by Zhuang Bifan
Apart from summing up the knowledge gains in the previous days, Lin Li also wanted to use the opportunity to understand the Rules of the Holy Light and the Darkness. Polar Snow and Raging Flames had been left in the underground palace, and he had no idea when he could collect them, but regardless of whether he could successfully acquire the Ice element magical crystal of the ancient dragon or not, he would have no choice but to give up on the magical domain when necessary.
Even if the natural Magic Domain could not be fused with the Eternal Furnace, Lin Li felt that he had to at least master the seven debris of the stars and Stars of Fury in order to cope with the calamity that would happen in the near future. Even though he had some of the debris of the stars, understanding its Rule power required more than just a few days. Hence, for safety purposes, Lin Li decided to understand the debris that he had as well as he could now lest he ran out of time when all seven pieces were gathered by him.
While Lin Li was settling down to sum up the gains and losses that he'd made in the past few months, the construction of the new Black Clouds Town was in full swing. Although those involved in the construction, be it ordinary artisans or magicians, were not clear what exactly they were constructing, they could still vaguely guess based on the complicated and exquisite design that after the new Black Clouds Town was built, it would definitely become an indestructible fortress.
Lin Li designed the new Black Clouds Town to be hexagonal, which was a rather common arrangement in mageweath and alchemy. Although the design was themed around the magic gears, some arrangements were reserved for adding Mageweath or Alchemy Arrays in the future.
In order not to affect the lives of the residents of the town, Lin Li decided to design the new Black Clouds Town in such a manner that it did not become a closed fortress lest it became like a prison. If that were the case, they would be better off living in a normal city. When they were not facing any invasions, the entire town would be open, and one would be able to look across the town and enjoy a panoramic view when standing at the entrance.
When encountering an enemy attack, the entire town would immediately be changed in structure and the fort defense form would emerge as a result of a switch in the magic gears. The outermost layer of the construction was made of a particularly strong material that was not only strong, but also very durable and resistant to magical powers. The layer would become the fortress' wall after the magic gears were activated, and at the same time, the 36 lamp posts in the town would prop up the dome magic shields that were only found in bigger cities.
These two defense mechanisms alone were strong enough to defend against enemies. Even the Syer Bandits wouldn't be able to break through the defensive walls.
However, it was not like Lin Li to stay submissive and allow others to attack him. If his sole intent was to provide a better defensive system, there would be no need to design so many elaborate magic gears. He had designed a total of 10-odd blueprints. If anyone were to attack the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li would perhaps let his enemies die a better death. However, they would never be forgiven if they were audacious enough to harm the ordinary citizens of Black Clouds Town.
The first would be the most basic attacking method. Each wall was equipped with 200 magical crossbows, and the complementary wind magic could make it harder for one to dodge the crossbow bolts once they were shot. The town was rather small in the first place, and the length of every side was also very limited. There were basically no blind spots when 200 magical crossbows fired continuously in different directions. With the clever settings of magic gears, they could also automatically track moving objects within the shooting range.
The magical crossbows were also shooting first-class enchanted bolts no inferior to a level-10 spell each. All of the crossbows were automatically reloaded by magic gears, which could guarantee that 20 bolts could be fired in a row. In other words, 4,000 enchanted crossbow arrows could be consecutively fired from each wall. There definitely would not be any survivors after the salvo was shot.
That was also why everyone who had seen the blueprints thought that the designer was insane. Even bustling big cities could not be equipped with so many crossbows, be it enchanted or magical. Six walls, 1,200 magical crossbows, 24,000 first-class enchanted crossbow bolts. The money spent alone was enough to buy 100 Black Clouds Towns.
These magical crossbows could be considered weapons that were used to deal with the enemy's small fries; of course, that was on the condition that one could call people at level-10 small fries. If the enemy managed to survive such an attack, what awaited him next would be a hopeless journey to hell. Don't forget that in addition to being an inscription master and a magic gears master, Lin Li was also a pharmacist Guru.
