by Zhuang Bifan
Macklin thought to himself in despair, Whom did I offend? You guys are from the Supreme Council, and you can fight and argue with each other however you'd like, but can you not implicate me? I'm just an Archmage.
"Okay, Andoine, Felic is your student, I can understand why you're defending him, but don't forget that as a teacher, you should not only impart knowledge to your students, you should also teach them the right values. This matter is over, and what we have to do now is to consider the plan for exploring Osric's mausoleum," Megard said, putting an end to the topic when Andoine and Rosen were about to get into a heated argument. However, he clearly still felt that Andoine failed to teach his student well.
In the end, Megard was an arbitrator and a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm. Although Andoine was dissatisfied, he was left with no chance to continue to argue, because Megard had put an end to the topic. He had no choice but to glower at Rosen before pulling Lin Li to the side.
Megard hung up a map which was labeled with dense lines and annotations, after which he turned to look at the rest. "This is a map that we had redrawn according to a map from the High Elves that was passed down from the Dark Age. According to the map and the information on it, we can deduce that this should be the structural drawing of Osric's mausoleum."
"Hmph, Felic was the one who found it," Andoine muttered with dissatisfaction.
The map provided by Megard was drawn according to the two rags that Lin Li had handed to Andoine back then. The High Elves didn't like boring lines or monotonous squares, and felt that their language was the only perfect one in this world. Hence, they were used to expressing everything in tongue twisters. Even a person who was proficient in the language of the High Elves would require a long time to understand the map and figure out the meanings hidden in it.
The map of the Sky Castle that Lin Li had obtained at the beginning was actually just a painting of the Sky Castle. The real map was the complex elven text beside it. In order to understand the meaning of those words, Lin Li had put plenty of effort into understanding the High Elves Print, but even then failed to create a map using those words. The members of the Dark Blade were the ones who managed to turn the words into a map according to the ancient doc.u.ments and materials of the Darkness Shrine.
Megard didn't care about Andoine's words, but Rosen seemed unwilling to let go of any opportunity to launch verbal attacks on Andoine and Lin Li. He coldly said, "Yeah, I heard that one of the maps was obtained after the destruction of a family of mages. As a mage, it's not good to be too brutal. That will only cause one to be obsessed with power and lose themselves while forgetting that exploring the source of magic should be a mage's pursuit."
"Damn it, Felic won the bet, yet you nitpicked on him. Felic was also the one who contributed the map, yet you have so much bullsh*t to say about him. If you're that capable, just go to Osric's mausoleum without following the map. By the way, Felic was the one who won the key, so you'd better not use it when we go to the mausoleum." In fact, Andoine didn't flip the table or raise his voice. Instead, he seemed to be murmuring to himself, despite making sure that everyone heard him.
There was a faint flush on Rosen's face, but he managed to hide it quickly. He continued in a composed tone, "The inability to stay calm and handling things impulsively is going to be lethal for a leader and the President of the Guild of Magic. If he hadn't killed Borg's son, he wouldn't have brought such a disaster to his Guild of Magic. Unfortunately, as the President, he didn't reflect on himself. I heard that he killed more than 2000 people during a battle. What rights does such a brutal person have to be the President?"
Aldwin placed a hand on his forehead helplessly, and thought, These two are arguing again after just a short conversation. Are we still going to explore Osric's mausoleum?
Of course, he knew that the real reason for the conflict between them was their competition for the arbitrator's position. They obviously wouldn't be in harmony with each other.
There were 10 authoritative figures in the Supreme Council, including Andoine and Rosen. There were also three arbitrators, two of whom were Apophis and Megard. The other position was currently vacant. It was precisely this vacancy that caused many of the plans made by the Supreme Council to be aborted because of the different opinions of the two arbitrators.
Therefore, the selection of the third arbitrator was extremely critical to the Supreme Council, and would even be likely to determine the future direction of the Supreme Council. However, due to the fact that Apophis favored Andoine, while Rosen was a descendant of Megard, the competition between the two also became a competition between Apophis and Megard.
