was not just her, but also Leylin who would be in deep trouble.
“No, I have been very careful so far. I didn’t leave behind any information about my appearance or scent, and I did not use an airship!” she stated.
“Very well!” Leylin nodded. “Where are my things?”
“Right here!” A large black box appeared on the table with a swish of her hand.
Seeing the seal still perfectly untouched, Leylin gave a look of satisfaction. He opened the box, in which was a thick layer of soft white fur.
This was the King Blood Vulture’s feathers. It contained the miraculous ability to conceal a bloodline’s aura, and it had even fooled Leylin previously.
After brushing these white feathers aside, the energy waves of many bloodline treasures radiated out, surprising Tanasha.
A mountain of bloodline crystals and many strange bones, as well as fruits, rhizomes and such containing the power of bloodlines, were piled up messily, as if they were not of any monetary worth.
However, deep inside, Tanasha knew that once these items were revealed, it would greatly impact the Ouroboros Clan. Every single item in there could make a high-ranked Warlock go crazy!
Although she brought them over as per Leylin’s orders, it was also by his order that she did not open the box. It was only then that she became aware of the contents of the box.
This was obviously Leylin’s plan. When he acquired the loot in the pocket dimensions, he had already considered ways to get them past Gilbert.
After all, as the person who had sent out the information, he had already known long ago about Gilbert’s arrival. How could he not have prepared for it?
Morning Star Warlocks’ ability in detecting bloodline treasures was far exceeded Leylin’s expectations. He had no confidence in hiding them at all. Hence, Leylin chose not to bring them with him.
Even if Gilbert monitored Leylin’s spatial pouch and ring, he could only find some of the things that Leylin left behind intentionally. The real loot was all moved away by Tanasha.
With regards to this set up, it certainly was a decision that Leylin had made with determination.
Firstly, Tanasha had not only sworn her loyalty to him, but also allowed a part of her spirit source to be held by Leylin.
For a Magus, this kind of restriction was practically fatal. If Leylin destroyed that part of her spirit source, Tanasha would lose her mind even if she did not lose her life! On top of that, he deliberately won her over previously and agreed to take revenge for her. The assigned mission was just to transport an item. Leylin had some confidence in her.
For safety’s sake, not only did he cast a sealing spell on the black box, but he also used the King Blood Vulture’s feathers as a cover in order to conceal the bloodline energy waves of the treasures.
It seemed like the plan had succeeded.
Leylin looked at the pile of bloodline treasures, nearly laughing. Among the many bloodline energy waves, a fingerbone lay there quietly, yet majestically like a king. It made the other treasures seem less appealing.
Tanasha stared at the fingerbone as if she had seen her enemy, “What is this thing?”
Evidently, the aura of the fingerbone made her uncomfortable. This was unfathomable for a Crystal Phase Magus.
Even though it was just the remains of a creature, it had the power to make her so uncomfortable. How powerful could the living creature have been?
Tanasha fixed her eyes on Leylin. Now, she began to find this young Magus increasingly unpredictable.
“The Lamia fingerbone!” Surprisingly, Leylin answered the question directly.
“Tower genie, keep these items safely!” Leylin picked up the fingerbone and ordered the small blue elf beside him.
“Yes, my master!” The small elf held its chest and bowed. After that, a mechanical puppet walked over and took the black box to be stored in the treasury.
“Tanasha, come with me. I might need you later on!” Leylin called out to Tanasha with a downcast face.
Subsequently, he brought Tanasha all the way down to the room binding room before he came to a stop.
Powerful binding runes, energy-isolating runes, the power of corrosion, the weeping of vengeful spirits, gravity runes...
Tanasha looked at the runes on the walls as her expression darkened. With so many binding spells, even Tanasha, a Crystal Phase Magus, would have difficulties struggling her way out.
This led to an even deeper understanding of Leylin’s financial capabilities.
“You set up such strict bindings. Do you intend to summon the great devil?” Tanasha asked, with a slightly provocative tone.
“No! This is only set up in case of an emergency. You know it— the astral plane is filled with all kinds of strange creatures. A little more preparation never hurts!”
Leylin’s face carried an odd smile, “But never did I expect that the first subject that it would be used on, would actually be this!”
As a light shone from his right hand, the Lamia fingerbone in Leylin’s hand immediately appeared at the center of the bindings. A strong sluice gate made of reinforced glass dropped and the many runes began to flicker.
The Lamia fingerbone lay there silently like a dead creature.
