Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Actually, Lin Li had been somewhat worried at the start—worried that he would need to expend a lot of effort before he could find out the truth from this warrior leader—but he had not expected that Sendros would give him a surprise. He immediately used the cruelest and bloodiest Thousand Soul Spell and scared that poor Warrior until he went mad.
The Warrior’s psychological defenses were totally crushed, and interrogation became much easier. Lin Li did not even use much effort, and already managed to get the information he wanted.
The Warrior answered while trembling with fear, yet Lin Li whispered a “thank you” to Sendros.
It was because Lin Li knew that Sendros’ Thousand Soul Spell was used to help him. Although the old man was one of the most vicious Necromancers, he was not some merciless demon king. In fact, when one had reached the level of those like Lin Li and Sendros, killing was not so simple. They no longer willfully slaughtered just to satisfy their thirst for blood, but they would not be irresolute and hesitant because of their virtue and morals, either. To them, killing was just a method to strike fear into their enemies.
Just like Lin Li had done in the Demon Fall Valley and Scar of Death—a single spell caused hundreds to lose their lives. If it was an average person, they would feel that their body and hands were filled with sin. However, in Lin Li’s mind, this was merely a method to continue surviving.
If he had not used Thousand Miles of Ice on hundreds of bandits in the Demon Fall Valley, the second Shadow’s Nest would’ve definitely emerged from one of those ambitious forces in Jarrosus, causing the Emerald Tower to be in danger at any given time or place. It was the same at the border of the Scar of Death. Although Lin Li had looked composed, he was afraid on the inside. Who would not be afraid after being watched by a gigantic entity such as the Malfa Family? Hence, Lin Li had to use Vanskore’s death to warn Hutton that if it were to happen again, the next person to die could be Hutton himself…
Facts also proved that Lin Li was right. The destruction of the Shadow’s Nest caused all of the forces of Jarrosus to submit. So far, there was not a single force that dared to disrespect the Emerald Tower. Vanskore’s death had also similarly allowed Hutton to feel Lin Li’s ruthlessness. Otherwise, he would not have stood up Lin Li and Sendros on the next day…
It was the same for Sendros’ Thousand Soul Spell.
After being driven mad with fear by the Thousand Soul Spell, the surviving Warrior leader did not dare to hide anything. He answered whatever questions Lin Li asked. He simply said everything he knew, and he said it without reserve. He held nothing back and told them everything he knew.
The overall situation was not far from Lin Li’s conjecture. Indeed, the strongest band of bandits in the Breezy Plains, the Dark Blade, had three Legendary powerhouses in command. They had also followed the Malfa Family’s footsteps and arrived in the Breezy Plains.
It was just that there was only one difference from the Malfa Family. The Malfa Family had recruited hundreds of adventurers to use them as cannon fodder, and they killed their way through. Whereas for Dark Blade, they only sent forth a contingent of 100 or more men, and they used a route that only they knew to reach the peak of the Blackstone Mountains without a single battle.
Based on numbers, it would seem that the Dark Blade was in a disadvantageous position. After all, this time the Malfa Family had hundreds of sacrificial pawns. The total number could even reach 1,000 if their own men were added in. As for the Dark Blade, they only had over 100 men.
But in terms of combat ability, the Dark Blade was not on the losing end. They could even be stronger than the Malfa Family.
Based on what this Warrior said, the 50-odd men that he’d led had the worst abilities in the whole contingent. Other than himself, the others only had combat abilities of level-15 and below. It was also because of this that he had been ordered to just keep a lookout in the vicinity of the Crimson Python’s nest this time.
Other than this group, the combat prowess of the other 100 men was not average at all. At least 50 were powerhouses above level-15, and the strongest among them were 10 level-18 Archmages. The one in charge of commanding these 10 level-18 Archmages was a genius mage, Singh, who was as famous as Hutton.
Upon hearing that this Singh was equally famous as Hutton, Lin Li was rather curious. He knew of Hutton’s magical talents. Hutton was at the peak of level-17 before his thirties, and this was achieved by him while being busy attending to the family’s matters. Even that Gryffindor who was developed with priority was somewhat worse than Hutton. Just what was the background of this Singh that he could actually be compared to Hutton?
