"Indeed! A formal wizard's inheritance is worth breaking our friendship over!"
Jiamen said slowly.
"Not only that!" Metal crawled over Bosain's body once more, forming a set of silvery-white armor.
"If it were just spell models and Grein Water or something like that, I wouldn't care much. But this is Norko Gulatu Fasir's inheritance!"
A flush appeared on Bosain's face.
"This is the Crimson Archmage!!! A Fourth-rank Morning Star
"The Crimson Archmage?!" A look of understanding appeared on Jiamen's face. He had certainly heard the legendary stories of this great figure.
But in the legends, the Crimson Archmage mostly appeared under nicknames and such. The true name — aside from geniuses like Leilin who absorbed everything from every book, and wizard nobles like Bosain who had excellent inheritances — very few people actually knew it.
"Since you already know the reason, you can die satisfied!"
Bosain made no effort to conceal the killing intent on his face, and suddenly swung his silvery-white longsword toward Jiamen.
Whoosh!!! The tip of the longsword split open, and countless tiny silver needles shot toward Jiamen.
"Shield Form!" Jiamen shouted. More vines extended from the green badge and converged in front of him, forming a massive green vine shield.
Clang clang clang!!! The large number of tiny silver needles hammered against the vine shield like raindrops, leaving behind countless tiny holes.
The tremendous impact forced Jiamen to keep retreating, and a look of despair appeared on his face.
"Jiamen! I know all your tricks. Besides Magical Items, what other cards could you possibly have?"
Bosain still wasn't finished undermining Jiamen's confidence.
"Leilin, attack together! Otherwise we'll all die!!!" Jiamen backed up to a bookshelf and turned to shout at Leilin nearby.
"Leilin! Don't listen to his words. If you just stay to the side — or even help me — I swear you'll have the friendship of the Lillitel Family!"
Listening to both sides' entreaties, a look of hesitation appeared on Leilin's face. He then took two steps back and said fearfully, "No! I don't want any inheritance anymore. Just let me leave this place..."
Hearing Leilin's words, Jiamen's face went pale. He grew flustered, and even his vine shield began to crumble somewhat.
But Bosain burst into hearty laughter: "Ha ha... Our Lillitel Family would absolutely welcome you, Leilin, as an Apothecary..."
"And Jiamen! You're finished!"
With that, the longsword in Bosain's hand split apart once more. Droplets of liquid metal hovered in midair, then transformed into sharp spikes.
"By my blood..."
Seeing the incoming attack, despair surfaced on Jiamen's face again. He used the same method as before, smearing his own blood onto the green badge.
Instantly, the green vine shield became tinged with crimson, transforming into a massive red shield.
"Your badge's energy is almost depleted, isn't it? Even if you substitute your own blood, how long can it last?!"
Bosain roared, and countless flying needles shot toward Jiamen.
Boom!!!
The massive red shield exploded, and countless flying needles pierced through Jiamen's body.
Jiamen's entire body was riddled with tiny holes, blood streaming outward. In an instant, his whole body was dyed red. With a look of madness and regret on his face, he slowly collapsed.
"Huff... huff..." Bosain's breathing was somewhat ragged. He turned to face Leilin.
"Very good! You didn't team up against me just now!" Bosain pointed at Jiamen in the pool of blood, a strange smile appearing on his face.
"I, Bosain — heir to the Lillitel Family, pride of the Black Bone Forest, the Silver Sword — will allow you to choose how you die!!!"
As he spoke, a look of pity and amusement appeared in Bosain's eyes, like a lion or tiger toying with a rabbit it had just caught.
"Choose... how I die..." Leilin forced a smile. "Lord Bosain, I don't understand what you mean!"
"My meaning is perfectly clear — you can only die here!" Bosain's expression turned cold. "The Crimson Archmage's inheritance is simply too important. I cannot allow even the slightest possibility of the information leaking!"
"Originally, as a genius Apothecary, you had a very bright future. What a pity..." Bosain looked at Leilin, a hint of regret appearing in his eyes, as though he truly felt sorry for Leilin.
"Perhaps, you could choose to handle it yourself... it would hurt less..."
Bosain approached Leilin step by step, his voice growing soft and persuasive.
In his tone, there seemed to be a particular kind of magic, luring Leilin to do as he wished.
Leilin's eyes grew vacant, and he murmured unconsciously, "I want to..."
"Almost there!" A flash of delight crossed Bosain's face.
Just then! Leilin suddenly looked up, revealing a brilliant smile and pearly white teeth: "I want you dead!!!!"
Boom!!!
A streak of silver light shot from Leilin's hand, flying straight toward Bosain's face.
Bosain's face held a look of astonishment, but a mass of liquid metal automatically surfaced on his cheek, forming a white mask.
Clack!!! The silver light grazed the mask as it passed, sending up a few sparks.
