Ancient Bloodline Mirror
Accompanied by cries of “The Alabaster Devil” “The Alabaster Devil’s here!”, panic spread like a plague and enveloped the whole town. The people of the town were now not as boisterous as before, and some even quivered in fear in their own homes.
‘Seems like Belinda’s family doesn’t have a good reputation here.’ Leylin entered the town that had descended into a state of panic and shook his head while speechless. On second thought, though, he wasn’t all that surprised.
These people were only slightly stronger than regular humans, while Belinda’s family had rank 5 Alabaster Devilsnakes in their numbers. The huge disparity in strength led to an imbalance of power, and in this situation Leylin would actually be more astonished if the residents were treated well.
“Tell me, where is the Whiteriver Valley?” The crimson in Leylin’s eyes flashed as he watched the pair who were trembling in fear.
“Re- Revered master, there aren’t any valleys at all nearby!” The peasant finally answered while shivering.
‘Oh? That is true. How would they know about that place…’ Leylin somewhat understood. The base of the Alabaster Devilsnakes might be nearby, but concealing it from regular humans was a very simple task.
‘Based on the location, my target should be here. However, there’s some sort of interference and I can’t determine the location.’ Leylin stroked his chin. There had to be many reinforced spell formations in the base of such a powerful family, isolating and blocking them off from scouting.
Even just the radiation they let out unconsciously could amass to result in mysterious changes in the terrain. It was only that, for some reason, these beings that looked like humans with scaled foreheads had a resistance to high-energy radiation that was greater even than low-ranked Magi, allowing them to survive and reproduce. Perhaps the Alabaster Devil family had moved them here to exploit and pressurize them.
‘Since it’s nearby, I’ll definitely be able to find it!’ Under the peasant’s reverent gaze, Leylin’s body began to float. In the blink of an eye, he appeared above the town, truesoul at Half Moon sweeping out.
Every resident, every change in the terrain, even the bugs and microbes in the cracks of the town were revealed in front of him. His soul force expanded out, and the range of his sense was expanding further.
‘The feeling of the pinnacle of power, of having control over anything… This can make anyone feel intoxicated!’ Leylin felt like a god as he looked down on the town. He now knew the area like the back of his palm, and he would be able to take all the lives in the place with but a thought. He felt drunk on such power.
‘Only with this amount of power can I strive for eternity!’ Only limitless torture and suffering awaited those lacking in strength. Only by fully grasping his freedom and immortality would Leylin achieve his life’s goal.
“Mm, found it!” Leylin descended with a flash of light watching Sophia who was clearly uneasy, “Sophia, we’re going to get your sister. If we meet with any danger, find somewhere and hide yourself. Don’t mind me. Understood?”
“Mm, I’ll listen to brother!” She nodded obediently.
Just as Leylin and Sophia headed off, a black figure appeared from the shadows of the town and turned into Leylin’s previous appearance. He turned and donned a large black cloak, disappearing amongst the morning light.
Because he had to perform some unspeakable acts, Leylin used a method he’d employed before, using the A.I. Chip to control a shadow clone to bring Sophia away. He was prepared to make his move on the sly.
Dragging Sophia along would probably not arouse Belinda’s suspicions, and especially… Leylin’s eyes glinted with intelligence.
……
After he passed through the dreamforce fog, as little white valley appeared in front of Leylin. ‘Mm. There are so few people here… I’d thought that Belinda’s family would be huge, but there are only tens of people here. And about half of them are half-bloods or have bloodlines that are yet to mature…’
Surrounding it were multiple snaking pathways, with a constant surge of dreamforce being radiated out. Deeper in was a set of buildings that were close together. It was obvious that this was where Belinda’s family was located.
Though there were few people, the valley was bustling with life. The hissing and snarls of large snakes sounded from time to time.
‘Seems like I’ve come at a good time!’ With a sweep of his soul force, most of what was in the valley appeared in front of him. A few Alabaster Devilsnakes that were like little hills were spread in all directions, their life auras now at their weakest.
A huge battle had turned the royal mansion in the depths of the valley to rubble. In mid-air, Belinda was laughing maniacally with bloodstains all over her body, holding onto an ancient mirror. There were even a few obvious claw marks on her arms. She had evidently paid a huge price for this.
