by Zhuang Bifan
The campfire celebration only ended in the dead of the night. Lin Li had been silently sitting in his tent the whole time, repeating the events of the fight in his head. It seemed like Lin Li had nothing to do with the fight in the eyes of Jason and the rest as they thought that Norfeller had won purely by his own means and rescued them from the Ice Howler. Nobody had paid any attention to the cowardly employer…
This fellow had done nothing besides using two lowly kinds of magic before sitting beside the fire the whole time, not moving an inch even when Norfeller nearly died in the hands of the Ice Howler. Who would associate him the Ice Howler's death?
Nobody would guess that this cowardly fellow who seemed to have been a free rider the whole time was actually the main contributor to the Ice Howler's death. He had neutralized the Frost Shock with an Arcane Combustion, and killed the Ice Howler with a Countercurrent Vortex. By using the two spells together, he changed the outcome of the fight completely.
Honestly, even if Jason and the rest knew of this, they would find it hard to believe that this fellow had mastered such terrifying magic, what more be their creator…
The principle behind Arcane Combustion was not complicated: to put it simply, one had to release a large amount of mana at once to form a dense field with it. Any magic that passed through the field would be strongly stimulated, which caused the magical elements to become more volatile. Once the stimulation was strong enough, it would create an evaporation effect and cause any magic to disappear immediately, just like the Frost Shock earlier…
The Countercurrent Vortex was much more complicated as it required an immensely strong mental strength as well as a thorough understanding of magical mantras. Only those who mastered the core magical mantras would be able to forcefully reverse the flow of magical elements. This was a meticulous and complicated process, and a tiny mistake could change the magic in unpredictable ways. Sometimes, even Lin Li did not know what would happen when he released a Countercurrent Vortex…
Actually, Lin Li had already thought to create such magic back in Alanna. He had enriched his knowledge of magic in the Omniscient Tower and learned a great deal of advanced spells. All the copying and emulating had given him ideas to create his own magic. It was just that Lin Li had not been equipped with the ability to do so then…
The match in the Aurora Square came next.
Lin Li suddenly obtained a dozen core magical mantras during the match. It was a windfall bestowed upon him by the heavens as this was immeasurable wealth to any mage. All he needed to do was learn how to use this wealth, and he had spent his time in Black Clouds Town trying to master the core magical mantras. At the same time, his knowledge of magic and techniques of using magic had reached an unimaginable level. It was only natural that he started creating his own magic…
Lin Li had only wanted to cause some trouble for his enemies, using a nearly unlimited amount of mana when he first created the Arcane Combustion, but after some tests, he slowly realized that instead of forcefully oppressing his opponents, he could give them a hand instead. By increasing the speed of release of their magic and forcing it past a certain threshold, he could create a Brand Of Dusk effect and cause their magic to vanish.
Of course, the two kinds of magic varied in nature as one accelerated the meltdown, while the other used a channel to redirect the magic. However, they both resulted in a similar outcome, which was basically to extinguish the effect of his opponents' magic.
Moreover, the biggest advantage of the Arcane Combustion was that it worked regardless of his opponent's level. As long as Lin Li's mana was stronger, he could attempt to engulf their magic with Arcane Combustion.
Then, the Countercurrent Vortex…
Quite honestly, more than half the credit for creating this magic went to Darian. He had slightly altered the Inscription Structure of the Aurora Square back in Alanna and attempted to use this trap to trip up Lin Li in the finals. Little had he known that Lin Li's accomplishments in Inscriptions were far beyond what he could imagine, and the young mage was able to ruin Darian's carefully planned ploy and take Matthias his life as well with just a small change.
The Countercurrent Vortex worked quite similarly to the change in Inscription, which was by using the advantage he had in mental strength to forcefully change the flow of magical elements. If it worked, he would be able to kill almost any of his enemies.
Alas, both of these kinds of magic carried fatal flaws.
