by Zhuang Bifan
"However, I'm not sure if I should tell you this, Mage Felic…"
"What is it?"
"Erm…" Alexir frowned, and hesitated dramatically before he continued, "Mage Felic, after you finish what you wanted to do, please leave Black Clouds Town quickly…"
Lin Li frowned, and asked, "So Mayor Alexir doesn't really welcome me here?"
"N-no, no, no. That's not it. I didn't mean that…"
"Then what did you mean, Mayor Alexir?"
"Mage Felic, it is not that the Black Clouds Town doesn't welcome you. It's actually for your own good. Do you know that the man you've killed last night was an important man in the Syer Bandits? They would not let you go easily. Although you are very powerful, if the people in Syer Bandits were to return to get revenge on you, you might—"
"Important person?" Lin Li could not help but interrupt Alexir with his laughter. Now he knew why the man would visit him. What important figure was he talking about? Did Alexis think he was a fool? Just that Marko, a level-10 guy? How could he be somebody of importance? If that was so, the revenge by the Syer Bandits would be nothing to be fearful of…
"Mage Felic, since you're from Alanna, you might not know how powerful the Syer Bandits are. They are ranked in the top 10 of the bandit organizations in the Breezy Plains. They have thousands of core members, and this is not including the external members scattered in different corners of the Breezy Plains…"
Chapter 309 - The Granary of the Breezy Plains
After that, it was just that fence-sitter talking to himself. He described the Syer Bandits as though they were as scary as floods and monsters. It was as though it was not a criminal organization, but a bunch of legendary heroes…
Lin Li knew that all the effort Alexir had put into his stories was just an attempt to convince himself not to appear in the Breezy Plains ever again. Or else, if the Syer Bandits really wanted to take revenge, the first person who was going to get into trouble would be Alexir himself.
How would Lin Li care about such a mild scare? Not to mention that he was not scared of the Syer Bandits at all, he could not leave the Breezy Plains, either. It was the Supreme Council's order for him to build his new guild in the Breezy Plains. Now, everything was set in stone. If Lin Li were to leave at this time, wouldn't it be a slap on the Supreme Council's face? At that time, let alone Syer Bandits, even Syer Kingdom would be turned into flat ground by that bunch of old freaks in the Supreme Council…
Of course, he could not tell Alexir those things now…
Hence, Lin Li could only give him a vague response to dismiss him. He said, "Alright, Mayor Alexir. I will consider your suggestion…"
"Please make up your mind fast…" Alexir replied. Although he was not a man of honor, he was not a fool, either. He knew that the young man was not going to be terrified by his words alone. Hence, he did not try to convince him further, but bid him goodbye to leave that claustrophobic house. Yet, before he left, he did not forget to reiterate the part about the prowess of the Syer Bandits.
"Oh, yes. Mage Felic, you might not have heard this, but the Syer Bandits had just kidnapped the son of the castellan of Roland City…"
"Alright, alright. I will be careful, Mayor Alexir…" After sending this timid man off, Lin Li wanted to address Old Salatt and the others. However, he suddenly felt that the name "Roland City" sounded rather familiar.
Doubt flashed across his mind, but he did not take the matter to heart.
Yet, after Old Salatt and the others took their leave, the issue with Roland City reappeared in his mind. Where did he hear this name…?
This question had disturbed Lin Li for a good two days. On the morning of the third day, Lin Li finally got the answer from Kaman, who had come to visit him.
"Roland City? That's a nice place. It is the wealthiest city in the Breezy Plains. I've heard that the income that city earns from taxes in just a year is equivalent to Doland's five years of taxes. Oh, Mage Felic, why are you asking this all of a sudden?"
"Oh, so it is that Roland City…"
Before coming to the Breezy Plains, Lin Li had gathered some data regarding Roland City. It was said that this city in the center of the Breezy Plains was also known as the granary of the Breezy Plains. It was a place of beauty and wealth, and had a great agricultural system. Every year, Roland City would be able to provide crops for the whole of Felan Kingdom.
