Setup
Previously, hidden in the control room, the scenes of Siebel’s death were displayed on the crystal screen for a pair of crimson eyes.
When the point mass was caught by the person behind this whole situation, the power bar increased by one unit on the side of the screen.
“...” The crimson light in that pair of eyes flickered intensely, but it soon subsided.
The chamber turned deathly silent again. A dark figure stayed at its spot, unmoving, unbreathing.
Meanwhile, news of Siebel’s death swept through the entire ruins like a hurricane.
“What’s this feeling?” Leylin’s face changed the moment the astral plane opened automatically upon Siebel’s death. He felt the fluctuation in the atmosphere of the astral plane and the point mass.
It was the same feeling he’d gotten when he’d killed Cyril, something he’d never forget.
“The death of a Morning Star Magus? The point mass returning to the astral plane?” Leylin mumbled in disbelief.
He took a long breath afterwards, “Sure enough, ancient ruins aren’t this simple. Even this core control room could be a mere disguise, with another true one hidden somewhere else!”
Leylin had gotten this suspicion a little earlier. Even if the old man didn’t have full authorisation, the defence of this place was far too weak. Now, it seemed it was only to be expected if this place was just a ruse that could only control the simplest spell formations.
Those powerful spell formations that had the power to suppress Morning Star Magi, and were even strong enough to kill them, were all hidden somewhere in the dark.
Leylin looked at the old man who was lying on the ground with sympathy when he thought of this.
It was obvious that his ancestor was of little importance in Scarlet Crescent, he had not even gotten a single bit of information about such matters.
“Anyway, all these things is none of my business. I’ve gotten what’s important, and therefore, it’s time to leave…” Leylin smiled, then flipped open the pale yellow notebook.
Even if the old man’s ancestor did not have much status, they had been very careful and had even noted down a secret passageway for the sake of their descendants. It allowed Leylin to leave Scarlet Crescent directly without returning through the original route, which greatly reduced the level of danger.
“If this works out, the mission this time will truly have gone perfectly!”
Leylin rubbed his chin, “The others only know that I have entered the ruin, but they don’t know what I have gained, there’s still room for manipulation.”
At the bottom of his heart was an idea about how to break apart the bloodline shackles, a gift from the ancient Wisdom Tree. This was priceless information for bloodline Warlocks.
Because of this, Leylin had to safeguard the secret, or else he could be rejected and even persecuted by the bloodline Warlocks.
“The timing’s just right. I know Siebel’s dead, but the rest of the Morning Star Magi aren’t aware of this, which means he can be my scapegoat!”
Leylin could not help but sneer as he thought of what he saw in the core control room earlier on.
The other Morning Star Magi did not have the spell formation of this control room to monitor the entire ruin. At most, they only knew that one Morning Star Magus had perished, but they would not know which one it was.
In this case, it was possible for him to disguise himself as Siebel, it wasn’t like the dead could talk.
“Transfiguration! Projection Technique!” With a thought, Leylin’s aura changed, becoming similar to Siebel’s.
But this was far from enough. His cover would be blown the moment a Morning Star Magus scanned him with soul force.
“I planned to use this for research or just to sell it off. Who knew I’d be using it now…” Leylin flipped his palm, revealing a translucent test tube. There was a tinge of blue blood in it, emanating light.
This was the blood Leylin had extracted from Siebel during their fight.
“Conceal the bloodline! This is going to remove all light and resist detection…” Leylin spoke in a half-singing and half-chanting voice.
These were Arcane Arts that the A.I. Chip had deduced from the inherited memories of the bloodline.
It enabled one to use the bloodline of the target, covering up their own aura and imitate the energy fluctuations on the target. Soul force would be unable to detect it.
Moreover, this was a long-lost arcane art of bloodlines. Leylin had witnessed it when he’d awakened his own Kemoyin bloodline. Other Morning Star Magi would definitely not have thought of it.
The spells sounded out as the test tube opened up in tandem with Leylin’s incantation. The blue blood drifted into the air, turning into a hazy shadow that enveloped Leylin.
In the blink of an eye, Leylin looked as if he changed into another person. Not only did he have the same look as Siebel, even his aura mimicked those of the marine tribe.
It was so much so that the energy fluctuations of a Magus were emitted from him, as opposed to those of the vastly different Warlocks.
Even the Radiant Moon Magus of Jupiter’s Lightning would find it hard to recognise him under such circumstances.
