by Zhuang Bifan
"No!" Lin Li shook his head straightforwardly. He did not wait for the Sword Sage of the Storm to question him further, and took Sean and Argus with him to the route to descend the mountain.
"…" The Sword Sage of the Storm was dazed for a while, and suddenly touched his face before asking himself in a uncertain manner, "Am i really that scary?"
The members of the six great mercenary corps only returned to their normal state when Lin Li's party had descended the mountain…
Today had been too stimulating for them. They had seen the legendary Salamander and a person that could kill the legendary magical beast with their own eyes.
Serena commanded her subordinates to clear the battlefield while thinking to herself. She had always felt that the fella together with Lin Li had always been somewhat familiar…
"Oh my God. That's Argus!" It was only after a full ten minutes that Serena finally remembered. In an instant, her expression could only be described as unusually brilliant.
Chapter 203 - Kevin
The three of them took a break at Blackhills Town, and hired a carriage there. By the time they had returned to Alanna, it was already in the afternoon on the second day. During this long journey, Argus said everything.
The situation was similar to Lin Li's conjecture. The reason as to why Argus became his opponent was all because of Matthias' actions. It had not been suggested by Wilhelm, nor did it have any support from anyone within the family. It was purely because he could not let it go and wanted his life.
This result made Lin Li somewhat more relaxed.
At least, judging from their talk just now, the Marathon Family was not preparing to do anything against him. If it was only Matthias, there was no need to worry, because this fella was too stupid. He made such a mess out of an assassination plan. If it weren't because Argus had been lucky and caught him in the cave trying to gather black lotus, why would the journey thereafter have become so dangerous?
Now, he had four black lotus on hand, and the power of an archmage. If Matthias were to act against him, he would have to ask a legendary-mage for help…
Yet, after the talk, Argus also confirmed one thing. Wilhelm was indeed angry. This was the only thing that made Lin Li somewhat worried.
Wilhelm's attitude also signified the attitude of the Marathon Family. Just a single Matthias would not amount to anything. From Lin Li's perspective, he was just an useless blockhead at the very most. If he wanted to go against Lin Li, he would have to mature more. On the flip side, if it was the whole Marathon Family, then it would spell trouble. The power of the Marathon Family was too immense. Even if Lin Li was protected by the Guild of Magic, they would still have a chance…
"Ok, Argus. You may leave." The carriage stopped in front of the Guild of Magic, and Lin Li let Argus go very willingly.
"Ah?" Argus was dazed for awhile.
"What's there to 'ah' about, why aren't you leaving? Could it be that you're still waiting for me to treat you to dinner?"
"I… I really can leave?" Argus could not be believe it. This fella actually let him go so easily…
Although this guy had mentioned it earlier at the Fire Plume Ridge that if he were to cooperate, he would be released. However, with this guy's personality, what it meant to release him had to include some machinations. For example, getting cursed, poisoned, or something. It could also be getting some form of evidence that he had betrayed the Marathon Family so that he had no other choice but to listen to Lin Li.
In fact, Argus had long been prepared for this.
He had already submitted to fate.
In any case, this young mage called Felic was also powerful person, having the power of an Archmage at such a tender age and the knowledge of the mysterious pharmaceutics. Listening to a person like this was not something shameful. To be precise, it promised a better future than listening to Matthias.
He had already thought about how to show his loyalty and win the other party's trust…
Who knew this was going to be the result…
This guy actually released him the moment he opened his mouth. He did not cast any curse or poison him. He did not even try to blackmail him. This, this, this… Isn't this too disrespectful? At any rate, I used to be a archmage, and you let me go just like this?
Argus was a little disappointed.
Lin Li did not care whether he was disappointed or not. He chased him off the carriage with just a few words.
What a joke, it's not like I have nothing better to do. What's the point of taking in a burdensome person like you?
