Chapter 836: Inn
It was said that there was once a level-24 leader of a top force whose power was not inferior to the established authorities like the Blood Moon Clan and the Mithril Alliance. During a gathering, that leader expressed some dissatisfaction with the order established by the Ashen Warlock. However, he began burning up right after he aired his grievances and displeasure. The infinite cyan from the Abyss burned on his body for three days and three nights until the last trace of his soul was burnt to ashes. He only stopped shrieking and wailing in agony then.
However, the other leaders who attended the party did not dare to move, and instead remained seated while listening to the wails of agony for three days and three nights. Seeing that their opponent who was full of rigor and dominance previously suffered, no one even dared to blink. Ever since then, everyone knew that the Ashen Warlock who was perpetually wrapped in the black robe didn’t need to negotiate or discuss with others at all. His words per se were like the edicts of the deities, and there was no room for doubt at all.
After finding out some things about the Ashen Warlock Roland, Lin Li was somewhat relieved and felt less worried about the invitation. Although the Ashen Warlock was terrifyingly powerful, and was above all the forces in the Breezy Plains, there was at least no need for Lin Li to worry about him colluding with other forces to go against the Tower of Dusk.
Although there were still five days to go before the date stated in the letter, Lin Li decided to go to Gran Town to take a look since there was nothing else for him to do in the Tower of Dusk. This time, Lin Li didn’t plan to bring too many people with him. All he brought were his two Undead servants, and he got the others to stay in the Tower of Dusk.
In fact, at this juncture, there was basically no need for him to worry about the security of the Tower of Dusk. With the appearance of the pseudo-Holy Paladins and the cruel battle, the other forces thought that the Brilliance Shrine was fully supporting the Tower of Dusk. Hence, who would dare to seek trouble and court death?
Besides, there was already an Ice and Fire Natural Magical Domain that had been integrated with the Eternal Furnace at the top of the Tower of Dusk, which would allow Lin Li’s mages to exert Legendary combat power. Even if a Sanctuary powerhouse were to attack the Tower of Dusk, it would still be difficult to defeat them. There was also the level-24 Connoris, and Angelano who controlled the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus. Although the two of them were not too loyal to Lin Li, they would not sit back and watch the Tower of Dusk get attacked by other forces.
As for the Holy Death Knights, Lin Li discovered that the Death Knights had gained plenty of benefits after the intense and deadly battle. After all, out of the souls that were devoured, three were the souls of Legendary powerhouses, which allowed two Death Knights to show signs of a breakthrough. It was no wonder that the Retribution Knight Rodhart would carry out a massacre in the Breezy Plains. The temptation to rapidly increase one’s strength and powers was really not something that everyone could resist.
After arranging everything in the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li brought Ujfalusi and Norfeller, his two Undead servants, with him and set off for Gran Town which was in the northern part of the Breezy Plains.
While reading the map and looking at the location of Gran Town, Lin Li was reminded of something else. Back in the big rift of the Eternal Darkness Altar, he had once heard High Priest Rogge talking about the battle between the Immortal King and the Dragon of Destruction. When Rogge witnessed the battle between gods, he was still an ordinary human sentry who was stationed in a location on the far northern border of the Breezy Plains. The place where the battle took place was Roddanmo. Lin Li could tell from the map that those two places were not too far away from the small Gran Town. Lin Li intended to stop by that place if everything went well during the gathering with the Ashen Warlock.
Although Gran Town was rather far from the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li and his two Undead servants were Legendary powerhouses; hence, they did not encounter any hindrances along the way. By noon, they had already found the legendary Gran Town according to the map. Due to the fact that they did not know if the Ashen Warlock had any taboos, Lin Li didn’t fly into the town directly, and simply found a place outside the town to land, after which they slowly walked towards the town.
There were large patches of fields on both sides of the road, and the crops there seemed to be swaying like water waves amidst the breeze. There were dense forests in the distance, and although the trees were not all tall and straight, they gave off a special vibe under the blue sky and white clouds.
At the end of the road was the small Gran Town. Although the town had been peaceful without any wars for thousands of years due to the existence of the Ashen Warlock, it was rather small, and there seemed to only be a few hundred families living there. The tallest building in the town was a tower that was made of limestone. Lin Li reckoned that it was the Tower of Ashes where the Ashen Warlock Roland lived.
Lin Li walked slowly into the town with two Undead servants. Although the residents of the town had never seen them before, they would all smile at them hospitably. There would sometimes be a few children playing and running past them merrily. They did not seem to keep their guard up against outsiders at all.