"Oh, yes. Kaman, have you heard that the son of Roland City's castellan got kidnapped?"
"Of course! Haha, that was the biggest news in Breezy Plains thus far! Why, is Mage Felic interested in the reward as well?"
"Huh? What reward…?"
"Hehe, the castellan of Roland City had already announced the news. He promised to grant any request of the person who could save his son. Any request would be possible to meet as long as he could fulfill it. Tsk, tsk. He is the wealthiest man of the Breezy Plains. His riches are comparable to those of the Glittergold Trade Union. Anyone who has the ability to save his son will not have financial trouble for the rest of his life!"
While Kaman was totally engrossed in his speech, Lin Li was becoming impatient. He kept thinking about the reward the castellan had promised, and how he should make good use of this man…
"Hehe. I feel that the reward was prepared for you, Mage Felic. With the ability of you and your servant, I'm sure it wouldn't take much for you to rescue his son from the Syer Bandits. Why don't you help him out…?"
"I will consider doing that…"
"Huh?" It was Kaman's turn to gasp. His suggestion to Lin Li that he should go and rescue the castellan's son was just flattery. He did not expect Lin Li to even consider that. The Syer Bandits had thousands of members, and were ranked among the top ten bandit groups of Felan. To even think of rescuing the hostage alive would be a great challenge…
"Hehe. Boss Kaman, don't be so anxious. I was just joking…" Lin Li had no interest to continue discussing the matter after he knew the answer to his question. He laughed, and brought the topic to an end. "Oh, yes. Why are you here you visit me?"
"Yes, Mage Felic…" Kaman kept his ingratiating smile, and squeezed out a very serious expression. "There is something that happened in Doland. I'm here to ask for your opinion."
"Tell me about it."
"Do you still remember that Master Lasorick?"
"Yeah, I do."
"Not long after you left, Master Lasorick brought his people over again. Hehe, it was rather embarrassing too. I was so afraid that they were there to create trouble. After I asked them, I realized they were not there to create any trouble, but to buy back the machete according to its original price…"
"They bought it back?" Lin Li did not know whether he should laugh or cry. Was there something wrong with Lasorick? So, he bought a magic weapon at the Guru level, but accused the seller of selling him a counterfeit. Not to mention that he returned to crash that shop, he even demanded to sell it back at twice the price he paid. Now, in the blink of an eye, he regretted it, and bought the thing back…?
Lin Li really wanted to ask who was this Lasorick—to be exact, if he had mixed up his gender. Or else, why did he buy magical weapons the way women bought their clothes? What type of dilemma was that…?
"Furthermore, furthermore…" Kaman hesitated, but still continued his story with a weird expression. "J-just this morning, Kaman went back to the shop, and inquired really politely if I could sell him more such weapons…"
"How many did he want?" Lin Li asked. He did not have any qualms about Lasorick wanting to buy some more weapons. Since he still had quite a lot of magical metals that Kaman gave him the other time, Lin Li would definitely not reject someone who wanted to give him money. Of course, the price of the magical weapons would not be as low as before. Since Lasorick's father was the castellan of Doland, it would be a waste if he did not ask more from him…
"Oh, yes. Mage Felic, Master Lasorick also told me to arrange a meet-up with the blacksmith of that machete…"
"Lea
ve that for another time…" Lin Li hesitated. He did not want to promise Kaman that.
As for the explanation why he did not readily agree to that request, it was actually very business-minded. The common saying was that the reason why people did not betray others was not due to his loyalty, but because they did not have the ability to. Since he was just the son of a castellan, Lasorick did not have the power to force a Smithing Guru to reveal his identity…
Lin Li actually wanted to visit Doland that afternoon. He was indeed interested in the reward promised by the castellan of the Roland City. Of course, his eyes were not on the monetary benefits. Instead, he was interested in the granary of the Breezy Plains. Who made him meet that "my father said" dude who demanded a million gold coins' worth of grains? The castellan of Roland City should be the only person in the Breezy Plains who had the ability to grant this request…
In order to rescue the man from the Syer Bandits, the most important thing was to know more about that organization. Hence, it would be the easiest if Lin Li got such information from the Adventurers Guild.
