Chapter 724: Trap
Aldwin was a little bit dissatisfied with Rosen, and he felt that Lin Li’s idea was also the most appropriate. Anyway, it would only take up a little bit of time to explore the region. Hence, he nodded, and agreed, “I think Felic’s suggestion is much more appropriate. I brought them here precisely because I want to be responsible for their lives. I don’t want them to sacrifice themselves in vain because we’re too eager.”
“Well, I also agree that Osric’s mausoleum is not to be taken lightly, so we’d better be careful.” Andoine, too, nodded and supported Lin Li’s decision while refuting Rosen’s. He didn’t want to see more casualties amongst the mages, which was one of the many reasons behind his agreement.
“You… Felic, the operation this time is led by the Supreme Council. You’re just the President of a small Guild of Magic, can you afford to bear the consequences? Don’t forget who gave you support in building that Guild of Magic of yours. You’ll definitely regret it.” Rosen was infuriated to have his suggestion rejected by everyone else. However, after feeling angry, he glanced at Andoine again, and an idea popped up in his head.
In Rosen’s opinion, he had come on this trip with Andoine, partly for obtaining the item in the mausoleum, and also because of the competition for the arbitrator’s position. If he were to obtain that item, he would undoubtedly receive the greatest credit for this operation and be given the position of the arbitrator.
At the thought of this, Rosen’s anger began to diminish. He no longer wanted to say anything to Andoine and the rest. Instead, he went directly to the rest of the mages who were resting. After hearing Rosen mention the Supreme Council, credits, and rewards, 20-odd mages immediately stood up and proceeded to the mausoleum together with him.
Aldwin was infuriated; the mages that he had nurtured with all his efforts were actually poached with a few words by Rosen. Even a well-tempered and mild-mannered person would not be able to stand it. He immediately chased after Rosen and the rest.
However, Lin Li reached out and stopped Aldwin. “President Aldwin, you can’t make those who are meant to leave stay behind. Those who have stayed are the ones you should cherish most.”
Aldwin froze for a moment and glanced at the 160-something mages who stayed behind. In fact, as those people left, the remaining ones formed a complete team.
“Felic, you said that there’s something wrong with the mausoleum. What do you think is wrong?” Andoine asked while patting Aldwin on his back and turning behind to look at Lin Li.
Lin Li shook his head and smiled, but he did not explain much. Instead, he said, “Mage Aldwin, summon the mages. I think we should evacuate for a while.”
Lin Li’s words made everyone a little puzzled. At this time, Rosen had already entered the gate with the mages who followed him. As Rosen stepped foot inside, the entire ground suddenly collapsed like a river, which caused all of the hidden magic traps to erupt almost immediately, forming a huge magic vortex. All of the magic gears seemed to have also been stimulated at the same time. Various magic arrows and flying equipment seemed to have blocked and sealed the entire space.
Everything was just a matter of moments. Before the 20 or so mages that Rosen led could even react, they were overwhelmed by the many magic traps and magic gears. In fact, they could not even scream. Rosen was the only one in the Legendary-realm, and he desperately retreated, barely making it out of the collapsed cemetery.
The entire cemetery fell and vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye, leaving only a huge bottomless abyss, in which plenty of Abyssal Demons were yelling and roaring. Massive aura of evil dashed up to the sky; without a doubt, the mausoleum was a huge trap that led to the deep Abyss. The miscellaneous Evilness[1] showed that even a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm would not escape doom after falling down.
Rosen ended up leaving the mages to their death after walking into the trap, and managed to jump out at the critical juncture because of his own abilities. Although he looked rather pathetic, he was at least in a much better state than the mages.
“You knew this since a long time ago, haven’t you?! You knew it!!” Rosen leaped towards Lin Li like a madman, but he was stopped by Andoine and Aldwin.
“Master Rosen, please be mindful of your identity. I said that I suspected that there was problem there, so I suggested that we explored the surroundings first, and I also got the consent of Master Andoine and Master Aldwin. You were the one who chose a different path, so don’t blame the incident on others. There’s a limit to what I can tolerate. Even if you’re an authoritative figure of the Supreme Council, you have no right to frame me like this,” Lin Li said calmly while staring at the infuriated Rosen.
Rosen looked around, knowing that at least for now, it would be impossible for him to find any supporters. He could only cock his head to the side and walk away from Lin Li after glowering at him. He still believed that all of this was plotted by Lin Li, and everything should be blamed on him too. However, he also knew that the task given by the Supreme Council had yet to be completed, and everything could only be settled after they left this place. As the authoritative figure of the Supreme Council, he would have plenty of chances to teach Lin Li a lesson.
The team left the terrifying trap, but no one knew what to do next. Osric was a madman who actually used the Endless Abyss to design traps. God knew if they could escape and leave in one piece if they were to encounter another one.
However, at this moment, Connoris’s voice sounded in Lin Li’s head again. “The Goblin has been persuaded by me and promised to take you to the place where Osric is resting. However, he has a request.”
Lin Li immediately asked, “What is it? Surely he can’t be asking me to find him a female Goblin?”
“He didn’t mention anything about a female Goblin, but he needs you to promise that you’ll help him retrieve a journal from Osric’s resting place.” Connoris apparently didn’t think that it was an excessive request. Anyway, things like journals wouldn’t vanish after being looked at. Even for the most precious journals, what was valuable was the content written in it, and not the paper.
