Chapter 863: Cooperation
Osric could be considered to have relied on himself for everything, be it the design of his mausoleum or the various settings in it. They were the embodiment of his and his subordinates’ wisdom. Brahere did not receive the inheritance of the Immortal King, and did not have peak-level attainments in every field. However, given his unparalleled status among the High Elves, his mausoleum could definitely be considered the crystal of wisdom of the High Elves. Hence, Lin Li was absolutely certain that the danger in Brahere’s mausoleum was no lower than that of Osric’s mausoleum. In fact, it was probably much more terrifying.
Lin Li, the Supreme Council, and the Alanna Guild of Magic cooperated to explore Osric’s mausoleum, during which time the mages of the Alanna Guild of Magic suffered plenty of losses. In addition to the dangerous traps that Osric had laid in the mausoleum, Rosen’s wrong decisions were undoubtedly the most critical reason.
Rosen’s mistakes ruined the elites that had been cultivated by the President of the Alanna Guild of Magic, Aldwin. He naturally had nothing to feel a heartache over, but Lin Li was not that generous. He did not want to ruin the elite mages that he had painstakingly cultivated because of his own mistake.
Not to mention, Lin Li and Hoffman were facing the issue regarding the exploration of the mausoleum, and worrying about the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family which were staring at them from nearby. At the moment, the expedition team of the Glittergold Trade Union and the Tower of Dusk was much stronger than the rest in terms of strength, and the other party dared not reveal any unruly intentions. However, if there were to be any mishaps during the exploration, they would end up giving the other party an advantage for nothing.
The various issues caused the discussion about the expedition in the mausoleum to fall into a terrible crisis. Lin Li could not bear to give up the elites whom he had nurtured. Hoffman couldn’t, either. They felt that the best would be to have the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family become cannon fodder and pave the way for them. However, the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family were no fools. Ever since they left the mausoleum, nothing new happened in the camp.
Three more days passed, and there was still no progress in the discussion about exploring the mausoleum. Lin Li could not continue wasting his time there. The Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family could afford to, and the Glittergold Trade Union did not have better things to do than explore the mausoleum, but that was not the case for Lin Li.
However, just as Lin Li was about to say goodbye to Hoffman after yet another failed discussion, someone outside entered the tent to report to them about someone from another camp who was said to be wanting to talk to Lin Li and Hoffman about something.
“It seems that they can’t help it anymore.” Hoffman finally had a smile on his face. In fact, there was no need to bother guessing what the other party wanted to talk about. Everyone could imagine it. The Glittergold Trade Union and the Tower of Dusk were helpless in front of Prince Brahere’s mausoleum. Could the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family be any better?
Hearing Hoffman’s words, Lin Li also smiled and temporarily dropped the idea of leaving. As Hoffman walked out of the tent, he planned to see how things would change there.
After the two of them got out of the tent, they could see the gate of the camp from a distance, and there was an old mage with white beard and hair standing there. Hoffman smiled with some caution in his gaze, and whispered to Lin Li, “President Felic, that’s the old patriarch Elvis from the Jordan Family. He’s also Joseph’s last secretary and the previous leader of the Mithril Alliance.”
The Mithril Alliance originally had 13 families, but they had been reduced to five. In order to avoid letting one family dominate the alliance, the people in charge couldn’t always be members of the same family. Hence, the rule would be for each family to take turns to be in charge, and a swap would be done once every 10 years. Elvis of the Jordan Family was the previous leader in charge of the Mithril Alliance. He was also the oldest among the five major families.
In addition to being the oldest, Elvis had strength and abilities that should not be underestimated. Among the many Legendary powerhouses of the five major families, it could be said that he was second to none. It was said that in the days when the Mithril League had fought against the Blood Moon Clan, Elvis had fought against three Legendary Sword Sages of the Blood Moon Clan with his own power. Not only had he not embarrassed himself, he almost killed the three Sword Sages. The President of the Mithril Alliance also awakened the dragons before saving the three Sword Sages.
That was also the reason that Elvis had high prestige amongst the five major families. Even when he was not in charge of the Mithril Alliance, he still had great influence not inferior to the leader’s.
“After Elvis stepped down as the head of the Mithril Alliance previously, he passed the position of the patriarch of the Jordan Family down to his son, which also means that he will no longer be the head of the Mithril Alliance in the future. I heard he’s planning to advance to the Sanctuary-realm. I didn’t expect that Joseph would invite him out because of Brahere’s mausoleum this time.” Herman squinted and turned to look at Elvis, but there was not much fear in his eyes, because everyone could see that he did not take that step.
After hearing Hoffman’s introduction, Lin Li became more and more certain about what they wanted to talk about. After all, it was not the Glittergold Trade Union that really had a conflict with the other expedition team. Instead, it was the Tower of Dusk that had a conflict with the Mithril Alliance.
The Mithril Alliance’s and Tower of Dusk’s intentions were clear. The previous series of attacks and boycotts had caused an enmity between the two forces, regardless of who took advantage and who suffered. If it was Joseph, there would only be one result in the end. If it was Claus from the Caesar Family, he wouldn’t be able to speak on behalf of the Mithril Alliance at all. Therefore, Elvis, who had retired many years ago, had become the most suitable candidate to facilitate the conversation between both parties.
Soon, Hoffman and Lin Li arrived at the gate of the camp, and stood opposite Elvis, who seemed rickety.