Firstly, it took too long to use Arcane Combustion as it required too large an amount of mana. Even with Lin Li's technique, he had to recite the spell for at least 20 seconds before switching to a guiding mode immediately. He had to constantly remain in a guiding mode as he could not allow the field of combustion to detach from him, or else, all the mana he had painstakingly released would vanish in a second…
The flaw in the Countercurrent Vortex was even more fatal as using mental strength to forcefully alter the flow of magical elements was already dangerous in itself. It might be alright if his opponent was a magical beast like the Ice Howler if he was accidentally caught in it. However, it could be devastating against a mage as their battle could turn in so many directions at once that even Lin Li was not confident of constantly suppressing his mental strength.
He could easily make a long list of flaws, and every single one of them was enough to cost him his life.
Well, it was two kinds of newly created magic, after all, and they had too many areas to be improved upon compared to magic that had been passed down and perfected for thousands of years. If the latter was a carefully crafted piece of art, his magic could only be described as the doodling of a child, messy and unrefined, with ridiculous loopholes everywhere.
However, it was these ridiculous loopholes that gave the two unlimited potential as even Lin Li might not know the extent of power they could achieve after repeated improvements and modifications.
Lin Li spent the night racking his brains for ideas to improve them, and only drifted off into a deep sleep when the sky started to become bright.
Not long after he fell asleep, Lin Li heard Jason's voice from outside the tent.
"Are you awake, Mage Felic?"
"What is it?"
"I'm here to inform you that we are setting off soon."
"Why so early…" Lin Li rubbed his eyes as he peered outside the tent, only to realize that the sun was already shining brightly.
"No choice, the Dragon Mountains are the Syer Bandits' territory, after all, and after the ruckus we caused fighting the Ice Howler last night, I'm afraid there'll be trouble if the bandits came over… "
"True…" Lin Li thought for a bit, and realized that Jason was right. He quickly crawled out of his sleeping bag and put on his robe, only to get a shock when he emerged from his tent. He clearly saw a few dozen people encircling his tent—there were even some familiar faces among them. Norfeller, the Priest, the mousy-looking bandit and the young leader… Last but not least, he saw the helpful middle-aged adventurer and the young missus of the castellan's family…
"Are you kidding me!"
Chapter 322 - Radar
"Jason, care to explain what's going on?" Lin Li's expression darkened as he glanced outside the tent. Isn't this too much? I only napped a bit and you appear with over 30 people who are nothing but a burden? If I took a longer nap, wouldn't you have called on the entire city of Doland?
Lin Li really wanted to ask Jason if he knew what kind of place they were heading to. They were going to the ruins of Syer Town, the base Vanskore had painstakingly managed for the last 20 years! Even the Legendary mage Basel was somewhat wary of it, and you, Jason, want to stroll in with 30 or so people who are nothing but a burden to us? You going to a picnic or something?
"Well…" Jason brushed his nose sheepishly and avoided looking at his grumpy employer as he mumbled while looking down. "Leader Sienna is going to the ruins of Syer Town as well, so I thought there would be safety in numbers. If anything happens, we can look
out for one another…"
When he mentioned "look out", Jason gave Lin Li a glance, and even though he did not say anything more, his expression and demeanor gave him away. He was trying to say that traveling with the weak and cowardly Lin Li gave him tremendous burden; hence, now that he was presented with a group of men willing to join them for free, of course he jumped at the opportunity to travel with them…
"…" Lin Li almost exploded in anger. Of course, he understood what Jason was getting at. He was definitely alright with getting free manpower since he did that often himself, but the problem was, could Jason have better taste when doing that?
Do these adventurers look like decent manpower to you? The highest of them all is only level-14, while the lowest barely over level-10! Besides, is Syer Town a place for the missus of the castellan's family to stroll? It may be one thing for these Adventurers to die there, but if the missus died as well, I'd like to see how you're going to answer for it to the castellan of Roland City…
"Leader Sienna, you're going to the ruins of Syer Town too?" Lin Li finally asked after staring at Sienna for a long while. Honestly, this young man was quite promising indeed: level-14 yet he was only in his twenties, and was the leader of such a big mercenary corps too. If presented with an opportunity, he might well become a distinguished figure in the Breezy Plains.