Tanasha held her breath. She knew that Leylin was probably going to show her something unusual.
“Tower genie, begin first-level operations of the bindings!”
Following Leylin’s orders, the circle of lights in the binding room lit up all at once. An invisible power lifted the Lamia fingerbone.
“Start purification!” As per the tower genie’s emotionless command, two small lightning clouds grew above the bone, streaks of lightning crackling as they burst towards it.
“I know you're still there. There's no need for the pretense! Come out!” Under the lightning, the white fingerbone appeared to be unaffected. However, Leylin had a straight face, with an expression as cold as ice.
After a few minutes, there was still no sign of any anomaly, causing Leylin to sigh deeply.
“Begin the next level of purification!”
“Authorisation verified! Inputting energy!” Upon hearing the tower genie’s voice, the original two clouds began to transform immediately.
Dark, black clouds suddenly soared above the area, and the lightning acquired a subtle red hue. Thick bolts swept across the bone mercilessly, causing narrow cracks to surface on it.
“If you continue doing that, you’ll destroy the fingerbone!” Tanasha looked at Leylin, but his expression did not stop, indicating he had no intentions of stopping.
Under the lightning that had been strengthened tens of times, the bone began to vibrate, as if it was going to explode into dust anytime.
*Ring!* Just when Tanasha thought the fingerbone was about to explode, a strange scene suddenly appeared. A ring of green light burst out violently, with such a strong power radiating that it split the dark clouds apart in a second.
*Hiss!* A touch of green light emerged. It then transformed into a phantom of a young, green-haired woman, now lunging towards Leylin.
Compared to what Leylin had seen previously, the image of the young woman was not only more illusory, but her face had also become a lot more complex, with rhomboidal scales. Her eyes were a sea of green and her pupils had become vertical slits.
As the Lamia’s phantom swept her glance across with her pupils, Leylin’s entire body became a little sluggish.
“Begin binding!” This time, the tower genie responded swiftly and gave an order.
*Bang!* A loud sound echoed as the young woman’s phantom crashed into the clear reinforced glass, causing the runes to flash.
Soon after, an enormous gravitational strength emerged and pinned the woman to the ground.
*Ka-cha! Ka-cha!* A chain of runes appeared one after another, binding the green-haired Lamia’s phantom.
After coming back to his senses, Leylin, who had broken out in cold sweat, could not help but draw a deep breath. “That was really close!”
Although he tried his best to overestimate the opponent, the terrifying feeling of having his mind being snatched had given him a fright all of a sudden.
This was the definite control that a high-ranked bloodline had over a low-ranked one. In face of the great gap between the ranks, all efforts were to no avail.
“You dare oppose me? The Grand Matriarch will not let you off, bloodline traitor!” The green tongue of the Lamia’s phantom forked as she spoke.
“Sorry! I don't have the habit of obeying orders that’ll cause me to lose my life!” Though Leylin apologised, he showed no sign of remorse on his face.
“The Giant Kemoyin Serpent is a rank 4 creature. It needs to obey the Lamia’s bloodline, which is of a higher rank. This is branded deep into the inheritance of the bloodline and is not able to be changed!” The Lamia’s phantom glared at Leylin and asked, “How did you escape?”
“How would I know?” Leylin swished his hands.
In actual fact, he had guessed that it might have a connection with his bloodline. Not only was the Giant Kemoyin Serpent’s bloodline in him extremely pure, there was a great possibility that through the A.I. chip’s purification, his bloodline differed from the original.
“What is this?” Tanasha stared at the Lamia with a look of curiosity surfaced on her face.
“The owner of the fingerbone. Just a projection of a destroyed, shattered and unwanted memory fragment!” Leylin spoke with disdain.
“When did you find out?” After seeing Leylin like that, the Lamia calmed down.
“I knew from the beginning!” Leylin said calmly.
“I am not someone who would sit and wait for rewards. I only believe in achieving things through my own efforts. Seeing how you took the initiative to come to me, there’s no way I could let my guard down!”
Frankly speaking, Leylin basically believed the part about the other party being tired of staying in the King Blood Vulture’s nest, but he could not believe that it would be so boring and despair-inducing that one would seek death.
Ancient Magi had strong mental endurance, and on top of that, she was an extremely powerful Warlock. How could she possibly be cowed by a long period of solitude?
Perhaps her true intention was to get out, or to seize a corporeal body with the help of Leylin!
A Giant Kemoyin Serpent Warlock which is suppressed by the ancient Lamia, was definitely a first-rate target to seize control of!