The conflict in the Ouroboros Ring was like a pebble cast into the placid lake of the Central Continent, sending ripples spreading in all directions.
Large-scale warfare had become exceedingly rare, owing to the mutual restraint among Dawn Star wizards.
Yet what had occurred in the Ouroboros Ring was relayed across the entire Central Continent in an instant. Spies, investigators from various factions, and even itinerant wandering wizards all hurried toward the Phosphorescent Marsh.
They were desperate to learn the cause and outcome of it all, for this information would serve as critical intelligence to be reported back to the powers behind them.
"The storm gathers!"
At the Phosphorescent Marsh, inside the headquarters of the Ouroboros Ring, Furui stood on a levitating platform, clad in a fitted leather outfit, gazing down at the enormous warlock city below.
"Such a prosperous and tranquil city—is it also about to endure the flames of war?"
Looking at the darkening horizon in the distance, a shadow crept across Furui's face.
And that shadow deepened when she spotted Yulian approaching alongside several elders.
"How are the personnel deployments going?"
Ignoring the elders behind him, Furui addressed Yulian directly.
"They've all been assigned, but…"
A look of hesitation crossed Yulian's face.
"Allow me to speak! Last time, you arbitrarily reassigned the Blood Snake Warlock Corps, costing our family tremendous losses. Now you've even taken over the western district defense that Leilin was responsible for, placing an enormously heavy burden on our family!"
An elder with blood-red eyebrows spoke up, his voice frigid, his face etched with displeasure. He was not alone—all the other elders wore the same expression.
"You should know that our family was already barely able to hold its own defensive sector. Adding another one on top of that will inevitably leave our manpower stretched dangerously thin. If anything goes wrong, our entire family could face annihilation!"
An elderly woman spoke next.
"Auntie… I know all of this, but—" These old men and women were elders of Furui's family, many of whom had watched her grow up. Even though Furui had already advanced to Crystallized, there were many things she still found difficult to say outright.
"I know—you've taken a fancy to that boy, haven't you?"
Another elder, an old man with a fleshy growth on his face, suddenly sneered.
"And what if I have, Uncle Ivanov?" Furui took a deep breath, fixing Ivanov with a sharp stare as a dangerous aura immediately descended upon him.
The fleshy growth on Ivanov's face trembled, and he staggered back a few steps. Yet his mouth remained relentless: "Treat others however you like, but that Leilin is a notorious philanderer. He not only had an affair with his own senior apprentice, but even with that harlot Milanta—"
"Enough!" Furui's face flushed crimson, and she cut him off sharply. The other elders also furrowed their brows.
In truth, romantic entanglements among warlocks were notoriously chaotic. They themselves had been much the same in their youth, so Leilin's indiscretions were hardly seen as a serious matter.
But Ivanov bringing it up so openly carried a distinctly distasteful air.
Still, upon reflection, there was some truth to Ivanov's words. If that Leilin truly had feelings for Furui, wouldn't the two of them already be together? Most likely, it was nothing more than their clan head's own wishful thinking!
At this thought, Furui's aunt spoke up with worry: "Little Furui, you…"
"Marquis Luce has arrived!" At that moment, another voice rang out. The elders exchanged glances and immediately fell silent.
These were family affairs, and they had no intention of airing them before an outsider.
"We'll take our leave for now. Think it over carefully…" The elderly woman gave Furui one last affectionate glance before leading the other elders away.
Only after they had all disappeared did Furui let out a breath of relief and step forward to greet Luce.
"Heh heh… Troubled, are we?" Luce said with a smile. Behind him trailed two other wizards.
"Just some minor inconveniences!" Furui swept the hair behind her ears aside, studying the two wizards behind Luce. One she knew very well—it was Pike, one of Leilin's subordinates. The other was a female wizard wearing a veil that obscured her face. Furui didn't recognize her, but emanating from the woman was a terrifying Crystallized fluctuation.
With that level of power, she should not have gone unnoticed. Even within the Ouroboros Ring, Crystallized wizards were scarce—the dozen or so from the last gathering had been enough to form the supreme governing body that oversaw everything.
"Allow me to make introductions. This is Pike—you surely already know him!" Luce chuckled, having Pike bow to Furui, then gestured toward the veiled wizard.
"This is 'Shadow'—a Crystallized wizard whom Leilin subjugated outside. Due to the delicate nature of her identity, she cannot reveal her true appearance. As for why they're here, Pike, why don't you explain."
