After a prolonged round of haggling and bartering, Leilin and Sas finally reached an agreement.
The Oakheart Family would bear all the resources needed to construct a Radiant Moon-level wizard tower for Leilin, as well as an entire Astral Gate. In return, Leilin guaranteed that he would never, under any circumstances, leak information about the Star Dust Bugs.
Both of them swore an Oath of the Eye of Judgment to seal the deal. Naturally, it was the Blue Mountain King who had insisted on this—though he never noticed the flicker of mockery in the depths of Leilin's eyes.
Finally, as a throw-in, Leilin had Sas recount in full detail the entire sequence of events surrounding the coalition's siege of the Ouroboros Ring.
Upon receiving this information, Leilin's brow furrowed noticeably.
"Jupiter's Thunder…" After seeing Sas off, Leilin leaned back against the sofa, rubbing his forehead as he sank into deep thought.
"So it really is them. Why would the lofty Radiant Moon Wizards take an interest in the Ouroboros Ring?"
Obviously, with
…
After the celebration of his elevation to Duke concluded, the numerous envoys still lingered, waiting for yet another grand occasion.
The engagement ceremony between the Morning Star sorcerer—the Duke Leilin—and Fruie, matriarch of the
For bloodline sorcerers, the selection of a spouse was a matter of extreme caution, for it concerned the inheritance of their bloodline and even the rise and fall of an entire clan.
And the engagement of a Morning Star-level sorcerer meant that a new Comoin bloodline would be spread, giving rise to yet another formidable family!
Although this family currently consisted of only Leilin and his fiancée, no one would deny the sheer power of a family backed by a Morning Star sorcerer.
Moreover, according to certain vague rumors, this Duke Leilin's bloodline was of extraordinary purity—even surpassing the three previous Morning Star sorcerers! And his fiancée was also a scion of a distinguished Comoin lineage, with immaculate heritage.
The envoys and sorcerers in attendance could already envision a supremely powerful Comoin family rising rapidly within the Ouroboros Ring.
Though they grumbled inwardly, these envoys outwardly expressed great goodwill toward Leilin's engagement and offered their sincerest congratulations.
Only after the engagement ceremony had concluded did the envoys from the various powers depart Phosphorus Marsh one by one. During the festivities and ceremonies, they had witnessed far too much, and they needed to return and report to the masters pulling their strings.
As for Leilin, he could finally catch his breath and tend to some other loose ends.
"Your Grace!"
Along the roads, the numerous sorcerers who spotted him from afar would promptly clear the way and bow respectfully at the roadside.
Leilin maintained a solemn expression, offering at most a slight nod of acknowledgment to the senior sorcerers. Every gesture radiated boundless authority.
With his current status in the Ouroboros Ring, he naturally passed through without obstruction and arrived before the honeycomb-like building formed by a sprawling complex of enormous laboratories.
This was the headquarters of the Technology Division. Upon seeing Leilin approach, a brief commotion broke out at the entrance before Sata, bespectacled and surrounded by a cluster of white-coated sorcerers, came forward to greet him. It made Leilin feel as though he had returned to the research institute of his previous life.
"Your Grace!" Sata bowed respectfully first. He was genuinely grateful to Leilin. After all, had it not been for his sudden emergence, the entire Ouroboros Ring would likely have been destroyed.
"Mm. Take me to the Astral Gate!" Leilin nodded and said flatly, then followed Sata deeper inside.
Passing through layer upon layer of isolation measures and detection arrays, Sata brought Leilin before a gate constructed entirely of Astral Stone.
The entire gate radiated a starlike luminescence, its innermost layer consisting of a stony surface with numerous brilliant runes suspended in midair upon the stone's face.
"This is the Astral Gate that Lady
Sata removed his glasses, his tone laden with unmistakable wistfulness.
"After extensive experimentation by our colleagues, we've confirmed that the Astral Gate itself is functioning perfectly. However, during coordinate targeting, we encountered interference from an unknown force that has more than doubled the difficulty of secondary positioning!"
"What level of power, in your estimation, would be required to accomplish something like that?" Leilin fixed him with a piercing gaze and pressed.
"Probably…" Sata had the temperament of a pure researcher—matter-of-fact, with no talent for sugarcoating. "Only the interference of a Radiant Moon-level wizard could possibly cause the three Elders to make a misjudgment!"
Radiant Moon level! A fifth-tier Grand
The last time, it had taken just one of their Morning Star sorcerers from the enemy side, aided by the coalition forces, to bring the Ouroboros Ring to the brink of annihilation. And this time, if a Radiant Moon Wizard were to act personally?
The dark vision of the future immediately sent these high-ranking sorcerers into a state of trembling dread.
