by Zhuang Bifan
During the previous gathering in Gran Town three years ago, the Tower of Dusk had yet to appear on the map of forces of the Breezy Plains. It could be said that no matter how they had chosen to deal with the Tower of Dusk, it would not have been considered going against the will of the Ashen Warlock as long as they did not make too big of a fuss. However, given the current strength of the Tower of Dusk, they could not be easily manipulated, not even by the Mithril Alliance. If they were to go toe-to-toe against the Tower of Dusk, they would inevitably have to suffer some consequences. The Mithril Alliance now lacked manpower and talent, and none of the five major families would be willing to suffer any losses. Hence, Joseph came up with the idea of using the Ashen Warlock to kill them so that he could take the Tower of Dusk without staining his hands with blood.
Joseph's idea was undeniably wonderful. Otherwise, Mogadi and Claus wouldn't have been willing to join forces with him. The young President of the Tower of Dusk and the Ashen Warlock didn't seem to have any ties with each other, and the three major forces were extremely influential as well. How could the Ashen Warlock possibly let the Tower of Dusk off easily?
However, how could mortals predict what the Ashen Warlock was thinking? Joseph's plans backfired as the Ashen Warlock didn't intend to pursue the matter and put the blame on the Tower of Dusk at all. Instead, he even gave the Tower of Dusk his protection. Hence, if Joseph were to try and attack the Tower of Dusk again, he would have to get ready to face the wrath of the Ashen Warlock. Not to mention the Blood Moon Clan and the Caesar Family, even the Mithril Alliance would not approve of it.
He was digging his own grave! He really was! Although Joseph was filled with resentment, he dared not harp on the matter. Instead, he saluted the Ashen Warlock respectfully, and said, "Yes, we will continue to work hard to maintain the peace and tranquility in the Breezy Plains. Should we move on to the next issue?"
The Ashen Warlock nodded slightly, seemingly not intending to hold it against Joseph and the rest, thus causing the people who were asking for the Tower of Dusk to be expelled to heave a sigh of relief. The Ashen Warlock was not selective when it came to punishment. If he were to be angered, even the powerful figures of the Breezy Plains would not be able to escape death.
The next issue Joseph talked about was the confirmation of territories of the major forces. During the previous gathering, the matter was almost at the end when it happened halfway. Over the years, the territories of the major forces had hardly changed much with the existence of the Ashen Warlock, and everything would be settled with just a few words.
This time, the rise of the Tower of Dusk had obviously brought a lot of changes to the map of forces in the Breezy Plains. The reason that the Tower of Dusk was originally built in Doland was because it was once the place where the territories of the major forces overlapped. It was also one of the few areas in the Breezy Plains where there were no factions. Of course, it did not include the smaller forces that were not popular enough.
However, the blank area was just a small place. Otherwise, the major forces wouldn't have ignored it. Now that the Tower of Dusk was already significant enough to be compared to the three major forces, their territory had naturally been expanded countless times, and the territories of many other major forces had been included in their expansion. Hence, the next thing that they were going to do was to finalize the territorial map of the Breezy Plains, which was of great significance to the Tower of Dusk and the other forces.
The disputes between the other major forces in terms of territory had already been resolved, and the parties had already reached consensus through negotiations. Hence, there was nothing worth discussing at this juncture. After seeing the Ashen Warlock nod, he made some changes to their respective territories according to the outcome of the negotiation. The map of forces was then finalized.
When the various forces were interacting with each other previously, the Tower of Dusk refused to give in to anyone. Naturally, they did not come to an agreement with any of the forces.
Joseph failed to provoke the Ashen Warlock into dealing with the Tower of Dusk, and the Ashen Warlock even ended up giving the Tower of Dusk protection instead. Hence, Joseph was filled with indignation. Although he could no longer cause any major trouble for the Tower of Dusk, Joseph still did not give up the opportunity to put the Tower of Dusk in a difficult position.
