Deduction and Advancement
The central region of the icy plains, outside the castle.
Dazzling blue pillars emitted bright light, the most radiant of landmarks.
Groups of icy race clansmen and even beasts were attracted by the blue rays of light. The appeal was so strong that anyone who barred their paths was considered an enemy to be attacked.
Leylin thought the pillars were like terrifying large-scale summoning spell formations. Anyone that possessed a bloodline related to ice and had grown up here could not resist the allure.
Currently in front of him was a strange group. Savage icy beasts mingled with snow fairies and other intelligent beings, the only thing they had in common the desire and fervour in their eyes. They crossed land and water, heading in the direction of the palace as if on a pilgrimage.
Leylin had seen this many times already. After the illusory fight at the icy castle, the Arctic Queen had not moved to chase him, evidently being limited somehow. Instead, the range of her spell formation extended further, encompassing the entire world of ice. Icy beings flooded into the area day after day, nourishing their Queen.
Leylin obviously would not just watch on. Looking apathetic, he pressed down with his right arm.
*Rumble!* A gigantic palmprint appeared on the surface that was formed of solid ice. The snow fairies, ice leopards, and other creatures all turned to powder.
Having taken care of this, Leylin’s brows furrowed as he hurried in another direction in which an even larger group had formed.
How populous was the world of ice? Even if Leylin did all he could to intercept them, many still managed to break through, turning into powder at the icy castle.
“Such absolute control… It’s a tragedy for the other races.” Watching the scene, Leylin sighed a little. It was obvious that the bloodlines of the various races in this world of ice had originated from the Arctic Queen, so when she decided to take them back, they could not resist at all.
The same situation would apply with the Snake Dowager. With her might and bloodline control, Leylin would probably be unable to rebel even if he was ordered to die. This was also what Leylin was trying his utmost to avoid.
‘It looks like the Arctic Queen has some sort of restriction on her body, which was why she had to groom Arwen. She also had to groom the many races in this world of ice, and use regular blood sacrifices to obtain strength, life force, and…’
Lights flashed in Leylin’s eyes. ‘The previous incident obviously enraged her. She actually summoned all the races in this miniature Icy World to their sacrificial deaths! Her aura is strengthening every day…’
At this thought, Leylin produced a few test tubes and flicked them out with his fingers.
Streaks of purple splashed on the backs of a few gigantic rank 3 beasts, forming strange runes that sank in. Noticing Leylin wasn’t blocking them anymore, they roared as they pressed forward towards the castle of ice.
Leylin frowned and arrived at a temporary dwelling. He’d been doing such a thing every day, but could not determine the efficacy of such an act.
“A.I. Chip, how’s the simulation of the soul defence coming along?”
[Beep! Soul defence spell pattern deduction at 97.6%!] The A.I. Chip loyally intoned. It projected a faint phantom of a spell model that was almost complete.
[Rank 4 spell— Soul Guard! Summing up the bloodline models of the Spirit Warlocks, the information from the database on the soul has been used to deduce a spell to defend against soul invasions. Referenced material: ‘Way of the Soul’, ‘A Primer on Spell Models’…]
There was a detailed introduction under this model, including the referenced materials which made up a long list.
Leylin wanted to deal with the Arctic Queen’s invasion into his soul. That she could actually break through his point mass to drag his truesoul into an illusion had horrified him.
The moment a Morning Star Magus’ truesoul lost the protection of their point mass, it was extremely fragile. He had been lucky enough to escape the last time, or else with the opponent’s ability at connecting her illusions with reality, he would have died in the real world if he died in the illusion. This was why he’d had the A.I. Chip simulate a spell model urgently to protect his soul.
With the opponent not able to move freely, Leylin had a good opportunity. However, with the terrifying summoning currently underway and the vast region within which she could absorb life force, Leylin had no choice but to plan his move quickly.
He had considered using his Morning Star Arcane Art to destroy the castle, but he had no idea where the bloodline and remains of the Scorpion Man were. Furthermore, even the Giant Kemoyin Serpent would be restricted by the opponent’s main body, and wouldn’t be able to destroy the place in a single move.
An ancient bloodline creature’s usage of soul force could not compare to that of a Morning Star Magus, and they were particularly vulnerable to such attacks.
