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…
“You’re in charge of this. I have others matter to tend to.” the Azure Mountain King spoke nonchalantly.
“Understood, Grandfather!” The chieftain nodded before bowing and leaving.
After acquiring all the information, including the description of the Leylin subordinates. Leo would first check and exclude them from being under surveillance, although he has no idea why The Lord give this order, he would still follow it. This is the code implanted deep inside his soul, never question the Lord.
According to plan, Leo would let the fugitives dispose of their goods before he went forth to hunt them down and receive the bounty. This method of taking advantage of both parties was not a foreign concept to him.
If wealth was being accumulated quickly, it would usually involve bloodshed. Even if the Azure Mountain King was a Morning Star Magus, the Oakheart Clan would not have been able to develop so quickly without these methods.
The Oakheart chieftain’s heart was aflame as he impatiently arrived at a control room, rubbing his fingers. “How many Morning Star Magi will come to the anonymous barter this time? I”m looking forward to it…”
“This is the central control room. Commanding all daughter elements to transmit gathered images,” he pressed a crystal and ordered.
Quickly enough, numerous fragmented projections formed a screen with many little squares on it. On the surface were the outer appearances of the Magi participating in the barter, as well as their true appearances.
Beside the images of some of the exceptionally beautiful female Magi were even full-body images. Of course, they were without clothing. The chieftain’s eyes widened, and he looked excited.
What he did not notice was that in one of the parts in the corner, Lita’s character had a completely foreign face. Cole and Roderick were also different in appearance since, Lita was manipulating the bugs to send faulty signals, this lead him to believe that the trio isn’t attending.
The barter was held in a large cave underground. The ground was filled with powerful runes and brands, emanating formidable energy waves.
From the outside, all the Magi who entered were black blobs of light, and it was difficult to even distinguish their sexes.
Bugs that were ten thousand times smaller than specks of dust would not be discovered even if on someone’s body. On top of that, these stardust bugs had the innate skill of concealing themselves.
With the Oakheart clan’s nurture and specialised training, these stardust bugs had already turned into dreadful spies that could tell the identities of every single Magus in the trading event.
“To be under control while having the misconception of being safe and independent, this ignorance is the biggest tragedy for a Magi.” Lita strolled along with the numerous black blobs of light, feeling regretful. Cole and Roderick left her side as they also strolled independently, they actually have no intrest in coming here but having nothing better to do, they reluctantly attended.
When the black blobs of light in the cave increased in number, a crisp bell sounded, attracting the attention of multiple Magi to a circular stage at the centre.
Light began to flicker there, revealing a blond middle-aged Magus.
“The many of you may or may not know me. Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Leo Oakheart, the host of the Azure Mountain auction. I shall also be the host of this anonymous barter…” Leo’s expression was brimming with a warm smile.
“I”ll cut to the chase. As the anonymous barter only takes place for one night, I shall not waste any more of your precious time. There are two parts to this event. First, the Magi who need to trade items can come onto the stage in order to show the item you wish to sell, and declare what you hope to obtain in exchange. Each person is limited to three items! When the time for the public exhibition is over, next will be the trade. Everyone may communicate privately, but this place does not permit any fights, and once you are out of range of this cave our Oakheart clan will not be held responsible for any of the items you have traded!”
Nearing the end, Leo’s voice became stern. As if to complement his words, a large pressure emanated from within the spell formation on the ground like a huge mountain.
“Please do not worry. All of us are aware of the Oakheart clan’s rules,” a low voice sounded from within the surrounding Magi. It was evident that some of these Magi had been here a few times.
“Good!” Leo nodded, and yielded his position on the platform.
*Swish!* The moment he left the stage, three streaks of black darted forth.
It was obvious that these Magi were all experienced. They knew that it was most advantageous to go up first, since what they needed might very well be in the hands of the next Magus. The sooner they went up, the easier it would be to obtain the items, and their own items would not be traded off so quickly as well.
