by Zhuang Bifan
"Oh?" The silver flame that was almost on Ujfalusi froze. "You can become my servant?"
Suspicion was evident in Lin Li's gaze. To be honest, Ujfalusi was quite attractive to Lin Li in terms of his capabilities. He was a true Lich that had lived for 400 years. It let him acc.u.mulate vast knowledge and power, making him a perfect assistant to anybody.
Just like Norfeller…
Whether it was Jarrosus or Alanna, Lin Li had to do everything himself, and while this decreased the risks, it also gave him more problems. Only after the battle at the Demon Fall Valley did he get Norfeller on his side, and things became much easier from there. Sometimes, Lin Li did not even have to step in personally—all he had to do was say the word, and it would be done for him.
Moreover, Norfeller was only level-17, while Ujfalusi was formerly a Lich above level-20. Even if he had fallen from the Legendary-realm, that was only temporary since he had once surpassed the Legendary-realm—it would not take him long to recover his lost strength!
Of course, this was all provided that Ujfalusi was not fooling him…
Otherwise, wouldn't he be in trouble if he got a servant who might turn against him anytime?
"Alright, Ujfalusi, tell me what you're thinking. I'm interested…"
"I… I can sign Soul Contract with you." Ujfalusi did not hesitate this time.
"Soul Contract?" Lin Li paused. He was not well-versed with the various contracts Undead creatures had.
Thankfully, Norfeller came over from behind him, and whispered in his ear. "A Soul Contract works as follows: an Undead creature breaks its soul fire into pieces and hands over a piece to the owner of the contract. Through the piece of soul fire, you can attain a portion of its knowledge and strength, as well as have complete control over it, even deciding if it lives or dies. In terms of restrictions, the Soul Contract is just behind the blood oath we made."
"So impressive?"
"Yes…"
After getting Norfeller's confirmation, Lin Li smiled cunningly. "Very well, Ujfalusi, I'm interested in the Soul Contract. Should we discuss the details?"
"…" Ujfalusi glanced at this guy, and for a split second doubted if this person who was smiling like a hawker was really the one who held the scary Divine Power and destroyed the Humerus Wyrm and Humerus Domain.
Of course, he kept it for himself. He did not dare provoke this guy—wouldn't that be suicidal? If the guy lost his temper and let the silver flame fall, Ujfalusi would surely turn into ashes.
Honestly, when Ujfalusi instantly released his soul fire, he looked so eager as though he was afraid that Lin Li would take back his words.
Undead creatures were undead because they did not have a soul—everything they had including their power, knowledge, and memories all came from their soul fire. As long as the soul fire was still burning, then their lives would be eternal.
And right now, Ujfalusi was handing over his power, knowledge, and memories…
A bit of fire started burning in Ujfalusi's skull as he chanted in a low, throaty voice. Through the cracks in the skull, Lin Li could see that the flame was burning brighter and brighter. Every flicker of the flame brought Ujfalusi great pain, and the heavy breathing and whimpers made him sound like a cornered beast…
A ball of flames suddenly jumped out of his skull, followed by a shattering cry.
In a split second, a strong death aura filled the room even though the silver flame dancing on Lin Li's finger had already filled the room with a Holy Scent. The death aura coming from the ball of fire was as heavy as a rock, weighing down on everyone's breathing.
"Oh powerful mage, your servant Ujfalusi pledges you his loyalty…" Once the soul fire had been separated, Ujfalusi's voice became very weak. Lin Li would not have heard him clearly if he had not been paying close attention.
