Chapter 898: Father
The members of the Tower of Dusk and Glittergold Trade Union all tensed up as Lin Li continued forward. After all, this was Brahere’s mausoleum, and everyone had had first-hand experience of his craziness on the way. There was the Whispering God, Humerus Wyrm Legion, and even the Iceblast Wyrm guarding his grave. Nobody knew what kind of tricks he would play at this last stage.
It was greatly advantageous to both the Tower of Dusk and Glittergold Trade Union that Lin Li had reached the Sanctuary-realm. Thus, nobody wished to see Lin Li encounter any accidents now. Even if there weren’t any life-threatening dangers, what if he fell back to Legendary-level? Given that Brahere could capture Iceblast Wyrm Sindera who was at the peak of Sanctuary-level and turn him into an Undead creature, how about Lin Li who had just stepped into the Sanctuary-realm?
On the other land, Joseph and Claus felt rather conflicted now. They didn’t know if it was better for them to cozy up to a Sanctuary powerhouse or continue being a local big shot in their respective territories under the current order in the Breezy Plains. No matter what, nobody dared to show any signs of difference. All of them looked at Lin Li with worry just like the members of the Tower of Dusk.
Lin Li didn’t stop for long and continued towards the altar. With every step, the silhouette on the altar became clearer, and its facial features had been revealed. Although Lin Li had seen neither Prince Brahere nor his portraits before, he could guess the silhouette’s identity from its temperament.
When Lin Li had finally stepped onto the circular platform, all the steps behind him suddenly disappeared. Lin Li wasn’t flustered by this change. He frowned slightly and looked towards the almost concrete silhouette in the middle of the altar. By now, he could feel that this silhouette wasn’t just an intangible illusion, but rather a real awakening spirit.
The glow on the surrounding magical pillars faded, revealing its black-colored true form. The spirit at the center of the altar also slowly opened his eyes.
Lin Li didn’t do anything, but he was prepared to strike the opponent at any moment or leave this place using the spacetime magic robe. After all, his opponent was the crazy Prince Brahere who had cultivated the Whispering God and imprisoned Sindera. Even if it was just a spirit, Lin Li didn’t dare to underestimate him.
However, the spirit smiled after he had opened his eyes and saw Lin Li standing at the edge of the platform. This smile contained a tinge of joy and relief, but no animosity at all. It was as if he wasn’t looking at an intruder in his mausoleum, but rather an old friend that he hadn’t met for a long time, or even someone closer than a friend.
Lin Li didn’t say anything. He didn’t lose his wariness just because of this strange smile. He still maintained a safe distance from the spirit, waiting for this Prince Brahere to signal a fight or no.
Finally, a wave rippled through Brahere’s soul, and he said in a gentle tone, “Father, you’re finally here. I’ve been waiting for you for a long time. Your weapon is at the location where the Tree of the World has fallen. You can regain your throne once you’ve gotten hold of the relic you’ve gifted mother…”
Lin Li could clearly feel the sense of closeness and anticipation in the speech Brahere had sent to him via soul waves. That wasn’t the most important thing, however—what mattered the most was the content of Brahere’s words.
Whom are you kidding? I’m your father? I’m only 20! Brahere’s words made Lin Li feel thunderstruck. He had never anticipated this to happen. Even if they didn’t need to fight, there was no need to call him father!
Unfortunately, Brahere’s spirit faded with visible speed, and disappeared from the altar before Lin Li could ask him for an explanation. What was left on the altar was a scepter.
A scepter? The High Elven queen’s scepter? Lin Li looked at the scepter at the center of the altar from afar, but didn’t immediately rush over to retrieve it. Although this scepter should be the one the Immortal King had gifted the first queen of the High Elves that Sindera had mentioned, Lin Li didn’t dare to be impulsive.
Lin Li observed the surroundings of the altar, and he focused on the scepter in the center of the altar. From its outer appearance, this scepter looked similar to the legendary Moonlight Scepter the High Elves’ queen held. It was said that whoever got hold of the Moonlight Scepter could summon the entire High Elves’ population. Thus, it could be considered as a symbol of the highest power among the High Elves.
The Moonlight Scepter not only symbolized power, but also contained immense power itself. Legends related to it were common in Anril’s history. Its fame and status were also on par with those of Geresco’s Book of Eternity. Although Lin Li hadn’t been in Anril for long, he was already very familiar with its stories. However, if this was really the Moonlight Scepter, why would it be with Brahere? After all, his sister had been the true successor to the throne.
Lin Li’s mind was filled with questions. After seeing that the altar didn’t exhibit any abnormalities, Lin Li carefully stepped towards the Moonlight Scepter.
However, as he proceeded nearer to the Moonlight Scepter, his frown deepened and his footsteps hastened uncontrollably. Towards the end, he rushed forward and grabbed the Moonlight Scepter with one hand, appearing anxious to get hold of it.
When Lin Li was far away from the Moonlight Scepter, he could only see its appearance, and thought it looked familiar because it matched those legends he had heard. However, when he walked closer and could see all its details, Lin Li could no longer remain calm. He finally realized that the sense of familiarity he had felt wasn’t due to those legends, but rather because he had seen it, held it, and owned it before.
Back in the game, Endless World, Lin Li’s main account’s occupation was Hunter. He was one of the top players in the game, and had completed many legendary and epic level missions. Lin Li remembered that when he was challenging the Well of the Sun, he had caused the Well of the Sun to collapse, even though he managed to complete the mission. At the moment the Well of the Sun collapsed, the thing he was holding was this exact scepter in front of his eyes.
