375 The Other One

The bone-chilling frost and the blazing flame element gave off contrasting vibes that filled the ruins of the clock tower entirely. When they clashed, everyone could hear explosions in the air. At that moment, all mages could not help but open their eyes wide. They knew that they were going to become the witnesses of magic history. They were going to witness the birth of a completely new spell!

It was a magic spell that none had seen before. Anyone who had minimal knowledge of magic would know that there were no spells that could combine the magical elements of frost and flames ever since the prehistoric times. Not only that, no one had even imagined it to be possible before. Now, the concept was like a castle in the air, suddenly built up without any foundation…

Only real mages could understand such an absurd moment. Although Rina could sense that this spell was rather powerful, she did not know what it actually entailed…

It meant that the entire magic history would be rewritten today, with the birth of a brand-new method of spell-casting. After other people got ahold of this knowledge, even its most basic theory would create an outcry in the entire Anril World. All of the mages would be crazy over it, including Apophis—the living legend that had already entered the Sanctuary-realm!

The casting of the Frost-fire Storm was incredibly long—it took much longer than many Legendary spells. But, none of the mages was upset about that. To them, the spell itself was a priceless treasure. It was like an invisible door, and behind it was a magical world that none of them could have imagined.

Every one of them was immersed in the recitation. Lin Li's hoarse voice became the world's most melodious music in their ears.

Immediately after the recitation ended, the sky of Black Clouds Town lit up.

There were no shocking explosions or flames-filled air, just a brilliant glow that turned the night sky of the Black Clouds Town as bright as day.

Then, everything became silent…

The dark-red body of the python was still in a dead knot, tangled up around the tower made of refined iron. Its thick and long tail stopped struggling, and was drooping on the ground that was covered with pungent red blood. That hideous head was gone too, leaving behind a glowing magical crystal in the pool of blood…

If they did not witness it themselves, how would they ever believe that the mightiest magical beast in the Blackstone Mountains that probably had Legendary-level powers had just been slaughtered like that in an isolated town in Doland that had no more than a thousand people?

Supporting himself with his Aether Staff, Lin Li bent to pick up the magical crystal from the pool of blood. Then, he moved two steps backwards, thinking he could rest against the tower. Yet, the moment he let go of his staff, he stumbled and nearly fell down on the spot. After he finally balanced himself, Lin Li started to breathe heavily. His pallid face was filled with weakness and fatigue.

Lin Li's energy had been thoroughly consumed by the battle that night. His forceful distorting of his mental strength to raise his Levitation Spell to level-20 was already pure madness, and he still disregarded his tiredness to cast the Frost-fire Storm afterwards. It pushed Lin Li to his limits, and after the death of the python, Lin Li could endure no more. He fought for his breath while he leaned against the tower behind him. Lin Li was so weak that he did not even have the energy to move his finger.

Norfeller went over to Lin Li with his Heaven's Wrath, and Ujfalusi walked towards him from the distance as well. The compelling death aura his staff emitted made Rina tighten her grip on the long sword in her hands immediately. The unicorn beneath her neighed warily too.

Unicorns symbolized brilliance and holiness, not to mention the sacred unicorn that had been baptized by the Fire of Judgement. If not for Rina's inaction, it would have dashed towards the two evil Undead creatures…

Ujfalusi stumbled when he heard the growl of the unicorn, but he soon regained his composure as if nothing had happened. He walked past the Paladin and bowed submissively before Lin Li.

"Master, are you alright?"

Those words were like grenades in Rina's ears. How can that be? How can a level-18 Necromancer be someone's servant? At once, Rina felt that Felic's identity was extremely mysterious. How many secrets could there be behind this man who had been crowned as the 'Genius Pharmacist' by her mentor, and was also the youngest President of a guild of magic and the master of a level-18 Necromancer?

Lin Li was not aware of the burning doubt within Rina. He only knew that he was really tired. If he could, he would really want to find a place to have a nap. Unfortunately, right after the Crimson Python died, the ruined street became bustling with life again. Some of the trembling folks who had been hiding at homes stuck their heads out of their windows carefully, while others started to step out of their houses vigilantly. Then, their cheers at the death of the Crimson Python sounded through the entire Black Clouds Town…

"Everybody's safe now! The monster is dead!"

"Look, look! I think that's Mage Felic!"

