by Zhuang Bifan
Although everyone was very surprised, they all yearned for the so-called eternal branch. However, it was priced at 15,000,000 gold coins; hence, it was not something that they could afford to covet. Of course, that also made them feel even more jealous of the arrogant upstart, though they reckoned that he definitely wouldn't leave the square in one piece.
To everyone's surprise, Arathor, who was supposed to be the closest to the elves, actually stood up after hearing the self-proclaimed elf Vidas' words.
Everyone knew by now that the elf named Vidas was brought to the auction by Castellan Arathor. Through the fact that Arathor inherited the position of the lord of the city, the close relationship between him and the elves became a widely known fact in the Breezy Plains. However, why did he behave that way at this moment?
Arathor soon discovered that he was not behaving appropriately. He coughed awkwardly and returned to his seat.
William, who was seated at the side, seemed to be deep in thought. When Arathor took a seat, he hesitantly asked, "Arathor, Dalisma sounds familiar to me. Could it be…"
Everyone was feeling surprised and bewildered about Vidas being an elf as well as the branch of the Tree of Eternity, whose name they had just learned. They did not feel anything much about Dalisma Family. However, not everyone understood the Elven Kingdom well. Arathor knew a bit about the Elven Kingdom since he had interacted with the elves for several years.
In fact, Arathor had already realized that Vidas had an extraordinary status in the Elven Kingdom, though he did not expect him to be a member of the Dalisma Family. Arathor began to get increasingly worried. If Vidas were a low-level elf instead, he would perhaps think twice before taking action, but since he was from the Dalisma Family…
Upon hearing William's question, Arathor knew that he definitely couldn't fool the knowledgeable authenticator and appraiser, William. He slowly turned to look at him, and explained, "Master William, Vidas' true identity… I actually didn't know about it beforehand. Had I known earlier…"
"So what if you knew earlier? Would it make a difference!?" William snapped. All he could think about now after watching Arathor nod was that Mage Felic had to be in hot soup.
Arathor knew that he was at fault too. Although the two parties were bent on carrying out the battle, the entire problem stemmed from the fact that he had presumptuously brought Vidas to look for the buyer. That behavior of his had already flouted the rules of the auction. Lin Li then openly purchased the branch with his own money. Yet, Vidas asked for it back. After failing to purchase the item or snatch it, Vidas even had the cheek to make him surrender the item. That was another violation of the rules.
Staring at the middle of the square, where the two parties were getting ready to hit each other, Arathor began to feel troubled and worried. Since Vidas belonged to the Dalisma Family, he probably had a higher status in the Elven Kingdom than they had imagined. However, the more powerful Vidas was, the less hesitant he would be about taking action, since he would less likely to be held accountable for his actions. In that case, Arathor would be held liable if the Supreme Council were to pursue the matter.
Arathor was not overthinking it. As the castellan of Roland City, he often interacted with all sorts of people from the aristocratic circles. For example, an aristocratic heir would not get into trouble for killing another person with some background. Instead, his assistant would take the blame for failing to persuade his master against the matter.
Hence, it was obvious that the Supreme Council would definitely put the blame on Arathor, and not the Dalisma Family or the well-connected William. The problem was, what kind of background did this Mage Felic have? That was a factor that affected his learning.
The auction was supposed to come to a perfect end. Yet, a sudden twist occurred. William rubbed his forehead and looked at the two of them. Those who had studied the Dark Age before would definitely be familiar with the Dalisma Family of elves. It was an important last name in the Dark Age.
During the Dark Age, the High Elves ruled the entire world of Anril, and the elves became the slaves of the High Elves because they fitted the latter's beauty standards. The Dalismas were one of the six greatest families of the Elven Kingdom, and had always been a family of geniuses. Although they'd still ended up being slaves in that era, the appearance of an elf changed their entire circ.u.mstances.
The name of that elf was Hollisas Dalisma, a name which rarely appeared in the history of the Dark Age. However, his nickname was rather well known, for he was the famous Helios. The elf Hollisas Dalisma was named Helios by the Elven Queen, and the Dalisma Family was then named the Helios Family.
