More than a colleague, Li Ye had his eye on the Magus's exquisite life magecraft. With that, plus the Madness Enhancement Agravain had applied when transforming the Purification Knights—
Another wild army!
Nitocris frowned slightly. "No. These people have already offended the Pharaoh's majesty. This is the Sun King's territory. How can we tolerate an invasion by outsiders?"
Seeing Nitocris refuse, Li Ye could not force the issue.
He changed the subject. "Then how does Miss Nitocris intend to deal with this person?"
"Execute her on the spot, of course. Such a trivial matter does not warrant disturbing the Sun King himself."
Nitocris said it as though it were only natural.
As she spoke, she was about to swing the Staff of Vance and summon wraiths when Li Ye hurriedly said, "Miss Nitocris, there must be more of them hiding in King Ozymandias's territory. Letting them remain hidden is a danger in itself. I have a plan to eliminate that future threat."
Hearing this, Nitocris stopped her hand. "Then Pharaoh Nitocris shall hear your counsel."
Li Ye's plan was simple: strike straight at the heart of the enemy and sweep their nest clean!
Nitocris nodded. "Since you put it that way, we shall spare this insolent wretch for now and decide her fate later!"
With Nitocris's approval, Li Ye grabbed the Magus lying on the ground and hauled her up.
Only then did the Magus barely realize that Li Ye and Nitocris had been deciding whether she lived or died. She was furious, yet did not dare speak.
"What is your name?"
"Aleka Imwe."
The Magus Aleka lowered her head, clutching her right shoulder tightly and not daring to meet Li Ye's eyes.
"Miss Nitocris, I'll leave it to you."
Li Ye did not care about Aleka's attitude. He turned and made room for Nitocris.
"W-What are you going to do?" Aleka panicked as Nitocris approached.
If Li Ye acted, she would merely die. But if Nitocris acted, Aleka could not even imagine what would happen.
"Of course, we're going to make you say something we want to hear." Li Ye's airy voice reached Aleka's ears like a bolt from the blue.
"Don't—"
Aleka's desperate cry abruptly cut off as Nitocris pressed the Staff of Vance against her forehead.
"Answer Pharaoh Nitocris. Who leads you barbaric fools?"
Nitocris spoke slowly.
Beside her, Li Ye folded his arms and silently watched Nitocris use suggestion magecraft to make Aleka speak.
Aleka's Mage Circuits were blocked. She could not use magecraft at all, much less resist Nitocris, whose mastery of magecraft far surpassed her own.
Aleka's eyes went unfocused as she answered almost without hesitation, "Lord Magie Friedman—"
Who's that?
Li Ye frowned slightly. He had genuinely never heard that name. He assumed the man was some nameless nobody who had left no mark on history.
"Who is Magie Friedman? Tell us everything you know."
Nitocris continued questioning her.
"Lord Magie... is the great man who reorganized the Crusaders. He will lead us to the true promised land."
After that, Aleka recounted every detail of everything she had experienced.
Li Ye also gained a much clearer understanding of the remnants of the Crusaders.
At the top was the magecraft organization led by Magie Friedman. Beneath them were members with magical potential, people like Aleka. As for Crusader members like those from before, they existed only as materials to be fused into Chimeras.
None of their origins are clear...
Li Ye felt he could only believe a small portion of Aleka's account. Too many questions remained unanswered.
It sounded as if she had made it all up on the spot.
"Yeah, because I did make it up on the spot."
Surging magical energy exploded, whipping up a violent gale.
"!"
Almost at the same instant, Li Ye sensed the anomaly. He flashed past Nitocris and drove a fist into Aleka's face!
Boom!
Aleka flew backward like a kite with its string cut. Crimson fluid continuously spread toward her right shoulder, rapidly reconstructing a brand-new arm!
Splat—
Aleka steadied herself, her skin splitting apart as flesh beneath it writhed ceaselessly, as if it might burst out at any moment.
"So you're Magie—"
Li Ye realized that he had definitely made a mistake somewhere in his judgment. He had not expected the problem to lie with Aleka herself.
Aleka seemed to be something like an artificial beast. There was some kind of remote-control mechanism within her body, and the controller's identity was obvious.
It was Magie Friedman, the person Aleka had mentioned.
Had that severed limb regeneration come from Aleka herself, or from Magie Friedman?
Li Ye did not know, but he was certain that it was draining Aleka's life force.
Aleka herself had little magical energy left. It was nowhere near enough to perform regeneration on that scale, and besides—
What was inside her body?
Li Ye stared at the thing that had once been Aleka. What was writhing beneath that ruptured skin?
Nitocris's delicate brows furrowed. She swung the Staff of Vance, and a pitch-black circular mirror spreading out from her instantly enveloped a hundred-meter radius!
"Who are you? Why have you invaded the domain of the great Pharaoh, the Sun King?!"
White skeletons slowly crawled out of the ground one after another, surrounding Magie from all sides!
"Hahaha! What the hell is the Sun King? He's nothing more than an undead spirit we summoned!"
Magie, occupying Aleka's body, laughed with utter disdain.
That instantly enraged Nitocris.
"Insolence! How dare you insult the Sun King!"
The skeletons surrounding Magie launched their attacks, but Magie remained unruffled, merely sneering at Li Ye.
As if waiting for something.
Seeing this, Li Ye clicked his tongue.
He stepped forward.
"Hahaha, this is it—"
Magie burst into laughter upon seeing Li Ye move, as though a fine show were about to begin.
But the laughter abruptly stopped.
Bang!
A dull impact exploded, and Magie was instantly sent flying.
"You talk too much!"
Li Ye had no intention of listening to Magie's grandstanding. He mercilessly threw another punch.
Thud—
Magie flew dozens of meters before finally stopping, then struggled to rise.
"Aren't you afraid this person will die?!"
Magie spat blood and stared at Li Ye in disbelief.
He had clearly confirmed Li Ye's goodwill toward Aleka. Even if Li Ye merely intended to use her, he had still saved Aleka from Nitocris. There was no way Li Ye would kill her now!
This was not how things were supposed to go!
Hearing Magie's question, Li Ye looked at him as if he were an idiot.
"You really do talk too much—"
Rip.
Li Ye shot forward, appearing before Magie in an instant and driving a knee straight into his abdomen!
The heavy blow made Magie double over. The cloak around his body exploded apart, revealing a petite frame.
"Hm?"
Seeing that Magie had not been sent flying by that blow, Li Ye glanced at Magie Friedman at close range.
"You brat!" Magie Friedman clenched his teeth and glared at Li Ye.
He launched a counterattack!
Bang! Bang!
Magie displayed close-quarters combat skills that surprised Li Ye, and his physical abilities were rapidly rising as well.
It gave Li Ye the impression of the Chimera he had encountered before—its rate of improvement was nearly identical!
After several exchanges, Magie Friedman was ultimately no match for Li Ye.
He was blasted away by a punch!
"This is my escape route!!! Your wisdom will never compare to mine! Can't you see where this is?! Hahahaha!"
Even after Li Ye sent him flying with a punch, Magie continued laughing wildly, as if victory were already in his grasp.
Hearing that, Li Ye instinctively looked around.
Endless yellow sand stretched in every direction, and a faint sense of familiarity welled up within him.
Behind Magie Friedman lay a massive corpse amid the sands.
It's a Chimera!
Li Ye's pupils shrank as he immediately understood what Magie Friedman intended to do.
He intended to use the Chimera's corpse as material, fuse it into Aleka's body, and gain power from it!