Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance
Let alone needing the help of the young mage to enter the canyon, going back without him might be…
It wasn’t that they wanted to rely on Lin Yun, they just had no other way.
Delson wasn’t the only one worrying. Rolf and Dean were also worrying, but so what if they were worried…
“Employer?”
Lin Yun laughed when he heard this. “Did the Gaugasses hire you for this? Or was it a descendant of the 3rd Dynasty’s royal family?”
Dean, Delson, and Rolf looked at Lin Yun with shock when they heard his words.
“The Gaugass Battlemages have been destitute ever since they split with the Black Tower three hundred years ago, so it can only be a descendant of the royal family, and the descendants of the royal family are mostly located in the Adela Kingdom and the Odin Kingdom. Thus, your employer should be either the Adela Kingdom or the Odin Kingdom?” Lin Yun didn’t pay attention to their shock as he shared his guess.
“High Mage Merlin, you, you… How did you know?”
If they had been shocked earlier, the three of them now looked like cats whose tails had been stepped on, especially Delson, who was looking at Lin Yun with an extremely pale face.
The secret information that they were willing to die to avoid a leak of was easily guessed by Lin Yun. How could they not be shocked?
“As for how I know, this has nothing to do with you, does it? Answer my question first. Adela or Odin?” Lin Yun frowned as he pressed on with dissatisfaction.
It wasn’t hard for him to guess these.
Delson and the others stammering and not daring to explain the purpose of their trip was highly suspicious. Let alone others, Lin Yun had saved the mercenary groups twice, a huge favor. Even if it was a secret involving some sort of benefits, how could they not share it with Lin Yun?
In this era, most people only knew that the Gaugass King and Emperor Zhantui had a battle in the depths of the Tulan Mountain Range, but few people knew that this battle happened in a certain Line Canyon. The Gaugasses and the descendants of the royal family were some of the few in the know.
And the Gaugasses were currently penniless. They didn’t have the financial resources to hire the Three Great Mercenary Groups.
Thus, it could only be the descendants of the 3rd Dynasty’s royal family.
The Adela Kingdom and the Odin Kingdom weren’t in a very friendly relationship with the Andlusa Kingdom, especially the Odin Kingdom. It bordered the Andlusa Kingdom and both countries had conflicting views. It was very likely that a war would erupt in the next decade.
If the one who hired the three mercenary groups was truly the Adela Kingdom or the Odin Kingdom, then the three mercenary groups’ actions could already be considered having secret ties with the enemy…
“Odin…”
This short word seemed to have exhausted all of Delson’s energy. He lowered his head after saying it. “A mysterious, black-clothed man suddenly looked for our Leader and told him that he was a descendant of the 3rd Dynasty’s royal family from the Odin Kingdom. He gave our leader a piece of a map and made us look for something in the depths of the Tulan Mountain Range, offering us a price that we couldn’t refuse…
“High Mage Merlin, it’s not that we wanted to hide it from you. The relationship between the Odin Kingdom and the Andlusa Kingdom is worsening. For things that shouldn’t be exposed like this, the fewer people that know about it, the better.” Delson took a deep breath, before looking at Lin Yun with sincerity. “High Mage Merlin, if you truly don’t want to risk your life, you can choose to withdraw. Our Heaven Enlightening Mercenary Group will forever remember what you did for us….”
“As expected, it was Odin…”
The influence of the descendants of the 3rd Dynasty’s royal family in the Odin Kingdom was quite shocking. They already controlled the royal power, so it was normal for them to give a price the three mercenary groups couldn’t resist. Lin Yun smiled before looking at Delson, “Take the map out…”
Delson nimbly took a palm-sized map from his pocket before putting it on a table and turning to Dean and Rolf, seemingly indicating something.
“We also have some…”
Seeing Delson’s embarrassment, they quickly took out map pieces from their pockets, dejected. After putting them on the table, Rolf unconsciously gazed at Lin Yun and explained, “The mysterious man that Sir Delson talked about also looked for our mercenary groups and gave us map pieces. It was only after the Wyvern attack that we realized the extent of the danger of the Tulan Mountain Range. We simply couldn’t survive by relying on the power of a single group, so it didn’t take long before we allied together…”
Lin Yun didn’t say anything. He was firmly staring at the map pieces on the tablet. After watching for a while, he unexpectedly took out two map pieces and put them on the table, forming a complete map!