He found out after asking. This Singh’s father was no ordinary man. He was one of the three leaders of the Dark Blade. He was also one of the leaders that had displayed his powerful abilities, the Legendary-mage Borg!
This name, Borg, could be said to be known far and wide in the Breezy Plains. 10 years ago, he had barged into Aminya and used the identity of a level-20 Legendary-mage to challenge Cheyenne, who had just broken through to level-21 at the time. Although he lost to Cheyenne by a thin margin, he still retreated safely. At the end, even Cheyenne had to admit that Borg was just a thin line away from being level-21. Even he himself did not dare to say that he won comfortably.
It was also because of this duel that Borg gave up his plans to declare war against the Dark Blade when he had originally wanted to use the chance of breaking through to level-21 to give it ago. Cheyenne also did not take a step away from Aminya, because he knew that once he left, the three Legendary powerhouses from the Dark Blade would maul the Malfa Family heavily in a short period of time.
From this, it was no longer something weird for Singh to be held in the same regard as Hutton.
That should be all that the Warrior leader knew.
After all, he did not have a high position in the Dark Blade. There were way too many leaders with 100 men under them within a gigantic entity such as the Dark Blade.
Although he followed Singh to the Blackstone Mountains this time, he did not partake in any top-secret activities. The command he received was merely to guard the Crimson Python’s nest with a group of men. Once they noticed somebody was near, they would immediately attack. Average adventurers were easy to kill, but if they were to meet somebody powerful, they had to notify Singh.
“10 level-18 Archmages…” Lin Li rubbed his nose. He was rather shocked.
This was no laughing matter. 10 level-18 Archmages. This was almost the same as Alanna’s Guild of Magic. No wonder Dark Blade was called the strongest band of bandits in the Breezy Plains. Just this group of men was more than enough to wipe out the Syer Bandits…
Without summoning the Humerus Wyrm and Lord of Nightmares, even Lin Li would have to run nine out of 10 times…
After the Warrior confessed what he knew, Lin Li started thinking. What was hiding in the Blackstone Mountains that it could attract both the Malfa Family and Dark Blade at the same time?
Unfortunately, this minor enemy commander knew too little. Lin Li could not get any information that explained anything. In the end, he looked at this survivor with annoyance, and then he turned, opening a path. “Okay, you can leave now…”
“Ah?” The Warrior that had already gone mad with fear because of Sendros was stunned when he heard this. What…? I can leave now? He thought back for a while before he understood it. What this young mage meant was… that he wanted to set him free?
“Why aren’t you leaving?” Lin Li stared at him in annoyance. “You still want me to make you stay for dinner?”
“No, no, no… I didn’t mean that…” The Warrior instantly ran away when he was glared at by Lin Li…
Only after the enemy survivor ran out of the forest did Sendros curiously ask, “Why did you release him?”
“Because I started to get curious…” Lin Li smiled, but did not answer Sendros’ question directly.
Actually, since the matter had already reached this stage, Lin Li’s goal in coming to the Blackstone Mountains was almost completed. The battle with the Lich at the Scar of Death not only allowed him to subdue more than 10 Death Knights as well as a Humerus Wyrm, he had also obtained Gloomy Dark, which he had always dreamed of getting. The rewards were beyond his imagination. Additionally, he obtained Sendros’ assistance. To gather the Dragon’s Tongue would be very simple. He just had to kill and silence a few enemy commanders and call for Sendros. The two of them would stealthily enter the Crimson Python’s nest. It would not be an issue if they were to kill the Crimson Python as well after gathering the Dragon’s Tongue…
It was just that Lin Li had started becoming curious again all of a sudden.
He was curious what sort of secret was hidden in the vicinity of the Crimson Python’s nest. Just what was it that it could attract the greedy eyes of gigantic entities such as the Malfa Family and Dark Blade?
