"Hiss hiss!!!"
In the void that seemed like outer space, a massive black serpent over ten thousand meters long suddenly materialized — a creature so enormous that a single sweep of its tail could send a star flying.
The apex predator that existed only in ancient times, spoken of only in legends and myths — the Komoan Giant Serpent — had descended upon this place!
The colossal black serpent coiled in the void possessed enormous amber slit pupils like stars, its body covered in fine black scales that shimmered with a smooth luster.
This was no illusion or bloodline echo produced by wizardry, but a living, flesh-and-blood existence!!!
The Morning Star killing move of the ancient Komoan Giant Serpent Warlock — Komoan Serpent Transformation!!! It temporarily reverted the warlock to their ancestral form, transforming them into a terrifying ancient creature!
A Morning Star-level ancient creature fully controlled by the warlock's consciousness, yet still retaining its original spellcasting abilities.
Terrifying physical power combined with spellcasting ability — a Morning Star Komoan Warlock was absolutely a nightmare among Morning Star Wizards!
Locked in the gaze of those enormous vertical pupils! Galliel felt ice flood through his body, and the fear buried deepest in his genes erupted violently.
"No! No! I still have my Morning Star killing move! I have to fight!"
At this moment, Galliel had also completed his own Morning Star killing move. Brilliant, dazzling radiance exploded from his body.
"Innate Spell, First-rank — Chaotic Force Field!"
"Innate Spell, Second-rank — Power of the Meteor!"
"Innate Spell, Third-rank — Star Ring Burst!"
"Innate Spell, Fourth-rank — Ritual Disturbance — Combined Morning Star Killing Move — Spatial Meteor!!!"
Boom! The void erupted, and a colossal meteorite the size of a star emerged, hurtling toward Leilin as a streaking meteor.
"Hiss hiss..."
The Komoan Giant Serpent roared, meeting the massive meteor head-on, as a battle straight out of myth erupted...
...
The
"H-How... How can that brat's Komoan Serpent Transformation be this powerful?"
After a long silence, the most central powerful will spoke: "A warlock's innate spell is determined not only by rank, but also by bloodline! The purer the bloodline, the greater the power of the spell!"
"You mean to say that that brat's bloodline purity even exceeds
"Yes. It's a pity we didn't discover him earlier and snuff him out... Now he's already grown..." The central will sighed, looking thoroughly regretful.
"It seems Galliel has already lost..." Following this, the many voices choked up like ducks with their throats seized, making gagging sounds. Even the observing Morning Star Wizards seemed stunned.
"You're joking!" "How is that possible??!"
The many wills seemed to have witnessed something utterly inconceivable, falling into a collective daze.
Hum hum!
Above the battlefield, the void rippled, and Leilin — now wearing a black wizard's robe — stood proudly erect.
When the warlocks below caught sight of Leilin, they finally let out a breath and shouted: "Leilin! Leilin!"
Then the crowd's cries were abruptly cut off.
Because Leilin raised a head — a head that had died with eyes wide open. The face had thin lips and silver pupils. But now all luster had drained from them. This was the head of the Slayer, Galliel!!!
"The Slayer Galliel has fallen in battle and perished. Who among you still wishes to face me?"
Leilin stood proudly in the center of the field, holding Galliel's head aloft, and swept his gaze across the assembly.
Since ancient times, Fourth-rank Wizards — towering above all like Morning Stars — had actually fallen right before their eyes?
Not only the allied wizards, but even the Ring of the Ouroboros warlocks pinched themselves in disbelief, thinking they must be dreaming.
The battlefield fell into dead silence. When the warlocks finally recovered, they erupted into frenzied screams.
The burden that had pressed upon their hearts for so long had been far too heavy. Now, with the opportunity, they naturally let it all pour out. There was even a taste of madness in it.
"You shouldn't have killed him!" the great will declared.
At the same time, Leilin was communicating with the other Morning Star wills.
"This is war — a war to the death!" Leilin showed no sign of backing down.
"So you're saying you'll fight us to the death as well?" The other party, of course, would not be intimidated by Leilin's threats.
"Certainly... Not! If you still decide to continue the war, I will abandon the Ring of the Ouroboros headquarters and flee, then turn around and raid your bases!"
Leilin answered without a shred of shame, which instead threw the other party into a dilemma.
Battles between Morning Star Wizards were prolonged affairs. If you couldn't subdue your opponent and they escaped, only to return in a frenzy of retaliation, no organization could withstand it.
And Leilin had already proven with his battle record that he was no newly advanced Morning Star Warlock. Even among Morning Stars, he was a top-tier combatant!
The enemy's Morning Star Wizards could certainly join forces to defeat him, but they would undoubtedly pay a tremendous price — and he would certainly escape wounded, which would be extremely troublesome!
