Chapter 852: No Peace At All
However, Hoffman did not recklessly ask about the conversation from when the Ashen Warlock invited Lin Li to the Tower of Ashes. Instead, he suddenly mentioned to Lin Li the Blood Moon Clan and Mogadi who carried the bloodline of a wyrm.
“Master Felic, after the Ashen Warlock invited you to the Tower of Ashes, Mogadi, the President of the Blood Moon Clan, looked for me and spoke to me about something. He mainly explained to me the reason he joined the Mithril Alliance,” Hoffman said while looking at Lin Li’s face and paying attention to his expression with his gleaming small eyes.
The Blood Moon Clan, Mithril Alliance, and the Caesar Family, which were the three major clans in the Breezy Plains, jointly asked the Ashen Warlock to expel Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk from the land. Although they did not succeed because of the unexpected words of the Ashen Warlock, they had clearly shown their enmity towards the Tower of Dusk. However, when Hoffman mentioned the Blood Moon Clan, Lin Li did not have any special expression on his face, and instead asked for the reason, which was what Hoffman hoped for. “Oh, why?”
Seeing that there was no look of annoyance on Lin Li’s face, Hoffman felt somewhat relieved, and he continued, “Master Felic, I’m sure you know the origin of the Blood Moon Clan. Their core members are all hybrids that had been modified using blood-mixing techniques by the High Elves. The current President, Mogadi, is a human whose blood had been mixed with that of wyrms. Although the mixing of blood had given them incredible power, there were inevitable side effects that would cause them to feel some pain from the backlash of the blood every now and then.”
Lin Li nodded and remained silent. In fact, he had already anticipated such problems ever since he heard about the origin of the Blood Moon Clan. Mixing the blood of monsters with the blood of humans would create a warrior that was as powerful as a beast with the intelligence of humans. It seemed to be a simple idea, but it was definitely difficult to execute. Just like the method that Osric used to create the perfect body and the method that the Immortal King used to create the Ashen Warlock, the blood-mixing technique was also a forbidden one that violated nature.
The High Elves were undoubtedly out of their minds as they were willing to do anything crazy. Bloodlines were the foundation for the continuation of species. It was the best choice made by nature after countless years of natural selection where only the fittest would survive. The remaining bloodlines might not be the most perfect, but they were definitely the most balanced, like a scale of precision. The High Elves’ blood-mixing techniques were undoubtedly going to break the balance. It was only right for them to be punished by the laws of nature.
“Originally, they could be suppressed by a medicine provided by the High Elves. However, after the High Elves were destroyed, they could only resist the pain with their own will. However, the Blood Moon Clan had been established many years ago, and there were originally hundreds of core members. The weakest one was close to the Legendary-level. Even the successive battles with the Mithril Alliance did not cause any core members to die. However, under the torment that resulted from the backlash, many chose to end their own lives.” While speaking, Hoffman shook his head and seemed to be emotional about it.
Although the core members of the Blood Moon Clan were victims of the forbidden technique, Lin Li did not have much sympathy for them. Compared to the backlash from the forbidden technique, the benefits that they had gained were far better. Their powerful strength and long lifespan made them much better than those who could not step into the Legendary-realm.
“Does this have anything to do with their cooperation with the Mithril Alliance?” Lin Li asked monotonously without showing any sympathy or disgust.
“Well, the Blood Moon Clan got the original formula for suppressing the pain from the backlash. However, a crucial type of Serum Grass is required by the formula. You, too, know that that type of Serum Grass is not found everywhere. Even if there are any, they’re few and far between. Later on, the Blood Moon Clan learned that there was Serum Grass growing in the swamps of the Tower of Dusk. They also found out that the environment there is very suitable for a large number of plantations. They decided to heed Joseph’s advice and try to get the swamp mining area from you.” Hoffman couldn’t help but look at Lin Li’s expression again. After all, the Blood Moon Clan had offended the Tower of Dusk terribly in Gran Town, and not everyone could forgive things like that.
