Chapter 431: Heart of the Fallen
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The cave was pitch-black. However, when the Warlock’s Eyes went closer, it started to tremble. It was like a small boat sailing in the midst of crazy wind and heavy storm. It could not withstand the presence of the strong magical wave.
Yet, the magical wave was unrelated to the Crimson Python.
Having battled a Crimson Python at Black Clouds Town, Lin Li was naturally more familiar with it. Like blazing flames, the scorching wave emitted by a Crimson Python would turn anything in close proximity to ashes.
However, the force that the cave emitted was a massive pressure that could cause the Warlock’s Eyes to lose control.
The Warlock’s Eyes swerved past the entrance of the cave. Although the unusual tremble was short-lived, it was what informed Lin Li of the death of the Crimson Python…
He could not sense any Crimson Python in the cave. Apart from the strong and eerie pressure, there was only a deadly silence…
Lin Li was not taken aback by that. Although a mutated Crimson Python could reach above level-20, it was not a Legendary creature, after all. There ought to be a natural deficiency in both its strength and intelligence. As compared to that of the true Legendary magical beasts, the Combat Energy of the Crimson Python was at least one realm behind.
If it had been before, the difference would not have been a great deal. However, the combined force from the 1000 Adventurers from the Malfa Family as well as the 10 Archmages from the Dark Blade in the Blackstone Mountains was impregnable. A Legendary magical beast would have normally realized its lack of power and escaped from them. How different would it be for a mutated Crimson Python?
Lin Li knew that he was late…
But, Lin Li had no regrets.
In this world, there were many people with the ability to defeat Crimson Pythons, yet only a few Pharmacists could recognize the Dragon’s Tongue. As long as the Dragon’s Tongue was still there, losing that Legendary magical crystal was no big deal.
Anyway, the Dragon’s Tongue was Lin Li’s ultimate motive in coming to the Blackstone Mountains.
Although Lin Li did not appear serious when he mentioned it to Gerian, it was a matter he had been contemplating ever since he’d won the finals and known that he would be sent to Breezy Plains to take charge of an unestablished Guild of Magic.
At that time, Lin Li already had the idea to create a batch of Rune Potion…
Breezy Plains did not have a single established political system. No one—not even the Supreme Council, the Brilliance Shrine, or the royals of Felan Kingdom—was able to gain total control over the territory. How would it be possible for a guild of magic that lacked reputation to survive there easily?
Even though he was indeed esteemed in the field of magic, was already an Archmage at the age of 20, and had the potential to reach the Legendary-realm in 10 years’ time, Lin Li’s influence had a limit. Unless he was as powerful as Geresco, Lin Li would never be able to even the playing field with forces like the Malfa Family and the Dark Blade, which had been around for centuries.
For the Tower of Dusk to survive in the Breezy Plains, the only way was to make his organization more powerful.
The current number of Magic Shooters in the Tower of Dusk would not suffice.
The Tower of Dusk had nearly lost to the 50-odd men from the Dark Blade in the earlier battle. If Sendros and Lin Li had not arrived in the nick of time, the consequences would’ve been dire…
The Rune Potion was the best solution.
Although the Rune Potion would cause the skills of the Magic Shooters to stagnate for the rest of their lives, it was actually tempting for them to upgrade themselves through that potion. After all, what were the odds for all of them to reach the Archmage-realm in their lives? Not to exaggerate, it was a fact that 90% of Magic Shooters in the world would never be able to progress to the Archmage-realm. Losing the ability to progress further would not matter to them.
Lin Li’s life would be much easier with the 10 Archmages in the Tower of Dusk, for they would have the capability to deter forces like the Syer Bandits. Furthermore, with the various magic defense systems in place, such as the All-Kill Array, Crystal Cannons, and the Sky-breakers, just to name a few, even Legendary-level figures would need to think twice before attacking the organization…
Furthermore, that was just the beginning.
The benefit of having 10 Archmages was to buy time for the Tower of Dusk.
It needed not be long—a year would suffice.
If there were no hindrances from external forces, Lin Li had the confidence to bring the Guild of Magic to a higher ground within a year. If he was lucky enough, they would be as powerful as the Glittergold Trade Union and the Dark Blade!