"Mage Felic has saved us!"

It only took 10 minutes for the crowd to form outside the abandoned clock tower. Under the illumination of the fire, the smiles of joy on their faces were even more brilliant. Among the group, the most conspicuous man had to be Old Salatt—he had a hammer in his hands and was running faster than the youngsters.

"I knew it! You have saved us again…" Old Salatt's wrinkled face was filled with pride. He was the first person the young man had met in Black Clouds Town, and Old Salatt had always treated him like a close kin. Now that Felic became the hero of the entire Black Clouds Town, it was no doubt the time for Old Salatt to be proud of him.

"Uncle Salatt, please don't be so courteous. I'm just doing what I should do…"

Lin Li tried to prop himself up with his Aether Staff. Yet, he was stopped by Old Salatt. "Please don't move yet. You are seriously injured, and should take a rest first…"

"No, I can't rest now…" Lin Li struggled to get up. "I still have an important thing to clarify before it is too late…"

"Felic, listen to me. Please have a seat and take a break first. If there's anything, uncle can ask on your behalf with my authority in this Black Clouds Town."

"That's great. Uncle Salatt, please help me to find out the person who attracted the Crimson Python here. This is very important because Crimson Pythons usually travel with their partners. Now that this python had been killed by us, the other one might not be far away from Black Clouds Town. We have to find it before it arrives here…"

Lin Li could not help but feel afraid. It was lucky that only one of the Crimson Pythons came. If there were two, it would spell doomsday even if he tried to further distort his mental strength and get the help from Norfeller and Ujfalusi…

"Alright, please take a good rest. Uncle will find out about it as soon as possible." The elder patted Lin Li's shoulders gently. Then, he turned to look at the dumbfounded fence-sitter, the mayor.

"Mayor Alexir, have you heard what Felic said? Shouldn't you start sending some militiamen to every household to ask about it now?"

"E-e-erm…" Old Salatt's words caused the fence-sitting mayor to break out in cold sweat. He stuttered in fear, and could only agree to do it. "Old Salatt, don't worry. I know what to do," the mayor replied. He had no other choice anyway.

When the mayor said that, Lin Li could guess what he was thinking. But, it was not the right time to deal with him. After some hesitation, Lin Li stopped caring about Mayor Alexir. He gestured to Norfeller to help himself back to the Tower of Dusk.

"E-erm, Mage Felic, thanks for your help…" Seeing that Lin Li was finally taking his leave, Alexir wiped away his cold sweat in relief.

"It's nothing, Mayor Alexir…" Lin Li glanced at the fence-sitter. "Oh, yes. Mayor Alexir, where's Granger? It's so noisy tonight…"

Granger was the 27-year-old son of the fence-sitting mayor. It was said that he had been learning martial arts from an esteemed Warrior since a very young age. He became rather popular, and it was only recently that he returned to Black Clouds Town as a level-14 Warrior. With that, Alexir was really proud of his son's achievement, and had been telling the entire town and everybody how successful his son was. Even Lin Li had heard about it at the Tower of Dusk…

"Why are you asking this?" Alexir did not expect Lin Li's question, but he regained his composure very swiftly. He squeezed out a smile, and said, "Granger is sick. I let a doctor prescribe him some medication; he is resting at home now…"

"Is that so…?" Lin Li smiled, and did not ask further. How would a level-14 Warrior need medication prescribed by a doctor? The body of a level-14 Warrior was much fitter than any common folks' bodies. Minor illness would not pose any threat to him at all.

Lin Li saw through Alexir's lies, but he had no intention of exposing him. After nodding at Alexir, he stood up with his Aether Staff and bade goodbye to some acquaintances among the townspeople. Then, he had some people bring the corpse of the Crimson Python back to the Tower of Dusk.

"Gavin, ask some men to bring the body of the python to the cold storage at the basement. Then, find me at the meeting room…" After Lin Li gave Gavin his instructions, he called Norfeller over.

"Norfeller, return to Black Clouds Town and help me keep an eye on Alexir, and especially his level-14 Warrior son. Record down everything they do and every single word they say, and report back to me tomorrow morning."

"Yes, President Felic."

