Chapter 204 - Bad News (Big Chapter!) (1/2)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

“Now is not the time. Let’s discuss it when I get back…” Lin Li said while he rushed off. When he reached the guest room of the guild, he saw Kevin pacing around the room anxiously.

The archmage who was responsible for taking care of Kevin was called Stilton. Before Lin Li went to the Shadowglen for the trial, he’d met him twice. Lin Li knew that he was an important figure in Alanna Guild of Magic, and was comparable to Darian in terms of the status.

Although Macklin had not said much, he was indeed concerned with this matter.

“Mr. Stilton, could you tell me when would Felic be back?”

“Uh…” The archmage hesitated. “To be honest, I’m not sure as well. I only know that his mentor is Mr. Macklin. Apart from him, we do not have the right to ask about his whereabouts…”

“But…” Kevin paused, and was unusually jittery.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Stilton.” Lin Li greeted the good-natured archmage the moment he entered the room. Then, he turned towards the other man. “It’s been a while, Kevin.”

“L-long time no see!” Kevin was elated upon seeing Lin Li. “When did you come back?”

“Felic, you are finally back! Your friend has been waiting for two days here. If not, I would need to go and pester Mr. Macklin for you,” Stilton joked while he walked towards the door. “Alright, I will go and attend to my matters now. Have a nice day!”

“Goodbye, Mr. Stilton.”

After sending Stilton away, Lin Li turned to look at Kevin. He asked worriedly, “Kevin, what happened?”

“Something horrible has happened…” replied Kevin. It had only been a month since Lin Li last saw him. Kevin looked much more pallid than before, and his hair looked like a mess, eyes bloodshot.

“We’ve lost the Demon Fall Valley…”

Lin Li frowned. Still, he was not shocked by this sudden news. Before he came, he had already prepared himself mentally. Since Kevin appeared at Alanna, it meant that something had happened in Jarrosus. It would not be a small matter, or the stubborn Gerian would not have allowed Kevin to come Alanna to look for him.

At the start, he thought that it was Gerian whom had gotten into trouble.

Thankfully…

Although the Demon Fall Valley was important, losing it was not a great deal. They could just get it back when he was free.

So, he asked in a low voice, “Did Shadow’s Nest do it?”

“Yes…” Kevin nodded, and leaned against the chair weakly. “They attacked the Demon Fall Valley within one month after you left.”

“Their attacks have always been rather frequent. Why did the defense force fail this time?” Lin Li asked doubtfully. Everyone in Jarrosus knew that the Shadow’s Nest had been vying for the Demon Fall Valley and would be sure to plan their attacks every month. To put it in Gerian’s words, those attacks were much more punctual than Old Merlin’s period.

As for whether Old Merlin had any period, we could discuss it next time. The Shadow’s Nest had never succeeded in any of their raids throughout these 10 years. How did they do it this time round?

“This time… this time…” Kevin hesitated, not knowing where to start. After a minute, Lin Li heard his voice again. “This time was different—their attack was much stronger than before. If I did not recognize a few familiar faces, I would have thought that it was a different force that attacked the Demon Fall Valley.”

“Stronger attack?” Lin Li was stunned for a moment, but regained his composure immediately. He clarified, “You meant they had better equipment?”

There were two sides to a stronger attack. First, it would be an upgraded set of skills. Second, the enhancement of equipment.

In a battle that hundreds of thousands of people partic.i.p.ated, unless there was a suppression to everyone’s level, the level of any individual would be meaningless. Furthermore, breakthroughs were not to be achieved in the matter of days. How would so many people experience that together?

The most direct and effective method was still to make changes to the equipment.

Especially for people of lower levels, a trashy outfit and an outfit of superior quality would mean two different things. For example, if you gave a mage who had just surpa.s.sed level-5 10 scrolls, 10 Recovery Potions, and a Robe of the Void, he would be able to kill at least 10 other mages of a similar level extremely easily.

Hence, when he heard that the Shadow’s Nest had a boost in abilities, the first thing Lin Li thought of was their equipment!

“That’s right.” Kevin nodded with an agonizing expression. “I can’t believe they had so much magical equipment… Almost everybody had one! Each of them were holding either a Frost or a Fire Shadowbane. It was my first time ever seeing so much magical equipment. And… and the thing was, they even had a team of warriors dressed in heavy armor! I totally could not tell what metal their armors were made of. They remained unharmed from attacks that were below level-5. They were like monsters!”

“Warriors in heavy armor?” Lin Li paused. Having great knowledge in forging, he knew that magical equipment was of little significance. The names—Frost or Fire Shadowbane—were only superficial fronts. With any piece of sc.r.a.p metal, he could easily forge magical equipment of similar capabilities.

The heavy-armored Warriors were the only thing that attracted his attention.

