"Powerful foreign mage! I sense in you the radiance that only the priests of our tribe possess!"
The high-ranking barbarian warrior Ogde fixed his gaze on Leilin's hands: "And you are also a warrior worthy of respect!"
His astonishing keenness allowed him to sense the level of Leilin's martial cultivation.
"Then... state your purpose!"
After Ogde spoke, the fox-woman Lady Tilun immediately stepped meekly to the side, like an obedient servant.
"I wish to join forces with the Barbarian Pirates to attack the Bodi Archipelago!"
Leilin took a deep breath and stated his demand.
"Are you crazy, boy?" Even the fox-woman beside him could not stomach such a far-fetched notion. She stepped forward abruptly, her chest heaving from agitated breathing: "Do you know how many professional warriors Marquis Louis commands? And you want to drag us into enmity against him? Don't think that just because you wiped out the Black Tiger and the Merfolk we'll look any higher on you — come back and say that after you've destroyed the Black Skull or the Tiger Shark!"
"But... you're already hostile to the Marquis, and I would be an additional layer of assistance, no?" Leilin shrugged with a smile.
"
Lady Tilun was so angry her entire body trembled, and she was on the verge of throwing him out immediately.
"Let him finish!" But at that moment, a pair of powerful hands intercepted Lady Tilun's next move.
"Ogde... you..." The fox-woman turned her head and saw that the barbarian's eyes held a look of keen interest.
"The enemy of our enemy is our friend!"
Leilin spoke with a composed smile: "And our Faolan Family can not only provide you with noble backing, but I am also a mage — and behind me stands an even more powerful mentor..."
The power of magic was the barbarians' eternal sore spot. Ogde's expression shifted several times. Even though a few barbarian shamans had inherited some magical abilities, they were always at a disadvantage when facing human mages.
"I assume... you are well aware of the power of magic?"
Seeing this reaction, Leilin grew even more confident.
"Yes, we need powerful magical support. To help us deal with Boruger!" The barbarian warrior nodded.
"Boruger... the chief mage of the Marquis's family?" Leilin quickly recalled the intelligence he had purchased from the Thieves' Guild.
"Yes! I can tell you plainly — that is a high-ranking mage of level fifteen or above! If not for his existence, the Black Skull and Tiger Shark pirate bands would have been torn to shreds by me long ago..."
Ogde revealed a piece of information.
"A mage above level fifteen!" Leilin drew in a sharp breath. Such high-ranking mages often also commanded powerful dimensional teleportation spells and life magic, making them extraordinarily difficult to kill.
"A mage of this caliber — there can't be many in the entire Danbless Kingdom, can there? Why would one agree to serve under Marquis Louis?"
If it were an imperial Marquis, perhaps recruiting a high-ranking mage would be feasible, but this Marquis Louis clearly did not have the means.
In the entire Danbless Kingdom, the only one with the resources to recruit a high-ranking mage was the King himself.
"I do know something about that..." Seeing that Ogde did not seem averse to an alliance — and was in fact quite appreciative — Lady Tilun took a deep breath and no longer looked down on Leilin.
"According to my intelligence, the Marquis apparently promised to build a wizard tower for him. That was the price paid to secure his service..."
"We absolutely cannot let him succeed in building that tower!"
Before Lady Tilun could finish, Leilin had already made up his mind. Even the most basic wizard tower required an astronomical sum of wealth. Two million gold coins at a minimum — and of course, they had to be Crona gold coins!
Such a staggering sum — no wonder that Boruger had thrown in his lot with Marquis Louis. No wonder the Marquis's greed was so naked, clawing at every possible scrap of profit.
But the more desperate they were, the more determined Leilin became to sever their alliance, for no one understood the terror of a wizard tower better than a mage.
A single low-grade wizard tower could serve as a level-fifteen mage with infinite mana! One that never needed rest, day or night, yet possessed limitless energy.
Once the tower was successfully erected, the entire Bodi Archipelago would be under their surveillance — impenetrable.
Moreover, with a wizard tower in place, not only could Boruger advance even further, it also meant he could churn out wizard apprentices endlessly!
After Leilin pointed this out in just a few words, a resolute light blazed in Ogde's eyes.
"But... according to our intelligence, the Marquis's side has already been purchasing large quantities of mithril and gold essence, increasing the intensity of their slaving fleets, and even sending people to the mainland to acquire advanced construction blueprints..."
