by Zhuang Bifan
"Don't worry. I know that you lack manpower, and that makes it seem like your actions are mere harassment. Look, the good thing is that we are all alive.
"I did not call for retreat as I realized they appear to be preparing for something. Especially the 10 Archmages, they would only appear when we got close to the bandits' nest. It was as though they were busy with something, and could not leave far. Otherwise, they would have driven us out of the Dragon Mountains."
What could be the matter that would occupy the 10 Archmages? Lin Li thought about how the Syer Bandits dug something out of the church in Black Clouds Town. Could the Archmages be protecting that treasure? But, what treasure could it be? I'll ask the people from the Malfa directly when they come over.
After hearing the updates on his guild, Lin Li left the tent with Gerian. As the President of the guild, as well as the owner of the Tower of Dusk, it was only natural for him to go and have a look at the condition of his men. At least three months had passed since he was away from the guild. He noticed some new faces in the Tower of Dusk, but knew that there was still no one with outstanding abilities.
"President Felic, let me introduce the new people to you." That was Gavin, whose role in Tower of Dusk was like a majordomo's. Although he had no official duty, he took charge of most of the matters.
There was an addition of 13 new members in Tower of Dusk over the three months Lin Li was away. However, the most able among them was only a level-14 Magic Shooter, while the less able ones were two Magic Shooters who had just reached level-10. It couldn't be helped, since the guild of magic had just been established in the Breezy Plains, and the stronger mages had all been attracted by the other forces long ago. If not for Basel's introduction, Lin Li would have to bring a group of people under level-10 on all of his missions. It would be like a child playing around then.
Gavin was a level-16 Archmage, and was considered the strongest mage after the President. Of course, that was excluding Basel, who was the Head Referee of the guild. After them would be Alan. He had just quit his habit of being a miser with mana, and successfully become a level-15 Archmage. The rest of the people were mostly Magic Shooters of level-10 to level-13, but it was still considered a significant force after being equipped with quality gear.
At this time, the new members of the Tower of Dusk were all looking at their young President. Although they had all heard that their President was a young man, they only knew how outdated they were when they saw the President in person. Usually, a young guild President would be around 40 to 50 years of age. None of them had imagined that he would look so young.
Of course, despite the fact that their President was really young, no one dared to doubt his ability. Although the existing members did not tell them his age to prevent people from provoking the President, they'd frequently tell them how terrifying his powers were.
After meeting the new members, he went to visit the injured members with Gavin, and had a cordial chat with them. Lin Li tried to understand the details of their injury and asked them if they had any problems and difficulties. Then, he reassured them to focus on the treatment and wished them a speedy recovery…
It was a blessing none of them had been severely injured despite having faced four Alchemy Colossuses and 10 level-18 Archmages. After visiting the wounded, Lin Li took out some Healing Potions and instructed Gavin to hand them to the others.
The sight of the Healing Potions changed the expressions of the new members. Healing Potions were very different from vulnerary. The latter had very general and basic functions like treating inflammation and clotting blood. The Healing Potions, however, were considered high-level magical potions that could rapidly heal injuries. Things that could be used to save lives were usually not cheap. One such Healing Potion could be sold from 8,000 to up to 1,000,000 gold coins in the market.
But, this young President not only gave the potions to them, but also did it without any sign of hesitation despite the hefty price. This won the favor of new members by a lot.
"Mr. President, your tent has been prepared. You may take a rest now," Gavin said as he went back to Lin Li after he distributed the Healing Potions.
"Yeah, let's go," Lin Li replied gently, and followed Gavin to the tent.
"Mr. President, feel free to call me if you have any needs," said Gavin respectfully. When he first entered the Tower of Dusk through Basel, he had thoughts of supplanting the young President, yet he did not dare to entertain such thoughts anymore. He was present in the Blackstone Mountains when he first saw the young level-19 Archmage use his powers. Now that he was back, Gavin could feel a stronger power within the young President. Gavin could hardly imagine what could be stronger than a level-19 Archmage. Mr. President was only 20 years old! 20 years old!
That night, the young and mysterious President was the main topic in discussions of all the guild members. No one dared to belittle him for his young age. The existence of the young President gave everyone ample confidence in themselves and the future of the Tower of Dusk.
It had been some time since Lin Li had a good rest. He remembered it had been nearly four months since he'd last slept in his tent in the Blackstone Mountains. This time, despite being dangerously close to the enemies, he felt extremely carefree when he slept.
Lin Li took an extremely long rest. He slept for three days and three nights. It was not that he was lazy, but that his mental strength had been greatly depleted from his journey to the Abyss of Tharlen. Using Connoris' ancient demonic runes had consumed a great amount of his mental strength. If it had been other people, their brain would have burst.
It was noon when Lin Li woke up. When he wanted to get some food, he saw Gavin standing outside his door. It seemed that Gavin wanted to look for him. "Hey, Mage Gavin. When did you arrive? What's the matter?"
"Mr. President, Hutton from the Malfa Family is waiting outside the campsite. He is looking for you." Gavin had an unusual expression. He did not know that Lin Li had sent an invitation to the Malfa Family. Gavin knew about the tension the President had with the family. Hence, he felt very confused when he saw Hutton extremely polite when he brought his men over.
