Chapter 792: An Item
Although Lin Li came to Anril with the remains of the Dragon of Destruction, he had never been able to use a single bit of it, because he was worried that his techniques might not be good enough. He only used the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction for the first time when he was subduing the Lord of Darkness. Lin Li had every part of the remains of the Dragon of Destruction in his Ring of Endless Storm, be it the bones, blood, or intestines. In fact, there was probably plenty of flesh as well.
“You want to get some answers from me, but you refuse to agree to my request and help me leave this place. When chatting with me, you should at least be showing some sincerity. In fact, you don’t have to be that conscientious and uptight. You should be able to tell that I don’t harbor any animosity towards you.” Although every one of Lin Li’s remarks sounded rather hostile, Nefa had nothing but a tinge of helplessness on his face, and he looked as if he was just being vexed about his good intentions not being acknowledged.
“Sorry, what you mentioned is not what I want to know. The problem between you and Tutankhamun and your ambitions have nothing to do with me. You should know why I’m here, and since we’re on the topic of sincerity, please show me some sincerity first.” Lin Li didn’t let his guard down just because of Nefa’s behavior. If he were the type to be easily coerced into letting his walls down, he would never have survived till now.
Nefa shook his head helplessly, and said, “Your personality is somewhat similar to that of my younger brother. You are stubborn, and you will not be easily persuaded by others once you’ve made up your mind.”
“Thank you for the compliment, maybe this is why I passed the test. So, should it be your turn to show some sincerity now?” Lin Li asked, not wanting to waste too much time there. If Sendros were to continue to reinforce the seal, he would probably really be trapped there for some time.
“Seems like my sincerity is not enough,” Nefa said with a sigh, after which he continued, “Your courage really surprised me. For more than 1300 years, no one except that powerful Dark mage back then has dared to barge in here to look for the answers. That was really unexpected.”
Lin Li’s heart quivered a little, and he thought, Could the powerful Dark mage that Nefa mentioned be Rogge, the first high priest of the Darkness Shrine whom Sendros talked about?
Rogge, who had fought alongside Geresco and overthrown the High Elves with him, was said to be second only to Geresco, the God of Mages, and Nefa had no choice but to admit that he was indeed incredibly powerful.
“The Dark High Priest Rogge?” Lin Li asked in a bid to verify.
“Didn’t you come from the Darkness Shrine for the sake of finding him? Or are you trying to find the pair of brothers for the Brilliance Shrine? Although they were rather competent, they weren’t as courageous as you guys. They simply chatted with me through the big crack before leaving.” Nefa then appeared a little melancholic as if he was feeling sad about losing two companions whom he could chat with.
The pair of brothers from the Brilliance Shrine undoubtedly referred to Willen and Rodhart. Lin Li didn’t enter the crack for the sake of the Darkness Shrine, and his real purpose was to get some information about Willen and Rodhart. After hearing that the two of them did not enter the crack, Lin Li was somewhat disappointed, but he did gain something. At least, he could speculate that the dispute between Willen and Rodhart and Rodhart becoming a Retribution Knight later probably had something to do with the conversation with Nefa.
It seemed that the disaster that struck the Darkness Shrine after Willen and Rodhart left wasn’t an accident. Lin Li remembered that before he entered, Nefa’s request was for Lin Li to release him. Perhaps Nefa had also raised the same request with Willen and Rodhart. Being able to achieve one’s agenda at the expense of one’s opponent was a wonderful opportunity that most people wouldn’t turn down.
However, despite feeling a little disappointed, Lin Li surprisingly still managed to obtain some important information from Nefa’s words. It could be confirmed that High Priest Rogge had visited before, but since Nefa thought that Lin Li was there to look for Rogge, wouldn’t that seem to mean that the high priest was still there and was alive?
In fact, after giving it some thought, Lin Li felt that it wasn’t that surprising. He had seen Geresco launching attacks before using the Spacetime Beacon Spell. He had also seen Megard in action in the Shadowglen. In Anril, the powerhouses of the Sanctuary-realm were akin to deities, and they were considered to be standing at the pinnacle of the entire world. Killing a Sanctuary-realm powerhouse would be no different from slaughtering a god. The fact that Pope Rosario of the Brilliance Shrine had managed to survive for a few decades using his body’s power despite being afflicted by Viper’s poison was clear evidence of the powerful vitality of powerhouses of the Sanctuary-realm. Nefa was very strong, and he also had the help of numerous prehistoric magical beasts. It was possible for him to defeat High Priest Rogge, but he might not be able to kill him.
