by Zhuang Bifan
Osric had used such power to invade the Endless Abyss and seal numerous powerful Lords of Nightmares in the Summoning Lamps. However, even he didn't touch the treasure in the Haiga Mountain Range. This just showed that even Osric was unable to obtain both the ruins and the treasure at the peak of his abilities.
After a moment of silence, Borg mockingly asked Cheyenne, "What do you think, Cheyenne? Is it getting quite tough? I won't laugh at you if you want to pull out."
Cheyenne glanced at Borg and the other two leaders of the Dark Blade. He suddenly thought of something, and sneered, "Aren't you afraid that I'll wipe out your old nest if I pull out now? Stop talking nonsense! Where did you even get your information from? How can you be so sure that it's definitely the ruins of the Titans?"
"I'm not sure if you've heard of this name before: Pantheon." Borg was joking just now. After all, it didn't hurt to have more manpower in order to get the Immortal King's treasure, even if the collaborator was his old enemy. Moreover, Borg wouldn't let Cheyenne pull out like this. Although all the elites were gathered here, the damage they would suffer should their old nest be wiped out was still huge.
"Pantheon?" Cheyenne was stunned for a moment, and asked, "Could it be that the Titans…"
"Indeed, we've found some old text about the Pantheon through some channels. The texts mentioned that the Haiga Mountain Range used to be within the sphere of the Pantheon's influence. There's even a shrine hidden in the Haiga Mountain Range. After cross-referencing the information with that found in the treasure map, we came up with the speculation that the Immortal King's treasure is likely to be in this shrine."
Lin Li, who had been silently sitting at the side for a while, wasn't calm at all now. However, he was more excited than worried. After all, his goal was very simple: to obtain the sealed Thunderbolt and whatever was used to seal it. However, he hadn't expected the Immortal King's treasure to be hidden in the ruins of the Titans.
Still, Lin Li was quite doubtful when Borg mentioned Pantheon. After all, he had spent most of his time learning about magic after coming to Anril, and didn't know much about these rumors about the ancient times.
Cheyenne nodded, and turned towards Lin Li, but then saw some doubt in Lin Li's eyes. Thinking that this genius Legendary-mage was still too young, Cheyenne smiled, and said, "Master Felic seems to be unaware of Pantheon. Actually, very few people know about it now since it's so ancient, and even records about it have been fragmented due to war." Speaking of this, Cheyenne briefly told Lin Li what he knew about Pantheon.
During the prehistoric times, the entire Anril was like a playground for magical beasts, and was filled with ferocious prehistoric magical beasts. The Titans were one of the most powerful races during the prehistoric times. Because they were only one of the most powerful races, they weren't able to rule over the entire continent like the High Elves. The Titans had an enemy that was as powerful as them—the ancient dragons.
Speaking of the powerful ancient dragons, they were even more famous than the Titans. This didn't mean that they were stronger than the Titans, but any magical beast that possessed the blood of the ancient dragons was feared by everyone now. On the other hand, the descendants of the Titans were said to be the dwarves and giants. The giants were still quite similar to the Titans, but many couldn't figure out how the dwarves had come about.
Compared to the war between the Titans and Dragons during the prehistoric times, the Anril at the end of the Dark Age seemed to be a peaceful world. Throughout the Dark Age and the end of the Dark Age, when fighting was the most frequent, the High Elves, humans, and other races still often compromised temporarily in exchange for a period of peace. However, there wasn't even a moment of peace between the ancient dragons and the Titans.
An Aspect Council that comprised five Dragon Aspects led the entire population. However, nobody knew if there was any dragon more powerful than these five. On the other hand, the Pantheon which led the Titans was much more mysterious than the Aspect Council.
The war between these two powerful races lasted throughout the prehistoric times till both were severely weakened, and the High Elves took the chance to defeat them after paying an enormous price. Only then did these two races finally disappear from Anril, and the Dark Age marked by the rule of the High Elves had begun.