For now, it's just Matthias own actions. If I really were to take you in, I'm afraid the Marathon Family would send men over to f*ck me up. Also, you should look at the mirror. Can't you see that you have the word "traitor" written all over your face?
You are the traitor of the Marathon Family. If I really were to bring you into the Guild of Magic, who knows what would Wilhelm think?
Sending an Archmage to assassinate me is a small issue…
What I am afraid of is that he might have issues with Guild of Magic and think that the Guild of Magic might be attempting something against the Marathon Family. Once that happens, two powerful forces will clash together. The adventurers guild that always had eyes on the key to Osric's Mausoleum might interfere as a third party. This will result in a bloodbath in Alanna. How would I, the instigator, feel?
I can't do this, I definitely can't…
Lin Li sent Argus off in a manner that was similar to sending off the God of Plague.
Lin Li only felt relieved and got off the carriage after seeing Argus leave. He brought Sean with him into the Guild hall.
"Felic!" Just as he had entered the Guild hall, he heard Mason's voice coming from afar.
"Morning, Brother Mason. What a coincidence." Lin Li looked into distance and saw Mason coming over from the corridor with Orrin. It seemed like these two were not slacking off, either. They should have spent most of their time reading at the Omniscient Tower.
The three of them started catching up after not seeing each other for a few days before they started walking outside. Once they were on the road, Mason managed to find the time to ask Lin Li about his harvest. "How was it, was it smooth sailing at the Fire Plume Ridge?"
"This, it can be considered smooth…" Lin Li was not too sure. In fact, he himself was unsure whether this was considered smooth going. The rewards for this trip to the Fire Plume Ridge had far exceeded his expectations. Not only had he successfully gathered black lotus, he had also obtained a floating fortress from the Dark Ages and a legendary-level magical crystal.
On the other hand, there were quite a few issues.
First of all, he had to duel with an archmage, and in the middle of it, he had encountered a disaster-like earthquake. As for entering the Gates of Ashes, something like going to the Eternal Furnace could only be considered a small interlude. The real climax would be killing the Salamander. It might seem like smooth sailing, but it actually had been as dangerous as walking on a steel wire. With just a small mistake back then, it would most likely be Lin Li's ashes that were sent back to Alanna now, not he himself.
Luckily, each of those times were threatening, but not overly dangerous. Hence, it could still be considered smooth sailing…
"What have you guys been up to? Still going to the Omniscient Tower every day?"
"No, no, no… I only use half of a day to read books now." Mason's face was boastful.
Lin Li was curious. "Then what about the other half?"
"I use the rest of time to educate an idiot." After Mason said that, he looked at Orrin with eyes full of provocation.
"…" Lin Li almost fainted from fear because of him. He distinctly remembered that before he had left Alanna, this guy had just reached the Magic Shooter realm, and Orrin had already reached the peak of level-12. It was not just a level in power. What did he use to educate others? His finger…?
"Felic, you must know that people always improve. You can
ask him who educated whom if you don't believe it."
"For real?"
"He won." Orrin's words were short like in the past, but after he finished, he added another two words. "One round."
"…"
"What, one round doesn't count as winning?" Mason did not bother refuting; he just showed off proudly, and shamelessly added another sentence. "I've decided that I will not duel with you anymore. I want to keep this victory for an eternity!"
"Idiot."
"Oh, yes, Mr.Felic…" The three of them returned to the living quarters, and just as they sat down on the rattan chairs, Mason suddenly remembered something. "I've heard from the old man that somebody was looking for you yesterday afternoon."
"Somebody was looking for me? Was it an old man?" Lin Li thought hard about it. The people that he was familiar with in Alanna were just a few. Among them, more than half of them were at the Fire Plume Ridge. Other than that, only Old Grimm and Andoine might look for him. Furthermore, out of these two old men, Old Grimm was the most likely one.
It was because when Lin Li had left, he had promised him that he would go to the Pharmacists Guild to join some event when he returned. After calculating the time, it could be that the old man could not wait any longer these two days and decided to come to Guild of Magic.