Medicine and potions could be used to save lives, to help practice martial arts or magic, and of course to harm people. As a pharmacist, Lin Li possessed fascinating formulas that could make one feel like they were in a living hell. He also had those that could poison someone to death immediately, as well as those that could weaken the magic shield, deplete magical powers, and induce hallucinations, or cause severe decomposition of living human bodies.
Basically, there were only a few people who could survive a conflict with a pharmaceutics Guru. Unless he had the help of a strong Legendary-realm powerhouse, even an Archmage would be at a huge disadvantage. He might survive if he was lucky, or regret and get shot to death right from the start if he was not. Most people would not get to even catch a glimpse of the potions concocted by pharmaceutics Gurus, and they could be considered fortunate to be able to die in the hands of a pharmaceutics Guru.
It would require quite a bit of time for the new Black Clouds Town to adopt its defense form through the switching magic gears—at least one minute. If other magic gears experts and researchers were present, they would definitely find it incredible, since the transformation of this form transpired on a large scale even though the principle was simple. One minute was truly the b.a.r.e minimum.
In order to solve this problem of conversion time and prevent the residents of the town from being caught off guard by an attack, surveillance gears were set up 10 kilometers away from the town. Although the Warlock's Eyes was a simple spell, the magical waves were easily discovered. Using the magic gears would eliminate that problem.
In addition to the supervision, copies of the surveillance data would be sent to the Tower of Dusk as well as the town so as to avoid mistakes that could result from the negligence of the person in charge of monitoring. Besides, it would also make it more convenient for the tower to send rescue teams to provide aid and relief in time.
Once danger was detected and the hostile intentions of the enemy were confirmed, a surveillance officer in the town or the Tower of Dusk would be able to activate the magic gears and allow the entire town to go into defense mode in a minute. Even an Archmage would not be able to fly the distance of 10 kilometers to the town within just a single minute.
Even if the enemy was a strong powerhouse of the Legendary-realm, there were still hundreds of Magic-resistant Gems Lin Li had brought from the underground palace that would render the enemy helpless once 10 of them were arranged in a magic drainage pattern. Although 10 Magic-resistant gems would not be enough to resist the powerful blow of a Legendary powerhouse, they could at least reduce the intensity of the enemy's offensive spells. The magical drainage could then be used to transmit the power absorbed from the magical attack into the power core of the magic gears, operating without any wastage.
Chapter 506 - Rumors Arise
Lin Li was not at all worried that others would say that he was making a mountain out of a molehill during the construction of Black Clouds Town. No one said that mages had to be ruthless and resolute. By improving one's abilities, wouldn't one be able to prevent others from bullying them and protect the ones they love?
The reconstruction project of new Black Clouds Town was rather large in scale, and it was just as tedious as building a fortress.
While Li
n Li locked himself up, Gavin proceeded to focus on the construction project of the new Black Clouds Town, the new authority that possessed endless potential. After destroying the Syer Bandits, they suddenly enjoyed peace.
Peace was rare in Black Clouds Town. Lin Li kept the door of his room tightly shut, and almost never left the room. Black Clouds Town was rapidly rebuilt after a tough battle, with the tremendous effort put in by Gavin and the other mage.
The news of the Syer Bandits being destroyed seemed to spread like wildfire outside of the Tower of Dusk and Black Clouds Town, in the Breezy Plains.
After all, they were one of the top 10 bandit groups in the Breezy Plains, and the news of them being destroyed all of a sudden was undoubtedly shocking. Everyone who heard the news was extremely curious, trying their best to find out what had actually happened.
What had happened in the Dragon Mountains was no secret, and they soon found out that the vanquisher of the Syer Bandits was one of the new factions, the Tower of Dusk. It was situated in Black Clouds Town in Doland, and was also known as Breezy Plains Guild of Magic that was supported by the Supreme Council. The special part about them was that their president turned out to be a greenhorn who was only 20 years old.