"Yeah, it's alright. I sent Beckley to the Malfas to request assistance," said Lin Li casually.
But, Gavin still could not regain his composure. That was the Malfa Family—one of the top forces of the Breezy Plains! How would the young master of the family personally attend to the President's request just because of a letter?
Lin Li did not care what was on Gavin's mind. "Leave him alone for the time being. Bring me my breakf— lunch."
"Y-yes, Mr. President," Gavin replied after a short pause. But, thinking of how his President was treated by the Malfas, Gavin thought that it was only right for them to leave Hutton hanging for a while.
Hutton and a few of his followers were standing in front of the entrance of the campsite. It had been some time since he sent the message of his arrival. Yet, there was no more response from the campsite. He did not see their President anywhere, either.
"Sir Hutton, they are too rude. How could they let you wait here when they are the ones who summoned us?" One of the followers sulked with a great sense of injustice.
"That's right. Sir Hutton, why don't we return to the campsite first?" another follower asked.
"Shut up, we will wait here silently," Hutton snapped at the two followers in a low voice.
Finally, after some time, a burly mage with the built of a Warrior came out of the campsite. "I suppose you must be Mage Hutton from the Malfa Family. Our President is waiting inside. Please follow me in," the mage said to Hutton.
That made Hutton's followers very indignant. This was the first time they saw anyone treat the Malfa Family like that. Not only did they not wait at the door for the arrival of the young master, they also sent no one to greet him. Now, did they just let a servant call them in? Who did they think they were?
The two men looked at their master expectantly. They were waiting for Hutton's
order so they could dash into the campsite. They were so prepared to bring that darn President before Hutton for an apology. But, they did not expect the arrogant young master to take a step back.
"Oh, sure. I'd trouble you to bring me there then," said Hutton politely.
Hutton got increasingly shocked as he entered the campsite behind Gavin. Since the Tower of Dusk had only been established less than half a year ago, Hutton had not expected to see the campsite and mages to be so different from his expectations. He knew how great the young President Felic was. But, he just could not believe his eyes.
The moment he entered the campsite, he looked at the arrangement of the different facilities. Although it was a temporary campsite, it had a simple arrangement that was extremely orderly and well-planned. Hutton was a clever man. He could tell that the scattered formation of the tents had the ability to counter large-scale magical attacks and provide great support to one another in emergency.
What surprised Hutton the most was the mages from the Tower of Dusk.
Mages had incredibly high social status in this world. Hence, it made most of them very complacent and lacking discipline and respect for others. It was the same for the mages in the Malfa Family—they would feel very insulted if they were asked to train their battle formation like the Warriors.
Yet, the mages in the Tower of Dusk reminded Hutton of a group of well-trained Warriors despite their differing magic abilities. He even felt that the elites in his family might not even have much chance of winning if they were to challenge this group of mages.
The main reason was not that the mages in Tower of Dusk had great abilities, but Lin Li's willingness to invest heavily in them. Lin Li's action made them feel that they needed the Tower of Dusk, and not the other way round. Hence, in order not to be given up by the Tower of Dusk, they had to put in effort to adapt to their rules.
Unlike them, mages in local forces such as the Malfa Family were hired and paid. These forces did their best to accommodate them for fear that they would quit and join other forces if they were unhappy with their treatment. How would they dare to let them participate in training just like Warriors?
It couldn't be their lack of competency, either. To Hutton, although none of those mages other than that monstrous President could impress him, all of them were at least level-10. Together, they would be a significant force that couldn't be ignored.
Although a team made up entirely of mages was not something to be amazed with, what about the military-style discipline they had? Then, Hutton suddenly realized another difference between the mages in the Tower of Dusk and his own family's. Each of the mages here was wearing and using high-level magical equipment which his family could not bear to give their employees. To them, only the core team of the family had the right to own these items. Even the elites he'd brought along only had a few pieces of normal magical equipment.
Damn it! Could it be that there was a sale going on at the stores recently? Look at those magic robes! That magic staff! And that jewelry! Hutton felt a little resentful when he looked back at the status of the elites of the Malfa Family. They were like poor beggars relative to the people in the Tower of Dusk.
Hutton was even thinking if he should think of a way to ensure that his men did not meet the mages in the Tower of Dusk. Otherwise, they would be fighting to enter the Tower of Dusk before completing their mission.
Hutton had mixed feelings when he followed Gavin to Lin Li's tent.
Gavin gestured to Hutton to wait outside as he entered to notify Mr. President of Hutton's arrival. Then, Gavin came out of the tent. "Mage Hutton, our President would like to invite you in."
Hutton smiled as he nodded his head, and walked towards the tent.
This time, one of the followers sped in front of Hutton. He reached out his arms to help Hutton open the entrance of the tent.
But, his arms were blocked by Gavin. "Our President only invited Hutton in," Gavin reminded sternly.
"You!!" Hutton's follower shouted. He was enraged. How rude! Why is the host not yet out to receive us? He felt that it was as if the darn President was calling the young master of Malfa like a servant.