"I don't think so…" Mason thought about it; what he said next was far beyond Lin Li's expectations. "I've heard the old man say that it was somebody young. Like, in the twenties or thirties…"
"Twenties or thirties?"
"Yes!" Mason thought for a long before he remembered. "He's called Kevin! Yes, yes, yes… It's Kevin!"
"Where is he?" Lin Li had a shock.
"I'm not too sure. Why don't you ask the old man, he might know a thing or two."
"Yes, I will go find him right now!" Once he'd heard that Kevin had actually came to Alanna, Lin Li immediately could not sit still. He did not care about the exhaustion from the trip. After he hurriedly settled down Sean, he rushed over to search for Kevin.
Lin Li jogged over to the guild hall, went through the long corridor, and was knocking on Macklin's door before long.
"Come in."
Lin Li gently pushed open the door, and immediately saw the sheepish face of Macklin.
"Mr. Macklin, I've heard somebody was looking for me." After Lin Li entered the room, he did not bother being polite, and went straight to the point.
"Yes." Macklin nodded. "Two days ago, a mage called Kevin came looking for you. He said he was Gerian's nephew, coming from Jarrosus."
"He… Where is he now?"
"He is at the guild's guest room. I'll get somebody to bring you there in a while."
"No need, I'll go over myself." Lin Li shook his head and rejected Macklin's kind intentions. As of now, he could not even wait for a single minute, much less "a while".
Lin Li clearly remembered that before he'd left, Kevin had always been garrisoned at the Demon Fall Valley. For the Jarrosus Guild of Magic, the Demon Fall Valley was their lifeline. It was the root of the Jarrosus Guild of Magic. If it was not because something big had happened, why would Kevin come over to Alanna to look for him? And if he came to Alanna, who would be defending the Demon Fall Valley? Could it be that Gerian went over…
Something must have happened at Jarrosus, and it's not something ordinary!
"Felic, wait…" Lin Li had just stood up when he got stopped by Macklin. "I have something to discuss with you…"
Chapter 204 - Bad News (Big Chapter!)
"Now is not the time. Let's discuss it when I get back…" Lin Li said while he rushed off. When he reached the guest room of the guild, he saw Kevin pacing around the room anxiously.
The archmage who was responsible for taking care of Kevin was called Stilton. Before Lin Li went to the Shadowglen for the trial, he'd met him twice. Lin Li knew that he was an important figure in Alanna Guild of Magic, and was comparable to Darian in terms of the status.
Although Macklin had not said much, he was indeed concerned with this matter.
"Mr. Stilton, could you tell me when would Felic be back?"
"Uh…" The archmage hesitated. "To be honest, I'm not sure as well. I only know that his mentor is Mr. Macklin. Apart from him, we do not have the right to ask about his whereabouts…"
"But…" Kevin paused, and was unusually jittery.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Stilton." Lin Li greeted the good-natured archmage the moment he entered the room. Then, he turned towards the other man. "It's been a while, Kevin."
"L-long time no see!" Kevin was elated upon seeing Lin Li. "When did you come back?"
"Felic, you are finally back! Your friend has been waiting for two days here. If not, I would need to go and pester Mr. Macklin for you," Stilton joked while he walked towards the door. "Alright, I will go and attend to my matters now. Have a nice day!"
"Goodbye, Mr. Stilton."
After sending Stilton away, Lin Li turned to look at Kevin. He asked worriedly, "Kevin, what happened?"
"Something horrible has happened…" replied Kevin. It had only been a month since Lin Li last saw him. Kevin looked much more pallid than before, and his hair looked like a mess, eyes bloodshot.
"We've lost the Demon Fall Valley…"
Lin Li frowned. Still, he was not shocked by this sudden news. Before he came, he had already prepared himself mentally. Since Kevin appeared at Alanna, it meant that something had happened in Jarrosus. It would not be a small matter, or the stubborn Gerian would not have allowed Kevin to come Alanna to look for him.
