by Zhuang Bifan
Of course, Lin Li didn't think that the value of the treasures that Vidas had mentioned could really be compared to that of the branch, which was absolutely valuable because it was one of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars. It was the treasure that grew together with the Tree of Eternity at the beginning of the world. If there were any treasures in this world that could compare to it, it would be one of the other six pieces of the debris of the stars.
Lin Li smiled nonchalantly after hearing Arathor's attempt at persuasion. Like Vidas, he told Arathor to arrange a suitable venue where they could carry out the battle. He believed that there were plenty of guests who had nothing better to do and would be willing to be the witnesses of the battle. As long as the news of the battle was announced, they would definitely swarm towards the venue.
Seeing that the other party didn't seem to hear what he said, Arathor knew that his efforts would be futile even if he were to continue persuading Vidas or Lin Li. Although he did not hear of Vidas' status in the Elven Kingdom before, he knew that the Legendary-mage Vidas was definitely a big shot in the Elven Kingdom.
Arathor could already almost guess the ending of the battle. If Mage Felic had made his achievements in pharmacy while having mediocre power, it would be easy to deal with the matter. However, the problem was that Mage Felic was a real piece of work; he had killed a Legendary Lich as well as a Humerus Wyrm, after all, regardless of what method he used. Even if he were not a Legendary-mage, he was a very powerful powerhouse.
If the two powerful parties were to go toe-to-toe against each other, things would definitely get heated in no time, especially since Vidas was an elf, and elves were known to detest humans. It was obvious what would become of Mage Felic in the end.
"Alright, in that case, please wait a moment while I arrange a venue." Arathor sighed, for all he could do now was pray to the heavens that he wouldn't have to clear up the mess.
Filled with anxiety and nervousness, Arathor headed downstairs. The first thing he did was to instruct his subordinates to arrange a venue for the bet before looking for William. After all, he reckoned that William would definitely know Mage Felic better than he did. He thought that William would perhaps have a way to stop the battle.
This mysterious treasure that appeared as the finale really did live up to its high expectations, and actually set a sales record of 15,000,000 gold coins. It was the highest set record in the entire land of Anril, and not just in the Time Consignment Store. After the deal was sealed, William suppressed his excitement and announced the end of the auction.
However, just as everyone in the audience was about to get up and leave the venue, they unexpectedly saw Castellan Arathor running to the stage anxiously. Upon sight of that scene, everyone couldn't help but stop. Although they didn't come forward to listen to what Arathor and William were saying, they didn't intend to leave, for they were all curious and waiting for something to happen..
"What… What!?!" William was overwhelmed with dejection after hearing Arathor's words as his joy vanished instantly.
"Master William, could you think of a way to persuade that Mage Felic?" asked Arathor, who was staring at William with hope in his eyes.
William glanced down at the audience, who were waiting to see a commotion, after which he pulled Arathor to the side of the stage and said softly yet resentfully, "Arathor, you should know the rules of the auction. How could you take someone to look for Mage Felic? Aren't you creating trouble for me!? You should have seen the scene when the potion was auctioned just now. Mage Felic is not an ordinary mage. There are a lot of distinguished VIPs at this auction. Why did you think I arranged for him to sit in the VIP room?"
Smiling wryly, Arathor said, "Why couldn't I tell that? Things have already come to this. You should have heard what happened upstairs just now. No matter how impressive Mage Felic may be, he's only in his twenties, after all. You'd better help to persuade him."
Persuade? How!? Mage Felic has properly used his money to purchase the items, and he has really spent 15,000,000 gold coins. Do you want me to persuade him to give away something that he has bought with his own money to someone named Vidas, or simply forfeit this auction and sell the item to Vidas!?
Chapter 555 - The Harvest Square
William did not expect Arathor to create such a twist of events just as he thought that the auction was going to come to a perfect close. He was fuming beyond words, so much so that even his beard began to quiver. However, Arathor was still the castellan of Roland City, after all, and William couldn't just berate him harshly. Although William did not want to get involved, he still needed Mage Felic to help him concoct the potions based on the Dark Age formulas that he had given to the latter a few days ago. Besides, he was the one who had invited Mage Felic to the auction, and both he and Arathor would be held responsible if something were to go wrong.
Regardless of whether or not he could persuade Mage Felic, he still had to give it a try. No longer bothering to care about the auction, William and Arathor frantically scurried to the VIP room on the second floor where Lin Li was seated. The guests who had yet to leave immediately thought about the formidable aura that'd been exhibited just now.
Although everyone downstairs had not seen anything back then, they had already guessed what was going on after thinking about their bidding conversation. It was undoubtedly a nouveau riche show-off who was trying to brag but ended up encountering a Legendary figure and facing a tragic end. Or so they thought.
Those who were long green with envy were obviously not going to miss the chance to watch a good show. They were all craning their necks and looking upstairs in a bid to catch a good glimpse. Sienna stood among them, disdainfully thinking, Damn it, a bunch of bumpkins and silly folks. Back then, Mage Felic completely destroyed a Legendary Lich and a Humerus Wyrm.
