by Zhuang Bifan
However, Lin Li shook his head lightly with a smile, and said, "The peak-Legendary-level was the power that the Ghost had when we left back then."
"What's wrong with that? It's only been a few years1 since that happened. The guardians of the High Elven ruins usually face a gradual decline in their strength, not an increase. In another few years, that Ghost might even fall below the Legendary-realm," Donald said self-righteously.
In fact, Donald's thoughts were not considered wrong, as it should be common sense. Age was a ruthless butcher's knife. Regardless of how strong the guardians might be, they would all age and decline with time, gradually losing their powerful strength and abilities.
The current era was still not very far away from the annihilation of the High Elves. It had only been more than 1,300 years since then. If it had been 13,000 years, the ruins might no longer have been dangerous. The guardians of the ruins would decay, and the magic gears and magic traps would lose their effect.
"President Felic, that is indeed the case. Maybe, that Ghost's strength was at the Sanctuary-realm, and after thousands of years, it has fallen to the peak of the Legendary-realm. Such things are actually very common in the exploration of ruins." Archbishop Martin agreed with Donald's words.
Besides, they were in the Immortal King's Sky Castle, and the peak Legendary-level strength might be considered strong out there, but it did not seem enough for it to qualify to be the guardian of the Sky Castle. Hence, the greatest possibility was that the strength of the Ghost had declined from the Sanctuary-realm.
"Archbishop Martin, you may take a look at this, especially those 36 towers. I think you should be able to recognize them with your knowledge," said Lin Li, who did not immediately retort, and instead handed Archbishop Martin a sketch which was actually a replica of the one he'd got from the Scar of Death.
Archbishop Martin grabbed the sketch and took a careful look at the position of the 36 towers, as well as the streets that connected them after hearing Lin Li's prompt. After a while, he suddenly widened his eyes which were originally squinted, as if he was looking at something terrifying. He shrieked, "Is this a Psychic Array!?"
Necromancers had always been the purification subjects of the Brilliance Shrine, and Archbishop Martin of the Brilliance Shrine was extremely clear on the means used by the Necromancers. Originally, he would not think about that when he had the diagram of the Sky Castle. However, after hearing Lin Li's reminder, he could soon tell from the layout of the 36 Magic Towers that it was a Psychic Array. That was also because he was unaware of the existence of the Conquering Mageweath. Hence, he could easily see the Psychic Array.
"Psychic Array! It actually has the entire Sky Castle as its foundation. This is terrifying!" Although Archbishop Martin had also experienced many great events, and was quite knowledgeable, he couldn't calm down after seeing the Psychic Array that was made up of the 36 Magic Towers.
Upon hearing Archbishop Martin's shriek, Donald and Prince Jeremiah, who had been silent, also had a sudden change in expression. They thought of the Vengeful Spirits, and realized that it was no wonder such low-level creatures could break through to the Legendary-level in addition to not being weakened by time.
However, Donald quickly thought of another problem, and looked at Lin Li with a frown. He said, "President Felic, this doesn't seem to make sense. Since there is such a powerful Psychic Array, how could that Ghost's strength be only at the peak of the Legendary-level?"
Indeed, according to the average person's thought, the guardian of a ruin should be extremely strong, especially in this place. Being at the peak of the Legendary-level was probably not enough. However, if the Ghost itself was in the Sanctuary-realm, not only would its strength not decline with the help of such a powerful Psychic Array, it would also be continuously improved, and it might even be possible for it to reach the pinnacle of the Sanctuary-realm.
"That Ghost is not the original guardian of this place, but it was placed here later by Highlord Osric," Lin Li explained, revealing yet another shocking piece of news.
That piece of news was even more shocking than the Psychic Array. Highlord Osric was another mythical figure after the Immortal King. Besides, in the people's memory, he was much more brutal and psychotic than the Immortal King, an existence that was far more terrifying.
For a moment, the tent became quiet. Everyone was dumbfounded by the piece of news, and even their breathing subconsciously became lighter.
However, a moment later, a snort of laughter broke the silence in the tent. Donald's expression returned to normal, and he said with some contempt in his voice, "President Felic, this news is too shocking. Why would Osric leave a Ghost there?"
Obviously, Donald didn't quite believe what Lin Li said. Although Osric had died an inexplicable death, he was also a powerful existence that was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm in the past. Even if there was a Psychic Array in the Sky Castle, the Ghost was placed there to be nurtured with the power of the Psychic Array. However, what was the point of that for a powerful being at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm?
After hearing Donald's reminder, Archbishop Martin also had some apprehension in his eyes. Despite genuinely believing Lin Li, the news did seem strange and unexplainable.
Lin Li did not flare up at Donald's suspicion, and instead smiled nonchalantly. He said, "The reason is simple. It's for the sake of pursuing the so-called immortality."
"Pursuing immortality?" His words made Archbishop Martin and Donald even more puzzled. What did the pursuit of immortality have to do with the Ghost, they wondered.
