by Zhuang Bifan
The orcs did not have any strict military discipline. Besides, at that time, they believed that they had suffered a loss in the distribution of interests amongst the rebellion alliance, and thus wouldn't be kind to the civilians. In fact, they had done all evil such as murder and arson. They would leave behind ruins wherever they went, and their cruelty and ruthlessness were no less than those of the Death Knights.
However, when the orcs arrived in Gran Town, the Ashen Warlock appeared in front of them, clad in a black robe. He simply told them to scram in a low and stern voice, after which the countless orcs around him suddenly retreated entirely like a tide, leaving behind only some banners, weapons, and countless corpses that were trampled to death.
That was also the incident that made the people of the Breezy Plains know that such a powerful and daunting man actually lived in seclusion in the unassuming town in the northern part of the Breezy Plains. No one knew how old the Ashen Warlock was, or how long he had lived in Gran Town for. All they knew was that he had been living in a dilapidated tower in Gran Town.
To their astonishment, even during the Dark Age, Gran Town was still like a paradise that was completely unaffected by the chaos going on in the Breezy Plains. Even the extremely powerful High Elves seemed to have strictly abided by a certain agreement, and had never set foot in Gran Town during the Dark Age.
During the Dark Age, it was the Highlord Osric who dominated and ruled the Breezy Plains and the Felan Kingdom. Even the terrifying Endless Abyss was conquered by the Magic Legion led by Osric. The ancient demon deity Balak, known as the most powerful in terms of combat power, was actually doomed in the hands of Osric. Yet, Gran Town remained a forbidden area in the Breezy Plains.
Many people believed that the Ashen Warlock might have met Osric and made an unknown agreement with him. However, Lin Li heard another incredible statement from Angelano. Angelano was Osric's first follower, and was once known as one of Osric's three butchers. Hence, he naturally knew more about Osric than the others.
"No one knows what the Ashen Warlock did, but he simply waved his hands, and thousands of elite fighters of the Magic Legion lost their lives instantly. They aged very quickly, decomposed, and turned into ashes. I could sense a strange force even when I was observing through the crystal ball." Angelano began to recall the old memories, and couldn't help but say in a shaky voice, "Ever since then, Osric never mentioned the Ashen Warlock again. It was as if he had completely forgotten about this matter, and focused all of his energy on the construction of the Eternal Furnace."
If Lin Li had heard about the matter from others, he probably wouldn't have believed it at all. Osric was the proud disciple of the Immortal King, a powerhouse who was said to be no less powerful than the High Elven queen in the Dark Age. The High Elves' Magic Legion was extremely powerful, and they had once swept through the Endless Abyss, causing countless powerful Abyssal Demons to flee for their lives.
However, the Ashen Warlock actually turned thousands of soldiers of the Magic Legion into ashes with the wave of his hands, making it impossible for the arrogant Highlord Osric to even think of taking revenge. Lin Li couldn't imagine what level of strength the Ashen Warlock had reached, but he reckoned that it probably wasn't worse than that of the three arbitrators of the Supreme Council.
It was precisely the tyrannical and domineering power of the Ashen Warlock Roland that allowed him to be above all forces of the Breezy Plains, just like a god looking down at other sentient beings.
After the Dark Age ended for more than 1,300 years, and the initial war between the nations that were competing for territory, Anril remained peaceful for nearly a millennium. However, the Breezy Plains was an exception. Although it belonged to the Felan Kingdom in name, the royal family had very little control over the Breezy Plains.
Due to the fact that there had never been an actual ruler, the Breezy Plains was perpetually going through tumultuous times, even though the war had ended nearly 1,000 years ago. On this piece of land, the forces of various sizes were closely related, and would get into various conflicts at all times. Hence, most outsiders would call the Breezy Plains a land of chaos.
However, there was still some order despite the chaos, and the person who maintained order was the Ashen Warlock Roland, who was above all the forces in the Breezy Plains. He was the only one who was fit and able enough to enforce and maintain an order that no one would dare to violate.
