Port and Mount
“Of course I’m afraid!” Leylin seemed to be very confident, “After all we destroyed a port belonging to the Master of Chaos and even massacred a branch belonging to the Master of Order! Oh, mighty dignitary, the Matriarch! I hope they don’t join together and put a bounty on us, else we really will become famous!”
Leylin’s performance was a huge success, and the look of suffering on his face caused Belinda to mock him.
“Hmph! A port? Port Elias was only an illegal private port that their governor established himself. He didn’t get any permission from the Hail Continent, and even amongst the high ranking Sacrificers of the Nefarious Filthbird, very few acknowledge it… In a colony like this, it’s merely an attempt on the Filthbird’s end. It would be great if it went well, but even if it were to fail, there aren’t any major losses…
“Besides, this is the the territory of the the Eye of Order’s ally, the Matriarch! The Master of Chaos and the Eye of Order are arch enemies, which is why they’ll at most pursue us on the sly but won’t do anything too drastic… the only thing I’m worried about is the organisations belonging to the Eye of Order.”
Belinda was clearly worried, “I’ve already looked through the announcements at the port. Unfortunately, I seem to be wanted by the Eye of Order, and news will spread very quickly…”
Immediately after, she looked towards Leylin, with eyes full of reservation, “While you did murder most of them, no news about you has spread. If you want to leave now, there’s still time!”
Leylin was quiet. He obviously knew that this wasn’t just because he’d silenced them, but because of the cover of chaos power. That was why the his traces had been reduced to the bare minimum.
However, watching Belinda, who was slightly nervous, Leylin merely smiled, “Did you think I would leave you for my own safety?”
“Why not? News of me being wanted by Trial’s Eye will spread through the Hail Continent!” Belinda laughed coldly, “When the time comes, you and I will be pursued till the ends of the earth because we’re working together!”
“Oh. That seems rather interesting.” Leylin stroked his chin apathetically.
“You—” Belinda was so furious that her whole body began to shake, and she appeared rather agitated.
Leylin astutely noticed the change in her mood. Laughing inside, he still looked serious, “Where do we go next? Can the Holy City at the heart of the Hail Continent still take us in?”
“You’re… you’re really a fool,” Belinda’s eyes filled with tenderness. She stared hard at Leylin for a while, but she still ended up explaining, “Don’t worry, the Holy City is a sacred land for all descendants of the Matriarch. With my connections, there shouldn’t be any problem…”
“That’s good!” Leylin patted his chest, looking slightly afraid.
“You…” Belinda was so frustrated that she laughed instead, finding herself unable to speak while Leylin spread out the parchment paper in his hands.
“This map is… so vague! Are we now at the port of the Andersus Union?” This map that was yellowed at the ages was very crude, with only the names of a few places on it. Furthermore, this was only the map of a region.
Leylin understood the reason for this. In this age, a complete map that had very high precision of the continent was so expensive that perhaps most Magi would need to spend their whole fortune on it. Belinda being able to get a hold of this was mostly thanks to them being at a trading port.
While commanding the A.I. Chip to record the information, Leylin recalled the the resources he had gathered, and the general appearance of the Hail Continent slowly emerged in his mind.
The Hail Continent was one of the seven continents of the Purgatory World, ruled by the Snake Dowager. Its lands were extensive with many undeveloped regions. Barbaric beings who ate raw meat and fowl, and even prehistoric giant beasts were common there.
The main inhabitants of the continent were all descendants of the Snake Dowager. All sorts of pure-blooded giant snakes, mixed-bloods with characteristics of giant snakes, and other species of snakes who were very distant relatives took up about two-thirds of its populations.
The remaining races, such as Beholders, Purgatory Pygmies, energy lifeforms, elementals and even humans were spread out across the continent. Of course, compared to descendants of the Snake Dowager, they were insignificant. They had tribes and clans, and existed between the cracks of two large cities or organisations.
Something worthy of note was that the ruling structure of the Hail Continent was a system of city states governed by clans. War among various city states were common, whether between two different races or amongst the same race.
The so-called Holy City was established with the joint decision of the descendants of the Snake Dowager. In theory, this was the core government of the Hail Continent, and was said to be the place the Snake Dowager favoured.
