by Zhuang Bifan
Although the Immortal King had disappeared, the one who inherited his legacy should be his proud disciple Osric! How could it be Geresco? Lin Li suddenly remembered an incident back at the Scar of Death when he was fighting for the debris of the stars. He had seen a diary which belonged to a royal High Elf. In the last part of the diary, the High Elf wrote sentences like "He's not Geresco! He's the Immortal King!" with ecstasy. Could it be that the two most powerful beings to have ever existed in Anril—Geresco and the Immortal King—had some connection that nobody knew?
Lin Li didn't ask Rogge about this. No matter what connection Geresco and the Immortal King had, it wasn't something for him to worry about now. He nodded and continued to ask Rogge about Nefa. "I see, but wasn't Geresco afraid that somebody would release Nefa from this world after he left? If not for you, I would have believed Nefa, and he would have gotten his freedom now."
That was the question that puzzled Lin Li. Not mentioning the relationship between Geresco and the Immortal King, it turned out that Geresco also didn't want Nefa to become the Dragon of Destruction. The simplest method to achieve that was undoubtedly killing him. Geresco had already prepared to do that, but how could he give up such a good chance to end all worries just because of Tutankhamun's plea and choose to confine Nefa in such a troublesome way? It was like turning a death penalty into life imprisonment—anything was possible as long as Nefa was alive.
Lin Li didn't think Nefa would have requested him to take the branch of Eternity if he had known Lin Li would meet Rogge here. Nobody would be foolish enough to deceive a person who would meet someone who could easily expose his lies. Evidently, Nefa was quite confident that the two of them wouldn't meet. However, Nefa's plan failed due to some unknown reason. If not, Lin Li would have gotten the branch of Eternity and broken Geresco's seal already.
Rogge patiently explained to Lin Li, "Even if he can leave this place, he won't dare to go back to Anril. Although Geresco had spared his life due to Tutankhamun's plea, he had also made Tutankhamun promise that he would personally kill Nefa should the latter come back to Anril. Although Tutankhamun's power is a bit lower than that of his brother, Geresco taught him some tricks that can guarantee him to keep his promise."
"No wonder." Lin Li had also speculated that since Tutankhamun and Nefa were hatched from the same magical crystal, their strength should be similar. Since Tutankhamun was guarding the Blackstone Mountains now, he surely had some way to control Nefa. However, Lin Li had thought that Tutankhamun had learnt the method of controlling Nefa from the Immortal King. It turned out that Geresco was the one who taught him that in order to fulfill his promise.
"As for you meeting me here, that's an accident that little black dragon didn't think of. He probably knew that I will be in deep sleep now, so he asked you to get the branch of Eternity from here. However, I felt extremely pure dark force in my sleep. I thought that the Lord of Darkness has arrived, so I woke up earlier." With that, Rogge peered at Lin Li with complicated feelings.
Lin Li knew that the pure dark force Rogge talked about was the energy released from Gloomy Dark when he was battling the Fire Phoenix. Seeing Rogge looking at him with a strange expression, Lin Li felt very pressured. Although this high priest of Darkness didn't point it out directly like Sendros, his glance seemed to be suggesting that he took Lin Li as the incarnation of darkness.
Lin Li didn't dare continue this topic. Hearing that Rogge had finally mentioned the branch of Eternity, he curiously asked, "High Priest, is the branch of Eternity really so powerful? It maintains the state where two worlds overlap. I'm lucky to meet you here! If I'd really taken it away easily, I would have fallen into Nefa's trap."
"That little black dragon didn't deceive you on this point. These two worlds overlap because of this branch of Eternity. Although the overlapping space won't recover immediately once you take the branch of Eternity away, the process is almost irreversible. Even if you wanted to put the branch back, you wouldn't be able to do it, at least not with your current power. Moreover, Nefa probably didn't tell you. If you took the branch of Eternity in my sleep, most of the energy in this fire element world would explode. Being the center of this explosion, I would lose consciousness and sink into endless bloody slaughter." Rogge revealed another shocking piece of information using a calm voice.
