Bribery
“Where’s Wade? Why don’t I see him right now?”
Caesar asked carelessly after Leylin had also completed the ceremony, and the metal pillar had automatically retracted into the ground.
“He sustained serious injuries and was also cursed by a very troublesome spell.”
Hearing this, Desmund’s expression darkened.
“It was caused by a dagger soaked in the poison of the Abyssal Spider. I’ve never seen such a cruel match-up… Though he’s already awoken,the poison and curse will eat his flesh and spirit, consuming all the nutrients in his body and turning him into a dried-up corpse.”
“In this situation, I suggest that he return to the Four Seasons Garden headquarters as soon as possible. The high-energy purification pool is there, and the elders may be able to find a solution, but unfortunately…”
Desmund spread his arms.
“After receiving news of his teacher’s death, Wade has been insisting that he stay behind and return only after the investigations end.”
This was troublesome.
It would be the best situation for them if Wade had died or returned to the academy after having sustained injuries. For them right now, what had been a two-man team had now been joined by another, who would be an impediment to them.
“Find an opportunity and kill him!”
In Caesar’s eyes, Leylin could see a glint of vehemence.
After that, Desmund, Caesar, and Leylin chatted for a while about the Lightning Corps being stationed here, and other matters concerning living arrangements.
Leylin had never concerned himself with these matters before, so he just shut his mouth and watched Caesar and Desmund speak.
After everything was over, Caesar gave the excuse of treating his injuries and brought Leylin into his room.
*Pu!*
A curtain that seemed like a spider web rose in the room, the light covering all blind spots.
“Alright! This is an early warning system that I designed myself. With it around, I’ll be able to know even if a rank 2 Magus were to eavesdrop on our conversation.” Caesar carelessly picked a chair and sat down.
“Using the silk of the Eight-Clawed Spider, which is extremely sensitive to spiritual force… What an interesting way of thinking.”
Leylin surveyed this curtain, eyes flashing with understanding as he sat beside Caesar.
“You’re very learned! This type of material is very rare, and only a few people in Nightless City’s scholarly institutions are able to recognise this. You should be able to go and pass the exam to become a professor there…”
Caesar sighed in admiration. It astounded him to no end that this spell formation, which had been developed for him by his father, had easily been recognised by Leylin.
“You don’t seem to be that worried about Desmund. He’s made his stance clear that before the reinforcements and investigation team from the Four Seasons Garden arrive, he will keep watch here. Rank 2 Magi have a lot of tricks; aren’t you afraid that he’ll discover something?”
Leylin showed no politeness as he asked this team leader, who had once been his superior.
His relationship with Caesar was quite unique. He could now tell that the person who let out the word of his identity within the Thousand Meddling Hands and transferred him here from Nightless City was definitely Caesar! His goal was probably to obtain another helper in the inner circle of the Four Seasons Garden, or perhaps just cannon fodder.
Hence, after seeing through this scheme, Leylin unhesitatingly chose to betray them and injured Caesar to the point that he was near death.
However, with the knowledge that he was backed by a rank 2 Magus, Leylin did not dare to go too far. After all, offending a rank 2 Magus was not a very sensible decision.
“Don’t worry about Desmund.”
Caesar waved his arms. “Rank 2 Magi all shoulder different responsibilities. When they oversee a place, they are usually unable to leave. I’m familiar with the place Desmund has been guarding; it’s the Lightning Region at entrance No. 2 to the Eternal River Plains’ secret plane. As long as the dark Magi apply pressure to him from there, Desmund will eventually be transferred back there! After all, that was the region that his academy is in charge of. Let’s be real here, even if we fall to the enemy, their academy won’t really be affected at all, but if entrance No. 2 is taken over, their academy will receive a large blow…”
Caesar analysed it very logically, displaying his exceptional situational skills and ability to think of the big picture.
“In order to attack entrance No. 2 and put pressure on them, at the very least, a rank 2 dark Magus has to attack. If only we had someone backing us…” Leylin was speechless. Even he was able to come up with such a plan, but he lacked Caesar’s background and backing, as to where dark Magi could be dispatched according to his orders.
“I’ll take care of everything regarding Desmund. Just focus on one person!”
Caesar turned to gaze at Leylin, his third vertical eye on his forehead blinking.
“Wade?” Leylin touched his chin.
Wade was the first Magus from the Four Seasons Garden that he had met. At the beginning, he had even passed the examination with his help.