William headed upstairs in a bid to persuade them. However, the outcome was obvious, and he knew that nothing he said would stop the two from fighting it out today.
William and Arathor looked at each other helplessly in dismay. They had no choice but to do as Lin Li and Vidas asked. Arathor was responsible for arranging the venue, while William announced to everyone that a duel would begin.
Contrary to William's and Arathor's concerns, the guests downstairs began applauding loudly after hearing that there was going to be a battle between a Legendary figure and nouveau riche. While William and Arathor were praying that nothing would happen, those downstairs were hoping that the owner of the Tower of Dusk would be taught a lesson by the Legendary powerhouse. That way, the success rate would definitely increase greatly when they went to recruit those pharmacists again.
Arathor was the castellan of Roland City, which could be considered to belong to him. It was too easy to arrange a venue for the bet. Considering that Vidas was a Legendary-mage, while Mage Felic was extremely strong too, Arathor decided to arrange the venue to be in the Harvest Square.
The Harvest Square was situated in the center of Roland City. When looked at from above, the entire city would be centered around the Harvest Square, and seem like a spider web that spread outwards. The Harvest Square was called a square, but it was not like other open-space plazas, though it was not completely covered, either.
The area covered by the Harvest Square was about the size of 10 football fields. It was surrounded by 84 stone pillars, all of which were more than 10 meters tall. There were complicated mageweaths carved on every pillar to prevent the overzealous warriors from damaging the surrounding architecture.
The square was oval, and there were two four-story-high viewing decks on two ends, while the other two sides were open. It allowed one to look opposite; hence, there would be no obstructions when not in use. After the mageweaths on the stone pillars were activated, the strong preventive aura would cover the entire square.
The square which had been built more than 1000 years ago had always been a place that people used for making offerings to gods and deities. During every harvest season, there
would be a series of offerings and sacrificial rituals, which would comprise a special performance that was a favorite of many—it was a gladiatorial battle that allowed everyone to showcase their dauntlessness and bravery.
The gladiatorial competition had originally been a dance performance in the sacrificial event where the appearance of ugly beasts and demons symbolized various disasters. Led by heroes, humans began to rise and retaliate before finally gaining victory by defeating the menacing beasts. However, humans also gradually began to get greedier, for they could no longer be satisfied with the monsters that were played by humans during the performance. Hence, they began to use real beasts, which were subsequently replaced by magical beasts, in the celebration. Over time, man-vs-man gladiatorial competitions were introduced to the celebration.
The sacrificial ceremony for the Goddess of Abundance was the most solemn and important annual festival in Roland City. Wrestling and gladiatorial competitions had gradually become the highlight of these events too. At the beginning, gladiatorial fights were only meant for some death row prisoners to fight for a chance to have their death penalty cancelled. However, humans soon discovered a shocking truth: the surviving prisoners would also receive unimaginably massive fame and wealth. As a result, gladiators became a profession, and the prisoners would also get a chance to change their destiny. The gladiatorial field had become a renowned venue, and the victorious gladiators would receive invitations to join various forces in addition to a massive monetary reward.
Although Arathor knew that Vidas was an elf, while Mage Felic was rather powerful as well, he still had some faith in the defensive mageweaths in the square. Although the Harvest Square was usually used for sacrificial celebrations and events, the gladiatorial competitions and events were not just used for entertainment purposes. Well, at least Legendary figures and those who were close to Legendary-realm often settled their conflicts in that square.
The mageweaths on the pillars surrounding the Harvest Square had already been activated, thus covering the initially grotesque pillars in a faint, blue luminescent glow. The pillars seemed to be linked together by an undetectable membrane that shielded the square from the viewing decks.
All of the guests followed them to the Harvest Square. Although pharmacists had a high societal status, and people dared not provoke them at all, that did not mean that no one was jealous of them, especially since they were forced to respect the pharmacists. Humans would definitely feel thrilled to see someone else being braver than them and dealing with the person they detested.
Those people had been feeling jealous of Lin Li for more than just a day of two. They had been green with envy ever since they found out that the Tower of Dusk had successfully recruited numerous senior pharmacists, especially after seeing the potions concocted by them being auctioned off at sky-high prices. They wished they could strangle the scoundrel Lin Li.
Although one of the potions might not be worth 10,000,000 gold coins, the Origin Potion concocted by Wilkinson was definitely worth the 4,000,000 gold coins that it had been sold for. Coupled with the previous batch of potions, the massive wealth that the Tower of Dusk had generated from this auction alone was enough to make others crazily jealous.
All of the senior pharmacists were solely working for the Tower of Dusk, and none of them was willing to get poached even after all the hefty gifts that they had received from the various forces, all of whom they rejected without hesitation. Hence, they were all feeling resentful and jealous of Lin Li.
