Chapter 857: Unexpected Encounter
However, it seemed unlikely for the Glittergold Trade Union to be the ones to leak the news. It was said that only Hoffman and Thomas knew about the matter. The other major shareholders did not know about it before they set off. In fact, even the two explorers who were lucky to survive were unclear if the information they discovered was of any value.
The expedition team advanced slowly while keeping their guard up. After making a few turns in the canyon, they finally saw another expedition team that was also staying vigilant. As the two teams met, the atmosphere suddenly became a lot more somber, as if a tiny bit of peculiarity would cause an intense battle to break out.
“Damn, why are these guys here?” Hoffman could not help but curse under his breath after seeing the leader of that team.
At this moment, Lin Li also saw several acquaintances in the opposing team. At the same time, he also found out about their origin.
The opposing team was led by two people. One was Joseph, who asked to expel the Tower of Dusk when they were in Gran Town, and was also the current leader of the Mithril Alliance. The other was the patriarch of the Caesar Family, Claus. It was said that the Caesar Family had fallen out with the Mithril Alliance because of an issue, which also caused them to withdraw from the Mithril Alliance in a fit of anger. Although the two forces were not hostile towards each other in the Breezy Plains, they rarely contacted each other. It seemed that the rumors were rather unreliable. Either that, or they had been acting all along.
However, what made Lin Li feel puzzled was the fact that there was a young man who was not very strong among the people behind Joseph and Claus, yet was looking at Lin Li with immense hatred. Lin Li touched his chin, feeling somewhat bewildered, and wondered, Since when did I have such a weak enemy?
The teams from the Glittergold Trade Union and the Tower of Dusk stopped after traveling a safe distance. Hoffman and Lin Li walked out of the team slowly, and approached the expedition team of the Mithril Alliance. At the same time, Joseph and Claus, as well as the patriarchs of the Mithril League, walked out of their teams and walked towards Hoffman and Lin Li.
“So it’s you, Patriarch Joseph. The world is really small. I didn’t expect that we could run into each other in such a place.” Hoffman did live up to his identity as a businessman. Although he was very upset deep down, he did not show it on his face.
“Haha, President Hoffman, President Felic, it’s indeed a coincidence. If I hadn’t believed in your character, I would have thought that I was being tailed,” Joseph said with a mirthless smile. Lately, the Tower of Dusk had embarrassed the Mithril Alliance in the Breezy Plains. Not only did they not gain any benefits, they ended up losing a lot of gold coins. He even wanted to kill his opponent.
However, although they were no longer in the Breezy Plains, Ashen Warlock’s words still were a great deterrent. After all, the Mithril Alliance was still from the Breezy Plains, not to mention that Joseph had also clearly witnessed the strength of the Tower of Dusk and the Glittergold Trade Union. Not only were they not inferior to the Mithril Alliance, they were actually much stronger. If they were to get physical, the Mithril Alliance might be at the losing end.
On the other hand, Hoffman and Lin Li were also unwilling to face unnecessary trouble. After all, the other party was also an expedition team that was united by two top forces, and their strength was not to be belittled. The Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family had more than 10 Legendary powerhouses, and the teams behind them composed of mages and members of other professions were also on par with theirs. If they were to really get into a fight, the consequences would probably be dire.
Both parties were talking to each other pointlessly. Although they seemed to be harmonious on the surface, not everyone was satisfied with the situation. The Mithril Alliance had recognized Lin Li as an enemy. At last, someone could not control themselves any longer, and pointed at Lin Li in a bid to curse at him.
However, at this moment, the patriarch of the Caesar Family, Claus, who was standing beside Joseph, raised his hand to stop the young man. He hollered, “Charles, who are you to speak here? Get lost!”
“But Grandpa, he…” Charles stopped abruptly, and looked at his grandfather with an aggrieved expression. Even if he could not keep his position as the patriarch of the Dida Family, his grandfather never reprimanded him that sternly. Yet, his grandfather actually embarrassed him in front of so many people because of the culprit who’d made him lose his throne!
“What? Don’t you have any basic etiquette? He’s President Felic of the Tower of Dusk. Go back immediately, don’t disgrace me here,” Claus immediately hollered at him sternly in front of everyone, no longer appearing as calm and polite as he used to.
Charles glared at Lin Li angrily, but didn’t dare to go against his grandfather’s instructions. Hence, he turned around and returned to his team unwillingly. However, after he returned, he threw a tantrum at the people around him before glaring at Lin Li with resentment in his eyes as if he detested him greatly.
