Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Lin Li was not concerned about that, however, as he knew this was only temporary. Such was the world—even the most unyielding of faith would not be able to stand the test of time. Their respect and gratitude for Basel was nowhere near the devotion that the lunatic followers of Brilliance Shrine had. With a bit of time, Lin Li was sure he could change their minds…
Of course, he would have to pull some tricks, and he would need an appropriate opportunity as well…
As for a breaking point, he knew it would be Gavin. He was the most ambitious of the group, and Lin Li could clearly tell from their conversation that he was deliberately trying to be polite and fawn over Lin Li. He clearly did not think much of Lin Li yet he tried to downplay himself. What did it say? It meant that he had something to ask of the Guild of Magic.
His ambition and greed were weak points Lin Li could make use of. Lin Li welcomed such ambitious fellows as they were like greedy magical beasts, willing to put their lives on the line for a random carrot even without a stick.
And Lin Li was nowhere near short of carrots…
Lin Li twisted the Ring of Endless Storm on his finger. It seems like it is time to churn out some medicine…
After settling down the first batch of new members, it was nearly evening, and the sun was setting as the last ray of sunlight fell on the balcony of the Tower of Dusk. Lin Li stood quietly next to the crystal ball as he contemplated the inauguration ceremony in three days and how he was going to win Basel’s men over.
At this moment, a flurry of footsteps came from the door.
“Mage Felic… Mage Felic… I… I beg of you, please save my father…” Just as Lin Li was becoming suspicious, a young man covered in blood rushed through the door.
“Garso?” Lin Li felt his heart skip a beat when he recognized the young man. He was Uncle Salatt’s son, the thug from Doland, Garso. Lin Li panicked. He hurriedly helped Garso sit down as he checked his injuries, and asked, “What happened to Uncle Salatt?”
“My father… he was injured by the Syer Bandits, heavily injured… Mage Felic, I… I beg of you, hurry and save him…”
“What happened exactly?”
“Just now… my father and I were going to have our meal just now when a group of men suddenly barged into our house, they… they said they were from the Syer Bandits, and were looking for the mage who injured their men. They asked father where you were, but father refused to tell them, so they…”
Lin Li checked Garso’s injuries and realized they were all superficial injuries. While they looked serious, his internal organs were not injured. Lin Li let out a breath of relief, and retrieved a Recovery Potion from his pocket as he called Gavin over. “Gavin, could you come over? Please look after him. I have some matters I have to attend to in Black Clouds Town.”
“Alright, President Felic…”
Lin Li was already clenching his fists as he stood up, but then another flurry of footsteps could be heard from the door. It was louder and messier this time—it seemed like a group of men was rushing to the Tower of Dusk.
“Looks like I don’t need to make a trip…” Lin Li stopped as he passed the Recovery Potion to Gavin. “I’ll go receive some guests, help me make sure he drinks this.”
Sunlight fell on Lin Li as he stood outside the tower. Not far ahead, about a dozen men were rushing over. They were already nearing, and Lin Li could clearly see that most of them were armed and looked ferocious. One look and he could tell that these people killed for a living.
Lin Li was not worried about them, however. He was more concerned about the blood-covered old man in the middle of the group.
“I heard you were looking for me?” Lin Li stood outside the tower with a smile.
“It’s this fellow, Captain Pierre! This fellow injured us and stole our clothes!” someone from the group shouted immediately after hearing Lin Li’s voice. From afar, Lin Li found the man familiar, and after taking a close look, he realized something: wasn’t he one of the bandits he forced to run around naked in Black Clouds Town?
“You’re Felic?” The groups of bandits surrounded the tower’s door. Their leader was a buff man in his forties; with a thick beard and hairy chest, he looked just like a bear standing on two legs.
“That’s right, I am Felic.” Lin Li nodded his head as his gaze skimmed past the bear and fell on the old man. “I thought the Syer Bandits were reputable, how come you have resorted to kidnapping old men?”
“Pfft, this old man is not worthy of our abduction.” The bear spat on the ground, disdain evident on his tanned face. “We merely wanted to know your whereabouts, but who knew this old fellow did not know what’s good for him—he did not tell us, and even bit me. If I did not teach him a lesson, how can I survive in the Breezy Plains? But this guy is pretty tough, I beat him up for half an hour, yet he still refused to speak. Thankfully, his son is stupid enough, and brought me here after I pulled some tricks…”
“Is that so…” Lin Li continued smiling as though he was looking at a group of neighbors instead of armed bandits. “You went to such lengths to ask about my whereabouts? Isn’t that a little too much?”
“Cut your crap, I have no time for your nonsense. I’m here today to inform you that you’re in luck, kid, my boss wants to meet you!”
“You mean Vanskore?” Lin Li paused when he heard this. He had thought that these men were here to seek revenge, but in the end, it was because Vanskore wanted to meet him.
“Good that you know, my boss said that he will be waiting for you in the Dragon Mountains. If you don’t turn up, you know what will happen…” Pierre left a fierce warning before he waved his hand for his men to release Old Salatt. He thought for a while, and threw a few gold coins in front of Old Salatt. “Take this as compensation for this old fellow. Actually, I did not want to beat him up, but he was too stubborn for his own good. Damn it, I’ll pay for his medical bills. Right, my boss said to ask you when you’ll be going. We’ll send a carriage for you…”
“Gavin, please help Uncle Salatt over.”
“Sure, President Felic.”
When Gavin brought Old Salatt over, Lin Li carefully surveyed his injuries.
It’d seem like the bear was right—he did beat Old Salatt up for half an hour, so the latter was more heavily injured than Garso. One of his arms was broken, and his internal organs were heavily injured as well. If he did not receive immediate treatment, he might not last the night.
Lin Li hurriedly retrieved a bottle of Recovery Potion, and had Gavin bring him a glass of water from the tower before he mixed the potion with it and carefully fed it to Old Salatt. After the latter downed a bottle of the Recovery Potion, some color returned to his pale face, and his bloody wounds started to close. Only, his injuries were too heavy, and even with the magical healing powers of the Recovery Potion, he would still require some rest to completely recover.
Lin Li held the unconscious Old Salatt, and silently regretted being too soft the first time. He had stolen the bandits’ clothes but only killed one of them. If he had been harsher back then, perhaps this would not have happened.
Thankfully, he had the chance to rectify his mistake today…
“Hey kid, are you done? I have no time to waste on you, I still need to report back to my boss after you give me your answer!”
“I’m sorry, Captain Pierre, I regret to inform you that…” Lin Li slowly stood up, not a trace of a smile on his face now. “You’re not going back…”
“Bastard, how dare you toy with me!!” Pierre was famous amongst the Syer Bandits for his bad temper, and only wasted his time on this young mage because of his boss’ orders—he even compensated the old man—only to find out that he was toyed with. How could he take this insult given his bad temper?
“Go, damn it, all of you attack, tear down this tower!” Pierre waved his machete, but in his rage, he retained a bit of rationality and remembered his boss’ orders. “Right, leave that bastard, boss wants him alive!”
The group of bandits rushed ahead following Pierre’s orders, brandishing their weapons. Even Gavin was somewhat worried—he could deal with them without a problem as an Archmage, but he was worried that they might hurt President Felic. How would he answer to Mr Basel then…?