“Hehe… my apologies…” The black streak in the middle was lightning-quick, and reached the platform a moment before the other two. A robotic voice sounded from the black streak, and it was difficult to identify the gender of this person.
Upon seeing this, the other two streaks of black light hesitated and could only retreat. They knew the rules of the Oakheart clan, and that if they did not obey they would be in trouble. Hence, they did not have any plans of doing things by force or arguing.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, what I have brought to exchange here is an ornament, the “Forbidden Ancient Clock”. In exchange, I require…” The moment he spoke, the audience was in an uproar.
“The forbidden clock? Isn’t that the inheritance of the Lucca clan in the north? Why is it here?”
“Rumours have been circulating recently that a few fearless Magi snuck into the clan and stole it, and then scattered till they were near the Azure Mountain. He can’t be one of them, can he?”
Leo, who was watching on, was also slightly surprised. He had not expected the other party to make their move so quickly.
With a thought, countless stardust bugs crawled all over the Magus body in secret. With them on his body, that Magus would definitely be unable to escape from the Oakheart clan.
“The Forbidden Ancient Clock? A.I. Chip!” Lita frowned, under the stage, was similarly startled and quietly issued a command. She had an inkling that this is the item Leylin asked for.
[The Forbidden Ancient Clock. One of the mysteries inherited from ancient times. Said to hold the power of time, and is the treasure of the northern Lucca clan.]
The A.I. Chip quickly came up with a paragraph and a picture. It was a vivid image from a piece of parchment paper, within which was a giant black wall clock. The clock hand was twisted, and gave a strange sense of confusion.
“The power of time?!” Lita eyes widened. This is an extremely advanced power. What bewildered her was how could low level magus use this even.
There were many who knew about the rumours surrounding the Forbidden Ancient Clock. Many Magi stared at the black blob of light onstage with fiery gazes.
It was a round ornament. It looked exactly the same as the picture of the ancient clock that the A.I. Chip had shown. The surface was the colour of dark copper and did not seem the least bit special.
“A.I. Chip, scan!” Lita commanded the A.I. Chip to perform a scan.
[Mission established. Beginning scanning. Beep! Interrupted by an unknown force field. Scanning unable to proceed.]
On the interface of the A.I. Chip, Lita saw a strange blank region at the sides of the black item, preventing the A.I. Chip from scanning.
There was high possibility that this Forbidden Ancient Clock was the real deal. The A.I. Chip was still unable to draw data on the power of time.
But the A.I. Chip might be unable to probe not just because of the clock, but some other mysterious item that causes a similar reaction.
As expected, that Magus continued to demonstrate a few tricks, proving the authenticity of what he held.
A unique treasure, especially one that was related to the domain of time, was more than enough to be highly sought-after by Magi, even if it was merely a small component.
On top of that, this Magus had not quoted a very high price. Not only could it be exchanged with some precious materials, he even accepted magic crystals. This immediately caused the eyes of all the Magi present to go red in desire.
This was an anonymous barter event. Even if they obtained the item, the Lucca clan might not be able to find them. The number of Magi who had this thought in mind was definitely not small.
Lita didn’t knew what thoughts Leylin had for this item, this would most definitely be targeted by Azure Mountain King as well but if this had a huge chance of success or achievement Leylin would not return without having it. This implies that Leylin either treats it as an item not very useful particularly or he has a deal with the Azure Mountain King.
‘But if that is the case then Leylin wouldn’t send me here would he?’ Lita was confused at Leylin thinking but after a while it hit her. The Oakheart Clan would definitely track the buyer down, and Lita has a chance to snatch the item away from them, as for Azure mountain king involvement it wouldn’t happen. Since Leylin send his subordinates, he would also send his subordinates only. If this item was so ridiculously amazing Leylin wouldn’t have let it be used as a test for Lita.
