Chapter 223 – Liquid Metal

Liquid Metal

A ray of silver white light shot through the heavens like an arrow.　

*Bang!*　

The ray shot towards Leylin’s side, knocking aside countless stones.　

After the light rays dissipated, an old man in silver white attire was revealed.　

This old geezer had a nose that was bent the way an eagle’s beak was, and he had a few metallic ornaments dangling from his face. A pair of intelligent, tenacious eyes were fixed on Leylin.　

“You’re not running anymore?”　

The old man spread his right arm and a metallic sphere emerged on his palm as if it was a part of his body.　

The silvery white metallic sphere circled the area, and the astoundment on the old man’s face was even more obvious. There was even a hint of confusion in his expression.　

“No traps or ambushes either? Are you here to die?”　

“No! I just want to settle a few things!” Leylin smiled indifferently. His main goal this time around was to collect data, and hence, he had not thought to bring his trump cards, Number 2 and Number 3.　

Though Leylin had never seen this old man before, he was able to recognise him at a single glance. This was the Lilytell’s family’s great elder, and the grandfather of the acolyte Bosain, who had died by Leylin’s hands.　

Previously, at a small town by the Great Canyon Margaret, this old geezer had operated a clone and had it chase after him. In that battle, this man’s face had appeared on its chest.

“By the way, it’s already been so long, but I have yet to know your name…”　

Leylin smiled gently.　

The old geezer looked closely at Leylin. “With your power, you meet the qualifications to know my name. Marb Lilytell! Remember it well, because this is the name of the person who will send you to hell!”　

After he spoke, a circle of silver white light was emitted from Marb’s body.　

*Ka-cha! Ka-cha!*　

Countless metal spikes emerged from the ground, constantly extending before converging in mid-air, and forming a cage that locked Leylin and Marb within.　

“Metallic Battle Prison!” Marb quickly made a few hand signs.　

After seeing a bit of Leylin’s strength, Marb had acknowledged Leylin as a proper opponent. His current move was to prevent Leylin from escaping.　

*Ding!*　

A halo of silvery white metallic elemental particles radiated from Marb’s body, evidently much denser than what could be produced by a semi-converted magus. It resembled closely to a sphere and covered Marb’s entire body.　

His elemental essence conversion had reached at least 80%, and with spells such as this that increased his performance, his strength was effectively doubled!　

*Xiu Xiu!*　

From the surface of the metallic prison, bursts of light circulated, and little, white, barbed spikes suddenly emerged. The hooks on the spikes glinted with a menacing light that caused one’s heart to palpitate and break out in cold sweat.　

The innumerable spokes were like sharp arrows, making loud whooshing sounds as they shot all around, blocking any routes that Leylin could take to dodge them.

Light from magic could be seen on the surfaces of the spikes as well. This was obviously a support spell that had been added to keep the spokes sharp and strong.　

With this degree of attack, a regular newly-advanced Magus would be turned into a porcupine!

However, Leylin made no attempt to dodge.　

*Rumble!*　

From his body, a ring of black flames suddenly emerged.　

The flames were like a liquid, covering his entire body and giving him a layer of black armour. An immense wave of hot air spread through the prison, and even Marb, who was far away, could not help but furrow his brows.　

*Pu pu!*　

As the silver white spikes approached the flames, they flickered and appeared to be melting.　

By the time they actually met with Leylin’s latent flames, the silver white spikes made little sounds and were melted into small silvery-white metallic balls.　

*Clatter!*

The sounds of pearls dropping were heard, and as these metallic balls struck the dark red protective layer behind the flames, they produced clear sounds and promptly lost all kinetic energy, before falling to the ground and rolling in all directions.

At the sight of this, Marb’s expression became serious, and there was even a hint of vigilance on his face!　

”Your rate of improvement far exceeded my expectations! I’m now slightly regretful. Back then, I should have dispatched a few more clones and eliminated you.”

Leylin’s strength had been tested by Marb’s clone back then. Though he was quite strong, Leylin merely had the strength of a semi-converted Magus. If not for the fact that Marb had sent out merely a single clone, and Leylin’s spells had been too mysterious and astonishing, Marb believed that Leylin would not have been able to escape!　

Now, however, the strength that his opponent now displayed was close to that of a peak rank 1 Magus!　

What was more terrifying was that it had only been two to three years since he had last seen Leylin! A rank 1 Magus would typically still be considered newly-advanced at that point.　

“He definitely should not be allowed to live any longer. If not, our Lilytell family will have ourselves a terrifyingly powerful enemy…”　

Marb came up with this conclusion.　

