Badge in Azure Chapter 255

Chapter 255: Lex’s Deal (Part 2)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“How many sorcerers do you need to activate the dimensional teleportation array?” Jason looked at the dragonshard on the table. He did not take it, but immediately asked a question that excited her.
“At best, I would need thirty-six.”
“There are only thirty-three sorcerers on Sregl Island. I have no way of promising to fulfill your request. Since you are willing to speak to me, you definitely trust me. Even though Alchemy City has many sorcerers, you can only ask for help from Sregl Island, right?”
“Yes.”
“How many sorcerers do you have with you then?”
“One.” As Lex replied, she felt helpless. Jason did not say much, but a simple question had revealed her weakness.
Sregl Island could provide thirty-three sorcerers, but she only had one. The difference in capabilities was not something that an army could solve.
“There are one hundred and eighty-eight grand mages on this island as well. How many do you have with you?”
“Forty-two.” Lex counted carefully. Among all the mages she had spent years nurturing, at least forty-two would return to Bitter Water Prefecture to follow her.
“If I do not help you, you would need at least sixty years to gather thirty-six sorcerers, right?”
“More than sixty years.” Lex started to feel like she did not have any terms to discuss with Jason. All the grand mages she had now were basically grade-4 and above, and under normal circumstances, only a tenth of them would become sorcerers. Of course, the quality of her mages was top notch and this percentage would be higher. However, to gather thirty-six sorcerers within sixty years was almost impossible.
“In the interdimensional space, a person’s life would be extended, right?”
“Yes.” Jason seemed to know everything and Lex felt that in front of him, any plans would be useless.
“So long as you send all the mages to the interdimensional space, they can all become sorcerers. With the help of the six element space, within two hundred years you would have a large number of grade-9 mages, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Okay, since you have so much to gain, what do you intend to give up in return?”
“I…don’t know.” Lex hesitated, not suggesting her original idea. The mages on this island were different from those in Alchemy City. They seemed to live like mages from thousands or even tens of thousands of years ago. Riches and titles did not matter to them.
“I do have an idea, but I am not sure if you are willing to accept it.” Jason looked at Lex. She felt flustered by his gaze.
“Please… speak.”
“If you marry Saleen, things will be much easier. Even though Saleen isn’t from Sregl Island, he is my student. We can follow the mage’s way of splitting things and handle this within ourselves.” Jason smiled as his question left Lex red in the face.
Since she had been young, Lex had never felt this way. As a royal, many people pursued her and she was used to looks of desire from others. However, Jason was seeming to treat her as his own descendant, proposing a marriage for her. Even so, his words still left her heart beating incredibly fast.
Marrying Saleen? How would that work!
Lex thought back to when she had first met Saleen. He was tender, and even though he was not very weak, he was comparable to her childish younger brother.
Lex took in a deep breath and calmed herself down before saying, “Master Jason, I cannot promise you this.”
“Oh? My Saleen doesn’t suit you? I think if he works hard, he could become a sorcerer at the same time as you. Even though you are a viscountess, all those things do not matter in the eyes of mages. If you do not become a sorcerer in a hundred years’ time, you will be a pile of ash. You cannot avoid that even if you are the emperor.”
“No!” Lex answered, more determined this time. She lifted her head and looked at Jason, saying, “I merely fancy Saleen. If I make this promise to you, this will become an agreement and I will merely hate him in the future.”
“What’s wrong with an agreement? This is very fair.” Jason was not angry. He gazed casually at Lex.
“Saleen… he cannot be used in an agreement,” Lex answered stubbornly.
“Then it will be very hard for me to persuade those under me to follow you to Bitter Water Prefecture. Go back and think it through. We still have time. These dragonshards are useless to me,” Jason said as he pushed them back. All these things that the mages on the mainland scrambled for were comparable to normal stones in the eyes of Jason.
“Master Jason, I know what you are concerned about.” Lex considered her words and said carefully, “If I completely open up the interdimensional space, your people will be able to use the six element space freely. The world that Raphael created can be provided to you all. But regarding the teleportation portal, no matter what happens to it, it cannot be built here!”
The teleportation portal was the key. No matter how secretive the interdimensional space was, so long as one opened the portal permanently, it would be akin to the Myers Mainland opening its doors. Whoever defended this door would own the interdimensional space.
“However, aside from here, where else can we safely build the teleportation portal and not be found by the Holy See?” Jason said slowly. He did not seem to be in a rush at all. Lex knew how smart he was and quickly replied.
“Saleen wants to build a city on the north of the mainland. I will fully support him. The teleportation array can be built within his city. I trust Saleen.
