Chapter 1145: Black Robe
Everyone knew that Saint Edmund was one of the few figures who were at the pinnacle of the Gilded Kingdom, and even King Bradlor had to be respectful towards them.
Saint Edmund’s words were indeed beyond High Priest Poer’s expectations. Didn’t you already give me silent approval? Why are you stopping me now?
“Venerable Saint, these people from the Tower of Dusk have always been extremely rude, and they even destroyed the kingdom’s Fifth Fleet. They clearly have no intention of being at peace with us,” High Priest Poer said anxiously. In the beginning, he was still hoping that Saint Edmund would intervene to help him take revenge. After all, he knew very well that he was not Lin Li’s match yet. However, he did not expect Edmund to intervene and stop him right when they were about to start a battle.
Edmund frowned slightly, obviously somewhat dissatisfied with High Priest Poer’s attitude. He then said in a deep voice, “Poer, I hope you remember what you are here for. Don’t forget the important task at hand for your own selfish reasons.”
Edmund, of course, did not stop High Priest Poer because he could not bear to go hard against the Tower of Dusk. In fact, if the members of the Tower of Dusk’s team were all wastrels, he wouldn’t mind letting High Priest Poer abuse his authority and annihilate them.
However, Edmund’s judgment was far better than High Priest Poer’s. He could already tell from Lin Li’s strike alone that Lin Li had incredible strength. In this case, if they still wanted to fight a battle, it would probably end up in a loss-loss scenario. In that case, how could they carry on with the mission?
The team of the Tower of Dusk had already gotten ready to fight, but after Edmund stopped High Priest Poer, Lin Li raised his hand to beckon the mages to temporarily stop preparing for battle.
In fact, Lin Li’s thoughts and concerns were somewhat similar to Saint Edmund’s. If the other party was just the High Priest Poer and those nobodies, he would simply order his subordinates to attack without even waiting for High Priest Poer to make any moves. Even if Elder Zumar joined in, Lin Li would not be too worried. After all, he still had powerful weapons like the debris of the stars. Hence, he really was not afraid of Zumar and Poer ganging up against him.
However, apart from Zumar and Power, there was another mysterious man in a black robe whom he had to face, thus leaving Lin Li with no choice but to consider the consequences of starting a battle.
Lin Li was not arrogant enough to think that he could single-handedly fight three Sanctuary powerhouses, especially since making sure that none of them escaped was definitely tough.
Hence, the two parties very tacitly agreed to temporarily put aside their hostility, and showed some intention to negotiate. Saint Edmund of the Gilded Kingdom brought Elder Zumar and High Priest Poer away from the team, and went towards the Tower of Dusk’s team, while Lin Li brought Connoris and the two Undead servants toward the Gilded Kingdom’s side.
No matter what, the two sides did not break into battle in the end, so Elder Zumar was secretly relieved. He introduced to Lin Li, “President Felic, let me introduce you, this is Saint Edmund of the Chaos Sanctuary of the Illuminati.”
“Oh, hello, Saint Edmund.” Lin Li didn’t expect to meet a big shot of the Illuminati here. The four Saints of the Illuminati, who were second only to the Holy Lord of the Illuminati, could be said to be above all others among the Illuminati.
Edmund assented with a nod, but did not say anything to Lin Li, and instead seemed to be putting on an arrogant attitude. It was no wonder that he’d behave that way, since he had stepped into the Sanctuary-realm years ago, and was even older than the three arbitrators of the Supreme Council. How could he be friendly to a young man like Lin Li?
Lin Li had seen plenty of people who liked putting on airs just because they were old. Hence, he didn’t care about Edmund’s attitude, but rather turned to Elder Zumar, and asked, “Elder Zumar, I didn’t expect us to meet here. What are you guys planning to do?”
Although Elder Zumar did not want a conflict to break out between the two parties, it didn’t mean that he liked Lin Li, so he naturally wouldn’t reveal the real situation that they were in to the latter. Hearing Lin Li’s question, he glanced at the team from the Tower of Dusk behind Lin Li with a smile, and said, “We were entrusted by His Majesty to investigate the curse put on this island. Felic, I believe that you should know about the legend of this place, so I won’t say anything more. President Felic, what did you come all the way here and create a ruckus for instead of staying on Four Seasons Island?”
Lin Li did not believe that they were there for an investigation of the curse that Elder Zumar mentioned. The legend of the curse had been circulating for many years, and if the Gilded Kingdom had wanted to investigate, they would have done so long ago. However, since they were not willing to disclose the real reason, Lin Li could not force them, either. Hence, Lin Li said, “Oh, I’m so sorry. We just wanted to cruise around the sea and enjoy the scenery, but we did not expect to deviate from the course and end up here.”
Lin Li was obviously lying, and Elder Zumar even wanted to laugh. It was an excuse that was as weak and ridiculous as a peeping Tom saying that he had gotten lost, and entered the ladies’ room by mistake. Lin Li was a Sanctuary powerhouse, and even if he had no experience with sailing, it was impossible for him to get lost at sea. Besides, Lin Li had the nautical information that he had extorted out of the Gilded Kingdom.
“President Felic, you’re really lucky. Those who have been wanting to find this island for years haven’t been able to, but you managed to reach this place after getting lost,” Elder Zumar said sarcastically. He was actually just trying to say that Lin Li’s lie and excuse were too lousy.
However, Lin Li looked at the surrounding scenery as if he didn’t understand at all, and said, “Indeed, I’m very lucky. I didn’t expect to be able to see such a mesmerizing scenery upon reaching a random island. Elder Zumar, if there’s nothing that you have to do, why don’t you come and sit at my place? I’ve brought a special wine from the Breezy Plains, so we can sip the wine while enjoying this beautiful scenery.”