After eating lunch, Lin Li and Norfeller walked to the entrance of the town. When they wanted to board a coach, they suddenly met somebody whom Lin Li really did not want to see…
"Master Felic, I have something to discuss with you…" It was the Master of Inscription, Moke.
Speaking of this Moke, he was not quite the ordinary man. Herza had once mentioned that he was an affable man who was more powerful than Aldwin in terms of handling Inscriptions, and was well respected by the people in the Supreme Council. He had helped to establish mageweaths at at least 20 out of the 24 magic guilds across Felan.
However, Lin Li did not know why this man showed him so much attitude ever since they met. It was as though their eight characters clashed with each other.
Thus, it was really polite of him to address him as "Mage Felic" today. If it was the usual days, he would address Lin Li with "Hey, the who…"
"Good afternoon, Master Moke."
Moke nodded, and replied Lin Li with a "yeah".
Yeah your head… Lin Li rebuked Moke inside his heart. When he looked at Moke again, he was less friendly.
"Master Moke has something to discuss with me?"
"Yeah, I'm here to notify you that the main body of the tower has been completed. I will start to establish mageweaths there during these two days. If you have any special requests, please tell me now."
Chapter 310 - Pickpocket
"Look, Master Moke. If you have extra time, please help me to establish 10 Wards of Bad Luck within the tower…"
"Wards of Bad Luck?" Moke asked in surprise.
Actually, before he went to Lin Li, he had decided to put up some low-grade mageweaths for Lin Li as the Supreme Council did not specify the grade of the mageweaths he had to use. Since Lin Li did not look like a man who would have much knowledge about Inscription, he would not be able to notice that the mageweaths had low quality…
However, Moke did not expect that the fella would be so dumb. Ward of Bad Luck was the simplest entry-level mageweath. Not to mention this Master of Inscription, even his weakest students would be able to create quite many of those.
Moke did not know whether he should laugh or cry at Lin Li's request.
How could somebody instruct a Master of Inscription to put up 10 Wards of Bad Luck…?
But forget it, that's good as well.
10 Wards of Bad Luck were requested by the man himself. If Herza were to question him about it, he could explain that it was according to the order of Lin Li himself. It was not his inefficiency…!
"Alright, 10 Wards of Bad Luck…" Moke nodded, and went off with a weird expression.
"Damn it, when did I even offend him?" Lin Li muttered to himself after Moke left. This Moke was really an unusual man. Since they had never met each other before, it was only normal for him to treat Lin Li politely. Why did he keep targeting him on purpose? That was really absurd!
Let us review what this dude had done…
Apart from his usual unfriendly attitude, he even dug a hole for Lin Li today! F*ck, since he was a Master of Inscription, how would he agree to construct Wards of Bad Luck when Lin Li casually asked him to do so? A fool would have known that mageweaths were the most crucial component in the defense mechanism of a mage tower. If it were to depend solely on 10 entry-level mageweaths, a swarm of mosquitoes would have destroyed the entire tower…
"Luckily, I still have something to back it up…" Lin Li muttered, and pursed his lips after seeing Moke's backview disappear from his vision.
For ordinary people, a Ward of Bad Luck was indeed the most basic of mageweaths. However, Lin Li knew that if one knew how to do it, it would bring about unimaginable effects…
Of course, knowing was knowing. Lin Li did not have the mood to remind Moke about that.
After sending Moke off, Lin Li went to the station to rent a coach. Then, he headed to Doland with Norfeller.
Upon entering Doland, the duo got down on their feet, and reached the entrance of the Adventurers Guild very quickly. The ground of the Breezy Plains was not that flat after all. There was a lot of Adventurers in the tiny Doland City, exceeding the numbers in Felan and Alanna. As the two men went up the steps, they saw a bustling scene. Thousands of Adventurers were gathered at the guild hall. It took Lin Li and Norfeller much effort to walk through the crowd.
