Chapter 865: Who Decides?
Now, not to mention that he had a torn and tattered blueprint, even if he had a complete and detailed one, Lin Li would not have the confidence that he would ever be able to withdraw from this duty.
Hoffman received that paper and looked at the phrase Lin Li had pointed out. It seemed like Brahere was talking about a batch of goods from Nodahir that had just arrived. Nodahir was the then-capital of the High Elves, the place where the Tree of Eternity grew. Brahere also mentioned that a batch of Legendary magical crystals in the goods had rather good quality, and would be ideal to be used as the source of mana for a magical weapon.
The part that mentioned the magical weapon was illegible, but the fact that it could be used as the source of mana was something implying that the magical weapon definitely had an impressive power.
Many people would immediately think of the Magical Crystal Cannon that was created by the Dwarf Kingdom if they were to think of a powerful magical weapon in Anril World. The magical weapon had the ability to allow the users to greatly compress the purest mana before launching it at their enemies. Despite being so powerful, it only required one level-15 magical crystal to function. Hence, it was equipment that even legendary powerhouses would be fearful of.
“What had Brahere done here?!” Hoffman exclaimed. He definitely did not expect a mausoleum to create so many problems. If he could, he would rather not receive this clue. He would rather not know the existence of this mausoleum forever. However, he could not bear to withdraw from the team. Now that he knew that the mausoleum was not any other mausoleum, he was really curious to find out what was hidden within it.
Elvis had been resting against the back of his chair peacefully with his eyes closed after he handed the several pieces of paper to the two men. He lifted his eyelids when Lin Li and Hoffman were about to finish their discussion.
“President Hoffman, President Felic, you have seen these things, haven’t you? Do you think there is a possibility for a collaboration among us?” said Elvis calmly.
Lin Li’s gaze landed on the few pieces of paper on the table. He was certain that those pieces of information were not everything in the diary, and definitely not complete information about the relic. Elvis was not a fool. Not to mention that they had not sealed any agreement as of now, Lin Li was absolutely certain that the dude would never disclose all of his assets even if they had a partnership. He had to have more crucial information in his hands right now.
That is an Iceblast Wyrm in the Sanctuary-realm! Lin Li could not help but feel a headache at the thought of it. He could see it being the reason for the fall of his team. Even if he were to defeat the Iceblast Wyrm ultimately, it would be inevitable to suffer a loss.
Hoffman frowned as well. His hammer-like finger was tapping on the surface of the table as he fixed his eyes on it. Although his gaze was on the table, his mind was definitely on those pieces of paper.
After a while, Hoffman and Lin Li glanced at each other before turning to face Elvis. “Master Elvis, it seems that this mausoleum is indeed a challenge! It will be difficult for any of our teams to achieve much if we are on our own. Let’s discuss our partnership, then.”
“Very good. I believe that this is a very wise decision,” said Elvis as a smile flashed across his face.
However, although Elvis had great authority in the Mithril Alliance, he was not the current leader. Hence, the details of the partnership still had to be discussed between higher-ups from both sides.
After sending Elvis away, Hoffman and Lin Li gathered the higher-ups from their organizations. They passed around the pieces of paper which Elvis had generously left behind. Everyone, including Connoris, could not help but take in a deep breath. As for Angelano, he was so scared that he wailed to return to the place he came from. He expressed that he would never want to deal with the scary Iceblast Wyrm.
The Glittergold Trade Union did not have any issue with the partnership. After all, they did not have any enmity with the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family. As for the Tower of Dusk, they could not help but worry. No one knew how much information the Mithril Alliance had. If they had other motives for the partnership, it would not be favorable.
Lin Li was very clear on this issue as well. He agreed to the partnership as he had the confidence to deal with any plot against himself. After all, he was a Guru of Inscription, and had a hand of cards unknown to Elvis. Who knew who was going to plot against whom?
No matter what, the partnership among them was imperative. After seeing the several pages from the diary, none of them had the guts to say that they had the ability to adventure the mausoleum alone. Despite having many tricks up his sleeves, and having experienced journeying through the Sky Castle and Osric’s mausoleum, Lin Li would not have the confidence to take such a big risk.
Not to mention the traps within the mausoleum, or the type of mausoleum guards they might face, the Iceblast Wyrm alone was a creature none of the teams could tackle alone, yet two of the teams would give them a total of over 30 Legendary powerhouses and 600-700 elites from different occupations over level-15. That would give them the right to challenge the Iceblast Wyrm.
Since it was a collaboration, the two teams would not be able to be so wary and cautious of each other like they were before. Very quickly, the higher-ups from each of the teams met again, and the tension between the two teams was a lot smaller. They were less aggressive than before.
The higher-ups from the four formidable forces sat under a huge makeshift marquee. This had to be the first such collaboration in the whole of Breezy Plains. After a period of hypocritical politeness, they finally turned their conversation to the topic, and discussed the ways to explore Brahere’s mausoleum.
“But before that, I feel that we still have something to agree upon, that is the leader of the combined team. If this matter is not decided, it will be a mess inside the mausoleum,” said Joseph from the Mithril Alliance. He raised a sensitive issue at the start of the discussion.
Joseph was not unreasonable to say that. Their common target was the mausoleum of Prince Brahere, and that meant that they would need to agree on one person to lead the operation. If not, the lack of camaraderie would only lead to disorder and chaos within the mausoleum. If that were to happen, it would be safer for the teams not to collaborate.
Actually, that was not a really great problem. It was like how Hoffman would have the authority to lead the Glittergold Trade Union and the Tower of Dusk given Lin Li’s trust for him. In the team that was made up of the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family, Mithril Alliance would have the say as they were more powerful than the Caesar Family.
