Preparation for Battle
The chaos in the Ouroboros Clan was like a stone thrown into the peaceful lake that was the central continent, setting off ripples everywhere.
Due to the mutual deterrence of Morning Star Magi, such a large-scale war was rare.
The information about the current state of the Ouroboros Clan spread throughout the entire central continent like wildfire. Many spies, investigators, and idle Magi rushed towards Phosphorescence Swamp.
They had a pressing need to know how it all began, and what the final outcome would be. They would use this information for their own reference, and in the future would hand it over to the next generation.
“Storm clouds are brewing!”
Phosphorescence Swamp, Ouroboros Clan headquarters. Dressed in skintight leather, Freya stood on a high balcony and observed the huge Warlock City below.
“Even a peaceful, prosperous city like this will have to bear the brunt of battle?” Looking at the gloomy horizon in the distance, dismay clouded Freya’s features.
Seeing Julian and a few other elders heading towards her, her already cheerless self became even more depressed.
Disregarding the few elders, Freya asked Julian directly, “How is the deployment of manpower coming along?”
“They have been assigned accordingly, but…” Julian showed signs of hesitation.
“Let me explain. A while ago, due to your haphazard assignment of the snake bloodline Warlocks, our family suffered huge losses. And now we have to bear an even greater burden because of your decision to take over Leylin’s responsibility of the defences in the West Zone!” An elderly man with a pair of red eyebrows uttered with an icy tone, his face clearly showing his displeasure. The others were the same, dissatisfaction written all over their faces.
“You must understand, our family barely has the ability to defend ourselves, yet you pile up more responsibility on us. We’re going to be short-handed, and when problems arise, our family might even be exterminated!” Another elderly woman exclaimed.
“Aunt… I know that, but…” These elderly men and women were all Freya’s seniors in the family. Many of them had known her since her youth. Even though her status as a Crystal Phase Magus was higher than theirs, there were still many matters that were not easy to bring up for discussions in the course of the conversation.
“I know. You have developed feelings for that fellow, right?” Another elderly man with a cyst on his face asked sarcastically.
“Uncle Ivanov! So what if I have?” Freya’s steely glare was levelled on Ivanov as she drew a deep breath, the tension in the air reaching the choking point.
The cyst on his face trembled and he backed up a few steps, his lips quivering and he remarked, ”This is how you want to treat him? That playboy who not only had a fling with his own female senior, but even that slut Miran…”
“Enough!” Freya suddenly yelled, her face turning crimson. The other few elders raised their brows in shock.
Controversial relationships were common among Warlocks, especially when they were young. Leylin’s licentious lifestyle wasn’t that big a deal. But for Ivanov to bring up the subject, it was unsettling.
However, in hindsight, what Ivanov said made sense. If Leylin was really interested in Freya, they would have gotten together long ago. Right now, it seemed like a one-sided affair for their chief.
Freya’s worried aunt asked hesitantly, ”Little Freya, you…..”
At this moment, another voice echoed, “Marquis Lucian is here!”
Everyone exchanged glances and immediately quieted down. Family scandals like this were best kept amongst themselves.
“We will take our leave now, will you reconsider…” the female elder shot a loving look at Freya before leaving with the rest.
With their departure, Freya sighed a breath of relief and stepped out to welcome Lucian.
“Hehe… Dreadful, right?” Lucian asked with a smile, two other Magi behind him.
“Just some minor inconveniences!” Freya fluffed her hair. Glancing over Lucian’s shoulders, she recognised one of the Magi as Leylin’s subordinate, Parker. As for the other female Magus who was wearing a veil, Freya couldn’t recognise her. However, the horrifying Crystal Phase energy waves radiating from her body were unmistakably strong.
Such power normally would not be kept under wraps. Even within the Ouroboros Clan, Crystal Phase Magi were few and far between. They could easily form an organisation with the highest authority and take control over everything.
“Allow me to introduce you to Parker, I am sure you already knew him!” Lucian chuckled, allowing Parker to make his salutations. He then turned to point at the other female Magus.
”This is ‘Shadow’, a Crystal Phase Magus Leylin subdued previously. Having a sensitive identity, she cannot reveal her true name. As for their intentions of being here, Parker!”
“Honourable Marquis Freya!” Parker bowed respectfully, “My Lord knows you have insufficient manpower, so he instructed Shadow and I together with our men to come forth and heed your orders!”
