Chapter 769: Conflict Between The Old and New
However, he still couldn’t believe his eyes. There were a few elders surrounding Lin Li while he was making his way down the mountain. They were all archbishops and cardinals, staring at Lin Li with respect and awe!
Since the President is respected so greatly by the Brilliance Shrine, the matter about the caravan should be rather easy to solve. At the thought of this, the anxiety within Gavin finally faded, and he frantically walked towards Lin Li and the rest.
“Gavin, did something happen at the Tower of Dusk?” Lin Li asked in puzzlement.
Gavin lowered his head and greeted him before explaining with an apologetic expression, “President, the caravan that I was in charge of bringing to the Dwarf Kingdom to purchase some Magical Crystal Cannons…”
After hearing Gavin’s brief explanation, there wasn’t much of a change in expression on Lin Li’s face. However, the higher-ups of the Brilliance Shrine began to frown. Lin Li had given the pope an antidote for Viper’s poison, and although it was just fulfilling an agreement that they had made previously, it was still no exaggeration to say that Lin Li was the benefactor of the Brilliance Shrine. Besides, he was a genuine pharmaceutics Guru who might even be the legendary Son of the Holy Light. The caravan of the Tower of Dusk was now being detained on a site belonging to the Brilliance Shrine. Wouldn’t that be a disgrace to the Brilliance Shrine?
“No hurry, let’s go. Take me to see General Clark,” Lin Li said to Gavin without blaming or reprimanding him.
Although Gavin was one of the authoritative figures of the Tower of Dusk, the people in the Ledin Kingdom had probably never even heard of the Tower of Dusk. Hence, they definitely wouldn’t be bothered to take Gavin seriously. However, Lin Li was different. Even without the Tower of Dusk, he was still a Legendary powerhouse no one dared to take lightly. Hence, while the matter was indeed hard to handle for Gavin, it was nothing for Lin Li.
“Archbishop Englos, Archbishop Domingo…” Lin Li turned around with a faint smile to the big shots of the Brilliance Shrine, and continued, “I’m sorry, but our caravan encountered some issues that I have to deal with. I have to go and handle it. I hereby bid you goodbye. You’re all welcome to visit the Tower of Dusk anytime you’d like.”
Seeing that Lin Li was about to leave, the higher-ups of the Brilliance Shrine were starting to get a little anxious. Although the matter seemed to be rather trivial to them, they still couldn’t stop Lin Li from settling his own matters for the sake of clearing their doubts and answering their questions. Besides, the matter happened in their territory, and while it would be alright if they didn’t know about it, now that they had heard it, they couldn’t just keep mum.
“Wait a minute, Master Felic, I still have a few questions for you. If you don’t mind, may I consult you about it while you’re on your way there?” asked Holliard, the leader of the Holy Paladins. He was initially only an intermediate pharmacist, but under the guidance of Lin Li in the past few days, he already became an advanced pharmacist. In fact, he was almost a Master-level pharmacist according to the current standards in Anril. He was well aware of how important Lin Li’s guidance was to him; hence, he definitely wouldn’t want to waste any opportunity. Of course, another reason was that he wanted to go with Lin Li to see who the person who was ruining his learning opportunity was.
There were many others who shared the same thoughts as Holliard, but it was obviously impossible for the entire group of higher-ups of the Brilliance Shrine to tag along. Immediately after Holliard spoke, Archbishop Domingo decided that he, too, wanted to consult Lin Li along the journey. As for Englos and the rest, they had no choice but to glower at the two of them who were quick to act, and bid Lin Li goodbye helplessly.
Although the 15 Magical Crystal Cannons that had been detained were worth nearly 10,000,000 gold coins, Lin Li did not immediately fly there to settle scores with Clark. Magical Crystal Cannons were indeed expensive, but there wasn’t much demand for them anyway. Hence, he needed not worry about Clark selling them away. Hence, the four of them left Delano, City of Dawn, and headed towards Sparta, the capital of the Ledin Kingdom, in a luxurious carriage that was stamped with the Brilliance Shrine’s badge.
Although General Clark was the commander of the Northwest Legion, it was now a time of peace; hence, he didn’t stay in the base. Instead, he returned to Sparta right after dealing with the legion’s affairs. The fact that he detained the caravans and goods of the Tower of Dusk had also spread like wildfire, and caused an uproar amongst the aristocrats of Sparta City.
In fact, many people were clueless about how significant the Tower of Dusk was in the Breezy Plains. The only thing that caught their eye was the identity of the two parties involved in the conflict. One of them was General Clark, the commander of the Northwest Legion, while the other was Count Andre, a traditional noble who owned a large region in the northwest of the Ledin Kingdom. He was considered a powerful figure of status in the Ledin Kingdom.
At this juncture, the focus of the dispute between the two parties was no longer the caravan of the Tower of Dusk, but had vaguely become a battle between a traditional noble and a rising one. Neither of them had expected it all. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have intervened in the first place and ended up at a point of no return. Others would usually try to solve the issue as far as possible, but the two of them were simply stirring trouble and blowing things out of proportion.
Lin Li and the other higher-ups of the Brilliance Shrine did not expect such a trivial matter to become the spark that ignited trouble and caused a huge conflict between the big shots of the new and old forces of the Ledin Kingdom. At this moment, Lin Li and his companions were actually seated in a luxurious carriage and discussing the various pharmaceutical problems while slowly moving towards Sparta where the conflict arose.
Delano the City of Dawn was rather near Sparta, and even though they traveled slowly on the carriage, it only took them half a day to reach the gate of Sparta. The city guards in front of the gate dared not stop them, because they saw the Brilliance Shrine’s badge on the carriage. Instead, they even saluted them piously when the carriage passed. They were even more respectful to the Brilliance Shrine than they were to the king.
