Chapter 479 - Secret (2/2)
No matter what the magical weapon was, it had to be something extraordinary if it was what the Immortal King had used to kill the Dragon of Destruction. A magical weapon of that caliber had to be irresistible to anyone, and even the Malfa Family would not hesitate to sacrifice the whole Doland to get their hands on it, much less a small Black Clouds Town.
Hutton broke out in a cold sweat as he saw the young President Felic smile while watching him. What is this guy smiling about, and why does his smile look so creepy? Does he think that the Malfas are involved in this?
The first heir of the Malfa Family, breaking out in a cold sweat just because someone was smiling at him ambiguously? Everyone who did not know the context would bellow in laughter upon seeing this, but Hutton did not feel embarra.s.sed at all. After all, this young man was not merely a President of a Guild of magic, but also the youngest Legendary powerhouse ever in history. This was a matter concerning the survival of the Malfa Family, and it was not at all embarra.s.sing for him to fear a Legendary-mage.
“President Felic, the Malfa Family does covet the Immortal King’s arm and… and the magical weapon, but I swear that this has nothing to do with us,” Hutton explained with a panicked expression.
“Hehe, you’re thinking too much, Mage Hutton. Since you have accepted my invitation, then we are allies, and there must be trust between allies.” Lin Li could tell that Hutton was not lying, so he tried to appease Hutton in order to preserve their working relations.h.i.+p.
Hutton breathed out a sigh of relief. Having a good relations.h.i.+p with this young President was much more practical than pursuing the mythical magical weapon. He was the youngest Legendary-mage in history and the holder of three of Geresco’s relics, as well as the chosen one according to Tutankhamun—all of this suggested that he was a person with endless potential. How the other forces would dream about having such a person as an ally! Why would he want to stand against him?
The questions Lin Li had were somewhat answered now, and even though he did not know who the ones supporting the Syer bandits were, at least he knew the root of the issue. Lin Li really hoped that the Immortal King’s arm and the magical weapon did not fall into the wrong hands.
While the ancestor of the Malfa Family did not record what the magical weapon was in his diary, Lin Li could make a guess even though he’d had no idea about it previously.
Lin Li had Gavin, who had been standing guard at the entrance, call Gerian over. Since the people of the Malfa Family had arrived and his mages had also recuperated and were in good condition, it was now time to plan an attack on the Syer Bandits.
“President Felic, let the Malfa Family lead the attack,” Hutton offered as a show of his sincerity. Even though he had heard Lin Li tell him about the situation with the Syer Bandits, and knew that there were Alchemy Colossuses and Archmages, he was not worried. After all, even the few people from the Tower of Dusk had been able to keep them occupied for two months. He figured these Colossuses and Archmages were nothing too difficult to deal with.
“Heh, thank you, Mage Hutton,” Lin Li said with a smile, agreeing to Hutton’s offer. Of course, he did not take it seriously—while others might not know how powerful an Alchemy Colossus was, he knew.
Hutton relaxed upon seeing that Lin Li had agreed to it. While it might sound a little harsh, this was a proof of allegiance of some sort, and seeing that Lin Li had agreed to it, it seemed that there was hope that they could improve their relations.
Hutton gathered his courage and carefully said, “Well… President Felic, there are some things that I need to discuss with you…”
“Oh, please go ahead. We are allies. If it is within my power, I will definitely help you.” Even though the Malfas had set him up before, they had now submitted to him, and he did not suffer any loss; hence, Lin Li could not be bothered to be petty.
“You see, I heard that there is a new batch of potions in Doland that came from the Tower of Dusk. Hence, I would like to ask if you could supply the Malfa Family with some of it,” Hutton said as he stared closely at Lin Li’s face to observe his expression, ready to change the topic as soon as he noticed something was wrong.
After they heard about the new potion in Doland, the Malfa Family could not stop talking about it, as their main fighting power was their mages, and their requirement for potions was naturally an astronomical number. The worst thing was that they might not even be able to obtain the potions they needed even if they could afford it.
Lin Li was a generous man to his own people—as evident from the benefits the Tower of Dusk’s mages enjoyed. Since the Malfa Family was an ally, but not quite his own people, he could not just offer them the potion without gaining anything in return.
Lin Li thought for a moment before he said, “I can accede to your request, but as you know, the Tower of Dusk has only been set up for a few months, and I am not very familiar with the Breezy Plains, which makes it hard for me to gather ingredients needed for potions. I heard that the Malfas have a plot of land growing many herbs in Moon Scar Valley. If you’re able to supply me with herbs at base price, then it will save me a lot of trouble, and the supply of potions will be guaranteed.”
“No problem, no problem.” Hutton was overjoyed—it was nothing for him to supply herbs at base price, as they did not rely on the profits from selling these herbs. They did not have a pharmacist, either, and they would not earn much by selling it to the Pharmacists Guild. Hence, it was much more valuable to exchange them for potions from the Tower of Dusk.
“Alright, then it is set. Once all this ends, we can discuss the details of our business.” Lin Li was satisfied with this outcome as well as he thought to himself that the Tower of Dusk really needed to groom a few pharmaceutics apprentices.
Ever since they started working with the Glittergold Trade Union and the Gilded Rose in potion business, Lin Li had to spend a lot of time making potions. He was without a choice as he had been too much of a perfectionist and spent too much money on the Tower of Dusk. After he returned, Gavin briefed him about the potion business, and as the business did better, the demand for potions grew as well. Even though he still had a lot of stock left, his two partners had already started to sell these potions on a limited basis a month ago.
While Lin Li obtained a large amount of wealth from the Throne of Darkness, he could not give up the business just because he had a large reserve. Since the business had to go on, he had to groom a few pharmaceutics apprentices so that he’d have more time to study magic.
But he would have to seriously consider whom to groom. If he chose from within the Tower of Dusk, he could be sure about the person’s character, but that’d mean that he might not have enough gifted apprentices to groom. He could also get people from the Pharmacist Guild—surely the two old men would not give him trouble given his reputation.
After discussing some details, the two men returned to their tents to rest before they dealt with the Syer bandits the next day.
At the crack of dawn, before anyone from the Malfa Family or the Tower of Dusk had woken up, thunderous noise came from afar, and was gradually coming closer. It startled the birds and shook the earth as though the mountains were about to collapse.
The strong magical wave shocked the mages from both camps awake as they frantically grabbed their magic staves and rushed outside their tents. Even a fool would know that it was an enemy attack given the situation, but the Malfas were still puzzled—how could there be such powerful mages among the remaining Syer bandits?
As they rushed outside and looked up, they saw that the sky above them was covered in dull red fire clouds. The fire clouds continued to churn as the powerful magical wave made every mage quietly gasp in awe. Everyone knew that an unusually strong spell was brewing, and this was not something any single mage was capable of.