Although Rogge sounded very calm as if talking about someone else, Lin Li broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing it. If Rogge really became a fire monster that only knew how to kill, then he would be the first to face it. After all, Rogge had been a Sanctuary-realm arbitrator at the Supreme Council. If that really happened, none of his tricks would be sufficient to save Lin Li from death under Rogge's hands. Thinking of this, Lin Li shuddered. He would be more than happy to skin that wretched Nefa alive now.
After almost being tricked by Nefa, Lin Li naturally wouldn't help him break the seal. He told himself that he would rather not obtain the branch of Eternity than let that lad escape the torture of the seal. After all, High Priest Rogge told him he had a way to transport Lin Li back to Anril. It was better to understand more about the dark age from Rogge now. If not, his trip would be wasted.
"In the blink of an eye, 1,000-plus years have passed since I came here. I don't know how's the outside world now, how's the Darkness Shrine." After Rogge had told Lin Li some happenings during the dark age, he started to inquire Lin Li about the outside world now. As he was the first high priest of the Darkness Shrine, Rogge's concern about the Darkness Shrine didn't fade with time.
"Anril is rather peaceful now. Although the kingdoms clash frequently, there's no proper war. But the Darkness Shrine…" Speaking of the Darkness Shrine, Lin Li eyed Rogge cautiously, and continued, "The Darkness Shrine has been weakened quite a bit these years, and can no longer match the Brilliance Shrine, especially after it experienced a catastrophe about 600 years after you've left. The prehistoric magical beasts from this world arrived at the Darkness Shrine through the crack in the Eternal Darkness Altar. They caused severe damage to the shrine and almost destroyed it."
"Oh, Nefa did that when I was asleep the previous time. He wanted to threaten me with that to help him get the branch of Eternity. However, that's all he could do. After all, he certainly couldn't release energy from the fire element world for a prolonged period of time." Rogge didn't seem to mind this heavy blow to the Darkness Shrine.
If others saw Rogge's reaction now, they would probably think that this high priest didn't have feelings for the Darkness Shrine anymore. However, Lin Li knew that Rogge wasn't being cold and emotionless, but had much more important tasks here, and had strong faith in the Darkness Shrine.
Chapter 802 - Talent Wasted
"The chief high priest of the Darkness Shrine now is Master Sendros, who's also a very admirable elder. Under his lead, the Darkness Shrine has recovered quite a bit. However, Master Sendros sensed some abnormality at the Eternal Darkness Altar recently. He thinks that the catastrophe in the past may occur again, so he is rather worried." Lin Li continued to introduce the situation of the Darkness Shrine now. Although he had just entered the Darkness Shrine not too long ago, Sendros had already considered him the incarnation of darkness, so he didn't treat Lin Li as an outsider. Because of that, Lin Li knew quite a lot about the Darkness Shrine.
Rogge nodded. He was very satisfied with Sendros as his successor. However, he frowned upon hearing Lin Li mention the other high priests in the Darkness Council, and asked, "Aren't you a member of the Darkness Shrine, Felic?"
"I manage a small Guild of Magic in the Breezy Plains. Master Sendros invited me to the Darkness Shrine as a guest during this period, and I encountered this situation." Lin Li wasn't being humble. Although the Tower of Dusk was developing pretty well now, its was still merely a small Guild of Magic compared to the Darkness Shrine. He didn't mention that Sendros had invited him because of this incident, and reversed the cause-effect order. If not, he'd have to explain about the matter regarding the incarnation of darkness.
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"No wonder! With your abilities, you could definitely enter the Darkness Council if you were in the Darkness Shrine. Are Apophis and the Supreme Council blind without Geresco? How can they just let you be the President of a small Guild of Magic! If Geresco knew about this, he'd probably be angry to death." Evidently, Rogge attributed Lin Li's position as the President of a Guild of Magic to the misjudgment of the Supreme Council. He wasn't at all polite to scold all the arbitrators in the Supreme Council, including Apophis. In Anril now, given that Geresco was nowhere to be found, perhaps Rogge was the only one who had the right to scold Apophis.
Apophis was so unjustly scolded. Lin Li silently wiped his sweat, and could only apologize to Apophis in his heart.