Time was the only factor that they lacked the most. As long as they first had a few peaceful months, Lin Li had the confidence to gain enough profits from his partnership with the Gilded Rose and the Glittergold Trade Union for their equipment and pharmaceutical business, respectively. In addition, the business he’d entrusted Kaman with would also ensure great inflow of money for the Tower of Dusk…
Sufficient financial support would enable the rate of the development of the Tower of Dusk to speed up by a hundred fold. Which mage would reject a guild with laid-back guild rules, vast knowledge in magic to access, generous support in resources, as well as a Legendary-mage like Basel as its advisor?
Lin Li did not need a lot, either. As long as he could attract 20 Archmages, create 10 more Archmages with the Rune Potion, and employ seven to eight men who had potential to surpass level-15 sent by Basel, he would have a team of 40 Archmages. With the help from the two Legendary-mages—Ujfalusi, who was regaining his position as a Lich, as well as Basel, who was arriving at the Breezy Plains—not to mention the insignificant Syer Bandits, hooligans like the Dark Blade would also not dare to mess around with the Tower of Dusk…
All of this could only be possible if he could acquire the 10 bottles of Rune Potion. The Dragon’s Tongue in that cave was the real deal.
At the same time, the battle of the two forces had come to an end. The 10 Archmages from the Dark Blade got the upper hand, making 1000 men and Adventurers under the Malfa Family helpless.
After losing around 200 Adventurers, the people from Malfa Family started to retreat.
Just when Lin Li thought the victor had emerged, something queer happened on the battlefield. It was true that the Malfa Family retreated. However, they were still a few hundred meters away from the cave.
“Damn, what is it now?” Lin Li gasped after seeing 1000 men gathering together. Are these people joking? How could they dare to gather within such a short distance from their enemy? How different are they from a lady who decides to do a strip dance in front of a pervert at night?
Lin Li rubbed his nose and lowered his head. He could not bear to witness that perverted, brutal, and XXX-rated scene…
“Huh?” Yet, he lifted his head very quickly again. That was because Lin Li was certain that he saw Dark Blade retreating as well.
“Goddammit, do you not know how to be a pervert??” Lin Li hollered.
It was not Lin Li’s fault that he felt agitated. If it were other men, they would also be cussing in rage if the spicy film they expected became just a common romance.
How twisted would that be?
Lin Li could not help but cuss when he saw the two groups of bastards staring at each other. Now that the two opposing teams were looking into each other’s eyes with passion fervently, Lin Li knew he had no chance of making use of the commotion to sneak into the cave…
“My plans are crushed…” exclaimed Lin Li in disappointment.
It would not work if he were to sneak into the cave under the eyes of 1000 men. Even if he were to turn into a housefly, he would be swatted down by that group of bastards.
Should I try to anyway? Lin rubbed his nose uneasily. He was in a dilemma.
“You can summon the Humerus Wyrm…” said Sendros.
“Huh?” Lin Li froze. Then, he nodded, and took out the magic lamp from his pocket…
When the Humerus Wyrm was summoned, everyone from the Tower of Dusk, including Gerian, were flabbergasted. The pallid and gigantic body, and that dragon crystal which emitted a chilly blue glow confirmed that it was a terrifying beast above level-20…
The Humerus Wyrm was a very powerful existence. Being an incarnation of evil and death, its combat ability was on par with that of a Lich, and comparable to a Retribution Knight’s. With it starring in numerous folkloric legends of Anril, even a man as knowledgeable as Gerian would never have expected that he could witness a Humerus Wyrm, much less how it was being summoned.
As long as one could summon a Humerus Wyrm, it would not matter if he were a mage or an apprentice. In theory, he would already have a Legendary-level Combat Energy…
Furthermore, that fella who had just summoned the Humerus Wyrm was not a weakling. He was not just powerful, but terrifying. It was a fact that Gerian had seen this man progress from a level-8 mage to a level-19 Archmage in less than a year. It was not something most mages could achieve in the duration of their life. The thought of it was horrifying enough.
Now, this fella had a Humerus Wyrm with him…
The sight of that creature at least 10 meters in height caused Gerian to be at a loss for words. Fortunately, Gerian was already used to such surprises.
Unlike him, the other mages from the Tower of Dusk were dumbfounded. They stood rooted to the ground, and were all in a daze, their gazes fixed on that Humerus Wyrm. If not for the fact that it was a bright and sunny day, they would have thought that they were all in a dream…
“Your luck is really great…” said Sendros as he gazed at the Humerus Wyrm.