Bloodline and hierarchy mattered greatly to the High Elves. Hence, it was 10 times harder for them to change and receive something compared to the ordinary elves. Yet, Hollisas managed to earn the title of the Helios just because of his capabilities despite his identity of a lowly elf. Apart from being very competent, he had put in plenty of effort as well.
Since Vidas belonged to the Dalisma Family, one could only imagine how high of a status he had in the Elven Kingdom. Although he was not as authoritative as the elders, the gap was a result of many different factors. Even in the Elven Kingdom that advocated nature, it was impossible for everyone to be equal.
Although the Elven Kingdom was known as a kingdom to outsiders, the internal management was actually the same as that of a tribal alliance. Second to the queen, the elders were actually like leaders of the tribes, and there were various authorities who had varying powers amongst the tribe. Those directly determined the right of an elder to speak.
After the Dark Age, the elves faced an attack carried out by various races, which almost exterminated them. The Dalisma Family did not escape that fate at all. In fact, to some extent, the reason why various races tried to destroy the elves was because of the Helios Family. During that crisis, the Dalismas incurred huge losses, and there were only a few hundreds of elves out of the entire Elven tribe which fled to the Emerald Forest. The prominent Dalisma Family was obviously one of them.
However, for the elves, it was not the population of a race that determined the strength of a group, but the blood of the members of the family. As one of the six greatest elven families, the Dalismas proved themselves to be outstanding. Therefore, even if the Dalisma Family only had one elf left back then, the family's bloodline did not vanish. Hence, it was only a matter of time before they rose again.
The Emerald Forest was the best place for the elves to live in—it was an excellent place for recuperation after being attacked by humans. More than 1,300 years had passed since the end of the Dark Age by now. It was difficult to imagine the extent to which the Dalisma had developed.
In the middle of the Harvest Square, Lin Li remained still and composed even after hearing the famous name of the Dalisma Family which Vidas introduced proudly. If the debris of the stars was called the branch of the Tree of Eternity, Lin Li could be only amused. If he were to calculate it in detail, the new piece of the debris of the stars and the Tree of Eternity could be said to be twins.
Lin Li was truly interested in the stake that Vidas mentioned, which the latter claimed to be equal in value to the branch of the Tree of Eternity. The value of the branch was exorbitant. Hence, he reckoned that the arrogant elf wouldn't fool him with some garbage.
"Mage Vidas, can you take out your stake now? Since you want to battle me, you ought to let me see what you have to offer." Lin Li ignored his introduction, and instead inquired about the other side's wager.
In fact, just like the people who were watching, Vidas didn't think that there'd be any suspense in this fight, because humans were naturally less talented than elves, and since Lin Li was much younger than him, he felt that Lin Li would have at most practiced magic for only ten-odd years if he started to learn magic from a sensible age. The time Vidas had spent since arriving at the Legendary-realm alone was much longer than the time Lin Li had spent learning magic.
Although Vidas did
not think it was necessary for Lin Li to look at the stake, there was no need for him to be so calculative about such trivial matters. He gave it some consideration, and reckoned that the treasure would be returned to him at the end of the day anyway. Hence, he decided to showcase the most valuable one since it was just for show.
At the thought of it, Vidas glanced at Lin Li, who was opposite him, and humphed before whipping out a magic staff that had a length of 50-60 centimeters. The dark red magic staff had a white tip that was embellished with gemstones.
When Vidas whipped out his magic staff, Lin Li's left eyelid began to twitch despite being someone who had seen plenty of what the world had to offer. Although the surging magical power in the staff could not compare to that of the debris of the stars, it was indeed a treasure.
"This staff is the scepter of Helios left behind by the ancestors of the Dalisma Family. I believe its value is enough for it to become a stake in this battle." Vidas held onto the gemstone on the top of the staff. The value of Helios's scepter in his heart was even higher than that of the branch.