"Master Rosen, you're thinking too much about it. Killing is not my hobby, but there are always some people in this world who never know their limits." Lin Li indeed felt a little embarrassed, but he had never regretted it at all, because the best enemies were the ones who were dead.
Megard frowned a little, and said, "Felic, you may deserve to be proud for what you have achieved at such a young age, but I hope you can respect your teacher and elders like him. Andoine, Rosen, if you can't focus on the exploration of the mausoleum, I'll request for a change in candidates from the Supreme Council."
Megard's words placed the emphasis back on Osric's mausoleum. However, everyone could tell that even the arbitrator of the Supreme Council could not be absolutely fair and impartial.
The discussion in the conference hall was much less intense. Everyone carefully put forward their own opinions after careful consideration. Everyone knew that apart from being a huge treasure, Osric's mausoleum was also full of murderous traps. Even the Sanctuary-realm powerhouse Megard was extremely serious about it. In fact, it would be no exaggeration to say that Osric's mausoleum was dangerous even for a deity.
The choice of route, the strategies for handling the traps, and the plan to explore Osric's mausoleum were slowly written on paper. However, while even Macklin had voiced his opinions, Lin Li remained silent and listened.
Of course, Lin Li wasn't clueless about Osric's mausoleum. After returning from the Haiga Mountain Range, apart from enhancing the strength of the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li spent most of his time studying Osric's mausoleum. After all, at that time, he didn't know that the Supreme Council would also be participating. If he were to cooperate only with the Alanna Guild of Magic and not put in more efforts, he probably wouldn't even enter the Osric's mausoleum.
However, the tension between Andoine and Rosen made Lin Li feel that he shouldn't reveal anything. Apart from his relationship with Andoine, Lin Li still had to consider the benefits and interests of the Tower of Dusk. If Rosen were to become the new arbitrator, he would probably go against the Tower of Dusk.
However, the others were obviously not willing to let Lin Li off for remaining silent.
"President Felic, I heard that you have experience exploring the Sky Castle, so you'd definitely help give us a greater advantage if you were to become our vanguard," Rosen said in a slightly hoarse voice, giving everyone a great shock.
His words were rather blatant. By asking Lin Li to be the vanguard, he was getting Lin Li to be at the front line and stay in front of the team to shield them from the bullets. Although the young Lin Li was at level-23, Osric's mausoleum was still incredibly dangerous. Even though they had the map of Osric's mausoleum, the High Elves' words might contain other hidden meanings that they had yet to discover.
Lin Li glanced at the skinny Rosen, not feeling too surprised about his mention of the Sky Castle. Although the Supreme Council was no longer as strong as it was in the past, it was still the top force in Anril. They definitely knew about the high-profile visit to the Haiga Mountain Range, but Lin Li didn't expect Rosen to have developed such a strong prejudice against him. In fact, it wouldn't be an overstatement to say that Rosen didn't hide his disp.l.e.a.s.u.r.e with Lin Li.
Chapter 703 - Darian
"Rosen, I think you've been living in vain all these years. How could you have the cheek to say that?
Why don't you get your disciple to go be at the vanguard?" Andoine retorted as exasperation grew within him.
Rosen did not show any weakness. He looked up at Andoine, and said, "Andoine, don't be so ridiculous. I have my reasons for making that suggestion. Osric is indeed the disciple of the Immortal King. There must be some similarities between the mausoleum and the Sky Castle. Felic, who had been to the Sky Castle, is the best candidate for being at the vanguard."
"Similar? You said it yourself, it's similar. Similar is different from identical! Aren't you just eyeing Felic's Tower of Dusk? You just want your idiot of a student to take over!" Andoine completely ignored Megard's presence and cursed his heart out at Rosen.
Rosen was so infuriated that he had turned as red as a tomato. He then stood up and hollered at Andoine, "You can disagree with my opinion, but you can't insult my character. Do you really think I'm scared of you!?"
Andoine pulled out his magic staff and sneered, "Sure, I've long wanted to teach you a lesson."