"Esteemed Marquis Furui!" Pike bowed respectfully.
"My master was aware that you are short-handed here, and has specifically ordered Shadow and me to bring the Vassal Corps to await your commands!"
"That's wonderful news!" A smile broke across Furui's face, and inwardly she breathed a sigh of relief.
Though she had agreed to take over the western city's defense, she genuinely had insufficient warlocks to hold it. With Pike and his people added to the mix, the manpower shortage could be substantially alleviated.
Especially—Furui's gaze settled on
Leilin had been hiding such a card up his sleeve?
A Third-rank Crystallized wizard was no easy existence to subjugate. It seemed that, had she refused the assignment, this female wizard along with Leilin's Vassal Corps alone could have nearly held the western district.
Perhaps, she had been somewhat redundant after all… But since the other side had sent people to help, it clearly meant— A trace of a smile touched Furui's lips before she shook her head, casting the thought aside.
The situation had already deteriorated to this degree. Whether the Ouroboros Ring would even continue to exist on the Central Continent next year remained uncertain—dwelling on such matters now was truly pointless.
After watching Pike and Tanasha depart, Furui turned back around. "Marquis Luce, your visit today was not solely to deliver them to me, was it?"
"That's right. There are additional matters!"
Luce nodded.
"I knew you wouldn't bring good news!" Furui rolled her eyes. "Go on, then."
"At Faisal's request, I have come to collect the tower spirit access keys your family maintains at headquarters." Luce's voice turned somber.
"It's about time that was done." Furui nodded and tossed out a golden ring. "Take it. I hope his wizard towers' joint defense system will be something worth seeing."
"You won't be disappointed!" With the mission successfully completed, Luce relaxed.
"Not as if I could refuse," Furui said with a bitter smile.
As the seat of the Ouroboros Ring's headquarters, this location housed the greatest concentration of wizard towers. From Furui's vantage point, the skyline below was practically a dense forest of spires.
These wizard towers had been constructed by high-ranking warlocks, with generous funding from headquarters.
Headquarters had not been so generous out of goodwill—it had inscribed joint-defense spell arrays into every tower spirit core. In a crisis, these arrays allowed the system to commandeer other warlocks' towers for coordinated defense.
Luce's所谓 request to "collect the access keys" was merely a courtesy extended to Furui.
If Faisal ever dropped the pretense, he could bypass the tower owners' authorization entirely and forcibly commandeer the towers' energy for defense.
Leilin understood this, which was precisely why he had refused to establish his wizard tower at headquarters.
Furui's family, being large and powerful, maintained several wizard towers in their own territory. Even at headquarters, they possessed one equipped as a highly advanced laboratory. What Luce had come to collect was the access key to this tower.
"As long as you understand!" Luce nodded, and a dark expression surfaced on his face. "Even at a time like this, there are still people unwilling to surrender control and contribute to the defense of our Ouroboros Ring. Infuriating!"
"Fortunately, that should only be a small handful!"
Furui nodded, knowing full well that those warlocks weren't merely infuriating—they were most likely already dead.
The two chatted for a while longer before Luce took his leave. Judging by his hurried manner upon departing, there were clearly important matters that demanded his attention.
With a great battle looming, not a single bloodline warlock could afford rest—and those in the Crystallized leadership core were under even greater strain.
At the thought, Furui's gaze drifted in a certain direction. "Compared to us, who are busy to the point of collapse, you certainly seem to be taking it easy. When the time comes, if you can't give me a satisfactory explanation, I'll make you pay…"
…
What Furui did not know was that, after his departure, Elder Ivanov had immediately locked himself in his room and erupted in a rage.
"That madwoman! She's completely lost her mind! She's dead set on selling out our family's interests to an outsider!"
Ivanov roared, but the sound-dampening barrier on the walls swallowed every word, letting nothing escape to the outside.
"And that old fool Aiemasha—saying Furui is still a child and needs more time… Bah! A little more time, and our family will be destroyed!"
Ivanov's face flushed crimson, the fleshy growth on it swelling and pulsing. He clasped his hands behind his back and paced in circles.
"No! I cannot simply watch our ancestors' legacy be consumed entirely under Furui's hand!"
After several revolutions, he gritted his teeth and rolled up his sleeve.
Branded upon his forearm was a peculiar botanical seal.
He channeled spiritual power into it, and the seal blazed to life.
"Rustle…" After a burst of static, a hoarse male voice came through from the other end: "So you've finally decided to contact us."