In fact, Vidas knew that Lin Li had to be rather knowledgeable in order to become the President of a local Guild of Magic. During the auction earlier on, he accidentally exuded his powerful aura in a moment of impatience. He reckoned that even a fool must have already estimated his abilities, what more a human mage. But why did Lin Li still initiate the battle? Clearly, it was because he knew that he had some abilities and solutions that he could use to defeat a Legendary powerhouse.
However, Vidas was not a novice Legendary-mage. Hence, he was well aware of the gap between an Archmage and a Legendary-mage. He knew that it could not be closed easily.
In fact, when it came to the special means of advancing in strength, there were not many other methods apart from potions and spells that would stimulate one's potential to advance in level. For example, a Warrior might get to advance and gain massive mana through a mental spell. He reckoned that Mage Felic must have relied on potions to advance in level, especially since he had a legion of pharmacists with him.
Chapter 557 - Scepter
However, the problem was that the distance between a Legendary-mage and an Archmage was not measured by their differences in mana, but by their difference in knowledge and understanding of the nomological power. No matter how hard one tried to increase their mana, it would be impossible to close the gap between an Archmage and a Legendary-mage without understanding the nomological power well enough.
Vidas did not think that a potion that would allow one to directly advance to the Legendary-realm actually existed in this world. Even those pharmacists who claimed to be omnipotent would not be able to formulate such heavenly potions. Perhaps the legendary pharmaceutics Gurus would be able to concoct such extraordinary potions, but there was no pharmaceutics Guru amongst the pharmacists in Anril.
The reason Vidas could use Helios' Scepter as a bet without concern was because he was confident that Lin Li wouldn't be invincible even if he had a potion that would lead him directly to the Legendary-realm. In fact, he would be insignificant compared to Vidas, who had entered the Legendary-realm hundreds of years ago.
However, entering the Legendary-realm did not mean that one had crossed the threshold and would be able to enjoy smooth sailing in the future. In fact, every advancement in power would require another level of understanding of the nomological power, and the difficulty of each point of progress was no less than the threshold preceding it. Therefore, a Legendary-mage would still have a hard time advancing further after entering the Legendary-realm. Vidas had already been in the Legendary-realm for hundreds of years, and had already got to level-22. However, he was vastly stronger than when he'd first entered the Legendary-realm.
Hence, Vidas was not at all worried. Regardless of what tricks Lin Li pulled, it would be impossible for him to surpass Vidas by advancing three more levels after entering the Legendary-realm. His true intention in putting Helios' Scepter at stake was because he wanted to use this invincible magic staff to bring out the greed existing within humans.
Even William, the host of the auction, did not know the specific information about the branch of the Tree of Eternity. However, he guessed from the exterior appearance and aura of the branch that it was likely to be a piece lost by the elves over 1000 years ago. It had been bestowed to the queen as a treasure that she could keep with her wherever she went. After the end of the Dark Age, the elves met with their biggest calamity, and the branch disappeared.
Whether it had been retrieved from the Tree of Eternity or not, that actually was not important. The pure and natural aura within it was the reason Vidas was bent on getting it. With the exception of Legolas who specialized in fire magic, most of the elven mages practiced nature spells. When Vidas reached the Legendary-realm, he was allowed to create his own Magical Domain. He then created a nature domain.
Judging from the natural aura of the branch, it was extremely beneficial for the nature domains of elves. If Vidas could incorporate the branch into his natural domain, he would effortlessly break through to level-23. In fact, advancing to level-24 would be possible too.
Every advancement in any realm above the Legendary-realm would become extremely challenging. Plenty of extraordinarily talented Legendary-mages never got to the Sanctuary-realm despite having used up their entire lifetime to attempt it. Vidas had already lived for almost 1000 years, which was a common phenomenon amongst the elves because they enjoyed long lifespans. However, after they entered the Legendary-realm, there was little to no difference between them and human Legendary-mages. He had stayed in his current realm for several months, but could actually already tell that it would be difficult for him to advance further. The branch had now become all of his hope.
