Chapter 1132: Punishment
However, no matter what, this crystal ball actually had Guru-level mageweaths inscribed on it, which made it 100 times more valuable and precious than it already was. More importantly, there were also many more mysterious mageweaths on the crystal ball in addition to the Time Lapse mageweath. Master Poer and Zumar similarly could not recognize them.
Even a magical crystal of his contains such a profound technology. Poer and Zumar had no choice but to reevaluate the value of the entire The Star. If The Star was really built with the support of a Master of Inscription, they were certain that even the most advanced alchemical battleships in the Gilded Kingdom might not be comparable to it.
However, Lin Li did not care much about the reactions of High Priest Poer and Elder Zumar, because the Time Lapse mageweath was really not that complicated for him. For example, when Lin Li was with Tutankhamun in the Blackstone Mountains, he had seen the battle between Geresco and the prehistoric magical beast the Evil Eye Tyrant. The Time Lapse technique that was used then was much more profound and complex than this one.
Although Lin Li was using the Time Lapse technique in the crystal ball, he could not use it to go back in time by 1,000 years, but one or two years would be no issue.
In fact, Lin Li had learned that from the inverted tower. Outside the Barbarous Arena, there was a crystal ball that was used to screen the playback of battle scenes. Through the crystal ball, he could replay the battles that he had fought in the Barbarous Arena, and watch them from all perspectives to increase his battle experience.
Lin Li placed such a crystal ball there not purely for the sake of preventing himself from being framed like that. In fact, the true function of the crystal ball was for observing the operational process of the entire battleship, The Star. Hence, when problems occurred, he would be able to find the root cause easily. Delano was just out of luck as he couldn’t imagine that Lin Li had placed such an impressive magic prop on The Star.
“No, this is all fake, fake!” Delano was on the verge of losing his mind. Apart from the embarrassment of having his tricks exposed in public, he was also overwhelmed with panic because he knew that he would have to bear the responsibility for the huge losses suffered by the Fifth Fleet if people believed the scene in the crystal ball.
Even if Delano’s father was High Priest Poer, the sin of damaging the fleet of the kingdom for no reason was not something that could be forgiven easily. Perhaps King Bradlor wouldn’t kill Delano on account of High Priest Poer, but he would definitely not let him hold an important position in any field in the future. At the same time, Delano would be the sinner of the kingdom to the commoners and the nobles of Gilded Kingdom. After all, it was his willfulness that caused the kingdom’s fleet to be destroyed.
Hearing his son throw a tantrum there, High Priest Poer, who had just recovered from shock, finally couldn’t hold back any longer. He turned around to slap Delano, sending him flying, and causing him to fall hard on the ground with a loud thud.
However, seeing this scene, Lin Li did not show any emotions at all, as it was just a lowly trick to gain sympathy. High Priest Poer was a real Sanctuary powerhouse, and although he was not a warrior, his slap was hard enough to smash a mountain. High Priest Poer had now just slapped Delano and sent him flying while clearly still sparing him some mercy since Delano was still his son, after all.
“Do you have any doubts about this evidence that I have produced?” Lin Li didn’t look at Delano who had passed out, and instead asked High Priest Poer and Elder Zumar that question.
Hearing these words, Elder Zumar secretly smiled bitterly, and he reckoned that they could only resign to fate. Besides, giving them such evidence would make it difficult for him to gain the upper hand in the future negotiations. Looking at them, he bitterly said, “President Felic, the matter is clear, and it is indeed our responsibility this time.”
“Wait.” As soon as Elder Zumar finished speaking, High Priest Poer stepped out and glared at Lin Li and the others with resentment in his eyes. “President Felic, this time it’s true that I’ve failed to take Delano in hand, and let him do such a thing. However, if you could have taken out the crystal ball earlier and explained to us the truth of the matter, we would have naturally let Delano release your ship and sailors immediately. However, you did not do that, and chose to resort to violence right away, causing irreparable damage to our fleet. That doesn’t seem like the right thing to do.”
It was obvious what High Priest Poer meant. He was just trying to say that since Lin Li had concrete evidence, he could have displayed it, and they would naturally make Delano release the seized ship and sailors. However, Lin Li chose to take matters into his own hands and snatch the ship back, which resulted in a huge loss to the Gilded Kingdom. He felt that Lin Li had to bear some of the responsibility too.
Of course, the most important thing was that High Priest Poer still wanted to reduce the responsibility that was to be born by his son. He felt that the major losses of the Fifth Fleet could not be blamed on his son, because the impulsive behavior of the Breezy Plains’ side was the real reason that caused things to develop to this point.
“Excuse me, my greatest concern was the safety of my ship and my sailors. The wellbeing of your fleet is what you should consider. Regardless of what you do, you have to pay the price for it,” Lin Li said nonchalantly. Indeed, he didn’t have to care, because those below the Sanctuary-realm were just like insignificant ants, let alone the Gilded Kingdom’s fleet.
“Okay, okay, indeed, we should bear the main responsibility for this matter. However, what President Felic did was truly a little too much. How about we compromise and each take a step back?” Although Elder Zumar was also distressed by the huge loss incurred by the Fifth Fleet, and was quite dissatisfied with Lin Li’s attitude, he had no choice but to be the peacemaker now out of consideration for the plans of the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati.
“Each take a step back? Delano is at fault for seizing their ship, but did he cause them any fatal injuries or casualties? How about us!?” High Priest Poer did not agree to Elder Zumar’ suggestion, because in his opinion, Elder Zumar and he were Sanctuary powerhouses, and even though he wasn’t a match for Lin Li, the two of them would still be able to defeat Lin Li.
Lin Li smiled and waved his hand to get his men to move the crystal ball back, after which he took out the Helios’ Scepter, and said, “I strongly agree with High Priest Poer. The Fifth Fleet is at best only an accessory, and the real culprit has yet to receive the punishment he deserves.”