“That’s right! Desmund is an outsider, after all, and there are many things that he can’t do. However, Wade is different. He’s an envoy from the headquarters, so he holds a lot of power, and he is also the student of Reynold. He can easily take over the connections and resources that Reynold had, and is a huge obstruction to our plan!”
Caesar’s tone was extremely serious and was practically one of fear.
“You don’t want this plan to ultimately fail either, do you? You’ve signed the agreement, and the moment things fail, your spirit will self-destruct and leave nothing behind.”
Caesar’s eyes seemed to give out dark rays that shot towards Leylin.
“Don’t worry! I’ll silence him!”
Leylin was silent for a while and then spoke.
“Alright! I’ve contacted the Four Seasons Garden’s headquarters in the external world. The elders are in a frenzy, and the entirety of the Four Seasons Corps will be dispatched here, along with a rank 2 Magus!”
Caesar also gave more news, “Five days! We have, at most, five more days!”
What he and Leylin needed to do within this time period was to push out Desmund and Wade, and hand over the defensive spell formation and core of the secret plane to the dark Magi.
As long as all of that was done, all entrances to the secret plane would belong to the dark Magi.
“Five days is enough!” Leylin stood up and left. As he walked out the door, he turned back and smiled at Caesar. “Also, remember! I don’t like the look in that middle eye of yours. It’s disgusting!”
*Pak!* The door slammed shut, and the expression on Caesar’s face darkened.
“Despicable!” With a swipe of his arm, the cup, documents, and other items on the table fell to the ground, producing the crisp sound of objects colliding.
“If not for my “Three Spirits in a Body” still being incomplete, and me needing him to help me in my plan… I’ll kill him! I swear on it!”
Caesar’s facial muscles contorted.
For him to be defeated by Leylin, who he had looked down upon in the past, was an absolute humiliation. Also, as he was not better than Leylin, and even had to concede in some matters; it was like reopening old wounds and exposing them to the scorching sun.
What made him more furious was that Leylin had actually killed the little boy, and had inflicted heavy injuries on Giant!
These two Magi were the other spirits that were part of the trio from his body. Though they had different personalities, it could be said that out of the three people, including himself, one had been killed and the other two had been seriously injured! This hatred was definitely not something that a contract could restrict.
Caesar had concealed it well, but Leylin could see through it.
“It’s a pity… So what if he knows? I admit that you’re a genius and even the kind that’s one in a million! But so what? You’re now bound by the contract and don’t have much time to grow any further…Once the plan succeeds and you lose all your value, I’ll retrieve your spirit and torture you for two hundred years! I swear on it!”
Caesar lowered his head and began to laugh, like the murmurings of a patient who was nearing death.
Caesar moved extremely quickly, and on just the next day, Leylin heard news of increased dark Magus activity at entrance No. 2 to the secret plane. For the sake of security, Desmund had led the Lightning Corps to guard the area again.
Though there were many intelligent Magi who could tell this was a ploy to lure him away, Desmund still left.
For Desmund’s and his superiors, if the Four Seasons Garden was able to eventually maintain the possession of their entrance, not only would the Four Seasons Garden would benefit, and they themselves would be able to obtain ten to twenty percent of the resources.
But entrance No. 2 was different! There were resources there that they were in charge of, and as long as they took care of the entrance, profits would come in like a wave!
Hence, even if there was just a slight possibility, Desmund did not want to risk anything.
As for his good friend, Reynold? Too bad! Magi were a bunch of practical people, and a dead friendship was a friendship no more. Without a similar strength and position, this friendship could not continue.
After considering both sides of the situation, Desmund made the decision to return.
After all, most Magi were selfish people! When it came to their own benefits, even rank 2 Magi could not resist temptation!
“However, Desmund still had to put on a superficial front and pacify the Four Seasons Garden members.”
Leylin strolled around, and the Magi who walked past respectfully bowed to him.
Whether it was in terms of power or authority, Leylin was one of the core existences in the headquarters within the secret plane. The rest of the Magi in Four Seasons Garden could only duck their heads.
What was more interesting was that most of the team leaders of those divisions that Leylin had extorted had died in battle. Furthermore, the remaining members of those teams bribed Leylin by sending over even more resources and ingredients as they wanted to shirk their responsibilities.
In the past, Leylin had needed to do the work himself, but now, bribes would appear on his doorstep on their own, and they were only afraid that he would not accept it. This treatment was vastly different from before.
In this situation, Leylin, of course, accepted all these and promised them blindly to everything they requested.
After all, the amount of time he would stay here could be counted in days. Once he was to leave, these Magi would only be left in shock.