Didn't you say that the Breezy Plains has been rather peaceful, eh, Ashen Warlock? Now that there are so many issues in the Tower of Dusk that you have to pass a judgment on, let's see if you can continue insisting that it's peaceful! Joseph thought to himself. Although he wasn't as prejudiced when talking about the territorial disputes between the Tower of Dusk and the other forces, he tried his best to complicate the problem as much as possible.
Of course, Joseph was not doing something meaningless. Since it was impossible to drive the Tower of Dusk out of the Breezy Plains, he decided to try his best to reduce the territory taken up by the Tower of Dusk as much as possible. He reckoned that that should help with suppressing them a little. Most importantly, the Tower of Dusk attended the gathering, and thus could no longer use their lack of knowledge of the rules as an excuse for their wayward behavior in the past. They probably wouldn't dare to behave that way in the future.
The Tower of Dusk could be considered an outside force, and had snatched all their territories from other forces. Hence, when they were on the topic of the territories belonging to the Tower of Dusk, Joseph would often mention the original owners of the territories, or whom they should belong to. In conclusion, Joseph felt that the space the Tower of Dusk stood on should be the only territory that belonged to them.
However, before Joseph could even finish speaking, the Ashen Warlock suddenly interrupted, "You don't have to go on. It'll belong to whoever owns it now."
The Ashen Warlock's seemingly impatient words made Joseph turn speechless, and it suddenly seemed like all issues were nonissues. Since the territories now belonged to the Tower of Dusk, it didn't matter who the former owners were. At this point, everyone could tell that the Ashen Warlock was biased towards the Tower of Dusk.
Joseph had actually already expected such an outcome, but he was unwilling to let go of any possibility. Hearing the words of the Ashen Warlock, he simply sighed in his heart, but there wasn't much of a change in expression on his face. He simply expressed assent respectfully and remained silent afterwards.
Without a doubt, the Tower of Dusk had become the greatest winner because of the Ashen Warlock's words. Although in the past two or three years, the Tower of Dusk had encroached on Doland and the surrounding regions based on their own strength, they were still an outsider force. Hence, possessing those territories would inevitably cause them to be criticized by the local forces, and they might even end up in various disputes.
However, the verdict of the Ashen Warlock seemed to have justified the actions of the Tower of Dusk. It could be said that from now on, no one could say that the Tower of Dusk was an outsider in the Breezy Plains, because they had already become the master of a piece of the land.
The outcome also made the face of Mogadi, the President of the Blood Moon Clan, turn even more sullen. The swamp mining area, which was extremely important to the Blood Moon Clan, was given to the Tower of Dusk with one word from the Ashen Warlock, thus dashing his hopes of obtaining it completely. However, no matter how bold he might be, he still wouldn't dare to show any contempt to the Ashen Warlock. Hence, he couldn't help but feel resentful towards Joseph at this moment.
Although the swamp mining area was also very tempting to other forces, it had an irreplaceable significance to the Blood Moon Clan. Money could be earned anywhere, but there was only one place in the entire Breezy Plains where Serum Grass could be grown in batches. If they could obtain that land and grow a large amount of Serum Grass, the core members of the Blood Moon Clan would no longer have to worry about suffering from the agony of their split genes and bloodline. They would also be able to
improve the hybridization technology in order to boost the abilities of the Blood Moon Clan.
Although the Blood Moon Clan also participated in the operation to suppress the Tower of Dusk previously, and gave Lin Li a harsh attitude when interacting with Lin Li alone in the inn, Mogadi felt that there was still some room for reconciling because they had not really fallen out. However, the Ashen Warlock was defending and protecting the Tower of Dusk. How should he face the Tower of Dusk, then?
Seeing that the territories of the forces had been finalized, Mogadi felt far more anxious than the leaders of other forces. While he blamed Joseph for leading him onto the wrong path, he racked his brains to think of a solution. All of a sudden, he noticed Hoffman, who was standing not too far away. At this moment, the other leaders of the forces all appeared rather gloomy. The chubby Hoffman, meanwhile, was grinning so wide that his features were all close together as his face scrunched up.