When the cost was far greater than the gain, and there were even enormous hidden dangers, even Morning Star Wizards would not act rashly.
The many wills immediately devolved into an uproar.
"Are we just going to let him go? He killed Galliel!"
"Doesn't Galliel still have a clone?"
"A Third-rank clone is useless! Besides, Galliel had many enemies among the Morning Star Wizards — they won't let this opportunity slip. Galliel can already be considered dead!"
"No! We absolutely cannot let him go!" This was the Blue Mountain King, who harbored the greatest hatred toward Leilin.
"Oh really?" Leilin's voice transmission went directly into his mind.
"Blue Mountain King, if the alliance ultimately decides to continue fighting, I guarantee the secret of the Star Shard Worms will spread across the entire continent immediately!"
The Blue Mountain King's will trembled. He looked around and, seeing that no wizard had noticed he was communicating with Leilin, grew even more wary of him: "Are you threatening me?"
"That's exactly what I'm doing!" Leilin replied without any courtesy: "I'm already a Morning Star now — you can't wipe me out. And how many people do you think will believe my words?"
Finally, he added one more sentence, like a dagger driven deep into the Blue Mountain King's heart: "Also, in your grandson — that clan leader Leo's — spatial inventory, I seem to have discovered something quite remarkable! Those sketch portraits... if they were to circulate, I'm afraid..."
"Enough!" The Blue Mountain King's pitch shot up an octave, before he was forced to swallow his pride: "Fine! I agree!"
As he said this, the Blue Mountain King's heart was dripping blood.
He understood perfectly well that by agreeing, he was not only giving up any chance of future revenge but also placing himself firmly under Leilin's threat.
But he had no other choice. In terms of power, he was inferior to Galliel. Galliel had been killed by the other man — if he tried to resort to force now, it would be nothing but a joke.
...
"How could this have happened?!"
On the ground, in the allied command center, watching the bloodline warlocks launch a full-scale counterattack — and especially seeing Leilin appear with the aura of having slain a Morning Star Wizard — the green-haired allied commander descended into a frenzy of panic.
"What do we do? What do we do?" A flicker of hesitation crossed his face before the green-haired wizard gritted his teeth fiercely: "Order the War Colossus Kojas to attack with everything it has, then self-destruct! Even if we can't claim total victory, we must inflict maximum losses on the enemy! At the very least, we have to take out that giant serpent puppet!"
The War Colossus, like the Ring of the Ouroboros's Twin World-Ending Serpent Puppets, was an artificially created Morning Star-level product. It possessed a portion of Morning Star power but couldn't fully utilize it, nor did it possess much intelligence, making it quite rigid in combat.
But even so, the devastating destructive force of its self-destruction was not to be underestimated. If Leilin wasn't careful, it could destroy not only the Twin Serpents but the entire headquarters city.
Just as those Morning Star Wizards had to factor in Leilin, Leilin could not afford to let the damage escalate beyond a certain threshold — threats were always mutual.
With this thought, the green-haired wizard made his decision. He pulled a string of green gemstone pendants from his belt pouch and was about to issue some command.
Just then, a sudden waft of perfume assailed his nose, and a very familiar body appeared behind him, the scent of fragrance lingering at the tip of his nostrils.
"Stop fooling around — I'm in the middle of important business!" The green-haired wizard frowned but didn't push the person away. The one behind him was someone he was intimately familiar with, someone who left his mind completely undefended.
Suddenly, the wizard's expression went blank, then twisted in what seemed like excruciating pain. He lowered his head to gaze at the blade tip protruding from his chest, upon which droplets of bright red blood fell one by one.
A soft voice spoke slowly by his ear: "'Dark Snake Division' Commander Triss sends her regards!"
"You... you..." The green-haired wizard spat blood foam from his mouth. He had harbored no suspicion whatsoever toward the woman behind him, and his innate defensive abilities had been as fragile as paper against her dagger.
"The mission was completed successfully — I really do have you to thank! Also, don't bother trying to use the Soul Transmigration Spell. I already knew its location... One final word: your choice was a terrible, terrible mistake. You really shouldn't have made an enemy of us..."
The woman's voice, like the sweetest venom, flowed along the dagger and seeped into the male wizard's body, draining his life force continuously until even his vision blurred.
Then, a flash of black light — the male wizard's left ring finger was burned to ash.
As a high-ranking wizard and the allied commander, he naturally carried many life-saving trump cards on his person. The most important was the Soul Transmigration Spell, which could transfer his soul to any part of his body. As long as that part still existed, he could be reborn.
But unfortunately, the enemy had long since figured out every last detail.