The last straw was Lin Li's 15,000,000-gold-coin purchase of the branch that was inconspicuous in the eyes of others. In the eyes of those people, Lin Li was simply being too arrogant, and they all hoped that someone would teach him a lesson for being haughty.
The Harvest Square was used to hold celebrations. Although almost 2000 people had filled the Elven Theater, the same number only occupied a small area in the stands of the Harvest Square. However, the other seats were not left empty, either, because some had long seen the mageweaths being activated, and knew that a good show would be put up soon. It didn't take long for the stands on both sides to be filled up.
As instructed by Arathor, large amounts of magical crystals were continuously added to the energy core of the mageweath, maximizing its power. Although Arathor was worried, there was nothing he could do apart from hoping that Mage Felic could save himself. Since the battle had to happen anyway, he could only hope that no one died.
William and Arathor had already resigned themselves to fate because they were well aware that even though the battle was open and there were plenty of witnesses, none of Mage Felic's supporters, be it the Supreme Council or whatever, would bother to consider if it were a fair contest if something were to happen to him.
Actually, everyone including Arathor and William had already guessed what the outcome would be, and they all felt that the arrogant nouveau riche would end up losing his life.
He was just 20 years old. Even if he were extremely talented in magic, how could he compare to the legendary Geresco!? Geresco was the God of Mages no one could compare to. They refused to believe that anyone in the world of Anril could come close to Geresco's level, let alone surpass him.
The defensive aura that shielded the square seemed to have given it a crystal cover. For the battle, Lin Li and Vidas stood in the middle of the square, keeping a distance of about 100 meters away from each other.
Those who were knowledgeable also discovered that the energy field of the defensive mageweath in the square had already been activated to the highest limit by Arathor, who did not care about the wear and tear. The energy required to support such a strong defensive energy field was a lot. A level-10 magical crystal would be depleted in the blink of an eye, and level-15 magical crystals were required to support it even for a while.
Many people thought that Arathor was making a mountain out of molehill because they felt that the defensive energy field was strong enough to withstand even an attack by a Legendary figure. However, the issue was, was it necessary? Although everyone knew that the mage who was preparing to vent for everyone else was a Legendary-mage, how much of his power could he be forced to exhibit? Even an Archmage who had reached the pinnacle would not be able to fight a Legendary-mage.
If it were just for the sake of watching the gladiatorial competition, the people around the stage wouldn't bother to stay behind, because they were certain of what the outcome would be. In order for a battle to be interesting, both opponents would have to be of equal power. Otherwise, the significantly stronger party would easily destroy his incompetent opponent, and there wouldn't be any show.
The magical geniuses who everyone in the Breezy Plains recognized were Hutton from the Malfa Family and Stephen from the Dark Blade, both of whom became Archmages when they were in their twenties. The two had already been recognized as elite mages; no one knew that mages relied on enlightenment and luck to get to the Legendary-realm.
Hence, everyone reckoned that Mage Felic of the Tower of Dusk was probably at most a level-15 or 16 mage even if he really were a genius. After the battle began, the Legendary-mage would be able to destroy the arrogant upstart effortlessly. Hence, Arathor was just wasting his resources by using so many magical crystals for defense.
The replenishment of energy in the defensive energy field made everyone feel amused, and some guests around the stage had even started betting on how long the battle would last. However, everyone still found it to be rather pointless, and most felt that it would end within seconds.
Why is Arathor going through all that hassle? What a waste of everyone's time. There's no need to set up this defensive mageweath at all, because that Felic probably won't even get to put up a fight, the guests thought to themselves in frustration, unable to understand why Arathor was being so conscientious.
Chapter 556 - The Descendant Of Helios
Since it involved a gamble, they naturally had to inform the notary public of the stake clearly. Otherwise, the people wouldn't kno
w what happened after the fight came to an end. How could they be the witnesses then?
Vidas glanced at Lin Li, who was standing at a short distance away, and raised his chin with a look of arrogance on his face. He slowly said, "I, Vidas Dalisma, invite you to a battle on behalf of the elven Dalisma Family. We'll use this gamble to decide the final outcome and the fateful owner of my elven treasure, the branch of the Tree of Eternity."
Although they were rather far away from the viewing deck, their conversation could still be heard clearly by everyone on the viewing deck.
As soon as they heard Vidas' words, an uproar instantly broke out on stage. Everyone, including the big shots who had attended the auction and gossipmongers who were just interested in watching a show, all knew that Arathor could become the castellan all thanks to the support by the elves. However, even after all these years, there was almost no one who had ever seen an elf. In fact, people even began to wonder what the actual situation was back then.
It was time for those who came from the auction to hear the name of the unassuming branch straight from Vidas' mouth. It was no wonder that it was sold at an insanely high price of 15,000,000 gold coins, for it was a branch from the Tree of Eternity. It was an entity that was formed at the beginning of the world, and every leaf and branch of the Tree of Eternity which was full of vitality was absolutely precious and valuable.