Mogadi suddenly remembered that Hoffman seemed to have a good relationship with the young President of the Tower of Dusk. When all was said and done, Mogadi was not the one who led the suppression against the Tower of Dusk. Could Hoffman ease the tension between them and the Tower of Dusk? Although there was barely any hope left for him to obtain that valuable piece of land, the swamp would not be mined immediately. If he could plant some Serum Grass before that happened, it would at least meet his needs temporarily.
Chapter 844 - Creating The Body
At this moment, Hoffman was over the moon. Although he didn't understand why the Ashen Warlock was so biased towards the Tower of Dusk, his partnership with them was stabilized, and that was undoubtedly a great benefit to the Glittergold Trade Union. Lately, the Tower of Dusk had been boycotted by the local forces, and there had also been plenty of unhappy voices and disharmony within the Glittergold Trade Union. The common reason for their disp.l.e.a.s.u.r.e was the Tower of Dusk's identity as an outsider force, which they felt would be forced out by the local forces sooner or later.
However, who would dare to make a deal out of it now!? Hoffman was all eager and excited to go back and take a look at those who were critical and disdainful towards the Tower of Dusk. The victory of the Tower of Dusk was equivalent to Hoffman's victory in the Glittergold Trade Union. He had been pushing for a close cooperation with the Tower of Dusk; hence, his prestige and position in the Glittergold Trade Union would definitely soar to unparalleled heights.
"Okay, you're all dismissed," said the Ashen Warlock who put an end to the gathering. However, when they were about to leave, he said to Lin Li who had been standing at the back of the crowd, "Felic, come with me." Before waiting for Lin Li to answer, he turned around and walked towards the dilapidated tower while everyone looked in horror.
The people had yet to digest and recover from the shock just now, yet they were once again dumbfounded and taken aback at this moment. The Ashen Warlock was a deity of the Breezy Plains, and the appearance of the tall, ruined tower undoubtedly hinted that it was a sacred place. Such a gathering had been held countless times, but no one had ever been invited to the tower by the Ashen Warlock. The gatherings would usually be held in the small open space, where no seats were available. Upon hearing the Ashen Warlock's judgment which finalized the distribution of territories, no one dared to express any dissatisfaction at all.
All of a sudden, everyone shifted their gazes onto Lin Li, seemingly trying to find an answer that could explain everything. Everyone knew that they were just like insignificant ants to the Ashen Warlock, yet Lin Li, who was like an ant just like them, was actually invited to the tower that was like a sacred ground by the Ashen Warlock himself. Could there be anything else that was more exaggerated than that!?
To be honest, even Lin Li couldn't figure out what the Ashen Warlock wanted to do, let alone the others. However, Lin Li could vaguely guess that he wasn't given those benefits for nothing, and the Ashen Warlock definitely had an ulterior motive.
Lin Li ordered the two Undead servants to wait outside, after which he walked through the crowd towards the dilapidated gray tower while others watched, green with envy. He wasn't worried that Ashen Warlock would harm him. Although he had already seen a trace of the power of the Sanctuary-realm, he knew that the Ashen Warlock would be able to kill him effortlessly given his terrifying power.
Lin Li's figure was concealed in the shadow of the tower gate, and the quiet atmosphere of the space outside the tower was instantly broken by the noisy discussions.
Why is the Ashen Warlock protecting the Tower of Dusk? Why did the Ashen Warlock invite that young President to the Tower of Ashes? What background does that young President have? What is the relationship between him and the Ashen Warlock!? Everyone was not discussing simply out of curiosity. They all knew that the fact that the Tower of Dusk had risen in the Breezy Plains could not be changed at all. They could not help but consider how they should get along with the Tower of Dusk in the future.
Mogadi approached Hoffman as soon as he could, and asked about the Tower of Dusk in a bid to find out about the relationship between Hoffman and the young President Lin Li. Apart from Mogadi, there were also a few other people surrounding Hoffman, all of whom harbored almost the same thoughts as Mogadi. They wanted to use Hoffman to salvage the relationship between them and the Tower of Dusk.
On the other side of the open space, the leaders of the Mithril Alliance were speechless, and their faces were extremely sullen. Without a doubt, the Mithril Alliance had lost terribly this time. Not only did they not benefit from the operation, they even created an opportunity for the Tower of Dusk to be valued by the Ashen Warlock.