After hearing Cheyenne's description, Lin Li nodded with gratitude. He was also very interested in the ruins of the Titans in the Haiga Mountain Range. Be it the Immortal King or Geresco, it wasn't an easy task to seal Thunderbolt, which was one of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars. Therefore, the ruins of the Titans probably played an important role in this.
Chapter 582 - Legends about the Sky Castle
Lin Li wasn't particularly interested in the treasure, because the Tower of Dusk wasn't short of money like when it had just been established anymore. It had now stepped into a healthy developmental stage, and completely broke off its reliance on the wealth brought about by rare treasures. However, since it was the ruins of the Titans, or rather the ruins left behind by the Pantheon, it was rather interesting for him as a mage.
The Malfa Family found Osric's adventure diary, which could hugely decrease the quest's risk, while the Dark Blade's speculations weren't just speculations. Lin Li was clear that no matter his old ally the Malfa Family or the new ally the Dark Blade, both concealed some information. However, this wasn't important. After all, who didn't have some secrets? This was an unspoken fact, and wasn't a matter of right or wrong. Whoever let out all that they had during a collaboration was too naive and foolish.
Several thoughts flashed across Lin Li's mind, and he found that nobody in the tent spoke anymore. The three chiefs of the Dark Blade and Cheyenne all stared at Lin Li. Clearly, since these two factions had shared some information about the treasure, it was now Lin Li's turn to share something valuable.
It was normal for them to think so. Although Lin Li had the original copy of the treasure map, these two factions also had the treasure map now. To put it more bluntly, the map couldn't show his value by now.
"Haha, I was thinking about the Pantheon since it's my first time hearing about it. Sorry about it. I'm very inspired by what Master Cheyenne and Master Borg have said. After putting the pieces together, I have some answers to my previous questions. Let me share some of my thoughts with you." Although Lin Li couldn't tell them of the presence of Thunderbolt, it wasn't difficult for him to tell them something they deemed valuable after holding on to the treasure map for so long.
Lin Li sounded cautious and humble yet quite confident. This made Borg and his companions rather doubtful. Honestly, Borg didn't think that this young Legendary-mage could share any valuable information. Although the Tower of Dusk was very famous in the Breezy Plains recently, it was still just a small faction established less than a year ago, and didn't match the Dark Blade or the Malfa Family in terms of power.
This wasn't because they were underestimating Lin Li, but rather because it was a fact. Though the Tower of Dusk and Lin Li had remarkable achievements now, many things still needed to be acc.u.mulated with time. The Malfa Family had gotten Osric's adventure diary because of the connections that the Malfa Family had built up in the Breezy Plains. The Dark Blade started off as a bandit group, and wasn't very welcome in the Breezy Plains. However, most factions were wary of the Darkness Shrine behind them. This was also why they could get information about the ruins of the Titans.
What did the Tower of Dusk have? Even this young President had only come to the Breezy Plains just a year ago. The Tower of Dusk was well-known in the Breezy Plains now. This young genius President was also remarkable to reach the Legendary-realm at the age of 20. However, this young genius president hadn't even known about the Pantheon until just now! What kind of amazing thoughts could he have about the ruins of the Titans?
Compared to Borg's doubts, Cheyenne's eyes lit up, and he looked at Lin Li with anticipation. After this period of working with Lin Li and discussing magic toge
ther, Cheyenne had a totally new understanding of this young Legendary-mage. This young Legendary-mage had achievements that many people of his age couldn't reach, but he wasn't proud and arrogant about achieving a little like most ordinary youngsters. This was extremely valuable for a young person.
Cheyenne smiled, and said to Lin Li, "I've known that your knowledge about the ruins wasn't less than mine back when I've visited you at the Tower of Dusk and heard you say 'the Haiga Mountain Range' in High Elves language." He was also saying this to the people from the Dark Blade.
Lin Li smiled without commenting on anything, and organized his thoughts. Then, he said, "Although the original copy of the treasure map is with me, it looks like this didn't delay your research. I think that the first thing you've analyzed when you got this treasure map from me was the map itself."