The soul fire hovered silently in the air as time seemed to stand still. Even Lin Li could not help being in shock as he faced this strange sight. He did not dare move as he stared blankly at the ball of fire. Only Lin Li knew that the phenomenon before them was not as calm as it seemed to be—the moment the ball of flame had jumped out form Ujfalusi's skull, Lin Li could already feel his mental strength boil. It felt like the flowing lava from a volcanic eruption; his mental strength was already freakishly strong, but now it had the ferocity of a starved wolf in front of fresh, bloody meat. The moment it saw the bit of flame, it seized it tightly…
Then, Lin Li felt countless scenes and voices coming from the bit of flame. His mental strength had coiled tightly around it, and the countless scenes and voices also melted within, finally becoming part of Lin Li. He had completely forgotten about everything around him now as he was immersed in this peculiar state; the world seemed to have vanished as there was only one thought left in the blank of his mind. It was to milk all the knowledge, power, and memories he could from that soul fire…
Time ticked by. Nobody knew how long it had been before a loud crashing sound appeared in Lin Li's ears. It felt like he suddenly saw a bright light after walking through endless darkness, and in the bright light, Lin Li suddenly grabbed something. In a split second, he saw many vivid colors flash before his eyes as well as heard countless voices in his ears; when it all disappeared and silence returned, Lin Li knew that he was now a totally different person…
Lin Li knew that the bit of soul fire did not only bring him Ujfalusi's knowledge and memories, it also gave him power in its purest form. The power had melded with his mental strength, and might have brought him past level-17— oh no, that was not right! The difference between level-16 and level-17 was not that obvious, so it should be the peak of level-17, or maybe… he had reached level-18!
"Ujfalusi, I accept your loyalty." Lin Li closed his eyes as he felt the change spread throughout his body. Only when the change was sealed did he slowly open his eyes and extinguish the silver flame on his fingertip.
As the remnant of the debris of the stars vanished, so did the Divine Power in the air, but Lin Li was not bothered by it. Ujfalusi's soul fire was burning within him, and Lin Li was able to control Ujfalusi's life and death through this soul fire.
"Mage Felic, we found Miss Yvonne's brother…"
Just then, footsteps could be heard at the door, and when Lin Li opened his eyes, he saw a few Adventurers push open the door. A young man around 16 years old followed behind them. He had silky golden hair and a delicate face; from his looks, he did resemble Yvonne.
Chapter 335 - Church of Dawn
"Brother, is that really you?" Yvonne's eyes turned misty as soon as the young man appeared in the door. After all, hadn't she suffered all the shocks and dangers along the journey just to bring her brother home?
The pair of siblings had just escaped death, and had many things to tell each other after reuniting. As they talked about their experiences, their voices became teary. Unfortunately, Lin Li had been used to acting indifferent, and this emotional scene looked terribly whiny to him. Hence, he waved his hand in annoyance. "Alright, alright, save this for when you're back and pack your things. We should leave this damn place first…"
"…" The young lady could not help turning red after being chided by Lin Li, and wiped her tears before tugging her brother's hand to stand up, planning on waiting till all of them had left Syer Town.
"Who are you, how dare you speak to my sister like that?" The young man pulled his hand away unexpectedly and glared at Lin Li. Paired with his disheveled blond hair, he somewhat resembled an angry lion cub. "Right, you must be an Adventurer my sister hired to save me? Since when have the Adventurers in Roland City become so unprofessional? How dare you speak to your employer in this manner! Let me tell you, you'd better apologize to her right now, or you'll regret this attitude when we return to Roland City!"
"…" Everyone suddenly took a breath in sharply at the young man's words as they looked at him as though he had just sprouted wings…
Almost everyone was wondering if this rascal really did not know better. Damn it, is
he courting death?
"Brother, that's enough…" The young lady became anxious now. Even if she was any dumber, she would realize what kind of a figure this guy who was supposedly a coward really was. He killed the Humerus Wyrm and destroyed the Humerus Domain, as well as wiped out an entire army of Undead creatures in a flash. Such a guy would be rare in the whole of Breezy Plains, much less Roland City.
What scared Yvonne the most was that this guy was unusually petty…
Yvonne had seen it for herself outside the Bell Tower earlier—he turned against his companions so easily, and heavily injured the Bandit in one move. If not for Jason and Sienna's immediately repenting, he would have killed the Bandit. If he did that to the people who have accompanied him along the way, what would he do to her brother?
"Sister, don't stop me! This guy is so rude to his employer, how can you tolerate that? Did he threaten you with something? Don't be afraid, I'll have father deal with him when we return!"
"Shut up, I told you to stop!" Yvonne was terrified, hearing her brother rattle on.
