"Can you control them?"
With unknown things, Leilin always maintained his vigilance.
He glanced at
"I'm afraid not! My authority has already been completely transferred by Luoya, and... once the Devouring Corridor is released, even the patriarch himself cannot control it..."
"Then what's the use of rescuing you?"
Leilin rolled his eyes and pulled Robin along at an even more ferocious pace.
It turned out that as patriarch, Robin was very familiar with his family's castle. Following his guidance, Leilin broke through three rooms in succession before finally leaping out from a windowsill.
Swoosh!
The moment he left the windowsill, countless tongues surged upward at tremendous speed, flooding the entire room — yet they didn't pursue beyond the castle walls, as if some insurmountable chasm existed at the castle's edge, or perhaps a barrier of some kind.
"My Lord... they made the first move! The situation is extremely chaotic right now!"
Only then did Leilin have the leisure to check his arcane mark. Pike's impatient voice came through, accompanied by the thunderous sounds of magical explosions.
"Tonight's banquet is quite lively!"
Leilin gazed at the dark castle. Through the windows near the great hall, faint explosions and flashes of fire still seeped through the barrier.
"Your primary objective is self-preservation! Break out as quickly as you can!"
Leilin had no intention of getting himself trapped again. After all, those in the castle were his subordinates — it was their duty to fight and die for their lord, not the other way around. Since when did a lord risk himself for his vassals?
"Your nephew seems to be coming!"
Ever since Robin had come out, he'd kept his head down, lost in thought. Leilin set Robin down beneath an oak tree and spoke evenly.
At Leilin's words, Robin looked up and saw a dark figure burst from the castle, radiating a terrifying aura. This was the fearsome power of a Crystallized
Boom!
The figure landed before Leilin, revealing a face covered in dark runes.
"Luoya!" Leilin exhaled in relief — he wouldn't mistake him this time. Luoya and Robin were relatives after all, with similar facial structures and auras. Combined with the concealing and obfuscating effects of the Gluttony Mark, even a Dawn Star Wizard might not have been able to tell the difference.
"Uncle..." Luoya's voice was low and deep. His eyes fixed on Robin, who sat half-collapsed on the ground, and a complex emotion surfaced on his face.
Then the dark runes on Luoya's face writhed, subtly altering his features — his nose became more prominent, his eyes more narrow and elongated. With just a few delicate adjustments, Luoya looked entirely different, having restored his original appearance.
"You've changed a great deal..." Robin was silent for a moment before speaking.
"I haven't changed! Isn't this what you've always wished for?" A flash of savagery crossed Luoya's face before vanishing. He bowed to Robin with impeccable courtesy, perfectly demonstrating the refinement expected of a Wizard noble. "Soon, our family's wish will be realized. I can feel it — under the radiation of the Urge of Gluttony, the Comoran bloodline within me has been greatly purified. I'm only one step away from becoming a true pure-blooded Comoran Warlock!"
An eerie light seemed to shine from Luoya's eyes. He bit open his finger, showing Robin and Leilin the pure crimson-purple blood. Then, with ravenous greed, he sucked on his finger, his expression intoxicated and blissful.
"You've gone mad! You've completely lost your mind!" Robin clutched his head in anguish, as if regretting everything. "I never should have let you inherit the mark... no, I never should have explored the Quicksand Secret Realm in the first place!"
On the other side, Leilin watched Luoya flaunt his bloodline purity and felt utterly speechless. In his view, while Luoya's Comoran bloodline was indeed quite pure, it was still noticeably different from the Comoran bloodline Leilin had first purified. In terms of color alone, if Leilin's bloodline had been diamond, then Luoya's would be charcoal at best — perhaps even worse. And now, after extensive Serpent Woman radiation modification, the bloodline within Leilin had reached an unprecedented level of purity, even surpassing that of the ancient Comoran Giant Serpent.
"I'm not mad! For those wastes to serve as the stepping stones for our family's rise — that is their honor!"
Luoya waved his arms, eyes bloodshot and brimming with red veins. "I have a premonition — as long as I eat him too, the bloodline within me will absolutely advance to an unprecedented level! I may even break through to Dawn Star!"
Luoya pointed at Leilin, eyes gleaming as if Leilin were a delectable dish. That gaze made Leilin deeply uncomfortable, especially as the other man seemed to be sizing up where to take the first bite.
"Since he's already confessed, I'll execute him here in my capacity as Enforcer. Any objections?"