Lita is actually right in her thinking, although Leylin would like to have the item if he could, he knows that there was no whatsoever waves created by Azure mountain king even when he got it, also if this is so amazing then how come no one like a Morning Star confiscated it before so, it could only mean that this is an item good enough for only Rank 3. Although it has undeniable studying application and experimental worth but it’s not something to go crazy over.
Lita understood this and decided to not bid, she already knew that the showdown would be when the person leaves irrespective of who that person maybe. She would track him with the stardust bugs, and so would the chasers from Oakheart clan.
At the end, another Magus shrouded in black light used an astronomical price of 15 billion magic crystals as well as numerous precious materials and put pressure on the other competitors, finally obtaining this item.
After obtaining this item, the Magus knew that he could not stay for much longer and quickly left in a hurry. The Magus on stage did the same.
In order to protect customers, the Oakheart clan had even set up a random teleportation formation. Customers leaving would be transported to any area near the Azure Mountain, which even the Oakheart clan would not know. Hence, there was no need to worry about being followed.
However, these things were all just to prevent any attention. Leo had long since planted stardust bugs on their bodies. Not just the seller; even the Magus who had obtained the item was now under his eye.
This feeling of being in control of another’s fate was truly intoxicating to him.
Lita noticed that after those two Magi left, a few others in the cave had secretly followed along. Under the enormous temptation, it was evident that Magi did not mind being robbers every once in awhile. Lita signal Cole to also follow them from behind.
She knew that the chase wouldn’t be over instantly so, she could still make it after the barter ends. With the help of stardust bugs Lita would know as soon as the fight would begin, she has a method to reach there quickly, Cole has the ability to stall the enemy till then.
When the Magus left the stage, another black ball of light streaked over to the position. A friendly male voice sounded, “Ladies and gentlemen, what I shall now display is…”
Lita and Roderick watched. The items on display were on a whole other level compared to the auction, and there were many precious items, some of which could even be said to have already been lost to time.
Most Magi demanded that their items be exchanged for other items, and they were even willing to trade for lower-levelled materials.
There were few Magi who were like the one before, agreeing to trade for any item, and even agreeing to take magic crystals. Most clearly indicated what resources they required. If nobody had the item, they would not make the trade no matter how many magic crystals were offered up, and might leave regretfully.
In general, though the items here were top-grade, so the chances of success were not very high.
Halfway through the event, it was finally time to leave. Anyone more waiting and Lita might miss her chances. As she was about to leave, all of a sudden, she saw one of the black blobs of light flickering at the corner of her eye.
She had a weird feeling and immediately commanded the A.I. Chip to use its scanning abilities at full power, even emanating tempting ripples that lured the stardust bugs on the other party’s body to cooperate.
In the A.I. Chip’s field of vision, the figure of an old man vaguely appeared. The image from the stardust bugs that Lita had coerced might have been blurry, but it was enough for Lita to recognise who he was. This man was someone she had seen before!
‘It’s Vance, the head of the Rolithe family?’ Lita thought coldly and stopped, she turned around and assigned Roderick to take care of this bastard.
Lita left quickly, while Roderick waited for Vance. When everyone Magus had gone up once, Leo immediately announced that the event would now continue to the free exchange segment.
This free exchange meant that all the Magi present would have a place to display the items they wished to sell. It was just like a street stall.
This was also the last chance for Magi who had not profited at all from before.
Even if they could not obtain resources they were in urgent need of, they could also sell things here and exchange for more regular items, such as magic crystals.
However, there were Magi who were already content or had no interest in magic crystals who left the anonymous barter after the first segment by the teleportation spell formation.
As time passed, the anonymous barter had come to an end.
Groups of Magi left on the teleportation spell formation one after another, rays of light flashing repeatedly. The entire cave quickly became quiet.
At this moment, Leo appeared, along with 7 or 8 Magi behind him. There seemed to be both old and young Magi, but what remained the same across all of them were their frightful energy waves and astonishing murderous aura.