"As far as I know, Osric used the souls of 100,000 humans to create this Ghost, and it's very likely that he had incorporated his Soul Brand into the Ghost. Relying on the power of the Psychic Array to nurture the Ghost would be akin to nurturing his own soul. He had also created a perfect body for himself. Once this Ghost reaches the peak of the Sanctuary-realm and fuses with the perfect body, it might be able to take the final step and achieve true immortality."
Of course, just voicing that speculation was not enough for him to gain everyone's trust. Hence, Lin Li took out another item, which was a few pages of Osric's notes that doc.u.mented Osric's thoughts. These few pages were placed in his crystal coffin back then. Due to the fact that they had nothing to do with any magical knowledge, they were not submitted to the Supreme Council.Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #%E2%80%99s-versatile-crafting-master_11275087605321405/immortal_49400478252986985 for visiting.
Although Osric did not mention that his Soul Brand was related to the Ghost, nor did he mention the Ghost at all, it proved Lin Li's speculation to a great extent.
"In this case, are we going to face Osric's soul?" After reading the notes, the people present somewhat believed Lin Li's conjecture, although they still had some doubts.
However, it would be too scary to think about it that way. Osric himself was a Sanctuary powerhouse who was at the pinnacle of the realm. Once his Soul Brand and the Ghost fused, it would be akin to making the Ghost reach the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. It just needed to continuously absorb plenty of mana.
However, this Sky Castle was known to be the most powerful one out of the seven Sky Castles. The thing it lacked the most was infinite mana. Although it had only been two to three years since Lin Li had explored it1, the Ghost probably had stepped into the pinnacle of the Sanctuary-realm since it was at the peak of the Legendary-realm then.
However, since the teams from the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom had the guts to explore the Immortal King's Sky Castle, they definitely had something to rely on. Originally, they were already prepared to fight the possible guardians of the ruins, but now they were going to face a Ghost. They refused to believe that the Ghost would reach the peak of the Sanctuary-realm within just two to three years. If that was really the case, the Ghost would have already made a m
ove when they and the others had set foot there long ago.
After the three forces exchanged information with each other, they finally decided to cooperate. In fact, it was mainly the issue between the Tower of Dusk and the Rotterdam Kingdom. Even if Lin Li did not provide any useful information, the Brilliance Shrine would still cooperate with him. Not months? The author is saying the same thing, but even if more than a year passed, it should've been less than two.Okay, so either the author miscalculated the time, or he simply didn't make it clear enough.
Chapter 933 - Each Having Their Own Needs
"President Felic, the alchemical ideas of that alchemist who works for you have given us some inspiration yesterday. Now that we are partners, I wonder if we can invite that alchemist to exchange ideas with us about Alchemy Colossuses. I believe it will be helpful for our next exploration and the battles we may encounter," Donald requested right after they settled on cooperation. Although he claimed to want to interact and exchange ideas with Angelano, he simply wanted to get more techniques that could improve the performance of the Alchemy Colossuses from Angelano.
Logically speaking, that request wasn't overboard. Since they were already partners, improving the combat power of partners would be beneficial to everyone in the upcoming operations. However, it was too hypocritical of Donald to call it an exchange of ideas. With Angelano's standards in alchemy, it would be more than apt to say that he was going to educate them.
"Oh, forget about communication or whatever, Angelano doesn't like to communicate with people. How about this? Bring your Alchemy Colossuses over, and I'll get him to hurry up and fix them for you. I don't dare to make big promises, but I can guarantee that he will upgrade the combat power of your Alchemy Colossus by more than half." Lin Li appeared to be rather magnanimous. Don't you just want to improve the combat power of your Alchemy Colossuses? Your people don't have to do it. I'll get my subordinate to get it done for you.
However, how could Donald dare to hand his own Alchemy Colossuses over to someone else to fiddle with? Besides, Lin Li was just his temporary partner, and there might even be a conflict of interests between them in the end. God knew what strange things they might do to his Alchemy Colossuses. If the Alchemy Colossuses were to break down at a critical juncture… He would be asking for doom.
Even Donald could not stand the contempt that Lin Li had for the Rotterdam Kingdom's standards of alchemy, which was especially reflected in his words. He couldn't help but be thankful and glad that Prince Kanber had left a long time ago. Otherwise, he would have flipped the table at this moment.
"Master Donald, since you don't feel at ease and comfortable with that, how about this? The Tower of Dusk can provide you with some parts of Alchemy Colossuses, such as the positioning devices for the joints of the Alchemy Colossus. Those items are nothing too technical, and you should be able to install them yourselves by following the example shown yesterday. I think this can also play a role in improving the combat power of your Alchemy Colossuses. It will allow you to better exhibit your aggressive attacking ability in the next exploration." Lin Li obviously had a motive for being that kind. To put it bluntly, he just wanted the Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom to be cannon fodder.
Actually, what Lin Li said was the truth. If the actions of the Alchemy Colossuses could become as fluid as humans', that would definitely increase their combat power by a large margin. If the joint positioning devices were installed in every Alchemy Colossus, it would increase their combat power by at least 20-30 percent, which was significant.
However, when Donald heard those words, he almost got internal injuries because of his infuriation. The positioning device in the joints of the Alchemy Colossus, which they had studied for a long time yesterday and still could not figure out the principles of, was actually disregarded as an object that Lin Li claimed not to require much technical knowledge! To add insult to injury, Lin Li even said that he could maximize the Alchemy Colossus' ability to fight at the forefront, which was tantamount to making the Alchemy Colossus cannon fodder!