"Alright, Master. "

After instructing Gavin and Norfeller, Lin Li was prepared to return to his room for a nap. The battle had been really energy-consuming. The weakness in his limbs and throbbing in his head could still be felt. But, he realized that the sexy Paladin was still here. She stood by the gigantic crystal ball, staring at him.

"Paladin Rina, why are you still here?"

"Why do you have a Necromancer with you?" Now that the guild hall was empty except for the two of them, Rina finally got the chance to ask the question that had been bothering her. "Also, why did that Necromancer address you as his master?"

"It is a long story…" Lin Li replied as he sighed in grief.

At this moment, if Gerian, Macklin, or other people who knew Lin Li well were around, they would definitely roll their eyes and leave the scene. A fool would know that once that fella put on that expression, he was definitely prepared to bullsh*t a story out of nowhere. The words he was going to speak should not be believed, and it would be best not to even listen to him.

Unfortunately, Rina was neither Gerian nor Macklin. Not only did she listen to Lin Li speak, she even paid full attention to his words…

"Actually, Ujfalusi had been my servant many years ago. But, a catastrophe turned him into what he is now. Paladin Rina, although Ujfalusi became an Undead creature, he had never injured any human before. You saw it yourself just now. He has always been protecting Black Clouds Town too. If not for his swift reaction along with Norfeller, Black Clouds Town would have turned into debris…"

"But, he is still an Undead creature!"

"So what if he is an Undead creature? To me, he is more upright than many humans. Even though I was once his master, Ujfalusi is still incredibly loyal to me. How can his kind deed of stepping out to help when Black Clouds Town got attacked be overlooked due to his status as an Undead creature? Miss Rina, are the teachings of the Brilliance Shrine like this? That's too disappointing…" Lin Li's agitation grew as he talked. Then, he ended his conversation with Rina by waving his sleeves coldly before walking away. He did not care if Rina was still the guest of the Tower of Dusk.

Rina stood by the crystal ball in a daze. She had been baptized by the Fire of Judgement the day she was born. She was brought up in an environment that berated Undead creatures as the root of evil, and was taught to eliminate every one of them. She thought that only the pure Fire of Judgement could redeem them from their sins after they turned into ashes. In reality, that was what Rina had been doing. Ever since she'd become a Judge Paladin, she killed countless Undead creatures.

Yet, when the young mage that even Mentor Englos respected just told her how Undead creatures could be upright and loyal to their masters, and stand out for the innocent common folk, Rina's firm belief started to waver. The scene at Black Clouds Town tonight was still fresh in her memory.

Unfortunately, being immersed in her deep thoughts, Rina did not notice the smirk on that righteous young mage's face when he turned his back…

Goddammit, lucky that I've escaped. Otherwise, it'd be the end if she were to ask further. I have to send this woman away as soon as possible. It will be troublesome if she is to stay at the Tower of Dusk every day. If the Brilliance Shrine discovered that I'm related to that darn Immortal King, wouldn't they treat me like a pagan and burn me to death?

After experiencing so many coincidences, Lin Li could tell that that damn Immortal King should be a mighty Undead creature, or even the leader of an Undead faction.

Actually, it was not hard to guess it. From Alanna to the Demon Fall Valley, and from the Demon Fall Valley to the Breezy Plains, everything related to the Undead race was always linked to the Immortal King. From the ghosts in the Shadowglen, the Vampire in the Dark Age, the Legendary Assassin's Heaven's Wrath… If Lin Li still could not guess it, he should just kill himself by crashing into a piece of tofu.

It was no laughing matter. Yes, the Brilliance Shrine could tolerate normal Necromancers, or even allow Englos to be friends with Sendros, but once things concerned a certain leader of an Undead faction, such as the three Undead Lords at the Shadowglen, it would be hard for the Brilliance Shrine to explain itself if they didn't do anything. At that time, they would not have the support from the Supreme Council anymore…

While Lin Li was grinning internally, he entered the meeting room of the guild. He saw that Gerian had been sitting there for quite a while.

"Say, what do you need my help with?" The fatso sat there arrogantly as he rested one of his legs high on the table, just like how he would in Jarrosus Guild of Magic.

"Just a small matter…" Lin Li replied mysteriously. He went over to lean toward Gerian's ears, and whispered, "I feel like killing the other Crimson Python…"

"Goddammit!" Gerian exclaimed, and nearly sprang out of his seat. "Little bastard, did you lose your mind?"