The Adventurers Guild was always a place where people of different backgrounds gathered—especially in a place like Doland that lacked order. There were people of different age and gender, apprentices below level-5 and powerful people above level-15… and pickpockets, of course. The hustle and bustle in the guild hall made it seem like a busy wet market.
Lin Li walked into the guild hall, and felt something moving in his pocket. Before he managed to turn his head, Norfeller had already stepped in…
"L-let go of your hand!"
A frantic voice could be heard. Lin Li turned to look, and he saw a short and thin youth struggling with Norfeller. However, how could the strength of a human be comparable to that of a Vampire? His hand was as though caught in a metal pincer…
There was a coin pouch hanging on that index finger. It was dangling due to all the struggling…
Lin Li turned back, and naturally realized what had happened.
Doland was indeed Doland. It had the most pickpockets. Being one who had never encountered any pickpockets in Jarrosus and Alanna, Lin Li actually broke the streak by being in Doland for a few days.
"W-what… do you want? L-let me tell you, y-you are on the territory of our Mafia Brotherhood! If you dare to offend any of us, you are going to get it…" The short and thin youth tried to use the name of his organization to threaten the two men who looked like danger.
"Mafia Brotherhood?" Lin Li repeated after him. This name sounded rather familiar…
Oh, yes…
Wasn't this the undesirable organization that Old Salatt's son, Garso, joined…? So, it was just a bunch of pickpockets?
No wonder he saw a dangling hook peeking out of Garso's pocket that night. It seemed that he had a special occupation in Doland.
Damn, I have to warn Old Salatt to teach his son now. How can being a pickpocket have a brighter future than committing murder, arson, r.a.p.e, and robbing?
"Mafia Brotherhood, right?" Lin Li looked at the short and thin youth a while before instructing his high-ranking Vampire. "Norfeller, let him go first."
"Yes, Master. "
After that steel-like pincer let go of his hand, the short and lean youth took some time to rub his bruised hand. "So you know what's better for you…"
"Shut up, moron!" Lin Li snapped angrily. "I always despise pickpockets! If I didn't have something for you to help me out with, I would have gotten rid of you…"
"What are you joking about?!" The short and lean youth took a step back in fear. Just when he wanted to flee, he felt a burning sensation at his feet…
When he look
ed down, he nearly had a heart attack. He saw that his feet suddenly caught fire!
"What the hell is this! Help…" The short and thin youth winced in pain. The two balls of fire stuck to his feet. Regardless of how he struggled, he could not shake them off.
"Don't be so nervous. It is just a small trick…" Seeing that it was enough, Lin Li waved his hand to disperse the spell. "But, if you don't want to listen to us, this little trick can take your little life too…"
"Y-you, you… What do you want?"
"I don't have anything I want to do, I just have an errand I hope you can help me with…" Lin Li said as he brought Norfeller towards the exit of the guild hall. Before stepping out, he looked back, and said, "If you don't want to be burnt alive, you'd better follow us out now…"
"Oh my God…" The short and thin youth shivered as he imagined himself being burnt alive. Then, he followed them outside in trepidation.
After the three people reached an isolated area, Lin Li stopped in his tracks, and turned to look at the youth.
"Introduce yourself," he said, and gave the youth a smile that sent jitters down his spine.
"I… I'm Duke…"
"Very good, Duke. Are you interested in earning some money?"
"Huh?"
"What, I believe there should only be a yes or a no, isn't it? I'm not a monster. Why are you looking at me like that? Do you think I will eat you up?"
"…" Duke swallowed his saliva and cursed in his mind. How should I know if you are a monster?
"What's your answer?"
"Erm." The short youth hesitated. "Yes…" he replied meekly.
"I have some errands that I need help with. If you help me do it, I can give you 5000 gold coins as a reward."
"D-did you say '5000 gold coins'?"
That shocking number nearly gave Duke a heart attack. When he held Lin Li's heavy wallet just now, he knew that Lin Li had to be a rich man. But, no matter how imaginative Duke was, he would not have expected him to offer such a high monetary reward. Did he get all his wealth from the wind?