"President Felic, since you're so generous, I'll accept it. However, when it comes to attacking, our Alchemy Colossuses are, after all, somewhat inflexible with their large bodies. The narrow streets of the Sky Castle are not suitable for the Alchemy Colossuses to be put into action. On the other hand, the performance of the Tower of Dusk's knights yesterday really impressed me. I reckon they should be extremely useful in such an environment." After suppressing his anger, Donald immediately restored his normal expression. He thought, I'll take the items, but charging and fighting at the forefront is still best suited to your knights from the Tower of Dusk.
As soon as Donald said that, the face of Prince Jeremiah, who had been silent, grew sullen before Lin Li could react. The performance of the Tower of Dusk's knights that Donald called impressive was shown in the battle they had with the Paladins of the Brilliance Shrine!
Jeremiah had originally been treating that incident as something that he was ashamed of, yet Donald brought it up. It was just the same as revealing his old injury. Although he agreed with making the people of the Tower of Dusk go as cannon fodder, he didn't want to make things too easy for the people of the Rotterdam Kingdom. Hence, he said, "Indeed, the combat power of the knights of the Tower of Dusk is excellent, but the Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom and their incredible defense are truly enviable as well. If the Alchemy Colossuses and the knights work together, I believe nothing will be able to stop us."
Jeremiah's words were actually rather far-fetched. The streets of the Sky Castle were extremely narrow in the first place. If the Alchemy Colossuses and the knights were to squeeze together, they might just create a huge mess, let alone fight the enemies.
All in all, the intentions of the three forces were similar. They just wanted others to take the rap while they collected the benefits. However, they could not ignore that problem, as there would definitely have to be someone standing at the forefront to commit the dangerous acts. If everyone retreated, there would be no exploration.
Due to the fact that the matter was directly related to their immediate interests, the three forces discussed that issue back and forth for two to three hours before finally reaching a consensus. On the side of the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li showed them all the Alchemy Colossus technology that he mastered, thus leaving Donald with no choice but to give in to temptation regardless of how unwilling he was. On the other hand, the Brilliance Shrine made an agreement with the Rotterdam that if they encountered a hostile Undead creature, they would have to enhance the Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam with Holy Light Magic and bear a large portion of pressure in battle.
"Since, we, the people of the Rotterdam, will have to bear the greatest risk, I'm going to make things clear beforehand. In this Sky Castle, there is a lost treasure of the Rotterdam Kingdom that is placed in the control center of the Sky Castle. It is an item that we must obtain, and anyone who tries to get their hands on it will be declaring war against our nation." After talking about responsibilities, it was naturally time to talk about the benefits. Donald was already suppressing his infuriation from the beginning. At this moment, he immediately stated his demands without any rudeness while taking out a long list of treasures.
The teams from the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom had previously explored the goods transfer station that had a Teleportation Portal because it was actually meant for the logistics of the Sky Castle. Although they did not make any actual gains there, they had found some lists of supplies that recorded the various supplies and treasures that had been sent to the Sky Castle, hence the list in Donald's hand, and the copy of it held by the team from the Brilliance Shrine. They had divided the items when they discussed the cooperation previously.
Donald's request was actually not excessive, but after the crowd listened to what he said, they couldn't help but curse in their hearts about how shameless he was. The Rotterdam Kingdom was established at the end of the Dark Age, when t
he High Elves had already been annihilated. When the Sky Castle entered the spacetime rift, the ancestors of the Rotterdam Kingdom's royal family were still working for the High Elves like minions. How could they have lost any treasures there?
Actually, the structure diagram of the Sky Castle was what the Rotterdam Kingdom ancestors had left behind! They had probably already been coveting the High Elves' possessions when they were working as minions for them. Of course, the people of the Rotterdam could explain it by saying that their ancestors had merely infiltrated the enemy's internal department, bearing with the shame and humiliation while they were just spies in reality.
When it came to benefits, everything else would become secondary. Archbishop Martin then stated his requests and similarly took out his own list. "The main purpose of our expedition this time is to find a crown that once used to belong to the first generation High Elven queen. According to the information we have, it's stored somewhere in the Sky Castle."
It might seem absurd that the crown of the first High Elven Queen would actually be in this Sky Castle, but Lin Li was not surprised, because he had met Prince Brahere's soul. The only thing that he was curious about was whether or not it could be some sort of token of love that the High Elven queen had given to the Immortal King while he gave her his staff.
Lin Li took a glance at the two parties' lists to see that the items listed were either powerful magical weapons or precious treasures that were already extinct. After briefly reading them, Lin Li returned the lists, and said, "Alright, if there are no objections, everything else that is not included on the lists will belong to the Tower of Dusk."
Actually, one of the reasons Archbishop Martin and Donald took out the lists was to explain what they wanted, and also to find out what Lin Li wanted. After all, the two lists were decided upon after some eliminations during the cooperation agreement that the Brilliance Shrine had with the Rotterdam Kingdom previously.