What a joke, is the authority and prestige of a Sanctuary powerhouse something that just anyone can provoke? Delano is just an insignificant mob, how dare he try to set up a Sanctuary powerhouse and frame him? If he doesn’t get punished for that, the prestige of Sanctuary powerhouses is going to be ruined!
Being Sanctuary powerhouses, both High Priest Poer and Elder Zumar were naturally clear about that. If Delano had not been the son of High Priest Poer, he would have probably been thrown out and handed to Lin Li long ago. However, the problem now was that High Priest Poer definitely wouldn’t bear to give up his son. No matter how incompetent Delano was, he was still his son. On the other end, Elder Zumar wouldn’t make Delano come forth to appease Lin Li’s anger despite knowing that he had fallen out with High Priest Poer.
However, when they were in a stalemate, a bunch of palace guards hurried to the port. The huge uproar in Helena Port had already caused the Fifth Fleet to be hurt, and as the king of the Gilded Kingdom, how could Bradlor be clueless of what happened?
After the group of royal guards came to the front of the crowd, the chief stood out and saluted the three Sanctuary powerhouses before reading out King Bradlor’s decree to invite the three of them to the royal palace to explain the cause of the whole thing. Of course, he probably would have been more hostile if they had been ordinary people, but he had to be polite because they were Sanctuary powerhouses.
Seeing that the king had intervened, High Priest Poer and Elder Zumar were immediately relieved, while Lin Li smiled ambiguously.
Lin Li secretly made some arrangements for The Star, after which he flew straight to the kingdom’s palace with Poer and Zumar without delay. Lin Li knew very well that being the king of the Gilded Kingdom, Bradlor would definitely favor Poer and Zumar. However, it wasn’t that easy to fool him.
High Priest Poer and Elder Zumar naturally knew that if the matter was handed over to King Bradlor to handle, they should more or less be taken care of. In other words, Delano would be reprimanded, but he wouldn’t end up dying as a consequence.
Soon, the three arrived at the Gilded Kingdom’s royal palace, and under the lead of the palace guards, they met King Bradlor who had a sullen expression on his face, which was to be expected. Although it was not the main battle fleet of the Gilded Kingdom, and was usually only responsible for patrolling the waters of Four Seasons Island, the Fifth Fleet was a regular naval fleet, after all. Now that it was completely ruined, they would have had to cancel the fleet system if not for the fact that the battleship, Sea Dragon, was still there.
Moreover, if it was just an ordinary battle at sea, the battleships could still be towed back for repair, but Lin Li was too relentless this time as he made Garl the Lord Devourer devour many of the battleships. If the kingdom wanted to restore the Fifth Fleet, it would almost be the same as forming a new fleet.
However, although Bradlor’s face was grim, he also knew that there were three Sanctuary powerhouses standing before him; hence, he did not vent his anger. After taking a few deep breaths and feeling that he had gotten a grip on his emotions, he asked High Priest Poer about the process of everything that happened.
Even if Lin Li wasn’t there in front of him, High Priest Poer, a Sanctuary powerhouse, couldn’t possibly lie about this matter. Hence, even if his son had nonsensically seized The Star, and the people of the Breezy Plains fought with the Fifth Fleet, High Priest Poer told the story without hiding anything.
Of course, in the process of narrating, High Priest Poer also conscientiously downplayed his son’s responsibility by emphasizing that Lin Li did not give them the opportunity to investigate before taking action on the Fifth Fleet.
On the other hand, Lin Li sat at the side and listened quietly with no intention to interrupt at all, as if everything that High Priest Poer said had nothing to do with him.
On the contrary, Elder Zumar looked rather anxious as he looked at King Bradlor’s expression. After all, the Fifth Fleet had already been destroyed, and it concerned the interests of the Gilded Kingdom. The one who was the most distressed was not High Priest Poer, but King Bradlor. The only thing that High Priest Poer cared about was his incompetent son Delano, but King Bradlor was the real victim of this incident.
Hence, Elder Zumar had no choice but to worry. If King Bradlor really could not suppress his anger, and wanted to go to war with the Tower of Dusk or even the entire Breezy Plains, all their previous efforts would be in vain.
However, after hearing High Priest Poer’s account, Bradlor did not lose his temper like Elder Zumar had feared. Although anyone could see that Bradlor was trying his best to suppress his anger, he still politely asked Lin Li, “President Felic, I wonder if you have anything to add to what High Priest Poer just said.”
“No, High Priest Poer has already made it very clear, and I’m here to see how you’re going to deal with it so I can make preparations in advance,” Lin Li said indifferently, shaking his head.
Although Lin Li’s tone was very flat, anyone could tell that if King Bradlor’s solution was not to his satisfaction, the war between the Gilded Kingdom and the Tower of Dusk would probably be inevitable.
Hearing Lin Li’s reply, a trace of anger flashed in Bradlor’s eyes, but he said in a calm tone, “Okay, I will give you a satisfactory answer, President Felic.”
Bradlor was the king of the nation, yet he was now saying that he would give Lin Li a satisfactory answer, which was really putting himself in a lower position. Hearing this, High Priest Poer immediately panicked, and said, “Your Majesty, Delano may be in the wrong, but President Felic has gone too far. The Fifth Fleet has been ruined, yet we still owe them an explanation?”
“High Priest, you should keep an eye on Delano and take him in hand. Forcus has gone to receive President Felic and others on behalf of me and Elder Zumar, which already is an expression of our attitude. However, Delano started a conflict between us and the Breezy Plains without hesitation. This is more than just willfulness.” Bradlor hated Lin Li for destroying the Fifth Fleet, but he was equally furious at Delano’s presumptuousness.