The original meaning was completely different from that of the copy. Due to the fact that the original copy existed a long time ago, there were indelible traces left on it, so it was difficult to falsify it. However, it was different for the copy. Although it was said to be identical to the original one, it was easy to tamper with, and some of the original content could simply be omitted to alter the entire meaning.
Hence, after hearing that Cantory was just going to take out a copy of the map, the crowd was immediately displeased. Many of them thought, We’re here to help the Gilded Kingdom. Putting aside your real agenda for coming to Cage Island, you even refuse to give us the original copy. You’re not taking us seriously, huh?
It immediately became livelier in the entire conference hall again. The powerhouses of the various forces who were usually in seclusion began to criticize Cantory for his insincerity. Some of them even stood up and called their friends, all ready to leave.
Now, Cantory began to panic. Actually, he was telling the truth as the original map was indeed not in his hands, and certainly not in the treasure vault of the Gilded Kingdom. Instead, it was in the hands of Elder Zumar who was on Cage Island. He didn’t expect the discussion, which was originally going well, to go awry because of a single map. He was already ready to go provide aid for Elder Zumar.
“President Felic…” In a moment of helplessness, Cantory had no choice but to turn to Lin Li for help. In his opinion, Lin Li was the only one who could suppress those people.
“Well, everyone, we’d better listen to what Envoy Cantory has to say.” As expected, the crowd in the conference hall soon quieted down again after hearing Lin Li’s calm words. Those who stood up to leave sat down again.
Although Lin Li had given Cantory an out, the latter was still furious about the scene as he secretly gritted his teeth in anger. He felt that Lin Li clearly could have stopped them right from the beginning, but he deliberately waited till now, all for the sake of making him embarrassed.
Of course, Cantory did not reveal any of his thoughts on his face. He knew that the key to getting aid still depended on the young president of the Tower of Dusk. Hence, he specially thanked Lin Li before saying to everyone else, “Please don’t have any doubts about this. I can personally guarantee that the copy of this map has been exactly replicated from the original version without error.”
“Forget it, you don’t have to guarantee anything. There are some things that we are all aware of deep down. What I really want to know is, since you have the map and you know that there is an ancient evil dragon sealed under Cage Island, why do you have to overestimate your own abilities and try to provoke it? You caused us to be in so much trouble,” someone gibed sarcastically again, seemingly complaining and venting his frustration after they returned to their respective seats.
After Lin Li’s words, the powerhouses of the forces stopped harping on the authenticity of the map. Anyway, in the previous communication with each other, they all understood that it was impossible for them to stay out of the matter. Besides, with Lin Li, a real Sanctuary powerhouse, around, they would not have to worry about the Gilded Kingdom creating any trouble.
However, no one would be happy to be implicated in such a troublesome matter. Usually, they would bear with the displeasure when facing the Gilded Kingdom as long as it did not harm their own interests. However, the Gilded Kingdom was the one in trouble and needed help now. Hence, they naturally wouldn’t miss the opportunity to insult the Gilded Kingdom.
Of course, such complaints were not unreasonable. If the Gilded Kingdom did not know about the situation on Cage Island, the current situation would be understandable. However, the Gilded Kingdom had obtained a map from the ruins, and they clearly knew the ancient evil dragon with terrifying strength was sealed under Cage Island. So, why didn’t they make any more preparations? The Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati were extremely powerful, so they could have just sent a few more Sanctuary powerhouses over. Why would they have to ask for help?
This day was simply disastrous for Cantory, and it was the darkest day of his glorious life. Throughout his life, he had never been humiliated to such an extent. Faced with the taunts and mockery of the country bumpkins, he shivered furiously, but he dared not show a trace of anger on his face. He simply clenched his fists tightly inside his sleeves.
“We naturally have a reason for doing so. The Alchemy Array that is used to seal the ancient evil dragon is recorded on that map. It is mentioned that someone has to go to Cage Island to strengthen the seal using that Alchemy Array once every few thousand years. Otherwise, once the seal is loosened, the ancient dragon will immediately take the opportunity to escape. By then, a huge destructive disaster will strike the world. That’s one of the important missions that the Gilded Kingdom entered Cage Island for.”
Cantory sounded bitter at first, but everyone knew that those were just signs of him losing his temper slowly. However, he began to get smoother and smoother with his speech. He even sounded rather righteous, as if he had become an ally of justice. At last, Cantory stood up, slammed his hands against the table, and behaved righteously. On the other hand, he was also trying to vent the anger within him.
To be frank, Cantory really seemed righteous, as if it was his duty to protect the world. Ordinary people might really believe him, and even get moved to tears. However, the old men in the conference hall each had at least hundreds of years of experience, and were true elites. How could they be deceived by Cantory?
Of course, in a certain sense, Cantory’s words were not considered a lie, but he had reversed the dynamics of their relationship. The Gilded Kingdom had obtained the map and the method to seal the ancient evil dragon on Cage Island, which should be something they could rely on to explore Cage Island. However, they had perhaps made a mistake in their calculations, and caused things to spiral out of control, thus leaving them with no choice but to come out and ask for help from the various forces of the Breezy Plains. Otherwise, they could have just told the forces of the Breezy Plains about the situation right from the start. Why would he have to be so secretive?