Since he was invited by the Ashen Warlock, he ought to go to the Tower of Ashes to greet him even though he had arrived early. After Lin Li entered the town, he did not stop to appreciate the vibes of a rural life, and instead headed straight to the gray and desolate tower that was deep in the town.
Although it was called a tower, it was only less than 20 meters tall. Due to the fact that it had a large area, it appeared to be rather wide and flat. When Lin Li approached the tower, he saw two old men who were clad in servants’ clothes lying lazily on the steps in front of the tower gate and basking in the sun.
Legend had it that since the Dark Age, the Ashen Warlock had been enjoying the company of two or three old servants who did not practice martial arts or magic, just like ordinary people. However, they stayed with the Ashen Warlock in that small town for thousands of years. At this moment, Lin Li indeed did not detect any mana or Combat Energy from the two old servants basking on the steps. They looked no different from ordinary old people, and it wasn’t obvious that they had lived for thousands of years.
In fact, Lin Li had always been rather puzzled. Be it the Ashen Warlock or his servants, they had all lived for thousands of years. Since they had been living in seclusion in the mountains, why would the generations of residents of Gran Town who had interacted with them for years still see them as ordinary people?
Of course, the matter might seem unbelievable to Lin Li, but the Ashen Warlock was a godlike powerhouse who had probably used some special method. Lin Li shook his head and stopped pondering about the issue. Instead, he stepped forward and bowed to the two old servants to state that he had been invited by the Ashen Warlock.
Although the two old servants looked like ordinary people, and were so old that they seemed to be on the brink of death, Lin Li didn’t belittle them at all. Even if he ignored the fact that their master was the Ashen Warlock, he felt that they still deserved his respect because of their age.
Upon hearing what Lin Li said, an old servant touched his belly that had turned red because of the sun without even bothering to open his eyes, and incoherently muttered, “It’s not time yet, go find a place to stay at. We don’t provide food and accommodation here.”
Lin Li was suddenly speechless, but he had no choice but to say goodbye and return to the town with his two Undead servants.
Although the town was not located along a major road, Lin Li unexpectedly discovered that there was still a small inn in the town. However, he thought about it and felt that it did make some sense. Although there were usually not many people in Gran Town, there would be leaders of the top forces visiting once every three years, and they often spent gold coins and not silver coins. Whenever the inn was open for business, they would make enough to last them for three years.
When he walked into the inn, Lin Li looked around to see that the inn was rather clean and neat even though it looked a little shabby. There was a chubby middle-aged man lying on the counter and snoring in front of Lin Li. Lin Li reckoned that he had to be dreaming that he was going to strike a fortune again this time because he drooled a lot.
Lin Li walked to the counter and pressed the bell a few times, after which the middle-aged man sat up and spaced out for a long time before realizing that there was a guest.
“G-guest, are you looking for accommodation?” the chubby middle-aged man asked awkwardly while wiping away the saliva on his lips. He then noticed that there was a pool of saliva on the counter, and quickly used his sleeve to wipe it away.
“Yes, please prepare three rooms for me,” Lin Li said as he took out a handful of gold coins and placed them on the counter.
“Okay, please come with me, I will definitely prepare the best room for you.” The chubby middle-aged man immediately sobered up upon sight of the glittering gold coins. Without even counting the coins, he placed them in the drawer inside the counter, stood up, and then walked away.
There was actually no need to expect too much for the so-called best room in such a place. Fortunately, Lin Li was not the type to be after luxury and clout. As long as the room was clean, bright, and proper, it would be enough for him. In fact, if it weren’t for the fact that he had chanced upon the inn, he wouldn’t mind setting up a tent outside the town. To be honest, the tent that he had placed in his Ring of Endless Storm was much more luxurious than the room in the inn.
After arriving in the room, he dismissed the chubby owner of the inn. Lin Li then recalled what the old servant said in the Tower of Ashes earlier on, and reckoned that the Ashen Warlock Roland probably would not show up until the date stated in the invitation letter. In fact, the invitation by Ashen Warlock seemed to be more of an order. It was not an invitation for a discussion, but a judgment of the disputes between them. Hence, he felt that there was no need to entertain them at all.
However, there were only four days before the date stated on the invitation. Even if he were to go to the outpost on the northern border, he probably wouldn’t have enough time to check it out in detail. Lin Li thought about it and decided to stay put in the town and wait for the gathering to begin. Four days would pass quickly anyway.
Actually, Gran Town was a very ordinary town in the countryside, and if it weren’t for the fact that the Ashen Warlock was living there in seclusion, there would be nothing special about this town, for there was a huge bunch of similar counterparts in the Breezy Plains.
After Lin Li asked for a room in the small inn, he decided to stay in the room and meditate alone because he was too lazy to wander and roam about.