Hearing that Lin Li mentioned the treasure map again, Cheyenne was rather embarrassed that his side had leaked the treasure map. However, he also knew that Lin Li wouldn't bother about this problem, and thought about his copy of the map. He said, "Master Felic, are you talking about the map that appears to be a city's map?"
Rather than the thousands of High Elves Print on the treasure map, what occupied the most space was an actual map. Like what Lin Li had said, both Cheyenne and Borg had analyzed the map first as it was more important. However, they didn't get anything useful after comparing it to many maps of the Anril World. Therefore, they turned to the High Elves Print, hypothesized that the treasure was located in the Haiga Mountain Range, and drew out the real treasure map.
Although they had already found the probable location of the treasure or the ruins, they were still bothered by the fact that they couldn't find anything useful from the map itself. This was because they knew that though the High Elves loved to use florid language, they wouldn't put two totally unrelated things together. Hence, these words had to be somehow linked to the map.
"The map seems to be a city's map. I suspect that it may be the internal map of the ruins of the Titans," said Borg doubtfully; he didn't really believe it, either.
"Impossible! Judging by the body size of the Titans, the area of the city would be huge if it was really a Titan city. Probably 10 Aminya Cities won't match the size of this city. Even the Haiga Mountain Range wouldn't be able to conceal such an enormous city for so long." Unsurprisingly, Cheyenne wasn't polite at all to repudiate Borg's speculation.
In the current Anril, only the giants resembled the Titans slightly. However, real Titans were so huge that giants looked like little kids compared to them, not mentioning the dwarves. Just a sleeping area of a Titan was enough for three human families to live in.
"This is obviously not a Titan city, but a High Elves' city," said Lin Li slowly.
"High Elves?" The Legendary masters looked at one another. Was Lin Li saying that a High Elves city was hidden in the ruins of the Titans? Didn't that mean the High Elves had explored the ruins already? Would they still get anything from there? Even if they could get anything, it would be much less valuable than the ruins of the Titans.
"Even if it's a High Elven city, it's a rather big city judging from the map. How could it remain hidden in the Haiga Mountain Range for such a long time? Moreover, at the end of the Dark Age, the coalition of various races fought against the High Elves. How would they miss out on this city? With the hatred everyone had for the High Elves, those High Elves would have been affected even if they had hidden in Haiga Mountain Range." Borg obviously didn't believe Lin Li.
Indeed, the reason why the era ruled by the High Elves was known as the Dark Age was because of their high-handed rule which brought endless darkness for all other races. The acc.u.mulated hatred finally exploded at the end of the Dark Age, and the coalition between races killed every High Elf that came in their way. The God of Mages Geresco even destroyed the Tree of Eternity. Under such circ.u.mstances, how could a High Elven city escape being wiped out by the coalition? Although the Haiga Mountain Range was full of dangers, it only applied to ordinary people. To some Sanctuary-realm masters like Geresco, it was really nothing.
"If it was really a High Elven city, it's impossible that texts from the Dark Age would never mention it. Even the Sky Castles of the High Elves didn't escape the fate of destruction during that era." Cheyenne sighed when he spoke of that era he had never experienced. However, with his current power, he probably wouldn't have the right to participate in the battles against the Sky Castles during the Dark Age full of heroes.
Lin Li wasn't displeased with the doubts he faced from the Legendary masters. Instead, he smiled, and continued, "From what I know, the High Elves built seven Sky Castles in total. During the war, the Sky Castles were destroyed one by one, but only the Seventh Sky Castle didn't appear at all."
The Legendary masters' expressions changed upon hearing this. Although they had never been through the war at the end of the Dark Age, there were a lot of descriptions about the Sky Castle in texts from that time period. The powerful Sky Castles were a devastating force for the coalition. If the dwarves hadn't built Sky-breaker successfully, and Geresco hadn't had a breakthrough in his abilities just in time, history would have been completely different from what it was now.
"Do you mean… The ruins contain the Seventh Sky Castle?!" Although Legendary powerhouses wouldn't have strong emotions usually, the Legendary masters still couldn't help feeling rather excited when talking about the Sky Castles.
