Chapter 366 - Viper’s Poison
If not for the rise of the High Elves, these prehistoric magical beasts might have completely taken over Anril, but even then, the High Elves who considered themselves deities paid dearly in their fight against the prehistoric magical beasts. Many of them died under the claws and fangs of these beasts which possessed incredible strength and inherited the power of magic by blood when they were born. They did not have to learn their magic, nor did it have spells—they merely had to roar or think of it to harness devastating power.
More than once, the blurry records of the High Elves had mentioned how savage and powerful these prehistoric magical beasts were. They were cruel and crafty, possessing thoughts of their own just like the High Elves. Every fight they fought caused them to become stronger, and if they were allowed to evolve for thousands and thousands of years, a race like that of the Titans or the Dragons might be born.
But in the end, the High Elves emerged victorious even though they had to pay for their success with blood and lives as they slaughtered all the prehistoric magical beasts on the land. Only a small percentage of the beasts managed to survive as they escaped into the endless ocean and lived on tiny islands scattered around it.
Strictly speaking, the descendants of these prehistoric magical beasts today could not be considered true prehistoric magical beasts, as the blood in their veins had been diluted through thousands of years of evolution. The only thing that remained unchanged within them might well only be a tiny brand in the depths of their souls.
However, it was this tiny brand that allowed them to control other magical beasts easily as they were like kings to other common magical beasts. The hierarchy in the world of magical beasts was incredibly strict, even more so than that of humans, and it was a rule that had been followed through thousands of years of evolution. Even a magical beast that had surpassed the Legendary-realm would not dare think of going against a prehistoric magical beast due to their innate fear, just as a rat would never think to go against a python no matter how strong or ferocious it was.
When news from the Sunset Mountains arrived, the Supreme Council was shaken to its very core. Once the prehistoric magical beasts overcame the Supreme Council, a calamity would await Anril. If an army of thousands and thousands of magical beasts marched down the Sunset Mountains, they would cause unimaginable damage. Even though they were not as strong nor had the ability to form thoughts like prehistoric magical beasts and fight the humans for power to rule Anril, they were still able to wreak havoc and kill like locusts destroying a field. Perhaps it would only take a year for the whole Felan Kingdom to fall under their attacks.
The only cause for celebration was that there were not one but three descendants of the prehistoric magical beasts. While it sounded contradictory, that was the truth. These three descendants did not stand on the same line, but instead each wanted to kill the other two as well as the magical beasts they controlled. This Black Current had become their battlefield as thousands of magical beasts died in the fight, staining the Sunset Mountains red with their blood.
Due to this Black Current, the three Arbitrators who had never personally intervened made a trip to the Ledin Kingdom. That night, the Supreme Council reached a consensus with the Brilliance Shrine to send the most powerful fighters of theirs; the mission was to ensure the three descendants of the prehistoric magical beasts were killed in the Sunset Mountains at all costs.
These were the two most powerful forces of Anril, and this was the first time they were working together. The end result was as everybody saw: the Supreme Council and the Brilliance Shrine remained in Anril, while the Black Current in the Sunset Mountains remained an annual event, except they could no longer see any trace of the descendants of the prehistoric magical beasts amongst the magical beasts.
The Supreme Council and the Brilliance Shrine both kept their lips tightly sealed, so not many people knew about that fight. Even Lin Li had only managed to hear bits and pieces of it from Andoine after much probing; hence, Lin Li could not understand why Englos chose to mention it out of the blue.
“One of the three descendants of the prehistoric magical beasts was a descendant of a prehistoric viper. Its lineage had been the least diluted, and it had inherited the poison of the prehistoric viper nearly in full…” Englos sighed heavily as pain could be seen in his eyes. “Who knew that just before it died, it would bite His Holiness Rosario…”
“…” The smile on Lin Li’s face froze. Even in Lin Li’s knowledge, the prehistoric viper was merely something he had seen only in books, and while he was not unfamiliar with viper’s poison, something that was a target of many guru’s antidotes, it was because the viper’s poison was probably the most sinister and crafty poison in the world.
