Trust Comes at a Price

The three old mages were startled by the little girl who suddenly appeared before them. Not only had they already erected a magical barrier around the area, but the immense evil power that Angela brought with her appearance was enough to overwhelm them. It was far more refined than that of liches or other undead creatures that had existed for centuries; it was like the darkest depths of darkness, or the most dazzling light in a crimson sky.

Absolutely pure.

"Who is this...?"

The old mage watched Angela with some unease. He could clearly sense that the girl before him was lifeless, or rather, they could both feel that the vitality within her did not originate from human power. However, judging from her appearance, she did not resemble a lich or a ghost-like undead creature. Yet, the evil aura emanating from this girl was clearly more powerful and terrifying than that of those undead creatures.

Therefore, the old monk had no choice but to turn to Li Lin and ask him a question.

"She is my familiar."

Li Lin Linwei introduced the matter briefly and then fell silent. Although the old masters were skeptical of the answer, it was clear that this was not the time to pursue such a trivial matter.

"So, miss, may I ask you, what did you mean by what you just said?"

"That's exactly what I meant."

Angela raised an eyebrow slightly, then told everyone everything she had overheard in Ailas's room.

It turns out that Ailas had joined forces with some others to try and overthrow the three archmages. Clearly, they were very dissatisfied with the current policies of the City of a Thousand Towers and intended to guide the city back to normalcy. They believed that the City of a Thousand Towers's current strategy was too conservative and targeted, detrimental to the survival of the hybrids. Therefore, they planned to align themselves with the Five-Nation Alliance, even accepting their proposed solutions and incorporating the City of a Thousand Towers into it. In this way, the Five-Nation Alliance would keep its promise, granting the hybrids some conveniences, opportunities, and status. Ailas was one of these people. In fact, his targeting of Li Lin wasn't even a conspiracy. These young nobles had long considered the ruling class, led by the old mage, to be corrupt and unambitious. So, after Nia entered the city, these young nobles planned to use this as a starting point to slowly undermine public morale.

"How is this possible?"

After hearing Angela's account, the three old monks' expressions turned sour.

"They don't have that kind of power! It's completely impossible for them to overthrow our rule."

"That's the problem, you old fogies."

Angela her fan open.

"I've heard that they received assistance from a group within the Mages' Association called the Red Robe Association. According to that ape with the pointed ears, they could easily tear you three old geezers to shreds, stiff as a board and brains alike."

"The Red Robe Association!?"

This time, not only were the three old mages taken aback, but even Nia frowned. Only Li Lin looked at Nia with a puzzled expression, waiting for her explanation.

"They are a branch of the Mages' Association."

Nia quickly gave her an answer.

"The Red Roar Association is the shadow of the Mages' Association... in fact, they do a lot of dirty work. Moreover, they look down on the Templar Knights, believing that mages should handle their own affairs. They are a group of extreme mage supremacists, though they may restrain themselves outwardly, their true nature is very evident internally."

Is there any possibility of it being utilized?

"Please abandon that idea, Li Lin. The Red Robe Association is unlike other departments of the Mages' Association; they are born to do dirty work, and they hate the Magic Empire... I don't know the reasons, but it's clear that no Red Robe Mage has any goodwill towards the ancient Magic Empire. They obtained magical power through another method, a method that is top secret, one that even I cannot discover. Because of this, they also look down on those orthodox mages, considering them nothing more than a bunch of stupid good-for-nothings."

I see.

Li Lin frowned, thought carefully for a moment, and finally understood why the three old masters were so surprised.

The Red Robe Association is a branch of the Mages' Association, which is a unique product of the Five-Nation Alliance... Therefore, the fact that this matter is connected to the Red Robe Mage suggests a connection to the Five-Nation Alliance as well. After all, mages today are not like they used to be; their actions are closely monitored by the five kingdoms. Among the Mage Tower, the Temple, and the Alliance, the Mage Tower is at the bottom, subject to the supervision of both. Therefore, it wouldn't intervene simply to expand its power. Moreover, according to the intelligence Angela obtained, the opposing side dispatched Red Robe Mage, who are completely at odds with the Templar Knights. This indicates that the Temple is unlikely to learn of this. Therefore, all the inferences point to a result that no one wants to face.

"It seems the alliance doesn't trust any of you."

Li Lin gazed at the old mages before him and spoke.

"..."