At the start, he thought that it was Gerian whom had gotten into trouble.
Thankfully…
Although the Demon Fall Valley was important, losing it was not a great deal. They could just get it back when he was free.
So, he asked in a low voice, "Did Shadow's Nest do it?"
"Yes…" Kevin nodded, and leaned against the chair weakly. "They attacked the Demon Fall Valley within one month after you left."
"Their attacks have always been rather frequent. Why did the defense force fail this time?" Lin Li asked doubtfully. Everyone in Jarrosus knew that the Shadow's Nest had been vying for the Demon Fall Valley and would be sure to plan their attacks every month. To put it in Gerian's words, those attacks were much more punctual than Old Merlin's period.
As for whether Old Merlin had any period, we could discuss it next time. The Shadow's Nest had never succeeded in any of their raids throughout these 10 years. How did they do it this time round?
"This time… this time…" Kevin hesitated, not knowing where to start. After a minute, Lin Li heard his voice again. "This time was different—their attack was much stronger than before. If I did not recognize a few familiar faces, I would have thought that it was a different force that attacked the Demon Fall Valley."
"Stronger attack?" Lin Li was stunned for a moment, but regained his composure immediately. He clarified, "You meant they had better equipment?"
There were two sides to a stronger attack. First, it would be an upgraded set of skills. Second, the enhancement of equipment.
In a battle that hundreds of thousands of people participated, unless there was a suppression to everyone's level, the level of any individual would be meaningless. Furthermore, breakthroughs were not to be achieved in the matter of days. How would so many people experience that together?
The most direct and effective method was still to make changes to the equipment.
Especially for people of lower levels, a trashy outfit and an outfit of superior quality would mean two different things. For example, if you gave a mage who had just surpassed level-5 10 scrolls, 10 Recovery Potions, and a Robe of the Void, he would be able to kill at least 10 other mages of a similar level extremely easily.
Hence, when he heard that the Shadow's Nest had a boost in abilities, the first thing Lin Li thought of was their equipment!
"That's right." Kevin nodded with an agonizing expression. "I can't believe they had so much magical equipment…
Almost everybody had one! Each of them were holding either a Frost or a Fire Shadowbane. It was my first time ever seeing so much magical equipment. And… and the thing was, they even had a team of warriors dressed in heavy armor! I totally could not tell what metal their armors were made of. They remained unharmed from attacks that were below level-5. They were like monsters!"
"Warriors in heavy armor?" Lin Li paused. Having great knowledge in forging, he knew that magical equipment was of little significance. The names—Frost or Fire Shadowbane—were only superficial fronts. With any piece of scrap metal, he could easily forge magical equipment of similar capabilities.
The heavy-armored Warriors were the only thing that attracted his attention.
The cost of heavy-armored Warriors was infamously exorbitant. Not to mention their magical attributes and costly maintenance fees in the future, just a set of delicately forged heavy armor would require at least ten thousands goin coins. In fact, the budget to develop a heavy-armored Warrior would be as much as if he was a mage.
In Felan Kingdom, there were as many mercenary corps as the hair on a cow. They were endowed with rich oil resources too. Yet, what could really manage the expenses of the heavy-armored Warriors would no doubt only be the Silver Hand. With such a big force, the Silver Hand became one of the three great mercenary corps in Alanna.
However, the Shadow's Nest was considered an inferior force in the Felan Kingdom. What was their motive for doing so?
Furthermore, they did not look like the usual heavy-armored Warriors…
"Kevin, were those heavy-armored Warriors completely or partially immune to magic of level-5 and below? Think carefully before you answer. It's important."
"Fully immune," Kevin replied with firmness.
"I knew it…" Lin Li nodded his head, and said nothing more. Yet, he started to suspect something was amiss. Armor that could protect people from magic below level-5 was nothing to be fancy about, and Lin Li knew various forging designs that could achieve the same effect.