Chapter 673: Shadow of the Highlord
“Mage Felic, this is considered a good combat force. I’m certain that there would be few forces in Breezy Plains that could challenge it.” Cheyenne tried to comfort Lin Li. Of course, he was not referring to the Malfa Family. He was absolutely positive that the Malfa force would be able to nurture a lot of high-ranking mages after the establishment of the Tower of Death. When it happened, the Malfa Family would walk out of the Breezy Plains and become the top family in Anril.
“Yes, Mage Felic, do not be discouraged. There are still other levels we have yet to search. Who knows if you would be able to find better things on top?” Elder Randy suppressed his glee and tried to comfort Lin Li. He did not want this young mage to request that they share the benefits just because he did not manage to find enough treasures.
Frankly speaking, Chief Elder Randy’s and Cheyenne’s worries were not invalid. They were all extremely impressed with and fearful of Lin Li’s abilities during each of the battles they had together. There was between them an unspoken understanding that they had to give in to the young mage if he were to request that they share their treasures.
But, Lin Li proved his virtue to everybody once more. Despite having 20 sets of alchemy puppets that were obviously incomparable to the Magic Tides and the Tower of Death, Lin Li only smiled at Elder Randy and Cheyenne as he put away the 20 of them without hesitation.
Are you joking? If the Magic Tides had been perfect, I would not have given it to you, Lin Li thought as he put away the 20 alchemy puppets in satisfaction. He was nonchalant towards the two hypocritical men.
In fact, how would Lin Li miss out on finding the diary about the Magic Tides? That was his area of search! Lin Li was not that careless. If he really were to miss a truly valuable item, how regretful would it be?
Although Lin Li’s competency in alchemy might not match up to the invincible Immortal King’s, he should have no other competitor in the whole of Anril. Despite the fact that an alchemy array like the Magic Tides had only appeared once in the entire history, no one actually recorded how it worked. However, there were many principles in alchemy that were similar. Lin Li could tell that the array of the Magic Tides was definitely not as perfect as many people thought.
Just like every human needed a heart, every alchemy array required a source of mana. The stronger an alchemy array was, the greater its need for a powerful source of mana. This was a simple truth. Even if it was an alchemy array created by the High Elves, it would not be able to generate mana out of thin air. The source of mana for the Magic Tides could only be the Tree of Eternity. The tree was able to provide unlimited amount of energy to support the powerful alchemy array for the High Elves to squander unbridled.
Knowing the elves had the Sierra Leone Forest, Lin Li was aware that the elves would like that idea. Yet, the Sierra Leone Forest did not have the Tree of Eternity. Despite being full of life, if the forest were to become the source of energy for the Magic Tides, it would turn into its former state from when it was used to be a land of exile.
Of course, if the elves were to use the Magic Tides to acquire powerful military strength to walk out of the Sierra Leone Forest, they would not need to care about the forest anymore. That being said, the energy from the Magic Tides did not belong to them in the first place. Despite having the ability to let people feel like they were bathing under the light of divine, it could also create an addiction.
If the elves were to get addicted to the feeling of acquiring power so easily, they would develop a reliance on the Magic Tides. Then, they would definitely dwindle under the protection of the rays of the Magic Tides, even without having any enemy.
In short, although the Magic Tides seemed like a prized treasure to many, it was the least valuable in Lin Li’s eyes. He would rather have Cheyenne’s Tower of Death. The Tower of Death could nurture powerful Warriors and Mages with rich combat experience. It was only a cruel battleground that forced people to work for their goals.
The Tower of Death was indeed a good item, yet it was insufficient to move Lin Li. He felt that a cruel environment, battles, and killing were for Warriors, not Mages.
Through the Tower of Death, the Malfa Family could actually gain a huge number of high-ranking Mages. The combat experience they’d gain from the never-ending killings would be able to help them reach their potential.
However, the growth of mages was not occurring merely through the accumulation of mana, nor was it the understanding gained from all the killings. It was also from being enlightened on the nomological power. The high-ranking mages birthed from bloodshed and battles could only be war machines. They would never understand the real essence of magic, let alone figure out what the Laws were.
It meant that no matter how resilient or talented these Mages were, the Tower of Death would cause them to reach a roadblock when they got to the Archmage-realm. There would always be an uncrossable gap that prevented them from reaching the Legendary-realm. No matter how close they would be to the Legendary-level, they would never be able to open the door to the said realm.
In fact, Lin Li believed that Cheyenne knew the implications the Tower of Death would bring. Yet, the success and glory of the Malfa Family that gave them the title as the strongest family in the Breezy Plains was not a fluke. It could be seen from this single mission that the Malfa Family had employed a powerful team. Their troops were made up of elites of at least level-15. Although they hired mercenary adventurers, a large part of the team was made up of disciples under the family.
To the Malfa Family, 100 Archmages without the ability to reach the Legendary-realm would definitely be more valuable than 100 Magic Shooters. After all, not everyone in this world would have the chance to step into the Legendary-realm. Being in charge of Aminya for so many years, the family had countless disciples. They would not need to fret over this matter.
