"Calm down, Ava. It is my body moving on its own again," Leyvi hurriedly explained to her, his sound transmission transmitted directly to her ears. He needed to defuse the situation before his violent wife grew even more violent. He also did not want the Holy Maiden to overhear and realize her spell had not entirely failed. That would only invite more trouble.
Ava quickly calmed down after hearing the explanation.
"You are not lying?" she stared at him, her gaze piercing.
"Why would I lie? I am the one most frustrated by what is happening right now, you know," Leyvi replied, his tone sincere.
"Hmph, then deal with her yourself," Ava said, relenting. "I will go capture that formation expert girl, if she is still alive. Maybe we can force her to work with us. Big Madam needs one, after all. I can extract information from her too." With that, she turned and walked briskly toward where Lily had landed.
Leyvi sighed, a sound of pure exasperation. He turned back around and saw the Pink Enchantress looking up at him with a gaze full of adoration and pure, unadulterated happiness. He just noticed she had stopped sobbing and begging for forgiveness.
"Darling! You protected me!" she breathed, her voice trembling with emotion. "That means you forgive me, right? I swear I will never do such terrible things again. I don't know why I said all those hurtful words to you. I don't know why I ever tried to turn you into my love slave, but I am so, so happy it failed. I promise I will be the best woman for you. I will do anything you ask me to!" Her pink eyes sparkled with tears of joy as she spoke.
Leyvi was speechless. Who is your 'Darling'? Nala will get furious if she hears this.
Also, did she have to go through all this elaborate effort just to trick him? Wait. Since she was committed to this act, was this not a perfect opportunity? He could use it to gather all the information he needed. If she became reluctant to answer, it would immediately expose her performance as a fraud.
A slow, inward smile spread across Leyvi's mind. This might just work to his advantage.
"What is your name and identity?" he asked. He still did not know who this bewitching beauty truly was. Her subordinates kept calling her Holy Maiden, which had piqued his curiosity.
The Pink Enchantress stood up excitedly and tried to wrap her arms around Leyvi's, but he sidestepped her quickly. Who knew what other curses might activate if she touched him again?
The rejection did not discourage her, however. She immediately stopped, fearful that pushing further might make him hate her again.
"Darling, my name is Rose, but people usually refer to me as the Pink Enchantress Rose. They say my appearance can charm anyone with a single glance, and I do wear pink all the time." She beamed up at him, then added with a playful, hopeful wink, "Since you are the most special person to me, you can call me Honey Rose."
Leyvi was speechless. This girl is really going all out with her act, isn't she? Is she not even embarrassed? Then it hit him. Oh, right. She probably has thick skin, just like me, embracing total shamelessness.
"I come from the most influential sect in the Moaning Kingdom," she continued proudly. "I am the second youngest Holy Maiden currently in the Love Ecstasy Sect, where we cultivate methods focused on charm and... bedroom arts."
She paused, her expression turning earnest. "But do not worry, Darling. Even though I might act a certain way in public, and everyone believes I am promiscuous, I am actually still pure! I swear it!" She added the last part hastily, as if desperate to correct any potential misunderstanding.
Leyvi rolled his eyes internally. Like I care. A Holy Maiden of a lovemaking sect, huh? There sure were all kinds of strange sects out there.
"Darling, am I pretty?" Rose asked, striking another deliberately charming pose and flashing her most radiant smile.
Leyvi ignored the display entirely and moved on to more pressing questions. He had seen countless such poses from his own wives; hers was nothing new.
"I want to know the details of the situation here," he stated flatly, watching her reaction closely. "About all the groups people have formed, and the matter with the portals. I just arrived, so I know very little."
The Pink Enchantress Rose pouted, a cute expression of disappointment at his total lack of reaction.
Why is Darling not reacting to my beauty at all? This has never happened before. All the other men give at least a tiny reaction. Don't tell me Darling has a skewed sense of beauty? Do I look ugly to him? Oh no! Is that why he called me ugly before? No... this cannot be true!
Leyvi frowned as he watched her internal struggle play out on her face. Is she trying to avoid my question?
Noticing his displeasure, the Pink Enchantress immediately panicked.
"Ah, Darling, forgive me. My mind wandered for a moment," she said, her voice hurried. "Currently, there are eight major factions around the tree. Oh, wait, one just left, so only seven remain now. And you know what, Darling?" She leaned in slightly, a proud smile gracing her lips. "I am one of the faction leaders. My territory is in the south region. Fufufu~"
Leyvi was genuinely surprised. This crazy woman is actually a faction leader? Did she charm everyone into joining her faction? he wondered.
To his further surprise, she then proceeded to elaborate in detail about the factions and the portals. She did not seem like someone trying to hide or mislead him at all. Even as she continually tried to attract his attention with cute voices, seductive tones, and charming poses, the information she provided felt consistent and honest, which only baffled Leyvi more.
From her explanation, Leyvi learned that until today, the eight factions had occupied territories in the cardinal and intercardinal directions around the colossal tree. The smallest faction had about 1,800 people, while the largest boasted up to 4,300.
In the cardinal directions, Prince Ozan occupied the north region, Princess Waniwani held the east, Prince Charles controlled the west, and the Pink Enchantress Rose herself commanded the south.
As for the intercardinal directions, Supreme Alchemist Mujin dominated the northeast, Formation Prodigy Bellion the northwest, Mental Lord Vincent the southeast, and until very recently, Captain Shino had held the southwest region.
The most shocking piece of information for Leyvi was the mention of Bellion. He had actually managed to form his own faction and compete with the powerhouses from the Protogaea Continent to claim a territory. This was an incredible feat, considering the number of participants from the Protogaea Continent was approximately four times greater than those from the Cloud Continent. On top of that, the average strength of Protogaea cultivators seemed to be higher.
For Bellion to achieve this was nothing short of remarkable. It was a testament to the gift of the Talent Bead. All talents were different. Some were simply far more potent than others, and a talent for Formations was definitely among the top tier.
Uhh... Leyvi knew he would face Anda's relentless nagging again if she learned about this. With Bellion now a faction leader, there was no chance she could recruit him. If she tried any forceful methods, their small group might incur the wrath of an entire faction. That meant facing thousands of people, a force their small group could not possibly contend with.
The second person who piqued his interest was Prince Charles. He recognized that name. This was the prince who was supposed to be the scapegoat in the multiple princes assassination plot. According to the Pink Enchantress Rose, among all the faction leaders, Prince Charles was the most aggressive in expanding his influence. He was most likely the reason Captain Shino's faction had decided to leave.
Did he discover the plot against him? Leyvi wondered. Is that why he became so desperate to expand his power, to protect himself?
Lastly, the third person who intrigued him was Princess Waniwani. If he was not mistaken, she was the very person Bodo had been sent to protect on this expedition. Aside from a flicker of initial surprise, Leyvi had not given her much thought. She was just a name he recognized, nothing more.
But what truly shook him to his core was the final piece of information about the portals.
All of them were currently located high above the colossal tree, and so far, no one had been able to climb it. The grim implication was that they might all be trapped here, unable to return home.
That realization struck Leyvi like a heavy blow. It shook him to the core.
The most important thing to him right now was getting home safely to his family. This news was the worst possible revelation he could have received.
Dammit! I have to confirm this for myself!
Leyvi's mind was set. He needed to go to the tree and see the truth with his own eyes.