"You're my 'kind' — how could I just walk away when I have the strength to help?"
Lei Lin spoke with lofty self-righteousness!
"Fool!" The serpent woman snorted coldly, but Lei Lin keenly noticed that her gaze had softened considerably. Secretly delighted, he continued in a low voice: "After all... 'kind' like you are already exceedingly rare!"
Upon hearing Lei Lin's words, the serpent woman immediately fell silent, her expression darkening to the point it could have dripped ink.
Seeing this, Lei Lin secretly nodded to himself: "My guess wasn't wrong! No matter which world it is, half-bloods — especially cross-species hybrids — always face exclusion and discrimination..."
Her behavior, as Lei Lin saw it, was the result of long-standing neglect and persecution — a bitterness toward the world, yet a deep care for her own kind, for they represented the last warmth in her heart. Relying on this shared sense of kinship, Lei Lin was confident he could earn her complete trust in the shortest time possible.
"Oh right, I still don't know your name." A warm smile appeared on Lei Lin's face.
"
"My name is Nick, my beautiful lady!" That slight compliment brought a faint blush to Belinda's cheeks — clearly, she didn't have much experience interacting normally with others.
"So... Belinda, what do you plan to do next? And what exactly happened at the port? Why were you arrested?"
Lei Lin asked in puzzlement, appearing as though he knew nothing at all — as if he hadn't been the one to tip them off.
"Nothing much, just the death throes of a bunch of evil cultists!" At the mention of this, Belinda's expression turned cold, clearly harboring deep resentment over the earlier attack.
Lei Lin actually understood her position perfectly well. After all, they had never intended to make a move on Iyaz's port — at most, they'd used it as a transit point to secretly ship some contraband. Yet that had drawn a full-scale crackdown. It would have been strange if there wasn't resentment.
"Nick! There's one more thing..." Belinda looked at Lei Lin, her expression utterly serious.
"Do you... follow the Sovereign Mother, or are you a follower of Justice and Order? Or perhaps you worship some other Supreme?"
In the Inferno, which Supreme one acknowledged was a matter of utmost gravity — even more serious than ordinary enmity. Forces serving opposing Supremes would invariably fight to the death upon meeting.
"I am a Wanderer. I haven't chosen any particular Supreme to follow the path of worship..."
Lei Lin understood the implications perfectly well, so he answered without hesitation: "But I do lean toward the Sovereign Mother — after all, she is the origin of us all..."
The Sovereign Mother! That was the title by which the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents was known in the Inferno. Essentially, all descendants of the Ten Thousand Serpents addressed her by that name.
"Since your inclination leans toward the Sovereign Mother, there's no conflict with the Eye of Order that I worship!" The expression on Belinda's face softened immediately, even carrying a hint of warmth.
The relationship between the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents and the Eye of Order appeared to be far from ordinary — there even seemed to be some sort of covenant between them. Lei Lin expressed his understanding of this.
"Actually, I serve under the Eye of Order. The reason I came to Iyas Port this time is to receive a shipment of supplies as capital for resisting the forces of chaos and evil..."
Belinda gave a brief account of her origins. The conflict between the Eye of Order and the Filthy Bird spanned the civilizational history of numerous worlds. Legends of their endless struggle could be heard across countless realms.
And in the Inferno — the place where the true bodies of both Supremes resided — this enmity was amplified beyond measure.
Between the worshippers of the Filthy Bird and those of the Eye of Order, there was absolutely no room for peace. Should they ever encounter each other in the wild, it would invariably end with one side's destruction.
"No wonder you were besieged — Iyas Port is that Supreme's territory, after all..."
Lei Lin feigned utter shock.
"Hmph! A port built on the power of chaos has no hope of lasting much longer!" Seeing Lei Lin's expression, Belinda let out a cold snort.
"Oh? What do you mean?" Lei Lin grew interested.
"I've already reported what happened here to my superiors. The organization will soon send reinforcements — the leader will be at least a Fifth-Rank Worshipper!"
A dark expression flickered across Belinda's face. "This cancer of chaos called Iyas Port dared to forcibly detain our goods and kill our members. It has no right to exist any longer! Besides, this is the waters of the Heer Continent. No matter how powerful the force behind Iyas may be, this still belongs to our world..."
Belinda was quite confident about this.
After all, Iyas Port had only been secretly established by the Filthy Bird's forces — a borderline creation that had never received the approval of the
Therefore, even if Belinda and her companions went on to destroy the entire port — or even kill the Governor of Iyas — the other side would have no good recourse. At most, they could issue a covert bounty on Belinda and her people.