"Felic, why don't you come to the Darkness Shrine? I will give you a token, and you can pass the token to Sendros when you go back. I believe that you'll definitely be able to secure a place in the Darkness Shrine given your abilities." As someone who valued talent, Rogge wanted to recruit this young genius mage for the Darkness Shrine given the fact that its recent developments were not so good.
Actually, there was nothing wrong with Rogge's thoughts. After all, other than President Aldwin of the Alanna Guild of Magic, other Presidents seldom reached Legendary-level. President Gerian of the Jarrosus Guild of Magic was only level-15 when he first became President. The Presidents from the Guilds of Magic of other countries were also only level-17 or 18. On the other hand, Lin Li was a Legendary-mage at the peak of level-23. It was really a waste of talent for him to be the President of a Guild of Magic.
Obviously, Lin Li couldn't boast that his Tower of Dusk would surpass the Darkness Shrine sooner or later in front of Rogge. He could only give excuses such as he didn't have the aspiration, and was already very content with his current status. Rogge could naturally sense Lin Li's reluctance, and didn't speak of joining the Darkness Shrine anymore. After giving Lin Li a long look, he moved on to another topic.
After some conversation, Lin Li understood more about incidents that had happened during the Dark Age. He also told Rogge briefly about the current situation in Anril. By then, Lin Li felt it was about time for him to leave since he could neither teach Nefa a lesson nor obtain the branch of Eternity. Moreover, the catastrophe at the Darkness Shrine last time was because Rogge had been asleep. Now that High Priest Rogge was awakened, the catastrophe probably wouldn't occur again.
"High Priest, I'm honored to discuss so many questions with you. However, Master Sendros is probably very anxious now given that I have come in for so long. Do you have any word for me to bring back for the Darkness Shrine?" asked Lin Li respectfully.
Rogge contemplated for a moment, and replied, "I indeed have a favor to ask."
"Please. I will do whatever I can to help you." Lin Li didn't hesitate to reply, not only because he needed Rogge's help to go back, but also out of respect for this high priest. Moreover, he believed that Rogge wouldn't request him to do something above his capabilities. Thus, he was very happy to do something for this admirable elder.
Rogge nodded, and said, "It's not a difficult task. I hope that you can go back to the mountaintop and tell that little black dragon that I can give him the branch of Eternity. However, he has to come down to help me with something first."
"What? Give him the branch of Eternity? Won't he…" Lin Li was shocked at Rogge's words, but given that there was still Tutankhamun outside, Nefa probably wouldn't enjoy any real freedom even if he was out. At least he wouldn't dare to step onto the grounds of Anril. There was still another question that Lin Li couldn't figure out, so he asked Rogge, "Doesn't Nefa need to suppress the strength of this fire element world at the mountaintop? He probably won't be able to come down to see you."
Rogge smiled, and asserted, "No worries, I can help him suppress that strength. You just need to bring my words to him. I'm sure he won't reject it."
Lin Li nodded, and replied, "Okay, I'll bring your words to him." Although he really wanted the branch of Eternity, what Rogge wanted to do wasn't something he could help with given his current abilities. As for the branch, it was good enough knowing who it was with now. Given the speed of his improvement now, it wasn't impossible for him to snatch the branch from Nefa when his power was good enough.
After a temporary goodbye with Rogge, Lin Li immediately headed back to the top of the volcano. He had wasted some time when he first entered this world to harvest its valuable materials, so he didn't need to waste any time on the way back. Lin Li used the Power of Flight directly, and shot towards the mountaintop like a flash of lightning. After just a moment of time, he had reached the peak.
What did that human mage do? Why is Rogge awake now? Nefa felt very uneasy because he could sense Rogge's aura from here. This meant that Rogge had already been awakened from his deep slumber, which was something Nefa hadn't expected at all. Although the ever tormenting power had suddenly disappeared just now, Nefa wasn't at all relieved. He racked his brains, trying to figure out what happened down below.
Just then, Lin Li passed the prehistoric magical beasts directly from the top and landed in front of Nefa. As Nefa had tried to set him up, Lin Li didn't have any positive feelings towards Nefa. However, he suppressed his resentment since Rogge had asked for Nefa's help. Lin Li glared at him, and said, "You must be really disappointed that I came back here alive."
