Chapter 1021: Shock
Besides, if Lin Li needed Geresco to teach him everything, wouldn’t Lin Li be walking on the same path as Geresco? He would only be following in Geresco’s footsteps, and gradually losing his own creativity. Geresco definitely did not want to see such a situation. Lin Li could tell from the words that Geresco had said after Lin Li had passed the previous test that Geresco wanted him to walk a different path.
Hence, the magic book that Geresco chose for Lin Li comprised mostly fundamental concepts that Lin Li had to study carefully. However, there was no information about how Lin Li could do it. After getting the magic book, Lin Li simply sat down on the ground, and read it carefully without moving at all.
While reading the contents of the magic book, Lin Li recalled the scene of him exchanging blows with Geresco’s incarnation. He sat on the ground for more than an hour, and he only closed the magic book after simulating the plan of counterattacking against his opponent countless times.
As Lin Li closed the magic book, Geresco’s incarnation appeared in front of him again. It then brought him to another space.
If there were others in the library at this time, they would see a very strange scene. Lin Li closed the magic book, and his body suddenly flickered. Next, a magic book flew in front of him, and automatically flipped to a certain page. The cycle continued, and whenever Lin Li’s body flashed, there would be a magic book opening in front of him. The ones that he had read would then automatically fly back to the bookshelf.
Lin Li’s original plan was to just go there and sort out the magic books, but as Geresco’s incarnation appeared, he gradually got immersed in learning. He repeatedly engaged in battles, found his problems, continued to learn, and then engaged in battles. The process made Lin Li lose track of the time outside and forget the fact that he had returned to the Tower of Dusk.
Of course, Lin Li might be the owner of the Tower of Dusk, but most of the time he was just an icon and the pillar of spiritual support of the mages of the Tower of Dusk. His presence alone was sufficient for the Tower of Dusk. The Tower of Dusk had developed to a great extent, and there were very few things that required Lin Li’s decisions. Gavin and the other senior executives could take responsibility for the operation of the Tower of Dusk. Hence, even though Lin Li had gone into seclusion at an untimely juncture, it did not affect the quick recovery of the Tower of Dusk.
When Lin Li was learning from Geresco, the news of him returning with the Sky Castle had already spread throughout the entire Breezy Plains, and even the Felan Kingdom and Ledin Kingdom. One would be able to see the large building floating in the sky as long as they got near Doland City. Hence, no one doubted anything at all.
In the three years that Lin Li had left the Tower of Dusk, the various forces in the Breezy Plains thought that Lin Li had died in the Sky Castle together with the elites of the Tower of Dusk. Hence, they could already imagine the condition of the Tower of Dusk in the past three years. After all, the various forces submitted to them back then all because of the terrifying power of Lin Li, a Sanctuary powerhouse.
Everyone obviously did not want to be suppressed by a hegemon. Even the smaller forces were not willing to have another force suppressing them, not to mention the large and medium forces. Hence, in those three years, the rumors of Lin Li dying in the Sky Castle began to spread, and those forces finally appeared as they could no longer hold back.
In the beginning, those forces dared not go overboard. After all, when Lin Li had been establishing the prestige and might of the Tower of Dusk, the ruthless means that he’d shown had left a deep impression on everyone. Besides, the first time that Lin Li had visited the Sky Castle, he had also gone missing for half a year for an unknown reason. However, as soon as he’d returned, he got rid of the Dark Blade.
However, as years passed, the rumors were gradually deemed to be true. After all, no one thought that it would take such a long period of time to explore a ruin. Hence, as more and more time passed, those who wanted to take revenge started doing so. They blamed it on the Tower of Dusk for being domineering and overbearing to the extent that they wanted to subdue all forces in the Breezy Plains.
Moreover, in addition to Lin Li’s rumored death in the Sky Castle, another important reason that gave many forces the strength to rise was also the appearance of the magic tides. With the appearance of the magic tides, the mages who were recruited by each force improved tremendously in strength.
The mages who could only stay below level-15 immediately became Archmages, while the Archmages who initially could not step into the Legendary-realm finally did so. For some small forces that could not recruit mages, the magic tides naturally did not have much of an effect. However, for the large and medium forces who had many mages, it was a great opportunity.
Although more than half of the elites of the Tower of Dusk had been taken away, there were still many mages left. Likewise, they had also gained many benefits from the magic tides, and become strong mages whom the other forces could not deal with easily. However, the Tower of Dusk had become the public enemy. Back then, the leaders of many factions could still remember clearly the scene of their forces being forced to submit.
After the departure of Lin Li the Sanctuary powerhouse and more than half of the elite mages, the Tower of Dusk was just an ordinary major force in the Breezy Plains. Besides, there were not too many powerful figures to watch over the Tower of Dusk, unlike in the other large and medium-sized forces which had at least a few Legendary powerhouses who were at level-23 or level-24. The Tower of Dusk and the Magic City were the only forces that the other forces could not compare to.
However, if those forces wanted to deal with the Tower of Dusk, they did not necessarily have to attack the Tower of Dusk and seize it. If they were to do that, the forces would probably have to face considerable consequences in the end, even if they united. The leaders of those forces were not fools, and they wanted to deal with the Tower of Dusk for the sake of greater benefits, not to lose what they had.
However, the Tower of Dusk’s weakness was too obvious. When Lin Li the Sanctuary powerhouse was around, he acted as a deterrent, and the Tower of Dusk even safely sent mage apprentices to be in charge of their businesses. Others dared not do anything to harm the interests of the Tower of Dusk at all. However, when Lin Li was absent, the remaining manpower that the Tower of Dusk had could no longer protect the businesses that they were in charge of.
