Chapter 657 (1/2)

Tello Hailaer immediately called for a meeting with the higher-ups the moment he returned to Mill City and began to broach the topic on changing allegiance, but things were just as he had expected. This idea met the objections of the masses, and there was almost no one who supported it.

“We don’t have many followers of the God of Knowledge in Mill City and even fewer followers of the Void Mask. Why should we change over to their side?” most would say. This was the most common attitude observed.

“Of course, there isn’t a problem with changing camps. But how much can we benefit from the Republic of Northwest? Are the benefits going to be worth us taking this risk?” said those selfish high-ups who had no moral integrity to speak of. Only they were able to make such comments.

“We aren’t pushovers or dispensable like Golden Tower City, nor are we like Grey Tower City who has long lingered on the border of half-independent. As a city with Legendary Masters in command, we can be said to be one of the pillars supporting this “Mifata Federation” building. How can we possibly detach ourselves from the Federation? Simply ridiculous!” said Hailaer’s junior. Out of all the disciples of Master Mill who were still alive, this was the second oldest one. He had always been upright and peace-loving. At this moment, as he opened his mouth to speak, his tone was solemn and forceful.

Another junior saw how tensed the situation was and hurried to mediate between the two other disciples, “Older Senior was only bringing this up as a suggestion… but in my opinion, this matter is indeed not quite appropriate. Let’s not talk about feelings, given how important our Mill City is, the Federation will never permit our secession from it.”

“True! By that time, if a group of Legendary Masters were to come over, what are we supposed to do?” said an old judge, whose beard and hair had all turned white, in a quivering voice. “I’m old. I just want to lead a peaceful and stable life. City Lord, please don’t make life difficult for us.”

The moment his words left his mouth, all the higher-ups were suddenly nodding their heads.

The mindset that priority must always be in the order of seniority was a common failing where all living creatures with wisdom were concerned. There was no exception. Being able to make it up to the senior management level of Mill City, most of these members would have been of a certain age group. At this moment, what this elder said struck the right notes to aptly allude to what everyone truly felt.

The situation was pretty good in Mill City now. Everyone was leading stable lives, so why would they want to take the risk and pursue even better lives?

Regardless of what benefits the Republic of Northwest could offer, it was not worth putting everyone at risk.

Hailaer did not get angry. On the contrary, he laughed.

Such a reaction had long been within his expectation. The reason why he broached the topic and suggested that Mill City should change allegiance over to the Mifata Federation—naturally, he had an ulterior motive.

“Of course, I have my reasons for bringing up this suggestion,” he finally opened his mouth to speak up when the chaotic objections gradually mellowed down. “We’ve been friends for so many years, I don’t wish to beat about the bush with you all. I’ll tell you all the most direct reason first: I’ve received a kind gift from His Majesty, the Void Mask, and I’ve broken free from the mortal world and stepped into the Legendary Realm.”

His words were like pouring a ladleful of water into a boiling oil cauldron; they threw the entire meeting room into an uproar.

When they had seen him return with restored youth, no one had thought much of it. After all, Tello Hailaer was known as the “Statue Mage,” where he would usually seal his true body and attach his soul into a statue as he moved about. Although the statue he used this time was different from his past style, there was nothing surprising.

In this world, there were many mages who would use statues that looked exactly like their true selves, not to mention that the one Hailaer was using now did not resemble him at all. Considering the fact that he was almost 300 years old, those mortals who had seen his looks when he was in his thirties would most probably have died a long time ago.

There were also some people who could vaguely guess what was going on. After all, the Church of the Void Mask had an extremely famous specialty product—a life-prolonging potion. This potion could at most extend one’s lifespan by 10 years, and thereafter, no matter how much more one drank, the total number of years added on would not exceed 15 years. But since His Majesty was able to consent to the sales of this potion, then he must have a more brilliant method of extending life.

If he had not gained any benefits from extending his life, given Tello Hailaer’s character, would it be possible for him to suggest that they should change over to the side of the Void Mask and pledge allegiance to the Republic of Northwest?

However, even the most imaginative person would not have expected Mage Hailaer to have restored his youth and even step into the Legendary Realm!

Of course, this was because Hailaer had kept his power pressure under restraint. He was not a person of an unorthodox background. He had been receiving guidance from a Legendary Master for many years and had a good friendship with another. He himself had once been someone who had reached the legendary threshold. He knew a lot about the Legendary Realm. Although he was a little out of control initially, he quickly mastered his current power.

Instead of returning directly to Mill City from Void City via a teleportation spell, he had first arrived at the Highest Tower, where he put together a group of bodyguards and found himself a ride home in a luxurious carriage. Then unhurriedly, he made his way back. The entire journey took about ten days, which was more than enough for him to completely grasp control over his power.

Now, so long as he was willing to, he could conceal his power anytime. Even if he were to become someone who was completely powerless, it would also be a piece of cake. So if not for the fact that he was the one explaining himself, no one would have expected him to have actually become a Legendary Master.

The most intense reaction came from a few of Hailaer’s juniors. There was one junior in particular who was relatively young; he could not even hold himself back as he stood up and exclaimed in alarm, “Impossible!”

It was no wonder he reacted so strongly. Among all of Master Mill’s disciples, except for Tu Ya’an who was alienated by the rest because of his study on the Dead Soul Spell, he was already at the top of the ranks in terms of ability. Currently, he was already at the advanced legendary peak. If it was not for the pursuit of reliability, where he had hoped for a one-time success, he would have a shot at shaking the Legendary Realm.

However, being able to impact the Legendary Realm did not necessarily mean he could enter the Legendary Realm. Many years back, his oldest senior, Hailaer, had also once reached the advanced legendary peak, and impacted the Legendary Realm, but the result was a typical failure. Not only did he fail to succeed, he even sustained serious injuries. After recuperating for close to ten years and eating many kinds of precious medicines, had he managed to recover his vitality.

Since then, Mage Hailaer had tried to impact the Legendary Realm again, twice at that, but still, both times he ended up in failure.

If not for the three failures he underwent, then regardless of how long he continued to live, his strength would not have weakened to such a degree.

Currently, this junior had yet to try impacting the Legendary Realm, not even once. It was the time where he had the greatest momentum and was brimming with confidence. In fact, he had already given this much thought. If he were to wait a while longer, when his oldest senior’s health could no longer hold out, he would rely on his powerful strength to pull some strings. Then he should be able to become city lord. By that time, he would use his courage and shock the Legendary Realm. There, he could rejoice over the double victory that he obtained!

However, with Hailaer entering the Legendary Realm, his plan naturally fell through and ended up in smoke.

Tello Hailaer was about 300 years old this year. To mortals, this age had practically reached an ultimate limit. No matter how he tried to prolong his life, death would still be something that would happen within the coming three to five years. But as a Legendary Master, a mere 300 years old was considered young. It might be possibly because he had lost too much previously, if not, he would likely appear to be in his early twenties now.

In other words, he had at least another 300 to 400 years to live. If he continued to put in the effort to prolong his life, another 1000 years might not even be a problem. Within the Mifata Federation, there was a Legendary Master who had lived for 4000 to 5000 years. And it was said that in a particularly small world, there was a senior Legendary Master who had lived up to 10,000 years old by hiding himself away in a deep slumber to delay his aging process.

But no matter what, it was impossible for this junior here to live for another 300 to 400 years.