“What do you want?” Lin Li asked the Goblin.
The Goblin Angelano shook his head, and said, “I will tell you when we get there. Also, can you take out the Alchemy Colossus? It’ll be useful for me.”
Angelo had been a follower of Osric for a long time. What journal did he need from Osric? Lin Li took out the Alchemy Colossus from the Ring of Endless Storm while thinking about the journal that Angelano could possibly be after and had been waiting for until now. Perhaps Osric had taken the journal from the Immortal King’s laboratory in the Sky Castle.
After the Alchemy Colossus was taken out, Angelano crawled on its body and quickly removed a few parts, filled with hope as he skillfully tinkered on the ground for a while. Soon, he actually assembled a half-armored mode of transport.
Angelano climbed over the machine, and controlled it to make it move a few steps. He then walked towards Lin Li, and said, “Alright, you can put the big guy away, and then we can start.”
Lin Li put away the Alchemy Colossus and briefly introduced Angelano to Andoine and the rest without mentioning the deal he had made with Angelano regarding the journal. He simply said that Angelano had agreed to take them to the place where Osric was resting.
“He’s Osric’s subordinate, why should we believe him? Who knows if he will lead us into a trap?” Rosen asked apprehensively, partly because he didn’t want to see Lin Li claiming credit, and partly because he had been scared by the trap just now.
“If you don’t believe me, you don’t have to follow us. Lord Angelano didn’t beg you to follow.” Angelano’s sharp voice was not too pleasing to the ears, but no one was bothered by it, because he was mocking Rosen.
Under the lead of Angelano, the team walked in the other direction, and quickly passed the place where Eminos was killed before walking past the tombs of the High Elves.
Gradually, the crowd found that they had entered a strange area. It seemed that it was no different from the original cemetery, but the tombs were much more gorgeous and delicate, and the arrangement of the tombs was also slightly different from the previous one.
“The ones buried here are the elite warriors from the Magic Legion. Although they have accompanied the Highlord to sleep, none of you would have had a good time even if you had made it here without my guidance,’” said the petite Goblin Angelano who sat in the machine smugly.
Lin Li carefully looked at the tombs around him and paid attention to the arrangement of the tombs. With uncertainty, he said, “Could it be the Undead Resurrection Array?”
Based on his sharp senses and instincts, Lin Li discovered that although the tombs looked luxurious, some of them differed in details, and these unusual tombs seemed to be distributed in the graveyard according to a certain pattern. Hence, it was very likely that the tombs were acting as magic nodes, but Lin Li had no idea what Alchemy Array it was. He guessed that it might be a place for the creation of the Undead creatures.
However, Angelano shook his disproportionate head and ears before smugly saying, “It’s not the Undead Resurrection Array. That thing is too low-level. You know, what are buried here are the elite warriors of the Magic Legion who wouldn’t become Undead creatures. This Array is called the Eternal Spirit, and will cause the sleeping warriors to be transformed into powerful spirits once activated. They would not only inherit the memory and fighting instincts from their lifetime, but also their strength. There will also be a great improvement.”
“Spirit?” Lin Li was no stranger to this name. When he was in the Haiga Mountain Range, he also used his Requiem Array to subdue the Titan Spirit. However, he wondered what the relationship between the Titan Spirit and Eternal Spirit was. Could the High Elves turn into spirits too?
“Yes, it is the spirit. You seem to know the origin of the spirits. The Eternal Spirit Array is said to have been created by the Immortal King according to the formation of the Titan Spirit.” Angelano raised his head high as if he were the one who’d created the Eternal Spirit Array.
“Since there are so many benefits of being a spirit, why didn’t Osric directly convert himself into one? Why does he have to wait for others to activate the Alchemy Array?” Rosen questioned while feeling indignant because the journey seemed to have been a little too smooth. He wondered if Felic was up to any tricks again.
“Ignorant human, seems like the trap in the Abyss hasn’t taught you anything. Is the wisdom of the Highlord up to you to judge? Use your brain. Or maybe you don’t have one.” Angelano did not care about the Supreme Council at all. After hearing Rosen’s question, he immediately chided him mercilessly.
It was said Titans could turn into spirits after they died because their souls would be baptized countless times and forged into solid and tough entities. However, although the High Elves were excellent, they had plenty of flaws, and could not be compared to the Titans. With the strength of the soul of the High Elves, they would only be successfully converted into spirits with the aid of the Alchemy Array.
Although that was not common sense, one would basically figure out the problems as long as they had a little knowledge and gave it some thought. However, he could only listen to Angelano’s lecture.
After recklessly reprimanding Rosen, Angelano turned his head to look at Lin Li with a sullen expression, and immediately said, “Why? Have you seen anything?”
Lin Li continued to walk along with Angelano while carefully observing the ground and the tombs. He suddenly frowned slightly, and said, “There seems to be no magic circuit for the Eternal Spirit Array here.”
Although Li Lin could be said to be very unfamiliar with the Eternal Spirit Alchemy Array created by the Immortal King, he knew that magic circuits were required for powering Alchemy Arrays, mageweaths, and magic gears.
[1] The aura from the previous sentence.