Chapter 279: Hello, Jarrosus
Translator:Atlas Studios
Editor:Atlas Studios
The battle concluded with the cheers. Lin Li waited for Kevin anxiously while he listened to Macklin nag by his ear.
"Darn you, fella. How many times have I told you not to find trouble for yourself? Now that you did such a cruel thing, how would Wilhelm forgive you and Jarrosus?"
"Alright, alright…" There were still many unsolved mysteries behind the attack of the Emerald Tower. Lin Li did not intend to tell that to the old man at all. He stood there obediently and listened to the old man nag. It was only when the old man's throat went dry from all the nagging that Lin Li interrupted, "Oh, yes. There's something I want to discuss with you…"
"What is it?"
"I am going back to Jarrosus tonight."
"Huh? Why are you in such a rush?"
"Something happened to the Emerald Tower and Gerian asked me to return quickly."
"Could you delay it?" Macklin frowned hesitantly. "The trial had just finished. The guild must have planned some celebration. If the main character is not here, how are we going to celebrate? Furthermore, your performance at the finals was historic! The Supreme Council is sure to reward you for that. If you leave, you are going to miss out on all the good stuff!"
"I have no choice too. Gerian said it was urgent…" Lin Li pursed his lips and pushed the blame to Gerian.
"Gerian, that bastard…"
"Oh, yes. If I don't remember wrongly, the bet between the Guild of Magic and the Adventurers Guild should be after three months, right? Don't worry, I will think of a way to come back to Alanna no matter how busy I will be."
When Herza announced the winner, the trial also came to an end. Aldwin said some scripted things to praise all the trial students for their performance, thank the Supreme Council, as well as the audience…
When he waited for Kevin to come with the coach, Lin Li greeted the VIPs ceremoniously. Since they had met each other at the Pharmacists Guild, they were still familiar with each other. Especially so for Englos, Sendros, and Hoffman—they had rendered great help when Orrin got injured previously. How could he not greet them now?
The VIPs were also extra friendly to him. Their tone when they called him "Master Felic" became sweeter and sweeter, especially Hoffman—after he heard that Lin Li was going to build a guild of magic in Breezy Plains, he smiled so hard that his eyes nearly closed. It was no joke to have such a powerful neighbor. As long as he could establish a good relationship with him, the Glittergold Trade Union would stand to benefit a lot.
When Macklin saw such friendliness, he could not help but scold Hoffman under his breath for his opportunistic behavior.
After greeting the VIPs, Herza had a long chat with Lin Li. It was nothing important, just regarding Lin Li's good performance in the finals, and telling him that the Supreme Council would be rewarding him for his efforts. At the same time, he also talked about the building of the new guild of magic. When he heard that Lin Li was returning to Jarrosus a while, he asked to know more.
The conversation lasted for a good half an hour until the sound of hooves could be heard from the distance. Herza concluded the conversation by informing Lin Li that the Supreme Council would send one person in charge to Jarrosus, and that person would be assisting Lin Li in building the new guild of magic.
Perhaps it was due to Lin Li eagerness to return home, but the trial ended haphazardly. After bidding goodbye to everyone there, Kevin's coach had entered the Aurora Square.
"Goodbye, everyone!"
Sean's strong build was like a magical beast, taking up more than half of the space in the coach. When he saw Lin Li come in, the good-natured man who had been gone for around a month suddenly became very nervous. "Felic… Mr. Felic…"
"Good evening, Sean," Lin Li greeted Sean cheerfully. How could he not know the reason behind Sean's anxiety? That fella had to be afraid of him asking about his whereabouts during the past month.
"Don't worry, I know that you promised someone and can't tell me anything. Rest assured, if you are not willing to say, I won't force you…" Lin Li said with a warm smile.
"Thank you, Mr Felic."
"Oh, yes. Sean, I see that you are close to level-14. Will it affect your breakthrough if you accompany me back to Jarrosus?"
"N-nope."
"That's great…"
After speaking to Sean, Lin Li stuck his head out of the coach. "Kevin, did Ina not come with you?"
"Yeah," Kevin replied as he nodded his head, and told Lin Li what happened.