“Based on the current progress, it should be completed by tomorrow!” Leylin’s eyes glowed with intelligence.
A normal Morning Star Magus would have to spend decades, even centuries, to deduce a rank 4 spell. This was especially true for one that dealt with the mysteries of the soul, and it would take even more time. With the A.I. Chip, it was merely a matter of how much processing power was allocated to the task. Once the model was done, it could directly be transmitted to Leylin’s memory, and even the process of familiarising himself with it could be done away with, saving him much time.
……
A day later, above the castle of ice.
Creatures and other beings with bloodlines related to ice would approach this place with a dazed look in their eyes, turning to powder at the place.
The region of the energy absorption had grown several fold, and even the purple swamp had been weakened.
“It looks like the Arctic Queen’s been working hard!” Blue light shone from Leylin’s eyes, and an energy beam struck down, opening up a pathway.
Through continued observation and calculations, he’d long since learnt the details of this method of absorption. Finding an energy node based on the distribution was a simple task.
“Rank 4 spell— Soul Guard!” A green lustre appeared in Leylin’s eyes, spreading throughout his body.
Fine runic chains formed in his sea of consciousness, yielding an even tighter defensive layer around the point mass.
Footsteps sounded in the pathway that had been created by the explosion. What was formerly only a basement currently had a number of roads and spaces below it.
The surface was full of solid ice, forming intricate patterns and images on the top.
Leylin took in a deep breath and stepped into the basement, “Arctic Queen, I’m here!”
The path was long, and light was sparse, only some feeble jade-green light leaking from the walls on both sides.
The terrifying icy radiation even affected spacetime here, causing Leylin to feel a sense of disorder.
A dense smell of rust spread throughout the channel as a multicolour light spread from the end. It was piercing to the eyes.
“Do not… come…” “Sinner…”
Deformed sounds were intermittently transmitted to Leylin’s ears, the contents only faintly discernible. The soul force of the Arctic Queen spread out, attempting to break through Leylin’s point mass and pull his truesoul into another illusion.
Prepared as he was, the green rays grew brighter on the surface of Leylin’s body, creating an illusory layer that began to tremble vigorously.
Large amounts of soul force were consumed as Leylin persevered under the Arctic Queen’s relentless attack on his soul.
[Soul invasion detected. Soul Guard has been engaged to resist. Beginning automatic adjustment of defensive structure.] The A.I. Chip’s voice sounded continuously. With its precise calculations, Leylin’s soul force consumption was suddenly reduced. The external layer of green light somewhat stabilised.
“You will regret it!” “You will regret it!”
As she noticed that she was unable to break through Leylin’s defences, the Arctic Queen’s voice became piercing and seemed to hold within a poisonous curse. It then disappeared.
“I will only truly feel regret if I don’t get what I want!” Leylin sneered, eyes full of an intense resolution as he stepped onto the unknown path ahead.
*Boom!* Large amounts of solid ice turned into powder, the jade-green runes breaking apart and then revealing the exit.
“You even needed Arwen to help you set up the defensive spell pattern! Seems like your body can’t move at all!” Leylin sighed as he walked out. After leaving the pathway, everything suddenly seemed spacious.
Leylin surveyed his surroundings. This seemed to be a natural underground cave. At the top was a tremendous slanting passageway. Deep imprints could be seen in it.
At the heart of the cave was a large depression, rays of jade light flickering within like fine threads that formed an enormous network.
Terrifying radiations were being emitted from within the depression, so dense they were practically tangible.
Leylin advanced grimly, finding a terrifying corpse at the centre of the depression. It was emitting Morning Star ranked energy undulations.
This was the real aura of an ancient bloodline; deep and lofty, bringing with it a sense of history that was filled with grandeur.
Arwen seemed like a mere inferior product in comparison to the giant corpse in front of him, full of flaws.
“We meet again, Scorpion Man!”
Leylin could not help but recall the ancient memory fragments that he had acquired from the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor’s bloodline. Those fragmented pieces of information had originated from the Morning Star creature before him.
Leylin glanced at the depression and then the trail at the top, a scene appearing in his mind. The void had shattered, and Scorpion Man had dropped into the crust of the earth like a meteor, forming a tremendous depression. The radiation from his body had altered the area, forming the world of ice, and the being that succeeded him had built the icy castle above the depression!