"Have you guys had enough yet!?" Megard hollered.
As Megard yelled, a huge mana wave suddenly broke out, causing everyone in the conference room to hold their breaths. Andoine and Rosen were no longer bickering. Instead, they began quivering and frowning, while the veins on their foreheads began bulging. It seemed that they were under tremendous pressure that was difficult to resist.
Although Lin Li was frightened by the unparalleled, massive mana wave, he did not feel oppressed. Obviously, Megard was only targeting Andoine and Rosen. However, Lin Li could acutely sense that Andoine seemed to be having a hard time withstanding it.
"Enough, seems like we can't get peace today. Bring the maps home and study them carefully. I hope you guys can put in more effort on this tomorrow." A moment later, Megard finally put the mana wave away and placed a few scrolls on the table. He then stood up and left, not giving them a chance to speak at all.
The huge oppression suddenly disappeared, and Andoine and Rosen, too, returned to their seats, staring at each other while panting heavily. That was the difference between the Sanctuary-realm and the Legendary-realm, which were worlds apart. Even though they both had level-23 powers, they couldn't stand firm when faced with a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm.
After a moment of rest, Rosen stood up again and glowered at Andoine before leaving the conference hall with a map.
"Damn it!" Seeing that Rosen had already left, Andoine stood up while propping himself up against the table. However, he found it hard to leave.
The meeting to formulate a plan for exploring Osric's mausoleum was hence temporarily suspended. After Macklin left, Lin Li and Andoine sat opposite each other. There was a map of Osric's mausoleum laid on the table in front of them.
"Can you tell me what the heck is going on? Why is the Supreme Council suddenly so interested in Osric's mausoleum?" Lin Li was a little depressed at this moment, but it was not because of the conflict between Megard and Rosen. Instead, it was because of the forceful intervention of the Supreme Council. It meant that most of the treasures in Osric's mausoleum would end up becoming theirs. No one would feel great if they were in his shoes.
"Suddenly? This not sudden at all. Several years ago, the Supreme Council had already gotten track of the clues to Osric's mausoleum, and they haven't stopped researching at all. Of course, it's also thanks to the two maps of yours. Otherwise, we'd have still been stuck in research." Andoine was pleased with himself for choosing the right person. The appearance of the two maps brought him plenty of glory in the Supreme Council. If it weren't for the fact that the arbitrator Megard was Rosen's mentor, Andoine would have probably already become the third arbitrator because of that.
However, Andoine's answer did not clear the doubts that Lin Li had. Instead, he got even more curious. "The treasure of the Immortal King and the Sky Castle probably cannot be hidden from the Supreme Council. If the Supreme Council had wanted to join at the start, even the elves probably wouldn't have been able to turn them down. The Supreme Council doesn't even take the treasure of the Immortal King seriously. Why would they be so interested in Osric's mausoleum?"
Andoine looked at Lin Li who was full of curiosity, but did not ask him about the Sky Castle. Instead, he suddenly laughed, and said, "If I guessed correctly, the treasures in the Sky Castle that you explored were definitely limited even though each of you got your own gains. It definitely isn't what you imagined the Immortal King's treasure to be."
"How did you…" Lin Li was slightly stunned, but he soon thought of a possibility; hence, he exclaimed in shock, "Could it be, that the Supreme Council had already found out about Osric plundering the Sky Castle!?"
It was no secret that Lin Li and the three other forces had explored the treasure vault of the Immortal King; hence, it was obviously impossible to hide from the Supreme Council. However, the three forces were the only ones who knew what each of them gained respectively. It would be impossible for ordinary people to find out. The likeliest reason for Andoine's statement was that the Supreme Council had already begun investigating Osric.
"The Supreme Council has been investigating Osric for so many years, but there hasn't been any result. Although the Sky Castle had been cleared out, it still has great value. Yet, even Osric couldn't control it, so why would the Supreme Council waste so much time and effort on this?" However, Andoine still looked rather regretful, seemingly because he couldn't see the Sky Castle in person, and also because no one could control the Sky Castle.