“Ma– Master?”
The old man who sat on the ground saw Leylin changing completely into someone else, and he could not help but stutter.
Leylin soon turned and looked at him, a trace of hostility flashing in his eyes.
……
Tremendous golden flames crackled and melted the void within seconds, clearing out a path of lava.
A blonde-haired middle-aged Warlock walked out with both hands behind him, followed by the phantom of a humongous golden lion.
“Right here! This is the first location where the energy fluctuations of a Morning Star Magus appeared. The core control room must be nearby!”
His brows furrowed while he glanced through the scenery on both sides. Looking at the huge depression and the remaining seawater, he frowned.
“Was I too late?”
*Bang!* Just then, the core control room nearby exploded, and a ferocious blaze engulfed everything.
The Warlock snorted with disdain, and a huge amount of fire was absorbed by the phantom at his back in an instant. His powerful soul force scanned around and discovered a blue figure immediately.
“Are you still trying to leave?” He smiled sarcastically, while a ray of golden lightning shot out immediately from the phantom behind him, quickly arriving at the blue figure.
“Arcane Art— Myriad Waves!”
An illusory domain in the form of a blue ocean was emanated from the blue figure, and a large surge of waves rushed ahead to form a huge wall that shielded him.
*Ka-cha!* Golden lightning split the waves apart, revealing the original form of the trembling fellow.
This was a giant who was a few meters tall, covered in blue skin. The inhuman aura was obvious.
“Marine Giant Siebel? Indeed, he was the fellow guarding this region, and one of the first to enter the ruins…” The middle-aged Warlock nodded, then he saw Siebel’s figure flicker before he fled quickly.
“You can’t escape!” Wayde, the Radiant Moon Warlock followed after him right away. As the blue giant was the first to reach the core control room, he must have gotten lots of treasure. Just the structural plans of the ruins would have him green with envy.
“Hand me everything you’ve obtained, and I will allow your truesoul back into the astral plane!” Wayde looked indifferent, but the phantom lion behind him started to fidget.
‘Only a fool will stay still…’ Half of Leylin’s body was severely burnt, but his figure moved swiftly in the ruins to escape. Even though the situation was bad, he had managed to escape from Wayde for the moment with the guidance of the map he had acquired.
Leylin put in huge effort to disguise himself as Siebel in this time period. Not only had he changed his aura completely using the Arcane Art, he had also used the data recorded by the A.I. Chip to imitate his domain, perfecting the facade.
With the aura, domain, and even the face matching, even if Leylin told him the truth now, Wayde wouldn’t believe him.
Not to mention that he’d spent a lot of effort to conceal his powerful spells. With the rush he was in, his opponent would not have a single clue about his identity.
As for the old man and the core control room, Leylin had destroyed them both; he would never let someone who knew his secrets to live. After all, once the old man fell into another’s hands, his disguise would be rendered useless.
‘I didn’t expect him to be this fast… Moreover, he’s a rank 5 Magus who excels at lightning-based attacks!’ Leylin smiled wryly. He had disguised himself as Siebel, and even had to mimic his spells. Despite the fact that Leylin knew water could not outpower lightning, he continued to use water spells to fight against Wayde as he could not risk exposing himself.
What was worse was that the opponent was way too fast. He had been caught unprepared.
However, it was all worth it.
A trace of a smile showed up on Leylin’s face, and blue light flickered in his eyes as he tested Wayde’s patience with the help of the numerous spell formations in the ruins.
At last, Wayde fumed with rage at the slippery moves of the Morning Star Magus before him, and did not want to probe Siebel any longer.
“Void Devourer!” His hand reached out ferociously, and the phantom opened its monstrous mouth in an attempt to swallow him.
*Buzz!* As if a massive black hole had appeared in the void, everything distorted and disappeared into the lion’s monstrous mouth.
‘This was what I was waiting for!’ Leylin’s eyes glinted, and he hid behind another huge bell tower.
*Crack!* The bell tower was broken, and even the foundation was uprooted by the suction force.
*Buzz!* A strong wave of energy appeared, unveiling a complex spell formation hidden underground.
“Hmmm, what’s this? Power from the core?” Wayde’s brows furrowed. Soon, he was buried in crimson spell formations that came out of the blue.
“Intruder spotted, Radiant Moon Warlock!” A cold mechanic voice sounded.