However, due to the restrictions of the scepter that it could only be used by High Elves, Lin Li didn’t transfer it to his mage smurf account, and kept it with his Hunter account as a commemorative token for successfully defeating the Well of the Sun.
Lin Li couldn’t help but doubt why this scepter which belonged to his Hunter account would appear in Anril here. After all, he had transmigrated to Anril as his mage smurf character. Everything he had now, including his magic talent and equipment, belonged to his smurf account.
Moreover, Sindera and Brahere both suggested that this scepter had been with the Immortal King, and he had gifted it to Brahere’s mother. This was so weird. How long had Lin Li been in Anril since he had transmigrated here? How long had this Moonlight Scepter been in Anril that it had left so many legends behind?
What was stranger was what Brahere had called Lin Li just now. Had he become stupid after sleeping for 1,000 years? He called Lin Li father! However, Brahere’s mother was the first High Elven queen, so did someone like him even look like his father? Lin Li was puzzled as everything just didn’t make any sense.
However, recalling that this scepter was gifted by the Immortal King, Lin Li suddenly had a theory. Could the father Brahere was referring to be the Immortal King?
Did Brahere mistake Lin Li for the Immortal King? That wasn’t impossible. Lin Li still remembered that back at the Alanna Guild of Magic, one of the three Undead Lords in Aurora Square had called him the Immortal King upon seeing Lin Li. At the Scar of Death, the sculpture of the Immortal King also looked exactly like Lin Li.
The Stars of Fury and debris of the stars were originally weapons in the Endless World that his Hunter account possessed. Why would they appear in Anril? It couldn’t be explained by pure coincidence. Now, the Moonlight Scepter which had always been placed in his Hunter account’s backpack had appeared in Anril a long time ago. The Immortal King had even gifted it to the High Elven queen. It was even less likely for this to be a matter of coincidence too.
Lin Li grasped the Moonlight Scepter tightly, looking at every familiar detail on it. Although he couldn’t clear all his doubts now, he was sure that there was some connection between the Immortal King, his Hunter account, and himself.
As he scanned his surroundings again, Lin Li suddenly realized that Brahere’s coffin was right under the altar. However, since he had already gotten the Moonlight Scepter which would lead him to the Immortal King’s weapon, there would be no need to disturb Brahere any further.
Lin Li temporarily pressed down his doubts and stored the Moonlight Scepter in the Ring of Endless Storm. With his spacetime magic robe, he was teleported to the Tower of Dusk’s team.
Seeing that Lin Li was back safely, everyone heaved a sigh of relief. After all, they were so anxious that they wanted to rush in when they saw Brahere’s soul appear just now.
“Master Felic, you’re finally back safely. Do you mind telling us what to do next?” Claus and Joseph rushed towards Lin Li, asking for his plan for the next step respectfully.
Lin Li didn’t expect everything to be such smooth sailing. He had achieved his goal in just half a day. Now, he had the Moonlight Scepter, and knew where to find the Immortal King’s weapon, but the others were still mostly empty-handed. Since the purpose of exploring ruins was to find treasures and obtain benefits, it would be unfair for the others if they were to leave just like that.
Hence, Lin Li thought for a moment, and replied, “Although the journey has been quite smooth, we don’t have much time left. You can explore this mausoleum individually on our way back. As to how to distribute the loot, you can decide among yourselves. No matter how much you’ve gotten, I’ll only give you one day. After one day, we’ll leave this mausoleum immediately.”
Hearing Lin Li’s words, Joseph and Claus were overjoyed. With Lin Li being a Sanctuary powerhouse, they wouldn’t dare to say anything even if the Tower of Dusk had chosen not to share. However, Lin Li had clearly expressed that the Tower of Dusk was not only going to share, but it would also not be participating in the exploration later. No matter what they found, it would be split among the Caesar Family, Mithril Alliance, and Glittergold Trade Union.
Of course, Claus and Joseph didn’t dare to exclude Lin Li even though he had said that. Compared to the treasures in this mausoleum, it was much more valuable to get on good terms with a Sanctuary powerhouse.
Regardless of that, the expedition slowed down on the way back after getting Lin Li’s approval, and searched every corner of the mausoleum carefully. The Tower of Dusk, just like what Lin Li had promised, didn’t participate in the search at all. Joseph and Claus, however, came to ask Lin Li if the Tower of Dusk needed anything every time their factions had found something.
After asking a few times, these two could see that Lin Li didn’t want any of the items they had found, so it wasn’t possible to cozy up to him this way. Thus, they turned their aim towards Hoffman. The Glittergold Trade Union was much closer to the Tower of Dusk than their factions. Since they couldn’t cozy up to Lin Li directly, they might get some progress on the Glittergold Trade Union’s side.
Of course, Joseph and Claus didn’t need to butter up to Hoffman so blatantly as they did to Lin Li. They just deliberately gave away a portion of the loot to Hoffman when distributing their findings. They believed that Hoffman would certainly understand their intentions with his intelligence.
Hoffman certainly was clear as to what they were plotting. He had also gotten some hints from Lin Li about it. Thus, he took whatever the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family had offered without being courteous at all.
“Master Felic, this may be useful to you.” Hoffman suddenly approached Lin Li with a potion bottle in his hand. With their relationship, Hoffman naturally didn’t need to butter up to Lin Li like Joseph and Claus. It had to be something he thought would really be useful to Lin Li.
Knowing this, Lin Li received the potion bottle from Hoffman. The bottle was carved from the Crystal of Eternity, but its value didn’t come from its bottle. When Lin Li unplugged the cork, he immediately frowned. A familiar aura came out from the potion bottle. It was Iceblast Wyrm Sindera’s aura! What this bottle was holding was Iceblast Wyrm Sindera’s blood essence.