Roland the Ashen Warlock who lived in the small Gran Town was probably the only person who knew the reason he bothered to intervene with the disputes between forces in the Breezy Plains. Perhaps it was because he didn't want those disputes to affect his peaceful life, or perhaps he was just bored.
In short, the tradition of the Ashen Warlock sending an invitation once every three years began some time ago. Every three years, Roland, the Ashen Warlock, would send an invitation card that was written on cheap letter paper to the leaders of the strongest forces of the Breezy Plains, and invite them to his dilapidated tower in the small Gran Town.
As for the contents of the gathering, the outsiders would never find out, as it would be kept confidential to everyone except for the leaders of the major forces that participated. They only knew that after every gathering, the power distribution in the Breezy Plains would be finalized, and the originally intense battles would soon disappear.
That was the order of the Breezy Plains that no one had dared to break. It was the order that the Ashen Warlock had been maintaining for years in the chaotic land, the Breezy Plains.
Chapter 836 - Inn
It was said that there was once a level-24 leader of a top force whose power was not inferior to the established authorities like the Blood Moon Clan and the Mithril Alliance. During a gathering, that leader expressed some dissatisfaction with the order established by the Ashen Warlock. However, he began burning up right after he aired his grievances and disp.l.e.a.s.u.r.e. The infinite cyan from the Abyss burned on his body for three days and three nights until the last trace of his soul was burnt to ashes. He only stopped shrieking and wailing in agony then.
However, the other leaders who attended the party did not dare to move, and instead remained seated while listening to the wails of agony for three days and three nights. Seeing that their opponent who was full of rigor and dominance previously suffered, no one even dared to blink. Ever since then, everyone knew that the Ashen Warlock who was perpetually wrapped in the black robe didn't need to negotiate or discuss with others at all. His words per se were like the edicts of the deities, and there was no room for doubt at all.
After finding out some things about the Ashen Warlock Roland, Lin Li was somewhat relieved and felt less worried about the invitation. Although the Ashen Warlock was terrifyingly powerful, and was above all the forces in the Breezy Plains, there was at least no need for Lin Li to worry about him colluding with other forces to go against the Tower of Dusk.
Although there were still five days to go before the date stated in the letter, Lin Li decided to go to Gran Town to take a look since there was nothing else for him to do in the Tower of Dusk. This time, Lin Li didn't plan to bring too many people with him. All he brought were his two Undead servants, and he got the others to stay in the Tower of Dusk.
In fact, at this juncture, there was basically no need for him to worry about the security of the Tower of Dusk. With the appearance of the pseudo-Holy Paladins and the cruel battle, the other forces thought that the Brilliance Shrine was fully supporting the Tower of Dusk. Hence, who would dare to seek trouble and court death?
Besides, there was already an Ice and Fire Natural Magical Domain that had been integrated with the Eternal Furnace at the top of the Tower of Dusk, which would allow Lin Li's mages to exert Legendary combat power. Even if a Sanctuary powerhouse were to attack the Tower of Dusk, it would still be difficult to defeat them. There was also the level-24 Connoris, and Angelano who controlled the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus. Although the two of them were not too loyal to Li
n Li, they would not sit back and watch the Tower of Dusk get attacked by other forces.
As for the Holy Death Knights, Lin Li discovered that the Death Knights had gained plenty of benefits after the intense and deadly battle. After all, out of the souls that were devoured, three were the souls of Legendary powerhouses, which allowed two Death Knights to show signs of a breakthrough. It was no wonder that the Retribution Knight Rodhart would carry out a massacre in the Breezy Plains. The temptation to rapidly increase one's strength and powers was really not something that everyone could resist.
After arranging everything in the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li brought Ujfalusi and Norfeller, his two Undead servants, with him and set off for Gran Town which was in the northern part of the Breezy Plains.
