Many villages had been attacked by Valkens, and hundreds of beautiful young women had been abducted.
In fact, if Valkens had not lacked the means to commit more crimes, countless women would likely have suffered cruel persecution and abuse.
But precisely because they lacked those means, the Valkens' behavior seemed exceptionally strange.
Xiao Ye couldn't help but wonder whether the Valkens were simply too cunning, fearing that committing excessive evil would provoke an all-out extermination by human powerhouses.
Or was it due to limitations inherent in Human Reception Magic?
Even when the Valken population reached a certain level, they would stop reproducing, and their numbers would naturally decline.
In short, Valkens were peculiar magical beasts that understood how to judge the situation and were adept at self-regulation.
...
...
Time advanced to X784, the point when the original story began, and finally someone delivered several Snow Mountain Valkens to him.
These Valkens had been captured from distant snow-covered mountains. Their appearance differed from ordinary Valkens, possessing thick snow-white fur that allowed them to endure the cold while concealing themselves more effectively within the snow.
When Xiao Ye saw these Valkens, his heart filled with joy.
By studying the Valkens' magic, he would finally have the opportunity to obtain a real body.
Thinking of this, Xiao Ye couldn't help but smile.
Yet it was precisely that smile that struck everyone around him like Cupid's arrow piercing their hearts.
As he absorbed more and more essence, Xiao Ye's succubus body had evolved to an unprecedented level, where his appearance alone possessed the effect of charm magic.
Judging by the amount of essence absorbed, a normal succubus would need to drain the essence of one million people to reach such a level.
It was safe to say that even if an ordinary succubus danced herself to exhaustion, she could never extract that much essence.
Xiao Ye then turned his gaze toward the Magicians who had completed the mission.
To his surprise, the Magicians delivering the Valkens happened to be "old acquaintances."
The arrivals were members of the Fairy Tail Guild: Macao the Purple Flame Magician, Natsu Dragneel, the Fire Dragon Slayer, and Lucy Heartfilia, the Celestial Spirit Mage.
As a Fairy Tail fan, Xiao Ye immediately developed an even stronger affection for these three original protagonists than for researching the Valkens themselves, so he decided to personally receive them.
However, when Xiao Ye appeared before everyone, the unconscious Valkens suddenly awakened and became extremely agitated.
It was as though they had encountered their natural enemy.
Powerful magical fluctuations erupted from their bodies as they desperately attempted to dispel the Human Reception Magic affecting them.
Fortunately, Xiao Ye had already prepared for such a situation.
He immediately exhaled a puff of bluish-white mist that enveloped the Valkens.
"Hypnosis Magic: Eternal Slumber Mist."
This powerful hypnosis spell could forcibly place its target into an eternal sleep.
After putting the Valkens back to sleep, Xiao Ye immediately instructed his subordinates to take them away before inviting Macao, Natsu, Lucy, and Happy to lunch.
As the oldest and most mature among them, Macao initially intended to decline Xiao Ye's invitation.
However, after seeing Xiao Ye's sincere expression, he simply couldn't bring himself to refuse.
With an embarrassed smile, Macao reluctantly accepted.
Xiao Ye had a lavish feast served before them and silently watched Macao, Natsu, and Happy devour the food, while a trace of envy gradually surfaced in his heart.
Because his thought-body couldn't actually taste food.
No matter how delicious the meal was, he couldn't experience its flavor, which left Xiao Ye feeling somewhat regretful.
Macao and the others curiously asked Xiao Ye why he wasn't eating with them.
Xiao Ye smiled and explained his situation.
The three immediately revealed expressions of surprise.
He then told them the story of his current circumstances.
After hearing everything, Macao and the others looked at him sympathetically.
Natsu even leaped to his feet and loudly declared that he would rescue Xiao Ye's real body.
Only after considerable persuasion, together with Macao and Lucy restraining him, did they finally calm the impulsive Natsu down.
After all, this was no joking matter.
If they angered the Magic Council, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Not to mention Natsu alone—even if the entire Fairy Tail Guild acted together, it would simply be suicide.
The Magic Council would never willingly release Xiao Ye's body.
Anyone who attempted to touch it would be completely eliminated by the Council.
This was because Xiao Ye's real body not only carried the heavy responsibility of maintaining the stability of the Dream World, but also served as an inexhaustible source of magical power.
Relying solely on his own magical power, Xiao Ye could satisfy the energy requirements of the Magic Council's ultimate weapon—the Etherion.
Originally, Etherion, as the Council's strategic weapon, required numerous Magicians of different attributes to combine their magical power before firing remotely through a satellite magic circle, unleashing a destructive spell that transcended time and space.
The power of this magic was immense.
In ancient times, an uncontrolled Etherion shattered an entire continent into countless fragments, creating the present geographical landscape of the world.
Even a controlled Etherion possessed enough destructive power to easily annihilate an entire country.
The Magic Council would never relinquish such a strategic weapon, even at the cost of their own lives.
Xiao Ye's real body was currently stored within Etherion's core magic array, replacing the original magic lacrima that previously required years to slowly accumulate energy.
This meant that as long as Xiao Ye's real body remained there, Etherion could be fired at any moment, delivering devastating attacks upon the Council's enemies.
Xiao Ye's real body not only served as Etherion's energy core, but also supported the magical energy consumption of the entire Magic Council, making him one of its most important pillars.
For this reason, many Council members jokingly referred to Xiao Ye as the "Heart of the Magic Council."
It could be said that without Xiao Ye's magical power supporting it, the entire Magic Council would fall into a semi-paralyzed state and become completely incapable of operating effectively for quite some time.
In exchange for providing his magical power, the Council granted Xiao Ye unrestricted access to every spell and piece of information within its archives.
They also granted him veto authority, allowing him to reject any decision made by the Council.
Although Xiao Ye's official position was not that of Chairman, in practice, his authority was virtually equivalent to the Chairman's.
However, the primary reason the Council was willing to grant Xiao Ye such extraordinary authority was because, after years of observation, they had concluded that Xiao Ye, except when his own affairs were involved, had absolutely no interest in politics.
Even when forced to attend Council meetings, Xiao Ye rarely voiced an opinion.
For such a "lazy person," even if he possessed tremendous authority, he simply couldn't be bothered to use it.
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