The Hail Continent would have to listen to the commands from the Holy City, though in actuality it depended on the individual masters of the various city states.
“From here all the way to the Holy City, it’ll take us more than year even if we hurry there with all our strength…” Belinda unhurriedly pointed at a marking of a port on the map. At this moment, all sorts of emotions flitted past her face until she eventually grew resolved, “But I found a very special route here. As long as we pass a certain region, we can make use of a teleportation spell formation and reach the Serpent Plains, which will save us a lot of time…”
“Is that so? Then let’s do as you say!” Time was of essence for Leylin, and the more convenient things were, the better for him. As for whether she would find him suspicious, he had nothing to fear with his current strength.
He, who had regained much of his strength and had a boost as a rank 4 Sacrificer, felt like he could contend against even a rank 6 Breaking Dawn Monarch.
Breaking Dawn Monarchs, rank 6 Magi, had all grasped part of the power of laws. They were exceptionally more powerful than most other rank 6 beings. Of course, being able to contend against them did not mean he could defeat them. Leylin believed he was only comparable to a weak rank 6 at this point.
However, in the Purgatory World, it was said that there were a total of seven beings at rank 7 or above, and a small number of rank 6s. WIth Leylin’s current strength, if not for his fear for the Snake Dowager he would be free to do as he liked in the Hail Continent. Belinda currently had strength at the Morning Star realm at best. What could she do?
‘Seeing her expression right now, she seems to be prepared to cut off her past. Could she be planning to settle some disputes within her family?’ Leylin wondered while stroking his chin.
‘Adult Alabaster Devilsnakes can only reach rank 5, which won’t be a huge issue. I really want to gather a pure bloodline. After all, high-energy beings which can use dreamforce and connect with Dreamscape are very rare…’ Though the Alabaster Devilsnake was a descendant of the Snake Dowager and was well taken care of, it was because they were right under her nose that she would definitely not allow the appearance of a Serpent Emperor amongst them.
Even a rank 6 Alabaster Devilsnake Emperor would not have a community of its own. For Leylin as he was now, it was like a dish served on a platter.
‘I just need to be careful while operating in the Hail Continent. If the Snake Dowager discovers me, perhaps the Feather of Chaos could be helpful…’ Leylin’s palm subconsciously touched the area at his chest, where a grey Nefarious Filthbird feather emanated a hazy glow.
The Nefarious Filthbird’s law of chaos had the effects of concealment and misleading others. With the boost from the power of chaos, Leylin now had more confidence in hiding his tracks. If not, Leylin wouldn’t be confident in sneaking into this nest of the Snake Dowager where there were so many Sacrificers.
Compared to his previous infiltration attempt which had been very difficult, he was now much more assured in his success. In spite of the slight restrictions, the deal with the Nefarious Filthbird was worth it.
‘But I still need to defend against the bird. If it were to betray me at the last moment, I might just turn into a gift for the Snake Dowager to improve their relationship instead…’ Leylin’s eyes shone with blue light, the Nefarious Filthbird energy in his body under strict surveillance.
Leylin did not have to worry about the same with the Trial’s Eye, the Nefarious Filthbird was arch-enemies with it and their rivalry extended across numerous worlds. That was perhaps something that extended to the current day from primordial times, an irreconcilable hate. But things were different with the Snake Dowager. She was merely an ally of the Trial’s Eye, which might not even mean that much to her. If it could pay a price and and entice the Snake Dowager to join its side, he was sure that the Filthbird would be very willing to do so.
Though this was a tiny possibility, Leylin had to prepare for it. Such was the sorrow of the weak; Leylin was currently walking on thin ice, a small misstep causing irreparable harm.
“Oh, right, I bought this too!” With Belinda’s voice sounded, the roars of two large beings travelled to Leylin’s ear.
At this moment, Leylin saw her pulling the reins, and the two beings’ silhouettes gradually emerged from the shadows. What appeared in front of him were two large earth-yellow lizard-like creatures. There were even man-made seats fixed atop their backs.
“Since we are going to traverse through rather special environments, this sort of mount is essential.”