The matter was rather coincidental. When Kevin rented the coach in the afternoon, he went Alanna Guild of Magic to look for Sean who had just returned. Then, the two men followed Lin Li's request and traveled to the campsite of the Silver Hand. Yet, they could not see anyone at the campsite.
It wasn't until they found an Adventurer that they knew that the Silver Hand had just taken on a huge mission. Everybody had left—except for no more than 10 low-level members who stayed behind to guard the campsite.
"I see…" Lin Li replied, and did not ask further. In reality, he actually felt that it was safe to leave Ina with the Silver Hand. Serena was a clever and sympathetic woman. Although it was not extremely safe to follow her, Ina wouldn't be at a disadvantage.
The three men took turns to drive the coach. They passed by the familiar Blackhills Town when it was nearly midnight. This time, Lin Li did not dare to stay over at the Blackhills Town. He had no choice. Once bitten, twice shy—every time he stayed at the Blackhills Town, there would be lives lost. Now that the Emerald Tower had a fire and nobody knew Gerian's whereabouts, how would Lin Li dare to waste his time here?
The three men traveled through the night without stopping. Finally, they crossed the borders of Jarrosus before sunset. Everything around them became very familiar. Lin Li looked out from the coach and saw the tip of the Emerald Tower clearly.
"Jarrosus, I'm back."
…
After reaching his dear Jarrosus, the breath of the familiar air made Lin Li very anxious.
"Let's return to the Emerald Tower first."
"Alright, Mr. Felic." Sean shook the ropes in his hands, and they passed through the streets of Jarrosus. Everything in Jarrosus stayed the same. The Gilded Rose still had great business, and the Adventurers Guild was still bustling with activity…
The only thing that was different was that it was a little too lively in the Emerald Tower today.
Before the coach took a turn at the corner of the streets, Lin Li could hear an argument going on from afar. He immediately realized that the argument came from the Emerald Tower. Lin could not help but feel suspicious. He urged Sean to go faster. The hooves sounded as they passed through the streets. Not long after, they reached the base of the Emerald Tower.
"What the hell is happening…" Lin Li grumbled as he saw the scene before him. There was a group of 30 men blocking the main entrance of the Emerald Tower. All of them were carrying weapons and had a fierce expression on their face. A fool would have known that they were not to be messed with.
Something that made Lin Li very doubtful was the abilities of the troops standing there.
Although all of them looked very threatening, there was only one powerful man among them. He was a level-10 Warrior. He had a long, deep scar on his face that resembled a disgusting earthworm. He was wearing the common rough leather armor of an Adventurer, and holding onto a delicate machete. He blocked the entrance of the Emerald Tower like a loan shark visiting his debtor.
"What on earth is he trying to do?" Lin Li asked. He was surprised.
Since the fall of the Merlin Family, the power of the Emerald Tower became unrivaled. Even the wealthy Mannis Family and the mysterious Saruman Family would not have dared to create trouble for the Emerald Tower.
There was a saying: "a lean camel that dies of starvation is still bigger than a horse". In other words, the intrinsically superior were bound to outdo the inferior! Lin Li could not understand why a fire would cause the Emerald Tower to be the subject of gossip when it was still an impregnable force in Jarrosus. Since these men were not stronger than level-10, why were they here before the Emerald Tower?
"F*ck, do you think the guild of magic now is still the guild of magic of the past? You morons, wake up now! Jarrosus has nothing to do with the guild of magic now. Even that old coward Gerian had escaped after the fire! What do you have to stop us?
"Brothers, let's be like the Shadow's Nest, burn this useless Emerald Tower down again!"
"Yes! Burn their den, and see if they will dare to be so cocky!"
"Hell yeah, I've always been tired of these morons!"
"Let's do it! Who knows if that old turtle, Gerian, is hidden inside! Let's go and hand him over to the Shadow's Nest!"
Scarface immediately got the raging support from his men. The over 30 men raised their weapons and ran towards the entrance of the Emerald Tower. There were only a few level-5 or level-6 young mages guarding the entrance of the Emerald Tower. How would they be able to deal with these bestial warriors?
Although they had exerted all their strength, they were still pushed aside by the men. Seeing that they were about to enter the Emerald Tower, the young mages were so anxious that they sweated profusely.