Yet, everyone knew that being a leader would mean greater benefits for their personal team. Furthermore, it would be a smooth-sailing partnership amongst the four forces if they were to have good relations with one another. However, no one would dare to believe that would protect them from each other’s conspiracies with the grudge between the Mithril Alliance and the Tower of Dusk.
“I don’t think we need a discussion for this issue. It was the Mithril Alliance that discovered Brahere’s diary, and it was we who suggested this partnership. It would only make sense for us to lead the venture,” said Charles. Although he had lost his seat as the patriarch of the Dida Family, he was still a representative of the family and the grandson of Claus, the patriarch of the Caesar Family. Hence, he naturally had the right to speak in the meeting.
Charles had been warned by Claus not to find fault with the Tower of Dusk unnecessarily, and believed that raising this casual question wouldn’t be an obvious sign of challenging the Tower of Dusk. Yet, that definitely did not mean that he hoped to see his enemy become the team leader.
After hearing Charles, a smile surfaced on Joseph’s face. It was not because of what Charles said, but rather because of how timely it was. While the grudge between the Tower of Dusk and the Mithril Alliance was challenging to resolve, it was a fact that the Caesar Family was no longer a member of the Mithril Alliance. Thus, the relationship between the Caesar Family and the Tower of Dusk was not exactly bad.
This was what Joseph hoped to see. He wanted Charles to stand against the Tower of Dusk and turn the Caesar Family against them. It would be best if it damaged Charles’ relationship with the Tower of Dusk. If that were to happen, Joseph was certain that Charles would definitely be on his side.
The patriarch of the Caesar Family, Claus, showed a slight change in his expression after he heard Charles’ words. He felt that it was a bad decision to have tried to approach Charles to represent the Dida Family for this mission. The pressure Claus placed on the Dida Family to let Charles represent the family was to help him regain his position of the patriarch, but it seemed that he had thought too highly of Charles. Having good talent in magic did not necessarily mean having a good brain.
Joseph laughed after hearing Charles. Lin Li and Hoffman laughed as well, but their laughter was riddled with indifference. “Mithril Alliance takes the leadership? Sure, go ahead! Pardon us then,” said Lin Li[1].
Underlying the words was an understanding that if Mithril Alliance wanted to be the leader, Lin Li and Hoffman would be backing out from the partnership.
Lin Li and Hoffman changed their attitude as quickly as how one would flip the pages of a book. The Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family, who were still agreeing with Charles’ words, got a shock from Lin Li and Hoffman. After all, their discussion had just started. How could they threaten to withdraw just because of the first disagreement? That wouldn’t be a discussion then.
Lin Li and Hoffman were not joking. They stood up very quickly after saying that. The higher-ups from the Glittergold Trade Union and the Tower of Dusk followed suit. It seemed that they were ready to leave the marquee.
Before the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family could respond to the unexpected response, Elvis stood up swiftly. “President Hoffman, President Felic, please hold on. Why don’t we discuss your objection slowly?” Elvis asked.
“I don’t think there is anything to discuss. Frankly speaking, I do not trust the Mithril Alliance. If we want to collaborate, the leader has to be from the trade union or my tower. If not, I don’t see a point in this partnership,” said Lin Li coldly as he turned around.
Lin Li was not intending to scare the men. The Mithril Alliance had been targeting the Tower of Dusk prior to this partnership. Lin Li felt that if the Mithril Alliance were to lead the mission, it would be a great disadvantage to the Tower of Dusk. No matter how much treasure there was in the mausoleum of Prince Brahere, Lin Li would rather pack up and leave if his safety could not be guaranteed.
One of the patriarchs in the Mithril Alliance stood up, and indignantly said, “Is President Felic suspecting our integrity?”
“I won’t deny that. I definitely do not trust your integrity,” replied Lin Li indifferently. His words were like a pebble thrown into water. It created a hustle within the marquee.
“Shut up!”
That was Elvis, the person with the greatest authority in the Mithril Alliance. His voice silenced the entire marquee.
“Joseph, you are the leader of the alliance. I hope you can consider taking a step back at appropriate timing,” said Elvis as he turned to Joseph.
“Master Elvis, you have always been our most respected elder. Your wisdom is our greatest wealth,” said Joseph as he bowed to Elvis courteously before turning to face Hoffman and Lin Li. “Master Felic, I have to admit that the tension between us is something that is hard to resolve. Just like how you are wary of us, we do not feel safe to put our safety in your hands, either. But, we still trust President Hoffman. I suggest that President Hoffman can be the leader of this mission. I’m not sure if you’d agree to that.”
Joseph was a clever leader of the Mithril Alliance. He first gave Elvis the responsibility to give up on the position as the team leader. That distanced himself from receiving the dissatisfaction from other members in the Mithril Alliance. Then, he made a suggestion for Hoffman to be the leader of the mission. He thought that it would stir unhappiness between the Glittergold Trade Union and the Tower of Dusk. Although the Tower of Dusk showed no rejection to that idea, he was willing to wait for the crucial moment when their relationship turned sour due to the leadership issue.
Even Hoffman could not help but feel disgruntled by Joseph’s words. However, the relationship between the Glittergold Trade Union and the Tower of Dusk was not something outsiders would be able to understand enough to create a detrimental impact on it. Hoffman’s extreme respect for Lin Li wouldn’t be something the calculative Joseph would be able to imagine. The relationship between the two organizations had made it no difference for either of them to act as the leader of the mission.
[1] Could be Hoffman; less likely but not clear.