However, Lin Li was not interested in helping young talents or growing a mercenary corps. He'd only intervened in the battle against the Ice Howler because it threatened his safety as well. He'd never thought of bringing them along to the ruins of Syer Town. This was as ridiculous as a girl holding on to a guy after a one night stand and crying that she was pregnant with his child—only Jason would buy this and think himself lucky too.
"Yes…" Sienna was aware that he was not really welcome, and looked somewhat embarrassed as he spoke.
"You know, Leader Sienna… as far as I know, the ruins of Syer Town are not a peaceful place, are you sure about going there?"
"Well…" Sienna hesitated, but before he could speak, the castellan's missus anxiously replied, "Sienna, you promised me to rescue my brother!"
"Of course, Miss Yvonne, don't worry…" Sienna quickly placated the castellan's missus, and looked at Lin Li again. "Well, Mage Felic…"
Everyone naturally looked at Lin Li following Sienna's question. Everybody had heard from Jason that this cowardly employer had paid 30,000 gold coins to hire them to accompany him to the ruins of Syer Town. Courage and morals aside, he had already paid the money, so of course he was the one to call the shots. It was up to him to decide if the Adventurers could tag along with them.
Lin Li glanced at him, but did not reply. Instead, he turned to the castellan's missus. "Miss Yvonne, if I'm not wrong, you said yesterday night that your brother was taken by the Syer Bandits. Shouldn't you go to the Dragon Mountains if you want to save him? What are you going to Syer Town for?"
"No, I know Cyndor is not there, he's at the ruins of Syer Town!"
Lin Li only wanted to test the waters, and did not expect to receive such a firm reply as the young lady looked him in the eye unwaveringly.
"How do you know it?"
"Of course I do!"
"Well, Mage Felic…" Lin Li wanted to press more, but Jason suddenly coughed at the side. "Miss Yvonne and Master Cyndor are twins, and have always had a mysterious telepathic connection. Everyone in Roland City knows this…"
"Is that so…" Lin Li was shocked. He had heard people talking about the telepathic connection that twins shared—if one was in trouble, the other would be able to feel it immediately. He'd never thought that he would be able to witness it, much less in such a situation…
If this was true, Miss Yvonne's value would have to be reconsidered. Bringing her along would be like bringing along an incredibly s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e radar; they wouldn't even need to search in Syer Town, for all they had to do was go in the direction pointed out by her, and they could easily save the young master. This was much better than searching for a needle in a haystack…
"Alright Leader Sienna, welcome…" Lin Li paused suddenly. "But I have to say this first, the ruins of Syer Town are far more dangerous than what you would expect, and even Jason may not be able to fend for himself. You and your Adventurers would have to look out for yourselves…"
Sienna heaved a sigh of relief, and hurriedly assured Lin Li, "Of course, we will look out for ourselves…"
How dangerous could mere ruins be? As long as he had Jason and Norfeller when they crossed the Dragon Mountains and left the Syer Bandits' territory, everything would go according to the plan.
Sienna had already thought of everything. Once they reached the ruins of Syer Town, he would come up with an excuse to leave and bring Miss Yvonne along so that they could go and rescue her brother. He could not share the credit of rescuing Cyndor with the rest for nothing…
Lin Li nodded, and it all became easier as they only used 10 minutes to get ready before they set off. He had to admit that it was easier to travel with so many people; it became more convenient to do some things as well since Sienna had over 30 men with him. Other things aside, they had more food and drinks now than when Lin Li and the rest were alone. Even the magical beasts were taken cared of by the other Adventurers who charged at them and slashed blindly, which usually took care of everything. Hence, Jason and his companions did not even have the chance to step in.