"The more determined they are, the more we must not let them succeed — otherwise, the
Leilin's expression was grave: "Starting now, I will continuously raid their fleets and supply lines, doing everything I can to slow their progress. And you need to coordinate with me on intelligence and fencing channels!"
Hearing Leilin's blunt and straightforward plan, a look of interest appeared on Lady Tilun's face.
This was something only he could do — the Barbarian Pirates could not.
If the Barbarian Pirates did it, that would mean open war. The Marquis's powerful fleet could reach Pirate's Harbor in an instant. But Leilin was different! He operated covertly! On the surface, he was still a noble!
Even Marquis Louis would not dare risk the universal condemnation of attacking another noble's territory without proof.
Besides, only a fellow mage like him could evade detection and divination spells cast by the Marquis's mages!
As for sending pirates — did they think the other nobles were fools? Not to mention that there was still a church presence on Faolan Island!
And even if the Marquis shamelessly dispatched two large pirate bands, he certainly would not dare place his own people aboard.
As long as that high-ranking mage Boruger was not present, Leilin would gladly join forces with the Barbarian Pirates and ensure they never returned!
A flurry of thoughts swept through the barbarian's mind. Do not be deceived by his appearance — even among barbarians, one who had risen to his position was no simple creature.
And no matter how he looked at it, this time the one taking the risk was Leilin and his family, with no damage to his own interests whatsoever.
This, too, was something Leilin had planned well in advance — the sorrow of the weaker party.
"My Lady!" Just then, there was a light knock at the door.
"What is it? Did I not say that no one is to disturb us without important business?"
Anger flickered across Lady Tilun's face, but she swayed her hips over and cracked the door open a sliver.
"My Lady!..." A sharp-eyed maidservant kept her head lowered, glancing around furtively before leaning in and whispering something into Lady Tilun's ear.
After the door closed, Lady Tilun returned to her seat, regarding Leilin with a peculiar gleam in her eyes.
Her expression shifted several times, after which she leaned close to Ogde's shoulder and whispered a few words to him.
"You are quite something!"
Ogde studied Leilin with a long, deep look, then turned and spoke rapidly into Lady Tilun's ear.
At his level of high-ranking warrior, his mastery of battle qi had reached perfection. Blocking external detection was child's play — even Leilin could not hear a word.
"Very well! Our captain agrees to an alliance with you, and will even share our intelligence and fencing channels with you!"
Lady Tilun shot Leilin a resentful glance, as though he had gotten away with some tremendous bargain. "However, of the profits from each haul, we want half!"
"Ten percent at most! Otherwise I won't be able to account for my people!"
Once the conversation returned to business, Lady Tilun was once again the shrewd, calculating woman she truly was. There was no way Leilin would surrender his profits on the basis of a few words alone. In the end, they settled on thirty percent.
With both leaders having confirmed their intent to cooperate, the remaining details could be handled by their subordinates.
Ogde rose to his feet, the motion so forceful it caused a mild tremor in the floor.
"Noble from the Outer Seas, mage Leilin — are you my friend?"
"Indeed. May our friendship endure, and even extend to our bloodlines!" Leilin made the solemn vow.
*Bang!* One large fist and one small fist collided, producing a faint crack of displaced air — the oath and covenant between men.
How long that oath would hold was a question even Leilin found difficult to face, but before Marquis Louis's power was dismantled, the alliance between the two sides should remain fairly solid.
"Hee hee... Ogde seems to rather like you, doesn't he?"
After the others had left, Lady Tilun sidled up to Leilin, her sultry figure practically pressing against him, her breath warm against his ear as she spoke.
"My apologies, My Lady! I should be taking my leave as well!"
Leilin politely and imperceptibly pushed her away, then rose to bid farewell.
Upon hearing this, a trace of genuine or feigned disappointment flickered through Lady Tilun's eyes: "That way of yours really does break a girl's heart! But I still have two gifts for you!"
"Kailen! From now on, you belong to Master Leilin. Make certain you satisfy his every request — is that understood?"
"Yes, My Lady!" Kailen agreed reflexively, then as if suddenly realizing what had been said, a flash of shame and anger crossed her face.
Although Leilin knew she was being generous with someone else's property — at least the barbarian had given his tacit approval, otherwise she would never have dared release Kailen's restraints ahead of time — he still offered a word of thanks.