“I will personally handle the Magus that sold the Forbidden Ancient Clock. Number 6 and 7 will be in charge of the buyer! The other party is only a small fry with little power. As long as we kill him and destroy the evidence, there wouldn’t be any consequences.” Leo swiftly delegated missions, occasionally throwing out a locating crystal.
They were the secret elite force of the Oakheart Clan, and every Magus was in the Crystal Phase.
“Is everyone clear about the rules of our Clan? If something goes wrong, immediately destroy all evidence. I’d rather you commit suicide than divulge any information about the clan, or else…” He watched the Magi indifferently. The icy-cold look in his eyes made them sweat profusely.
Although they had already risen to Crystal Phase, as long as they were human, there was bound to be something or someone that they cared about or was their weakness. And all of this was secretly controlled by Leo and the clan.
While every single one of them was strong rank 3 Crystal Phase Magi, they did not dare to disobey Leo’s orders because they were deterred by the Morning Star Magus.
“Great! Let’s set off!” With a wave of his hand, the numerous Magi instantly transformed into rays of light, launching in all directions.
…
At this moment, Roderick was following closely behind Vance.
He knew that Lita had already set her eyes on the other party at the auction venue.
He wasn’t far from where Vance’s transmitted location was and had promptly followed him.
“Hmm?” Suddenly, Roderick was informed by Lita through their communticator that a large number of Magi are following the group she was targeting and they were all from Oakheart family, He was ordered to kill Vance quickly and back them up.
Roderick eyes turned cold as he heeded Lita orders and choose to make quick work of Vance. He quickly turned into a giant crimson bird and flied towards Vance position immediately.
In an instant, Roderick reached his position and without wasting any time he swiftly and directly attacked.
*Whoosh!* Both of his claws abruptly turned blood red, and huge sharp menacing claws grabbed at Vance, making loud sounds.
“Who-!” Vance hollered, as layers of soil made their way onto his body, forming a humongous clay giant that was more than ten metres tall. He was attacked so quickly that he couldn’t even respond properly.
“Kill!” Roderick’s face was expressionless, his eyes filled with a piercing look that was sharp enough to kill.
The massive clay giant roared, raising his fist to greet the strange bloody claws flying towards him.
*Bam!* The blood red claws burned with vigorous orange flames and were sharp beyond comparison, and instantly scratched the other party, even leaving a deep groove in his chest.
Vance’s stifled snort came from within the clay giant, his voice filled with dismay, “Such strength? Crystal Phase?”
The clay giant’s entire body trembled and he suddenly came to a standstill. Soon after, along with the loud rumble, the clay giant disintegrated in all directions, revealing Vance within.
It was just that Vance now had a more pitiful appearance. His ribs, sternum and spins were broken completely and blood was gushing profusely, but no matter what spells or healing potions he used, it was still useless.
“No! Don’t come over! I can give you anything you want, I… I ” Seeing merciless crimson demon inch closer step by step, Vance started to panic, promising a whole heap of things.
He didn’t wish to die. He treasured his life, even more now that he had already collected sufficient materials and was about to advance to the Crystal Phase.
“Blame your luck to offend my lady!” Roderick was apathetic. Vance didn’t have to think any further, as a blood-red ray of light threw him into darkness.
Roderick swallowed the corpse as he didn’t have time to search it, there was a battle about to start in Lita’s front.
…
“I’ll remember this, Oakheart Clan!” On the other hand, a hawk-nosed Magus, with terrible wounds and even scars that were created from spell formations, was currently fleeing in disarray.
Even though he has already reached a high level of the Crystal Phase, and his spiritual force is only a few steps away from peaking the Crystal Phase, he was still unable to defend himself from the combined attacks of four Crystal Phase Magi. He lost tragically and even suffered serious injuries.
In particular, the leader Leo could be said to be this Magus’ nightmare. He brought along a high-energy creature which was the main cause of his injuries.
What made him even angrier was that he was unable to escape Leo’s clutches even when he changed his aura. This meant that the other party had left a mark on him.
Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried, he was unable to find out what exactly the other party had done. The fact that even his communications equipment was restricted made him realize the disparity between the two parties, driving him insane.