While reading the map and looking at the location of Gran Town, Lin Li was reminded of something else. Back in the big rift of the Eternal Darkness Altar, he had once heard High Priest Rogge talking about the battle between the Immortal King and the Dragon of Destruction. When Rogge witnessed the battle between gods, he was still an ordinary human sentry who was stationed in a location on the far northern border of the Breezy Plains. The place where the battle took place was Roddanmo. Lin Li could tell from the map that those two places were not too far away from the small Gran Town. Lin Li intended to stop by that place if everything went well during the gathering with the Ashen Warlock.
Although Gran Town was rather far from the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li and his two Undead servants were Legendary powerhouses; hence, they did not encounter any hindrances along the way. By noon, they had already found the legendary Gran Town according to the map. Due to the fact that they did not know if the Ashen Warlock had any taboos, Lin Li didn't fly into the town directly, and simply found a place outside the town to land, after which they slowly walked towards the town.
There were large patches of fields on both sides of the road, and the crops there seemed to be swaying like water waves amidst the breeze. There were dense forests in the distance, and although the trees were not all tall and straight, they gave off a special vibe under the blue sky and white clouds.
At the end of the road was the small Gran Town. Although the town had been peaceful without any wars for thousands of years due to the existence of the Ashen Warlock, it was rather small, and there seemed to only be a few hundred families living there. The tallest building in the town was a tower that was made of limestone. Lin Li reckoned that it was the Tower of Ashes where the Ashen Warlock Roland lived.
Lin Li walked slowly into the town with two Undead servants. Although the residents of the town had never seen them before, they would all smile at them hospitably. There would sometimes be a few children playing and running past them merrily. They did not seem to keep their guard up against outsiders at all.
Since he was invited by the Ashen Warlock, he ought to go to the Tower of Ashes to greet him even though he had arrived early. After Lin Li entered the town, he did not stop to appreciate the vibes of a rural life, and instead headed straight to the gray and desolate tower that was deep in the town.
Although it was called a tower, it was only less than 20 meters tall. Due to the fact that it had a large area, it appeared to be rather wide and flat. When Lin Li approached the tower, he saw two old men who were clad in servants' clothes lying lazily on the steps in front of the tower gate and basking in the sun.
Legend had it that since the Dark Age, the Ashen Warlock had been enjoying the company of two or three old servants who did not practice martial arts or magic, just like ordinary people. However, they stayed with the Ashen Warlock in that small town for thousands of years. At this moment, Lin Li indeed did not detect any mana or Combat Energy from the two old servants basking on the steps. They looked no different from ordinary old people, and it wasn't obvious that they had lived for thousands of years.
In fact, Lin Li had always been rather puzzled. Be it the Ashen Warlock or his servants, they had all lived for thousands of years. Since they had been living in seclusion in the mountains, why would the generations of residents of Gran Town who had interacted with them for years still see them as ordinary people?
Of course, the matter might seem unbelievable to Lin Li, but the Ashen Warlock was a godlike powerhouse who had probably used some special method. Lin Li shook his head and stopped pondering about the issue. Instead, he stepped forward and bowed to the two old servants to state that he had been invited by the Ashen Warlock.
Although the two old servants looked like ordinary people, and were so old that they seemed to be on the brink of death, Lin Li didn't belittle them at all. Even if he ignored the fact that their master was the Ashen Warlock, he felt that they still deserved his respect because of their age.
Upon hearing what Lin Li said, an old servant touched his belly that had turned red because of the sun without even bothering to open his eyes, and incoherently muttered, "It's not time yet, go find a place to stay at. We don't provide food and accommodation here."
Lin Li was suddenly speechless, but he had no choice but to say goodbye and return to the town with his two Undead servants.
Although the town was not located along a major road, Lin Li unexpectedly discovered that there was still a small inn in the town. However, he thought about it and felt that it did make some sense. Although there were usually not many people in Gran Town, there would be leaders of the top forces visiting once every three years, and they often spent gold coins and not silver coins. Whenever the inn was open for business, they would make enough to last them for three years.