"No need to be so pessimistic!" Leilin patted Sata on the shoulder. "Focus first on rescuing the teacher and the others. You need to put your all into this…"
"Yes, Your Grace!" A flash of shame crossed Sata's face as he lowered his head respectfully.
Originally, he had made the bold claim that he could locate the world coordinates within five days. Yet now, several times that period had passed, and he still had not determined which world Gilbert and the others were trapped in.
Every time he was on the verge of pinpointing the coordinates, violent spatial turbulence in the void would block his efforts, preventing him from locking onto the exact location.
And with even the slightest discrepancy in coordinate data, the final teleportation destination could end up millions of miles off—or land in an entirely different world!
In the current state of internal and external turmoil, the sorcerers could hardly let Leilin take such a risk.
Not that Leilin would necessarily listen to them anyway.
In truth, even if the world where Gilbert and the others were stranded had already been identified, Leilin would certainly not go to their rescue.
Now that it was confirmed the other side was a trap—even one set by a Radiant Moon Wizard—would he really charge straight in? Was that even possible?
Leilin, for one, did not possess that kind of selfless dedication to risk his life for others.
"Those sorcerers need to be taught a lesson sooner or later!" Leilin stroked his chin, a dangerous glint flickering in his eyes.
The ones who had been secretly egging him on to rescue the Elders were none other than the direct factions of the three Morning Star sorcerers—primarily their students and clan members. These people naturally did not dare openly demand anything of Leilin, but spreading rumors and sentiment behind the scenes, so long as no evidence could be pinned on them, was well within their nerve.
Among them, Gilbert's faction had the fewest grievances since Leilin himself was one of their own. Emma's faction, with Fruie serving as an intermediary, was not particularly urgent either. Only the students and clan members of the third Morning Star sorcerer were pressing the hardest—and Leilin had decided to make an example of them first.
He was no saint. He would not toil away rescuing others only to hand his own power and authority over to them on a silver platter.
However, Gilbert was his teacher after all, and had taught him a great deal in the past. He did need to mount a rescue—but not now!
Leilin was confident that after a little more time, he could thoroughly establish his own authority and spread his influence throughout the organization. By the time the three Morning Star sorcerers returned, not even they would be able to shake his position!
Therefore, he had to buy himself this window of time. While he could certainly crush all opposition through sheer force, Leilin ultimately did not want to be left with a shattered Ouroboros Ring.
And Sata's report played right into his hands. Now it was not that he was refusing to make the effort—it was that the conditions simply were not met, and there was genuinely nothing he could do.
In reality, behind the scenes, Leilin had long since privately pinpointed the coordinates. He had kept this under wraps for precisely this reason.
After reassuring Sata and the other members of the Technology Division, Leilin returned to his castle, where two distinguished guests still awaited his reception.
"Lords
Leilin offered a slight bow of apology to the two Morning Star sorcerers. These two envoys, after all the other factions had departed, had stubbornly refused to leave for reasons Leilin could not quite fathom. Since they were both Morning Star sorcerers, having them stationed here was of benefit to the Ouroboros Ring. Not only could Leilin not complain, but he had to play the gracious host.
"We only just arrived ourselves. Duke Leilin must have completed his investigation by now, I trust?"
Paul smiled, the eyes on his octopus-like head seemingly able to peer straight through a person's soul as they locked onto Leilin.
"Indeed. Jupiter's Thunder—they've gone too far!" Lein clenched his fist hard, his face flushing red with apparent fury.
Through the Shadow Snake Division's investigation and the Blue Mountain King's testimony, he had already confirmed that this entire affair was orchestrated by Jupiter's Thunder from behind the scenes.
In that case, he naturally could not refuse the goodwill of these two Morning Star sorcerers.
"To be frank, that Radiant Moon Wizard from Jupiter's Thunder has always looked down on us bloodline sorcerers, and has clashed with our alliance numerous times. Even the organization behind us is currently in a state of cold war with them…"
The werewolf Philip said with a bitter smile.
Leilin began to grasp their meaning. It turned out the wizards from the Psionic Circle and the Wind Wolf Den had come here partly to seek allies.
But he would naturally not refuse. A Radiant Moon Wizard was still a being he could not contend with on his own. If he could join forces with them to push back, the pressure would at least be somewhat reduced.
So, on the surface, Leilin answered without so much as a moment's hesitation: "If there is anything I can do for you, please do not hesitate to say the word…"
That being said, Leilin was not foolish enough to charge to the front lines without receiving anything in return.
Paul and Philip exchanged a glance, each seeing delight in the other's eyes. Regardless of everything else, Leilin's stance alone had already made this trip worthwhile.