"A precious treasure? What is it?"
Lein had already assumed the appearance of a middle-aged man. He stared at a figure composed entirely of black mist before him, a look of displeasure crossing his face.
"We don't know exactly, but we can confirm it's extremely valuable — and for Second-rank Wizards, it represents an immense temptation. After seeing that treasure, Aelister betrayed the White
The black mist figure's voice was hoarse, its body so insubstantial it seemed like it might vanish at any moment.
"Fine. Last question — where is he now?" Lein let out a long breath and continued.
"Unknown. Someone reportedly spotted a trace of him in the City That Never Sleeps. Based on his likely route, he should be fleeing toward the Endless Ocean…"
Upon hearing this reply, Lein shook his head.
The Endless Ocean lay to the east of the City That Never Sleeps, in the opposite direction from the Thorny Iron Gate. Even if he set off right now, he would never catch up.
Moreover, mobilizing everything based on intelligence of questionable truthfulness didn't seem worth the cost.
Countless Wizards were surely hunting Aelister already — rumors even spoke of Third-rank powerhouses getting involved. Lein had no intention of getting himself killed over this.
After all, he himself was also a fugitive of considerable importance.
"Do you have any more questions, honored guest?" the mist figure asked.
"No, that's all." Lein stood up and left the room.
With a heavy slam, the door shut, plunging everything inside into darkness as the mist figure gradually dissipated.
"Honored guest! You asked two Grade 4A questions and three Grade B questions. The total cost comes to…"
Once Lein stepped outside, a woman dressed in revealing attire, resembling the proprietress of some establishment, immediately approached with a sinuous sway of her slender waist.
A pair of remarkably ample assets pressed almost against Lein's chest.
"Mm! Noted!" Lein flashed a provocative grin, and a small black pouch trimmed with gold traced a gleaming arc through the air, landing precisely in the deep cleavage between the woman's prominent bosom. This elicited a string of coquettish complaints.
After declining the proprietress's "kind" invitation to stay, Lein left without the slightest hesitation.
Crash! The wall bricks on both sides rapidly slid apart, revealing a quiet, grimy street. From the distance came the faint noise of Wizards.
Lein turned his head to look. The doorway behind him had already vanished without a trace — in the distance there was nothing but an ordinary wall, and this place was completely different from where he had entered.
These Wizard organizations that made their living selling intelligence invariably possessed formidable concealment abilities. Lein could be certain that their exits from the Thorn Iron Gate were not limited to this one, and there was no way to trace these exits back to their headquarters.
Even that proprietress was no simple character! Lein rubbed his fingers together and left with a smile.
Meanwhile, back at the original trading location, once Lein had gone, the proprietress's expression shifted and she collapsed weakly onto a nearby sofa, her graceful curves fully on display.
At the same time, from her body, a powerful surge of Spiritual Power — no weaker than a peak first-rank Wizard — slowly emanated outward.
This intelligence-trading proprietress was actually a peak first-rank Wizard as well! Such strength, across the entire South Coast, would be enough to dominate an entire region!
But now, cold sweat streamed continuously down the proprietress's face.
"That was terrifying! That Spiritual Power…" She patted her chest, still shaken. "Absolutely a powerful second-rank existence! Why would someone like him come here?"
She had clearly felt the probing flicker Lein had sent her way earlier. In truth, had Lein not held back at the very end, the proprietress would have been in a far worse state.
The beautiful proprietress lay on the sofa for a while longer, her thoughts racing. Suddenly, her face changed.
"Could it be that he also came because of that news?"
In an instant, the proprietress's face went deathly pale, and she began muttering to herself, "Business here is getting harder and harder to conduct. No good — I have to leave as soon as possible! Something like this happens every two or three days! This life is absolutely unlivable!"
…
Elsewhere, Lein was also replaying the entire sequence of events in his mind.
Strictly speaking, this matter was related to him as well.
After he had destroyed that Secret Realm gate last time, it seemed to have triggered some kind of mechanism, causing the entire Ganges Secret Realm to undergo mysterious changes.
A massive ruin of ancient architecture had emerged at the very center of the Ganges Secret Realm.
The Dark Wizards and Light Wizards, overjoyed at the discovery, immediately clashed in multiple violent skirmishes over it before reluctantly reaching an agreement to explore the site separately.
Both sides had poured tremendous effort into this expedition!
These were ruins left behind by the very Wizards who had constructed this Secret Realm! If they could find the legacies within — wouldn't that catapult them to the heavens in an instant?
Both Dark and Light Wizards immediately mobilized their most elite forces, dispatching squads of no fewer than Second-Circle Wizards to explore the ruins.