Having made this decision, his desire for Leylin’s blood became more intense, and his two eyes turned into a silvery white colour as if they were made of silver.　

“Liquid Metal!” Marb muttered under his breath.　

Immediately after, rows of complicated metal elemental runes lit up on several places on his body, and a ring of silver light was emitted from within his clothes.

A layer of silvery-white liquid metal suddenly oozed out of the pores of his body, quickly covering his skin and transforming him into solid, reflective, silvery-white, metallic human figure.

Liquid metal constantly collected in his right hand, first turning into a ball, and then constantly lengthening until it turned into a lance-like weapon.　

“This sort of thing?” Leylin’s eyes flashed, suddenly thinking back to the mysterious magic artifact that emanated silvery light. That metallic ball that could change into different shapes had left a very deep impression on him.

Unfortunately, Leylin had left the artifact in the Dylan Gardens to avoid trouble. It had already been completely destroyed along with the secret plane.

From the looks of it, that metallic ball was a magic artifact that Marb had invented.　

“Kill!”　

Marb turned into a silver hurricane, which headed straight for Leylin.　

“Interesting! A Magus that specialises in close combat?” Leylin was extremely interested, and he quickly activated his innate defensive spell, Kemoyin’s Scales.　

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*　

Black and silver figures rammed into each other, and the resulting shockwave caused a layer of the ground to lift. The surrounding animals—snakes, worms, mice, and ants, as well as other bizarre creatures—seemed to sense an imminent catastrophe, and quickly escaped, hoping to be as far away as possible.　

The crimson rays from Leylin’s Fallen Star Pendant turned into a crossblade to fend off Marb’s silver lance. Sparks emerged as they battled.　

After a few rounds, Leylin’s expression became more serious.　

This Marb had obviously remodelled his own body. Whether it was his strength or speed, both were very strong. On top of that, he was skilled in methods to kill opponents, and coupled with his metallic elemental talent, he was practically a refined killing machine!　

*Ding!* The crimson crossblade met with the lance once again, producing a crisp sound and constant strong gales. The greenery around them was continuously being blown about.

*Pu!*　

At this moment, Marb suddenly had a look on his face that indicated he had succeeded in some kind of plot.　

The sharp, pointed end of the silver-white lance instantly became flexible, and like a snake twisting its body, it bent and thrust, piercing towards Leylin’s body.　

*Tss tss!* Leylin’s winced a little as several black scales chipped off.　

“Battle Mode!” Seeing that his attack had been effective, Marb looked even more crazed as he yelled.　

Next, dense needles emerged on his silvery white body, and his weapon also underwent some changes.　

Broadsword! Crossblade! Battleaxe! Maul!　

All kinds of weapons appeared in Marb’s hands. On the surface of the blades, there were also strong energy waves that indicated the use of magic. It was definitely enough to pierce through Leylin’s defense and cause tremendous damage.

”In terms of close combat, even with the aid of the A.I. Chip, I’m not at an advantage!” Leylin pondered.　

*Xiu Xiu Xiu!*　

Countless tendrils of shadow encircled Marb and tightened.　

At the same time, Leylin hastily retreated and raised his arm, several black fireballs appearing above his palm.　

”Latent fireball!”　

The black fireballs fused and increased in size, and then flew towards Marb.　

“How can this level of attack affect me? How naive!”　

From within the constraints of the shadow tendrils, Marb’s disdainful tone could be heard.　

*Tu! Tu! Tu!*　

From the surface of Marb’s body, silver liquid metal kept oozing out and turning into countless sharp blades. Like gears, they revolved quickly and brought about a fierce, merciless wind.　

*Ka-cha! Ka-cha!*　

The black tendrils touched the revolving blades and emitted a few sounds. They fell to the ground in several pieces, transforming into a gaseous state and dispersing.　

“Hah!” The weapon in Marb’s hand turned into a giant silver sword.　

With both hands on the handle, a ring of metallic elemental particles poured into the sword and gave it a sheen of light.　

“Metallic Destruction!” Marb viciously swung forward!　

*Ka-cha!* As the blade was brought down, the front half of the metallic sword suddenly detached and advanced towards the black fireball.　

The silvery white tip of the blade kept changing forms in midair, before eventually transforming into a white lion head.　

“Roar!”　

The lion head opened its mouth wide and produced an earth-shattering howl as it faced the latent fireball.　

*Ka-cha! Ka-cha!*　

The surroundings around them seemed to be frozen in place, and even the air ceased to circulate.