"A Fifth-Rank Worshipper? Does that great Sovereign of Order have one?"
Lei Lin was somewhat curious. After all, from that previous Governor of Iyas, he had already witnessed the terrifying power of high-ranking worshippers — a strength that could advance virtually without bottlenecks all the way to one's own limits!
And a Fifth-Rank Worshipper could even borrow a trace of the law power commanded by a Supreme. Against any being below that level who had not grasped equivalent power, they could even achieve instant kills!
"…Besides, this kind of high-ranking worshippers are often the favorite offerings of rival Supremes, aren't they?"
Lei Lin stroked his chin, musing silently, a faint smile playing at the corner of his lips.
Since he had decided to cultivate the Path of Sacrifice and the Beast Soul Art, he naturally had a thorough understanding of both power systems. Through the tomes of power he had purchased before, combined with the actual data he had collected and the Chip's analysis and projections, even though he had only just begun experimenting, Lei Lin's comprehension of these two paths had already become remarkably deep.
The most critical aspect of the Path of Sacrifice was choosing a Supreme—one whose philosophy and path ideally aligned with your own. Although the Path of Sacrifice operated much like an equivalent exchange, where offering tributes would prompt any Supreme to bestow power, devout worshippers tended to receive far greater benefits.
Moreover, simultaneously worshipping two rival Supremes was an exceedingly foolish thing to do. A worshipper bearing the power brands of opposing Supremes would see their gains drastically reduced even if they avoided attracting direct attacks.
"For me, worshipping the Mother of Myriad Serpents would be suicidal. By the same token, her ally the Eye of Judgment is out of the question. The best choice would probably be that eternal nemesis of Chaos Power, the Wing of Fluctuation, and the Eye of Judgment—the Defiled Bird!"
Lei Lin mused inwardly, "And for the first communication with a Supreme, the better the tribute offered, the greater the benefit received—there might even be an indescribable baptism…"
It stood to reason that the Defiled Bird, as an enemy of both the Eye of Judgment and the Mother of Myriad Serpents, would be delighted to see Lei Lin grow stronger—even to the point of shattering the Mother of Myriad Serpents' dominion!
Though the Defiled Bird was not a ninth-rank powerhouse and couldn't undo the Serpent Brand on Lei Lin's body, suppressing it temporarily should at least be within its capability!
On his own, Lei Lin could only seal the Serpent Brand for two years—which was far too short for his purposes. If that duration could be extended even slightly, it would benefit his plans enormously.
A cascade of thoughts swept through Lei Lin's mind, though to anyone watching, he merely hesitated for a moment before asking Belinda, "Belinda! Are you… a high-ranking worshipper of the Supreme of Judgment?"
"Yes! Though my current sacrificial rank is only third-tier, I can feel that a breakthrough is imminent. All I need is to complete this mission—unfortunately…"
Belinda admitted without the slightest hesitation.
"Why… why don't you worship the great Sovereign Mother? She is so kind and beautiful, and she is the origin of us all…"
The expression on Lei Lin's face was one of utter disbelief.
After all, even though the Mother of Myriad Serpents had a covenant with the Eye of Judgment, for a descendant of the Serpent Mother to worship another Supreme was nothing short of betrayal in the eyes of those great serpents! Those of a more extreme disposition might even strike on the spot, erasing Belinda—"the shame of the Sovereign Mother"—from the world entirely!
"The Sovereign Mother? Though she is great, our origin, and all things to us, she is far too lofty. For those of us at the bottom, what we need is fairness and justice—and the only one who can provide that is the Lord of Covenants!"
For reasons unknown, Belinda let out a cold laugh, her expression subtly growing agitated. Seeing her like this, Lei Lin knew she had likely dredged up some painful memory—probably something along the lines of being oppressed by the purebloods. It always came back to that.
"As a half-breed, have you ever felt even a shred of goodwill from that so-called 'Pureblood White Devil' clan?"
Belinda pressed the question, a glistening layer of mist already forming in her eyes.
Lei Lin 'fell silent.' "Enough! Let's not dwell on unpleasant things! I've already sent the signal. Reinforcements from the Lord of Order will arrive shortly—you'd best leave!"
Belinda let out a long, deep breath and cast a glance at Lei Lin.
"Fine!" Lei Lin said. After all, this was their organization's own affair, and their beliefs were different—lingering any longer would only breed suspicion.
Besides, today's gains were all secured. Not only had the hidden danger been eliminated, but he had also laid a solid foundation for a good relationship with Belinda. For Lei Lin, arranging another "chance encounter" down the road would be no trouble at all.