How could he not hate him!? He was originally the head of the Dida Family, which was extremely glorious. Yet, the damned Felic caused the mages of his family to suffer severe mental damage and lose all chances of further progress. As a result, he was also stripped of his position of patriarch. How could his hatred be described by words!? Charles had no idea why his grandfather stopped him. He could only look at his enemy and imagine killing him deep inside.
Seeing that Charles had returned after being reprimanded, the people from the Mithril Alliance were relieved. If Charles were to really curse his heart out, a conflict would be inevitable. They knew that it would be the case based on their understanding of the young President of the Tower of Dusk. If that were to happen, how could they continue exploring the ruins?
In fact, Lin Li and Charles hadn’t seen each other much during the incident in Gran Town. Hence, Lin Li never thought that Charles would hate him. However, after hearing Charles’ voice when he spoke and hearing Norfeller’s explanation, he finally learned about the entire story.
“It turns out that Charles is the grandson of Claus. It’s no wonder that he was appointed as the patriarch of the Dida Family. They must have hoped to use those ties and get the Caesar Family to help them maintain their position in the Mithril Alliance. Unfortunately, this kid is still not cut out to be a leader even though he’s talented in magic,” Hoffman whispered to Lin Li when Claus was reprimanding Charles.
At this moment, Charles turned to look at Lin Li again after his grandchild left. “President Felic, I’ve embarrassed myself. This child has been neglected since his father passed away when he was a child. I hope you don’t mind. ”
“Patriarch Claus, you’re making it sound too serious. It’s just a small matter, I won’t take it to heart,” Lin Li replied with a smile. Although the Tower of Dusk and the Mithril Alliance were at odds, exploring the ruins was the most important thing at the moment. Hence, Lin Li responded very politely.
The only reason the two parties had a conversation was undoubtedly for the sake of avoiding unnecessary conflicts. At the same time, they also hoped that the other party would not provoke them.
They then returned to each of their own teams before moving forward in the same direction. Upon arriving at an open space in the canyon, they stopped in unison, and began to build their respective camps.
For many Legendary powerhouses, it wouldn’t matter whether they took breaks or not. Even if they did not take a break for several days or months, they would not feel any obvious fatigue. However, the Archmages and Warriors below level-15 would all have to get enough rest to replenish energy if they wanted to maintain peak combat power when dealing with various emergencies.
After the meeting between the two teams today, the senior executives of both parties also had to reconsider the next part of their plan. After all, a strong competitor appeared, and there had been many changes.
“Grandpa, why are you so polite to that Felic? Had he not hurt the people under me, those old fogies wouldn’t have stripped me of my position as patriarch.” Charles waited for the chance to be alone with his grandfather, and he finally aired his grievances immediately. He had been in the position of patriarch for less than two years, yet he was sacked. It was all Felic’s fault.
“Old fogy? Is that what you call me behind my back too?” Claus glowered at him and raised his hand in a bid to hit him.
Seeing that his grandfather was not really angry, Charles quickly stepped aside and begged for mercy. “Please calm down, how could I have the audacity to say that about you? I meant the elders of the Dida Family. They were the ones who made me the patriarch, and also the ones who stripped me of my position.”
“Patriarch, patriarch, do you think it is a glorious thing to be a patriarch? That is a responsibility. If your father hadn’t been obsessed with that position, he wouldn’t have been dragged down for decades without gaining any strength. In the end, he even thought about summoning the Abyssal Demon Dragon. If not for that, he wouldn’t have implicated your mother…” At the mention of his deceased daughter, Claus couldn’t help but feel a little gloomy as he returned to his seat.
“Grandpa, the Mithril Alliance and the Tower of Dusk are already at odds, why are you still to them? With the power of the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family, it’d be a piece of cake to deal with them.” Compared to his deceased parents, Charles was still more concerned about the seat of the patriarch. If he had never taken the seat, he wouldn’t have been that affected. The point was that he had been assumed the position for two years, and felt that he was above everyone else.
“What about the Glittergold Trade Union?” Claus did not reprimand Charles for his self-righteousness. In his opinion, his grandson was highly talented in magic, and he would definitely be able to step into the Legendary-realm in no time. He could slowly educate his grandson in other aspects. That was also the reason he didn’t blame his grandson much after the unexpected failure of his plan to control the Dida Family. After all, a Legendary powerhouse was also very important to a force.