"What a shame! It's another instant-cast defensive Magical Item!"
Leilin watched Bosain retreating continuously, a look of regret and disappointment on his face.
"You... that was all an act!" Bosain touched his already swelling face, his expression beginning to twist with fury.
"Such a boring illusion! I haven't been afraid of that since I was a Second-rank Apprentice!"
A brilliant smile played at the corner of Leilin's lips. "The way you look now suits you perfectly! You look just like a pig's head!"
"You're asking for death!!!!"
Bosain's face turned crimson, and liquid metal instantly crawled over his entire body, forming a set of silver armor.
His eyes showed traces of bloodshot veins. He swung the longsword in his hand and charged directly at Leilin.
"I'll crack your ribs one by one, you useless good-for-nothing who only knows how to use potions!"
"Oh? Is that so?"
Leilin raised an eyebrow, and a black longbow materialized in his hand. An ice arrow shot directly out.
Tssss!!! Bosain didn't dodge, letting the arrow strike him directly.
The ice arrow was blocked by the silver armor, turning into a layer of white frost that covered the surface of Bosain's armor.
Affected by this, Bosain's speed dropped significantly.
"I've been watching you the whole time — you've used up all the potions in your waist pouch, haven't you?" Bosain said with a savage grin, charging right up to Leilin.
"Sharp guess!"
The smile on Leilin's lips didn't fade, which suddenly made Bosain feel a trace of unease.
"What a pity — I don't rely only on potions!!!"
"Starfall Pendant — activate!!!"
At Leilin's command, a burst of silvery-gray light erupted from his body.
This layer of light membrane was faint like starlight yet unbreakable, directly enveloping Leilin's entire body and forming a silvery-gray armor. On the armor's surface, several gemstone afterimages flickered in and out of view.
Boom!!!
The longsword Bosain swung was caught directly by Leilin's armored right hand. Then Leilin threw a devastating punch straight into Bosain's face!!!
Crack!
The silver armor on Bosain's face caved inward, and he spat out several teeth. With a face full of disbelief, he was sent flying backward.
"Using fists really is the most satisfying way to fight!!!"
Leilin narrowed his eyes, murmuring in a somewhat intoxicated tone.
Clatter!!! Bosain slammed directly into several empty bookshelves. The bookshelves collapsed, burying him under countless pieces of rotted wood.
Boom!!! The timber exploded, and Bosain's figure in gleaming silver armor reappeared in Leilin's view.
"I underestimated you! A defensive-type Magical Item! So among the five of us, you were the one who hid the deepest!"
Bosain's face was extremely dark, but combined with his cheeks — both puffed up high — it made Leilin want to laugh.
"Too much talk!"
Leilin's muscles bulged outward, and he crashed directly into Bosain.
Boom!!! Boom!!! Boom!!!!
The study was filled with continuous rumbling. Dust flew everywhere, and through the semi-transparent haze, two armored humanoid monsters could be seen slamming into each other with savage fury.
These two monsters seemed completely unafraid of injury, employing the most brutal and savage fighting style — completely abandoning their own defense and pouring all their strength into attacking their opponent's vital points.
Bookshelves kept toppling, and the study was in complete disarray.
Had the two monsters not deliberately avoided the inheritance desk in the center, that area wouldn't have been spared either.
As time passed bit by bit, the figure in gleaming silver armor was clearly at a disadvantage, and the white light on his body began to recede.
Finally, with a punch from the silvery-gray armored figure, the gleaming silver armor completely shattered, reverting to liquid metal that contracted back into its original form — a small silver sphere.
Leilin followed up with another kick, sending Bosain crashing hard to the ground.
Crack!!! The sound of bones breaking came from Bosain's chest.
Then a war boot glowing with silvery-gray light stepped casually onto his chest.
Blood trickled from the corner of Bosain's mouth: "I hate this! If only my scroll were still here, if only I hadn't used 'Silver Light' so many times before!"
Crack!!!
Leilin's eyes were cold and merciless. Without hesitation, he drew a dagger from his bosom and cut off both of Bosain's hands and feet.
"Ahhh..."
Bosain's facial muscles twisted in agony, and his pained screams echoed throughout the entire study.
Leilin kicked the severed limbs away, then applied a Blood Staunching Potion to Bosain's wounds so he wouldn't bleed to death.
"You... just kill me!" Bosain's face was deathly pale, the words squeezed through clenched teeth.
"How could I dare harm a great member of the Lillitel Family?"
Leilin wore a smile on his face — one that appeared utterly hateful and sinister to Bosain.
"As the heir to a wizard family, you've certainly been marked with some kind of tracking spell by a formal wizard. The moment I kill you, there's a very good chance a formal wizard will sense it immediately!"
Leilin spoke slowly, and Bosain's face turned completely ashen.