Seeing that Lin Li was becoming more and more absurd, Elder Zumar lost patience, and hurriedly stopped Lin Li from continuing. “Okay, President Felic, let’s talk openly and honestly, saying such things is just a waste of everyone’s time.”
“Sure, Elder Zumar, please set an example,” Lin Li immediately retorted.
Elder Zumar secretly cursed Lin Li in his head for being cunning before turning his head to look at Saint Edmund. Seeing that Edmund didn’t object, he then said to Lin Li, “Alright, I will be direct then. The goal of our exploration this time is to go to the center of this island. Where are you planning to go, President Felic?”
“What a coincidence. It just so happens that we are going to the center of the island too,” Lin Li said, revealing his goal. However, he did not state the true agenda of the exploration, and instead waited for Elder Zumar to continue speaking lest he suffered a loss.
Just when Elder Zumar was about to open his mouth again, Edmund coughed lightly, and said, “Stop playing these word games. In order to avoid unnecessary conflict, I might as well tell you the purpose of our exploration this time. I believe that you should have already heard and understood something about the legend of this island. This island is known as a cursed island. Thousands of years ago, there was a tragedy where countless adventurers died, and a fleet of the Gilded Kingdom was involved too. However, some things happened later, and I reckon no outsiders know about it.
“Oh? May I hear the details?” Lin Li had already heard of the legend that Edmund mentioned from Jeremiah. However, the fact that Edmund mentioned that the legend was not completely known to outsiders really piqued his interest.
“Perhaps even in the Gilded Kingdom today, very few know that this so-called cursed island is also the origin of the Illuminati. The first Holy Lord who single-handedly created the Illuminati was born on this very island.” Edmund’s words made everyone feel astonished. There was probably no one who knew that the island, which was called the ominous land by the Gilded Kingdom, was actually the birthplace of the first Holy Lord of the Illuminati!
Logically speaking, as the birthplace of the first Holy Lord of the Illuminati, this island should be a holy place in the eyes of the Illuminati and even the Gilded Kingdom. However, the contrast between that and reality was just too great, and the island had become the so-called Ominous Land which housed all the criminals who had been exiled and banished there, almost making this location a filthy place.
“You mean this place that is now the Ominous Land was the holy land of your Illuminati?” Although Lin Li knew that he was a Sanctuary-powerhouse, and wouldn’t care about the Holy Land, he was still in disbelief.
Edmund was not angry at Lin Li’s questions. If it were someone else who dared to question him, he might have already taught the other party a lesson. However, he could tell from Lin Li’s minor attack just now that the latter had the right to speak to him like an equal.
Hence, in the face of Lin Li’s bombardment of questions, Edmund simply shook his head without explaining. “When the first holy lord of the Illuminati Aquilo was born, this island was still only an extremely ordinary island, while Aquilo was just an ordinary fisherman on the island. However, according to the holy records, a sudden change occurred on the island one night when Saint Aquilo was just 17 years old. All of a sudden, there was a change, and it was obviously late at night, but the island was engulfed by endless light that was maintained for dozens of days. During the change, Holy Lord Aquilo received the king’s favor, and he obtained godlike power.”
Lin Li had learned about the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati from all perspectives ever since he came into contact with them. In particular, he put in a lot of effort into finding out about the Illuminati which could almost compete with the Supreme Council. Although he did not know much about the first holy lord of the Illuminati Aquilo whom Edmund mentioned, he still knew a thing or two about the Illuminati’s doctrinal beliefs.
The Illuminati believed in the ancient god Zagar, and claimed that Zagar was the one who had created the world, as well as the ancient wyrms and Titans which had once dominated Anril for countless years. In their teachings, it was mentioned that “The true god awakened in chaos, and created the first light of the world for there to be light.” They believed that light was the beginning of the world, and therefore the king Edmund mentioned was Zagar, the ancient deity of the Illuminati.
The Illuminati’s beliefs seemed to be somewhat similar to those of the Brilliance Shrine, but they were actually completely different. The Brilliance Shrine believed in the Holy Light that could purify all evilness and filth in the world, or rather, it could be said that their faith was purely a holy Law. On the other hand, the Illuminati believed in the light of creation, the light that could encompass everything in the world, which they believed to carry Zagar’s willpower.
“Holy Lord Aquilo obtained the inheritance of the God-king of Light, and became the Son of Light in the midst of day, so he created the Illuminati and spread the teachings of light to the world. In the following decades, the faith was spread to every island inhabited by humans, and even the royal family of the Gilded Kingdom became devotees. At that time, this island became the holy land of the Illuminati countless devotees would travel to by boat for a pilgrimage,” Edmund said, giving a brief introduction of the origin of the Illuminati. Although he seemed calm, his tone of voice contained a sense of pride and longing for that era.
However, Lin Li was unfazed. As a mage, he was basically meant to be faithless, and naturally would not have any redundant feelings. Of course, from Edmund’s story, he could also imagine how the island thrived to become the holy land. However, the difference between what the island used to be and now was huge, and Lin Li had thus developed a greater interest in what happened to the island. He asked, “How did this island become a place of exile and end up in such a state?”
Knowing that it was not time to reminisce and bask in nostalgia, Edmund put away his thoughts, and said in a slightly more somber voice, “Everything changed when a man in a black robe suddenly came to this island. Shortly after he did, an earth-shattering battle broke out, after which the will of the God-king of Light whom we worship was suppressed.”
Man in a black robe? Lin Li was shocked, and he immediately thought of the Immortal King. Didn’t I end up finding this desolate island because I was in pursuit of the Immortal King’s traces!?