Although it was a new Guild of Magic that had been established for less than a year and was led by a 20-year-old chap, it actually destroyed the Syer Bandits who had been acting brazenly and lawlessly in the Breezy Plains. It was indeed astonishing, and everyone eating spat their food out when they heard about it.
It was absolute nonsense!
The news were rapidly spread by the intel department of all factions who began investigating the truth behind the matter.
"I was just wondering about it. Turns out they have the support of the Malfa Family!"
Soon, the leaders of the various factions began to hear of the news. The Malfa Family and the people from the Tower of Dusk entered the Dragon Mountains together and destroyed the Syer Bandits as well as the Alchemy Colossuses.
"It's Master Cheyenne, it must have been Master Cheyenne from the Malfa Family!"
There were plenty of knowledgeable factions who knew how terrifying and overbearing the Alchemy Colossuses could be. To their knowledge, only a strong Legendary-realm powerhouse could destroy a powerful Alchemy Colossus. They did not think that the young President of the newly established Guild of Magic, Lin Li, would be able to do it.
"Damn it, I paid you to go find out some news, not fabricate such an absurd story and fool me with it!"
One of the investigating men, who was good at sourcing for insider news, managed to find out the truth. However, he was kicked out by his leader after telling him that the attack was launched by the young President.
He was just a 20-year-old, and yet he managed to get rid of four Alchemy Colossuses effortlessly before activating a Magical Domain and getting rid of 10 Archmages. No one would believe it unless they saw it with their own eyes!
Although they did not believe that a young President would be that capable, they could tell that the Tower of Dusk and the Malfa Family were close now. Otherwise, the Malfa Family wouldn't have agreed to collude with them and destroy the Syer Bandits. How could the Legendary-mage, Master Cheyenne, possibly help them get rid of the Alchemy Colossuses otherwise?
The reason for that was actually not very important. What was the most important was that the Tower of Dusk was obviously significant to the Malfa Family. The Malfa Family was the most powerful faction in Aminya, and only the Dark Blade could compete with it because it had Legendary powerhouses that were enough to make the other faction forgo the idea of declaring war on them.
Master Cheyenne rarely left the Malfa Family, mainly because he wanted to avoid being attacked by the Dark Blade. Yet, for the first time, he actually left the Malfa Family for the sake of the Tower of Dusk. Clearly, the Tower of Dusk mattered greatly to the Malfa Family, so much so that they'd take the risk for it.
Not everyone could suck up to the powerful Malfa Family. Besides, there was now a new faction that had gained the respect of the Malfa Family and, most importantly, that of Master Cheyenne. Those who were weaker all shifted their attention to the Tower of Dusk.
It would be impossible for the Tower of Dusk not to develop well in the Breezy Plains in the future, for they now had the support of the Malfa Family. Since those weaker did not have the rights to suck up to the Malfa Family, it might be great to build a good relationship with the Tower of Dusk.
Thus, all of the factions in the Breezy Plains shifted their attention onto the newly built Tower of Dusk in Doland.
The rumors about the Malfa Family and the Tower of Dusk spread like wildfire. As the top faction of the Breezy Plains, the Malfa Family had definitely heard them too.
Others wouldn't have guessed that the young master of the Malfa Family broke out in a cold sweat after hearing the rumors. What a joke. If it were true that the Tower of Dusk led by the young President was reliant on the Malfa Family, wouldn't that be trouble for the Malfa Family…?
How did the news spread!? The Malfa Family and the Tower of Dusk were the only people who joined the operation, and they definitely wouldn't have said that they relied on the Malfa Family. Someone in the Malfa Family definitely leaked the news, then.
I must find out! Could it be that there are spies from the Dark Blade among us, trying to sow discord between the Malfa Family and Tower of Dusk? That's unforgivable! Hutton thought to himself in anger as he decided to carry out a strict investigation to find those people.