Since Hutton really wanted to butter up to Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk, how would he care to haggle over such trifles with them? Hutton waved his arms at his men. "You two… return first. Tell them no one is to leave the campsite without my orders."
Initially, Hutton had plans for his men to wait outside the tent. But, he feared the two men might wreak havoc in the campsite of the Tower of Dusk.
The followers of the Malfa Family were oblivious of the conversation that happened in Sorenson's study. One of the reasons was to protect the pride of the family, and the other was out of fear that the leakage of the secret might trigger that young President. Geresco's three relics were extraordinary. If one revealed they had a new owner, it would create a commotion. Then, the Malfa Family would be the first to get into trouble.
Hutton could not explain his concerns to his men. All he could do was to give them orders so they minimize any interaction with the people in the Tower of Dusk. Without interaction, there would be no conflict.
Hutton's gave them an extremely wise command. But, many a time, people were affected by their so-called 'common sense'. Who would think highly of a 20-year-old President and a guild of magic which was incapable of dealing with the leftovers of the Syer Bandits?
Lin Li had just finished his meal when Hutton entered. He gestured at the seat beside him, and said smilingly, "I didn't expect you to be here so early, Mage Hutton."
"Hehe, as a force of the Breezy Plains, it is our utmost responsibility to deal with the bandits affecting the stability and peace of our region. Hence, I've mobilized the elites of my family immediately as soon as I received your message. We have traveled here at twice our usual speed to assist you. Hope we would be of help in the operation to eliminate the bandits," Hutton replied ingratiatingly the moment he sat down.
Bullsh*t, I'd be a moron if I were to believe your fanciful words. Weren't you in cahoots with the Syer Bandits before this?
Despite his natural distrust in Hutton's words, Lin Li did not expose Hutton directly. "Then I shall trouble you, Mage Hutton. I believe that the elites of the Malfa Family have to be extraordinarily strong."
"You are too kind with your words. I've seen for myself how capable your men are as well. I'm really envious of you," Hutton responded flatteringly.
The two men Hutton had brought along, Yeric and Waldo, turned towards the exit of the camp without giving Gavin a second look. Both of them were outstanding figures in the team of mages under the Malfa Family. Their capability was similar to that of Emendas, and they were both level-16 Archmages. They would have the ability to eliminate all the forces in Jarrosus and take control of the entire place if they wanted.
The two men discussed Sir Hutton's unusual behavior as they walked towards the exit. They could not understand why Hutton had to be so cautious with this newly established guild. As the first heir to the Malfa Family, Hutton was quite an esteemed man in the Breezy Plains.
Chapter 478 - The Arm of the Immortal King
"Hey, look at that." Yeric suddenly stopped in his tracks. He gestured to Waldo with his elbow.
Waldo looked in the direction Yeric was signaling him to. He saw a plump mage teaching a youth mage apprentice in one of the empty fields in the campsite. The scene was hilarious to both men. They could not believe a man in his 20s would still be a mage apprentice. They thought it had to be either the young man's lack of potential or the failure of that plump mage.
The fatso in the campsite of the Tower of Dusk would naturally be Gerian. Meanwhile, the youth mage apprentice who had been terribly reprimanded was Garso, the son of Old Salatt.
Despite all the lashings Gerian gave his student, it was a fact that he really treasured Garso. This was not only due to Gerian's relationship with Old Salatt, but also his recognition of the bit of potential Garso had for learning magic.
>
The death of his father caused by the Syer Bandits motivated Garso to put in more effort into learning magic. He was driven to avenge his father. It was indeed ridiculous to still be a mage apprentice at this age, but it was a fact that Garso had progressed close to level-5 in just a few months of practice. He would be a real mage when he reached level-5.
However, although Garso had good potential in magic, he started too late. This would put a limit to what he could achieve in the future as well. After all, Old Salatt was just an old blacksmith in Black Clouds Town. He struggled to make ends meet with his business. How would he have the ability to let his son learn magic? Furthermore, mages were considered divine in the eyes of common men. Many people would never dare to wonder whether they could attain that seemingly unattainable status of a mage.
How would Yeric and Waldo know Garso's background? To them, it was as if they were watching a lowly mentor educating a lowly student. They ridiculed the stark contrast in body size between the mentor and student.
"Ha! So this is the standard of the Tower of Dusk? It is no wonder that they had no ability to fight the Syer Bandits. I think that apprentice would be better off being a bandit," ridiculed Yeric gloatingly. He made no effort in lowering his volume. To him, it would not matter if the other party could hear him. What could possibly happen if they did? Their President was in need of the Malfa Family—not the other way around.
"Moron," Gerian muttered under his breath. As the President of his guild of magic, his hearing had been perfected from listening in on all the gossips of himself between his men. His sense of hearing was so sharp that even the sneezing of a mosquito would never escape Gerian's ears. However, he was too lazy to care about Yeric. He treated Yeric's gloating as a dog's barking on the streets.
Unfortunately, the two men who Gerian did not feel like giving attention to had nowhere to vent their pent-up anger. How would they give up on any opportunity to ridicule the Tower of Dusk?