Of course, other than being curious, Lin Li also thought of proving something else…
On the first night he came to the Blackstone Mountains, Lin Li had treated a middle-aged man to barbecue. If Lin Li was not mistaken, the middle-aged man had once said that his house was located at the peak of the Blackstone Mountains. It would be easy to find once they went through the Crimson Python’s nest.
In fact, Lin Li was close to the mark when guessing this middle-aged man’s identity. The only thing left to do was to prove whether this mysterious middle-aged man that knew Anril’s history thoroughly by heart was, as Lin Li guessed, that incomparably powerful existence…
To prove it was actually simple. A magical brand would more or less achieve that goal.
The Warrior that had been driven mad with fear by Sendros naturally would not discover that when he escaped, a certain mage had sneakily left a magical brand on him.
A magical brand would not cause any injury, and it would not result in adverse statuses. The only effect it had was to leave behind a trace of one’s magical aura. Average mages could use this trace of magical aura to determine the location of their target, but an Archmage at level-18 and above could use the Warlock’s Eyes to stalk the target with the magical brand.
Hence, Lin Li immediately cast Warlock’s Eyes when the Warrior had just stepped out of the forest.
“Oh…” Lin Li did not answer directly, and Sendros did not question any further. He just gave off an “oh” and shut his mouth. It was because to him, the Dark Blade was not something worthy of racking his brains. Although it was rumored that there were three Legendary powerhouses within the Dark Blade, one could not forget that there were differences between those in the Legendary-realm. The current Sendros was even stronger than Cheyenne. There were only a few that could threaten him in the whole Breezy Plains…
Not long after the Warrior had left the forest, Norfeller and Ujfalusi had already arrived with tens of Death Knights. Lin Li asked a few simple questions about the situation on the road ahead, and called Gavin over. “Gavin, rally the men and follow me.”
Lin Li constantly had that Warrior under surveillance with the Warlock’s Eyes while on the move.
Lin Li had originally thought that this Warrior would bring him to members of the Dark Blade within a short period, but had not thought that the first thing to appear within the Warlock’s Eyes’ field of vision would actually be a raging battle.
“It really is the Malfa Family…” Using the Warlock’s Eyes’s vision, Lin Li could already identify a few familiar faces in the battle without much effort. For example, that level-15 Bandit called Reggie, the eldest son from the Black Clouds Town’s mayor’s family, and the two high-level Warriors that guarded Adelo…
Naturally, it was the members of the Dark Blade that were fighting with the Malfa Family. These two forces had suddenly met each other in the vicinity of the Crimson Python’s nest for some unknown reason. The result was naturally an incomparably intense battle.
The Malfa Family had at least 400 men on their side. Most of them were Adventurers recruited from different places. As for the side of the Dark Blade, it would be much fewer. All in all, there were only 100 or so men. It was just that they were really powerful.
Lin Li hastily took a look, and could see that there were at least tens of powerhouses level-15 and above. Among them, the 10 level-18 Archmages that the Warrior leader had mentioned were currently using Levitation Spell to fly in the sky, constantly bombarding the ground with spells…
Although the Adventurers that the Malfa Family had recruited were many, only 10 or so were truly level-15 and above. Once they met a true powerhouse, their inferior strength was immediately exposed. There were hundreds of Adventurers that were pressured by the 10 Archmages till they could no longer lift their heads. They were completely suppressed, passively taking a beating. If it were not because they relied on the terrain advantage, they would have been completely overrun by the Dark Blade by this point.
“Weird, where is Hutton…?” The Warlock’s Eyes searched around the battlefield, but could not locate Hutton.
Furthermore, it was not just Hutton. That young level-17 Archmage from the Dark Blade had apparently never participated in the battle. Lin Li looked on and started to feel curious. Anyone would know that the Malfa Family and Dark Blade were two big forces that could not coexist. Why was it that their subordinates were fighting for their lives, yet these two were hiding somewhere…?
Unless…
Just when Lin Li’s mind was full of questions, the Warlock’s Eyes drifted past the Crimson Python’s nest. In an instant, a thought flashed past Lin Li’s mind.