“Haha, it turns out to be Master Elvis. Aren’t you supposed to be trying to break through to the Sanctuary-realm in the Bluestone Tower? Why have you suddenly decided to look for Master Felic and me here? Do you want to give us any advice?” Although their opponent was prestigious in the Mithril Alliance, Hoffman did not plan to save face for him.
In fact, as a businessman, it would only be right to deal with things amicably. The Glittergold Trade Union had been established in the Breezy Plains for so many years. Apart from the people who tried to covet their force, there were basically no enemies. However, Hoffman spoke to Elvis in such a mocking tone because he believed that the latter had stolen his information, which made him rather upset. The other reason was to assure Lin Li.
What would he think if his partner were to chat merrily with his arch-enemy at such a critical juncture? It was precisely because Hoffman was a businessman that he had a considerable understanding of human psychology. Naturally, he’d not cause a rift between him and the Tower of Dusk during such a critical juncture.
Elvis rolled his eyelids, and his eyes turned murky. He said in a hoarse voice, “Exploring Prince Brahere’s mausoleum is a rare opportunity. How can I miss it?”
When Hoffman introduced Elvis previously, he did not mention his blindness. Obviously, that started when he was trying to reach the Sanctuary-realm. However, for a Legendary-mage, his strong mental strength would allow him to stay unaffected despite his loss of vision.
“Oh, it’s understandable, but you probably went the wrong way because of your bad eyesight. Your expedition team is opposite,” Hoffman mocked in a hostile manner. After hearing him mention Brahere, he was even more convinced that he had to have stolen the information from him. However, he could not understand how the news got leaked.
Hearing this, Elvis was not angry. Instead, there was a smile on his face. However, his cloudy eyes were terrifying. He said, “President Hoffman, surely you know the purpose of my visit? Prince Brahere’s mausoleum is not simple, and it won’t be easy for you or me to explore the mausoleum alone. I wonder if you, President Hoffman and President Felic, would be interested in a cooperation with us.”
Elvis didn’t beat around the bush, and instead directly stated his purpose—to cooperate to explore Prince Brahere’s mausoleum. Hoffman and Lin Li had already anticipated Elvis’ agenda, but whether or not they accepted it was another thing.
Although Elvis had come from the Mithril Alliance, that could only prevent them from falling out right at the beginning. It did not mean that they could avoid any conflicts, especially since the enmity between the Tower of Dusk and the Mithril Alliance could not be resolved in a few words. In order to resolve the enmity between the two forces, one would have to be destroyed.
“Haha, Master Elvis, you must be joking. Do you think it is necessary for us to cooperate with you? Haven’t you already entered the mausoleum alone with confidence and beat us to it? I reckon you must have gained a lot. We can’t make it. We’re timid and we still don’t know what is in the mausoleum.” As an ally of the Tower of Dusk, Hoffman did not hold back in mocking the Mithril Alliance.
Faced with such blatant ridicule, Elvis shook his head slightly without showing any anger at all. He monotonously said, “In terms of exploring the ruins, we are indeed not as experienced as President Hoffman. You can probably tell that we’ve suffered losses during the operation because of a reckless action. Do you really think that you can deal with the dangers in the mausoleum alone with the strength of your team?”
“This is not for you to worry about, we naturally have our own plan for exploring. However, you guys looked really pathetic after facing a setback. You should be thinking of packing up early and going back instead of cooperating with us. Your joke is overboard,” Hoffman said with pursed lips in a disdainful tone.
He did have the right to do so. The Glittergold Trade Union started by exploring the ruins. Regardless of experience, the important thing when exploring was to be cautious. If they had been as reckless as the Mithril Alliance, they would have long been buried somewhere.
Although he couldn’t see, Elvis turned to face Lin Li and said, “What do you think about the cooperation, President Felic?”
It was obvious that he knew that there was an enmity between the Mithril Alliance and the Tower of Dusk. He also understood that the reason for Hoffman’s attitude was the Tower of Dusk. Hence, he didn’t say anything to Hoffman, but turned to ask Lin Li’s opinion. If Lin Li agreed, Hoffman would too.
“Cooperation is not impossible,” Lin Li said as he touched his chin. His tone was not full of sarcasm like Hoffman’s, making Elvis get a shock. Even Hoffman was a little surprised and turned around.
Hoffman had repeatedly ridiculed Elvis just now because he felt that the latter had stolen his information, and—more importantly—he believed that Lin Li would never agree to cooperate with the Mithril Alliance. After all, Prince Brahere’s mausoleum was not a trivial matter. If it were him, he would never cooperate with his enemy, as it would be courting death. Instead of being careful about the danger in the mausoleum and guarding against the enemy, he would rather take his time to explore.
However, what Lin Li said next made Hoffman’s expression ease up a little while Elvis smiled wryly. Lin Li shot Hoffman a reassuring glance, and said to Elvis, “Master Elvis, what do you think of this? Since your team has already entered the mausoleum, you must know more than us. Why don’t you let your team explore the path in front while we follow behind?”
During cooperation, there always had to be a team ahead. Although the expedition team of the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family had been forced to retreat before, they had to have more experience than Lin Li and co. Hence, they were naturally more suitable to take the lead, and thus Lin Li’s proposal did make sense, but it was difficult for them to accept it because of the relationship between the Mithril Alliance and the Tower of Dusk.