"It's no wonder that the Supreme Council would keep close tabs on Osric's mausoleum. It turns out that they found out long ago that this is the real greatest treasure of Anril," Lin Li muttered resignedly.
However, to Lin Li, it was mandatory to go to the Sky Castle even though he'd already found out long ago. For the sake of the debris of the stars, Thunderbolt, Lin Li could ignore everything else and focus on obtaining it. Besides, he had gained more than just Thunderbolt in the Sky Castle. He also obtained the magical crystal that controlled the Sky Castle.
Upon hearing Lin Li's mumbling, Andoine shook his head with a smile, and said, "Although Osric's mausoleum seems to be the greatest treasure, the Supreme Council didn't plan this expedition for the sake of money."
Lin Li raised his brows and hurriedly abandoned his thoughts. "Could it be that the Supreme Council already knows that there's something hidden in it?"
Andoine stared at the map on the ground and nodded gently. "Although you're not a member of the Supreme Council, you're one of the members participating in this expedition. So, I have a shocking secret to tell you. It's a secret that even most members of the Supreme Council do not know about."
"Oh!" Lin Li hurriedly concentrated and stared at Andoine, waiting to hear the amazing secret.
"The biggest reason why the Supreme Council planned this expedition is because they found out from our research that Osric's mausoleum contains something extremely important to them. What I'm trying to say is, if our research direction is right, I'll be at least 80% certain that Osric's mausoleum contains a weapon and not money. It's a weapon that will be enough to destroy the Felan Kingdom…"
However, Andoine looked just as puzzled after revealing the secret. "However, even I myself cannot imagine what kind of weapon would actually be able to destroy the entire Felan Kingdom…"
"Damn it…" Upon hearing this, Lin Li's heart tensed up, and a look of worry flashed in his eyes.
Weapon that could destroy the entire Felan Kingdom? The Felan Kingdom was not a small country, and despite having grown weaker over the years, they were still the strongest in Anril.
However, Lin Li also knew that that was not impossible, because he had already become the master of Osric's Eternal Furnace, and also personally experienced the mania of that Highlord through the experience he had in the Sky Castle. The direction of research of the Supreme Council might really be correct because Connoris had once said that Osric had already moved all of the things that could be moved away from the Eternal
Furnace and into his mausoleum. Hence, he reckoned that the mausoleum should contain the weapons that the Eternal Furnace lacked.
Although everything was just based on speculation, Lin Li could not help but be worried. According to various information, he deduced that the debris of the stars, Nothingness, was very likely to be in Osric's mausoleum too. That was what he was the most concerned about. If the item that the Supreme Council was looking for had something to do with the debris of the stars, it wouldn't be a good thing for Lin Li.
Lin Li had once had all of the debris of the stars and the Stars of Fury. Hence, he had a deep understanding of the power of the debris of the stars. Although Nothingness was not the most powerful of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, it was powerful enough to make even the Dragon of Destruction tremble. Hence, it was likely for the Felan Kingdom to be destroyed by it too. Although the real Stars of Fury was required for all of its power to be released, the Immortal King could use mana to condense it. Even if Osric couldn't do it, there would probably be other methods.
For the expedition to Osric's mausoleum, Lin Li might not care about the powerful weapon that was powerful enough to destroy Felan Kingdom, but he had to obtain the debris of the stars, Nothingness. If there was any connection between the two, a conflict between Lin Li and the Supreme Council would be inevitable. After all, Nothingness was too important to him. However, the arbitrator Megard was at least in the Sanctuary-realm, and was much more formidable than Lin Li, a Legendary-mage.
Did the Supreme Council participate in the exploration of Osric's mausoleum this time for the sake of that powerful weapon? It's no longer the Dark Age now, what do they need such a powerful and destructive weapon for!? Lin Li thought about it for a long while, but he didn't reveal what he was thinking. Although Andoine was his teacher, the latter was also one of the authoritative figures of the Supreme Council. Hence, he was afraid that he might put Andoine in a spot.