Lin Li could tell that Hoffman was worried. Hence, he smiled nonchalantly, and said, “Hehe, so that’s why they wanted the Serum Grass. When I was in Gran Town, Mogadi contacted me, but they were pretty greedy. They wanted me to give them the entire area. You know too that that swamp mining area contains a lot of rare magical metals that are simply priceless. Their request was no different from daylight robbery.”
“Yes, they think of themselves as the extraordinary masters of the Breezy Plains. They’re really annoying. You should have seen the interesting expressions on their faces when the Ashen Warlock invited you to the Tower of Ashes.” At the thought of that scene that day, Hoffman couldn’t help but laugh.
Lin Li knew that Hoffman would not mention the Blood Moon Clan for no reason. Seeing how careful Hoffman was, he finally couldn’t help but say, “Master Hoffman, based on our relationship, you can just say anything you want. Mogadi probably did not only explain to you the reason for their cooperation with the Mithril Alliance, but also something else.”
Hoffman shook his head helplessly, and explained, “Don’t get me wrong. I am not Mogadi’s messenger. I merely agreed to be the middleman in hopes of solving the conflict between you two because I’m a friend of the Tower of Dusk. After all, there is no unforgettable hatred, and the problem between you two can be resolved peacefully as well.”
“Master Hoffman, don’t worry, I understand your kind intentions.” Lin Li nodded to express his understanding, but he soon continued, “However, you also know that they’re being too greedy. The swamp mining area is also very important to the Tower of Dusk. I won’t sell it even if they give me money. Besides, I’m not belittling them now, but given the reserves that we’ve proven to have now, I doubt they might be able to afford it.”
Lin Li was not being perfunctory. Actually, he had long understood Hoffman’s intentions. In fact, the swamp mining area was a massive treasure for the other forces, though it wouldn’t be a loss for them even though it would be gratifying for them to get it. However, it had a different significance for the Blood Moon Clan. It was the hope that the core members had for breaking free from the pain of the backlash from their blood.
Other forces might fear the power of the Tower of Dusk or the powerful Ashen Warlock, and make a wise choice between massive wealth and their own lives, but the Blood Moon Clan was different from them. The pain of the backlash from their blood had even made some of them choose to end their own lives to break free. Now that they had seen some hope of getting rid of the torment, how could they let go of it easily? If they truly felt hopeless and didn’t care about their lives anymore, they would definitely bring a lot of trouble to the Tower of Dusk without any fear of the Ashen Warlock.
“After seeing that the Ashen Warlock values you, how can Mogadi dare to harbor those thoughts? This time, he means for you to share the method of planting Serum Grass. He hopes that you guys can help to dig out some Serum Grass while mining in the swamp mining area. They will then purchase it from you at a high price.” Seeing that Lin Li had understood his intentions, Hoffman finally said the words that Mogadi had asked him to relay to Lin Li.
“This is a good thing. Anyway, we can’t mine the entire area in one day. If I help him get some Serum Grass plants, I can strike a fortune. However, as far as I know, Serum Grass has harsh conditions for growth. Mining would inevitably affect the environment. Once the environment is ready for growing Serum Grass, what are they going to do?” Planting herbs was no big deal, but Lin Li was puzzled as to why the Blood Moon Clan decided to give up on that piece of land so soon.
“Well, that old man Mogadi said that they’ll play by ear. I think that’s the only solution. At least they can go for a long time without suffering from the pain of the backlash from their bloodline. There is still time for them to consider other solutions.” Seeing that Lin Li had agreed to that matter, Hoffman felt relieved. As for what would happen to the Blood Moon Clan in the future, it wasn’t up to him to worry about. He continued, “Since you agree, I’ll give them an answer after we’re done exploring the ruins. I’ll get him to talk to you about the details.”
“Okay, I’ll have to trouble you then, Master Hoffman,” Lin Li answered politely. Although he wouldn’t necessarily be afraid of the Blood Moon Clan given his current abilities, it would naturally be a good thing for him to have one less enemy and one more cooperative partner while protecting his interests.