There was indeed a way to summon a Humerus Wyrm through Necromagic. In fact, any Necromancer in the Legendary-realm would be able to do it. However, only one in 10 Necromancers would be willing to pay the hefty price necessary to summon a Humerus Wyrm. He’d have to use a massive amount of mana to bring the Humerus Wyrm from an alternate dimension to the Anril World. Even Sendros would never accept falling by one level just to summon a Humerus Wyrm…
The reason why Ujfalusi could summon Crimson was purely due to the coincidence—he’d left a mark on Crimson’s soul fire. The reason why the Lich at the Scar of Death was able to summon the Humerus Wyrm was because he linked his life case with Gloomy Dark to tap into an unlimited amount of mana. Otherwise, how could any other Necromancer be endowed by such an ability?
Of course, Lin Li had the best luck.
The Humerus Wyrm he’d sealed in the magic lamp came for free. Apart from a level-15 magical crystal, he did not have to lose anything else.
“Is this too risky…?” Lin Li asked hesitantly even after he summoned the Humerus Wyrm. To be honest, if it weren’t for Sendros, he would prefer not to summon the Humerus Wyrm in such a situation.
Lin Li thought that it was very risky. He knew that the Humerus Wyrm was going to be one of his strongest weapons in the future with its Legendary-level Combat Energy. He had to rely on the Humerus Wyrm to protect the Tower of Dusk. If anything were to happen to the Humerus Wyrm, all his plans would be destroyed completely.
He wouldn’t mind if it were the usual battle. Yet, his present enemies were the two great forces—the Malfa Family and Dark Blade. That being said, he was incredibly worried about that level-18 Archmage. He was a man who truly had the ability to injure the Humerus Wyrm, or even destroy the magical crystal and extinguish the soul fire of the Humerus Wyrm!
“Rest assured,” Sendros said to the concerned Lin Li succinctly. Afterwards, he fished out a delicate box from his pocket.
The box was around the size of a fist, and seemed to be carved from wood. It had a delicate, quaint, and graceful design, and had two streaks of mageweath produced with navy sand ink. Just when Lin Li was feeling doubtful why the box had mageweath that could withstand mana, the old man pressed a button on the box gently.
Then, the lid opened…
“What… What is this?!” Lin Li exclaimed the instant the box was opened.
There was a black gem resting inside the box. It was emitting a mysterious and profound glow under the afternoon sun. However, what surprised Lin Li was the magical wave emitted by that black gemstone. It was a pure death aura that could cause people to undermine a gigantic Humerus Wyrm…
“This is the Heart of the Fallen, a treasure that could drive any Undead creature crazy—including myself. I’ve only seen six Hearts of the Fallen in my entire life before. Three of them are in the bodies of the three Undead Lords, while the other three are in the Darkness Shrine. Only that High Priest who practices Necromagic has the right to use them…”
“Is it very powerful?”
“That’s right… To an Undead creature, acquiring a Heart of the Fallen is equivalent to engulfing soul fire from millions of other Undead creatures. That Heart of the Fallen can transform any Undead creature…” explained Sendros. “But, the value of the Heart of the Fallen is not in the enhancement of abilities, but in giving the Undead creature a brand-new life…”
“You have to be joking!” exclaimed Lin Li. He nearly bit his tongue.
Thankfully, the words belonged to Sendros. If he were another man, Lin Li would lash out at him.
“Hehe, how could the fallen have any heart? The word ‘heart’ here means to have a life…”
Lin Li stared Sendros for a good moment. Then, he decided that the old man did not seem to be joking. “What would happen if Undead creatures are given a life?” asked Lin Li with apprehension as he swallowed his saliva.
“I’ve only met three Undead creatures that own a Heart of the Fallen. They are the three Undead Lord of the Shadowglen. You might not believe me, but the three Undead Lord are as good as the living. If they were to hide their identity from you, you wouldn’t be able to recognize them even in close proximity…”
“F*ck…”
“Oh, yes. I’ve forgotten to tell you that the power of each of the three Undead Lords is at least level-25…”
“That can’t be…” Lin Li commented skeptically. “According to Mr. Macklin, the ability of the three Undead Lords should be at level-23…”
“Are you referring to that Macklin from the Alanna Guild of Magic? How would he know how terrifying the three Undead Lords are when he had not even meet them before? ‘Level-23’ was just a prediction by the Alanna Guild of Magic. I’m certain that no more than five people in the entire Anril would have seen the three Undead Lords…”