During one such expedition, Alistair, along with the three exploration teams of Aleken and Juna, seemingly obtained something extraordinary after conquering a particular trial.
Moreover, this treasure had remarkable effects even for Second-Circle Wizards. For the sake of it, Alistair did not hesitate to choose betrayal — after ambushing Aleken and Juna, he seized the treasure and defected!
Upon learning the news, the Dark Wizards launched an immediate assault, exacting a devastating toll on the Light Wizards. Not only did two Second-Circle Wizards perish, but even the legions stationed outside the ruins suffered catastrophic losses — at least three legions were annihilated in their entirety.
From that point onward, the Dark and Light Wizards across the entire South Coast were plunged into a tense standoff.
Though the Light Wizards had previously held the upper hand, the Dark Wizards were far from powerless, and the gap between them was not particularly vast.
But now, within a mere span of months — with Alistair included — the Light Wizard alliance had lost a total of four Second-Circle Wizards!
This had, to a certain degree, shifted the balance of power between both sides. Although neither side had lost any of their paramount Third-Circle combatants, the Dark Wizards were beginning to grow restless.
Of course, these grand shifts in power had little to do with Linley for the time being. His attention was entirely consumed by that mysterious treasure.
"A treasure so valuable that a Second-Circle Wizard would resolve to defect and even betray his companions! What could it possibly be?"
A trace of blood-red flickered in Linley's eyes, and a voice seemed to scream ceaselessly in his heart: "Go seize it! Go seize it! Take the treasure!"
A deep, overwhelming desire for possession surged through Linley's nerves in an instant.
"Hm? Something's wrong! Since when have I become this irrational?" Linley's expression shifted dramatically, and he turned a solemn gaze toward a crystal strapped to his wrist.
The crystal on his wrist was now emitting rings of blood-red light, as though it might drip crimson at any moment.
"This is getting worse and worse!" A hint of gravity flashed through Linley's eyes. He opened a water flask and took a long swallow.
Gulp! Gulp!
The liquid — infused with a distinctive medicinal fragrance — slid down his throat in large quantities, and the tension on Linley's face gradually began to ease.
Slowly, the glow of the crystal on his wrist subsided, returning to its appearance as a transparent, colorless gemstone.
"This situation is only getting worse..."
Linley put the crystal away, a look of gravity flashing across his face.
After drinking the prepared potion, Linley felt his mind settle into tranquility in an instant, and the previous impulses had vanished without a trace.
"These aftereffects of being a Warlock — truly troublesome!"
Linley frowned. After the heart transformation was completed and his bloodline merged fully with the Komoy Giant Serpent, he could feel that the various bloodline emotions — previously kept in check by the Tranquility Potion — were stirring restlessly once more.
And ever since his advancement to second-rank Warlock, the situation had only grown worse.
Now, Linley had no choice but to set up an early-warning rune on his wrist. That colorless crystal served as the warning ward he had established — the moment his bloodline emotions began to assault his reason, a blood-red light would immediately shoot out from the crystal's surface.
The more severe this emotional turbulence became, the more blinding the red glow on the crystal's surface would grow.
Nowadays, Linley had to carry a supply of Tranquility Potion with him at all times, taking sips from it every so often like a daily medication, lest the emotional surges overwhelm his mind.
After all, he believed that his ability to make it this far came down to two things: the assistance of the Chip, and his own clear-headed rationality.
If he lost that — no matter how powerful he became, it would be nothing short of tragic.
"This emotional problem of Warlocks was an absolute bane even in the ancient era. The Crimson Grand Wizard offered this Tranquility Potion, but it only treats the symptoms, not the root cause. I need to find a solution that will put an end to this once and for all…"
Linley's expression was grave.
"As for that Erist… in my current state, it's really not advisable to go after him again, and the distance is so great…"
Having regained his composure, Linley rubbed his chin.
"Of course — if he's foolish enough to stumble right into my hands, then there's nothing more to discuss…"
Having sorted through these thoughts, Linley pulled his hood back on and left the quiet alley.
…
Several hours later, Linley emerged from a towering structure built of gold and silver, a resigned smile on his face.
Behind him, a Wizard who appeared to be the shop's manager saw him off with eager courtesy, a hint of apology still lingering on his face.
This was one of the top three trading houses within the Thorny Iron Gate, and Linley had just finished making a round of purchases inside.
Unfortunately, aside from replenishing some commonly used supplies, there was no news at all of the ultra-long-range detection Wizard spell Linley had been hoping to obtain.
As for a solution to the bloodline warlock's emotional instability? Linley hadn't even bothered to ask.