Negotiations

"Who are you?"

The knight looked at Li Lin, his expression turning disdainful. In his eyes, this kind of frail man was utterly disgusting. What kind of scholar was he, spending all his time holed up at home reading books, treating everything written on paper as gospel like an idiot? He even had the audacity to claim that the brain was the strongest weapon, but what had he accomplished? Besides coming up with wicked schemes from the shadows, what else could these guys do?

"My Li Lin, and I am a scholar..."

At this point, Li Lin paused for a rare moment, and after thinking for a while, added a new title.

"She is also a mage."

"A mage!?"

Upon hearing this, the knight and the soldiers watching nearby all changed their expressions drastically. They might look down on scholars who only knew how to read books, but they would never dare to underestimate any mage. The knight remained outwardly calm, but his body immediately shifted slightly to the side, making the necessary preparations. As soon as Li Lin began chanting the incantation, he would pounce on him and interrupt his magic.

"Relax."

Li Lin naturally noticed the knight's little trick and quickly exposed it.

"I'm not here to fight you, at least not for now."

"...Please speak plainly, Master."

The knight's tone hardened. He, too, had grown up hearing tales of the brutality of the past Magic Empire, so he instinctively harbored aversion and fear towards mages. Therefore, while his expression was no longer dismissive, it still held a hint of dissatisfaction and malice towards Li Lin. After all, even a knight known for his bravery felt fear upon hearing the name of a mage, a fact that deeply displeased Roni. Thus, his tone unconsciously carried a touch of contempt.

You have no right to talk to me like that.

However, Li Lin raised an eyebrow. As soon as he finished speaking, Roni felt as if his body had turned to stone. He couldn't move an inch. Faced with this strange phenomenon, the knight's expression changed drastically. He desperately tried to move his body, attempting to draw the longsword from his waist. But this movement, which he usually performed with great ease, was now completely impossible for him.

"Knowing you're facing a mage, you still dare to speak to me like that."

Li Lin sighed. In fact, just as the knight was speaking, he had already completed his plan in his mind, and now it was time to put it into practice.

"Perhaps it's not a good thing that you don't have much respect for monks."

"Damn bastard, what did you do...?"

Roni opened his mouth to curse, but when he saw the flames burning on Li Lin's palm, he immediately swallowed his words. He rolled his eyes, hoping his foolish men would come to his aid. But the soldiers showed no intention of helping; most of them were terrified of Li Lin's strength. Moreover, Angela's previous brutal killings had already terrified them. Although she was now standing obediently to the side like a little lady, she hadn't become particularly ferocious when she was killing...

A few men who were unaware of the situation saw their superior in danger and intended to rush forward to help, but they were quickly pulled back by their colleagues. After whispering a few words to each other, the men slowed down and no longer showed any obvious intention to rush forward to help.

"You should learn to respect monks."

Li Lin stretched out his right hand, which was burning with flames, and waved it in front of the knight's handsome face.

"Don't you think it's incredibly foolish to ruin someone's life over a pointless argument?"

"Don't be so smug, mage... If you dare to hurt me... my family will definitely seek revenge against the Mages' Association!!"

The knight's words were left unfinished once again, because Li Lin had already placed his hand in front of him, the burning flames even causing his hair to curl and turn black.

"So, all I have to do is kill you, and there won't be any problems. You're reminding me of that, aren't you?"

"..."

The knight shut his mouth; now, he was the very fool he had always looked down upon.

"I think politeness towards mages is the most basic courtesy a knight should have, isn't it?"

"... You are absolutely right, esteemed Master..."

Knight Roni practically spat out those words through gritted teeth; his anger had reached its peak, but he was powerless to protest. Angela, sitting in the distance, listened to the conversation and chuckled happily. Her clear, melodious laughter only intensified Roni's shame, but he could only grit his teeth and endure the humiliation.

He won't give up like this!!

"Very good, Sir Knight, that's the proper courtesy towards a mage."

Li Lin withdrew his hand with satisfaction. At the same time, Roni felt the invisible force that had been binding him vanish instantly, and he hurriedly took two steps back. However, he had no intention of drawing his sword again. From the previous exchange, it was clear that this mage was far superior to any mage he had ever seen. He could even cast spells without chanting incantations! Did such a mage really exist? How come he had never heard of him before?