“Oh? Relying on a mage to build a city, within a year or two, I think we will be able to see something. If we create a half-god weapon, we can safely build a transportation array too. That is a good idea, but I am not convinced, and convincing the others will be even harder.”
“I…” Lex was in a dilemma. In the end, she brought out her last bargaining chip. She took out a map and turned it over. Behind it were the drawings of thirteen magic arrays.
“What is this? The magic arrays are fairly decent. A pity…”
“A pity that it isn’t complete. There are over two hundred of these magic arrays in total and they are hidden within the twenty-four temples of the Myers Goddess. I know the location of the twenty-four temples. Saleen has a such copy of them as well.”
“Oh? The temple that Saleen mentioned, there are twenty-four of them? That means there are treasures stashed within each temple. If that is the case, why do you care so much about the interdimensional space? The value of these temples is immeasurable.”
Lex gave a bitter laugh, “These twenty-four temples are spread throughout the Myers Mainland. One of them is in Glorious City. Unless I conquer the entire mainland, I will not be able to piece together the entire set of magic arrays. If these magic arrays are pieced together, a city greater than Alchemy City can be built. A soul city that has an endless amount of god power.”
“You cannot conquer the entire mainland. We cannot, either. These magic arrays are just a decoration.” Jason was not moved.
Lex started growing anxious and said without much thought, “Then what do you want?”
“Your surname is Grukos. You can be the empress, can’t you?” Jason squinted his eyes and Lex realized that Saleen sometimes did that, having learned it from Jason. Whenever Saleen made that expression, it meant he had an ultimate plan in his hands.
“You, you…” Lex was alert. She suddenly understood what Jason wanted.
“Lex, you are very smart. I want everything that the mage who followed the Grukos family owned. His things must be in the palace, right?”
Back then, six grade-10 mages had created Alchemy City and each one of them had specialized in one of the six types of magic. Now that Alchemy City only had five different lineages, it was missing one and hence could never become the strongest power in the world.
If all six lineages were gathered, the grade-9 mages could discuss things amongst themselves and becoming a grade-10 mage would not be that difficult. Jason’s teacher had already possessed five types of lineages but was missing one more, and hence had died while breaking the barrier to grade-10.
With time, it would not be too hard for Sregl Island to nurture more grade-9 mages, but it would be impossible for them to reach grade-10. It had been eons since there had been a grade-10 mage on the Myers Mainland, and it was not a coincidence that the Holy See had suddenly announced war on the mages.
Not admitting the status of mages was one thing, but to go after death mages brazenly was to test the reaction of Alchemy City.
However, this lineage already belonged to the Grukos family, and now that Jason wanted it, Lex could not accept it.
In addition to Lex and Safilos, the Grukos family had many other people as well, but these people hardly had any chance of inheriting this worldly power even though they could easily enter the palace and become palace mages. This was all because the Grukos family possessed this lineage.
Lex’s teacher, a grade-8 sorcerer, also had the surname Grukos. This was something Saleen did not know.
“Lex, if we cannot get the elf of fire elements and the others come in, we can still get a quarter of the benefits. We can only get one out of twenty-four of your magic arrays. Do you understand?”
“So, you want the Grukos family’s lineage?”
“I have heard Saleen mention that you hope everybody on the Myers Mainland will have a chance to be a mage. If that is the case, why do you care who the lineage belongs to? Within the Grukos family, not everyone has the chance to learn all of the magic lineage either, right?”
Lex was silent for a while before saying, “I did not learn all of the magic lineage either. If you wish to obtain it from me, it will be impossible. That is, unless you fight your way into Holy Rock City.”
Lex was a little frustrated when she said this. There were no longer any more grade-9 sorcerers on Sregl Island, and it was already hard for the outside world to attack this place. There were many magic towers and ancient magic arrays here. Holy Rock City? There were still three grade-9 sorcerers, and it would be even harder to take it down.
If Holy Rock City was that easy to take down, the Holy See would not have needed to put in all of their efforts into ambushing Emperor Chanake only after he had left Holy Rock City. If Chanake had not left, no matter how many professionals the Holy See had sent, they would not have been able to do anything about it.
“If that’s the case, I cannot help you either.” Jason was not willing to budge at all.
Lex sighed. It was expected for Jason to react this way. If Lex did not have his help, it would be almost impossible to return to the interdimensional space.
“Master Jason, let me think about it.” Lex bowed and returned to the teleportation array. An agreement had not been reached, and it was not what Lex had expected. Marry Saleen? It seemed she would need to reconsider that.