Taking The Bait
Leylin was inspired. Truly, truly inspired from the bottom of his heart. Compared to the emasculated profession that was wizardry, the arcane arts were practically built for his sake. If he could change professions and become an arcanist, his power would definitely grow.
He was also very interested in the inheritance of the ancient Magi who had comprehended laws. It was a pity that most of the content in the notebook were records of history. There were only a few sentences that mentioned arcanists.
“A matured path to power and an account of experiences will be a much better reference.” Leylin’s eyes shone as he scanned through the book, hoping to find any clues regarding arcanists.
Arcanists had solved the problem of being rejected by the World of Gods. While they had been celebrated for a short while, they soon became taboo and intolerable to the gods. All information about them had been destroyed, and this was the first time Leylin was seeing descriptions of them.
Through the A.I. Chip’s precise analysis and research, Leylin finally found a place that somewhat had connections with arcanists. However, once he found the location on the map, his expression changed.
“I never thought it’d be here.” Leylin unhurriedly memorised the landmark and then stowed the black notebook away.
“From the tone and clues, the person who wrote this must have been an arcanist. In that case, their words should be trustworthy...”
Arcanists were the result of the painstaking work that ancient Magi had done to adapt to the World of Gods. Though it was not as if Leylin could not begin his own research into the department, it would be a massive waste of time. He wouldn’t be able to go as far as what those Magi had. He had to get the arcanists’ inheritance!
“But it’s coincidentally in the north… This is just…” Leylin sighed, “I guess I’ll need to bring my schedule forward. Thankfully, I don’t have anything else to do in the capital. All the information accessible to wizards below the higher ranks has been recorded…”
At this thought, Leylin headed outside and clapped his hands, “Men!”
……
As the first son of a baron and honorary viscount, Leylin’s status made him a nobody in the capital. His leaving would not raise any ruckus… except from those who had their eyes on him, of course.
*Crack!* The wooden cup cracked, clear water splashing out from the gaps in his fist.
“What? He’s finally leaving?” Lorent was still in his paladin attire, though he now looked rather haggard, and his eyes were bloodshot. Ever since his decision to hang on to Leylin, he had been hiding in the shadows of the capital, waiting for his target to mess up.
Unfortunately, that little noble was very slippery. He basically did not leave his residence, and the places he frequented were like the Wizards’ Guild and places for nobles that were guarded tightly. He had not even left the capital, making the paladin grind his teeth the entire time.
His target seemed to have noticed that he was being spied on, and had been unbelievably kind in his daily actions to the point where it was unquestionable. He lacked the terrible vices some nobles had, and he was practically the model that all nobles should have sought to emulate.
Since he could not find other proof of him committing crimes, Lorent obviously could not do anything to him. After wearing down his patience, Lorent had already decided to make his move and take Leylin in!
However, this was something he was doing in private. He could not attack a noble in public in the capital, or the church would be the ones that would not let him off! While Lorent detested Leylin, he had no plans to die together with him. Hence, the operation had been put on hold till now.
“There’ll be plenty of opportunities once you leave the capital! You will definitely be punished for your crimes!” Lorent mumbled to himself, face gleaming majestically righteously. It was as if he was the personification of justice and kindness.
……
Days later, a carriage slowly left the range of the capital.
A few bandits that had been eyeing it definitely saw a young noble getting on the carriage and immediately sent out a person to inform the people at the back.
“A bunch of troublesome flies…” Leylin was evidently the one inside. His eyes were now closed, obviously having discovered the people peeping on him long before.
‘The followers of the Sovereign King of Gluttony in the Dambrath Kingdom have all been gathered and managed by Delia. The faith is still spreading…’ After making sure that the bait was now on the hook, Leylin strangely thought of something else.
In two years, he had reorganised the devil worshippers in the entire Dambrath Kingdom, and with Delia’s power as a pleasure devil, it was easy to control them.
At the thought of Delia, Leylin was reminded of the depraved balls that she hosted for the fallen. He had to admit that she was very fascinating and knew how to enjoy herself. A certain pair of noble sisters were on the verge of becoming famous, and Leylin watched their souls in secret to find that they were just one step away from falling to become devils.