"Good, it seems we can have a proper talk now."

Seeing that the knight had regained his mobility but did not attempt to attack him, Li Lin nodded in satisfaction.

"... What would you like to talk about?"

"Let's talk about what we're about to do."

As he spoke, Li Lin pointed to the caravan behind him.

"As you can see, we intend to enter the Black Road."

"That's impossible; Black Road is already under Kudel's control."

"Then I'll put it another way."

Li Lin snapped his fingers. Angela and Mina, who had been watching from a distance, stood up.

"We need to go in now. You can step aside and let us into the Black Road. As for our lives, that's none of your concern. Or, I can just step over your corpses... no, perhaps it'll be a little different. After all, the paths in the Underdark are difficult to traverse. With corpses as a carpet, it might actually be a bit more comfortable."

Despite uttering threatening words, Li Lin's expression remained unchanged.

"I'm giving you thirty seconds to think it over: step down, or die. Choose one."

"... You are making an enemy of the Kingdom of Kudel."

"If you all die, then no one will know about this."

"If we don't die..." The knight immediately swallowed those words. He didn't want to give this terrifying mage another chance to strike. Now it seemed he understood the logic: let them live, and the soldiers would naturally report to their superiors. Wouldn't things be different then? Did this mage naively think they would keep their mouths shut?

"..."

Although he didn't know what the mage was thinking, Roni still made way for the passage to the Black Road. His action also affected the surrounding soldiers, who made way and lowered their weapons. Seeing this, Li Lin nodded in satisfaction, then turned around and gestured to the caravan. Although the mercenaries were uneasy about the situation, they could only carefully steer the carriages into the Black Road. Li Lin stood there, watching the caravan completely disappear into the dark, gloomy passage, before turning back to look at the knight.

You think I don't know what you're thinking?

Li Lin reached out and patted the knight on the shoulder. The knight instinctively wanted to dodge, but he ultimately restrained himself.

"Do you really think Kudel can do anything to me? If anything happens to me, the Mages' Association will absolutely not let you off the hook."

At this point, Li Lin's tone became earnest, as if he were disciplining a disobedient child.

"Don't think the Mages' Association is so easy to deal with."

As he spoke of the books, he turned around, never glancing at the knight again, and walked into the Black Road.

Roni gritted his teeth, watching Li Lin's figure disappear into the darkness. His hand gripping the sword hilt clicked from the excessive force and even began to tremble slightly.

But in the end, he held back.

So what if it's the Mages' Association? Do these damned mages really think they can still run rampant on the continent like before?

Report this to the National Council immediately.

Roni practically forced those words out through gritted teeth.

"A mage from the Mages' Association attempted to cross the Black Road. Although I believe he has no chance of escaping the Dark Elf's attack, just in case, we must report this to our superiors and order them to prepare to arrest the caravan the moment it emerges from the Black Road! To prevent the secret from being leaked!"

"Hmph, wishful thinking."

Angela at the back, her ears naturally not missing a single word Roni spoke. Although the human knight thought he was cautious enough, in front of vampires, no amount of "caution" was ever enough.

"Master, why keep these useless humans alive? I thought you would kill them."

"I have a better idea."

As he spoke, Li Lin extended his finger and gently tapped the red ring on his finger. Soon, the illusory figure of an old man with white hair appeared on it, bowing to Li Lin with fear and trepidation. His hoarse voice was filled with evil and darkness.

"Hello, Master..."

"Looks like you're doing pretty well."

Li Lin saw nothing unusual about the lich. This meant he was still well-disguised within the Mages' Association, undetected by anyone. Back outside Beacon City, Li Lin had chosen to transform the old mage into a lich so he could control a portion of the Mages' Association's power. He was utterly disillusioned with the current Mages' Association and therefore had no intention of using it for a new beginning. However, using their strength to incite conflict and confrontation was still a viable option.

"I have something I need you to do for me."

He stared intently at the lich's figure, his expression serious.

"Believe me, this shouldn't be too difficult for you."