"Huh, it's not like that. Did you meet Rogge below?" Nefa knew that Rogge had revealed all his tricks, so he didn't know how to reply to Lin Li at this moment, and could only change the topic.
"You should be very clear what I mean!" Lin Li struggled to stop himself from skinning this dragon, and sneered, "High Priest Rogge wants to see you. If you want to obtain the branch of Eternity, follow me to the foot of the mountain now."
Nefa's eyelids twitched. From Lin Li's words, he knew that the tormenting power suddenly disappeared because of Rogge. Rogge's abilities must have improved considerably during his slumber. Although that confining power had disappeared, Nefa knew that he was still not free. Other than the fact that he didn't have to endure the tortures of this fire element world's power, the circ.u.mstances he was in now were no different from before.
"Okay." Nefa nodded unwillingly. Although he knew that Rogge wouldn't call him for anything good, he had no other choice. Where else could he go? His good brother was still waiting to kill him in Anril, while this fire element world was totally a forbidden zone for him.
Seeing that Nefa had agreed, Lin Li didn't wait for him, and directly flew downhill. Nefa looked around, thought for a moment, and followed Lin Li with a bitter smile on his face. Although Nefa didn't want to work for Rogge, the enticement of the branch of Eternity was too strong. Even though he had told Lin Li that he could take the branch away, Lin Li would never be able to get the branch even if that plan was successful.
The two soon reached the foot of the volcano. Rogge stood there waiting for them, his body burning in flames. Originally, Nefa had thought little of Lin Li's abilities. After all, a level-23 Legendary-mage was just a bigger ant to a Sanctuary-realm powerhouse. However, after this flight, Nefa was shocked to realize that he couldn't even catch up with this human mage using Power of Flight even though he was a wyrm and flying was instinctive for him.
Obviously, Nefa wouldn't know that Lin Li could use the Levitation Spell like the Power of Flight back when he had been just an Archmage. After stepping into the Legendary-realm, he put in immense effort to practice his Power of Flight. Not to mention power, there were less than 10 people in Anril who could catch up with Lin Li. Although Lin Li often seemed like he would confront all obstacles with bravery, he didn't slack at all in terms of obtaining skills that allowed him to retreat fast when his life was threatened.
Chapter 803 - Flame Dragon Lothar
"Old Rogge, do you want me to do something for you when you say that you'll give the branch of Eternity to me?" Nefa landed on a spot opposite Rogge which he personally thought was safe. After all, he was wary of this Dark Mag
e who had been his neighbor for hundreds of years.
"Right, I need you to collaborate with me for something. Once it's done, I can give you the branch of Eternity." Rogge wasn't bothered by Nefa's rude tone, and directly stated his demand.
"Collaborate? What kind of task can't you accomplish yourself and need my help with?" Nefa looked alarmed. No one was clearer about Rogge's abilities than Nefa, especially after Rogge had transformed into his current state. When Rogge needed to collaborate with others even with such terrifying abilities, it definitely wouldn't be a simple task.
Rogge stared at Nefa, and replied, "It's all because of you."
"Because of me? What a joke!" Nefa looked like he was laughing, but his eyes were still filled with wariness. He said, "I've always been tormented by the seal at the mountaintop. If anything, Geresco is to blame."
Rogge wasn't angered by Nefa's attitude. He calmly explained, "Because you've released the power of this fire element world several times, the seal was damaged, and the spacetime rift in the outside world has started to expand. Thus, this dimension that existed in the crack has also become unstable. I've already sensed that a terrifying presence will be awakened soon in the fire element world. If he is awakened, the balance of Elemental Power in the whole world will be destroyed. You should know what catastrophe that will cause."
"You're worried about the Darkness Shrine, aren't you? I thought that you don't care about it anymore! Although the Darkness Shrine would feel the impact first should anything happen in this dimension, what does it have to do with me?" Nefa pretended to be lighthearted, but he was rather worried internally since Rogge wasn't someone who liked to exaggerate.