Chapter 583 - Temporary Alliance
With the improvement in design, each Sky Castle that the Immortal King built was more powerful than the last. This Seventh Sky Castle was certainly the most powerful of all, though it had never appeared during war at the end of the Dark Age. Any faction that could get such a Sky Castle would undeniably become the top faction in Anril immediately.
Of course, the Legendary masters could only think about getting it. If it was really the Seventh Sky Castle, it would be sought after by every faction, and even Sanctuary-realm powerhouses wouldn't give it up. By then, any Sanctuary powerhouse would have wiped out their factions given that they had merely reached Legendary-realm.
Seeing the expressions of the Legendary masters, Lin Li couldn't help feeling it funny. Even Lin Li didn't know which crack between time and space the Seventh Sky Castle had drifted into, let alone these people. He shook his head slightly, and said, "You'll probably be disappointed. I'm saying that this map is very likely the design blueprint of the Seventh Sky Castle. However, it's probably impossible to find the Seventh Sky Castle in the ruins."
"This…" The Legendary masters didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. Though they didn't think they had the ability to get the Sky Castle, this lad was still too annoying. If there weren't any Sky Castles in the ruins, why would he even mention it?
"Master Felic, do you have any proof of what you've just said?" Though Cheyenne had asked the question, the other three in the room were also waiting for Lin Li's answer. Not to mention if it was really the Seventh Sky Castle, how was Lin Li so sure that it was a map of a Sky Castle?
Six Sky Castles were destroyed at the end of the Dark Age. Other than the several Sanctuary powerhouses who had been through that era, few people nowadays knew how a Sky Castle really looked like. How could a 20-year-old mage who had just reached Legendary-realm like Lin Li know about it when the other Legendary masters all didn't know?
"I believe Hutton and Stephen have told you about what happened in the Blackstone Mountains. The three relics of Geresco weren't a secret to any of you here—the Book of Eternity, a magical crystal, and the key to the Seventh Sky Castle," said Lin Li honestly.
Speaking of the three relics of Geresco, Cheyenne and Borg looked a little embarrassed. After all, they had the right to inherit these relics, but their incapable children had let such a great opportunity slip away. However, after a brief moment of embarrassment, they realized that Lin Li mentioned the third relic was the key to the Seventh Sky Castle.
Lin Li didn't have to explain too much aft
er this. Since he had the Sky Castle's key, he would naturally understand more about it, and it wasn't strange for him to recognize the map. This also revealed another piece of information: Geresco had obviously owned this Sky Castle before. If not, how would he have the key to it? This was precisely the reason that this most powerful Sky Castle didn't appear during the war.
Geresco had brought the Seventh Sky Castle away, and the Sky Castle had stopped over at the ruins of the Titans before. This showed that Geresco had visited the ruins of the Titans already. The God of Mages Geresco was as outstanding as the Immortal King in terms of ability. Highlord Osric couldn't do anything to the ruins of the Titans, but it wasn't the case for Geresco.
Thinking of all that, the Legendary masters didn't look good. After all, nobody expected that so many secrets would be uncovered during the brief information exchange. Just the ruins of the Titans were related to the Immortal King, Osric, and now Geresco. More importantly, since Geresco had visited the place already, what was there left for them?
"Don't worry, I have a feeling that we won't come back empty-handed this time." Lin Li obviously had such confidence since Thunderbolt was definitely there. He would get it no matter what happened.
As for the Malfa Family and Dark Blade, they wouldn't come back empty-handed, either. Though Geresco had overthrown the High Elves' rule, he wasn't a destroyer of civilizations. There was a reason that Thunderbolt was sealed in the Haiga Mountain Range. Given the countless ferocious magical beasts in there, only the power of Thunderbolt could prevent the ruins from being destroyed by the beasts. Rather than saying that Thunderbolt was sealed in there, it was more likely that Geresco was using this piece of the debris of the stars to protect something.
What feeling? The Legendary masters weren't fools. They understood that Lin Li had hidden some information from them once he said this. However, everyone was holding something back; the Malfa Family held back Osric's diary, while the Dark Blade didn't know just that the Haiga Mountains hid the ruins of the Titans.