‘Seems like I’m rather proficient in the abilities of devils… But even if they transform, those sisters will only become regular devils. Only souls that are exceptionally pure and determined will be even more powerful after falling, turning into the most terrifying devils…’
Leylin suddenly recalled the female knight, as well as the priest and paladins of the God of Justice. Those souls were the ones that had devils extremely thirsty for them. The purer a soul was, the greater the possibility that a legendary being would be born when it fell.
“She might be going north too…” Leylin thought back to the scene from before when they’d bade farewell, a slight smile about his lips, “Till then…”
The carriage slowly rode out of the gates of the capital, and there appeared a wide expanse of wheat fields at both sides. After walking past a few ranches, signs of human activity gradually grew more sparse.
“Master…” The voice of the coachman was heard from the front, “I sense a wave of enemies nearby!”
He was evidently not a regular coachman. It was unknown what kind of methods he had used to conceal the powerful energy undulations on his body.
“Don’t worry about it. Go on!” Leylin chuckled nonchalantly, “The fish couldn’t wait any longer and took the bait…”
He’d tolerated the paladin for long enough too.
Smite Evil! The other party had more tolerance than Leylin had anticipated. After driving into a low forest of shrubs, golden light in the shape of a crescent shot out from the roadside, the target evidently the carriage Leylin was in.
The paladin’s Smite Evil glowed incomparably hot, and held purifying power. It was very formidable against the undead, devils, demons, and all other evil. Even Leylin did not want to contend with this purification energy.
Intense magic rays flickered from the carriage, and Leylin tore through a few spell scrolls.
Magic Barrier! Dragon’s Breath! Fireball!
Boiling hot flame energy met the evil slash in the air. Qi and flames shot everywhere, exploding in resplendent heat and light. A magic protective layer had already risen in the surroundings, having the effects of preventing probings and prophecies.
These were Leylin’s accumulations over these two years. Not only had he learnt more spell models, he also had the wealth and physical resources to make suitable magic items and scrolls for himself.
“Evil will be punished! Leylin Faulen, you will be put on trial for the loss of innocent lives in the outer seas today!” Lorent had on a full set of paladin armour, the rays of light on his expression dazzling to the extreme. There was even an unusual flush on his face.
“Hehe… Paladin? Haven’t you seen the kingdom’s decree and statement?” Leylin pulled the fabric of the carriage and walked out. He seemed to be teasing the paladin, “The pirates in the outer seas have nothing to do with me. As a follower of the God of Justice, are you holding fast to your own justice by trampling over the law?”
Evidently, when it came to battles of the tongue, Leylin absolutely dominated him. Lorent immediately turned red.
“Ah… It’s because there are so many evil maggots boring into the holes in the laws that criminals like you can get away with any crimes! Today, I, Lorent, will end all these mistakes!” Knowing he could not refute Leylin, Lorent chose to use his own method to defend his justice.
Holy light filled his longsword, and a powerful qi even more powerful than Siegfried’s exploded. Shrouded in this light, the paladin seemed even more unsullied. It formed another layer of translucent armour, completing his original metallic breastplate.
‘Paladins are all so troublesome! Not only are they immune to many negative effects, they have a terrifying vitality that gives them resistances to all sorts of illnesses…’
“Unfortunately, I am not your only opponent…” The spell that Leylin had prepared for a long time was launched. “Hold Person II!”
Even if his opponent had resistance to magic, he still hesitated for a moment in the face of Leylin’s high-grade spell.
The coachman, who had been cowering aside, suddenly made a move. A black dagger instantly appeared in his hands, allowing him to break through the protective barrier and appear in front of Lorent.
The dagger, which concealed a powerful curse, broke straight through Lorent’s defences and formed a huge wound on his chest.
“You… Tiff The Defiler!” Lorent retreated, rays of divine healing spells flickering on his body. His habit of holding back when it came to commoners made it such that he did not have his guard against the ordinary-looking couchman, and he had been ruthlessly attacked by Tiff.
“You’re actually banding together with someone like him? This crime alone could you send you to be burnt at stake!” Lorent glanced at Leylin, who was in front of him, looking delighted because he’d finally found evidence of Leylin committing a crime!
“Is that so? That’s only possible if you can send that information on!” Leylin shrugged his shoulders.