Leilin put away a recording crystal — this would serve as evidence later — and then asked Robin.
Robin's face was ashen. He said nothing, only waved his hand in assent.
With Robin's tacit approval, Leilin held nothing back. In truth, based on Luoya's previous actions alone, Leilin wouldn't have hesitated to kill him. But obtaining Robin's understanding was naturally even better for Leilin. After all, the man was his senior apprentice, and he had to consider appearances.
"Hehe! How dare you say that to me!" Luoya licked his lips, the mark on his face pulsing violently. "Decided! I'll keep you here and carve off a kilogram of flesh every day to savor!"
For Wizards, there were countless ways to regenerate muscle. Their extraordinary physiques even granted them such regenerative abilities naturally. As a result, even after having large amounts of flesh carved away, it would grow back within a certain period. And it was precisely this trait that Luoya exploited, condemning countless imprisoned Wizards to a fate worse than death.
"I'll eat you! Eat you!"
Luoya's expression turned manic as he charged at Leilin like a wild beast. Dark blood vessels erupted from his body, extending like tentacles toward Leilin. At the tips of these vessels, hollow needle-like structures appeared. If they pierced the body, they would likely drain even the bone marrow in an instant.
"Disgusting!" Leilin shook his head as a streak of black light erupted from his waist. The Fallen Longsword, carrying terrifying Comoran toxin, formed a wall of darkness before Leilin.
Sizzle!
Countless blood vessels were severed cleanly by the Fallen Longsword's edge. The fearsome toxin corroded along their length, causing the blackened vessels to rot and fall to the ground with a hissing sound.
"Ughhh..." Luoya's mouth gaped wide, copious amounts of drool spilling out. He was now completely controlled by the Urge of Gluttony, reduced to a beast that could only act on instinct. Even Robin turned his head away, unable to watch such a wretched sight.
Hum! As he charged, a layer of dark light suddenly enveloped Luoya's body. When the light faded, countless dark crystal formations surfaced on his skin as defenses. Regardless of everything, Luoya was still a Crystallized Wizard, and Leilin certainly wouldn't underestimate him.
"Shadow Swift Fire!" He quickly chanted the incantation, and black flames surged from his sleeves, shooting forth like arrows to meet the rapidly charging Luoya. The black flames burned against the crystal defenses, distorting the surrounding air with their heat.
BOOM! Luoya roared and burst from the sea of flames like a wild beast, arriving before Leilin in an instant.
"Incredible constitution!" Leilin's pupils contracted as he watched the wounds on Luoya's skin heal almost instantaneously, a fresh layer of skin forming over them. He couldn't help but feel a jolt of alarm. Then, without any hesitation, he swung the black Cross Sword down toward Luoya's head. A sharp blade of energy formed beneath the edge, and fearsome toxins spread wildly.
Leilin's Venom Sac had now surpassed all previous second-rank talent wizardries, entering a terrifying realm of power. This was the effect of his pure Comoran Giant Serpent bloodline, and the Serpent Woman's finger bones had played no small part.
"Cross Slash!" A dark cross of light descended vertically, carving a massive wound into Luoya's body.
"Aah..." Luoya's face turned blood-red as he seized the blade of the Cross Sword with both hands. Sizzle! Billows of white vapor immediately rose from his hands, and both began to rot under the terrifying toxin.
Watching this scene, even Robin felt a pang of distress. But Luoya's face now showed a trace of triumphant amusement, and the bloodshot veins in his eyes had vanished.
"You've been maintaining your sanity the entire time!" Leilin blurted, more shocked by this than by Luoya inheriting the Gluttony Mark and replacing Robin.
"Realizing it now is too late!"
The wounds on Luoya's abdomen and chest were entirely covered by a layer of dark blood vessels, and his aura surged to its absolute peak.
"Arcane Art — Cage of Appetite!"
A barrier of darkness immediately enveloped Leilin and Luoya. Faint, terrifying sounds of gnawing and biting emanated from the black mist, causing Robin's expression to shift drastically.
"Cage of Appetite?"
Surrounded by darkness, Leilin instead calmly folded his hands behind his back and examined the surrounding barrier.
"This isn't from our world's power system — a barrier that mixes the power paths of other worlds! It must be the work and legacy of that
Even as Leilin spoke, countless massive mouths — nothing but rows of ghastly white teeth — closed in around him.