For the Tower of Dusk, however, Lin Li would not be willing to adopt such an approach similar to killing chickens for their eggs just to exchange for the limited boost in powers. The motive behind establishing the Tower of Dusk was not to deal with the task given to him by the Supreme Council. If not, he would not have invested so much energy into the Tower of Dusk.
The Tower of Dusk was not the embarrassment in the Breezy Plains that few people cared about. The generous benefits it promised its members had turned the guild into one that almost all mages would yearn to join.
Of course, Lin Li would not allow the precious tower to turn into a place for leftovers. Hence, as he raised the benefits promised to the members, the threshold of joining the Tower of Dusk became higher. There were not many mages in the tower currently, but it could be said that each of them had great talent and potential.
Although not all of them might progress into Legendary-mages, Lin Li could not bear to turn these naturally gifted mages into war machines without any future.
More importantly, no matter how terrifying the Magic Tides or the Tower of Death would be, they were still on the paper.
Cheyenne only had the blueprint and resources for the Tower of Death. He would require a relatively long period of time before he would be able to build the real Tower of Death.
The Tower of Death was a toy that belonged to the royals of the High Elves, and Cheyenne’s wealth would never match up to the High Elves’. Despite being in the Breezy Plains for so many years, it would not be easy to gather all the required materials and resources. Even if he managed to gather them, he would need to outsource the capital for the actual construction of the tower and the talent needed to replicate the drawing of the Teleportation Portal.
As for the Magic Tides acquired by the elves, it was merely an incomplete journal. Even if it were to have most of the information retained, it would be a long haul for them to recover the notes and gather enough materials to create the array.
Each of the 20 alchemy puppets or shadow assassins only had an ability close to the Legendary-level. To everyone else, they seemed pathetic as compared to the Magic Tides and the Tower of Death, yet these shadow assassins did not require Lin Li to pay any price to grow their powerful combat ability. He would also be able to use them immediately after he got hold of them.
The only thing Lin Li had to do was to research the two alchemy cores he had obtained a while ago and insert the controls into the cores of the shadow assassins. When that happened, the 20 shadow assassins would become the most important military force of the Tower of Dusk and the nightmare of any enemy.
Lin Li’s act of accepting these puppets by putting them away helped to let Elder Randy and Cheyenne feel utmost relief. The action symbolized the fact that Lin Li had no intention to snatch their new possessions.
Despite gaining such huge rewards, the men did not stop searching. It was a laboratory that had belonged to Immortal King, after all. The rewards they had found helped to give them greater hope.
All of the trash had been rummaged through very carefully, and they left their footprints in every part of the laboratory. It wasn’t until then that they realized how lucky they were to find what they had. The storeroom that stored all the materials had been moved away, leaving behind worthless trash. All of the notes and documents had been taken away, leaving only dust behind.
This laboratory was supposed to be the largest treasure of the high tower. Unfortunately, it had been ransacked by the firstcomer. Although the men cussed silently at that mysterious firstcomer, they weren’t unhappy with the results. After all, they found treasures they were satisfied with.
Harboring a mixture of joy, disappointment, and frustration with the firstcomer, they walked through the piles of trash and headed towards the door of the laboratory.
Suddenly, Connoris’ voice rang in Lin Li’s mind. “Osric—it had to be Osric! I can sense that he had been here!”
“Osric? Why do you mention that guy again? This laboratory belongs to the Immortal King. Are you really certain about that?” Lin Li asked in astonishment. Although his expression did not change, Lin Li could not help but slow down his pace.
“I won’t be wrong. I have been with him for a few centuries when he was building the Eternal Furnace. I will not make a mistake in identifying his scent!” Connoris replied in an absolutely certain tone. He was certain about this enemy who had him sealed in the darn hammer for countless years.
Elder Randy and Cheyenne said nothing. They only realized that they had lost Lin Li when they exited the laboratory. That, however, was not an issue. They could empathize with the disappointment of the virtuous young man as they had searched the laboratory very thoroughly together.
At the same time, Lin Li that everybody thought to be crestfallen reentered a room with Connoris’ guidance.
“People are bound to miss out on hidden things in such a huge laboratory,” muttered Lin Li as he traced an invisible track on a smooth wall with an inscription pen.
Although 1000 years had passed, Connoris could still clearly sense that Osric had left the most obvious scent here. It meant that Osric had stayed at this area of the laboratory for the longest time.
A soft sound could be heard as the wall cracked open slowly and revealed a secret room. Unfortunately, the room was as empty as ever. There were only a desk and a piece of paper. This was not out of Lin Li’s expectations. Knowing that Osric had been here, he did not expect him to leave behind any valuable item.
As he walked into the room, Lin Li picked up the piece of paper. There were countless alchemy formulas and some incredibly complicated calculations on the paper. Despite it, Lin Li could not gather any clues from it. He only saw a phrase written in the High Elves Language which read, “Where did teacher put that item?”
Lin Li was stunned when he saw that title. If this paper was left behind by Osric, rumors about him being the disciple of the Immortal King had to be true. At the same time, Lin Li understood the reason why the laboratory was in such a state. It seemed that Osric who had been scolded countless times by the public was the first visitor of the laboratory. It was he who’d taken away all the valuable items here.