However, he could not find any spies at all. Although someone had indeed spread the news, they did not embarrass the Malfa Family. Hence, the rumors were rather vague, though the vagueness was what left much room for imagination.
Hutton was worried and anxious about the matter for an entire month. He only calmed down after confirming that the young President, Lin Li, didn't react to the rumors at all.
The elders finally stopped nagging after seeing the rewards and gains that they had brought from the battle. Although the Malfa Family was the top faction in the Breezy Plains, Hutton managed to bring back more than half of the Syer Bandits' assets and collection. That was a huge gain for the Malfa Family too.
Time flew fast, and in the blink of an eye, the construction of the new Black Clouds Town was almost completed. Lin Li finally left his room after a long time. After he had made some conclusions, he discovered and resolved many of the hidden dangers caused by the excessively rapid rise in realm. Although there was not enough time for him to fully understand the Rules of the Holy Light and the Darkness, his usage of the debris of the stars was still improved, and the Frost Domain had also become more perfect.
Upon exiting the room, Lin Li discovered that there were plenty of fresh faces in the Tower of Dusk. It seemed the Tower of Dusk had gained quite a bit of fame lately. Otherwise, how could there be so many new members all of a sudden?
Those people should have joined according to the instructions of their elders. Upon seeing Lin Li, whom they recognized to be the young and promising President, they immediately greeted him politely.
Lin Li c.o.c.ked his head towards the side to greet them, feeling pleased because the new members seemed to be strong and competent. There were six level-15 Archmages and dozens of level-13 and level-14 Magic Shooters.
Trying his best to control his expressions, Lin Li headed to the entrance of the Tower of Dusk and took off into the sky, after which he flew towards Black Clouds Town. Once he was up in the air, he finally burst into laughter. He was glad to see his own team developing healthily.
Two days ago, Lin Li exited his room for a while and asked Gavin about the progress of Black Clouds Town's reconstruction. Upon hearing that it would be completed two days later, he headed straight to Black Clouds Town to take a look at the project once the time was up.
Soon, Lin Li was greeted with the sight of the new hexagonal Black Clouds Town, just like he had designed it. He descended in the middle of the town, and immedia
tely caught sight of Gavin, who'd come greet him. He smilingly asked, "What's the matter? How's the progress of the project?"
Gavin finally felt relieved after seeing Lin Li smile. Honestly, he had become increasingly lacking in confidence because he had no idea what the purpose of the blueprints's various parts was. Hence, he'd been very worried that he might make a mistake and owe Lin Li an explanation.
"President, the reconstruction of Black Clouds Town has basically already been completed," Gavin answered.
After scanning his surroundings, Lin Li nodded, and said, "Yeah, summon our people and dismiss the construction workers."
Gavin dismissed the construction workers and summoned the mages who'd helped build the new Black Clouds Town just like Lin Li had instructed. He was waiting for the next order.
At this point, it was already Lin Li's job to complete the rest of the construction works. He had to assemble the magic gears and then connect the power transmission between them, lay down the power core, and set the magic drainage and mageweath…
Gavin and the mages involved in the construction work finally knew what the complicated settings were for. Fortunately, during the construction process, they strictly adhered to the designs on the blueprints, and did not make any presumptuous modifications.
Gavin and the other mages were dumbfounded upon sight of the open-spaced town turning into a defensive fortress with a creak and rumbling sounds. They couldn't believe that they were the ones who had created such amazing things.
"Well, if anyone like the Syer Bandits dares to come again, they don't have to go back in one piece…" Lin Li smiled. Although he had master-level knowledge of magic gears, he still felt a strong sense of accomplishment when he saw the magic gears that he had built for the first time.
Gavin finally closed his mouth. Although Lin Li did not specify the detailed settings of the various magic gears, Gavin could guess the uses of the magical crossbows. He thought to himself, With over 1,000 magical crossbows and tens of thousands enchanted bolts, it would be impossible for 10 groups of Syer Bandits to invade the town, let alone one.
