More than a dozen demigod mages from Vias Mage Tower drifted slowly down. They bowed to Lin Qi, then, with a trace of embarrassment, the eldest among them—a venerable old mage with the strength of a high-level demigod—said softly, "We have felt the Longshan Family's sincerity. Therefore, from this day onward, every mage of Vias Mage Tower shall become a retained mage of the Longshan Family."
Lin Qi smiled and returned their bow. He said gently, "Then I'll be relying on you all from now on. There will be many matters in the future that the Longshan Family will have to trouble you with, but please rest assured—the Longshan Family's patronage will never disappoint you!"
Zeppelin trembled so violently that the flesh all over his body quivered. He roared in furious indignation, "You traitors! You have betrayed Vias!"
Lin Qi looked coldly at Zeppelin and shouted sternly, "Act like a nobleman, Lord Zeppelin! The honored mages signed commercial employment contracts with Vias, and I investigated that fact long ago. Now that they are retained mages of the Longshan Family and no longer serve Vias, that is entirely in accordance with the terms of their commercial employment contracts."
"At most, they need to pay the Vias Government a sum for breach of contract—and the Longshan Family will pay it in full!" Lin Qi sneered at the dumbfounded Zeppelin. "What does such a trifling sum amount to?"
With a sweep of his hand, a huge pile of blue-gold ingots and mithril ingots appeared before Lin Qi. He snorted. "The blue-gold and mithril here are more than enough to pay all the mages' penalties. Now, every mage's employment contract with Vias is completely terminated!"
Lin Qi smiled and nodded to the old mages, whose expressions had grown much more relaxed. "The Longshan Family