Under the guidance of Gavin, the carriage moved straight into Count Andre’s mansion, and stopped slowly in front of the gate. The guard at the gate had already seen the badge on the carriage from afar. Hence, he had long sent someone to report to the people inside, and when the carriage pulled over slowly, the people from the mansion had already come out.
“Where has that kid Andre gone?” Holliard questioned when he alighted from the carriage. He noticed the guards at the gate, but he didn’t see Count Andre around. Hence, his face grew sullen immediately.
“Sir Holliard, my father has gone out because he has some matters to handle. If you have any instructions for me, please wait in there for a moment. I’ll send someone to inform my father to come home immediately,” said Nesta, the eldest son of Count Andre. Although he did not panic when answering Holliard, he was feeling anxious deep down as he continuously wondered about the Holliard’s purpose of visit.
All of a sudden, the steward beside Nesta quietly tugged at his sleeves and shot a glance at him, hinting for him to pay attention to the middle-aged mage who was the first to get off the carriage. Nesta was still feeling a little puzzled, but upon closer inspection, he finally recognized him. Isn’t that Mage Gavin from the Tower of Dusk who sent hefty gifts back then?
Nesta glanced at Mage Gavin from the Tower of Dusk before looking at Holliard, who was the head of the Holy Paladins. Although Nesta was a calm and composed person, he still couldn’t suppress his shock at this moment. As his father’s successor, he definitely knew what his father had been feeling troubled about lately. However, he did not expect the people from the Tower of Dusk to bring Holliard along.
However, before Nesta could even process everything and recover from the shock, he was greeted with another sight that made his eyeballs almost fall out. He saw an extremely young mage making his way out of the carriage with Domingo of the Brilliance Shrine. He was in utter disbelief because Archbishop Domingo, who was second only to the pope, not only did not show any arrogance, but even spoke to Lin Li with respect and humility.
Actually, Nesta didn’t need anyone to introduce him, because he could already guess that the young mage beside Archbishop Domingo was probably the founder of the legendary Tower of Dusk. Honestly, Nesta and his father Andre both had great complaints about the Tower of Dusk, but upon sight of Lin Li, Nesta felt overjoyed and astonished.
Although Nesta was a great noble in the Ledin Kingdom, the higher-ups of the Brilliance Shrine were like gods to him. If he were to get acquainted with the archbishop and the head of Holy Paladins of the Brilliance Shrine, he would definitely enjoy a boost in status in the Ledin Kingdom. By then, probably even the king wouldn’t dare to belittle them.
Subsequently, Nesta’s guess was verified when Gavin introduced Lin Li. After knowing that the young mage who had a special relationship with Archbishop Domingo was President Felic of the Tower of Dusk, he quickly and respectfully said to them, “Archbishop Domingo, Sir Holliard, President Felic, please wait inside. My father went to see General Clark. I’ll send someone to bring him back.”
However, after hearing Nesta’s words, Lin Li stopped abruptly and smiled at the puzzled Nesta. “In this case, let’s just go over. I’d like to meet General Clark too.”
Upon arriving at General Clark’s mansion, Lin Li, Domingo, and the rest alighted from the carriage whilst still discussing pharmaceutics. Before the guards at the entrance even reported their arrival, they simply entered. However, none of the guards dared to step forward to stop them. They had no choice but to watch as they slowly walked in.
Gavin led Lin Li and the rest toward the guest hall, whose door was left wide open. Soon, they heard the sounds of an argument. Although there was no foul language involved, the argument was obviously heated, and there were a few guards waiting outside the reception hall. Upon sight of Lin Li and the rest, someone immediately wanted to go in to report. However, he was stopped by Lin Li who was answering Domingo’s question.
Although those guards had never seen Domingo and Holliard before, they could tell from their overbearing airs and the holy aura that was emanating from their bodies that the two of them were definitely genuine higher-ups of the Brilliance Shrine. Hence, they had no choice but to stay put according to Lin Li’s instructions.
Lin Li and the rest headed straight to the guest hall, and stopped in their tracks to look at the two who were arguing in an agitated manner. However, Lin Li was still explaining to Domingo and Holliard. Perhaps because there was no one else present in the guest hall, the two who were arguing were no longer as poised as the nobles that they were. They refused to give in at all, and yet none of them discovered that Lin Li and the rest were all standing by the entrance.
“Count Andre, the Tower of Dusk has already violated the laws of the Ledin Kingdom by smuggling prohibited weapons. As a noble, you actually betrayed the Kingdom’s interests for a small profit. I feel really ashamed!” General Clark exclaimed in anguish. It was as if he weren’t speaking to a noble who was of equal status, but an incompetent subordinate.
“Clark, don’t try to suppress me with those rules. You’re just upset because the Tower of Dusk forgot to give you a present! Must you be such a money-grubber!? Will a few Magical Crystal Cannons harm the interests of the kingdom? What a joke. If it’s really for the Felan Kingdom, the interests of Felan Kingdom would be harmed instead!” Count Andre clearly wasn’t bothered by Clark’s accusations. “Even if they could afford Magical Crystal Cannons, they could not use them. If the Felan Kingdom starts purchasing Magical Crystal Cannons in bulk, it will not only not enhance the strength of the country, but also cause plenty of the military funds to be spent in vain.”
Clark’s face turned pale for a while. Although he knew that what Andre said was true, the problem was that he couldn’t turn back now. It was more than a matter of his own pride because it concerned the pride of the entire group of rising nobles. If he were to give in and admit defeat in the end, his peers would definitely not spare him easily. Hence, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, “Everything I do is in accordance with the kingdom’s laws and regulations. I can forgive you for accusing me, but I can’t allow you to defile the sacred laws.”