‘Eh?’
After forming a complete map, Lin Yun’s attention was instantly caught by a certain location. It was a small blank space, roughly the size of a fingernail. There was no damage there, and it wasn’t hidden by anything, but strangely, nothing was drawn there. After looking for a bit, he looked away and didn’t explain where those two map pieces came from. He only softly said, “Set off at dawn tomorrow!”
If the three mercenary groups had asked him to go to the Line Canyon before this, he would have unconditionally become hostile and cursed them for courting death and trying to drag him down with them.
But now, he had to go…
Because the blank part of the map was the location of the Line Canyon, and the Line Canyon was quite special. It was the place where Emperor Zhantui and the Gaugass King had their final battle, so there might be some things the Gaugass King left behind there.
The importance of that six-formula Meditation Law Set went without saying. It wasn’t something that could be described with a few words.
This was just conjecture. He had to go and investigate to be sure.
The next day, the three mercenary groups got ready in the morning and started marching towards the Line Canyon. They quickly crossed the few kilometers separating them from the entrance and entered the canyon proper, only to be welcomed by a large group of magic beasts. Their ranks weren’t too high, only around level 17 or 18, and there were only about a hundred of them.
The bloody fight ended half an hour later, and after clearing the battlefield, the three mercenary groups started resting and reorganizing.
At this moment, a black silhouette descended from the sky.
“Who are you?”
The arrival of an unexpected guest startled many people. Archers nocked arrows and mages started preparing spells. As long as that man did anything deemed dangerous, they would unhesitantly fiercely launch their attacks.
That man silently glanced around before hoarsely saying, “Get your higher-ups to come over.”
With one glance, he made those mercenaries feel shivers… They felt as if a viper was watching them.
Delson and the others were discussing some matter, and when they heard a report, they all rushed over. They were startled when they saw that man because they recognized him.
“Sir Solan, such a coincidence… Why are you here? Why are you looking for us?” Delson unhurriedly went over as he said while sizing up Solan. He had already heard of Solan Monchi. He was a famous genius of the Black Tower who had reached the Archmage realm not long ago.
“Yes, it is quite a coincidence…” Solan gloomily looked at Delson as he said with a forced laugh, “In fact, this matter isn’t very urgent. It’s just that the danger inside the Line Canyon is very high. I’m afraid your three mercenary groups will end up being wiped out, so I’m especially inviting you to join the ranks of the Black Tower. How about it?”
‘That’s no good…’ Delson’s expression changed. He could understand the meaning behind Solan Watson’s words. Although he was very tactful, Solan wanted to profit from the three mercenary groups’ hard work.
Why else would he invite them to join the Black Tower’s team and protect them? This was simply impossible.
The strength of the Black Tower, one of the two major mage forces of Andlusa alongside the Cloud Tower, was extremely prominent. Although the three mercenary groups there were the top three mercenary groups, they were a few levels below the Black Tower.
They would normally endure this attitude, but it was different now. The three mercenary groups had no choice and were forced to decline the Black Tower. If their hard work was taken by the Black Tower, what could they give their employer?
“Sir Monchi, I’m really sorry. Our three mercenary groups still have something important to take care of, we cannot join your Black Tower’s formation. Our deepest apologies, but many thanks for the Black Tower’s good intentions.” Dean was not far away. so when he heard Solan’s words, he rushed over and refused.
“Vice Leader Dean is right…” Rolf also went over.
“I said, the Line Canyon is very dangerous. If you don’t join the Black Tower’s formation, you will face destruction…” Solan sneered, hiding a threat in his words.
In his eyes, the three mercenary groups and the Black Tower weren’t on the same level. He had only been a bit polite and flattered them, but things weren’t going along with his expectations.
“Not being destroyed is something for our three mercenary groups to worry about, not your Black Tower.” A rare smile appeared on Delson’s face. Although he was afraid of the power of the Black Tower, a 2nd Rank Archmage was posturing in front of him, a Vice Leader of one of the top three mercenary groups. How could he accept this?
‘The Black Tower is indeed powerful, but you are a mere 2nd Rank Archmage using the Black Tower’s prestige! How could you represent the Black Tower?’
Delson was already scolding in his mind.