The old mages remained silent, clearly deeply affected by this matter. Indeed, all three were High-Ranking Mage who had ruled the city for many years—a condition they had demanded when signing the treaty with the Alliance. However, it now seemed the Alliance was dissatisfied with their actions. Moreover, these hybrid mages, who hadn't had much contact with the Mages' Association, were not easy to control. If the Alliance suddenly and unilaterally proposed replacement, it would undoubtedly cause unrest in the city. Furthermore, given the three old mages' abilities, ordinary people couldn't inflict much harm on them.

Then, only mages remain.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Li Lin."

The old mage stood up, and perhaps because the information Angela had given him had hit him so hard, he seemed noticeably less energetic than before.

"We cannot confirm this at this time..."

"I understand."

Li Lin nodded and stood up as well.

"I will stay in the city for the time being, awaiting your responses... If you are willing to contribute, I will naturally provide the appropriate reward."

That's the only option for now.

Walking back to the hotel, Li Lin felt rather uneasy. Although Angela's appearance had effectively eased the potentially awkward situation, it was rather unusual for the City of a Thousand Towers to attract so much attention so quickly. If it were just a coincidence, that would be fine; after all, the other party probably wouldn't have imagined that someone would try to use these hybrids to recreate a new Magic Kingdom.

Absurd ideas only exist in the minds of those with great power and madmen.

However, after stepping off the floating disc, Li Lin and his group encountered an unexpected visitor.

"Mr. Fat businessman, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, hello, distinguished guests, beautiful lady, and the great Golden Leaf Mage, it is truly an honor to see you all again..."

The portly merchant fluently rattled off a long string of dizzyingly prestigious titles. It seemed that, having narrowly escaped death, he had immediately become interested in establishing connections with these dignitaries. Putting everything else aside, if he could get the legendary Golden Leaf Mage to grace his shop with his presence, his sales could potentially increase by more than ten percent, possibly even making it the largest in City of a Thousand Towers, or even the entire Northern Kingdom.

So, in front of Nia, the portly merchant generously offered to gift Li Lin several of his treasured magical items to help him prepare for the duel a few days later. Of course, Li Lin refused. He had no habit of using other people's magical artifacts. As an ancient, orthodox mage, he only trusted magical items he created himself, not treasures found in corpses, coffins, or the stomachs of merfolk—who knew what kind of power or curse they might conceal?

However, since the fat merchant was so generous, Li Lin felt bad about spoiling his mood. So he casually asked him for some fine steel and silver. The poor fat merchant immediately stiffened his smile, then turned and left with a sad expression, going to the warehouse to rummage through those precious treasures that even he himself couldn't bear to put out for sale.

"Those two sisters have had a tough time these past few days; it's about time we gave them something in return..."

Li Lin reached into his pocket and took out a Soul Crystal. The soul of the mage he had defeated and sealed in battle a few days ago was imprisoned in this mesmerizing gemstone cage, emitting screams and sighs that no ordinary person could hear. At the same time, it also represented immense power.

"Angela? What about the sisters?"

How could I possibly know where they went?

At this moment, in the shadows outside the bar in the upscale district, two almost invisible figures stood in a corner, whispering to each other.

"Sister... how long has Miss Angela been gone? Why hasn't she returned yet...?"

"Who knows what she's doing? That half-elf has already left... But she told us to wait here, so let's wait."

"Um..."

This is also a manifestation of fate.

Sitting in the room, Angela her chin on her hands, intently watching Li Lin as he silently chanted incantations, altering the form of the metal to better suit his needs. Nia sat beside her, observing everything with a nostalgic expression.

"In the past, I watched the other six magical weapons being created in the same way."

Nia couldn't tell if she was talking to Angela or to herself.

"Life was born from this, it's amazing... The Arcane Mage found another path to create life, and did not defy the will of the Creator, which shows that everything has its own path to follow, if it chooses to follow it."

"But those foolish humans only drag everything around them into big trouble, and they will never learn their lesson until they are completely wiped out."

Angela clearly disagreed with Nia's account, and it seemed she had truly forgotten about the two sisters who were still waiting anxiously outside the tavern.

"Greedy, cunning, foolish, short-lived... Even if you gave them ten thousand years of lifespan, they still wouldn't feel it was enough. Eternity is forever out of their reach. They'll presumptuously declare that everything will be destroyed, while simultaneously and justifiably destroying everything... What a twisted logic. Master, are you really planning to stay here and assist those old geezers?"

"Help is given without expecting anything in return."

Li Lin cast a spell on the Soul Gem to stabilize its form, then focused his attention on answering Angela's question.

"However, what I need is a paid exchange... If your information is accurate, then we'll soon have some fun coming our way."