Chapter 1041: Established Deal
The men could tell from the loosened attitude that the deal was an extremely important one for the Gilded Kingdom. Thus, they turned into blood-attracted flies that were driven to demand a piece of flesh from Gilded Kingdom.
What a shameless bunch of people!!
Cantory and Elder Jorre could only cuss in their hearts as they nodded to agree to every single demand. On the brighter side, these representatives from the Breezy Plains were well aware that they shouldn’t be too harsh on the Gilded Kingdom. It took half a day of a heated discussion to put all the agreement onto paper.
The benefits reaped by the Gilded Kingdom were disproportionately narrowed down from what they were expecting at the start. After all, if not for the dire situation, no one would be foolish enough to sell the factions’ mineral resources. Hence, Cantory tried his best to procure a few modest mines near the shore of the Breezy Plains, and secure the ability to acquire resources with the other forces at discounted rates.
They had also managed to accomplish their mission of acquiring legitimate access into the Breezy Plains. As long as they were in possession of these mines, they would have the authority to dispatch their forces into the Breezy Plains.
Of course, this authority had its limits. The Gilded Kingdom would be prosecuted by all the forces in the Breezy Plains if they were to exceed the agreed benchmark. Yet, everyone understood that the Gilded Kingdom would only be prosecuted if there were people who dared to report them. Hence, the Gilded Kingdom did not dwell on this matter for too long.
The other forces in the Breezy Plains gained significant benefits from the agreement as well. The Gilded Kingdom promised them wealth and technology, as well as all sorts of conveniences in marine trade.
The forces left Calon City after the deal was settled. Lin Li brought his men back to the Tower of Dusk, and the Gilded Kingdom started to fulfill all of their promises. The nautical data which Lin Li had requested was also sent to the Tower of Dusk after around 10 days.
The entrance of the Gilded Kingdom brought about obvious changes to the situation in the Breezy Plains. Although it seemed like there was only one new addition to the Breezy Plains, the ability the Gilded Kingdom had was not what any forces could match. Although the conditions limited the Gilded Kingdom from deploying too many forces in the Breezy Plains, no other force dared to belittle Gilded Kingdom because of this. To them, the Gilded Kingdom was still a massive force to be reckoned with. It was a force that was comparable to, if not stronger than, the Tower of Dusk.
Hence, Gilded Kingdom’s efforts of securing new connections under the table managed to help them gather a group of forces who were not in approval of the Tower of Dusk. After all, the feeling of submitting to a larger and more powerful organization gave them a different feeling as compared to being under a force with similar status.
This helped to draw lines to the once chaotic congregation of forces in the Breezy Plains: one group saw the Gilded Kingdom as their leader, while the other the Tower of Dusk. Although the two groups were not harmonious, it had not created any conflict. Yet, this did not mean that the peace would be long-lasting.
Lin Li was very clear that the present state of peace in the Breezy Plains was a mere illusion. He was expecting that a war would erupt not long after. After all, this was a conflict over territories. Gilded Kingdom would definitely not be satisfied with the current situation. He knew that the compromise shown by the Gilded Kingdom was due to a lack of preparedness to wage a war.
It was the same for Lin Li. He was willing to establish a deal with the Gilded Kingdom not only for their nautical information, but also due to his lack of preparedness for a war. Although the present ability of the Tower of Dusk would not let him fear the Gilded Kingdom and Illuminati, Lin Li knew that it would be impossible for him to avoid losses if he were to have a war with them.
Most importantly, Lin Li did not want to waste too much time here. He wanted the Tower of Dusk to have the ability to eliminate all of its enemies swiftly during the war, and not wrestle with them in a long and arduous process.
Hence, the Tower of Dusk needed this time to grow their strength instead of entering a war in such a haste. The mages who followed Lin Li into the Sky Castle still needed to use this time to enter the Legendary-realm, while the rest who stayed in the Tower of Dusk had to use the time to assimilate all the energy they had previously gained from the magic tides.
Hence, nothing changed as a result of the deal. Everyone stuck to Lin Li’s original plans of using the resources in the tower to advance. To them, it did not matter how the future would change. What was important was the possession of strong abilities that could help them overcome and survive all changes in the future.
It was the same for Lin Li. Although he had obtained the nautical data, he did not use too much time to look into them. Instead, he continued to train at the Barbarous Arena. If he could have the abilities of the Immortal King and Geresco, it would mean that no one in Anril would be a threat to him. It would not matter whether the future entailed war or peace.
Lin Li again defeated 10 powerful Sanctuary-level opponents, and was faced with an ancient wyrm. The ancient wyrm was as powerful as Sindera the Iceblast Wyrm. Lin Li had lost count of the times he wrestled with the ancient wyrm. Although he had been defeated by the wyrm countless times, he could feel significant improvement to his abilities. He started off being defeated by the beast almost instantly, and then switched to being able to withstand it for a few seconds, then minutes, and finally hours. Although Lin Li’s mana saw no visible improvement, he saw drastic enhancement in his combat abilities.
Lin Li had wrestled with this wyrm for three days and three nights before being defeated by it due to a moment of carelessness the last time. This time, he had enough confidence that he could send this challenging opponent back to its nest.
The wyrm that appeared at the arena did not attack Lin Li immediately like before. This time, the malicious looking wyrm showed signs of vigilance against Lin Li. It seemed to be suppressing its massive mana. It was as though its mana was accumulated behind a floodgate that could be released at any moment to destroy any obstacles in its way.
Lin Li had felt that he was not the only one who had been benefiting from the arena. The abilities of his opponents had been increasing as well, albeit slower and less visibly. Especially so for those opponents at the start—their ability seemed to be stagnant, perhaps due to their intellectual limits.
But, this wyrm had great intelligence and showed the most obvious improvement from the arena. Although its level remained the same, it had become more and more cunning, and even learned many battle tactics from Lin Li. It was this concurrent improvement that prevented Lin Li from defeating this opponent.
However, Lin Li was considered Geresco’s direct disciple. The things he had learned from Geresco were not as simple as what the ancient wyrm had learned from its observation of him.
Sounds of explosion reverberated in the entire arena as the battle continued.
Lin Li’s agile figure flashed around as he cast different powerful spells with his Helios’ Scepter. The ancient wyrm was not a pushover, either; its eccentric voice sounded through the arena, and chased Lin Li mercilessly.
Lin Li was getting more familiar with the attacks of the ancient wyrm. While it would seem a terrifying encounter to the eyes of the public, it was difficult to pose any threat to Lin Li. In reality, the strength of magic was not the only consideration for someone with his abilities. The mastery of the laws in this world as well as the ability to strategize the usage of mana had greater roles to play at his level.
No one should expect him to eliminate his opponent in a single strike. His series of spells was like chess pieces of a game. The gain and loss of one or two chess pieces would affect the entire game. Each and every chess piece worked in sync with others. Their main goal was to create a subtle trap together to lure the opponent into it.
The ancient wyrm created a storm with his growls. Its blinding glow created a cast over the arena. But, after the cast dissipated, Lin Li saw that he was surrounded by a dozen of Solar Spheres. They were blocking all the open spaces, leaving no room for Lin Li to maneuver. Each of them emitted a gust of terrifying and destructive aura.
Yet, Lin Li was not intimidated by this at all. It was a tactic he had once used.