Unlike other forces, the Mithril Alliance was the leader and planner of the boycott of the Tower of Dusk, and thus was completely opposing them. The animosity and conflict between them was almost impossible to reconcile. Hence, they had no choice but to think carefully about the strategy they could adopt for dealing with the Tower of Dusk next.
At this moment, Lin Li, who was the focus of discussion, was already standing in the hall of the Tower of Ashes and scanning the most mysterious place in the Breezy Plains curiously. After taking a look, Lin Li couldn't help but be surprised and a little disappointed at the same time. The dilapidated-looking tower wasn't that luxurious and opulent on the inside, and there were almost no impractical furnishings and ornaments. The materials used were also very common, and were even simpler than the ones used in the Emerald Tower in the countryside of Jarrosus.
The Ashen Warlock was known as the deity of the Breezy Plains, and almost no one had ever set foot in the Tower of Ashes. Hence, it was naturally very mysterious to them. How would they react if they were to know how shabby and plain the tower was?
"How's it? Are you feeling a little surprised that the place where the dignified Ashen Warlock lives in is actually so shabby?" asked the Ashen Warlock who entered the tower and watched Lin Li scrutinize the place before he finally questioned him jokingly.
"I'm sorry, Master Roland, this place is indeed beyond my expectations," said Lin Li truthfully without hiding his thoughts at all. He continued, "Thank you for your help just now. Why did you invite me in? Do you need my help for something?"
Lin Li didn't think that the Ashen Warlock gave him a favor simply because he liked him. Although his abilities were far inferior to the powerhouse in front of him, deities were not omnipotent. Since the Ashen Warlock had given him such a huge benefit, he definitely wanted him to do something.
The Ashen Warlock nodded, and straightforwardly said, "I reckon you must have already discovered it. My body is declining."
Lin Li raised his brows slightly and recalled the abnormalities that he had detected on the Ashen Warlock previously. He answered, "Yes, pardon me for being blunt, but if I'm not wrong, your body seems to be completely devoid of vitality. What I don't understand is that your situation is very different from that of Undead creatures."
"Yes, I've been using this body for thousands of years. It has been too long. In the end,
it still can't withstand the toll that time has taken on it," the Ashen Warlock said indifferently as if he wasn't talking about himself at all. He then looked at Lin Li, and continued, "I know you've already obtained Osric's Eternal Furnace."
"Yes," answered Lin Li, not surprised that the Ashen Warlock knew about the Eternal Furnace. After all, he was a Sanctuary powerhouse who had been through the Dark Age. At the thought of the Ashen Warlock mentioning his declining body followed by the Eternal Furnace, Lin Li vaguely began to guess what the Ashen Warlock wanted to talk about.
"The purpose of Osric's Eternal Furnace was to create a perfect body for himself to achieve immortality. Now that you have obtained the eternal melting pot, you must have mastered Osric's technique of creating the perfect body," said the Ashen Warlock.
Indeed! Lin Li was more and more certain of his guess. He did not hide anything. Instead, he truthfully answered, "Yes, I did learn some techniques of body creating using the Eternal Furnace from the journal that he had left behind. He had initially left a perfect body behind, but due to the circ.u.mstances at that time, I gave the body away to someone else like I had promised them."
"You might have guessed it, but I would like to ask you for your help. I hope you can use the Eternal Furnace to create a new body for me." The Ashen Warlock cut straight to the chase instead of going around the bush. He calmly stated his own request, and seemed to have no interest in the perfect body at all.
Although it was just like what he had guessed, Lin Li still seemed to be put on the spot, and he hesitantly answered, "Well… creating a body… I might have mastered Osric's technique, but as for the materials…"
Lin Li was certain that the body needed by the Ashen Warlock would definitely not be an ordinary one. However, it was a Herculean task to collect all the materials needed for a perfect body with his current wealth. Although the Tower of Dusk had now become the top power of the Breezy Plains, he was still far behind the Highlord Osric. Besides, some of the materials could not be purchased with money.