When Vidas whipped out Helios' Scepter and introduced it, all of the big shots, including Arathor and William, as well as the leaders of the smaller forces, gasped in shock and fascination. Although they did not know of the elven Dalisma Family, they definitely knew of Helios' Scepter.
This staff was a well-known piece of magical equipment during the Dark Age, especially during the later years of it. After the Dark Age ended, humans attacked the elves, but the Helios' Scepter dealt great damage to the human forces. Hence, Helios' Scepter was described and mentioned rather frequently in plenty of war reports at that time.
Of course, when Vidas mentioned Helios' Scepter, everyone suddenly remembered and thought about the surname Dalisma. The humble elf who was born as a slave managed to become known as Helios, recognized by the elven queen all based on his own abilities and hard work. Later on, she even personally gifted him the scepter. He was a member of the Dalisma Family, and since then, his family became raved about in Anril during the Dark Age.
William shook his head resignedly, and stared at the figures in the middle of the square. Helios' Scepter was indeed a tempting treasure to mages, but the problem was that Lin Li had to win the battle against Vidas who was a Legendary-mage who held Helios' Scepter. Was there even a need to proceed with the battle!?
However, both William and Arathor were powerless at this point. All they could do was pray that the elven mage Vidas would refrain from going overboard on the account of the Supreme Council. Anyway, they were betting items, and there was no need to take each other's life.
The energy fluctuations exhibited by Helios' Scepter had really aroused Lin Li's interest. The set of inviting lines was recited by him in front of everyone, thus signifying the official start of the battle.
Upon hearing that Lin Li had accepted the battle, Vidas sneered coldly in contempt. Although he did not overestimate his own abilities like Lin Li did in his opinion, he did not hesitate to launch his attack. A strong magical wave instantly surrounded the entire square—that was the so-called dominance of a level-22 Legendary-mage. It even caused a massive energy whirlpool in the air over the square.
It was a v.i.r.g.i.n experience for many of the spectators, for they had never witnessed the powers of
a Legendary powerhouse before. In their imagination, Legendary-mages were just one level higher than level-19 Archmages, and calling them Legendary was just a form of address. However, after watching what Vidas had just done, they finally realized how ridiculous they were in their assumptions. They could tell just by looking that Vidas was extremely formidable, so much so that they began to shudder in fear—especially the ones who were weaker. They dared not imagine what it would be like to face his wrath.
At this moment, Vidas had already removed his disguising spell and exposed his true identity. Since it was a battle, and there had to be spectators and witnesses, there would be no point in concealing his identity anymore. Although the feud between Helios and humans had already ended centuries ago, Vidas did not plan to simply win the battle. He wanted to use this opportunity to declare to everyone that the glory of the Vidas Family had yet to end. Those who had the audacity to offend Helios' family would face severe punishment.
Vidas' performance shattered every last bit of Arathor's hopes. It was a battle between a Legendary-mage and a supposed Archmage. Was there a need to go to such great lengths just for the sake of winning? They're indeed different from humans. Can't they spare a thought for humans who can't fathom their logic!?
Arathor began to regret his decision. Who would have thought that a broken branch would cause so much trouble? If it were other elves instead of Vidas, he perhaps wouldn't agree to hosting the battle and save himself some face. However, Vidas was a descendant of Helios.
William was just as dejected. He closed his eyes slightly and leaned backwards against the seat, for he no longer wanted to watch the battle that was going on in the middle of the square. There was no doubt or suspense at all. All efforts and scheming tricks would be rendered useless in front of a strong Legendary-mage. Although Mage Felic was an accomplished pharmacist, there didn't exist a potion that would allow him to enter the Legendary-realm directly. Vidas was an elf who had been in the Legendary-realm for numerous years. Hence, a beginner Legendary figure could not compare to him at all. Besides, William had never heard of a powerful potion that would allow one to directly enter the Legendary-realm. If it really existed, he was certain that people would vie to the very end for that potion even if it were auctioned at 150,000,000 gold coins.