Their journey was unusually smooth as they barely ran into any trouble, which allowed them to reach the foot of the Dragon Mountains very quickly. According to Jason, they only had to travel for another hour to reach the perimeters of Syer Town. Lin Li held the Aether Staff in his hand as he walked at the end of the group, a frown never leaving his face.
After passing through a dense forest, they reached an open field, and as they looked from the edges of the forest, they could start to make out the outline of Syer Town. The once prosperous town had been reduced to ruins after 20 years, and all they could see were remnants of it. Even the skies of Syer Town seemed to be filled with gloomy clouds. Most of the adventurers already heard of the tragedy that had happened years ago in Syer Town, and they were all talking about it. Their discussions mainly revolved around how prosperous Syer Town had been, and how many people died back then, but none of them realized that there appeared a faint stench of decay ever since they walked out of the forest…
Norfeller and Lin Li seemed to be the first ones to notice that.
Norfeller noticed it because it was an all too familiar smell to him seeing as he was a high-ranking Vampire who had spent a thousand years in an underground palace where there were countless Undead creatures. Lin Li only noticed it because he had always kept Basel's warning in mind; while him saying that he did not dare venture into Syer Town might have been a bit of an exaggeration, the warning hidden in his words was clear. Even a fool would know that the ruins of Syer Town were not as harmless as they seemed.
Indeed…
The stench of decay carried to them by the wind was no doubt the aura of the Undead.
Well, thinking of it, thousands had died in the epidemic that happened in Syer Town years ago, and even without any external factors, the grievance of thousands of ghosts would have been sufficient to create a nightmarish monster. Surely it would make sense for some Undead creatures to appear after such a tragedy?
Only Lin Li could not understand why Vanskore chose this place as his hiding spot, since he was one of the survivors of the tragedy and should know very well that Undead creatures had occupied the town. Could it be that they had found a way to control the Undead creatures, or could they have come to an agreement with the leader of the Undead?
Bloody hell, an agreement between humans and the Undead…
Lin Li continued to ponder as he quickened his steps, and the group quickly crossed the field. As they got closer to Syer Town, the death aura became stronger, and even the few weeds on the sides of the barren path looked close to wilting. It was a desolate sight: the sky
above the town was gloomy as it was filled with dense gray clouds, and made them feel suffocated even when just standing there. The entire town seemed to be wrapped in a black fog; Lin Li, who had been to both the Shadowglen and the underground palace, knew that this was because the death aura had solidified. Only a place with a large number of Undead creatures would have such dense and intense death aura.
"That's right, these are the ruins of Syer Town…" Sienna said after staring at a map for ages before smiling at Lin Li. "Mage Felic, we were lucky to have you along the way, but I'll save my words of thanks for when you guys drop by Roland City. I shall thank you properly then."
Of course, Lin Li knew what Sienna was thinking. He wanted to save the castellan's son once they reached Syer Town, and did not want to share the credit with other people. Honestly, Lin Li would have gladly sent them on their way if they were anybody else since they would only get in his way and delay their escape.
Only, he could not do that now. Well, there was an incredibly accurate radar amongst this group of people who were nothing but a burden.
So, Lin Li only laughed, and said, "You're too kind, Leader Sienna, it was only a small matter. Oh, right, I think I heard people mention that there are many Undead creatures in this town, I wonder if that's true…"
"Undead creatures?" Sienna froze as soon as he heard it as he glanced around nervously before forcing out a smile. "Ha… haha, Mage Felic you're so humorous, why… why would there be Undead creatures in a pile of ruins…"
"It was just something I heard, you don't have to take it to heart…" Lin Li said with a smile, but Norfeller suddenly moved next to him.
Norfeller moved so quickly that nobody could react to it, and all they saw was a black shadow before they heard some noise. Suddenly, a pile of white bones flew over, and a rusty machete coincidentally landed between Lin Li and Sienna.