“That’s wonderful!” Freya beamed and her eyes lit up. She secretly heaved a sigh of relief.
In the beginning, when she agreed to take over the defence of the West Zone, she was indeed rendered short-handed. But now with the addition of Parker and his men, a big portion of her concern was put to rest.
Especially… Freya shifted her line of sight towards Tanasha’s black veil. She tried to look through the veil, attempting to figure out her appearance.
Leylin had been keeping such a trump card hidden by his side all along?
A rank 3 Crystal Phase Magus was not easy to subdue. If Freya hadn’t agreed to defend the West Zone, with the abilities of that female Magus and Leylin’s men, they would have no problem defending it themselves.
Perhaps what Freya did was unnecessary… But, since the opposite party sent over their assistants, evidently…
Freya’s mouth curved into a smile which persisted for a short while before she shook her head and abandoned that train of thought.
The current situation had deteriorated so much that no one knew if the Ouroboros Clan would survive to the next year. She could not let her thoughts shift to such superfluous issues.
After watching Parker and Tanasha leave, Freya turned around, ”Marquis Lucian, the intentions of your visit this time was not just to send them to me, right?”
“Yes! There are other matters!” Lucian nodded his head.
“I knew there were more!” Freya rolled her eyes, ”Spill!”
“According to Faisal’s suggestion, I am here to ask you to hand over the authority of the tower genie that your family left at the headquarters!” Lucian muttered in a low voice.
“I think it is time to do that too!” Freya nodded in agreement and extracted a gold ring tossing it to her. “Take it, I hope their defence measures alongside the Magus Tower can impress me!”
“You will not be disappointed!” With the smooth completion of his mission, Lucian also heaved a sigh of relief.
“What else can I do except comply? Freya forced a smile.
The number of Magus Towers in the Ouroboros Clan headquarters was not small. From her vantage point, the whole area seemed to be packed with them.
These Magus Towers were built by high ranking Warlocks, and many of the towers were heavily subsidised by the main headquarters.
Of course, the main headquarters had their own agenda. In the core of every tower were inscribed defensive runes that were built to be combined with the rest. During a crisis, they would be able to activate all the Magus Towers to unite their defences.
Lucian’s so-called taking over of the authority was just a formality to save Freya’s reputation. Once Faisal shed all pretence of cordiality, he could immediately bypass all the locks on the Magus Tower and forcefully activate the Tower’s energy to bolster the defence.
Leylin knew about this, hence his unwillingness to build his Magus Tower at the main headquarters.
Freya was part of an extensive family and they owned massive businesses. Not only did they possessed Magus Towers in their own territory, they even had some high-grade ones in the main headquarters that were used as experimental laboratories. What Lucian wanted was the authority to those.
“I am glad you understand!” Lucian nodded his head and his expression dulled. ”Even at such times, there are some people who are unwilling to hand over control, not contributing to our Ouroboros Clan. They deserve to be damned!”
“Luckily, that is just a small minority!” Freya nodded in agreement, knowing those Warlocks absolutely did not deserve to die. After all, they were already dead.
After chatting for a while longer, Lucian took his leave. Given his hasty departure, Freya assumed there were some important matters for him to attend to.
With the impending great war, all the Warlocks were on their toes without rest. It was even more prominent for the core leaders, those at the Crystal Phase.
Snapping out of her thoughts, Freya looked to another direction, ”Even with our forthcoming demise, you are really at ease! If you cannot give me a satisfactory explanation, you will be in trouble…”
…….
Unknown to Freya, after elder Ivanov left, he locked himself in the room and threw a big tantrum.
“That crazy woman! She is completely sick! How could she be so adamant in betraying our family for an outsider’s benefit!” Ivanov roared in rage, his voice blocked and absorbed by the sound-proofing on the walls that kept the outside world from knowing what was going on inside.
“And Amasha is such an old muddlehead! How could she treat Freya like a child and give her more time… Damn it! Soon, our family will face imminent destruction!” Ivanov's face flushed red with anger and his cyst bulged.
Hands on his back, he started pacing in circles.
“No way! I refuse to witness the destruction of our family’s ancestral legacy at her hands!” After a few rounds, he clenched his teeth and tore the sleeves off his shirt.
Branded on his arm was an impressive yet odd-looking plant imprint. With the injection of spiritual force, it immediately started glowing.
“*Sha sha……*” After a wave of noise passed, a low, husky male voice emerged from the opposite end, ”You have finally contacted us!”