On the other hand, Cantory was still being immersed in the ambiance and mood that he had created. Someone in the conference hall immediately clapped his hands and chuckled. “I really didn’t expect the Gilded Kingdom to be so impartial and selfless. You guys actually came all the way here for the sake of the Breezy Plains and the safety of the world. You even hid it from us and went to Cage Island fearlessly to face all the dangers alone. We really feel ashamed.”
If someone else had said that, Cantory would have been proud and pleased to hear it, but since it was said by someone in the Breezy Plains, he obviously knew that they were just mocking him. Fortunately, Cantory had vented some of his anger just now. Otherwise, he definitely would not be able to bear with it.
“President Felic, I’ve already stated clearly the reason for our action this time. What else do you need to know about giving aid to us on Cage Island?” Cantory understood that he would just be bringing himself trouble by dwelling on the other issues. There would be plenty of chances for him to settle scores in the future. The most urgent task now was to provide aid for Elder Zumar.
“Tell us about your situation on Cage Island.” Lin Li’s words were tantamount to a confirmation. He didn’t mention the conditions for giving help, not because he was truly selfless, but because he wanted to decide only after seeing the actual situation so that he could maximize his benefits.
In fact, not to mention Lin Li, everyone in the hall knew the exact reason that Cantory decided to hide the Gilded Kingdom’s agenda. However, they knew that even if the Gilded Kingdom eagerly needed help, there should be some buffer space. If the Gilded Kingdom was forced into a corner, and they decided to release the ancient evil dragon, none of them would benefit from it.
Although the scouts of the various forces had been watching the situation on Cage Island, and constantly relaying the news back to their forces, a battle of such a scale was not something that those scouts could understand. Perhaps they would be ripped into shreds by the aftershock of that battle as long as they didn’t pay attention to the edges of the battlefield.
Besides, the horizons of those scouts were also limited by their strength, so they could only just watch the battle, and then relay news about it back to their forces. They were unable to see the essential problems of the battle. To them, there might be barely any difference between the power of a Sanctuary powerhouse and that of a Legendary powerhouse.
However, Cantory was at the peak of the Legendary-level, and had an impressive teacher. Hence, his horizons were naturally broader than those scouts’. He could see the real essence of things from the fierce battle, such as why Elder Zumar lost the upper hand and the level of strength that the ancient evil dragon sealed under Cage Island was now displaying. Hence, Cantory, who had just left the battlefield, was the only one who truly knew the details of the situation.
When Cantory began to tell them about the development of the battle on Cage Island from beginning to end, those in the conference hall also fell silent, and did not interrupt or mock him. Besides, they all knew that what Cantory was saying was important to Lin Li, and also concerned their future actions.
They were impressed by Cantory’s eloquence. Without it, he would not have become the special envoy that the Gilded Kingdom sent to the Breezy Plains. He talked about how they triggered the changes the moment the team arrived at Cage Island, followed by how Elder Zumar led the members of their team to retaliate and attack the bottom of Cage Island, all the way until the mysterious power counterattacked to send Elder Zumar out of the thrilling battlefield. At the same time, he didn’t miss the various details that Lin Li was concerned about.
After recounting everything, Cantory stopped and looked at the expression on Lin Li’s face somewhat nervously, afraid that he would shake his head and refuse. Although he was rather confident about that matter, he would not be at ease until Lin Li expressed his stand.
Lin Li sat still quietly, rubbing his chin gently while imagining the scenes that Cantory had described. After thinking carefully for a while as Cantory looked at him with anticipation and nervousness, Lin Li finally calmly said, “Okay, it will be up to me to arrange how to provide aid to you guys now.”
Hearing Lin Li’s words, Cantory finally felt relieved. He couldn’t be bothered to be restrained and frantically nodded. “Okay, I will follow your arrangements, President Felic.”
Lin Li stood up and glanced at everyone in the conference hall. Although they were all hidden powerhouses of various forces, there was still a significant difference in their strength. If no proper arrangements were made for such a team, even Lin Li might not be able to protect them. Hence, before setting off, Lin Li had to put them together and form a genuine team.
Of course, Lin Li could not train them like they were his mages at this moment. After all, the Gilded Kingdom was still waiting for assistance. He planned according to Cantory’s description of the situation on Cage Island, and allowed the pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses like Elvis and the others to lead a team. Each pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouse would have to lead a team of five Legendary powerhouses.
Among the powerhouses of those forces, Elvis and the other pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses were probably the strongest. Although they had yet to become genuine Sanctuary powerhouses, they were much stronger than the Legendary powerhouses. However, so far, Lin Li only knew Elvis, Rojet, and Abrad. He didn’t know the other three.
However, Elvis was smart enough to know what to do. Before Lin Li asked, he went forward to introduce the other three pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses to Lin Li. The first to be introduced was a handsome middle-aged man, who looked like he was only in his forties, and stood out among the rest.
He had shoulder-length blond hair which was lustrous and shinier than the hair of many beauties. His pointed ears were sticking out from his hair, resembling those of elves. However, though he had pointed ears and an incredibly handsome face, he was not an elf. He was tall and burly, unlike the lanky Elves. Besides, his eyes were turquoise blue in color, dazzling and shining bright like sapphires.
He looked like a handsome middle-aged man who would be secretly admired by younger girls. He was handsome yet masculine, and had a personable temperament. He was truly a lady-killer.