Lin Li was a guest at the Glittergold Trade Union for three days. After the negotiation between the two parties was settled and the cooperation agreement was signed, he said goodbye to Hoffman. He then returned to the Tower of Dusk together with Gavin, Beckley, and his two Undead servants.
Upon returning to the Tower of Dusk, Gavin and Beckley went to work separately and made some adjustments to their businesses in accordance with the agreement that they had signed. Lin Li returned to his usual routine of hustling all day, reading the Book of Eternity, comprehending the debris of the stars, and meditating under the mana tides of the control crystal of the Sky Castle.
Regarding the exploration of the ruins, Lin Li temporarily put it aside, mainly because the Glittergold Trade Union still had plenty of things to prepare. After all, they might be exploring the ruins of the High Elven royals. It would be better to have redundant preparations than have inadequate resources when facing a crisis.
Of course, it was impossible for the Tower of Dusk not to make any preparations. Although Lin Li had explored the Sky Castle and Osric’s mausoleum, and had also purified the Retribution Knight Rodhart, he did not belittle the exploration this time. The Gargas Canyon was a dangerous place, and it was probably a bit more dangerous than the Haiga Mountain Range. The ruins of the High Elves made it even more dangerous. Not only did Lin Li not want to fail in the exploration, he also hoped not to suffer too many losses.
Hence, while Lin Li continued to increase his abilities and made the mages put aside everything that they were doing to devote their effort and attention to learning magic, Lin Li’s various means were enough to make the magicians more powerful.
Not to mention anything else, the control crystal of the Sky Castle alone could make the mages of the Tower of Dusk bask in the magic tides. Although it would not allow the mages to quickly enter the Legendary-realm, they could advance greatly when they were below the Legendary-level. Moreover, Lin Li also allowed the mages who had reached the peak of level-19 to enter the Eternal Furnace and feel the nomological power of Ice and Fire in the Ice and Fire Nature Magical Domain. Even if they could only feel a tinge of the mystery of the Laws, their strength could still be greatly improved.
When Lin Li was concentrating on improving his strength, the Tower of Dusk did not completely quiet down. Although they had learned from the lessons of the George Family, not everyone stopped opposing the Tower of Dusk. In fact, since the gathering in Gran Town where the Ashen Warlock made a speech, the Tower of Dusk was no longer alienated by all the other forces in the Breezy Plains. Instead, they were boycotted by the Mithril Alliance and the forces that they controlled. The other forces would no longer go against the Tower of Dusk even if they did not suck up to them.
However, unlike other forces, it was impossible for the Mithril Alliance to stop now. Be it when they suppressed the Tower of Dusk before the Gran Town gathering or their joint request for the Ashen Warlock to expel and destroy the Tower of Dusk, they had already offended the Tower of Dusk greatly. At least in their opinion, if there were any forces that treated them that way, they definitely would not let them off.
Of course, the Mithril Alliance did not expect to be able to destroy the Tower of Dusk. They simply hoped to use various means to contain the development rate of the Tower of Dusk. Otherwise, with the current development speed, they would probably grow into the largest force in the Breezy Plains within two years. That would make things hard for the Mithril Alliance.
Hence, in addition to the Mithril Alliance manipulating some forces, the five major families stood up directly. If the Mithril Alliance were to find out about the George Family, it would be impossible for them to defeat the Tower of Dusk in the field of commerce. Hence, it could be said that they would do everything except resort to getting physical.
They wanted to poach some customers from the Tower of Dusk, but they could not produce the quality that the Tower of Dusk could. The customers were no fools, and definitely could tell good from bad. They had poached the blacksmiths, but the same technique could not create the same thing. They tried to poach the pharmacists from the Tower of Dusk, but they belonged to Alanna’s Pharmaceutical Guild. They wanted to pull their old tricks and bribe the mages of the Tower of Dusk to obtain the formulas. However, everyone could tell that the Tower of Dusk had a bright future. Even if they got bribed, it would be impossible for them to obtain the genuine, core secrets.