Hence, in those three years, especially the last year, the factions that had long been coveting the Tower of Dusk’s businesses joined forces to suppress the Tower of Dusk’s businesses even though they dared not brazenly attack the Tower of Dusk’s Magic City. Hence, that caused the Tower of Dusk to suffer some considerable losses.
Although the Brilliance Shrine, the Darkness Shrine, the Gilded Rose, and the other forces were still maintaining business relations with the Tower of Dusk, they would not provide much help to the Tower of Dusk. They were also the reason that the Tower of Dusk would not collapse in three years. If they had lost all their businesses, no one would’ve been willing to stay.
The original forces that suppressed the Tower of Dusk were still thinking that it was only a matter of time before the Tower of Dusk collapsed. However, to their astonishment, Lin Li returned with the Sky Castle after missing for three years. They were well aware of the consequences that they would face for going against the Tower of Dusk. The young President Lin Li had never been a kind-hearted person.
Hence, for those forces that had suppressed the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li’s return was just like doomsday. The alliance formed to suppress the Tower of Dusk crumbled as soon as they received the news. The leaders of the forces no longer seemed as complacent, and were instead hysterically blaming each other.
Jaroteli City of the Breezy Plains was the place where the headquarters of the Black Sun Brothers Union was. The headquarters covered a large area, and the luxurious decor was even more eye-catching than the local castellan mansion’s. In Jaroteli City, one had to know the four leaders of the Black Sun Brothers Union who were in charge of all the money-making business of the city, and their power had penetrated every corner of the city. Even the castellan had to suck up to them to stay in his position.
The Black Sun Brothers Union held authority over the entire Jaroteli area, and had 50,000,000[1] subordinates that they could deploy for combat. They also had a team of more than 200 mages. Although the group of mages was insignificant in the beginning, and had mages that were lower than level-5, their combat power became rather considerable after the magic tides.
With such power, the Black Sun Brothers Union had an extremely high standing in the alliance that suppressed the Tower of Dusk. It would not be wrong to say that they were the leaders of the alliance. After finding out about Lin Li’s return, Anlork and the other leaders of the Black Sun Brothers Union immediately gathered the leaders of all the forces in the alliance to discuss their plan for revenge against the Tower of Dusk.
However, what made Anlork and the others feel helpless was the fact that there was a chaotic commotion in the gathering hall of the Black Sun Brothers Union’s headquarters, which made it seem like a noisy market. The leaders of the various forces were not in the mood to discuss how to deal with the Tower of Dusk at all. Instead, they were blaming each other, as if that would allow them to shirk the responsibility.
The leaders of the various forces had once gathered in the hall, and had a heated argument over interests. However, they were now desperately trying to put all the blame on others. Lin Li’s return had caused them to be disoriented and too worried to think about gains. No matter how intense their argument was, it would not count to the Tower of Dusk.
“Leader, bad news!”
While they were arguing intensely in the gathering hall, a disheveled Warrior suddenly barged in from outside. He had a sanguine crow mark on his chest which indicated his identity as a member of the Breezy Plains Blood Crow Bandits.
The Blood Crow Bandits were a large bandit group based in the southwest of the Breezy Plains which had more than 3,000 elite warriors, and controlled all the underground businesses of the Breezy Plains. Even the lofty and mighty castellans would have to bow down to their leaders.
The Blood Crow Bandits also had a legion of nearly 100 mages, who were initially only at about level-10, and their combat power was relatively useless. However, the appearance of the magic tides made the mages improve up to 100 times faster, and the originally useless legion of mages became the Blood Crow Bandits’ trump card.
That was also the very reason that the Blood Crow Bandits had the confidence to cooperate with other forces and go against the Tower of Dusk. However, their confidence was built on the basis that there was no real powerhouse in the Tower of Dusk. Now that Lin Li had returned to the Tower of Dusk with so many powerhouses and the Sky Castle, the number of mages the Blood Crow Bandits had no longer mattered.
When he heard his subordinate lamenting, the leader of the Blood Crow Bandits, Engory, immediately had an ominous hunch. He suddenly stood up, and asked his subordinate, “Speak up, what happened!?”
Overwhelmed with grief, the Warrior of the Blood Crow Bandits lay on the ground, and sobbingly yelled, “Leader, it’s over, it’s all over, all our brothers are finished!”
Upon hearing his subordinate’s answer, Engory immediately felt his vision darken as his body swayed twice. Barely supporting himself against the table to stop himself from falling, he asked, “Where are the two deputy heads? Where are the few guests that we hired to help?”
“They’re all dead. When I went back, our entire headquarters had disappeared, and not a single person escaped!” the Warrior answered with endless horror written all over his face as he recalled the previous scene.
Bam!
Engory fell hard onto his chair. Although he knew that his fellow members who stayed in the headquarters would definitely not be able to escape when he was questioning him, he did not expect the Tower of Dusk to be so ruthless as to get rid of their headquarters that was as strong as a fortress. In the headquarters, there were more than just Bandits, Warriors, and mages. His family members were there too.
“The Tower of Dusk is too brutal. Don’t they know not to harm the family members of their enemies!?”
Upon hearing what happened to the Blood Crow Bandits, the leaders of the forces in the gathering hall immediately started to point fingers one after another. However, although they were speaking with righteous indignation, they were actually trying to hide the horror and panic in their hearts. None of them knew who would be the next to suffer after the Blood Crow Bandits.
“No, since we can’t come to a consensus after these discussions, I will take my leave now. I have to go back and make arrangements immediately!” exclaimed a chubby mage whose face had turned pale. While wiping the sweat on his face, he swayed unsteadily and stood up while supporting himself against the table. He then walked towards the exit after bidding goodbye to them.
[1] 50,000 is more likely.