The room fell silent suddenly as everyone lowered their heads and dissociated themselves from the unfolding scene—except Yvonne, who was scared out of her wits. They would be crazy to go trifle with Mage Felic now; they might get dragged into this too…
The young lady stared wide-eyed at Lin Li with fear and pleading eyes. Time seemed to pass by very slowly. Yvonne did not know how much time had passed before the scary mage suddenly smiled. She then let out a long breath of relief because she clearly heard him say, "Sienna, get your men to prepare to return to Roland City and try to find the bodies of those who have died. I'm sure they won't like this creepy place…"
"Yes, Mage Felic."
When the sun rose to the highest point, a dozen carriages were beginning their journey out of the ruins of Syer Town.
Almost at the same time, something big happened in the Ledin Kingdom.
The City of Dawn, Delano, was home to the grandest church in the whole of the Ledin Kingdom as well as Anril—Church of Dawn—and owed it its moniker. The person helming it was none other than the Pope of the Brilliance Shrine, Rosario.
Legend had it that he was the incarnation of the Holy Light. He became the pope at only 30 years old, and spread the gospel throughout the whole of Anril within a century. Even the stubborn magical kingdom of Felan had built a dozen churches of varying sizes. This was a great achievement that none of the previous popes had been capable of. Thus, to the followers of the Brilliance Shrine, Rosario was the embodiment of the Holy Light itself—especially in the holy kingdom of Ledin, where Rosario's words were akin to the will of the Holy Light. The king was nothing compared to him as everything in the royal household of the Ledin Kingdom had to be discussed with the pope before a decision could be made.
Moreover, none of the kings in the Ledin Kingdom found anything wrong with it as this was the case ever since the Dark Ages ended over a 1,300 years ago. If not for the protection of the Brilliance Shrine, the Ledin Kingdom would have fallen prey to their ferocious neighbors 800 years ago already. How would they have been able to enjoy their status as one of the four strongest kingdoms of Anril today?
The Church of Dawn was especially quiet today. There were 40 Paladins, 12 Cardinals, seven Head Referees and two Archbishops present in the meeting room. They were headed by the pope.
Rosario, who looked to be about 50 years of age, and had rosy cheeks and a warm smile, was the picture of an amiable old man. On his left and right sat the two Archbishops of the Brilliance Shrine. They were just beneath him in terms of authority. Lin Li was actually familiar with one of them—it was the Archbishop Englos, who was well-versed in Pharmaceutics…
For some reason, though, tension was high in the meeting room as everybody held their breaths and looked at Rosario silently. Their expressions of horror would have been mistaken for those of people awaiting an impending attack by the Darkness Shrine if it had been 700 years ago.
Of course, nobody would think that now.
The Darkness Shrine had been crippled 700 years ago, and did not have the means to challenge the Brilliance Shrine today. Now, their only association with each other was the fact that their names had contrasting meanings, "darkness" and "brilliance"…
The Darkness Shrine had once been their archnemesis, but today, it was nothing to the Brilliance Shrine. Rosario had turned a blind eye to the friendship between Englos and Sendros, which meant that the Brilliance Shrine did not hold the Darkness Shrine in high regard at all. The truth was that it was indeed the case—just look at the people sitting in the meeting room…
The 40 Paladins and 12 Cardinals were powerful individuals who were near the Legendary-realm. The seven Head Referees and two Archbishops had surpassed the Legendary-realm long ago. As for the living legend, the Pope Rosario himself, he surpassed the Legendary-realm at 30 years old, and never fought anybody for the century to come. Perhaps even his most trusted Archbishops did not know what he was truly capable of…
At a glance, there were 10 individuals who'd surpassed the Legendary-realm in this meeting room, so how powerful would they be? Even in the whole of Anril, perhaps only the Supreme Council could go against them. As for the Darkness Shrine…. well, let the past stay in the past…
"Your Holiness, is what you said true?" The Cardinal who broke the silence was a man in his forties. He had mustache on both sides of his mouth, the favored look of a Ledin man. It seemed he was a true blue Ledin.
"You're right, Anko."