When he walked into the inn, Lin Li looked around to see that the inn was rather clean and neat even though it looked a little shabby. There was a chubby middle-aged man lying on the counter and snoring in front of Lin Li. Lin Li reckoned that he had to be dreaming that he was going to strike a fortune again this time because he drooled a lot.
Lin Li walked to the counter and pressed the bell a few times, after which the middle-aged man sat up and spaced out for a long time before realizing that there was a guest.
"G-guest, are you looking for accommodation?" the chubby middle-aged man asked awkwardly while wiping away the saliva on his lips. He then noticed that there was a pool of saliva on the counter, and quickly used his sleeve to wipe it away.
"Yes, please prepare three rooms for me," Lin Li said as he took out a handful of gold coins and placed them on the counter.
"Okay, please come with me, I will definitely prepare the best room for you." The chubby middle-aged man immediately sobered up upon sight of the glittering gold coins. Without even counting the coins, he placed them in the drawer inside the counter, stood up, and then walked away.
There was actually no need to expect too much for the so-called best room in such a place. Fortunately, Lin Li was not the type to be after luxury and clout. As long as the room was clean, bright, and proper, it would be enough for him. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that he had chanced upon the inn, he wouldn't mind setting up a tent outside the town. To be honest, the tent that he had placed in his Ring of Endless Storm was much more luxurious than the room in the inn.
After arriving in the room, he dismissed the chubby owner of the inn. Lin Li then recalled what the old servant said in the Tower of Ashes earlier on, and reckoned that the Ashen Warlock Roland probably would not show up until the date stated in the invitation letter. In fact, the invitation by Ashen Warlock seemed to be more of an order. It was not an invitation for a discussion, but a judgment of the disputes between them. Hence, he felt that there was no need to entertain them at all.
However, there were only four days before the date stated on the invitation. Even if he were to go to the outpost on the northern border, he probably wouldn't have enough time to check it out in detail. Lin Li thought about it and decided to stay put in the town and wait for the gathering to begin. Four days would pass quickly anyway.
Actually, Gran Town was a very ordinary town in the countryside, and if it weren't for the fact that the Ashen W
arlock was living there in seclusion, there would be nothing special about this town, for there was a huge bunch of similar counterparts in the Breezy Plains.
After Lin Li asked for a room in the small inn, he decided to stay in the room and meditate alone because he was too lazy to wander and roam about.
Chapter 837 - Throw Him Out
Before Lin Li even realized, it was already dusk, and the golden rays of the evening sun coated the windows in a layer of gold. The houses outside the windows were also fuming with smoke. Lin Li, who was meditating in the room, was awakened by the sudden uproar that came from downstairs. With his current strength, there naturally wouldn't be any issues from him being interrupted during the meditation. However, the loud noises were still uncomfortable for him.
However, shortly after the noises filled the air, they stopped abruptly with a loud shriek, after which Norfeller said from outside the door, "Master, I've already thrown the troublemaker out."
Upon hearing Norfeller's report, Lin Li acknowledged it and didn't ask anything. Norfeller was rather sensible and could handle things appropriately. He wouldn't solve all problems by killing. Since he had just thrown the troublemaker out, it was probably not a big deal.
Downstairs in the small inn, the chubby middle-aged owner had a clear palm-shaped mark on his face, and was muttering incessantly to himself while feeling heartbroken and repairing the damaged door. He looked upstairs for a while, and then gazed out of the window at the gate, seemingly thinking about whom he should call to compensate for the broken gate.
There was a young blond man dressed in luxurious clothes standing right outside the door of the small inn, with his face and body covered in plenty of soil. There were still some bloodstains in the corners of his lips. The originally handsome young man now looked a little bit disheveled. Beside him, there were two people who were also lying on the ground. However, they did not seem to have any strength to get up, and were just panting.