In front of her, a middle-aged man with short silver hair and crimson pupils looked ready to gobble her whole, his eyes filled with malice. Terrifying undulations at rank 5 flowed out of his body, causing even the surrounding space to shudder. Still, even that seemed like an attempt to refrain from provoking her and causing more harm.
‘Can high-ranked descendants of the Snake Dowager take human form?’ Leylin wasn’t very surprised by this. Though the ancient Giant Kemoyin Serpent lacked this ability, that didn’t mean it would be the same for the rank 5 Alabaster Devilsnake. Besides, the Snake Dowager and snake girls were all humanoid. Hence, even descendents of the large ruler of all snakes would have no problem taking human form if they had sufficient bloodline force or intelligence.
Some tasks were more convenient with a human body rather than that of a giant serpent, and the energy consumption was obviously much lower. That was how half-bloods mixed with humans were formed. If not, with the body of these giant snakes, even mixed-blood descendants would turn into monsters with bodies as large as mountains.
“Belinda, you dare return and even covet our family’s greatest treasure?!” The middle-aged man with silver short hair exclaimed, the fury in his eyes almost able to reduce Belinda to ashes.
“On the day Sophia was kidnapped, I’d already reinforced the defences, but I didn’t expect you to have bribed even Lisa and secretly obtained the keys into the secret room… You even got so many Serpent Intoxicating Flowers!”
Belinda, on the other hand, laughed carelessly. “I didn’t bribe her. She betrayed you of her own accord, poor, silly father.
“Your disgusting methods to carry on the inheritance of bloodlines in order to gain the favour of the Snake Dowager have long since given rise to fury amongst the family… I only sparked the fire!” Belinda watched the ancient mirror in her hands, hatred in her eyes, “I could have done this long before I left home. However, the Trial’s Eye taught me to prize order, and not wilfully engage in vengeance. But now, everything has changed. There is nothing holding me back…”
“Give me the ancient bloodline mirror, and I can pretend none of this happened. If you don’t, it’s not just you. Your sister Sophia will also suffer the worst of punishments… just like your mother did!”
A large Alabaster Devilsnake phantom abruptly appeared while he was speaking, and an enraged howl caused even the surrounding red fog to grow more concentrated. There were even signs of a link to Dreamscape.
“Haha… mother?” Belinda’s crazed laughter eventually turned cold, “You don’t qualify to speak of her!” It was like she had been triggered. Crimson light exploded in her hands, and the ancient mirror creaked, unable to bear the pressure.
“Don’t!” The middle-aged man’s expression immediately changed and he made his move. A terrifying red hand appeared and grabbed at Belinda, even as a large number of dark red tendrils appeared and extended towards the mirror from beside her.
“Keke… Such a pity, it’s too late!” Black light burst forth from her body, forming a layer of black armour that blocked the tendrils.
*Clang! Clang!* Black cracks now appeared on the ancient mirror in her hands, spreading out before it exploded.
*Boom!* At this moment, Belinda was thrown backwards by the large red hand, and the black armour on her body was smashed to pieces. She coughed out mouthfuls of blood but still looked at ease as she laughed.
“NOOOO!” Crazed snarls sounded, and the ancient bloodline mirror turned into a large black hole as the cries of a woman sounded out from the middle.
Spirit after spirit appeared, all turning into multicolour figures that dispersed unceasingly. All that was left in the end was the sound of a distant lament, and the ancient bloodline mirror completely disappeared.
“Do you know what you’ve done?!” The man’s facial muscles contorted. “With just another century… With just another century, I’d be able to refine our family’s bloodline further such that it enters the ranks of the pure-blood nobles! It’s all your fault!”
Formless power was sent out, and Belinda was dragged to the front of the man. Without the ancient bloodline mirror, he now had no reservations against acting. In front of his powerful rank 5 strength, even a full strength Belinda couldn’t resist at all.
Not even taking into consideration the exhaustion from stealing the mirror, the discovery and pursuit had caused a great loss in her strength.
A formless giant beast in the sky widened its mouth and bit down.
*Ka-cha!* A large portion of Belinda’s flesh and bones disappeared, causing her to let out a low grunt.