"That's… that's impossible!" The Cardinal's voice rose half a pitch as he stood up abruptly before realizing that everyone was looking at him. It only occurred to him then that he had been disrespectful to the pope, and he hurried to explain himself. "Uh… Your Holiness, I don't mean to doubt your words, it's just… it's just too unbelievable that… that the Son of the Holy Light would descend so suddenly."
"Have a seat, Anko, I understand what you mean…" Rosario looked at the youngest Cardinal without a hint of annoyance in his eyes, only a warm smile on his face. "Well, it isn't just you, even I find this too… too unbelievable indeed…"
"Then—"
"Let me finish, Anko."
"Yes, Your Holiness."
"Everyone here is a devoted follower. I believe you have sensed that there was an explosion of a strong Divine Power southeast of the Ledin Kingdom yesterday at midnight. This morning, I went to study the Book of Dawn about what's written on the Son of the Holy Light, and it coincides with the Divine Power from last night: strong and pure, just like the Holy Light itself…"
The meeting room with dozens of people fell unusually silent; everyone hung over his every word as they were afraid of missing out any detail.
Rosario's gaze swept across all their faces before he let out a tired smile. "Actually, when all of you were on your way to the Church of Dawn, I had already performed the Great Prophecy thrice…"
"What!?" After Rosario said that, everyone including the Cardinal and the two Archbishops as well as the seven Head Referees reacted even though they had remained silent so far. Englos was the most emotional of them all—the dignified Archbishop who was also a Legendary individual suddenly stood up, worry and anxiety written all over his wrinkled face. His actions were no longer poised, and he resembled a restless young man. "Your Holiness, you said… you said that you have performed the Great Prophecy thrice?"
Chapter 336 - Heathen
"Englos, you need to calm down…"
"How can I calm down, Your Holiness!? You know your own condition the best. For the past 30 years, you have been plagued by viper's poison, and not once has it ceased to corrode your body. Every time you perform a theurgy, it adds on to the danger! You must recall that the Great Prophecy you performed 10 years ago nearly caused the viper's poison to escape control! If not for Mr Burnside from the Pharmacists Guild, I dare not imagine what would have happened…"
"Am I not fine now? Listen to me, Englos, the viper's poison is not tha
t scary. What happened 10 years ago was merely an accident as I did not think that it would be able to absorb divine strength. We have nothing to worry about now, for I have found a way to curb its effects, and I believe I will be able to neutralize it completely soon."
"I hope that is the case…" Since the pope had already said so, Englos decided not to press further, but when he heard that it could be completely neutralized, he suddenly thought of something. "Your Holiness, I know of a person who might be able to completely neutralize the viper's poison…"
"Oh?" Even the ever poised Rosario could not help showing an expression of shock when he heard this. The viper's poison had been lurking in his body for 30 years; perhaps no one else other than the pope himself knew the pain it brought. The poison of the wild beast had been constantly tormenting his body and soul; the seemingly never-ending pain was something hard to imagine for anyone who had not experienced it for themselves.
"About two months ago, I went to Alanna to attend a convention held by the Pharmacists Guild, and there I met a truly genius pharmacist. You wouldn't guess, but that a young man of barely 20 had such a great understanding of pharmaceutics that he put Balbo to shame. Sendros' and my abilities absolutely paled in front of his, and we saw for ourselves that he had easily solved a daunting question that had left the entire Pharmacists Guild helpless…"
"There is such an outstanding young man in the Felan Kingdom?"
"Yes, Your Holiness…" Englos took a deep breath at this moment. "He is truly a genius pharmacist. Sendros and I share the same sentiments on this. He will definitely become a pharmaceutics Guru within the next five years; it is only a matter of time for him to come up with the antidote for the viper's poison."
"Oh?" Surprise was evident in Rosario's gaze. It was not because he realized that the viper's poison could be neutralized, but because he'd never thought that Englos would hold a young pharmacist in such high regard. This Archbishop was the best pharmacist in the whole of Brilliance Shrine, and even the whole of the Ledin Kingdom—he was already a master in pharmaceutics, and there were barely any other pharmacists in the whole of Anril that left him in awe. Hence, to think that the best pharmacist would speak words of such high regard for a young man barely 20 years old…