The prehistoric viper had a diet that consisted mainly of poison. It accumulated numerous types of poison, and they all combined in its body, forming an unimaginably complicated kind of new poison. Only when this novel poison combined with the poison that already existed in the body of the prehistoric viper did it form true viper’s poison, though. The viper’s poison lay somewhere between a poison and a curse, neither purely a poison nor purely a curse, and was virtually incurable. No amount of purifying the body or the mind would be sufficient neutralize the viper’s poison completely.
Perhaps the strongest in the world, the likes of Rosario and Apophis, could suppress it using their strength, but this did not solve the root of the problem. The more strength they used to suppress the poison, the greater the harm they suffered. Whether it was after a couple of years or a couple of decades, the viper’s poison would relapse once again, and when that happened, even a true deity would not be able to do anything about it…
“No wonder…” Lin Li wanted to say that it was no wonder Rosario never left the Church of Dawn for the past few decades, but changed his mind. This had to be the Achilles heel of the Brilliance Shrine, and he would only make things awkward by pointing it out…
“No, His Holiness Rosario stays in the Church of Dawn not because of the viper’s poison, but due to other reasons…” Englos seemed to have read Lin Li’s mind, and hurried to continue before Lin Li could speak. “But that’s not important, I’m here today to ask you something besides bringing you a gift…”
“Mr Englos, surely you’re not thinking of asking me to cure him of the viper’s poison?” Lin Li was shocked. “Aren’t you thinking too highly of me?”
“No, no, no, you misunderstand, President Felic, we both know how sinister the viper’s poison is; unless a pharmaceutics guru appeared, nobody would be able to cure it. I’m here today to ask you for a promise… I hope you can promise me that one day, if you become a pharmaceutics guru—”
“Say no more, Mr Englos…” Lin Li shook his head and cut him off before Englos could finish his words. “My apologies, but I cannot promise you this, because even a pharmaceutics guru would not be able to cure it. Please don’t ask me why I am so sure of it, because I have my reasoning. However, I can give you my word that if one day I possess the knowledge to cure the viper’s poison, I will make it a priority to save His Holiness Rosario.”
“Alright, President Felic, I’m assured by your words.” Englos seemed to fear that Lin Li would go against his words, and thus when he finished, he shoved the oil lamp into Lin Li’s hands. “President Felic, since it has come to this, you would be looking down on this old man if you continued to reject me!”
“Well…” Honestly, if he could, Lin Li would choose not to accept the oil lamp, as even though it was a treasure, with it came heavy responsibility. Accepting it meant that he had to find the cure for the viper’s poison whether he was willing to do it or not. This was not a matter of his own interests, but that he could not skive after accepting something from somebody, which Lin Li knew he could not do.
It was one thing to fool others, but another to fool yourself.
However, just as Lin Li was about to reject him again, a voice appeared in his brain.
“Idiot, do you know how many people covet the treasure in your hands? How did I get to know an idiot like you! Let me tell you, if you don’t accept the oil lamp, there’s no way you’ll open the Eternal Furnace!”
“Hehe, since you have said so, then I shall accept it, or else it would be really rude of me. Don’t worry, Mr Englos, I’ll try to find a cure for the viper’s poison as soon as I can…” With Connoris’ reminder, Lin Li accepted the oil lamp again even though he had pushed it away, but as he spoke to Englos, he willed a bit of mental strength into the Ring of Endless Storm. “Connoris, I’m going to have to remind you that if you’re fooling me this time, you’re dead meat!”
“Don’t worry, I’m the noble Soul Trader and only do fair deals, I would never fool you. If you have time later, let me out of this damn Dimensional Space and I’ll tell you the story of the oil lamp. You’d better hurry, I’m suffocating in this damn place…”
Connoris’ voice became softer and softer, and when it completely disappeared, Lin Li turned around and smiled at Englos. Just as he was going to thank the archbishop again, he suddenly heard a yell full of surprise.
“It’s you!”