“Oakheart Clan, I will definitely expose your dirty tricks to the entire world!” the hawk-nosed Magus howled in desperation as he soon found himself cornered by the three.
“You’ll never get the chance!” Leo showed a ruthless expression as he concentrated a terrifying amount of energy fluctuations on his body.
In that instant, the shadow of a beast that appeared behind him gradually took form as it stood in front of the hawk-nosed Magus.
That creature howled, making an unpleasant sound.
This creature seemed to be a combination of a wolf and a squid. It has the head and the body of a wolf and yet its lower body was equipped with white tentacles, complete with suction pads, that sent shivers down one’s spine.
The creature, which had eyes that looked like green lightbulbs, stared intensely at the Magus. At the same time, there were traces of dark green gases being emitted from the suction pads.
The gas then concentrated on the hawk-nosed Magus’ body, forming a thick layer of adhesive that caused him to slow down.
*Roar!* The tentacles, located at the lower body of the creature, bloomed like a flower as they headed towards the hawk-nosed Magus.
Leo watched in pleasure as the creature swallowed the hopeless fellow into its stomach. The creature’s stomach didn’t stop squirming as if it was digesting the entire body.
It was always the same cycle. Those he pursued would first curse him, then fear him and his creature, and ultimately they wouldn’t be able to escape their fate of death. Witnessing these Magi eventually die was always a heartfelt pleasure for him.
Even though this current target was not a beautiful and skilled female Magus, the fact that he was from an affluent family was enough to make up for his loss.
“This Hocada Beast…” Suddenly, the creature wrapped itself with its uncountable hands, forming a humongous meat lump and even breathing like a human being.
“It’s almost reached the stage of evolution. Once it evolves, I’m afraid…” Leo’s expression darkened.
This unique Hocada Beast originally belonged to his Morning Star Magus grandfather who found it among the debris of another plane.
The creature was now merely in its infancy, and could still swallow terrifying Crystal Phase magi. Once it was fully grown and its ability increased, only his Master Grandfather would be capable of subduing it.
Suddenly a weird silence ensued as If time has stopped, a moment of stillness enveloped the area. A bad premonition entered in everyone’s mind but they couldn’t do anything as Two figure appeared behind the group without any signs or sounds.
“Seal Of Thunder God.” A charismatic lovely women voice sounded as sharp lightning streaked through the Hocada beast and binded it.
Along with this another figure attacked with a huge long sword killing one of the Crystal Phase Magus named Number 5 in a sneak attack.
This happened so quickly that no one could even respond. In just a mere moment, Hocada beast was sealed and one of the four Crystal phase Magus was killed.
Lita has used the Dark Eleven Crown to sneak up on this group and choose the best chance to attack. She immediately choose to seal the beast in one of the top sealing formation of Beast World. Afterwards Roderick activated his Dark Scaled Earth Dragon merged form, and used the heirloom of the Azure Dragon Dynasty, the Everlasting Overlord Sword to immediately kill an unprepared enemy.
At his peak strength, A crystal phase without having a chance to conjure shield would be crushed like a watermelon.
This moment of contrasting change from killing to be killed left Leo froze.
Lita’s voice was transmitted without wasting any time and she sprung into action.
“Kemoyin’s Scales!” “Toxic Bile!” “Intimidating Gaze!” Acting on the chant, all 3 innate spells immediately took effect.
Compared to the other methods of using spells or potions, a Magus’ innate spell would take effect in the blink of an eye. Thus, in times of danger, every Magus would first choose to use their innate spells, and Lita was no exception.
A layer of shiny black scales immediately enveloped her entire body. The two domains of poison and Intimidating Gaze was launched in her attack without any reservations. At this critical moment, Lita had burst forth with all her power.
She has been stalking the group for a while now and when she saw her chance she didn’t hesitate for a second before using the Dark Elven Crown to hide and attack. Roderick is on his way here.