Lin Li did not ask about it further or confirm the authenticity of the information. Instead, he nodded, and said, “Yeah, I wonder where High Priest Rogge is now.” There was no trace of surprise on his face, and it was as if he had already known since a long time ago that Rogge was there.
“That Dark mage? He’s right below this volcano. He’s much stronger now than when he first came in,” Nefa said while shaking his head like he was feeling a little emotional. Next, with a mysterious expression on his face, he said, “However, you’ll definitely be surprised when you see him, and you won’t be able to recognize him to be the same person who crossed the big crack back then.”
Upon hearing his words, Lin Li frowned slightly, and tried to suppress the suspicion he felt. He asked in a calm tone, “What do you mean by that?” He definitely didn’t think that Nefa meant that Rogge would be unrecognizable because of a change in his appearance. Obviously, the change was massive, and Rogge was no longer who he used to be.
However, this time, Nefa shook his head with a smile in response to Lin Li’s question, and he did not answer immediately. Instead, he said, “I’m showing you enough sincerity now, huh? If you really want to know, you either agree to my request or go see him in person. Shouldn’t you do me a favor too?”
What a joke. If I had wanted to let you out, I wouldn’t have had to take the risk to barge in here! Lin Li didn’t hesitate at all, and he simply said, “No, you don’t have to think about this. I definitely won’t help you get out of this place. Besides, even if I agreed, I’m afraid your brother wouldn’t agree, either. You probably don’t want to be killed by your brother as soon as you go out, do you!?”
Nefa who had always been indifferent seemed to have everything under his control. However, after he heard Lin Li’s words, his expression suddenly changed. In a tone indicating surprise that he couldn’t hide, he said, “How did you know!?!”
Damn it, I’ve long gotten annoyed by your expression! Lin Li thought to himself in disdain while continuing to speak composedly. “What’s so surprising about that? If I were your adoptive father, I wouldn’t want one of you to become another Dragon of Destruction someday.”
The Immortal King definitely didn’t kill the Dragon of Destruction for the sake of showing his prowess and strength, or for the sake of the skeleton of the Dragon of Destruction. Instead, he had more important reasons.
However, he probably wouldn’t be able to know those reasons unless he reached the level of the Immortal King. Since the Immortal King killed the Dragon of Destruction, he definitely wouldn’t allow another Dragon of Destruction to appear in the world of Anril, even if it were Nefa or Tutankhamun, the twin brothers he had hatched himself.
Although Nefa had never mentioned why Tutankhamun was staying in the Blackstone Mountains for such a long time, Lin Li had long made some speculations. It was possible that Tutankhamun was not guarding against anyone but his own brother who wanted to become the new Dragon of Destruction. He wanted to prevent Nefa from using the remains of the Dragon of Destruction to obtain the blood so as to prevent the emergence of another Dragon of Destruction in Anril.
The twin brothers were hatched from a magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction, and logically speaking, they should have similar strength and powers. Why did Lin Li say that Tutankhamun would kill Nefa? In fact, the answer lay with the Blackstone Mountains. If Nefa had been stronger than Tutankhamun, he would have probably gotten his wishes fulfilled a long time ago. That proved that Tutankhamun at least had some means to deal with Nefa, even though he might not necessarily be that much stronger. Perhaps it was something given to him by the Immortal King.
Lin Li had seen the real Dragon of Destruction, Azardas, before, and had even slaughtered him and stored his entire body in the Ring of Endless Storm on his finger. Nefa lacked that vital bloodline. Others might not have a basis for comparison, but Lin Li definitely knew it. Hence, Nefa had never expected Lin Li to guess what was really buried in the Blackstone Mountains just from the insignificant remarks that he had made earlier. Lin Li even made a conjecture about the truth just based on inference.
The surprise on Nefa’s face quickly vanished, and he stared at Lin Li for a moment before finally nodding reluctantly. He said, “You are right, if I leave this place now, the first person in Anril who will deal with me will definitely be my wonderful brother. However, you can rest assured that I am not going to leave for the time being, nor will I make you help me in this regard. I just want you to help me get something from beneath this volcano.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t do that with my current abilities.” Although Nefa had changed his request, Lin Li still shook his head and refused immediately. What a joke, Rogge had fought alongside Geresco, and had already been a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm before he became the high priest of the Darkness Shrine. Nefa had also mentioned that Rogge was much stronger now, and even if the increment in his strength was not drastic, Lin Li reckoned that he probably wouldn’t be inferior to the three arbitrators of the Supreme Council. Perhaps he might even be stronger.