The cost of heavy-armored Warriors was infamously exorbitant. Not to mention their magical attributes and costly maintenance fees in the future, just a set of delicately forged heavy armor would require at least ten thousands goin coins. In fact, the budget to develop a heavy-armored Warrior would be as much as if he was a mage.

In Felan Kingdom, there were as many mercenary corps as the hair on a cow. They were endowed with rich oil resources too. Yet, what could really manage the expenses of the heavy-armored Warriors would no doubt only be the Silver Hand. With such a big force, the Silver Hand became one of the three great mercenary corps in Alanna.

However, the Shadow’s Nest was considered an inferior force in the Felan Kingdom. What was their motive for doing so?

Furthermore, they did not look like the usual heavy-armored Warriors…

“Kevin, were those heavy-armored Warriors completely or partially immune to magic of level-5 and below? Think carefully before you answer. It’s important.”

“Fully immune,” Kevin replied with firmness.

“I knew it…” Lin Li nodded his head, and said nothing more. Yet, he started to suspect something was amiss. Armor that could protect people from magic below level-5 was nothing to be fancy about, and Lin Li knew various forging designs that could achieve the same effect.

And that was the reason why he was even more suspicious.

The few designs he knew of would require the help from high-level blacksmiths. With the inferior status of the Shadow’s Nest, how could they have the ability to invite them? Furthermore, those designs were exorbitantly priced—easily at a few hundred thousand gold coins. If the Shadow’s Nest had so much money, why would they vie for the Demon Fall Valley? They should have run to Jarrosus to rescue the prost.i.tutes there…

“How’s Ysera?” Lin Li asked after a while.

“Uh?” Kevin was surprised by that random question. How would the occupation of the Demon Fall Valley be even related to Ysera’s wellbeing?

But after that, he honestly replied, “He was not injured—he just had his group of merchants stolen. But, frankly speaking, he made significant contributions. Not to mention that he busied himself to help out with different resources, he’s also sent 20 magic shooters from the Mannes Family. If not for him, I’m afraid we wouldn’t have been able to resist even for a week.”

“20 magic shooters?” Lin Li nodded, and eliminated his suspicions against Ysera.

Initially, he’d thought that the Mannes Family had been behind it.

Before he’d left Jarrosus, the Mannes Family had been on extremely good terms with the Guild of Magic. Yet although they’d appeared to be as close as family, Lin Li understood that it was because of the lack of a proper opportunity. Or else, neither the Mannes Family nor Ysera would waste the chance to take over Jarrosus.

The situation was clear. How could the ability of the Guild of Magic and all the different potions Lin Li had left behind before he’d left give the Shadow’s Nest any chance to succeed? If not for those, Lin Li would not have left with such a peace of mind.

Yet, it had only been one month since he’d left, and Kevin came rus.h.i.+ng here to announce that the Demon Fall Valley got taken over. Who would believe that no one was supporting the Shadow’s Nest?

The attack by the Shadow’s Nest this time had a strong reek of money. Money was needed to forge magical weapons and magical armors.

And who was the richest in the whole of Jarrosus? It would undoubtedly be… the Mannes Family, or the pretty boy Ysera.

Hence, the first person that Lin Li had suspected was Ysera.

But, from what Kevin told him, it did not seem like it…

Ysera was a young and able man with good potential. He would not chose to do the silly deed of siding with both the Shadow’s Nest and the Guild of Magic at the same time.

Even if what Ysera did was to gain the trust from the Guild of Magic as a backup plan, it did not make sense to waste so much effort. Furthermore, Jarrosus was not Alanna—everyone knew who were the archmages. After Old Merlin disappeared, there was only one archmage in Jarrosus left, and that man was President Gerian.

Archmages were already considered the most influential and powerful people in the country. If Ysera was to engage in such an activity, he would have invested everything. Hence, it seemed like he was trustworthy in allying himself with the Guild of Magic…

Apart from the Mannes Family, who would have the ability to own such wealth? Lin Li filtered the 17 forces in Jarrosus in his mind, but could not come up with an exact answer.

“Might it be an external force?” Lin Li asked. The moment he imagined that, he was shocked too.

If it was an external party that had been vying for the Demon Fall Valley, things were more complicated.

It might make sense for one of the 17 forces within Jarrosus to provide aid to the Shadow’s Nest. Regardless of the reason—whether it was to weaken the Guild of Magic, or to claim the Chief’s seat—it would require a large sum of money. Hence, what would be the motivation of the external force?

Even if their attack impacted the Guild of Magic, they would not gain any benefits. The 17 forces had been in the city of Jarrosus (while the Shadow’s Nest nearby) for thousands of years, and leaders.h.i.+p over the city had continued on a rotational basis.